AP National Business

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A cyberattack caused a nearly daylong outage of the nation’s new 988 mental health helpline late last year, federal officials tell The Associated Press. Lawmakers are now calling for the federal agency that oversees the program to prevent future attacks. The attack occurred on the network for

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Friday: Ford Motor Co., down $1.09 to $13.12. The automaker reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and said its costs are too high. Amazon.com Inc., down $9.52 to $103.39. The online retail giant’s fourth-quarter profit slumped and missed analysts’ forecasts. Alphabet Inc., down $2.96

The Associated Press Wall Street’s rally hit a wall after a surprisingly strong jobs report fueled worries about inflation and higher interest rates. The S&P 500 fell 1% Friday, its first drop in four days, though it took an up-and-down route to get there. The bond market was more decisive in thinking the strong jobs

By RAF CASERT and DAVID McHUGH Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Friday that industrialized countries in the Group of Seven are imposing a price cap on refined Russian oil products such as diesel and kerosene, as part of a coalition that includes Australia and a tentative agreement from the

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska authorities say a skull found in a remote part of the state’s Interior in 1997 belongs to a New York man whose death was likely caused by a bear mauling. The Alaska State Troopers said in a statement that investigators used genetic genealogy to identify

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Nostalgia sells and marketers know it, having used the brands of yesteryear fully aware that consumers will willingly open their wallets to scratch that sentimental itch. That winning formula is being tweaked increasingly to create hybrids, however, products that possess the same heartfelt recognition, with a twist. Companies have

BOSTON (AP) — The fifth-tier Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney will send a team to compete in a $1 million, winner-take-all, seven—on-seven tournament in June in Cary, North Carolina. Wrexham will be part of the 32-team tournament that also includes Mexico’s Necaxa and teams organized by former U.S captain Clint

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISO (AP) — A jury on Friday decided Elon Musk didn’t defraud investors with his 2018 tweets about electric automaker Tesla in a proposed deal that quickly unraveled and raised questions about whether the billionaire had misled investors. The nine-member jury reached its verdict after less that two

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A major hospital system in northern Florida says it is diverting some emergency room patients and canceling surgeries after an security problem with information technology. Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare says the issue began affecting its systems late Thursday night and has forced the hospital to shut down its IT network. It had

By FREIDA FRISARO and CURT ANDERSON Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The car owned by a missing 74-year-old Florida Lyft driver has been found in North Carolina and the man who was driving it is wanted in connection with a homicide last week in southwest Florida. Authorities said Friday that Gary Levin has

By JENNIFER O’MAHONY Associated Press MADRID (AP) — A Spanish court says Amazon broke labor laws by forcing more than 2,000 delivery drivers to use an app that the company controlled for scheduling work and payments as well as requiring them to use their own cars and cellphones on the job. In a decision released

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer Government regulators announced Friday that videogame maker Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay $35 million to settle charges that it failed to maintain controls to collect and assess workplace complaints with regard to disclosure requirements and violated a federal whistleblower protection rule. In paying the settlement, Activision neither admitted

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s currency has continued its slide and protesters are asking the government to take action to stop the crisis. About 150 protesters gathered on Friday in central Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, demanding authorities act. Measures taken by the United States in recent months to stamp out money

DETROIT (AP) — Honda and the U.S. government are urging owners of about 8,200 older vehicles not to drive them until dangerous air bag inflators are replaced. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday issued a “Do Not Drive” advisory for the 2001 through 2003 vehicles with Takata inflators that have a high possibility

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister has warned of a “tough time” as his government struggles to comply with conditions set by the International Monetary Fund for the next tranche of the country’s bailout package. Shahbaz Sharif addressed on Friday an auditorium of top government and military officials in Peshawar,

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer Ford will return to Formula One as the engine provider for Red Bull Racing in a partnership announced Friday that begins with immediate technical support this season and engines in 2026. Red Bull powertrains and Ford will partner on the development of a hybrid power unit that will

BERLIN (AP) — Ukraine could add old Leopard 1 battle tanks from German defense industry stocks to deliveries of modern tanks that Germany and other governments pledged last week to counter Russian forces in the war. A German government spokesman confirmed Friday that export authorization has been granted but declined to give numbers or other

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO is calling on Russia to respect the only treaty it has with the United States to keep a lid on nuclear weapons expansion. The 30-nation security organization is urging Moscow to allow on-the-ground inspections of military sites to resume. The New START Treaty was signed by Russia and the U.S. in

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Italy’s coast guard says that the bodies of eight migrants have been recovered during an operation overnight that also rescued 42 survivors in the central Mediterranean off the island of Lampedusa. The coast guard said Friday that survivors reported that another two people died during the crossing.

BEIJING (AP) — China has confirmed it is offering Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on loan repayments as the Indian Ocean island nation struggles to restructure $51 billion in foreign debt that pushed it into a financial crisis. China is one of Sri Lanka’s biggest lenders. It has been the biggest uncertainty in debt restructuring.

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s government is seeking to ban a far-right political party led by a jailed former lawmaker from participating in a general election later this year. The 42-year-old Ilias Kasidiaris founded the Greek National Party two years ago. He is serving a sentence of 13 years and

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s big rally to start the year wilted on Friday after a surprisingly strong jobs report fueled worries about inflation and higher interest rates. The S&P 500 fell 1% for its first drop in four days, though it took an up-and-down route to get

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — For nearly a year, the Federal Reserve has been on a mission to cool down the job market to help curb the nation’s worst inflation bout in four decades. The job market hasn’t been cooperating. Consider what happened in January: The government said Friday that employers

By ZEN SOO AP Technology Writer HONG KONG (AP) — A grinding crackdown that wiped billions of dollars of value off Chinese technology companies is easing, but the once-freewheeling industry is bracing for much slower growth ahead. Analysts say China’s easing of restrictions on companies like e-commerce giant Alibaba and online games company Tencent and

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas plans to give $304 million in taxpayer-funded incentives to a semiconductor company in its largest city to build a huge new factory. But state officials and Wichita-based Integra Technologies said Thursday that the $1.8 billion project won’t go forward without funds the U.S. government has

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kohl’s says it has named acting CEO Tom Kingsbury as its permanent leader. Kingsbury is a Kohl’s board member with more than 40 years experience in retail. He has served as the department store chain’s interim CEO since early December, when Michelle Gass left the

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer Apple on Thursday posted its first quarterly revenue drop in nearly four years after pandemic-driven restrictions on its China factories curtailed sales of the latest iPhone during the holiday season. The company’s sales of $117 billion for the October-December period represented a 5% decline from the same time in

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal appeals court says the U.S. government failed to consider the cumulative effects of greenhouse gas emissions that would result from the approval of nearly 200 drilling permits issued in an area surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The region is home to sites

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Ford says its fourth-quarter net income fell 90% from a year earlier. That led company officials to say Thursday that the automaker’s costs are too high and to pledge more belt-tightening this year. CEO Jim Farley said in a statement that Ford should have done better

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Starbucks reported lower-than-expected sales in its fiscal first quarter, hurt by COVID restrictions in China and lower consumer demand in other markets. Global same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, were up 5% in the October-December period, but that was partly due to higher prices.

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon has reported worse-than-expected profits but its revenue beat expectations boosted by sales in its cloud-computing unit AWS. Amazon said it earned $300 million, or 3 cents per share, in the October-December quarter. Industry analysts were expecting the Seattle-based company to earn 17 cents a

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer Google parent company Alphabet has posted lower profit and a small revenue increase for last year’s fourth quarter. A decline in online ad spending and competition from rivals are weighing on the search giant. Alphabet’s profit declined 34% in the October-December quarter, while revenue grew only 1%. But while

The Associated Press Wall Street closed higher, led by excitement around tech stocks and a surge for Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms. The S&P 500 rose 1.5% Thursday, a day after hitting its highest level since the summer. The Nasdaq composite jumped 3.3%, led by a 23.3% surge in Meta. The Dow lagged behind because

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press PUERTO PEÑASCO, Mexico (AP) — Mexico plans to power up the first phase of a huge solar energy project in April near a beach town popular with tourists making the short drive from the United States. Once completed, the full $1.6 billion project will have a generating capacity of 1,000

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for March delivery fell 53 cents to $75.88 a barrel Thursday. Brent crude for April delivery fell 67 cents to $82.17 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for March delivery was unchanged at $2.45 a gallon. March heating oil fell 5 cents $2.90 a gallon. March natural gas fell 1

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate declined for the fourth week in a row, a sign of relative stability that could potentially open the door for some prospective homebuyers to get back in the market. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser, Brian Deese, is leaving his post. Biden says in a statement that Deese will step down as director of the White House National Economic Council. That position had him coordinating policy across the government. He also negotiated with Congress on coronavirus

By WANJOHI KABUKURU Associated Press MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Indian Ocean countries who want better safeguards for marine life by updating fishing quotas and restricting harmful catch methods are being resisted by the European Union who has interests in the region, conservation groups say. Officials are gathering in Mombasa, Kenya on Friday Feb. 3 for

By TOM KRISHER and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Two men who began their careers on factory floors are competing to lead the 373,000 members of the United Auto Workers, a union that helps set standards for wages across the nation’s manufacturing sector. It will be the first-ever direct election of a UAW

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer U.S. applications for jobless aid fell again last week to their lowest level since April, further evidence that the job market has withstood aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve as it attempts to cool the economy and bring down inflation. Applications for jobless aid in the U.S. for

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s populist president has warned during a chaotic parliamentary session that the Balkan nation could become a European “pariah” state if it rejects a Western plan for normalizing relations with Kosovo. President Aleksandar Vucic faced a hostile reception from right-wing opposition lawmakers on Thursday. They urged

By KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Gautam Adani was Asia’s richest man when the U.S. short-selling firm Hindenburg Research put out a report last week alleging his businesses have engaged in fraud and stock price manipulation. He isn’t now. The allegations spooked investors, who dumped tens of billions of dollars worth

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa’s public health agency says countries with deadly cholera outbreaks on the continent have no “immediate access” to vaccines amid a global supply shortage. The acting director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told journalists on Thursday that the agency is working with

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government says is responding to “deeply shocking” revelations that debt collectors working for British Gas broke into customers’ homes to install prepay gas meters that left vulnerable people at risk of having their heating cut off. British Gas parent company Centrica PLC said it had

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway says the oil-rich Scandinavian country will become one of the world’s top donors to Ukraine when his government presents another planned military and civilian aid package. Gahr Støre told the Norwegian parliament on Thursday that profits from oil will finance the additional aid, He

By AAMER MADHANI and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Three decades after Bill Clinton signed into the law the nation’s family and medical leave legislation, he was back at the White House on Thursday. The 42nd president held forth on what the law has meant to the country, unspooling his trademark blend of

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Parliament has removed the protective immunity of two lawmakers linked to one of the EU’s biggest corruption scandals. Thursday’s vote paves the way for Belgian lawmaker Marc Tarabella and Italian Andrea Cozzolino to be questioned by Belgian investigators. Both men have said through their lawyers

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has slammed a group of Western countries which temporarily closed down their consulates in Istanbul over security concerns. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Thursday accused the countries of waging “psychological warfare” and trying to wreck Turkey’s tourism industry. Germany, the Netherlands and Britain were among

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Senior members of the European Union’s executive branch are in Ukraine looking to boost relations with the war-torn country and pave the way for it to one day join the bloc. But not all of the EU’s 27 member countries think Ukraine should join. At least not

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has hiked interest rates by another half-point and vows a similar hike at its next meeting. ECB President Christine Lagarde said Thursday that even beyond an intended hike in March, “we know that we are not done.” The bank is aggressively

By KRUTIKA PATHI and SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian conglomerate Adani Enterprises called off its $2.5 billion share offering after it lost tens of billions of dollars in market value due to fraud claims by a U.S.-based short-selling firm. Billionaire Gautam Adani ‘s company said Thursday it will review its plans

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press Hong Kong (AP) — Hong Kong will give away air tickets and vouchers to woo tourists back. The international financial hub is racing to catch up with other popular travel destinations in a fierce regional competition. During the pandemic, the city has largely aligned itself with mainland China’s “zero-COVID” strategy

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has announced another “forceful” increase in interest rates. The central bank said Thursday that it’s too soon to declare victory against inflation that has slowed slightly but is still fueling a cost-of-living crisis, public-sector strikes and fears of recession. The bank raised its

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press London (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has angry unions to the left of him, anxious Conservative Party lawmakers to the right and, in the middle, millions of voters he must win over to avert electoral defeat. It’s a daunting situation for Sunak, who on Thursday marks 100 days

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Sony has appointed a company veteran as its president to lead the Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate through times of change. Hiroki Totoki, Sony’s chief financial officer, will become the president and COO. Kenichiro Yoshida remains chairman and chief executive, signaling continuity at the Tokyo-based maker

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Friday ahead of a closely watched U.S. jobs report that may affect global interest rates. Weaker than expected earnings reports from U.S. technology companies, announced after Wall Street trading ended, pulled Chinese benchmarks lower. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.4% in

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey lawmakers will soon discuss a proposed law that would ban smoking in Atlantic City’s casinos, the first action in nearly three years on an emotional issue that is dividing casino patrons and sickening some workers. A state Senate committee will hold a hearing

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer President Joe Biden is taking swipes at airlines and hotels over some of the fees that they charge consumers. The president is also going after ticket sellers and internet and cable companies. On Wednesday, Biden called on Congress to pass legislation to limit what he called “junk fees.” He

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elon Musk’s former chief of staff has testified that the billionaire believed he had a “handshake deal” to take Tesla private in 2018. That was shortly before he tweeted he had the financing for an aborted buyout that still is still haunting him in a

By CORA LEWIS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve raised its key rate by a quarter point Wednesday, bringing it to the highest level in 15 years as part of an ongoing effort to ease inflation by making borrowing more expensive. The rate increase will likely make it even costlier to borrow

The Associated Press Wall Street rose to its highest level since the summer following the latest hike to interest rates by the Federal Reserve, which said it’s finally seeing improvements in inflation. The S&P 500 rallied back from an early 1% loss Wednesday to rise 1%. The Nasdaq jumped and the Dow ended barely higher.

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook parent company Meta has posted another quarter of declining revenue, hurt by a downturn in the online advertising market and competition from rivals such as TikTok. But the company’s stock soared in extended trading, as its revenue beat Wall Street’s muted expectations and the

By BECKY BOHRER and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration has issued a long-awaited study that recommends allowing a major oil development on Alaska’s North Slope. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s recommendation is not final. It calls for up to three drilling sites initially, fewer than the five pursued

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Wednesday: Advanced Micro Devices Inc., up $9.49 to $84.64. The chipmaker’s fourth-quarter financial results beat Wall Street forecasts. Electronic Arts Inc., down $11.92 to $116.76. The maker of “The Sims”, “FIFA” and other video games cut its revenue forecast for its fiscal

By FRANK BAJAK AP Technology Writer The Federal Trade Commission has imposed a $1.5 million penalty on telehealth and prescription drug discount provider GoodRx Holdings Inc. for sharing users’ personal health data with Facebook, Google and other third parties without their consent. In a first-of-its-kind enforcement, California-based GoodRx also accepted that it will be prohibited

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for March delivery fell $2.46 to $76.41 a barrel Wednesday. Brent crude for April delivery fell $2.62 to $82.84 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for March delivery fell 12 cents to $2.45 a gallon. March heating oil fell 19 cents $2.95 a gallon. March natural gas fell 21 cents

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New campaign finance reports show that former President Donald Trump’s political operation started this year with about $25 million socked away for his recently launched presidential campaign. That sum is substantially less than the $105 million he had on hand just one year ago when