National Business - The Morning Sun

FILE - The Twitter application is seen on a digital device, April 25, 2022, in San Diego. Election administrators across the U.S. say they’re concerned their offices will be targeted for fake Twitter accounts that will confuse or mislead voters after the social media platform altered its long-standing verification service. Some are trying to take steps to ensure that voters can tell the difference between the official election office account and any impostors that might pop up in elections this year or during the 2024 cycle. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

New Twitter rules expose election offices to spoof accounts

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Election administrators across the United States say they’re concerned their offices will be targeted for fake Twitter accounts that'll confuse or mislead voters after the social media platform … more

By ALI SWENSON | 5/6/23

Shareholders arrive outside CHI Health Center Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)

Profits jump at Buffett's company ahead of annual meeting

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Warren Buffett's company said its first-quarter profits soared along with the paper value of its investment portfolio. That gave the thousands of shareholders filling an arena to listen to Buffett … more

By JOSH FUNK | 5/6/23

People watch on a computer monitor the latest Italian Ministry of Tourism nine-million-euro campaign showing Botticelli's Venus depicted as a virtual influencer in Rome, Wednesday, May 3, 203. A nine-million-euro advertising campaign by Italy’s conservative government that has transformed “The Birth of Venus,” painted by Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli in Florence around 1485, into a virtual influencer has met with widespread derision. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Botticelli's Venus is an 'influencer' and Italy is not happy

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Sandro Botticelli's iconic goddess of love in his 15th-century masterpiece “Birth of Venus” has now become a “virtual influencer” in a new Italian tourism campaign. The campaign has sparked a … more

By TRISHA THOMAS and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS | 5/6/23

FILE - A man using a cell phone walks past Google offices on Dec. 17, 2018, in New York. Attorneys debated the proper jurisdiction for settling a legal challenge to the first-in-the-nation tax on digital advertising during arguments before Maryland's highest court on Friday, May 5, 2023. Attorneys for Big Tech companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon have contended the law unfairly targets them. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Maryland judges question jurisdiction of digital ad tax case

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Attorneys have debated the proper jurisdiction for settling a legal challenge to the first-in-the-nation tax on digital advertising during arguments before Maryland’s highest court. Meanwhile, an … more

By BRIAN WITTE | 5/5/23

FILE - A flare burns natural gas at an oil well Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D. The federal agency that regulates pipelines on Friday, May 5, 2023, announced new rules aimed at reducing leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from a network of nearly 3 million miles of natural gas pipelines that crisscross the country. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

New pipeline agency rule aimed at cutting methane leaks

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The federal agency that regulates pipelines has announced new rules aimed at reducing leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from a network of nearly 3 million miles of natural gas pipelines that … more

By MATTHEW DALY | 5/5/23

FILE - Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration Billy Nolen testifies during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing to examine the implementation of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act, on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Nolen said Friday, May 5, 2023, that budget cuts approved by House Republicans would cause the agency to furlough thousands of workers and stop hiring new air traffic controllers, making summer air travel worse. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

FAA leader warns of summer travel 'havoc' if GOP cuts pass

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The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration is warning that deep cuts in federal spending could make summer air travel worse. FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen told Congress on Friday … more

By DAVID KOENIG | 5/5/23

This illustration provided by Perrigo in May 2023, depicts proposed packaging for the company's birth control medication Opill. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration meet next week to review drugmaker Perrigo's application to sell a decades-old pill over the counter. The two-day public meeting is one of the last steps before an FDA decision. (Perrigo via AP)

FDA weighing 1st over-the-counter birth control pill

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U.S. health regulators are weighing the first-ever request to make a birth control pill available without a prescription. On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration posted its initial review of a … more

By MATTHEW PERRONE | 5/5/23

File - Solar panels on Germany's biggest floating photovoltaic plant produce energy under a blue sky on a lake in Haltern, Germany, on May 3, 2022. Germany's energy minister announced plans Friday, May 5, 2023 to ease bureaucratic hurdles for solar power as the country set a new record for photovoltaic instalations during the first quarter. Europe's biggest economy added 2.7 Gigawatts of solar power capacity during the first three months of 2023, putting it on course to beat the target of 9 GW this year, up from 7 GW in 2022.(AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

Germany to ease solar rules as new installations surge

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Germany’s energy minister has announced plans to ease bureaucratic hurdles for solar power as the country set a new record for photovoltaic installations during the first quarter. Europe’s … more

5/5/23

This is a display of TurboTax on display in a Costco Warehouse in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. In a settlement agreement last year, TurboTax’s owner Intuit Inc. was ordered to pay $141 million to low-income consumers who were deceived into paying TurboTax to file their federal returns — despite being eligible for free, federally-supported tax services. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

TurboTax customers to receive checks for $141M settlement

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In a settlement agreement last year, TurboTax’s owner Intuit Inc. was ordered to pay $141 million to low-income consumers who were deceived into paying TurboTax to file their federal returns — … more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS | 5/5/23

Members of the The Writers Guild of America picket outside Fox Studios on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, in Los Angeles. Hollywood writers picketing to preserve pay and job security outside major studios and streamers braced for a long fight at the outset of a strike that immediately forced late-night shows into hiatus and numerous other productions on hold. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Could AI pen 'Casablanca'? Screenwriters take aim at ChatGPT

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Not six months since the release of ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence is already prompting widespread unease throughout Hollywood. Concern over chatbots writing or rewriting scripts is one … more

By JAKE COYLE | 5/5/23

Investigators from the State Fire Marshal's Office examine a vat that was hurled out of the pharmaceutical plant and landed an estimated 30 feet away in Newburyport, Mass., Thursday, May 4, 2023. (Keith Sullivan/The Newburyport Daily News via AP)

Massachusetts blast site where 1 died moves to cleanup phase

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The pharmaceutical plant where a powerful blast killed a Massachusetts worker is set to move into the cleanup phase. Firefighters paused work overnight at the Newburyport plant, where a hazardous … more

5/5/23

Labour leader Keir Starmer holds five month old Hazel in Chatham, England, Friday, May 5, 2023 where Labour has taken overall control of Medway Council for the first time since 1998. Britain’s Conservative Party endured big losses in early results from local elections being viewed as a test of support for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government as a national election approaches. The opposition Labour Party and Liberal Democrats made significant gains. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)

UK Conservatives take battering in key local elections

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Britain’s Conservative Party endured big losses in early results from local elections being viewed as a test of support for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government as a national election … more

By JILL LAWLESS | 5/5/23

FILE - A sign is displayed in front of an Adidas retail store in Paramus, N.J., Oct. 25, 2022. Adidas is facing a class-action lawsuit from investors that was filed Friday, April 28, 2023, alleging the company knew about offensive remarks and harmful behavior from Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, years before ending its partnership with him. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Adidas breakup with rapper Ye, lost Yeezy sales hit earnings

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Adidas saw operating earnings dwindle in the first three months of the year as the German sportswear company’s breakup with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West and his popular Yeezy shoe brand … more

5/5/23

A person walks near the Tokyo Stock Exchange building Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Tokyo. Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street sank on worries about the health of U.S. banks that are under pressure from interest rate hikes. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Stock market today: Asia mixed after Wall St sinks

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Asian stock markets are mixed after Wall Street sank on worries about the health of U.S. banks that are under pressure from interest rate hikes. Shanghai declined while Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. … more

By JOE McDONALD | 5/5/23

FILE - Cheng Lei, a Chinese-born Australian journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television, attends a public event in Beijing on Aug. 12, 2020. In 2022, Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei was tried in China on national security charges but has yet to learn the verdict, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in March. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Press group: China biggest global jailer of journalists

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A press freedom group says China was the biggest global jailer of journalists last year with more than 100 behind bars as President Xi Jinping’s government tightened control over society. Reporters … more

5/5/23

FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, on March 22, 2013. That big infusion of cash that Congress approved last year to shape up the beleaguered IRS is having an unexpected side benefit. The funding increase has helped the agency to catch up on processing new and backlogged tax returns. And that, in turn, has allowed federal bean-counters to give policymakers a more precise picture of when the Treasury could run out of money — the so-called X-date. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Faster IRS offering better picture on looming debt 'X-date'

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That big infusion of cash that Congress approved last year to shape up the beleaguered IRS is having an unexpected side benefit. The funding increase has helped the agency to catch up on processing … more

By FATIMA HUSSEIN | 5/5/23

FILE - An Uber sign is displayed at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. Joseph Sullivan, the former chief security officer for Uber has been sentenced to probation for trying to cover up a 2016 data breach in which hackers accessed tens of millions of customer records from the ride-hailing service, Thursday, May 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Ex-Uber security chief sentenced for data-breach cover-up

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The former chief security officer for Uber has been sentenced to probation for trying to cover up a 2016 data breach in which hackers accessed tens of millions of customer records from the … more

5/4/23

Britain's King Charles III receives the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Chris Hipkins, during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London, Wednesday May 3, 2023. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)

Britain to start free trade with New Zealand and Australia

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Britain’s free trade agreements with New Zealand and Australia will come into force by the end of this month. The announcement came Friday while the prime ministers from the two Southern Hemisphere … more

By NICK PERRY | 5/4/23

FILE - Customers shop in an Apple store in Pittsburgh Jan. 30, 2023. Apple reports their earnings on Thursday, May 4. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Apple posts quarterly revenue decline; iPhone sales solid

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Apple has once again posted an, until now, rare revenue decline in its latest fiscal quarter. But the tech giant says its overall business improved from the December quarter and sales of its iPhones … more

By BARBARA ORTUTAY | 5/4/23

FILE - Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, smiles as he plays bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb., May 5, 2019. Investors should not expect a change of leadership at the top of Berkshire Hathaway anytime soon, even though Buffett is 92 and his partner Charlie Munger is 99, one longtime board member said Thursday, May 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Board member: 92-year-old Buffett won't be replaced soon

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A longtime Berkshire Hathaway board member says investors shouldn't expect a change of leadership at the top of the conglomerate anytime soon. Chairman Warren Buffett is 92 and his partner Charlie … more

By JOSH FUNK | 5/4/23