China accuses U.S. of 2022 cyberattack
BEIJING (AP) — China accused the U.S. National Security Agency of carrying out cyberattacks on its national time center, saying any damage to related facilities could have disrupted network communications, financial systems and power supply. The Ministry of State Security alleged that the American agency had exploited vulnerabilities in the messaging services of a foreign [...]
High court to consider if pot smokers may own guns
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said it will consider whether people who regularly smoke marijuana can legally own guns, the latest firearm case to come before the court since its 2022 decision expanding gun rights. President Donald Trump’s administration asked the justices to revive a case against a Texas man charged with a felony [...]
Lawsuit: Plastic bag makers lied about products being recyclable
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California has ramped up its efforts to curb plastic pollution, suing three plastic-bag makers the state accuses of falsely claiming their products were recyclable. State Attorney General Rob Bonta said companies Novolex Holdings, Inteplast Group and Mettler Packaging violated a state law passed in 2014 that banned plastic bags at grocery [...]
AEP awarded $1.6B federal loan to upgrade power lines in the Midwest
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Energy says it has finalized a $1.6 billion loan guarantee to a subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest power companies to upgrade nearly 5,000 miles of transmission lines across five states, mostly in the Midwest. AEP Transmission, owned by Columbus-based American Electric Power, will upgrade power lines in [...]
As company seeks merger partner, CSX profit falls 22 percent in third quarter
Investors last week said they looked past a 22 percent drop in CSX’s third quarter earnings and focused on the direction the railroad operator’s new CEO might take it and the possibility of any strategic deals. CEO Steve Angel said he promised to focus on making CSX the best-performing railroad company in the nation. Without [...]
Bid to lease coal from public lands rejected
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Federal officials rejected a mining company’s bid for more than 6 million tons of coal beneath a national forest in Utah, marking the third proposed coal sale from public lands in the West to fall through this month, the Interior Department disclosed last week. The failed sales mark a setback in [...]
Tech companies paying to train teachers on artificial intelligence use in classrooms
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day’s workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school [...]
FDA unveils drugs to receive fast reviews
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has announced the first round of experimental drugs that will receive drastically expedited reviews at the agency, part of an effort to prioritize medicines the Trump administration deems as “supporting U.S. national interests.” The nine medicines announced by the FDA include potential treatments for vaping addiction, deafness, [...]