Category Archives: World/National

Trump tours Texas flood sites and defends officials as questions mount about response

Trump tours Texas flood sites and defends officials as questions mount about response

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump is visiting Texas to assess catastrophic flooding that has killed at least 120 people. Despite his past calls to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Republican president has praised the federal response to the disaster. Trump plans to tour affected areas by air, meet first responders and speak with victims’ families. Top members of Trump’s administration have also shifted focus from reducing federal disaster management efforts to addressing the tragedy’s human impact. Before Trump left on Friday, his director of the Office of Management and Budget suggested FEMA needs reform but didn’t answer questions about whether the agency should be shuttered.… Continue Reading

S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite pull back from their all-time highs

S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite pull back from their all-time highs

Stocks closed lower on Wall Street, pulling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite below the records they set a day earlier. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%. Levi Strauss jumped 11% after the jeans maker easily beat Wall Street’s sales and profit targets and raised its full-year forecast, despite expecting higher costs from tariffs. European markets closed broadly lower, and Asian markets closed mixed. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 4.42%.… Continue Reading

Mourning begins in Texas where more than 170 are still missing from flash floods

Mourning begins in Texas where more than 170 are still missing from flash floods

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Sadness is settling in across Texas where at least 120 people have died from flash floods and more are missing. A growing memorial wall in the Hill Country includes photos of those have died. The search for more victims moved slowly Thursday as stifling heat and mounds of trees, hunks of lumber and trash made the task more difficult. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on state lawmakers to approve funding for new warning systems and emergency communications in flood prone areas. The devastation stretches from the Hill Country all the way to just outside the state’s capital city. President Donald Trump plans to visit on Friday.… Continue Reading

Stocks close higher, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to more highs

Stocks close higher, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to more highs

Stocks are off to a sluggish start on Wall Street, while Delta Air Lines led a rally in airline stocks after releasing a solid outlook for the rest of 2025. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early trading Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 55 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4%. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with big technology companies, set an all-time high the day before. Cereal maker WK Kellogg soared after agreeing to be acquired by Nutella maker Ferrero Group. Copper prices rose.… Continue Reading

Flamingos are stirring up trouble and ravaging rice for risotto in Italy’s northeast

Flamingos are stirring up trouble and ravaging rice for risotto in Italy’s northeast

JOLANDA DI SAVOIA, Italy (AP) — Farmers in Italy’s northeastern Po Delta region are battling an unusual pest: flamingos. These birds have been invading rice paddies and damaging crops while searching for food like mollusks and insects. Farmers are using noisy tactics such as gas cannons and banging barrels to scare them off, but the birds often move to nearby fields. Some farmers report losing up to 90% of their crops. There have been no studies to determine why flamingos seek food inland where farmers flood fields from late spring to early summer. Ornithologists suggest humane solutions like planting hedges or lowering water levels in paddies to deter the birds while protecting the rice.… Continue Reading

Nutella maker Ferrero plans to buy century-old cereal maker WK Kellogg for $3.1 billion

Nutella maker Ferrero plans to buy century-old cereal maker WK Kellogg for $3.1 billion

Italian confectioner Ferrero, known for brands like Nutella and Kinder, is buying the century-old U.S. cereal company WK Kellogg in a deal valued at approximately $3.1 billion. The Ferrero Group said Thursday it will pay $23 for each Kellogg share. The transaction includes the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of WK Kellogg Co.’s portfolio of breakfast cereals across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Kellogg was founded in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1906. It makes Fruit Loops, Special K, Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies. The deal still needs the approval of WK Kellogg’s shareholders.… Continue Reading

Harrowing stories of rescue emerge from Texas floods as crews search for over 160 reported missing

Harrowing stories of rescue emerge from Texas floods as crews search for over 160 reported missing

HUNT, Texas (AP) — Texas police described some of the harrowing rescues they conducted after flash floods engulfed camps and homes in the state’s Hill Country. An officer who was trapped himself spotted dozens of people stranded on roofs and waded out to bring them to safety. That’s according to a fellow officer who spoke Wednesday to a news conference. Another off-duty officer tied a garden hose around his waist so he could reach two people clinging to a tree above swirling floodwaters. More than 160 people still are believed to be missing and at least 118 have died in the floods. The floods are now the deadliest from inland flooding in the U.S. since 1976.… Continue Reading

Gains for tech stocks push Nasdaq to another record

Gains for tech stocks push Nasdaq to another record

A rally in big tech stocks led Wall Street to a higher close, lifting the Nasdaq to another all-time high. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%. Nvidia became the first public company to top $4 trillion in value. Merck rose after announcing it would buy Verona Pharma, a U.K. company that focuses on respiratory diseases. Copper prices eased after spiking a day earlier as President Donald Trump said he would impose 50% tariffs on imports of the metal. Treasury yields slipped in the bond market.… Continue Reading

Biden’s former doctor refuses to answer questions in House Republican probe

Biden’s former doctor refuses to answer questions in House Republican probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s White House physician is refusing to answer questions as part of the House Republican investigation into Biden’s health in office. Dr. Kevin O’Connor invoked doctor-patient privilege and his rights under the Fifth Amendment during an appearance Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee. Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer of Kentucky says O’Connor’s decision not to testify makes it “clear there was a conspiracy.” Republicans are probing Biden’s actions in office and questioning whether the Democrat’s use of an autopen may have been invalid. Biden has called the claims “ridiculous and false.” The Oversight committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, calls the Republican investigation a waste of time.… Continue Reading

More than 160 people are still missing after deadly Texas floods, governor says

More than 160 people are still missing after deadly Texas floods, governor says

HUNT, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says more than 160 people are believed to be still missing days after flash floods killed more than 100 people across central Texas. Abbott says many of those who are not accounted for were staying in the state’s Hill Country but did not register at a camp or hotel. The big jump in the number of missing came after authorities set up a hotline for families to call. Abbott says search crews will not stop working until everyone is located. He says the 161 missing were believed to be in Kerr County. That’s where most of the victims have been recovered.… Continue Reading

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