National Business - The Morning Sun

The JCPenney sign lights up the entrance to a store in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. The retailer is reinvesting more than $1 billion into the storied but troubled 121-year-old department store business by the end of 2025 to remodel its stores, upgrade its online shopping site and app and make its supply network more efficient to speed up online shipping among other plans. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

JCPenney is spending $1 billion on store and online upgrades in latest bid to revive its business

Exclusive subscriber content

JCPenney says it plans to spend more than $1 billion by the end of 2025 in a bid to revive the storied but troubled 121-year-old department store chain. The money is going toward remodeling JCPenney … more

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO | 8/31/23

FILE- Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani attends the "Invest Karnataka 2016 - Global Investors Meet" in Bangalore, India, Feb. 3, 2016. Associates with alleged links to the conglomerate, used offshore entities to invest millions into publicly traded company stocks, a report from a network of investigative journalists Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project claimed on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. It identified two investors as Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling, and said they have longtime business ties to the Adani family and have served as directors and shareholders in the group’s companies. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)

Report says close associates of India's Adani Group secretly purchased large numbers of shares

Exclusive subscriber content

Two people closely linked to India’s Adani Group, one of the country’s largest conglomerates, secretly purchased of millions of dollars of stocks in the group’s companies, possibly violating … more

8/31/23

FILE - A woman pushes a small shopping cart outside a discount market in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 27, 2023. Inflation fell again in Europe in August, supporting market speculation that the European Central Bank might pause its record series of interest rate hikes. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

Europe's inflation held steady in August as European Central Bank keeps an open mind on rates

Exclusive subscriber content

Inflation paused its decline in Europe in August. The reading of 5.3% held steady from July. That's down from the double-digit peak in October. But it's still too high for the European Central Bank. … more

By DAVID McHUGH | 8/31/23

People who support a strike called by a union representing workers at Sogo & Seibu Co., shout slogans in front of the flagship Seibu Ikebukuro department store in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. Labor union members of Japanese department store operator Sogo & Seibu stage a rare strike at its flagship store in Tokyo over job security concerns, as its parent company plans to sell the chain to a U.S. fund despite the union's opposition. The banners read "Sogo&Seibu, Strike solidarity, "bottom left, and "President Isaka, Resignation!, " bottom right. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan's Sogo & Seibu department stores are being sold to a US fund as 900 workers go on strike

Exclusive subscriber content

Japanese retailer Seven & i Holdings Co. is selling department store chain Sogo & Seibu Co. to a U.S. investment fund, as the labor union went on strike ahead of the announcement. The transfer to … more

By YURI KAGEYAMA | 8/31/23

A visitor looks at an electronic stock board at Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday, Aug. 18, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday, Aug. 31, after Japanese factory activity and Chinese service industry growth weakened.(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Stock market today: Asian markets lower after Japanese factory activity and China services weaken

Exclusive subscriber content

Asian stock markets are mostly lower after Japanese factory activity and Chinese service industry growth weakened. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul declined. Tokyo gained. Oil prices edged lower. Wall … more

By JOE McDONALD | 8/31/23

FILE - A traffic light signals green in front of the logos of the Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 19, 2023. Swiss bank UBS announced Thursday plans to save $10 billion in costs as it moves ahead with “full integration” of longtime rival Credit Suisse's domestic operations, as UBS released its first earnings report since the government-orchestrated merger to help stave off a possible global financial meltdown. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP, File)

UBS reports huge 2Q profit skewed by Credit Suisse takeover, foresees $10B in cost cuts

Exclusive subscriber content

Swiss bank UBS announced plans to save $10 billion in costs as it moves ahead with “full integration” of longtime rival Credit Suisse’s domestic operations, releasing its first earnings report … more

By JAMEY KEATEN | 8/31/23

Firemen arrange steel sheets from a factory that caught fire in Quezon city, Philippines on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. A fire killed more than a dozen people Thursday in a small apparel factory in a Philippine residential area, where firefighters were delayed by flooding, traffic and a wrong address, a fire protection official. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A fire kills 15 in a Philippine factory, where rains and a wrong address delayed firefighters

Exclusive subscriber content

A fire has killed 15 people in a small apparel factory in a Philippine residential area, where flooding, traffic and a wrong address delayed firefighters. A fire protection official said most of the … more

8/31/23

Kelly McKernan poses for a portrait Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. McKernan is an artist and one of three plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Artificial Intelligence companies they allege have have infringed on their copyright. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Visual artists fight back against AI companies for repurposing their work

Exclusive subscriber content

Three visual artists are suing artificial intelligence image-generators to protect their copyrights and careers. A federal judge must soon decide whether to dismiss the case. The lawsuit may serve as … more

By JOCELYN NOVECK and MATT O'BRIEN | 8/31/23

FIEL - Robin Li, CEO of search giant Baidu, talks about AI during the Baidu Create 2018 held in Beijing, China, on July 4, 2018. Chinese search engine and artificial intelligence firm Baidu made its ChatGPT-equivalent language model fully available to the public Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023, raising the company’s stock price by over 3% following the announcement. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

China's Baidu makes AI chatbot Ernie Bot publicly available

Exclusive subscriber content

Chinese search engine and artificial intelligence firm Baidu has made its ChatGPT-equivalent language model, Ernie Bot, fully available to the public. The company’s stock price rose by over 3% … more

By ZEN SOO | 8/31/23

Carol Giuliani, who is a member of the Dementia-Friendly Airports Working group and works as a travel companion for seniors with dementia, walks through Terminal 3 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after bringing a client from Minnesota Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Phoenix. “Ninety percent of the time it’s a family member that hires me,” said Giuliani, while seated at Phoenix Sky Harbor after escorting an elderly man on a flight. “The one I did today, (the wife) was like ‘thank you, thank you, thank you!’... I know how to pace it so that he gets safely and comfortably back home.” (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Some US airports strive to make flying more inclusive for those with dementia

Exclusive subscriber content

With over 14 million people expected to check into airports nationwide for Labor Day weekend, a number of them inevitably will be travelers with dementia or some sort of cognitive impairment. … more

By TERRY TANG | 8/31/23

FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement at his office, May 26, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Investigators leading the impeachment of Paxton have released nearly 4,000 pages of documents that reveal in new detail how the embattled Republican allegedly used multiple cell phones, aliases on ride-sharing apps to conceal an affair and pressured top aides to help a donor who is now facing criminal charges.(AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pursued perks beyond impeachment allegations, ex-staffers say

Exclusive subscriber content

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's accusers say impeachment charges don't tell the full story of how the three-term Republican reaped the benefits of elected office. Paxton is set to stand trial … more

By JAKE BLEIBERG and PAUL J. WEBER | 8/31/23

FILE - Units 3, left, and 4 and their cooling towers stand at Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant, Jan. 20, 2023, in Waynesboro, Ga. Residential customers of Georgia's largest electrical utility could see their bills rise another $9 a month to pay for a new nuclear power plant under a deal announced Wednesday, Aug. 30. Georgia Power Co. said customers would pay $7.56 billion more for Plant Vogtle construction costs under the agreement with utility regulatory staff. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Georgia Power customers could see monthly bills rise another $9 to pay for the Vogtle nuclear plant

Exclusive subscriber content

Residential customers of Georgia’s largest electrical utility could see their bills rise another $9 a month to pay for a new nuclear power plant. Under an agreement announced Wednesday, Georgia … more

By JEFF AMY | 8/30/23

FILE - Michael Avenatti makes a statement to the press as he leaves federal court in New York, July 23, 2019. A federal appeals court on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, upheld Avenatti's conviction for plotting to extort up to $25-million from shoe giant Nike – one of several legal messes that have landed him behind bars. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Court upholds Michael Avenatti's conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from Nike

Exclusive subscriber content

A federal appeals court has upheld disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti’s conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from shoe giant Nike – one of several legal messes that have landed him … more

By MICHAEL R. SISAK | 8/30/23

Saudi man receives death penalty for posts online, latest case in wide-ranging crackdown on dissent

Exclusive subscriber content

A Saudi court has sentenced a man to death over his posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, and his activity on YouTube. It's part of a widening crackdown on dissent in the kingdom that’s drawn … more

By JON GAMBRELL | 8/30/23

In this photo provided by Cabinet Public Affairs Office, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida eats the seafood from Fukushima prefecture at lunch at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (Cabinet Public Affairs Office via AP)

Japanese ministers eat Fukushima fish to show it's safe after nuclear plant wastewater is discharged

Exclusive subscriber content

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and three Cabinet ministers have eaten Fukushima fish sashimi at a lunch meeting in an apparent effort to show that fish is safe following the release of … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 8/30/23

File - A worker prepares materials and construction parts at the Boeing Interiors Responsibility Center in North Charleston, S.C., on May 31, 2023. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department issues its second of three estimates of how the U.S. economy performed in the second quarter of 2023.(Gavin McIntyre/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool, File)

US economic growth for last quarter is revised down to a 2.1% annual rate

Exclusive subscriber content

The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.1% annual pace from April through June, showing continued resilience in the face of higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, the government said in a … more

By PAUL WISEMAN | 8/30/23

Shawn Batey, right, a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, pickets outside of Netflix's offices in New York on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, the 100th day of the Hollywood writers' strike. Batey is one of 2,600 film or television workers who have also lost work during the strike and who have been helped by the nonprofit Entertainment Community Fund. (AP Photo/Thalia Beaty)

Hollywood's working class turns to nonprofit funds to make ends meet during the strike

Exclusive subscriber content

Hollywood crew members are turning to nonprofits like the Entertainment Community Fund for assistance as they have also lost work during the writer and actors strikes. So far, the Entertainment … more

By THALIA BEATY | 8/30/23

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, center, German Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck, right, and German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, left, arrive for a press conference during a closed cabinet meeting at the government's guesthouse Meseberg in Gransee, north of Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)

Germany's Scholz pledges less infighting as his government works to boost the economy

Exclusive subscriber content

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is pledging that his government will tone down frequent public infighting that has weighed it down badly in polls as it works to pick up the country’s stagnant … more

By GEIR MOULSON | 8/30/23

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks during the press conference at the Boeing Shanghai Aviation Service Co., Ltd, in Shanghai, China, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool)

US commerce secretary warns China will be 'uninvestable' without action on raids, fines

Exclusive subscriber content

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says she warned Chinese leaders that U.S. businesses might stop investing in their country without prompt action to address complaints about worsening conditions due … more

By JOE McDONALD | 8/30/23

FILE - Tesla vehicles charge at a station in Emeryville, Calif., Aug. 10, 2022. In a document posted Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, U.S. auto safety regulators have opened another investigation into safety problems with Tesla vehicles concerning loss of steering control or loss of power steering in the 2023 Models 3 and Y electric vehicles. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)

After Tesla relaxes monitoring of drivers using its Autopilot technology, US regulators seek answers

Exclusive subscriber content

Tesla is letting some drivers use its Autopilot driver-assist system for extended periods without making them put their hands on the steering wheel, a development that has drawn concern from U.S. … more

By TOM KRISHER | 8/30/23