Author: The Carolinian

BEIJING (AP) - Asian stock markets sank Wednesday ahead of a vote by Congress on a deal to avert a government debt default, while a downturn in Chinese factory activity deepened, adding to signs global economic activity is weakening. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated. Oil prices declined. Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index edged up less than 0.1% on Tuesday as President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker

Earth has pushed past seven out of eight scientifically established safety limits and into "the danger zone," not just for an overheating planet that's losing its natural areas, but for the well-being of people living on it, according to a new study. The study looks not just at guardrails for the planetary ecosystem but for the first time it includes measures of "justice," which is mostly about preventing harm for

SALIX, Iowa (AP) - Ron DeSantis was making a four-stop blitz through Iowa during his first full day of presidential campaigning on Wednesday, aiming for a personal connection with voters while intensifying his criticism of former President Donald Trump. The Florida governor's first appearance was the floor of Port Neal Welding in Salix, a rural town near Sioux City, in the heart of the most Republican-heavy part of the state.

After ballooning for years, CEO pay growth is finally slowing. The typical compensation package for chief executives who run S&P 500 companies rose just 0.9% last year, to a median of $14.8 million, according to data analyzed for The Associated Press by Equilar. That means half the CEOs in the survey made more and half made less. It was the smallest increase since 2015. Still, that's unlikely to quell mounting criticism

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A private flight carrying two Saudi astronauts and other passengers returned to Earth late Tuesday night after a nine-day trip to the International Space Station. The SpaceX capsule carrying the four parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Florida panhandle, 12 hours after undocking from the orbiting lab. The Saudi government picked up the multimillion-dollar tab for its two astronauts: Rayyanah Barnawi, a

BEIJING (AP) - China launched a new three-person crew for its orbiting space station on Tuesday, with an eye to putting astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade. The Shenzhou 16 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan launch center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China atop a Long March 2-F rocket just after 9:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) Tuesday. The crew, including China's first

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican attempt to expand work requirements for federal food aid in debt legislation moving through Congress would increase federal spending by $2.1 billion over 10 years - far from the cuts GOP lawmakers had promised. A compromise on the food aid requirements between House Republicans and President Joe Biden as the nation nears a disastrous government default may have backfired for the Republicans, who won the

NEW YORK (AP) - Allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have launched a new super PAC to support his expected candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. Christie has painted himself as the only potential candidate willing to directly take on former President Donald Trump, who is currently leading the GOP field by wide margins. The former governor and federal prosecutor was a longtime friend and adviser to Trump,

A federal court ruling cleared the way Tuesday for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's settlement of thousands of legal claims over the toll of opioids. Under the plan approved by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, members of the wealthy Sackler family would give up ownership of Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue, which would become a new company known as Knoa, with its profits being used to fight the

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - Firefighters and other first responders are being credited with saving lives - at great risk to their own safety - after a six-story apartment building in Iowa partially collapsed, authorities said Monday. There were no confirmed fatalities and no known people still trapped the morning after a section of brick building in the eastern Iowa city of Davenport crashed to the ground. Mayor Mike Matson said