AP-National

Associated Press Melinda French Gates plans to donate $1 billion over the next two years to organizations supporting women and girls around the world. French Gates will leave the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which she co-founded with her ex-husband Bill Gates, next week and receive $12.5 billion from Gates as part of their divorce

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

By KATIE WORKMAN Associated Press If you’re looking for fresh, locally grown food this summer, a Community-Supported Agriculture program might be the answer. The idea behind a CSA is that customers buy a share of a local farm’s harvest and get regular deliveries of food. That helps the farmers with cash flow, and the customer

By 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 with actor Robert De Niro and a pair of former police officers in an effort to refocus the presidential race on Trump’s role in the

By 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 &

By 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

MADRID (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

By 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

By 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

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has left in place lawyer Michael Avenatti’s conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from Nike. The justices did not comment Tuesday in rejecting an appeal from the California-based lawyer, who represented porn actor Stormy Daniels in litigation against ex-President Donald Trump. The timing of the court’s

WARSAW, 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

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s former premier Nawaz Sharif has been reelected 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

BEVERLY, Mass. (AP) — The actor Richard Dreyfuss showed up in a dress at a “Jaws”-themed event in Massachusetts, where the blockbuster 1975 movie he starred in was shot, and then proceeded to make demeaning remarks about women, LGBTQ+ people and diversity. The venue, The Cabot in the community of Beverly, issued an apology after

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE Associated Press CURACA, Brazil (AP) — All Spix’s macaws are majestically blue in the blazing sun of Brazil’s Northeast, but each bird is distinct to Candice and Cromwell Purchase. As the parrots soar squawking past their home, the couple can readily identify bird No. 17 by its smooth feathers and can tell

By 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

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A former head of the Dutch intelligence agency and counterterrorism office is tipped to become the Netherlands’ next prime minister, leading a four-party coalition that includes Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom. Dick Schoof is a former head of the General Intelligence and Security Service

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police fatally shot a stabbing suspect and wounded the person he was trying to stab after the suspect refused to drop his weapon. Police say officers were patrolling late Monday when they saw a male attempting to stab a male in the street and ordered the suspect to drop his weapon.

By SOPHIKO MEGRELIDZE Associated Press TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — The Georgian parliament has overridden a presidential veto of the “foreign agents” legislation that has fueled Western concerns and sparked massive protests for weeks. The legislature, controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party, dismissed President Salome Zourabichvili’s veto of the legislation that she and other critics

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer T-Mobile is buying U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations and certain spectrum assets in a deal valued at $4.4 billion, and further consolidating the industry.  T-Mobile will get U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations and about 30% of spectrum assets across several spectrum bands. T-Mobile will also enter into a new master license

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa faces the prospect of his ruling party’s worst election result ever. Yet he’s still likely be reelected as leader of Africa’s most advanced country after Wednesday’s national vote. Several polls have support for his African National Congress at below