Wire stories category, Page 6
Mortgage rates have declined but could stay at a level that makes it tough to afford a home
LOS ANGELES — Mortgage rates have been mostly declining in recent weeks, helping encourage prospective home shoppers just as the spring homebuying season gets going. But the same factors that have pulled mortgage rates to their lowest level since December — signs that the U.S. economy is slowing and uncertainty...
The U.S. penny costs nearly 4 cents to make. But for 1 sector of souvenir sellers, it’s a living
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump talks of big change in his second term of office. But he’s not forgetting small change, either. Trump ordered the Treasury Department to stop making pennies with a Feb. 10 sentence on his social media account that followed years of conservatives pointing out that...
Wall Street rebounds after Trump pulls back on some of his tariffs
NEW YORK — Stocks climbed Wednesday after President Donald Trump pulled back on some of his tariffs temporarily. The move revived hope on Wall Street that Trump may avoid a worst-case trade war that grinds down economies and sends inflation higher. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% to bounce back from...
TKO Group, which houses WWE and UFC, partners with Saudi entertainment authority on boxing league
NEW YORK — TKO Group, the company that houses WWE and UFC, entered a multiyear agreement with the Saudi General Entertainment Authority to create a new boxing promotion, it was announced Wednesday. Led by UFC president and CEO Dana White and WWE president and TKO board member Nick Khan, TKO...
Cybercrime crew stole then resold hundreds of tickets to Swift concerts, prosecutors say
NEW YORK — A cybercrime crew stole then resold more than 900 digital tickets to Taylor Swift concerts and other pricey events on StubHub, according to prosecutors in New York. The international scam involved people working in Jamaica for a firm contracted by the online ticket marketplace, Queens District Attorney...
BlackRock strikes deal to bring ports on both sides of Panama Canal under American control
A Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its controlling stake in a subsidiary that operates ports near the Panama Canal to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., effectively putting the ports under American control after President Donald Trump alleged Chinese interference with the operations of the critical shipping lane. In...
Wall Street wipes out all post-election gains for S&P 500
Stocks racked up more losses on Wall Street Tuesday as a trade war between the U.S. and its key trading partners escalated, wiping out all the gains since Election Day for the S&P 500. The Trump administration imposed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday and doubled tariffs...
Dow drops nearly 650 as worries build about the economy as a result of Trump’s latest tariff announcement
NEW YORK — Stocks tumbled Monday and wiped out out even more of their gains since President Donald Trump ’s election in November, after he said that tariffs announced earlier on Canada and Mexico would take effect within hours. The S&P 500 dropped 1.8% after Trump said there was “no...
From Alaska to Maine, communities that border Canada worry U.S. tariffs come at a personal cost
DETROIT — At the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, a quote from former President Ronald Reagan is engraved on one wall. “Let the 5,000-mile border between Canada and the United States stand as a symbol for the future,” Reagan said upon signing a 1988 free trade pact with America’s northern neighbor....
Pennsylvania Republicans who narrowly won their House seats feel the heat of early votes back home
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Newly minted U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan swore he wouldn’t support gutting government benefits such as Medicaid that residents of his northeastern Pennsylvania district rely on. Then the first-term Republican voted for a bill that could do just that. Bresnahan and two other Pennsylvania Republicans won in November...
With value of running backs increasing, Ashton Jeanty and deep position group hope to cash in
INDIANAPOLIS — Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty noticed running back values declining just as his college career started to take off. Then he watched the resurgence of free agent acquisitions Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs and realized things were back on the upswing — just as Jeanty was...
Trump cutoff of humanitarian parole for immigrants from Ukraine, 6 other countries challenged
MIAMI — A group of American citizens and immigrants is suing the Trump administration for ending a long-standing legal tool presidents have used to allow people from countries where there’s war or political instability to enter and temporarily live in the U.S. The lawsuit filed late Friday night seeks to...
Texas GOP leaders defend appointee after tense exchange over diversity hiring
AUSTIN, Texas — An appointee of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wiped away tears and gave an emotional defense of her credentials after a tense exchange over diversity hiring policies, which was later followed by the state’s top Republicans rushing to support her publicly. Texas Water Board Development Chair L’Oreal Stepney,...
No big new revelations in Justice Department’s release of Jeffrey Epstein files
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday released government documents related to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, but the first wave of files posted on the Justice Department website have largely been circulating in the public domain for years and didn’t include any new bombshells about the sex trafficking case...
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce plans to play next season rather than retire
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce plans to play next season rather than retire. The 35-year-old Kelce had been mulling whether to return for a 13th season. But the four-time All-Pro made his feelings clear in a text to Pat McAfee that the host read...
Former defense chiefs call for congressional hearings on Trump’s firing of senior military leaders
WASHINGTON — Five former secretaries of defense are calling on Congress to hold immediate hearings on President Donald Trump’s recent firings of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and several other senior military leaders, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. The five men — who...
Cardinal McElroy calls for compassion in immigration policy as he prepares to lead in Washington
Cardinal Robert McElroy, who is getting ready to take over as archbishop of Washington, D.C. in March, called for compassion and dignity for migrants Thursday. Speaking at a news conference at the Diocese of San Diego, where he has served as bishop for over a decade, McElroy acknowledged that he...
Transgender troops are now being identified for removal under Pentagon orders
WASHINGTON — The military services have 30 days to figure out how they will seek out and identify transgender service members to remove them from the force — a daunting task that may end up relying on troops self-reporting or tattling on their colleagues. A memo sent to Defense Department...
Fabric and craft retailer Joann to go out of business and close all of its stores
NEW YORK — Fabric and crafts retailer Joann Inc., which has been a destination for generations of quilters, knitters and lovers of crafts projects for 80 years, is going out of business and shuttering all its stores. The announcement comes after the Hudson, Ohio-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy...
Apple announces $500 billion investment in U.S. amid tariff threats that could affect iPhone
NEW YORK — Apple announced Monday that it plans to invest more than $500 billion in the United States over the next four years, including plans to hire 20,000 people and build a new server factory in Texas. The move comes just days after President Donald Trump said Apple CEO...
Starbucks lays off 1,100 corporate employees as coffee chain streamlines
Starbucks plans to lay off 1,100 corporate employees globally as new Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol streamlines operations. In a letter to employees released Monday, Niccol said the company will inform employees who are being laid off by midday Tuesday. Niccol said Starbucks is also eliminating several hundred open and...
Slide for Walmart pulls Wall Street from its record, and Dow drops 450
NEW YORK — A sharp slide for Walmart on Thursday helped pull Wall Street off of its record. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% for its first drop after setting all-time highs in each of the last two days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 450 points, or 1%, and the...
Paramount, YouTube TV strike deal, averting CBS outage
LOS ANGELES — Google’s YouTube and Paramount Global have struck a new distribution contract, averting a threatened blackout of CBS and other television channels for nearly 8 million YouTube TV customers. The deal was clinched Saturday night, about 48 hours after the previous pact had expired. The two sides then...
Igloo recalls over a million coolers after handle hazard causes fingertip amputation injuries
NEW YORK — Igloo is recalling more than 1 million of its coolers sold across the U.S., Mexico and Canada due to a handle hazard that has resulted in a handful of fingertip injuries, including some amputations. The now-recalled “Igloo 90 Qt. Flip & Tow Rolling Coolers” have a tow...
Chocolate love has its price on Valentine’s Day as cocoa costs make hearts shudder, not flutter
BRUGES, Belgium — Valentine’s Day chocolates always seek to show how deep your love is. This year, it might just also show how deep your pockets are. With the price of cocoa beans setting unprecedented records on the commodities market, it will certainly turn the gift of love into a...
