AP Business SummaryBrief at 3:59 p.m. EDT

What's open and closed on Memorial Day

In what had long been celebrated every May 30 to honor America’s fallen soldiers, Memorial Day officially became a federal holiday in 1971, observed on the last Monday in May. Businesses increasingly have chosen to stay open on the holiday, leading to what is now one of the biggest retail sales and travel weekends of the year. Government offices, post offices and schools are closed, as is the stock market, banks and a handful of businesses. The vast majority of retailers will be open, with many trying to lure customers with big promotional sales. Hours may vary by location.

Walmart ends credit card partnership with Capital One, but shoppers can still use their cards

Walmart has ended a partnership with Capital One that made the banking company the exclusive issuer of Walmart’s consumer credit cards. The companies announced the change Friday. The companies said card holders can still use their Capital One Walmart Rewards cards, which will continue to accrue rewards unless customers are notified of a change. Walmart partnered with Capital One in 2019 but eventually soured on the deal. In 2023, Walmart sued Capital One, saying Capital One was taking too long to process payments and mail replacement cards. A federal judge ruled in March that Walmart could terminate the deal.

Travelers cope with crowds and high prices on the busiest day of Memorial Day weekend

Travelers are contenting with big crowds and flight delays on what is expected to be the busiest day of the Memorial Day weekend. More than 6,000 U.S. flights were delayed by early evening Friday on the East Coast, continuing a trend that has tested the patience of passengers all week. Thankfully, relatively few flights were canceled — slightly more than 200. That's according to tracking data from FlightAware. The Transportation Security Administration predicted that Friday would be the busiest day of the holiday weekend for air travel, with nearly 3 million people expected to pass through airport checkpoints. There were delays on the highways, too.

G7 officials make progress but no final deal on money for Ukraine from frozen Russian assets

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finance officials from the Group of Seven rich democracies say they have moved toward agreement on a U.S. proposal to squeeze more money for Ukraine from Russian assets frozen in their countries. But they left a final deal to be worked out ahead of a June summit of national leaders. The finance ministers said Saturday in a statement after meetings in Stresa, Italy, that they were “making progress” on a U.S. proposal to borrow against future interest income on the frozen assets to give Ukraine a large chunk of cash now. The last word will rest with the G7 national leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, next month at their annual summit in Fasano in southern Italy.

Australian judge rules that social media platform X must answer to hate speech complaint

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian judge has ruled that the social media platform X is subject to a state’s anti-discrimination law even though it does not have an office in Australia. The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal judge said in a decision made public Friday that her court has jurisdiction over X Corp. in a hate speech complaint. The ruling allows the Queensland Human Rights Commission to hear an allegation that X breached Queensland anti-discrimination law by failing to remove or hide anti-Muslim hate speech. The Australian Muslim Advocacy Network, which brought the case against Twitter in June 2022 before billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk bought and rebranded the platform last year, welcomed the decision as “precedent-setting.” X didn't immediately comment.

UN countries adopt treaty to better trace origins of genetic resources under global patent system

GENEVA (AP) — U.N. member countries have concluded a new treaty to ensure that genetic resources used in inventions, like new medicines derived from exotic plants in the Andes mountains, are properly traced. It marks the first time the 193 member states of the U.N.’s World Intellectual Property Organization have agreed that patent applicants must disclose the origin of genetic resources used and traditional knowledge linked to them, which have long been exploited by colonists, traders and others. The treaty doesn’t address compensation for indigenous communities for their historic know-how about products drawn from things like tropical plants.

Singapore Airlines tightens cabin safety measures after turbulence killed one, injured dozens

BANGKOK (AP) — Singapore Airlines says it will halt meal services and get all cabin crew to buckle up when planes fly through turbulence as part of tighter cabin measures after one person died and dozens were injured on a flight from London this week. The airline said Friday that meal service will also now be suspended, In addition to hot beverage, when the seat belt sign is on. It said crew members must also return to their seats and belt up. The plane with 211 passengers and 18 crew members was hit by severe turbulence and diverted to Thailand. A 73-year-old British man died of a suspected heart attack. Forty-eight people remained hospitalized Friday. Singapore's Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said investigators have obtained data from the cockpit and flight data recorders.

UAW files objection to Mercedes vote, accuses company of intimidating workers

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The United Auto Workers on Friday accused Mercedes of interfering in last week's union election at two Alabama factories. The union filed an objection to the result with the National Labor Relations Board. The union accused the company of intimidating and coercing workers into voting against joining the union. The union accused the company of engaging in a “relentless antiunion campaign marked with unlawful discipline, unlawful captive audience meetings, and a general goal of coercing and intimidating employees.” Employees at Mercedes battery and assembly plants near Tuscaloosa voted 56% against the union

American Airlines drops law firm that said a 9-year-old girl should have seen camera on toilet seat

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines is changing law firms after a controversial filing in a lawsuit brought by the family of a 9-year-old girl who was recorded using an airplane lavatory. A spokesperson for American confirmed the change in lawyers on Friday. A former flight attendant has been charged with recording young girls in plane bathrooms. Lawyers from the firm of Wilson Elser argued that the 9-year-old was negligent for not noticing that there was a camera phone taped to the seat in the lavatory. Her family is now suing American in state court in Austin, Texas.

Despite surging demand for long-term care, providers struggle to find workers

Despite growing demand for long-term care, the industry struggles with labor shortages, and experts worry about whether there will be enough workers in the future to care for America’s aging population. Reporting from The Associated Press and CNHI News found the country's direct care workforce is predominantly made up of women and people of color, and they face low pay, the risk of injury and other challenges. These issues contribute to recruitment and retention problems. Experts point to insufficient Medicaid funding as one of the factors that have kept worker wages low.

The Associated Press