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Stock market today: Asian shares rise ahead of a US inflation update on hopes for easing rate hikes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:33 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher Tuesday ahead of an update on U.S. consumer prices that traders hope will show inflation is easing, reducing the need for more interest rate hikes.Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Oil prices rose.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.2% on Monday following its second weekly decline in two months.Traders looked ahead to Wednesday’s update on U.S. consumer prices for signs of whether the Federal Reserve might decide inflation has cooled enough following a year of interest rate hikes. They hope the U.S. central bank will decide no more are needed, though Fed officials suggest as many as two more increases are possible this year.Forecasters expect inflation in June to fall to 3.1% from the previous month’s 4%. That still would be higher than the Fed’s 2% target but down sharply from last year’s peak above 9%.“They will have a hard time justifying further rate increase...

Iowa Legislature will take up 6-week abortion ban during special session Tuesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:33 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s Legislature convenes Tuesday in a special session focused exclusively on abortion restrictions, where Republican lawmakers will work to push through a new ban on abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy.The day will be a marathon of committee hearings and floor debates in both chambers, with votes likely to extend late into the night. Demonstrators for and against the bill are expected to rally at the capitol building throughout the day.Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered the rare session after the state Supreme Court declined to reinstate a law she signed in 2018 that is practically identical to the one being proposed Tuesday. Abortion is currently legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.“Iowans know we will defend life and have grown our majority,” Speaker of the Iowa House Pat Grassley said in a statement.The current draft, like the 2018 law, would prohibit abortion once cardiac activity can be detected, which is usually around six weeks of ...

Rescuers brace for more rain as relentless storms flood Northeast, Vermont hit hard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:33 GMT

ANDOVER, Vt. (AP) — Swift water rescue teams and local officials across Vermont braced for more precipitation and flooding Tuesday after persistent heavy rains drenched the state and other parts of the Northeast, unleashing fast-moving waters that washed out roads, trapped residents in their homes and disrupted travel. One person was killed in New York as she tried to leave her inundated house.There have been no reports of injuries or deaths related to the flooding in Vermont, according to emergency officials. But dozens of roads were closed, including many along the spine of the Green Mountains. And the National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings and advisories for much of the state from the Massachusetts line north to the Canadian border.The U.S Army Corps of Engineers said late Monday they expected two dams to release water overnight, causing “severe flooding” downstream likely to affect multiple towns.Rescue crews from North Carolina, Michigan and Connecticut were among...

Ukrainian minister says he fears Russia has ‘no red lines’ to prevent attacks on nuclear plant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:33 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The catastrophic collapse of a dam in southern Ukraine has made Kyiv worried that Russia might stage an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to foment panic and quell Ukrainian advances on the frontline, Ukraine’s energy minister said Monday.Herman Halushchenko said the destruction of the dam while under Russian control in the Kherson region proved “there are no red lines” for Moscow. He said it warrants the level of alarm Ukraine’s leadership has been raising in recent weeks of an alleged Russian ploy to attack the nuclear plant in a possible false flag operation.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged last week, citing intelligence reports, that Russian troops placed “objects resembling explosives” atop several power units to “simulate” an attack. Drone and satellite images obtained by the Associated Press showed unidentified white objects on the roof of the plant’s fourth power unit, but Ukrainian leaders have so far been unable to provide further...

A grand jury being seated Tuesday could decide whether Trump is charged over Georgia’s 2020 election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:33 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A grand jury being seated Tuesday in Atlanta will likely consider whether criminal charges are appropriate for former President Donald Trump or his Republican allies for their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating since shortly after Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early 2021 and suggested the state’s top elections official could help him “find 11,780 votes,” just enough needed to beat Democrat Joe Biden.The 2 1/2-year investigation expanded to include an examination of a slate of Republican fake electors, phone calls by Trump and others to Georgia officials in the weeks after the 2020 election and unfounded allegations of widespread election fraud made to state lawmakers.Willis, a Democrat, is expected to present her case before one of two new grand juries being seated Tuesday. She has previously suggested that any indictments would likely come in Au...

Test scores show American students slipping further behind despite recovery efforts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:33 GMT

Students across the U.S. fell further behind academically last school year despite extensive efforts to help them recover from pandemic learning setbacks, according to an analysis of test scores released Tuesday.The research by NWEA, a nonprofit group that administers standardized tests, lands as the 2024 deadline approaches quickly for schools to spend the last of the $190 billion in federal pandemic relief money. There are ways schools can take better advantage of their limited resources and time to boost learning, said Chase Nordengren, the group’s lead researcher for instructional strategies. He said schools could group students based on their needs and provide targeted instruction, for example, adjusting groups as individuals progress. “We’ve been trying to send the message that this is a multiyear, if not decades-long recovery period and is going to require some fundamental rethinking of the ways that not only we educate students but we think about how students are group...

GOP confidence in 2024 vote count low after years of false election claims, AP-NORC poll shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:33 GMT

Few Republicans have high confidence that votes will be tallied accurately in next year’s presidential contest, suggesting years of sustained attacks against elections by former President Donald Trump and his allies have taken a toll, according to a new poll.The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll finds that only 22% of Republicans have high confidence that votes in the upcoming presidential election will be counted accurately compared to 71% of Democrats, underscoring a partisan divide fueled by a relentless campaign of lies related to the 2020 presidential election. Even as he runs for the White House a third time, Trump continues to promote the false claim that the election was stolen.Overall, the survey finds that fewer than half of Americans – 44% — have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence that the votes in the next presidential election will be counted accurately.While Democrats’ confidence in elections has risen in recent years, the opposit...

String of robberies, carjackings hit North Side neighborhoods

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:33 GMT

CHICAGO — At least three armed robberies and two carjackings took place in three different North Side neighborhoods early Monday morning, according to the Chicago Police Department.The first carjacking took place around 2:20 a.m. in the 3200 block of North Ashland Avenue in Lake View. Police said an 18-year-old male victim relayed that two unidentified male offenders got out of a black Jeep and approached him as he was entering his vehicle. One of the offenders pointed a gun at the victim and demanded his keys, to which the victim complied and and the offenders fled the scene in a black Honda Civic with the black Jeep following behind it.The second carjacking took place around 3:43 a.m. in the 4000 block of North Ashland Avenue in Lake View.Police said in this incident a male and female victim said three unidentified male offenders exited a black sedan and approached them as they were parking their vehicle. One of the offenders then pointed a gun at them and demanded their keys. The...

Friends mourn loss of pro surfer Mikala Jones

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:33 GMT

Hawaii surfer Mikala Jones passed away while surfing at a remote secret wave off the Mentawais Saturday evening Hawaii Standard Time -- Sunday morning Indonesia time.He was 44 years old. His longtime friends shared stories and memories about the humble surfer, who was a man of few words, but always smiling.According to a friend who was on the boat with Jones, he had a four-inch deep cut on his leg and he was losing a lot of blood after catching a wave. They put a tourniquet on him and raced him to land.The nearest hospital was more than 45 minutes away by boat and by land. Jones did not survive.Friends said Jones loved going to secret spots in Indonesia, and was always searching for the perfect wave and barrel. Jones grew up on Oahu and lived at Rocky Point where he began surfing with some of the world's best waves in his backyard. "His dad lived at Rocky's, he could go to Pipe to the left of his yard, or Rocky's in front of his house, or ride his bike to V-land, he developed a skil...

Be wary of scams as Amazon Prime Day kicks off, experts warn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:33 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon Prime Day is here. And, once again, experts are warning consumers of scams.Scams targeting online shoppers — often by impersonating companies like Amazon and other major retailers — are nothing new. But phishing attempts increase amid busy spending seen during significant sales events — from Black Friday to, of course, Prime Day, according to the Better Business Bureau.“This is a huge moment on the retail calendar,” Josh Planos, vice president of communications and public relations at the Better Business Bureau, told The Associated Press. “And because of that, it represents an enormous opportunity for a scammer, con artist or even just an unethical business or organization to capitalize on the moment and separate folks from their hard-earned money.”Prime Day, a two-day discount event, kicks off on Tuesday and runs through Wednesday. In guidance published last week, the Better Business Bureau reminded consumers to watch out for lookalike websites, t...