McDonald’s and Starbucks report lower sales
ABC News business reporter Alexis Christoforous breaks down national business headlines.
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Good Morning AmericaBiden, Trump agree to ABC News and CNN debates
President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, are set to face off in an ABC News presidential debate in September. Trump and Biden said they have both agreed to a prime-time debate at ABC News studios on Sept. 10. Before that, they will participate in a CNN debate on June 27 in Atlanta.
- ABC News
Jury sworn in for bribery trial of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez
A jury was selected and sworn in Wednesday for the bribery trial of Sen. Bob Menendez. Federal prosecutors in New York have alleged that the New Jersey Democrat accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, mortgage payments and a luxury convertible in exchange for the senator's political clout. Three New Jersey businessmen who were also charged, along with the governments of Egypt and Qatar, were the alleged recipients.
- Good Morning America
Walgreens announces it will sell generic version of over-the-counter Narcan
Walgreens Boots Alliance announced Wednesday that it plans to sell its own generic version of the overdose reversal drug Narcan. Narcan is given as a nasal spray and the active ingredient in the medication -- naloxone -- can quickly restore breathing if someone is experiencing an opioid overdose and if it is administered in time. In March 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan to be distributed without a prescription -- a milestone advocates have said will make it easier to save lives amid the country's ongoing opioid epidemic.
- Good Morning America
Kansas City Chiefs player faces backlash for graduation speech criticizing working women, calling Pride a 'deadly sin'
A kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs is facing backlash after delivering a commencement address that touched on everything from Pride month to women's roles in the home, abortion and in-vitro fertilization. "It is safe to say that over the years, I have gained quite the reputation for speaking my mind," Harrison Butker said at the start of his address, which he delivered May 11 at Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas. "I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and a mother."
- Good Morning America
High school students hire bagpiper to prank principal
For their senior prank, students at Richwoods High School in Peoria, Illinois, recently came up with the hilarious idea to hire a bagpipe player to perform while following their principal around school grounds. Maggie Moore, a student at Richwoods High, shared video footage of the prank with Storyful, which shows the bagpiper tailing Principal William "Billy" Robison on May 9 for about an hour without fail, all while playing.
- Good Morning America
House GOP pushes bill to force Biden to continue weapons transfers to Israel
House Republicans are pushing ahead with a bill to condemn President Joe Biden's approach to Israel and force him to send arms shipments, even after the administration notified Congress about a new $1 billion weapons deal to the U.S. ally. The developments come amid continued fallout from Biden's pause of a bomb shipment to Israel and his warning the U.S. won't supply weapons that could be used in an invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million civilians have sought shelter. Republicans have seized on the actions to attack Biden, accusing him of betraying Israel due to political pressure.
- ABC News
2nd teen pleads guilty in Colorado rock-throwing spree that killed 20-year-old woman
On the night of April 19, 2023, Joseph Koenig, Nicholas "Mitch" Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak allegedly threw large landscaping rocks toward cars, hitting seven vehicles, prosecutors said. Three people were hurt and one person -- Alexa Bartell -- was killed when her car was struck as she drove near Denver, prosecutors said. On Wednesday, Karol-Chik pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder and crime of violence, prosecutors said.
- Good Morning America
New trailer for 'Wicked' movie, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, out now
The new look at the Jon M. Chu-directed film, starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, was released Wednesday. Extended snippets of some of the Broadway musical's most famous songs, "Popular" and "Defying Gravity," can also be heard. The cast of the star-studded film also includes Ethan Slater as Boq and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, as well as Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James and Keala Settle.
- ABC News
Genetic genealogy IDs suspect in 1989 rapes, man now at large: DA
Massachusetts authorities are searching for a newly identified suspect in two rapes from 1989 -- a crime the Framingham police chief said "haunted the Framingham community for decades." Stephen Paul Gale, 71, who was identified through genetic genealogy, is wanted on four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping and one count of armed robbery, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office said Tuesday. The crime unfolded on the morning of Dec. 27, 1989, when a man armed with a gun went into a Framingham clothing store and confronted two employees -- women ages 18 and 29, prosecutors said.
- ABC News
What to know about the deadly escape of French prisoner 'The Fly'
A manhunt involving hundreds of law enforcement officers continued Wednesday for a fugitive prisoner dubbed "The Fly" and accomplices wielding machine guns who facilitated the convicted criminal's escape by ambushing a prison transport van at a toll booth and gunning down two guards, authorities said. The international police organization Interpol issued a worldwide red alert for the fugitive identified by authorities as 30-year-old Mohmed Amra after French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said authorities are concerned that Amra has fled the country.
- Good Morning America
Toddler’s heavy sigh mimicking his mom is relatable
A Texas toddler's imitation of his mom's sigh has gone viral on TikTok. Huxley then mimics the sound of a big sigh, which his mom supposedly makes, and Doherty breaks into a big grin. The 20-second TikTok video, which was shared with Storyful, has already garnered over 15 million views since April and sparked over 5,000 comments.
- Good Morning America
Tom Brady shares regrets for roast: 'I didn't like the way it affected my kids'
Tom Brady is sharing some regrets about being the subject of the latest celebrity roast and saying he'd never do it again. The seven-time Super Bowl champion was the guest of honor at the "Greatest Roast of All Time: The Roast of Tom Brady," a live, three-hour comedy event filmed for Netflix, where the former quarterback was the target of jokes from fellow footballers to big-name comedians. During the latest episode of "The Pivot" podcast, which aired Tuesday, Brady reflected on the experience -- both the good and the bad.
- Good Morning America
Senate considers making Black Wall Street a national monument
More than 100 years after the nation's deadliest race massacre, the Senate is considering a bipartisan bill to grant national monument status to Greenwood, Oklahoma, also known as "Black Wall Street." In 1921, Black Wall Street was burned to ashes by white mobs who attacked the then-thriving and predominantly Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The state of Oklahoma originally recorded 36 deaths from the massacre; however, a 2001 state commission reported that the number killed was likely as high as 300 people.
- Good Morning America
Drug overdose deaths fell in 2023, 1st decrease in 5 years: CDC
Drug overdose deaths fell in 2023, marking the first decrease in five years, new provisional federal data published Wednesday showed. An estimated 107,543 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. This is a 3% decrease from the estimated 111,029 overdose deaths that occurred in 2022 and the first annual decrease in drug overdose deaths since 2018.
- Good Morning America
Dad asks for prayers after 10-year-old son swept into storm drain
Asher Sullivan, a fourth-grade student, was playing outside and helping family and neighbors clean up storm debris in their neighborhood in Christiana, around 45 miles southeast of Nashville, on May 8, when the accident happened, according to James Evans, chief communications officer for Rutherford County Schools, where Asher's father, James "Jimmy" Sullivan, serves as director of schools. Evans said Asher received immediate medical attention when he emerged from underground, but never regained consciousness. Since then, Asher's father and his mother, Kaycee Sullivan, have not left Asher's side at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he is being treated, according to Evans.
- Good Morning America
Red Lobster closes multiple locations as company prepares to file for bankruptcy
Red Lobster has abruptly closed at least 99 locations across the country with restaurants shutting their doors in at least 27 states. Tagex Brands, a company that handles restaurant liquidation auctions, told ABC News that Red Lobster recently contacted them to auction off items from 52 locations that will be closing. The popular seafood restaurant chain began eyeing Chapter 11 to consolidate debts last month.
- Good Morning America
What Kristen Bell actually packs in her kids' lunch boxes
Like many parents, Kristen Bell regularly flips over food labels to read the nutrition facts -- only to find herself dissatisfied and exhausted after scanning packages with overwhelmingly high sugar contents. In an effort to effect positive change, the actress and mother of two announced she's teaming up with former first lady Michelle Obama to help champion a healthier generation of kids nutrition. "I am at a constant impasse with my kids of encouraging them to consume healthy options -- particularly food," Bell told "Good Morning America" on Wednesday about her daughters, Lincoln and Delta.
- ABC News
Are 'soccer moms' actually swing voters?
In 1996, the American Dialect Society voted "soccer mom" its word of the year. A columnist at The Boston Globe termed it the "year of the soccer mom." If you tuned your television to coverage of that year's presidential race between then-President Bill Clinton and Sen. Bob Dole, you'd likely see coverage of the "soccer mom" vote; correspondents even went to the sidelines of children's soccer matches to hear from them.
- Good Morning America
Inflation cooled slightly in April, ending monthslong surge in prices
Consumer prices rose 3.4% in April compared to a year ago, slowing slightly from the previous month and offering a welcome sign for the Federal Reserve in its yearslong inflation fight. Recalcitrant prices forced the Fed to postpone highly anticipated interest rate cuts, leaving borrowing rates high for everything from credit cards to mortgages. Price increases have slowed significantly from a peak of about 9%, but inflation still stands more than a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%.
- Good Morning America
US to send additional $2 billion in Ukraine aid, Blinken says
The United States will provide an additional $2 billion in aid to Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday during a press conference in Kyiv with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The foreign military financing will be used not only for purchasing weapons from the U.S., but also by Ukraine as it invests in manufacturing its own machinery and weapons, Blinken said.