WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. trade deficit fell by nearly 24% in August as President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs pushed imports lower. In a report delayed for more than seven weeks by the federal government shutdown, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that the gap between what the United States buys from other countries and what it sells them fell to $59.6 billion in August, from $78.2 billion in July.

VENICE, Italy (AP) – The storied Venetian opera house La Fenice is embroiled in a dispute with its orchestra and chorus over the appointment of a young and telegenic musical director with ties to Premier Giorgia Meloni but none with the musicians she has been hired to conduct.

LONDON (AP) – Inflation in the U.K. fell to a four-month low in October, official figures showed Wednesday, in a move that has raised expectations of another Bank of England interest rate cut next month. The annual rate of inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index, fell to 3.6% in October from 3.8% the previous month.