National Business - The Morning Sun

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani listens to questions during a baseball news conference at Dodger Stadium Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Shohei Ohtani's contract with the Dodgers could come with bonus of mostly avoiding California taxes

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Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani's new contract could have the added benefit of avoiding most of California's income tax. Ohtani agreed to a $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last … more

By ADAM BEAM | 12/15/23

FILE - The United Nations Sustainable Development Forum begins, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. A donor-advised fund devoted to supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals has leapt from being a relatively minor charity to one with an asset size comparable to behemoths like the Andrew W. Mellon and David and Lucile Packard foundations. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

The $10 billion charity no one has heard of

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A donor-advised fund devoted to supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals has leapt from being a relatively minor charity to one with an asset size comparable to behemoths like the … more

BY ALEX DANIELS of The Chronicle of Philanthopy | 12/15/23

FILE - The likeness of George Washington is seen on a U.S. one dollar bill, March 13, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. The Congressional Budget Office said Friday, Dec. 15, that it expects inflation to nearly hit the Federal Reserve's 2% target rate in 2024, as overall growth is expected to slow and unemployment is expected to rise into 2025, according to updated economic projections for the next two years. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

Congressional Budget Office projects lower inflation and higher unemployment into 2025

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The Congressional Budget Office says it expects inflation to nearly hit the Federal Reserve’s 2% target rate in 2024, as overall growth is expected to slow and unemployment is expected to rise into … more

By FATIMA HUSSEIN | 12/15/23

FILE - An aerial view of the Fenix Mine, run by the Swiss-based Solway Investment Group, in El Estor, Guatemala, Oct. 26, 2021. Guatemala violated Indigenous rights by permitting a huge nickel mine on tribal land almost two decades ago, according to a ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)

International court rules against Guatemala in landmark Indigenous and environmental rights case

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Guatemala violated Indigenous rights by permitting a huge nickel mine on tribal land almost two decades ago, according to a ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Friday's landmark … more

By DANIEL SHAILER | 12/15/23

FILE - Oriole Park at Camden Yards is seen in an aerial photo June 27, 2020, in Baltimore. A long-term agreement between the Baltimore Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority for a new lease at Camden Yards is moving forward for a vote by state officials next week, Gov. Wes Moore announced. The agreement is slated to go before the Maryland Stadium Authority on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says Orioles lease at Camden Yards headed to a vote

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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says a long-term agreement between the Baltimore Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority for a new lease at Camden Yards is moving forward for a vote by state officials … more

By BRIAN WITTE | 12/15/23

Derrick Bergman, chairman of the Union for the Abolition of Cannabis Prohibition, smokes a marijuana cigarette in coffeeshop De Baron in Breda, Netherlands, on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. Bergman was at the coffeeshop to mark the start of a new experiment with legally grown weed going on sale in two Dutch cities. (AP Photo/Mike Corder)

Shops in 2 Dutch cities start selling legally grown cannabis in an experiment to regulate pot trade

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A paradox at the heart of the Netherlands’ permissive pot policy has gone up in smoke in two Dutch cities as “coffeeshops” began selling the country’s first legally cultivated cannabis. The … more

By MIKE CORDER | 12/15/23

Migrants arrive to Vaalimaa border check point between Finland and Russia in Virolahti, Finland, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. Finland’s government has decided to seal again, effective Friday, the Nordic country’s entire eastern frontier due to a continuing influx of migrants at the two crossing points on the border with Russia that were reopened on a temporary basis early Thursday. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)

Finland reports a rush of migrant crossings hours before the reclosure of 2 border posts with Russia

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Dozens of migrants have crossed into Finland hours before the reclosure of two southern crossing points on the border with Russia as the Nordic country experiences an influx of asylum-seekers. The … more

By JAN M. OLSEN | 12/15/23

In this photo provided by the Guardia Civil on Friday Dec. 15, 2023, items stolen from suitcases are displayed on the Canary island of Tenerife, Spain. Spanish police say they have arrested 14 workers at one of the country's main tourist airports on suspicion of stealing items from checked-in luggage. Police seized allegedly stolen items worth almost 2 million euros ($2.2 million) from the group of employees at the largest airport in Tenerife, in Spain's Canary Islands. (Guardia Civil via AP)

Spanish police arrest 14 airport workers after items go missing from checked-in luggage

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Spanish police say they have arrested 14 workers at one of the country’s main tourist airports on suspicion of stealing items from checked-in luggage. Police seized allegedly stolen items worth … more

12/15/23

MPs sit in the plenary chamber of the Bundestag, in Berlin, Friday Dec. 15, 2023. The German parliament on Friday approved plans to raise the country's levy on carbon dioxide emissions from fuel by more than previously planned next month, a move that is part of a deal to resolve a budget crisis. (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP)

Germany's parliament approves a plan for a bigger hike in carbon price after a budget deal

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Germany's parliament has approved plans to raise the country’s levy on carbon dioxide emissions from fuel by more than previously planned next month. The move is part of a deal to resolve a budget … more

12/15/23

FILE - The Airbnb app icon is displayed on an iPad screen in Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2021. Airbnb reports earnings on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Short-term rental platform Airbnb has agreed to pay 576 million euros ($621 million) to settle a years-long dispute over unpaid taxes in Italy but said it won’t try to recover the money from its hosts. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Airbnb agrees to pay $621 million to settle a tax dispute in Italy

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Short-term rental platform Airbnb has agreed to pay 576 million euros ($621 million) to settle a years-long dispute over unpaid taxes in Italy but won’t try to recover the money from its hosts. … more

12/15/23

Former Jacksonville Jaguars financial manager Amit Patel pleaded guilty to federal charges Thursday. He was accused of stealing more than $22 million from the NFL franchise and faces up to 30 years in prison. (Dec. 15)

Former Jaguars financial manager pleads guilty to stealing $22M. He faces up to 30 years in prison

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A 31-year-old former Jacksonville Jaguars financial manager accused of stealing more than $22 million from the NFL franchise through its virtual credit card program has pleaded guilty to federal … more

By MARK LONG | 12/15/23

Stock market today: Asian markets churn upward after the Dow ticks to another record high

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Asian shares have churned higher after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to another record high. U.S. futures and oil prices also advanced. Markets have rallied on excitement that the Federal … more

By ELAINE KURTENBACH | 12/15/23

In this image released by Rocket Lab, a electron rocket successfully takes off from its launch site on the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. California-based Rocket Lab launched a Japanese satellite TSUKUYOMI-I, into orbit on behalf of a Japanese start-up Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space Inc, Friday. (Rocket Lab via AP)

Rocket Lab launches a Japanese satellite from the space company's complex in New Zealand

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California-based Rocket Lab has launched a Japanese satellite from the space company's complex on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. The mission was initially scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed … more

12/15/23

FILE -A member of the Bridge Crew watches over a fire line, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010, in case the prescribed burn jumps the line and ignites on the other side of Kings Pinnacle in Crowders Mountain State Park in Gastonia, N.C. As the U.S. tries to restore a key forest ecosystem in the Southeast, landowners must light more fires on private property. The so-called “prescribed burns” are key to clearing forest debris and allowing pine cones to drop seeds onto the floor. (John D. Simmons /The Charlotte Observer via AP, File)

A US pine species thrives when burnt. Southerners are rekindling a 'fire culture' to boost its range

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As the U.S. tries to restore a key forest ecosystem in the Southeast, landowners must light more fires on private property. The so-called “prescribed burns” are key to clearing forest debris and … more

By JAMES POLLARD | 12/15/23

FILE - This Nov. 3, 2008, file photo shows one of Pacific Gas and Electric's Diablo Canyon Power Plant's nuclear reactors in Avila Beach, Calif. California energy regulators voted Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, to allow the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to operate for an additional five years, despite calls from environmental groups to shut it down. (AP Photo/Michael A. Mariant, File)

California regulators vote to extend Diablo Canyon nuclear plant operations through 2030

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California energy regulators have voted to allow the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to operate for an additional five years, despite calls from environmental groups to shut it down. The California … more

12/14/23

This Dec. 13, 2023, image provided by the New Mexico State Land Office shows Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard in her office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, signing an executive order extending a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing in state trust land surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Garcia Richard and Native American leaders celebrated the signing of the order during a virtual call on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. (New Mexico State Land Office via AP)

New Mexico extends ban on oil and gas leasing around Chaco park, an area sacred to Native Americans

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New oil and natural gas leasing will be prohibited on New Mexico state land surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park for the next 20 years. State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard … more

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN | 12/14/23

FILE - Foundation Food Group's plant is viewed Jan. 29, 2021, in Gainesville, Ga. A deadly chemical leak that killed six workers at the Georgia poultry plant in 2021 resulted from a poorly designed freezer that spilled deadly liquid nitrogen as well as a failure by the plant's owner to install safety equipment and properly train employees for emergencies, a federal agency concluded in a report released Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. (Scott Rogers/The Times via AP, File)

US agency concludes chemical leak that killed 6 Georgia poultry workers was `completely preventable'

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A federal agency says a chemical leak that killed six workers at a Georgia poultry plant in 2021 could have been prevented. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board concluded the … more

By RUSS BYNUM | 12/14/23

FILE - Winemaker Mike Grgich sips a glass of his Cabernet Sauvignon wine at the Grgich Hills Estate winery in Rutherford, Calif., on Sept. 15, 2008. Grgich, a celebrated winemaker who helped establish Napa Valley as one of the world’s premier wine-making regions, has died. He was 100. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Miljenko 'Mike' Grgich, an immigrant who put Napa Valley on the world's wine map, dies at 100

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Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, a celebrated winemaker who helped establish Napa Valley as one of the world’s premier wine-making regions, has died. He was 100. Grgich's Rutherford, California, winery, … more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN | 12/14/23

FILE - A Target store is seen, Nov. 17, 2021, in Philadelphia. Three major retailers — Amazon, Target and Walmart — say they're suspending sales of water bead products marketed to young children amid growing safety concerns. Water beads are small, colorful balls made of superabsorbent polymers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Amazon, Target and more will stop selling water beads marketed to kids due to rising safety concerns

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Three major U.S. retailers — Amazon, Target and Walmart — say they’re suspending sales of water-bead products marketed to young children due to growing safety concerns. Water beads are small, … more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and MELISSA PEREZ WINDER | 12/14/23

FILE - New Jersey state Senator Vince Polistina with Atlantic City casino workers protesting near the state capitol in Trenton N.J. in support of legislation that would ban smoking in Atlantic City's casinos, Dec. 9, 2021. State Sen. Vince Polistina said on Dec. 14, 2023, that legislation lacks enough support to become law, and said he will write a new bill incorporating proposals form the casino industry, including enclosed smoking rooms. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)

Fuming over setback to casino smoking ban, workers light up in New Jersey Statehouse meeting

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Workers angry that a proposed smoking ban in Atlantic City's casinos seems to be going nowhere protested by lighting up during a state government hearing Thursday in Trenton. Seven members of a union … more

By WAYNE PARRY | 12/14/23