AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT

Google illegally maintains monopoly over internet search, judge rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Monday ruled that Google’s ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation, a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world’s best-known companies.

The highly anticipated decision issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a year after the start of a trial pitting the U.S. Justice Department against Google in the country’s biggest antitrust showdown in a quarter century.

After reviewing reams of evidence that included testimony from top executives at Google, Microsoft and Apple during last year’s 10-week trial, Mehta issued his potentially market-shifting decision three months after the two sides presented their closing arguments in early May.

“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Mehta wrote in his 277-page ruling. He said Google’s dominance in the search market is evidence of its monopoly.

Google “enjoys an 89.2% share of the market for general search services, which increases to 94.9% on mobile devices,” the ruling said.

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The Latest: Debby blamed for multiple deaths in Florida, Georgia, leaves thousands without power

High winds and heavy rains from Tropical Storm Debby lashed Florida on Monday. At least four deaths were reported in the state, and hundreds had to be rescued from flooded homes.

The storm is now threatening to flood some of America’s most historic Southern cities.

Here’s the Latest:

About 500 people were rescued from flooded homes in Sarasota, Florida, a beach city popular with tourists, the Sarasota Police Department said Monday in a social media post.

“Essentially we’ve had twice the amount of the rain that was predicted for us to have,” Sarasota County Fire Chief David Rathbun said in a social media update.

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Tropical Storm Debby hits Florida with floods, threat of record rain in Georgia and the Carolinas

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby slammed Florida on Monday with torrential rain and high winds, contributing to at least four deaths in the state and the rescue of hundreds from flooded homes before turning menacingly toward the Eastern Seaboard’s low-lying regions and threatening to flood some of America’s most historic Southern cities.

Record-setting rain was causing flash flooding, with up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) possible in some areas, the National Hurricane Center said.

About 500 people were rescued from flooded homes in Sarasota, Florida, a beach city popular with tourists, the Sarasota Police Department said in a social media post. It was one of the cities hardest hit by flooding on Monday.

“Essentially we’ve had twice the amount of the rain that was predicted for us to have,” Sarasota County Fire Chief David Rathbun said in a social media update.

Just north of Sarasota, officials in Manatee County said in a news release that 186 people were rescued from flood waters.

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Rally dates are set. Venues are chosen. The only thing missing for Harris’ blitz is her VP choice

WASHINGTON (AP) — The dates are set. The venues are chosen. The only thing missing from this week’s campaign blitz with Vice President Kamala Harris and her 2024 running mate is the name of the running mate.

After a weekend spent interviewing finalists, Harris must decide on her wingman before the two set off Tuesday on a tour across key battleground states where they will introduce the new Democratic ticket to voters and highlight the stakes of the election.

Everything about her campaign has been rapid-fire out of necessity. She’s only been a candidate for a little over two weeks, since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race following a dismal debate performance and escalating calls within the Democratic party for him to step aside. The Democratic National Committee chair said Friday that Harris had already secured enough votes to become the party’s nominee and will accept the nomination Monday night when voting ends.

And about 8 in 10 Democrats say they would be somewhat or very satisfied if Harris became the Democratic nominee for president, according to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted after Biden withdrew from the race.

Harris has had to do condensed vetting of her potential running mates as the party’s convention draws near. That means there’s not much time left for advocates for and against different picks get in their final licks.

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Ex-Trump attorney Jenna Ellis to cooperate in Arizona fake electors case, charges to be dropped

PHOENIX (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s campaign attorney Jenna Ellis, who worked closely with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, will cooperate with Arizona prosecutors in exchange for charges being dropped against her in a fake electors case, the state attorney general’s office announced Monday.

Ellis has previously pleaded not guilty to fraud, forgery and conspiracy charges in the Arizona case. Seventeen other people charged in the case have pleaded not guilty to the felony charges — including Giuliani, Trump presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows and 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring Trump had won Arizona.

“Her insights are invaluable and will greatly aid the State in proving its case in court,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement. “As I stated when the initial charges were announced, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined — it is far too important. Today’s announcement is a win for the rule of law.”

Eleven people who had been nominated to be Arizona’s Republican electors had met in Phoenix on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate saying they were “duly elected and qualified” electors and claimed Trump had carried the state in the 2020 election. President Joe Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes.

A one-minute video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.

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Japan’s share benchmark soars nearly 11% a day after massive sell-offs that shook Wall Street

NEW YORK (AP) — Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index soared more than 10% early Tuesday, a day after it set markets tumbling in Europe and on Wall Street. Other markets in Asia appeared to have settled somewhat after the rollercoaster ride that started the week.

The scary Monday started with a plunge abroad reminiscent of 1987 ’s crash that swept around the world and pummeled Wall Street with more steep losses, as fears worsened about a slowing U.S. economy.

The Nikkei gained nearly 11% early Tuesday but then fell back, trading 8.7% higher at 34,211.83 as investors bought into bargains after the 12.4% rout of the day before.

On Monday, the S&P 500 dropped 3% for its worst day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reeled by 1,033 points, or 2.6%, while the Nasdaq composite slid 3.4% as Apple, Nvidia and other Big Tech companies that used to be the stars of the stock market continued to wilt.

The drops were the latest in a global sell-off that began last week, and it was the first chance for traders in Tokyo to react to Friday’s report showing U.S. employers slowed their hiring last month by much more than economists expected. That was the latest piece of data on the U.S. economy to come in weaker than expected, and it’s all raised fear the Federal Reserve has pressed the brakes on the U.S. economy by too much for too long through high interest rates in hopes of stifling inflation.

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Venezuela’s top prosecutor announces criminal probe against opposition leaders González, Machado

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s top prosecutor on Monday announced a criminal investigation against the opposition’s presidential candidate Edmundo González and its leader Maria Corina Machado over their call on the armed forces to abandon their support for President Nicolás Maduro and to stop repressing demonstrators.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab’s statement tied the investigation directly to a written appeal the two members of the opposition sent hours earlier about Maduro and the demonstrators who have come out in force to defend their votes in the July 28 election.

Saab, in a written announcement posted on the social media site X, said the duo “falsely announced a winner of the presidential election other than the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council, the only body qualified to do so” and they openly incited “police and military officials to disobey the laws.”

Gonzalez’s and Machado’s written appeal shows the alleged commission of various crimes including usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information to cause fear and conspiracy, Saab said.

The armed forces are traditionally the arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela. But they’ve shown no signs of ditching Maduro even in the face of credible evidence presented by the opposition that it trounced the self-proclaimed socialist at the polls by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

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Proxy forces armed by Iran could take part in retaliation against Israel over Hamas leader’s killing

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As Iran threatens to respond to the suspected Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the regional militias that the Islamic Republic has armed for decades could play a role in any attack.

Here’s a look at Iran’s history of arming militias, its allies in the region and what part they could play.

Iran’s policy of arming militias took root in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Before it, the U.S. provided major weapon systems including F-14 Tomcat fighter jets to the government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. After the revolution and the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis, those shipments and needed maintenance programs stopped. Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s destroyed much of its arsenal. International sanctions on Iran, including over its nuclear program, also have kept it from receiving new arms while Israel and Gulf Arab states allied with the U.S. have received advanced weapons. While developing its own missile program, Iran can’t match those sophisticated weapons. It relies on militias as an asymmetric threat to squeeze both Israel and the United States.

Iran’s arming began in earnest in the 1980s with Shiite forces in Lebanon fighting against Israel. They became the Hezbollah militia. The arming expanded with the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, a longtime foe of Tehran. Iran strongly backed Syrian President Bashar Assad in his country’s long war. And Iran has continued when the opportunity has arisen, even arming Sunni militants while viewing itself as the world’s defender of Shiite Muslims. Those relationships are managed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, one of the most powerful armed groups in the Middle East.

The militias in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” include these:

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Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina resigns as widening unrest sees protesters storm her official residence

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s prime minister resigned and fled the country Monday after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs descended into violence and grew into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule. Thousands of demonstrators stormed her official residence and other buildings associated with her party and family.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure threatens to create even more instability in the densely populated nation on India’s border that is already dealing with a series of crises, from high unemployment to corruption to climate change. Amid security concerns, the main airport in Dhaka, the capital, suspended operations.

Violence just before and after her resignation left at least 41 people dead and about 200 others injured, according to media reports, which could not be independently confirmed. More than a dozen were reportedly killed when protesters set fire to a hotel owned by a leader in Hasina’s party in the southwestern town of Jashore.

The military chief, Gen. Waker-uz-Zamam said he was temporarily taking control of the country, and soldiers tried to stem the growing unrest. Mohammed Shahabuddin, the country’s figurehead president, announced late Monday after meeting with Waker-uz-Zamam and opposition politicians that Parliament would be dissolved and a national government would be formed as soon as possible, leading to fresh elections.

Speaking after the embattled leader was seen in television footage boarding a military helicopter with her sister, Waker-uz-Zaman sought to reassure a jittery nation that order would be restored. Experts, though, warned the road ahead would be long.

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What’s the deal with the Olympics? Your burning questions, answered

PARIS (AP) — The Olympics have their own language, traditions and rules — ones that are ever-evolving. It can be a lot to take in so here, The Associated Press will be answering some of the most asked questions about the Paris Games.

Most of the events are in or around Paris, but select competitions are scattered around France — or in Tahiti. It’s not uncommon for host cities to tap venues outside municipal limits. It’s down to a few factors: space, appropriate facilities for each discipline, a sustainability commitment that meant only two new venues were constructed in Paris and, in Tahiti’s case, the best place to get sick waves with minimal impact.

Gold, silver and bronze medalists can skip the trip to the gift shop. When the winners take the podium, they’re handed a long, thin package containing the official Paris Olympics poster. They also get special stuffed Olympic Phryges with their corresponding medal.

It’s the Olympic Phryge, a triangular red behemoth that has confounded some. It’s meant to commemorate the phrygian bonnet, a hat that is a symbol of the French Revolution. The Paralympics mascot is much the same but has a prosthetic leg.

The Russians were already on thin ice at the Olympics before the invasion of Ukraine. Amid doping investigations, Russian athletes competed on the Olympic Athletes from Russia team in Pyeongyang and as the Russian Olympic Committee in Tokyo and Beijing. After the invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee suspended the ROC for forming sports councils in eastern Ukraine — a breach of the Olympic Charter.

The Associated Press