North America

Detroit (US), May 28 (AP/PTI) After more than a decade of rapid growth, Chinese travel to the U.S. is falling. And that has cities, malls and other tourist spots scrambling to reverse the trend.

Travel from China to the U.S. fell 5.7% in 2018 to 2.9 million visitors, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, which collects data from U.S. Customs forms. It was the first time since 2003 that Chinese travel to the U.S. slipped from the prior year.

MAUI, Hawaii (AP) — The California man killed by a shark in Hawaii over the weekend was a frequent visitor to the islands and an avid scuba diver who had recently retired, a friend said.

A shark attacked 65-year-old Thomas Smiley while he was swimming Saturday in the Ka’anapali Beach Park area on Maui, police said.

A witness said that when rescuers pulled him to shore and began CPR, he was missing a leg from the knee down. Smiley died at the scene.

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado climber died shortly after getting to the top of Mount Everest and achieving his dream of scaling the highest peaks on each of the seven continents, his brother said Monday.

Christopher Kulish, a 62-year-old Boulder attorney, died Monday at a camp below the summit during his descent. The cause isn’t yet known, said his brother, Mark Kulish of Denver.

Christopher Kulish had just reached the top of Everest with a small group after crowds of hundreds of climbers congested the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) peak last week, his brother said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump dismissed the hard realities of his trade dispute with China as mere foolishness Monday and told people to expect humans on Mars “very shortly,” which isn’t happening.

Here’s a look at some of his statements in a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and how they stack up with reality:

TRADE

BROOKVILLE, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Department of Transportation is using snow plows to remove debris off an Ohio highway after a “large and dangerous” tornado hit the area late Monday.

27 May 2019; AFP: Days ahead of an annual holiday when Americans remember those who died while serving in the armed forces, the US Army's Twitter account asked people how their time in the military affected them and received an outpouring of grief.

The question drew some 10,000 replies since it was posted late last week paint a harrowing picture of the toll America's wars have taken on those who fought them.

NEW YORK, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Kevin Cheung, vice president of a New York-based clothing firm, recently twisted his ankle and is steadily recovering from an intense burning sensation on it.

Yet there are no signs of easing of the "slow burn" that his company, Lisa International, has suffered since the United States initiated tariff disputes with China last March.

27 May 2019; AFP: Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva agreed on Sunday to pay the US state of Oklahoma $85 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of fueling the state's opioid epidemic, Oklahoma's attorney general said.

The announcement comes after Purdue Pharma, maker of the opioid painkiller OxyContin -- a key driver of the crisis responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States -- reached a $270 million settlement with the state in March.

MEXICO CITY, May 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- At MIREC Week 2019, Huawei 1500V Smart PV Solution won the MIREC Technology Innovation Award. It is another world-class award following Huawei's SUN2000 15-20KTL series smart inverter winning the Intersolar Award at the Intersolar Europe 2019, and represents the worldwide recognition of Huawei FusionSolar Smart PV Solution by the solar PV industry, while fully demonstrating Huawei's crucial innovation strength.

MOSBY, Mo. (AP) — The residents of this small riverside town have become accustomed to watching floods swamp their streets, transform their homes into islands and ruin their floors and furniture.

Elmer Sullivan has replaced his couch, bed and television. He’s torn up water-buckled floorboards. And he put a picket fence against the front of his house to cover up a gap left when waters washed out part of the stone foundation.

“I just don’t want to mess with it anymore. I’m 83 years old and I’m tired of it, and I just want to get out of it,” Sullivan said.