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Congressional Budget Office projects lower inflation and higher unemployment into 2025

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:30:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Budget Office said Friday it expects inflation to nearly hit the Federal Reserve’s 2% target rate in 2024, as overall growth is expected to slow and unemployment is expected to rise into 2025, according to updated economic projections for the next two years. The office’s Current View of the Economy from 2023 to 2025 report estimates that the unemployment rate will hit 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and remain close to that level through 2025. Currently, the unemployment rate is 3.7%, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Meanwhile, gross domestic product, otherwise known as the overall health of the economy, is estimated to fall from 2.5% in 2023 to 1.5% in 2024 — then rebound to 2.2% in 2025, according to the CBO projections. Compared with its February 2023 projections, CBO’s Friday report predicts weaker growth, lower unemployment, and higher interest rates in 2024 and 2025.But in a reminder that the U.S. econo...

Metro riders should prepare for repairs to part of Red Line in downtown DC

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:30:32 GMT

Red Line service will not run through Farragut North, Metro Center and Gallery Place from Dec. 18 through Dec. 30 due to construction. (Courtesy WMATA)Metro riders who frequently travel through downtown D.C. should plan ahead this holiday season, because a portion of the Red Line running through the area will be closed for repairs starting Monday, Dec. 18.It comes at a time when Metro said ridership is historically 40% lower than a typical workweek.The project, which will entail critical repairs and upgrades to the Red Line, will disrupt service through Saturday, Dec. 30.Alternate routes and free shuttle serviceAs a result of the construction, Metro said there will be free shuttle buses and alternate routes for riders to get through the area.From Dec. 18-21 and 25-30Red Line service between Dupont Circle and Gallery Place — which includes Farragut West and the top level of Metro Center — will be shut down. However, there will be Blue, Orange and Silver Line services at Metro Center,...

Correction: Judge yet to rule on cattle industry's request to delay wolf reintroduction

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:30:32 GMT

Editor's note: The judge has not yet issued a ruling in this lawsuit filed to delay the reintroduction of gray wolves to Colorado. The Associated Press erroneously published a report saying that a judge had denied the request. Previous coverage can be found below and this story will be updated when the judge's ruling is released.DENVER (AP) — A federal judge said she would decide by Friday whether to temporarily halt the impending reintroduction of gray wolves to Colorado under a voter-approved initiative, after representatives of the state's cattle industry went to court to try to stop the predators' release.If the judge sides with the industry, the decision would scramble Colorado Parks and Wildlife's plans of searching for, capturing and transporting up to 10 wolves from Oregon starting Sunday.The wolves are supposed to be released by Dec. 31, the deadline imposed under a 2020 ballot proposal that passed by a narrow margin. The animals would be among the first gray wolv...

'I do not see myself as a hero': Officer helps save toddler in drive-by shooting

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:30:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Longmont police officer who helped save the life of a 3-year-old girl who was shot in a drive-by said it was thanks to a team effort. On Wednesday around 8 p.m., officers with the Longmont Police Department responded to a drive-by shooting in the Countryside Village Mobile Park. A 3-year-old girl was hit by what police called an “unidentified projectile.” She suffered life-threatening injuries to her torso.The hospital staff who treated the toddler credited police for her survival.Longmont Master Police Officer Walter "Cooper" Arvisais spoke about the shooting and the officers who aided the toddler. Police: Man was drunk during Broomfield crash that killed mom, son According to Arvisais, Officer Shane Mathis arrived at the home and noticed the 3-year-old had been shot. Shortly after, Arvisais arrived. Because Arvisais had worked as a flight paramedic who treated adults and pediatrics, he was able to help Mathias start medical treatment on the toddler before arr...

December is shaping up to be one of the warmest on record

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:30:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Even after recent below-freezing temperatures and flurries in the Denver metro area, if this warm trend continues into the end of the month, this December will be one of the warmest on record.This December has been all over the place. From thick fog to flurries to 70 degrees, the Denver metro area has seen it all. Despite the changing weather, December's heading towards a sunny end of the month. Colorado’s Ice Castles announces 2023 opening date For this upcoming week, the temperatures will be as high as 60 degrees, which is about 10-15 degrees above average for this time of year.But 60 degrees isn't breaking any daily records. Some days in December this year recorded higher than 70 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.With that being said, towards the end of December, temperatures should be cooling, according to Pinpoint Weather Meteorologist Travis Michels. If temperatures don't cool down by next week, this will be one of the warmest December's on r...

Food services contractor in Miami arrested for grand theft, fraud

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:30:32 GMT

A food services contractor in Miami has been arrested for using a South Florida school’s funds to buy food for her independent business. Marisela Santoni-Gomez, 46, is facing grand theft in the second degree and organized fraud. She worked ILS Group, which is a food service contractor used by Christopher Columbus High School. Police said that Santoni-Gomez was in charge of the onsite operations, which included the ordering of food and supplies that are used in school only. But outside of school hours, she is the owner of two food trucks, according to police. One of them is a brunch-style truck while the other one is a charcuterie board business.An anonymous theft complaint triggered an internal investigation into the purchase records starting in January 2023. The report said that purchase records showed various items were purchased that were not offered or used at the school. This included food items such as waffles, avocados, chicken tenders, and specialty to-go food contain...

Top US diplomat to China: Not ‘optimistic’ about future relations

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:30:32 GMT

Don’t expect Washington’s relationship with Beijing to improve anytime soon, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said Friday morning.“I don’t feel optimistic about the future of U.S.-China relations. I feel that we need to see how things develop,” Burns said during a Brookings Institution event.The blunt remark came exactly a month after President Joe Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco. It was an attempt to stabilize the fraught relationship between the two nations, which have seen a deepening mistrust that has pushed relations to their lowest point in a half-century.The pair agreed on a number of confidence-building measures, including a resumption of high-level military-to-military communications. But Biden soon after called his Chinese counterpart a “dictator” for the second time this year — angering Beijing.Burns called the meeting in California “producti...

EU vows Ukraine will get its money — with or without Orbán’s support

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:30:32 GMT

BRUSSELS ― EU leaders are promising Ukraine will still get its €50 billion aid package to help prop up its war-shattered economy against Russian invasion — with or without the backing of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.Orbán, who has cordial ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, blocked approval of the lifeline funds to Kyiv at a two-day summit and, although the measure technically needs the agreement of all the bloc’s 27 governments, leaders signaled they could be willing to take the radical step of sacrificing EU unity and working round him if that’s what it takes. “It’s possible for the 26 member states to provide the money on a bilateral basis,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters after the European Council in the Belgian capital. “A bit of time and space over the Christmas period might help.”Almost two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a country that borders four EU countries, leaders are battling to avoid the fight over funds c...

Shohei Ohtani says signing with Los Angeles Dodgers is ‘all about winning’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:30:32 GMT

(CNN) — The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled their newest acquisition Shohei Ohtani to the media on Thursday after the 29-year-old signed a historic 10-year, $700 million deal with the team last week,The two-way superstar, who donned the team’s jersey during a press conference at the Dodger Stadium, told reporters that he hoped to be back as a hitter for Opening Day next season.“I just saw my contract was 10 years, I’m not sure how long I will be able to play the game, so I do prioritize winning,” Ohtani said via a translator.“That’s on the top of my list and I will probably never change and that’s one of the reasons why I chose this team.”The two-time American League MVP said what stood out about the Dodgers was their commitment to success.“When I had the meeting with the Dodgers – the ownership group, they said when they looked back at the last 10 years, even though they made the playoffs every single year, one World Series ring, they ...

Bought for $3.99 from a Virginia thrift store, this vase just sold for over $100,000

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:30:32 GMT

(CNN) — Jessica Vincent fondly remembers embarking on frequent thrifting trips — at secondhand stores, yard sales, flea markets — with her mother as a child. It’s a habit she retained into adulthood, and one that on Wednesday turned into a six-figure windfall for the Richmond, Virginia native (and the art and design auction house Wright), when a glass vase she purchased for $3.99 sold for over $107,000.Vincent told CNN she and her partner were regular shoppers at the Goodwill store in question — ”probably two or three times a week,” she said, adding that thrifting was “just a funny thing to do, or a different thing to do on the way home to decompress.”On the day of her lucrative purchase in June, Vincent noticed the vase immediately. “People tell me I have a good eye,” she said in a phone interview. “You can put me in an aisle with a whole bunch of dollar store stuff and I can pick out the one item with a little bit of value. I feel like I’ve trained myself — I’ve watched ...