Month: March 2023

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A new “good neighbor” rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency will restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution they can’t control. Nearly two dozen states will have to cut harmful industrial emissions of nitrogen oxide and

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Thousands of students and other opponents of Hungary’s right-wing government have marched in the capital Budapest demanding educational reforms and a change in the Central European country’s political culture. The protest on Wednesday was dubbed a “freedom march” by organizers and was called by teachers unions

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. Supreme Court has ruled that Ukraine can try to avoid repaying $3 billion in loans it said it took under pressure from Russia in 2013 to prevent it from trying to join the European Union. The court on Wednesday rejected a bid by a British

By WANJOHI KABUKURU Associated Press Up to 9% of some African nations’ budgets is being spent on responding to extreme weather events, findings at a U.N. conference for African finance ministers revealed in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia on Wednesday. Climate change, along with the Ukraine war and a global financial downturn, are the main reasons

By KEN SWEET and STAN CHOE The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A bank run conjures images of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” with anxious customers crammed shoulder to shoulder, desperately pleading with a harried George Bailey to hand over their money. The failure of Silicon Valley Bank last week had the panic but few

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A self-exiled Chinese businessman has pleaded not guilty in New York to charges alleging that he oversaw a $1 billion fraud conspiracy. Guo Wengui and his financier, Kin Ming Je, were charged in an indictment in federal court in Manhattan with various charges, including wire, securities

BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops are defending positions in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine amid a relentless push by Russian forces to capture a city that has been turned into a wasteland by seven months of fighting. Both sides claimed successes Wednesday in what has become the longest-running battle since Russia launched its full-scale invasion

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — The company behind the ChatGPT chatbot has rolled out its latest artificial intelligence model, GPT-4, in the next step for a technology that’s caught the world’s attention. The new system can figure out tax deductions and answer questions like a Shakespearan pirate, for example, but it

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s defense industry says it stands ready to supply Ukraine with much-needed arms and ammunition, but needs clarity about what the country requires before investing in further production capacity.  The rate at which Ukraine is using ammunition has raised concerns about strains on Western defense companies as

BERLIN (AP) — German investigators say they have taken down a major online money laundering operation, seizing the Germany-based server infrastructure of a platform that dealt in ill-gotten cryptocurrency. Authorities said Wednesday that bitcoin currently worth about 44 million euros ($47 million) and roughly seven terabytes of data were secured as investigators took down the

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s left-wing government has won the backing of unions to reform the nation’s public pension system. That is in stark contrast with neighboring France, where plans to raise the retirement age have led to waves of strikes and mass protests. The leaders of Spain’s two main

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Mint Mobile, partly owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, is being acquired by T-Mobile as part of a cash-and-stock deal worth as much as $1.35 billion. T-Mobile’s purchase of Ka’ena Corp. will give it access the budget wireless provider Mint, along with Ultra Mobile and wholesaler Plum. The brands, which

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale price increases in the United States slowed sharply last month as food costs declined, a sign that inflationary pressures may be easing. From January to February, the government’s producer price index fell 0.1%, after a 0.3% rise from December to January, which was revised sharply

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested that his country may soon ratify Finland’s application to join NATO. That would allow for the possibility of Finland joining the Western military alliance separately from Sweden. Finland and Sweden abandoned decades of nonalignment and applied to join NATO

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. defense ministry says British and German air force fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian aircraft flying close to Estonian airspace. The U.K. and Germany are conducting joint air policing missions in Estonia as part of NATO efforts to bolster its eastern flank in response to Russia. Britain’s defense

By The Associated Press The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have launched investigations into the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. That’s according to what two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The people said the investigations – which are separate inquiries – are in the early stages and will

By JAMEY KEATEN and DAVID McHUGH Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Fears about the world banking system spread to Europe on Wednesday as shares in the globally connected Swiss bank Credit Suisse plunged and dragged down other major European lenders in the wake of bank failures in the United States. At one point, Credit Suisse

BERLIN (AP) — The German government says the defense minister has decided to replace the chief of the country’s armed forces by putting in his place the military’s current head of domestic operations. The Defense Ministry said Wednesday that top military commander since April 2018 Gen. Eberhard Zorn will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Carsten

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Hart will keep his comedic candor going with SiriusXM. But this time he’ll bring along more recognizable figures from outside the comedy realm. The satellite radio company announced Wednesday that it has signed Hart and his entertainment company, Hartbeat, to a multi-year deal.

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — America’s consumers trimmed their spending in February after a buying burst in January, underscoring the volatility of the economic environment. The government said Wednesday that retail sales slipped 0.4% after jumping a revised 3.2% in January, helped by an increase in auto sales. Retail sales

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