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Stock market today: Wall Street is mixed after jobs report comes in warm but hopefully not too hot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is holding relatively steady Friday after data suggested the U.S. job market is still warm enough to keep the economy growing but maybe not so hot that it stokes inflation much higher.The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 56 points, or 0.2%, at 33,865, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.A lot is riding on whether the economy can navigate the narrow pathway to avoid a long-predicted recession. It needs to keep growing despite much higher interest rates instituted by the Federal Reserve to bring down inflation. But it can’t grow so quickly that the Fed feels pressure to brake much harder on the economy to prevent inflation from spiraling.Friday’s report showed U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs last month, a slowdown from May’s hiring of 306,000. Perhaps more importantly, it wasn’t far off economists’ expectations. That’s unlike a report from Thursday, which sent stoc...

Woman arrested outside Taylor Swift’s beachfront Rhode Island home on trespassing charge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:47 GMT

WESTERLY, R.I. (AP) — A woman who was previously warned to stay away from Taylor Swift’s home in Rhode Island was arrested this week outside the beachfront property, police said.The woman was discovered in front of the home and arrested on Monday, said Westerly Police Chief Paul Gingerella.TMZ published photos showing someone in handcuffs outside the home’s gates, which had multiple “No Trespassing” signs.Overzealous fans have been a problem for Swift over the years, with several arrests at her homes. In July 2019, an Iowa man who said he wanted to meet Swift was arrested near her beachfront mansion carrying a crowbar and lock picks, and a New Jersey man was caught inside the home months later. A Florida man who broke into Swift’s home in New York City in 2018 was sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to criminal contempt and attempted burglary.It’s unclear if Swift was home on Monday. She is in the middle of a 52-show stadium tour dubbed “Eras.” On Friday, she r...

UN nuclear agency seeks more access to plant that Kyiv, Moscow say is under threat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:47 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The head of the United Nations nuclear agency said Friday he was pushing for access to the roof of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine after Ukraine and Russia accused each other anew of planning attacks. The plant was seized by Russia, in March 2022, in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, raising fears of a nuclear accident. The Russians have granted only limited access to officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, citing security.Wrapping up a four-day visit to Japan, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his agency was making progress on access to Zaporizhzhia. “It’s like a conversation and I’m pushing to get as much access as possible,” Grossi said, in an interview with The Associated Press in Tokyo, adding that there was “marginal improvement.”“I’m optimistic that we are going to be able to go up and see,” Grossi said, referring to the plant’s rooftops.Citing intelligence reports, Ukrainian Preside...

Bank of Canada expected to raise rates next week, despite rise in unemployment rate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:47 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian labour market is showing some signs of softening as the unemployment rate rises and wage growth slows, but with another solid job gain last month, forecasters are still expecting a rate hike next week.Statistics Canada reported Friday the economy added 60,000 jobs in June, driven by gains in full-time work. But as more Canadians searched for work and the population continued to grow, the unemployment rate climbed higher to 5.4 per cent, the highest it’s been in a year. “The reason the unemployment rate can rise alongside historically strong employment growth is that population growth continues to set new records — including an 84k monthly increase in June,” wrote RBC assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen in a note to clients.June marked the second month in a row the unemployment rate has risen as economists watch for softening in the labour market amid high interest rates.Job gains were concentrated in wholesale and retail trade, manufacturi...

Ferry disruptions hurting P.E.I. businesses after years of COVID-19 closures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:47 GMT

CHARLOTTETOWN — The Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island says the sporadic ferry service this year between the province and Nova Scotia has been challenging for local businesses.Corryn Clemence, chief executive officer of the association, says the MV Confederation was pulled from service on Canada Day and will stay off-line this weekend for the Cavendish Beach Music Festival.The company that operates the ferry between Nova Scotia and eastern Prince Edward Island says the MV Confederation will be out of service until at least next week, leaving the Confederation Bridge as the Island’s only link to the mainland.Northumberland Ferries says the ferry was removed from the water because of a mechanical glitch and that the required parts are due to arrive Saturday.Clemence says this year is important for most businesses because it’s the first time they’re in full swing after two years of COVID-19 closures.She says the financial hit to businesses will be ca...

Caribbean leaders seeking discounted oil criticize US sanctions against Venezuela

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:47 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Caribbean leaders on Friday denounced U.S. economic sanctions against oil-rich Venezuela, saying they’ve been forced to buy costlier petroleum elsewhere as they struggle with tight budgets.Members of a Caribbean trade bloc known as Caricom called for removal of the sanctions, which prevent them from purchasing oil at a discounted rate as part of a deal with Venezuela known as Petrocaribe.“We in the Caribbean are suffering immensely,” Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said at the close of a three-day Caricom conference on Wednesday. “People should be allowed to go about their lives, especially in these difficult times.”Both Skerrit and Keith Rowley, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, said the issue was raised with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken when he met with Caribbean leaders this week at the conference in Trinidad.The Petrocaribe deal that began in 2015 and was recently revived allows Caribbean nations to pay 60% of oil purchases with...

Fatal fire still burns on cargo ship in New Jersey, raising questions about response capability

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:47 GMT

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A cargo ship burned for a third day Friday at a New Jersey port after the fire claimed the lives of two firefighters and exposed gaps in the ability of fire crews to respond to emergencies on hulking container ships.Crews shot jets of water into the Italian-flagged Grande Costa d’Avorio docked in Newark as flames flared periodically from the section of the ship where hundreds of vehicles were loaded onto multiple decks.The Coast Guard and other officials were set to hold a news conference later Friday to give an update on the situation.Newark firefighters Augusto “Augie” Acabou and Wayne “Bear” Brooks Jr. died fighting the blaze that broke out Wednesday night on the 10th floor of the ship. The fire quickly reached the 11th and 12th floors as firefighters were forced to retreat in the intense heat. Five other firefighters were injured. Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said the department had trained on ships before, but not the specific kind of cargo vessel t...

Florida judge to murder suspect on run for 40 years: “You knew you were running from something.”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:47 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A judge in Florida has ordered a 65-year-old California fugitive held without bond in connection with the death of a woman nearly 40 years ago.Donald Santini was arrested by U.S. marshals in California last month, and extradited to Florida. He had used at least 13 aliases over the years. Santini was the last person seen with 33-year-old Cynthia “Cindy” Ruth Wood. The arrest warrant said a medical examiner determined she had been strangled, and Santini’s fingerprints were found on her body.“You being on the run for almost 40 years is a consciousness of guilt. You knew you were running from something,” Judge Catherine Catlin told Santini during a hearing in Tampa on Thursday. Photos taken in the courtroom showed Santini weeping before the judge denied bond.Wood’s stepdaughter, Denise Kozer told the Tampa Bay Times she’s hoping to find closure in a case that resulted in “total devastation” for her family.Back in 1984, Santini was known as Charles Michael ...

Pat Fitzgerald gets a suspension after Northwestern hazing investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:47 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — The conclusion of an investigation into hazing allegations within the Northwestern University football program has brought changes along with punishment for its leader.On Friday, it was announced that head coach Pat Fitzgerald will be suspended for two weeks without pay after the investigation found "evidence to corroborate claims made by an anonymous whistleblower regarding hazing activities and events." The investigation was launched in December 2022 and was led by Maggie Hickey of ArentFox Schiff, a former inspector general of Illinois. In the report, she said that the anonymous whistleblower's claims against the program were "largely supported by the evidence."Fitzgerald will begin serving that suspension immediately, which would make him available for the start of Wildcats training camp later this summer. “I was very disappointed when I heard about the allegations of hazing on our football team,” said Fitzgerald in a statement released by Northwestern Universi...

Taylor Swift releases 'Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)': What to listen for

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:47 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In 2010, newly anointed as a Grammy winner, Taylor Swift released “Speak Now,” her third studio album and her first without a single songwriting collaboration.Her 2006 self-titled debut and 2008’s “Fearless” had inspired both acclaim and criticism for her bold bridges and keen lyricism — these are masterful country-pop songs, critics argued, but surely a teen idol wasn’t responsible for them. Swift proved her detractors wrong on “Speak Now,” an album that arrived just before her pivot from country’s youngest hope to pop’s freshest voice.The album served as a close document of her nascent fame and future career ambitions, and now, 13 years on, it's back. “Speak Now (Taylor's Version),” released Friday, is the third release of the six albums Swift plans to re-record. The "Taylor's Version" albums, instigated by music manager Scooter Braun's sale of her early catalog, represent Swift's effort to control her own songs and how they're used...