By GERALD IMRAY and ANNIE RISEMBERG Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African opposition parties made a final appeal to voters Tuesday as the country faces the possibility of a landmark change in its young democracy. At the heart of Wednesday’s national election is the question of whether South Africans will deliver
Continue ReadingBy COLLEEN LONG and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s campaign has showed up outside former President Donald Trump’s New York City criminal hush money trial in an effort to refocus the presidential race on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Biden’s team had largely ignored the trial since it began
Continue ReadingBy MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — With stubborn inflation and higher costs, layoffs at small businesses are sometimes a necessity. U.S.-based employers announced 64,789 cuts in April, down 28% from 90,309 cuts announced in March, according to a report by global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray &
Continue ReadingBy COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — The general manager of Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala has bidden a bittersweet farewell to the theater during the presentation of 2024-25 season, saying he would have been happy to continue. Dominique Meyer will finish up his contract, which runs out at the end of February, but
Continue ReadingALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — “Son of Sam” killer David Berkowitz has been denied parole after his twelfth board appearance. State corrections data shows Berkowitz was rejected after a Board of Parole interview on May 14. Berkowitz terrorized New York City with late-night shootings in the 1970s that killed six people and wounded seven. He was
Continue ReadingMADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities say that a building housing a bar and restaurant that collapsed on Mallorca lacked the proper authorization. Four people were killed in last week’s collapse. Palma de Mallorca Mayor Jaime Martínez told reporters on Tuesday that it seems the collapse of a first-floor terrace was caused by excess weight and
Continue ReadingBy MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The operator of Japan’s destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has demonstrated how a remote-controlled robot would retrieve tiny bits of melted fuel debris from one of three damaged reactors later this year. The removal of melted fuel was supposed to begin in late 2021 but has
Continue ReadingBy STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is listless on Tuesday, coming back from a three-day weekend, and is drifting near its record heights. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% afternoon trading and is sitting just below its record set a week ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 327
Continue ReadingBy KEVIN SCHEMBRI ORLAND Associated Press VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — Malta’s former prime minister and other former top officials have pleaded not guilty to charges in a hospital corruption scandal that is roiling the Mediterranean island nation as it prepares for European Parliament elections. The case involves a deal, originally struck in 2015, in which
Continue ReadingBy MATT OTT AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer confidence in the U.S. rose in May following three straight months of declines, but Americans remain anxious about elevated inflation and interest rates. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose in May to 102 from 97.5 in
Continue ReadingBy John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a number of cases questioning whether state court juries must have a dozen members when they are weighing serious criminal charges. A series of appeals challenging Florida’s use of six-member juries has been pending at the Supreme Court for months. Six states
Continue ReadingBy MICHAEL R. SISAK, JENNIFER PELTZ, ERIC TUCKER and JILL COLVIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is “innocent” and did not break the law, a lawyer for the former president told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday as the landmark hush money trial moved closer to its conclusion. The arguments, expected to last
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Closing arguments in Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial have begun, giving prosecutors and defense lawyers one final opportunity to convince the jury of their respective cases before deliberations begin. Arguments are expected to last all day Tuesday with jury deliberations starting as early as Wednesday. Prosecutors say the former president
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday left in place lawyer Michael Avenatti’s conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from Nike. The justices did not comment in rejecting an appeal from Avenatti, who rose to fame representing porn actor Stormy Daniels in litigation against former President Donald Trump. The timing of
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday left in place lawyer Michael Avenatti’s conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from Nike. The justices did not comment in rejecting an appeal from Avenatti, who rose to fame representing porn actor Stormy Daniels in litigation against former President Donald Trump. The timing of
Continue ReadingBy NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis apologized Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar and derogatory term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests. The ruckus that ensued underscored how the church’s official teaching about homosexuality often bumps up against the unacknowledged reality that
Continue ReadingBy John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined an appeal from disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti, who argued that his extortion conviction was based on a vague anti-corruption law that shouldn’t apply to lawyers making settlement demands. Best known for representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels, Avenatti was sentenced to a 30-month
Continue ReadingWARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s foreign minister says the NATO nation should not exclude the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine and should keep Russian President Vladimir Putin in suspense over whether such a decision would ever be made. Radek Sikorski made the comments in an interview published Tuesday in the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. The
Continue ReadingLAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s former premier Nawaz Sharif has been re-elected president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N party. He last held the position in 2017, when he was ousted from power amid corruption allegations. The PML-N came into power with the Feb. 8 elections that Sharif’s key rival, former premier Imran Khan, alleged
Continue ReadingBy STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is listless on Tuesday, coming back from a three-day weekend, and is drifting near its record heights. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading, just below its record set a week ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 115 points,
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