Oil prices up,

stocks down

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices rose, and stock markets dropped in shaky trading worldwide after President Donald Trump raised doubts about the temporary truce in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% Wednesday after sinking as much as 1.1% earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.1% after Trump said the agreement to pause fighting with Iran was over.

The Nasdaq composite erased an early slump and rose 0.2% after Trump said in the afternoon that the most recent fighting did not mean a return to full-scale war. Brent crude oil’s price climbed 5% above $78 per barrel.

Trump appeals

Carroll order

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge says writer E. Jean Carroll can be given $5.8 million resting in escrow since a jury said President Donald Trump sexually abused her in 1996 and defamed her after she publicly revealed the attack.

Trump’s lawyers immediately appealed Wednesday’s order, which freed the money for release. Carroll’s lawyers had requested disbursement after the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the 2023 civil verdict.

Trump has resumed defamatory attacks against Carroll as his lawyers considered asking the high court to reconsider its decision. Trump’s attorneys on Wednesday accused his political opponents of using the legal system against him.

Maine race

unsettled

SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — The questions surrounding Democrat Graham Platner have left a crucial U.S. Senate race unsettled just months before the midterm elections. Platner was accused by a former girlfriend of sexual assault, leading Democrats to call on him to step down.

Platner has denied the allegation and so far been mum on whether he will quit the race. The Maine Democratic Party has not said how it plans on going about selecting a possible successor.

Potential contenders have already begun teasing their interest. Maine law would require him to step aside by July 13 for a replacement to be considered. Maine’s Democratic Party would then choose a successor by July 27.

NY high-rise

deemed stable

NEW YORK (AP) — An under-construction Manhattan high-rise at risk of collapse after columns buckled has been stabilized and some evacuations of nearby buildings have been lifted.

The commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings says the building hasn’t moved since they started monitoring it earlier Tuesday. The building is a former Pfizer headquarters and is being converted to luxury apartments. Nearby buildings, including a school, had been evacuated earlier Tuesday.

Builders say the 37-story tower is part of the city’s largest office-to-residential conversion project, with over 1,600 planned units.