AP

Rebecca Thompson was about to sign a lease for an apartment with a friend in early 2020 when businesses started shutting down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So instead, the 34-year-old decided to stay with her parents to save money. But with home prices skyrocketing in Dallas, she thought she’d never be able to buy…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite high interest rates and chronic inflation, the U.S. economy grew at a 2.9% annual rate from July through September, the government said Wednesday in a healthy upgrade from its initial estimate. Last quarter’s rise in the U.S. gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — followed…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States isn’t seeking to sever economic ties with China — even as Washington takes steps to protect America’s technological and military prowess from Beijing, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. Speaking to reporters in advance of a speech Wednesday on the Biden administration’s China policy, Raimondo said: “We’re not seeking…

HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai broke into Hong Kong’s rambunctious media world 30 years ago armed with the belief that delivering information equates with protecting freedom. Lai’s own freedom is at stake as he fights charges of endangering national security as former publisher of his now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. Already serving a 20-month…

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in Europe has eased for the first time in more than a year as energy prices drifted down from painful highs, but the double-digit rate still hovers near a record that has robbed consumers of their spending power and led economists to predict a recession. The consumer price index in…

BEIJING (AP) — A campaign to vaccinate the elderly has sparked hopes China might roll back severe anti-virus controls that prompted protesters to demand President Xi Jinping resign, but the country faces daunting hurdles and up to a year of hard work before “zero COVID” can end. Stock markets rose after the National Health Commission…

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares advanced in Asia on Thursday after a rally on Wall Street spurred by the Federal Reserve chair’s comments on easing the pace of interest rate hikes to tame inflation. Signs that China may be shifting its approach to containing COVID-19 outbreaks to focus more on vaccinations also helped drive buying of…

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s oldest and largest conglomerate, Tata Sons, will merge its Air India with Vistara, which it jointly runs with Singapore Airlines, in a major step toward revamping the country’s debt-laden national carrier. The merger will strengthen Singapore Airlines’ foothold in India’s fast-growing aviation market, the company said in a statement. It…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved. The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and now…

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on an attempt by environmental groups to cancel a key permit for a long-stalled copper-nickel mine. Opponents of PolyMet Mining Corp.′s project say state regulators should have included “end-of-pipe” limits on discharges of mercury, sulfates and other pollutants in the water quality permit. They…