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US economy grew at weak 1.1% rate in Q1 in sign of slowdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:49 GMT

By PAUL WISEMAN (AP Economics Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy slowed sharply from January through March, decelerating to just a 1.1% annual pace as higher interest rates hammered the housing market and businesses reduced inventories.Thursday’s estimate from the Commerce Department showed that the nation’s gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of economic output — weakened after growing 3.2% from July through September and 2.6% from October through November.But consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, remained resilient, growing at a 3.7% annual pace, the fastest quarterly pace in nearly two years.The slowdown reflects the impact of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to tame inflation, with nine interest rate hikes over the past year. The surge in borrowing costs is expected to send the economy into a recession sometime this year. Though inflation has steadily eased from the four-decade high it ...

Dave Hyde: A double-header of 8th-seed delight as Heat stun Bucks, Panthers shock Bruins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:49 GMT

All right, you can pinch yourself now.It was real.Wednesday was one big playoff surprise from the Florida Panthers stacked on an even bigger one from the Miami Heat.Two unbelievable Game 5′s. Two overtime delights. Six double-decked hours of hoops and hockey hysteria that are unmatched in South Florida history with parallel endings that you never saw coming and rocked their respective sports.The eighth-seed Panthers really went into top-seed Boston and won in overtime, 4-3, to keep their season alive for a Game 6 on Friday in Sunrise.The eight-seed Heat really went into top-seed Milwaukee and won in overtime, 128-126, to close out that shocking series and advance to play the New York Knicks.Do you know how many times two teams from the same market had ever won playoff games on the road, in overtime, on the same night?Of course you don’t know. No one has ever had the need to research such a stat in a sports world where every stat is researched. But you can guess how often...

‘23 Mini Cooper Clubman S exceeds expectations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:49 GMT

MINI Clubman. Photo By Marc GrassoMINI Clubman. Photo By Marc GrassoMINI Clubman. Photo By Marc GrassoMINI Clubman. Photo By Marc GrassoMINI Clubman. Photo By Marc GrassoMINI Clubman. Photo By Marc GrassoShow Caption of ExpandAs no history lesson is needed, Mini has really come a long way. With their original Cooper and Cooper S, their brand has expanded down multiple avenues while still staying in the sedan category. As a subsidiary of BMW of North America, MINI comes to Grasso’s Garage this week with their 2023 Clubman S All4.Wrapped in Sage Green with gold accents, our 2023 MINI Cooper S Clubman All4 is really a good looking sedan. Its all-wheel drive capability is nicely oriented in the winter months. Powering the Clubman S is the 2.0 liter MINI TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder engine producing 189 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque. Although these numbers seem low and entry level, this is the opposite. Its peppy-like 8-speed sport automatic transmission was quick and lag-less unlike ...

Releasing leak suspect Jack Teixeira a national security risk, feds say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:49 GMT

Federal prosecutors will urge a judge Thursday to keep behind bars a Massachusetts Air National guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents, arguing he may still have access to secret national defense information he could expose.In court papers filed late Wednesday, the Justice Department lawyers said releasing 21-year-old Jack Teixeira from jail while he awaits trial would be a grave threat to the U.S. national security. Investigators are still trying to determine whether he kept any physical or digital copies of classified information, including files that haven’t already surfaced publicly, they wrote.“There simply is no condition or combination of conditions that can ensure the Defendant will not further disclose additional information still in his knowledge or possession,” prosecutors wrote. “The damage the Defendant has already caused to the U.S. national security is immense. The damage the Defendant is still capable of causing is extraordinary.”A detentio...

San Francisco to repeal boycott of anti-LGBTQ+ states

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:49 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco is repealing a ban on city-funded travel to 30 states that it says restrict abortion, voting and LGBTQ+ rights after determining the boycott is doing more harm than good.The Board of Supervisors voted 7-4 on Tuesday to repeal a section of the city’s administrative code that prohibits staff from visiting and city departments from contracting with companies headquartered in the states, which include Texas, Florida and Ohio.California, meanwhile, is considering the repeal of a similar law.City supervisors will hold a second and final vote next Tuesday. Mayor London Breed is expected to sign the measure.The progressive city passed the boycott in 2016, after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. At first, the boycott applied only to states that it considered restricted the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Later, the list was expanded to include states that limit access to voting and abortion.The idea was to exert economic pressure...

Kosovo calls for justice for 1,621 missing persons from war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:49 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s leadership has called for justice for the 1,621 people still officially missing from the 1998-1999 war with neighboring Serbia. On Kosovo’s National Day of Missing Persons, President Vjosa Osmani said in a statement: “The violent extinction of thousands of our citizens, including children, was a clear effort to extinguish the people.”The war erupted when the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo, which was then a Serbian province, rebelled against rule from Belgrade, which responded with a brutal crackdown. About 13,000 people were killed. In 1999 a NATO military intervention forced Serbia to pull out of the territory. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, which is not recognized by Serbia.Prime Minister Albin Kurti paid his respects at a memorial to the missing in the capital, Pristina.“We need justice. We need accountability. We need criminals, perpetrators, executioners and decision-makers to be behind bars,” Kurti said.The issue of the missing is pa...

Jobless claims fall again with labor market churning along

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:49 GMT

Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell last week as the labor market continues to show strength despite some weakness in other parts of the economy. The number of Americans filing for jobless claims for the week ending April 22 fell by 16,000 to 230,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.The four-week moving average of claims, which flattens some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 6,000 to 236,000. At the start of the year, weekly claims were running around 200,000 and they have gradually moved higher.The weekly claims numbers are a proxy for layoffs, and continue to show that American workers are enjoying unusual job security despite rising interest rates, economic uncertainty and fears of a looming recession.Overall, 1.86 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended April 15, 3,000 fewer than the previous week.Matt Ott, The Associated Press

Former Czech soccer head gets prison term for fraud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:49 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — The former head of the Czech Republic soccer association was convicted of fraud on Thursday and sentenced to six years in prison.Prague’s Municipal Court also fined Miroslav Pelta 5 million Czech crowns ($235,000) and banned him from an executive position for five years.The court issued the verdict in a retrial of the case after it handed Pelta the same sentence in 2021. An appeals court canceled that ruling and returned the case back to the original court.In the same case, the court also sentenced Simona Kratochvilova, a former deputy education minister, to six-and-a-half years in prison, banned her from working in public offices for six years and fined her 2 million Czech crowns ($94,000).A state prosecutor demanded nine and 10 years in prison for Pelta and Kratochvilova, respectively.The two have denied wrongdoing and still can appeal.The case dates to 2017 when police raided the association headquarters and the offices of FK Jablonec, a provincial soccer club partl...

Canadian Press NewsAlert: TotalEnergies sells Canadian operations to Suncor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:49 GMT

CALGARY — TotalEnergies says it has signed a deal to sell its Canadian operations to Suncor Energy Inc. in an agreement worth up to $6.1 billion.More coming.Companies in this story: (TSX:BBD.B)The Canadian Press

Russia denies visit to American reporter in visa retaliation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:49 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday denied a U.S request for a consular visit to Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who is jailed on espionage charges.The ministry said it rejected the request for the May 11 visit in retaliation for the U.S. refusing to grant visas to Russian journalists who planned to accompany Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on a trip to the United Nations.Gershkovich has been in custody since his March 29 arrest by Russia’s security service on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government have denied.Gershkovich is the first U.S. correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying charges, and his arrest rattled journalists in the country and drew outrage in the West.The United States has declared Gershkovich to be “wrongfully detained” and demanded his immediate release.The Russian denial of the U.S. request for a consular visit to Gershkovich followed Lavrov warning that Mo...