AP National Business

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and TOM MURPHY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A stronger-than-expected economic recovery from the pandemic has pushed back the go-broke dates for Social Security and Medicare, but officials warn that the current economic turbulence is putting additional pressures on the bedrock retirement programs. The annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report released

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for July delivery rose $1.61 to $116.87 a barrel Thursday. Brent crude for August delivery rose $1.32 to $117.61 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for July delivery rose 12 cents to $4.19 a gallon. July heating oil rose 7 cents to $4.21 a gallon. July natural gas fell 21

By JADE LE DELEY Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A group of NGOs have filed a lawsuit against three French arms manufacturers for what they claim was their complicity in alleged war crimes in Yemen. They accuse Dassault Aviation, Thales Group and MBDA France of selling weapons and equipment to the coalition led by Saudi

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — Americans may soon get a new COVID-19 vaccine option — shots made with a more tried-and-true technology than today’s versions. The big question: Why should they care? After long delays, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide within weeks whether to authorize Novavax’s

Associated Press Amazon said Thursday it will shut down its digital Kindle bookstores in China and stop selling the device to retailers in the country. The company said in a WeChat post that the bookstore will stop operating on June 30, 2023. It says customers in China will not be able to buy new e-books

By LISA RATHKE Associated Press BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A Colorado man pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court in Vermont to kidnapping a man who was later found shot to death in a snowbank in 2018 in what prosecutors allege is a murder-for-hire case stemming from a financial dispute. Federal prosecutors say they believe

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ and MARTHA IRVINE Associated Press LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana (AP) — The front lawn of Lydia Larce’s home is strewn with debris: remnants of cabinets and chunks of pink shower. She lives in a FEMA trailer out back, her home in shambles after hurricanes tore through Lake Charles. Larce, like many in Southwest

By EDEN STIFFMAN of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy For years California, Florida, Oregon, Washington, and other states have relied on incarcerated men and women to fight wildfires. They are trained to perform grueling work while earning just a few dollars, sometimes as little as $2 a day. Incarcerated workers who serve as

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The European Commission chief says the disbursement of pandemic recovery funds to Poland depends on the government’s ensuring of judicial independence. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in Warsaw Thursday to officially confirm the EU executive’s long-delayed approval of Poland’s pandemic recovery plan, which would enable conditional release of billions

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged down slightly this week, though interest rates on the key 30-year home loan remain at decade-high levels. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate ticked down to 5.09% from 5.1% last week. By contrast, the average rate stood at 2.99% a

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Automaker Stellantis has reached a deal to have Controlled Thermal Resources Ltd. supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide for its electric vehicles in North America. CTR will supply Stellantis, the company that combined PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler, with up to 25,000 metric tons per year of lithium hydroxide over the

By TOM KRISHER and PATRICK ORSAGOS Associated Press AVON LAKE, Ohio (AP) — Ford will add 6,200 factory jobs in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio as it prepares to build more electric vehicles and roll out two redesigned combustion-engine models. The company says it will invest $3.7 billion in the three states, and it will convert

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Avenatti was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for stealing book proceeds from Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who catapulted him to fame as he represented her in courtrooms and cable news programs during her legal battles with then-President Donald

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans applied for jobless aid last week with the number of Americans collecting unemployment at historically low levels. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 11,000 to 200,000 for the week ending May 28, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications generally track the number of

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The OPEC oil cartel and allied producing countries including Russia will raise production by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August, offering modest relief for a global economy suffering from soaring energy prices. The cost of oil, which began to rise sharply to start of the year, spiked after

By EMILY WANG FUJIYAMA Associated Press SHANGHAI (AP) — Shanghai’s landmark old city garden has sprung back to life as residents took advantage of the renewed sense of freedom following the easing of 2-month-old COVID-19 restrictions. Authorities in China’s largest city have dialed back some of the most intrusive measures that prompted rare public protests.

By JOHN LEICESTER and ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces in the country’s east are locked in a grinding battle as they try to prevent significant Russian advances before the arrival of advanced rockets and anti-aircraft weapons pledged by Western nations. With the weapons deliveries possibly weeks away, military analysts say

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ and MARTHA IRVINE Associated Press LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana (AP) — The front lawn of Lydia Larce’s home is strewn with debris: Remnants of cabinets and chunks of pink shower marble lie between dumpsters. She lives in a FEMA trailer out back, her home in shambles more than a year after Hurricane Laura

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China’s government has accused Washington of jeopardizing peace after U.S. envoys began trade talks with Taiwan aimed at deepening relations with the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing. The U.S. government said talks that started this week cover trade, regulation and other areas based on “shared

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares rose Friday amid mixed signs for investors such as rising energy prices and COVID-19 restrictions easing in China. Trading was closed in China for the Dragon Boat Festival, a national holiday. Benchmarks in the rest of the region edged higher, cheered by a rally

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J,. (AP) — Hundreds of Atlantic City casino workers have picketed outside the Tropicana casino. They’re demanding a new contract with the city’s nine gambling halls that guarantees employees a share in the post-COVID recovery. The old contract expired early Wednesday. Union leaders and workers say they’ll demonstrate

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — There’s no mystery about how millions of fans of Netflix’s sci-fi drama “Stranger Things” spent their Memorial Day weekend. The service says seven episodes of the show’s much-awaited fourth season were streamed for 286 million hours, a record for an English-language show. It beat the

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A contractor involved in cleaning up the nation’s worst coal ash spill says workers’ claims that they were sickened on the job should fall under a certain Tennessee law that limits legal challenges. The arguments came during a Wednesday hearing before the state’s Supreme Court. Workers