AP National Business

By HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic senator vital to the fate of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion plan for social and environmental spending says he won’t support even half that amount or the ambitious timetable envisioned for passing it. The stand by Sen. Joe Manchin is described as unacceptable by the

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Southern has decided that a $31 billion bid from Canadian Pacific is the best of two offers on the table to buy the railroad. The Kansas City, Missouri, company said in a statement Sunday that it has notified rival bidder Canadian National that it intends to terminate a

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline went up 2 cents over the past two weeks, to $3.25 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday the increase resumes the climb in gas prices over the past 10 months, following a two-week break where the average price

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” stayed on top at the box office, collecting $35.8 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. That total was good enough for the best second-weekend gross of any film during the

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera returned to its home after an 18-month absence caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Before a masked crowd of 3,600, music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin led a performance of the Verdi Requiem in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The Met had

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (AP) — Maine potato growers are feeling optimistic with a solid crop awaiting harvest and reopening restaurants driving stronger demand. Growers are looking for something to cheer after a dismal 2020 in which crops withered from heat and drought, and some potatoes were given away. Don Flannery from the Maine Potato Board

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government says more than 50% of the population has been fully vaccinated. Its campaign before later than many other wealthy countries due to a lengthy process of required clinical testing and approval. But it picked up pace and has since achieved 1 million doses per day. Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen says China has agreed to provide the Southeast Asian nation with grant aid of 1.75 billion yuan ($272 million). He announced the assistance Sunday during a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang met Hun Sen and other officials

BEIJING (AP) — A city in southern China that is trying to contain a coronavirus outbreak has called on the public not to leave town. It has also suspended bus and train service and closed cinemas, bars and other facilities. The city of Putian is home to 2.9 million people in Fujian province, south of

DALLAS (AP) — Business-software company Salesforce says it will help employees leave Texas if they are worried about a new law that severely restricts abortion in the state. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff made his position clear by retweeting a CNBC story describing the company’s offer to help employees relocate. Benioff said in a tweet directed

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is urging fellow religious leaders and others to counter breeding grounds for fundamentalist violence by promoting opportunities for schooling and for combating poverty. Francis made the call in a message to a meeting which began in Bologna on Saturday night. The four-day gathering is aimed at fostering understanding among

By COSTAS KANTOURIS and DEMETRIS NELLAS Associated Press THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister says the economy will grow 5.9% during 2021. That is far more than the original 3.6% estimate. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made the announcement Saturday in a keynote address at the Thessaloniki International Fair. He noted that employment has risen

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Catalans have rallied for independence from the rest of Spain in their first major mass gathering since the start of the pandemic. The march in Barcelona on Saturday comes before a meeting between regional leaders in northeast Catalonia and the Spanish government.

By DARKO VOJINOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Several thousand people in Serbia have attended a protest demanding a ban on planned lithium mining in the Balkan country as well as a resolution to scores of other environmental issues. The rally Saturday in downtown Belgrade was organized by about 30 ecological groups who recently

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she finds it unacceptable that refugees are being used to apply pressure to Poland and other European Union members on the border with Belarus. Merkel was speaking at a news conference Saturday during what she said she expected to be her

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Large numbers of doctors, nurses and other medical workers are marching in Warsaw to demand higher wages and an improvement in working conditions made more difficult by the coronavirus pandemic. Poland’s health care sector was strapped for funds even before the pandemic. And low wages drove many medical workers to seek

By JOSH BOAK and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Don’t focus on the bottom line. That’s President Joe Biden’s message for fellow Democrats about his plan to raise taxes to remake large swaths of the American economy, Biden is trying to persuade Democrats to look past specific numbers and embrace a more emotional

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Health experts say this fall’s crowded college and professional football stadiums could create ripe conditions for COVID-19 to spread among unvaccinated fans. Many football stadiums aren’t requiring fans to wear masks or be vaccinated. But the risk of catching or passing along a virus that has infected more than

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Sekou Siby was a cook and dishwasher at the World Trade Center’s Windows on the World restaurant. On Sept. 11, 2001, he had swapped shifts with a co-worker who ended up dying in the terrorist attacks that day. Twenty years later, Siby still feels the pangs