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Blinken says no cease-fire until Ukraine gains upper hand in war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:26 GMT

By SUSIE BLANN and MATTHEW LEE (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday the United States won’t support peace talks in the war in Ukraine until Kyiv holds the upper hand, possibly after a Ukrainian counteroffensive that appears to be taking shape.Blinken said heeding calls from Russia and others, including China, for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the war now would result in a “Potemkin peace” that wouldn’t secure Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity or enhance European security.“Potemkin Village” was a tactic Russia’s 18th century government minister Grigory Potemkin used to build brightly painted village fronts to create an illusion of prosperity for Russia’s empress.In a speech in Finland, which recently joined NATO and shares a long border with Russia, Blinken repeated the U.S. view that “a cease-fire that simply freezes current lines in place”...

US hiring jumped last month. So did unemployment. Here’s what that says about the economy.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:26 GMT

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER (AP Economics Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations and evidence of enduring strength in an economy that the Federal Reserve is desperately trying to cool.Friday’s report from the government reflected the job market’s resilience after more than a year of aggressive interest rate increases by the Fed. Many industries, from construction to restaurants to health care, are still adding jobs to keep up with consumer demand and restore their workforces to pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the report painted a mostly encouraging picture of the job market. Yet there were some mixed messages in the May figures. Notably, the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, from a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. It’s the highest unemployment rate since October. (The government compiles the unemployment data using a different survey than the one used to calculate job...

State officials find Baker administration mistakenly used $2.5B in federal pandemic-era relief funds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:26 GMT

Heads are spinning Friday after a yearly audit found officials mistakenly used $2.5 billion in federal pandemic-era relief funds to pay off unemployment benefits, a costly figure that was supposed to be covered by Massachusetts, not the feds.It is unclear when the federal government will be paid back or how the error was made. The state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said the discrepancy stems back to 2020, when former Gov. Charlie Baker was in office, and was “only recently identified” by the Healey administration this year.Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones said the Healey administration is “determined to provide a solution with the goal of minimizing impact to the commonwealth.”“The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development has since taken steps to implement and enhance internal controls. We are also working closely with [the U.S. Department of Labor], outside auditors, and other necessary partners to resolve this issu...

Passenger train derails in India, at least 179 people reported injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:26 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — A passenger train derailed in eastern India on Wednesday, trapping many people inside its derailed coaches, officials said. More than 170 people were injured and taken to hospitals, according to media reports.Rescuers were attempting to free another 200 people feared trapped in the derailed coaches, said D.B. Shinde, the Balasore district administrator in Odisha state. The cause of the derailment was being investigated.Amitabh Sharma, a railroad ministry spokesperson, said some mangled pieces of the derailed train fell onto a nearby track and were hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite direction. Details were not immediately known.The Press Trust of India news agency said the derailed Coromandel Express was traveling from Howrah in West Bengal state to Chennai, the capital of southern Tamil Nadu state. Television images showed rescue teams trying to take passengers out of mangled coaches. New Delhi television news reported that 179 people were...

Where US travelers are globe-trotting in summer 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:26 GMT

U.S. travelers are still hungry to travel, despite the potential of an economic slowdown.The number of U.S. passengers flying to international destinations in April increased 28% compared with the same month last year, according to the International Trade Administration.“Demand is strong this summer for international trips as it is the first full summer season with fully open international travel,” Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper, a travel booking app, said in an email.Months after international borders opened, “revenge travel” seems to be alive and well. But where are U.S. travelers heading? And how have these geographical trends shifted over time?Travel trends among U.S. travelersMore U.S. travelers flew to Europe in April 2023 than any other destination, according to International Trade Association data, though Mexico and the Caribbean were also popular.That trend is likely to continue, according to forward-looking booking data from Hopper.“Demand for trips to Europe repres...

7-year-old Manny Machado superfan meets his hero

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:26 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- It was a dream come true for one of Manny Machado's biggest fans when the Padres star met a young boy who idols him. Christian Kandell, 7, may very well be Machado's number one fan. His father, Mathew Kandell, recorded his son breaking into "tears of joy" when the Padres third baseman was announced at the World Baseball Classics in Miami back in March. How to watch Padres games starting Wednesday, May 31 His dad posted a TikTok video on social media, stating in the caption that he couldn't put his feelings into words to described how it felt to see his son so happy. This game was Christian's very first live baseball game.The video showing the overjoyed fan clapping and becoming emotional was quickly picked up by popular Instagram account "Padres Blogger" and it took off from there. The celebratory video found it's way all the way to Machado, who took it upon himself to send a message to his dedicated superfan. The result: more tears of joy. Machado invited Christian a...

Stock market today: Wall Street rallies after strong jobs report, Dow jumps 600

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rallying Friday after a strong report on the U.S. job market suggested a recession may not be as close as Wall Street had feared. The S&P 500 was 1.4% higher in afternoon trading and on pace for a third straight winning week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 632 points, or 1.9%, at 33,695, as of 12:37 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.They got a boost after a report showed employers unexpectedly accelerated their hiring last month. It’s the latest signal the job market remains remarkably solid despite much higher interest rates, and it offers a hefty pillar of support for an economy that’s begun to slow.Areas of the stock market that do best when the economy is healthy were leading the way, including energy companies, raw-material producers and banks. Exxon Mobil climbed 2% as prices for crude oil climbed on hopes that a resilient economy would require more fuel. Perhaps more importantly for markets, the Labor Departmen...

Records detail Jeffrey Epstein’s last days and prison system’s scramble after his suicide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly four years after Jeffrey Epstein’s death, thousands of pages of records obtained by The Associated Press are shedding new light on financier’s time behind bars and a frantic response by corrections officials to his death.The documents, including emails between jails officials and psychological evaluations, offer a fuller picture of Epstein as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges at the now-shuddered Metropolitan Correctional Center.Epstein killed himself at the federal jail in 2019. In the days and weeks that followed, corrections officials struggled to explain how such a high-profile detainee had managed to take his own life.The records show how he was moved from the jail’s general population to specialized housing and how he was briefly on suicide watch before being downgraded to psychiatric observation — his status when he killed himself.Here are takeaways from the more than 4,000 pages of documents:AN AGITATED INMATEEpstein was anxious and des...

Music Review: Ben Folds sings about motel flings and other topical subjects on hook-filled album

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:26 GMT

“What Matters Most,” Ben Folds (New West)Ben Folds’ pop confections are sweet and tart, a recipe that makes him popular with both boomers and college students. He’s a master melodist and sly satirist, a sentimental cynic and piano pounder who loves a waltz.All those sides are evident on “What Matters Most,” an engaging 10-song set and Folds’ first studio album since 2015.As usual, his musical approach varies widely, from pingponging synthesizer to lyrical piano, a string section, horns and handclaps, a 7/4 time signature and overdubbed vocals in inventive arrangements that evoke the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees and a barbershop quartet. Hummable hooks are plentiful as Folds sings about “life and doldrums and pain,” hilariously swears off motel flings, and makes surrendering to love sound triumphant.His conversational lyrics lament the state of Western civilization on “But Wait, There’s More,” and specifically the perils of internet disinformation on “Kristine From the 7th Grade.” For th...

How the most ‘incompetent talk show host of all time’ keeps getting guests

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:26 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Eric Andre Show” is ostensibly not a series that lends itself to longevity. Its titular star, who plays a version of himself and satirizes talk shows by putting unsuspecting celebrity guests through hellish interviews, has become considerably more famous since the series first aired over a decade ago.But through a combination of disguises and an artfully deceptive booking team, Andre is gearing up for the premiere of the sixth season this Sunday on Adult Swim, boasting a star-studded list of guests in the episodes to come, including Lil Nas X,Natasha Lyonne and Jon Hamm.“We used to worry about, like, ‘Oh, am I going to be more recognizable?’” Andre said of his increasing fame, eventually realizing it doesn’t take much to fool people. “I disguised myself a lot this season. I rocked the ponytail and the glasses, and I would wear COVID masks sometimes.”There is a kind of poetic, albeit sadistic, justice that comes from watching the cult show make the most envied...