Virginia Wesleyan University to require COVID-19 vaccination for fall 2021 semester

Stocks rose in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday, keeping the market on track for its fifth gain in a row. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% and was solidly on track for a weekly gain that will erase most of last week’s loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 352 points, or 0.8%, and […]

At least 15 people in Minnesota have been sickened by E. coli poisoning tied to a national recall of more than 167,000 pounds of potentially tainted ground beef, federal health officials said. Detroit-based Wolverine Packing Co. recalled the meat this week after Minnesota state agriculture officials reported multiple illnesses and found that a sample of […]

NEW YORK (AP) — As the International Rescue Committee copes with dramatic increases in displaced people in recent years, the refugee aid organization has looked for efficiencies wherever it can — including using artificial intelligence. Since 2015, the IRC has invested in Signpost — a portfolio of mobile apps and social media channels that answer […]

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany’s technology and services company Bosch said Friday it planned to reduce its automotive division workforce by as many as 5,500 jobs in the next several years in another sign of the headwinds hitting the German and global auto industries. The company cited stagnating global auto sales, too much factory capacity […]

Amazon is investing an additional $4 billion in the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic as major technology companies rush to fund generative AI. This will bring Amazon’s total investment in Anthropic – which began last year – to $8 billion. Anthropic said the Seattle-based tech giant will maintain its position as a minority investor in the […]

LONDON (AP) — Indigenous leaders from the Wampis Nation in Peru are urging lawmakers at the House of Commons in London to ban international banks’ support for Amazon oil activities they say harm their ancestral rainforests. HSBC bank, based in the United Kingdom, JPMorgan Chase in the United States and Santander in Spain helped finance […]

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — ExxonMobil could partner up with a consortium composed of Eni of Italy and Total of France to jointly develop gas deposits they’ve discovered close to each other off Cyprus’ southern coast, the Cypriot energy minister said Friday. Minister George Papanastasiou said ExxonMobil is in talks with the Eni-Total consortium on working […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin extended its streak of record highs after ticking above $99,000 for the first time overnight. The cryptocurrency has rocketed more than 40% in just two weeks. Now, bitcoin is at the doorstep of $100,000, just two years after dropping below $17,000 following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. The dramatic […]

DALLAS (AP) — Delta and United have become the most profitable U.S. airlines by targeting premium customers while also winning back a significant share of travelers on a tight budget. That is squeezing smaller low-fare carriers like Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday. Some travel-industry experts think Spirit’s troubles indicate that travelers […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House passed legislation Thursday that would give the Treasury Department unilateral authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it claims support terrorism, alarming civil liberties groups about how a second Trump presidency could invoke it to punish political opponents. The bill passed 219-184, with the majority of the support […]

A deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning tied to a massive recall of popular Boar’s Head deli meats is over, federal health officials said Thursday. Ten people died and 61 were sickened in 19 states after eating listeria-contaminated Boar’s Head products, including liverwurst. Illnesses were reported between late May and mid-September, according to the U.S. […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Sneaking a little ahead of line to get on that plane faster? American Airlines might stop you. In an apparent effort to reduce the headaches caused by airport line cutting, American has rolled out boarding technology that alerts gate agents with an audible sound if a passenger tries to scan a […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oil company Phillips 66 has been federally indicted in connection with alleged violations of the Clean Water Act in California, authorities said Thursday. The Texas-based company is accused of discharging hundreds of thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater containing excessive amounts of oil and grease, the U.S. Department of Justice said. […]

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. edged closer to 7% this week, climbing to its highest level since July. The rate rose to 6.84% from 6.78% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s still down from a year ago, when the rate averaged 7.29%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate […]

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks climbed Thursday after market superstar Nvidia and another round of companies said they’re making even fatter profits than expected. The S&P 500 pulled 0.5% higher after flipping between gains and losses several times during the day. Banks, smaller companies and other areas of the stock market that tend to […]

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who was aggressive in his oversight of cryptocurrencies and other financial markets, will step down from his post on Jan. 20. Gensler pushed changes that he said protected investors, but the industry and many Republicans bristled at what they saw as overreach. President-elect Donald Trump had promised during […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in October, the first annual gain in more than three years, with home shoppers encouraged by easing rates and a pickup in properties on the market. Existing home sales rose 3.4% last month, from September, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.96 million, […]