AP National Business

By CRAIG JOSEPH of NerdWallet Even if your credit card already earns solid ongoing rewards, there are several ways to rev up those earnings, especially amid the heavy shopping that tends to happen during the holiday season. First, look for lucrative sign-up bonuses when you open a credit card and meet a spending threshold. Beyond

By ALEX NISHIMOTO Edmunds A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle or PHEV is a great starting point for those looking to dip their toes into the electric vehicle waters before diving in. The Toyota RAV4 Prime SUV has been one of the most popular options in the plug-in SUV market in recent years. But it now

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive branch has recommended that billions of euros in EU funds be withheld from Hungary over its failure to implement solid rule-of-law reforms, a move highlighting lingering divergences between the European partners. The Council, which represents the bloc’s 27 countries, has until Dec. 19

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai broke into the media industry about 30 years ago armed with the belief that delivering information equates with delivering freedom. Lai now is accused of endangering national security with his now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. Lai, 74, faces up to a

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — Some high school athletes are banking big bucks thanks to changes that allow them to accept major endorsement deals. California has become the trendsetter among the 19 states that let high school athletes profit from their name, image and likeness without affecting their eligibility to

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in Europe has eased for the first time in more than a year as energy prices drifted down from painful highs. But the double-digit rate still hovers near a record that has robbed consumers of their spending power and led economists to predict a

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States isn’t seeking to sever economic ties with China — even as it takes steps to protect America’s technological and military prowess from Beijing. That’s according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. She spoke to reporters in advance of a speech Wednesday on the

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Low-cost fashion brand H&M says it will be reducing its global workforce by around 1,500 positions as part of a plan to reduce costs and further improve efficiency in the business. The Sweden-based company said Wednesday that a restructuring charge of $76 million will be booked in the last three months of

By JOE McDONALD Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — A campaign to vaccinate older Chinese has sparked hopes Beijing might roll back severe anti-virus controls that prompted angry protesters to demand President Xi Jinping resign. But the country faces daunting hurdles before “zero COVID” can end. Global stock markets rose after Beijing announced the long-awaited campaign

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s oldest and largest conglomerate, Tata Sons, will merge its Air India with Vistara, a carrier it jointly runs with Singapore Airlines, in a major step toward revamping the country’s debt-laden national carrier. Singapore Airlines said in a statement that it will invest $250 million in Air India as part of

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares advanced in Asia on Thursday after a rally on Wall Street spurred by the Federal Reserve chair’s comments on easing the pace of interest rate hikes to tame inflation. Signs that China may be shifting its approach to containing COVID-19 outbreaks to focus more on

By KEVIN FREKING and JOSH FUNK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved. The measure

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball has sold its remaining share of a streaming service technology company to the Walt Disney Co. for $900 million. The sale was disclosed on Tuesday in Walt Disney Co.’s annual filing report through the SEC. MLB received the $900 million in exchange for the 15% stake it still

BOSTON (AP) — The family of a man who was badly hurt when an SUV crashed into an Apple store in Massachusetts have sued the company, the driver and the property owners. Matthew Timberger, of Falmouth, suffered broken bones and other serious injuries when the vehicle drove into the store in Hingham on Nov. 21,

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer An experimental Alzheimer’s drug modestly slowed the brain disease’s inevitable worsening — but the anxiously awaited new data leaves unclear how much difference that might make in people’s lives. Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen had announced earlier this fall that the drug lecanemab appeared to work,

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to impose an emergency order stopping a California ban on flavored tobacco products from taking effect. The companies filed the request Tuesday. Nearly two-thirds of California voters earlier this month approved of the ban

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer U.S. senators from both parties expressed skepticism Tuesday that a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons would result in lower prices for consumers. “Fewer local options mean less competition to keep prices low,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, in a hearing before the antitrust subcommittee

By HOPE YEN and JOSH FUNK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is asking Congress to intervene to avert a potentially crippling freight rail strike before Christmas and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling a vote this week to do so, even if it means handing a defeat to Democratic allies in the

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawsuit against the maker of an anti-malarial drug blamed for causing psychotic and neurological damage in U.S. servicemembers has been thrown out. U.S. District Court Judge Trina Thompson ruled late Monday that the lawsuit doesn’t belong in a California court. An Army veteran said

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers on Tuesday reached a tentative labor agreement with the University of California. But they’ll remain on strike in solidarity with thousands of graduate student workers at all 10 of the university system’s campuses. The union representing the scholars and researchers said the deal would provide “substantial

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador’s government will make a second buyback of its sovereign debt bonds maturing in 2023 and 2025 as it tries to calm market concerns that it could default on its debt. In a statement Tuesday, the government set the maximum for the repurchase at $74 million. The 2023

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Journalists with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper are on strike and alleging unfair labor practices by parent company McClatchy. Union workers claim the company is refusing to bargain in good faith over a new contract. Workers with the Fort Worth NewsGuild announced the strike Monday. The newspaper has said it

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s call for Congress to intervene in the railroad contract dispute undercuts efforts to address workers’ quality of life concerns and unions decried the move. But businesses stress that it is crucial to avoid a strike that would devastate the economy. Biden and

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press MONTROSE, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s most active gas driller has pleaded no contest to criminal environmental charges in a landmark pollution case. Houston-based Coterra Energy Inc. entered its plea Tuesday in Susquehanna County Court. Residents of the tiny crossroads of Dimock nearby in northeastern Pennsylvania said Coterra Energy ruined their

The Associated Press Stocks ended an unsteady day with mixed results as gains for energy companies were offset by losses in technology and other sectors. Trading was uneven Tuesday as investors closely watch developments in China and economic data amid worries about stubbornly hot inflation. Crude oil prices rose. On Tuesday: The S&P 500 fell

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Tuesday: BigCommerce, Chevron rise; Chemours, AMC Networks fall.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico and the United States appear to be headed for another commercial dispute, this time over a Mexican ban on imports of genetically modified yellow corn. In a strongly worded message, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wrote that “time is running short” to resolve the issue. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for January delivery rose 96 cents to $78.20 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude for January delivery fell 16 cents to $83.03 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for December delivery was unchanged at $2.33 a gallon. December heating oil rose 8 cents to $3.30 a gallon. January natural gas rose

By JOHN RABY Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A program offering cash and free outdoor adventures to remote workers to move to West Virginia with the hope of offsetting population losses has welcomed 143 new residents since its launch. The public-private program Ascend West Virginia on Tuesday added a fourth destination where out-of-state workers

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has issued an executive order banning state employees and contractors from accessing the video platform TikTok on state-owned devices, citing its ties to China. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press Twitter will no longer enforce its policy against COVID-19 misinformation, raising concerns among public health experts and social media researchers that the change could have serious consequences if it discourages vaccination and other efforts to combat the still-spreading virus. Eagle-eyed users spotted the change Monday night, noting that a one-sentence

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press Writer FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A former Venezuelan treasurer and nurse to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is contesting criminal charges in the U.S. Claudia Diaz is charged with money laundering, accused of taking at least $4.2 million in bribes and gifts in exchange for green lighting lucrative

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court hears oral arguments Wednesday on an attempt by environmental groups to cancel a key permit for the long-stalled PolyMet copper-nickel mine. They say regulators should have included “end-of-pipe” limits on discharges of mercury and sulfates in PolyMet’s water quality permit. And they say

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — New electric vehicle models from multiple automakers are starting to chip away at Tesla’s dominance of the U.S. EV market, according to national vehicle registration data. But numbers collected by S&P Global Mobility show that Tesla still controlled about 65% of the growing electric vehicle market

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Walmart employee who survived last week’s mass shooting at a store in Virginia has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the company for allegedly continuing to employ the shooter — a store supervisor — “who had known propensities for violence, threats and strange behavior.” The

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld the extortion and fraud convictions of a once-celebrated young Massachusetts mayor who was found guilty of extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from marijuana businesses. In a ruling published on Monday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a

BERLIN (AP) — Official figures show that Germany’s inflation rate slipped back slightly to 10% in November. But galloping prices remain a major headache for Europe’s biggest economy. The Federal Statistical Office said Tuesday that the annual inflation rate was off its peak of 10.4%, reached in October, as the increase in energy prices over

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer U.S. consumer confidence fell for the second straight month in November amid ongoing high inflation, rising interest rates, and layoff announcements by several large tech companies. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 100.2 this month, down from 102.2 in October.

BEIJING (AP) — President Xi Jinping says China is ready to “forge closer partnership” with Russia in energy. A state news agency says Xi made the comment in a letter to a China-Russia business forum. That might expand ties that irk Washington by helping the Kremlin resist sanctions over its war on Ukraine. The announcement

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — “Stay,” the smash hit by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber topped Apple Music’s global song chart in 2022 as the giant music streamer released its end-of-year lists and provided listeners with data on their own most listened-to tunes. “Stay,” which stayed atop the Billboard

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer BERLIN (AP) — The head of the International Monetary Fund says it’s time for China to move away from mass lockdowns under its “zero-COVID” approach. Kristalina Georgieva said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press that a “recalibration” of the tough approach could shift to more targeted restrictions.

KELSEY SHEEHY of NerdWallet Thrifting is hot, and Goodwill finds are cool again. But while we’re thrilled to find the perfect throwback tee for our own closet, gifting used goods still carries a stigma for some. It shouldn’t. Secondhand gifts are better for your wallet, your community and the environment. Buying a thrifted sweatshirt, jacket

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer Fidelity Charitable, the nation’s largest grantmaker, expects 2022 will be the first year since 2018 that the value of grants from its donor advised funds exceeds the value of investments going into the funds. Jacob Pruitt, Fidelity Charitable’s president, told The Associated Press that donations this year are on

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DOHA, Qatar (AP) — A top Qatari official involved in the country’s World Cup organization has put the number of worker deaths for the tournament “between 400 and 500” for the first time, a drastically higher number than any other previously offered by Doha. The comment by Hassan al-Thawadi, the

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government has abandoned a plan to force tech firms to remove internet content that is harmful but legal, a proposal that drew strong criticism from lawmakers and civil liberties groups. The U.K. has watered down the Online Safety Bill,  an ambitious but controversial attempt to

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower Wednesday ahead of a closely watched speech by the Federal Reserve chief that may give clues about future interest rate hikes. Investors were also eyeing developments in China, where protests have erupted over the “zero-COVID” strategy that has confined millions of

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government has ordered some of the thousands of truck drivers who have been on strike to return to work, insisting that their nationwide walkout over freight fare issues is hurting an already weak economy. Despite facing the threat of delicensing or even prison

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission and a handful of states announced settlements Monday with Google and iHeartMedia over misleading radio advertisements about a cellphone. It stems from complaints that Google paid to have radio personalities endorse and talk about their personal experience using the Pixel 4, even though many of them hadn’t

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The defense has rested at the Trump Organization’s criminal tax fraud trial after a contentious day in court, putting the case involving former President Donald Trump’s real estate empire on track for deliberations next week. Trump Organization lawyers contend that Manhattan prosecutors are seeking to

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government has abandoned a plan to force tech firms to remove internet content that is harmful but legal after the proposal drew strong criticism from lawmakers and civil liberties groups. The U.K. on Monday watered down its Online Safety Bill, an ambitious but controversial attempt

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Interior Department on Monday proposed rules to limit methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on public lands, the latest action by the Biden administration to crack down on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. The proposal by Interior’s

By RANDALL CHASE AP Business Writer DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has halted a lawsuit filed by basketball legend Julius Erving against a brand-development and marketing company. The judge ruled Monday that the dispute must go to arbitration. The lawsuit stems from a 2016 deal in which the Hall of Fame player known

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Monday: Wynn Resorts Ltd., up $3.27 to $78.20. The Chinese gambling haven of Macao tentatively renewed the casino operator’s license, along with several others. Apple Inc., down $3.89 to $144.22. Wall Street is worried that protests and lockdowns in China could continue

The Associated Press Stocks fell broadly on Wall Street as protests spread in China calling for President Xi Jinping to step down amid growing anger over severe restrictions imposed as part of his “zero COVID” strategy in the world’s second-largest economy. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq fell. Small-company stocks

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Federal Reserve officials said they favor raising the Fed’s key rate to roughly 5% or more and keeping it at its peak through next year — longer than many on Wall Street have expected. John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for January delivery rose 96 cents to $77.24 a barrel Monday. Brent crude for January delivery fell 44 cents to $83.19 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for December delivery was unchanged at $2.33 a gallon. December heating oil fell 2 cents to $3.22 a gallon. December natural gas fell

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Fidelity Charitable, the nation’s largest grantmaker, is getting into NFTs or nonfungible tokens despite a torrent of bad news about cryptocurrency companies. NFTs are digital images that are registered on the blockchain. In a raffle that will end Tuesday, participants can claim one of the NFTs.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The head of the European Central Bank says she doesn’t believe inflation has peaked after reaching the highest levels on record. She also says the bank isn’t through raising interest rates to combat those price spikes. ECB President Christine Lagarde told European lawmakers Monday that there’s too much uncertainty to know whether

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday asked Congress to intervene and block a railroad strike before next month’s deadline in the stalled contract talks, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers would take up legislation this week to impose the deal that unions agreed to in

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press The U.S. Census Bureau’s chief is defending a new tool meant to protect the privacy of people participating in the agency’s questionnaires against calls to abandon it by prominent researchers and demographers. The researchers claim the tool jeopardizes the usability of numbers that are the foundation of the nation’s data

By KEN SWEET and MICHELLE CHAPMAN The Associated Press Cryptocurrency lender BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, the latest casualty of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. New Jersey-based BlockFi had been struggling for much of this year, but was given a lifeline this summer in the form of an FTX line of

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Days after flocking to stores on Black Friday, consumers are turning online for Cyber Monday to score more discounts on gifts and other items that have ballooned in price because of high inflation. Cyber Monday is expected to remain the year’s biggest online shopping day

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Irish regulators have slapped Facebook parent Meta with a 265 million euro fine in what is the company’s latest punishment for breaching strict European Union data privacy rules. The Data Protection Commission said Meta Platforms infringed sections of the EU rules that cover technical and organizational

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When many corners of the conservative media ecosystem turned on Donald Trump following his announcement of a 2024 presidential candidacy, Howard Polskin was one of the first to notice — and be surprised. A longtime New York media figure, Polskin has developed The Righting, a

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Don’t look for plastic partitions or faraway benches when visiting Santa Claus this year. The jolly old elf is back, pre-pandemic style, and he’s got some pressing issues on his mind. Santa booker HireSanta.com has logged a 30% increase in demand this Christmas season over

The Associated Press The Conference Board delivers its latest index of U.S. consumer confidence Tuesday. The Commerce Department releases its October snapshot of consumer spending Thursday. The Labor Department issues its monthly tally of hiring by nonfarm U.S. employers Friday.

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Shutterfly CEO Hilary Schneider expects her digital photo and printing company to enjoy a busy holiday season. Orders are pouring in for books compiling snapshots of all this year’s vacations, weddings and other joyous gatherings that were postponed during the pandemic. But Schneider sympathizes with

By STEPHEN McGRATH Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Russian energy giant Gazprom announced Monday that it will not further reduce natural gas to Moldova as it had threatened to do after claiming that bills went unpaid and that flows crossing through Ukraine were not making it to Moldova. Gazprom tweeted Monday that Moldovagaz has

By KIMBERLY PALMER of NerdWallet Financial educators are often working on overdrive during the holiday shopping season, dispensing advice to consumers about budgeting and staying out of debt. We asked five financial educators how they personally survive the holiday season with their finances intact. They shared some novel strategies, such as saving for the season

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Electricity shortages that have been plaguing Zimbabwe are set to worsen after an authority that manages the country’s biggest dam said water levels are now too low to continue power generation activities. The Zambezi River Authority, which runs the Kariba Dam jointly owned by Zimbabwe and

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s top government spokesperson said Monday that the number of babies born this year is below last year’s record low. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the low birthrate is a “critical situation.” He pledged comprehensive measures to encourage more marriages and births. The total of 599,636

By KANIS LEUNG and ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — With police out in force, there was no word of additional protests against strict government anti-pandemic measures Tuesday in Beijing, as temperatures fell well below freezing. Shanghai, Nanjing and other cities where online calls to gather had been issued were also reportedly quiet.

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — “Gaslighting” — behavior that’s mind manipulating, grossly misleading, downright deceitful — is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year. Lookups for the word on merriam-webster.com increased 1,740% in 2022 over the year before. But something else happened. There wasn’t a single event that drove significant spikes in curiosity,

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday as market jitters declined over protests in China set off by growing public anger over COVID-19 restrictions. Benchmarks rose in early trading in Australia, South Korea and China, while shares fell in Japan. Oil prices fell. Japanese government data released

By BEN FINLEY, JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — A 16-year-old helping his family. A custodian and father of two. A mother with wedding plans. A happy-go-lucky guy. A longtime employee. That’s how friends and family described some of the six people killed at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia,

NEW YORK (AP) — The United States’ 0-0 draw against England in the World Cup drew 19.98 million viewers for English- and Spanish-language broadcasts. It was the third-most watched men’s soccer game on U.S. television behind the 2010 and 2014 finals. The match kicked off at 2 p.m. EST on Friday. It was was seen

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska agriculture officials say another 1.8 million chickens must be killed after bird flu was found on a farm in the latest sign that the outbreak that has already prompted the slaughter of more than 50 million birds nationwide continues to spread. The Nebraska Department

By MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — In the Telegram group chat, the messages roll in like waves. “I need liquid ibuprofen and acetaminophen, please,” wrote one user. “It’s urgent, it’s for my 10-month-old baby.” Others offer medicine brought from outside of Cuba, adding, “Write to me in a direct message.” Emoji-speckled lists offer

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press DOHA, Qatar (AP) — World Cup viewers in Saudi Arabia say the government has blocked a Qatari-owned streaming service that was supposed to broadcast matches in the kingdom. The suspension has stunned and outraged customers of TOD TV, which holds the rights to show the World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

By SALLY FRENCH of NerdWallet Cleaning fees are one-time charges that Airbnb hosts can tack on to the nightly rate. They’ve become a pain point for many travelers because cleaning fees can be exorbitantly high in some cases and are not shown in search results. Airbnb aims to make them more transparent by adding a

BERLIN (AP) — Railway workers in Austria are set to hold a one-day strike on Monday after a failed round of talks in pay negotiations. The Austria Press Agency reported Sunday that both sides said the fifth round of talks on pay for some 50,000 employees of about 65 railway operators, including the main national

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Environmental groups are once again at odds with politicians and fishermen in New England in the wake of a decision by high-end retail giant Whole Foods to stop selling Maine lobster. Whole Foods recently said that it will stop selling lobster from the Gulf of Maine

By ZEKE MILLER AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Saturday eased some oil sanctions on Venezuela in an effort to support newly restarted negotiations between President Nicolás Maduro’s government and its opposition. The Treasury Department is allowing Chevron to resume “limited” energy production in Venezuela after years of sanctions that

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Far from Doha’s luxury hotels and sprawling new World Cup stadiums, scores of South Asian workers poured into a cricket ground in the city’s sandy outskirts to enjoy the tournament they helped create. Unlike the official FIFA fan zone near Doha’s pristine corniche, this one has

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Macao has tentatively renewed the casino licenses of MGM Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and three Chinese rivals after they promised to help diversify the economy by investing in non-gambling attractions. The announcement is positive news for owners who have invested billions of dollars to

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press VERONA, Italy (AP) — Early season merrymakers sipping mulled wine and shopping for holiday decorations packed the Verona Christmas market for its inaugural weekend. But beyond the wooden market stalls, the Italian city still has not decked out its granite-clad pedestrian streets with twinkling holiday lights as officials debate how

CINCINNATI (AP) — An appeals court has revived a wrongful death claim against Walmart by the family of a Black man who was fatally shot by a white police officer inside an Ohio store after picking up a pellet rifle from a shelf. John Crawford III was shot at the Beavercreek store in 2014 after

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is banning the sale of communications equipment made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE and restricting the use of some China-made video surveillance systems, citing an “unacceptable risk” to national security. The five-member Federal Communications Commission said Friday it has voted unanimously to adopt new rules that will block the

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for January delivery fell $1.66 to $76.28 a barrel Friday. Brent crude for January delivery fell $1.71 to $83.63 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for December delivery fell 14 cents to $2.33 a gallon. December heating oil fell 12 cents to $3.24 a gallon. December natural gas fell 29

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and France have pledged to provide each other mutual support in preventing a possible energy crisis after supplies from Russia dried up amid the war in Ukraine. As part of a joint agreement signed by the countries’ leaders Friday, Germany will provide France with electricity while getting much-needed natural gas in

The Associated Press Stocks wobbled to a mixed close on Wall Street, but every major index notched weekly gains in a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 edged lower Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose and the Nasdaq fell. Technology stocks were the biggest drags on the broader market. Markets were closed on Thursday for

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Friday: Arrival SA, up 2 cents to 36 cents. The electric vehicle maker said that F. Peter Cuneo has been appointed as interim CEO as Denis Sverdlov steps down. Coupa Software Inc., up $3.76 to $62.69. Vista Equity is reportedly considering buying

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says he will host meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Mexico City early next year. López Obrador said Friday that the Jan. 9-10 North American summit would also include bilateral meetings with both countries. The Mexican president said

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s domestic airline industry is in shambles, plagued by safety problems, a downgrade of Mexico’s safety rating, and vandalism. This week alone, passengers missed connections because thieves had cut the fiber optic cables leading into the Mexico City airport, forcing immigration authorities to return to paper forms. The internet outage came

ATLANTA (AP) — Yes, they’ve nicknamed the baby “Nugget,” after a woman delivered a girl at an Atlanta McDonald’s. Alandria Worthy gave birth to her daughter on Wednesday after her fiancé pulled over so she could use the bathroom on the way to the hospital. Three employees and fiancé Deandre Phillips helped Worthy deliver. The

By The Associated Press This week’s new entertainment releases include a solo album from BTS’s RM, the return of the holiday display TV contest “The Great Christmas Light Fight” and Tilda Swinton starring in the ghost story “The Eternal Daughter.” Family secrets, betrayal and power struggles are abundant in the new Amazon Prime Video series