Business & Economy
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ beats ‘Avengers: Endgame’ box office record
Spider-Man beat the Avengers at the box office. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" broke the "Avengers: Endgame" record for the biggest North American opening weekend with $360 million in ticket sales from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, Sony Pictures said Monday.
Trump accuses Iranian leaders of duplicity over peace negotiations
President Trump on Monday accused Tehran of being "duplicitous" and said peace negotiations were underway through mediators, whether Iranian officials wanted to admit it or not.
At creative reuse centers, old art supplies get a new life at a fraction of the cost
Charlene Catalano was looking for a ball of green-and-white yarn to crochet this year's winter scarf.
Wall Street starts week with a bang after Trump calls off strikes
U.S. stocks surged Monday after President Trump called off massive strikes on Iran, renewing hopes for a diplomatic deal.
Falling oil prices help calm Wall Street’s inflation worries, while chip stocks get back to sinking
Oil prices are easing on Monday and helping to calm Wall Street's worries that inflation could potentially get even worse. That has U.S. stock indexes rising, but sharp swings are continuing to roil financial markets underneath the surface.
Japan’s Nissan sees profit for latest quarter but warns of Middle East and China woes
Nissan Motor Corp. reported Monday that it returned to profit in the first quarter of the fiscal year, helped by cost cutting measures and improved sales in some markets.
At colleges, the AI boom means everyone wants to dabble in computer science
With no background in coding, Faith Maeba, a psychology major, was reluctant when her mother first suggested she enroll in classes on artificial intelligence.
WestJet reaches tentative deal with flight attendants after brief strike snarled traffic
Canada's second largest airline, WestJet, has agreed to a tentative agreement with flight attendants to end a strike that led to hundreds of flight cancellations and thousands of stranded passengers.
U.S. dollar weakens sharply against the Japanese yen after market interventions
The U.S. dollar weakened sharply Monday against the Japanese yen after U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan's finance minister confirmed both sides had intervened in markets.
Iran says no talks with U.S. expected despite Trump’s assurances
Iran said Monday it is not in talks with the U.S. over control of the Strait of Hormuz, even as President Trump insists that final negotiations could begin as soon as this afternoon.
U.S. faces new pressure to build weapons without China’s rare-earth magnets
A giant American flag hanging on the wall of a warehouse in New Hampshire hints at the national importance of the elements bound inside the mining waste stored in 1-ton bags. The company uses electrolysis to separate the key critical elements President Trump's administration desperately wants to produce domestically from the powder left behind at traditional mines.
Ghana parliament backs tough cocoa farm protections, with up to 20 years in prison
Ghana's parliament passed a bill that could send cocoa farmers to prison for up to 20 years if they convert their farms to other uses without government approval, according to a copy of the bill seen by The Associated Press.
Trump overhaul could gut Head Start preschool standards, leaving states to set the rules
President Donald Trump's administration is planning a dramatic overhaul of Head Start that would gut its quality standards, upending the hallmarks of the early education program for impoverished children, two people familiar with the deliberations said.
Record-low Danube levels push some countries in Eastern Europe to the brink of energy emergency
Numerous governments across Central and Eastern Europe are taking steps to conserve electricity and avert an energy crisis as record low water levels on the Danube River have forced power plants to the brink of shutting down.
Senate to vote on stopgap bill to keep government open through Dec. 11
The Senate is set to take a test vote Monday on a stopgap appropriations bill that will keep the government open through Dec. 11. The measure, released Sunday evening, has bipartisan support and is expected to earn more than the 60 votes needed to overcome any filibuster.
Plane carrying European tourists crashes in Peru, killing 13 people on Nazca Lines viewing flight
A plane carrying European tourists to view the famed Nazca Lines crashed into a field Saturday outside the Peruvian city of Nazca, killing 13 people, local authorities said.
Concerns about tariff authority in Russia sanctions bill undermine universal support for Ukraine
Democratic objections to giving President Trump more tariff authority is slowing Senate consideration of a Russia sanctions bill and preventing a potentially unanimous vote to support Ukraine.
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ nets second best North American opening ever with $355 million
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" made box office history in its first weekend in theaters. The Sony-released superhero movie became the second biggest North American opening ever with an astonishing $355 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was just a few million shy of "Avengers: Endgame," which debuted to $357 million in 2019.
Flight attendants at Canada’s WestJet go on strike in dispute over pay
Flight attendants with WestJet, Canada's second-largest airline, went on strike Sunday in a dispute over pay.