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By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Reward programs, including birthday freebies and discounts, have long been a way for brands to build loyalty and incentivize spending. But now some companies are becoming a bit more stingy, and customers are taking notice. Last fall, for example, many balked at Dunkin’s decision to stop

By ASHWINI BHATIA Associated Press DHARMSALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, is celebrating his 88th birthday at his hillside Indian headquarters in Dharamsala. The celebrations Thursday are taking place in the courtyard of the Tsuglakhang Temple, which is festooned with Tibetan and Buddhist flags and portraits of the Tibetan leader.

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Senior officials from Sweden and Turkey are converging on NATO headquarters to examine President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s objections to the Nordic country joining the military alliance. They want to see what more, if anything, can be done to break the deadlock on Sweden’s entry. NATO Secretary-General Jens

BEIJING (AP) — China says 239 people died from COVID-19 in June in a significant uptick months after it lifted most containment measures. The country had reported 164 deaths in May and none at all in April and March. China started employing a “zero-COVID” containment strategy in early 2020 and credits the strict lockdowns, quarantines,

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong lawmakers on Thursday passed an amendment to a law to eliminate most directly elected seats on local district councils, the last major political representative bodies chosen by the public. The move shuts down further democratic challenges in the city. The changes will see the

By CLAUDIA LAUER and BEATRICE DUPUY Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A father who was preparing to walk his eldest daughter down the aisle. An aspiring actor who appeared as an extra in the “Creed” movie franchise. A teenager who tried to help a wounded friend. These are the stories of those killed in the

By JADE LE DELEY and LORI HINNANT Associated Press CRETEIL, France (AP) — At 19, he was the oldest of the group of teens accused of lobbing Molotov cocktails at the police station of their suburban hometown. “Why?” the judge asked Riad, who was taken into custody after he was identified in video surveillance images

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares slipped in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street drifted downward following a rally that sent it roaring 16% higher for the year so far. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 3% on heavy selling of Chinese banks shares after Goldman Sachs downgraded them citing concerns

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — California is again emerging as a critical battleground in the fight to control the U.S. House. Leaders in both parties are predicting they can flip seats in the liberal state in next year’s election. Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar predicts the decisive fight for the

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — At the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, the aging men known by their serial numbers arrived at the meeting shackled. Every single one told the visitor — for many the first independent person they had talked to in 20 years — “You came too

By AAMER MADHANI and MEG KINNARD Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is heading to South Carolina on Thursday to make the case that economic measures he pushed through Congress despite stiff Republican opposition are helping to keep the deep red state — and others that voted for Donald Trump in 2020 —

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A human rights advocacy group says it found allegations of dozens of labor and environmental abuses by Chinese-invested companies involved in mining or processing minerals used in renewable energy. The report released Thursday by the Business and Human Rights Resource Center found cases of alleged abuses

TOLUCA, Mexico (AP) — A violent drug cartel is suspected of leaving a severed human leg found hanging from a pedestrian bridge in the Mexican city of Toluca, just west of Mexico City. Before Wednesday was over, parts of at least two bodies had turned up around the city. At the bridge, the trunk of

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A valet for Donald Trump accused of helping the former president hide classified documents from federal authorities is due back in a Florida court on Thursday after an earlier appearance was postponed because of a canceled flight. Walt Nauta, who was charged alongside