The Iran war could drive up costs for petroleum-derived products like clothes and crayons
NEW YORK (AP) — The Iran war’s most tangible and immediate effect for many people outside the Middle East has been spiking gasoline prices. But crude oil isn’t just refined as fuel. Petrochemicals derived from oil and natural gas go into making more than 6,000 consumer products. A list produced by the U.S. Department of Energy includes everyday items ranging from computer keyboards, lipstick, tennis rackets and chewing gum to aspirin, umbrellas and nylon guitar strings. Petroleum derivatives also are used in a lot of product packaging. Shoe and apparel trade groups and companies that sell stuffed animals, home products and medical supplies are looking at price increases or other ways to offset higher materials costs.
MrBeast employee alleges she was harassed for years and fired after maternity leave in a new lawsuit
A former Beast Industries employee is suing MrBeast’s media production company after she was allegedly fired from her social media manager job upon returning from maternity leave and following years of what she described as sexual harassment and workplace gender bias. The lawsuit, filed by Lorrayne Mavromatis in federal court in North Carolina on Wednesday, accuses MrBeastYouTube, LLC and GameChanger 24/7, LLC of violating federal law that entitles eligible employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying family and medical reasons, including childbirth. A company spokesperson refuted the claims.
US stocks rally to records, but Brent oil also tops $100 on worries about the Iran war
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market set more records after GE Vernova and other big companies joined the parade reporting fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected. But caution still hung over Wall Street Wednesday, and oil prices rose on uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran. The S&P 500 rallied 1% and topped its prior all-time high set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite set its own record after climbing 1.6%. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil briefly topped $102.
How Wall Street is setting records even with the Iran war still going on
NEW YORK (AP) — It seems so illogical. How can the U.S. stock market be setting records when gasoline prices are still expensive and the war with Iran is still going? But for Wall Street, everything eventually comes back to a different, basic question: How much money are companies making? And at the moment, they’re earning enough that investors are willing to pay higher prices than ever for a piece of ownership of U.S. companies. Here’s a look at what’s been behind the market’s surprising strength and how the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts once again made back all its losses.
Tesla profits rose in the first quarter as Musk teases debut of new Roadster
NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla's profit rose in the first quarter as its car sales rebounded from a sharp slump in 2025. The electric vehicle maker said it earned $477 million in the quarter, up 17% from a year ago. The results topped Wall Street expectations. CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly said that Tesla’s future lies less in selling cars than getting people to take rides in them as self-driving taxis. The company noted that it has begun producing its so-called Cybercabs without pedals or wheels. And Musk teased that a new manually driven Roadster could debut in a month or so.
Trump Media has pivoted to crypto, financial services and nuclear fusion. Its stock keeps falling.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump family's alternative to Facebook and Twitter is shaking up its leadership in hopes of reviving the struggling business.  Failing to gain a wide audience, the Truth Social platform has lost $1.1 billion in the past two years under former Republican congressman Devin Nunes. It's not clear how to fix the problems. The company has diversified far away from its original social media mandate into cryptocurrency, finance, even nuclear power — but investors are still fleeing. The stock has plunged more than 60% in a little over year, wiping out $6 billion  in shareholder wealth.
Water to surge into drought-depleted Lake Powell but at costs elsewhere
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Desert canyons in eastern Utah will be churning this spring with huge volumes of water in a desperate attempt to keep a reservoir on the Colorado River generating electricity. Federal officials plan to release enough water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming and Utah to lower its level by as much as 27 feet over the next year. The goal is to bring up the level of Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah line. A decades-long drought has Lake Powell at just 23% capacity and approaching the point where water won't be able to flow into its turbines without air causing damage.
EU close to approving a $106B loan for Ukraine after months of deadlock
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is close to approving a 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan package to support Ukraine’s military and financial needs for the next two years. Cyprus, which holds the rotating EU presidency, launched a political procedure that could see the loan approved on Thursday. The loan package has been stalled since December due to Hungary’s veto, linked to its demand for Russian oil supplies via Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has repaired the Druzhba pipeline, paving the way for Hungary to lift its veto. The EU could also on Thursday approve new sanctions against Russia which have faced delay over objections from Hungary and Slovakia.
More confusion looms over Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacks three ships near waterway
Confusion is deepening in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacked three ships near the crucial waterway that has plunged the world into an energy crisis. The attacks unfolded just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would extend the two-week ceasefire with Iran. The Islamic Republic said it fired on three outbound ships and seized two. Iran called it retaliation for the American naval blockade of Iranian ports and for the U.S. firing on and seizing an Iranian ship that did not stop when hailed by a vessel enforcing the blockade.
Anthropic seeks to debunk Pentagon's claims about its control over AI technology in military systems
WASHINGTON (AP) — Anthropic on Wednesday told an appeals court that it can’t manipulate its artificial intelligence tool Claude once it is deployed in classified Pentagon military networks. The assertion aims to debunk the Trump administration’s attempt to brand the rapidly growing technology company as a supply chain risk. The statement made as part of 96-page filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. provided a glimpse at the arguments that Anthropic’s lawyers intend to make as part of a lawsuit filed last month in the fallout of a contract dispute over how AI technology can be used in fully autonomous weapons and potential surveillance of Americans.
