House GOP struggles to win over holdouts on Trump's tax bill in late-night session

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans strained through a day of starts and stops trying to advance President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cuts package. A procedural vote that started late Wednesday was held open  into Thursday morning as holdouts refused to support the legislation. Republican leaders spent the day working furiously to convince skeptics and send it to Trump’s desk by the Fourth of July deadline. Speaker Mike Johnson had recalled lawmakers to Washington, eager to seize on the momentum of the 887-page bill's passage the day before in the Senate. Some GOP lawmakers are criticizing the legislation as straying from the party's fiscal goals. Johnson expects votes later Thursday morning.

Asian shares are mixed as Trump’s tariff deadline looms, while US stocks set records

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Friday after U.S. stocks climbed further into record heights as the clock ticks on President Donald Trump’s July 9 tariff deadline. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% to 39,762.20 after earlier gains, while South Korea’s KOSPI index was down 1.2% to 3,078.31. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.6% to 23,914.44 while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 3,475.24. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to 8,609.50. India’s Sensex index was up 0.1% to 83,288.73. On Thursday, after a report showed a U.S. job market stronger than Wall Street expected, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% and set an all-time high for the fourth time in five days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 344 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%.

China shows signs of tackling the price wars that are taking a toll on its EV industry

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese government is signaling enough is enough when it comes to the fierce competition in the country’s electric car market. China’s industrial policy has engineered a remarkable transformation to electric vehicles. In so doing, it has spawned far more makers than can possibly survive. Now, long-simmering concerns about oversupply and debilitating price wars are coming to the fore. The government is trying to rein in what is called “involution.” It's a term initially applied to the rat race for young people in China and that has been extended to companies and industries engaged in meaningless competition that leads nowhere.

In a country where alcohol is banned, Pakistan’s top brewery is betting on soft drinks

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's top brewery has healthy financials despite an alcohol ban for Muslims in the Islamic country. The business thrives thanks to Murree Brewery's 165-year-old history, scant competition and a small, thirsty and predominantly elite consumer base. But the Pakistani government exerts significant control over the alcoholic beverage market. The brewery chairman wants to expand the company's footprint in the soda and soft drinks sector. That part of his business is experiencing double-digit growth in Pakistan, mostly fueled by the country's young population.

U.S. labor market surprises with 147,000 new jobs last month. Here are the big takeaways

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. job market delivered another upside surprise last month, churning out a better-than-expected 147,000 jobs. The unemployment rate ticked down unexpectedly, too. But the headline numbers masked some weaknesses as the U.S. economy contends with fallout from President Donald Trump’s  economic policies, especially his sweeping import taxes and the erratic way he rolls them out. Here are five key takeaways from the jobs report the Labor Department released on Thursday.

U.S. applications for jobless aid fell to 233,000 last week as layoffs remain low

Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs in the U.S. remain low despite uncertainty about how tariffs will impact the economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending June 28 fell by 4,000 to 233,000, less than the 241,000 that analysts forecast. The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, fell by 3,750 to 241,500. Applications for unemployment aid are considered a proxy for layoffs. The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits the week of June 21 held steady at 1.97 million.

One Tech Tip: Get the most out of ChatGPT and other AI chatbots with better prompts

LONDON (AP) — If you’re using ChatGPT but getting mediocre results, don’t blame the chatbot. The problem might be your prompts. There’s a lot you can do to improve the prompt to get better answers. Be specific because a chatbot can't read your mind. Give clear and explicit instructions on what you need it to do. Ask follow-up questions or refine your original query, like you would in a conversation. You can tell the chatbot to respond in a specific voice or style, and the type of person that the response is aimed at. Give it all the background behind the reason for your request and how extensive - or short - the answer should be.

What to know about buying electric vehicles after the federal tax incentives end

The massive tax and spending cut bill that Congress passed Thursday ends federal tax incentives for electric vehicles. Buyers have until Sept. 30 to qualify for the federal tax credits on EVs before they are terminated. But experts say there are still strong financial reasons to consider buying the vehicles even without those incentives. Before the bill passed, new electric vehicles came with a $7,500 federal tax credit, and used EVs included up to $4,000. Ingrid Malmgren of the nonprofit advocacy group Plug-In America says that those who can consider to think about lifetime fuel and maintenance savings would still come out ahead by buying an electric vehicle without the federal tax credits.

How a GOP rift over tech regulation doomed a ban on state AI laws in Trump's tax bill

NEW YORK (AP) — A stark disagreement over regulating AI in Republicans’ tax cut and spending bill is the latest tension among conservatives about whether to let states continue to put guardrails on emerging technologies or minimize such interference. The advocates for guardrails won this time, after a proposed moratorium on state AI legislation was removed from the congressional bill this week. The episode revealed the enormous influence of a segment of the Republican Party that has come to distrust Big Tech. They believe states must remain free to protect their citizens against potential harms of the industry, whether from AI, social media or emerging technologies. Other conservatives saw the moratorium as essential for the country to compete against China in the race for AI dominance.

South Korea's leader says trade deal with US remains unclear ahead of Trump's deadline

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung says that it remains unclear whether Seoul and Washington can conclude their tariff negotiations by next week’s deadline set by President Donald Trump. Lee told a news conference Thursday that both nations were still working to clarify their positions and identify areas of agreement. Lee also reiterates his intentions of improving badly frayed ties with North Korea, though he acknowledges that mutual distrust between the Koreas is too deep to heal anytime soon. It was Lee's first press conference since taking office last month.