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Stock market today: Asian stocks follow Wall St higher as US inflation cools

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:13 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday after a cooler reading on U.S. inflation fueled hopes the Federal Reserve will postpone a possible interest rate hike.Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney rose. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.7% to a 14-month high after government data Tuesday showed U.S. consumer inflation eased to 4% over a year earlier in May from the previous month’s 4.9%. It was less than half last June’s peak of 9.1% but still double the Fed’s 2% target.That reinforced hopes the Fed will avoid announcing another rate hike when its monthly meeting ends Wednesday. Two Fed board members said previously the U.S. central bank should put off another hike while it studies the impact of previous increases.“The Fed will see this as a window of opportunity to pause,” said Clifford Bennett of ACY Securities in a report.The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3% to 3,243.66 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advan...

Golden Knights beat Panthers to win first Stanley Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:13 GMT

Mark Stone had a hat trick as the Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Florida Panthers in five games on Tuesday to win the organization’s first Stanley Cup in its six years of existence.Established in 2017-18, the Golden Knights are the first expansion team to be crowned Stanley Cup champions since the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.Vegas was powered by the clutch performances of a few key players, notably Jonathan Marchessault, Jack Eichel and team captain Mark Stone, who all registered over 20 points during the team’s Stanley Cup run.Stone was particularly brilliant on Tuesday, scoring a hat trick for Vegas in a 9-3 win.If we had an #ExpressiveMarkStone ranking this would be at the top. pic.twitter.com/msPBJFZEUP— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 14, 2023Eichel, in his second season with the Golden Knights, capped off a fantastic postseason and had three assists, while Marchessault added one assist. Winger Reilly Smith had two points, including a goal and an assist, while defe...

Iran president rails against US sanctions during visit to Nicaragua

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:13 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — In his first visit to Latin America, Iran’s hardline president met Tuesday with his Nicaraguan counterpart and railed against a theme both leaders have in common: U.S. sanctions.President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Nicaragua is his second stop, after Venezuela. He is also scheduled to visit Cuba, Iran’s other ally in the region.Raisi spoke at a joint appearance in Managua with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.“The United States wanted to paralyze our people with threats and sanctions, but it hasn’t been able to do it,” Raisi said.Many top figures in Ortega’s government also face U.S. sanctions for crushing dissent and imprisoning or exiling opponents.On Monday , Raisi visited President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, which is also under U.S. economic sanctions.His tour of allied nations in Latin America comes amid rising tensions with the administration of President Joe Biden.The U.S. has accused Iran of providing Russia with materials to build a drone ma...

Founder of sexuality-focused women’s wellness company pleads not guilty in forced labor case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — An entrepreneur who promoted group “orgasmic meditation” as a road to women’s well-being turned herself in and pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge of manipulating traumatized people into debt, undesired sex and underpaid work. Nicole Daedone, who founded the sex-centric wellness company OneTaste, faces a federal forced labor conspiracy case that was unveiled last week. She was released Tuesday on $1 million bond, secured by her mother, her mother’s partner, and a OneTaste ally; the friend put up a sprawling property in Northern California’s Mendocino County.“The idea that this woman, at this company, engaged in forced labor is as far from the truth and reality as one could comprehend,” defense lawyer Julia Gatto said outside court. She called Daedone “a ceiling-shattering feminist entrepreneur” who created a unique business around women’s sexuality and empowerment.Prosecutors, however, say Daedone and former sales chief Rachel Cherwitz schemed to draw in peo...

Japanese soldier arrested after allegedly firing at colleagues on army base, 3 wounded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:13 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese soldier was arrested Wednesday after allegedly shooting and wounding three colleagues at an army base, a top government official said.Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroakazu Matsuno told reporters that the shooting occurred at a firing range at a base in Gifu prefecture in central Japan.NHK public television, quoting investigative officials, said the suspect is a teenage male. One of the wounded was in serious condition, NHK said.No other details, including a possible motive, were immediately available. The Associated Press

Microsoft’s planned Activision Blizzard merger temporarily blocked by US judge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:13 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft’s planned $69 billion purchase of video game company Activision Blizzard was blocked by a federal judge Tuesday, giving more time for an antitrust review of the deal. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco ruled in support of a temporary restraining order sought by the Federal Trade Commission that will stop Microsoft from closing the deal. In a court filing Monday, the commission had sought both a restraining order and injunction to stop Microsoft’s acquisition of the California company behind hit games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush Saga.Microsoft, maker of the Xbox game system, has spent months trying to win worldwide approval for the merger. While a number of countries have approved the acquisition, regulators for two important economies — the U.S. and the U.K. — have taken action to stop it, arguing it could suppress competition in the video game market.The judge said her order temporarily block...

Putin threatens to seize more of Ukraine to block attacks on border regions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:13 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Tuesday that he could order his troops to try to seize more land in Ukraine to protect bordering Russian territory — a threat with questionable credibility because the Kremlin lacks full control over areas it already annexed.In some of his most detailed remarks about the war in months, the Russian leader also asserted that Ukrainian forces had suffered “catastrophic” losses in a new counteroffensive, and he said he was not contemplating a new troop mobilization, as many Russians have feared. But he did not rule out another troop call-up later. And he reiterated Russia’s claim that Ukraine was responsible for blowing up a Dnieper River dam that caused vast flooding on both sides of the front line last week in the country’s south.Putin’s comments at an open meeting with military journalists and bloggers followed Kyiv’s claims that Ukrainian troops had captured a handful of villages in the early stages of...

Family searches for answers after Chicago woman goes missing in Japan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:13 GMT

It was all smiles for Kandace Schipper when she landed at the airport in Tokyo back on May 8."every single day she had been communicating with family and friends," said Adam Willea, Schipper's brother-in-law. "I mean text, phone calls, pictures, updates, Instagram posts. And then it all abruptly ended on June 4th."Missing persons poster for Kandace Schipper, a 29-year-old Chicago woman who went missing in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan on June 4, 2023.Family haven't heard from the 29-year-old, or a man she was travelling with — 27-year-old Luis Torres — since.Schipper, originally from Chicago, was last heard from in Shibuya, Japan, after a credit card transaction alerted family.Willea said their family has filed a missing person's report with the Chicago Police Department, contacted the U.S. Embassy, and authorities abroad to help them locate Schipper, but he said they've hit a roadblock with Tokyo Metropolitan Police."I guess it's [an] issue because technically her flight home isn't schedul...

Teen's progress, positivity inspires just weeks after diving accident

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:13 GMT

Pato Gilchrist is a local young man whose life changed after one dive into the lake. He’s not alone. The injuries rise as summertime temps send people to pools and beaches. You can see Part 1 of his story here.Paralyzed but determined to walk and inspire others, Gilchrist’s progress has been steady, even surprising. And what started as a toe wiggle, brought tears of joy and hope.“It was like unreal,” he said. “The doctors came into see it and they said it opens up a whole new world of possibilities.”In April, on the first warm day of spring, Gilchrist was injured after he dove headfirst into the lake.“I hit the sand the bottom of the lake and I immediately couldn’t feel my legs or my neck,” he said.The injury changed the course for him.Even as he struggled to simply sit up, his spirit remained remarkably strong.“I’ve always known that my voice is extremely powerful and obviously my mind powers that,” he said. “And the fact that my personality was never altered is extremely impo...

What to know about Trump's appearance in federal court in Miami to face felony charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:13 GMT

Donald Trump made a first appearance in federal court in Miami on Tuesday facing 37 counts related to the mishandling and retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.Here’s a look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation and how Trump’s case differs from those of other politicians known to be in possession of classified documents:WHAT HAPPENED IN COURT?Trump's lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for him, and the former president was released on his own recognizance without no bail. He will not have to surrender his passport or have his personal travel restricted.He scowled at times during the 50-minute hearing, but was otherwise expressionless. He folded his arms, fiddled with a pen and crossed his fingers back and forth as he listened.Trump leaned over to whisper to his attorneys before the hearing began but did not speak during the proceedings. He remained seated while his lawyer Todd Blanche stood up and entered the plea on his behalf. “We most certainly en...