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Stock markets today: US futures fall ahead of tech earnings

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:17 GMT

BEIJING — Wall Street futures followed global markets lower Tuesday amid a bevy of U.S. earnings reports and an update on economic growth.Futures for the Dow slipped 0.2% and the S&P fell 0.4%.Dozens of the nation’s biggest companies, including Microsoft and Amazon, are due to report earnings this week. McDonald’s rose before the bel l after the fast food chain reported higher-than-expected sales and profit in the first quarter.General Motors jumped more than 3% after strong U.S. sales boosted profits and the company raised guidance based on expectations that demand will remain robust.Analysts expect companies in the S&P 500 to report their biggest drop in earnings since the spring of 2020, when the pandemic paralyzed the economy. But the majority of companies so far this earnings reporting season have been beating the projections of Wall Street analysts.On Thursday, the U.S. releases new data on economic growth during the first three months of the year. Economis...

UBS reaps $28B in new money amid Credit Suisse fallout

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:17 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss banking giant UBS said Tuesday that it took in $28 billion in new money from wealthy clients in the first three months of the year, with $7 billion of that coming in the 10 days after the announcement it was taking over ailing rival Credit Suisse.Zurich-based UBS, which is set to become Switzerland’s single banking titan after the merger closes in the coming months, said it also drew $14 billion in new money to its asset management business.“Our performance this quarter demonstrates that we continue to be a source of stability for our clients during periods of significant uncertainty,” said CEO Sergio Ermotti, who came back to UBS last month to shepherd the Credit Suisse takeover. “Our strong flows across global wealth management and asset management reflect our clients’ continued confidence and trust in us.”UBS posted net profit of nearly $1.04 billion in the first quarter, down 52% from the same period a year ago despite the new inflows. Profit was ...

Cesar Chavez’s legacy lives on in Biden’s new campaign chair

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Barack Obama flew to California to dedicate a national monument to Latino labor leader Cesar Chavez, a group of the activist’s relatives were invited to pose for photos with the president. Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Chavez’s granddaughter, hung back. As a member of Obama’s staff, she had traveled with the official party to the event, but she did not want to call attention to herself.Only when Obama’s senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett, insisted did Rodriguez reluctantly step forward, barely making it into the frame. “I said, ‘Julie, you have to be up there with your family,’” said Jarrett, who was Rodriguez’s boss in the White House Office of Public Engagement. “And she said, ‘No, I’m staff today.’” White House staffers are often of a type, hard-charging strivers who crave their own sliver of the limelight or even trade on a famous name. Rodriguez has been a clear exception. In her second tour serving a Democratic president, sheR...

Hot-dog-eating legend Chestnut throwing 1st pitch for Blue Jays’ Loonie Dogs Night

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:17 GMT

How fitting.Joey Chestnut, the American competitive eater and hot-dog-eating legend, will be at the Rogers Centre to throw out the first pitch ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday to honour the first Loonie Dogs night.Chestnut is renowned for his world records in mass eating competitions as a 15-time champion at Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.The Hot Dog King himself!Joey Chestnut will be at our FIRST Loonie Dogs Night pres. by @Schneiders ????— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 20, 2023Loonie Dogs Night is presented by Schneiders and returns for every Tuesday home game during the 2023 season. Fans can purchase $1 hot dogs from various concession stands around Rogers Centre.Chestnut is the current defending champion after he ate 63 hot dogs in the 2022 contest. More recently, on April 6, Chestnut won the first-ever Qdoba World Burrito Eating Championship in Milwaukee after consuming 14.5 burritos in 10 minut...

East Palestine families living in limbo months after fire

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:17 GMT

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Jeff Drummond spends days and nights alone in a tiny room with fake wood paneling, two small beds and a microwave atop a mini refrigerator that serves as a nightstand — his pickup truck parked just outside the door at the roadside motel where he’s taken refuge since early February.Shelby Walker bounces from hotel to hotel with her five children and four grandchildren while crews tear up railroad tracks and scoop out contaminated soil near their four-bedroom home.Almost 3 months after a fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment blackened the skies, sent residents fleeing and thrust East Palestine into a national debate over rail safety, residents say they are still living in limbo. They’re unsure how or whether to move on from the accident and worry what will happen to them and the village where they have deep family roots, friendships and affordable homes.“I have no idea how long we can continue to do this,” says Walker, while washing clothes at a lau...

Man, 21, dies after found shot in elevator on South Side

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:17 GMT

CHICAGO — A 21-year-old man has died after he was found shot in an elevator on the city's South Side.Police said officers responded to the 7500 block of South South Shore Drive around 9:15 p.m. Monday and discovered a man shot inside an elevator.According to police, the man told officers he was involved in a physical altercation and did not realize he had been shot in the abdomen.He was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, where he later died. The man has not yet been identified. Beth Murphy, owner of Murphy’s Bleachers, has died No one is in custody. Area Two detectives are investigating.

Tinley Park's music venue gets a new name

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:17 GMT

TINLEY PARK, Ill. — Once again, a popular outdoor music venue in the southwest suburbs of Chicago is getting a new name. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park will now be known as Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre as of Tuesday as the Rantoul-based company takes over the naming rights. This has been a common occurrence for the venue since its opening in 1990 as this will now be its sixth different name in 33 years. The amphitheatre, which has a capacity of 28,000, was previously known as the World Music Theatre (1990-1995), New World Music Theatre (1995-2001), Tweeter Center (2001-2006), and First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (2006-2015).Hollywood Casino had the naming rights for the venue, which is owned by Live Nation, since 2015."We are amidst a historic time in live music as fans everywhere continue prioritizing concerts to connect and make lasting memories," said Live Nation senior VP of venue sales Andy Peikon in a statement. "We're thrilled the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre will ...

'Invasion': Massive swarm of mayflies stuns residents at NC lake

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:17 GMT

LAKE WACCAMAW, N.C. (WNCN) – Residents at a North Carolina lake are still stunned by the size of a swarm of insects earlier this month.Large groups of mayflies are known to gather around Lake Waccamaw every April, but residents said this year's massive swarm of millions of aquatic insects was the worst in 30 years.Photo provided to CBS 17Photo provided to CBS 17Photo provided to CBS 17Photo provided to CBS 17Photo provided to CBS 17Photo provided to CBS 17Photo provided to CBS 17Photo provided to CBS 17Lake Waccamaw has about 9,000 acres of surface area and about 14 miles of shoreline. The yearly swarm of the mayflies is known by Lake Waccamaw fishermen to mark a point when the fish in the lake become more active. Mayflies have a short-lived adult phase, which usually lasts from two hours to three days, according to flyfishingnc.com. Biden announces 2024 reelection bid: ‘This is not a time to be complacent’ On April 13 and 14, there was a large "invasion" according to one resident...

Why it is more difficult to diagnose girls with autism than boys 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has grown rapidly in the last couple of decades. Though the number of girls diagnosed with the developmental disorder has risen along with the overall numbers, doctors say that diagnosing girls with ASD is more challenging than with boys. ASD is a developmental disability characterized by persistent difficulties in social interaction and repetitive behaviors, interests or activities that make communicating and participating in daily activities more challenging, according to the CDC. The CDC first began tracking autism in children in Atlanta in 1996. In 2000, it established the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, which expanded the tracking to nine more U.S. metropolitan regions. Since then, the prevalence of autism in children has markedly risen. In 2000, the network found that around one in 150 children had ASD. 18 years later, this number jumped to around one in 44.And sinc...

City of Austin looking to help small developers and create more affordable homes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The City of Austin opened applications Monday for a new program to help small-scale real estate developers grow their businesses and create more affordable housing and job opportunities in the area. According to the Monday announcement from the city, applications will be open for the Austin Small Developer Training Program from April 24 to May 19. The city's Housing and Planning Department says the free, four-month program will provide developers with training, technical assistance, mentorship, networking and potential pathways for financing. The announcement said the money for the program came from the City of Austin Housing Finance Corporation. According to city's announcement, successful program candidates will be selected based on the following criteria: Demonstrate experience as a small-scale developer (either for-profit or nonprofit organizations) who is seeking to further their experience developing affordable housing and/or growing their portfolio. As th...