Today’s News
Federal review finds 44% of trucking schools fail to comply with federal government rules
Nearly 44 percent of the 16,000 truck driving programs listed nationwide by the federal government may be forced to close if they lose their students after a review by the federal Transportation Department found they may not be complying with minimum requirements. The Transportation Department earlier this week said that it plans to revoke the certification of nearly 3,000 schools unless they can comply with training requirements in the next 30 days. The targeted schools [...]
Cyber Monday spending rises 4.5 percent
NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers scoured for deals online on Cyber Monday, delivering strong sales for retailers and capping a five-day spending spree that kicked off on Thanksgiving. Adobe Analytics reported that as of 6:30 p.m. EST on Monday, consumers had already spent $9.1 billion online for Cyber Monday, up 4.5 percent from the same day a year ago. Adobe expects that when the final tally is in, consumers will spend between $13.9 billion and [...]
OECD predicts U.S. economy to grow 2 percent this year
WASHINGTON (AP) — The world economy has proven surprisingly durable in the face of President Donald Trump’s trade policies, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said earlier this week, upgrading its outlook for global and United States economic growth this year. The 38-country OECD now forecasts that the world economy will grow 3.2 percent this year, down from 3.3 percent in 2024, but an improvement on the 2.9 percent it had predicted for 2025 [...]
Growing number of colleges using artificial intelligence in application process
Students applying to college know they can’t — or at least shouldn’t — use artificial-intelligence chatbots to write their essays and personal statements. So, it might come as a surprise to them that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read those essays and statements. AI tools are now being incorporated into how student applications are screened and analyzed, admissions directors say. It can be a delicate topic, and not all colleges are eager [...]
Legal News
Meta prevails in historic FTC antitrust case
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Meta has prevailed over an existential challenge to its business that could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram [...]
Judge approves opioid settlement for Purdue Pharma and Sackler family members
A federal bankruptcy court judge earlier this week formally approved OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the harms of opioids. [...]
Judge set to OK Purdue Pharma settlement deal
A judge last week said that he planned to approve a deal for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family who own [...]
Business News
Retailers offering new or updated artificial intelligence-assisted shopping tools
NEW YORK (AP) — Major retail chains and tech companies are offering new or updated artificial-intelligence tools in time for the holiday shopping season, hoping [...]
Federal ban could impact the nation’s hemp industry
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The production lines at Indeed Brewing moved quickly, the cans filling not with beer, but with THC-infused seltzer. The product, which features [...]
State’s oil production rose last year, but coal output declined
Ohio drillers produced 22.2 percent more oil last year than in 2023, but coal production fell 9.7 percent, according to a new report from the [...]
Real Estate
National Association of Realtors economist forecasts home sales to increase 14% in 2026
Existing-home sales are projected to rise by around 14 percent in 2026, according to National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. Yun earlier this [...]
Mortgage rate falls to 6.23 percent
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage ended a three-week streak of increases, reflecting a pullback in long-term U.S. Treasury bond yields. The average long-term [...]
New limits set for RealPage rent algorithm
Landlords no longer could rely on rent-pricing software to quietly track each other’s moves and push rents higher using confidential data under a settlement between [...]
Politics
National Park Service to raise fees for international tourists starting on Jan. 1
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service last week said it is going to start charging the millions of international tourists who visit United States [...]
Future of the federal government’s health-care plan remains unsettled
WASHINGTON (AP) — A health-care proposal circulated by the White House last week is running into the reality of Republican divisions on the issue — [...]
Environmental Protection Agency seeks to abandon rule for soot pollution
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is seeking to abandon a rule that sets standards for soot pollution, arguing that the Biden administration did not [...]