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Anheuser-Busch InBev has reported a drop in U.S. revenue in the second quarter as Bud Light sales plunged amid a conservative backlash over a campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney Anheuser-Busch Inbev reported a drop in U.S. revenue in the second quarter as Bud Light sales plunged amid a conservative backlash over a campaign with transgender i NFL uencer Dylan Mulvaney. The world's largest brewer said Thursday that revenue in the United States declined by 10.5% in the April-to-June period from a year earlier, “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.” It has lost its place as America’s best-selling beer after more than two decades, slipping into second place in June behind Mexican lager Modelo Especial, which is also owned by the Belgium-based ABInBev. The company faced blowback after sending a commemorative Bud Light can to Mulvaney, who posted it to her millions of social media followers. Conservative figures and others called for a boycott of Bud Light,...

Saudi Arabia says it will extend its unilateral production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day through the end of September in its effort to boost flagging energy prices DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Saudi Arabia said Thursday it will extend its unilateral production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day through the end of September in its effort to boost flagging energy prices, a move that could push U.S. gas prices higher. The Saudi reduction, which began in July, comes as the other OPEC+ producers have agreed to extend earlier production cuts through next year. The national average for U.S. gas prices stood at about $3.82 a gallon on Tuesday — about 30 cents higher than a month ago, according to motor club AAA. While today’s prices at the pump remain far lower than they were last year, when energy costs soared worldwide in the months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, experts say such a jump is unusual. This year's record-breaking summer heat has also had an impact, dri...

The Charlotte Hornets say the sale of the majority stake in the franchise from six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall has been finalized CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A new era has begun for the Charlotte Hornets, raising hope that one day the struggling franchise might turn things around. Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall officially acquired the majority stake of the Hornets from six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan on Thursday, bringing new thoughts and ideas on how to rebuild a franchise that hasn't been to the playoffs in the last seven seasons. Plotkin said he and Schnall plan to be “patient” NBA owners, but they are driven to build a winner in Charlotte. “We think ultimately this is a top-10 or top-15 franchise in the NBA in terms of attractiveness,” Plotkin said. “It's our job to produce winning basketball. Winning takes a lot of structure and it doesn't happen overnight. We'll try to position the business for success over the long term and try...

The U.S. military is considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, in what would be an unheard of action aimed at stopping Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The U.S. military is considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, in what would be an unheard of action aimed at stopping Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels, American officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. Since 2019, Iran has seized a series of ships in the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, as part of its efforts to pressure the West over negotiations regarding its collapsed nuclear deal with world powers. Putting U.S. troops on commercial ships could further deter Iran from seizing vessels — or escalate tensions further. The contemplated move also would represent an extraordinary commitment in the Mideast by U.S. forces as the Pentagon tries to f...

Global prices for food commodities like rice and vegetable oil have risen for the first time in months after Russia ended a deal allowing Ukraine ship grain and India restricted some rice exports LONDON -- Global prices for food commodities like rice and vegetable oil have risen for the first time in months after Russia pulled out of a wartime agreement allowing Ukraine to ship grain to the world, and India restricted some of its rice exports, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international price s of commonly traded food commodities, increased 1.3% in July over June, driven by higher costs for rice and vegetable oil. It was the first uptick since April, when higher sugar price s bumped up the index slightly for the first time in a year. Commodity prices have been falling since hitting record highs last year in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Disrupted supplies from the two countries exacerbat...

Japan has expressed concerns over Iran’s advancing uranium enrichment program and its suspected supplying of combat drones to Moscow for Russia’s war on Ukraine TOKYO -- Japan expressed concern on Monday over Iran's advancing uranium enrichment program and the Middle East country's suspected supplying of combat drones to Moscow for Russia's war on Ukraine. Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi raised the two issues during talks with his visiting Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, the foreign ministry in Tokyo said. A statement from the ministry said Hayashi appealed for Iran to act constructively in the matter but did not elaborate. Iranian drone s have been a key element of Russia’s continued war on Ukraine. Tehran has offered co NFL icting accounts about the drone s — first denying Iran has supplied them to Russia and later claiming the unmanned aircraft were only sold before the Russian invasion. However, the number of Iranian-made drone s used in ...

Simon & Schuster has been sold to the private equity firm KKR, months after a federal judge blocked its purchase by rival publisher Penguin Random House because of concerns that competition would shrink the book market NEW YORK -- Simon & Schuster has been sold to the private equity firm KKR, months after a federal judge blocked its purchase by rival publisher Penguin Random House because of concerns that competition would shrink the book market. An executive for KKR is calling the deal a chance to work with “one of the most effective” book publishers. The private equity giant will buy Simon & Schuster for $1.62 billion in cash, said Paramount Global, the parent company of the storied publishing house. Simon & Schuster will operate as a standalone entity, under the leadership of CEO Jonathan Karp. “We are delighted,” Karp said Monday. "We will remain an independent company and not only will we continue to thrive, but with the help of KKR we can become even great...

Global shares are trading mostly lower after U.S. employment data closed out a losing week for Wall Street TOKYO -- Global shares were trading mostly lower on Monday after U.S. employment data closed out a losing week for Wall Street. France's CAC 40 slid 0.2% in early trading to 7,298.28, while Germany's DAX lost 0.3% to 15,909.75. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 7,526.42. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.2% at 35,217.00. S &P 500 futures rose nearly 0.3% to 4,509.25. Investors were also closely watching earnings reports due later this week, including from Disney in the U.S., Alibaba Group in China and Sony and SoftBank in Japan. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 recouped losses earlier in the day and gained 0.2% to finish at 32,254.56. Australia's S &P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 7,309.20. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.9% to 2,580.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng changed little at 19,537.92, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.6% ...

Four new wind farms are being proposed off the New Jersey coast ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Wind power developers proposed four new projects off the New Jersey Shore on Friday, a surge that would more than double the number of wind farms built off its coast if they are approved by regulators. At least two of them are more than twice as far out to sea than others that have drawn the ire of residents who don't want to see windmills on the horizon. These two would not be visible from the beach, the companies proposing them say. They would join three wind farms already approved by New Jersey regulators as the state races to become the East Coast capital of the fast-growing off shore wind industry. In the first project to be made public Friday by the companies proposing it, Essen, Germany-based RWE and New York-based National Grid applied for permission to build a wind farm in the waters off Long Beach Island. Their joint venture is called Community Off shore Wind, and it aims to generate...

Amazon on Thursday posted better-than-expected revenue and profits for the second quarter, sending its stock higher in after-hours trading NEW YORK -- Amazon on Thursday posted better-than -expected revenue and profits for the second quarter, sending its stock higher in after-hours trading. The e-commerce giant earned $6.7 billion, or 65 cents per share, for the three-month period ended June 30, much higher the $3.64 billion industry analysts surveyed by FactSet had anticipated. Amazon had reported a loss during the same period last year, driven by a big loss on its investment in electric vehicle start-up Rivian Automotive. Its profits for the second quarter include a pre-tax valuation gain of $0.2 billion in its Rivian investment. The company, which has been on a cost-cutting spree over the past few months, said overall revenue was $134.4 billion, up 11% from the same period last year and beating analyst expectations of 8.5% growth. “It was another strong quarter of progress for...

CVS Health topped second-quarter expectations, but the health care giant’s profit sank as pricing pressure hurt its drugstores and a jump in care use hit the insurance side CVS Health topped second-quarter expectations, but the Health care giant's profit sank as pricing pressure hurt its drugstores and a jump in care use hit the insurance side. The company also booked a $496 million, pretax restructuring charge to cut costs and improve efficiency. CEO Karen Lynch told analysts Wednesday that charge was tied partly to eliminating about 5,000 jobs that don't involve dealing with customers. The Wall Street Journal reported the cuts earlier this week. CVS Health says it employs more than 300,000 people. About 73% are full-time. CVS Health runs prescription drug plans through one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits managers. Its Aetna insurance arm covers more than 25 million people, and the company has nearly 10,000 drugstores. The cuts make sense because the business has...

The layoffs at CVS will affect "non-customer facing positions," the company said. CVS Health is laying off 5,000 employees as part of an effort to shed costs, the retail and pharmacy chain confirmed on Tuesday. The layoffs will primarily affect "non-customer facing positions" such as corporate roles, the company said, adding that it does not expect the move to impact brick-and-mortar stores, pharmacies and clinics. "Our industry is evolving to adapt to new consumer Health needs and expectations," CVS told ABC News in a statement. "As part of an enterprise initiative to reprioritize our investments around care delivery and Technology , we must take difficult steps to reduce expenses." Laid-off workers will receive severance pay and benefits, the company said, including access to "outplacement services" to help find a job elsewhere. "We're committed to supporting impacted colleagues," the company said. MORE: Interest rates ...

The San Francisco prosecutor’s office has started laying out its murder case against a tech consultant charged in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco prosecutor's office began laying out its case Monday against a tech consultant charged with murder in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, who was found bleeding on a deserted city street in April. In the preliminary hearing, a judge will decide if there's enough evidence to go to trial. Prosecutors have provided no motive and released little information in a case that has drawn outsized media attention, partly due to Lee's status in the tech world. Lee created Cash App, a mobile payment service, and was the chief product officer of the Cryptocurrency MobileCoin. Nima Momeni, 38, has been in jail since his arrest April 13. He has pleaded not guilty, and he faces 26 years to life if convicted. That came more than a week after Lee, 43, was found bleeding in a deserte...

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against CNN A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against CNN in which the former U.S. president claimed that references in news articles or by the network's hosts to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election as “the Big Lie” was tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Trump had been seeking punitive damages of $475 million in the federal lawsuit filed last October in South Florida, claiming the references hurt his reputation and political career. Trump is a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination in what is his third run for the presidency. U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, who was appointed by Trump, said Friday in his ruling that the former president's defamation claims failed because the references were opinions and not factual statements. Moreover, it was a stretch to believe that, in viewers' minds, that phrase would connect Trump's efforts challenging the 2020 e...

Mexico’s president says he has offered to buy an American company’s Caribbean coast property for $385 million to end a bitter, years-long dispute MEXICO CITY -- Mexico’s president said Thursday that he has offer ed to buy an American company ’s Caribbean coast property for about $385 million to end a bitter, years-long dispute . President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said a formal offer would be presented to Alabama-based Vulcan Materials. The company operated gravel extraction pits at the Yucatan peninsula site before López Obrador's administration closed them. The company said it had not yet received the president's proposal or responded to the idea. In papers filed for a case before an international arbitration panel, Vulcan Materials valued the almost 6,000-acre (2,400 hectare) property, located just south of the resort town of Playa del Carmen, at $1.9 billion. López Obrador said his much lower offer was fair and based on a government assessment. He said the most attra...