NEWS

AP-Summary Brief-Business   November 28, 2023 New Google geothermal electricity project could be a milestone for clean energy Google announced Tuesday that an advanced geothermal project has begun pumping carbon-free electricity onto the Nevada electric grid to feed Google data centers there. Google and Houston-based Fervo Energy partnered to develop next-generation geothermal power that runs 24 hours a day. Fervo says getting electrons onto the grid for the first time is a milestone many new energy companies never reach. The International Energy Agency has long projected geothermal could be a serious solution to climate change but its potential has been […]

AP-Summary Brief News   November 28, 2023 Truce in Gaza is extended as Israel faces pressure to spare civilians when it resumes offensive TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A truce between Israel and Hamas has entered its fifth day, with the militant group promising to release more civilian hostages to delay the expected resumption of the war. Israel is under growing pressure to spare Palestinian civilians when it renews its offensive. The sides agreed to extend their truce through Wednesday, with another two planned exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Hamas and other militant groups are believed […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   November 29, 2023 US economic growth for last quarter is revised up to a 5.2% annual rate WASHINGTON (AP) — Shrugging off higher interest rates, America’s consumers spent enough to help drive the economy to a brisk 5.2% annual pace from July through September, the government reported in an upgrade from its previous estimate. The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 4.9% annual rate last quarter. Wednesday’s second estimate of growth for the July-September quarter confirmed that the economy sharply accelerated from its 2.1% rate from April through June. It showed that the […]

AP-Summary Brief News   November 29, 2023 Mediators look to extend truce in Gaza on its final day, with one more hostage swap planned RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — International mediators appeared to have made progress Wednesday on extending the truce in Gaza. They are encouraging the territory’s Hamas rulers to keep freeing hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further respite from Israel’s air and ground offensive. The deal will otherwise expire within a day. Israel has welcomed the release of dozens of hostages in recent days and says it will maintain the truce if Hamas […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   December 4, 2023 Europe’s world-leading artificial intelligence rules are facing a do-or-die moment LONDON (AP) — Hailed as a world first, European Union artificial intelligence rules are facing a make-or-break moment. Negotiators will meet to hammer out the draft’s final details this week, but the talks have been complicated by the sudden rise of generative AI. First suggested in 2019, the AI Act was expected to be the world’s first such comprehensive regulations. But the process has been bogged down by a last-minute battle over how to govern systems that underpin general purpose AI services like OpenAI’s […]

AP-Summary Brief News   December 4, 2023 Israel orders evacuations as it widens offensive but Palestinians are running out of places to go DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military has renewed calls for mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, as it widened its ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in the town in recent weeks. The expanded operations follow the expiration of a weeklong cease-fire. They are aimed at eliminating Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose Oct. 7 attack into Israel triggered the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   December 5, 2023 The Supreme Court is taking up a case that could rule out a tax on wealth favored by some Democrats WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is taking up a case over a Washington couple’s $15,000 tax bill that is widely seen as a test of a never-enacted tax on wealth. Arguments are being heard Tuesday. A decision in favor of Charles and Kathleen Moore of Redmond, Washington, could strike down a provision of the 2017 tax bill that is expected to bring in $340 billion, threaten other provisions of the tax code and […]

AP-Summary Brief News   December 5, 2023 Israel strikes in and around Gaza’s second-largest city in a bloody new phase of the war KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel is intensifying its bombardment in and around Gaza’s second-largest city, sending ambulances and private cars racing into a local hospital carrying people wounded in a bloody new phase of the war. Under U.S. pressure to prevent further mass casualties in the conflict with Hamas, Israel says it is being more precise as it widens its offensive into southern Gaza after obliterating much of the north. But Palestinians say there are […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   December 6, 2023 Automakers, dealers and shoppers dawdle on EVs despite strong year in US sales growth The EV trend in the US at the end of 2023 is a little tough to tease out. Overall sales hit a record, but they’re also falling short of expectations amid the industry’s push to transition away from combustion engines and quickly towards EVs. EV inventory is building on dealer lots, and many EV models are taking longer to sell than gas counterparts. Some automakers are discounting their EVs to get them to move. Ford decreased Mach-E production in recent […]

AP-Summary Brief News   December 6, 2023 Kevin McCarthy was booted as House speaker two months ago. Now he’s leaving Congress by year’s end LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two months ago, Kevin McCarthy was booted as House speaker. Now, the Republican congressman from California says he’s resigning and will leave Congress by year’s end. His announcement caps a stunning end of his House career for the onetime deli counter owner from Bakersfield, California. McCarthy has risen through state and national politics to become second in line to the presidency as speaker, until hard-right conservatives engineered his removal in October. McCarthy […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   December 7, 2023 The White House is threatening the patents of high-priced drugs developed with taxpayer dollars WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice. Washington is warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, the government might cancel their patent protection and allow rivals to make their own versions. Under a plan announced Thursday, the government would consider overriding the patent for high-priced drugs that have been developed with the help of taxpayer money and letting competitors make them in hopes of driving down the cost. The administration […]

AP-Summary Brief News   December 7, 2023 Strikes on Gaza’s southern edge sow fear in one of the last areas Palestinians are fleeing RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces struck the southern Gaza town of Rafah twice overnight, sowing fear in one of the last places where civilians can seek refuge. Israel has widened its offensive against Hamas from the devastated north to southern areas already packed with displaced people. United Nations officials say there are no safe places in Gaza. Heavy fighting in and around the southern city of Khan Younis has displaced tens of thousands of people […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   December 11, 2023 Biden goes into 2024 with the economy getting stronger, but voters feel horrible about it WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden goes into next year’s election with a vexing challenge: Just as the U.S. economy is getting stronger, people are still feeling horrible about it. Pollsters and economists say there has never been as wide a gap between the underlying health of the economy and public perception. The divergence could be a decisive factor in whether the Democrat secures a second term next year. Republicans are seizing on the dissatisfaction to skewer Biden, while […]

AP-Summary Brief News   December 11, 2023 Israel battles militants in Gaza’s main cities, with civilians trapped in the fighting RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces are battling Palestinian militants in Gaza’s two largest cities. Civilians are still trapped in Monday’s fighting even after hundreds of thousands have fled to other parts of the besieged territory. Israel has pledged to keep fighting until it removes Hamas from power, dismantles its military capabilities and returns all of the hostages taken by militants during Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack into Israel that ignited the war. The U.S. has provided unwavering diplomatic […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   December 14, 2023 Why Argentina’s shock measures may be the best hope for its ailing economy WASHINGTON (AP) — The painful economic steps that Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, announced this week sound draconian: Slashing the currency’s value in half. Reducing aid to provincial governments. Suspending public works. Cutting subsidies for gas and electricity. Raising some taxes. Yet the South American country’s economy is such a basket case — and has been for so long — that many analysts believe that only such radical measures offer a realistic opportunity to rescue the economy. The critical question, economists […]