Time is no ally as Dems strain to finish Biden’s $2T bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — If President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion social and environment package was a Broadway show, its seven months on Congress’ stage could qualify it as a hit. But lawmaking isn’t show business, and many Democrats worry that with the curtain falling soon on 2021, time is not their friend. Each passing day threatens […]17 hours ago
Report on Seattle mayor’s missing texts yet to materialize
SEATTLE (AP) — A completed report on Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s missing text messages from a period during last year’s racial justice protests has yet to appear as Durkan prepares to leave office — and officials aren’t saying when it will. It’s been more than a year since the city attorney’s office hired a private […]17 hours ago
Nevada court sides with gunmakers in Las Vegas shooting suit
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada’s Supreme Court ruled gun manufacturers cannot be held responsible for the deaths in the 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip because a state law shields them from liability unless the weapon malfunctions. The parents of a woman who was among the 60 people killed in the shooting […]17 hours ago
How major US stock indexes fared Friday
Wall Street closed out a bumpy week with more losses on Friday following a mixed reading on the U.S. jobs market that investors said was tough to parse. The S&P 500 gave up an early gain and closed 0.8% lower. The benchmark index is coming off a jolting stretch where it swerved by at least […]17 hours ago
DocuSign, Olli’s fall; Marvell Technology, Smartsheet rise
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Friday: DiDi Global Inc., down $1.73 to $6.07. The China-based ride-hailing service is withdrawing from the New York Stock Exchange and will list on the Hong Kong exchange. Nvidia Inc., down $14.33 to $306.93. The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the […]17 hours ago
DAs, retailers say California needs tougher retail theft law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Spurred by a recent run of large-scale smash-and-grab robberies, prosecutors and retailers are pushing back on assertions by California’s governor and attorney general that they have enough tools to combat retail theft in the wake of a voter-approved easing of related laws. “We cannot function as a society where we have […]18 hours ago
EXPLAINER: 5 key takeaways from the November jobs report
WASHINGTON (AP) — At first glance, the November jobs report was a sour one. U.S. employers added just 210,000 jobs. That was the lowest monthly gain since December — and not even half the total that economists had expected. It meant that hiring had decelerated even before the new omicron variant of the coronavirus has […]18 hours ago
Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for January delivery fell 24 cents to $66.26 a barrel Friday. Brent crude for February delivery rose 21 cents to $69.88 per barrel. Wholesale gasoline for January delivery fell 2 cents to $1.95 a gallon. January heating oil was flat at $2.10 a gallon. January natural gas rose 7 cents to […]18 hours ago
AP Source: NSO Group spyware used to hack State employees
WASHINGTON (AP) — The phones of 11 U.S. State Department employees were hacked with spyware from Israel’s NSO Group, the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire company, a person familiar with the matter said Friday. The employees were all located in Uganda and included some foreign service officers, said the person, who was not authorized to speak […]19 hours ago
Sanders to Biden: Cut back looming Medicare premium hike
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders is asking the White House to cut back a big Medicare premium hike set to take effect in weeks and tied to a pricey Alzheimer’s drug whose benefits have been widely questioned. In a letter Friday to President Joe Biden, the Vermont Independent called on the president to act […]21 hours ago
Mercedes F1 boss apologizes as fire survivors slam sponsor
LONDON (AP) — The head of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One racing team apologized Friday for the way the team announced its partnership with a company involved in a London high-rise where a fire killed 72 people. The team announced a sponsorship deal this week allowing building products maker Kingspan to put its logo on […]21 hours ago
Where’s the snow? Rockies winter starts with a whimper
DENVER (AP) — Denver’s winter has started with a whimper, and the parched mountains to the west aren’t faring much better. The Mile High City has already shattered its 87-year-old record for the latest measurable snowfall set on Nov. 21, 1934, and it’s a little more than a week away from breaking an 1887 record […]21 hours ago
Struggling Chinese developer warns it could run out of money
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese developer that is struggling under $310 billion in debt warned Friday it may run out of money to “perform its financial obligations” — sending regulators scrambling to reassure investors that China’s financial markets can be protected from a potential impact. Evergrande Group’s struggle to comply with official pressure to reduce […]21 hours ago
Growth in US service sector reaches new heights in November
WASHINGTON (AP) — Growth in the services sector, where most Americans work, hit an all-time high in November, overtaking a record that was set the previous month. The Institute for Supply Management reported Friday that its monthly survey of service industries increased by 2.4 percentage points in November from the October record to a reading […]23 hours ago
No currency manipulator labels from US, China on watch
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will not designate any country as a currency manipulator, but it did name China, Vietnam and Taiwan among the nations that have failed to live up to global agreements not to use their currencies to gain unfair trade advantages. In a report to Congress released Friday, the Treasury Department […]24 hours ago
UN expert: Contemporary forms of slavery exist in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A U.N expert says contemporary forms of slavery exist in Sri Lanka, with vulnerable groups such as children, women, ethnic minorities and older people particularly affected. Tomoyo Obokata, the U.N special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, said Friday at the end of a mission to Sri Lanka that he […]1 day ago
Honda recalls SUVs and pickups because hoods can fly open
DETROIT (AP) — Honda is recalling nearly 725,000 SUVs and pickup trucks because the hoods can open while the vehicles are moving. The recall covers certain 2019 Passports, 2016 through 2019 Pilots and 2017 through 2020 Ridgeline pickups. Honda says in documents posted Friday by U.S. safety regulators that the hood latch striker can become […]1 day ago
Austria: Party backs interior chief Nehammer for chancellor
BERLIN (AP) — Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer announced Friday that he will be the acting leader of the conservative People’s Party and will seek to become Austria’s next chancellor. The current chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg, said Thursday that he would step down to make way for someone to take over as both the head of […]1 day ago
Laos opens railway to China as debt to Beijing rises
BEIJING (AP) — After a blessing by Buddhist monks, Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh on Friday rode the first run of a $5.9 billion Chinese-built railway that links isolated, mountainous Laos with southern China in an effort to increase trade. Both governments tout the 1,035-kilometer (642-mile) line from the Lao capital, Vientiane to Kunming in […]1 day ago
Shell pulls out of controversial Cambo project in Scotland
LONDON (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell has pulled out of a controversial plan to develop a new oil field near Scotland’s Shetland Islands, buoying environmentalists’ hopes that the project may be shelved altogether as Britain seeks to combat global warming. Shell, which had a 30% stake in the Cambo project, said Friday that the decision […]1 day ago
Chinese developer warns it might not pay $400 million bond
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese real estate developer warned Friday it might fail to pay off a $400 million bond due next week, adding to financial strains in an industry that is struggling to avoid defaults on billions of dollars of debt. Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd., headquartered in Hong Kong, said it tried to renegotiate […]1 day ago
EXPLAINER: Turkey’s currency is crashing. What’s the impact?
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s beleaguered currency has been plunging to all-time lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro in recent months as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presses ahead with a widely criticized effort to cut interest rates despite surging consumer prices. As a result, families are struggling to buy food and other goods […]1 day ago
US steps up disclosure pressure on Chinese companies
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese companies will have to disclose more information about audits and whether they are controlled by a government or else leave U.S. stock markets under a rule approved by securities regulators. The rule approved Thursday by the Securities and Exchange Commission steps up a long-running standoff between Washington and Beijing over how […]1 day ago
