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Stock market today: Wall Street rises in morning trading following 3 straight gains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in morning trading on Wednesday following several updates showing that the job market continued cooling, but economic growth remained resilient.The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and continued to chip away at the market’s losses in August. The benchmark index is coming off of three straight gains.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 131 points, or 0.4%, to 34,984 as of 10:15 a.m. and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%.Technology stocks led the market’s gains. Apple jumped 1.9% and Palo Alto Networks rose 2.3%.HP was on the losing end with a 8.1% slump after cutting its profit forecast for the year. Wall Street’s focus this week remains a broad mix of economic updates that investors hope will paint a clearer picture of where the economy is headed and whether the Federal Reserve has enough reason to hold off on any additional interest rate hikes.A survey of private-sector employers in the U.S. showed that hiring cooled more than expected by economists...

Haitian judge interviews Colombian suspects for the first time since the president was assassinated

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:45 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A judge in Haiti is for the first time interrogating some of the 18 Colombian suspects arrested more than two years ago and accused of being part of a mercenary squad that assassinated President Jovenel Moïse, a judicial official said Wednesday.The former Colombian soldiers earlier had refused to talk when questioned by a judge who previously had been assigned to the case, magistrate Bernard Saint-Vil, who appoints judges in the case, told The Associated Press. The first two suspects were transported on Monday and Tuesday from Haiti’s main penitentiary in downtown Port-au-Prince to a government office in nearby Petion-Ville where they were undergoing interrogations by Judge Walther Wesser Voltaire, the magistrate said.The 18 Colombians are among more than 40 suspects including elite Haitian police officers who were arrested in Haiti after Moïse was fatally shot in July 2021 in his private residence. The investigation in Haiti has moved very slowly, in pa...

The only defendant in the Georgia election indictment to spend time in jail has been granted bond

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:45 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The only person who spent time behind bars as a result of the sweeping indictment related to efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump ‘s 2020 election loss in Georgia remained in jail Wednesday after he was granted bond a day earlier.A lawyer for Harrison William Prescott Floyd on Tuesday negotiated a $100,000 bond with the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Online jail records indicated that Floyd had not yet been released.Floyd was charged along with Trump and 17 others in an indictment that accuses them all of illegally conspiring to subvert the will of Georgia voters who had chosen Democrat Joe Biden over the Republican incumbent in the presidential election.Lawyers for Trump and the other defendants had all negotiated bonds before their clients surrendered at the Fulton County Jail by the deadline last Friday. Floyd had turned himself in Thursday without first having a bond and, therefore, had to remain in jail. A judge denied him...

Saudi man receives death penalty for posts online, latest case in wide-ranging crackdown on dissent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:45 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Saudi court has sentenced a man to death over his posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, and his activity on YouTube, the latest in a widening crackdown on dissent in the kingdom that has drawn international criticism. The judgement against Mohammed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, seen Wednesday by The Associated Press, comes against the backdrop of doctoral student Salma al-Shehab and others facing decadeslong prison sentences over their comments online. The sentences appear part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s wider effort to stamp out any defiance in the kingdom as he pursues massive building projects and other diplomatic deals to raise his profile globally.“Al-Ghamdi’s death sentence over tweets is extremely horrific but stands in line with the Saudi authorities’ escalating crackdown,” said Lina Alhathloul, the head of monitoring and advocacy at the London-based advocacy group ALQST. “Lengthy prison sentences issued for free speech, s...

Belgium’s asylum shelters will no longer take in single men in order to make room for families

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:45 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Belgian government said Wednesday it will no longer provide shelter for single men seeking asylum, arguing its insufficient reception capacity should prioritize families, women and children. Europe’s foremost human rights organization and aid groups condemned the move as reneging on international commitments. Belgium has long come under criticism for failing to provide enough shelter to the thousands of people who are seeking protection from persecution back home. Long lines of tents along streets outside the main processing center in Brussels have become a stain on Belgium’s reputation.On Wednesday, Asylum State Secretary Nicole de Moor said increasing pressure on asylum housing was expected over the coming months and she wanted “absolutely to avoid children ending up in the streets this winter.” Instead, single men will have to fend for themselves. According to the EU Agency for Asylum, male applicants last year accounted for 71% of asylum claims. B...

Toronto Zoo devastated after ‘beloved’ 2-year-old tiger dies from tragic fall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:45 GMT

The Toronto Zoo is mourning the sudden death of a two-year-old female Amur tiger, who moved away from her mother in Toronto earlier this year.The zoo said Mila had been on her own at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado in solitary confinement after she experienced a dental issue that required surgery.After the zoo staff administered anesthesia, they said Mila was resting on a bench to lay down and let the anesthetic drugs take effect peacefully.Less than a minute after lying down, the zoo said Mila slipped off the waist-high bench, causing a fatal spinal injury.Dr. Eric Klaphake, head veterinarian at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, said the young Amur tiger could have slid off from that height “a hundred times” and landed in various other positions and been unaffected.“The team quickly entered her den when it was safe and diligently tried for 40 minutes to give her life-saving care,” Dr. Klaphake said.Toronto Zoo, community mourning Mila’s passing: CEOAmur tigers ...

Montreal will not replace toppled John A. Macdonald statue that stood downtown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:45 GMT

MONTREAL — The City of Montreal says it won’t replace a toppled statue of Canada’s first prime minister in a downtown park.The city’s executive committee says it will instead partner with a local institution to display the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in a different location with more contextual information for onlookers.Erected in 1895, the statue was frequently the target of vandalism before protesters tore it down from its pedestal in downtown Montreal’s Place du Canada in August 2020.Macdonald championed the assimilation of Indigenous people and is considered to be the architect of the residential school system.The statue remained in storage while the city considered its future.The now-empty pedestal, meanwhile, will remain in Place du Canada as a reminder of the statue’s history.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2023.The Canadian Press

Lawsuit accuses University of Minnesota of not doing enough to prevent data breach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:45 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A lawsuit filed on behalf of a former student and former employee at the University of Minnesota accuses the university of not doing enough to protect personal information from a recent data breach.Attorneys for the two plaintiffs said in the lawsuit filed in federal court Friday that the university “was fully capable of preventing” the breach, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday.The university declined comment on the lawsuit but spokesperson Jake Ricker told the newspaper in an email that the safety and privacy of everyone in the university community is a top priority.After being questioned by the Star Tribune, the university acknowledged last week that it learned July 21 “that an unauthorized party claimed to possess sensitive data allegedly taken from the University’s systems.”The university did not specify how it learned of the issue. But also on July 21, the Cyber Express, a news site focused on cybersecurity, posted a story about a hacker’s claim...

Woman shot at White Sox game denies bringing gun into ballpark: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:45 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman who was hit by gunfire at a Chicago White Sox game says she did not carry a gun into the ballpark, according to the Chicago Tribune.The Tribune reports an attorney for the 42-year-old woman shot in the leg denies bringing a gun into Guaranteed Rate Field. WGN has also learned that the 26-year-old woman, who suffered a graze wound to her stomach, is a Chicago Public Schools teacher.The shooting happened in left field during the third inning of Friday's game against the Oakland Athletics.The brother of the 26-year-old woman told the Chicago Sun-Times they heard a pop, but didn't think it was a gunshot. They weren't sure what happened until they looked behind them to see the other woman who had been injured.Security and police cleared out the section where they were sitting, but the game continued. Initially, police had asked the White Sox to pause the game — but it was later determined there was no active threat so the game continued. Police said they did not want to...

U.S. DOT Secretary Buttigieg visits Gary airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:45 GMT

GARY, Ind. — U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is in the Chicago region Wednesday to visit a local airport.Buttigieg is kicking off a three-day tour of Indiana, plus a stop in Chicago, by touring ongoing projects at the Gary / Chicago International Airport. This includes improvements to the airport's cargo operations "which support manufacturing and our national supply chains," according to a press release from his office. SKY STRIKER: Midwest’s tallest pendulum thrill ride coming to Six Flags Great America in 2024 Gary Mayor Jerome Prince, INDOT Commissioner Michael Smith, and U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan are expected to join the secretary for the tour and the related press conference.This stop is the first in a series across Indiana intended to "highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in America and creating good-paying jobs in Indiana and across the country," according to the press release. He also has planned stops in Elkhart to cele...