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China warns countries against making trade deals with the US unfavorable to Beijing

China warns countries against making trade deals with the US unfavorable to Beijing

BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday warned other countries against making trade deals with the United States to China’s detriment.

Governments including those of Taiwan, Japan and South Korea have begun negotiations with Washington after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against almost all of America’s trading partners on April 2. The import taxes were quickly paused against most countries after markets panicked, but he increased his already steep tariffs against China.

“China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests,” China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement. “If this happens, China will never accept it and will resolutely take countermeasures in a reciprocal manner. China is determined and capable of safeguarding its own rights and interests.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this month the countries currently negotiating trade deals with the U.S. should “approach China as a group” together with Washington. read more

Disney: Hotel deal for 2026 includes free dining for kids

Disney: Hotel deal for 2026 includes free dining for kids

Walt Disney World is rolling out a hotel-kids dining plan offer for 2026, and reservations for next year can be made as of Tuesday, the resort has announced.

Visitors who stay at one of the more than 25 Disney hotels will get a free dining plan for the kids. As usual, Disney defines kids as ages 3-9. As always with the Disney Dining Plan, everyone in the party (age 10 and older) must participate in the program to get the kids dining plan. Pricing varies with dates and length of stay.

This plan may be used in conjunction with other offers that may appear for 2026, Disney says.

The Disney Dining Plan is a prepaid program for on-property meals and snacks at select locations.

Disney World is currently offering a kids half-price ticket for theme park visits between May 27 and Sept. 20 with certain hotel stays.

This year, Disney is throwing in water park admission on check-in day for its hotel guests, which will likely be in place for summer 2026, too. Other continuing benefits for an on-property stay include early theme park entry, free parking, early access to dining and Lightning Lane reservations. read more

Wall Street and the dollar tumble as investors retreat further from the United States

Wall Street and the dollar tumble as investors retreat further from the United States

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are tumbling Monday as worries about President Donald Trump’s trade war and his criticism of the Federal Reserve cause investors to pull further from the United States.

The S&P 500 was 3.1% lower in another wipeout, and the index at the center of many 401(k) accounts is more than 16% below its record set two months ago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,138 points, or 2.9%, as of 1:21 p.m. Eastern time. Tesla and other Big Tech stocks had some of the sharpest losses, which dragged the Nasdaq composite down a market-leading 3.4%.

Perhaps more worryingly, the value of the U.S. dollar also sank as a retreat continues from U.S. markets. It’s an unusual move because the dollar has historically strengthened during past episodes of nervousness. But this time around, it’s policies directly from Washington that are causing the fear and potentially weakening the dollar’s reputation as a pillar of the global economy. read more

Big Tech’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ heads into earnings season reeling from Trump turbulence

Big Tech’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ heads into earnings season reeling from Trump turbulence

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As Big Tech kicks off its quarterly earnings season this week, the industry’s bellwether companies have been thrust into a cauldron of uncertainty and turmoil that they didn’t anticipate when Donald Trump re-entered the White House nearly 100 days ago.

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Since President Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, Big Tech stocks have been on a see-sawing ride that has eviscerated trillions of dollars in shareholder wealth amid an onslaught of tariffs and other potentially detrimental actions. read more

Instagram tries using AI to determine if teens are pretending to be adults

Instagram tries using AI to determine if teens are pretending to be adults

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, Associated Press Technology Writer

Instagram is beginning to test the use of artificial intelligence to determine if kids are lying about their ages on the app, parent company Meta Platforms said on Monday.

Meta has been using AI to determine people’s ages for some time, the company said, but photo and video-sharing app will now “proactively” look for teen accounts it suspects belong to teenagers even if they entered an inaccurate birthdate when they signed up.

If it is determined that a user is misrepresenting their age, the account will automatically become a teen account, which has more restrictions than an adult account. Teen accounts are private by default. Private messages are restricted so teens can only receive them from people they follow or are already connected to. “Sensitive content,” such as videos of people fighting or those promoting cosmetic procedures, will be limited, Meta said. Teens will also get notifications if they are on Instagram for more than 60 minutes and a “sleep mode” will be enabled that turns off notifications and sends auto-replies to direct messages from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. read more