National Business - The Morning Sun

FILE - The Philips Center is seen, Jan. 27, 2015, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Philips will pay $1.1 billion to settle personal injury lawsuits in the U.S. over its defective sleep apnea machines. The announcement Monday, April 29, 2024 is another step toward resolving one of the biggest medical device recalls in history, which has dragged on for nearly three years. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Philips will pay $1.1 billion to resolve US lawsuits over breathing machines that expel debris

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Medical device maker Philips will pay $1.1 billion to settle personal injury lawsuits in the U.S. over its defective sleep apnea machines. The announcement Monday is another step toward resolving one … more

By MATTHEW PERRONE | 4/29/24

A monitor shows U.S. dollar/Japanese yen exchange rate in Tokyo Monday, April 29, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan's currency falls to its weakest since 1990 against the dollar as the yen keeps yelping

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The value of Japan’s currency has tumbled so much that for a moment on Monday it took 160 yen to equal $1. That took it back to where it was in 1990, just after Japan’s famous “bubble … more

4/29/24

FILE - Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant is shown, Jan. 20, 2023, in Waynesboro, Ga. Georgia Power announced on Monday, April 29, 2024 that the second new reactor has achieved commercial operation, marking the completion of the first two nuclear reactors built from scratch in the United States in decades. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, file)

A second new nuclear reactor is completed Georgia. The carbon-free power comes at a high price

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The second of two new nuclear reactors in Georgia has entered commercial operation. Georgia Power said Monday that Plant Vogtle's Unit 4 is complete. The project has cost billions more and took years … more

By JEFF AMY | 4/29/24

FILE - A sign for the Food and Drug Administration is displayed outside their offices in Silver Spring, Md., on Dec. 10, 2020. Makers of thousands of medical tests that have long escaped oversight will have to show that they deliver accurate results, under a government rule vigorously opposed by the testing industry. The regulation finalized Monday, April 29, 2024 brings tests developed by laboratories under control of the FDA, which has warned that the multibillion-dollar industry poses growing risks to patients. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FDA brings lab tests under federal oversight in bid to improve accuracy and safety

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The Food and Drug Administration has finalized a rule to regulate medical tests that have long escaped oversight. The rule was announced Monday. It is designed to improve the accuracy and reliability … more

By MATTHEW PERRONE | 4/29/24

FILE - Elon Musk arrives at the 10th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee published a staff report on Wednesday, April 18, disclosing dozens of decisions by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, ordering X to suspend or remove around 150 user profiles from its platform in recent years. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP file)

Supreme Court rejects Musk appeal over tweets that must be approved by Tesla

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The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Elon Musk over a settlement with securities regulators that requires him to get approval in advance of some tweets that relate to Tesla, the electric … more

4/29/24

This cover image released by Republic Records show "The Tortured Poets Department" by Taylor Swift. (Republic Records via AP)

Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' hits No. 1, experiences largest streaming week ever

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Taylor Swift continues to dominate in the week following the release of her 11th album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” The 31-track album has hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, tying Swift … more

By MARIA SHERMAN | 4/29/24

FILE – California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an event in San Francisco on Nov. 9, 2023. On Monday, April 29, 2024, Newsom announced California is partnering with New Jersey-based Amneal Pharmaceuticals to purchase a generic version of Narcan. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

California is joining with a New Jersey company to buy a generic opioid overdose reversal drug

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California is partnering with a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company to purchase a generic version of Narcan, the most well-known version of naloxone that can save a person's life during an opioid … more

By ADAM BEAM | 4/29/24

US opens investigation into Ford crashes involving Blue Cruise partially automated driving system

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Two fatal crashes involving Ford’s Blue Cruise partially automated driving system have drawn the attention of U.S. auto safety regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has … more

4/29/24

Insider Q&A: Avelo Airlines CEO Andrew Levy describes the challenges of starting a new carrier

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There aren't many newcomers in the airline business. It takes a lot of money to line up planes and hire pilots, flight attendants and all the other workers needed to airliners flying. And in the … more

By DAVID KOENIG | 4/29/24

A self-driving tractor trailer maneuvers around a test track in Pittsburgh, Thursday, March 14, 2024. The truck is owned by Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation Inc. Late this year, Aurora plans to start hauling freight on Interstate 45 between the Dallas and Houston areas with 20 driverless trucks. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tractor-trailers with no one aboard? The future is near for self-driving trucks on US roads

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Late this year, Aurora Innovation Inc. plans to start hauling freight on Interstate 45 between the Dallas and Houston areas with 20 driverless trucks. Within three or four years, Aurora and its … more

By TOM KRISHER | 4/29/24

Affluent Americans are driving US economy and likely delaying need for Fed rate cuts

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Older Americans are fueling a sustained boost to the U.S. economy. Benefiting from outsize gains in the stock and housing markets over the past several years, they are accounting for a larger share … more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER | 4/29/24

FILE - Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez next to his wife Begona Gomez, gives a thumb up during a campaign closing meeting in Madrid, Spain, Friday, July 21, 2023. Spain is in nail-biting suspense Monday as it waits for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to announce whether he will continue in office or not. Sanchez, 52, shocked the country on Thursday, announcing he was taking five days off to think about his future after a court opened preliminary proceedings against his wife on corruption allegations. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

Spain is in suspense waiting for Pedro Sánchez to say whether he will resign or stay in office

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Spain is in suspense as it waits for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to announce whether he will continue in office or leave. Sánchez shocked the country last week when he said he was taking five … more

By CIARÁN GILES | 4/29/24

FILE - Brazilian singer Catia de Franca, 77, performs at a warehouse converted into a venue for independent artists in Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 19, 2024. It took almost half a century for de França to find her audience. Her belated fame largely reflects a revival taking place in Brazil, where vinyl records outsold CDs and DVDs for the first time last year. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

Revival of vinyl records in Brazil spares a 77-year-old singer – and others – from oblivion

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It took almost a half century for Brazilian singer Cátia de França to find her audience, but she finally has — with the help of a near-obsolete audio technology. Born in Paraíba, a state in … more

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA | 4/29/24

A hill that has been cleared from trees to make way for a corn plantation is visible in Polewali Mandar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, April 20, 2024. From trees felled in protected national parks to massive swaths of jungle razed for palm oil and paper plantations, Indonesia had a 27% uptick in primary forest loss in 2023 from the previous year, according to a World Resources Institute analysis of new deforestation data. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Deforestation in Indonesia spiked last year, but resources analyst sees better overall trend

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A data analysis shows Indonesia had a 27% increase in primary forest loss in 2023. The losses were in protected national parks and in massive swaths of jungle cut down for palm oil and paper … more

By VICTORIA MILKO | 4/28/24

A worker wipes as visitors sit on a BYD Song Pro DM-i car model during the Auto China 2024 in Beijing, Sunday, April 28, 2024. Global automakers and EV startups unveiled new models and concept cars at China's largest auto show, with a focus on the nation's transformation into a major market and production base for digitally connected, new-energy vehicles. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Tesla founder Musk visits China as competitors show off new electric vehicles at Beijing auto show

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Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk has arrived in the Chinese capital, just as the nation’s carmakers are showing off their latest electric vehicle models at the Beijing auto show. A brief online … more

4/28/24

Disneyland Resort Cast Members, Courtney Griffith, left, hugs Angela Nichols after a news conference in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Workers who help bring Disneyland's beloved characters to life said Wednesday they collected enough signatures to support their push for a union. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

California Disney characters are unionizing decades after Florida peers. Hollywood plays a role

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The character performers at Disneyland in California have said they filed a petition for union recognition. The organizing effort comes more than four decades after their peers at Disney's parks in … more

By MIKE SCHNEIDER | 4/28/24

United Auto Workers reaches deal with Daimler Truck, averting potential strike in North Carolina

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The United Auto Workers union announced it reached a last-minute tentative agreement with truck and bus manufacturer Daimler Truck on Friday evening, averting a potential strike of more than 7,000 … more

The Associated Press | 4/27/24

FILE - A TikTok sign is displayed on their building in Culver City, Calif., March 11, 2024. If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that's probably because it has, at least if you're measuring via internet time. What's now in question is whether it will be around much longer — and if so, in what form. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat

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If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer … more

By DAVID HAMILTON | 4/27/24

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns look at a record during a visit to Li-Pi record store in Beijing, China, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

The US and China talk past each other on most issues, but at least they’re still talking

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his just-concluded latest visit to China with a stop at a Beijing record store where he bought albums by Taylor Swift and Chinese rocker Dou Wei in a … more

By MATTHEW LEE | 4/27/24

People stand in line outside a bank hoping to withdraw Cuban pesos from an ATM, in Havana, Cuba, Monday, April 22, 2024. An increasing number of Cubans are having to grapple with the country's shortage of cash. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)

Long lines form and frustration grows as Cuba runs short of cash

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Alejandro Fonseca stood in line for several hours outside a bank in Havana hoping to withdraw Cuban pesos from an ATM. But when it was almost his turn, the cash ran out. He hopped on his electric … more

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ | 4/27/24