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Need a new or renewed US passport? Get ready to wait

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:03 GMT

By Gisselle Medina, Los Angeles TimesA California family of six had everything arranged for their trip to France at the end of June — except a passport renewal for one of their sons. They’d booked their flights and accommodations in April and gotten a passport appointment in May, paying for expedited service. But one week before the trip, their son’s passport still hadn’t arrived.They started making daily calls to the U.S. State Department, which issues and renews passports, but couldn’t get through to anyone.It wasn’t until they saw posts on local Facebook groups that they realized there was a national passport appointment backlog. And it wasn’t until four days before their trip that they learned about a potentially risky way around the backlog.Why is there a passport backlog?Andres Rodriguez, lead community relations officer for passport services at the State Department, said the passport backlog is a result of the pandemic’s effect on tra...

Fan dies in Greece after clashes between rival supporters. UEFA postpones Champions League qualifier

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:03 GMT

NEA PHILADELPHIA, Greece (AP) — A 29-year-old Greek fan has died after overnight clashes between rival supporters in Athens, with European governing soccer body UEFA announcing it has postponed a Champions League qualifying game scheduled for Tuesday because of the violence.After the fan’s death, Greek authorities had requested that all supporters should be excluded from the match between AEK Athens and Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb at the Opap Arena.Dinamo fans were officially already excluded under a previous ruling by UEFA.Eight fans were injured while Greek police said Tuesday they had made 88 arrests, mostly of Croatian supporters.UEFA says what was going to be the second leg in Zagreb next Wednesday will now be the first leg. The second leg will be held in Athens on Friday 18th or Saturday 19th.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerThe Associated Press

Mourners gather in Ireland to pay their respects to singer Sinead O’Connor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:03 GMT

Fans are gathering in singer Sinead O’Connor’s former hometown in Ireland to say goodbye ahead of her funeral.O’Connor’s family invited the public to line the waterfront in Bray on Tuesday as her funeral procession passes by.“Sinead loved living in Bray and the people in it,” a statement issued by her family said. “With this procession, her family would like to acknowledge the outpouring of love for her from the people of Wicklow (county) and beyond, since she left last week to go to another place.”Fans left handwritten notes outside her former home, thanking her for sharing her voice and her music. One sign listed causes that the singer had expressed support for, including welcoming refugees.O’Connor, 56, was found unresponsive at her London home on July 26. Police have not said how she died, though they said her death was not suspicious.O’Connor, a multi-octave mezzo soprano of extraordinary emotional range who was recognizable by her shaved hea...

Japan’s tech investor SoftBank trims losses and promises offensive turnaround

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:03 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. continued to rack up losses for the fiscal first quarter as technology investments soured amid a market downturn.But SoftBank’s April-June red ink, at 477.6 billion yen ($3.4 billion), was smaller than a year ago, when losses totaled 3.16 trillion yen ($22 billion), the Tokyo-based company said Tuesday.Losses came from what SoftBank calls its Vision Funds, as well as from other investments including those in telecommunications in Japan.Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto struck an upbeat tone, stressing that the environment for technology issues was improving.“We must pay attention to the conditions and adjust stepping on the gas pedal, as well as on the brakes on investments accordingly,” he told reporters.SoftBank Vision Fund 1 marked a $12.4 billion gain since its inception, while SoftBank Vision Fund 2, set up after the first fund, was still performing at a loss of $18.6 billion, according to SoftBank.Over the lat...

Stay inside as dangerous stormy weather lashes northern Europe, officials say. 2 people have died

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:03 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian authorities warned Tuesday to prepare for “extremely heavy rainfall” in the area after Storm Hans caused two deaths, ripped off roofs and upended summertime life in northern Europe.Strong winds continued to batter the region along with rains, causing a lengthy list of disruptions in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia and Latvia. Ferries were canceled, flights were delays, roads and streets were flooded, trees were uprooted, people were injured by falling branches and thousands remained without electricity Tuesday. In Oslo, officials urged people to work from home Tuesday. On its website, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate warned of “extremely heavy rainfall” in southern Norway, adding “unnecessary traffic should be avoided.”“This is a very serious situation that can lead to extensive consequences and damages. There will be extensive flooding, erosion damage and flood damages to buildings and infrastructure,” it...

Stock market today: Global markets lower ahead of US inflation update

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:03 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and Wall Street futures declined Tuesday after Chinese exports fell ahead of this week’s U.S. inflation update, which might influence Federal Reserve plans for possible interest rate hikes.London, Shanghai, Paris and Hong Kong retreated. Tokyo advanced. Oil prices lost more than $1 per barrel.On Monday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rallied 0.9%, recovering one-third of a loss from last week.“U.S. stocks started the week in better form,” said ING analysts in a report. “It is not clear that this is going to last, though.”In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.4% to 7,528.15. The CAC 40 in Paris gave up 0.4% to 7,288.73, and the DAX in Frankfurt shed 0.5% 15,884.94.On Wall Street, the S&P 500 future was off 0.3%, and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%.The Dow rose 1.2% and the Nasdaq composite added 0.6% on Monday.In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% to 3,260.61 after Chinese expor...

US inflation has steadily cooled. Getting it down to the Fed’s target rate will be the toughest mile

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:03 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past year, inflation in the United States has tumbled from 9% all the way to 3%, softening most of the price pressures that have gripped the nation for more than two years.Now comes the hard part. Squeezing out the last bit of excess inflation and reducing it to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target rate is expected to be a much harder and slower grind. A measure called “core” inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is even higher than overall inflation. It, too, seems likely to slow only gradually. The Fed pays particular attention to core prices as a signal of where inflation might be headed. In June, core prices were up 4.1% from a year earlier, according to the Fed’s preferred gauge. “We see some challenges in getting that all the way back to 2% quickly,” said Michael Hanson, senior global economist at J.P. Morgan. The stickiness of inflation could endanger the possibility that the Fed will achieve a rare “soft landing” —...

Scientists make it official: July was the hottest month on record by far

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:03 GMT

Now that July's sizzling numbers are all in, the European climate monitoring organization made it official: July 2023 was Earth's hottest month on record by a wide margin.July's global average temperature of 16.95 degrees Celsius (62.51 degrees Fahrenheit) was a third of a degree Celsius (six tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) higher than the previous record set in 2019, Copernicus Climate Change Service, a division of the European Union's space program, announced Tuesday. Normally global temperature records are broken by hundredths or a tenth of a degree, so this margin is unusual.“These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events," said Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess. There have been deadly heat waves in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, Europe and Asia. Scientific quick studies put the blame on human-caused climate change from the burning ...

Kara Bacon, Hannah Price named sports women of the year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:03 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Kara Bacon, a senior from Warrensburg High School, and Hannah Price, a senior from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, received Grand honors at the Capital District Sports Women of the Year Awards Event held at the GE Theatre at Proctors on Monday evening, August 7, 2023. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Kara was named the Grand Scholastic Woman of the Year and Hannah was named the Grand Collegiate Woman of the Year. The event also honored 11 other female student-athletes from the region, who made up the 2023 Class of the Capital District Sports Women of the Year. CDSWOY honors excellence in academics, athletics, and community service.The virtual guest speaker was ESPN personality Jessica Mendoza, an Olympic Gold Medalist. Entertainment was provided by members of the Empire State Youth Orchestra.Academically, Kara is ranked #3 in her class with a 97.5 average. She ha...

Yankees to honor Columbia baseball team

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:03 GMT

EAST GREENBUSH, NY (NEWS10) -- This past season was a special one for the Columbia baseball team, winning the Class A state championship. Their last game might have been in June, but the celebration isn't done yet. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The New York Yankees will celebrate the Blue Devils at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, August 22nd with a special pregame ceremony before they host the Washington Nationals. If you buy the tickets through Columbia's link here, you can get up to 50% savings. A portion of the ticket sales will benefit the Columbia baseball booster club.A transportation deal is also be offered through Yankee Trails.