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Stock markets today: Global stocks lower ahead of US data

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:23 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks and Wall Street futures declined Monday ahead of a U.S. economic update that is expected to show growth slowing.London and Frankfurt opened lower. Shanghai and Hong Kong declined while Tokyo advanced. Oil prices fell.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.1% on Friday but ended with a small loss for the week.U.S. data this week are expected to show first-quarter economic growth weakened following interest rate hikes to cool business activity and inflation. That might encourage the Federal Reserve to postpone or scale down more possible rate hikes at its May meeting.France and Germany also report economic growth this week following surveys that show European factory activity declining.“There is no doubt that the global economy is weakening and vulnerable to further slowing,” Clifford Bennett of ACY Securities said in a report.In early trading, the FTSE in London fell 0.2% to 7,901.22 and the DAX in Frankfurt opened 0.1% lower at 15,860.3...

Pogacar undergoes ‘successful’ wrist surgery after crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:23 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar was expected to travel home on Monday after undergoing “successful” surgery on his fractured left wrist in Belgium.The 24-year-old Slovenian rider’s team said in a statement late Sunday that surgery to treat a scaphoid fracture in his left wrist went well and that Pogacar, who was injured in a crash during the one-day classic Liège–Bastogne–Liège, would now start “recovery and rehabilitation.”Pogacar was treated by a hand surgeon at a hospital in Genk immediately after his crash.The UAE Team Emirates did not say how long he would be sidelined and if the injury would affect his preparations for the Tour de France, which starts in July.Following his wins at Amstel Gold and Flèche Wallonne, Pogacar aimed to become only the third male rider to seal a hat trick of the Ardennes classics but had to abandon after 85 kilometers (53 miles). The race was won by world champion Remco Evenepoel, who put on an impressive attackin...

Drivers can expect delays on northern end of GW Parkway due to construction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:23 GMT

D.C.-area drivers should expect some considerable delays on the northern end of the George Washington Parkway.As part of a $161 million restoration project, the National Park Service said it will closed the southbound lanes between Interstate 495 and Virginia Route 123. The work — which began Saturday, April 22 — was supposed to start a week earlier but was postponed due to inclement weather.This traffic pattern could stick around until late 2025. The project will last that long because work will include not only repaving the road, but also redesigning the Route 123 interchange, repairing stormwater systems, reconstructing stone walls and roadside barriers, and rehabilitating the parkway’s scenic overlooks.With the southbound lanes out of service, all traffic will share the northbound lanes, which now includes an additional temporary third lane built for the scheduled work.Drivers on the section of the parkway will encounter only one lane going north and one lane g...

Metro CEO: DC’s fare evasion law needs changing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:23 GMT

For the last few years, fare evasion in D.C. has been a proverbial thorn in Metro’s side.“We need to gain control of the system back and we’ve got to bring a sense of orderliness,” Metro CEO and General Manager Randy Clarke said on WTOP’s DMV Download podcast. “And we’ve got to get that revenue as well.”For Clarke, who has been on the job for nine months, fare evasion is also about safety.“Not everyone that fare evades commits criminal activity on our system,” he said. “But, almost universally … 99.9% of people that commit criminal acts in our system fare evade.”Metro CEO and General Manager Randy Clarke speaks to DMV Download podcast host Luke Garrett. (WTOP/Luke Garrett)Clarke believes that stopping fare-gate jumpers will also limit violence on Metro.“No one is tapping in so we know who they are, and then going downstairs with a gun and assaulting someone,” he said.Back in November, Metro started t...

Jockey dies after horse racing fall in Australia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:23 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian jockey Dean Holland died as a result of injuries sustained in a fall during a race in regional Victoria state on Monday, Racing Victoria said.The state’s horse racing authority said the 34-year-old Holland was one of two jockeys dislodged from their horses in the opening race of a meeting at Donald Racecourse.He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene. The other rider, Alana Kelly, was cleared of serious injury.“It was a tragic accident at Donald today and we are all deeply shocked and saddened that Dean has passed away,” Racing Victoria chief executive Andrew Jones said in a statement. “Dean was a gifted lightweight rider who … was highly respected by his peers.“Dean’s passing is heartbreaking for all within Victorian racing and the sport nationally.”Holland won a Group 1 race last month on a horse called In Secret in the Newmarket Handicap over 1,200 meters at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse. Racing.com liste...

‘The Giz’ brings a go-go version of ‘The Wiz’ to DC’s Lincoln Theatre

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:23 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews 'The Giz' at Lincoln Theatre (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Once you’ve paid your debt to society, you deserve a genuine chance to rehabilitate yourself.Playwright Lovail Long found his creative spark while incarcerated in solitary confinement.“I wrote this stage-play while I was incarcerated,” Long told WTOP. “I wanted to come back to my comm...

Un dragón mecánico se incendia durante un espectáculo en Disneyland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:23 GMT

(CNN) — Un dragón animatrónico se incendió en el parque Disneyland de California el sábado por la noche, según informaron funcionarios de Disney.“Durante la proyección final de ‘Fantasmic’ en el parque Disneyland el sábado por la noche, el dragón se incendió”, dijeron funcionarios de Disney a CNN en un correo electrónico. “Anaheim Fire & Rescue respondió rápidamente y el fuego fue extinguido”.Agregaron que todos los miembros del elenco y los huéspedes fueron evacuados de la Isla Tom Sawyer y las atracciones cercanas a la isla fueron despejadas de huéspedes debido al humo y al viento.Muere una mujer después de caerse de la estructura del estacionamiento de Disneyland, dice la policía“La causa del incendio sigue bajo investigación en este momento”, continúa el comunicado.CNN se puso en contacto con Anaheim Fire & Rescue para obtener más información.“Fantasmic” es un espectáculo nocturno de larga duración de Disn...

EU evacuates diplomatic staff from Sudan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:23 GMT

The EU evacuated its embassy staff in Sudan amid ongoing bloody battles between rival military factions in the African country.Twenty diplomats from the bloc’s mission in Khartoum have been repatriated to Europe, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters Monday on his way into an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg.He added: “Many more European Union citizens and others are already out of Sudan. I cannot give you the concrete figure — it is more than 1,000 people for sure.”The EU’s Ambassador Aidan O’Hara, who was assaulted last week in his official residence by armed men wearing military uniforms, left Khartoum but remained in Sudan.“The captain is the last one leaving the ship,” Borrell said.Several European foreign ministers thanked the French government for coordinating the evacuation of foreign citizens from Sudan.French military planes evacuated 388 people to Djibouti, according to a note from the foreign ministry Monday morning.

Driver in deadly Hingham Apple store crash to be arraigned on upgraded charges of assault, second-degree murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:23 GMT

The driver whose SUV crashed into an Apple store in Hingham in November, killing one person and injuring 22 others, will be arraigned on additional charges on Monday.Bradley Rein, 53, of Hingham, will be arraigned in Plymouth Superior Court on additional charges including second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon.Rein was arrested after his 2019 Toyota 4Runner crashed into the store’s front window in Hingham. The victim who died was identified as Kevin Bradley, 65, of New Jersey.7NEWS legal analyst Tom Hoopes says if the case goes to trial, prosecutors will have to prove that Rein acted intentionally, but not necessarily his intent. “The real question I think they’re going to have to deal with is did he just lose control of the car for some reason that you can’t really fault him for,” Hoopes said. Rein told investigators that his foot became stuck on the accelerator and he lost control. Rein’s attorney described the crash as a horrific a...

State police investigating after pedestrian struck, seriously injured in Dorchester

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:23 GMT

State police are investigating after a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Gallivan Boulevard and Dorchester Avenue in Dorchester on Sunday night, officials said.Troopers responding to a reported pedestrian crash around 9:35 p.m. found a victim suffering from life-threatening injuries, according to state police.Investigators were focused on a white van that was damaged in the crash. No additional information has been released.