AP National Business

By MATTHEW DALY and MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The Biden administration says it will hold its first offshore wind auction next month. It’s offering nearly 500,000 acres off the coast of New York and New Jersey for wind energy projects that could produce enough electricity to power nearly 2 million homes.

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation jumped at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years last month, a 7% spike from a year earlier that is increasing household expenses, eating into wage gains and heaping pressure on President Joe Biden and the Federal Reserve to address what has become the biggest

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Nigerian government has lifted its ban on Twitter, seven months after the West African country’s more than 200 million people were shut out of the social media network. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director-general of the country’s National Information Technology Development Agency, said Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER and FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government last month posted its smallest monthly budget deficit in two years. That was thanks to a rebounding economy that helped boost tax receipts, coupled with slower spending as some COVID relief programs ended. The Treasury Department reported that the December deficit

By The Associated Press (AP) — Italy on Thursday marks the 10th anniversary of the Costa Concordia cruise ship wreck off the Tuscan island of Giglio. There are some key dates in the saga, including the trial of the captain and the remarkable engineering feat to right the liner from its side so it could

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — European Parliament lawmakers have called for a committee to investigate rights abuses by European Union governments using powerful spyware produced by Israel’s NSO Group. Renew Europe, a liberal political group, said Wednesday that the use of the software to break into the phones of government critics

By MATTHEW DALY and MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The Biden administration says it will hold its first offshore wind auction next month. It’s offering nearly 500,000 acres off the coast of New York and New Jersey for wind energy projects that could produce enough electricity to power nearly 2 million homes.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Starting next month, workers at Universal Orlando’s theme parks will have to be vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing in order to comply with federal guidelines. Company officials said Wednesday that workers at Universal’s theme parks must be fully vaccinated by Feb. 9 or be required to take a test every

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — With life in Kazakhstan’s largest city starting to return to normal after anti-government protests turned violent, relatives of the thousands arrested in the unrest are seeking to learn the fate of their loved ones. About 12,000 people are in custody following the unprecedented violence in the Central Asian nation. In the

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and AAMER MADHANI The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are proposing new sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine. Wednesday’s legislation is aimed at derailing a Republican proposal that the White House fears could undermine unity with European allies. The bill introduced by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz would impose tough

By The Associated Press A passenger arrested in Honduras for damaging the cockpit of an American Airlines jet during boarding has been released by authorities. The flight scheduled to depart for Miami on Tuesday afternoon was delayed for hours until a replacement plane could be arranged. The flight arrived in Florida early Wednesday, about eight

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The United States and NATO have rejected key Russian security demands for easing tensions over Ukraine. But the allies and Russia also left open the possibility of future talks on arms control, missile deployments and ways to prevent military incidents. The decisions came at a meeting of

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is increasing federal support for COVID-19 testing for schools in a bid to keep them open amid the omicron surge. The White House said Wednesday the administration is making a dedicated stream of 5 million rapid tests and 5 million lab-based PCR tests available

By TRISHA THOMAS and NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press GIGLIO, Italy (AP) — Italy is marking the 10th anniversary of the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster with a daylong commemoration on Thursday. The events include a Mass and will end with a candlelit vigil near the moment of impact: 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2012. That’s

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer Richard R. Buery, Jr., is starting his first full year as CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, but he is no stranger to New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization. He first encountered the nonprofit 20 years ago, when Groundwork Inc., the group providing support to children in public housing

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities say they are going to keep a close eye on Citigroup’s proposed sale of its Mexico subsidary, Citibanamex, noting the transaction poses “delicate” regulatory issues. Citibanamex is Mexico’s third-largest bank and regulators are apparently concerned that whoever acquires it could accumulate too big a share of the banking market.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Wednesday after the latest report of surging prices appeared to keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates later this year. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq rose

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Federal records show a severely corroded pipeline ruptured and spilled more than 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel just outside New Orleans. State and local officials say most of the fuel drained into and was skimmed out of two artificial ponds called “borrow pits.”

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The federal government will lease an area larger than half the size of Rhode Island off New Jersey’s and New York’s coasts for wind power development. That’s according to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who made the announcement Wednesday. It’s the first offshore lease in the Biden