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Speaker McCarthy eyes new commission to tackle nation’s debt, but many Democrats are wary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is studying the history books and considering the appointment of a mix of lawmakers and business leaders as he lays the groundwork for a new commission to tackle the nation’s growing debt.McCarthy is fresh off his biggest political victory since becoming speaker in January. He got the White House to negotiate on a bill that suspends the debt ceiling into January 2025 while also producing a projected $1.5 trillion in deficit savings over the coming decade. But the legislation only focused on a sliver of the federal spending that occurs each year and excluded programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that account for the majority of government spending and are the biggest drivers of the debt. McCarthy has embraced the idea of establishing a new fiscal commission to find additional deficit reduction. While similar commissions have notched success in the past, the most recent ones failed to muster enough support for Cong...

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise, lifted by bull market on Wall Street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:30 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Friday, led by a jump on the Tokyo Stock Exchange where share prices got a boost of optimism from a new bull market on Wall Street. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 1.8% in morning trading to 32,217.76. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4% to 7,126.50. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.9% to 2,634.96. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.3% to 19,352.59. The Shanghai Composite inched up less than 0.1% to 3,215.62. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to carry it 20% above the bottom it hit in October. That means Wall Street’s main measure of health has climbed out of a painful bear market, which saw it drop 25.4% over roughly nine months.The arrival of a bull market also doesn’t mean the stock market has made it back to its prior heights. A 25% drop for the S&P 500 requires a 33% rally just to get back to even. In Thursday’s trading, the S&P 500 rose 26.41 points to 4,293.93. The Dow gained 0.5% to 33,833.6...

In this youth baseball league, fans who mistreat umpires are sentenced to do the job themselves

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:30 GMT

DEPTFORD, N.J. (AP) — The April Facebook post hardly seemed like national news at the time for Deptford Little League president Don Bozzuffi. He’d lost patience when two umpires resigned in the wake of persistent spectator abuse. So he wrote an updated code of conduct.It specified: Any spectator deemed in violation would be banned from the complex until three umpiring assignments were completed. If not, the person would be barred from any Deptford youth sports facilities for a year.In G-rated terms (unlike the ones that will get you tossed), the mandate just wants helicopter parents to calm the heck down. No 9-year-old will remember, as an adult, being safe or out on a bang-bang play at first. But how deep would be the cut of watching dad get tossed out of the game and banished for bad behavior?The league doesn’t want to find out. “So far, it’s working like I’d hoped and just been a deterrent,” the 68-year-old Bozzuffi said.The problem, though, isn’t limited to Deptford and its hand...

Trump indicted in classified documents case in a historic first for a former president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:30 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Donald Trump has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, a remarkable development that makes him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges by the federal government that he once oversaw.The Justice Department was expected to make public a seven-count indictment ahead of a historic court appearance next week in the midst of a 2024 presidential campaign punctuated by criminal prosecutions in multiple states.The indictment carries unmistakably grave legal consequences, including the possibility of prison if Trump’s convicted. But it also has enormous political implications, potentially upending a Republican presidential primary that Trump had been dominating and testing anew the willingness of GOP voters and party leaders to stick with a now twice-indicted candidate who could face still more charges. And it sets the stage for a sensational trial centered on claims that a man once entrusted to safeg...

Expanding Drought, Warmth Saturday, Rain and Cool-Down Sunday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:30 GMT

Concert review: The Cure’s Robert Smith gave ageless performance at the X that left the crowd glowing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:30 GMT

Something was missing from the Cure’s concert Thursday night at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center — overpriced tickets.That’s solely because lead singer Robert Smith, 64, took on Ticketmaster and won. Smith insisted that Ticketmaster not use dynamic pricing on the tour, and forced the ticketing giant to partially refund some of the company’s infamous fees. He also convinced Ticketmaster to limit any resale tickets to face value.Robert Smith did that. Not Taylor Swift or Bruce Springsteen or Beyonce, but Robert Smith. The elderly goth with the smeared lipstick and fright wig hairdo.Smith’s doggedness on this topic likely added to the festive mood of the near-capacity crowd, who cheered throughout the nearly three-hour concert (and probably nabbed some extra merch due to the cheap seats).In some ways, the show was quite similar to the Cure’s previous show at the X in 2016, which was the group’s first Minnesota show in 20 years. Smith and com...

Lead pipe removal begins in Troy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:30 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The city of Troy making progress removing the lead pipes, breaking ground on the project earlier this week. NEWS10 has the latest on how the clean water is flowing. Large police presence seen at Hawthorne Avenue home “It’s all about working together to get the job done and to ensure safe drinking water for the people of Troy,” said City Council President Carmella Mantello.People in Troy are starting to get lead-free pipes. Those who live near the corner of Adam’s Street and 4th Street are some of the first to have the new service lines.“It started yesterday and we're on number five We have a long way to go but we're online about two or three a day,” said Chris Wheland the Superintendent of Public Utilities.The entire project is expected to cost between 30 to 40 million dollars, and it could take up to 10 years to complete.  But the city needs its residents to help with the inventory in order to apply for more federal funding to help complete the project....

Ventura County woman charged with stealing $250,000 from employer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:30 GMT

A 54-year-old woman from Santa Paula has been arrested for stealing more than a quarter million dollars from her employer over a period of three years, authorities announced earlier this week.  Tina Louise Torres faces 17 felony counts of grand theft and eight felony counts of making, forging and altering documents.  The 54-year-old was employed by Limoneira Federal Credit Union as a manager, with responsibilities that included bookkeeping. “While employed, Torres used her position of trust to embezzle money and forge documents to defraud Limoneira Federal Credit Union,” a news release from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office stated.  Investigators believe that Torres stole over $250,000 from the credit union between Jan. 2016 and Aug. 2019, when her theft was discovered by a company audit and her employment was terminated.  After a lengthy investigation by VCSO’s Major Crimes – Financial Crimes Unit, Torres was arrested in Ojai on June 5. She was booked at the pre-tr...

2 hospitalized in shooting outside Hyde Park car wash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:30 GMT

At least two people were hospitalized after gunfire erupted outside of a car wash in Hyde Park on Thursday night.Officers responded to reports of a shooting on the 6400 block of S. West and Hyde Park Boulevards around 6:30 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department.When authorities arrived at the scene, they found two people wounded. Both victims were transported to a local hospital for treatment. Their conditions remain unknown. There were reports of a possible third victim, although that information has not been confirmed.A shooting outside of a Hyde Park car wash left two people hospitalized on June 8, 2023. (Citizen)A shooting outside of a Hyde Park car wash left two people hospitalized on June 8, 2023. (Citizen)A shooting outside of a Hyde Park car wash left two people hospitalized on June 8, 2023. (Citizen)A shooting outside of a Hyde Park car wash left two people hospitalized on June 8, 2023. (Citizen)A shooting outside of a Hyde Park car wash left two people hospit...

Adell homers in return to majors as Angels beat Cubs 3-1 to complete series sweep

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:49:30 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jo Adell homered in his first game back in the majors, Reid Detmers finally posted his first victory of the season and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Chicago Cubs 3-1 Thursday night to complete their third series sweep of the season.It is the first time the Angels, who have won four straight, have swept the Cubs in a three-game series. Trey Mancini had an RBI double for Chicago, swept for the fourth time this year. The Cubs have dropped four in a row and 10 of 14.Adell, who led the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with 18 homers before being called up, tied the game 1-all in the second inning when he hammered a sinker from Drew Smyly (5-4) a projected 455 feet down the left-field line. According to Statcast, it was the longest homer by an Angels player at home this season.Detmers (1-5) went 5 2/3 innings, lasting that long for only the third time in 11 starts this year. The left-hander struck out eight and walked two.Carlos Estevez earned his 16th save.Adell...