National Business - The Morning Sun

AP PHOTOS: Unrest grips Israel as the parliament adopts a law weakening the Supreme Court

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TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli government’s adoption of the first part of a controversial judicial overhaul on Monday unleashed turbulence in the streets of Israel and in the halls of the … more

By The Associated Press | 7/25/23

Travelers check in at the Spirit Airlines ticket counter at Manchester Boston Regional Airport, Friday, June 2, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. On Tuesday, the Conference Board reports on U.S. consumer confidence for July. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

U.S. consumer confidence jumps to a two-year high as inflation eases

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U.S. consumer confidence shot to the highest level in two years this month as inflationary pressures eased and the American economy continued to show resilience in the face of dramatically higher … more

By PAUL WISEMAN | 7/25/23

FILE - This Nov. 9, 2013 file photo shows the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (St. Mary of Health) at sunset as seen from the water to the south. The church, built after plague broke out in the 17th century, is a fixture of the city's skyline. The Venice Film Festival, a top launching pad for awards hopefuls, announces the lineup for the 80th edition, which could now be stripped of some of its Hollywood glamour because of the ongoing actors and writers strike. (AP Photo/Michelle Locke)

Venice Film Festival unveils A-list lineup with ‘Priscilla,’ ‘Ferrari,’ ‘Maestro’ amid strikes

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Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein drama “Maestro,” Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla Presley movie, Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” David Fincher’s “The Killer” and Ava DuVernay’s … more

By LINDSEY BAHR | 7/25/23

FILE - Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a joint news conference with his Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra, following their meeting in Beijing, China, on May 23, 2023. China has removed outspoken foreign minister Qin Gang from office and replaced him with his predecessor, Wang Yi. In an announcement on Tuesday, July 25, evening, state media gave no reason for Qin’s removal, but it comes after he dropped out of sight almost one month ago amid speculation over his personal affairs and political rivalries. (Thomas Peter/Pool Photo via AP, File)

China removes outspoken foreign minister Qin Gang and replaces him with his predecessor, Wang Yi

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China has removed outspoken foreign minister Qin Gang from office and replaced him with his predecessor, Wang Yi. In an announcement on Tuesday evening, state media gave no reason for Qin's removal, … more

7/25/23

Indonesian police officers escort suspects and display the items of evidence during a press conference at Jakarta police headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 20, 2023. Indonesian police are investigating an illegal trade in human organs involving a police and an immigration officers who were accused of helping traffickers send 122 Indonesians to a hospital in Cambodia to sell their kidneys, police said.(AP Photo)

Indonesian police crack down on traffickers who sent 122 people to sell their kidneys in Cambodia

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Indonesian police are investigating the illegal trade in human organs involving police and immigration officers who were accused of helping traffickers send 122 Indonesians to a hospital in Cambodia … more

By NINIEK KARMINI | 7/25/23

FILE - A visitor to the 21st China Beijing International High-tech Expo looks at a computer chip through the microscope displayed by the state-controlled Tsinghua Unigroup project which has emerged as a national champion for Beijing's semiconductor ambitions in Beijing, on May 17, 2018. European Union member states gave final approval Tuesday July 25, 2023 for the bloc's master plan to expand semiconductor production, clearing the path for its massive effort to slash reliance on Asia for computer chips vital for everything from washing machines to cars. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Europe's strategy to boost its computer chip industry and compete with Asia gets final approval

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European Union member states have given final approval for the bloc’s master plan to expand semiconductor production. That clears the path for the EU's massive effort to slash reliance on Asia for … more

7/25/23

General Motors Q2 earnings rise 52% on strong sales, prices and automaker raises outlook for 2023

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General Motors posted $2.54 billion in second-quarter net income, a 52% increase over a year ago. The Detroit automaker said continued strong vehicle sales and pricing, as well as cost cuts, led to … more

By TOM KRISHER | 7/25/23

FILE - Rescuers conduct a search operation along a road submerged by floodwaters leading to an underground tunnel in Cheongju, South Korea, July 16, 2023. Countries in the Asia-Pacific region needs to drastically increase their investments in disaster warning systems and other tools to counter rising risks from climate change, a United Nations report said Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP, File)

Asia-Pacific needs disaster warning systems to counter rising climate change risks, report says

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A United Nations report says the Asia-Pacific region needs to drastically increase its investments in disaster warning systems and other tools to counter rising risks from climate change. The report … more

By ELAINE KURTENBACH | 7/25/23

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks in Philadelphia, July 20, 2023. Biden's administration is announcing new rules meant to push insurance companies to increase their coverage of mental health treatments. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

The Biden administration proposes new rules to push insurers to boost mental health coverage

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President Joe Biden’s administration is announcing new rules meant to push insurance companies to increase their coverage of mental health treatments. The new regulations being announced Tuesday … more

7/25/23

FILE - The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, is seen in the background of the shallow Kakhovka Reservoir after the dam collapse, in Energodar, Russian-occupied Ukraine, Tuesday, June 27, 2023. The U.N. atomic watchdog said in a statement late Monday, July 24, 2023, its staff at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant report seeing anti-personnel mines around the site. The report comes as Kyiv pursues a counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s entrenched forces after 17 months of war. (AP Photo/Libkos, File)

UN watchdog says landmines are placed around Ukrainian nuke plant occupied by Russia

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The U.N. atomic watchdog says its staff at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant report seeing anti-personnel mines around the site. The report comes as Kyiv pursues a … more

By FELIPE DANA | 7/25/23

A currency trader passes by screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Tuesday after China's ruling Communist Party promised to shore up its sagging economy ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting traders hope will announce this interest rate cycle's final increase. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Stock market today: Asian markets follow Wall St up after Chinese promise to support economy

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Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street higher after China’s ruling Communist Party promised to shore up its sagging economy ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting that traders hope will announce … more

By JOE McDONALD | 7/25/23

Luxury group LVMH joins top-tier French sponsors of the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics

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The world’s biggest luxury group, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has announced a sponsorship deal with the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics. Antoine Arnault, one of the heirs to the LVMH … more

7/24/23

REMOVES REFERENCE TO BILLIONAIRE FILE - The Santa Barbara News-Press building is seen on Sept. 5, 2006, in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Santa Barbara News-Press, one of California's oldest newspapers, has ceased publishing after its owner declared the 150-year-old publication bankrupt. After floundering for years, the newspaper became an online-only publication in April but its last digital edition was posted Friday, July 21, 2023, when owner Wendy McCaw filed for bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

Santa Barbara's daily, one of California's oldest, stops publishing after owner declares bankruptcy

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The Pulitzer Prize-winning Santa Barbara News-Press, one of California’s oldest newspapers, has ceased publishing after its owner declared the 150-year-old publication bankrupt. The newspaper … more

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ | 7/24/23

A woman walks past advertisements for the films "Oppenheimer," from left, and "Barbie," on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the Landmark Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

In 'Barbie,' 'Oppenheimer' smash success, audiences send message to Hollywood: Give us something new

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In the massive movie weekend of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” there were many winners. But one of the most important triumphs in the moviegoing monsoon of “Barbenheimer” was originality. … more

By JAKE COYLE | 7/24/23

FILE - Construction crews bore beneath U.S. 221 in Roanoke County, Va., June 22, 2018, to make a tunnel through which the Mountain Valley Pipeline will pass under the highway. The state of West Virginia announced Monday, July 24, 2023, that it is appealing a ruling that blocked construction on a segment of the contentious natural gas pipeline being built through Virginia and West Virginia. (Heather Rousseau/The Roanoke Times via AP, File)

US Supreme Court asked to set aside ruling that blocks construction on Mountain Valley Pipeline

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The state of West Virginia is appealing a court ruling that temporarily blocked construction on a contentious natural gas pipeline. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has asked the U.S. … more

By JOHN RABY | 7/24/23

FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington, on May 4, 2021. Effective immediately, the Internal Revenue Service will end its decades-old policy of making unannounced home and business visits — in a nod to worker safety and combatting scammers who pose as IRS agents. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

IRS is ending unannounced visits to taxpayers to protect worker safety and combat scammers

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The IRS says it is ending its decades-old policy of making unannounced home and business visits — in a an effort to keep its workers safe and combat scammers who pose as IRS agents. Effective … more

By FATIMA HUSSEIN | 7/24/23

Chris Young performs at the 56th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tenn., on April 16, 2021, left, and David Bowie performs during a concert in Hartford, Conn., on Sept. 14, 1995. Young’s latest single, “Young Love & Saturday Nights,” samples Bowie's 1974 hit “Rebel Rebel." Bowie, whose extensive music catalog was sold to Warner Chappell Music last year, is credited posthumously as a songwriter on the track, making it one of the genre-melding icon's few forays into country music. (AP Photo)

How David Bowie, long thought ambivalent to country music, became a writer on a Chris Young song

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Country star Chris Young’s latest single, “Young Love & Saturday Nights,” is a vivid love letter to summertime weekends, old trucks, and dive bar bands. And it might sound immediately familiar: … more

By MARIA SHERMAN | 7/24/23

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Margot Robbie in a scene from "Barbie." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

With ‘Barbie,’ Greta Gerwig breaks a box office record for female directors

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“Barbie” didn’t just break the opening weekend record for 2023; It also shattered the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman. With $162 million in ticket sales from North American … more

By LINDSEY BAHR | 7/24/23

In this undated photo provided by Salesforce, CEO Marc Benioff poses for a photo. (Christie Hemm Klok/Salesforce via AP)

Salesforce CEO shares his predictions for AI and the future of work

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Salesforce founder Marc Benioff is among the few tech pioneers who is also still CEO at a groundbreaking company born in the 1990s. And the 58-year-old Benioff isn't ready to leave Salesforce yet, … more

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE | 7/24/23

File - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks after a Federal Open Market Committee meeting, June 14, 2023, at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington. The Federal Reserve wraps up its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, July, 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Key question as Federal Reserve meets: Can the central bank pull off a difficult 'soft landing'?

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When Chair Jerome Powell and other Federal Reserve officials gather this week for their latest decision on interest rates, they will do so on the cusp of achieving an elusive “soft landing” — … more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER | 7/24/23