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By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key inflation gauge accelerated in December to the fastest pace in nearly a year, showing how prices are still rising more quickly than most Americans would prefer — and faster than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2% a year.

Prices rose 0.4% in December from the previous month, up from 0.2% in November, the Commerce Department said Friday in a report that was delayed by the six-week government shutdown last fall. The monthly increase was the highest since last February. Compared with a year ago, inflation rose 2.9% in December, up from 2.8% in November. That is the largest yearly increase since March 2024.

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By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer

For years, social media companies have disputed allegations that they harm children’s mental health through deliberate design choices that addict kids to their platforms and fail to protect them from sexual predators and dangerous content. Now, these tech giants are getting a chance to make their case in courtrooms around the country, including before a jury for the first time.

Some of the biggest players from Meta to TikTok are facing federal and state trials that seek to hold them responsible for harming children’s mental health. The lawsuits have come from school districts, local, state and the federal government as well as thousands of families.

Two trials are now underway in Los Angeles and in New Mexico, with more to come. The courtroom showdowns are the culmination of years of scrutiny of the platforms over child safety, and whether deliberate design choices make them addictive and serve up content that leads to depression, eating disorders or suicide. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street kept calm Friday after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which had triggered panic in financial markets when announced last year, and stocks ticked higher.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7%. It had been flipping between small gains and losses before the court’s ruling, following discouraging reports showing slowing growth for the U.S. economy and faster inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 230 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%.

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A report on the Boeing Starliner mission that left two astronauts behind on the International Space Station in 2024 has pushed NASA to reclassify the incident in the same category as the Space Shuttle Columbia and Challenger disasters.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency now considers the mission a “Type A mishap,” which means it was an event that resulted in at least $2 million in damage, but it could have been much worse.

“This is about getting the record straight, and I do think that failure to acknowledge this … and ensure that we are transparent and correct, management leadership missteps that could lead to an unhealthy culture is absolutely warranted,” he said during a press conference Thursday. “Failing to do so invites repeats of previous catastrophic events, which is never, never an acceptable outcome here at NASA.”

His statements came in the wake of findings from the Program Investigation Team that examined the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Test that launched from Cape Canaveral on June 5, 2024 with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams for what was supposed to be an eight-day stay on board the station. read more

By CLAIRE SAVAGE and ALEXANDRA OLSON, AP Business Writers

The U.S. federal agency that enforces workplace civil rights is suing a regional Coca-Cola bottler for sex discrimination, alleging the company discriminated against male employees by only inviting women to a company-sponsored networking event.

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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit on behalf of a male employee of Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast who complained about a two-day networking trip for about 250 women in September 2024 at the Mohegan Sun casino resort in Connecticut. The lawsuit alleged that the Bedford, New Hampshire-based company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by excluding male employees from the event. read more