National

NEW YORK (Reuters) — The U.S. stock market’s hefty gains in 2023 could provide a lift for equities next year, if history is any guide. The S&P 500 ended the year on Friday with an annual gain of just over 24%. The benchmark index also stood near its first record closing high in about two years.…

(Reuters) — Consulting firm McKinsey & Co has agreed to pay $78 million to resolve claims by U.S. health insurers and benefit plans that it fueled an epidemic of opioid addiction through its work for drug companies including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. The settlement was disclosed in papers …

VENTURA, California (Reuters) — Beachfront California residents on Friday cleaned up from flood damage unleashed by massive waves that pounded the coastline a day earlier and braced for another bout of extreme surf and heavy showers forecast into the weekend. The National Weather Service (NWS) post…

CHARLOTTE, N.C (TNS) — A SpaceX Falcon Heavy basked in the near full moonlight on the launch pad, and then took over the light show, blasting on the first of two planned missions from the Space Coast on Thursday night. The powerhouse rocket carried with it the secretive X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle o…

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) — Mexican and U.S. officials have agreed to work together more closely to tackle record migration at their shared border, the countries’ governments said in a joint statement on Thursday, a day after high-level talks on stemming record numbers. Following a visit to Mexic…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley declined on Wednesday night to say that slavery was one of the main causes of the U.S. Civil War, an omission she corrected on Thursday, but not before drawing rebukes from Democrats and some of her opponents. Haley, who is vying …

NEW YORK (Reuters) — Pending U.S. home sales were unchanged in November, data released Thursday showed, signaling traffic from prospective buyers is slow to recover despite interest rates easing on the most common type of home loan. An index gauging contracts to buy existing homes measured at 71.6 …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday extended the suspension of tariffs on European Union steel and aluminum for two years to continue negotiations on measures to address overcapacity and low-carbon production. The United States suspended import tariffs of 25% on EU steel and…

ATLANTA — A federal judge in Georgia upheld a Republican-drawn congressional map on Thursday, rejecting arguments from voting rights groups and Democrats that the latest district lines illegally diluted the voting power of Black residents near Atlanta. The decision from U.S. District Judge Steve Jo…

HALF MOON BAY, California (Reuters) — At the famous Mavericks Beach surf spot, big waves thundering into the California coastline on Thursday attracted surfers and spectators alike to the legendary break 25 miles south of San Francisco. Waves were forecast to reach as high as 30 to 40-feet (9 to 12…