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The first US nuclear reactor built from scratch in decades enters commercial operation in Georgia
ATLANTA (AP) — A new reactor at a nuclear power plant in Georgia has entered commercial operation. Georgia Power Co. announced Monday that Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta, has completed testing and is now sending power to the grid reliably. It’s the first new American reactor built from scratch in decades. At its full output, Unit 3 can power 500,000 homes and businesses. Utilities in Georgia, Florida and Alabama are buying the electricity. A fourth reactor is nearing completion at the site, where two earlier reactors have been generating electricity for decades. The third and fourth reactors were supposed to cost $14 billion, but are projected to cost owners $31 billion.
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Musk threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets
WASHINGTON (AP) — A nonprofit organization that researches links between social media, hate and extremism has been threatened with a lawsuit by X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. An attorney for the platform recently wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate accusing the group of trying to hurt the site’s advertising. The center has published numerous research reports documenting an increase in hate speech on the platform since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk. The center says Musk is trying to silence his critics, despite his claims to support free speech.
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Skepticism prevails as Chinese leaders promise to back private businesses to spur slowing economy
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is promising to drag the economy out of a crisis of confidence aggravated by tensions with Washington, wilting exports, job losses and anxiety among foreign companies about an expanded anti-spying law. Its most striking pledge is renewed support for private businesses that generate most jobs and wealth. Over the past decade, they’ve felt under attack as the ruling Communist Party built up state-owned industries, tightened control over business and pressured them to pay for its technology and industrial ambitions. Entrepreneurs and investors are waiting to see what tax, spending or other steps the ruling party might take, and if it will rein in state companies that dominate the economy.
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Pipeline operators to pay $12.5M after spills in Montana, North Dakota
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Two pipeline operators have agreed to pay a $12.5 million civil penalty related to crude oil spills in 2015 in Montana and in 2016 in North Dakota. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the settlement on Monday. The 2015 Montana spill involved over 50,000 gallons of oil leaking into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. The 2016 North Dakota spill involved over 600,000 gallons of oil leaking into an unnamed tributary and impacting waterways including Ash Coulee Creek and the Little Missouri River. Belle Fourche also will pay over $98,000 to North Dakota’s Department of Environmental Quality for past response costs.
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Stock market today: Wall Street drifts as it heads toward the close of another winning month
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting as Wall Street rolls toward the close of another winning month. The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged Monday, on track for a fifth straight month of gains. It’s also near a 16-month high after rallying on hopes cooling inflation will mean the economy can avoid a recession. The Dow was up 45 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq was 0.1% higher. Critics have said the rally has come too quickly. Several reports this week could back them up, including updates on the job market and profits at the market’s most influential companies.
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Europe’s economy grows a bit after months of stagnation. But rate hikes are weighing on businesses
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s economy is growing again — but not by much. Growth came in at 0.3% in the April-to-June quarter, following zero expansion in the three months immediately before. Stronger performance in Spain and France helped. But Germany, the largest of the 20 economies that use the euro, is holding things back with zero growth. High inflation is still sapping consumer spending power despite rebounding travel. Another factor is the series of interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank, which are making it harder to borrow to spend or invest. Amid inflation and higher rates, prospects for the rest of the year are muted.
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Teamsters say trucking giant Yellow Corp. is ceasing operations, filing for bankruptcy
NEW YORK (AP) — Troubled trucking company Yellow Corp. is shutting down and filing for bankruptcy, the Teamsters said Monday. An official backruptcy filing is expected any day for Yellow, after years of financial struggles and growing debt. Its impending liquidation marks a significant shift for the U.S. transportation industry and shippers nationwide. The company’s collapse arrives just three years after Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., received $700 million in pandemic-era loans from the federal government. But the company was in financial trouble long before that — with industry analysts pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back decades.
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Yellow is shutting down and headed for bankruptcy, the Teamsters Union says. Here’s what to know
NEW YORK (AP) — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports. After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to The Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday. In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy. The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.
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Customers want instant gratification. Workers say it’s pushing them to the brink
NEW YORK (AP) — Drastic changes in consumer demands are driving labor unrest in diverse industries upended by technology. Hollywood actors and writers and UPS delivery drivers are among workers fighting for better pay and working conditions. And they want consumers to understand what it takes to meet rising expectations for speed and convenience. The central issues are that workers are overworked and underpaid. Screenwriters say they are expected to create scripts for the streaming era faster for less pay. UPS drivers say forced overtime got out of hand as online shopping accelerated and delivery exploded. Workers are pushing back against forced overtime, punishing schedules or company reliance on lower-paid part-time or contract forces.
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Michigan court affirms critical benefits for thousands badly hurt in car wrecks
DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court is out with a decision that provides critical relief for thousands of people who were badly injured in car wrecks. The court says people getting care for catastrophic crashes before summer 2019 won’t lose their lifetime insurance benefits. For decades, people injured in crashes were entitled to lifetime payment for “all reasonable charges” related to care and rehabilitation. But a new state law that kicked in in 2019 set a fee schedule and a cap on reimbursements. Suddenly, 18,000 people were in at risk. The Supreme Court says a “vested contractual right” to ongoing benefits “cannot be stripped away or diminished.”
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The S&P 500 rose 6.73 points, or 0.1%, to 4,588.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 100.24 points, or 0.3%, to 35,559.53. The Nasdaq composite rose 29.37 points, or 0.2%, to 14,346.02. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 21.64 points, or 1.1%, to 2,003.18.
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