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Federal budget deficit expected to nearly double to around $2 trillion, government watchdog says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

(CNN) — The federal budget deficit is expected to balloon to about $2 trillion for fiscal year 2023, roughly double what it was in the previous fiscal year, according to a government watchdog group.The surge stems largely from a sharp decline in tax revenues, coupled with an increase in mandatory spending on Social Security, Medicare and interest payments, as well as in other areas. It follows a sharp drop in the budget shortfall in fiscal year 2022 after two years of giant deficits swollen by record government spending on Covid-19 pandemic relief measures.The deficit projection from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and its tally for fiscal year 2022 do not include President Joe Biden’s federal student debt cancellation plan, which the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year before it took effect.The US Treasury Department lists the fiscal year 2022 deficit as $1.4 trillion because it takes into account the cost of the president’s proposal. The agency is expected t...

US to announce it’s sending controversial depleted-uranium rounds to Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

The Biden administration will for the first time send controversial depleted-uranium munitions to Ukraine as part of a new package of aid to be announced Wednesday, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the discussions.The decision comes after months of debate over the armor-piercing rounds, which are expected to be highly effective against Russian tanks. While the U.K. has already sent the same type of ammunition to Ukraine to arm its Challenger 2 tanks, this marks the first time the U.S. is sending the rounds. Officials interviewed for this story were granted anonymity to speak ahead of the announcement.Reuters first reported last week that the U.S. had decided to send the rounds. The Wall Street Journal reported in June that the administration was considering the shipment. During a Tuesday briefing, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder declined to comment on whether the U.S. would send the munitions.Although depleted uranium is a byproduct of ura...

Russian strike on eastern Ukrainian market kills 16

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

Russia has shelled a city market in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, killing at least 16 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.“Russian terrorists have attacked a regular market, shops, and a pharmacy, killing innocent people” in the city of Kostyantynivka, located about 25 kilometers west of the besieged city of Bakhmut, Zelenskyy said.Footage shared by the Ukrainian president shows the strike hitting a busy market street at 2:04 p.m. local time, destroying several cars and shops. The strike took place on the day of U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to Kyiv.Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said 28 people were injured in the strike, which damaged 30 shops and caused a fire that covered 300 square meters. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that one of the people killed was a child, and called the strike a “horrific act of terrorism.”At least 16 people have been killed by Russian shelling in ...

‘Madness’ to let non-EU countries access bloc’s defense funds, says Italian shipbuilder CEO

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

CERNOBBIO, Italy — Money from the EU’s defense funds should go to European companies, according to Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Italian shipbuilder giant Fincantieri. Allowing non-EU countries access would be “madness,” he told POLITICO on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum economic conference in Cernobbio, Italy. “If we open up and lengthen the supply chain of military national procurement, it’s the beginning of the end.” European companies should also produce as much as possible on the Continent, the CEO added: “One can discuss how much sense it makes to bring back to Europe strategic manufacturing that is gone, but it would be preposterous to take what’s left in Europe out of Europe.” Folgiero’s comments come on the heels of new EU procurement rules that would largely benefit the bloc’s firms. Over the summer, the EU hastily agreed to procure €500 million worth of ammunition from local companies using common budget funds — a taboo-breaking move ma...

MSPCA to waive adoption fees for mice after more than 500 mice surrendered from Mass. home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

Prospective pet-owners will have the chance to adopt a mouse free of charge after more than 500 mice were surrendered from a home in Massachusetts, the MSPCA announced Wednesday. The MSPCA in a statement said the mice came from a home in Essex County. Now, adoption fees are set to be waived for this coming weekend on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 at the MSPCA at Nevins Farm as part of what one MSPCA official said staff are calling “the Mouse-pocalypse adoption event.” “We have never seen a situation like this before,” said MSPCA-Angell Assistant Director of Adoption Centers and Programs Bryn Rogers. “We are glad the original caregiver is getting assistance and are hopeful we never see something like this again.”Credit: MSPCA-AngellRogers said several other New England shelters including the Animal Rescue League of Boston, Dakin Humane Society, New Hampshire SPCA, Greater Androscoggin Humane Society, and Midcoast Humane took in some of the mice after Andover Animal Control helped coordin...

Police investigate shooting in Grantville

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A man was injured during a shooting in the Grantville neighborhood Wednesday morning and a suspect remains at large, authorities said.According to the San Diego Police Department, a call came in shortly before 4 a.m. reporting shots fired on the 4400 block of Twain Avenue. Three teens charged in fight involving bus driver Responding officers found a victim -- a 30-year-old man -- in the area of 6136 Mission Gorge Rd. Police say he was taken to a local trauma center to be treated for gunshot wounds.His current condition is unknown.No arrests have been made in connection to this incident. SDPD says a suspect remains at large. No suspect descriptions have been released at this time.Anyone with information related to this shooting is encouraged to call the department at 619-531-2204, or Crime Stoppers at (619) 235-8477.

Three teens charged in fight involving bus driver

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — Three San Pasqual High School students have been charged in connection to a fight involving a North County Transit District (NCTD) Breeze bus driver.The incident occurred on Tuesday, Aug. 29 when an altercation broke out at the bus stop near the school.Video released by NCTD shows the moments leading up to and after the fight.According to the Escondido Police Department, one of the teens in this case was arrested and taken into custody on charges of assault likely to produce great bodily injury. The two other teens will be charged with conspiracy and released to their parents pending the court’s recommendations, police said.The bus driver, who NCTD says was placed on leave pending an investigation into this matter, is not being charged at this time, according to EPD.“The safety of our passengers and bus operators is our top priority. NCTD’s investigation is ongoing. The details of what took place are being thoroughly reviewed from all aspects," NCTD officials sai...

Russian strike on an eastern Ukrainian city kills 16 and wounds dozens, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian missile struck an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens, officials said. The deadly attack came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv and was expected to announce more than $1 billion in new American funding for Ukraine in the 18-month-old war.Associated Press journalists at the site of the attack in the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region saw covered bodies on the ground and emergency workers extinguishing fires at market stalls, with blackened and mangled cars nearby. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at least 16 people were killed. Another 31 were wounded, according to the regional prosecutor’s office. The Defense Ministry said the market was hit by a ballistic missile.Firefighters extinguished blazes that damaged about 30 pavilions at the market, Klymenko said. Crews searched the rubble for any trapped victims.Twenty shops, power lines, administrative building and...

Fall music releases: Pop powerhouses, country classics, hip-hop heavyweights and beyond

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Music fans, it is time to bid adieu to the sunny, slow summer months, and welcome fall — historically, one of the busiest times in the calendar year for new albums, EPs, and mixtapes.Trends have already begun to reveal themselves: Some of the biggest names in pop (and in pop’s future) are gearing up for back-to-school releases. A-listers are returning after years. Country legends are taking on new genres. And hip-hop heavyweights are back in full force.Others defy categorization — like a new Pretenders record (“Relentless”), the swoon-worthy “Live for Me” EP from Omar Apollo, and Steve Aoki’s “HiROQUEST: Double Helix” — and even more have yet to be announced. Take a look at what’s in store with The Associated Press’ 2023 fall music preview — a collection of releases scheduled to arrive between September and November.Pop powerhousesAfter a summer full of superstar tours — Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Drake among them — surely, it’s time to div...

The Rolling Stones announce release date for their new album and unveil lead single, ‘Angry’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Rolling Stones are back, and they’re “Angry.”At least that is the title of the debut single from the band’s new album, the first in 18 years to contain a dozen original songs. It’s also the first album the band has recorded without drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021. The three surviving Stones — Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood — came to east London’s Hackney district on Wednesday to unveil the new album, “Hackney Diamonds” and announce its release date: Oct. 20.Jagger said not all the songs are furious. The album also contains “love songs, ballads, country-type” sounds, he said.Recorded in December and January at studios around the world, the album sees the Stones team up with Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt. It features drummer Steve Jordan on 10 of the 12 tracks in Watts’ place. Two more songs were recorded in 2019 with Watts. Former Stone Bill Wyman also puts in an appearance on one track.Hard-core fans lined up...