AP National Business

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say the operator of a failed multi-state nursing home chain failed to pay $29.5 million in payroll and unemployment taxes for his employees at 95 facilities he operated in 11 states. Authorities arrested Joseph Schwartz of Suffern, New York, on Thursday and charged him with willful

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s unemployment rate dipped a half-percentage point in December as the most populous state added 50,700 nonfarm jobs. That accounted for more than a quarter of the nation’s 199,000 new jobs for the month. Data released Friday shows the state has now regained nearly 72% of

By KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — “Saturday Night Live” comics Colin Jost and Pete Davidson have purchased a decommissioned Staten Island Ferry boat with plans to turn it into New York’s hottest club. Jost and Davidson teamed up with comedy club owner Paul Italia on Wednesday’s winning for $280,100 bid for the

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. judge in Texas has issued a nationwide injunction barring the federal government from enforcing President Joe Biden’s requirement that federal workers without qualifying medical or religious exemptions be vaccinated for COVID-19. Judge Jeffrey Brown ruled Friday that opponents of Biden’s vaccination mandate for federal employees were likely to succeed at

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks wobbled between gains and losses on Wall Street Friday as major indexes head for another weekly loss. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%. The Nasdaq fell 1.4%, slipping further into a correction, or more than 10% below its peak. Technology

By ROB GILLIES and DÁNICA COTO Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Haiti’s spiraling insecurity and growing concerns about its ability to hold general elections following the killing of President Jovenel Moïse prompted two dozen international senior officials to meet amid a pressing need to take action. Canada hosted the more than three-hour-long meeting Friday with

By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has taken a new step toward reining in the market dominance of Big Tech. Bipartisan legislation advanced by a Senate panel would bar the dominant online platforms from favoring their own goods and services over those of rivals on the platforms. It could, for example,

By JON GAMBRELL and MAAD AL-ZIKRY Associated Press SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A Saudi-led coalition airstrike targeting a prison run by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has killed at least 70 detainees and wounded dozens. Friday’s strike was part of a pounding aerial offensive that knocked the Arab world’s poorest country off the internet. The intense campaign

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The United States, the U.K. and Germany have rejected allegations that the three countries financed protests that have shaken the Balkan nation’s populist government. The embassies of the allied countries issued a joint statement on Friday that described the accusations as “damaging.” The statement came a

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (AP) — General Motors says it will spend about $154 million to revamp an old factory near Buffalo, New York, so it can make a key part for electric vehicle motors. The automaker says it will add about 230 jobs in Lockport, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Buffalo. The plant will

By EVA VERGARA Associated Press SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile’s  leftist President-elect Gabriel Boric has announced his first cabinet, giving a majority of posts to women and several to former student protest leaders. He’s also reassuring markets by naming the Central Bank chief as finance minister — a move that caused Chilean stocks and the

ROME (AP) — A Vatican appeals court has upheld the convictions of two former managers of the Vatican bank. The court originally convicted Paolo Cipriani and Massimo Tulli in 2018 and held them liable for mismanagement. The two resigned in 2013. In a statement Friday, the Institute for Religious Works, as the bank is known.

BY DREW COSTLEY AP Science Writer Los Angeles, the second most populous U.S. city, is weighing whether to ban new oil and gas drilling and phase out hundreds of existing wells. The city council is expected to vote on a measure that would shut down oil and gas fields in the city after a decade

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks fell in morning trading on Wall Street Friday as every major index heads for another weekly loss amid concerns about rising inflation and interest rates. The S&P 500 fell 1.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%. The Nasdaq fell 1.9%, slipping further into a correction,

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writers Candy maker Mars is giving a makeover to its six M&M’s characters as a way to promote inclusivity. The company said that it will provide a modern take on the appearances of the characters _ which Mars calls “lentils” _ and give them more nuanced personalities.

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — For all the talk about rising U.S. home values in cities and suburbs, they have nothing on the skyrocketing price of farmland. While median existing-home prices rose by 15.8% in the U.S. last year, farmland values went up about double that rate in places like

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks are lower at the open on Wall Street Friday, extending their losses to a fourth consecutive day. The S&P 500 is down 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite is 0.4% lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.2%. Netflix plunged over 20% after the streaming

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Daily new coronavirus infections in Russia have reached an all-time high and authorities are blaming the highly contagious omicron variant, which they expect to soon dominate the country’s outbreak. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova on Friday noted “intensive spread of the omicron variant” and said the authorities