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Liz Truss vs. the Blob: Round 2

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:29 GMT

LONDON — Liz Truss is still battling the economic “orthodoxy” that killed off her premiership.The U.K.’s shortest-serving prime minister joined assorted economists, wonks and journalists Wednesday morning for the launch of a brand new group — the Growth Commission — that’s aiming to put rocket boosters under Britain’s sluggish economy.In so doing, the avowed free-marketeer is setting up an alternative to august institutions like the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the U.K.’s Treasury, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that cast major doubt on her program of debt-funded tax cuts. Such organizations have been disparagingly labelled the “blob” by some Conservatives.Truss’ plan spooked markets and hastened the end of her short-lived government. She’s since blamed “orthodoxy” in the U.K.’s finance ministry. But the commission — convened by Truss but with no formal role for the ex-PM — wants to change ...

Global hunger shows no sign of reversing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:29 GMT

Global hunger has surged since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with about 122 million more people struggling from a lack of food in 2022 compared to 2019, according to an annual report from the United Nations.Without major changes, the U.N. will not meet its goal of eradicating global hunger by 2030, the report warned.Based on the current trajectory, some 600 million people around the world will still be suffering from hunger in 2030 unless global efforts are “scaled up” and “sped up,” said the president of the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development, Alvaro Lario. “I think there’s a possibility of reducing those figures massively, if we manage to increase investment in food systems in a significant way,” he told POLITICO in an interview ahead of the report’s launch.The latest report reveals the sweeping impacts of supply chain disruptions during the pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Around 735 million people struggled with hunger last year, compared to 613 milli...

Revere man arrested after stabbing at Gardner gym leaves victim in serious condition

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:29 GMT

A 19-year-old man from Revere is facing assault charges after police say a victim was stabbed in the chest at a gym in Gardner, according to authorities.The Gardner Police Department said the stabbing happened around 10:20 a.m. at the Planet Fitness on Victoria Lane. The victim, a 43-year-old man, was seriously wounded as a result and was flown to UMass Memorial Medical Center where officials said he was in stable condition.According to Gardner PD, Nunez Lennox of Revere was later stopped and arrested near Route 190 in Leominster with assistance from Massachusetts State Police.Lennox was expected to be arraigned on at least one count of Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon in Gardner District Court later in the day.

Yankees add corporate sponsor patch to their jerseys

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:29 GMT

The Yankees are adding a patch to their pinstripes.Beginning July 21, the Yankees’ home and away jerseys will feature a Starr Insurance patch on their left sleeves, marking the first time the team’s uniform has incorporated such an advertisement.This season is the first that Major League Baseball has allowed teams to display corporate sponsor patches on uniforms. The Tigers, Guardians, Padres and Cardinals are among the others to add one.The Yankees announced the move Wednesday by releasing images of Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole in the new-look uniforms. The news elicited a strong reaction from Yankees fans, many of whom were similarly critical when the team added a Nike swoosh to its famed jerseys in 2019.Starr, which began its partnership with the Yankees in 2018, is now the team’s signature partner, according to Wednesday’s announcement. Yankee Stadium will add Starr signage to its outfield wall in front of the home and away bullpens, and Starr will sponsor...

US inflation hits its lowest point since early 2021 as prices ease for gas, groceries and used cars

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:29 GMT

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER (AP Economics Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — Squeezed by painfully high prices for two years, Americans have gained some much-needed relief with inflation reaching its lowest point since early 2021 — 3% in June compared with a year earlier — thanks in part to easing prices for gasoline, airline fares, used cars and groceries.The inflation figure the government reported Wednesday was down sharply from a 4% annual rate in May, though still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. From May to June, overall prices rose 0.2%, up from just 0.1% in the previous month but still comparatively mild.Even with Wednesday’s better-than-expected inflation data, the Fed is considered all but sure to raise its benchmark rate when it meets in two weeks. But with price increases slowing — or even falling outright — across a range of goods and services, many economists say they think the central bank could hold off on what had been expected to be...

FBI Director Chris Wray defends the ‘real FBI’ against criticism from House Republicans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:29 GMT

By FARNOUSH AMIRI, ERIC TUCKER and LISA MASCARO (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Chris Wray defended the “real FBI” during a contentious congressional hearing Wednesday, dismissing a litany of grievances from Republicans who are harshly critical of the bureau, threatening to defund some operations and claiming the Justice Department is unfair to political conservatives. Wray refused to engage in specific questions about ongoing federal investigations, including those involving former President Donald Trump and Hunter Biden. The son of President Joe Biden recently reached an agreement to plead guilty to misdemeanor federal tax charges; Republicans have derided that as a sweetheart deal. In testy exchanges with Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, Wray rejected the GOP assertion that the bureau was favoring the Biden family and said the notion that the bureau was involved the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was “ludicrous.” &#...

House wakes up from summer slumber to $700M spending bill for vulnerable hospitals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:29 GMT

The House is scheduled Thursday to wake up from a 78-day slumber for a likely vote on a nearly $700 million spending bill that top House Democrats say helps vulnerable hospitals in the wake of the pandemic and facilitates an international hydro-electric project.In the first seven months of the legislative session, the Legislature has mostly attended to routine and required business like advancing the fiscal 2024 budget and pushing along bills primarily affecting specific municipalities. Major hallmarks have been scarce and a final full state budget is still missing days into the new fiscal year.But on Thursday, lawmakers will trudge back to Beacon Hill to take an expected vote on a spending bill that shuttles $180 million in “urgently needed” support to vulnerable hospitals, according to House Speaker Ronald Mariano’s office.The bill also gives the Department of Public Utilities the flexibility to approve updated contracts for a 1,000 megawatt hydro-electric project that is slated t...

Bank of Canada raises rate to 5%: What we learned about inflation and the economy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:29 GMT

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate on Wednesday, by 0.25 of a percentage point to five per cent. Governor Tiff Macklem says inflationary pressures aren’t easing as quickly as the central bank wants, and more rate hikes could be coming if the economic data supports it.Here’s what we learned from the Bank of Canada’s decision and monetary policy report, and remarks from Macklem and senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers as they spoke to reporters after the announcement. Recession likely not in the cardsThe Bank of Canada doesn’t expect a recession, despite the squeeze higher rates are putting on the economy, Macklem said. The central bank expects economic growth to average around one per cent for the next year before picking up after that.“We need a period of growth below trend, below potential, to let supply catch up with demand. That’s what’s going to relieve those price pressures,” Macklem said. “But we do think that there’s a path back to pric...

Ja Morant’s lawyers cite ‘stand your ground’ law, self defense in pickup basketball lawsuit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:29 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The future of a lawsuit accusing Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant of assaulting a teenager during a pickup basketball game hinges on whether Morant will be allowed to say that he was acting in self defense and can receive immunity under Tennessee law.A judge on Wednesday ruled that Morant’s lawyers can proceed for now with their argument that Morant was acting in self defense when he punched Joshua Holloway during a game at the All-Star player’s Memphis-area home in July 2022.Morant’s lawyers have acknowledged he punched Holloway one time after Holloway threw a basketball at Morant and the ball hit Morant in the chin. In a July 26 motion, the player’s lawyers said he should be immune from liability under the state’s “stand your ground” law, which allows people who feel threatened at their homes to act with force in certain situations.Circuit Court Judge Carol Chumney said the next step would be to hear from lawyers in the case, including...

Roadway bombs planted by drug cartel kill 6 law enforcement officers in Mexico, officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:29 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A coordinated series of roadway bomb blasts in western Mexico that officials said were a trap organized by a drug cartel killed six police officers and prosecutors’ agents, the latest example of the increasingly open, military-style challenge posed by the country’s drug cartels.The governor of Jalisco state said the blasts late Tuesday in Tlajomulco, a city near the state capital, Guadalajara, were set up by an anonymous caller who gave a volunteer search group a tip about a supposed clandestine burial site near the roadway. The bombs also wounded 12 people.For years, police have been unable to locate the more than 110,000 missing people in Mexico, but they accompany volunteer search groups that look for such hidden graves. The volunteers, usually the mothers of missing people, often get anonymous tips about where their relatives may be buried.Jalisco Gov. Enrique Alfaro said a total of eight “improvised explosive devices” were planted on the roadway, seven ...