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European Central Bank hikes rates again and vows more after US Fed hits pause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:52 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank pressed ahead with another interest rate hike Thursday and pledged more are on the way, aiming to crush inflation that is driving up the cost of groceries even after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a break from its own string of increases.The quarter-point rate boost, to 3.5%, is the eighth straight increase since July 2022 for the 20 countries that use the euro currency. That is an unprecedentedly swift campaign to tighten the flow of credit to the economy as the bank seeks to return inflation to its target of 2% from 6.1%. ECB President Christine Lagarde said more hikes, including at the bank’s next meeting on July 27, are in the cards. ECB projections acknowledge that controlling inflation will take months longer, even after the rate has fallen from a double-digit peak late last year.“Are we done? Have we finished the journey? No, we’re not at destination,” she said at a news conference. “Do we still have ground ...

Stock market today: Wall Street opens mixed amid unclear signs on the economy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is off to a mixed start following a messy mix of economic reports that yielded no clear sign about where the economy and inflation are heading. The S&P 500 was little changed in early trading Thursday, coming off its highest level since April 2022. The Dow was up 45 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite was down 0.3%. The market is still absorbing the Federal Reserve’s warning a day earlier that it could raise interest rates two more times this year in its battle against inflation. The Fed has already raised its benchmark rate to the highest level since 2007.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street is pointing lower after the U.S. Federal Reserve left its benchmark borrowing rate unchanged for the first time in more than a year, but issued projections of as many as two additional quarter-point rate hikes before 2023 is over.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 0.2% before the opening bell Thursday and th...

UN requires delegates at climate talks to reveal affiliation in effort to curb lobbying by Big Oil

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:52 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The United Nations will require delegates attending its annual climate summit to disclose their affiliation in an effort to clamp down on undue influence by fossil fuel companies and others, officials said Thursday.Climate campaigners have long complained that the so-called Conferences of the Parties, or COPs, are undermined by lobbyists for oil and gas firms attending under the guise of country delegates. Participants will also be asked to provide optional information on their relationship with the government agency or organization that’s nominated them and those declining to do so will be flagged accordingly. Civil society groups welcomed the decision, which will apply to them too, but said participants should also have to disclose who is funding their attendance.“Addressing the undue influence of the fossil fuel industry and other Big Polluters must begin, not end, with this step forward,” said Tasneem Essop, executive director of the environmental umbrella or...

‘Stand with Trump’ becomes a rallying cry as Republicans amplify attacks on the US justice system

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Moments after Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he hoarded classified documents and then conspired to obstruct an investigation about it, the Republicans in Congress had his back.Speaker Kevin McCarthy dashed off a fundraising email decrying the “witch hunt” against the former president and urging donors to sign up and “stand with Trump.”Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell steered clear of criticizing the former president, refusing to engage in questions about the unprecedented indictment.And at a public meeting in the Capitol basement, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene compared the case against Trump to the federal prosecution of people at the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, suggesting in both instances it was the Justice Department, not the defendants, under scrutiny.The mounting legal jeopardy Trump finds himself in has quickly become a political rallying cry for the Republicans, many of whom acknowledged they had not fully read the 49-page...

Twitter worst among major social media platforms when it comes to LGBTQ safety, GLAAD says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — All major social media platforms do poorly at protecting LGBTQ+ users from hate speech and harassment — especially those who are transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming, the advocacy group GLAAD said Thursday. But Twitter is the worst. In its annual Social Media Safety Index, GLAAD gave Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter low or failing scores, saying the platforms don’t do enough to keep their users safe. That said, most improved from a year ago. Twitter, which was acquired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk last October, was the only exception. GLAAD’s scorecard called it “the most dangerous platform for LGBTQ people” and the only one that saw its scores decline from last year.Twitter ‘s communications staff was eradicated after Musk took over the company and for months inquiries to the press office have been answered only an automated reply of a poop emoji, as was the case when The Associated Press reached out to the company for co...

Ottawa boosts Haiti sanctions, police funding during summit aimed at resolving crisis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:52 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is announcing more support for Haiti, as neighbouring countries say they have hope the Caribbean nation can overcome a severe political and humanitarian crisis.Canada is adding two former senators to its list of sanctioned Haitian elites whom Ottawa accuses of supporting gangs, bringing the total to 21 people.Ottawa is also adding $40 million to its funding for law enforcement, as Canada and the U.S. focus on shoring up the work of the Haitian National Police as they try to stop gangs from committing brazen acts of violence and controlling critical infrastructure.Joly has convened a meeting of ministers from Haiti and countries concerned about the gangs that have filled a power vacuum after the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse two years ago.The United Nations’ representative in the country noted that recent earthquakes and floods have worsened instability, hunger and a cholera outbreak.The Jamaican government says efforts ...

CREA says home sales in May post first year-over-year increase since June 2021

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:52 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in May rose compared with the same month last year to post the first year-over-year sales increase since June 2021 as prices also climbed higher.The association says the number of home sales In May gained 1.4 per cent compared with the same month last year.Seasonally-adjusted sales for May were up 5.1 per cent compared with April.The increase in sales came as the number of newly listed properties rose 6.8 per cent month-over-month.The actual national average home price was $729,000 in May, up 3.2 per cent from May 2022. CREA says it was the first year-over-year increase in the national average price in a year.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2023.The Canadian Press

5 key takeaways from ‘partygate’ report that found Boris Johnson deliberately misled UK Parliament

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A U.K. parliamentary committee on Thursday issued a damning report concluding that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled lawmakers over what he knew about multiple lockdown-flouting parties at his office and government buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic.Lawmakers voted in April 2022 for the seven-member panel to investigate Johnson’s conduct over “partygate,” a series of boozy gatherings attended by Johnson and his staff that broke rules and eventually contributed to his downfall. Here are the key points of the report:WHAT WAS THE COMMITTEE TASKED TO DO?The seven lawmakers — including four from Johnson’s Conservatives and three from opposition parties — examined what Johnson told the House of Commons about gatherings in Downing Street in 2020 and 2021. If a statement was misleading, the committee said it considered whether it was a “genuine error or was intentional or reckless,” and whether the record was corrected in good ...

Delphi suspect Richard Allen arrives for hearing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:52 GMT

DELPHI, Ind. – Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen arrived in court Thursday morning for a hearing in Carroll County.Allen faces two counts of murder in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German.Thursday’s hearing was slated to start at 10 a.m. at the Carroll County courthouse in Delphi. Judge Fran Gull from Allen County was assigned to the case after Benjamin Diener, a Carroll County judge, recused himself from the case last year. Attorneys challenge method linking Richard Allen to unspent round at crime scene Gull is expected to hear from defense attorneys and prosecutors regarding several motions.Allen’s defense team filed a motion to suppress certain evidence from the case. While the motion is under seal, the court revealed it involves ballistics.The probable cause affidavit unsealed in November 2022 indicated that investigators found an unspent round near the girls’ bodies. A forensic expert determined the bullet had been ejected from Allen’s Sig Sauer Model ...

Suicides and homicides among young Americans jumped early in the pandemic, study says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The homicide rate for older U.S. teenagers rose to its highest point in nearly 25 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the suicide rate for adults in their early 20s was the worst in more than 50 years, government researchers said Thursday.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report examined the homicide and suicide rates among 10- to 24-year-olds from 2001 to 2021.The increase is alarming and “reflects a mental health crisis among young people and a need for a number of policy changes,” said Dr. Steven Woolf, a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher who studies U.S. death trends and wasn’t involved in the CDC report.Experts cited several possible reasons for the increases, including higher rates of depression, limited availability of mental health services and the number of guns in U.S. homes.Guns were used in 54% of suicides and 93% of homicides among the age group in 2021, the most recent year for which statistics were available. “Picture a teena...