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Wire stories category, Page 85

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Debt and coronavirus push Hertz into bankruptcy protection
Hertz filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, unable to withstand the coronavirus pandemic that has crippled global travel and with it, the heavily indebted 102-year-old car rental company’s business. The Estero, Florida-based company’s lenders were unwilling to grant it another extension on its auto lease debt payments past a Friday deadline,...
Pandemic job losses hit tourism-dependent states hardest
HONOLULU — The coronavirus pandemic has been particularly brutal to the tourism-dependent economies of Nevada and Hawaii, lifting the unemployment rate in both states to about one-quarter of the workforce. Nevada topped the nation with an April unemployment rate of 28.2%, the worst any state has seen since the national...
NASA’s newest test pilots are veteran astronauts, friends
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The two astronauts who will test drive SpaceX’s brand new rocketship are classmates and friends, veteran spacefliers married to veteran spacefliers, and fathers of young sons. Together, they will end a nine-year drought for NASA when they blast into orbit next week from Florida’s Kennedy Space...
ABC renews 19 shows, adds David E. Kelley drama ‘Big Sky’
LOS ANGELES — ABC is bringing back the lion’s share of its series for next season, including “black-ish,” “A Million Little Things” and “The Rookie.” They are among the 19 shows that will return in the 2020-21 season, the network said Thursday, adding to a list of previously announced renewals....
Stocks end lower on Wall Street as US-China tensions continue
Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street on Thursday as investors weighed more data showing the economic damage being caused by the coronavirus pandemic and another flareup in tensions between the U.S. and China. The S&P 500 fell 0.8%, shedding some of the gains it made in a solid rally...
Another 2.4 million apply for unemployment benefits, 39 million in all since coronavirus hit
WASHINGTON — More than 2.4 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the viral outbreak that triggered widespread business shutdowns two months ago and sent the economy into a deep recession. Roughly 38.6 million people have now filed for jobless aid...
3M billed government $7.63 for 85-cent earplugs. It now has $1 billion covid contract
WASHINGTON — The company that has been awarded the largest single covid-19 federal contract once boasted it charged the Defense Department $7.63 for earplugs that cost 85 cents a pair to produce. That company, 3M, was awarded a $1 billion contract on April 15 for “medical and surgical instruments, equipment...
Ford shuts down Dearborn Truck Plant when worker tests positive for coronavirus
DETROIT — Ford Motor Company shut down its Dearborn Truck Plant on Wednesday afternoon because of coronavirus, releasing its early shift of UAW hourly workers. “They sent everybody home,” said a UAW worker who asked not to be named for fear of disciplinary action. “We probably got 800 people there....
Stocks rally on hopes for vaccine and economic recovery 
NEW YORK — The stock market bounced back from its worst week in nearly two months Monday as optimism about a potential vaccine for the coronavirus and hopes for a U.S. economic recovery in the second half of the year put investors in a buying mood. The S&P 500 climbed...
Tesla picks Austin, Tulsa as finalists for new US factory
DETROIT — Tesla has picked Austin, Texas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, as finalists for its new U.S. assembly plant, a person briefed on the matter said Friday. The person says company officials visited Tulsa in the past week and were shown two sites. It wasn’t clear if there were any other...
Florida governor says 9 of 10 people frustrated by unemployment system made application errors
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis said some Floridians waiting on unemployment checks have themselves to blame for not filling out their applications properly. During an exchange with a reporter during a Friday news conference in Jacksonville, DeSantis expressed frustration with news stories that quote Floridians who have been unable...
U.S. layoffs surged to record high of 11.4 million in March
WASHINGTON — U.S. layoffs soared in March to a record 11.4 million after state and local governments closed restaurants, bars, movie theaters and other nonessential businesses in response to the intensifying viral outbreak. The Labor Department also said Friday that job openings plunged, and hiring fell, though those changes weren’t...
Uber to require all drivers and riders to wear masks starting Monday
Uber will require all of its drivers and riders worldwide to wear masks over their faces for the foreseeable future, Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said Wednesday. Khosrowshahi made the announcement during a conference call outlining new health and safety steps Uber is taking in order to ease concerns about the...
Wall Street drops after reopening worries lead to late slide
Worries about the downside of reopening the economy too soon are weighing on markets, and Wall Street fell Tuesday to its biggest loss since the start of the month. The S&P 500 dropped 2.1% after spending much of the day drifting between small gains and losses, as investors debate whether...
Twitter to label disputed covid-19 tweets
CHICAGO — Twitter announced Monday it will start alerting users when a tweet makes disputed or misleading claims about the coronavirus. The new rule is the latest in a wave of stricter policies that tech companies are rolling out to confront an outbreak of virus-related misinformation on their sites. Facebook...
Trump’s economic team braces for worsening job market in May 
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers on Sunday argued that a “safe” reopening of the U.S. is needed urgently as they stare down the worst job numbers since the Great Depression. Meanwhile, although Trump has said he’s in no rush to enact another round of economic stimulus, the...
Elon Musk threatens to exit California over coronavirus restrictions
Tesla CEO Elon Musk threatened Saturday to pull the company’s factory and headquarters out of California in an escalating spat with local officials who have stopped the company from reopening its electric vehicle factory. On Twitter, Musk also threatened to sue over Alameda County Health Department coronavirus restrictions that have...
Stocks rise on hopes that awful jobs report marks the bottom
Wall Street doubled down on its bet that the worst of the recession has passed, sending stocks higher again on Friday despite another historic, crushing report on the job market. Stocks around the world were already rising before the U.S. government gave its monthly report on jobs, in part on...
TV broadcaster Sinclair fined record $48 million over Tribune deal
The federal government has fined Sinclair Broadcasting Corp. $48 million, largely because of actions the TV broadcaster took in its failed attempt to acquire smaller rival Tribune Media. Sinclair in 2017 proposed a $3.9 billion deal for Tribune’s TV stations, attempting to extend its reach into new markets. The deal...
Wall Street dips to week’s first loss despite tech’s efforts
Stocks fell on Wall Street Wednesday, sending the market to its first loss in three days, after more depressing data rolled in on the devastation sweeping the global economy. The S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, and three out of four stocks in the index sank. But the market’s losses would have...
Small businesses slash more than 11 million jobs in April
NEW YORK — The nation’s small businesses slashed more than 11 million jobs in April as they were forced to close or suffered steep revenue losses amid the coronavirus outbreak. The tally from ADP counts jobs lost at the payroll provider’s business customers with under 500 workers. The smallest companies,...
Stocks end higher on Wall Street even after late-day stumble
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street on Tuesday as more countries relaxed restrictions on businesses, raising hopes for a recovery from the historic plunge that is sweeping the global economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% after losing about half of its early gains in a late-afternoon burst of selling....
Disney’s second-quarter profit sinks on pandemic woes
NEW YORK — Disney reported a steep decline in profit as many segments of its media and entertainment offerings have ground to a standstill during the coronavirus pandemic. Its second quarter profit dropped 91% to $475 million. Overall, the company said costs related to covid-19 cut Disney’s pretax profit by...
Treasury says April-June borrowing will be a record $2.99T
WASHINGTON — The economic paralysis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic is forcing the U.S. Treasury to borrow far more than it ever has before — $2.99 trillion in the current quarter alone. The amount is more than five times the government’s previous record borrowing for a quarter, $569 billion, set...
Back to work, owners make changes so workers feel safe
NEW YORK — Before the coronavirus outbreak, furniture deliveries at Sunnyland Outdoor Living meant two employees sitting side-by-side in a truck. Now, one will be driving the truck while the second follows in a car. And when Sunnyland’s workers reach a customer’s home, “we’ll deliver outside — we won’t go...


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