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Speaker McCarthy says there’s still time to prevent a government shutdown as others look at options

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — With no clear strategy, no sure support and not much time left to prevent a government shutdown, Speaker Kevin McCarthy nevertheless vowed on Wednesday he would not give up trying to convince his colleagues to pass a temporary funding bill through the House.But lawmakers watching and waiting for the beleaguered leader to deliver are looking at other options.The Republican speaker insisted as he arrived at the Capitol for another grueling day of negotiations that he still had time to win over hard-line conservatives and keep the government funded before money runs out before the end of the month.“It’s not September 30 — the game is not over,” McCarthy told reporters.But even if McCarthy is able to accomplish the seemingly impossible and unite his all-but-ungovernable House Republican majority around a conservative spending plan, the victory would be short-lived. The hard-right bill, with steep 8% cuts to many services, would be rejected by the Senate, where Democrat...

Fed keeps rates unchanged but signals likelihood of another hike this year to fight inflation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday for the second time in its past three meetings, a sign that it’s moderating its fight against inflation as price pressures have eased. But Fed officials also signaled that they expect to raise rates once more this year.Consumer inflation has dropped from a year-over-year peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.7%. Yet it’s still well above the Fed’s 2% target, and its policymakers made clear Wednesday that they aren’t close to declaring victory over the worst bout of inflation in 40 years. The Fed’s latest decision left its benchmark rate at about 5.4%, the result of 11 rate hikes it unleashed beginning in March 2022.The Fed’s hikes have significantly raised the costs of consumer and business loans. In fine-tuning its rate policies, the central bank is trying to guide the U.S. economy toward a tricky “soft landing” of cooling inflation without triggering a deep recession.Besides forecasting another hik...

MDPD Director Alfredo Ramirez announces he will not run for Miami-Dade Sheriff weeks after shooting himself near Tampa

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:40 GMT

Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez announced that he will not run for Miami-Dade Sheriff in 2024.In a statement released Wednesday, Ramirez said the following, “My commitment to run for sheriff has always been about public safety and continuing my life’s work to keep families safe. Earlier this year, I filed to run for sheriff to support and guide a successful transition to a sheriff’s office and ensure the mission and work ethic of the department was unchanged.”His statement continued, reading in part, “That commitment and mission is stronger than ever, and while I will not be a candidate for Sheriff in 2024, I look forward to working with the Mayor and stakeholders on a successful and smooth transition that puts public safety at the forefront of every decision. I appreciate the community’s well wishes and support over the past few months and will remain focused over the coming weeks on my continued recovery.”Ramirez on Sept. 15 returned to Sou...

UN chief wants rich countries to hasten climate efforts and close ‘gates to hell’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:40 GMT

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday demanded that wealthy nations take the lead in the fight against climate change — launching his one-day Climate Ambition Summit held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.“Humanity has opened the gates to hell,” the U.N. chief said in his opening remarks, calling on world leaders to “make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.”Guterres made a point in hosting a summit attended by what he described as the “first movers and doers from governments, business, finance, local authorities and civil society,” hoping this would spur momentum ahead of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai at the end of November. He urged deep-pocketed countries to join a Climate Solidarity Pact — where nations that have contributed the most to the climate emergency should “hit fast forward” in curbing their emissions and help struggling econo...

US government to relaunch free Covid-19 home test program

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:40 GMT

(CNN) — The US government will relaunch a program to provide free Covid-19 home tests to Americans, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Wednesday.“We will once again begin our program to provide Americans with an opportunity to request tests,” Becerra said during an event at a Washington, D.C., CVS Pharmacy, where he was vaccinated against Covid-19 and flu. More information on the Covid-19 testing program is coming soon, he said.Becerra said HHS’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response “has been resupplying our stockpile” and some of those tests would be made available for the respiratory virus season.Previously, the US government has offered multiple rounds of free Covid-19 tests to people who requested them through Covidtests.gov. The program was suspended at the end of May, after the end of the Covid-19 public health emergency, to preserve supply.Covid-19 hospitalizations have been on the rise in the United States...

Stellantis and GM furlough dozens of workers, warns hundreds more could come as strike continues

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:40 GMT

(CNN) — Stellantis is immediately laying off 68 employees at the Toledo Machining Plant in Perrysburg, Ohio, due to the impact from the United Auto Workers union’s targeted strike at the Toledo Assembly Complex, the company said Wednesday.The layoffs will be temporary and are due to storage constraints, Stellantis said in a statement, adding that it had run out of space to store the parts made at the plant. Production at the rest of the facility will continue. More layoffs are anticipated at Kokomo Transmission and Kokomo Casting in Kokomo, Indiana, impacting an additional 300 employees there, the company said.This is the first layoff announcement by Stellantis. Ford and General Motors already laid off or warned of idling employees at two of their plants because of the targeted strikes.About 600 employees at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant’s body construction department and south sub-assembly area of integrated stamping were laid off in Wayne, Michigan on Friday. The p...

Fed keeps rates unchanged but signals likelihood of another hike this year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:40 GMT

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday for the second time in its past three meetings, a sign that it’s moderating its fight against inflation as price pressures have eased. But Fed officials also signaled that they expect to raise rates once more this year.Consumer inflation has dropped from a year-over-year peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.7%. Yet it’s still well above the Fed’s 2% target, and its policymakers made clear Wednesday that they aren’t close to declaring victory over the worst bout of inflation in 40 years. The Fed’s latest decision left its benchmark rate at about 5.4%, the result of 11 rate hikes it unleashed beginning in March 2022.The Fed’s hikes have significantly raised the costs of consumer and business loans. In fine-tuning its rate policies, the central bank is trying to guide the U.S. economy toward a tricky “soft landing” of cooling inflation without triggering a deep rece...

Orioles place Ryan Mountcastle on 10-day IL with left shoulder injury, hope slugger returns before playoffs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:40 GMT

The Orioles waited a week to see if Ryan Mountcastle’s left shoulder would improve enough to get the first baseman back on the field and avoid a stint on the injured list, but it hasn’t.Manager Brandon Hyde said before Wednesday’s series finale against the Houston Astros that Mountcastle hadn’t progressed the way the Orioles hoped, forcing them to place the slugger on the 10-day IL with left AC joint inflammation.Even though he hasn’t played since Sept. 13, Mountcastle’s IL trip can only be backdated three days. Hyde said the goal is for Mountcastle to return as soon as his stint ends next Wednesday. Outfielder Ryan McKenna was recalled from Triple-A to replace Mountcastle on the 28-man roster.Mountcastle suffered the injury on a swing in the first inning of last Wednesday’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Hyde had said several times in the past week that the middle-of-the-order bat wasn’t a candidate to go on the IL, but that his bat...

Top 10 sailing destinations around the world

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:40 GMT

If your idea of the perfect vacation involves sea breezes and flapping sails, you’ve got a fellow sailing aficionado over at the travel advice site, TripsToDiscover.com. The site offers travel tips and “best of” lists for destinations around the world, from luxury beach house rentals in California to beautiful beaches in the South of France and top sailing adventure destinations.The latter is written by K.C. Dermody and offers 17 enticing possibilities from French Polynesia to Turkey, Croatia and Zanzibar. You’ll find destinations where you can hire a barefoot charter or cruise aboard a traditional dhow, snorkel, dive or simply sail.A general view of people kite surfing in Paje, Zanzibar, on January 12, 2022. During high season, Zanzibars beaches attract thousands of people for kite surfing, economically benefitting local businesses. (Sumy Sadurni/AFP via Getty Images)The Grenadines, a chain of tiny Caribbean islands, tops the list, thanks to their beautiful views, pristine beaches,...

A new COVID booster is here. Will those at greatest risk get it?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:40 GMT

Amy Maxmen | (TNS) KFF Health NewsThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends new COVID-19 booster vaccines for all — but many who need them most won’t get them. About 75% of people in the United States appear to have skipped last year’s bivalent booster, and nothing suggests uptake will be better this time around.“Urging people to get boosters has really only worked for Democrats, college graduates, and people making over $90,000 a year,” said Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiologist at Yale University. “Those are the same people who will get this booster because it’s not like we’re doing anything differently to confront the inequities in place.”As the effects of vaccines offered in 2021 have diminished over time, boosters have been shown to strongly protect people against severe COVID and death, and more modestly prevent infection. They can have a dramatic impact on those most likely to die from COVID, such as older adults and immunocompromised people. Public health expert...