US stocks rise to fresh records in shortened session

US stocks rise to fresh records in shortened session

NEW YORK

Stocks hit fresh records in a shortened trading session Friday as investors continued to bet on a pickup in economic growth and rising corporate profits.

The gains were modest but broad, with nearly every sector in the Standard and Poor’s 500 index rising. Utilities rose the most, up 1.4 percent.

Indexes have been rising since the presidential election, and the close Friday capped a third week in a row of S&P 500 gains. The index is up 4 percent so far this month.

Report: Russian propaganda effort spread fake news

NEW YORK

A new report suggests a “sophisticated” Russian propaganda campaign helped flood social media with fake news stories leading up to the presidential election.

The Washington Post, citing a yet-to-be published report from independent researchers, said the goal was to punish Hillary Clinton, help Donald Trump and undermine faith in American democracy.

The report comes from a nonpartisan group of researchers called PropOrNot. The group describes itself as “concerned American citizens” with expertise in computer science, national security and public policy. The researchers say they traced the origins of posts and mapped the connections among accounts that delivered similar messages.

Otto enters Pacific after devastation; 9 dead in Costa Rica

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica

Tropical Storm Otto killed at least nine people in Costa Rica and then headed into the Pacific Ocean on Friday after making landfall as the southernmost hurricane on record to hit Central America.

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis announced that nine people had been killed in the area of Bagaces and Upala, a town south of the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border. Earlier, he said at least six people were missing in the nearby town of Bijagua.

Solis said as much water fell on the area in a few hours as normally falls in a month, and said some people had been trapped by rising waters.

The United States sent airplanes and neighboring Panama sent planes and helicopters to aid in the search- and-rescue efforts in the area, where rain-swollen rivers overflowed their banks.

Marineland charged with animal cruelty

TORONTO

Ontario’s animal welfare agency has charged Marineland amusement park in the tourist city of Niagara Falls with five counts of animal cruelty.

The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Friday the charges relate to peacocks, guinea hens and black bears.

The OSPCA says inspection officers went to Marineland on Nov. 10 after receiving a complaint about alleged animal cruelty.

Marineland faces one count of permitting a peacock to be in distress, one count of failing to comply with the prescribed standards of care for a peacock and two counts for failing to comply with the prescribed standards of care for guinea hens.

The facility also faces charges related to failing to provide adequate food and water for its bears.

Associated Press