AP National Business

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — Relatives of the missing in Cuba’s capital are desperately searching for victims of an explosion at one of Havana’s most luxurious hotels that killed at least 27 people. They checked the morgue and hospitals, and if unsuccessful, they returned to the partially collapsed Hotel Saratoga. A natural

Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Federal labor officials filed a sweeping complaint Friday accusing Starbucks of unfair labor practices at its stores in Buffalo, New York, including retaliation against pro-union employees. The National Labor Relations Board’s Buffalo regional director outlined a host of labor law violations in a filing seeking reinstatement and backpay for

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The National Labor Relations Board has found merit to a complaint that Amazon violated labor law in New York City’s Staten Island by holding mandatory worker meetings to persuade its employees not to unionize. The agency’s determination was shared Friday with an attorney representing the

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is preparing for an energy shortfall equivalent to what it takes to power about 1.3 million homes when demand is at its peak in the hottest months of summer. State energy officials said Friday threats from drought, extreme heat and wildfires are creating challenges for

By JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Contract negotiations between 22,000 workers at 29 West Coast ports and representatives of shipping companies will begin next week with automation and its impact on jobs emerging as a major point of contention amid supply chain issues. Talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and

The Associated Press The stock market ended an unusually turbulent week with its fifth straight weekly decline. The bumpy and mostly lower ride came as investors worry that the Federal Reserve may not succeed in engineering a smooth cooldown of the economy without letting inflation get out of hand. The Fed is aggressively moving to

By KRISHAN FRANCIS and ERANGA JAYAWARDENA Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president has declared a state of emergency amid widespread public protests demanding his resignation over the country’s worst economic crisis in recent memory. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has issued a decree declaring a public emergency effective Friday. Sri Lanka is near

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Friday: Under Armour, Dish fall; Cigna, NRG Energy rise.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida power company has agreed to pay a $500,000 fine for a 2017 explosion that left five workers dead. A plea agreement filed Friday in Tampa federal court says Tampa Electric Co. has pleaded guilty to violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard causing death. The agreement outlines safety

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Reporter WASHINGTON (AP) — Friday’s jobs report for April provided mixed signals on the economic issue most on the minds of Americans: Chronically high inflation. On the one hand, the proportion of people either working or looking for work slipped in April after a string of increases. Having fewer people

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for June delivery rose $1.51 to $109.77 a barrel Friday. Brent crude for July delivery rose $1.49 to $112.39 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for June delivery rose 10 cents to $3.76 a gallon. June heating oil fell 9 cents to $3.95 a gallon. June natural gas fell 74

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Pilots and airlines have expressed concerns over an increase in dangerous incidents in Mexico City’s airspace since it was redesigned to accommodate a second airport. Those include alerts that planes could crash unless action is taken. The International Air Transport Association that represents some 290 airlines

By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government has closed a limestone gravel quarry owned by a U.S. company, a move likely to add fuel to an ongoing trade dispute with the firm. The Environment Department said Friday it closed the quarry owned by Vulcan Materials near Playa del Carmen, on

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden is reintroducing temporary border controls at airports, road crossings with other countries and other entry points to the Scandinavian nation. The Swedish government said it took the action on Friday because there “still is a serious threat to public order and internal security.” The government said the temporary controls would start

BALTIMORE (AP) — Under Armour: Quarterly Earnings Snapshot

By PHILIPP-MORITZ JENNE Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — A train carrying 2,000 metric tons of Ukrainian corn has arrived in Austria. It’s part of European efforts to elude a Russian blockade of Ukraine’s ports that has prevented critical supplies of wheat, corn and other grains from getting to countries in Africa, Middle East and parts

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Nvidia, a major tech company that has expanded aggressively into gaming, will pay a $5.5 million penalty for failing to disclose that cryptomining was a significant source of revenue growth from the sale of graphics processing units produced and marketed for gaming. Crypto currencies are extremely volatile and the

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has sanctioned North Korean digital currency mixing firm Blender.io, which allegedly uses its service to launder stolen virtual currency and support malicious cyber activities. Mixing services combine various assets, including potentially illegally obtained funds with legitimately obtained funds, and spit them out to a destination

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Nancy Pelosi is addressing concerns about the working conditions for some Capitol Hill aides. She’s announced a $45,000 minimum yearly salary for House staffers. She also has teed up for a vote next week a resolution that would pave the way for staffers to join a

LONDON (AP) — Big tech companies like Google and Facebook parent Meta would have to comply with tough British rules under a new digital watchdog aimed at giving consumers more choice online. Otherwise, they would face the threat of big fines. The U.K. government on Friday outlined the powers it’s planning for its Digital Markets

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — President Joe Biden is pledging that 3D printing technology will help return factory jobs to the U.S. and reduce inflationary pressures. He went to Hamilton, Ohio, on Friday to highlight commitments by five major U.S. manufacturers to boost their reliance on small and medium American firms

By JOHN LEICESTER and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press SONCHAMP, France (AP) — In lush fields southwest of Paris, farmers are joining Europe’s fight to free itself from Russian gas. They’ll soon turn on the tap of a new facility where crops and agricultural waste are mashed up and fermented to produce “biogas.” It’s among energy

Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville Public Library is responding to library scrutiny in Tennessee with a goal to distribute 5,000 “I read banned books” library cards this month. Library Director Kent Oliver says the library will always respect people’s freedom to choose what they and their children will read. The library is showcasing

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers are working toward a compromise on President Joe Biden’s $33 billion Ukraine aid request that they hope to have ready as soon as next week. Signs are emerging that for the measure to move quickly, Democrats may need to bow to Republican objections and drop Biden’s

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, the U.S. came close to providing health care for all for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic. But it was for just one condition — COVID-19. Now, things are reverting to the way they were as federal money for

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added 428,000 jobs in April, extending a streak of solid hiring that has defied punishing inflation, chronic supply shortages, the Russian war against Ukraine and much higher borrowing costs. Friday’s jobs report from the Labor Department showed that last month’s hiring kept the unemployment

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer The CEO of Spirit Airlines says JetBlue might be trying to buy his airline just to prevent Frontier Airlines from buying it. Spirit CEO Ted Christie said Thursday that “you don’t need to be an antitrust attorney” to see why Spirit rebuffed JetBlue’s $3.6 billion bid. He says it’s

By WILL WEISSERT and HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh met Thursday with union organizers at the White House as the administration looks to boost unionization campaigns. The meeting featured an unscheduled appearance by President Joe Biden. The White House says participants discussed organizers’ efforts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. postmaster general says Americans should get used to “uncomfortable” postage rate increases. Louis DeJoy said Thursday he will advocate for the Board of Governors to continue raising rates until the Postal Service meets its goal of becoming self sustaining. He says the Postal Service was “severely damaged” by at least

By MATTHEW PERRONE and LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators are strictly limiting who can receive Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine due to a rare but serious risk of blood clots. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday the shot should only be given to adults who cannot receive a different vaccine

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer DoorDash sales soared in the first quarter as it added new customers, putting to rest any question of whether delivery demand will continue as the pandemic wanes. The San Francisco company said its revenue jumped 35% to $1.46 billion in the January-March period. That was well ahead of Wall

The Associated Press Stocks closed sharply lower on Wall Street as worries grow in markets that the higher interest rates the Federal Reserve is using in its fight against inflation will slow the economy. The S&P 500 pulled back sharply, erasing a rally from a day earlier and marking its biggest loss in almost two

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Thursday: Wayfair, Etsy fall; Albemarle, Booking Holdings rise.

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A former leader of a Massachusetts Native American tribe has been convicted of bribery and extortion charges related to its long-planned casino project. Prosecutors said Thursday that former Mashpee Wampanoag leader Cedric Cromwell was found not guilty of other federal counts. Rhode Island architecture firm owner David

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway continued buying Occidental Petroleum shares this week just days after he told shareholders that he had amassed a 14% stake in the oil producer. Berkshire Hathaway now controls 15.2% of Occidental’s stock after buying nearly 5.9 million more shares on Monday

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for June delivery rose 45 cents to $108.26 a barrel Thursday. Brent crude for July delivery rose 76 cents to $110.90 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for June delivery rose 1 cent to $3.66 a gallon. June heating oil fell 16 cents to $4.04 a gallon. June natural gas

By DAVID KOENIG and SARAH RANKIN Associated Press Boeing says it plans to move its corporate headquarters from Chicago to the Washington, D.C., area. The company made it official on Thursday. Boeing is a major defense contractor, so the move would put its executives close to customers in the Pentagon. It would also put them

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister has promised new state support to shield households from rising electricity costs, saying the country was forced to act alone after its European Union partners failed to adopt a joint response to the problem. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also said Thursday that Greece would partially fund the program

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has announced a wide-ranging enforcement strategy aimed at holding industrial polluters accountable for damage done to poor and minority communities. The strategy includes creation of an Office of Environmental Justice within the Justice Department. It also reinstates a dormant program that allowed fines paid

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates resumed their ascent this week, as the key 30-year loan reached its highest point since 2009. The increases came in the week preceding the widely anticipated action by the Federal Reserve, announced Wednesday, to intensify its fight against the worst inflation in 40 years by raising its

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs wasted nearly $2 million when most of the smartphones bought during the pandemic for homeless veterans went unused, according to an inspector general’s report. The report, released Wednesday, found that the Veterans Health Administration spent nearly $7 million to purchase 10,000 phones with unlimited

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A leading Catalan separatist politician says that Spain’s top intelligence official has acknowledged that her agency hacked into the cellphones of some politicians but insists it had proper judicial authorization. The digital rights group Citizen Lab says over 60 politicians, activists and others in Spain were

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, the U.S. came close to providing health care for all for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic. But it was for just one condition — COVID-19. Now, things are reverting to the way they were as federal money for

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. dollar’s value surged in April as investors sought refuge amid a growing list of uncertainties hanging over the market and the Federal Reserve’s aggressive shift to fight rising inflation. The currency had been gaining strength throughout the economic recovery in 2021 and

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — More than 40 years after blazing a trail for female video game characters, Ms. Pac-Man was inducted Thursday into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, along with Dance Dance Revolution, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Sid Meier’s Civilization. The Hall of Fame considers electronic games of all

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Walgreens pharmacy chain has reached a $683 million settlement with the state of Florida in a lawsuit accusing the company of improperly dispensing millions of painkillers that contributed to the opioid crisis. State Attorney General Ashley Moody said Thursday the deal was struck after

By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Some small businesses are still struggling to hire qualified workers, even as Americans return to the U.S. job market in droves. Hiring and retaining employees remains the top challenge for small businesses, according to a survey of 1,100 businesses by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic’s central bank has again raised its key interest rate, to the highest level in 23 years, to continue its fight against soaring inflation. Thursday’s hike of three-quarters of a point to 5.75% is the eighth straight increase since June. The bank, which considers high consumer prices a major threat,

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, TOM KRISHER and MATT O’BRIEN AP Business Writers Elon Musk has strengthened the equity stake in his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter with commitments of more than $7 billion from a diverse group of investors including Silicon Valley heavy hitters like Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. A regulatory filing Thursday also said

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is highlighting its support for proposals to route an international rail line through its Santa Teresa border crossing, capitalizing on Mexico’s unease with disruptions along the Texas portion of the U.S. border. Mexico had considered a route through Texas, but in recent days

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Energy giant Shell has reported record first-quarter earnings after a surge in oil prices. The news Thursday fueled calls for the British government to impose a tax on energy companies’ windfall earnings to help consumers struggling with the soaring cost of living. London-based Shell says adjusted earnings

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has raised its key interest rate to the highest level in 13 years. It comes as policymakers around the world combat inflation fueled by high energy prices, Russia’s war in Ukraine and lingering concerns about COVID-19. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-3 on Thursday to raise

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — War-ravaged Ukraine has received pledges for $6.5 billion more in humanitarian aid at an international donor’s conference in Warsaw. The goal was to get Ukrainians urgent help now while still planning for the country’s post-war reconstruction in the future. Poland’s prime minister announced the donations from

By IAN PHILLIPS Associated Press MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, but he said he didn’t expect the 10-week-old conflict to “drag on this way.” He also spoke out against the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine but wouldn’t

MILAN (AP) — Carmaker Stellantis on Thursday reported higher first-quarter revenues despite lower deliveries, with no significant impact from the closure of its Russian plant due to sanctions. Stellantis is the world’s fourth-largest car company, formed last year from the merger of PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer said the

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand is on the verge of eradicating a painful disease from its herd of 10 million cattle after a four-year campaign that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars and resulted in more than 175,000 cows being killed. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said Thursday

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower Friday as fears spread that U.S. interest rate hikes to fight inflation might stall economic growth. Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney declined. Tokyo edged higher as trading resumed after a holiday. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index plunged 3.6%

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Telecommunications industry groups have ended their bid to block California’s net neutrality law that prevents broadband providers from throttling service. In a federal court filing in Sacramento Wednesday, the groups and California Attorney General Rob Bonta jointly agreed to dismiss the case. The move follows a January federal appeals court decision

By JON GAMBRELL and CARA ANNA Associated Press LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian fighters in the tunnels underneath Mariupol’s pulverized steel plant held out against Russian troops Thursday in an increasingly desperate and perhaps doomed effort to deny Moscow what would be its biggest success of the war yet: the complete capture of the strategic

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates — as it did Wednesday — the impact doesn’t stop with U.S. homebuyers paying more for mortgages or Main Street business owners facing costlier bank loans. The fallout can be felt beyond America’s borders, hitting shopkeepers in Sri Lanka,

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Hollywood is bringing out some of its biggest and most reliable players for the 2022 summer movie season, which unofficially kicks off this weekend with the help of Marvel and Disney’s “Doctor Strange and the Multitverse of Madness” and runs through the end of August. Tom Cruise is back

The Associated Press Stocks soared to their biggest gain in two years Wednesday and bond yields dropped after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell downplayed the likelihood of an even larger rate increase than the one just announced Wednesday. That allayed concerns that the central bank was on its way to a massive increase of three-quarters

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Wednesday: Starbucks, Lumentum rise; Lyft, Tupperware fall

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for June delivery rose $5.40 to $107.81 a barrel Wednesday. Brent crude for July delivery rose $5.17 to $110.14 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for June delivery rose 15 cents to $3.65 a gallon. June heating oil rose 12 cents to $4.20 a gallon. June natural gas rose 47

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is the first state to formally begin examining how to broadly adapt to cryptocurrency and related technologies, following a path laid out by President Joe Biden in March. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday for California agencies to move in tandem with the

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer This summer at the movies, Tom Cruise is back in the cockpit behind those iconic aviators. Doctors Grant, Sattler and Ian Malcolm are returning for another round with the dinosaurs. Natalie Portman is picking up Thor’s hammer. And Jordan Peele is poised to terrify us with the unknown. Again.

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer Airbus says its first-quarter profit rose sharply from a year ago, as the airlines that buy its planes recover from the worst of the pandemic. And it’s planning to build a second assembly line at its plant in Mobile, Alabama, to hit ambitious new production targets. Airbus said Wednesday

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Record-low mortgages below 3% are long gone. Credit card rates will likely rise. So will the cost of an auto loan. Savers may finally receive a yield high enough to top inflation. The half-point hike in its benchmark short-term rate that the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve intensified its fight against the worst inflation in 40 years by raising its benchmark interest rate by a half-percentage point Wednesday — its most aggressive move since 2000 — and signaling further large rate hikes to come. The increase in the Fed’s key

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man will be sentenced in July for his role in a hoax call that led to a fatal police shooting in 2017. Shane Gaskill pleaded guilty Tuesday to wire fraud related to a “swatting” call that ended with Wichita police shooting and killing 28-year-old Andrew Finch. In his plea

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina judge has approved a second round of refunds for customers of a utility that poured billions of dollars into two nuclear power plants that never produced a watt of power. About $61 million is being set aside for Dominion Energy South Carolina after the utility sold several properties

By CARLEY PETESCH Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Human Rights Watch has accused Russian mercenaries of executing, torturing and beating civilians in Central African Republic since 2019. Dozens of witnesses who spoke to the international rights organization outlined incidents of violence, including in July 2021 when Russian-speaking men carrying military-grade weapons set up a

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The small town of Mason has announced it has reached a deal halting the threat of a takeover of its finances by the state of Tennessee. The agreement marks a victory for town officials who had argued the state was treating Mason’s majority-Black leaders differently than

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored the controversial “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup has sold for 7.1 million pounds ($9.3 million), the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of sports memorabilia. Auctioneer Sotheby’s sold the

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Airbnb says it’s taking steps to prevent people from throwing parties at houses they rent for the Memorial Day and July 4 holidays. Airbnb said Wednesday it will impose special restrictions over those holidays, bringing back measures that the company claims worked last summer. Many customers will be barred from making

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer COVID-19 vaccine sales helped Moderna triple its net income in a better-than-expected first quarter. The vaccine maker said Wednesday that revenue from its coronavirus preventive shots jumped to $5.92 billion from $1.73 billion in last year’s quarter, when the vaccines were debuting in most markets. More than 217 million

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and high-ranking officials from the South American nation have met with the oil minister of Iran to discuss cooperation in energy matters and efforts to defeat economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies. Officials from both oil-producing nations ratified agreements in the meetings this week

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The world’s biggest shipping company, Denmark’s A.P. Moeller-Maersk, says it’s delivered its “best earnings quarter ever,” driven by higher freight rates and more contracts being signed. The Copenhagen, Denmark-based company said Wednesday that its revenue for the first three months of the year came in at $19.3 billion, up from $12.4

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The literary writer’s organization PEN America has hired a human rights advocate, Liesl Gerntholtz, to expand its support of writers around the world who face imprisonment for their work. Gerntholtz formerly led the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch among other roles. She will direct