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Unions say rails should forgo buybacks, spend on safety

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Rail unions want railroads to take some of the billions they’re using every year to buy back their stock and spend it to improve safety in the wake of several high-profile derailments and hire more workers. The 12 unions that represent all of the more than 100,000 workers across the industry said Friday that collectively the six biggest freight railroads spent over $165 billion on buybacks — well above the $119 billion they spent on upgrading and maintaining their track and equipment between 2015 and last year. At the same time, their safety record worsened as ...

The Danes, Dutch to donate Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark and the Netherlands announced Thursday that they plan to provide Ukraine with at least 14 refurbished German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks, to be supplied from early 2024. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called it “a significant donation” which came on top of a contribution by Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany, announced in February, to supply at least 100 older Leopard 1 A5 tanks. In a joint statement, the Danish and Dutch defense ministers said the estimated cost of 165 million euros “to jointly acquire, refurbish and ...

Michigan committee gives $175 million for battery plant

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan Senate committee gave final legislative approval to allocate $175 million in state funds to a factory planned by Chinese manufacturer Gotion in northern Michigan that proponents say will create thousands of jobs and be a boon for the local economy. The funds were approved in a narrow vote Thursday by the Senate Appropriations committee after multiple Democratic lawmakers sided with Republicans following concerns over Gotion’s foreign ties and the plant’s potential environmental impacts. The $2.4 billion Gotion project, which is planned on a ...

Stock market today: Tesla, AT&T help drag Wall Street lower

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is weakening Thursday following mixed earnings reports from big companies and more signals the U.S. economy may be slowing. The S&P 500 was 0.9% lower in late trading after drifting listlessly earlier this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 206 points, or 0.6%, at 33,690, as of 3:15 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1% lower. Tesla weighed heavily on the market for a second straight day on worries about how much profit it’s making on each of its electric vehicles. It dropped 11% after reporting revenue for the first three ...

Twitter begins removing blue checks from users who don’t pay

The Associated Press This time it’s for real. Many of Twitter’s high-profile users are losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity and distinguish them from impostors on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform. After several false starts, Twitter began making good on its promise Thursday to remove the blue checks from accounts that don’t pay a monthly fee to keep them. Twitter had about 300,000 verified users under the original blue-check system — many of them journalists, athletes and public figures. The checks began disappearing from these users’ ...

Judge nixes bail for Chinese businessman in $1B fraud case

NEW YORK (AP) — A self-exiled Chinese businessman charged in a $1 billion fraud case will remain behind bars after a federal judge rejected a proposed $25 million bail package Thursday, saying there was clear and convincing evidence he would remain an economic threat and a flight risk if he were freed. Judge Analisa Torres said in a written order that she didn’t trust that Guo Wengui would obey court orders if released, even with strict bail conditions including GPS monitoring and a 24-hour guard. She noted that he faces a maximum sentence of over 100 years in prison if ...