National Business - The Morning Sun

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

Customers eat and watch college women's lacrosse and beach volleyball matches on big-screen TVs at The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Oregon's Sports Bra, a pub for women's sports fans, plans national expansion as interest booms

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An Oregon sports bar focusing on and showing only women's athletics has plans to expand across the country through a franchise model. The Sports Bra opened two years ago in Portland, the state's … more

By CLAIRE RUSH | 4/27/24

FILE - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) seal is shown outside its headquarters, March 14, 2023, in Washington. Regulators have closed Republic First Bank, a regional lender operating in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. The FDIC said Friday, April 26, 2024, it had seized the Philadelphia-based bank, which had roughly $6 billion in assets and $4 billion in deposits as of Jan. 31. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Regulators close Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank, first US bank failure this year

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Regulators have closed Republic First Bank, a regional lender operating in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday it had seized the Philadelphia-based … more

4/26/24

FILE - A man waits for a Delta Air Lines flight at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Jan. 7, 2022. An emergency slide fell off a Delta plane that was taking off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, Friday, April 26, 2024. The pilots returned to the airport and landed safely. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York

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An emergency slide fell off a Delta plane that was taking off from New York, and pilots returned to the airport and landed safely. The incident happened Friday after takeoff from JFK Airport. The … more

4/26/24

Acting United States Secretary of Labor Julie Su, left, speaks next to Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers, after a news conference at Balletto Vineyards in Santa Rosa, Calif., Friday, April 26, 2024. Temporary farmworkers workers are getting more legal protections against employer retaliation, unsafe working conditions, illegal recruitment and other abuses. The rule announced Friday by the Biden administration aims to bolster support workers on H-2A visas. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Temporary farmworkers get more protections against retaliation and other abuses under new rule

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Temporary farmworkers workers are getting more legal protections against employer retaliation, unsafe working conditions, illegal recruitment and other abuses. The rule announced Friday by the Biden … more

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ | 4/26/24

FILE - Southwest Airlines plane prepares to land at Midway International Airport, Feb. 12, 2023, in Chicago. Flight attendants at Southwest Airlines on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, ratified a contract that includes pay raises totaling more than 33% over four years, as airline workers continue to benefit from the industry's recovery since the pandemic. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

Southwest Airlines is considering changes to its quirky boarding and seating practices

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Get ready for changes in boarding and seating at Southwest Airlines. The airline says it's studying possible changes as it looks for new sources of revenue. Airline officials said this week they … more

By DAVID KOENIG | 4/26/24

FILE -Shoppers leave a Williams-Sonoma store in New York, Jan. 3, 2008. Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma will have to pay more than $3.17 million penalty for violating a “Made in USA” order from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan. file)

Williams-Sonoma must pay almost $3.2 million for violating FTC's 'Made in USA' order

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Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma will have to pay almost $3.2 million penalty for violating a Federal Trade Commission “Made in USA” order. Williams-Sonoma has been charged with advertising … more

4/26/24

FILE - A for sale sign is posted in front of a home in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, March 3, 2022. HomeServices of America, a real estate company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has agreed to pay $250 million to settle lawsuits nationwide claiming that longstanding practices by real estate brokerages forced U.S. homeowners to pay artificially inflated broker commissions when they sold their homes. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Berkshire Hathaway's real estate firm to pay $250 million to settle real estate commission lawsuits

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A real estate company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to pay $250 million to settle lawsuits nationwide. The lawsuits claimed that longstanding practices by real estate … more

By ALEX VEIGA | 4/26/24

FILE - The Internal Revenue Service 1040 tax form for 2022 is seen on April 17, 2023. The IRS said Friday, April 26, 2024, more than 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through its new direct file pilot program. It says the program's users claimed more than $90 million in refunds, saving roughly $5.6 million in fees they would have spent with commercial tax preparation companies. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)

140,000 people did their taxes with the free IRS direct file pilot. But program's future is unclear

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The IRS says more than 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through its new direct file pilot program. It says the program’s users claimed more than $90 million in refunds and saved roughly $5.6 … more

By FATIMA HUSSEIN | 4/26/24

FILE - Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co., listens during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee oversight hearing to examine Wall Street firms on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023 in Washington. Dimon says stagflation could be one of a number of possible outcomes for the economy as the Federal Reserve attempts to tame stubbornly high consumer prices, Friday, April 26, 2024.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

JPMorgan's Dimon hopes for soft landing for US economy but says stagflation is a possible scenario

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JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says he’s hopeful the Federal Reserve can bring down inflation without causing a recession but wouldn’t rule out more troubling possibilities, such as stagflation. In an … more

By KEN SWEET | 4/26/24

The New School students and pro-Palestinian supporters rally outside The New School University Center building, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The protests over the Israel-Hamas war put a spotlight on college endowments

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One of the demands of antiwar protestors on college campuses is for their schools to divest their endowments from companies that are profiting from Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Endowments … more

By THALIA BEATY | 4/26/24

A clearance sign is displayed at a retail clothing store in Downers Grove, Ill., Monday, April 1, 2024. On Friday, April 26, 2024, the Commerce Department issues its March report on consumer spending. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Fed's preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures stayed elevated last month

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A measure of inflation closely tracked by the Federal Reserve remained uncomfortably high in March, likely reinforcing the Fed’s reluctance to cut interest rates anytime soon and underscoring a … more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER | 4/26/24

FILE - Representatives of the Turkish communities put flowers over a memorial placed on the spot of Sunday's explosion on Istanbul's popular pedestrian Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Alham Albashir, alleged bomber of a deadly blast killing six and injuring 99, received 7 consecutive life sentences by an Istanbul court on Friday, April 26, 2024, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

A Turkish court sentences a Syrian woman to life in prison for a bombing in Istanbul in 2022

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Turkey’s state-run news agency has reported that a court sentenced a Syrian woman to life in prison for a deadly explosion on a busy shopping district in Istanbul in 2022. Alham Albashir was given … more

4/26/24

FILE - Delegates meet at the Exxon Mobil booth during the LNG2023 conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Exxon Mobil reports their earnings Friday, April 26, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Exxon Mobil profit declines in 1st quarter as natural gas prices fall

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Exxon Mobil’s profit declined in its first quarter as natural gas prices fell and industry refining margins dropped. The energy company earned $8.22 billion, or $2.06 per share for the three months … more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN | 4/26/24

US probes whether recall of Tesla Autopilot driving system did enough to make sure drivers attention

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The U.S. government’s auto safety agency is investigating whether last year’s recall of Tesla’s Autopilot driving system did enough to make sure drivers pay attention to the road. The National … more

By TOM KRISHER | 4/26/24

A TikTok content creator, speaks to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Washington, as Senators prepare to consider legislation that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

These are the countries where TikTok is already banned

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TikTok is banned in a handful of countries and not allowed on government-issued devices in a number of others. That's due to official worries that the popular video-sharing app poses privacy and … more

By KELVIN CHAN | 4/26/24