London CNN — The UK’s controversial policy to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda was deemed lawful by the country’s High Court on Monday. A group of NGOs, asylum seekers and a civil
See the world’s deepest fish
Scientists captured the unknown snailfish species at a depth of more than 27,000 feet, as part of an expedition in trenches off Japan.
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Spending at US retailers fell in March as consumers pulled back after the banking crisis fueled recession fears.
Retail sales, which are adjusted for seasonality but not for inflation, fell by 1% in March from the prior month, the Commerce Department reported on Friday. That was steeper than an expected 0.4% decline, according to Refinitiv, and above the revised 0.2% decline in the prior month.
Investors chalk up some of the weakness to a lack of tax returns and concerns about a slowing labor market. The IRS issued $84 billion in tax refunds this March, about $25 billion less than they issued in March of 2022, according to BofA analysts.
That led consumers to pull back in spending at department stores and on durable goods, such as appliances and furniture. Spending at general merchandise stores fell 3% in March from the prior month and spending at gas stations declined 5.5% during the same period. Excluding gas station sales, retail spending retreated 0.6% in March from February.
However, retail spending rose 2.9% year-over-year.
Smaller tax returns likely played a role in last month’s decline in retail sales, along with the expiration of enhanced food assistance benefits, economists say.
“March is a really important month for refunds. Some folks might have been expecting something similar to last year,” Aditya Bhave, senior US economist at BofA Global Research, told CNN.
Credit and debit card spending per household tracked by Bank of America researchers moderated in March to its slowest pace in more than two years, which was likely the result of smaller returns and expired benefits, coupled with slowing wage growth.
Enhanced pandemic-era benefits provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program expired in February, which might have also held back spending in March, according to a Bank of America Institute report.
Average hourly earnings grew 4.2% in March from a year earlier, down from the prior month’s annualized 4.6% increase and the smallest annual rise since June 2021, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Employment Cost Index, a more comprehensive measure of wages, has also shown that worker pay gains have moderated this past year. ECI data for the first quarter of this year will be released later this month.
Still, the US labor market remains solid, even though it has lost momentum recently. That could hold up consumer spending in the coming months, said Michelle Meyer, North America chief economist at Mastercard Economics Institute.
“The big picture is still favorable for the consumer when you think about their income growth, their balance sheet and the health of the labor market,” Meyer said.
Employers added 236,000 jobs in March, a robust gain by historical standards but smaller than the average monthly pace of job growth in the prior six months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, showed that the number of available jobs remained elevated in February — but was down more than 17% from its peak of 12 million in March 2022, and revised data showed that weekly claims for US unemployment benefits were higher than previously reported.
The job market could cool further in the coming months. Economists at the Federal Reserve expect the US economy to head into a recession later in the year as the lagged effects of higher interest rates take a deeper hold. Fed economists had forecast subdued growth, with risks of a recession, prior to the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
For consumers, the effects of last month’s turbulence in the banking industry have been limited so far. Consumer sentiment tracked by the University of Michigan worsened slightly in March during the bank failures, but it had already shown signs of deteriorating before then.
The latest consumer sentiment reading, released Friday morning, showed that sentiment held steady in April despite the banking crisis, but that higher gas prices helped push up year-ahead inflation expectations by a full percentage point, rising from 3.6% in March to 4.6% in April.
“On net, consumers did not perceive material changes in the economic environment in April,” Joanne Hsu, director of the surveys of consumers at the University of Michigan, said in a news release.
“Consumers are expecting a downturn, they’re not feeling as dismal as they were last summer, but they’re waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Hsu told Bloomberg TV in an interview Friday morning.
This story has been updated with context and more details.
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Before music streaming was popular, Nigerian group P-Square was already among the pioneers of the sound now dubbed Afrobeats.
Twin brothers Paul and Peter Okoye have experienced both highs and lows since their 2003 debut, including six studio albums and collaborations with some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Rick Ross, T.I., Akon, and Tiwa Savage.
Yet the pair went their separate ways, breaking up P-Square in 2017 to pursue solo music careers behind their pseudonyms RudeBoy (Paul) and Mr. P. (Peter) – the latter also dipping his toes into acting in the 2018 drama, Genevieve Nnaji’s “Lionheart,” and more recently in the Netflix original “Shanty Town.”
Read more: ‘This is a dream’: Burna Boy, Afrobeats stars take center stage at NBA All-Star Game
“Anything you see that happens to a (music) group, it’s the same thing that happened to us,” Paul Okoye told CNN’s Larry Madowo during a recent interview in Lagos. “Irrespective of how people want to look at it, we felt the fans were disappointed,” he added. “We’re humans. It’s normal.”
Now, P-Square is back together and producing their first album in nine years, vowing a 2023 release date. After reuniting last August, they released the single “Jaiye (Ihe Geme)” to promote their “100 Cities World Tour,” starting with North America and continuing through Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa later this year.
Watch the video at the top of this page to hear more from Larry Madowo’s conversation with P-Square in their Lagos studio.
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Here’s a look at the life of professional soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.
Birth date: February 5, 1985
Birth place: Funchal, Portugal
Birth name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Father: Jose Dinis Aveiro, a gardener
Mother: Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook
Children: with Georgina Rodriguez: Alana Martina, 2017; Bella Esmeralda and male twin (name unreleased, died in childbirth), 2022; via surrogate: Eva and Mateo (twins), 2017; with mother’s name unavailable publicly: Cristiano Jr., 2010
All-time leading male goalscorer in international football.
First male player in history to score a goal in five different World Cups.
Portugal’s all-time top international goalscorer.
Winner of the Ballon d’Or footballer of the year award five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), and the European Golden Shoe four times (2007-08, 2010-11, 2013-14 and 2014-15).
One of his acts of charity was paying for the brain surgery of a 10-month-old boy. Other acts have included raising money for survivors of the 2004 Indonesian tsunami and paying for treatment for a 9-year-old cancer patient.
His father named him after US President Ronald Reagan.
Early 1990s – Joins local amateur team Andorinha.
Late 1990s – Joins Clube Desportivo Nacional da Madeira, one of Portugal’s leading professional football clubs.
Early 2000s – Signs with Sporting Clube de Portugal.
August 12, 2003 – Signs with Manchester United for £12.24 million ($19.7 million).
August 20, 2003 – Debuts for Portugal’s national team.
June-July 2004 – Represents Portugal in the UEFA Euro and scores a goal in the tournament opener. This is his first major international tournament.
July 2004 – Plays for Portugal during the Summer Olympics. Portugal is eliminated in the group stage.
2005 – Wins the FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award.
October 2005 – Comes under investigation for an alleged sexual assault but is not charged.
June 17, 2006 – Scores his first World Cup goal against Iran. Portugal wins 2-0.
2008 – Wins the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
2009 – Transfers to Real Madrid. The deal includes an £80 million (more than $130 million) transfer fee.
December 15, 2013 – Opens a museum dedicated to his football career in his hometown of Funchal, Portugal.
January 6, 2014 – Scores his 400th career goal.
January 20, 2014 – Is named Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry.
October 17, 2015 – Officially becomes Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer in the club’s 3-0 victory over Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
November 9, 2015 – The documentary “Ronaldo” premieres in London.
November 8, 2016 – Signs a “lifetime” endorsement deal with Nike.
January 2017 – Is named the inaugural Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2016.
June 13, 2017 – Is accused of defrauding Spanish authorities of $16.4 million in tax between 2011 and 2014.
August 14, 2017 – According to the Spanish Football Federation, Ronaldo is banned for five games following his red card in Real Madrid’s 3-1 victory over rival Barcelona. On top of the one-game ban for the red card, he will miss four further games for pushing referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea as he was leaving the field.
October 23, 2017 – Wins the FIFA Best Men’s Player Award for the second year in a row.
December 7, 2017 – Claims his fifth Ballon d’Or, equaling the record set by eternal rival Lionel Messi.
July 10, 2018 – Leaves Real Madrid to join the reigning Serie A champion Juventus, based in Turin, Italy, on a four-year contract and a reported $117 million transfer fee.
September 27, 2018 – Kathryn Mayorga files a lawsuit in Clark County, Nevada, accusing Ronaldo of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. She seeks to void a settlement and nondisclosure agreement she says she was coerced to sign by Ronaldo and his legal team. Ronaldo denies the allegations.
January 10, 2019 – Las Vegas police spokeswoman, Officer Laura Meltzer, confirms that in the course of investigating a rape allegation against Ronaldo they have sent a warrant to authorities in Italy requesting a sample of his DNA.
January 22, 2019 – Ronaldo agrees to settle his tax fraud case with Spanish authorities by paying a fine of $21.6 million and accepting a 23-month suspended prison sentence. Under Spanish law, first-time offenders can avoid prison time if the sentence is under two years.
April 20, 2019 – Juventus defeats Fiorentina 2-1 to claim the Italian championship Serie A title. Ronaldo becomes the first player ever to win titles in the Premier League (with Manchester United), La Liga (with Real Madrid) and Serie A (with Juventus).
May 8, 2019 – The lawsuit filed in Clark County, Nevada, accusing Ronaldo of rape is voluntary dismissed by Mayorga. Larissa Drohobyczer, Mayorga’s attorney, tells CNN that “The state case was dismissed by us because we filed the identical claims in federal court due to federal court rules on serving foreigners, we basically just switched venues, but the claims remain.”
July 22, 2019 – The Clark County District Attorney’s office says that Ronaldo will not face sexual assault charges in Las Vegas. The office says the allegations, which were first made in 2009, cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
August 16, 2019 – Federal court documents reveal that following Mayorga’s 2009 accusation of rape, Ronaldo paid Mayorga $375,000 in a settlement and confidentiality agreement. Mayorga is asking the court to invalidate the agreement on the grounds that Ronaldo and his legal team took advantage of her fragile emotional state to coerce her into signing it.
September 8, 2020 – Scores his 100th international goal in Portugal’s Nations League match against Sweden, becoming just the second man in history to reach the milestone.
October 13, 2020 – Has tested positive for coronavirus, according to a statement by the Portuguese Football Federation.
August 31, 2021 – Manchester United confirms the signing of Ronaldo for a second time, completing his transfer from Juventus.
September 1, 2021 – Breaks the men’s all-time international goalscoring record after scoring two goals against Ireland in the Group A World Cup qualifier in Almancil, Portugal.
October 6, 2021 – A federal judge recommends that the rape case against Ronaldo be dismissed, because Mayorga’s attorneys improperly obtained and used information from leaked documents. On June 10, 2022, the case is dismissed. In 2023, Ronaldo is reimbursed over $300,000 for legal fees he spent while defending himself. US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey ruled the attorney representing Mayorga, Leslie Stovall, pay Ronaldo. The court found Stovall owed the money after the attorney was judged to have harmed the footballer through “bad-faith lawyering.”
March 12, 2022 – Scores his 806th career goal against Tottenham, breaking FIFA’s all-time record for most goals in competitive matches in men’s football history.
April 18, 2022 – Ronaldo and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, announce that one of their newborn twins, a boy, has died.
November 22, 2022 – Manchester United announces Ronaldo is leaving the English Premier League club with immediate effect. The announcement comes a week after Ronaldo gave an explosive TV interview about his frustrations at the club.
November 24, 2022 – With a goal in Portugal’s opener against Ghana in Qatar, becomes the first male player in history to score at five World Cups.
December 30, 2022 – Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr announces that Ronaldo has joined the team.
March 23, 2023 – Ronaldo breaks the all-time men’s international appearance record after captaining Portugal in its Euro 2024 qualifier against Liechtenstein in Lisbon.
February 28, 2024 – The Saudi Arabian Football Federation announces Ronaldo has been suspended for one match and fined for “provoking” fans in a Saudi Pro League match.
Cristiano Ronaldo has Portuguese airport renamed in his honor
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Here’s a look at the Australian Open, one of four competitions that make up the “Grand Slam” in professional tennis. The other three are Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open.
January 13-28, 2024 – The 112th Australian Open takes place.
January 16-29, 2023 – The 111th Australian Open takes place.
The tournament is played at Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Australia.
The Australian Open is played on hard courts with a blue surface.
Jannik Sinner overcomes a two-set deficit to defeat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in a five-set final and claims the men’s Australian Open title, becoming the first Italian man to win a grand slam since 1976.
Aryna Sabalenka successfully defends her Australian Open women’s title, defeating China’s Zheng Qinwen in the final.
Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to win a 10th Australian Open title and a record-equaling 22nd grand slam.
Belarusian-born Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina in three sets, becoming the first player competing under a neutral flag to secure a grand slam.
Total prize money for 2024 was a record high $86.5 million AUD, a 13% increase from $76.5 million AUD in 2023.
Youngest winners – men’s singles – Ken Rosewall (18); women’s singles – Martina Hingis (16)
Oldest winners – men’s singles – Rosewall (37); women’s singles – Thelma Long (35)
Most consecutive singles wins – men’s – Roy Emerson (five) 1963-1967; women’s – Margaret Court (seven) 1960-1966
Most singles titles overall – men’s – Djokovic (10); women’s – Margaret Court (11)
1905 – The Australasian Championships are played in Melbourne.
1927 – The name is changed to the Australian Championships.
1954 – Thelma Long wins the Women’s Singles Championship at 35 years and eight months, becoming the oldest female to do so.
1969 – The name is changed to the Australian Open.
1972 – Ken Rosewall wins the Men’s Singles Championship at age 37, becoming the oldest male player to win the Australian Open. Rosewall also holds the record for youngest champion, winning at age 18 in 1953.
2001 – Begins paying men and women equal prize money.
January 15-16, 2022 – World No. 1 and 2021 men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic is detained and deported from Australia over a visa and Covid-19 vaccination dispute, missing the tournament.
November 15, 2022 – Australia’s Immigration Ministry announces the repeal of Djokovic’s three-year ban from entering the country, paving the way for the nine-time singles champion to enter the 2023 Australian Open.
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Here is a look at the life of Hall of Fame hockey player Wayne Gretzky, who is the all-time leading scorer in National Hockey League (NHL) history, with 2,857 career points (894 career goals and 1,963 career assists).
Birth date: January 26, 1961
Birth place: Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Birth name: Wayne Douglas Gretzky
Father: Walter Gretzky, telephone technician
Mother: Phyllis (Hockin) Gretzky
Marriage: Janet Jones (July 16, 1988-present)
Children: Emma, Tristan, Trevor, Ty and Paulina
Nicknamed “The Great One.”
Only player to have his jersey number (No. 99) retired by the entire NHL.
Won four Stanley Cup championships with the Edmonton Oilers (1984-1985, 1987-1988) and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy (NHL Playoff MVP) twice (1985 and 1988).
Awarded the Hart Trophy (NHL MVP) nine times (1980-1987, 1989).
Won the Art Ross Trophy (NHL scoring title) 10 times (1981-1987, 1990-1991, 1994).
Played in 18 NHL All-Star Games.
At the time of his retirement in 1999, Gretzky held outright or shared 61 NHL records.
Is a part-owner of Wayne Gretzky Estates, a winery and distillery in Ontario’s Niagara region.
1974 – At age 13, scores his 1,000th lifetime goal, in an exhibition hockey game.
1978 – At the World Junior Championship, leads the tournament with 17 points (eight goals and nine assists).
June 1978 – Turns professional, signing with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association.
November 2, 1978 – Gretzky’s contract is sold to the Edmonton Oilers. After the collapse of the World Hockey Association (WHA), the Oilers are one of four WHA teams be absorbed into the NHL the following year.
October 14, 1979 – Scores his first NHL goal, against the Vancouver Canucks.
February 24, 1982 – Scores his 77th goal to break Phil Esposito’s single season scoring record. Gretzky ends the season with 92 goals, which remains an NHL record.
1983-1984 – Scores at least one point in 51 consecutive games. Gretzky’s record of the longest consecutive point scoring streak remains active in the NHL.
August 28-September 15, 1987 – Scores 21 points (three goals and 18 assists) in Team Canada’s victory against the USSR in the best-of-three finals for the Canada Cup. The final is still “considered by many to be the best exhibition of hockey in history.”
August 9, 1988 – His trade to the Los Angeles Kings is announced.
October 15, 1989 – Surpasses Gordie Howe to become the NHL’s all-time leading point scorer, with points 1,850 and 1,851.
October 26, 1990 – Earns his 2,000th career point, the only NHL player to reach that landmark.
March 23, 1994 – Scores his 802nd goal, passing Howe as the all-time leading goal scorer.
February 27, 1996 – Traded from the Los Angeles Kings to the St. Louis Blues.
July 21, 1996 – Signs with the New York Rangers as an unrestricted free agent.
April 18, 1999 – Retires following the Rangers’ 2-1 loss in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gretzky played 20 seasons in the NHL, and a total of 21 seasons professionally.
October 1, 1999 – Gretzky’s jersey, No. 99, is formally retired league-wide.
November 22, 1999 – Inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame, after the three-year waiting period is waived.
June 2, 2000 – Announced as a minority owner, managing partner and head of hockey operations for the Phoenix Coyotes (formerly the Winnipeg Jets). Gretzky officially begins his position on February 15, 2001, when the sale of the Coyotes is completed.
2002 – Establishes the Wayne Gretzky Foundation to connect underprivileged youth with hockey.
February 2002 – The Canadian men’s hockey team, for which Gretzky is the executive director, wins gold at the Winter Olympics for the first time in 50 years.
2005-2009 – Head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.
2014 – Establishes Gretzky Hockey Schools.
October 2016 – Becomes partner, vice chairman and alternate board member for the Oilers Entertainment Group, which owns the Edmonton Oilers. On May 25, 2021, Gretzky announces that he is stepping down as vice chairman.
May 26, 2021 – Turner Sports announces that Gretzky is joining the network as a studio analyst.
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Cruising at a depth of 8,336 meters (over 27,000 feet) just above the seabed, a young snailfish has become the deepest fish ever filmed by scientists during a probe into the abyss of the northern Pacific Ocean.
Scientists from University of Western Australia and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology released footage of the snailfish on Sunday filmed last September by sea robots in deep trenches off Japan.
Along with the filming the deepest snailfish, the scientists physically caught two other specimens at 8,022 meters and set another record for the deepest catch.
Previously, the deepest snailfish ever spotted was at 7,703 meters in 2008, while scientists had never been able to collect fish from anywhere below 8,000 meters.
“What is significant is that it shows how far a particular type of fish will descend in the ocean,” said marine biologist Alan Jamieson, founder of the Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre, who led the expedition.
Scientists are filming in the trenches off Japan as part of a 10-year study into the deepest fish populations in the world. Snailfish are members of Liparidae family, and while most snailfish live in shallow water, others survive at some of the greatest depths ever recorded, Jamieson said.
During the two-month survey last year, three “landers” – automatic sea robots fitted with high-resolution cameras – were dropped into three trenches – the Japan, Izu-Ogasawara and Ryukyu trenches – at varying depths.
In the Izu-Ogasawara trench, footage showed the deepest snailfish hovering calmly alongside other crustaceans on the seabed.
Jamieson classified the fish as a juvenile and said younger deep sea snailfish often stay as deep as possible to avoid being eaten by bigger predators that swim at shallower depths.
Another clip shot at between 7,500 and 8,200 meters in the same trench showed a colony of fish and crustaceans munching at bait tied to an undersea robot.
Images of the two captured snailfish – identified as Pseudoliparis belyaevi – provide a rare glimpse of the unique features that help the deep sea species survive the extreme environment.
They have tiny eyes, a translucent body, and their lack of swim bladder, which helps other fish float, works to their advantage, Jamieson said.
The professor said the Pacific Ocean is particularly conducive to vibrant activity due to its warm southern current, which encourages sea creatures to go deeper, while its abundant marine life provides a good source of food for bottom feeders.
Scientists would like to know more about creatures living at extreme depths, but cost is the constraint, Jamieson said, adding that each lander alone costs them $200,000 to assemble and operate.
“The challenges are that technology has been expensive and scientists don’t have a lot of money,” he said.
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Stocks slid Friday after a slate of earnings beats from big banks fueled concerns that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its next two meetings.
Still, the major indices gained for the week. The Dow rose 400 points, or 1.2%. The S&P 500 gained 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%.
JPMorgan Chase on Friday reported first-quarter profit and revenue that crushed expectations, boosted by the Fed’s interest rate hiking campaign. Citigroup, Wells Fargo and PNC Financial also reported strong results.
CEO Jamie Dimon warned investors in the company’s post-earnings conference call that they should prepare for interest rates to be higher for longer than expected.
Wall Street seems to have taken note. Analysts increased their bets on a quarter-point rate hike at the Fed’s meeting in May and another in June.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Friday that the central bank needs to continue tightening monetary policy, further weighing down markets.
Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said that it’s “definitely” possible the United States enters a mild recession after the tumult in banking last month.
Meanwhile, retail sales data declined more than expected, suggesting that Americans’ spending power and the US economy are weakening.
Consumer sentiment held fairly steady in April, even as concerns about a recession linger, according to the University of Michigan’s latest monthly survey.
“There was too much news to digest this morning, but the key takeaway is that the Fed has room to do more harm,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.
The Dow slipped 144 points, or 0.4%.
The S&P 500 tumbled 0.2%.
The Nasdaq Composite sank 0.4%.
As stocks settle after the trading day, levels might still change slightly.
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