General Motors is exiting Australia, New Zealand and Thailand to save costs in the underperforming markets and better hone its focus on growth markets as well as on its electric vehicle and self-driving car strategies.

As a result, GM said it expects to incur net cash charges of $300 million and to record total cash and noncash charges of $1.1 ...Read more

Like many other American staples and luxuries, L.O.L. Surprise! dolls are made in China. Chatsworth-based MGA Entertainment has them manufactured in Guangdong province, trucked to the port in Yantian Harbor, loaded on ships and brought to the United States, where the popular toys are distributed to retailers and scooped up by eager children. The...Read more

POTSDAM, Germany -- Efforts by electric car manufacturer Tesla to raze a large forest in Germany to make way for a planned factory were brought to a sudden halt over the weekend by a court order following a complaint by environmentalists.

Felling machines had begun an operation to clear 92 hectares (about 2.5 acres) of mostly pine forest in ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- In a weekend bookended by two holidays -- Valentine's Day on Friday and Monday's Presidents Day -- the box office enjoyed an increasingly rare slate of three (out of four) new releases landing among the top five.

Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog" premiered in first place with $57 million and a projected $68 million through the ...Read more

BARRE, Vt. -- Courtney O'Brien's tiny office at the Vermont Department of Transportation building a few miles from the state capital city of Montpelier looks like a mashup between a nursery and a workspace.

That's because it is.

On a recent weekday morning, O'Brien, 29, clicked a computer keyboard with one hand while cradling her 4-month-old ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. said Friday it will increase the tariff rate imposed on aircraft imported from the European Union to 15% from 10% on March 18.

The move is part of a long-running spat in which the U.S. has sought to penalize the EU for offering illegal subsidies to Airbus SE that harmed American aircraft maker Boeing Co.

The U.S. trade ...Read more

NEW YORK -- Bankruptcy proceedings for McClatchy Co. started Friday with a key government agency saying it opposed quick resolution of pension matters because of concerns about a 2018 transaction between the local news company and its largest creditor, Chatham Asset Management.

Ahead of the opening bankruptcy petition hearing, the Pension ...Read more

ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines announced it plans to spend $1 billion over 10 years to mitigate its carbon emissions globally, part of its goal to eventually become carbon neutral.

But it stopped short of saying how much it would reduce emissions this decade, or when it hopes to become neutral.

Atlanta-based Delta said the investments will include...Read more

SEATTLE -- After starting talks to work out problems with their existing contract, leaders of the engineering union at Boeing and company management reached a surprising outcome: They've agreed on a new contract that would extend to 2026, four years beyond the end of the current labor agreement.

The board of SPEEA, the Society of Professional ...Read more

President Trump's effort to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients suffered another blow Friday with a harshly worded rejection by a federal appeals court in Washington.

The three-judge panel unanimously rejected the approval by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar of a Medicaid work requirement in Arkansas, deriding Azar's ...Read more

A Bay Area federal judge has mocked and slammed gig-economy meal-delivery firm DoorDash, after thousands of its workers joined together to weaponize a controversial labor-control tactic used by the company and many Silicon Valley technology businesses.

In a scathing ruling, Judge William Alsup issued an order that compels DoorDash to abide by ...Read more

Q: Regarding my 2000 Acura model TL, I've been told my front light shields need cleaning. I am wondering what you would recommend for improving nighttime safety. I could clean them myself, but I was told that is hard work and I'm in my 80s. The car-wash does cleaning at $89. I am hoping there is an easier/lower cost solution. Do you know if ...Read more

NEW YORK -- This will almost certainly be a record-breaking year for the advance of solar and wind power across the U.S. The additions that are in progress or planned are significant enough to boost hopes for emissions-free electrical grids within a generation -- if natural gas doesn't get in the way.

It just may. Gas is such a bargain that it'...Read more

SEATTLE -- If you give Americans a cookie, will they finally start buying milk again?

Dairy producers are betting on it. Facing an unprecedented and protracted slump in demand, the industry is coming up with all sorts of innovations. That includes new flavors like wild blueberry, dips like fiesta sour cream, new packaging and, sometime next ...Read more

Democrats have done a miserable job selling "Medicare for all" to the American people.

They're adept at highlighting the myriad problems with our healthcare system -- the high costs, the millions uninsured, the financial devastation of getting sick.

But when it comes to solutions, most of the Democratic presidential candidates offer vague ...Read more