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Debt limit talks stall as Republicans ‘press pause,’ White House says real differences

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:12:50 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING, LISA MASCARO and ZEKE MILLER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt ceiling talks came to an abrupt standstill Friday after a top ally to Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it’s time to “press pause” on negotiations, and a White House official acknowledged there are “real differences” that are making talks difficult.Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., tapped by McCarthy, R-Calif., to lead the talks, emerged from an hourlong session and said gaps remained between House Republicans and the Democratic administration.“It’s time to press pause because it’s just not productive,” Graves told reporters.He added that the negotiations have become “just unreasonable” and that it was unclear when talks would resume. A White House official, who was granted anonymity Friday to discuss the private conversations, said there are “real differences” between the parties on the budget issues and furt...

Young adults are vacationing on financial thin ice

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:12:50 GMT

Prices for travel remain stubbornly high. The cost of airfare in February was 27% higher than the same month a year earlier, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. And rental car prices — having shot up during the pandemic — remain high today, as they’re 37% pricier in February than they were in the same month in 2019.Yet costlier travel is not deterring younger Americans who are eager to hit the road (and the skies) this year.A whopping 87% of 18-to-29-year-olds and 90% of 30-to-44-year-olds intend to travel this summer, according to a March survey by The Vacationer. If the economy is slowing, younger travelers aren’t heeding the memo.“When I meet with folks, they’re not budgeting,” says Dylan Snowden, a financial coach. “Most will just think about hotels and flight, but not the fact that they need to feed themselves three times a day.”Ignoring the broader economic trends (like the rising cost of eating out) could mean stormy financial waters ahead for these vacat...

Judge blocks release of video, records in Tyre Nichols beating death investigation

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:12:50 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge on Friday continued to temporarily block the release of more video footage and records in the investigation into Tyre Nichols’ death, but said he does want to make public as much information as possible that would not interfere with the rights to a fair trial for five Memphis police officers facing charges.Shelby County Criminal Court Judge James Jones Jr. asked prosecutors to outline the information they think should and should not be be released to the public, and then give the list to defense attorneys. Jones set deadlines in June for prosecutors to hand over to defense lawyers the information from existing video footage and about 2,500 pages of documents that should be be released and for the defense to raise their objections.Prosecutor Paul Hagerman and defense attorneys agreed that they have no objection to the release of most police personnel records that pre-dated Nichols’ beating. But they both also agreed that the release of so...

Milan’s La Scala and Paris Opera commission opera based on Umberto Eco’s ‘The Name of the Rose’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:12:50 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Italian composer Francesco Filidei has been commissioned by Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and the Paris Opera to write a new opera based on Umberto Eco’s most famous novel “The Name of the Rose,” the opera houses announced Friday. The world premiere has already been scheduled, at La Scala on April 27, 2025, conducted by Ingo Metzmacher and starring mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsay and baritone Lucas Meachem. La Scala’s general manager, Dominique Meyer, called the new commission “a very important opera.” “The Name of the Rose” was Eco’s debut novel, a medieval thriller set in a monastery. It catapulted him to international celebrity and was made into a 1986 film starring Sean Connery. Eco died at home in Milan in 2016.Filidei is working on two versions, one in Italian and one in French, the second to premiere at the Paris Opera. The 50-year-old Filidei has composed two previous operas: “Giordano Bruno,” which premiered in Porto, Portugal in 2015 and ...

Sean Penn, backing WGA strike, says AI dispute is ‘a human obscenity’ at Cannes Film Festival

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:12:50 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — Sean Penn strongly backed the current Hollywood screenwriters strike while speaking at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, saying the dispute over artificial intelligence is “a human obscenity.” Penn addressed the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike in a press conference for his new film, “Black Flies,” director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s harrowing, gritty drama about New York paramedics. Asked about the strike, Penn said “the industry has been upending the writers and actors and directors for a very long time.” “There’s a lot of new concepts being tossed about including the use of AI It strikes me as a human obscenity for there to be pushback on that from the producers,” said Penn, a veteran writer-director in addition to being an actor. Film and TV screenwriters earlier this month began striking after talks with producers broke off. The WGA is seeking better pay, new contracts for the streaming era and safeguards against the use of AI-scripted work-ar...

Johnston’s advice on public inquiry about foreign interference expected Tuesday

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:12:50 GMT

OTTAWA — Special rapporteur David Johnston is expected to release his decision next Tuesday on whether the federal Liberals should hold a public inquiry on foreign interference. The recommendation is anticipated to be included in an initial report about how the government should proceed with allegations that Canada’s last two federal elections were subject to meddling by other countries.Opposition parties’ calls for a public inquiry into Chinese meddling have grown louder throughout the year amid a series of media reports shedding light on Beijing’s alleged attempts to influence the 2019 and 2021 elections.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped the former governor general to assess the extent and impact of such interference in Canada’s electoral process, including by reviewing the response to threats in the past two elections.The government said Johnston has been given access to relevant documents, records and classified information, and security services are p...

Federal Reserve Chair Powell hints at a pause in rate hikes when central bank meets next month

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:12:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell indicated Friday that the Federal Reserve will likely forgo an increase in its benchmark interest rate when it meets in June for the first time since it began raising its key rate 14 months ago to fight high inflation.In signaling so, Powell provided some clarity about the Fed’s likely next policy move after a cacophony of speeches this week by central bank officials had clouded the picture. “Having come this far, we can afford to look at the data and the evolving outlook and make careful assessments,” Powell said, referring to the Fed’s 10 straight rate hikes, which have elevated its key short-term rate from near zero a year ago to about 5.1%, its highest level in 16 years. Speaking at a Fed conference in Washington, Powell said the central bank’s benchmark rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, is now high enough to restrain borrowing, spending and economic growth. Fed officials hope that slower growth will coo...

Jordan Neely, NYC subway rider choked to death, is mourned at Manhattan church

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:12:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Friends, family members and civil rights leaders gathered at a Harlem church on Friday to mourn Jordan Neely, whose chokehold death on the New York City subway set off a debate about vigilantism, homelessness and public safety.A former Michael Jackson impersonator who had been struggling with mental illness and homelessness in recent years, Neely died May 1 when a fellow subway rider pinned him to the floor of a subway car in a chokehold that lasted several minutes.The fatal struggle was recorded on video by an onlooker who said Neely had been yelling at other passengers as he begged for money, but hadn’t attacked anyone.Last week the man who pinned and choked Neely, Daniel Penny, was charged with manslaughter by the Manhattan district attorney. Penny’s lawyers say he was acting to protect himself and other passengers after Neely made threatening statements.The Rev. Al Sharpton told worshippers that Neely’s life should be celebrated, “but we should not ig...

San Francisco officials are investigating if Elon Musk’s “Twitter Hotel” plan broke laws

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:12:50 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco officials are investigating Twitter after six former employees allege that owner Elon Musk’s leadership team broke laws in turning the company’s headquarters into a “Twitter Hotel” for workers being pushed to stay up late to transform the social media platform.The San Francisco Chronicle reports that city officials are opening their latest investigation into the company that Musk took over late last year. That’s after the ex-employees, including a former vice president of real estate, alleged in a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Delaware that Twitter didn’t pay them promised severance. Twitter is seeking to dismiss the case.They also allege that Musk’s team ordered numerous changes to the company’s headquarters in a 1930s Art Deco building in downtown San Francisco that violated building codes. Those changes included disabling lights and adding locks that wouldn’t open during an emergency, according to the lawsuit....

Boy, 3, dies after piece of furniture falls on him: Chicago police

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:12:50 GMT

CHICAGO — A 3-year-old boy has died after a piece of furniture fell on him on the city's West Side.Officers responded to an injured toddler on the 2800 block of South Pulaski around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Police said a piece of furniture had fell on top of him. The boy was pronounced dead on the scene. Man charged in shooting that injured 2 boys outside Chicago library According to authorities, the incident has been classified as a death investigation.Area Four Detectives are investigating.