Virginia Department of Transportation to open roads, lift pay tolls for easier holiday travel

A recent survey shows small business owners are feeling more optimistic about the economy following the election. The National Federation of Independent Businesses’ Small Business Optimism Index rose by eight points in November to 101.7, its highest reading since June 2021. The Uncertainty Index declined 12 points in November to 98, following October’s pre-election record […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday due to a technical issu e just as the Christmas travel season kicks into overdrive and winter weather is threatening more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. American flights were cleared to fly by federal regulators about one hour after a national […]

U.S. stock indexes edged higher in morning trading Tuesday, as gains for some Big Tech stocks made up for weakness elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 14 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:58 a.m. Eastern time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite was up 0.7%. Gains in […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A powerful government panel on Monday failed to reach consensus on the possible national security risks of a nearly $15 billion proposed deal for Nippon Steel of Japan to purchase U.S. Steel, leaving the decision to President Joe Biden, who opposes the deal. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, […]

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — The Lahaina home Tamara Akiona shared with 10 people was never quiet, and she loved it that way. Akiona, her husband, uncle, stepdaughter, and her best friend’s family filled the house once owned by her grandparents, with four bedrooms, two living rooms and a spacious backyard. She remembers the happy anticipation […]

Stocks shook off a choppy start to finish higher Monday, as Wall Street kicked off a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 ended 0.7% higher after having been down 0.5% in the early going. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also recovered from an early slide to eke out a 0.2% gain. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose […]

A five-day strike by Starbucks baristas had closed 59 stores as of Monday afternoon, according to the union organizing the workers. The strike, which began Friday in Los Angeles, Chicago and Starbucks’ hometown of Seattle, spread Monday to stores in Boston, Dallas and Portland, Ore. Workers in New York, Denver, Pittsburgh and other cities had […]

Century-old department store Nordstrom has agreed to be acquired and taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal with the industry being squeezed by discount chains and other competition. Public companies are under a lot more scrutiny and if private, the Nordstrom may have more leeway in […]

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan have announced plans to work toward a merger that would form the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan […]

Government safety regulators said Monday they have closed an investigation into two previous recalls of the Ford Focus after determining that Ford Motor Co. has satisfied its concerns. In 2018, Ford recalled around 1.5 million Ford Focus sedans from the 2012-2018 model years because they could lose power. The issue was a malfunctioning canister purge […]

PUERTO JIMÉNEZ, Costa Rica (AP) — The endangered Geoffrey’s spider monkeys that dangle high in the rainforest canopy are elusive and hard for scientists to track. So biologist Jenna Lawson hid 350 audio monitors in trees across Costa Rica’s lush Osa Peninsula to spy on them. The devices recorded the sounds of the forest and […]

American consumers are feeling less confident in December, a business research group says. The Conference Board said Monday that its consumer confidence index fell back in December to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Analysts forecast a rise to a reading of 113.8. Consumers had been feeling increasingly confident in recent months, spending more in the […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Container Store has filed for bankruptcy protection as the storage and organizational goods retailer with roots dating back to the 1970s grapples with mounting losses and cash flow shortages. The Texas company has faced increasing competition from retailers like Target and Walmart at the same time that demand for its […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump won a return to the White House in part by promising big changes in economic policy — more tax cuts, huge tariffs on imports, mass deportations of immigrants working in the United States illegally. In some ways, his victory marked a repudiation of President Joe Biden’s economic stewardship and […]

BANGKOK (AP) — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan will attempt to merge and create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors also […]

PECOS, Texas (AP) — Federal officials investigating the deadly West Texas collision between at Union Pacific train and a tractor-trailer hauling a heavy equipment said Friday they were trying to determine why the tractor-trailer was stopped on the tracks, leading to the crash that derailed the train and propelled the heavy equipment into the air. […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For nearly 40 years, customers flocked to Party City for Halloween costumes, favors for children’s birthday parties and decorations for New Year’s Eve celebrations. Now, the go-to shop for everything from cartoon-themed balloons to Super Bowl decor is closing stores. Party City announced Saturday that it would start a “wind down” […]

CHICAGO (AP) — Adella Bass dropped her in-person college classes because it was just too hard to get there from the far South Side of Chicago, where the city’s famous elevated train doesn’t run. And it can take her nearly two hours to get to the hospital where she is treated for a heart condition. […]

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prime minister said Saturday the government will shut down the video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teen after a quarrel […]

LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Twisted equipment and snapped tree limbs still litter Chris Hopkins’ Georgia farm more than two months after Hurricane Helene made its deadly march across the South. An irrigation sprinkler system about 300 feet (92 meters) long lay overturned in a field, its steel pipes bent and welded joints broken. The mangled […]