UBS to buy Credit Suisse for nearly $3.25B to calm turmoil
GENEVA (AP) — Swiss President Alain Berset said banking giant UBS is acquiring its smaller rival Credit Suisse for almost $3.25 billion in an effort to avoid further market-shaking turmoil in global banking. The combination of the two biggest and best-known Swiss banks, each with storied histories dating back to the mid-19th century, amounts to a thunderclap for Switzerland’s reputation as a global financial center — leaving it on the cusp of having a single national champion in banking. While UBS is buying Credit Suisse, UBS officials said they plan to sell off parts of Credit Suisse, or reduce the size of the bank over the coming months and years.
China's Xi meeting Putin in boost for isolated Russia leader
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine. Xi’s government gave no details of what the Chinese leader hoped to accomplish in his visit that starts Monday. Xi and Putin declared they had a “no limits friendship” before last February’s attack on Ukraine, but China has tried to portray itself as neutral in the conflict. China looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its energy-hungry economy and a partner in opposing what both see as American domination of global affairs.
DA leading Trump case says rhetoric won't intimidate office
NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is standing firm against Donald Trump’s increasingly hostile rhetoric, telling his staff that the office won’t be intimidated or deterred as it nears a decision on charging the former president. Bragg sent an internal memo late Saturday hours after Trump unleashed a three-part, all-caps social media post in which he said his arrest was imminent, criticized the district attorney and encouraged his supporters to protest and “TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” The memo and Trump’s earlier social media postings underscored the contrast in styles between Bragg and Trump — two native New Yorkers, but from different eras, neighborhoods and backgrounds, and with exceedingly disparate personas.
Source: Lawyer invited to testify before Trump grand jury
WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer who previously advised the key government witness in the hush money payment investigation into Donald Trump has been invited to appear before the Manhattan grand jury that is eyeing potential charges against the former president. That's according to a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss secret legal proceedings with The Associated Press. Robert Costello had advised former Trump attorney Michael Cohen before the two had a falling out. The person familiar with the matter says Costello is prepared to offer testimony to the grand jury attacking the credibility of Cohen’s statements.
Russia's Putin makes surprise trip to occupied Mariupol
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the occupied port city of Mariupol, his first trip to Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed in September. Mariupol became a worldwide symbol of Ukrainian resistance after its outgunned and outmanned forces held out in a steel mill there for nearly three months before Moscow finally took control in May. Putin traveled to Mariupol late Saturday after visiting nearby Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine. The visit was a show of defiance by Putin, two days after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on war crimes charges.
North Korea: Latest missile simulated nuclear counterattack
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says its ballistic missile launch over the weekend simulated a nuclear attack against South Korea. The North has held five missile demonstrations this month to protest the largest joint military drills in years between the U.S. and South Korea. The North's leader Kim Jong Un instructed his military to hold more drills to sharpen the war readiness of his nuclear forces in the face of “aggression” by his enemies. North Korea's neighbors detected the short-range ballistic missile being launched Sunday less than an hour before the U.S. flew long-range B-1B bombers for training with South Korean warplanes. The North characterizes the U.S.-South Korea exercises as a rehearsal to invade, though the allies insist they are defensive in nature.
Biden calls Israel's Netanyahu with judicial plan 'concern'
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express "concern” over his government’s planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system that have sparked widespread protests across Israel and to encourage compromise.The White House said Biden reiterated U.S. concerns about the measure to roll back the judiciary’s insulation from the country’s political system, in a call a senior administration official described as candid and constructive. There was no immediate indication that Netanyahu was shying away from the action, after rejecting a compromise last week offered by the country’s figurehead president.
Higher cancer rates found in military pilots, ground crews
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon study has found high rates of cancer among military pilots and, for the first time, shows that ground crews who fuel, maintain and launch those aircraft are also getting sick. The data had long been sought by retired military aviators who have raised alarms for years about the number of those they knew who had cancer. In its yearlong study of almost 900,000 service members who flew on or worked on military aircraft between 1992 and 2017, the Pentagon found significantly higher rates of melanoma, thyroid, brain, prostate and breast cancers. The findings now require an even larger review to try to identify the causes.
Nowell, late 3s lift Kansas State past Kentucky in NCAAs
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Markquis Nowell scored 23 of his 27 points after halftime, helping Kansas State beat Kentucky 75-69 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The win sends the third-seeded Wildcats to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018. And it came thanks to a series of big shots that finally pushed them through in a tight game. Ismael Massoud and Keyontae Johnson hit two huge 3s late for Kansas State. Oscar Tshiebwe had 25 points and 18 rebounds for sixth-seeded Kentucky. Kansas State advanced to play No. 7 seed Michigan State in Thursday's East Region semifinals.
Sandler receives Mark Twain Prize, praise from comic pals
WASHINGTON (AP) — A host of comedic and entertainment royalty gathered Sunday night at Washington’s Kennedy Center as Adam Sandler received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. For his part, Sandler placed his hand on the award, a bronze bust of Mark Twain, and speculated that it “one day might be the weapon used to bludgeon me in my sleep.” Sandler thanked his parents and siblings for what he called “that weird irrational confidence thing that I guess I still have” Now 56, he first came to national attention on TV's “Saturday Night Live.” One of Sandler's “SNL” colleagues, Dana Carvey, remarked before the ceremony, “Who has lasted this long and stayed this beloved?”
