Business & Financial News, U.S & International Breaking News

The benchmark S&P 500 stock index rose within striking distance of a record high on Monday as further signs of progress toward a resolution of the trade dispute between the United States and China helped boost shares in trade-exposed and economically sensitive sectors.

The Trump administration on Monday proposed taking DNA samples from immigrants detained by U.S. authorities, raising privacy concerns especially for asylum-seekers and minor offenders whose genetic information would go into an FBI database.

Lebanon approved an emergency reform package on Monday in response to protests over dire economic conditions, but the moves did not go far enough to persuade demonstrators to leave the streets or investors to halt a plunge in its bonds.

Four large drug companies reached a last-minute $260 million legal settlement on Monday over their role in the U.S. opioid addiction epidemic, striking a deal with two Ohio counties to avert the first federal trial over the crisis.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared confused at a London court hearing on Monday, struggling to recall his name and age in his first public appearance in months as he sought to fight extradition to the United States.

Britain said on Monday it was reviewing the rules which govern diplomatic immunity arrangements for U.S. personnel at an air force base after a man was killed when his motorbike collided with a car driven by a U.S. diplomat's wife.