National Business - The Morning Sun

Headlights illuminate cobblestone streets in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, during an island-wide blackout, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

Officials demand answers as crews work to restore power after another Puerto Rico blackout

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Crews are working to restore power to Puerto Rico after a blackout across the entire island that affected the main airport, several hospitals and hotels filled with Easter vacationers. The blackout … more

By DÁNICA COTO | 4/17/25

FILE - Sylvain N'goran, who has been a cocoa farmer for the past 17 years, holds cocoa beans in his hands in the village of Bocanda, north of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Oct. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Diomande Bleblonde, File)

Struggling Ivory Coast cocoa farmers are worried about US tariff plans

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Cocoa has long provided a lifeline in Ivory Coast but adverse weather and plant diseases have hurt harvests in recent years. Now, cocoa farmers in the country worry even more about U.S. President … more

By HILAIRE ZON | 4/17/25

In this photo released by Malaysia's Department of Information, Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim, center right, talks with China's President Xi Jinping, center left, during their meeting at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Famer Roheni/ Malaysia's Department of Information via AP)

Xi promises greater access to Chinese market for Malaysia, Vietnam on Southeast Asia tour

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has promised Malaysia and Vietnam greater access to Chinese markets as he tours Southeast Asia this week. Xi’s tour comes after U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff … more

By HUIZHONG WU | 4/17/25

Mohammad Yousaf Dar weaves a Kashmiri hand-knotted carpet at his home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, on April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

AP PHOTOS: Trump tariffs threaten the survival of the centuries-old Kashmiri carpet industry

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SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Mohammad Yousuf Dar and his wife, Shameema, sit cross-legged before their loom, deftly tying consecutive knots to create the floral patterns of the famed Kashmiri carpets … more

By DAR YASIN | 4/17/25

FILE - Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni holds a year-end press conference in Rome, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

Italy's Meloni will test her mettle as EU-US bridge when she meets Trump in Washington

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Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni will test her mettle as an EU facilitator when she meets with Donald Trump in the White House. The meeting on Thursday marks the first face-to-face between a European … more

By COLLEEN BARRY | 4/17/25

FILE - This electron microscope image provided by the National Institutes of Health shows human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) virions, colorized blue, and anti-RSV F protein/gold antibodies, colorized yellow, shedding from the surface of human lung cells. (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH via AP, File)

Experts make new recommendations on RSV and meningitis vaccines, but it's unclear what happens next

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A federal panel of experts on Wednesday recommended an expansion of RSV vaccinations for adults and a new combination shot as another option to protect teens against meningitis. The Advisory … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 4/16/25

FILE - Family Educator Lisa Benson-Nuyen, addresses her students in a circle in the Northern Lights classroom at the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Wasilla, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

Head Start funding lags by nearly $1 billion this year, causing some preschool closures

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Federal databases show Head Start centers across the U.S. have received nearly $1 billion less in federal funding compared with this time last year. This week, the lag in funding caused some … more

By CHEYANNE MUMPHREY | 4/16/25

FILE - Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks at a campaign rally for presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, in Lititz, Pa., Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Arkansas bans pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies in state

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Arkansas has enacted a law making it the first state banning pharmacy benefit managers from owning a pharmacy in the state. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the legislation on Wednesday as several … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO and KIM CHANDLER | 4/16/25

FILE - A CSX train engine sits idle on tracks in Philadelphia, Sept. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

CSX profit drops 27% as railroad shipments decline in the first quarter

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CSX railroad's profits fell 27% in the first quarter as two major construction projects contributed to a decline in shipments. The railroad said it earned $646 million or 34 cents per share in the … more

By JOSH FUNK | 4/16/25

How war, money and the quest for discovery entwined the US government and universities

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The showdown between the Trump administration and Harvard University is spotlighting bare-knuckled politics and big dollar figures. But in the battle of the moment, it’s easy to lose sight of a … more

By ADAM GELLER | 4/16/25

Customers shop televisions at a retail store in Glenview, Ill., Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Retail sales rise 1.4% in March as shoppers stock up on big ticket items ahead of tariffs

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U.S. shoppers increased their shopping last month, fueled by a spending spree on foreign-made new big ticket items from gadgets to cars before President Donald Trump’s expansive new tariffs started … more

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO | 4/16/25

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces "Vogue World: Hollywood," a fashion event that celebrates the conversation between film and fashion scheduled for October 2025, at a news conference at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

California will sue to stop Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs

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California is filing a lawsuit to challenge President Donald Trump's tariffs. The state's Democratic governor says the president lacks the authority to impose a 10% tariff on all imports. Gov. Gavin … more

By SOPHIE AUSTIN | 4/16/25

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

US imposes sanctions on a Chinese refinery accused of buying Iranian oil

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The Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on a Chinese oil refinery that's accused of purchasing more than $1 billion worth of Iranian oil. The Trump administration says the proceeds help finance … more

By DAVID KLEPPER | 4/16/25

Mark Hansen, center, a lawyer for Meta, departs following the first day of a historic antitrust trial about Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg intentions in acquiring Instagram, at Barrett Prettyman United States Court House in Washington, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wraps up testimony in antitrust case

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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is emphasizing that he bought Instagram and WhatsApp because he liked the companies — not to cut competition as the Federal Trade Commission alleges in a historic antitrust … more

By BRIAN WITTE | 4/16/25

FILE - Honoree Dolores Huerta attends The Albies hosted by the Clooney Foundation for Justice at the New York Public Library on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, file)

OpenAI picks labor icon Dolores Huerta and other philanthropy advisers as it moves toward for-profit

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OpenAI has named labor leader Dolores Huerta and three others to a temporary advisory board that will help guide the artificial intelligence company’s philanthropy as it attempts to shift itself … more

By MATT O'BRIEN | 4/16/25

FILE - The Harry S. Truman Building, headquarters for the State Department, is seen in Washington, March 9, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The State Department closes the office that flags disinformation from Russia, China and Iran

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The State Department has shut down the office that sought to deal with misinformation and disinformation that Russia, China and Iran have been accused of spreading. Secretary of State Marco Rubio … more

4/16/25

A woman uses hairspray to fixe the hair on a nutcracker titled "Resolute Desk of the President," featuring a seated figure signing a "presidential proclamation," at the Steinbach-Volkskunst nutcracker factory in Marienberg, Germany, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Trump's tariffs could be tough to crack for a German nutcracker maker focused on the US

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten to become a tough nut to crack in an unlikely place — a small company whose factory nestled deep in the hills of eastern Germany produces … more

By GEIR MOULSON and MARKUS SCHREIBER | 4/16/25

From left, Garrett Hilbert, Coby Cotton, Tyler Toney, Cody Jones and Cory Cotton, the founding members of Dude Perfect, pose for a photo during an event at their new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

A sweet 16 for Dude Perfect, from college trick shots to trusted sports and entertainment brand

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The five friends of Dude Perfect had no intention of creating a brand or even a business 16 years ago when they started making a video of basketball trick shots while attending Texas A&M. The first … more

By STEPHEN HAWKINS | 4/16/25

UConn's Paige Bueckers listens during an interview at the WNBA basketball draft, Monday, April 14, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Paige Bueckers talks about her investment stake in Unrivaled league on 'Good Morning America'

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Paige Bueckers, the first overall pick in the WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings, confirmed during an appearance on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday that she is an investor in Unrivaled, which … more

4/16/25

A home sits near the Gen. James Gavin Power Plant, a coal-fired power plant, on Monday, April 14, 2025, in Cheshire, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Burning coal leaves dangerous waste. Trump's EPA eyes looser rules for handling it

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Waste from coal plants was one of the Trump administration's recent deregulatory targets. Commonly called coal ash, this waste includes hazardous metals like lead and arsenic and is produced in huge … more

By MICHAEL PHILLIS | 4/16/25