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Business confidence steady through August as recession fears dwindle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:12 GMT

With the U.S. and State economies growing despite nearly a dozen Federal Reserve driven interest rate hikes, employers are reporting they feel somewhat optimistic about the future, according to a survey conducted by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.Labor markets are still presenting challenges to employers, but economic signs that central bank Chairman Jerome Powell may have successfully steered the U.S. away from a recession and toward a so-called soft landing were large enough to overshadow any hiring woes, the Association’s most recent Business Confidence Index showed.The Index fell 0.1-point from July to August to 52.4% confidence, but remained in an optimistic range. Employer economic enthusiasm has spent most of the year hovering around the 50% mark between pessimistic and optimistic, but confidence is buoyed by months of relatively strong job numbers, according to the Association.“US employers added 3.1 million jobs over the past 12 months, including 187,000 in Augu...

Call of duty: Remembering 9/11 means everything that came after, too

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:12 GMT

As the lone veteran on our news staff, it wasn’t terribly surprising when an editor asked me to write a column for 9/11, but this is not about the heroism at Ground Zero, the Pentagon or on Flight 93.It’s about the decision to withdraw from America’s longest war.The War on Terror that dropped veterans like me in Iraq and Afghanistan is what 9/11 means to so many of us today. We carry those memories with us into our lives and we will never forget that duty.Remember SeptemberWhen the Twin Towers fell, for a very brief time, the country came together in a way that hadn’t been seen since World War II.Following commanders-in-chief probably dreamt about seeing the job approval numbers that former President George W. Bush garnered for his handling of the tragic loss of nearly 3,000 American lives to terrorism. Upwards of 88% of voters approved of the 43rd president’s work, up from 35% in just three weeks, according to Pew Research.A majority of U.S. voters — Pew says in October...

FBI won’t release records on reports of 5th 9/11 plane targeted

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:12 GMT

The FBI won’t divulge if suicidal al-Qaeda terrorists intended to hijack a fifth jet on 9/11.In response to a public records request from the Herald, the agency said, “The material you requested is located in an investigative file which is exempt from disclosure … (and) release of the information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”What “proceedings?” The agency does not say.Sources and previous reporting suggest hijackers were thwarted — turned away or failed somehow — at JFK Airport in New York on Sept. 11, 2001.A military tribunal is dragging on at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where this case could be linked to the five terrorists charged with plotting the 9/11 attacks — including the mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. No trail date has been set as plea deals are discussed.Twenty-two years ago today 19 al-Qaeda hijackers — 15 of them Saudi nationals — hijacked and crashed four jets, killing nearly ...

France, Bangladesh sign deal to provide loans, satellite technology during Macron’s visit to Dhaka

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:12 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron witnessed the signature of a deal Monday to facilitate loans to Bangladesh aimed at infrastructure development, as well as a letter of intent to provide the South Asian country with an earth observation satellite system.This came during Macron’s two-day visit to Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, where he met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to bolster bilateral relations between the two countries.Bangladesh’s Economic Relations Division signed the agreement with the French Development Agency.A letter of intent was also signed to provide Bangladesh with an earth observation satellite system through cooperation between Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited, or BSCL, and Airbus Defense and Space SAS, France.Macron and Hasina witnessed the deals signed at the prime minister’s office. Details remained unclear, with Bangladesh authorities saying they are still ironing out the details.“The satellite that we will buy will travel th...

Greece’s shipping minister resigns a week after a passenger pushed off a ferry ramp drowns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:12 GMT

Greece’s shipping minister resigned Monday over the death of a man who was pushed off a ferry ramp by a crew member after arriving late.A Greek prosecutor brought criminal charges against the captain of the island ferry and three crew members over the encounter that resulted in the Sept. 5 drowning of Andonis Kargiotis, 36. One crew member faces a charge of homicide with possible intent. Amateur video posted online showed the passenger running onto the Blue Horizon ferry’s loading ramp as the ship had cast off its moorings and was about to leave. He tried to push past two crew members and then was pushed off the ramp when he tried again. “No one can imagine that Greek sailors, violating the age-old rules for the protection of human life at sea, pushed and abandoned an unfortunate young man,” Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Miltiadis Varvitsiotis wrote in an online post after submitting his resignation.Political opponents had accused Varvitsiotis, 54, of initially dow...

Double shooting in Brampton leaves 2 people with serious injuries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:12 GMT

Two people are injured after a shooting in Brampton on Sunday night.Emergency crews responded to a home on Sea Lion Road, in the area of Bovaird Drive and Highway 410, around 7 p.m.Police say two victims were found at the scene with gunshot wounds. They were brought to Sunnybrook Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.A white SUV was seen fleeing the area.Investigators believe the shooting was targeted and say there is no risk to public safety. The investigation is ongoing.

Moroccan soldiers and aid teams battle to reach remote, quake-hit towns as toll rises past 2,400

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:12 GMT

TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco (AP) — Moroccan soldiers and aid teams in trucks and helicopters battled Monday to reach remote mountain towns devastated by a monstrous earthquake that killed more than 2,400 people, with survivors desperate for help to find loved ones feared trapped under the rubble.Moroccan officials have so far accepted government-offered aid from just four countries — Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates — and some foreign aid teams said they were awaiting permission to deploy. Morocco’s Interior Ministry says officials want to avoid a lack of coordination that “would be counterproductive.”The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people were affected by Friday night’s magnitude 6.8 quake, made more dangerous by its relatively shallow depth. Most of the destruction and deaths were in Al Haouz province in the High Atlas Mountains, where homes folded in on themselves and steep, winding roads became clogged with rubble. Residents sometimes cleared away rocks them...

Europe’s economic outlook worsens as high prices plague consumer spending

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:12 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Union has lowered its forecast for economic growth this year and next, saying inflation is taking a heavy toll on people’s willingness to spend in shops — while higher interest rates are sharply restricting the credit needed for investment and purchases. The revised forecast Monday from the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, comes as fears of recession grow and as the European Central Bank faces a key decision this week on whether to keep raising rates, which are aimed at getting inflation under control.The 20 countries that use the euro currency are expected to see growth of 0.8% this year instead of 1.1% projected in the spring forecast, the commission said. For next year, growth expectations were lowered to 1.3% from 1.6%. For the broader 27-country EU, the forecast also was lowered to 0.8% from 1% this year and to 1.4% from 1.7% next year.“Weakness in domestic demand, in particular consumption, shows that high and stil...

Pennsylvania Republicans have the candidate they want for US Senate. They just need him to run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:12 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans trying to recapture the U.S. Senate majority have the candidate they want in Pennsylvania. Now they just need David McCormick to run.Almost since the moment he lost last year’s Senate GOP primary, McCormick has floated the possibility that he would again seek the party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate, this time to challenge three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.McCormick has shown up at local party events, raised money for Republican candidates, hired staff, done a publicity tour for his new book and made the rounds of conservative podcasts. In short, everything a candidate might do — except announce his candidacy.“At this point, if Dave McCormick doesn’t run, it’ll be the biggest head fake in Pennsylvania political history,” said Vince Galko, a Republican campaign strategist based in northeastern Pennsylvania.Republicans, perhaps, have done just about everything they can think of to entice McCormick to join a 2024 ticket th...

Trudeau working to leave India Tuesday morning after plane breaks down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:12 GMT

NEW DELHI — The Canadian Armed Forces sent a plane yesterday evening to pick up Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is stranded in India after the plane he arrived on was grounded because of technical issues. A press secretary for the Prime Minister’s Office says Trudeau is working to leave New Delhi Tuesday morning, local time. Mohammad Hussain says they’ll keep the public updated as the situation remains fluid. The lockdown in New Delhi lifted at midnight following the G20 leaders’ summit, but Trudeau and his Canadian delegation remain after his plane broke down. The prime minister’s office says a component on the plane has to be replaced, with the problem being discovered during the pre-flight check as the Canadian delegation was waiting at the airport to board the flight. The Prime Minister’s Office says Trudeau wants to be at the Liberal caucus retreat that starts Wednesday in London, Ont, with the Canadian Armed Forces doing their best to get the delegation back to ...