Industrials

British billionaire Richard Branson and his space-tourism company Virgin Galactic announced new steps Friday toward offering thrill rides into the low reaches of space for paying passengers, with the company immediately starting to move personnel and space vehicles from California to a launch and landing facility in the New Mexico desert.

Thousands of people gathered Friday at the remote spot in the Utah desert where the final spikes of the Transcontinental Railroad were hammered 150 years ago, uniting a nation long separated by vast expanses of desert, mountains and forests and fresh off the Civil War.

Uber's next stop is the stock market, where it hopes to pick up more investors willing to bet on a ride-hailing market brimming with potential and conspicuously lacking in profits.

___ US-China talks break up after US raises tariffs WASHINGTON (AP) — Trade talks between the U.S. and China have broken up with no agreement, hours after President Donald Trump more than doubled tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock signed a series of bills Friday that allow for spending nearly $400 million on buildings, bridges and water systems across the state — an effort aimed at creating jobs, boosting the state's economy and clearing up a backlog of needed work.

The Federal Aviation Administration says a company working with Miami police to jam signals to prevent drones from flying over the recent Ultra electronic music festival may have been in violation of federal law.

Steelmaking giant Thyssenkrupp of Germany says it expects European antitrust regulators to block its plan to combine its European operations with India's Tata Steel.

Vice President Mike Pence is rolling into the Midwest to tout the administration's new North American trade agreement, while back in Washington President Donald Trump tries to salvage a transformative trade deal with China.

U.S. demand for coal to generate electricity will continue its slide in coming months despite efforts by the Trump administration to prop up the struggling industry, federal officials said Thursday.

A disability rights nonprofit in Oregon has filed a letter of complaint with the city of Portland over new rules for its electric scooter pilot program, which just began its second phase.

Federal investigators have concluded that a deadly 2017 barge blast in Port Aransas resulted from the lack of effective maintenance and safety management of the barge.

Michael Kwan can't help but think about what life was like on a daily basis for his great-great-grandfather in the 1860s, working 12-hour days in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range on the Transcontinental Railroad that would reshape the American landscape.

The Latest on events marking the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad (all times local): 2:05 p.m. Descendants of Chinese laborers who worked on America's Transcontinental Railroad are helping commemorate the 150th anniversary of the railroad's completion.

New York state's comptroller says the construction industry is booming in the Empire State, especially in New York City.

Amid the hum and heat of Berlin's Reuter thermal power station stands a shining contraption that looks out of place in the decades-old machine hall.

Five international investors are bidding for a 35-year concession to operate the main ?irport in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.

An Italian ferry carrying 250 passengers and 92 crew members has experienced technical problems while on its way to the Croatian port of Split on the Adriatic coast.

The Middle East's biggest airline, Emirates, says profits were down almost 70% in the past fiscal year, reaching lows of $237 million, compared to last year's whopping $762 million.

A developer could be hit with a record $25 million in fines and fees for constructing a high-priced hotel on the Southern California coast after obtaining a permit for a property with moderately priced rooms.

The Latest on the California Coastal Commission fining a hotel developer (all times local): 8:55 p.m.