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OPEC+ oil cut delivers blow to ECB

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:37 GMT

A shock cut in oil output by the OPEC+ group has thrown a spanner into central banks’ efforts to tame inflation just as pressure on Europe’s cost of living was starting to ease.The announcement on Sunday by the oil-producing cartel of a reduction of over 1 million barrels per day ― forcing the price up by as much as 8 percent by Monday morning ― has stoked fears of a knock-on effect on the economy as a whole. It comes at a time when inflation is only just starting to slow after reaching record rates in the eurozone since the summer.It will take about two months for the OPEC+ decision to trickle down to the real economy, as current crude prices make their way to oil products, said Jorge León, senior vice president of Rystad Energy, a market intelligence firm. This will “most likely” increase inflation.“That’s a problem for Europe, because oil prices are very relevant for headline inflation in Europe” as a net importer of oil, he said. Future ...

Trump heads to NY amid tight security ahead of his surrender

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:37 GMT

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump boarded his private plane Monday and flew from Florida toward New York ahead of his expected booking and arraignment, as the nation’s largest city bolstered security and warned potential agitators that it is “not a playground for your misplaced anger.”Trump’s ground journey from his Mar-a-Lago club to his red, white and blue Boeing 757, emblazoned with “TRUMP” in gold letters was carried live on national television and took him past supporters waving banners and cheering the former president. Trump and his supporters criticize the case against him — stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign —as politically motivated.The scene was quite different in New York, where Trump built a national profile in business and entertainment but became deeply unpopular as he moved into politics.His return to the city opens an unprecedented chapter in American history, with Trump being the first former pre...

Scientists film deepest ever fish on seabed off Japan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:37 GMT

(CNN) — Cruising at a depth of 8,336 meters (over 27,000 feet) just above the seabed, a young snailfish has become the deepest fish ever filmed by scientists during a probe into the abyss of the northern Pacific Ocean.Scientists from University of Western Australia and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology released footage of the snailfish on Sunday filmed last September by sea robots in deep trenches off Japan.Along with the filming the deepest snailfish, the scientists physically caught two other specimens at 8,022 meters and set another record for the deepest catch.Previously, the deepest snailfish ever spotted was at 7,703 meters in 2008, while scientists had never been able to collect fish from anywhere below 8,000 meters.“What is significant is that it shows how far a particular type of fish will descend in the ocean,” said marine biologist Alan Jamieson, founder of the Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre, who led the expedition.Scientists are f...

100 Days to Indy Documentary Series Kicks Off April 27th

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:37 GMT

Trump indicted: What to know about the case and what’s next

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:37 GMT

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MEG KINNARD (Associated Press)Former President Donald Trump’s court appearance Tuesday will kick off an intense legal battle as the 2024 Republican presidential candidate also fights to return to the White House.Trump is expected to turn himself in and be arraigned in a New York courtroom, a stunning moment in American history as he becomes the first former president to stand before a judge to answer for criminal charges. More details are expected to emerge Tuesday about the Manhattan district attorney’s case against Trump. The indictment has remained under seal since the grand jury investigating hush money payments made to women during his 2016 campaign voted to bring charges against Trump. But the indictment will soon be made public. Here’s what to know about the hush money investigation, the charges against Trump and the ramifications for his bid to reclaim the presidency:WHAT’S THIS CASE ABOUT? The grand jury spent weeks invest...

LIVE UPDATES: Trump returns to NYC to face historic indictment in Stormy Daniels hush money probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:37 GMT

Leonard Greene | New York Daily NewsAll eyes are on New York City today where former President Donald Trump returns Monday ahead of a scheduled historic criminal indictment related to allegations he arranged for hush money to be paid to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.Never before has a former president faced criminal charges — and never before has the Big Apple braced for the kinds of protests that could accompany his arrival and court appearance. Stay tuned here for live updates:1:31 p.m.Small groups of Trump supporters and detractors are facing off on Fifth Avenue behind a sea of barricades surrounding Trump Tower.“The indictment? It’s dirty politics. Absolutely dirty politics,” said John McGuigan, who traveled from New Jersey to show his support for the former president.“They just want to take him out of the race but this will make him stronger. He’s gaining more attention this way than he would if he was just doing rallies around the country. And he’s coming...

Trump departs Palm Beach International Airport to head to New York to face criminal charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:37 GMT

Anthony Man and Scott Travis | South Florida Sun-SentinelFormer President Donald Trump departed from Palm Beach International Airport at 1 p.m. Monday for a flight to New York to face criminal charges against him.Trump left his Mar-a-Lago home and resort at about 12:20 p.m. on Monday, and about 15 minutes later he walked up the back stairs to his plane at PBIA.The motorcade and flight were widely watched, but it wasn’t like his presidential days flying in and out of the airport on Air Force One. Trump’s plane, emblazoned with his name, had to wait its turn to take off behind other aircraft.Along the route, his motorcade passed by a group of cheering and flag-waving Trump supporters gathered along Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach.Fans began assembling early Monday to show support for the former along the route from Palm Beach to the airport in West Palm Beach.Trump supporters stand outside Palm Beach International Airport on Monday, April 3, as they wait for Trump to leave Mar-a...

Joe Mazzulla focused on what Celtics can control entering final week of regular season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:37 GMT

As the Celtics enter the last week of the regular season, Joe Mazzulla, naturally, isn’t concerned with future possibilities or hypotheticals.Next week, the Celtics will learn their playoff opponent, likely from one of the play-in games. With four games left this week, they still have a shot at the No. 1 seed. But Mazzulla isn’t wasting his energy on those things.“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Mazzulla said. “A lot of it’s out of our control.”The No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, the C’s still have a shot – even if it’s highly unlikely – to catch the Bucks for the top seed. They trail by two games, with a road tilt set for Tuesday against the No. 3 seed 76ers before finishing the regular season at home with a two-game series against the Raptors before Sunday’s season finale with the Hawks. Each of those teams are potential playoff opponents.The Bucks, meanwhile, finish their regular season against the Wizards, Bulls, Grizzlies and Wizards. The Celtics need to make u...

Muslim charity alleges systemic bias in bid to halt revenue agency’s ‘tainted’ audit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:37 GMT

OTTAWA — A grassroots Muslim charity is pointing to internal Canada Revenue Agency documents in a bid to persuade an Ontario court that a long-running federal audit is fundamentally tainted by systemic bias and Islamophobia.The Muslim Association of Canada wants the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to halt the revenue agency’s audit of the association on the grounds it violates Charter of Rights guarantees of equality and freedom of religion, expression and association.Lawyers for the registered charity plan to argue at a hearing Tuesday that the audit, which began in 2015, discriminates against Muslims.The federal government is asking that the case be dismissed, saying the revenue agency’s selection of the association for an audit and the subsequent examination do not infringe Charter rights.The association, which promotes community service, education and youth empowerment, says over 150,000 Canadians use its mosques, schools and community centres each year. The court ...

University facing class-action over COVID campus lockdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:37 GMT

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A federal judge has granted class-action status in a lawsuit in which current and former students of the University of Delaware claim the school breached contractual obligations and unjustly enriched itself by halting in-person classes and shutting down the campus in 2020 because of the coronavirus epidemic.Overruling several objections by attorneys for the university, Judge Stephanos Bibas said Friday that the lawsuit can proceed as a class action on behalf of thousands of students who were enrolled as undergraduates in the spring semester of 2020 and paid tuition.The ruling came just days before a scheduled hearing this week on the university’s request for the judge to grant summary judgment in its favor. That hearing has been postponed indefinitely.In his ruling, Bibas rejected UD’s argument that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. The university also argued unsuccessfully that it is impossible to know who actually paid tuition because some stude...