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US economic growth last quarter is revised up to a 2% annual rate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a 2% annual pace from January through March as consumers spent at the fastest pace in nearly two years, the government said Thursday in a sharp upgrade from its previous estimate.The government had previously estimated that the economy expanded at a 1.3% annual rate last quarter.The Commerce Department’s third and final report on January-March economic growth pointed to surprising resilience but still marked a deceleration from the 2.6% annual rate from October through December and the 3.2% growth from July through September. The economy has been slowed by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to tame inflation through a series of interest rate hikes beginning early last year.Yet Thursday’s report on the nation’s gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services — showed why the economy has so far managed to defy expectations of a coming recession: Consumers continue to spend even in the face of ever-r...

British royals’ public spending up 5% in year of historic change

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A change in monarchs, double-digit inflation and ongoing costs to renovate Buckingham Palace contributed to a 5% increase in publicly-funded spending by Britain’s royals, royal accounts published Thursday showed. The palace’s annual Sovereign Grant report showed that net spending was up 107.5 million pounds ($135 million) in the past year. It also said that King Charles III was behind a “concerted effort” by royal staff to turn down the heating at Buckingham Palace and other royal homes during the winter to cut emissions and costs. Temperatures were set at 19 degrees Celcius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) and a few degrees lower when rooms were empty, officials said.The report also confirmed that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have vacated their former home Frogmore Cottage in Windsor — though officials declined to say who will be the next tenant.The annual report said the past year was a “period of significant transition” for the monarchy, with extra co...

Unclaimed $70M lottery ticket expires, OLG still reviewing hundreds of potential claims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

The ticket for a $70 million jackpot in a Lotto Max draw is now expired, but the money could soon be up for grabs again.The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) says the winning ticket that was sold last year in Scarborough is no longer valid after it was not validated at a terminal by Wednesday’s 10:30 p.m. deadline.The OLG says it received more than 1,100 calls to its customer care centre with people claiming to have lost the ticket. A team of lottery investigators are now reviewing all the potential claims made before the deadline.“OLG’s awareness campaign about the unclaimed $70 million jackpot has generated unprecedented media attention in the hopes of jogging the ticket owner’s memory so that this person or group would come forward with the ticket,” reads a release from OLG about the now-expired ticket.Another update will be provided once the review process of the pending claims is complete.If they still come up empty, the $70 million prize will...

Oversight board recommends Facebook suspend Cambodian premier’s account for violent language

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A quasi-independent review board recommended Thursday that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook and Instagram accounts be suspended for six months for using language that could incite violence.The Oversight Board established by Meta, Facebook’s parent company, issued its non-binding ruling in a 26-page report. It would overturn a decision by Facebook’s moderators to allow to stand a video on Premier Hun Sen’s Facebook page of a January speech in which he decried opposition politicians who accused his ruling party of stealing votes.“There are only two options. One is to use legal means and the other is to use a stick,” the prime minister said in the video. “Either you face legal action in court, or I rally (the Cambodian) People’s Party people for a demonstration and (to) beat you up.” His remarks were spoken on Facebook Live and kept online as a video.The board said its reached its recommendation to suspend his accounts due in part to “Hun Se...

Applications for jobless benefits in the U.S. retreat after three weeks of higher claims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

Applications for unemployment benefits fell significantly last week after claims appeared to stabilize at modestly elevated levels in recent weeks.U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 26,000 to 239,000 for the week ending June 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists were expecting the elevated claims numbers to continue above 260,000, where they had settled the past three weeks.The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly fluctuations, rose by 1,500 to 257,500.Jobless claims applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.Overall, 1.74 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended June 17, 19,000 fewer than the previous week.Matt Ott, The Associated Press

Police release video of an officer killing a neo-Nazi gunman and ending a shooting at a Texas mall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

ALLEN, Texas (AP) — Police released video footage on Wednesday of an officer killing a neo-Nazi gunman, quickly ending a mass shooting that left eight people dead and seven others wounded at a Dallas-area shopping mall.The edited five-and-a-half-minute video details the final moments of Mauricio Garcia, 33, after he unleashed a rain of bullets from an AR-15-style rifle at the Allen Premium Outlets on May 6.Those killed included three members of a Korean American family including a 3-year-old child, two young sisters, a security guard and an engineer from India. Police haven’t revealed a motive for the attack.The shooting came in a year that has seen an unprecedented pace of mass killings.The footage from a body camera worn by an Allen police officer starts off with the officer telling two children outside the mall to wear their seatbelts and be good.Moments later, the sound of rapid gunfire erupts from the mall. The children and a woman with them run away as the officer radios...

Former Google executive enters 2024 US Senate race to succeed California’s Feinstein

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former tech executive Lexi Reese announced Thursday that she is entering California’s 2024 U.S. Senate contest, adding another Democrat to a growing field of candidates that already includes three members of Congress.The Google and Facebook veteran enters the contest to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein as a virtual unknown in the nation’s most populous state, home to 22 million voters. In her first run for office she is hoping to distinguish herself as an outsider — “a new candidate with a fresh message,” her advisers say. That would contrast with established politicians already in the race: Democratic U.S. Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee.“The California dream is dying,” Reese says in an online video launching her campaign. “Millions of families are working hard but barely getting by. It is time to work together to build a better future together.”Reese filed a statement of candidacy with federal election regulators on June 15, desi...

Historic Arizona mining town backs copper project on land that Native American groups say is sacred

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

SUPERIOR, Ariz. (AP) — Growing up in a mining family that that goes back generations, Mayor Mila Besich knew Oak Flat as the place where she attended union picnics as a girl and stood in a clearing to hear the World Series on her radio. Now, Besich is overseeing Superior’s fight to to build a new copper project at Oak Flat amid worries about the town’s economic future. Today, the national forest land in the heart of Arizona’s “Copper Corridor” is scattered with 20 rustic campsites amid ancient oaks and a hand-painted sign that reads: “Protect Oak Flat, Holy Land.” Buried deep underground is the world’s third-largest deposit of copper ore, big enough to yield 40 billion pounds (18 billion kilograms) of the metal over 60 years.Competing interests have ignited a tug of war between the town of about 3,000 people who want a huge copper mine built there for its economic benefits, and Native American groups that consider the land sacred and are fighting to protect it from disturbance.“Our ...

France’s highest administrative court says the soccer federation can ban headscarves in matches

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

France’s highest administrative jurisdiction said Thursday the country’s soccer federation is entitled to ban headscarves in matches.The Council of State issued its ruling after a collective of headscarf-wearing soccer players called “Les Hijabeuses” — the word hijab refers to the headscarf — campaigned against the ban and launched legal action.The French soccer federation bans women from wearing headscarves in official matches, as well as at competitions it organizes. It’s not in line with the recommendations of soccer governing body FIFA, which authorizes players to compete at international level with headscarves.The Council of State said sports federations “may impose on their players an obligation to wear neutral clothing during sporting competitions and events, in order to guarantee the smooth running of matches and prevent clashes or confrontation. It considers that the ban imposed by the FFF is appropriate and proportionate.”___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer a...

Man stabbed to death in Irving Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was stabbed to death Wednesday night in Irving Park.At around 10:10 p.m., officers responded to the 3700 block of North Kedzie on the report of a person down.Officers at the scene located a man who sustained multiple stab wounds to the back. He was transported to Masonic in critical condition. The man was pronounced dead a short time later, CPD said. 16-year-old boy shot, killed in Lawndale drive-by No one is in custody.