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Biden endorses Harris after withdrawing from 2024 race None - IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.
Delta Air Lines says cancellations continue as it tries to restore operations after tech outage None - Airlines, including Delta Air Lines, continued to struggle to restore operations two days after a faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide and resulted in several carriers grounding flights Delta Air Lines says cancellations continue as it tries to restore operations after tech outage NEW YORK -- Airlines, including Delta Air Lines, continued to struggle to restore operations two days after a faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide and resulted in several carriers grounding flights. Total cancellations within, into or out of the U.S. on Sunday clocked in at 1,461, according to the latest data from FlightAware. Delta and United Airlines topped the cancellations. Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian said in a statement Sunday that flight cancellations continued as the airline tried to recover its systems and restore operations. He noted that the pause in Delta’s operations resulted in more than 3,500 Delta and Delta Connection scrubbed flights. Delta has been offering waivers to affected customers. “The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our re-accommodation capabilities,” Bastian wrote. “I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events.”
Anti-whaling campaigner arrested in Greenland and police say he may be extradited to Japan None - Greenland police have arrested a prominent environmental activist and anti-whaling campaigner on an international arrest warrant issued by Japan Anti-whaling campaigner arrested in Greenland and police say he may be extradited to Japan BERLIN -- Greenland police said they arrested a veteran environmental activist and anti-whaling campaigner on Sunday on an international arrest warrant issued by Japan. Paul Watson was arrested when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, a police statement said. He will be brought before a district court with a request to detain him pending a decision on his possible extradition to Japan, the statement said. The Captain Paul Watson Foundation said that more than a dozen police boarded the vessel and led Watson away in handcuffs when it stopped to refuel. The foundation said the ship, along with 25 volunteer crew members, was en route to the North Pacific on a mission to intercept a new Japanese whaling ship. “The arrest is believed to be related to a former Red Notice issued for Captain Watson’s previous anti-whaling interventions in the Antarctic region,” the foundation said in an emailed statement. “We implore the Danish government to release Captain Watson and not entertain this politically-motivated request,” Locky MacLean, a foundation director, said in the statement. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark. Watson, a 73-year-old Canadian-American citizen, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society whose direct action tactics, including high-seas confrontations with whaling vessels, has drawn support from A-list celebrities and featured in the reality television series “Whale Wars.” However, it has also brought him into confrontation with authorities. He was detained in Germany in 2012 on a Costa Rican extradition warrant, but skipped bail after learning that he was also sought for extradition by Japan, which has accused him of endangering whalers’ lives during operations in the Antarctic Ocean. He has since lived in countries including France and the United States. Watson, who left Sea Shepherd in 2022 to establish his own organization, was also a leading member of Greenpeace, but left in 1977 amid disagreements over his aggressive tactics. According to his foundation, Watson's current ship, the M/Y John Paul DeJoria, was due to sail through the Northwest Passage to the North Pacific to confront a newly built Japanese factory whaling ship, “a murderous enemy devoid of compassion and empathy hell bent on destroying the most intelligent self-aware sentient beings in the sea."
Small businesses grapple with global tech outages created by CrowdStrike None - Businesses from airlines to hospitals have been grappling with faulty software update that caused technological havoc worldwide on Friday NEW YORK -- An owner of a consumer insights research firm couldn't pay her employees, make Friday's deadline to sign a contract for a new business or send key research to a key client. A psychiatrist, who runs a virtual mental health practice in Maryland, saw his business hobbled as some of his virtual assistants and therapists couldn't either make phone calls or log on to their computers. And a restaurant owner in New York City was worried about how he was going to pay his vendors and his workers. Businesses from airlines to hospitals have been grappling with a faulty software update that caused technological havoc worldwide on Friday, and its repercussions continued through the weekend. The breadth of the outages highlighted the fragility of a digitized world dependent on a few providers for key computing services. But the problem appeared to divide those affected into haves and have-nots. Major customers of Microsoft and CrowdStrike are getting IT support to resolve the issues, but many smaller businesses whose Windows PCs may have received the problematic update are still struggling. Take Tsvetta Kaleynska, owner and founder of the Manhattan-based consumer insights company RILA Global Consulting, which has Fortune 500 clients. As of Saturday, she resolved the payroll issue and she got an extension until Monday on the research project. But the prospective client will not move forward with the new contract, cutting her annual earnings by nearly 25%, she estimated. The problem: she couldn't sign the contract because Docusign, which runs on Microsoft software affected by the faulty update, was down. “If I were part of a big company, then I would be able to delegate and get support from computer science or security services,” Kaleynska said. “But as a small business owner, I am depending only on myself. It's pretty devastating." On top of Kaleynska's business issues, she had to bring her ill daughter to a local hospital Friday because the hospital's phone lines were down. Kaleynska, an immigrant from Bulgaria who became a U.S. citizen in 2023, said she's learned a hard lesson: “Our lives are very fragile because they’re based on technology, and we depend on technology.” CrowdStrike is one of the largest cybersecurity firms in the U.S. and has a list of customers that includes more than half of the Fortune 500 companies as well as small and medium-sized businesses. Following the outage, the company provided an initial fix through a software update. But many computers are expected to need hands-on work that could take days, if not longer, to complete. For many small businesses that are impacted, that could mean working around the clock this weekend to make sure their systems are up and running, said Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives. “Small businesses rely on third parties for this not to happen and instead, it became a ‘code red’ situation,” Ives said. Overall, Ives noted tech problems can be easier to fix for big companies that have a sizable number of experts on their payroll as opposed to small businesses who could face more of an “uphill battle” because they have fewer technical resources. “The ripple effects from this could be felt for days and weeks ahead,” Ives said. “It's not just a black eye moment for CrowdStrike, but for the broader industry. You can’t have one fat finger update take down a global ecosystem.” Ari Lightman, a professor of digital media at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, agreed, noting the amount of money big companies spend on Microsoft and CrowdStrike is likely a large portion of their IT budget. On the other hand, small businesses can look at information online on how to resolve the outage. CrowdStrike has posted step-by-step manual fixes to its blog, but it can be intimidating for those who are less tech savvy. Lightman said those corporations could sue for a loss of business, but small ones might use class action suits to go after CrowdStrike for compensatory damages. The issue is affecting small businesses differently. Heather Garlich, a spokeswoman at Arlington, Va., grocery industry group FMI, said the outages were “somewhat spotty and inconsistent depending on how businesses use certain Microsoft tools.” She said she was aware of one with an issue with a human resource system, while another had problems with their routing system for distribution. Yet another had issues with its cash registers. Chris Seabrook, who owns a locksmith services business in Melbourne, Australia, called Asguard Locksmiths, told The Associated Press in a Friday email that the IT outage had thrown a “significant wrench” in his daily operations. He hasn’t been able to send and receive emails, access critical files, manage his schedule or create invoices. “My Microsoft PC is essential for many important functions in my business,” he wrote. “As a one-man business, every minute counts and this disruption has forced me to adapt quickly to ensure my services remain as uninterrupted as possible.” To minimize the disruption, Seabrook borrowed a non-Microsoft device from a friend that enabled him to sign into his accounts and access some of his critical tools and information. He’s also using his smartphone for important messages and organizing his schedule. And he's been contacting clients to update them on the situation. Seabrook didn't immediately respond to a follow-up email sent by The Associated Press on Saturday. Some small business owners have improvised to get work done. Dr. Ozan Toy, a psychiatrist, and chief medical officer at the Maryland-based Telapsychiatry, which has 25 employees across the U.S., said some employees with Microsoft phone lines instead turned to the Ring Central System, while others shifted from Microsoft Teams to Zoom. Toy said his business was fortunate to have several backups of its electronic medical record system, allowing them to resume communications with each other and their patients. As of Sunday, the practice's cloud based services were running, he said. Toy noted financial losses were “minimal” as it has an external answering service taking calls from patients. Chris Delmond, the co-owner of Handcraft Hospitality, which operates three restaurants in Manhattan and one in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, said his restaurants remained open for business. But the outage meant he could not have access to his cloud-based accounting software app on the Microsoft platform. That prevented him from seeing receipts and invoices, and slowed his ability to process checks to his employees and suppliers. He had to resort to calling his banks to see whether deposits had been made and check balances. “I’m a small business owner. I have two other partners and we kind of do everything,” he said. “So it’s up to us to find out what the issues are. I don’t have large platforms that help me track.” But by late Friday afternoon, all the issues related to his business' cloud based systems were back to normal, Delmond said. He noted he didn't suffer any financial losses, but he added, “It's frustrating, but as a small business owner you deal with the ups and downs."
Nepal’s new prime minister seeks vote of confidence in parliament, secure more than two-third votes None - Nepal’s newly appointed prime minister has secured overwhelming support in parliament with more than two-thirds of members voting in his favor Nepal’s new prime minister seeks vote of confidence in parliament, secure more than two-third votes KATHMANDU, Nepal -- Nepal’s newly appointed prime minister secured overwhelming support in parliament on Sunday with more than two-thirds of members voting in his favor. Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli got the support from members of his Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), his main coalition partner Nepali Congress and several smaller parties. During voting in the House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, 188 out of a total of 275 members voted in his favor during the vote of confidence motion, Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire announced. Supporting members applauded soon after the announcement was made and they lined up to shake hands with Oli to congratulate him. Oli was named Nepal's prime minister last week after the previous coalition government collapsed after Oli’s party withdrew their support earlier this month. The next election in Nepal is scheduled for 2027. This is the fourth time that Oli, 72, is serving as prime minister of the Himalayan nation. Oli’s biggest challenge as prime minister will be balancing Nepal’s relationship with its giant neighbors India and China, as both seek to wield influence over the small nation. Landlocked Nepal is surrounded by India on three sides and imports all of its oil and most supplies from the country. It also shares a border with China. Oli was born in a village in east Nepal and has been involved in politics since he was young. He worked his way up the ranks of the communist party and was jailed a total of 14 years for opposing the autocratic rule of Nepal’s monarchs. The royals banned political parties until 1990, when street protests forced then King Birendra to hold free elections that turned Nepal into a constitutional monarchy, which was formally abolished in 2008. Oli has had two kidney transplants.
Restaurant critic's departure reveals potential hazards of the job None - Restaurant critics appear to have the best job in journalism, enjoying meals a few nights a week on someone else’s dime Restaurant critics appear to have the best job in journalism, enjoying meals a few nights a week on someone else’s dime. But New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells had painted a more complicated picture. In a recent column, Wells announced he’s leaving the beat because the constant eating has led to obesity and other health problems. “Intellectually, it was still really stimulating, but my body started to rebel and say, ‘Enough is enough,’” Wells told The Associated Press. “I just had to come face to face with the reality that I can’t metabolize food the way I used to, I can’t metabolize alcohol the way I used to and I just don’t need to eat as much as I did even 10 years ago.” To write a review, food critics usually make two or three visits to a restaurant and bring a handful of dining companions so they can taste as many dishes as possible. If the restaurant has a special focus on wine or cocktails or desserts, they try those, too. “You have to sample the full range of the menu,” said Ligaya Figueras, the senior food editor and lead dining critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If I really felt like a salad today, I can’t just have the salad.” Special features, like lists of the best places to get pizzas or hamburgers, may have critics eating the same fare for weeks. MacKenzie Chung Fegan, a restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, sampled Peking duck all over the city for a story about a restaurant that specialized in the dish. “There was a two-week period where I was eating more duck than anyone’s doctor would advise,” Fegan said. All that restaurant eating can take a toll. In a 2020 study published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University found that 50% of meals at full-service U.S. restaurants – and 70% of those at fast-food restaurants -- were of poor nutritional quality, according to American Heart Association guidelines. Less than 1% were of ideal quality. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and Tufts professor who was one of the study’s authors, said restaurant meals tend to be lower than ideal in whole grains and legumes, modestly lower in fruits and vegetables, and modestly higher in salt and saturated fat. For the period the study examined, between 2003 and 2016, the nutritional quality of food in grocery stores improved, Mozaffarian said. But restaurants didn’t make similar changes, he said. “I can’t tell you how many restaurants I go to and on every person’s plate there are French fries,” Mozaffarian said. “There are not an equal and diverse array of healthy and unhealthy menu choices.” To be fair, Fegan said, diners are looking for something delicious when they go out to eat, “and a lot of times that means something with fat and sodium.” “If I’m looking at the menu thinking, ‘What is the most exciting thing on this menu?,’ it’s probably not a side of broccoli rabe,” she said. Figueras deals with the challenge in several ways. On the nights she’s not dining out, she says she is “hypervigilant” and eats mostly vegetables. She plays tennis and walks her dog to stay in shape. And when she’s heading to a restaurant, she eats fruit or another healthy snack so she won’t arrive hungry. “Everything tastes good when you’re starving,” she said. Lyndsay Green, the dining and restaurants critic at the Detroit Free Press, also tries to eat healthy on her days off, getting most of her food from a local farmer’s market. Green says she thinks menus are getting healthier. Many chefs are offering gluten-free or vegan options, she said, and are getting more creative with their non-alcoholic cocktail menus. Green thinks restaurant critics can help readers by being open about their own needs. A pregnant critic, for example, could write up a restaurant guide for other expectant parents. “Nearly everyone has health concerns and dietary standards, so I think it can also be our job to talk about that in our work,” she said. Wells isn’t the only restaurant critic to make a change in recent years. Adam Platt stopped covering restaurants for New York magazine in 2022, also citing the toll on his health. Wyatt Williams stopped covering restaurants for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2019, saying he had simply lost his appetite. Fegan and Wells both noted that women seem to have more longevity in the business. Mimi Sheraton, a former restaurant critic for The New York Times, died last year at age 97 after a six-decade career in food. “I think if you are socialized as a woman in America, you’ve already spent a lot of your time thinking about portion and weight and control,” Fegan said. Wells will file a few more reviews before stepping down in early August. He will remain with the Times. Times food writers Melissa Clark and Priya Krishna will step in as restaurant critics on an interim basis, the newspaper said. Wells said he will continue to go to restaurants and maybe even enjoy them more now that he’s not distracted by work. He said he will be sorry to lose touch with New York’s seemingly infinite restaurant scene, but glad to find more balance in his own life. “Eating out constantly, you lose touch with your own normal appetite,” he said. “I didn’t know anymore what was normal for me.”
The biggest of stories came to the small city of Butler. Here's how its newspaper met the moment None - The biggest of stories came to the small city of Butler. Here's how its newspaper met the moment BUTLER, Pa. -- When gunshots echoed at the Trump rally where she was working, Butler Eagle reporter Irina Bucur dropped to the ground just like everyone else. She was terrified. She hardly froze, though. Bucur tried to text her assignment editor, through spotty cell service, to tell him what was going on. She took mental notes of what the people in front and behind her were saying. She used her phone to take video of the scene. All before she felt safe standing up again. When the world's biggest story came to the small western Pennsylvania hamlet of Butler a week ago, it didn't just draw media from everywhere else. Journalists at the Eagle, the community's resource since 1870 and one that struggles to survive just like thousands of local newspapers across the country, had to make sense of chaos in their backyard — and the global scrutiny that followed. Photographer Morgan Phillips, who stood on a riser in the middle of a field with Trump's audience that Saturday evening, kept on her feet and kept working, documenting history. After Secret Service officers hustled the former president into a waiting car, the people around her turned to shout vitriol at the journalists. A few days later, Phillips' eyes welled with tears recounting the day. “I just felt really hated,” said Phillips, who like Bucur is 25. “And I never expected that.” “I'm very proud of my newsroom,” said Donna Sybert, the Eagle's managing editor. Having put a coverage plan in place, she had escaped for a fishing trip nearby with her family. A colleague, Jamie Kelly, called to tell her something had gone terribly wrong and Sybert rushed back to the newsroom, helping to update the Eagle's website until 2 a.m. Sunday. Bucur's assignment had been to talk to community members attending the rally, along with those who set up a lemonade stand on the hot day and people who parked cars. She'd done her reporting and settled in to text updates of what Trump was saying for the website. The shooting changed everything. Bucur tried to interview as many people as she could. Slightly dazed after authorities cleared the grounds, she forgot where she had parked. That gave her more time for reporting. “Going into reporter mode allowed me to distract myself from the situation a little bit,” Bucur said. “Once I got up, I wasn't thinking at all. I was just thinking I needed to interview people and get the story out because I was on deadline.” She and colleagues Steve Ferris and Paula Grubbs were asked to collect their reporting and impressions for a story in the Eagle's special, eight-page wraparound printed edition on Monday. “The first few gunshots rang out like fireworks,” they wrote. “But when they continued, people in the crowd at the Butler Farm Show venue dropped to the ground: a mother and father told their children to crouch down. A young man hunched over in the grass. Behind him, a woman started to pray.” The special edition clearly resonated in Butler and beyond. Extra copies are being offered for sale for $5 in the Eagle’s lobby. That’s already a bargain. On eBay, Sybert said, she’s seen them going for up to $125. Beyond its status as a local newspaper, the Eagle is an endangered species. It has resisted ownership by a large chain, which have often stripped news outlets bare. The Eagle has been owned by the same family since 1903; its patriarch, Vernon Wise, is now 95. Fifth-generation family member Jamie Wise Lanier drove up from Cincinnati this week to congratulate the staff on a job well done, general manager Tammy Schuey said. Six editions are printed each week, and a digital site has a paywall that was lowered for some of the shooting stories. The Eagle's circulation is 18,000, Schuey said, with about 3,000 of that digital. The United States has lost one-third of its newspapers since 2005 as the Internet chews away at once-robust advertising revenue. An average of 2.5 newspapers closed each week in 2023, according to a study by Northwestern University. The majority were in small communities like Butler. The Eagle abandoned a newsroom across town in 2019, consolidating space in the building where its printing press is housed. It has diversified, starting a billboard company and taking on extra printing jobs. It even stores the remnants of a long-shuttered local circus and allows residents to visit. The Eagle has about 30 employees, although it's now short two reporters and a photographer. Cabinets housing old photographs lie among the clutter of desks in the newsroom, with a whiteboard that lists which staff members will be on weekend call. Its staff is a mix of young people like Bucur and Phillips, who tend to move on to larger institutions, and those who put down roots in Butler. Sybert has worked at the Eagle since 1982. Schuey was initially hired in 1991 to teach composing room employees how to use Macs. “This is a challenging business,” Schuey said. “We're not out of the woods yet.” When a big story comes to town, with the national and international journalists that follow it, local news outlets are still a precious and valued resource. The Eagle knows the terrain. It knows the local officials. Smart national reporters who “parachute” into a small community that suddenly makes news know to seek out local journalists. Several have reached out to the Eagle, Schuey said. Familiarity helps in other ways. Bucur found people at the rally who were suspicious of national reporters but answered questions from her, and the same is true for some authorities. She has tapped her network of Facebook friends for reporting help. Such foundational trust is common. Many people in small towns have more faith in their community newspapers, said Rick Edmonds, the media business analyst at the Poynter Institute. “It's just nice to support the locals,” said Jeff Ruhaak, a trucking company supervisor who paused during a meal at the Monroe Hotel to discuss the Eagle's coverage. “I think they did a pretty good job covering it for their size.” The Eagle has another advantage as well: It isn't going anywhere when the national reporters leave. The story won't end. Hurt people need to recover and investigations will determine who is responsible for a would-be assassin being able to get a shot at Trump. In short: responsible journalism as civic leadership in harrowing moments. “Our community went through a traumatic experience,” Schuey said. “I was there. We have some healing to do, and I think the newspaper is a critical piece in helping guide the community through this.” So, too, must people at the Eagle heal, as Phillips' raw emotions attest. Management is trying to give staff members some days off, perhaps with the help of journalists in surrounding communities. Bucur said she would hate to see Butler turned into a political prop, with the assassination being used as some sort of rallying cry. The divisiveness of national politics had already seeped into local meetings and staff members have felt the tension. Sybert and Schuey look at each other to try and remember what was the biggest story that Butler Eagle journalists have worked on. Was it a tornado that killed nine back in the 1980s? Some particularly bad traffic accident? Trump paid an uneventful campaign visit in 2020. But there's no question what tops the list now. Despite the stress of the assassination attempt, covering it has been a personal revelation for the soft-spoken Bucur, who grew up 30 miles (48.2 kilometers) south in Pittsburgh and studied psychology in college. Her plans changed when she took a communications course and loved it. “This," she said, “was a moment I told myself that I think I'm cut out for journalism.” ___ David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.
With GOP convention over, Milwaukee weighs the benefits of hosting political rivals None - Deep-blue Milwaukee’s downtown turned red as thousands of Republican National Convention delegates and other party stalwarts gathered to formally rally behind Donald Trump as their candidate for president in the pivotal swing state MILWAUKEE -- MILWAUKEE (AP) — Downtown Milwaukee turned red last week as thousands of Republican National Convention delegates and other party stalwarts gathered in Wisconsin's largest Democratic stronghold to formally rally behind Donald Trump as their candidate for president in the pivotal swing state. Outside the security zone where the convention took place, residents grumbled, ignored or shrugged their way through the event that served to galvanize the GOP and give Trump momentum. Milwaukee's Democratic mayor, Cavalier Johnson, wasted no time in deeming the convention a success even though he will now turn his focus toward making sure Trump loses in November. “We demonstrated our city’s capacity to host a major and a massive event,” Johnson said Thursday. “That’s important to the tens of thousands of visitors, and it’s important to the future of our hospitality industry right here in Milwaukee.” But tallying up the economic impact on Milwaukee will take months and complaints have been piling up, including over blocked streets and storefronts, disappointing restaurant bookings and the use of out-of-town officers to police the city. Residents also won't soon forget that Trump described Milwaukee as “horrible” during a closed-door meeting with congressional Republicans last month, though his defenders later suggested he was referring to crime or election concerns. “I think there are a lot of people that are very upset by the ‘horrible’ stigma that Trump assigned to the city,” Jill McCurdy, a Democratic retiree, said Thursday as she strolled through Red Arrow Park, where hundreds protested days earlier. “Certainly people who live here, especially those of use who have lived here all our lives, we don’t see it that way.” McCurdy, 68, said she hopes Republican visitors came away with a positive view of the city, which sits along Lake Michigan about an hour's drive north of Chicago, where the Democrats will hold their convention next month. But after talking to friends who own restaurants and were “pretty disappointed” by business during the convention, she said she isn't confident the city benefitted much from hosting the GOP's big event. Democrats must perform well in Milwaukee in order to counter Republican strengths in more rural parts of Wisconsin. Trump narrowly won the state in 2016 before losing it to President Joe Biden four years later by only about 21,000 votes. Wisconsin is one of only a few true swing states that could go either way this election and will determine who wins the White House. Four of the past six presidential elections in Wisconsin have been decided by less than a percentage point. As Tyler Schmitt, 28, and his partner Ken Ragan, 24, stretched in the long grass Wednesday at a park west of the convention site, they considered the pros and cons of Milwaukee hosting. Ragan said she could do without the traffic headaches. But Schmitt, an urban farmer, said he sees positives. “From a small-business perspective, it brings good energy in the tourism and good press,” he said. “It's pretty much downtown, and I think downtown is appropriate.” But the downtown location still put law enforcement, including visiting officers from across the country, on Milwaukee streets. On Tuesday, officers from Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed Samuel Sharpe, a man who had been living in a homeless encampment about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the convention site. Sharpe had a knife in each hand and moved toward another man, ignoring the commands of police officers before they shot him, authorities said. The shooting remains under investigation. Sharpe’s sister, Angelique Sharpe, blamed his death on the presence of out-of-state officers. “I’d rather have the Milwaukee Police Department, who know the people of this community, (than) people who have no ties to your community and don’t care nothing about our extended family members down there,” she said. At a rally after her brother was killed, Angelique Sharpe said her brother suffered from multiple sclerosis and was acting in self-defense against a person who had threatened him in recent days. Activists in the city also questioned whether the focus on the convention had minimized more pressing, systemic problems in Milwaukee. Hours before Trump took the convention stage Thursday night to deliver his speech to delegates, dozens of protesters held a rally a block from the convention site to call attention to the deaths of Sharpe and another Black man, D’Vontaye Mitchell, who died last month after he was pinned down by security guards at a nearby hotel. “They come here and make money off our city. But when we’re hurt and we need them, they’re not there,” said Karl Harris, Mitchell's cousin. ___ Associated Press writers Scott Bauer and Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, and Jake Offenhartz in Milwaukee contributed.
‘It’s been raining for ever. People are desperate to get outside’: the boss of loveholidays braces for a boom None - Before the age of 20, Donat Rétif had never set foot in a plane: his world was confined to the quiet southern Belgian mining region he called home, and neighbouring France. A year studying in Quebec as part of his business degree would prove the precursor to a globetrotting career, culminating in landing the top job at loveholidays, the online travel agent responsible for millions of travellers taking to the skies each year. “I had a very simple upbringing. Canada was a big opening for me; I wanted to discover the world,” he says. This weekend, the pressure ramps up as many schools in England and Wales break up for the holidays. Rétif has led the business since late 2019, taking charge after meeting its founders, Jonny Marsh and Alex Francis, who had set up the company in 2012. “We agreed on point A and point Z – where we were and wanted to be. My skills are to take businesses and grow them,” he says. So far, the indicators are positive. The company has overtaken some rival online travel agents, including London-listed On the Beach, and is fighting it out for market share with package operators such as Tui and Jet2, which he says have a different model as they own physical assets, from hotels to planes. Rétif’s goal is to become the largest online travel specialist in Europe, using agile tech and new markets to expand. This year, he forecasts passenger numbers will hit nearly 5 million across the UK and Ireland, up from 1 million in 2019. Revenues reached £235m in 2023, up by £100m on the previous year, while pre-tax profits rose from £30m to £55m, despite pressure on the balance sheet from rising interest rates and a hit from wildfires in Greece. The fires devastated Rhodes – leaving the tourism ministry offering compensation for holidaymakers forced to flee the island – and cost the company nearly £1m to get customers home safely and cover cancellations resulting from hotel shutdowns. However, Rétif believes his business is well placed to react swiftly to extreme events. “We don’t have exclusivity [on hotels] – we’re not pushing people to go to one place because we make more money. They can easily change from one [destination] to another,” he says. “We do not own any assets. We don’t own hotels. We don’t own planes, which gives us this flexibility and agility to basically bounce back very quickly when there’s a crisis.” He praises loveholidays’ web tools, which mean it can respond quickly to consumer concerns, whether over global heating or overtourism in places such as Dubrovnik and the Canary Islands. “When we realise that people care about an issue like this, we add filters. If there’s something our customers demand, we will offer it.” Countries were closing, triple-testing – there were a lot of uncertainties, especially in the UK Donat Rétif on Covid Rétif’s tech-y take on the travel industry reflects the path of his career. After his studies, he started in telecoms, including a spell with global behemoth Verizon, taking on jobs in Europe and Canada and on America’s west coast. The Californian economy took a hit after 9/11, and then his father’s illness brought him back to Belgium, where he took a role digitising an international equivalent of the Yellow Pages. Three years managing a team of meteorologists as the boss of weather analysis business MeteoGroup followed, before his switch into the travel industry. Rétif has had to navigate several other hurdles since taking charge, from the recent collapse of Germany’s FTI – Europe’s third-largest tour operator – which affected 31,000 of his customers, to the cost of living crisis and, crucially, Covid. The pandemic grounded flights and imposed lengthy restrictions on the travel industry, leaving Rétif scrambling to hang on to his workforce of young, sought-after tech engineers – and battling complaints over refunds, as airlines refused to pay out money owed to travel agents. “Countries were closing, triple-testing – there were a lot of uncertainties, especially in the UK,” he says. Against this backdrop, he raised £94m across two funding rounds and hung on to loveholidays’ staff, tripling the workforce to more than 350. Last Christmas, he put previous pandemic-fuelled tensions with Ryanair aside – agreeing the budget carrier’s first partnership with an online travel agent. A recent expansion drive in Germany will be followed by an imminent launch in Austria, and possibly the Netherlands or Poland. Loveholidays has been backed by the private equity firm Livingbridge since 2018, and last year it was reported that bankers were working on a sale that could value the business at £1bn. “I don’t know at this stage,” says Rétif. “The only thing you do as the CEO is control the mission, the vision and operations of your business.” Even if it does change hands, “nothing’s going to change”, he insists. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Observed Free weekly newsletter Analysis and opinion on the week's news and culture brought to you by the best Observer writers Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion But taking charge of people’s holidays is a significant responsibility, and the public do not hold back if anything goes awry. How many one-star Trustpilot reviews has loveholidays received in the 48 hours before our interview, the Observer asks. “Five?” Rétif guesses. In fact, it’s 29. (For balance, it also had more than 100 five-star reviews, and has an overall rating of 4.3 out of 5.) The complaints are fairly standard: airport transfers that didn’t show up, slow refunds, hotels shut after late flights – but a repeated issue is poor communication. Loveholidays “have a firewall of ill-informed, ill-prepared staff. It is impossible to reach anyone with any authority,” one irate reviewer wrote. “When you send 5 million passengers abroad, you will always have some who are unhappy,” Rétif responds. “If you told me I had zero, I would have given you a kiss and asked: ‘How did you manage [not] to find it?’ I usually receive those very difficult ones [directly]; we always try to find a solution.” The firm has invested £13m a year in customer service, and 55% of requests are resolved by an AI chatbot, he says. He believes the “certainty” given by elections either side of the English channel could provide a spending boost and “will be good for business”. He adds: “If you look at how [Britons] spend their money, the only category that has been going up for months is travel. It’s been raining for ever, and people are desperate to get outside and enjoy a little bit of vitamin D.” CV Age 53 Family A wife, Ludivine, and two children, Lucas, 22, and Pablo, 17. Education Qualified ingénieur commercial (commercial engineer), studied at the University of Mons in Belgium, with one year at Laval University in Quebec City. Pay Undisclosed. Last holiday Santorini. Biggest regret “Not becoming a professional football player [he played for the Belgian indoor national team], though I did manage to make the cut for our Loveholidays football team!” Best advice he’s been given “Always surround yourself with better and younger people than you.” Phrase he overuses “Don’t be more Catholic than the pope.” (A French expression, not a religious one.) How he relaxes Playing sport and reading.
How will financial markets react to Biden's decision not to seek re-election? None - How will financial markets react to Biden's decision not to seek re-election? CNBC's Arabile Gumede reports for Early Today on how financial markets are handling the "known-unknown" of President Biden's decision to drop out of the presidential election campaign.July 22, 2024
'Bring it on': Former Harris comms. director reacts to JD Vance's attacks None - Former President Trump's running mate JD Vance held his first solo campaign event and spoke about Vice President Harris after President Biden dropped out. Ashley Etienne, former communications director for Vice President Harris, and Democratic strategist Basil Smikle join Chris Jansing and Katy Tur to react to Vance's attacks on Harris.July 22, 2024
'Republicans are having a meltdown': Jeffries speaks about Kamala Harris and the 2024 election None - 'Republicans are having a meltdown': Jeffries speaks about Kamala Harris and the 2024 election House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he will meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to speak about her 2024 run. Jeffries also said "Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans are having a meltdown" over the election.July 22, 2024
‘Deeply grateful’: Harris talks Biden’s legacy after he drops re-election bid None - Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about President Joe Biden in her first public remarks since he announced he would not be seeking re-election. Harris called Biden’s legacy “unmatched.” July 22, 2024
California judge halts hearing in fight between state agricultural giant and farmworkers' union None - A California judge has temporarily blocked a hearing from taking place in a dispute between one of the state’s most influential agricultural companies and the country’s biggest farmworkers’ union BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A California judge has temporarily blocked a hearing from taking place in a dispute between one of the state's most influential agricultural companies and the country's biggest farmworkers' union. Kern County Superior Court Judge Bernard C. Barmann Jr. issued a preliminary injunction late Thursday halting the hearing and a push by the United Farm Workers to negotiate a labor contract for nursery workers at the Wonderful Co. At the heart of the fight is a law enacted in California in 2022 aimed at making it easier for farmworkers to form labor unions by no longer requiring them to vote in physical polling places to do so. A group of Wonderful nursery workers unionized under the so-called “card check” law this year, and Wonderful objected, claiming the process was fraudulent. The dispute was being aired in a lengthy hearing with an administrative law judge that was put on hold by Barmann's ruling. “The public interest weighs in favor of preliminary injunctive relief given the constitutional rights at stake in this matter,” Barmann wrote in a 21-page decision. Wonderful, a $6 billion company known for products ranging from Halos mandarin oranges to Fiji water brands, filed a lawsuit in May challenging the state's new law. “We are gratified by the Court’s decision to stop the certification process until the constitutionality of the Card Check law can be fully and properly considered,” the company said in a statement. Elizabeth Strater, a UFW spokesperson, said the law for decades has required employers to take concerns about union elections through an objections process before turning to the courts. “We look forward to the appellate court overturning the court ruling,” she said in a statement. At least four other groups of farmworkers have organized in California under the 2022 law, which lets the workers form unions by signing authorization cards. California has protected farmworkers' right to unionize since the 1970s. Agricultural laborers are not covered by federal laws for labor organizing in the United States.
This Week: Existing home sales, quarterly GDP estimate, consumer spending data None - The National Association of Realtors releases its June tally of U.S. home sales Tuesday A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week HOUSING BAROMETER Economists project that the nation’s home sales slump deepened in June for the fourth straight month. The National Association of Realtors is expected to report on Tuesday that sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed last month to the weakest annual pace since December, underscoring how elevated mortgage rates, a dearth of homes for sale and record-high prices remain a drag on the housing market. Existing home sales, in millions, seasonally adjusted annual rate: Jan. 4.0 Feb. 4.38 March 4.22 April 4.14 May 4.11 June (est.) 3.98 Source: FactSet MODEST GROWTH? The Commerce Department delivers its preliminary estimate of second-quarter U.S. economic growth Thursday. Economists predict that the economy expanded at a 1.9% seasonally adjusted annual pace from April through June. That would follow a 1.4% annual growth pace in the first quarter, the slowest since spring 2022. GDP, percent change, seasonally adjusted annual rate, by quarter: Q1 2023: 2.2 Q2 2023: 2.1 Q3 2023: 4.9 Q4 2023: 3.4 Q1 2024: 1.4 Q2 2024 (est.): 1.9 Source: FactSet INFLATION BELLWETHER The Commerce Department releases its latest monthly snapshot of U.S. consumer spending Friday. Economists expect the personal consumption expenditures index, which tracks spending across all goods and services, inched up 0.2% in June. Consumers account for 70% of economic activity, so spending trends are closely monitored by the Federal Reserve as it determines how to adjust interest rates in its bid to tame inflation. Consumer spending, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted: Jan. 0.1 Feb. 0.6 March 0.7 April 0.1 May 0.3 June (est.) 0.2 Source: FactSet
China moves to pep up its slowing economy, lays out roadmap for its future None - China’s central bank has cut key interest rates in a surprise move aimed at injecting pep into the economy, while the ruling Communist Party released a 50-page roadmap addressing long-term challenges China moves to pep up its slowing economy, lays out roadmap for its future BANGKOK -- China's ruling Communist Party released a 50-page roadmap addressing long-term challenges confronting the world's second-largest economy, while the central bank cut key interest rates Monday in a surprise move to pep up the struggling property sector. The action by the People's Bank of China was a short-term adjustment that appeared to signal a recognition that the economy needs immediate help to complement the party's broader ambitions of following leader Xi Jinping's vision for transforming China into a “high-standard socialist market economy in all respects” by 2035. “If we are to break new ground in advancing Chinese modernization on the new journey in the new era, we must continue to rely on reform and opening up,” Xi said in a written explanation of reforms endorsed last week at a four-day policy-setting meeting. Overall, the outline of reforms aligns with the ruling party's longstanding ambitions to cement China's status as a leading technology and economic power, while addressing imbalances in its economy, which expanded at a slower-than-expected 4.7% annual pace in the last quarter, down from 5.3% in January-March. The party's latest plan, 50 pages long in English, contains more than 300 reforms including promises to beef up social welfare such as pensions and health care, improve local government finances and protect private property rights. It promises a “first-rate business environment” that will protect the rights and interests of foreign investors and make it more convenient for people from elsewhere to live in China. It also pledges equal market access and support for private enterprises and state-owned companies and better “international coordination” of economic policies. But the reforms also put a higher priority on national security, Xi said. That may prove troubling to foreign companies operating in China that say ever-widening definitions of what might affect national security pose a serious risk to their operations and employees. The document released Sunday is more detailed than a communique released Thursday after the party meeting ended. But the reforms it promises are laid out in broad strokes, with constant references to developing “mechanisms” to address each and every problem — the word mechanism appears 200 times in the English version and 242 times in Chinese. Actual laws and regulations for achieving the goals of the policy roadmap will come later. “We think these measures, if well implemented promptly, should help improve resource allocation, contain financial risks, unleash some growth potential, and underpin investors’ confidence, while the actual implementation and policy clarity and sustainability will be the key,” UBS economists Nina Zhang and Tao Wang said in a report. The party has acknowledged some of the thorniest problems that have slowed China's recovery from the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, chief among them weak consumer demand. A prolonged slump in the property market after regulators cracked down on excessive borrowing by developers unleashed a chain reaction that has pulled housing sales and prices lower and hit many other parts of the economy, such as construction, building materials and home appliances. The party's plan includes pledges to provide more affordable housing, reform financing of property development, raise rural incomes and “properly regulate excessive incomes.” Rural migrants should have the same access to public services as long-term city dwellers, and the government will enact more incentives, including subsidies, to encourage Chinese families to have more children, the document says. As pressures have mounted in the economy and markets, regulators have been fine-tuning policy tools, relaxing restrictions on property purchases and tinkering with monetary policy. So far, China's leaders have steered clear of the sorts of massive stimulus other major economies deployed during the pandemic. But their latest meeting did promise more government spending to help spur growth, said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics. “While today’s rate cuts offer some reassurance that policymakers are being responsive to the recent loss of economic momentum, the heavy lifting will need to come from fiscal, not monetary, policy,” he said in a report. Early Monday, the central bank cut the five-year loan prime rate, which is a benchmark for mortgages, to 3.85% from 3.95%. The one-year loan prime rate, which affects most business loans, fell to 3.35% from 3.45%. The PBOC also reduced its required collateral for medium-term loans to banks and injected more funds into the banking system. Investors appear to be hungry for still more aggressive action. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.6% on Monday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.3% on buying of heavyweight technology shares on expectations that policies favoring advanced technology and innovation will favor sectors like electric vehicles, computer chips and new materials. Property stocks mostly fell.
South African president says new coalition government is united in tackling unemployment and poverty None - CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa opened a new parliamentary term Thursday, nearly two months after an historic election result reshaped the country's politics and led to the formation of an unprecedented multiparty government coalition. Ramaphosa's speech to lawmakers at the City Hall in Cape Town — a replacement venue after a fire gutted the Parliament building two years ago — marked the official start of business for the new coalition, which brings at least 10 parties together to govern Africa's most industrialized country. Ramaphosa said that despite the political differences of his diverse government, it was united in tackling South Africa's three biggest problems: an unemployment crisis, crippling poverty and inequality, and the failure of state institutions that have been eroded by corruption and neglect that's largely been blamed on Ramaphosa's own African National Congress party. The May 29 election was a landmark for South Africa as voters frustrated with those three issues and others delivered the worst result ever for the ANC, which lost the majority it had held for 30 years since the end of the apartheid system of racial segregation and white minority rule. “Despite the achievements of 30 years of democracy ... millions of South Africans remain poor, unemployed and they live in a highly unequal society,” Ramaphosa said, conceding, as he's done previously, to some failures by the ANC. “The circumstances of South Africa today require that we act together,” Ramaphosa added. Ramaphosa's address began what South Africa calls “the seventh administration” — just the seventh government to be formed since the country was freed from the racist system of apartheid in 1994 and people of all races were allowed to vote. The speech was largely a call for unity across the political divide and was generally met by applause by lawmakers, an unsurprising result given so many of the parties represented in Parliament are now part of the governing coalition, including the main Democratic Alliance that was once the ANC's fiercest political foe. It means South Africa also has a new official opposition, the newly-founded MK Party led by Jacob Zuma, a former South African president and ANC leader who has turned against it and emerged as the fiercest critic of Ramaphosa. MK lawmakers generally were subdued in their first sitting in Parliament opposite Ramaphosa and the new government, as were members of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters, who have struck an opposition alliance with MK. Zuma wasn't present after he was disqualified from standing as a member of Parliament because of a criminal conviction and prison sentence in 2021 for contempt of court. Ramaphosa, once a political protege of Nelson Mandela, is beginning his second and final five-year term, although the humbling election result for his once-dominant ANC meant that he had to rely on cross-party support to be reelected president by lawmakers last month. His challenge will be to keep a broad coalition with marked political differences together in the face of steep problems in a country meant to embody the hopes of the African continent. South Africa's sky-high unemployment rate is 32% — the worst in the world. It's considered the most unequal country in the world by wealth distribution, while its economy has stagnated for more than a decade. To tackle that, Ramaphosa said that his coalition government, dubbed a “government of national unity,” would prioritize growth and job development by creating new opportunities in almost every sector, including mining, agriculture, small business and green energy, while eliminating corruption and bureaucratic red tape. He offered little policy detail in a speech of broad strokes designed to pull the country together after a fiercely contested and divisive election put it in uncharted waters. “Parties cooperating is quite an historic moment for our country,” Ramaphosa said. "“We share a commitment to reconcile our nation.” ___ AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
A faulty software update causes havoc worldwide for airlines, hospitals and governments None - A global technology outage grounded flights, knocked banks offline and media outlets off air after a faulty software update disrupted companies and services around the world and highlighted their dependence on just a handful of providers By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-MCLAY Associated Press , ELAINE KURTENBACH Associated Press , DAVID MCHUGH Associated Press , HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press , and BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press NEW YORK -- A faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide on Friday, grounding flights, knocking down some financial companies and news outlets, and disrupting hospitals, small businesses and government offices. The breadth of the outages highlighted the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a few providers for key computing services. The trouble was sparked by an update issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and only affected its customers running Microsoft Windows, the world’s most popular operating system for personal computers. It was not the result of hacking or a cyberattack, according to CrowdStrike, which apologized and said a fix was on the way. Businesses and governments worldwide experienced hourslong disruptions — their computer monitors glowing blue with error messages — and they scrambled to deal with the fallout. CrowdStrike’s CEO said some of their systems will require time-consuming manual fixes. Thousands of flights were canceled and tens of thousands were delayed, leading to long lines at airports in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. Airlines lost access to check-in and booking services in the heart of the summer travel season. By late afternoon Eastern time, the worst appeared to be over, though there were still lingering cancellations and delays do to the cascading effect of the disruption. Several local TV stations in the U.S. were prevented from airing the news early Friday, and some state and local governments reported problems at courts, motor vehicles departments, unemployment agencies, emergency call centers and other offices, but as the day progressed many of the systems were getting back to normal. Affected hospitals had problems with appointment systems, forcing them to suspend patient visits and cancel some surgeries. Alison Baulos said her 73-year-old father’s heart surgery in Paducah, Kentucky, was canceled Friday morning because of the tech outage, leaving her family scared and worried. “It does really make you just realize how much we rely on technology and how scary it is,” Baulos said in an interview. She said her father was waiting at Baptist Hospital to find out what will happen next. A phone message left with the hospital was not immediately returned. American Express said it temporarily had some difficulties processing transactions, while TD Bank responded to online complaints by saying it was working to restore customers’ ability to access their accounts. Elsewhere, people experienced minor inconveniences, including trouble ordering ahead at Starbucks, causing long lines to form at some of the coffee chain’s stores. In New York City’s Times Square, right before 12:30 a.m., the blue “recovery” screens popping up on laptops appeared on several giant electronic billboards. A few were dark Friday afternoon. Cyber expert James Bore said real harm would be caused. “All of these systems are running the same software,” Bore said. “We’ve made all of these tools so widespread that when things inevitably go wrong — and they will, as we’ve seen — they go wrong at a huge scale.” The head of Germany’s IT security agency, Claudia Plattner, said “we can’t expect a very quick solution.” A forecast for when exactly all systems will be up and running is difficult, but “it won’t be hours,” she added. CrowdStrike said in a recording on its customer service line that the problem was related to “the Falcon sensor,” referring to one of its products used to block online attacks. The company says it has 29,000 customers. In an interview on NBC’s “Today Show,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized, saying the company was “deeply sorry for the impact that we’ve caused to customers, to travelers, to anyone affected by this, including our companies.” “We know what the issue is” and are working to fix it, Kurtz said. However, he noted it could take “some time” for certain customers, especially those lacking in-house expertise. While CrowdStrike’s update was automated, the fix requires hands-on work such as deleting corrupted files, which could take some customers days or longer, said Forrester analyst Allie Mellen. “Given that CrowdStrike has a ton of customers, a ton of Fortune 500 customers, and they have likely millions of (computers) under management, this causes a bigger issue,” Mellen said. “It is going to be a long and arduous process.” Ann Johnson, corporate vice president and deputy chief information security officer at Microsoft, said late Friday afternoon that “at this point in time, I would say that customers are receiving or have received the necessary information they need and are getting the support they need — understanding it’s a very major issue.” She said Microsoft’s primary focus is getting customers back online, but could not estimate how long this might take. In Alaska, the state’s court system returned to functionality after repairs that took 12 hours to complete, according to spokesperson Rebecca Koford. In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds said the state’s critical technology systems were up and running again by mid-afternoon. Shares of CrowdStrike, which is based in Austin, Texas, ended Friday trading down more than 11%. Microsoft’s stock price fell less than 1%. Though the outage’s impact could be felt far and wide, the forecasting firm Capital Economics said it was likely to have little impact on the world economy. Cybersecurity experts said those affected by the outage also needed to be wary of bad actors reaching out claiming they can help. “Attackers will definitely prey on organizations as a result of this,” said Gartner analyst Eric Grenier. In a letter to customers posted on CrowdStrike’s website, Kurtz said the outage did not affect its Falcon systems or its security scanning. Most airlines attributed the problems to their booking systems. Thousands of flights were affected in the U.S. alone, though by late morning on the East Coast airlines said they were beginning to mitigate problems and resume some service. Unclogging the system takes time, though. At Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Sarah Schafer was delayed getting to her cousin’s 50th birthday party in Florida. She had been waiting for almost three hours with no indication of when her flight would be rebooked. “I seem calm,” said Schafer, who was using a cane because of ankle injury. “But my angry side might come out.” Airlines and railways in the U.K. experienced long wait times. And airports across Europe suspended landings or halted takeoffs for several hours due to difficulties in checking in passengers. Saskia Oettinghaus, a member of the German Olympic diving team, was among those stuck at the Berlin Airport. “We are on our way to Paris for the Olympic Games and now we are at a standstill here for the time being,” Oettinghaus said. In Cancun, Mexico, the main tourist destination in the Caribbean coast, the state government said there were 24 cancellations and 100 delayed flights. Some travelers tried to liven up the long waits by singing the traditional Mexican song, “Cielito Lindo,” while a band that was also stranded was playing in the Cancun airport. In Australia, national news outlets — including ABC and Sky News Australia — were unable to broadcast for hours. Some news anchors went on-air from dark offices, in front of computers showing blue error screens. In the U.S., KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri, aired Scripps News instead of local news until about 5:35 a.m., the stations said on its website. Other local stations owned by Scripps reported similar problems, though Scripps spokesman Michael Perry said early Friday that 90% of stations were able to air local news. Hospitals in different countries also reported problems. Britain’s National Health Service said the outage caused problems at most doctors’ offices because appointment and patient-record systems were affected. At Mass General Brigham, the largest health care system in Massachusetts, all scheduled non-urgent surgeries, procedures, and medical visits were canceled Friday because of the outage, according to a spokesperson. Some international shipping was disrupted, too. A major container hub in the Baltic port of Gdansk, Poland, said it was battling problems. And at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, marine terminals were affected, although the outage didn’t cause significant disruptions. ___ This version corrects the spelling of the last name of the spokesperson of the Alaska Court System to Koford. ___ Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok, McHugh from Frankfurt, Graham-McLay from Wellington, New Zealand, Hadero from New York and Ortutay from Oakland, California. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed.
Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed after Dow sets a new record None - Asian stocks are mixed as investors grappled with the weak economic data from China and waited to see the outcome of a top Communist Party policy meeting in Beijing Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday as investors grappled with the weak economic data from China and waited to see the outcome of a top Communist Party policy meeting in Beijing. U.S. futures rose while oil prices fell. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to 41,399.72 after reopening from a holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.5% to 17,747.65 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.4% to 2,963.25. Markets were still digesting the set of weaker economic data of China released Monday, when the government reported that annual economic growth had fallen from 5.3% in the first quarter to 4.7% in the April to June quarter. This led some economists to cut their growth forecasts. Goldman Sachs revised its forecast for China’s annual economic growth to 4.9% from a previous estimate of 5.0%. JP Morgan cut their full-year outlook for China’s 2024 GDP growth to 4.7% from an earlier projection of 5.2%. Further policies were expected to be released during this week’s four-day economic meeting, a closed-door plenary meeting of the ruling Communist Party. It is expected to set strategies and policies for the coming decade, in line with leader Xi Jinping's push to pursue advances in future technologies. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3% to 2,869.15 and Australia’s S & P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 8,011.10. On Monday, Wall Street’s momentum kept driving it upward. The S & P 500 rose 0.3% to 5,631.22, finishing just shy of its all-time high set last week. It’s coming off its 10th winning week in the last 12, lifted in large part by expectations that inflation is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to ease interest rates soon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5% to 40,211.72 and set its own record, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to 18,472.57 and ended a bit short of its high. Some of the market’s best performing areas were ones that do best when former President Donald Trump’s chances for election look better. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Trump’s Truth Social platform, leaped 31.4%. Bitcoin rose above $64,000 after Trump, who has painted himself as a crypto-friendly candidate, survived an assassination attempt over the weekend. Trump could get an immediate bump in his support in polls, as President Ronald Regan did in 1981, according to Isaac Boltanksy, director of policy research at BTIG, and “Trump’s defiance following the attack could be the defining image of this election cycle.” Yields for longer-term Treasurys also pushed higher than shorter-term ones, and the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.22% from 4.19% late Friday. Something similar happened after last month’s debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, when traders maneuvered in anticipation of a Republican sweep in November that could ultimately mean policies that would raise the U.S. government’s debt. Stocks of big financial companies, which could benefit from a lighter regulatory touch from a Republican administration, also helped lead the market. JPMorgan Chase climbed 2.5% and was one of the strongest forces pushing the S & P 500 higher. Investment bank Goldman Sachs rose 2.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. BlackRock, the asset manager behind the iShares exchange-traded funds, slipped 0.6% after topping forecasts for profit but coming up a bit shy for revenue. For roughly a year, the Fed has been keeping its main interest rate at the highest level in more than two decades. Lower rates would release pressure that’s built up on the economy because of how expensive it’s become to borrow money to buy houses, cars, or anything on credit cards. Fed officials, though, have been saying they want to see “more good data” on inflation before making a move. In remarks before the Economic Club of Washington, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said again on Monday he won’t send any signals about when the Fed may cut interest rates. But he also said Fed officials understand the risks of waiting both too long and not long enough. Too-late cuts could push the U.S. economy into a recession, while too-aggressive cuts could allow inflation to reaccelerate. In other dealings, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 23 cents to $81.68 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 21 cents to $84.64 per barrel. The U.S. dollar rose to 158.56 Japanese yen from 158.01 yen. The euro fell to $1.0891 from $1.0894. ___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
Harris says she will 'proudly' put her record up against Donald Trump None - Vice President Kamala Harris recounted her history as attorney general of California and as a courtroom prosecutor, stating she has dealt with people like former President Donald Trump. She says that she will "proudly" put her record against Trump's "any day of the week." July 23, 2024