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Two babies infected with dangerous bacteria
A Kentucky child is dead and a Missouri infant has brain damage from the same kind of bacteria that sparked powdered formula recalls and shortages last year.
The Food and Drug Administration confirms that two cases of severe infections have been reported this year, both in infants who consumed formula made by Abbott Nutrition. There's no evidence that the infections were caused by problems at Abbott factories. Food safety advocates say the infections highlight risks of powdered formula. The powder can harbor germs -- and it is easily contaminated by sources in the home.
UAW: Workers at VW plant seek representation
More than 1,000 workers at Volkswagen's Tennessee factory have signed cards authorizing a vote to be represented by the United Auto Workers union.
It's the first plant in the nation to reach that milestone in the UAW's quest to organize more than a dozen nonunion factories. The union says in a statement Thursday that the workers signed on in less than a week.
Talks on world-leading AI rules paused
European Union talks on comprehensive artificial intelligence regulations were paused after 22 straight hours. Officials haven't yet hammered out a deal on a rulebook for the rapidly advancing technology behind popular services like ChatGPT.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted that talks that ran through the night into Thursday would resume today.
Filings for jobless claims tick up modestly
U.S. applications for jobless benefits ticked up last week, but the overall number of people in the U.S. collecting unemployment benefits fell after hitting its highest level in two years last week.
Unemployment benefits claims rose by 1,000 to 220,000 for the week ending Dec. 2, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Average long-term US mortgage rate falls
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell for the sixth week in a row, sliding to its lowest level in four months.
The latest decline brought the average rate on a 30-year mortgage down to 7.03% from 7.22% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.33%.
Wall Street rises ahead of today's jobs report
Wall Street closed higher to break out of its first three-day losing streak since Halloween.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8% Thursday and continues to hang near its highest level since March 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite added 1.4%. A potentially more impactful report on the job market will arrive today.
Encryption made default on Facebook Messenger
Meta is rolling out end-to-end encryption for calls and messages across its Facebook and Messenger platforms, the company announced Thursday.
Such encryption means that no one other than the sender and the recipient -- not even Meta -- can decipher people's messages.
Twitch withdrawing from South Korean market
Twitch, a popular video service, will shut down its struggling business in South Korea, a decision its chief executive blamed on allegedly "prohibitively expensive" costs for operating in the country.
In a blog post announcing the company's plan this week, Dan Clancy said the network fees the company has been paying to South Korean internet operators were 10 times more than in most other markets.