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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Turkey may part ways with the European Union ISTANBUL -- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Turkey may part ways with the European Union, implying that the country is thinking about ending its bid to join the 27-nation bloc. “The EU is making efforts to sever ties with Turkey,” he told reporters before departing for the 78th U.N. General Assembly in New York. “We will evaluate the situation, and if needed we will part ways with the EU.” He was responding to a question about a recent report adopted by the European Parliament, which stated “the accession process cannot resume under the current circumstances, and calls on EU to explore ‘a parallel and realistic framework’ for EU-Türkiye relations.” Turkey applied to join the European Union in 1999, and accession talks began in 2005. Accession negotiations were frozen in 2018 because of “democratic backsliding,” according to the European Parliament. Erdogan's statement on Saturda...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he plans to sign into law a pair of climate-focused bills intended to force major corporations to be more transparent about greenhouse gas emissions and the financial risks stemming from global warming NEW YORK -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday that he plans to sign into law a pair of climate-focused bills intended to force major corporations to be more transparent about greenhouse gas emissions and the financial risks stemming from global warming. Newsom's announcement came during an out-of-state trip to New York’s Climate Week, where world leaders in business, politics and the arts are gathered to seek solutions for climate change. California lawmakers last week passed legislation requiring large businesses from oil and gas companies to retail giants to disclose their direct greenhouse gas emissions as well as those that come from activities like employee business travel. Such disclosures are a “simple but intensely powerful driver of d...

About 13,000 auto workers have walked off the job at three targeted factories after their union leaders couldn’t reach a deal with Detroit’s automakers DETROIT -- About 13,000 auto workers have walked off the job at three targeted factories after their union leaders couldn't reach a deal with Detroit's automakers. The United Auto Workers union is seeking big raises and better benefits from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. They want to get back concessions that the workers made years ago, when the companies were in financial trouble. A small percentage of the union’s 146,000 members walked off the job at a GM assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday. Shawn Fain, the combative president of the UAW, says the targeted strike s will give the union leverage in contract talks and keep the auto companies guessing about its next move. It could also mak...

The United States is at risk of another damaging government shutdown, potentially as soon as the end of September WASHINGTON -- On one side of the Capitol, two senators have steered the debate over government funding mostly clear of partisan fights, creating a path for bills to pass with bipartisan momentum. Steps away, on the House side of the building, things couldn’t be more different. House Republicans, trying to win support from the far-right wing of the party, have loaded up their government funding packages with spending cuts and conservative policy priorities. Democrats have responded with ire, branding their GOP counterparts as extreme and bigoted, and are withdrawing support for the legislation. The contrary approaches are not unusual for such fights in Congress. But the differences are especially stark this time, creating a gulf between the chambers that could prove difficult to bridge. The dynamic threatens to plunge the United States into yet another damaging government ...

North Dakota utility regulators will reconsider their denial of a siting permit for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline BISMARCK, N.D. -- North Dakota utility regulators in an unusual move granted a request to reconsider their denial of a key permit for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline. North Dakota's Public Service Commission in a 2-1 vote on Friday granted Summit Carbon Solutions' request for reconsider ation. Chairman Randy Christmann said the panel will set a hearing schedule and “clarify the issues to be considered." Reconsideration “only allows additional evidence for the company to try to persuade us that they are addressing the deficiencies,” he said. Denying Summit's request would have meant the company would have to reapply, with a monthslong process that would start all over again without any of the information in the current case, including lengthy testimony. Summit Executive Vice President Wade Boeshans told The Associated Press that the company apprec...

Attorneys for 10 states and some Louisiana local governments hope a federal judge will block a new system for calculating rates for federal flood insurance NEW ORLEANS -- Increases in federal flood insurance premiums that are projected to surpass 700% over the coming years are already leading people to back out of home purchases and will likely lead to an exodus of residents and businesses from southern Louisiana, officials told a federal judge Thursday in New Orleans. The testimony came in a hearing in a lawsuit Louisiana and nine other state s filed against the federal government to block sharp increases in national flood insurance rates. A phase-in of the new rates began in 2021. Annual increases are limited to 18%. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said the new method of computing rates has resulted in reductions or little or no increase for most policy holders. But FEMA figures also show huge impending increases in some Louisiana ZIP codes. State and local officials who te...

The operator of a luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland with 206 people on board says at three passengers have contracted COVID-19 COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- The operator of a luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland with 206 people on board said Thursday at least three passengers have contracted COVID-19. The announcement followed a third failed attempt to free the cruise liner, after a fisheries research vessel attempted to pull the ship free at high tide on Wednesday. “These passengers are currently in isolation. They are looked after by our onboard doctor, medical team and crew, and they are doing well,” the Australia-based Aurora Expeditions said in a statement. The others on the MV Ocean Explorer were “safe and healthy," it added. Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald quoted a retiree from Australia, Steven Fraser, who is on the ship, saying: “Everyone’s in good spirits. It’s a little bit frustrating, but we are in a beautiful part of the world....

An explosion and fire at an soybean processing facility in Illinois has injured eight employees and sent a tower of smoke into the air DECATUR, Ill. -- An explosion and fire at a soybean processing facility in Illinois injured eight employees over the weekend and sent a tower of smoke into the air, officials said Monday. The explosion occurred at the east plant in the Archer Daniels Midland processing complex shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday in Decatur, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, the agricultural company said in a statement on its website. Six of the eight injured workers were taken from the scene by ambulance with the “extent of injuries unknown,” Battalion Chief Wade Watson with the Decatur Fire Department said in a statement Monday morning. ADM said in a statement early Monday afternoon that five employees remained in hospitalized “receiving treatment for their injuries” and added that the company's “priority is providing our injured colleagues and thei...

International aid groups have mobilized in Morocco where a 6.8 magnitude earthquake Friday night has killed 2,681 and injured more than 2,500 NEW YORK -- International aid groups have mobilized in Morocco where a 6.8 magnitude earthquake Friday night has killed 2,681 and injured more than 2,500. Donors, both big and small, are also mobilizing to support those relief efforts. Experts say the most direct way to provide aid to those affected in the city of Marrakech and the rural areas in the Atlas Mountains is to donate to organizations that have operations already on the ground in Morocco. That takes on additional importance because so far the Moroccan government has accepted governmental aid from only four nations — Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates — as it tries to avoid a “counterproductive” lack of coordination. “We are just seeing the scale and severity of disasters from natural hazards increasing and that is putting a drain on resources — both financial and huma...

The former CEO of Alibaba has resigned as head of its cloud computing business in a surprise move as the Chinese e-commerce empire wraps up a leadership reshuffle HONG KONG -- The former CEO of Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, resigned as head of its cloud computing unit Monday in a surprise move as the Chinese e-commerce empire wraps up a leadership reshuffle . Alibaba said it will invest $1 billion in a technology fund Zhang will establish to support the firm’s strategies for future growth. Zhang stepped down on the same day he gave up his roles as Alibaba’s CEO and chairman. In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Alibaba said that Eddie Wu, its new CEO, will also head its cloud unit. Wu and Alibaba’s new chairman Joseph Tsai assumed their new roles by Monday, with Alibaba saying it has “completed its leadership transition.” Alibaba expressed its “deepest appreciation” to Zhang for his contributions to the company over the past 16 years. Alibaba’s Hong Kong stock price was down 3.6% M...

Federal inspectors found an alarming number of defects in the locomotives and railcars Union Pacific was using at the world's largest railyard in western Nebraska this summer, and the railroad was reluctant to fix the problems OMAHA, Neb. -- Federal inspectors said they found an alarming number of defects in the locomotives and railcars Union Pacific was using at the world's largest railyard in western Nebraska this summer , and the railroad was reluctant to fix the problems. Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose wrote a letter to UP's top three executives Friday expressing his concern that the defects represent a “significant risk to rail safety " on the Union Pacific railroad. Bose said the 19.93% defect rate on rail cars and the 72.69% rate for locomotives that inspectors found in July and August are both twice the national average. But the letter didn't detail what kind of defects inspectors found in the Bailey Yard in North Platte, and there are a m...

Students and teachers are sweltering in public schools across Puerto Rico and demanding that the government install air conditioners as the U.S. Caribbean territory bakes under record heat this year SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Public school teacher Ángel Muñiz grabbed a thermometer and thrust it into the camera as someone recorded him inside his classroom this week. “It is about 99 degrees (37 C),” he said in a video posted on social media as seven fans whirred noisily around him. It wasn’t even noon yet, and an advisory that day warned of a heat index of up to 111 F (43.8 C). Students and teachers are sweltering in public schools across Puerto Rico that lack air conditioning and are demanding government action as the U.S. Caribbean territory struggles to respond to climate change effects while it bakes under record heat this year. Last month was the hottest August on the island since record-keeping began. Puerto Rico broke the record of the daily maximum temperature six times and the hig...

Charles Schwab plans to cut jobs and close or downsize some corporate offices as part of company efforts to reduce operating costs, the financial services firm said in a Monday regulatory filing NEW YORK -- Charles Schwab plans to cut jobs and close or downsize some corporate office s as part of company efforts to reduce operating costs, the financial services firm said in a Monday regulatory filing. With these cuts, Charles Schwab expects to achieve at least $500 million of incremental annual run-rate cost savings — but also incur about $400 million to $500 million from expenses like employee compensation, benefits and facility exit costs. The Westlake, Texas-based company did not specify how many positions would be eliminated — but suggested that the layoffs will take place in the coming months, noting that it anticipated most costs related to these job cuts for the second half of 2023. Office locations set to be impacted by closures or downsizing were also not specified, but Charl...

The maker of an extremely spicy tortilla chip says it is working to remove the product from stores as Massachusetts authorities investigate the death of a teen whose family pointed to the One Chip Challenge popularized as a dare on social media as a co... WORCESTER, Mass. -- The maker of an extremely spicy tortilla chip said Thursday it is working to remove the product from store s as Massachusetts authorities investigate the death of a teen whose family pointed to the One Chip Challenge popularized as a dare on social media as a contributing factor. The cause of Harris Wolobah's death on Sept. 1 has yet to be determined and an autopsy is pending, but the 14-year-old's family blamed the challenge. Since his death, Texas-based manufacturer Paqui has asked retailers to stop selling the individually wrapped chips, a step 7-Eleven has already taken. A vigil for the teen is planned for Friday evening at a park in Worcester in central Massachusetts. The One Chip Challenge chip s...

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in seven months, another sign that the labor market remains largely unaffected by higher interest rates The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in seven months with the labor market seemingly resistant to the higher interest rates put in to place to cool hiring. U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 216,000 for the week ending Sept. 2, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's the lowest level since February. Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week. The Federal Reserve, well into the second year of its battle against inflation, has raised interest rates 11 times to 5.4%, the highest level in 22 years. The Fed’s rate hikes are intended to cool the job market and bring down wages, which many economists believe suppresses price growth. Though some measures of ...