AP

Twitter will no longer enforce its policy against COVID-19 misinformation, raising concerns among public health experts and social media researchers that the change could have serious consequences if it discourages vaccination and other efforts to combat the still-spreading virus. Eagle-eyed users spotted the change Monday night, noting that a one-sentence update had been made to…

U.S. senators from both parties expressed skepticism Tuesday that a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons would result in lower prices for consumers. “Fewer local options mean less competition to keep prices low,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, in a hearing before the antitrust subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Padilla…

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Railroad unions on Tuesday decried President Joe Biden’s call for Congress to intervene in their contract dispute, saying it undercuts their efforts to address workers’ quality of life concerns, but businesses stressed that it is crucial to avoid a strike next week that would devastate the economy. Biden and House Speaker…

DETROIT (AP) — New electric vehicle models from multiple automakers are starting to chip away at Tesla’s dominance of the U.S. EV market, according to national vehicle registration data. But numbers collected by S&P Global Mobility show that Tesla still controlled about 65% of the growing electric vehicle market during the first nine months of…

U.S. consumer confidence fell for the second straight month in November amid ongoing high inflation, rising interest rates, and layoffs in the tech sector. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 100.2 this month, down from 102.2 in October. November’s figure is the lowest since July, and likely reflected an…

BERLIN (AP) — German inflation slipped back slightly to 10% in November, official figures showed Tuesday, but galloping prices remain a major headache for Europe’s biggest economy. The annual inflation rate was off its peak of 10.4%, reached in October, as the increase in energy prices over a year ago slowed to 38.4% from 43%…

BEIJING (AP) — China is ready to “forge closer partnership” with Russia in energy, a state news agency quoted President Xi Jinping as saying in a letter Tuesday, potentially expanding ties that irk Washington by helping the Kremlin resist sanctions over its war on Ukraine. The announcement gave no details. It said Xi made the…

BERLIN (AP) — It is time for China to move away from massive lockdowns and toward a more targeted approach to COVID-19, the head of the International Monetary Fund said days after widespread protests broke out, a change that would ease the impact to a world economy already struggling with high inflation, an energy crisis…

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower Wednesday ahead of a closely watched speech by the Federal Reserve chief that may give clues about future interest rate hikes. Investors were also eyeing developments in China, where protests have erupted over the “zero-COVID” strategy that has confined millions of people to their homes, sometimes for…

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government issued an order Tuesday for some of the thousands of truck drivers who have been on strike to return to work, insisting that their nationwide walkout over freight fare issues is hurting an already weak economy. Despite facing the threat of delicensing or even prison terms, the…