AP National Business

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin has “constructive” relations with the Biden administration and has voiced hope that mutual interests would eventually help normalize U.S.-Russia ties. Putin addressed an array of topics while speaking during a panel discussion at an international energy conference in Moscow on

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The embattled head of the International Monetary Fund is pledging renewed efforts to bolster data integrity while focusing on the main job of helping countries recover from a devastating global pandemic. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva successfully fought to keep her job following a data-manipulation scandal.

By MATTHEW PERRONE and LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is wrestling with how to decide on booster doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Other manufacturers want to offer boosters six months after primary vaccination. But J&J proposed a range of times, from two months to

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s high-speed rail project is again facing an uncertain future as lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom debate whether to give it $4.2 billion in bond money. Rail officials say they need that money to continue construction beyond next year. But some Democrats in the Assembly don’t

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks edged mostly lower on Wall Street in midday trading Wednesday after giving up an early gain. The S&P 500 was off 0.2%, and could be headed for its fourth straight decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.2%. Delta Air Lines

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Moccasin maker Minnetonka is publicly apologizing for making money off of Native culture and promised to do more to support Indigenous communities in the future after 75 years in business. In a statement posted Monday on its company website, Minnetonka CEO David Miller said the

By MARCIA DUNN and RICK TABER Associated Press VAN HORN, Texas (AP) — Hollywood’s Captain Kirk, 90-year-old William Shatner, has blasted into space and safely returned to Earth in a convergence of science fiction and science reality. He set out Wednesday morning for the final frontier aboard a ship built by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Hundreds of Bulgarian coal miners and energy workers are protesting to demand government guarantees for their jobs amid bids by the European Union to close mines and reduce carbon emissions. Buses carried protesters from across Bulgaria for the rally Wednesday in downtown Sofia. Demonstrators chanted “We want jobs!” as they marched

By MARCIA DUNN and RICK TABER Associated Press VAN HORN, Texas (AP) — Actor William Shatner is counting down to his wildest role yet: riding a rocket into space, courtesy of “Star Trek” fan Jeff Bezos. Best known for his role as Captain Kirk, the 90-year-old Shatner is joining three other passengers for Wednesday morning’s

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The great Brexit brawl is heading into its next standoff as European Union concessions to improve trade in Northern Ireland are likely to be deemed insufficient by the United Kingdom. The EU’s top Brexit official has proposed major changes in the customs system for Northern Ireland. It

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Hundreds of Bulgarian coal miners and energy workers have staged a protest to demand government guarantees for their jobs amid bids by the European Union to close mines and reduce carbon emissions. Buses carried protesters from across Bulgaria for the rally Wednesday in downtown Sofia. Demonstrators chanted “We want jobs” as

By MARCIA DUNN and RICK TABER Associated Press VAN HORN, Texas (AP) — Actor William Shatner is counting down to his wildest role yet: riding a rocket into space, courtesy of “Star Trek” fan Jeff Bezos. Best known for his role as Captain Kirk, the 90-year-old Shatner is joining three other passengers for Wednesday morning’s

The Associated Press Stocks are inching higher in early trading on Wall Street led by strength in several Big Tech companies. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% in the early going Wednesday. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day losing streak. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has announced plans to open a representation in the Arctic and vowed to protect environment in a region the bloc considers of key strategic importance. The 27-nation bloc will open a European Commission office in Greenland and use EU funding to promote sustainable development in the Arctic. Acknowledging its

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Rising inflation has triggered a jump in Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2022. The Social Security Administration revealed the new 5.9% COLA on Wednesday. Compare it with the last 10 years, when the cost-of-living adjustment averaged about 1.7% annually as inflation remained low. But

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says it’s helped broker an agreement for the Port of Los Angeles to become a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week operation. It’s an effort to relieve supply chain bottlenecks and move the stranded container ships that are driving prices higher for American consumers. President Joe Biden plans

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Ms. Foundation for Women unveiled $4 million in funding Wednesday for more than 100 groups working for social justice, but the nation’s oldest women’s foundation hopes the impact of its grants will be even larger by helping reshape philanthropy. More than 90% of Ms.