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US futures follow world shares higher as bank anxiety wanes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:03 GMT

BEIJING — Wall Street pointed higher early Wednesday as anxiety about the global financial system began to wane somewhat following three high-profile bank failures.Futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index were up 0.9% before the bell and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7%.Fears that banks around the world might be cracking under the strain of interest rate hikes to cool inflation temporarily pushed aside unease about slowing economic growth. Some calm has returned after regulators announced measures to shore up the system.“Clearly, investors have not completely lost their anxiety,” Robert Carnell and Min Joo Kang of ING said in a report.The failure of two U.S. banks and one in Switzerland creates a dilemma for central bankers who are trying to cool economic activity and bring down inflation that is near multi-decade highs.The Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia normally would hike rates further. But the bank failures showed institutions are v...

Czechs protest government bid to raise retirement age

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:03 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech labor unions on Wednesday joined with opposition parties to protest the government’s proposed bid to raise the retirement age by four years to 68.Some 2,000 protesters gathered Wednesday in front of government offices in the capital Prague to voice their opposition to the plan. “We definitely don’t agree,” read a letter ratified at the gathering. “We will defend ourselves,” Roman Durco, the head of the KOVO labor union group that organized the rally told the angry crowd.Labor and Social Affairs Minister Marian Jurecka recently appeared to backpedal on the original pension reform proposal but his ministry said in a statement said that the retirement age raise remains on the negotiating table.The government has yet to finalize the pension reform plan it says is necessary to make the system viable.Leaders from opposition parties with and without seats in parliament took part in the demonstration, including Andrej Babis, the populist billionaire chief of ...

Greece: Terror suspects offered money to target Jewish site

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:03 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities said police were continuing searches in Athens and other parts of the country Wednesday following the arrest of two suspects accused of planning an attack at Jewish center in a busy downtown area of the Greek capital. The two men, described of being of Pakistani origin but not further identified, were charged Tuesday with terrorism offenses, while a third man believed to be in Iran was charged in absentia. Rabbi Mendel Hendel, who runs the Chabad Jewish center, said he learned about the planned attack on the news. “Thank God we are safe. We’re grateful that this act of terrorism was prevented,” Hendel said in a statement with his wife Nechama e-mailed to the Associated Press. “We would like to publicly thank the Greek authorities.” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Tuesday said his country’s intelligence agency Mossad helped Greece prevent the terrorist attack. A statement from his office maintained the attacker...

Baseball in 2023: A whole new ball game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:03 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, baseball is well over a century old, and it has historically resisted change. It has also been losing relevance by the year, as the game gets slower and allegedly less exciting. Baseball has been withering on the vine, but a set of rule changes in Major League Baseball aims to reverse that trend.Shi Davidi is a senior baseball columnist at Sportsnet, he joins The Big Story to discuss the rationale behind the new rule changes, and how players have been adapting to them thus far.“When the utilization of information becomes so good that it’s negating parts of the sport, the only option you have is to legislate the rules around the sport, to create the gaps that used to exist,” he said.For the first time in decades, baseball will look and feel different. So what will these changes do to the sport, and its audience? And will this be enough to fix baseball?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.You can also find...

Portugal: Muslim center stabbings not seen as terror attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:03 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Authorities in Portugal said Wednesday that the fatal stabbings of two women at an Ismaili Muslim center in Lisbon was not being treated as a potential act of terrorism. Investigators have found no indication the man detained in the knife attack was involved in extremist activities, Luis Neves, the head of Portugal’s Judicial Police, said during a news conference.“There is no sign whatsoever, not one, that suggests this person was radicalized,” Neves said. “This is not being viewed as a terror crime.”Police said Tuesday they were investigating the stabbings as a possible terror act. At least one person was wounded along with the Portuguese staff members who died. Local Afghan community representatives have identified the suspect as an Afghan refugee who was known to have psychological problems after his wife died at a refugee camp in Greece. The man had integrated into Western life and exhibited no radical behavior in his habits, friendships or social m...

United Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Houston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:03 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A United Airlines flight bound from Houston to Rio De Janeiro has returned to Bush Intercontinental Airport for an emergency landing shortly after takeoff, the airline said.Flight 129 returned to the airport Tuesday night because of “a mechanical issue,” according to a statement from United Airlines.The airline did not describe the nature of the problem and an airport spokesperson did not immediately return messages for comment Wednesday morning.The airline said the plane landed safely, passengers got off and United Airlines made arrangements to get them to their destination.The flight tracking website FlightAware reported the aircraft was a Boeing 767 flying to Rio De Janeiro that departed Houston at 8:52 p.m. and returned to the airport, landing at 10:50 p.m.The Associated Press

Man struck, killed in Northwest Side intersection

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:03 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was struck and killed early Wednesday morning in a Northwest Side intersection.At around 5 a.m., police responded to the intersection of Armitage and Cicero on the report of pedestrian struck. Police said a 56-year-old man was driving southbound on Cicero when he struck a 46-year-old man in the intersection.The man was transported to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver was issued traffic citations. ‘Tranq dope’: Xylazine continues to rip through area as DEA issues nationwide alert No other information was provided.

Rare female lizards are 'stress eating' during flyovers at Colorado Army base: study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:03 GMT

(The Hill) -- Rare female lizards that reside around Colorado’s Fort Carson Army base are “stress eating” to cope with military aircraft fly-over noise, a new study has found.These uncommon reptiles, called Colorado checkered whiptails, are engaging in compensatory feeding behaviors when low-flying Apache, Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters — and sometimes F-16 fighter jets — swoop over their habitat, according to the study, published on Wednesday in Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science.Lizards tend to have excellent hearing and are sensitive to much lower frequencies than humans are, the study authors explained.Colorado checkered whiptails are members of a species considered “at risk” by the Army and “of special concern” by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the researchers noted. The species, which lives in shrubs along dry creek beds, consists exclusively of females who reproduce asexually. American IQs rose 30 points in the last century. Now, they may be falling. As seve...

'Major problem': Lawmaker's bill would end paper tags

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:03 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A years-long series of KXAN investigations into paper license plate fraud is helping drive change at the Texas Capitol, according to a state lawmaker who wants to do away with the paper tag system. "The more we dove into it, and the more we saw stories, like what you do," said State Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth. "We realized what a major problem it is."In February 2020, an undercover sting operation at an Austin Walmart led law enforcement to a trove of paper tags. Investigators with the Travis County Constable's Office Precinct 3 found more than 450 phony license plates saved on a cell phone. As KXAN previously revealed, it's part of a booming $200 million black market with sales to all 50 states. The bogus tags turn vehicles into "ghost cars" making them virtually untraceable by law enforcement.Rep. Craig Goldman holds an altered temporary tag showing a fake car dealership named after him. (KXAN Photo/Matt Grant)'The only fix'"The only fix, in our opinion, is ...

Tree care company contracted to help with ice storm cleanup in Williamson County parks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:03 GMT

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Contractors with a commercial tree care company partnering with the Williamson County Parks Department are removing tree and limb hazards from county parks and trails as the clean-up continues from February's winter storm.  According to the county, work began Monday near Twin Lakes Park continuing eastward on the Brushy Creek Regional Trail towards Cedar Park and Round Rock. Work will also occur at Champion Park, Southwest Williamson County Regional Park and Berry Springs Park and Preserve. The county says clean-up will occur over the next several weeks, generally between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. According to the county announcement, sections of trail or areas of the parks may be closed for safety reasons. Workers will use chainsaws, pole saws and a chipper. Residents and visitors are asked to observe barricades, closure notices and avoid areas when crews are working. The county did not name the contractor in the announcement.