AP National Business

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The leader of Norway’s Labor Party will start talks in an attempt to build a coalition after the center-left bloc beat the incumbent Conservatives and won Norway’s general election. The Labor Party and its two left-leaning allies the Socialist Left and the euroskeptic Center Party

By JOSEPH PISANI and MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writers Amazon is looking to offer an average starting wage of more than $18 per hour to fill some transportation and fulfillment roles, with some of the positions receiving up to $22.50 hourly. The wages are being offered so Amazon can try to fill an additional 125,000

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.K. government figures show that the number of people on payroll in Britain has soared back to levels last seen before the coronavirus pandemic struck a year and a half ago. The new statistics released Tuesday are the latest clear signal that the lifting of lockdown restrictions

By SEAN PYLES of NerdWallet. How did you spend your “hot vax summer”? If you indulged in revenge shopping, dining and travel, your summer fun may have its own payback in the form of lingering debt. To pay off what you racked up over the past few months, start by taking account of what you

By PAN PYLAS and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. plans to offer a third dose of coronavirus vaccines to everyone over 50 and other vulnerable people to help the country ride out the pandemic through the winter months. The booster shots will be rolled out beginning next week. They were approved

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain says it is delaying the start of post-Brexit border checks on food imports from the European Union. The government cited disruption from the coronavirus pandemic. The delay means checks on EU agricultural and animal products that were due to start in October won’t be introduced until

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Socialist-led coalition government is slashing energy taxes and imposing a temporary windfall tax on the gains of energy companies in an attempt to drive down household electricity bills, which have surged to record highs and triggered an outcry. Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said Tuesday the government’s urgent measures are in response

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia is forecast to reap record revenue from farming this year despite pandemic challenges, a mouse plague and a trade dispute with China. A report released Tuesday says Australian farmers are expected to sell 73 billion Australian dollars ($54 billion) in produce in the fiscal year

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s competition watchdog says it plans to fine Google at least 207.4 billion won ($177 million) for allegedly blocking smartphone makers like Samsung from using other operating systems. Google said it plans to challenge the ruling. The announcement came as South Korea began enforcing

By JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Your palm could soon be your ticket into a concert. Amazon says it is bringing its palm-recognition technology to the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver and it will be available at other venues in the coming months. It’s the first time the technology, called Amazon

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street down after U.S. inflation was lower than expected amid unease about the impact of the spread of the coronavirus’s delta variant. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated, giving up the previous day’s gains. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500

NEW YORK (AP) — Three companies linked to a Chinese businessman who is a prominent critic of his country’s ruling Communist Party have agreed to pay $539 million to settle U.S. charges they conducted an illegal securities offering. The Securities and Exchange Commission said companies linked to Guo Wengui raised some $487 million from 5,000

By LISA MASCARO and MARCY GORDON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats have unveiled a sweeping proposal for tax hikes on big corporations and the wealthy to fund President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion rebuilding plan. Congress is speeding ahead to shape the far-reaching package that touches almost all aspects of domestic life. The proposed

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Few voting issues were reported on the final day of voting in California’s recall election Tuesday. But unsubstantiated reports from GOP party leaders could have hampered Republican turnout in the closely watched contest seeking to oust the Democratic governor. Republican candidate Larry Elder’s campaign had promoted

By FU TING Associated Press Chinese students are joining companies and individuals whose plans have been disrupted by U.S.-Chinese tension. The Chinese government says more than 500 have been refused U.S. student visas under a policy issued by then-President Donald Trump to block Beijing from obtaining technology with possible military uses. Students in fields including

By ADAM BEAM and CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Republicans led by former President Donald Trump are raising unsubstantiated claims that California’s recall election against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is rigged. That messaging poses a problem for Republican Party officials, who are encouraging everyone to vote while maintaining concerns about the

By ALEX DANIELS of The Chronicle of Philanthropy The Chronicle of Philanthropy Leaders of the Gates and Rockefeller Foundations — grant makers that have committed billions of dollars to fight the coronavirus — are warning that without larger government and philanthropic investments in the manufacture and delivery of vaccines to people in poor nations, the

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Business Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Pacific Gas & Electric troubleshooter spent nearly two hours in federal court Monday fielding questions about whether the utility could have turned off the electricity sooner on a power line suspected of sparking the monstrous Dixie Fire two months ago. The grilling came before

DALLAS (AP) — The president of Southwest is retiring three months after being passed over for the CEO’s job. Southwest said Monday that 60-year-old Tom Nealon will remain an adviser on environmental issues. He’s being replaced in the No. 2 job by Chief Operating Officer Mike Van de Ven. Both men were considered candidates to

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press Union workers are manning picket lines at bottling and warehouse operations of Kentucky-based Heaven Hill Distillery. Striking workers are upset over the prospect of expanded weekend shifts. The walkout is in its third day. It involves about 420 members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 23D. They voted last

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A popular California ski resort whose name included a derogatory term for Native American women has changed its name to Palisades Tahoe. Resort officials announced the change Monday, completing a new name search that began last year amid a reckoning over racial injustice. The renaming

The Associated Press Stocks managed to end a wobbly day mostly higher on Wall Street Monday as the market regroups after its biggest weekly drop since June. The S&P 500 shook off an afternoon slump and edged higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose and the Nasdaq fell. Financial and energy stocks climbed, helping to

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Monday: Spirit Aerosystems, Hess rise; Dynavax, TransUnion fall

By FRANK BAJAK Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Apple released a critical software patch to fix a security vulnerability that researchers said could allow hackers to directly infect iPhones and other Apple devices without any user action. Security researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said the flaw was exploited to plant spyware on

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Joe Biden will host the leaders of Australia, India and Japan for an in-person meeting later this month. The group is referred to as the “Quad” and they are set to meet on Sept. 24. Biden had hosted the leaders virtually in

The Associated Press Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities, and foreign exchange levels.

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British broadcasting veteran  Andrew Neil has stepped down as chairman of GB News, just three months after he launched it amid great fanfare and an ambition to provide an alternative to an alleged “metropolitan elite” bias among the established news channels. GB News, which has struggled for

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — For the first time in 60 years of human spaceflight, a rocket is poised to blast into orbit with no professional astronauts on board, only four tourists. SpaceX’s first private flight will be led by a 38-year-old entrepreneur who’s bankrolling the entire trip. He’s

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department says the U.S. budget deficit rose to $2.71 trillion through August. The shortfall remains on track to be the second largest in history due to trillions of dollars in COVID relief. That’s despite tax revenues having increased faster than spending this year. In

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The environmental group Global Witness says at least 227 people died last year defending their homes, land and livelihoods from environmental exploitation as the deepening climate crisis increasingly pits economic interests against local communities. The total is the highest since Global Witness began gathering information about attacks

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A company that most of the legal U.S. sports betting industry uses to verify that its customers are where they say they are has reported a record number of transactions over the first weekend of the NFL season. That indicates a big increase in the

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — The new chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board wants to change the way governments and businesses look at highway safety to consider the whole system rather than individual driver behavior. Jennifer Homendy says such an approach worked in aviation, where there were no U.S.

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A day after being spurned by Kansas City Southern, Canadian National Railway is facing additional pressure from a major investor who wants CN to abandon its effort to buy the U.S. railroad. The London-based investment firm TCI Fund said Monday it’s calling for a special

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A man who alleges that he was raped by multiple staffers at New Hampshire’s youth detention center in the 1990s has filed the first lawsuit against the state, the facility and former workers since a judge dismissed a class action suit in May. Four former Youth

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press A new study says up to half of the $14 trillion spent by the Pentagon since 9/11 went to for-profit defense contractors. While much of this money went to weapons suppliers, the research points to the dependence on contractors as contributing to mission failures in Afghanistan in particular. In the

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s chief medical officers say children ages 12 to 15 should be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The decision comes despite a ruling by the government’s vaccine advisors that the step would have only marginal health benefits. England Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and his counterparts in Scotland,

By The Associated Press The Biden administration says it will give $482 million to aviation manufacturers to help save jobs at companies that are still struggling because of the pandemic. The Transportation Department said Monday that companies getting the money must not lay off workers or cut their pay. The government says the money will

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A court in Amsterdam has ruled that Uber drivers fall under the Dutch taxi drivers’ collective labor agreement. That means they are entitled to the same employment benefits as taxi drivers. Uber said it would appeal the ruling. The Amsterdam civil court said in a statement Monday that the legal

By LIZ WESTON of NerdWallet Understanding how to negotiate can lead to all sorts of good things: a higher salary, better deals on major purchases and even more harmony with your partner over money choices. Expert negotiator Kwame Christian shares best practices and pitfalls to avoid, like being confrontational or reacting out of emotion. He

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The campaign organization aiming to maintain Democratic control of the House in the 2022 midterm races raised $10 million last month. The figure marked its best August haul ever during a year without a national election. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says that nearly 250,000 grassroots donors

By DANICA KIRKA and ELAINE GANLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government has canceled an agreement to buy at least 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the French pharmaceutical startup Valneva after alleging that the company breached its contract obligations. That claim was denied by the company. Valneva shares plummeted on the

By ALON BERNSTEIN and JACK JEFFERY Associated Press LOD, Israel (AP) — An Israeli defense contractor has unveiled a remote-controlled armed robot it says can patrol battle zones, track infiltrators and open fire. The unmanned vehicle is the latest addition to the world of drone technology, which is rapidly reshaping the modern battlefield. Proponents say

By MAE ANDERSON and TOM KRISHER AP Business Writers NEW YORK (AP) — As the resilient coronavirus keeps offices closed and workers at home, some are adapting while others are trying to hang on. Many business owners had looked forward to a return toward normalcy this month  as offices reopened. But now that many companies

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Advocates and workers say that casualties among food delivery riders are mounting in Dubai as the pandemic accelerates a boom in customer demand. The trend has transformed the city’s streets and drawn thousands of desperate riders, predominantly Pakistanis, into the high-risk, lightly regulated and

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets are mixed as investors wait for an update on U.S. inflation that has been stronger than expected. Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced, while Tokyo and Seoul retreated. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index closed higher, snapping a five-day losing streak. Investors were watching

The Associated Press The Labor Department serves up its August reading of inflation at the consumer level Tuesday. The Federal Reserve issues its monthly tally of U.S. industrial production Wednesday. The Commerce Department delivers its latest snapshot of retail sales Thursday.

By LISA MASCARO and MARCY GORDON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats have unveiled a sweeping proposal for tax hikes on big corporations and the wealthy to fund President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion rebuilding plan. Congress is speeding ahead to shape the far-reaching package that touches almost all aspects of domestic life. The proposed

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Shares are lower in most Asian markets after Wall Street benchmarks ended last week with a decline. Stocks fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul but rose modestly in Sydney and Shanghai. Japan reported its wholesale prices were near a 13-year high in August, adding to concerns over inflation

By TOM KRISHER AP Business Writer Epic Games filed notice that is appealing a federal judge’s decision in a lawsuit alleging that Apple has been running an illegal monopoly that stifles competition. The maker of the popular Fortnite video game said in a court filing Sunday that it will take the ruling to the Ninth

By HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic senator vital to the fate of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion plan for social and environmental spending says he won’t support even half that amount or the ambitious timetable envisioned for passing it. The stand by Sen. Joe Manchin is described as unacceptable by the

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Southern has decided that a $31 billion bid from Canadian Pacific is the best of two offers on the table to buy the railroad. The Kansas City, Missouri, company said in a statement Sunday that it has notified rival bidder Canadian National that it intends to terminate a

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline went up 2 cents over the past two weeks, to $3.25 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday the increase resumes the climb in gas prices over the past 10 months, following a two-week break where the average price

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” stayed on top at the box office, collecting $35.8 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. That total was good enough for the best second-weekend gross of any film during the

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera returned to its home after an 18-month absence caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Before a masked crowd of 3,600, music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin led a performance of the Verdi Requiem in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The Met had

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (AP) — Maine potato growers are feeling optimistic with a solid crop awaiting harvest and reopening restaurants driving stronger demand. Growers are looking for something to cheer after a dismal 2020 in which crops withered from heat and drought, and some potatoes were given away. Don Flannery from the Maine Potato Board

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s health secretary says authorities have decided not to require vaccine passports for entry into nightclubs and other crowded events in England. That marks a reversal amid opposition from some of the Conservative government’s supporters in Parliament. Minister Sajid Javid said the government has shelved the idea of vaccine passports for now

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government says more than 50% of the population has been fully vaccinated. Its campaign before later than many other wealthy countries due to a lengthy process of required clinical testing and approval. But it picked up pace and has since achieved 1 million doses per day. Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen says China has agreed to provide the Southeast Asian nation with grant aid of 1.75 billion yuan ($272 million). He announced the assistance Sunday during a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang met Hun Sen and other officials

BEIJING (AP) — A city in southern China that is trying to contain a coronavirus outbreak has called on the public not to leave town. It has also suspended bus and train service and closed cinemas, bars and other facilities. The city of Putian is home to 2.9 million people in Fujian province, south of

DALLAS (AP) — Business-software company Salesforce says it will help employees leave Texas if they are worried about a new law that severely restricts abortion in the state. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff made his position clear by retweeting a CNBC story describing the company’s offer to help employees relocate. Benioff said in a tweet directed

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is urging fellow religious leaders and others to counter breeding grounds for fundamentalist violence by promoting opportunities for schooling and for combating poverty. Francis made the call in a message to a meeting which began in Bologna on Saturday night. The four-day gathering is aimed at fostering understanding among

By COSTAS KANTOURIS and DEMETRIS NELLAS Associated Press THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister says the economy will grow 5.9% during 2021. That is far more than the original 3.6% estimate. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made the announcement Saturday in a keynote address at the Thessaloniki International Fair. He noted that employment has risen

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Catalans have rallied for independence from the rest of Spain in their first major mass gathering since the start of the pandemic. The march in Barcelona on Saturday comes before a meeting between regional leaders in northeast Catalonia and the Spanish government.

By DARKO VOJINOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Several thousand people in Serbia have attended a protest demanding a ban on planned lithium mining in the Balkan country as well as a resolution to scores of other environmental issues. The rally Saturday in downtown Belgrade was organized by about 30 ecological groups who recently

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she finds it unacceptable that refugees are being used to apply pressure to Poland and other European Union members on the border with Belarus. Merkel was speaking at a news conference Saturday during what she said she expected to be her

By JOSH BOAK and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Don’t focus on the bottom line. That’s President Joe Biden’s message for fellow Democrats about his plan to raise taxes to remake large swaths of the American economy, Biden is trying to persuade Democrats to look past specific numbers and embrace a more emotional

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Large numbers of doctors, nurses and other medical workers are marching in Warsaw to demand higher wages and an improvement in working conditions made more difficult by the coronavirus pandemic. Poland’s health care sector was strapped for funds even before the pandemic. And low wages drove many medical workers to seek

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Health experts say this fall’s crowded college and professional football stadiums could create ripe conditions for COVID-19 to spread among unvaccinated fans. Many football stadiums aren’t requiring fans to wear masks or be vaccinated. But the risk of catching or passing along a virus that has infected more than

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Sekou Siby was a cook and dishwasher at the World Trade Center’s Windows on the World restaurant. On Sept. 11, 2001, he had swapped shifts with a co-worker who ended up dying in the terrorist attacks that day. Twenty years later, Siby still feels the pangs

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — After endless disruption due to the pandemic and the super-charged growth of streaming services, moviegoing may be going back to something a little like normal. The Walt Disney Co. on Friday announced that all of its remaining films this year will open exclusively theatrically. That

The Associated Press Stocks ended an up-and-down day lower on Wall Street Friday, giving the S&P 500 its fifth consecutive loss and its first weekly decline after two weeks of gains. Technology stocks did the most to weigh down the market. The Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell. 

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Friday: Take-Two, Apellis fall; Dave & Buster’s, Endo rise.

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers have approved what advocacy groups say are the nation’s strongest protections against falsely labeling items as recyclable when they in fact are destined for landfills. The measure sent late Thursday to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his consideration would reserve the “chasing arrows” recycling symbol

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine chief is pledging to rapidly evaluate COVID-19 vaccines for younger kids — as soon as the studies are in. Dr. Peter Marks tells The Associated Press he is “very, very hopeful” that vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds will be underway by year’s end.

By BOB CHRISTIE Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — The state of Arizona has sold off $93 million in Unilever bonds and plans to sell the remaining $50 million invested in the global consumer products company because subsidiary Ben & Jerry’s stopped selling its ice cream in Israeli-occupied territories. The move is the latest by states

The Associated Press Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities, and foreign exchange levels.

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Reporter SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge ordered Apple to dismantle a lucrative part of the competitive barricade guarding its closely run app store, but rejected allegations that the company has been running an illegal monopoly that throttles competition and innovation. The ruling issued Friday continues to chip

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — South American football’s governing body has joined Europe in opposing FIFA’s push for World Cups every two years. Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp believes FIFA is seeking biennial World Cups because “it’s all about money.” Klopp is a respected figure in FIFA. Just three weeks ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department is detailing efforts it’s making to help airline customers who didn’t get refunds after their flights were canceled during the early days of the pandemic last year. The department says in a new report that it investigated 20 airlines over failures to issue prompt refunds to customers, and 18

BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University will divest itself from holdings in fossil fuels. President Lawrence Bacow said Thursday that the university has legacy investments in a number of private equity funds with holdings in the fossil fuel industry and those indirect investments constitute less than 2% of the endowment. The school hasn’t made any new

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India is seeking investment from Australia’s defense industry as the two countries discuss ways to bolster defense ties and cooperate on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, where China’s military strength and influence have grown. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said after meeting with visiting Australian

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A think tanks says the government will likely face an unprecedented default on its debt obligations between mid-October and mid-November, seconding a warning earlier this week from the Treasury. The Bipartisan Policy Center said Friday that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will run out of maneuvering room

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation at the wholesale level climbed 8.3% last month from August 2020, the biggest annual gain since the Labor Department started calculating the 12-month number in 2010. The Labor Department reported Friday that its producer price index — which measures inflationary pressures before they reach consumers

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Three of the nation’s largest food delivery companies are suing New York City over a limit on fees it put in place during the pandemic to protect restaurants devastated by the forced closure of their dining rooms. The city has continued to extend those caps even as vaccinations allow

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission has cleared an injection of Italian funds into new airline ITA and says the company won’t be responsible for illegal state aid granted to predecessor Alitalia. The EU’s competition watchdog said Friday that the 1.35 billion euros in capital Italy intends to grant the

By UROOBA JAMAL Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Many young workers around the world have entered the workforce during the past 18 months without ever having stepped foot into their offices or having met a single colleague. While workers of all ages have had to make the transition to remote work, young workers appear to

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press At the first meeting of a new White House council on U.S. economic conditions, participants are highlighting at least 18 actions taken to help consumers and potentially lower prices. The council is aimed at refocusing the economy around the interests of consumers, workers and entrepreneurs. Details about Friday’s meeting were

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s state-controlled gas giant Gazprom says it has completed the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, a contentious project that Ukraine and the United States have strongly opposed. Owned by Gazprom, Nord Stream 2 is built under the Baltic Sea and bypasses Poland and Ukraine, raising objections from

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s economic growth slowed more than expected in July as concern about the spread of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 overshadowed the government’s decision to end most social distancing rules. The economy expanded 0.1% in the month, down from 1% in June. Economists had expected gross domestic product to increase

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press VAROSHA, Cyprus (AP) — There’s a groundswell of anger among thousands of Greek Cypriot refugees who fear their property in the Turkish-occupied ghost town of Varosha could be forever lost. Once the pride of Cyprus’ tourism industry, the Famagusta suburb has been empty and under military control since 1974, when

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks ended an up-and-down day lower on Wall Street, giving the S&P 500 its fifth consecutive loss and its first weekly decline after two weeks of gains. The benchmark index gave back 0.8% Friday, extending its loss for the week to 1.7%. Technology stocks did

By TOM KRISHER and BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press The new federal vaccine requirement for large companies has raised concerns over whether it will now be even harder to retain workers or find new ones. President Joe Biden announced sweeping new orders Thursday requiring employers with more than 100 workers to mandate vaccinations against COVID-19 or

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations development agency says Afghanistan is teetering on the brink of “universal poverty” that could become a reality in the middle of next year unless urgent efforts are made to bolster local communities and their economies. It said the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

NEW YORK (AP) — The drugmaker Endo International is the latest company to settle a New York case over opioids. The Dublin-based company will pay $50 million in the deal. The state government and the Long Island counties of Suffolk and Nassau are to share in the settlement. Another drugmaker and three distribution companies have

By TRISTAN LAVALETTE and ROD McGUIRK Associated Press PERTH, Australia (AP) — Anyone could be forgiven for forgetting a pandemic ever happened on Australia’s west coast. While the cities of Sydney and Melbourne in the east have been in strict lockdown, the Western Australia state capital Perth has largely remained open for business behind its closed

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco’s trash disposal company has agreed to pay $36 million in criminal penalties for its role in a wide-ranging bribery scheme involving the city’s former public works director. Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds announced Thursday that the three subsidiaries of Recology Inc. have pledged to cooperate in ongoing investigations

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California public schools and colleges would have to stock their restrooms with free menstrual products under legislation sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia’s bill that passed Thursday builds on her 2017 law requiring low-income schools in disadvantaged areas to provide students with free

By MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Louisiana wildlife officials say they have documented more than 100 oil-soaked birds after crude oil spilled from a refinery flooded during Hurricane Ida. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said Thursday that a growing number of oiled birds had been observed within heavy pockets of oil