AP National Business

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart plans to hire 40,000 U.S. workers for the holidays, a majority of them seasonal workers. The move announced Wednesday comes as the nation’s largest retailer and largest private employer said it’s in a stronger staffing position heading into the holidays than last year. Walmart

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A 63-year-old worker died in the public bathroom of a South Carolina department store, but her body was not discovered for four days, authorities said. Bessie Durham, a janitor at the Belk at Columbiana Centre, was found dead Monday in a bathroom stall, Columbia police said. Her cleaning cart was outside

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The campaign that could bring legalized sports betting to California is the most expensive ballot-initiative fight in U.S. history at about $400 million and counting, pitting wealthy Native American tribes against online gambling companies and less-affluent tribes over what’s expected to be a multibillion-dollar marketplace.

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Large numbers of Russians rushed to book one-way tickets out of the country while they still could Wednesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of military reservists for the war in Ukraine. Flights filled up quickly and the prices of tickets for remaining

OREGON, Ohio (AP) — Officials say a fire at an oil refinery in Ohio injured two people and the facility has been shut down. The fire started Tuesday night at BP’s Husky Toledo Refinery. There is no word on how it started or the extent of the injuries or damage. A BP spokesperson says two

By YURI KAGEYAMA and MATT OTT AP Business Writers U.S. stock futures are modestly higher Wednesday ahead of a widely expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve as it continues to cool the worst inflation in 40 years. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials and S&P 500 each rose 0.4%. It is no longer

BRUSSELS (AP) — Thousands have gathered in Belgium to protest against skyrocketing electricity, natural gas and food prices. Trade unions and city police say that around 10,000 people took part in Wednesday’s demonstration. People from across the country marched behind banners reading “Life is much too expensive” or carrying placards marked “Freeze prices.” A Belgian

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The website of Iran’s Central Bank was briefly taken down as hackers claimed to have targeted websites of several state agencies. Wednesday’s apparent cyberattack came amid days of protests over the death of a woman who was detained by the country’s morality police for allegedly wearing the mandatory Islamic

By COLLEEN BARRY AP Fashion Writer MILAN (AP) — The Milan Fashion Week opening Wednesday celebrates perhaps its most diverse season ever. The five-day calendar is showcasing collections by perhaps its most diverse lineup of designers, including the new creative directors at Salvatore Ferragamo and Bally and the return of Haitian-Italian designer Stella Jean after

By CORA LEWIS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Mortgage rates continue to jump, home sales slump and credit cards and auto loans increase. Savings rates are slightly juicier, though.As the Federal Reserve rapidly increases interest rates, many economists say they fear that a recession remains inevitable in the coming months — and with it,

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press CAYEY, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Fiona strengthened into a Category 4 storm Wednesday after devastating Puerto Rico, then lashing the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It was forecast to squeeze past Bermuda later this week. The storm has been blamed for directly causing at least four

By SAM KEMMIS of NerdWallet Airbnb hosts are facing an onslaught of frustrations born of renting out their properties to short-term guests. Certain guests have proven disrespectful of hosts’ homes, with some squatting illegally — and getting away with it — and others trashing properties with Silly String, feces and more. Even if guests are

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Devastating floods in Pakistan’s worst-hit province have killed 10 more people in the past day, including four children, officials said Wednesday as the U.N. children’s agency renewed its appeal for $39 million to help the most vulnerable flood victims. Only a third of the sum in the

By RONALD MONTOYA Edmunds Look into just about any new car and you’ll either find a touchscreen or “virtual buttons” that seek to approximate the function of a mechanical button. The appeal of touchscreens and virtual buttons on new cars is to make the vehicle appear sleeker and pack more features into limited dashboard real

By CIARÁN GILES Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Gibraltar Port authorities say they are working to mitigate the impact of a new oil leak from a partly sunken ship in its bay area. Bad weekend weather triggered the leak, which is affecting fishing in both the British territory and in a town in nearby in

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United States has urged the International Court of Justice to throw out a case brought by Iran seeking to claw back some $2 billion worth of frozen Iranian assets that the U.S. Supreme Court awarded to victims of a 1983 bombing in Lebanon and

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — In what has become an annual ritual, the CEOs of the major U.S. banks will appear in front of Congress this week, to sell themselves as shepherds of a helpful industry at a time of financial and economic distress for many Americans. Democrats have called JPMorgan

MADRID (AP) — Spain has fined delivery company Glovo nearly 79 million euros ($78 million) for violating a 2021 law that obliged app-based food delivery platforms to make their riders full employees. Spanish Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz said Glovo had continued to treat some 10,000 regular riders as self-employed workers when they should have been

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Hundreds of police have raided 24 properties across Germany linked to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, in connection with alleged breaches of sanctions and money laundering rules. Prosecutors in Frankfurt and Munich said Wednesday in separate statements that some 250 state

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly declined Wednesday as investors looked ahead to a widely expected interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve to try to tamp down the highest inflation in decades. France’s CAC 40 fell nearly 0.1% in early trading to 5,974.93, while Germany’s DAX lost