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Bank turmoil led Fed officials to forecast fewer rate hikes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Turmoil in the banking system after two major banks collapsed led many Federal Reserve officials to envision fewer rate increases this year out of concern that banks will reduce their lending and weaken the economy.The heightened uncertainty surrounding the banking sector also helped Fed officials coalesce around their decision to raise their benchmark rate by just a quarter-point, rather than a half-point, despite signs that inflation was still too hot, according to minutes of the Fed’s March 22-23 meeting.The Fed also revealed Wednesday that its staff economists have forecast that a pullback in lending resulting from the banking turmoil will cause a “mild recession” starting later this year. The minutes noted that this forecast depends on how severe the consequences of the industry’s troubles prove to be and to what extent it will cause a cutback in lending.Overall, the minutes showed that the banking troubles injected significant uncertainty into the Fed’s decis...

Aide: Jailed Russian opposition leader ill, perhaps poisoned

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:11 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in failing health because of a new suspected poisoning and is back in a punishment cell after a few days in regular confinement, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.Anna Veduta, a Washington, DC-based vice president of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, told The Associated Press the 46-year-old Navalny fell ill last Friday when he was let out of the punishment cell and put in a conventional cell. He had lost about 18 pounds over the past 15 days. On Monday, Navalny wrote on Twitter, he was put back in a punishment cell for another 15-day term.An ambulance was called early Saturday because of acute stomach pains but Navalny received no diagnosis, one of his lawyers, Vadim Kobzev, wrote on Twitter after visiting him in prison.“We believe he is slowly being administered low doses of poison” in pills he is given without identification, Veduta said.A video documentary about Navalny won an Oscar last month. The documen...

‘Paw Patrol’ top dog among children’s categories at Canadian Screen Awards

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:11 GMT

TORONTO — The preschool favourite “Paw Patrol” is top dog among children’s categories at the Canadian Screen Awards, nabbing three awards including best preschool series.The animated TVO series about rescue pooches led winners at an afternoon bash celebrating the best in children’s and animation shows.The best animated series title went to “The Snoopy Show” on Apple TV Plus; best children’s or youth fiction show went to CBC Gem’s “Detention Adventure” and the best non-fiction show went to TVO’s “All-Round Champion.”“Paw Patrol” also nabbed best direction and best sound in animation, while “All-Round Champion” also scored best picture editing. YTV’s “The Hardy Boys” was another multiple winner, grabbing awards for best direction and best writing for children’s or youth.The daytime event was to be followed by an evening gala celebrating the best in lifestyle and reality TV. Two more CSA shows Thursday will honour top digital and film productions, while a final bash Friday will a...

Lawsuit: Guards beat, taunt inmate with, ‘You can’t breathe’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:11 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Advocates for prisoners’ rights have filed a civil rights lawsuit against state corrections officers who allegedly ignored requirements that they videotape a prison-cell encounter with an inmate who says he was sexually abused, beaten without provocation and taunted with words that evoked the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of police.The New Mexico Prison & Jail Project filed the civil lawsuit Tuesday seeking damages in U.S. District Court on behalf of a Black inmate against five state Corrections Department officers, in connection with an April 2021 confrontation at the Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility in Clayton.The advocacy group reconstructed events from the testimony of the plaintiff and other inmate witnesses, along with unredacted portions of an internal investigation by the Correction Department’s Office of Professional Conduct.Officers told investigators that the inmate was restrained physically and with pepper spray after swingin...

Joe O’Biden? President feels he’s ‘coming home’ in Ireland

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:11 GMT

CARLINGFORD, Ireland (AP) — With the sound of bagpipes piercing the fog, hundreds of townspeople turned out Wednesday in the seaside Irish village of Carlingford on a cold, wet and windy afternoon to welcome the American president as one of their own.President Joe Biden gazed out at the water from the stone balcony of Carlingford Castle, which would have been the last Irish landmark that Owen Finnegan, Biden’s maternal great-great-grandfather, saw before sailing for New York in 1849. “It feels like I’m coming home,” Biden said as he was led on a tour and looked out over Carlingford Lough, a bay that empties into the Irish Sea. The president often cites his Irish lineage as a driving force in his public and private life.As for the soggy weather, “It’s fine! It’s Ireland!” Biden said.The excitement was palpable even before his arrival in County Louth, on Ireland’s east coast, after a 90-minute drive from Dublin. Well-wishers and curiosity seekers lined the motorcade route ...

Biden urges Northern Ireland to sustain peace, reap gains

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:11 GMT

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Northern Ireland must “not go back” to the violence that scarred it for years before a U.S.-brokered peace deal 25 years ago, nudging politicians to resolve a political crisis that has left this part of the United Kingdom without a functioning government.Speaking of the economic growth Northern Ireland has experienced since the Good Friday Agreement ended 30 years of sectarian bloodshed, Biden said: “It’s up to us to keep this going.”On his first presidential visit to Northern Ireland, Biden dangled the prospect of more American investment to help fuel economic growth — especially if Belfast’s fractious politicians resolve a stalemate that has put their government on pause.“The simple truth is that peace and economic opportunity go together,” Biden said during a speech at Ulster University’s new campus in Belfast. He said the glass-clad downtown building would have been unthinkable during the years of bombings ...

Prime Minister Trudeau says it’s up to provinces to make Orange Shirt Day a holiday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:11 GMT

WINNIPEG — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is encouraging provinces and territories to step up reconciliation efforts with Indigenous Peoples but stopped short of saying they should make the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, commonly called Orange Shirt Day, a statutory holiday. Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson recently announced her Progressive Conservative government would not be making that day a provincial statutory holiday this year, citing the need for ongoing consultations. The federal government made the day a statutory holiday for its workers and federally regulated workplaces in 2021.The decision to do so is in response to one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action. The prime minister said the federal government has moved forward on “living up and fulfilling” that call.“That is a day that Indigenous Peoples wanted to be marking truth and reconciliation, and all the challenges and difficulties that came from that,...

Ian Happ, Cubs agree to contract extension

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:11 GMT

CHICAGO — A year after nearly trading him at the deadline, the Cubs are keeping one of their All-Star outfielders around for a few more years.Now Official: The Cubs have signed All-Star and Gold Glove winning outfielder Ian Happ to a three-year deal that runs from 2024-2026..Per multiple reports, first from @Michael_Cerami of @BleacherNation, the deal is for $61 million..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/iL9g9T4bMX— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) April 12, 2023On Monday afternoon, the Cubs confirmed that they've signed outfielder Ian Happ to a new three-year contract extension. Per multiple reports, the first from Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation, it's for $61 million over the length of the deal.A first round pick of the Cubs in 2015, Happ has been at the major league level for seven seasons with the club. He's played on three playoff teams and was named a National League All-Star & Gold Glove winner in 2022.So far in the 2023 season, Happ has a slash line of .314/.467/.514 with fo...

Juul to pay $462 million settlement to 6 states including Illinois

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:11 GMT

CHICAGO — Illinois will receive millions of dollars in settlement money from one of the country’s prominent e-cigarette and vape manufacturers. Announced Wednesday morning by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Juul’s role in the youth vaping epidemic across the country will cost the company at least $462 million. “Juul lit a nationwide public health crisis by putting addictive products in the hands of minors and convincing them that it’s harmless,” James said in a statement. “Today they are paying the price for the harm they caused.”The agreement with New York, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Washington, D.C. marks the latest in a string of recent legal settlements Juul has reached across the country with cities and states. Last month, the company paid Chicago $23.8 million to settle a lawsuit.New York, alone, is set to receive more than $112 million. Illinois' allotted amount is currently unknown.SEE ALSO | Chicago reaches $23...

Wednesday Forecast: Temps in low 80s with warm and sunny conditions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:11 GMT

CHICAGO — Another day of summer-like temperatures Wednesday with sunny conditions. Windy, SW 15-20 G35. High: 82.Clear conditions tonight. Winds: SW 10-15 G25. Low: 56.Thursday Forecast: Mostly sunny, SW 10-15 G25. High: 82.Full forecast details at the WGN Weather Center