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Stock market today: Wall Street edges higher; US Steel soars after deal with Nippon Steel

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:11:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged higher in morning trading on Wall Street Monday, continuing a strong streak that has brought seven straight weeks of gains. The S&P 500 was up 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was relatively unchanged as of 10:46 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq rose 0.2%.Energy companies were putting up some of the biggest gains as the price of crude oil jumped amid growing concerns about attacks from Iranian-backed Houthis on shipping in the Red Sea. Oil and natural gas giant BP has joined the growing list of companies that have halted shipments in the major trade route.Exxon Mobil rose 1.3% and Valero Energy rose 3%.Treasury yields were higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.97% from 3.92% late Friday.Markets in Asia and Europe were lower.U.S. Steel soared 26% after agreeing to be acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel. The Pittsburgh steel maker played a key role in the nation’s industrialization. The all-cash deal is valued at about $14.1 billion, or $14.9 ...

Live updates | Israel’s allies step up calls for halting the assault on Gaza

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:11:15 GMT

After France, the U.K. and Germany joined global calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Tel Aviv Monday, and is also expected to press Israel to wind down its offensive in Gaza. The 10-week-old war has transformed much of the north of Gaza into a moonscape. Nearly 85% of Gaza’s population have fled their homes.More than 19,400 Palestinians have been killed since Israel declared war on Hamas, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Thousands more lie buried under the rubble of Gaza, the U.N. estimates. Israel says 116 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking about 240 hostages. Currently: — In Israel’s killing of three hostages, some see the same excessive force directed at Palestinians.— Israel finds a large tunnel adjacent to the Gaza border, ra...

Denver will only see this much daylight on the winter solstice

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:11:15 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) —The darkest day of the year is fast approaching, and Denver is one of the cities in the United States that will get the least amount of daylight.The darkest day of the year lands on Dec. 21, 2023. Across America, cities will get as little as six hours of sunlight. 2023 could be one of the wettest years on record, even with a dry fall This year, Denver will get eight hours and 38 minutes of sunlight, which is over five hours less than Denver's longest day in June.Compared to other city capitals around the U.S., Denver is getting the short end of the stick when it comes to shortest daylight hours on Dec. 21.US city capitals' shortest day of the yearThis chart is ordered from least amount to most amount of daylight. RankCitySunriseSunsetLength of daylight1Juneau, Alaska8:44 a.m.3:07 p.m.6:22:302Olympia, Washington7:54 a.m.4:24 p.m.8:30:093Bismarck, North Dakota8:25 a.m.4:57 p.m.8:32:044Helena, Montana8:09 a.m.4:43 p.m.8:33:475Denver, Colorado7:52 a.m.4:31 p.m.8:38:486S...

Miramar Police Department welcomes bloodhound puppy to the force

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:11:15 GMT

A four-month-old Bloodhound puppy named Hope Ryce has officially joined the ranks at the Miramar Police Department. Weighing in at a sturdy forty pounds, Hope Ryce comes from a distinguished background, having been donated to the Miramar Police Department by the Jimmy Ryce Center for Victims of Predatory Abduction. This purebred Bloodhound puppy was specifically bred for tracking by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, renowned for its advocacy of utilizing Bloodhounds in law enforcement. The Jimmy Ryce Center, in collaboration with Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, facilitated the donation to support tracking and search operations.Hope Ryce will be partnered with K-9 Officer Heidy Arias, a seasoned seven-year veteran of the Miramar Police Department. The collaboration aims to enhance the department’s capabilities in tracking and locating individuals.In a video posted on the department’s X page, they showcased the moments before and after Arias met the ado...

Miami Lakes woman facing felony charges for role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:11:15 GMT

A Miami Lakes resident is facing felony charges for her alleged role in the January 6 Capitol riot, where she entered the building just minutes after the initial breach, according to court documents.Barbara Balmaseda, 23, was arrested on Thursday on felony and misdemeanor charges connected to her involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The charges include obstruction of an official proceeding, entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct, and parading in a Capitol building.Balmaseda allegedly traveled from Florida to Washington, D.C. to protest the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Court documents revealed she exchanged messages expressing her belief in election theft and knowledge about the certification process.According to court documents, Balmaseda was captured on U.S. Capitol Police CCTV allegedly entering the Capitol via the Senate Wing door, just four minutes after the initial breach.Screenshot of CCTV footage showing Balmaseda, yellow circle,...

Storm batters Northeastern US with rain and wind, knocking out power and flooding roads

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:11:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A storm barreled up the East Coast on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees in the Northeast, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, and forcing flight cancelations and school closures.More than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain had fallen in parts of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania by mid-morning, and parts in several other states got more than 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts reached nearly 70 mph (113 kph) along the southern New England shoreline.Power was knocked out for more than 500,000 customers in an area stretching from Virginia north through New England, including nearly 140,000 in Massachusetts and 119,000 in Maine, according to poweroutage.us. Maine’s largest utility, Central Maine Power, reported 17% of its customer base was without power.The weather service issued flood and flash flood warnings for New York City and the surrounding area, parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Co...

The great cryptophone hack: Drug gangs on trial in ‘historic’ Belgian case

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:11:15 GMT

BRUSSELS — Call it the mother of modern drug trials.The Belgian court on Monday started hearing cases of more than 120 people charged with drug and arms trafficking, extortion, acts of torture and attempted murder. It’s one of the country’s biggest trials ever — not just due to its scale but also because it’ll test investigators’ daredevilish methods of hacking encrypted communications services and siphoning off droves of data that were then used as evidence to charge drug networks spanning the European continent.“This is a trial that will make history,” said Eric Van Duyse, spokesperson of the Belgian prosecutor’s office. Law enforcement’s operations to compromise and unlock datasets of two secure communications platforms, Sky ECC and EncroChat, were “a revolution,” Van Duyse said.Three hearings per week will take place in former NATO headquarters premises, which have been turned into the brand new ‘Justitia’ courtroom to host big trials like those related to the Brussels terr...

Germany puts its troops in the line of fire if Putin attacks NATO

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:11:15 GMT

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is prompting Germany to do something unprecedented — to permanently base thousands of troops only about 100 kilometers from the border with Russia and right in the line of fire if the Kremlin ever launches an attack on NATO territory.German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was in Vilnius on Monday to sign a deal with his Lithuanian counterpart Arvydas Anušauskas firming up the conditions on which 4,800 German troops plus 200 civilians will be based in the Baltic country.“With this war-ready brigade, we are assuming a leadership responsibility here in the alliance and on NATO’s eastern flank,” Pistorius said, adding: “The speed of the project clearly shows that Germany understood the new security reality.” The war in Ukraine has upended military thinking in Berlin — pressing generals and politicians to move with unaccustomed speed.In a sign of the escalating demands on the Bundeswehr, one of the units making up the new brigad...

More than 285,000 without power in MA, all Logan flights grounded due to wind

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:11:15 GMT

Residents woke up to a stormy start of their weeks Monday, with heavy rains and strong winds blasting southern New England. Gusts of as fast as 60 to 70 miles per hour were forecast for Monday morning, with peak intensity expected from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights departing Logan Airport in Boston until 1 p.m., with a probability of extension of 30 to 60 percent. There is the potential for both inland flooding from the rain and minor coastal flooding from the wind, as well as possible power outages from downed trees and tree limbs.“Once the storm arrives if you are traveling please stay as far away from our crews as possible if you see them out so they have the space they need to safely do their work and make repairs,” said William Hinkle of Eversource Energy. “If you come across any downed lines, always stay as far away from those as possible as well and report them immediately to 911 and give us a call....

Debris crashes down at MassArt building in Boston

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:11:15 GMT

Police in Boston taped off a stretch of road by Huntington Avenue after what appeared to be debris from the MassArt building fell across the area.Large chunks of insulation and other items were scattered along part of Evans Way and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design campus after some sort of ceiling structure hanging over an entrance collapsed, leaving a large hole in the structure and debris closing off an entranceway.Details on what may have caused the collapse or if anyone was present when the debris came down have not yet been released.7NEWS has contacted Massachusetts College of Art and Design for more information and will provide updates as they become available.https://twitter.com/KimberlyBookman/status/1736801387026297111?s=20