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Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street following some encouraging updates from U.S. companies including General Motors. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% in the early going Wednesday, the Nasdaq composite was up 0.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 80 points. GM jumped more than 10% after the automaker raised its dividend and

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tighter water restrictions for drought-stricken northeast Spain have gone in effect as authorities in Catalonia say that Barcelona may need to have fresh water shipped in by boat in the coming months. Catalonia is suffering its worst drought on record with reservoirs that provide water for

PARIS (AP) — A special court has cleared France’s justice minister of conflict of interest, ruling he was not guilty of having used his office to settle personal scores. Once a high-profile lawyer, Eric Dupond-Moretti was accused of abusing his position to order probes targeting magistrates who investigated him, his friends and his former clients.

By JUAN ARRÁEZ and REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press SURAMA, Guyana (AP) — Congregants of an Anglican church in a sparsely populated rainforest village in Guyana are asking for peace for their community amid what they see as an existential threat. Their village, Surama, is part of Guyana’s Essequibo region — a territory that Venezuela

LONDON (AP) — Elton John is to address Britain’s Parliament on his work fighting HIV at an event to mark World AIDS Day. The British star’s AIDS Foundation has led campaigns to extend a pilot government program to test people visiting hospitals’ emergency rooms for HIV. The program was recently introduced in London and other

By YURI KAGEYAMA and MATT OTT AP Business Writers Wall Street was poised to open with gains on Wednesday despite a gloomy global economic forecast and oil prices rose ahead of an OPEC meeting later this week. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4% before the bell while futures for the S&P 500

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The North American wolverine will receive long-delayed federal protections under a Biden administration proposal released Wednesday in response to scientists warning that climate change will likely melt away the rare species’ snowy mountain refuges. Across most of the U.S., wolverines were wiped out by the early

Associated Press BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s military government has announced an investigation into the Tuareg rebel leaders who signed a peace agreement in 2015 and now accuse the government of failing to comply with it. Experts worry that the deal crucial to establishing a measure of stability in the country’s north is collapsing. The

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — It has become an Israeli mantra throughout the latest war in Gaza: Hamas is ISIS. Since the bloody Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the war, Israeli leaders and commanders have likened the Palestinian militant group to the Islamic State group. They point to Hamas’ brutal

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Shrugging off higher interest rates, America’s consumers spent enough to help drive the economy to a brisk 5.2% annual pace from July through September, the government said in an upgrade from its previous estimate. The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 4.9%

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court has acquitted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a graft case, removing a major obstacle for him to run in parliamentary elections in February. The Islamabad High Court’s decision on Wednesday comes weeks after the court restored Sharif’s right to appeal a 2018 conviction

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has escalated his war of words with the leader of Greece. Sunak accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday of trying to “grandstand” over the disputed Parthenon Marbles and breaking a promise to the U.K. government. The two European allies have been