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The EU’s ‘sticking plaster’ solution to soaring power prices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:13:52 GMT

BRUSSELS — Last year’s soaring power prices prompted calls for a dramatic reform to the bloc’s wholesale power market — but on Tuesday the Commission put forward much more cautious proposals.Rather than a revolutionary rethink, the Commission’s plan focuses mainly on shielding households and businesses from any future price surges. Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson defended the current wholesale market structure as one that “has delivered an efficient, well integrated market over many decades,” but added it had been destabilized by “Russia’s manipulation of our energy markets [that] has left many consumers facing massive increases in their energy bills.”The proposed reform is aimed at enhancing “the stability and predictability of energy costs across the EU,” she said.During the height of the price emergency, countries like Spain and France wanted a major overhaul of how power prices are set. But the recent slump in gas prices, which ha...

Russian jet collides with US drone in ‘reckless’ maneuver

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:13:52 GMT

A Russian fighter jet collided with a U.S. drone flying in international airspace on Tuesday, sending the uncrewed aircraft crashing into the Black Sea, the U.S. military announced.The uncrewed MQ-9 Reaper drone was making a routine flight before it was intercepted by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets. The warplanes dumped jet fuel on the drone and flew in front of it in a “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” according to a statement from U.S. European Command.One of the Russian aircraft then struck the drone’s propeller, sending the Reaper crashing into the Black Sea, said Air Force Gen. James Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe.“In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash,” he added. “U.S. and Allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely.”The downing of the drone comes amid continued tensions between b...

The crypto ‘contagion’ that helped bring down SVB

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:13:52 GMT

As U.S. banking regulators begin their post-mortem of Silicon Valley Bank, some pundits are pointing the finger at crypto markets, whose own collapse over the past year left the tech-focused lender hopelessly exposed.The conventional wisdom about crypto is that it’s “self-referential” — a separate universe to conventional finance — and that its inherent volatility can be contained. The emerging “contagion” theory is that there are enough linkages for extreme turmoil to spill over, much as a virus can sometimes jump from one species to another.That’s what happened here, according to Barney Frank, the former U.S. congressman who wrote sweeping new banking rules after the banking crisis in 2008, and joined the crypto-friendly Signature Bank as a board member in 2015.“I think, if it hadn’t been for FTX and the extreme nervousness about crypto, that this wouldn’t have happened,” Frank told POLITICO this week. “That wasn’t ...

Nor’easter snow, winds reach Plum Island, Newburyport and rest of North Shore as snow/rain line breaks southward

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:13:52 GMT

Conditions have been deteriorating on the North Shore as nor’easter snow inundating the rest of the state arrived in the early afternoon.Heavy rainfall gave way to heavy flakes as the snow/rain line that had settled along the Merrimack Valley moved southward, bringing flakes to places like Plum Island by midday and leaving roads covered in snow by the early afternoon.Whipping winds that swept up and down the coastlines brought gusts of up to 50-65 miles per hour, leaving the area’s normally picturesque beaches a blurry, gloomy mess.“It gets pretty hard – the cold is pretty harsh down here,” said Darlene Tellier-Nelson, a Plum Island resident.https://twitter.com/SamBleiweisTV/status/1635696758687772716Having grown up in the area, one other concern she and other residents share in addition to the cold and wind gusts is beach erosion, which officials have been working to get ahead of.Off 73rd Street, sand could be seen encroaching on several beachfron...

Rockport police seek public’s help in search for missing teen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:13:52 GMT

Rockport police asked for the public’s help Tuesday in a search for a missing teen.Police said Marley Castillo, 15, was last seen leaving a home on Doctor’s Run in town around 10:10 p.m. on Monday.Police described Castillo as standing 5’8”, weighing approximately 130 pounds with reddish/brown curly hair and a small scar on her forehead above the bridge of her nose. Police said Castillo was wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt with slipper-style footwear and pajama-style pants. Castillo was carrying red Nike sneakers, according to police.Police said Castillo is said to frequent Gloucester, Hamilton, Salem and Lynn. Police in Rockport asked residents in the area around Doctor’s Run as well as nearby communities to review home security camera video, if possible. Anyone with possible video of Castillo or with any other information about her whereabouts is asked to call police at 978-546-1212. 

US says Russian warplane hits American drone over Black Sea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:13:52 GMT

By KARL RITTER (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday in a “brazen violation of international law,” causing American forces to bring down the unmanned aerial vehicle, the U.S. said.The incident, which raised tensions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, appeared to mark the first time since the height of the Cold War that a U.S. aircraft was brought down after being hit by a Russian warplane.U.S. President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, according to White House National Security spokesman John Kirby. He added that U.S. State Department officials would be speaking directly with their Russian counterparts and “expressing our concerns over this unsafe and unprofessional intercept.”State Department spokesman Ned Price called it a “brazen violation of international law.” He said the U.S. summoned ...

Wall Street climbs as some beaten-down bank stocks recover

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:13:52 GMT

By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA (AP Business Writers)Stocks are broadly higher on Wall Street Tuesday, as some of the most breathtaking moves from a manic Monday reverse course. The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in afternoon trading after a report showed inflation is still high but heading lower. Stocks of smaller and mid-sized banks recovered some of their prior plunges caused by worries that customers could yank out all their cash. Treasury yields soared to trim their historic drops. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 58 points, or 0.2%, at 31,885, as of 2:21 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% higher. The major indexes’ gains eased by midafternoon after a strong morning rally.A week ago, Wall Street was expecting Tuesday’s report on inflation to be the most important data of the week, if not month. The worry at the time was that inflation is staying stubbornly high, which could force the Federal Reserve to pick up the pace again on its hikes to inte...

Jets in talks with former Packers receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:13:52 GMT

As the world continues to wait on word from Aaron Rodgers, the Jets appear to be close to adding a couple of his friends.According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Gang Green is close to adding Packers wide receiver Allen Lazard, who is a free agent. The team is also targeting wide receiver Randall Cobb, who is one of Rodgers’ best friends and has played 10 seasons in Green Bay with the veteran quarterback.The Jets are still awaiting Rodgers’ decision regarding his future as he could retire, accept a trade to the Jets or return to the Packers — although that seems less likely. On the first day of free agency, current NFL insider and former ESPN personality Trey Wingo said he heard, “Rodgers to the Jets is done.” However, sources said nothing has been finalized.If they are trying to convince Rodgers to join the Jets, adding familiar faces isn’t the worst thing in the world. Last season, Lazard recorded 60 receptions for 788 yards and six touchdowns a...

Recipe: A shepherd’s pie perfect for St. Patrick’s Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:13:52 GMT

Linda Gassenheimer | Tribune News ServiceAround this time of year with St. Patty’s Day coming up, shepherd’s pie comes to mind. The pie has a savory meat filling topped with mashed potatoes and cheese. It’s usually made with lamb or ground lamb, but it is also made with ground beef and then called cottage pie. There’s always a discussion whether the pies are Irish or English. The answer is both. Either way, enjoy this quick dinner.I used 95% lean ground beef. If you prefer lamb, ask the butcher for lamb cubes cut from the leg and cut these into half-inch cubes.To shorten making the mashed potato topping, I cook the potatoes in the microwave and mash them in a food processor. It saves time and an extra pot to wash. If you don’t have access to a microwave, add the potatoes to a saucepan of cold water, cover with a lid, and boil 10 to 15 minutes, until they are soft.Helpful Hints:— You can use 6 cloves of garlic instead of minced garlic.— You can use any type of shredded cheese.— The r...

San Francisco reparations idea: $5 million per Black person

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:13:52 GMT

By JANIE HAR (Associated Press)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Payments of $5 million to every eligible Black adult, the elimination of personal debt and tax burdens, guaranteed annual incomes of at least $97,000 for 250 years and homes in San Francisco for just $1 a family.These are just some of the recommendations made by a city-appointed reparations committee tasked with a thorny question: What would it take to atone for the centuries of U.S. slavery and generations of systemic racism that continue to keep Black Americans on the bottom rungs of health, education and economic prosperity, and overrepresented in prisons and homeless populations?A first hearing before the city’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday could offer a glimpse of the board’s appetite for advancing a reparations plan that would be unmatched nationwide in specificity and breadth. Critics have slammed it as financially and politically impossible. One conservative analyst estimated that each non-Black family ...