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By ROB GILLIES and JIM MORRIS, Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Diana and Rick Bellamy initially planned to take a Caribbean cruise out of Houston before heading to Laurel, Mississippi, to visit the home of one of their favorite HGTV shows, “Home Town.” The Calgary couple scrapped those plans and vacationed last month along Mexico’s Pacific coast instead, put off by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, the insults he’s hurled at their homeland, and stories about American border agents searching people’s phones and detaining foreigners for minor reasons. She found it ironic that she felt…

MINNEAPOLIS — In certain areas, the Lakers made improvements from Game 1 to Game 2 in their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, helping them tie the best-of-seven series, 1-1, with Tuesday’s home win before heading to Minneapolis for Games 3 and 4. And the Timberwolves are, seemingly, trying to figure out how to get their best player, All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards, into an offensive rhythm. Both teams feel like they’ve yet to play their best basketball in a series that has already been defined by its physicality. “Our physicality was appropriate for a playoff game, and thought some…

You don’t often go by your bricks-and-mortar bank branch these days, what with the electronic wonders of direct deposit and the fact that most of your purchases are made on a credit card. But sometimes you want some cash on hand, for emergencies, or for whatever you want — it’s your money. So you fire up the ATM outside the bank with your debit card and punch in your PIN. Hmmm — is $100 enough? Nah, better make it $200. You make the request, and the machine dutifully delivers the greenbacks. And then immediately thereafter writes a snitch note to…

By Kimberly Palmer, NerdWallet The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments. Over on Reddit, a user recently asked for budgeting advice. After itemizing their current budget, the user was hoping to make cuts to their monthly spending and find a way to save more money. The user said they brought in just over $3,300 in a month and spent about $2,600 on fixed costs, such as rent and insurance,…

By PETER SMITH and MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The day before he died, in his final public address, Pope Francis expressed an Easter Sunday message of unity and an appeal for the marginalized and migrants. “All of us,” he proclaimed, “are children of God!” In a dramatically different message Sunday, President Donald Trump issued an insult-laced post wishing a happy Easter to his opponents, including “Radical Left Lunatics,” “WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Judges and Law Enforcement Officials,” and former President Joe Biden, “our WORST and most Incompetent President.” Some of the fundamental differences between the U.S. president…

Nearly six months after losing both the White House and both chambers of Congress, Democrats’ continued refusal to conduct a thorough and honest assessment of why they lost has left the party adrift and without direction.  Indeed, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom told The Hill, Democrats will not find their way “back from the wilderness” unless they’re “willing to look inward at what led to the losses.” Moreover, Newsom continued, Democrats are in such a state of disarray that, “I don’t know what the party is,” nor does he know “who is leading it, or where it wants to go.”…

By BERNARD CONDON, Associated Press Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration is loosening rules to help U.S. automakers like Elon Musk’s Tesla develop self-driving cars so they can take on Chinese rivals. U.S. companies developing self-driving cars will be allowed exemptions from certain federal safety rules for testing purposes, the Transportation Department said Thursday. The department also said it will streamline crash reporting requirements involving self-driving software that Musk has criticized as onerous and will move toward a single set of national rules for the technology to replace a patchwork of state regulations. “We’re in a race…

Q: Will they build a wildlife crossing over the 5 Freeway in Irvine as well as the pedestrian bridge? Other places in Orange County would be good, too. Are any planned? – Carol Clayman, Irvine A: Not there. Carol is referring to the $23 million, 1,200-foot-long Jeffrey Open Space Trail Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge, which will open in a year and connect trails for two-legged critters. Honk isn’t aware of any plans for a wildlife crossing over an Orange County freeway. Robert Johnson, a Caltrans spokesman, said the agency works with other local and federal agencies to see if they…

By LINLEY SANDERS, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration remains a point of strength as he takes wide-ranging actions to ramp up deportations and target people in the U.S. illegally, according to a new poll. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 46% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of immigration, which is nearly 10 percentage points higher than his approval rating on the economy and trade with other countries. While Trump’s actions remain divisive, there’s less of a consensus that the Republican president has overstepped on immigration…

By ILLIA NOVIKOV, Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump said in an interview published on Friday that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” the latest example of the U.S. leader pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end the war while it remains under siege. “Zelenskyy understands that,” Trump said, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time.” The U.S. president made the comments in a Time magazine interview conducted on Tuesday. Trump has been accusing Zelenskyy of prolonging the war by resisting negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.…