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Stocks rise on Wall Street, even the most beaten-down banks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising on a calming Wall Street Tuesday, even the banks most beaten down by the industry’s crisis, on hopes for more help from the U.S. government.The S&P 500 was 1% higher in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 294 points, or 0.9%, at 32,538, as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% higher.Markets around the world have pinballed sharply this month on worries the banking system may be cracking under the pressure of the fastest set of hikes to interest rates in decades. If the S&P 500 squeezes out a gain, it would mark its first back-to-back rise in two weeks. In the U.S., shares of smaller and mid-sized banks rose after prepared remarks indicated Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen would tell a bankers’ group more government assistance “could be warranted” if risks arise that could bring down the system.Earlier this month, the U.S. government sa...

Cactus League report: White Sox’s Yoán Moncada OK after WBC collision — and an important season for Adbert Alzolay’s Cubs future

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

Hanser Alberto continued his impressive spring Monday with two hits, including a three-run homer, for the White Sox in a 7-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Camelback Ranch.Alberto made a stellar play at third base in the first inning to start a double play. He singled in second and homered in the fourth, his second home run this spring. The non-roster invitee is hitting .483.Right fielder Eloy Jiménez exited after the second inning with right calf cramping, according to the Sox, who said he is day to day. Jiménez hit a tapper in front of the plate and was thrown out by catcher Carson Kelly in the second, his only at-bat.The Cubs were off Monday and resume Cactus League play with a Tuesday night game against the Kansas City Royals.Chicago Tribune baseball writers LaMond Pope, Meghan Montemurro and Paul Sullivan will be providing Cubs and White Sox updates throughout spring training.Yoán Moncada is ‘good’ after leaving WBC gameSox manager Pedro Grifol s...

Ravens have been quiet in free agent market; possibilities at receiver and cornerback still available

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

NFL free agency is nearly a week old and there are two teams that have yet to sign a player from outside their organization — the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Ravens. Meanwhile, the Ravens have yet to work out a deal with their star quarterback, Lamar Jackson, to whom they issued the nonexclusive franchise tag earlier this month.Those circumstances are not unrelated.So far, the Ravens have re-signed five of their 20 free agents this offseason — cornerback Trayvon Mullen, running back Justice Hill, safety Geno Stone, outside linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips and long snapper Nick Moore. They have also lost three players to free agency — guard Ben Powers signed with the Denver Broncos; tight end Josh Oliver bolted for the Minnesota Vikings; and center-guard Trystan Colon joined inked a deal with the New York Jets. Additionally, veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell was released in a cost-cutting move.As free agency nears the end of its first week, Baltimore has...

Roads closed in Mission Valley as crews prepare for more flooding

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Several roads are closed in the Mission Valley area near the San Diego River as city crews anticipate heavy flooding.The closures come as another atmospheric river has made its way to the San Diego region, bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds to the area Tuesday morning.The following Mission Valley roads were closed as of 9 p.m. Monday, according to the City of San Diego Twitter:Southbound Qualcomm Way at Rio San Diego DriveNorthbound Mission Center Road between Hazard Center Drive and Camino De La ReinaSouthbound Ward Road at Camino Del Rio NCamino Del Este between Station Village Drive and Camino De La ReinaWestbound Camino De La Reina at Camino De La SiestaEastbound Camino De La Reina, west of Avenida Del RioSan Diego Mission Road between Fairmount Avenue and Caminito YucatanSouthern California is expected to get the heaviest rain from this next atmospheric river event expecting to bring widespread heavy showers, potentially damaging winds and cold temperatures. ...

Get ready to eat! Where to eat during San Diego Restaurant Week

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Foodies in San Diego, commence! San Diego Restaurant Week is back for its 20th year.From Mar. 26 - Apr. 2, the event offers exclusive deals and menus from over 100 restaurants across 30 neighborhoods in the area, showcasing San Diego's diversity from Asian and Spanish to Southern African and Persian.Prix-fixe menu options will be available at participating restaurants, with discounted deals at casual and five-star restaurants. It’s ‘ridiculicious’: Popular ‘best-burger’ joint opens first San Diego location Reservations are recommended, but walk-ins are welcomed too. Here's a list of the restaurants involved in San Diego Restaurant Week:San DiegoThe Prado at Balboa ParkLa Bonne TableAllegroButchers CutCafe SevillaCity CruisesDel Frisco's SteakhouseDobson's Bar and RestaurantGreystone SteakhouseLavo Italian RestaurantMorton's the SteakhouseOsteria PanevinoPrince Street PizzaPuesto at the HeadquartersRei do Gado Brazilian SteakhouseSaltwaterSTK San DiegoThe DesmondTom Ha...

Questions over top Polish politician’s absence from campaign

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The absence of Poland’s top politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, from early electoral campaigning has raised questions about the health of the 73-year-old leader of the ruling party.Kaczynski, who was touring Poland last fall and meeting with potential voters, has not returned to campaigning after December knee surgery.He was expected back on tour in early February, but now some party members are saying it will be mid-April. Poland is to hold a general election in the fall.The Onet.pl portal Tuesday cited Kaczynski aides as saying he developed sepsis after the surgery which undercut his energy.Kaczynski is Poland’s policy maker and most powerful politician, despite holding no government office. He is the founder and leader of the right-wing Law and Justice party that has ruled since 2015, with small coalition partners. His twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, was killed in a plane crash in Russia in 2010. The Associated Press

‘Everyone is basically at risk’: How to avoid falling victim to financial fraud

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

Alejandra Laria Aleaga was thrilled to see a job offer pop into her inbox in October 2021. At the time, she was in her final year of college and actively seeking opportunities at video game companies and animation studios after completing her illustration degree.“Me being a student with student debt and sort of desperate to find a job and make sure that I had a job after I graduated, I got really excited and I was like, ‘Oh wow, a video game company is asking me to work for them,’” Laria Aleaga recalled.The email, which didn’t land in her spam folder, seemed to be from a reputable video game company in the United States and mentioned that the company found her through a portfolio website where up-and-coming artists share their creations in order to find work, she said.Laria Aleaga said she then proceeded to engage in what appeared to be a legitimate hiring process, which involved an interview over text messages, signing a contract and purchasing gift cards to buy equipment she was t...

Spain’s government faces no-confidence vote brought by Vox

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s leftist coalition government faces a no-confidence vote brought by the nation’s far-right Vox party as lawmakers on Tuesday debated the motion, which has little chance of succeeding.The vote will be held in the 348-member lower chamber on Wednesday. No other party said that it would support the attempt by Vox’s 52 lawmakers to topple the Socialist-led government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. In a move that has been widely panned by other political parties and Spanish media, Vox leader Santiago Abascal has broken with custom and isn’t presenting himself as an alternative prime minister. Instead, in an attempt to lure votes from centrist and leftist legislators, Vox convinced a former communist party member and university professor to lead the no-confidence measure. Ramón Tamames, 89, who was a lawmaker in the 1970s and 1980s, has pledged that if the vote were to succeed, his only act as prime minister would be to immediately call f...

Video shows Irvo Otieno pinned to floor before his death

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

DINWIDDIE, Va. (AP) — A group of sheriff’s deputies and other personnel at a Virginia mental hospital forcibly pinned patient Irvo Otieno to the ground until he was motionless and limp, then began unsuccessful resuscitation efforts, according to newly obtained surveillance video.The video, which was obtained through a link included in public court filings, shows the workers pressing down on a prone handcuffed and shackled Otieno. His death March 6 while being admitted to Central State Hospital has led to second-degree murder charges against seven deputies and three hospital workers. Relatives of the 28-year-old Otieno were shown the video last week by a prosecutor, Dinwiddie Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill, who said at one point that she planned to publicly release it Tuesday. But attorneys for at least two of the defendants sought to block its release to the public, arguing that it could hinder a fair trial.Otieno was brought to the hospital south of Richm...

Families of Montreal fire victims could face long wait for answers, police say

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

MONTREAL — Police say the families of the presumed victims of a deadly fire in Old Montreal could be facing a long wait for answers, as investigators are working to enter a building described as a “scene of destruction.” Insp. David Shane told reporters today that the unstable structure of the building and the difficulty of recovering bodies could mean an agonizing delay for the loved ones of the people missing.One woman has been found dead and six people remain missing after a fire swept through the historic building in Old Montreal last Thursday.Shane says several floors of the building collapsed on each other, and because of the risk of further collapse, recovery teams will have to be lifted by crane into the building.Fire and police investigators explored the scene Monday with the help of cameras and visual inspections from the outside but did not recover any more victims. A spokeswoman for the city’s forensics lab says the process to identify victims could als...