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Wall Street holds steady ahead of Fed decision on rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are holding steady as Wall Street bides its time until the Federal Reserve announces whether it will tighten the screws further on the economy. The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower early Wednesday. It’s coming off its first back-to-back gain in two weeks, before the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history threw the industry into turmoil. A few weeks ago, much of Wall Street was convinced the Fed would pick up the pace on its hikes to interest rates given how stubbornly high inflation has remained. With banks straining under higher rates, that’s not as certain anymore. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street quietly drifted between small gains and losses early Wednesday ahead of a closely-watched decision by the Federal Reserve on whether to raise interest rates in the midst of a global banking crisis.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials inched less than 0.1% higher, while futures for the S&P 500 were essentia...

Suspect at large after attempting to run over deputy, patrol cars

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:22 GMT

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Deputies are investigating an officer-involved shooting after a suspect allegedly rammed into patrol cars and got away. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, multiple deputies are in the area of West Bowles Avenue and South Chase Street in Columbine. The area is just south of Marston Lake. JCSO said a deputy who was on foot fired at a tan Lincoln Navigator as the car drove directly toward the deputy. The suspect also allegedly rammed into other patrol cars several times before fleeing the scene. Pueblo mom shot twice, survived attempted carjacking Thankfully, no injuries were reported.Deputies said the suspect is still at large. They believe the Lincoln Navigator has heavy passenger-side damage. The suspect in the car is described as a white or Hispanic man.The suspect was last seen traveling north on Chase Street toward Grant Ranch.Deputies are still searching the area for the suspect. JCSO is asking everyone to avoid the area as dep...

‘Don’t Say Gay’ lawmaker pleads guilty to COVID relief fraud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:22 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The former Florida lawmaker who sponsored the controversial law critics call “Don’t Say Gay” pleaded guilty Tuesday to committing $150,000 in COVID-19 relief fraud.Joseph Harding, a 35-year-old Republican, pleaded guilty in Gainesville federal court to wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements in connection with COVID-19 relief fraud, according to court records. He faces up to 35 years in prison at a hearing scheduled for July 25.Harding resigned from the Florida House in December, a day after federal prosecutors announced his indictment.According to court documents, Harding made false statements to the Small Business Administration while applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan for one of his dormant business entities. After obtaining $150,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, prosecutors said Harding conducted three monetary transactions, each involving more than $10,000 in fraudulently obtained funds: a transfer to his joint bank account, a p...

Video shows Sarasota Police officer getting hit by speeding car

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:22 GMT

SARASOTA, Fla. (WSVN) — A Sarasota Police officer is recovering after being hit by a car on Monday night. The incident, which was caught on camera, shows the officer flipping over the car upon impact. Police officers were staging a roadblock to stop a suspected burglar when the suspect hit the officer head-on. The police responded to Mourning Dove Drive around 3 p.m. for reports of stolen personal items from a car. Later in the day, security footage captured the white Mercedes flying down Bird Key, swerving the parked patrol car, and hitting the officer, flipping him over the vehicle. The officer was rushed to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he was later discharged and is expected to make a full recovery.Chief Rex Troche commented on the incident the following day in a press conference. “When we watched the video this morning in our command staff meeting, it was horrific. It was terrible,” he said. “This person needs to be put in jail for what he did. He co...

Warming Breeze Rest of this Week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:22 GMT

A gradual warmup continues across South Florida this weekend. Following widespread lows in the 50s Monday morning, lows this morning were near normal in the 60s to low 70s, which is closer to slightly above average. Above average temperatures will be the story the remainder of this week and into this weekend with highs in the upper 80s in spots by weeksend.This Wednesday, expect generally bright and sunny skies with a easterly breeze that will remain strong along the coast. That will make for a high risk for rip currents at east coast beaches. High temperatures will be in the low 80s.Temperatures will hold steady in the low 80s on Thursday, then the mid 80s on Friday as the wind flow veers more out of the southeast around a dominant area of high pressure over the Atlantic. Conditions remain dry with a good deal of sunshine.By the weekend, a weak front will reach northern Florida, causing winds to flow more out of the south. This will drive temperatures up further and will introduce ...

Spanish government defeats no-confidence vote brought by far right

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:22 GMT

Spain’s parliament on Wednesday rejected by a wide margin a no-confidence vote in the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez put forward by the far-right Vox party.Vox’s motion was based on a host of accusations against the government — led by Sánchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) — including its handling of new legislation on sexual consent and plans to overhaul the sedition law that was used to prosecute Catalan leaders associated with the failed independence referendum. The far-right’s vote wasn’t expected to pick up much support, and that proved to be the case, with Vox’s 52 lawmakers joined by just one from the center-right Ciudadanos in supporting the motion. There were 201 votes against, with 91 abstentions (most of which were from the main opposition Popular Party or PP).Vox’s suggested candidate to replace Sánchez as PM had the motion been successful was Ramón Tamames, an 89-year-old economist and for...

MPs pass key part of Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland Brexit deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:22 GMT

LONDON — A key part of Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland Brexit deal has sailed through the House of Commons despite a Conservative rebellion.The House of Commons voted 515 to 29 in favor of the plan, after the opposition Labour, Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats also voted to support the so-called Stormont Brake — a part of the U.K.-EU Windsor Framework that aims to fix issues with the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol.The Stormont Brake is a intended to allow the currently-deadlocked Northern Ireland Assembly to object to new EU regulations set to apply in the region — a key concern for Northern Irish unionists who do not want to be separated further from the rest of the U.K.However, the eight MPs from Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) voted against the brake Wednesday and are maintaining their opposition to Sunak’s wider deal — known as the Windsor Framework — for now.Ex-prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss also refused to back Sun...

Boris Johnson: I did not lie to the House of Commons over Partygate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:22 GMT

LONDON — Boris Johnson denied lying to the House of Commons over the Partygate scandal as a marathon grilling on the former prime minister’s conduct got underway Wednesday.The cross-party privileges committee, chaired by Labour grandee Harriet Harman, is examining whether the ex-prime minister knowingly misled parliament about COVID rule-breaking parties in Downing Street when he made statements about the gatherings — later the subject of police fines — to the House of Commons.After swearing an oath on the King James Bible at the start of an expected four-hour session, Johnson told the committee: “I am here to say to you, hand on heart, that I did not lie to the house.”And he added: “When those statements were made they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I knew and believed at the time.”The privileges committee has said Johnson — who could face a temporary Commons ban or be forced to apologize to MPs — may have misled the House multiple times with a s...

2 people taken to hospital, 8 displaced after fire in senior housing complex in Maynard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:22 GMT

At least two people were taken to the hospital Wednesday after a fire broke out in a senior public housing complex in Maynard.Officials said eight residents were also displaced.The fire started at the complex on Powder Mill Road around 6:30 a.m., according to a statement from Maynard Fire Chief Angela Lawless.Lawless said crews soon arrived at the scene to find heavy smoke and fire coming from the second floor of the complex. The fire eventually grew to three alarms, prompting mutual aid from multiple area emergency departments.Firefighters were able to confine the fire to one side of the building, Lawless said, before bringing it under control around 7:40 a.m.Police initially asked drivers to avoid nearby Powder Mill Road. Police later announced the road had reopened just after 9 a.m.Lawless said one resident was taken to an area hospital with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries. A Maynard firefighter was also taken to the hospital, according to Lawless, also with non...

Pizza shop owner accused of abusing workers denied bail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:48:22 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A Boston pizza shop owner accused by federal authorities of abusing employees who were not legally in the U.S. has been ordered held without bail by a magistrate judge who cited the defendant’s “history of violence and threats.”“At this juncture, the evidence against him appears strong,” Magistrate Judge Judith Dein wrote in Stavros Papantoniadis’ detention order Tuesday. “The government has met its burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assume the safety of any other person and the community.”Papantoniadis, 47, who also goes by Steve, faces one charge of forced labor but allegedly victimized at least seven employees, according to court documents.He currently owns two Stash’s Pizza locations in Boston, but previously owned several other pizza parlors in suburban communities.Prosecutors allege he hired people in the U.S. illegally, made them work l...