NEW YORK (AP) — Federal regulators said Dollar General is facing another $1.68 million in fines after government safety inspectors found violations at four of the chain’s stores in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. During inspections in April 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found dirty and disorderly storage areas and materials stacked unsafely at locations in Mobile and Grove Hill, Alabama; Tampa, Florida; and Dewy Rose, Georgia.

A group of major U.S. businesses wants the government to hide key import data -- a move trade experts say would make it more difficult for Americans to link the products they buy to labor abuse overseas. The proposal obtained by The Associated Press was made by an advisory panel comprised of executives from 20 companies, including Walmart, General Motors and Intel.

The rapper formerly known as Kanye West is offering to buy social network Parler shortly after being booted off Twitter and Instagram for antisemitic posts. West, who is legally known as Ye, was locked out of Twitter and Instagram a week ago.

TOKYO (AP) — A new electric car company that brings together two big names in Japanese business, Honda and Sony, has officially kicked off. The companies say they share common values of taking up challenges and serving people’s needs. The electric vehicle from Sony Honda Mobility will go on sale in 2025, with deliveries coming first in the U.S. in early 2026, and in Japan later that year. Pre-orders start 2025.

Delta Air Lines is posting a $695 million profit for the third quarter, which includes much of the peak summer travel season. Delta said Thursday that it expects its fourth-quarter revenue will be higher than the comparable figure from 2019, before the pandemic. Delta's bottom line is getting a boost from higher average fares and a lucrative credit-card business.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Social Security recipients will get an 8.7% boost in their benefits in 2023. That’s a historic increase and welcome news for American retirees and others — but it’s tempered by the fact that it’s fueled by record high inflation that’s raised the cost of everyday living. that means the average recipient will receive more than $140 a month extra beginning in January.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tens of millions of older Americans are about to get what may be the biggest raise of their lifetimes. On Thursday, the U.S. government is set to announce what's virtually certain to be the largest increase in Social Security benefits in 40 years. The boost is meant to allow beneficiaries to keep up with inflation, and how it's generated stirs plenty of controversy.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to Europe via a link of the Germany-bound Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea. Putin told an energy forum in Moscow on Wednesday that the U.S. was likely behind the explosions that ripped through both links of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one of the two links of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — European leaders are turning to Africa for more natural gas as they try to replace Russian energy amid the war in Ukraine. While Africa’s natural gas reserves are vast and North African countries like Algeria have pipelines already linked to Europe, a lack of infrastructure and security challenges have long stymied producers in other parts of the continent from scaling up exports.

ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines says it's investing $60 million in a startup that hopes to build electric helicopter-like air taxis to ferry passengers to the airport. Delta announced Tuesday that it could invest up to another $140 million in Joby Aviation as the manufacturer hits key milestones. Joby is among several companies working on electric-powered aircraft that take off and land vertically, like helicopters.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S.'s third largest railroad union rejected a deal with employers Monday, renewing the possibility of a strike that could cripple the economy. Both sides will return to the bargaining table before that happens. Over half of track maintenance workers represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division who voted opposed the five-year contract despite 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers slowed their hiring in September but still added a solid 263,000 jobs — a dose of encouraging news that may mean the Federal Reserve’s drive to cool the job market and ease inflation is starting to make progress. Friday’s government report showed that last month’s job growth was down from 315,000 in August and that the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%.

If the squabbling ever stops over Elon Musk’s renewed bid to buy Twitter, experts say he still faces a huge obstacle to closing the $44 billion deal: Keeping his financing in place. Earlier this week Musk reversed course and said he’d go through with acquiring the social media company under the same terms he agreed to in April. But after months of tweetstorms and legal barbs, there are scars and suspicions on both sides.

WASHINGTON (AP) — News that Elon Musk has agreed to proceed with his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter after all may feel like a big surprise. But it wasn’t all that surprising to experts who have observed the monthslong legal battle between Musk and Twitter. The news sent shares of the social media platform soaring and stoked alarm among some media watchdogs and civil rights groups.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries has decided to sharply cut production to support sagging oil prices. The move Wednesday could deal the struggling global economy another blow and raise politically sensitive pump prices for U.S. drivers just ahead of key national elections. Energy ministers meeting at the Vienna headquarters of the OPEC oil cartel cut production by 2 million barrels per day at their first face-to-face meeting since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of available jobs in the U.S. plummeted in August compared with July, a sign that businesses may pull back further on hiring and potentially cool chronically high inflation. There were 10.1 million advertised jobs on the last day of August, down a huge 10% from 11.2 million openings in July.

Elon Musk is offering to go through with his original proposal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. The Tesla CEO said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that he notified Twitter of plans to go through with the deal. A trial seeking to compel Musk to buy the social media platform is set to start in Delaware Chancery Court in less than two weeks.

Two surveys show growth in Chinese manufacturing was weak in September, export orders fell and employers cut jobs. That adds to pressure on lackluster economic growth. Business news magazine Caixin …

Newly disclosed text messages between Elon Musk and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal showed that the two men briefly bonded in April over their love of engineering — at least until Musk tweeted this …

Shares of Biogen and other drugmakers researching Alzheimer’s disease soared early Wednesday after Japan’s Eisai Co. said its potential treatment appeared to slow the fatal disease’s progress in a late-stage study. Eisai announced results late Tuesday from a global study of nearly 1,800 people with early-stage Alzheimer’s.

DALLAS (AP) — The government is getting its day in court to try to block a partnership between American Airlines and JetBlue. A trial is scheduled to start Tuesday in the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against the airlines. The government says that letting American and JetBlue work together on flights in the Northeast will hurt competition and lead to higher fares.

LONDON (AP) — The British pound has fallen to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar after the government pledged a sweeping package of tax cuts that have fueled concerns about its economic policy. The pound fell as low as $1.0373 Monday, before rallying to above $1.07 in early London trading. The British currency has lost more than 5% against the dollar since Friday, when Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng announced the biggest tax cuts in 50 years.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Apple Inc. will make its iPhone 14 in India, the company said on Monday, as manufacturers shift production from China amid geopolitical tensions and pandemic restrictions that have disrupted supply chains for many industries.

Amazon said Monday that next month it will hold a second Prime Day-like shopping event, making it the latest major retailer to offer holiday deals earlier this year to entice cautious consumers struggling with tighter budgets. During the Oct. 11-12 event, Amazon Prime members will get early access to discounted items. The “Prime Early Access Sale” follows Amazon's annual Prime Day in July.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has rejected the Justice Department’s bid to block a major U.S. sugar manufacturer from acquiring its rival, clearing the way for the acquisition to proceed. The ruling was handed down Friday by a federal judge in Wilmington, Delaware. It comes months after the Justice Department sued to try to halt the deal between U.S. Sugar and Imperial Sugar Company, one of the largest sugar refiners in the nation.