Industrials

The use of armed drones in the Middle East, driven largely by growing sales from China, has grown significantly in the past few years with an increasing number of state and non-state actors using them in regional conflicts.

The U.S. Air Force is about to launch the first of a new generation of GPS satellites, designed to be more accurate, secure and versatile.

Genoa's mayor is promising that his city will have a new bridge by Christmas 2019 to replace the one that collapsed in the summer, killing 43 people.

Spirit Airlines tops the latest ratings for on-time flights, a stunning turnaround for a discount carrier that consistently ranked as the tardiest airline in America three years ago.

___ GM says it has 2,700 jobs for workers slated to be laid off DETROIT (AP) — The General Motors' massive 14,000-person layoff announced last month might not be as bad as originally projected.

South Carolina regulators have a couple of billion-dollar decisions to make on Friday.

The Latest on South Carolina regulators' votes on issues concerning the fallout from a $9 billion nuclear construction project failure (all times local): 1:55 p.m.

Anticipating a fifth straight weekend of violent protests, Paris' police chief says armored vehicles and thousands of officers will be deployed again in the French capital on Saturday.

India's top court has rejected petitions by activists seeking a probe into the government purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

U.S. industrial production climbed 0.6 percent on surging output at mines and utilities.

Spain's government has announced a plan to spend 7.3 billion euros ($8.2 billion) over the next 10 years on improving its military defense capabilities.

A longtime GE bear is changing his tune.

The competition between two Asian giants, India and China, for influence over tiny Nepal is yielding a bonanza in the form of the Himalayan mountain nation's first modern railway — and possibly more to come.

U.S. stocks are mixed in morning trading Thursday as technology and health care companies rise.

A rocket ship set to launch from California's Mojave Desert could herald a giant step toward the long-awaited dream of space tourism for Virgin Galactic.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's administration has wrapped up negotiations with Enbridge Inc. on building a tunnel to contain an oil pipeline beneath a Great Lakes waterway.

A permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to cross two national forests, including parts of the Appalachian Trail, was thrown out Thursday by a federal appeals court that harshly criticized regulators for approving the proposal.

As U.S. President Donald Trump re-imposed harsh economic sanctions on Iran last month, hackers scrambled to break into personal emails of American officials tasked with enforcing them, The Associated Press has found — another sign of how deeply cyberespionage is embedded into the fabric of U.S.-Iranian relations.

The Latest on a test flight of Virgin Atlantic's space tourism rocket ship (all times local): 7 a.m.

Umpleby has been a member of the board and CEO since Jan. 1, 2017.