Virgin Galactic completed what's expected to be its final test flight Thursday before taking paying customers on brief trips to space, marking what the space tourism company described as a “fantastic achievement.” Six of the company's employees, including two pilots, landed at Spaceport America in southern New Mexico after the...
Debt Ceiling Talks Teeter as Lawmakers Leave Town Without a Deal
House Republicans are pushing debt ceiling talks to the brink, displaying risky political bravado as they prepare to leave town Thursday for the holiday weekend just days before the U.S. could face an unprecedented default that could hurl the global economy into chaos. Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he's directed his negotiating team “to...
Chirping Leads Airport Officials to Carry-on Filled With Smuggled Parrot Eggs
The 24 bright green baby parrots began chirping and bobbing their heads the second anyone neared the large cages that have been their homes since hatching in March. The Central American natives, seized from a smuggler at Miami International Airport, are being raised by the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation —...
US Economic Growth for Last Quarter Is Revised up to a Still-Tepid 1.3% Annual Rate
The U.S. economy grew at a lackluster 1.3% annual rate from January through March as businesses wary of an economic slowdown trimmed their inventories, the government said Thursday in a slight upgrade from its initial estimate. The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 1.1% annual rate last quarter....
More Americans Apply for Jobless Benefits but Labor Market Remains Tight
U.S. applications for jobless claims rose slightly last week but remain at healthy levels with companies reticent to let go of employees in a tight labor market. The number of Americans filing for jobless claims for the week ending May 20 rose by 4,000 to 229,000 from 225,000 the week...
California Unlikely to Run Short of Electricity This Summer Thanks to Storms, New Power Sources
California regulators say the state is unlikely to experience electricity shortages this summer after securing new power sources and a wet winter that filled the state's reservoirs enough to restart hydroelectric power plants that were dormant during the drought. The nation's most populous state normally has more than enough electricity to power...
14-Year-Old Bar Servers? State Lawmakers Push Expansion of Child Labor
As the federal government cracks down on child labor violations, some state lawmakers are embracing legislation to let children work longer hours and in more hazardous occupations. The legislators, mostly Republicans, argue that relaxing child labor laws could ease nationwide labor shortages. But child welfare advocates worry the measures represent a coordinated...
Musk Wants to Build a Digital Town Square. But Big Debut was a ‘DeSaster’
Elon Musk wants to turn Twitter into a “digital town square,” but his much-publicized Twitter Spaces kickoff event, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing his run for president, struggled with technical glitches and a near half-hour delay Tuesday. The billionaire Twitter owner said the problems were due to “straining” servers because so...
Head of Russia Mercenaries Says Forces Pulling Out of Bakhmut
The head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner claimed Thursday that his forces have started pulling out of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and handing over control to the Russian military, days after he said Wagner troops had captured the ruined city. Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s millionaire owner with longtime links to...
Merced Investigation of Walmart Leads to $500,000 Settlement Over Brass Knuckles Sales
SACRAMENTO — Walmart will pay half a million dollars to settle allegations from California's Department of Justice that it was selling brass knuckles on its website, state Attorney General Rob Bonta said Tuesday. Brass knuckles are classified as deadly and illegal weapons in a number of states, including California, which...