SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The first known lawsuit has been filed against the owners of a legendary nightclub whose roof collapsed and killed 231 people in the Dominican Republic.
The family of one victim sued Jet Set nightclub owner Antonio Espaillat and his mother, Ana Grecia López, along with the Dominican government and the Santo Domingo mayor’s office. It seeks unspecified damages from all and a criminal conviction for involuntary manslaughter against the owners.
The lawsuit was filed Monday by an attorney representing the widow and father of Virgilio Rafael Cruz Aponte.
A spokeswoman for the owners said they continue to cooperate with authorities.
On Monday, President Luis Abinader acknowledged there is no government agency responsible for supervising the construction of private businesses like the nightclub. He said the government is working on a bill to correct that.
It’s not clear what caused the roof to collapse early on April 8. Authorities have launched an investigation and created a technical team with local and international experts.
More than 400 people were at the club for a merengue concert headlined by singer Rubby Pérez, who was among the victims. Others killed include former professional baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera along with Nelsy Cruz, governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi, whose brother is seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz.
Crews rescued 189 survivors, with eleven still hospitalized.
The government on Monday honored 565 rescue crew members, soldiers, firefighters, doctors and others who helped to save lives.
A person lights a candle at a makeshift memorial outside the Jet Set nightclub, in memory of the more than 200 people who died when its roof collapsed, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Wall Street pointed higher early Tuesday, a day after skepticism about the strength and safety of U.S. investments due to President Donald Trump’s trade war, and his attacks on the Fed Chair Jerome Powell, sent markets sharply lower.
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.8% before the bell, far from recovering the loss of 2.4% Monday. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 0.8% and Nasdaq futures gained 0.9%. Both slumped more than 2% the day before as Trump stepped up his public criticism of Powell.
Trump has been demanding that the central bank lower its key interest rate to boost the economy. Trump called Powell “a major loser” and said that energy and grocery prices are “substantially lower" and that the central bank no longer needs to keep interest rates elevated to suppress inflation.
The Fed has resisted lowering rates quickly, which could reignite inflation after it soared to more than 9% during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago.
Any attempt to unseat Powell would likely set off a crisis in global financial markets. While Wall Street loves lower rates, largely because they boost stock prices, the bigger worry would be that a less independent Fed could struggle to keep inflation under control. Such a move could further weaken, if not kill, the United States’ reputation as the world’s safest place to keep cash.
Longer-term yields have been on the rise lately with doubts about the United States’ standing in the global economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.43% overnight before settling at 4.39% in the morning. That's still up from 4.34% at the end of last week about 4% earlier this month, a substantial move for the bond market.
The U.S. dollar edged down to 140.24 Japanese yen from 140.80 yen. The dollar has been weakening against the yen and other currencies, and traded momentarily as low as 139 yen on Monday, a 52-week low.
In equities trading early Tuesday, First Solar jumped 7.2% after the Department of Commerce finalized harsher-than-expected solar tariffs on some southeast Asian communities.
Northrop Grumman tumbled 10.6% after it reported that its first-quarter sales fell from a year ago. The military contractor also saw its profit nearly halved as it charged a big loss related to higher manufacturing costs for its B-21 bomber program.
Technology companies, which have taken some of the biggest beatings during the recent market volatility, inched up in premarket Tuesday. Nvidia and Meta Platforms rose less than 1% before the bell.
Meta shares have declined for seven consecutive days, the longest losing streak for the company since April 2023.
One day after plummeting another 6%, Tesla shares inched up less than 1% in premarket ahead of its quarterly earnings report after the bell Tuesday.
Elon Musk's electric car company has already reported that its first-quarter car sales dropped by 13% from the same time last year. That decline occurred against a backdrop of vandalism, widespread protests and calls for a consumer boycott amid a backlash to Musk’s high-profile role in the White House overseeing a cost-cutting purge of U.S. government agencies.
Tesla shares are down about 40% since the beginning of 2025.
In Europe at midday, France's CAC 40 and German's DAX each declined 0.7%, while Britain's FTSE 100 was mostly unchanged.
Trading was cautious in Asia, where the benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.2% to finish at 34,220.60. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was virtually unchanged, inching down less than 0.1% to 7,816.70. South Korea's Kospi lost nearly 0.1% to 2,486.64. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added nearly 0.8% to 21,562.32, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.3% to 3,299.76.
Trump's tariffs and the retaliatory measures from China hang as a shadow over the region.
"Across Asia, there is undoubtedly a sense of urgency to get to the negotiation table even as striking a deal at an appropriate cost can be tough," said Tan Boon Heng, at Mizuho Bank's Asia & Oceania Treasury Department.
“China’s warning to countries not to resolve U.S. tariffs by striking deals at the expense of Beijing’s interests reveals the geo-economic polarization.”
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 93 cents to $63.34 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 88 cents to $67.14 a barrel.
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Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
