AP National Business

By ZEKE MILLER and MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has quietly launched its website for Americans to request free at-home COVID-19 tests, a day before the site was scheduled to officially launch. The website, COVIDTests.gov, now includes a link for “every home in the U.S.” to order four tests, to

By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. competition regulators have mounted an effort to tighten enforcement against illegal mergers, in line with President Joe Biden’s mandate for greater scrutiny to big business combinations. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission announced they are seeking public comment on how current merger guidelines

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer AT&T says it will delay some new 5G wireless service after the airline industry raised alarms about potential interference with important systems on planes. The airlines had warned of massive flight cancellations and disruptions. The airlines are in a showdown with AT&T and Verizon over the telecom companies’ plan

By TOM KRISHER and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — California prosecutors have filed two counts of vehicular manslaughter against the driver of a Tesla on Autopilot who ran a red light, slammed into another car and killed two people in 2019. The defendant appears to be the first person to be charged with

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has denied misleading Parliament about lockdown-breaching parties. The denial came as Johnson confirmed he given an account of events to an inquiry probing alleged violations of coronavirus rules. Former Johnson aide Dominic Cummings claims the prime minister was warned in advance that

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration plans to significantly increase efforts to stave off catastrophic wildfires that have been torching areas of the U.S. West by more aggressively thinning forests around areas where nature and neighborhoods collide. Officials have crafted a $50 billion plan to more than double the

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s president has raised the minimum monthly wage to about $172, a move meant to ease the burdens of Egyptians hurt by painful austerity measures in recent years. He said the minimum monthly wage in the country would be 2,700 Egyptian pounds, or about $171.5. That’s a 12.5% increase from the current

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — A leading World Health Organization official says the worst of the coronavirus pandemic — including deaths, hospitalizations and lockdowns — could be over this year if huge inequities in vaccinations and medicines are addressed quickly. Dr. Michael Ryan, speaking Tuesday on a vaccine inequity panel hosted by

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The environment ministers of Poland and the Czech Republic are meeting for another round of talks in hopes of ending a stalemate over a Polish lignite mine. The Czech government says is harmful to its citizens who live near the border between the two countries. The two ministers have have suggested

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration plans to significantly increase efforts to stave off catastrophic wildfires that have been torching areas of the U.S. West by more aggressively thinning forests around areas where nature and neighborhoods collide. Officials have crafted a $50 billion plan to more than double the

BALTIMORE (AP) — A lawyer for Baltimore’s top prosecutor has outlined her defense against federal criminal charges stemming from her purchase of two Florida vacation homes. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is charged with lying about meeting qualifications for coronavirus-related distributions from a city retirement plan. Her attorney told reporters on Monday that Mosby’s fledgling

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — A Rome villa containing the only known ceiling painted by Caravaggio is going back on a court-ordered auction block after no apparent winning bids were entered. The Casino dell’Aurora was being sold at auction on Tuesday thanks to an inheritance dispute pitting the heirs of one of

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Many states in the U.S. are coming to the conclusion that solar, wind and other renewable power sources might not be enough to keep the lights on as they seek to dramatically cut their use of fossil fuels. Nuclear power is emerging as an answer to

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s chief auditor says he plans to audit the state’s supervision of the secret services following revelations of illegal surveillance of government critics with powerful spyware. Marian Banas, president of the Supreme Audit Office, an independent institution charged with ensuring public funds are spent properly, spoke

By SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — An investigating judge in Lebanon has ordered the freezing of some assets belonging to the country’s central bank governor. Tuesday’s move is the latest against the governor, Riad Salameh, as he faces allegations of corruption and dereliction of duty during Lebanon’s ongoing economic meltdown. A judge

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer The airline industry is raising the stakes in a showdown with AT&T and Verizon over the telecom companies’ plan to launch new 5G wireless service this week, warning that thousands of flights could be grounded or delayed if the rollout takes place near major airports. CEOs of the nation’s

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration plans to significantly increase efforts to stave off catastrophic wildfires that have been torching areas of the U.S. West by more aggressively thinning forests around areas where nature and neighborhoods collide. Officials have crafted a $50 billion plan to more than double the

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Microsoft is paying the enormous sum of nearly $70 billion for Activision Blizzard, the maker of Candy Crush and Call of Duty, a deal that would immediately make it a larger video-game company than Nintendo while raising questions about the deal’s possible anti-competitive effects. The all-cash $68.7 billion deal

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks fell broadly and bond yields surged on Wall Street in afternoon trading Tuesday amid renewed jitters that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates to tackle rising inflation. The S&P 500 fell 1.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.4% and the Nasdaq sank

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Microsoft is paying nearly $70 billion for Activision Blizzard, the maker of “Candy Crush’’ and ‘’Call of Duty,’’ as it seeks an edge in the fiercely competitive businesses of mobile gaming and virtual-reality technology. The all-cash $68.7 billion deal will turn Microsoft, maker of the Xbox gaming system, into