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Econometer: Is the Federal Reserve correct in considering additional rate hikes?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:30 GMT

Phillip Molnar | The San Diego Union-Tribune (TNS)Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech recently that the central bank would stamp out rapid inflation “until the job is done” despite a dropping inflation rate.While inflation has been lowering, he said officials want to see more progress to convince them that they are truly bringing price increases under control.“We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate and intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective,” he said.Critics have argued raising interest rates tamper economic growth and the Fed’s strategy so far isn’t working.Q: Is the Federal Reserve correct in considering additional rate hikes?Jamie Moraga, Franklin RevereYES: Additional rate hikes could be warranted if they reduce higher prices for goods and services and get inflation back to the 2 percent goal. The Fed should be careful how much they ...

Wait times to exit Burning Man drop after flooding left tens of thousands stranded in Nevada desert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:30 GMT

BLACK ROCK DESERT, Nev. (AP) — Wait times for tens of thousands of Burning Man partygoers trying to exit the mud-caked northern Nevada desert are beginning to decrease after flooded roads left them stranded there for days.Event organizers said they started to let traffic flow out on the main road around 2 p.m. local time Monday — even as they urged attendees to delay their exit to help ease traffic. About two hours after the mass departure began, organizers estimated a wait time of about five hours.By Tuesday morning, wait times had dropped to between two and three hours, according to the official Burning Man account on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter.The annual gathering, which launched on a San Francisco beach in 1986, attracts nearly 80,000 artists, musicians and activists for a week-long mix of wilderness camping and avant-garde performances.The festival had been closed to vehicles after more than a half-inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain fell Friday, cau...

Stolen car allegedly involved in recent carjacking collides into vehicle in Lynn, injuring one

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:30 GMT

A stolen car that fled police in Lynn and collided with another vehicle sent one person to the hospital with injuries Tuesday morning, according to authorities.Two suspects have been taken into custody, Lt. Rick Connick said in a statement.Officers on patrol in the area of Chestnut and Essex streets saw the stolen car, which they suspect was also “involved in a recent carjacking incident,” collide with another vehicle at the intersection, Lt. Rick Connick said in a statement.The incident happened at about 7:13 a.m. A white Honda was seen flipped over on its roof in the middle of the road, while a black Nissan appeared to have sustained front-end damage and caused a sign to topple over in the parking lot of Tony Tipico restaurant.Connick did not release information on the vehicles involved nor the condition of the victim. The identities of the victim and suspects also were not shared.

The student loan ‘on-ramp’: Should you delay payments for a year?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:30 GMT

By Eliza Haverstock | NerdWalletFederal student loan payments will resume in October — but a 12-month “on-ramp” will protect borrowers from the worst consequences of skipping student loan payments.It’s not a continuation of the interest-free pandemic payment pause, however.“During this period, if you can pay your monthly bills, you should,” President Joe Biden said in a June 30 press conference. “But if you cannot, if you miss payments, this ‘on-ramp’ will temporarily remove the threat of default or having your credit harmed, which can hurt borrowers for years to come.”Just because you can postpone student loan payments for up to a year doesn’t mean you should. Here’s what you need to know about the student loan on-ramp, the consequences and alternatives.How does the on-ramp work?The on-ramp will run from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. You don’t need to sign up for the on-ramp; it’s automatic. So if you simply don’t pay, it’ll be in effect.During this time, borrowers who don’t pay...

Trial for ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers not about their political beliefs, Crown says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:30 GMT

OTTAWA — “Freedom Convoy” organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are not trial for their political beliefs, a Crown prosecutor told an Ottawa courtroom Tuesday.Rather, they must answer to charges related to the means they used to achieve their goal.Tim Radcliffe told the court the two organizers didn’t just “hold the line” during their illegal occupation of downtown Ottawa last year, they “crossed the line, and in so doing they committed multiple crimes.”“This case is not about their political views,” Radcliffe said. “What’s at issue … is the means they employed, not the ends.”Lich and Barber were part of the original group that mobilized a convoy of big rigs and other trucks and cars to drive to Ottawa in winter 2022 to protest COVID-19 public health restrictions and the Liberal government.They’re charged with mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, intimidation and obstructing police.Barber, who owns...

1 dead, 1 injured after being struck by truck in Scarborough

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:30 GMT

An elderly man has died at the scene and woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries after they were struck by a truck in Scarborough on Tuesday afternoon, police confirm.It happened at around 12:27 p.m. in the Steeles Avenue East and Silver Star Boulevard area.Police say there are road closures in the immediate area.It’s not clear yet if any charges are pending.No further details were immediately available.More to comeCOLLISION: UPDATESteeles Av East + Silver Star Blvd– Police are on scene investigating– One person was pronounced deceased at the scene– One person was transported to hospital via emergency run^lb— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) September 5, 2023

61 indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges connected to ‘Stop Cop City’ movement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:30 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Sixty-one people have been indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges following a long-running state investigation into protests against a proposed police and training facility in the Atlanta area that critics call “Cop City.”The sweeping indictment was brought by Republican Attorney General Chris Carr. Prosecutors allege the defendants are “militant anarchists” who have supported a violent movement that prosecutors trace to the widespread 2020 racial justice protests.The “Stop Cop City” effort has gone on for more than two years and at times has veered into vandalism and violence. Opponents say they fear the Atlanta-area training center will lead to greater militarization of the police and that its construction will exacerbate environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area.R.j. Rico, The Associated Press

A computer issue is holding up United flights. The airline and FAA don’t know how long it will last

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:30 GMT

United Airlines flights were halted nationwide on Tuesday because of an “equipment outage,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.One of several FAA bulletins said that United crews were unable to contact airline dispatchers through normal means. The FAA said the issue was limited to United and its subsidiaries. United did not immediately respond to a request for more information.Shares of Chicago-based United Airlines Holdings Inc. fell on news of the ground stop and were down more than 3% in afternoon trading. The Associated Press

Austrian actor gets 2-year suspended sentence over possessing and processing child sex abuse images

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:30 GMT

VIENNA (AP) — An Austrian court on Tuesday found actor Florian Teichtmeister guilty of possessing and producing tens of thousands of files of child sex abuse images and sentenced him to a two-year suspended prison sentence.Teichtmeister previously pleaded guilty to collecting and, in some cases, processing, files containing depictions of the sexual abuse of children, public broadcaster ORF reported. Teichtmeister was not accused of photographing or filming acts of abuse himself. The Vienna state court also ruled that the 43-year-old must undergo therapy and regularly submit to drug tests. If he violates these conditions, he faces placement in a center for mentally ill offenders.“He said he will work intensively on himself, so that nothing is going to happen again,” his lawyer Rudolf Mayer said, adding that Teichtmeister would continue to go to weekly therapy sessions.Teichtmeister is a former member of Vienna’s famous Burgtheater. He also played Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph in the ...

Stock market today: Wall Street slips following two weeks of gains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slipped on Wall Street Tuesday as traders return from a long holiday weekend to face a relatively quiet week.The S&P 500 fell 0.3%. The index is coming off its second weekly gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 139 points, or 0.4%, to 34,695 as of 1:22 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq was down 0.1%.Markets in the U.S. were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.Industrial stocks has some of the steepest losses. Union Pacific fell 2%. Technology stocks gained ground. Microsoft rose 1.5%.Energy stocks rose along with crude oil prices after Saudi Arabia and Russia said they will extend their voluntary production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day through the end of the year. U.S. crude oil prices rose 2.3% and Chevron rose 1.6%.Investors have a few economic reports to look forward to this week and the latest round of corporate earnings is essentially finished.“There’s not much going on other than investors doing the mental arithmetic over whether the...