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Thousands of demonstrators from Europe expected in Brussels to protest austerity measures in the EU

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:53:06 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Thousands of protesters are expected to gather in Brussels on Tuesday to protest what they perceive as new austerity measures as the 27 European Union countries discuss ways to overhaul rules on government spending. Finance ministers from the bloc have been negotiating for months a reform of the EU’s rules limiting debt and deficits for member states, known as the Stability and Growth Pact, which would curtail the options of nations seeking to spend their way out of a crisis and potentially force them into austerity. The rulebook, which has often proved difficult to enforce and has served as a source of tension, was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic but should be reactivated next year. Current rules stipulate that member states’ total public debt must not exceed 60% of their GDP, and their annual deficit must be kept below 3%.According to the EU latest figures, the highest rates of government debt to GDP were in Greece with 166.5%, Italy with 142.4%, with ...

Austrian authorities arrest 16-year-old who allegedly planned to attack a Vienna synagogue

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:53:06 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A 16-year-old teenager has been arrested for allegedly planning to attack a synagogue in Vienna, Austria’s top security official said Monday.The teenager, who was arrested Thursday, had announced in online chats that he intended to procure a weapon to attack an unspecified synagogue in Vienna, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said. He had already obtained the financial means for the attack, Austrian news agency APA reported.Officials did not identify the suspect. They said he lived near Steyr in northern Austria.His home was searched and several electronic data carriers were seized, APA reported.Authorities also found images and video material with instructions for making bombs, weapons and ammunition, APA said. Austrian authorities have beefed up security for synagogues and other Jewish and Israeli institutions following an increase of antisemitic incidents in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. The Associated Press

Woman in 50s seriously hurt after stabbing in Scarborough; man in custody

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:53:06 GMT

A woman is in hospital with serious injuries and a man is in custody following a stabbing at an apartment building in Scarborough on Monday morning.Emergency crews were called to the area of Birchmount Road and Eglinton Avenue East before 6 a.m. after getting reports someone had been stabbed.Toronto paramedics tell CityNews a woman in her 50s was rushed to hospital with serious but non life-threatening injuries.Police say a man is in custody. It’s unclear if the suspect and the victim were known to each other.This is a developing story. More to come.

Several seriously injured when construction site elevator crashes to the ground in Sweden

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:53:06 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A temporary elevator crashed to the ground on a building site in Stockholm Monday, seriously injuring several people, Swedish police said.The construction elevator fell 20 meters (66 feet) with four or five people inside in Sundbyberg, in the north of the city, Kurt Jonsson, a spokesman for the rescue service, told Swedish news agency TT.Police said no foul play was suspected and a preliminary investigation has been launched into “work environment violations.”Swedish media carried photos of first responders at the site and the area cordoned off.The Associated Press

Fed is set to leave interest rates unchanged while facing speculation about eventual rate cuts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:53:06 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — With inflation edging closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, its policymakers are facing — and in some cases fueling — hopes that they will make a decisive shift in policy and cut interest rates next year, possibly as soon as spring. Such a move would reduce borrowing costs across the economy, making mortgages, auto loans and business borrowing less expensive. Stock prices could rise, too, though share prices have already risen in expectation of cuts, potentially limiting any further rise. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, though, has recently downplayed the idea that rate reductions are nearing. With the central bank poised to keep its key short-term rate unchanged when it meets this week, Powell hasn’t yet signaled that the Fed is conclusively done with its hikes. Speaking recently at Spelman College in Atlanta, the Fed chair cautioned that “it would be premature to conclude with confidence” that the Fed has raised its benchmark rate high enough to f...

Do teachers outed for moonlighting in adult content have legal recourse?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:53:06 GMT

At a small rural Missouri high school, two English teachers shared a secret: Both were posting adult content on OnlyFans, the subscription-based website known for sexually explicit content.The site and others like it provide an opportunity for those willing to dabble in pornography to earn extra money — sometimes lots of it. The money is handy, especially in relatively low-paying fields like teaching, and many post the content anonymously while trying to maintain their day jobs.But some outed teachers, as well as people in other prominent fields such as law, have lost their jobs, raising questions about personal freedoms and how far employers can go to avoid stigma related to their employees’ after-hour activities.At St. Clair High School southwest of St. Louis, it all came crashing down this fall for 28-year-old Brianna Coppage and 31-year-old Megan Gaither.“You’re tainted and seen as a liability,” Gaither lamented on Facebook after she was suspended. Coppage resigned.The indu...

Snow emergency declared in Pittsfield

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:53:06 GMT

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) -- A snow emergency has been declared in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, effective 7 a.m. on Monday. The snow emergency will last through 7 a.m. on Wednesday. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Throughout the snow emergency, residents are asked to use off-street parking. If off-street parking is unavailable, residents are asked to observe the following alternate-side parking rules:From 7 a.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday, parking will be on the odd side of the street. From 7 a.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday, parking will be on the even side of the streetResidents can use the McKay Street parking garage for overnight parking. It will be open to the public throughout the snow emergency. GasBuddy: Avg. Alb. prices drop 5.3 cents in last week All other signed parking regulations are active. Non-permitted cars are prohibited from parking or standing in any open municipal parking lots between midnight and 7 a.m. Cars violat...

GasBuddy: Avg. Alb. prices drop 5.3 cents in last week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:53:06 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Average gasoline prices in Albany have fallen 5.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.40/g Monday, according to GasBuddy's survey of 546 stations in Albany. Prices in Albany are 19.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 16.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 8.4 cents in the last week and stands at $4.10 per gallon. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Albany was priced at $2.86/g on Sunday, while the most expensive was $3.69/g, a difference of 83.0 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.57/g while the highest was $4.59/g, a difference of $2.02/g.The national average price of gasoline has fallen 9.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.11/g Monday. The national average is down 23.7 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 10.1 cents per gallo...

Ask Amy: Parents struggle to handle child’s school stress

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:53:06 GMT

Dear Amy: My son is 8 years old and is very talkative and inquisitive. He asks lots of “why” questions that don’t always coincide with the current conversation, but are about a previous topic.His two reading teachers have said that he is disrespectful and does not participate enough in class.We have talked about this — both with the teachers and with him.He comes home with complete papers, does well on spelling tests and is above grade level on reading assessments.What they say and what we see coming home doesn’t make sense.We have asked for examples of situations when he’s disrespectful so we can talk to him about it, but the teachers become vague and won’t give an example.His other teachers say he is kind and helpful, while also being a bit too talkative, but they say he is on track and doing well.We want to help solve the issue with his reading teachers, but can’t seem to get straight answers.He comes home crying sometimes because his reading t...

Commission launches public consultation on the Implementing Regulation on transparency reporting under the DSA

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:53:06 GMT

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to gather feedback on the Implementing Regulation on the templates that intermediary services and online platforms will have to use for their future transparency reports under the Digital Services Act (DSA).The DSA requires providers of intermediary services and online platforms to publish periodic transparency reports on content moderation on their services. These reports must include information such as the number of orders providers have received from Member States' judicial or administrative authorities, the human resources dedicated to content moderation, the number of accounts and items of content taken down voluntarily by the provider, and the accuracy and rate of error of their automated content moderation systems.Since November 2023, designated Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines published their first reports. Building on the assessment of the first reports, the Commission has decided to use the powers gr...