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Fed keeps rates unchanged for first time in 15 months but signals 2 more potential hikes this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER (AP Economics Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday after having raised it 10 straight times to combat high inflation. But in a surprise move, the Fed signaled that it may raise rates twice more this year, beginning as soon as next month. The Fed’s move to leave its benchmark rate at about 5.1%, its highest level in 16 years, suggests that it believes the much higher borrowing rates it’s engineered have made some progress in taming inflation. But top Fed officials want to take time to more fully assess how their rate hikes have affected inflation and the economy. “Holding the target rate steady at this meeting allows the committee to assess additional information and its implications” for the Fed’s policies, the central bank said in a statement. The central bank’s 18 policymakers envision raising their key rate by an additional half-point this year, to about 5.6%, a...

Celebrate Juneteenth with these food traditions and recipes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

Rekaya Gibson | (TNS) The Virginian-PilotJuneteenth — or June 19 — is a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to tell the enslaved that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two years prior and that they were free. They first celebrated freedom with church gatherings. It then evolved into outdoor festivals with barbecue, red foods and baseball, said Leni Sorensen, a chef and culinary historian living in Crozet, Virginia. Even though she isn’t sure about the origin of the red, others have theories: Red represented the blood of enslaved people who died or it was linked to hibiscus, a native West African flower used to make reddish-purple tea.“The significance of the color red is debatable and it could be symbolic,” she said. “It’s hard to know.”A Juneteenth celebration brought together bakers and butchers for a community potluck of the best dishes. Traditional fare included: barbecue b...

Grim undertaking: Former manager of Harvard morgue charged with trafficking human remains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

A former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue has been charged with alleged trafficking of human remains.“Some crimes defy understanding,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Middle District of Pennsylvania Gerard M. Karam, whose office is handling the case. “The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human.”On Tuesday, Cedric Lodge, 55, the former manager of the school’s morgue, his wife, Denise Lodge, 63, both of Goffstown, N.H.; as well as Katrina MacLean, 44, of Salem; Joshua Taylor, 46, of West Lawn, Penn., and Mathew Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, Minn., were indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods charges. This followed charges against Jeremy Pauley, 41, of Bloomsburg, Penn., and Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Ark.The alleged ring operated between 2018 and 2022 and would buy and sell human remains stolen from the Harvard Medical School morgue and an Arkansas mortuary.Ce...

RMV on hiring spree ahead of new driver’s license law taking effect in July

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

The Registry of Motor Vehicles is on a hiring spree to prepare for a new law that allows people without lawful proof of presence in the United States to apply for a Massachusetts driver’s license.The agency is hiring more than 200 employees in anticipation of the law, which is scheduled to take effect on July 1. Most of the new hires are frontline service center workers who will work face-to-face with applicants and be responsible for validating the necessary foreign documents to get a license, the top RMV official said.Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie said the RMV is in the process of hiring 139 service center workers and 77 road test examiners. Other RMV departments added anywhere from two to eight people depending on the role over the past year, she said.“We anticipate a large demand for this driver’s license with these new customers eligible. So that will put demand on our service centers,” Ogilvie told the Herald. “… We expect appointment demand for permi...

Burnout threatens primary care workforce and doctors’ mental health

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

Lauren Sausser | KFF Health News (TNS)CHARLESTON, S.C. — Melanie Gray Miller, a 30-year-old physician, wiped away tears as she described the isolation she felt after losing a beloved patient.“It was at the end of a night shift, when it seems like bad things always happen,” said Miller, who is training to become a pediatrician.The infant had been sick for months in the Medical University of South Carolina’s pediatric intensive care unit and the possibility that he might not improve was obvious, Miller recalled during an April meeting with physicians and hospital administrators. But the suddenness of his death still caught her off guard.“I have family and friends that I talk to about things,” she said. “But no one truly understands.”Doctors don’t typically take time to grieve at work. But during that recent meeting, Miller and her colleagues opened up about the insomnia, emotional exhaustion, trauma, and burnout they experienced from their time in the pediatric ICU.“This is not a norm...

Freeland says production subsidies for Volkswagen will be tax-free, matching the U.S.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Wednesday that the federal government plans to make the production subsidies it’s offering to Volkswagen tax-free to match the incentives offered by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. Her comments came after the  parliamentary budget officer published a report saying Canada’s contract with the German auto giant to build an electric-vehicle battery plant in southwestern Ontario would cost the federal government up to $16.3 billion over the next 10 years. That figure is higher than what Ottawa previously said the deal would cost taxpayers, a sum that included a $700-million upfront capital investment and up to $13.2 billion in production subsidies.The Parliamentary Budget Office estimate included the $700-million contribution for the construction of the plant and $12.8 billion in production support. However, the PBO said that for the production subsidies to be equivalent to the incentives offered by the U.S., the federal gove...

What you should know as the Fed gets closer to the peak of its rate-hiking cycle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday to leave interest rates alone for the first time in 11 meetings raises hopes that it may be at least nearing the end of its rate-hiking campaign to cool inflation.That said, the Fed’s policymakers indicated that they envision potentially two more hikes this year — a more hawkish forecast than had been expected. And even after the Fed has stopped hiking, it’s likely to keep borrowing rates at a peak for months to come. Consumers would still have to bear the weight of higher-cost auto loans, mortgages, credit cards and other forms of borrowing. Still, some people may feel encouraged by the possibility that loan rates might not rise much more. And in the meantime, people with savings accounts are enjoying higher yields than they have in years. Fortunately, that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.HOW WILL BORROWERS BE AFFECTED BY ALL THIS?Though the Fed hasn’t likely reached the top of its rate-raising cycle, it...

Bell cutting 1,300 positions, shuttering six radio stations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

TORONTO — BCE Inc. is cutting 1,300 positions, around three per cent of its workforce, and closing or selling nine radio stations as the company plans to “significantly adapt” how it delivers the news. The plan entails “moving to a single newsroom approach across brands, allowing for greater collaboration and efficiency,” said Richard Gray, vice-president of news at Bell Media, in an internal memo distributed to staff Wednesday morning and provided to The Canadian Press.The company’s media branch “can’t afford” to continue operating with its various brands — such as CTV National News, BNN, CP24, its local TV news stations and radio channels — independently of one another, said Bell chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson in an interview.“It’s a consolidation of news gathering, news delivery,” he said.The layoffs include a six per cent cut at Bell Media, but Malcolmson said cuts are happening across the or...

Harvard Medical School morgue manager, 4 others indicted in theft, sale of human remains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue, his wife and three other people have been indicted in connection with the theft and sale of human body parts, federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced Wednesday.Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, stole dissected portions of cadavers that were donated to the school in the scheme that stretched from 2018 to early 2023, according to court documents. The body parts were taken without the school’s knowledge or permission, authorities said, adding that the school has cooperated with the investigation.Lodge sometimes took the body parts — which included heads, brains, skin and bones — back to his home where he lived with his wife, Denise, 63, and some remains were sent to buyers through the mail, authorities said. Lodge also allegedly allowed buyers to come to the morgue to pick what remains they wanted to buy.Bodies donated to Harvard Medical School are used for education, teaching or research purp...

Israeli military admits killing Palestinian toddler by mistake, closes initial investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military admitted Wednesday that it had shot and killed a Palestinian toddler in the occupied West Bank by mistake earlier this month — a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing. After an initial investigation into the killing, the Israeli military said it would reprimand one of the officers involved in the killing. The military said it hadn’t yet decided whether to proceed with a criminal investigation into the child’s death. Rights groups contend the Israeli military does too little to investigate and punish its soldiers for the killing of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, creating a pattern of impunity. The death of 2-year-old Mohammed al-Tamimi after he was wounded by Israeli gunfire near his village of Nebi Saleh set off an outpouring of grief and anger.His 44-year-old father, Haitham al-Tamimi, dismissed Israel’s move to investigate the killing as a “cover-up.” The initial results, he said, added insult to injury. “Of cours...