Major German carmakers hit by steep China sales plunge

HONG KONG (AP) – Major German carmakers saw sharp quarterly sales declines in China as domestic demand weakened and competition heated up in the world’s biggest auto market. At Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche, China sales for the April-June quarter plummeted between 30% and 41% compared with the same period a year ago.

Meta reins in new AI tool that automatically accessed public Instagram images

Meta has pulled the plug on a feature of a recently launched AI tool following criticism that it made Instagram accounts fodder for use in creating AI-generated images.

Keystone Pipeline system's operator agrees to pay a $26.9M penalty over a major Kansas oil spill

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A proposed legal settlement with the U.S. government would require the Keystone Pipeline system’s operator to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty over a major oil spill in Kansas in December 2022 and spend about $40 million more to prevent future accidents.

Editorials from The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian and others

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Global oil demand is dropping, but US drivers keep buying more gas

NEW YORK (AP) – Global oil demand is set to decline this year for the first time since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. The drop, which the agency expects to amount to about 1 million barrels per day in 2026, is due to higher oil prices and disruptions to physical supply.

America In Focus: Fed officials divided on US inflation views; US home prices hit all-time high

The economy, inflation and how those forces could impact the lives of Americans were front and center over the past week. Trips to the grocery store or gas station are more painful than they were last year, and rising costs are impacting the decisions of both households and businesses.

Japan's space agency conducts first test flight for experimental reusable rocket

TOKYO (AP) – Japan’s experimental reusable rocket took off and safely landed in a first test flight Saturday as the country seeks to achieve the technology key to cut launch costs and compete in the global space market dominated by SpaceX.

Andreessen, Chetty among leaders of Fed's new task forces evaluating operations

WASHINGTON (AP) – Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, economist Raj Chetty and former Bank of England governor Mervyn King are among a slate of names released by the Federal Reserve Thursday that will help develop recommended changes to the central bank’s operations.

Africa secures $900 million in new clean cooking commitments

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – African countries have secured $900 million in new financial commitments to expand access to clean cooking technologies, which replace polluting fuels with cleaner alternatives, the International Energy Agency, IEA, said Thursday.