WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Travelers returning to New Zealand will face stricter rules at quarantine hotels as health authorities investigate how up to three people got infected with the coronavirus while isolating at Auckland’s Pullman Hotel.
MIAMI (AP) — Right-hander Anthony Bass is guaranteed $5 million in his two-year contract with the Miami Marlins and could make $8.5 million over three seasons if a 2023 team option is exercised and he is used extensively as a closer during the first two years.
BEIJING (AP) — Efforts to dissuade Chinese from traveling for Lunar New Year appeared to be working as Beijing’s main train station was largely quiet and estimates of passenger totals were smaller than in past years.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A lack of competition for Google and a lack of transparency in the digital advertising supply chain needed to be addressed because they were impacting publishers, advertisers and consumers, Australia’s competition watchdog said on Thursday.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California appeals court justice accused of sexually harassing staff and attorneys will be removed from office after the state Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal Wednesday.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Health insurance giant Blue Shield of California will be the outside administrator tasked with ramping up coronavirus vaccinations, which to date has been slow, stilted and plagued by confusion, the state health agency said in a statement Wednesday.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday its operating profit for the last quarter rose by more than 26% as it capped off a robust business year where its dual strength in parts and finished products allowed it to thrive amid the pandemic.
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sought “common ground” with the Republican-led Legislature in her State of the State address Wednesday, calling for quick passage of a multibillion-dollar relief plan that would prioritize coronavirus vaccinations and additional aid to Michigan schools and businesses to help end the pandemic.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's state Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation to distribute just over $900 million to aid schools and hospitality-related businesses hit hard by the coronavirus, as well as people struggling to pay rent or utility bills.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Mets added a left-hander to their bullpen, agreeing to a one-year contract with Aaron Loup, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
Across most of America, GameStop is just a place to buy a video game. On Wall Street, though, it's become a battleground where swarms of smaller investors see themselves making an epic stand against the 1%.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — States are loosening their coronavirus restrictions on restaurants and other businesses because of improved infection and hospitalization numbers but are moving gradually and cautiously, in part because of the more contagious variant taking hold in the U.S.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An economic relief package is taking shape at the New Mexico Legislature as a Senate panel endorsed a $600 rebate to low-income workers and a separate bill that would waive licensing fees on liquor stores.
HAMPTON, Va. (AP) — Old Point Financial Corp. (OPOF) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $545,000.
With a large number of home-based businesses and several county-owned locations primed for development, high-speed internet access is an expectation for professionals in Roanoke County, officials said.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Canadian firm that is being sued by Missouri's largest public pension system for allegedly mishandling investments has hired a lobbyist who tried to influence legislators and put pressure on the pension outside of court proceedings, a pension official said in court testimony.
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the Federal Reserve will keep pursuing its low-interest rate policies until an economic recovery is well underway, acknowledging that the economy has faltered in recent months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the most ambitious U.S. effort to stave off the worst of climate change, President Joe Biden signed executive orders Wednesday to transform the nation’s heavily fossil-fuel powered economy into a clean-burning one, pausing oil and gas leasing on federal land and targeting subsidies for those industries.
Facebook capped a tumultuous 2020 with soaring earnings in the final quarter, but the company forecast challenges in 2021 that include a coming privacy update by Apple that could limit the social network's ad targeting capabilities.
DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $30 million fine for a corruption scandal at the union that represents its factory workers, authorities said Wednesday.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — European and North American cyber cops have joined forces to disrupt what may be the world's largest network for seeding malware infections. The operation appears to strike a major blow against criminal gangs that have used that network for years to install ransomware for extortion schemes and to steal data and money.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and drugmaker AstraZeneca sparred Wednesday over a delay in coronavirus vaccine deliveries amid a deepening dispute that raises concerns about international competition for limited supplies of the shots needed to end the pandemic.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Local officials and residents in New Mexico’s oil patches are anxious as the Biden administration takes aim at the oil and natural gas industry with a series of new executive orders. But the state’s two U.S. senators are supporting the actions, saying it’s time to rethink the nation’s energy policies.
