Business Highlights
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How Trump insurance changes could affect coverage next year
A much tighter sign-up deadline and coverage delays will be waiting for some health insurance customers now that President Donald Trump's administration made changes this week to coverage rules in hopes of stabilizing shaky insurance markets. Insurers welcomed the changes but it remains unclear whether the moves will be enough to prevent the companies from abandoning markets.
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Deadline for filing tax returns is Tuesday this year
WASHINGTON (AP) - Up against it on filing your taxes this year? You can relax a bit. The government has granted a reprieve, thanks to the fact that April 15 falls on Sunday this year - and Monday is a holiday in the District of Columbia. For that reason, people now have until Tuesday to get the returns in. Because of staff and budget cuts at the tax-collection agency, people also are less likely to get audited than in recent years.
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Delta OKs offers of up to $9,950 to flyers who give up seats
Delta is giving airport employees permission to offer passengers up to almost $10,000 in compensation to give up their seats on overbooked flights. Delta's move comes as United Airlines struggles to recover from images of a passenger's forced removal from a sold-out flight.
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Lawyer: Dragged passenger will need reconstructive surgery
CHICAGO (AP) - United Airlines and the city of Chicago may both find themselves the target of lawsuits by the man who was dragged off a United plane in Chicago last week after refusing to give up his seat. That's the indication from Thomas Demetrio, a lawyer for Dr. David Dao. The city employs the officers who were seen on cellphone video pulling Dao out of his seat and dragging him off the flight. Demetrio says Dao lost two teeth and suffered a concussion and broken nose.
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Trump admin. declines to brand China a currency manipulator
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States has declined to label China a currency manipulator despite President Donald Trump's insistent pledge during the election campaign that he would do so as soon as he took office.
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The iPhone of cars? Apple enters self-driving car race
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Apple is joining the fiercely competitive race to design self-driving cars, raising the possibility that a company that has already re-shaped culture with its iPhone may try to transform transportation, too. Ending years of speculation, Apple's late entry into a crowded field was made official Friday with the disclosure that the California Department of Motor Vehicles had awarded a permit for the company to start testing its self-driving car technology on public roads in the state.
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Facebook targets 30,000 fake France accounts before election
PARIS (AP) - Facebook says it has targeted 30,000 fake accounts linked to France ahead of the country's presidential election, as part of a worldwide effort against misinformation. The company says it's trying to "reduce the spread of material generated through inauthentic activity, including spam, misinformation, or other deceptive content that is often shared by creators of fake accounts."
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Hyland's teething tablets recalled over levels of toxic herb
Hyland's teething tablets are being recalled nationwide due to inconsistent levels of toxic belladonna. U.S. regulators say that makes them a serious health hazard to young children. The manufacturer, Standard Homeopathic Co., stopped making and shipping the tablets last October. It's notifying distributors and stores to return any leftover products, while consumers should throw them out.
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EPA moves to undo tougher pollution limits on coal plants
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration wants to trash Obama-era rules to limit water pollution from coal-fired power plants. The rule would have required utilities by next year to cut the amounts of toxic heavy metals like arsenic, lead and mercury in the wastewater piped from their plants into rivers and lakes. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt says he will delay compliance with the rule while EPA reconsiders the restrictions.
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US retail sales fell in March, second straight monthly drop
WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans pulled back on spending at auto dealers and restaurants in March, causing retail sales to drop despite signs of a healthy job market. Sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent after a 0.3 percent drop in February. Over the past 12 months, retail sales have risen 5.2 percent, a sign that that the economy remains on stable footing. Still, there are signs that consumers are growing more cautious.
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U.S. markets were shut for the Good Friday holiday.
