AP National Business

BY DREW COSTLEY AP Science Writer A California law that prohibits new oil and gas wells from being drilled near homes, schools and hospitals could face a referendum in the 2024 election. Stop the Energy Shutdown, a campaign organized by oil and gas industry groups, said Tuesday it has collected enough signatures for a referendum

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A battery recycler said Wednesday it will spend $3.5 billion and hire 1,500 workers on a new plant near the South Carolina coast. Redwood Materials plans to pull out key components of batteries such as nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper, and reuse them to make electrodes for electric vehicles, the Carson

CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — A shooting at an Amazon Flex warehouse facility in a Phoenix suburb left the suspect dead and another person wounded on Wednesday, authorities said. A person who wasn’t an Amazon employee went on the grounds of the facility in the suburb of Chandler and shot a contracted worker about 9:30 a.m.,

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press The U.S. Census Bureau is putting on hold plans to apply by 2025 a controversial method for protecting the privacy of participants in its most comprehensive survey of Americans after facing pushback from prominent researchers and demographers. The statistical agency said Wednesday in a blog post that the science doesn’t

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer Whether increased regulation would have prevented the spectacular collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX was fiercely debated at a hearing of the Senate’s banking committee Wednesday. However, new legislation is potentially on the way. Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced at the hearing bipartisan legislation aimed at cracking down on cryptocurrencies being

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Steve Cohen’s New York Mets are on track to shatter spending records in his third season as owner, boosting payroll to about $350 million for purposes of the luxury tax and poised to pay a penalty of about $80 million. New York added starters Justin

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks turned lower on Wall Street and Treasury yields rose in afternoon trading Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate and signaled more hikes ahead. As expected, the central bank raised its key short-term rate by 0.50 percentage points, marking its seventh

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. government regulators charged eight social media influencers in a $100 million fraud scheme in which they’re accused of promoting exchange-traded stocks, then selling their shares when prices rose. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday that since at least early 2020, seven of the influencers

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve reinforced its inflation fight Wednesday by raising its key interest rate for the seventh time this year and signaling more hikes to come. But it announced a smaller hike than it had in its past four meetings at a time when inflation is

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Ten years after receiving it, New York University publicized a $100 million gift from the hedge fund leader John Paulson. The gift supported the construction of a now mostly-complete building that will also be named after Paulson, who made a fortune shorting the subprime housing crisis.

NEW YORK (AP) — A unit of American International Group that played an outsized role in the 2008 global financial crises is nearing its official end. AIG said Wednesday that its Financial Products unit has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Bad bets on mortgages by the Financial Products unit knocked parent AIG off its

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON and CURT ANDERSON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida House has passed sweeping legislation that would overhaul the state’s property insurance system, which has struggled due to insolvencies, high costs and major storms. The Republican proposal previously approved by the Senate Tuesday comes during the GOP-led Legislature’s second special session

By LOU KESTEN Associated Press It’s been a bumpy year for video games, in part thanks to the ongoing repercussions of the pandemic. Some major releases got delayed (2023 could be a doozy), but enough crossed the finish line to keep gamers happy. Indie developers held up their end, delivering innovative challenges and fascinating stories.

BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers have given the go-ahead for a series of defense procurement projects, including the purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, as Berlin begins to spend a huge fund to strengthen the country’s military. Germany in mid-March announced plans to replace aging Tornado bomber jets with 35 F-35A Lightning II aircraft

By MARTINA REBECCA INCHINGOLO Associated Press “These are the drones you’re looking for,” reads an appeal for donations to a Ukraine fundraising effort next to a picture of none other than legendary “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill. Since Hamill was tapped as an ambassador for United24’s “Army of Drones” campaign earlier this fall, a lot

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Twitter has suspended an account that used publicly available flight data to track Elon Musk’s private jet, despite a pledge by the social media platform’s new owner to keep it up because of his free speech principles. Tweets from the widely followed @elonjet account were no longer viewable Wednesday.

BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers have given the go-ahead for a series of defense procurement projects, including the purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, as Berlin begins to spend a huge fund to strengthen the country’s military. Germany in mid-March announced plans to replace aging Tornado bomber jets with 35 F-35A Lightning II aircraft

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Disappointment has set in two years after the election of U.S. President Joe Biden was supposed to reset trans-Atlantic relations with the European Union. EU leaders are openly talking about fights, not only friendship. They say conflict with Washington is the last thing they want, with war

By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has banned the popular social media app TikTok from devices owned by the state government’s executive branch, joining several other Republican governors who have done so citing the platform’s Chinese ownership and growing national security worries. Burgum announced the executive order