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Stock market today: Wall Street jumps, and its winning streak kicks into a higher gear

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is rallying Thursday, and its long winning streak kicked into a higher gear following a mixed set of reports on the economy.The S&P 500 was 1.4% higher in late trading, touching its highest level since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 453 points, or 1.3%, at 34,433 with less than an hour remaining in trading, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% higher.Homebuilder Lennar helped lead the S&P 500 with a gain of 4.5% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. It also gave a stronger-than-expected forecast for upcoming deliveries, saying customers are accepting the “new normal” of higher interest rates. The stock market is still absorbing the Federal Reserve’s warning from a day earlier that it could raise interest rates two more times this year in its battle against inflation. It’s already hiked its benchmark rate to the highest level since 2007, which has helped slow inflation somewhat but has...

Critics blast Georgia’s plan to delay software updates on its voting machines

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Critics of Georgia’s plan to wait until after next year’s presidential election to install a software update to address security flaws on the state’s voting equipment called that irresponsible, saying the machines would be left open to attack.The vulnerabilities in the Dominion Voting Systems equipment were identified by an expert witness in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Georgia’s election system. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, last year published an advisory based on those findings that urges election officials to take steps to mitigate the risks “as soon as possible.”Georgia election officials say they’re doing just that. But the time and labor required to install the latest Dominion software makes it unrealistic to do it before the 2024 election cycle, they say. They insist the state’s elections are secure.University of Michigan computer scientist J. Alex Halderman spent 12 we...

York police update officer’s condition after crash involving Canada Post truck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

York Regional Police (YRP) have updated the condition of an officer in hospital after being involved in a serious collision with a Canada Post truck on Wednesday.Emergency crews responded to a collision on Steeles Avenue near Highway 404 around 2:40 a.m.Police said a Canada Post truck struck a parked York Regional Police cruiser after an officer had completed a traffic stop involving another vehicle. The on-duty officer was back in his vehicle when it was rear-ended by the mail truck.A male officer, the lone occupant in the cruiser, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The injuries were later upgraded to life-threatening.A York Regional Police spokesperson said the officer’s condition has improved, and he is now stable.“He remains in hospital receiving treatment for his injuries. On behalf of the officer’s family and our members, we thank the community and our partners for their ongoing support,” YRP said.No other injuries were reported in the crash. ...

How to end an epic love story like ‘Outlander’? Take the time to do it right, says its stars

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

“Outlander” stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan are grateful for the gift of time. The show returns for its seventh season Friday with an eighth season on the horizon that will be its last.Balfe says there was a time when the powers that be considered wrapping up the epic in a truncated seventh season.“There was a conversation where it might have wrapped up in two episodes in season seven, and that just didn’t feel like the right way to do things,” she said. Instead, there are 16 episodes in season seven and season eight will have 10.“We’re just happy that we also get the opportunity to actually come back and have one more stab at it,” added Heughan.Balfe and Heughan star as Claire and Jamie Fraser, who meet in season one after Claire, a British nurse, encounters a set of magic stones while visiting Scotland that transport her from the post-World War II era to the 1800s when Scotland and England are at war. Claire begrudgingly marries Jamie, a Highland warrior and the ...

Prosecutor: Richard Allen 'confessed 5 or 6 times' to Delphi murders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

DELPHI, Ind. – Prosecutor Nick McLeland said in court Thursday that Richard Allen "confessed five or six times" that he killed best friends Abby Williams and Libby German on remote historic trail in Delphi in February 2017. "He made multiple confessions to multiple people," McLeland said on Thursday. Richard Allen's defense attorney acknowledged "incriminating statements" made by Allen but attributed the comments to his client's deteriorating mental state."He has made incriminating statements implicating himself in the crime," said Allen's defense attorney, Bradley Rozzi. Defense attorneys and prosecutors made arguments in court Thursday about statements previously made by Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen, including the reported "confessions" of the murders.A trial date was also set for early January 2024. Allen faces two counts of murder in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German.Allen, looking gaunt, appeared in court Thursday in a yellow jumpsuit. During the...

One year on from record highs, how much have gas prices fallen in Texas?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Gas prices in Texas have dropped more than $1.50 since record highs set a year ago today.On June 15, 2022, a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Texas cost an average of $4.70. Today, the statewide average is $3.14, a drop of $1.56, according to AAA data. That's a decrease of 33%. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Texas sets new statewide record for gas prices Drivers in El Paso are paying the most at the pump, with an average of $3.39 per gallon. San Angelo has the cheapest gas currently, at $2.95 a gallon. The McAllen and Brownsville metro areas also have averages at or below $3 a gallon.The map below shows average prices in metro areas across Texas. The darker the red, the higher the price. Why some Texas towns pay so much more for gas There are several factors that can explain why some cities see higher gas prices than others. AAA says individual retailers set their own prices, so local supply and demand can cause prices to fluctuate. Distribution costs also factor in, as wel...

Airlines required to install secondary cockpit barriers on new planes but not existing ones

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Nearly 22 years after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a new rule Wednesday requiring commercial airlines to install secondary cockpit barriers on all new planes, but not existing ones."Every day, pilots and flight crews transport millions of Americans safely -- and today we are taking another important step to make sure they have the physical protections they deserve," said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. In 2018, Congress passed a law mandating "secondary barriers" -- lightweight gates that create a physical barricade around the cockpit -- to prevent hijackers from gaining access when the cockpit door is routinely opened mid-flight.Example of a cockpit barrier (Courtesy ALPA)Pilots and flight attendants have warned, for years, that the flight deck is vulnerable when the cockpit door is opened, for example, when a pilot has to use the restroom mid-flight. Union representatives point out air marshals can't ...

Liberty Hill Pride proclamation met with boos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

LIBERTY HILL, Texas (KXAN) – On Wednesday, the mayor of Liberty Hill officially declared June Pride Month.Amanda Crossland, who lost her son Jaycee to suicide shortly after he came out as gay, said she’s been speaking closely with the mayor about this.“I promised him after he died I would do everything I can to make sure this doesn’t happen to someone else,” she said. “To make sure people like him know they have support.”The proclamation reads as follows:Whereas, Liberty Hill is a Loving, Wholesome and Family-centered community; and Whereas, Liberty Hill is an inclusive and supportive community; and Whereas, We value all of our citizens because of the unique and precious nature of all of God’s children; and Whereas, We oppose hate, abuse, discrimination or bullying of any person, Now Therefore, I, Liz Branigan, as Mayor, do proclaim the month of June as Pride Month in Liberty Hill, in harmony with the larger community of the United States.The meeting room was packed with people part...

Linking past and present, ‘Kumbayah The Juneteenth Story’ play to tour around the state

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

The play “Kumbayah The Juneteenth Story” is going on tour across Minnesota this month — starting this week in the Twin Cities — to illustrate the history and meaning behind the newest federal holiday.Juneteenth, observed every June 19 to celebrate Black culture and commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S., became a federal holiday in 2021 and a state one this February.The tour kicks off this Friday, June 16, where “Kumbayah The Juneteenth Story” will be staged twice, at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., at Breck School in Golden Valley. On June 19, the play will be in St. Peter; then, Rochester on June 22 and St. Cloud on June 24. The play was also presented in Minneapolis and Duluth last fall.“Kumbayah The Juneteenth Story” was created by local writer and activist Rose McGee, and this tour is presented by her organization Sweet Potato Comfort Pie and the Minnesota Humanities Center.The show opens at a soul food restaurant in North Minneapolis, then transitions to Texas during the Civil War. As...

Stillwater area food-truck fest set for Saturday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:00 GMT

The organizers of the largest food-truck event in the east metro are gearing up for this weekend’s “Food Truck Extravaganza,” hosted by the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Baytown Township.More than 40 food trucks are expected to converge at the site from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday for what is being billed as “a mini State Fair in Stillwater.” In addition to food, the event will feature live music, children’s activities, a beer and wine tent and a marketplace.The event also will feature a “Military Row” that will include representatives of the four branches of the U.S. military, the Minnesota National Guard and Washington County Sheriff’s Office.Pets are welcome, but they must be leashed, said Robin Anthony, executive director of the Greater Stillwater Chamber. “It looks to be a beautiful Saturday,” she said. “We look forward to kicking off summer with this fun family event.”Admission is $5; children younger than 5 get in fr...