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India, the world’s largest producer of sugar, is restricting the sale of sugar

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India, the world’s largest producer of sugar, is restricting the sale of sugar

India has decided to restrict the sale of sugar on international markets, just days after it banned wheat exports, reported by CNN.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Indian government said it will limit sugar exports to 10 million tons for the marketing season that runs through September to keep prices in check. Sellers have also been asked to seek “specific permission” from authorities for any export of sugar between June 1 and October 31.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal said that “our export regulation should not affect global markets.”

“We continue to allow exports to vulnerable countries and neighbors,” he added.

Despite these reassurances, India’s restrictions underscore the fragility of the global food situation. Global buyers were hoping that Indian wheat shipments would help fill the gap created by the war in Europe, which has hit vital shipments of agricultural exports.

However, there was some good news last week. Indonesia said it would lift a ban on exports of palm oil, which was put in place in April. The Southeast Asian country is the world’s top producer of the product, which is widely used as cooking oil and in many food items.

India is the world’s biggest producer of sugar and the second largest exporter behind Brazil. The government of Narendra Modi said it needed to take action to maintain sugar stocks in the country after “unprecedented growth in exports” last year and in the current season.

The move to limit exports comes at a time when annual retail inflation in Asia’s third largest economy hit 7.8%, its highest level in nearly eight years, in April. It is also another sign of rising food protectionism around the world, as major producers curb agricultural exports, adding to the supply shock triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Ukraine and Russia together account for about 30% of all wheat exports.

In the current marketing year, which runs from October 2021 to September 2022, Indian sugar mills have so far signed contracts for exports of about 9 million tons. In the previous 12-month period, the country shipped 7 million tons of the sweetener overseas, which was the highest amount in recent years, according to government data.

White sugar futures were trading 1% higher at $556.50 per metric ton on Wednesday in London. They’ve gained 13% since the start of January and are about 26% higher than this time last year.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has contributed to a historic shock to commodity markets that will keep global prices high through the end of 2024, the World Bank said last month. Food prices are expected to soar by 22.9% this year, driven by a 40% rise in wheat prices, it added.

Earlier this week, Malaysia moved to restrict exports of chicken to its neighbors, saying “the government’s priority is our own people.” And, just days earlier, India had banned wheat exports, as life-threatening heat waves stunt output and push local prices to record highs. The country is the world’s second biggest producer of wheat after China, but it is not a major exporter of the commodity.

Airbnb will shut down its listings business in China

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Airbnb will shut down its listings business in China

Airbnb will shut down its listings in China after two years of lockdowns in the country “with no end in sight,” according to a source familiar with the matter, reported by CNN.

The home-sharing company made the decision over a decline in business in the world’s second largest economy, and “costly and complex” operation constraints worsened by the impact of Covid-19, the person told CNN on Monday.

Airbnb launched in China in 2016. Like for the rest of the industry, outbound travel by Chinese customers — largely to other destinations around the Asia Pacific region — was a major opportunity for the company.

That’s because China is historically the world’s biggest market for outbound tourism, accounting for the largest visitor spend globally, according to the World Tourism Organization.

But since the pandemic, China has experienced a steep drop in traffic, and has also been shut off to most international travelers.

The source said that they expected outbound tourism from China to rebound once the country fully opened its borders.

Meanwhile, Airbnb’s domestic business, which has accommodated some 25 million guests since 2016, only accounted for 1% of the company’s revenue over the last few years, the person added.

Starting this summer, Airbnb will take down its listings and offers for hosted experiences in China.
According to the source, Airbnb (ABNB) won’t halt its operations in the country entirely. The company will continue to have an office in Beijing with hundreds of employees who will focus on outbound travelers and global projects.

Multinational companies are feeling a slowdown in China as it continues to be one of the last places on Earth pursuing a “zero Covid” policy.

In recent weeks, dozens of mainland Chinese cities have been locked down as authorities work to stamp out the coronavirus.

The approach has badly dented the economy and disrupted almost every major line of business, from Big Tech to consumer goods. International brands, from Apple (AAPL) to Estee Lauder (EL), have warned of the financial impact of the restrictions.

18-year-old gunman kills at least 19 children at Texas elementary school

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18-year-old gunman kills at least 19 children at Texas elementary school

An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at a Texas elementary school, killing at least 19 children as he went from classroom to classroom, officials said, in the latest gruesome moment for a country scarred by a string of massacres. The attacker was killed by law enforcement, reported by AP.

The death toll also included two adults, authorities said. Gov. Greg Abbott said one of the two was a teacher.

The assault at Robb Elementary School in the heavily Latino town of Uvalde was the deadliest shooting at a U.S. grade school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, almost a decade ago.

“My heart is broken today,” said Hal Harrell, the school district superintendent, announcing that all school activities were canceled until further notice. “We’re a small community, and we’re going to need your prayers to get through this.”

The attack also came just 10 days after a deadly, racist rampage at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that added to a yearslong series of mass killings at churches, schools and stores. And the prospects for any reform of the nation’s gun regulations seemed as dim as in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook deaths.

In the years since Sandy Hook, the gun control debate in Congress has waxed and waned. Efforts by lawmakers to change U.S. gun policies in any significant way have consistently faced roadblocks from Republicans and the influence of outside groups such as the NRA.

A year after Sandy Hook, Sens. Joe Manchin a West Virginia Democrat, and Patrick J. Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, negotiated a bipartisan proposal to expand the nation’s background check system. But as the measure was close to being brought to the Senate floor for a vote, it became clear it would not get enough votes to clear a 60-vote filibuster hurdle.

Then-President Barack Obama, who had made gun control central to his administration’s goals after the Newtown shooting, called Congress’ failure to act “a pretty shameful day for Washington.”

Last year, the House passed two bills to expand background checks on firearms purchases. One bill would have closed a loophole for private and online sales. The other would have extended the background check review period. Both languished in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats need at least 10 Republican votes to overcome objections from a filibuster.

President Joe Biden appeared ready for a fight, calling for new gun restrictions in an address to the nation hours after the attack.

“As a nation we have to ask, when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name are we going to do what has to be done?” Biden asked. “Why are are willing to live with this carnage?”

Many of the injured were rushed to Uvalde Memorial Hospital, where staff members in scrubs and devastated victims’ relatives could be seen weeping as they walked out of the complex.

The gunman, who was wearing body armor, crashed his car outside the school before going inside, Sgt. Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Public Safety told CNN.

He killed his grandmother before heading to the school with two military-style rifles he had purchased on his birthday, according to state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who said he had been briefed by state police.

“That was the first thing he did on his 18th birthday,” he said.

Officials did not immediately reveal a motive, but the governor identified the assailant as Salvador Ramos and said he was a resident of the community about 85 miles (135 kilometers) west of San Antonio.

Ramos had hinted on social media that an attack could be coming, Gutierrez said, noting that “he suggested the kids should watch out.”

A Border Patrol agent who was working nearby when the shooting began rushed into the school without waiting for backup and shot and killed the gunman, who was behind a barricade, according to a law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about it.

The agent was wounded but able to walk out of the school, the law enforcement source said.

The school district’s police chief, Pete Arredondo, said that the attacker acted alone.

It was not immediately clear how many people were wounded, but Arredondo said there were “several injuries.” Earlier, Uvalde Memorial Hospital said 13 children were taken there. Another hospital reported a 66-year-old woman was in critical condition.

Robb Elementary School has an enrollment of just under 600 students, and Arredondo said it serves students in the second, third and fourth grade. He did not provide ages of the children who were shot. This was the school’s last week of classes before summer break.

Heavily armed law enforcement officers swarmed to the school, with officers in tactical vests diverting traffic and FBI agents coming and going from the building.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was briefed on the shooting on Air Force One as he returned from a five-day trip to Asia.

Uvalde, home to about 16,000 people, is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the border with Mexico. Robb Elementary is in a mostly residential neighborhood of modest homes.

The tragedy in Uvalde was the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, and it added to a grim tally in the state, which has been the site of some of the deadliest shootings in the U.S. over the past five years.

In 2018, a gunman fatally shot 10 people at Santa Fe High School in the Houston area. A year before that, a gunman at a Texas church killed more than two dozen people during a Sunday service in the small town of Sutherland Springs. In 2019, another gunman at a Walmart in El Paso killed 23 people in a racist attack.

The shooting came days before the National Rifle Association annual convention was set to begin in Houston. Abbott and both of Texas’ U.S. senators were among elected Republican officials who were the scheduled speakers at a Friday leadership forum sponsored by the NRA’s lobbying arm.

Primary results 2022

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Primary results 2022

No state has felt former President Donald Trump’s wrath over the 2020 election more than Georgia, where he is trying to oust the incumbents in statewide office who certified that President Joe Biden won the state. 

Trump has set his sights on Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in particular. In an effort to oust Kemp, Trump backed former Sen. David Perdue – who lost his seat in a runoff election to Democrat Jon Ossoff, one of two Democrats elected to Georgia’s Senate seats in 2020, thereby handing the Senate majority to the Democrats.

According to an April poll by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation, 40% of Republican primary voters said they would never vote for Bush. Two-thirds of those voters said that’s because he is a member of the Bush family. Forty-one percent said they wouldn’t vote for Bush because he’s not conservative enough.

Bush tweeted a concession and called attention to Tuesday’s shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which left at least 18 children and one adult dead. 

“But after the tragic events of earlier today, it’s important to keep life’s temporary disappointments in perspective,” Bush said. “There are grieving parents in South Texas today. My family and I are grieving with them.”

CBS News projected at 8:30 p.m. ET that Kemp will win the Republican nomination, easily defeating Perdue and delivering a rebuke to Trump. 

Kemp will take on Democrat Stacey Abrams, whom he defeated in 2018. 

“I am fully supporting Brian Kemp in his run to beat Stacey Abrams,” Perdue told supporters in his concession speech. “We’re going to do everything we can to make damn sure Stacey Abrams doesn’t take over this state.”

The Georgia secretary of state’s office tweeted Tuesday that the state is on a “solid path” to surpass the record for midterm primary turnout. 

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom Trump asked in January 2021 to “find” enough votes to overturn the results, is also running for reelection. Trump backed U.S. Rep. Jody Hice in the race. He’s one of the House Republicans who challenged the election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona on Jan. 6, 2021. 

In another blow to Trump, Attorney General Chris Carr – who backed Kemp and Raffensperger in 2020 – is projected to defeat Trump-backed primary challenger John Gordon. 

But  CBS News projects that Herschel Walker, the Trump-endorsed former football player, will win the Republican nomination to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. CBS News also projected Warnock will win the Democratic nomination.

CBS News projected Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene will win the Republican nomination in Georgia’s 14th District, easily defeating a number of challengers.

In her victory remarks, Greene gave a stark warning to what she views as the establishment Republican party and “globalist elites.” “Sending me back to Washington will send a message to the blood sucking establishment. It is we who will set the political agenda for the next decade and not them,” she said.

In Georgia’s new 7th District, CBS projects U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath – who currently represents the 6th District – will win the Democratic primary. She defeated Democratic Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux of the current 7th District.

Alabama and Arkansas are also holding primaries Tuesday. Trump has made his prefences known in the  the Senate race for the open seat in Alabama — twice. He first backed longtime loyalist Mo Brooks, but later dropped his endorsement in March, when Brooks was struggling in the polls. After Trump pulled his endorsement, Brooks, who was one of the members of Congress who objected to election results, said the former president “asked me to rescind the 2020 elections.”

Despite losing Trump’s endorsement, Brooks has managed to hold on in the polls. A recent Emerson poll showed Katie Britt (32%), current Sen. Richard Shelby’s former chief of staff, slightly ahead of businessman Michael Durant (26%) and Brooks (25%).

In Arkansas, CBS News projected Trump’s former White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, won the gubernatorial primary, after leading the pack in fundraising and polling. Her father, Mike Huckabee, was Arkansas governor from 1996 until 2007.

A few crucial runoffs are happening in Texas, which dealt with a shooting Tuesday near San Antonio. In Texas’ 28th District, incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar faces Jessica Cisneros after Cuellar failed to net 50% of the vote in the March 1 primary. 

CBS News projected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will win the Republican nomination, easily defeating Land Commissioner George P. Bush. While Paxton is mired in many scandals, Bush – the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, nephew of former President George W. Bush and grandson of former President George H.W. Bush – couldn’t overcome his family name.

North Korea fires suspected ICBM and 2 other missiles

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North Korea fires suspected ICBM and 2 other missiles

According to AP, North Korea test-launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile and two shorter-range weapons into the sea Wednesday, South Korea said, hours after President Joe Biden ended a trip to Asia where he reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to defend its allies in the face of the North’s nuclear threat.

If confirmed, it would be North Korea’s first ICBM launch in about two months amid stalled nuclear diplomacy with the United States. Breaking its 2018 moratorium on long-distance launches, North Korea in March claimed to have test-launched its longest-range missile as part of its development of functioning nuclear-armed missiles that can reach the American homeland.

North Korea has so far ignored South Korean and U.S. offers to send vaccines, medicines and other support items. Much of North Korea’s 26 million people remain unvaccinated and the country’s once-free socialist public health care system has been in shambles for decades.

“At a time when North Korean people are suffering the pain of a COVID-19 spread, North Korea is using its crucial resources to develop nuclear weapons and missiles instead of measures to fight the virus and improve livelihoods, which is very regrettable,” South Korean Foreign Minster Park Jin said.

The launches took place as North Korea made a much-disputed claim that its first domestic COVID-19 outbreak was weakening.

After an emergency national security council meeting, the South Korean government said North Korea fired a suspected ICBM and two short-range ballistic missiles.

“North Korea’s sustained provocations can only result in stronger and faster South Korea-U.S. combined deterrence and can only deepen North Korea’s international isolation,” the South Korean government statement said. “(Our) government is maintaining constant readiness to strongly and effectively respond to any kind of North Korean provocation.”

South Korea’s military said the suspected ICBM reached a maximum height of 540 kilometers (335 miles) while traveling 360 kilometers (223 miles) east after being fired from the North’s capital region. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North apparently lost the second missile 20 kilometers (12 miles) into flight, while the third missile flew 760 kilometers (472 miles) on an apogee of 60 kilometers (37 miles).

A JCS statement said the U.S. and South Korean militaries fired two surface-to-surface missiles in response to demonstrate the allies’ striking capabilities. It said the allies had detected North Korea’s preparations for the launches in advance. It said South Korea’s air force on Tuesday conducted an “elephant walk” involving 30, fully armed F-15K fighter jets parading along a runway in formation.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command earlier said the missile launches highlight “the destabilizing impact of (North Korea’s) illicit weapons program” though they didn’t pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory and its allies. A command statement said the U.S. commitment to the defense of the South Korea and Japan “remains ironclad.”

The White House said Biden has been briefed on the North Korean missile launches and will continue to be briefed as information develops.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the launches were “an act of provocation and absolutely impermissible.” He accused North Korea of pressing ahead with its weapons development program while “ignoring the people’s suffering amid the spread of the coronavirus in the country.”

The launches were North Korea’s 17th round of missile firings this year. Experts have said the launches show North Korea’s determination to move ahead with its push to modernize its weapons arsenals despite the COVID-19 outbreak and apply more pressure on its rivals to wrest sanctions relief and other concessions amid dormant nuclear diplomacy.

U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials have said North Korea could soon conduct its first nuclear test in nearly five years as well.

“If omicron is raging in the country, it is not the best time for Kim to take domestic political credit for a nuclear test,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “So declaring victory against COVID, at least in state propaganda, will probably come first. But North Korea is likely to conduct its seventh nuclear test before reengaging in diplomacy.”

North Korea’s unusual pace in weapons tests this year included an ICBM launch in March that was its first since 2017. North Korea described that launch as a demonstration of its biggest missile, the Hwasong-17. However, South Korea’s military said the North instead may have fired a smaller ICBM. Whichever it was, the missile flew longer and higher than any other weapon the North has ever tested and had the potential range to reach the entire U.S. mainland, experts say.

After their summit in Seoul on Saturday, Biden and Yoon said they would consider expanded military exercises to deter North Korean nuclear threats.

Biden brushed aside questions about any possible provocation by North Korea during his trip, saying, “We are prepared for anything North Korea does.” Asked if he had a message for the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un, Biden offered a clipped response: “Hello. Period.”

Biden later met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, and they vowed to work closely to address security challenges, including North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic programs and what they called China’s “increasingly coercive” behavior in the region.

Before Wednesday, North Korea’s most recent missile tests were May 12, hours after the country acknowledged a COVID-19 outbreak and ended a widely disputed claim to have been coronavirus-free for more than two years.

The country in the past few days has said there has been “a positive sign” in its anti-virus campaign. Since admitting to the outbreak, North Korea has identified about 3 million cases of an unidentified fever, and saying just a small fraction were COVID-19.

On Wednesday, state media for the second straight day reported no additional fatality from the fever. The 68 deaths it has reported is an extremely low toll for COVID-19. Experts doubt the figures given North Korea has limited health resources and may be underreporting mortalities to prevent possible political damage on Kim.

Trump faces biggest test since 2020 in Georgia primaries

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Trump faces biggest test since 2020 in Georgia primaries

Former President Donald Trump is facing what could be his biggest electoral defeat since 2020 as he attempts to settle old scores against fellow Republicans in Georgia.

In the marquee race of the day, which includes primaries in Alabama and runoffs in Texas, Trump-backed David Perdue is sputtering in his bid to unseat Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, whom the former president is determined to oust for not joining his effort to overturn the state’s presidential election results two years ago.

Democrats, on the other hand, will soon find out the winner in one of their biggest ideological battles of the year, between moderate Rep. Henry Cuellar and progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros.

It’s a rematch from 2020, but one that has become even more heated after an FBI raid on Cuellar’s house and his muddled record on abortion rights as the Supreme Court is poised to potentially strike down Roe v. Wade.

Most polls in Texas close at 8 p.m. ET, but some in the Mountain Time Zone stay open an hour later.

Polls leading up to Election Day indicate Kemp had a wide lead over Perdue, a former U.S. senator whose campaign stopped airing TV ads about a month ago. The gap suggests Trump’s support alone may be not enough to carry the day against a well-established incumbent whose only conservative transgression was refusing to get on board with Trump’s meritless fight over the 2020 election, which President Joe Biden won in Georgia. NBC News reported last week the former president had washed his hands of Perdue, privately grousing about what he believes is a lackluster campaign effort, reported by CNBC.

Kemp advisers are hopeful the governor will clear the 50 percent threshold that would allow him to avoid a June 21 runoff election against Perdue.

The eventual winner in Georgia, where polls close at 7 p.m. ET, will face Democrat Stacey Abrams in November, a rematch of their heated 2018 battle, in what is expected to be one of the most high-profile governor races in the country.

Some Republicans have expressed frustration with Trump’s heavy-handed involvement in GOP primaries. In a major sign of defiance, former Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Georgia to stump with Kemp on the eve of the contest.

“I know the polls look good, real good,” Pence said Monday night. “But don’t let up, don’t slow down. Keep chopping.”

Other Trump-backed candidates in Georgia have also faced difficulty, including those challenging Kemp allies who hold the secretary of state, attorney general and insurance commissioner offices. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who earned a special place near the top of Trump’s enemies list for secretly recording a conversation in which the former president asked him to “find” him more votes, holds a narrow lead over challenger Rep. Jody Hice, according to recent polling.

In the GOP Senate primary, Trump favorite Herschel Walker, the former University of Georgia and NFL star, is expected to cruise to victory over Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black and former Navy SEAL Latham Saddler.

If he does, Walker will face Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in November in what is expected to be one of the most expensive Senate races in U.S. history and a rare case of two Black candidates facing off in a crucial Senate contest.

Warnock won his seat early last year, but it was in a special election to serve out the remainder of a retiring senator’s term. He’s on the ballot again this year seeking a full six-year term.

Democrats also have internal battles on display Tuesday. After redistricting drew together a congressional seat in the Atlanta suburbs, a Democratic primary pits Rep. Lucy McBath, who is Black, against Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, who is white and seen as more moderate.

Both lawmakers were elected to Congress during Trump’s presidency and their race has brought in outside interest and money: McBath has had millions spent on her behalf by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety and Protect Our Future, the pandemic prevention super PAC funded by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried.

In Alabama, where polls close at 8 p.m. ET, Rep. Mo Brooks — who has the distinction of being endorsed and then unendorsed by Trump — appears to be enjoying a last-minute surge that’s put him back in contention for the GOP Senate nomination, which will likely be decided in a June runoff.

Meanwhile, in Texas, both parties have unfinished business from their March 1 primaries. For Republicans, Tuesday will test whether the Bush family brand still has juice with Trump among the GOP.

Land Commissioner George P. Bush — son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush — is challenging state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is under federal indictment for alleged security fraud and has faced a host of other ethics issues.

Paxton, with Trump’s backing, is favored in the runoff after finishing well ahead of Bush in the first round, besting him 43 percent to 23 percent, but short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. (Bush has also been vocally supportive of Trump, unlike other members of his family.)

A gallon of gas costs more than the federal minimum wage

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A gallon of gas costs more than the federal minimum wage

Motorists across the U.S. are grappling with gasoline prices that are reaching new records almost daily, but the pain isn’t evenly distributed across the nation. Take the handful of locations where a gallon of regular fuel now costs as much as the federal minimum wage of $7.25, reported by CBS.

It’s a painful threshold that prices at the pump have reached at nine stations — all in California, according to GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan, an expert on oil and gas prices. Granted, the minimum wage in California is far above the federal minimum wage, with workers in the state earning at least $14 an hour, but paying $7.25 a gallon or more still takes a chunk out of the typical paycheck.

Unfortunately, analysts aren’t forecasting that gas prices will recede anytime soon. The national average could jump to $6.20 a gallon by August — up from the current price of $4.60 a gallon, according to JPMorgan. And Borenstein of Berkeley recently told CBS News that he doesn’t foresee $2 or $3 per gallon gas anytime soon.

Crude oil prices have jumped since a year earlier, and world demand for fossil fuels is rising even as supply is lagging, he noted. 

“Even before Russia attacked Ukraine, we were seeing the production of oil lagging. Producers in the United States are reporting they’re having a hard time getting workers to come back to the oil fields,” Borenstein said. “They’re having supply-chain problems with parts and equipment.”  

On average, California drivers are paying more for gas than drivers in any other state, according to AAA. The reason is partly due to higher taxes to pay for infrastructure and other costs, but there’s also something that economist Severin Borenstein of the University of California, Berkeley, calls a “mystery gasoline surcharge,” or a price gap that can’t entirely be explained by fees or other factors.

Gas prices remain at record highs as Americans head into the Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial kickoff to summer, when millions of people hit the road for vacations or to visit to family and friends. But despite soaring fuel prices, most drivers are still filling up, with AAA forecasting that 39 million people will travel more than 50 miles from their homes this holiday weekend — a jump of about 8% from a year earlier, when gas was about $3 a gallon on average, AAA said. 

Here are the service stations in California charging at least $7.25, according to GasBuddy:

  • Chevron at 901 N. Alameda St. in Los Angeles: $7.83 a gallon
  • Chevron at 51557 US-395 in Lee Vining: $7.39 a gallon
  • Chevron at 712 North CA-127 in Shoshone: $7.39 a gallon
  • Shell at 453 Main St. in Bridgeport: $7.39 a gallon
  • Valero at 377 Main St. in Bridgeport: $7.35 a gallon
  • Mobil at 8489 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles: $7.29 a gallon
  • Shell at 51424 US-395 in Lee Vining: $7.29 a gallon
  • Mobil at 22 Vista Point Drive in Lee Vining: $7.29 a gallon
  • Chevron at 3600 Alameda Drive in Menlo Park: $7.25 a gallon

Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the economy, driven by concerns about the highest inflation in 40 years and a stock market that has plunged due to fears of a recession, according to a new CBS News poll. While motorists continue to fill up at the pump, they are cutting back on spending in other areas — like dining out — to compensate. 

The impact of high gas prices is adding up: the typical household is now spending $4,800 on gas at an annual rate, compared with $2,800 a year ago, according to Wall Street analyst Ed Yardeni. 

Monkeypox likely spread by sex at 2 recent raves in Europe

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Monkeypox likely spread by sex at 2 recent raves in Europe

A leading adviser to the World Health Organization described the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox in developed countries as “a random event” that appears to have been caused by sexual activity at two recent raves in Europe, reported by AP.

Dr. David Heymann, who formerly headed WHO’s emergencies department, told The Associated Press that the leading theory to explain the spread of the disease was sexual transmission at raves held in Spain and Belgium. Monkeypox has not previously triggered widespread outbreaks beyond Africa, where it is endemic in animals.

“We know monkeypox can spread when there is close contact with the lesions of someone who is infected, and it looks like sexual contact has now amplified that transmission,” said Heymann.

That marks a significant departure from the disease’s typical pattern of spread in central and western Africa, where people are mainly infected by animals like wild rodents and primates and outbreaks have not spilled across borders.

Heymann, who is also a professor of infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the monkeypox outbreak was likely a random event that might be traceable to a single infection.

“It’s very possible there was somebody who got infected, developed lesions on the genitals, hands or somewhere else, and then spread it to others when there was sexual or close, physical contact,” Heymann hypothesized. “And then there were these international events that seeded the outbreak around the world, into the U.S. and other European countries.”

He emphasized that the disease was unlikely to trigger widespread transmission.

“This is not COVID,” he said. “We need to slow it down, but it does not spread in the air and we have vaccines to protect against it.”

Heymann said studies should be conducted rapidly to determine if monkeypox could be spread by people without symptoms and that populations at risk of the disease should take precautions to protect themselves.

Health officials say most of the known cases in Europe have been among men who have sex with men, but anyone can be infected through close contact with a sick person, their clothing or bedsheets. Scientists say it will be difficult to disentangle whether the spread is being driven by sex or merely close contact.

“By nature, sexual activity involves intimate contact, which one would expect to increase the likelihood of transmission, whatever a person’s sexual orientation and irrespective of the mode of transmission,” said Mike Skinner, a virologist at Imperial College London.

On Monday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Director Andrea Ammon said “the likelihood of further spread of the virus through close contact, for example during sexual activities among persons with multiple sexual partners, is considered to be high.”

To date, WHO has recorded more than 90 cases of monkeypox in a dozen countries including Canada, Spain, Israel, France, Switzerland, the U.S. and Australia.

On Monday, Denmark announced its first case, Portugal revised its total upwards to 37, Italy reported one further infection and Britain added 37 more cases.

U.S. health officials said Monday they knew of one confirmed case, in the state of Massachusetts, and four probable cases — two in Utah, one in Florida and one in New York City. All were men who had traveled outside the U.S.

Germany has four confirmed cases linked to exposure at “party events … where sexual activity took place” in Spain’s Canary Islands and in Berlin, according to a government report to lawmakers obtained by the AP.

Madrid’s senior health official said Monday that the Spanish capital had 30 confirmed cases. Enrique Ruiz Escudero said authorities are investigating possible links between a recent Gay Pride event in the Canary Islands, which drew some 80,000 people, and cases at a Madrid sauna.

The monkeypox cases so far have been mild, with no deaths reported. Typically, the virus causes fever, chills, rash and lesions on the face or genitals. Most people recover within several weeks without requiring hospitalization.

Vaccines against smallpox, a related disease, are effective in preventing monkeypox and some antiviral drugs are being developed. In recent years, the illness has been fatal in up to 6% of infections.

Heymann chaired an urgent meeting of WHO’s advisory group on infectious disease threats on Friday to assess the outbreak and said there was no evidence to suggest that monkeypox had mutated into a more infectious form.

The U.N. agency said the outbreak is “a highly unusual event” and said the fact that cases are being seen in so many different countries suggests the virus may have been silently spreading for some time. The agency’s Europe director warned that festivals and parties could accelerate spread.

Still, at a public session on Monday, WHO officials described the outbreak as “containable” and cautioned against stigmatizing affected groups, saying the disease can infect anyone.

The agency said the cases appeared to be linked to a monkeypox virus that was first detected in exported cases from Nigeria to Britain, Israel and Singapore in 2018 and 2019.

Authorities in Britain, Spain and Portugal have said most of the cases identified so far were in young men whose infections were picked up when they sought help for lesions at sexual health clinics.

Starbucks will exit Russia market, closing 130 licensed cafes

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Starbucks will exit Russia market, closing 130 licensed cafes

After 15 years operating in Russia, Starbucks will exit the market, joining companies like McDonald’s, Exxon Mobil and British American Tobacco in withdrawing from the country completely, according to CNBC.

The coffee giant announced Monday that it will no longer have a brand presence in Russia. Starbucks has 130 locations in the country, which account for less than 1% of the company’s annual revenue. They are all licensed locations, so the Seattle-based company itself doesn’t operate them.

The fast-food giant said the suspension of its sizable Russian and Ukrainian operations cost it $127 million in its first quarter. The two markets accounted for 9% of its revenue in 2021. The company had roughly 850 restaurants in Russia, most of which were operated by the company instead of licensees.

On Thursday, McDonald’s announced it would be selling those locations for an undisclosed sum to a Siberian franchisee, who will run them under a new brand.

Starbucks said it will pay its nearly 2,000 Russian workers for six months and help them transition to new opportunities outside of the coffee chain.

Both consumers and investors have pressured Western companies like Starbucks to cut ties with Russia to show opposition to the Kremlin’s war with Ukraine, but unwinding licensing deals takes time. Starbucks has suspended all business activity with the country since March 8. The pause included shipments of all Starbucks products and temporarily shuttering cafes.

In its latest quarterly results released in early May, the company did not disclose the financial impact of the suspension of business operations. Former CEO Kevin Johnson had pledged to donate royalties from the Russian business to humanitarian causes.

But it was surely a smaller financial blow than that dealt to McDonald’s, which has been in Russia for more than 30 years.

Guinness World Records Confirms 32-Year-Old Wain the Wombat Is the Oldest Ever

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Guinness World Records Confirms 32-Year-Old Wain the Wombat Is the Oldest Ever

On May 12, Guinness World Records announced that Wain, a 32-year-old wombat living at Satsukiyama Zoo in Ikeda City, Japan, is the oldest wombat in captivity ever.

The Japanese zoo celebrated Wain’s impressive milestone and shared that the record-breaking wombat is in good health despite his age, equivalent to 100 human years.

The wombat was rescued from his mother’s pouch after a car accident in November 1989. He arrived at the Satsukiyama Zoo with two other wombats, Wonder and Tai, in 1990, Guinness World Records shared.

Due to Wain’s advanced age, the zoo works to limit the wombat’s climbing and cuts his vegetables into smaller pieces, so it’s easier for the elderly animal to eat. His diet includes grass, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, apples, and carrots, Guinness World Records added.

“Although he was seen by a vet in the past a couple of times, he never got sick in the past few years,” the Satsukiyama Zoo told Guinness World Records in a statement. “We don’t know why this is, but this nature-filled and quiet environment this zoo has may have something to do with it.”

A wombat typically lives up to 15 years in the wild and 20 years in captivity, according to World Wildlife Fund.

Since the announcement, Satsukiyama Zoo said Wain has received “a lot of attention.”

“We received congratulatory notes from zoos across the country. We also have more visitors to the zoo,” the zoo told Guinness World Records. “All this tells us that Wain has achieved something extraordinary.”

Guinness World Records also shared a video on Instagram of the animal in his zoo habitat.

“Oldest wombat in captivity ever — Wain — 32 years and 86 days 🇯🇵,” they wrote alongside the clip.

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