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US borrowing increases as standoff over debt continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department said Monday it plans to increase its borrowing during the April to June quarter of this year, even as the federal government is close to breaching the $31.4 trillion limit on its legal borrowing authority.The U.S. plans to borrow $726 billion during the quarter. That’s $449 billion more than projected in January, due to a lower beginning-of-quarter cash balance and projections of lower-than-expected income tax receipts and higher spending.While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains a burden on U.S. economic growth, Treasury officials say the debate over the debt ceiling poses the greatest risk to the U.S. financial position. Eric Van Nostrand, acting assistant secretary for economy policy, said in a statement that “even if Congress ultimately raises the debt limit before a default occurs, the ensuing uncertainty could raise borrowing costs and induce other financial stress that would weaken our labor market and our standing in the world...

Texas college ballplayer stable after struck by stray bullet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:44 GMT

TEXARKANA, Texas (AP) — A baseball player for a small college in Texas was in stable condition Monday after he was struck by a stray bullet during a game over the weekend.Matthew DeLaney, who was not in uniform for Texas A&M-Texarkana, was standing near the bullpen and batting cages near the southwest corner of George Dobson Field on Sunday when he was hit by a bullet fired from an adjacent neighborhood, police said.DeLaney, 18, of Princeton, Texas, was struck in the chest and taken to a Texarkana hospital, where he remained in intensive care.“The official status we have for him from the hospital is that he is in stable condition,” university communications manager John Bunch said in an email, “but we think it’s important to note that he has a number of serious injuries, as would be expected with this type of trauma. He has made slight improvements daily but still has significant injuries and complications to overcome.”The game between Texas A&M-Texarkana and Houston-Victori...

Trump travels to Scotland to open golf course amid NY trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:44 GMT

LONDON — Former U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to Scotland on Monday to open a new golf course at his resort near Aberdeen, in his first overseas trip since he was indicted in New York on criminal charges in a hush money scheme.Trump and his son Eric were greeted by two pipers, a red carpet and a 10-vehicle motorcade at Aberdeen International Airport as they stepped off his private jet with an American flag painted on the tailfin.“It’s great to be home — this was the home of my mother,” Trump said. His late mother, Mary, was born on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides before immigrating to the United States.Trump’s trip coincides with the second week of a Manhattan civil trial over accusations he raped former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room in 1996. He denies the allegation and has not attended the trial, which is expected to last through the week.It’s his first trip abroad since he became the first former U.S. president t...

CNN says Trump to appear in New Hampshire town hall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN said Monday that former President Donald Trump will participate in a town hall forum next week in New Hampshire.The event will be held May 10 at St. Anselm College. Trump will take questions from New Hampshire Republicans and voters who plan to participate in the 2024 presidential primary, the network said.“CNN This Morning” anchor Kaitlan Collins will moderate. There was no immediate word on when the event will be broadcast.While president, Trump made CNN one of his favorite targets for criticism. Scheduling the event for CNN indicates that he’s trying to reach beyond Republican voters; he’s done interviews on Fox News over the past several weeks.Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung declined to comment on the announcement.The Associated Press

Woman hopes to find newlyweds in candid wedding pictures outside of Bucktown bar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:44 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago woman is hoping to find newlyweds after snapping candid pictures of them kissing while taking their wedding pictures outside of Map Room.On Saturday afternoon during a rainy day, Kate Byrne noticed her dog reacted to bagpipes going off outside and she thought to herself "what's going on?"After throwing open the window shade, she was delighted to find a wedding party, complete with an entire bagpipe procession, walking toward the Bucktown bar and café Map Room."The song ended and I noticed them take a bunch of photos and I was like 'I better take some pics," Byrne recalled.One of them catches the couple mid-kiss.What seemed like an obstacle at the time turned out to be a cool effect as Byrne snapped the pictures, which took place at 12:56 p.m., through her window screen. Courtesy Kate ByrneCourtesy Kate Byrne"At first I thought 'oh this is kind of blurry,'" Byrne said. "But the more I looked at it, I thought 'this is kinda 'vintage-y.''"Byrne assumed the newlyweds...

Illinois bill: Police not allowed to stop drivers for rearview mirror air fresheners, other hanging items

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:44 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) -- Illinois drivers may not have to worry about being pulled over purely for items dangling from their rearview mirrors, thanks to a proposed legislative update. House Bill 2389 is currently under consideration in Springfield. If passed, it would no longer allow law enforcement to pull someone over purely for having an item like an air freshener, a disability placard or a rosary hanging from their rearview mirror or attached to the windshield. Dust cloud causes crashes, closes I-55 for 28 miles Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias believes the current law is discriminatory. “Pulling someone over for merely having an air freshener attached to the rearview mirror is not only archaic, it’s ridiculous,” Giannoulias said. “Amending the law by prohibiting traffic stops that encourage discriminatory practices will ultimately make our streets safer for both motorists and police officers.”Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago), who sponsored the bill in the House of Repres...

Where a miserable April ranks in White Sox history

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:44 GMT

CHICAGO - One of the most incredible finishes for the White Sox in years couldn't erase what had happened the other 29 days of the month. Down by four heading into the ninth inning, the White Sox stunned the MLB-leading Rays by putting up seven runs in the ninth. Andrew Vaughn's walk-off three-run homer gave the team an improbable 12-9 victory to snap a ten-game losing streak.It's the team's largest ninth inning comeback for a win since September 7, 2007 against the Twins, when they trailed by six going into the ninth, tied it, then won in extra innings. To find the last time the White Sox won in the final frame down at least four runs, you have to go back to April 28, 2004, when they trailed Cleveland 8-4 in the ninth before winning 9-8.But that only put a brief positive shine on what was a terrible month of April for the club, who've put themselves into a hole to start the 2023 season while also making some history of the wrong kind.The team's performance during that month was one...

First son Hunter Biden in Arkansas court for child support hearing, requests lower payments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:44 GMT

BATESVILLE, Ark. (KARK) – Hunter Biden appeared in court Monday in Batesville, Arkansas, to attend hearings in an ongoing child support case.The president’s son entered the Independence County Court through the back doors surrounded by secret service.Lunden Roberts, the mother of Biden’s child, was also present. Arkansas mother of Hunter Biden’s child asks court to give daughter his last name The two had originally agreed on child support payments in March of 2020, but the case was reopened in September 2022. Biden’s legal team said Hunter Biden’s finances have changed, requesting his child support payments be lowered.Since September, Judge Holly Meyer has expressed frustration over the pace at which this case is going, ordering the two to be in the same room Monday to iron out any details.“The longer you two wool over this discovery, the more hearings we're going to have and the longer this is going to take,” Meyer said. DNA test shows Hunter Biden is the father in Arkansas pat...

Pay-per-article service coming to Twitter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:44 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (WIVB) - Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter has been controversial, dividing users over topics of subscription, verification and content.But the business magnate, whose leadership extends to Tesla and SpaceX as well, believes an upcoming change "should be a major win-win for both media orgs & the public."On Saturday, Musk announced that sometime this month, Twitter will let media publishers with subscription services start charging people per article read if they choose not to subscribe to that particular publisher."This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article," Musk wrote. MTA ends real-time service alerts on Twitter, says platform is ‘no longer reliable’ It's not clear when exactly this month the change will take effect.Response to Musk's statement has been mixed, with some Twitter users suggesting alternative payment methods, such as cryptocurrencies like Dog...

Gwyneth Paltrow won't recoup attorney fees in ski crash suit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:44 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow will not recoup the attorneys' fees she paid to successfully defend herself against a lawsuit from a 76-year-old retired optometrist who claimed she was at fault for crashing into him at a posh Utah ski resort in 2016.In a ruling published on Saturday, a Utah judge said attorneys for Paltrow and Terry Sanderson had agreed to drop the matter of Paltrow's attorneys' fees. District Court Judge Kent Holmberg's final judgement did not detail why the matter of attorneys' fees that Paltrow sought in her 2019 countersuit was dropped.The judgement affirmed the jury's unanimous verdict finding Terry Sanderson — the man who collided with Paltrow — to be “100% at fault," awarding Paltrow the $1 she sought in a countersuit. It also said Sanderson would not appeal the verdict, effectively ending a protracted legal battle seven years after the two crashed on a beginner run near the base of Deer Valley Resort in Utah.Representatives for both...