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Stock market today: Wall Street quietly inches higher ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s speech

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:33:46 GMT

TOKYO — Wall Street inched higher Wednesday ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech later in the week. Futures for the Dow and S&P 500 each gained 0.2% before the bell. Powell is set to speak Friday at an event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the site of several major policy announcements by the Fed. “With the Jackson Hole event just around the corner, markets are understandably lacking some conviction given the interest rate implications which could stem from this eagerly awaited get-together of central bankers,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. The Fed has already hiked its main interest rate to the highest level since 2001 in hopes of grinding high inflation down to a 2% target. High rates work by slowing the entire economy bluntly and hurting prices for investments.Inflation has come down considerably from its peak above 9% in the summer of 2022, but economists say getting the last percentage point of improvement may be th...

Native American group to digitize 20,000 archival pages linked to Quaker-run Indian boarding schools

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:33:46 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A coalition advocating for Native American people impacted by an oppressive system of boarding schools for Native youths plans to digitize 20,000 archival pages related to schools in that system that were operated by the Quakers.The Quakers and other faith groups — including Episcopalians, Methodists and Catholics — have in recent years either begun or increased efforts to research and atone for their prior roles in the boarding school system that Native children were forced to attend, and that cut them off from their families, tribes and traditions.For decades, documents related to Quaker-operated Indian boarding schools have been largely unstudied, as they exist in remote and dispersed collections with limited access, said leaders of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Now, the coalition, also known as NABS, will make them available to scholars and nonspecialists by housing digital records on a public database.The records will provide a ...

Russia and Ukraine trade drone attacks as Kyiv claims it took out a key S-400 missile defense system

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:33:46 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine traded drone attacks early Wednesday, officials said, with Kyiv apparently targeting Moscow again and the Kremlin’s forces launching another bombardment of Ukrainian grain storage depots in what have recently become signature tactics in the almost 18-month war.Later Wednesday, the Ukrainian intelligence agency claimed it had destroyed a key Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system in occupied Crimea. If confirmed, it would be another embarrassing blow for Russia, as Ukraine increasingly targets Moscow’s assets far behind the front line in southern and eastern Ukraine.The agency, known by its acronym GUR, claimed on its official Telegram channel that Russia has a “limited number” of the sophisticated systems and that the loss “is a painful blow.” Moscow officials made no immediate comment.The long-range S-400 missiles are capable of striking enemy aircraft and are regarded as one of the best such systems available. They h...

Facebook’s parent company Meta and moderators suing it for $1.6 billion in Kenya agree to mediation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:33:46 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Meta, Facebook’s parent company, and 184 of its content moderators who were based in Kenya agreed Wednesday on a mediation attempt to settle out of court.Last year, the moderators — from several African countries — filed a lawsuit against the social media giant and its outsourcing firm, Sama, seeking $1.6 billion in compensation, alleging poor working conditions, including insufficient mental health support and low pay.The Employment and Labor Relations court said they have 21 days to reach a settlement and that former Kenyan chief justice, Willy Mutunga, and labor commissioner, Hellen Apiyo would co-mediate the dispute.The moderators were employed via Sama, a San Francisco subcontractor that describes itself as an ethical AI company, to work in its hub in the capital, Nairobi. Their job entailed screening user content in 12 African languages and removing any uploads deemed to breach Facebook’s community standards and terms of service. Some of the moderat...

Minnesota names first Black chief justice of state Supreme Court, Natalie Hudson

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:33:46 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday promoted Natalie Hudson to be chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, making her the first Black person to lead it.Hudson was appointed associate justice in 2015 by then-Gov. Mark Dayton, after serving as a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals for 13 years. She’ll lead the high court when current Chief Justice Lorie Gildea retires in October.“Justice Hudson is one of our state’s most experienced jurists. She has a strong reputation as a leader and consensus builder,” Walz said in a statement. “I am confident that she will advance a vision that promotes fairness and upholds the dignity of all Minnesotans.”“This is a tremendous responsibility that I approach with humility and resolve, seeking to continue the work of my predecessors in administering one of the best state court systems in the nation, and always seeking to deliver the most accessible, highest-quality court services for the citizens of Minnesota,” Hudson said in...

Taliban prevents scores of Afghan women from studying abroad, scholarship group says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:33:46 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban have prevented scores of female Afghan students from traveling to the United Arab Emirates for education, according to the chairman of a group that offered them scholarships.“I am unable to express the disappointment I feel now as the Afghan female students, whom I had provided an educational scholarship … were unfortunately unable to reach Dubai airport,” Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, chairman of the Al Habtoor group, said Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter. Al Habtoor said he had provided an opportunity for the women to study in collaboration with the University of Dubai. But despite securing “university admissions, accommodations, transportation, health insurance, and an array of comprehensive services aimed at ensuring the utmost comfort and safety for the female students, our aspirations were crushed.”Although the Taliban promised a more moderate rule than during their previous period in power in the 1990s, they have imposed harsh measures s...

Crews battle fire at Chinatown Supermarket amid extreme temperatures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:33:46 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 2-11 fire has been called at a supermarket in Chicago's Chinatown Wednesday morning.Fire crews are on scene near the 2100 block of Archer Avenue at Park to Shop Supermarket in the city's Chinatown neighborhood.The supermarket has live food and has partially two levels. Fire crews are having issues with the fire due to the building being completely concrete. Extreme heat hits Chicagoland area, warnings in effect The fire is contained to the inside and crews are hoping to shut the fire with gas.There were no reported injuries and crews are actively battling the fire while extreme temperatures hit the area as well. WGN is actively following the incident and the situation is still developing.

WATCH LIVE | India lands its Chandrayaan-3 rover on the moon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:33:46 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India was counting down to landing a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole Wednesday — an unchartered territory that scientists believe could hold important reserves of frozen water and precious elements.A lander with a rover inside was orbiting before attempting to touch down on the lunar surface, creating an agonizing wait for India’s space scientists in the southern city of Bengaluru. India is making its second attempt in four years to join the United States, the Soviet Union and China in achieving the landmark. India unexpectedly got into a race with Russia, which had planned to land its Luna-25 spacecraft in the same lunar region on Monday. But Luna-25 crashed into the moon after it spun into an uncontrolled orbit. It would have been the first successful Russian lunar landing after a gap of 47 years. Russia's head of the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos attributed the failure to the lack of expertise due to the long break in lunar research that foll...

Will I get an extra paycheck in September? How to know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:33:46 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – What’s sweeter than getting paid twice a month? Getting paid three times, of course.Americans who get paid biweekly on Fridays will see three paychecks hit their bank account during a few months that happen to have five Fridays.“So if you’re getting paid on the first, third and fifth Fridays, that means you have a bonus paycheck, which obviously you still earned, but is potentially outside of your regular budget and kind of like a mini windfall or a mini bonus,” Chanelle Bessette, banking specialist with NerdWallet, told Nexstar.Not every employee who gets biweekly checks will get an “extra” check during the same months, however.Workers who received their first check on Jan. 6 will see three-payment months fall on March and September, according to Alliant Credit Union. If you had to wait until Jan. 13 to get paid, your three-paycheck months will be June and December.So what’s behind the financial phenomenon?Dividing 52 weeks by two — since payments are biweekly — me...

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky welcome baby No. 2: reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:33:46 GMT

(KTLA) – Baby makes four for Rihanna and A$AP Rocky.The power couple quietly welcomed their second child earlier this month, according to TMZ and People magazine.TMZ reported that the "Diamonds" singer welcomed a baby boy on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles and that the child's name starts with an "R." Beyonce fans can win free ‘Renaissance World Tour’ tickets through Vivid Seats contest Fans remember when Rihanna first revealed her second pregnancy during her halftime performance at the Super Bowl this past February. The Fenty Beauty founder caressed her baby bump right at the start of the performance, which set off speculation on the internet from the start. The singer later officially confirmed her pregnancy.Rihanna and A$AP Rocky attend The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" exhibition on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)Rocky and Rihanna welcomed their first child, RZA Ath...