Costco bargain hunters are going to have to pay an additional $5 to $10 annually as the popular warehouse chain prepares to raise its membership fees for the first time in seven years ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco bargain hunters are going to have to pay an additional $5 to $10 annually as the popular warehouse chain prepares to raise its membership fees for the first…

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Up to two additional offshore wind projects were proposed for the New Jersey coast Wednesday, and the developers of a third project that already has preliminary approval sought to re-bid its terms. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities received three bids by Wednesday’s deadline in the state’s fourth round of solicitations for offshore wind farms. At least one would be…

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Two astronauts who should have been back on Earth weeks ago said Wednesday that they’re confident that Boeing’s space capsule can return them safely, despite a string of vexing breakdowns. NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule early last month, the first people to ride it. Helium leaks and thruster failures almost derailed their…

The Russian prosecutor general’s office has declared The Moscow Times newspaper to be an “undesirable organization.” The Russian prosecutor general’s office on Wednesday declared The Moscow Times, an online newspaper popular among Russia’s expatriate community, as an “undesirable organization.” The designation comes amid a crackdown on critical news media and the opposition. It means the newspaper must stop any work in Russia and it subjects…

The U.S. Department of Labor says Dollar General has agreed to pay a $12 million fine and improve conditions at its thousands of retail stores nationwide to make them safer for workers NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Dollar General has agreed to pay a $12 million fine and improve conditions at its thousands of retail stores nationwide to make them safer for workers,…

NEW YORK — The Beastie Boys are suing the parent company of Chili’s in a case that accuses the chain restaurant of running an advertisement that used the hip-hop trio’s smash hit “Sabotage” without permission. The rap group, in a federal case filed Wednesday in New York, alleged Brinker International created a Chili’s ad that used significant portions of “Sabotage” and ripped off the song’s…

NEW YORK — Toward the end of his closely watched news conference Thursday night on the sidelines of the NATO summit, President Joe Biden was talking about being examined by doctors for his mental acuity. Suddenly, a little frustration slipped through. “No matter what I did,” he said, “no one’s going to be satisfied.” That’s the challenge Biden faced during his meeting with American and…

SEATTLE — The U.S. and Canada said Thursday they have agreed to update a six-decade-old treaty that governs the use of one of North America’s largest rivers, the Columbia, with provisions that officials said would provide for effective flood control, irrigation, and hydropower generation and sharing between the countries. The “agreement in principle,” reached after six years of talks, provides a framework for updating the…

Pakistan has reached an agreement for a new $7 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund Pakistan has reached a staff-level agreement for a new $7 billion loan deal, the International Monetary Fund said Friday, the country’s latest turn to the global lender for help in propping up its economy and dealing with its debts through big bailouts. Earlier this year, the IMF approved…

HOUSTON — About half a million Houston-area homes and businesses will still be without electricity next week, the city’s largest utility said Thursday, stoking the frustration of hot and weary residents and leading a top state official to call the pace of recovery from Hurricane Beryl “not acceptable.” Jason Ryan, executive vice president of CenterPoint Energy, said power has been restored to more than 1…