WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve extended its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point, its eighth hike since March. And the Fed signaled that even though inflation is easing, it remains high enough to require further rate hikes. Though smaller than its previous hike — and even larger rate increases before that — the Fed's latest move will likely further raise the costs of many consumer and business loans.

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing bids farewell to an icon on Tuesday: It’s delivering its final 747 jumbo jet. Since its first flight in 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, a transport for NASA's space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft. It revolutionized travel, connecting international cities that had never before had direct routes and helping democratize passenger flight.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Long-haul carrier Emirates successfully flew a Boeing 777 on a test flight Monday with one engine entirely powered by so-called sustainable aviation fuel. This comes as carriers worldwide try to lessen their carbon footprint. Flight No. EK2646 flew for just under an hour over the coastline of the United Arab Emirates, after taking off from Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, and heading out into the Persian Gulf before circling back to land. The fuel powered one of the Boeings two General Electric Co. engines, with the other running on conventional jet fuel for safety.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge eased further in December, and consumer spending fell — the latest evidence that the Fed's series of interest rate hikes are slowing the economy. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that prices rose 5% last month from a year earlier, down from a 5.5% year-over-year increase in November. It was the third straight drop.

Amazon's surprise decision to shut down its AmazonSmile donation program has left thousands of its nonprofit beneficiaries disappointed and concerned about finding ways to replace the funding. The e-commerce giant had launched AmazonSmile in 2013, contributing 0.5% of every purchase made by participating customers to the charity of their choosing. As of 2022, the company said it has donated $449 million to various charities. Before it ends the program next month, Amazon says, it will provide a final donation to each of the 1 million-plus nonprofits that used AmazonSmile, equivalent to 25% of what the charity received from the program in 2022.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Norfolk Southern railroad delivered 4% more fourth-quarter profit even though the number of shipments it hauled dipped slightly because it collected more surcharges for higher fuel prices and raised the rates it charges. The Atlanta-based railroad reported fourth-quarter profit of $790 million, or $3.42 per share even though volume was down 1%. That’s up from $760 million, or $3.12 per share, a year earlier.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elon Musk returned to federal court to defend himself against a class-action lawsuit that alleges he misled Tesla shareholders with a tweet about an aborted buyout that the billionaire defiantly insisted Tuesday he could have pulled off, had he wanted. Musk spent roughly three more hours on the stand during his third day of testimony before being excused by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen. It’s unlikely Musk, 51, will be summoned back to the witness stand during a civil trial expected to be turned over to a nine-person jury in early February.

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft said it's seeing some improvement to problems with its online services including the Teams messaging platform and Outlook email system after users around the world reported outages Wednesday. In a status update, the tech company reported “service degradation” for a number of its Microsoft 365 services.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department and eight states sued Google on Tuesday, alleging that its dominance in digital advertising harms competition. The government alleges that Google’s plan to assert dominance has been to “neutralize or eliminate” rivals through acquisitions and to force advertisers to use its products by making it difficult to use competitors’ products. The antitrust suit was filed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

LONDON (AP) — Google is laying off 12,000 workers, or about 6% of its workforce, becoming the latest tech company to trim staff as the economic boom that the industry rode during the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, the parent company of Google, informed staff Friday at the Silicon Valley giant about the cuts in an email that was also posted on the company's news blog.

BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said Thursday that an unidentified malicious intruder breached its network in late November and stole data on 37 million customers, including addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. T-Mobile said in a filing with the Security and Exchange Commission that the breach was discovered Jan. 5. It said the data exposed to theft — based on its investigation to date — did not include passwords or PINs, bank account or credit card information, Social Security numbers or other government IDs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits in the U.S. reached a four-month low last week, a sign that employers are holding on to their workers despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow the economy and tamp down inflation. U.S. jobless aid applications for the week ending Jan. 14 fell by 15,000 to 190,000, from 205,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Microsoft is cutting 10,000 workers, almost 5% of its workforce, in response to what it described as “macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities.” The company said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that had just notified employees of the layoffs, some of which will begin immediately.

DETROIT (AP) — The fastest Corvette ever made comes out later this year, and it’s not powered solely by a howling V8. The E-Ray is a gas-electric hybrid, the first all-wheel-drive version of Chevrolet's storied sports car with the front wheels running on an electric motor the traditional 6.2-liter V8 powering the back. Aimed at affluent buyers who want new technology in the top-line Chevrolet sports car, the $104,000 E-Ray jerks your head back as it goes from zero to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. General Motors says it can cover a quarter mile in 10.5 seconds.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s economic growth fell to its second-lowest level in at least four decades last year under pressure from anti-virus controls and a real estate slump, but activity is reviving after restrictions that kept millions of people at home and sparked protests were lifted. The world's No. 2 economy grew by 3% in 2022, less than half of the previous year's 8.1% rate, official data showed Tuesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — While still grappling with the fallout from a company he did take private, beleaguered billionaire Elon Musk is now facing a trial over a company he didn't. Long before Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October, he had set his sights on Tesla, the electric automaker where he continues to serve as CEO and from which he derives most of his wealth and fame. Musk claimed in an August 7, 2018 tweet that he had lined up the financing to pay for a $72 billion buyout of Tesla, which he then amplified with a follow-up statement that made a deal seem imminent.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s trade surplus swelled to a record $877.6 billion last year as exports rose despite weakening U.S. and European demand and anti-virus controls that temporarily shut down Shanghai and other industrial centers. Exports increased 7% from a year earlier to $3.95 trillion, decelerating from 2021′s explosive 29.9% gain, customs data showed Friday. Imports edged up 1.1% to 2.7 trillion, cooling from the previous year’s 30.1% rise as economic growth slowed and consumer spending weakened.

Delta Air Lines said Friday that it earned $828 million in the fourth quarter and that consumers are still snapping up flights and making other purchases with their airline-branded credit cards. The Atlanta-based airline said momentum has carried over into the new year, as the travel industry continues to recover from the worst of the pandemic. Delta's report came a day after American Airlines delivered a rosy update on its fourth quarter, saying that rising revenue would push earnings per share to nearly double the amount that Wall Street expected.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation remains a painful reality for many Americans, especially with such necessities as food, energy and rents having soared over the past 18 months. Grocery prices rose 0.2% from November to December, the smallest such increase in nearly two years. Still, those prices are up 11.8% from a year ago. Prices increased 6.5% in December compared with a year earlier, the government said Thursday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Chickens may not be able to fly very far, but the price of eggs is soaring. A lingering bird flu outbreak, combined with soaring feed, fuel and labor costs, has led to U.S. egg prices more than doubling over the past year, and hatched a lot of sticker shock on grocery aisles. The national average price for a dozen eggs hit $3.59 in November, up from $1.72 a year earlier, according to the latest government data.

NEW YORK (AP) — Nurses at two of New York City's largest hospitals were poised to go on strike Monday in a dispute over pay and staffing levels after a weekend of negotiations that has yet to produce a deal for a new contract.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials on Friday approved a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug that modestly slows the brain-robbing disease, albeit with potential safety risks that patients and their doctors will have to carefully weigh. The drug, Leqembi, is the first that’s been convincingly shown to slow the decline in memory and thinking that defines Alzheimer’s by targeting the disease's underlying biology. The Food and Drug Administration approved it for patients with Alzheimer's, specifically those with mild or early-stage disease.

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added a solid 223,000 jobs in December, evidence that the economy remains healthy even as the Federal Reserve is rapidly raising interest rates to try to slow economic growth and the pace of hiring. The December job growth, though a decent gain, amounted to the lowest monthly increase in two years. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, matching a 53-year low, the Labor Department said Friday.

DALLAS (AP) — With its flights running on a roughly normal schedule, Southwest Airlines is now turning its attention to repairing its damaged reputation after it canceled 15,000 flights around Christmas and left holiday travelers stranded. CEO Robert Jordan said Thursday that Southwest has processed about 75% of the refund requests it has received. The airline has also returned most lost bags to their owners, and hired an outside firm to sift through requests for reimbursement of things like hotels and meals that stranded passengers paid out of their own pockets, he said.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Delta Air Lines will provide free Wi-Fi service on most of its U.S. flights starting in February. The airline said Thursday that by the end of the year it will outfit more than 700 planes with high-speed, satellite-based broadband service from T-Mobile and plans to expand free Wi-Fi to international and Delta Connection flights by the end of 2024. The service will use equipment from Viasat, a U.S.-based satellite broadband provider.