- NewsReuters Videos
French police search for 'The Fly' after deadly prison van escape
STORY: Hundreds of police are scouring northern France for this man.Mohamed Amra, known as "The Fly", was freed by gunmen in a brazen attack against a prison van that killed two guards and wounded three.He was on his way to a meeting with an investigating judge on Tuesday morning when his two-vehicle convoy was ambushed.The brazen attack underlines the growing threat of drug crime across Europe, the world's No.1 cocaine market.Amra was convicted of burglary and was being held at a prison in Val de Reuil. He'd also been indicted for a kidnapping that led to a death.A police source in Marseille told Reuters that he was a drug dealer with ties to the city's powerful "Blacks" gang.Prison workers around France held a minute of silence on Wednesday morning in memory of their fallen colleagues and to demand better security and resources for prison staff."You have to know that prison workers are mourning. We're shocked, hurt, angry, saddened."
- BusinessReuters Videos
US consumer inflation cools in April; retail sales flat
STORY: U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in April, suggesting that inflation resumed its downward trend at the start of the second quarter.And the report from the Labor Department Wednesday lifted Wall Street's expectations for a September interest rate cut.Those expectations were further bolstered by other data on Wednesday showing retail sales were unexpectedly flat last month as inflation-weary consumers cut back spending at online retailers and auto dealerships.The consumer price index rose 0.3% last month after advancing 0.4% in March and February. Higher housing costs and gasoline prices were behind most of the gain.Food prices overall were unchanged. Prices at the supermarket declined 0.2%, with eggs, meat, poultry and fish cheaper, as were fruits and vegetables.In the 12 months through April, the CPI increased 3.4% after climbing 3.5% in March.While prices excluding volatile food and energy costs climbed 3.6%, which was the smallest year-on-year gain since April 2021.Economists expect inflation pressures to ebb this quarter and prices to gradually move toward the Fed's 2% target as the labor market is cooling.Financial markets saw a roughly 73% probably of a rate cut in September, up from 69% before the data.Stocks rose in morning trading.
- NewsAssociated Press Videos
Google incorporates AI into its search engine
Google has rolled out a retooled search engine that will frequently favor responses crafted by artificial intelligence over website links. It's a shift promising to quicken the quest for information while also potentially disrupting the flow of money-making internet traffic.
