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US to rejoin UNESCO and pay back dues, to counter Chinese influence

PARIS (AP) — UNESCO announced Monday that the United States plans to rejoin the U.N. cultural and scientific agency — and pay more than $600 million in back dues — after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organization’s move to include Palestine as a member. U.S. officials say the decision to return was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by the U.S. in UNESCO policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world. The move will face a vote by UNESCO’s member states in the coming weeks. But ...

Cash-strapped Pakistan government presents draft budget proposal

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s cash-strapped government on Friday presented its draft for the national budget, allocating funds to fight climate change despite staggering $30 billion in losses from last summer’s devastating floods. Lawmakers are expected to approve the proposal by the end of the month, after a clause-by-clause discussion. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s government, which succeeded that of former Premier Imran Khan, has struggled with an unprecedented economic downturn since taking over last year. Meanwhile, talks with the International Monetary Fund for the ...

Apollo Theater CEO to leave historic landmark on safe financial ground

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonelle Procope’s 20-year tenure as president and CEO of The Apollo Theater evolved into an era of prosperity and expansion, markedly different from the tumultuous, cash-strapped decades that preceded it. Sure, the early years were a struggle, as the New York City landmark, where music legends from Billie Holiday and Stevie Wonder to D’Angelo and countless rappers graced the stage, dealt with financial difficulties and a shifting business model. And she had to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic when the hub of its Harlem neighborhood was closed for two ...

Car-dependent California seeks to follow New York’s lead and save public transit

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sadaf Zahoor has bucked California’s car culture by never owning one, yet she and other residents who rely on public transit worry its bleak financial outlook could soon leave them standing at empty train stations and bus stops. The agencies running the public transit systems, particularly in San Francisco and Oakland, where Zahoor lives, have been living off billions of dollars in federal aid that will soon expire. Ridership plummeted by as much as 94% during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving a gaping budget deficit. Fare box revenues have rebounded a bit, ...

Outdoor workers and wildfire smoke, bull market for stocks

NEW YORK (AP) — The S&P 500 is now in what Wall Street refers to as a bull market, meaning the index has risen 20% or more from its most recent low. The S&P 500 closed Thursday at 4,294, and the bull market is considered to have begun on Oct. 13, 2022, a day after the index closed at 3,577. The rally was driven by a small group of mostly high-valued technology stocks. Wall Street’s nickname for a surging stock market is a bull market because bulls charge. In contrast, bears hibernate, so bears represent a market that’s retreating. Stock market today: Bulls run again on Wall ...

Wall Street drifts higher, heads for another winning week

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting toward a fourth straight winning week on Wall Street Friday, as investors wait for next week’s slate of potentially market-moving updates. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in another listless day of trading, and it’s on pace to close out the week with a modest gain of 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 53 points, or 0.2%, at 33,886, as of 2:40 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq was 0.3% higher. Tesla was at the front of the market, rallying 4.4% after announcing General Motors electric vehicles will be able to use much of its extensive ...