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Stock market today: Wall Street drifts and oil prices climb ahead of Fed meeting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting in the early going, while oil prices keep climbing and raising pressure on inflation. The S&P 500 was little changed in the first few minutes of trading Monday, coming off its second straight losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was just barely higher and the Nasdaq composite was just barely lower. Stocks have been see-sawing since early August on uncertainty about whether the Federal Reserve is finally done with its drastic hikes to interest rates. Traders almost universally expect the Fed to keep rates steady at its meeting this week, which ends Wednesday. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street turned toward losses early Monday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting this week.Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.2% and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% before the bell.The market posted some gains last week following reports of several healthy economic i...

UN warns disease outbreak in Libya’s flooded east could spark ‘a second devastating crisis’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:52 GMT

DERNA, Libya (AP) — The United Nations Support Mission in Libya warned Monday that an outbreak of diseases in the country’s northeast, where floods have killed over 11,000 people, could create “a second devastating crisis,” with Libyan authorities reporting the spread of diarrhea among over 100 people who drank contaminated water. In a statement, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya said it was particularly concerned about water contamination and the lack of sanitation after two dams collapsed during Mediterranean storm Daniel sending a wall of water gushing through the eastern city of Derna on Sept.11. Some 11,300 city residents were killed and a further 10,000 people are missing, presumed dead, the country’s Red Crescent said.The mission said there are nine U.N. agencies in the country responding to the disaster and working on preventing diseases from taking hold that can cause “a second devastating crisis in the area.” It added the World Health Organizati...

Wexton won’t seek reelection to Congress after new medical diagnosis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:52 GMT

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton, a Democrat, announced Monday she won’t seek reelection in her district in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington after learning she has a severe form of Parkinson’s disease.Wexton announced in April that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and that she planned to continue her work in Congress. On Monday, she said she received a modified diagnosis of progressive supra-nuclear palsy, which she described as “a kind of ‘Parkinson’s on steroids.”“I want to be honest with you now – this new diagnosis is a tough one,” Wexton said in her statement, “There is no ‘getting better’ with PSP. I’ll continue treatment options to manage my symptoms, but they don’t work as well.”Wexton said she received the new diagnosis after feeling like she wasn’t responding well to treatment and noticing that the women in her Parkinson’s support group were having a different experience.She plans to continue serving the res...

Officials say 5 prisoners sought by the US in a swap with Iran have flown out of Tehran

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:52 GMT

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Five prisoners sought by the U.S. in a swap with Iran flew out of Tehran on Monday, officials said, part of a deal that saw nearly $6 billion in Iranian assets unfrozen.Despite the deal, tensions are almost certain to remain high between the U.S. and Iran, which are locked in various disputes, including over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran says the program is peaceful, but it now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.Flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed a Qatar Airways flight take off from Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, which has been used for exchanges in the past. Iranian state media soon after said the flight had left Tehran.Two people, including a senior Biden administration official, said that the prisoners had left Tehran. They both spoke on condition of anonymity because the exchange was ongoing.In addition to the five freed Americans, two U.S. family members flew out of Tehran, according to the Biden adm...

Former NFL player Sergio Brown missing; mother’s body was found near suburban Chicago creek

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:52 GMT

MAYWOOD, Ill. (AP) — Authorities searched Monday for a former NFL player after his 73-year-old mother’s body was found near a creek behind her suburban Chicago home. Relatives told officers Saturday in Maywood that they could not find Sergio Brown, 35, or Myrtle Brown, police said.Officers found Myrtle Brown’s body, and a medical examiner determined Sunday that she had been injured during an assault.Sergio Brown played defensive back from 2010 through 2016 with the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills. He graduated from Proviso East High School in Maywood and attended the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.Maywood is about 12 miles (19 kilometers) west of Chicago.The Associated Press

For Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, representing Ukraine is a duty to the country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:52 GMT

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Just playing is a small victory for Shakhtar Donetsk, though the Ukrainian champions won’t stop there.Team captain Taras Stepanenko told The Associated Press on Monday that Shakhtar’s opening Champions League game against Porto on Tuesday is part of his team’s duty to represent Ukraine and show his country’s resilience.“Our soldiers fight in the battles and we fight in the sports arena. So it’s our duty like citizens of Ukraine,” he said.Stepanenko predicts “big emotions” when Shakhtar emerges in front of tens of thousands of fans, both local and Ukrainian, in Hamburg. The Ukrainian league restarted a year ago despite the war but all games are played in empty stadiums — and sometimes interrupted by air-raid sirens.For the second straight season, Shakhtar is playing its Champions League games outside of Ukraine because of the Russian invasion. Last year, Poland stood in as Shakhtar’s home venue. Now it’s Germany, a country w...

5 Americans released in U.S.-Iran swap

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:52 GMT

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Five prisoners sought by the U.S. in a swap with Iran flew out of Tehran on Monday, officials said, part of a deal that saw nearly $6 billion in Iranian assets unfrozen.Despite the deal, tensions are almost certain to remain high between the U.S. and Iran, which are locked in various disputes, including over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran says the program is peaceful, but it now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.Flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed a Qatar Airways flight take off from Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, which has been used for exchanges in the past. Iranian state media soon after said the flight had left Tehran.Two people, including a senior Biden administration official, said that the prisoners had left Tehran. They both spoke on condition of anonymity because the exchange was ongoing.In addition to the five freed Americans, two U.S. family members flew out of Tehran, according to the Biden adm...

USPS holding 7 job fairs in Chicago area this week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:52 GMT

CHICAGO — The United States Postal Service is holding seven job fairs throughout the Chicago area this week.Applicants must be 18 years of age and be able to pass drug screening and a criminal background investigation, according to a press release.Applications are accepted online only.The schedule of the job fairs is as follows.Monday – Auburn Park PO – 8345 S. Ashland Ave. - 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Tuesday– Franklin Park PO – 9760 Franklin Ave. - 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.Tuesday – Sterling PO – 408 3rd Ave. -10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Wednesday – Hanover Park – 2670 W. Lake St. - 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Thursday – Carol Stream – 500 Fullerton Ave. - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Thursday – St. Sabina Employee Resource Ctr. – 7825 S. Racine Ave. - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Thursday – Wheeling PO – 250 W. Dundee Rd.- 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.USPS said the opportunities will be holiday, part-time and full-time.

Man shot by CPD in West Englewood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:52 GMT

CHICAGO — New details have been released about a shooting involving a Chicago Police officer in West Englewood, according to police.Police say the shooting took place around 3 p.m. on Sunday in the 7400 block of South Hoyne Avenue while officers were investigating reports of a stolen vehicle in the area.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesChicago police say when officers arrived on the scene, a man got out of the vehicle and fled on foot. Responding officers chased the man to the 7300 block of South Hoyne Avenue and police say that is when an officer fired a shot at the man, hitting him in the leg.According to police, officers treated the man for his injuries and he was then taken to a local hospital in good condition.Police have not identified the individual involved, but officers say it was a man in his 20s from Chicago. Following the shooting, police say they recovered a gun with an extended magazine from the scene.Police say one officer was tak...

A Black student was suspended for his hairstyle. The school says it isn't discrimination

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:52 GMT

MONT BELVIEU, Texas (AP) - The same week his state outlawed racial discrimination based on hairstyles, a Black high school student in Texas was suspended because school officials said his locs violated the district's dress code.Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, received an in-school suspension after he was told his hair fell below his eyebrows and ear lobes. George, 17, wears his hair in thick twisted dreadlocks, tied on top of his head, said his mother, Darresha George.In this photo provided by Darresha George, her son Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, sits for a photo showing his locs, at the family's home, Sept. 10, 2023. The same week a state law went into effect prohibiting discrimination on the basis of hair, George was suspended because his locs did not comply with the district's dress code. (Darresha George via AP)George served the suspension last week. His mother said he plans to return to the ...