AP National Business

BRUSSELS (AP) — The head of the European Union’s executive arm wants to introduce checks on key EU infrastructure, including energy, after the suspected sabotage of natural-gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that the damage last week to the Nord Stream pipelines linking Russia and Germany

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Amnesty International has appealed to international creditors to provide debt relief to Sri Lanka to alleviate suffering as its people endure hunger, worsening poverty and shortages of basic supplies. The London-based international rights group said the country’s grim situation has “stripped away people’s access to

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries decided Wednesday to sharply cut production to support sagging oil prices, a move that could deal the struggling global economy another blow and raise politically sensitive pump prices for U.S. drivers just ahead of key national elections. Energy ministers

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Leaders from more than 40 countries meeting in the Czech capital Thursday are set to launch a “European Political Community” aimed at boosting security and prosperity across the continent. But critics claim the new forum is an attempt to put the brakes on European Union enlargement. The

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed Thursday after strong U.S. hiring dampened hopes the Federal Reserve might ease off plans for interest rate hikes and the OPEC group of oil exporters agreed to output cuts to shore up prices. Tokyo and Seoul advanced while Hong Kong and Sydney

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writers Daniel Kelly and his wife bought a 1977 doublewide mobile home in May for about $83,000 at Tropicana Sands, a community for people 55 and older in Fort Myers, Florida. But he ran into roadblocks when he tried to insure it. Managers at Tropicana Sands told

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer As awareness grows around the world about the problem of food waste, one culprit in particular is drawing scrutiny: “best before” labels. Manufacturers have used the labels for decades to estimate peak freshness. Unlike “use by” labels, which are found on perishable foods like meat and dairy, “best before”

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is working to create a manufacturing revival — even helping to put factory jobs in Republican territory under the belief it can restore faith in U.S. democracy. The latest development came Tuesday, when chipmaker Micron announced an investment of up to $100 billion over

By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk’s sudden about face on a $44 billion agreement to acquire Twitter, reversing an earlier attempt to rescind that offer, came as a surprise even from the mercurial billionaire who loves to shock. It sent shares of the social media platform soaring Tuesday and stoked

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and DAVID BILLER Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — One of Brazil’s biggest gold refiners, which processes gold suspected of being mined illegally in the Amazon rainforest, has been stripped of an important industry seal of approval that global manufacturers from Apple to Tesla rely on to root out abuses in their supply

By TOM KRISHER, MATT O’BRIEN, RANDALL CHASE and BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press Elon Musk wants Twitter again — and Twitter is game. The billionaire Tesla CEO has proposed to buy the company at the originally agreed-on price of $44 billion, bringing the tumultuous, monthslong saga another step closer to a conclusion. Musk made the surprising

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese depositors, including a retired police officer, stormed at least four banks in the cash-strapped country Tuesday after banks ended a weeklong closure and partially reopened. As the tiny Mediterranean nation’s crippling economic crisis continues to worsen, a growing number of Lebanese depositors have opted to break

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — U.S. officials are touting bioethanol in Japan, which trails other nations on using the green fuel made from corn and other crops. The U.S. is a top grower of corn, and an embassy official said the U.S. would be “a reliable supplier” of bioethanol. Cooperation on biofuel

SEATTLE (AP) — A former Seattle tech worker convicted of several charges related to a massive hack of Capital One bank and other companies in 2019 has been sentenced to time served and five years of probation. U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said Tuesday that sentencing former Amazon software engineer Paige Thompson to time

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The founder and CEO of a software company targeted by election deniers has been arrested on suspicion of stealing personal identifying information on hundreds of Los Angeles County poll workers. The district attorney’s office says Eugene Yu of Michigan-based Konnech Corporation was held Tuesday. The company says it believes he was

By ADAM SCHRECK and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the company operating Europe’s largest nuclear plant says Ukraine is considering restarting the Russian-occupied facility to ensure its safety. Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom  shut down the plant’s last reactors last month amid fears that fighting nearby could cause a

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Elon Musk’s monthslong tussle with Twitter has taken a sharp turn after the Tesla billionaire seemed to return to where he started in April — offering to buy the company for $44 billion. But it’s not over yet. Twitter says it intends to close the deal at the agreed-upon

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is implementing a hiring freeze on the corporate side of its retail business for the rest of the year. The New York Times reported Tuesday the company informed recruiters that all open job postings for such roles will close, and new openings will be available next

The Associated Press Stocks rose sharply again on Wall Street and clawed back more of the ground they lost in a miserable several weeks. The S&P 500 rose 3.1% Tuesday. The benchmark index has been rallying since hitting its lowest point of the year on Friday to close out a September slump. Other major U.S.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Tuesday: Blackbaud, Acuity Brands rise; AXT, KalVista fall.

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon has sued Washington state’s labor agency following disputes with regulators over citations and fines imposed on the company for worker safety issues. In the lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court for the Western District of Washington, Amazon asked a judge to prohibit orders from

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for November delivery rose $2.89 to $86.52 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude for December delivery rose $2.94 to $91.80 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for November delivery rose 17 cents to $2.68 a gallon. November heating oil rose 17 cents to $3.54 a gallon. November natural gas rose 37

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Britain’s defense secretary says Russia’s war on Ukraine has been a “wake-up call” for NATO members. He said the war has made them realize that their militaries need to be better and invest more in defense. Ben Wallace said many nations in Europe became complacent after the collapse of the Soviet

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president is analyzing the creation of a state-owned, army-run airline that would fly 10 leased airplanes, as well as the former presidential jet. The unusual plan was mentioned in a trove of army documents obtained by the Guacamaya hackers group. On Tuesday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed it’s under

The Associated Press Elon Musk is offering to go through with his original proposal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. The offer comes just two weeks before Twitter’s lawsuit seeking to force Musk to go through with the deal goes to trial in Delaware Chancery Court. Twitter said it intends to close the transaction after

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Germany’s plan to spend billions of euros to help keep gas prices low for its consumers and businesses is receiving a tepid welcome from fellow European Union members. Some among the 27 EU countries, including France and Italy, worry that the measure could exacerbate the energy crisis.

By WILSON RING Associated Press BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A Los Angeles biotech investor has pleaded not guilty in a transcontinental murder-for-hire conspiracy that led to the 2018 abduction and killing of a Vermont man. Serhat Gumrukcu entered the plea Tuesday to a charge of interstate murder for hire in U.S. District Court in Burlington.

By TOM KRISHER, MATT O’BRIEN, RANDALL CHASE and BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press The tumultuous saga of Elon Musk’s on-again off-again purchase of Twitter took a turn toward a conclusion Tuesday after the mercurial Tesla CEO proposed to buy the company at the originally agreed-on price of $44 billion. Musk made the surprising turnaround not on

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government has unveiled details of its energy price cap for households, together with the outlines of a subsidy system aimed at easing the pain for small-to-medium-sized businesses that use a lot of power. The moves Tuesday come amid soaring prices for gas and electricity caused by Russia’s illegal

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of available jobs in the U.S. plummeted in August compared with July as businesses grow less desperate for workers, a trend that could cool chronically high inflation. That is good news for the Federal Reserve in its efforts to bring down high prices without

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer Airlines will be required to give flight attendants at least 10 hours off duty between shifts, one more hour than currently, under a rule announced Tuesday by the Federal Aviation Administration. Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said that the extra hour of rest would contribute to safety. The rule

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press Elon Musk has gotten into a Twitter tussle with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the tech billionaire floated a divisive proposal to end Russia’s invasion. The Tesla CEO, who on Tuesday revived a $44 billion deal to take control of Twitter, argued in a tweet that to reach peace Russia

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer Sheryl Sandberg opened her next chapter as a full-time philanthropist Tuesday with a donation to the American Civil Liberties Union to fight state abortion bans across the country. Sandberg, who officially left her position as Facebook’s parent company Meta’s chief operating officer last week after 14 years, donated $3

By THOMAS ADAMSON AP Fashion Writer PARIS (AP) — The funfair lights at Louis Vuitton sere shining as brightly as the starry front row for the vibrant and infectious spring collection from Nicolas Ghesquiere that capped Paris Fashion Week. Dramatic bursts of a tribal drum echoed across the cobbles of the Louvre, leading guests to

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Electricity supply across Bangladesh has been restored after the South Asian country plunged into a blackout following the failure of its national power grid. The blackout, which impacted much of the country, started at 2:05 p.m. on Tuesday and lasted for nearly seven hours before power was completely restored at 9

By GARANCE BURKE Associated Press The Biden administration unveiled a set of far-reaching goals Tuesday aimed at averting harms caused by the rise of artificial intelligence systems, including guidelines for how to protect people’s personal data and limit surveillance. The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights notably does not set out specific enforcement actions,

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has added the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands to its tax haven blacklist. It also put Anguilla back on as just a year after it was removed. The EU said Tuesday that it made the additions over “concerns that these three jurisdictions, which all have a zero

By VADIM GHIRDA Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Authorities in Romania have opened a criminal investigation into suspected data leaks against four employees of the local branch of neighboring Serbia’s NIS Petrol. The company is majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft. Organized crime prosecutors said late Monday that police raided the company’s offices in the

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Liz Truss should be celebrating her first month as Britain’s prime minister. Instead, she’s fighting for her job. Truss has spent her first Conservative Party conference as leader scrambling to reassure financial markets spooked by her government’s see-sawing economic pledges. She’s also seeking to restore her

By ADAM SCHRECK and VASILISA STEPANENKO Associated Press LYMAN, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops abandoned a key Ukrainian city so rapidly that they left the bodies of their comrades in the streets, offering more evidence Tuesday of Moscow’s latest military defeat as it struggles to hang on to four regions of Ukraine that it illegally

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Thrifters who flock to Goodwill stores will now be able to do more of their treasure hunting online. The 120-year-old nonprofit organization on Tuesday launched GoodwillFinds, a newly incorporated shopping venture that is making roughly 100,000 donated items available for purchase online and expanding Goodwill’s

BERLIN (AP) — German energy company RWE says it will phase out the burning of coal by 2030, saving 280 million metric tons of climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions. The decision announced Tuesday will accelerate the closure of some of Europe’s most polluting power plants and a vast lignite strip mine in the west of the

By The Associated Press The upper house of the Russian Parliament has ratified the treaties with four Ukrainian regions to absorb them into Russia. The Federation Council voted quickly Tuesday to endorse the treaties making the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions part of Russia. The vote Tuesda came a day after the lower house

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Hong Kong’s share benchmark soared more than 5% on Wednesday as Asian shares tracked gains on Wall Street. New Zealand’s share benchmark rose 0.7% after its central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate to 3.5%, saying inflation remained too high and labor scarce. The half-point rate

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s central bank has boosted its benchmark interest rate for a sixth consecutive month to a nine-year high of 2.6%. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s increase of a quarter percentage point of the cash rate is smaller than those at recent monthly meetings. The banks had

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian may be long gone from Florida, but the job of restoring power and searching for anyone still inside flooded or damaged homes presses on. About 400,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity Tuesday in Florida and it will be the weekend before most

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CDC is doing away with notices about the COVID-19 risk of visiting specific countries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that it’s dropping the notices because fewer countries are testing for the virus or reporting the number of COVID-19 cases. That makes it harder for CDC to judge

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer The CEO of American Airlines has defended his airline’s partnership with JetBlue. He says there is no other way for American to grow fast enough to compete with Delta and United in the Northeast. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom testified Monday, as the trial in the government’s antitrust lawsuit

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett’s successor bought nearly $70 million worth of stock in the conglomerate he is slated to one day lead. Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Greg Abel disclosed buying 168 Class A shares in the company in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission

By RANDALL CHASE AP Business Writer DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge says cigarette manufacturer ITG Brands assumed liability for tobacco settlement payments to the state of Florida when it acquired four brands from Reynolds American in 2015. Vice Chancellor Lori Will also said in Friday’s ruling that ITG must compensate Reynolds American for

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — The first payments from a $518 million settlement with the nation’s three largest opioid distributors will begin reaching Washington communities in December, providing much-needed cash officials can use to hire first responders or direct toward prevention, treatment and other services, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Monday. “These

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Top regulators are recommending a series of new safeguards to ensure that a growing and unregulated cryptocurrency market doesn’t imperil U.S. financial stability. Regulators are calling on Congress to pass legislation that would address the systemic risks caused by the growth of stablecoins, which are a form

The Associated Press Wall Street rallied to its best day since late July as falling bond yields eased some of the pressure that’s battered markets. The S&P 500 rose 2.6% Monday, the latest swing for a scattershot market that’s been mostly falling this year on worries about a possible global recession. Treasury yields fell after

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Monday: ViaSat, Myovant rise; Tesla, Twitter fall.

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for November delivery rose $4.14 to $83.63 a barrel Monday. Brent crude for December delivery rose $3.72 to $88.86 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for November delivery rose 14 cents to $2.51 a gallon. November heating oil rose 15 cents to $3.37 a gallon. November natural gas fell 30

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — U.S. new vehicle sales fell slightly in the third quarter, even with improvement in September. But there are warning signs consumers’ appetite for expensive new cars, trucks and SUVs may be waning. Edmunds.com says sales fell 0.9% from July through September. Multiple companies reported sales declines

CLARENCE, N.Y. (AP) — A 2,554-pound pumpkin grown in upstate New York has set a new U.S. record for the heaviest. The Buffalo News reports that state and national records fell over the weekend at the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence, a suburb. An entry by Scott Andrusz broke the previous national record of 2,528

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian authorities have denied that the country’s police system was hacked after local media reported that data on people being investigated for crimes was released from an Iranian hacking group. Albanian media reported that a file was leaked with a list of suspected people — allegedly from the police Memex database

By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, has advocated in Washington for privacy protection over the last 25 years, warning U.S. lawmakers and regulators about growing threats to Americans’ online privacy. New moves are afoot, as the Federal Trade Commission looks at crafting

By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government or army has allegedly continued to use spyware designed to hack into the cellphones of activists, despite a pledge by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to end such practices. Press freedom groups said Monday they found evidence of attempts to use that the

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER and JOVANA GEC Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The leaders of Hungary, Austria and Serbia have met in Budapest to find solutions on how to stem the increasing number of migrants arriving in Europe. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Monday the leaders agreed to take joint action to control the increased number

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Rex Tillerson, who served as secretary of state under former president Donald Trump, has testified against the former chair of Trump’s inaugural committee. Tillerson was called on Monday as a government witness at the federal trial of Tom Barrack, a billionaire private equity manager and Trump

By THOMAS ADAMSON AP Fashion Writer PARIS (AP) — It was as much art fair as fashion show for designer Stella McCartney, who put on an art-infused spring collection at Paris Fashion Week on Monday that vibrated with flashes of color. Iconic Japanese contemporary artist Yoshitomo Nara collaborated on the designs showcased at Paris’ Pompidou

The Associated Press The Labor Department delivers its monthly tally of U.S. job openings Tuesday and its September snapshot of hiring by nonfarm employers Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. reports quarterly results Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear two cases seeking to hold social media companies financially responsible for terrorist attacks. Relatives of people killed in terrorist attacks in France and Turkey had sued Google, Twitter, and Facebook. They accused the companies of helping terrorists spread their message and radicalize new recruits.

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has promised to return to a budget surplus in 2023, submitting its first spending blueprint in 12 years that isn’t under the direct scrutiny of European bailout lenders. Finance Ministry officials say Greece is planning to return to a primary surplus — the annual balance

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and Israel have held high-level talks for the first time in a decade. The Europeans were keen to press Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on how to help bring about a two-state solution to Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. EU foreign policy chief Josep

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and KEN SWEET AP Business Writer The long list of celebrities promoting cryptocurrencies just got shorter. Kim Kardashian is being barred from doing so for three years — and will pay a $1 million fine — to settle federal charges that she recommended a crypto security to her 330 million Instagram followers

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces scored more gains in their counteroffensive across at least two fronts Monday, advancing in the very areas that Russia is trying to absorb and challenging Moscow’s effort to engage fresh troops and its threats to defend incorporated areas by all means. In their latest

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s foreign minister has signed an official note to Germany requesting some $1.3 trillion in reparations for the damage incurred by occupying Nazi Germans during World War II. Zbigniew Rau said Monday the note will be handed to Germany’s Foreign Ministry. The signing comes on the

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Google has discontinued its Google Translate services in mainland China, removing one of the company’s few remaining services that it had provided in a country where most Western social media platforms are blocked. The Google Translate app and website now display a generic search bar and

By KIMBERLY PALMER of NerdWallet Medical bills can quickly become overwhelming, but consumers often have more power than they might think when it comes to navigating them. Recent changes to how medical debt is reported by credit bureaus also help. The first step is always to closely check bills for errors and to ask your

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A spokesman for Poland’s communist-era government in the 1980s who masterminded state propaganda and censorship for a regime in the final years before its collapse has died. Jerzy Urban’s death at age 89 was announced on Monday by a satirical weekly magazine which he founded and

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Theaters and other cultural institutions in Hungary are reeling from exponentially growing energy prices, and some plan to close for the winter to avoid the skyrocketing bills. The Erkel Theatre in the capital of Budapest will close in November after its utilities went up as much

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s navy says it has sent a vessel capable of “advanced diving missions” to the Baltic Sea area where ruptured undersea pipelines leaked natural gas for days. The Swedish navy said Monday the vessel is a submarine rescue ship. One of the gas leaks off

By MICHAEL BIESECKER, SARAH EL DEEB and BEATRICE DUPUY Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — When the bulk cargo ship Laodicea docked in Lebanon last summer, Ukrainian diplomats said the vessel was carrying grain stolen by Russia and urged Lebanese officials to impound the ship. Moscow called the allegation “false and baseless,” and Lebanon’s prosecutor general

By MICHAEL BIESECKER, SARAH EL DEEB and BEATRICE DUPUY Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — When the bulk cargo ship Laodicea docked in Lebanon last summer, Ukrainian diplomats said the vessel was carrying grain stolen by Russia and urged Lebanese officials to impound the ship. Moscow called the allegation “false and baseless,” and Lebanon’s prosecutor general

By THOMAS ADAMSON AP Fashion Writer PARIS (AP) — Valentino’s fashion show in Paris saw black cars snared for blocks dropping off battalions of celebrities who, amid the commotion, just couldn’t find the entrance. Seated VIP guests were crammed in together Sunday inside the Le Marais’ Carreau du Temple venue as the show started an

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Moviegoing audiences chose the horror movie over the romantic comedy to kick off the month of October. Paramount’s “ Smile ” topped the North American charts with $22 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, leaving Billy Eichner’s rom-com “Bros” in the dust. Universal’s “ Bros ”

BERLIN (AP) — German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has announced the delivery of 16 wheeled armored howitzers produced in Slovakia to Ukraine next year. The Zuzana systems would be produced in Slovakia and financed jointly with Denmark, Norway and Germany, the German minister told public broadcaster ARD on Sunday after returning from her first trip

By HOPE YEN, MATTHEW DALY and DAVID SHARP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, a self-described “car guy,” often promises to lead by example on climate change by moving swiftly to convert the sprawling U.S. government fleet to zero-emission electric vehicles. But efforts to eliminate gas-powered vehicles from the fleet have lagged. Biden

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press KIRTLAND, N.M. (AP) — The clamor of second graders breaking away from lessons to form lunch lines has gotten quieter in a rural New Mexico community, where families losing coal jobs have been forced to pack up and leave in search of work. At Judy Nelson Elementary, 1 in