JetZero plans to build $4.7B plant in North Carolina, aims to create 14,500 jobs

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — A California-based company plans to build its first manufacturing plant for a next-generation passenger jet in central North Carolina. If successful, the project announced Thursday by JetZero and elected officials would create more than 14,500 jobs in a decade. Gov. Josh Stein called it the largest job commitment in North Carolina history. JetZero is developing a fixed-wing aircraft that would change the shape of passenger jetliners in the sky. The company would build the plant at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro. JetZero already has conditional jet purchase agreements with some airlines. The announcement comes with lots of economic incentives that would extend into the 2060s.

Trump administration moves to lift Biden-era mining restrictions near Boundary Waters in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is moving to lift restrictions on copper-nickel mining that the Biden administration imposed near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota. The decision was announced Wednesday by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. It threw a lifeline to the proposed Twin Metals Minnesota mine near Ely. Democratic administrations have tried to kill the project because of the threat of acid mine drainage into the country’s most-visited federally designated wilderness area. Trump promised during a campaign stop in Minnesota last year that he would reverse the moratorium.

At least 240 people, including those on the ground, killed in the Air India crash, official says

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — An official says one passenger survived and at least 240 people have been killed in the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad. Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer in Ahmedabad, said Thursday that the dead include medical students who were in a college hostel when the plane hit the building. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that a single passenger survived the crash. The Air India passenger plane bound for London with more than 240 people on board crashed after takeoff in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed and burst into flames near the airport.

A look at Boeing's recent troubles after Air India crash

The crash of a Boeing 787 passenger jet in India minutes after takeoff on Thursday is the latest incident that adds to woes at the troubled U.S. planemaker. It's the first ever crash of a 787 since it went into service in 2009. It was not immediately clear why the plane went down. Another Boeing jet, the 737 Max has been the source of persistent troubles after two crashed killed 346. Boeing lost $11.8 billion in 2024, bringing its total losses since 2019 to more than $35 billion. A cap on production of 737 jets imposed by regulators and a machinists' strike compounded Boeing's financial problems.

Boeing's troubled era has dimmed the prospects of a preeminent American manufacturer

A London-bound Air India plane carrying more than 240 people crashed shortly after takeoff Thursday. Authorities said there were no known survivors. It was not immediately clear why Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed into a residential area five minutes after taking off. Boeing said it was aware of the reports of the crash and was “working to gather more information.” This is a timeline of key events for Boeing in recent years.

Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former congressman Billy Long of Missouri has been confirmed to lead the Internal Revenue Service, an agency he once sought to abolish. Long's confirmation on a 53-44 Senate vote Thursday gives the beleaguered IRS a permanent commissioner after months of acting leaders and massive staffing cuts that have threatened to derail next year's tax filing system. Democratic senators strongly opposed Long's nomination based on the Republican’s past work for a firm that pitched a fraud-ridden coronavirus pandemic-era tax break and on campaign contributions he received after President Donald Trump picked him. While in Congress, Long sponsored legislation to get rid of the IRS, the agency he's now tasked with leading.

Trump signs measure blocking California's ban on new sales of gas-powered cars

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a resolution on Thursday that blocks California’s first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. California quickly challenged the move in court. The resolution was approved by Congress last month and aims to quash the country’s most aggressive attempt to phase out gas-powered cars. He also signed measures to overturn state policies curbing tailpipe emissions in certain vehicles and smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks. Trump called California’s regulations “crazy” at a White House ceremony where he was expected to sign the resolutions.

Critical minerals give China an edge in trade negotiations

GANZHOU, China (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump wants China to lift restrictions on exporting rare earths and other critical minerals that Beijing imposed as part of a yearslong trade war. The U.S., and in fact the world, depend on China for the materials. Between 2020 and 2023, China was the source of 70% of U.S. imports of all rare earth compounds, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. China has told exporters of certain key rare earths and other critical minerals to obtain licenses for every shipment abroad. Approvals can take weeks, disrupting supply chains in the U.S. and other countries. China has spent decades building a full industrial chain for mining and processing critical minerals.

AI chatbots need more books to learn from. These libraries are opening their stacks

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Everything ever said on the internet was just the start of teaching artificial intelligence about humanity. Data-hungry tech companies are now tapping into an older repository of knowledge: the library stacks. Nearly one million books in 254 languages published as early as the 15th century are part of a Harvard University collection being released to AI researchers Thursday. Cracking open the vaults to centuries-old tomes could be a data bonanza for tech companies battling lawsuits from living novelists, visual artists and others whose creative works have been scooped up without their consent to train AI chatbots.

A look at previous plane crashes in India

NEW DELHI (AP) — India has had several major plane crashes in recent decades. In 1996, a Saudi Arabian airlines Boeing 747 taking off from Delhi collided in midair with an arriving Kazakhstan Airline flight, killing all 349 people on both planes. More recently, 158 people died in 2010 when an Air India flight overshot the runway in the city of Mangalore and plunged over a cliff. And in 2020, 18 people were killed when an Air India Express flight skidded off a runway in heavy rain in Kozhikode. An Air India flight with more than 240 people on board crashed in the city of Ahmedabad on Thursday.