ORLANDO, Fla. — Harry Potter and Hulk: Welcome your new neighbors, Mario and Pokemon. A fourth park at Universal Orlando is being created based on characters from Nintendo, the park's owners announced Thursday. After months of being tight-lipped, executives of Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, made the announcement during a question-and-answer...
US Gets 1st Case of Mysterious New Chinese Illness
SEATTLE — The U.S. on Tuesday reported its first case of a new and potentially deadly virus circulating in China, saying a Washington state resident who returned last week from the outbreak's epicenter was hospitalized in good condition near Seattle. The man, identified only as a Snohomish County resident is...
Global Stocks Slide on Growing Concern About China Virus
BEIJING — Stock and oil prices fell Tuesday as concern about the potential impact of a Chinese disease outbreak increased and a rating agency cut Hong Kong's credit rating for official borrowing due to political tension. Indexes in London and Frankfurt declined and Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong closed sharply...
Trump Thanks Farmers for Backing Him Through China Trade War
AUSTIN, Texas — President Donald Trump thanked farmers Sunday for supporting him through a trade war with China as he promoted a new North American trade agreement and a separate one with China that he said will massively benefit farmers. “We did it,” Trump said, recalling his campaign promises to...
AP Fact Check: Distortion in Trump's Impeachment Defense
WASHINGTON — In his first formal response to impeachment charges, President Donald Trump misrepresented the testimony of a key witness who described an exchange of favors in the Ukraine matter. The claim marked a week of frequent exaggeration and distortion by the president heading into the opening statements of his impeachment trial. Just...
EU Rebukes Iran Over Nuclear Violations, Sanctions Possible
BRUSSELS — Britain, France and Germany ratcheted up pressure on Iran Tuesday to cease its violations of a landmark nuclear deal, stressing that they want to resolve differences through talks while starting the clock on a process that could result in a so-called “snapback” of United Nations sanctions. The three...
Global Stocks Rise on Optimism About US-China Deal
TOKYO — Global shares rose Thursday on optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal and the Chinese government's efforts to boost its economy. France's CAC 40 rose 1.4% to 6,058 on the new year's first day of trading, while Germany's DAX was 1% higher at 13,382. Britain's FTSE 100 added 1%...
Trump Says He'll Sign First-Step China Trade Deal on Jan. 15
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The first phase of a U.S.-China trade agreement will be inked at the White House in mid-January, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday, adding that he will visit Beijing at a later date to open another round of talks aimed at resolving other sticking points in...
New Russian Weapon Can Travel 27 Times the Speed of Sound
MOSCOW — A new intercontinental weapon that can fly 27 times the speed of sound became operational Friday, Russia's defense minister reported to President Vladimir Putin, bolstering the country's nuclear strike capability. Putin has described the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle as a technological breakthrough comparable to the 1957 Soviet launch...
US New-Home Sales Rose 1.3% in November
WASHINGTON — U.S. sales of newly built homes increased 1.3% in November from the prior month, a sign that low mortgage rates are pushing up purchases as well as prices. The Commerce Department said Monday that new single-family houses sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 719,000 last month....