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Federal Reserve likely to skip interest rate hike at next meeting in June, officials signal

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:32:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leading Federal Reserve officials are sending out stronger signals that they will forego an interest rate increase at the central bank’s next meeting in June, though they indicate hikes could resume later this year. “Skipping a rate hike at a coming meeting would allow (Fed policymakers) to see more data before making decisions” about whether to further increase rates, said Fed Governor Philip Jefferson in a speech Wednesday. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker made similar comments Wednesday.Jefferson has been nominated by President Joe Biden to be the Fed’s vice chair, though he has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. But his nomination places him close to the center of Fed policymaking. Including Jefferson, three top Fed officials have been united in support of the idea of skipping a rate hike in June, despite a slew of tough talk from other Fed policymakers and a disappointing inflation report last week. On May 19, Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinte...

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs says in lawsuit that spirits giant Diageo neglected his vodka and tequila brands

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:32:28 GMT

Rapper, producer and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs sued Diageo Wednesday, saying the spirits company didn’t make promised investments in his vodka and tequila brands and treated them as inferior “urban” products.The lawsuit, filed with the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, says Diageo North America starved Combs’ Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila brands of resources even as it showered attention on other celebrity brands. Diageo bought actor George Clooney’s Casamigos tequila brand for $1 billion in 2017, for example.Combs, who is Black, said Diageo leadership told him his race was one of the reasons it limited distribution to urban neighborhoods. He was also told that some Diageo leaders resented him for making too much money, according to the lawsuit.“Cloaking itself in the language of diversity and equality is good for Diageo’s business, but it is a lie,” the lawsuit said. “While Diageo may conspicuously include images of its Black partners in advertising materials and press re...

Former ‘Family Feud’ contestant Timothy Bliefnick guilty in wife’s slaying

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:32:28 GMT

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A jury Wednesday convicted a former contestant on the television game show “Family Feud” of first-degree murder and home invasion in the slaying of his estranged wife in western Illinois.Timothy Bliefnick, 40, was found guilty in the Feb. 23 shooting death of Rebecca Bliefnick.The Adams County Circuit Court jury in Quincy deliberated about four hours after Timothy Bliefnick did not testify and the defense did not call any evidence. Adams County sheriff’s deputies took Bliefnick into custody immediately after the verdict was read.Bliefnick is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 11The body of Rebecca Bliefnick, 41, was found by a family member inside her Quincy home after she failed to pick up her children from school. She had been shot multiple times. Timothy Bliefnick was arrested March 13, 12 days after his Quincy home was searched.The couple was separated and going through a divorce.In 2020, Timothy Bliefnick and some of his family members appeared on ABC̵...

Man shot in Scarborough, multiple suspects wanted

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:32:28 GMT

Toronto police are investigating after a man was shot in Scarborough, with multiple suspects seen fleeing the area.Officers received calls of shots fired around 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday in the Kingston Road and Morningside Avenue area.Police arrived and found one man suffering from a gunshot wound. His condition is unclear.Two male suspects were seen fleeing the area at the time of the shooting.The first was described as around 25 years old with a thin build, Black with an afro, and last seen wearing all black with a bandana.The second man is described as around five-foot-eight, 160 pounds, Black and about 25 years old. He was last observed wearing a light-coloured t-shirt with black pants.

Adult filmmakers ask judge to delay Utah law requiring porn sites verify user ages

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:32:28 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Attorneys representing adult entertainers, erotica authors and sex educators on Wednesday asked a judge to put on hold a Utah law requiring porn and other adult websites verify user ages.The Free Speech Coalition and its co-plaintiffs argued the new state law violates their clients’ First Amendment rights and intrudes on the privacy of individuals who want to view sexually explicit materials. Their request to put the law under injunction comes less than a month after Utah’s age verification law took effect and prompted them to file a lawsuit.“The Act is a poorly crafted solution to a poorly articulated problem, and the public interest is not advanced by the endurance of an overly restrictive, vague, and overbroad statute that imperils the rights of Utahns to provide and receive constitutionally-protected material over the internet,” they argued in a request to delay implementing the law that was filed in federal court on Wednesday.Free S...

Family: Sisters among 4 missing boaters after vessel found partially submerged in Alaska

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:32:28 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Two vacationing couples — including sisters — and a fishing boat captain were on a charter boat found partially submerged off southeast Alaska over the weekend amid rough seas, family members said Wednesday.The 30-foot (9-meter) aluminum charter vessel was overdue Sunday evening and last seen earlier that day near Sitka, a community about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Juneau, according to the Coast Guard. Crews later found the boat off an island about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Sitka.The search for the four missing people was suspended by the Coast Guard late Monday. Their names were made public Wednesday.Maury Agcaoili, 57, of Waipahu, Hawaii, was found unresponsive in the water and later pronounced dead. His partner Danielle Agcaoili, 53, is among the missing boaters. The missing also include her sister Brandi Tyau, 56, of Canoga Park, California; Tyau’s partner, Robert Solis, 61; and the boat captain, Morgan Robidou, 32, of Sitka.The cha...

Betting interest expected to be down with NBA, NHL finals lacking marquee matchups

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:32:28 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The NBA Finals could’ve featured glamour teams like the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, and conventional thinking before the NHL playoffs stated the dominant Boston Bruins and star-studded Edmonton Oilers were on a near-collision course to meet in the Stanley Cup Final.All four teams are out, and what could’ve been enormous betting interest has largely waned.On the NBA side, No. 8 seed Miami Heat will face an NBA Finals newcomer in the Denver Nuggets, an enormous minus-460 favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.Christian Cipollini, BetMGM trading manager, said a Celtics-Lakers matchup would have created much more betting action, but the sportsbook was on the hook for many futures bets on those teams.“A Celtics-Lakers series is nine times out of 10 going to be a losing series for the book,” Cipollini said. “Everyone bets the Lakers-Celtics. Our Lakers money was bad. We didn’t want the Lakers to go any farther than they did.”A Celtics...

Fan whose car was damaged by flying tire at Indianapolis 500 will receive new ride

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:32:28 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis 500 fan whose vehicle was damaged when a tire flew off a racecar and out of the track during the race will receive a new car, an Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesperson said. The spokesperson told The Indianapolis Star that Penske Entertainment will provide fan Robin Matthews, who is from Indianapolis, with a new car following the incident.“I didn’t see it come down,” she said. “I came down and they said, ‘Robin, it’s your car!’ I thought, ‘No.’ I thought somebody was pranking me. It’s a car. It’s fine.”The wheel came off with less than 20 laps to go in Sunday’s race when Felix Rosenqvist and Kyle Kirkwood collided. Kirkwood’s left rear tire bounced off the track and over the fence and the corner of the grandstand in the second turn before landing in a parking lot. It traveled about 350 yards (320 meters) before crashing into the front of Matthews’ parked Chevrolet. A red flag halted the race after the crash, and two more red flags followed...

Man who escaped from Ohio prison died of drowning, autopsy results show

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:32:28 GMT

HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) — A man who escaped from a northwest Ohio prison earlier this month died from drowning, according to autopsy results released Wednesday. Bradley Gillespie, 50, was reported missing May 23 from the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima along with another man who authorities said escaped alongside him. Authorities determined the two escaped by concealing themselves in a trash container.The other man, James Lee, 47, was caught the next day in Henderson, Kentucky, after a police pursuit of a stolen car the men were in ended in a crash and a foot chase, but Gillespie avoided capture. His body was spotted Sunday in the Ohio River, not far from the area where he was last seen. Henderson is a city across the river from Indiana and about 350 miles (560 kilometers) southwest of Lima.The Henderson County coroner’s office released the preliminary autopsy results Wednesday and said toxicology results won’t be available for several weeks. Gillespie was imprisoned sinc...

Air Force picks Colorado for more Space Force missions as politics loom over headquarters decision

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:32:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force announced the permanent location for many more U.S. Space Force units Wednesday — and none of them are in Huntsville, Alabama, suggesting the service may be moving ahead with at least part of the design it originally sought for the new force before it became entangled in politics.Four more Space Force missions will now be based in Colorado Springs, a notable choice during a larger and now politicized battle over where to locate the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command. Colorado Springs, which is housing Space Command’s temporary headquarters, was the Air Force’s preferred location, but Donald Trump, in the final days of his presidency, selected Alabama instead.While the Pentagon and White House have said the decisions are not directly linked, Alabama has strict anti-abortion laws, and its Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville earlier this year announced he would hold up all military nominations until the Department of Defense rescinds a new p...