Energy in America

A commission that oversees water quality for the watershed that supplies Philadelphia and half of New York City with drinking water is taking another step toward permanently banning natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

___ NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street finished November with a broad rally that gave the Dow Jones industrial average its biggest gain since March and pushed it past the 24,000 mark for the first time.

The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday rejected a request from a San Diego utility to force customers to shoulder $379 million in costs from three deadly blazes ignited by power lines in 2007.

Venezuelan authorities say they've arrested two top former officials in a widening corruption probe into the state-run oil industry.

Federal officials say a Netherlands-based maker of equipment for offshore oil drilling will pay $238 million to settle charges of paying bribes to officials in five oil-producing countries.

The Latest on OPEC's meeting about oil production (all times local): 7:10 p.m. OPEC oil ministers and their non-OPEC partners have agreed to extend crude output cuts until the end of next year in efforts to keep supplies tight and bolster prices.

Venezuela arrests ex-oil minister, former state oil company boss on corruption charges.

Asian stock markets declined Thursday after U.S. tech stocks fell and China reported stronger manufacturing as investors looked ahead to a key OPEC meeting.

OPEC and allied oil producing-nations are going into meetings amid apparent consensus on extending their output cuts.

U.S. stock indexes were mostly higher in early trading Wednesday, giving up some of their gains following the market's best day in two months.

The Latest on Senate Republicans' tax overhaul bill (all times local): 6:18 p.m.

TransCanada Corp. says it will run an inspection device through its Keystone oil pipeline to make sure there aren't segments of pipe with similar characteristics to a section that ruptured in South Dakota.

A wealthy Turkish-Iranian gold trader is set to testify at a New York trial about how he helped Iran evade U.S. economic sanctions.

___ Yellen suggests a continuation of gradual rate hikes WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says the Fed expects to continue raising interest rates gradually.

The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local): 9:35 a.m.

A United Nations report says the world's least developed countries need access to electricity if they are to break out of poverty.

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, U.S. stocks are little changed Wednesday morning after they finished at all-time highs the day before.

Opponents of a proposed wind farm off Cape Cod are appealing a federal agency's decision to leave in place the long-stalled project's ocean lease.

Oil is in a solid bull market, and oil-producing nations are walking a tight-rope to keep the party going.

With cuts to oil production working in driving up prices, OPEC oil ministers and their non-OPEC allies will likely extend the strategy at a meeting Thursday.