AP National Business

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A mention of “tax havens” typically conjures images of sun-soaked Caribbean escapes like the Cayman Islands or the buttoned-down banks of Switzerland. Not South Dakota. But a report detailing how world leaders and some of the planet’s wealthiest people hide their riches has drawn new scrutiny

By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — For a brief moment this summer, it seemed like small businesses might be getting a break from the relentless onslaught of the pandemic. More Americans, many of them vaccinated, flocked to restaurants and stores without needing to mask up or socially distance. But then came

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press Opponents of Texas’ strict abortion ban are focusing on companies that donated money to the bill’s sponsors. The hope is that consumers will pressure corporate America to join the fight against the restrictions. The television and digital ads that began this past week highlight AT&T’s contributions to Texas Republican lawmakers.

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Patient advocates and some state governments say hospitals must do more to help patients deal with medical bills before the debt winds up in collections. They say many people miss out on assistance because they didn’t know about the help or hospitals didn’t do enough to work with patients.

By MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — U.S. hydropower generation is forecast to drop 14% this year compared with 2020 as drought grips vast areas of the West. Experts say the reductions complicate grid operations since hydropower is a relatively flexible renewable energy source that can be easily turned up or down, such

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Ireland’s foreign minister has warned that British demands risk a “further breakdown in relations” with the European Union ahead of talks this week aimed at resolving the impasse over the Brexit agreement. Simon Coveney posted the remarks on Twitter after the U.K.’s Brexit minister reiterated his insistence

By ADAM GELLER and MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press When a 37-year-old data scientist went before Congress  to accuse Facebook of pursuing profit over safety, it was likely the most consequential choice of her life. The idealism Frances Haugen and countless others had invested in promises by the world’s biggest social network to fix itself had

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is the first state to require large department stores to display products like toys and toothbrushes in gender-neutral ways. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law Saturday. It does not outlaw traditional boys and girls sections at department stores. Instead, it says large stores must also

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Defenders of Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe wine-producing valley are protesting unfettered development they say threatens the area’s environment and agriculture. On Saturday, federal authorities announced they shut down a land-clearing project that had bulldozed native semi-desert vegetation on a hillside to create a concert venue. Protesters gathered under the slogan “More

BISWAJEET BANERJEE Associated Press LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Indian police say they have arrested the son of a junior minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government as a suspect days after nine people were killed in a deadly escalation of yearlong demonstrations. Tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting against contentious agriculture laws in

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators have marched down Rome’s Via Veneto and other main streets to protest a government rule requiring COVID-19 vaccines or negative tests for workers to enter their offices. The requirement takes effect on Oct. 15 and applies to public and private workplaces. The protesters first

LUETZERATH, Germany (AP) — Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate has visited a vast open-pit coal mine in Germany and a village that is to be bulldozed to make way for its expansion. She described the destruction as “really disturbing.” Saturday’s visit by Nakate and other young activists comes a few weeks before U.N. climate talks

By SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s state electricity company says the country’s two main power plants were forced to shut down after running out of fuel. That leaves crisis-hit Lebanon with no government-produced power. The country is dependent on fuel imports but erratic power supplies have put hospitals and essential services

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — During the recent standoff over the nation’s debt limit, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell showed just how far he’ll go to stop President Joe Biden’s agenda. He engineered both the showdown and also its resolution this past week. But there’ll be another fight when funding to

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A top British government official is backing a phone company’s proposal for a new tracking service to help protect girls and women walking alone. A phone company executive pitched the idea amid ongoing outrage over the slayings of two women who were targeted near their homes in

By TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writer Facebook has recently taken a harsher tone toward whistleblower Frances Haugen, suggesting that the social network could be considering legal retaliation after Haugen went public with internal research that she copied before leaving her job earlier this year. U.S. law protects whistleblowers who disclose information about potential misconduct to

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer A spotlight that has been thrown on how many of the rich and powerful shield their wealth is also intensifying a fear among philanthropy experts: That the tax havens being used by the wealthy will increasingly siphon money away from charitable causes. Wealthy Americans have long sought to use

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, MATTHEW BROWN and AMY TAXIN Associated Press HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Coast Guard investigators say an underwater Southern California oil pipeline was likely struck by an anchor several months to a year before a leak spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude. The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday that

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The executive board of the International Monetary Fund says it is seeking more “clarifying details” in its investigation into allegations that the head of the IMF pressured staff at the World Bank to change business rankings for China in an effort to placate that country. IMF