By RICHARD LARDNER, JENNIFER McDERMOTT and AARON KESSLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An Associated Press analysis found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. Combined, the loss represents 10% of the $4.2 trillion the U.S. government has disbursed in COVID relief aid.
Continue Reading By RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press GULU, Uganda (AP) — The charcoal makers in the forests of northern Uganda fled into the bush, temporarily abandoning their precious handiwork: multiple heaps of timber yet to be processed. The workers were desperate to avoid capture by local officials after a new law banned the commercial production of charcoal.
Continue Reading SHIYAN, China (AP) — China’s manufacturing and consumer spending are weakening after a strong start to 2023 after anti-virus controls ended. Automakers and other companies are struggling to rebuild sales and sending salespeople abroad to revive their export businesses following a three-year gap. Economic growth accelerated to 4.5% over a year earlier in the three
Continue Reading The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaire investor turned philanthropist George Soros is ceding control of his $25 billion empire to a younger son, Alexander Soros, according to an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal published online Sunday. Soros’ business holdings include his nonprofit Open Society Foundations, which is active in more than
Continue Reading By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BONN, Germany (AP) — A growing number of companies are pledging to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to “net zero” to curb climate change, but a report says the goal is rarely supported by a credible plan. According to the report published Monday, the number of publicly listed corporations aiming
Continue Reading By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts for U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, after her agency spent many months hosting public meetings and talking with Native American leaders about curbing the pace of oil and gas development in the San Juan Basin and
Continue Reading By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It’s a homecoming of sorts for U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, after her agency spent many months hosting public meetings and talking with Native American leaders about curbing the pace of oil and gas development in the San Juan Basin and protecting culturally significant sites.
Continue Reading The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Gene sequencing test maker Illumina Inc. said Sunday that its board has accepted the resignation of its CEO and director, Francis deSouza, effective immediately. Charles Dadswell, senior vice president and general counsel, has been named interim CEO, while the board conducts a search for a new CEO. Illumina
Continue Reading By FATIMA HUSSEIN & KEN SWEET Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — First came the crypto winter, then the alleged fraud wrought by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and now the lawsuits. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed lawsuits last week against the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, deepening tensions between the government and
Continue Reading By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — European leaders are holding out the promise of more than 1 billion euros in financial aid for Tunisia as well as investments in undersea data cables and renewable energy. It’s part of an effort to restore stability in the North African country
Continue Reading By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s president is hosting the leaders of Italy, the Netherlands and the European Union for talks aimed at smoothing the way for an international bailout. The European leaders want to restore stability to a country that has become a major source of
Continue Reading By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia is hosting the leaders of Italy, the Netherlands and the European Union for talks aimed at smoothing the way for an international bailout. The European leaders want to restore stability to a country that has become a major source of migration
Continue Reading BEIJING (AP) — Honduras opened an embassy in Beijing on Sunday, Chinese state media reported, months after the Central American nation broke off relations with Taiwan to establish diplomatic ties with China. China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Honduran counterpart Enrique Reina took part in the inauguration of the embassy on Sunday morning, China’s
Continue Reading By MATTHEW BROWN and AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Whether a constitutional right to a healthy, livable climate is protected by state law is at the center of a lawsuit going to trial Monday in Montana, where 16 young plaintiffs and their attorneys hope to set an important legal precedent. It’s
Continue Reading By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Federal Railroad Administration recently completed a review of Norfolk Southern’s safety culture in the wake of the February’s fiery derailment in Ohio, and officials plan to follow up with similar investigations of all the major freight railroads over the next year. A report will
Continue Reading NEW TOWN, N.D. (AP) — A Native American tribe in North Dakota bought an idle pipeline from the energy company Enbridge to help deliver oil from wells on its reservation to the broader market. The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation announced the deal Friday but didn’t disclose how much it paid. Tribal officials said they
Continue Reading By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s central bank chief has been arrested hours after he was suspended by the country’s new president. Godwin Emefiele has served as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the past nine years. Nigeria’s Department of State Services said in a statement on Saturday that
Continue Reading By SAMYA KULLAB and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that counteroffensive and defensive actions are underway against Russian forces, asserting that his top commanders are in a “positive” mindset as their troops engaged in intense fighting along the front line. The Ukrainian leader, at a Kyiv
Continue Reading By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson left chaos in his wake Saturday after quitting Parliament with a blast at fellow lawmakers he accused of ousting him in a “witch hunt.” As opponents jeered, the Conservative government absorbed the shock of yet another Johnson earthquake, while a band
Continue Reading By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press FUERTH, Germany (AP) — The artificial intelligence chatbot asked the believers in the fully packed St. Paul’s church in the Bavarian town of Fuerth to rise from the pews and praise the Lord. The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by an avatar of a bearded Black man on a huge screen above
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