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Stock market today: Wall Street rises after Federal Reserve holds steady on interest rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising Wednesday after the Federal Reserve opted against pressing the brakes even harder on Wall Streeet and the economy, at least for now. The S&P 500 was up 0.8% in afternoon trading, coming off its third straight losing month largely because of higher yields in the bond market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 156 points, or 0.5%, as of 2:15 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% higher.Indexes added to their gains after the Fed announced its decision to hold interest rates steady, which was what investors expected. It’s already yanked the overnight rate from nearly zero early last year to its highest level since 2001, above 5.25%. The big question is how long the Fed will keep the rate high before cutting it to provide financial markets more oxygen.Longer-term Treasury yields have been rising rapidly since the spring and catching up with the Fed’s overnight rate. They’ve rallied as the U.S. economy has remained remarkably ...

Live updates | Dozens of foreign passport holders and injured allowed to flee Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:36 GMT

Israeli airstrikes hit apartment buildings in a refugee camp near Gaza City for a second day in a row, causing many deaths and injuries, the Hamas-run government said. The toll from Wednesday’s strikes was not immediately known. Meanwhile, dozens of people with foreign passports entered the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt. It appeared to be the first time that foreign passport holders have been allowed to leave the besieged territory since the start of the Israel-Hamas war more than three weeks ago. Communications and internet services were gradually being restored after the second major cut in five days, according to Paltel, the main telecommunications provider. Humanitarian aid agencies have warned that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza.The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,805, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, 130 Palestinians have been killed in violence and I...

CNBC: Fiscal general de DC demanda a plataforma por presunto aumento ilegal de alquileres

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:36 GMT

La oficina del fiscal general de DC, Brian Schwalb, informó el martes que está demandando a RealPage, una empresa de software de administración de propiedades, y a 14 de los propietarios más grandes del distrito por presunta colusión para aumentar los alquileres.La denuncia nombra varios fideicomisos de inversión inmobiliaria que cotizan en bolsa, como UDR, AvalonBay Communities y Equity Residential.Las empresas compartieron datos con RealPage, que luego utilizó un algoritmo para aumentar artificialmente los precios de más de 50,000 apartamentos en toda la ciudad, lo que costó a los inquilinos millones de dólares en aumentos ilegales de los alquileres, según un comunicado de la oficina de Schwalb. La supuesta colusión viola la Ley Antimonopolio del Distrito de Columbia, explicó la oficina.Demanda por aumento de alquileres en la capitalLos 14 propietarios nombrados en la demanda son:AvalonBay Communities Inc.Avenue5 Residential LLCBell Partners Inc.Bozzuto Management Co.Camden Summit...

Don’t let the cold temps lead to a soggy mess in your home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:36 GMT

Below freezing temperatures are set to return to the D.C. region on Wednesday night and with that comes an increased risk of flooding from frozen pipes.Many of the pipe bursts involve pipes that lead to the spigot outside, according to Wesley Bush, owner of Alliance Water Restoration in Chantilly, Virginia.“Hose bibs become the greatest issue as far as causing water leaks that people aren’t prepared for,” Bush said.When the pipes that supply the outdoor faucet with water freeze and expand, he said that at times leads to the pipe splitting.“As soon as it thaws out, you have full pressure that’s blowing water into your basement,” he said.To prevent this, you should winterize your home by locating the indoor shutoff valves for the water lines that lead to the outdoor faucet. Once you shut off the water using those valves, turn on the spigot outside so the water inside the pipe drains out, Bush said.Not taking this simple step can lead to thousands of dollars’ worth of...

Movie Review: A serene debut from Raven Jackson in ‘All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:36 GMT

Nature provides much of the soundtrack to “ All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” a poised and occasionally transcendent debut from writer-director Raven Jackson.The sounds of crickets and birds, flowing water and the wind in the long summer grass are only sporadically punctured by a song at a party, or a brief moment of a swelling score. These are the kind of details that make you feel immediately rooted in a place. It’s not just the nature setting on a sleep app either, or, if it is, sound supervisor Miguel Calvo ensure that it doesn’t feel like that. It’s thoughtful and precise and also lets you more fully enjoy the moments where those human-made sounds take over.This might be a lot of talk about sound design to start, but it’s also a bit of a primer on what to expect from “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” which counts “Moonlight” filmmaker Barry Jenkins among its producers. Like sitting in a field for hours without a phone or a book or a companion to chat with, just the world around you,...

¿Qué es una amnistía y en qué consistiría la que aplicaría Pedro Sánchez en Cataluña?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:36 GMT

(CNN Español) — Que en España se forme un nuevo Ejecutivo tras las elecciones generales del 23 de julio depende, actualmente, de que Pedro Sánchez reúna los apoyos necesarios para apuntalar su investidura como presidente del Gobierno.Todavía no hay una fecha definida para que el parlamento acoja el debate donde el secretario general del Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) buscaría reunir la confianza de los miembros de la cámara, y eso se debe a que el líder socialista aún no ha culminado las negociaciones con los partidos que pueden brindar ese apoyo.Pedro Sánchez acepta la petición del rey de España para intentar formar Gobierno: ¿cuándo sería la investidura y qué necesita para lograrlo?El principal reto de Sánchez es cerrar un acuerdo con las formaciones independentistas catalanas, Junts per Catalunya y Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, para lograr el voto a favor de sus 14 diputados en el Congreso.Sin embargo, ese apoyo sólo lo ofrecen a cambio de una ley de amnistía...

King Charles III meets in private with the family of the Kenyan rebel leader hanged by the British

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:36 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — King Charles III on Wednesday held a private meeting with the family of the executed leader of the Kenyan rebellion against British colonial rule, a day after the monarch expressed “greatest sorrow and the deepest regret” for the violence of the colonial era.The family of Dedan Kimathi, who was hanged by the British administration, and relatives of other well-known Kenyan freedom fighters didn’t immediately comment — a change from their past outspoken calls for an apology and compensation from Britain, along with any information on the whereabouts of Kimathi’s body.The British High Commission said only that the meeting was an “opportunity for the king to hear firsthand about the violence committed against Kenyans during their struggle for independence.” Attendees included the chair of the Mau Mau War Veterans Association.Charles also visited a war cemetery in Kenya on Wednesday, laying a wreath in honor of those who fought alongside the British in t...

Turning last night’s jack-o’-lantern into compost, and other morning-after pumpkin options

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:36 GMT

Instead of throwing last night’s Halloween jack-o’-lantern into the trash, some industrious people are turning old, burned-out carved pumpkins into compost.Composting not only helps your garden, it also reduces food waste — including rotting pumpkins — in landfills. The U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce estimates 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins end up in landfills each year.Here’s how to get a pumpkin ready for composting, according to the U.S. Department of Energy:Remove the candle wax, paint, glitter, ribbons and other nonorganic decorations from the pumpkin.Clean out all the pulp and seeds, because if you include them in a compost pile, new pumpkin plants will likely sprout. (If you want to plant some seeds next year, wash off the pulp, dry them on paper towels and store them in a paper bag until next planting season)Smash or cut up the pumpkin into small pieces, which speeds up decomposition.Mix the smaller pieces of pumpkin into your compost pile. Using a rake or ...

The US has strongly backed Israel’s war against Hamas. The allies don’t seem to know what comes next

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:36 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked this week who would govern the Gaza Strip following Israel’s devastating war against Hamas, he said a return of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority made “the most sense.”What he failed to mention is that the Palestinian Authority, weak and deeply unpopular with its own people, has already said it has no interest in assuming power if it is helped by Israel.Blinken’s comments Tuesday reflected what some analysts see as the questionable assumptions and short-term thinking that have guided American and Israeli policymakers since Israel declared war in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack in which its militants killed more than 1,400 people and took roughly 240 others hostage.With strong American backing, Israel has defined two clear goals: bringing home all of the hostages and destroying Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has governed Gaza since ousting the Palestinian Author...

Nathan Woodyard takes the stand during trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:36 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Nathan Woodyard, an Aurora Police officer on trial for the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, is taking the stand Wednesday afternoon.Woodyard, who was suspended from the force, is charged with reckless manslaughter of the 23-year-old McClain. The trial began Oct. 17. McClain died in 2019 after he was stopped by police while walking home from a convenience store. He was thrown to the ground and held down before being injected by paramedics with ketamine, a sedative.The prosecution argued that McClain's death was put in motion by Woodyard's carotid neck hold, as well as physical force used by him and other officers to hold him still. 7 years later, man faces charges in death of woman on train A forensic pathologist called by the prosecution argued that the manner of McClain's death was homicide and that the officer's actions contributed to his death.However, the defense has argued that the paramedics were to blame for McClain's death. A separate forensic pathologist ca...