SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian police arrested five officers accused over a coup plot that included plans to overthrow the government following the 2022 elections and kill President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, authorities said.
According to the investigation, the coup plotters also planned to kill Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Brazilian media said the five arrested included four military and one police officer.
The police said that five arrest warrants have been carried out, as well as three search and seizure warrants along with other measures, including seizing the suspects' passports and preventing them from contacting others.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who authorized the arrests, said a police investigation revealed the coup plot involved military personnel trained in the Army’s Special Forces and a retired high-ranking official.
“The objective was to prevent the inauguration of the legitimately elected government and undermine the free exercise of democracy and the authority of Brazil’s judiciary,” de Moraes said in the order.
“These actions, peaking between November and December 2022, were part of a broader plan to carry out a coup d’état,” he added.
The developments Tuesday followed statements by two top Brazilian military leaders who declared to police earlier this year that former President Jair Bolsonaro presented them a plan for him to remain in power after the 2022 election, which he lost.
However, both refused and warned him they would arrest him if he tried it, according to judicial documents released in March.
The statements by the two added to term add to Bolsonaro’s legal woes as prosecutors seek to find links between the far-right leader and the Jan. 8, 2023 riots that trashed government buildings in the capital Brasilia one week after Lula’s inauguration.
President Lula was informed of the warrants early on Tuesday morning, according to media reports in Brazil, but has not yet commented on the police operation.
The Brazilian president is hosting the final day of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro and is expected to hold bilateral meetings with President Joe Biden and other leaders. Lula made no mention of the arrests during his opening speech at the summit.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart ratcheted up sales and profits again in the third quarter with its comparatively low prices proving a powerful draw for shoppers seeking to cut spending where they could.
The nation’s largest retailer raised its outlook for the year as well, underscoring its confidence in a strong holiday shopping season. The company's shares rose nearly 4% in premarket trading Tuesday.
Walmart is among the first major U.S. retailers to report quarterly results and provides a peek into how Americans are feeling as they head into the holiday season.
Industry analysts expect consumers to show up in force, though sales may not meet last year spending levels by Americans.
A post-pandemic inflation spike sent prices about 20% higher overall compared with three years ago and it soured Americans’ outlook on the economy, a key reason given by voters for sending Donald Trump back to the White House.
Yet even as many complained of how costs have strained household budgets, strong consumer spending, continues to drive steady growth in the U.S. economy. Retail sales rose 0.4% from September to October, the Commerce Department said Friday, a solid increase though it was half of the previous month’s jump.
Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, reported net income of $4.58 billion, or 57 cents per share, in the three months ended Oct. 31. That compares with $453 billion, or 6 cents per share in the year-ago period.
Adjusted earnings were 58 cents per share, five cents better than Wall Street had expected, according to a survey by FactSet.
Sales rose 5.5% to $169.59 billion, up from $160.8 billion in the year-ago period, and also easily beat analyst projections.
Comparable store sales — which include online and stores open for the past 12 months — rose 5.3% in the U.S. That is an acceleration from the 4.2% jump in the U.S. in the second quarter and 3.8% in the first quarter.
Sales reflect broad-based strength across all product categories and physical and digital channels, the company said.
The number of transactions and the average amount customers spent during each of those transactions at Walmart was higher in this quarter than it was during the same three months last year.
Global e-commerce sales rose 27%, compared with 21% in the fiscal second and first quarter.
Analysts will be sifting through Walmart’s results and may seek more information from company executives regarding Trump’s proposed tariffs during a conference call Tuesday. Trump has vowed that he’ll put a 60% tariff on goods from China — and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports.
Companies have already rerouted some production away from China, but an aggressive trade policy could accelerate those plans.
Shoe brand Steve Madden announced earlier this month that it will be be cutting the goods that it imports from China by as much as 45% next year.
For the current fiscal year, Walmart expects earnings per share in the range of $2.42 to $2.47. That’s up from its August projections for per-share earnings of between $2.35 and $2.43. Analysts expect $2.45 per share, according to FactSet.
The company also expects sales to increase by 4.8% to 5.1% for the year, up from a range of 3.75% to 4.75%.
FILE - People buy groceries at a Walmart Superstore in Secaucus, New Jersey, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)
FILE - People walk by the Walmart booth during the CES tech show on Jan. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
