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Stock market today: Wall Street points lower after Fitch downgrades US government’s credit rating

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

TOKYO — Wall Street was poised to open lower Wednesday after the United States government’s credit rating was cut for just the second time in history.Futures for the Dow Jones industrials slipped 0.3% before the bell and futures for the S&P 500 tumbled 0.5%.Investor optimism was hurt by Fitch Ratings downgrading the U.S. government’s credit rating, citing rising debt at the federal, state, and local levels. The rating was cut Tuesday one notch to AA+ from AAA, the highest possible rating. In 2011, the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s stripped the U.S. of its prize AAA rating. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the move by Fitch was based on outdated data, noting the U.S. economy has rapidly recovered from the pandemic recession.“Some negativity was permeating across Asian equity markets mid-week thanks to Fitch downgrade news. While not a game-changer, news that Fitch downgraded the U.S. credit rating by a notch was enough to put risk appetite on the back foot, as evidence...

Nervous NATO’s nations are beefing up security due to Wagner fighters across borders in Belarus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — NATO allies located along the alliance’s eastern front are growing increasingly worried about the presence of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries in Belarus, where some have been deployed since a short-lived mutiny in Russia in June.Poland, Lithuania and Latvia — members of NATO and the European Union which border Belarus — had already been on alert since large numbers of migrants and refugees began arriving at their borders from Belarus two years ago. They have accused Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russia, of opening the migration route in an act of “hybrid warfare” aimed at creating instability in the West.Now concerns have grown further since the Wagner troops began arriving in Belarus after their short-lived mutiny in Russia.Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said on the weekend that some 100 Wagner fighters in Belarus had approached the border with Poland, specifically a strategically sensitive area known as the Suwalki...

Astros’ Framber Valdez throws no-hitter vs Guardians on 93 pitches

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Framber Valdez was determined to improve this month after a subpar July where he posted a 7.29 ERA.On the first day of August he certainly did that. Valdez threw the 16th no-hitter in Houston Astros history in a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night.“The last couple of games I just wasn’t as focused as I could have been and I’ll be the first to admit that,” Valdez said in Spanish through a translator. “But today I just came very focused, very positive and just ready to leave it all out on the field.”Hours after the Astros reacquired ace Justin Verlander from the New York Mets, Valdez allowed just one baserunner on a walk in the fifth inning, but still faced the minimum thanks to a double play in that frame. He threw 93 pitches, with 65 strikes. “It’s a wonderful day,” manager Dusty Baker said. “(Valdez) started out with a bang. He had his breaking ball from the very beginning … and you could tell he was on and he stayed on.” Gabriel Arias gro...

Russian drone strikes hit Ukrainian port on Romania border that is key to grain exports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones on Wednesday hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with NATO member Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports following the end of a deal with Russia that allowed Ukrainian shipments to world markets.Since leaving the deal that allowed Ukraine to export through the city of Odesa, Russia has hammered the country’s ports with strikes. In the past two weeks, dozens of drones and missile attacks have targeted the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes.The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, said the city of Izmail was hit in the strikes. Izmail is on the Danube River that forms part of the Ukraine-Romania border.Video obtained by The Associated Press showed explosions and a large fire in the distance on the Danube, captured by fishermen in Romania on the other side of the river.Three Ukrainian port...

Two teens injured in Hamilton shooting; suspects sought

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

Police in Hamilton are searching for suspects after an overnight shooting that sent two teens to hospital.Officers responded to the area of Limeridge Road West and West 5th Street around 2 a.m. Wednesday after getting reports of shots fired.Police say a 15-year-old boy was found at the scene with gunshot wounds. He was rushed to hospital in serious but stable condition.A second victim, a 16-year-old boy, fled the area before officers arrived and called for medical help. Police say he was brought to hospital and released after being treated.Investigators believe the incident was targeted. No suspect information has been made available.Anyone with additional information is being asked to contact Hamilton Police Service.

Beijing records heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years, causing severe flooding and 21 deaths

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

ZHUZHOU, Hebei (AP) — China’s capital has recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days after being deluged with heavy rains from the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri.The city recorded 744.8 millimeters (29.3 inches) of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday.Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei have been hit by severe flooding because of the record rainfall, with waters rising to dangerous levels. The rain destroyed roads and knocked out power and even pipes carrying drinking water. It flooded rivers surrounding the capital, leaving cars waterlogged, while lifting others onto bridges meant for pedestrians. Among the hardest hit areas is Zhuozhou, a small city in Hebei province that borders Beijing’s southwest. On Tuesday night, police there issued a plea on social media for lights to assist with rescue work.It’s unknown how many people are trapped in flood-stricken areas in the...

Properties destroyed as latest B.C. wildfire flares, forcing urgent evacuations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

Roughly a dozen properties in a popular southern British Columbia recreational community have been destroyed as the simmering Downton Lake wildfire, 110 kilometres northwest of Whistler, has taken a devastating run. Flames from the lightning-caused wildfire had made slow but steady progress through steep, wooded terrain at the western end of Gun Lake since the blaze was sparked on July 13, but suddenly flared late Monday.An evacuation order covering the more than 200 properties around the lake was issued Tuesday and quickly upgraded to critical, urging the many seasonal and handful of permanent residents to leave for Lillooet or Whistler.Evacuation alerts were also extended to areas north of Gun Lake, including Tyaughton Lake and the Tyax Resort, as the nearly 16-square-kilometre fire almost quadrupled in size since Monday.The destruction and evacuation orders and alerts came as most residents of the southern Okanagan town of Osoyoos were returning to their homes after a wildfire ra...

From extreme to extreme: The future of climate in Nova Scotia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

In today’s Big Story, first it was fires. Then floods. Now the province, already devastated by two extreme events, will wait to see what kind of impact unusually warm ocean temperatures will have on this year’s hurricane season.As the Earth heats up, the impact of the climate crisis is speeding up. Nowhere is safe, but places like Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada, surrounded by so much ocean, might bear a heavier load. Dr. Kent Moore is professor of atmospheric physics at the University of Toronto, but we reached him in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. “The thing to realize is that we’re not going to see another 300 millimeter rainfall event probably for a few years, right? But they’re going to become more common,” said Moore.What can this summer of extremes teach us about the future of Eastern Canada? What comes next, and how should we prepare for it?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.You can also find it at thebigstoryp...

Pope Francis urges Europe to work for peace as he lands in Portugal for World Youth Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis challenged Europe to retake its role as a peacemaker and bridgebuilder as he arrived Wednesday in Portugal to open World Youth Day, hoping to inspire the next generation of Catholics to work together to combat conflicts, climate change and other problems facing the world.Francis was spending five days in Lisbon, blending a state visit and pilgrimage to the Catholic shrine at Fatima with the raucous trappings of World Youth Day, the Catholic jamboree that aims to rally young Catholics in their faith. More than 1 million young people from around the world were expected to attend the gathering, which culminates with a papal Mass on Sunday.As he was traveling to Lisbon, Francis vowed to continue urging young people to “make a mess” – a reference to his now-famous exhortation at his first World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013. It was a call for young people to shake things up in their parishes, and has come to symbolize Francis’ own revolutionary ...

Progressive Thai party that won May election is excluded from coalition to form the next government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:26 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The progressive political party that won the most seats in Thailand’s general election has been excluded from a coalition to form the next government, its former ally said Wednesday. Conservative lawmakers strongly oppose the party over its proposed reform of a law banning criticism of the country’s monarchy.Thailand has struggled for nearly three months to form a government and select a new leader since its election in May. Move Forward Party, the surprise winner, pulled together an eight-party coalition with 312 seats in the 500-member House. However, under the military-enacted constitution, confirming a new prime minister requires a majority vote by both the elected House and the 250-member Senate, which was appointed by a previous military government.An initial bid last month by Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat fell short by more than 50 votes, largely because only 13 senators backed him. His second attempt the following week was blocked by a procedural...