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Biden proclaims NATO alliance ‘more united than ever’ as he celebrates newest member Finland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

By SEUNG MIN KIM, CHRIS MEGERIAN and JARI TANNER (Associated Press)HELSINKI (AP) — President Joe Biden said he and other NATO leaders showed the world that the military alliance emerged “more united than ever” this week as he on Thursday capped a European trip meant to demonstrate the force of the international coalition against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The allies “understand that this fight is not only a fight for the future of Ukraine,” Biden said, noting that it’s also about sovereignty, security and freedom throughout eastern Europe and the world. Though Ukraine’s demand for an explicit path to NATO membership remained elusive, Biden emphasized that agreements with other countries in the alliance would support Kyiv’s long-term security even without its entry into NATO. At a news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, Biden pledged that the United States’ commitment to NATO would not waver, despite t...

Kerry grilled on Climate Office; sparks fly over ‘private jet’ use

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

This could finally be the day Climate boss John Kerry thaws his budget out. To what degree we’ll find out as the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability grills him. Follow along below and stay here for updates and a full report:10 a.m. — Chair Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) just started the meeting and didn’t hold back on Kerry has “managed to avoid oversight and accountability.”Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) jumped in next saying global warming will drive up bills and put Americans at risk, taking a softer tone before Kerry speaks.Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) warned Kerry that playing nice with China could prove to be lethal. He’s the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and is “deeply concerned” about talks with China. “We don’t have to make concessions before we even get to the table.” He added that this all comes as “an American citizen” Mark Swidan of Texas faces death i...

Ons Jabeur beats Aryna Sabalenka to reach her second Wimbledon final in a row

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Ons Jabeur came back from a set and a break down to defeat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday and reach the Wimbledon final for the second consecutive year. This will be the third title match for Jabeur in the past five Grand Slam tournaments. The 25-year-old from Tunisia already was the only Arab woman and only North African woman to get to a major final. So far, she is 0-2 at that stage after losing to Elena Rybakina at the All England Club last July and to Iga Swiatek at the U.S. Open last September. The sixth-seeded Jabeur’s victory Thursday, which came by collecting 10 of the last 13 games, prevented the second-seeded Sabalenka from replacing Swiatek at No. 1 in the rankings. Sabalenka came into the match with a 17-1 record at majors in 2023, including a trophy at the Australian Open.Jabeur’s opponent for the championship on Saturday will be Marketa Vondrousova. Vondrousova became the first unseeded women’s finalist at Wimbledon since Billie...

Ghana forcibly deports hundreds of people who had fled extremist violence in Burkina Faso, says UN

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana has forcibly deported hundreds of people fleeing violence from Burkina Faso, the United Nations refugee agency said Thursday. Approximately 251 people were expelled, most of them women and children seeking safety in northern Ghana, according to UNHCR. “It’s not a voluntary repatriation,” Alpha Seydi Ba, senior communications officer for UNHCR, told The Associated Press.In a statement Wednesday, the UN called on Ghana to cease these expulsions “and guarantee access to the territory and asylum to nationals of Burkina Faso seeking international protection.” Under international human rights law, the principle of non-refoulement guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel or degrading treatment, or punishment. The UN’s statement said Ghana was violating the principle. Extremist violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group has ravaged the West African nation for years, killing thousands ...

Appeals court orders new congressional lines in New York, a potential boon for Democrats

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

ALBBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A mid-level state appeals court on Thursday ordered new congressional lines be drawn for New York, a ruling that could benefit Democrats in the 2024 fight for control of the U.S. House.The Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court reversed a lower court and directed a state redistricting commission to start work on new proposed state congressional lines. Democrats are supporting the lawsuit, which seeks to scrap the 2022 lines in New York under which Republicans flipped four congressional seats.Republicans quickly pledged to take the politically charged case to New York’s highest court.“On to the Court of Appeals,” former Republican Rep. John Faso said in a statement. “Democrats want to rig the congressional district lines in their favor. New York State now has more competitive congressional districts than any state in the nation.”The lawsuit was brought on behalf of 10 New York voters who want the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission to submit...

Stock market today: Wall Street rises again as inflation slows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is adding to its winning week Thursday following the latest signal that inflation is continuing to ease its chokehold on the economy.The S&P 500 was 0.7% higher in afternoon trading and on pace for its seventh winning week in the last nine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 77 points, or 0.2%, at 34,425, as of 12:32 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% higher as Big Tech stocks led the way.Stocks are building on gains after more data raised hopes that inflation is cooling enough to convince the Federal Reserve to end its blistering run of hikes to interest rates very soon. Inflation at the wholesale level slowed more than expected in June, and prices paid by producers were just 0.1% higher during the month than a year earlier. That’s down from 11.2% inflation last summer.High inflation has been the main reason investors have been fearing a possible recession, because of how high the Federal Reserve has cranked interest rates to g...

Railway container shipments plummet amid B.C. port strike, hurting small businesses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

MONTREAL — Railways suffered a sharp drop-off in container shipments this month as the strike by B.C. port workers halted more than half of steel-box cargo.Canadian National Railway Co.’s revenue ton miles — a key industry metric used to gauge income and freight volume — fell 60 per cent in the first week of the job action, according to RBC Dominion Securities analyst Walter Spracklin.The figure dropped by 45 per cent at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.The plunge left the number of containers hauled by Canadian railways last week at barely half the level it reached during the same period in 2022, according to the American Railroad Association.The corrugated metal boxes, which carry everything from consumer products to auto parts, mark a critical source of cash for Canada’s two main railways, comprising roughly one-quarter of annual revenue.The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the BC Maritime Employers Association have until 10:30 a.m. PDT on Thursd...

Judge rules man accused of trying to open jet’s door, attacking crew, not competent for trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A man charged with attacking a flight attendant with a broken metal spoon and attempting to open an airliner’s emergency door on a cross-country flight in March is not currently competent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled.Magistrate Judge Judith Dein, basing her decision on a mental health evaluation of Francisco Severo Torres and her own observations in court, determined Wednesday that further treatment is warranted, according to court records.“The Court hereby finds … that the defendant is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense,” Dein wrote in her decision.She also wrote that she denied a request by Torres to be freed so he could “further investigate the conspiracy which eventually led to his actions on the plane.” Torres, of Leominster, Massachusetts, is cha...

By the numbers: What the latest interest rate hike means for your mortgage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

This week, the Bank of Canada hiked interest rates yet again, raising its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 5 per cent, and the prime rate to 7.2 per cent.That means the cost of borrowing in this country is now the highest it’s been since 2001. Here’s a by-the-numbers look at how that has been impacting Canadians with mortgages:A couple in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with a $245,000, 25-year variable-rate mortgage:In March, 2022, based on a prime rate at the time of 2.7 per cent, this couple’s monthly payment would have been $1,122.07. With a variable-rate mortgage, this couple’s payment has increased 10 times with each Bank of Canada rate hike since then. At today’s prime rate of 7.2 per cent, these St. John’s homeowners will need to make monthly payments of $1,746.38 — or an extra $624 a month compared to what they were paying 16 months ago. At an interest rate of 2.7 per cent, over 25 years, this couple would pay over ...

Army colonel gets $975,000 in sex assault case against former Joint Chiefs vice chairman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired Army colonel has reached a court settlement of nearly $1 million in a sexual assault lawsuit against Air Force Gen. John Hyten, who served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.The settlement with the U.S. government ends more than four years of investigations, reviews and congressional digging into the matter, which delayed — but ultimately did not defeat — Hyten’s nomination for vice chairman in 2019. He served two years and did not seek a second term.Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser, who served as Hyten’s aide in 2017, filed the lawsuit, and in the settlement reached in U.S. District Court in California on Wednesday, the federal government will pay her $975,000. “It is my sincere hope that the successful outcome in my case will embolden other survivors of military sexual violence to come forward — no matter how high ranking the perpetrator,” she said in a statement Thursday. In an interview with The Associated Press in 2019, Spletstose...