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Stocks flip to gains on Wall Street, Treasury yields swing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks flipped to gains Thursday amid hopes for help for a bank at the center of Wall Street’s hunt for what’s next to crack in the struggling industry.The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in midday trading after erasing an earlier loss of nearly that much following reports that First Republic Bank could receive financial assistance or sell itself to another bank.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 103 points, or 0.3%, at 31,978, as of 11:20 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.3% higher. This week has been a whirlwind for markets globally on worries about banks that may be bending under the weight of the fastest set of hikes to interest rates in decades. The crisis of confidence has been flaring since Friday’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which was the second largest bank failure in U.S. history.Since then, Wall Street has tried to root out banks with similar traits, such as lots of depositors with more than the $250,000 limit that’s insured ...

Empire reports $125.7M net earnings as it rebounds from Sobeys cyberattack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:20 GMT

Empire Company Ltd. said its net earnings hit $125.7 million in its latest quarter as its Sobeys supermarket chain rebounded from a November cyberattack.The results reported Thursday for the grocery store operator’s third quarter compared with $203.4 million in net earnings during the same period the year before.Its earnings for the period ended Feb. 4 amounted to 49 cents per share, down from 77 cents per share in the third quarter of the prior fiscal year, when Empire said it incurred “unusually large” lease termination income and higher property sales from Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust.Its adjusted net earnings totalled $164.8 million, down from $203.4 million a year earlier.Sales, which were driven by the expansion of FreshCo in Western Canada, higher food inflation and increased fuel sales, reached $7.49 billion compared with $7.38 billion in the prior quarter.Empire’s earnings report came as the Stellarton, N.S.-based company recovers from a cybe...

Thai police to get mental health checks after fatal standoff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:20 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Police in Thailand will be subject to random checks of their physical and mental health, officials said Thursday, after a 27-hour standoff in which a senior officer holed up and fired a gun into the air until he was subdued by fellow officers.Police Lt. Col. Kitikarn Sangbun died in a hospital Wednesday night of multiple gunshot wounds sustained during the standoff at his home on the fringes of the capital Bangkok, said police Col. Rangsan Sornsing, superintendent of the police station in the Sai Mai neighborhood where the standoff took place. Kitikarn had been suffering from mental health issues and stress in his work and personal life, police said, without elaborating.Thai media reported that the police Inspector General’s Office has ordered random health checks be carried out on officers nationwide to help avoid similar situations. Members of the public are also encouraged to report cases where they are concerned about officers’ mental health.Kitikarn h...

Willow oil project approval intensifies Alaska Natives’ rift

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:20 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration’s approval this week of the biggest oil drilling project in Alaska in decades promises to widen a rift among Alaska Natives, with some saying that oil money can’t counter the damages caused by climate change and others defending the project as economically vital.Two lawsuits filed almost immediately by environmentalists and one Alaska Native group are likely to exacerbate tensions that have built up over years of debate about ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project.Many communities on Alaska’s North Slope celebrated the project’s approval, citing new jobs and the influx of money that will help support schools, other public services and infrastructure investments in their isolated villages. Just a few decades ago, many villages had no running water, said Doreen Leavitt, director of natural resources for the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope. Housing shortages continues to be a problem, with multiple generations of...

EU moves on clean technology: Subsidies up, free market down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:20 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union presented plans Thursday to fundamentally revamp its policies on promoting green technologies and dealing with critical raw materials, imposing limits on imports from countries like China while unleashing subsidies and other financial incentives to ramp up home production.The plans by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, are essential in moving toward a climate neutral economy, while also increasing the bloc’s strategic independence in a shifting world of geopolitical alliances.To achieve its clean technology and strategic goals, the EU is making a major economic turn away from the decades of preaching the hands-off free-market economic gospel where any public policy input was considered meddling reminiscent of a bygone age. Now, the plans again call for accommodating state aid, a guiding hand, and financial incentives as key ingredients to move from a fossil fuel to a green economy.“The one mistake I think we’ve made — and ...

'I've dreamed of that moment': Johnsburg native makes one of college softball's best catches in 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:20 GMT

MADISON, WI - One of the best catches in college softball so far in 2023 came from an outfielder who is native of McHenry County, and she's only been playing that position for a few months."I've never played outfield, actually. I think I played half of a year when I played for the (Illinois) Chill," said Johnsburg native Kate Linkletter, who is in her redshirt freshman year at Wisconsin. "As soon as I came here this year, I've mostly been taking reps in the outfield. So outfield is new to me."But the former Johnsburg High School All-State player looked liked like a poised veteran when she was in right field in the seventh and final inning of the Badgers' game with No. 13 Alabama at the Bevo Classic in Austin, Texas on Sunday. With Wisconsin hanging onto a one-run lead with two outs, Crimson Tide pinch hitter Faith Hensley lifted a fly ball toward Linkletter in right field. She sprinted towards the corner and was able to catch up to the ball just before the wall and made the catch. L...

Dean's A-List Interviews: Willem Dafoe on 'Inside,' familiar with confined spaces as a child

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:20 GMT

CHICAGO — Dean sits down with Willem Dafoe on his new film "Inside," where an art thief's heist doesn't go as planned and he gets locked in a New York penthouse. Dafoe recalls his interest in confined spaces because of his fascination with astronauts. As a kid, he remembers locking himself in a closet for as long as he could to know what an astronaut feels — he shares shooting the film wasn't as different. "Inside" airs in theaters Friday.

'Disturbing': Son of former NHL player pushes woman's wheelchair down flight of stairs, video shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:20 GMT

ERIE, Penn. (WJET) – A student at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania, has apologized after footage from a pub's surveillance camera appeared to show him push a disabled woman's wheelchair down a staircase while she was in the bathroom.The student has since been identified as Carson Briere, a hockey player at Mercyhurst and the son of Daniel Briere, a former NHL player and the current interim general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers.Briere, a junior at the university, has also been suspended from his college hockey team, the school's athletic department said."I am deeply sorry for my behavior on Saturday," said Briere in a statement released after the video was shared to social media earlier this week. "There is no excuse for my actions and I will do whatever I can to make up for this serious lack of judgment." ‘Bad behavior breeds bad behavior’ Sullivan’s staff speaks on viral video In the video, which was captured just after 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, Briere and two other...

'Sickened': Robert Smith blasts Ticketmaster fees ahead The Cure's upcoming tour

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:20 GMT

Ahead of The Cure's upcoming tour, which includes a stop in Chicago, Robert Smith took to Twitter to blast ticket scalping and Ticketmaster's fees.On Tuesday, the band announced their upcoming tour will use Ticketmaster's "verified fan" system in an effort to reduce scalping.He went on to say the band declined to use Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing and platinum tickets, calling it a "greedy scam."Once tickets went on sale, Smith noticed several tickets did end up in the hands of online resale marketplaces for much-higher prices than face value."WE WERE CONVINCED THAT TICKETMASTER'S 'Verified Fan Page' AND 'Face Value Ticket Exchange' IDEA COULD HELP US FIGHT THE SCALPERS," Smith wrote on Twitter.Ticketmaster takes an order processing fee in addition to a service fee — which also irked Smith in addition to multiple Cure fans posting screenshots of the fees."I AM AS SICKENED AS YOU ALL ARE BY TODAY'S TICKETMASTER 'FEES' DEBACLE. TO BE VERY CLEAR: THE ARTIST HAS NO WAY TO LIMIT THEM. I ...

Chris Stapleton will be Texas 'Traveller' for 2023 'All-American Road Show' tour

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:20 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Chris Stapleton will make a long-awaited return to Austin.The country music icon and "Traveller" singer mapped out his "All-American Road Show" for 2023. The tour kicks off April 26 in El Paso and wraps up in August. Stapleton's first show of the year is March 16 for Rodeo Houston. Opening acts include Margo Price, Little Big Town, Nikki Lane, Charley Crockett, The Way and Treaty, Allen Stone and Marcus King.Texas dates on Chris Stapleton's All-American Road Show Tour include:El Paso - April 26, 2023 at Don Haskins Center with Margo Price, Nikki LaneCorpus Christi - October 12, 2023 at American Bank Center Arena with Charley Crockett, Nikki LaneSan Antonio - October 19, 2023 at AT&T Center with Charley Crockett, Nikki LaneAustin - October 20, 2023 at Moody Center with Charley Crockett, Nikki LaneTickets go on sale starting Thursday, March 23 at 10 a.m. with venue presale. Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m. The tickets will be so...