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Debt Ceiling: Deal possible by end of week, McCarthy says; Biden cuts short upcoming foreign trip

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:00 GMT

By LISA MASCARO, FATIMA HUSSEIN and SEUNG MIN KIM (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Crucial debt ceiling negotiations are still far from success, but a deal is possible by the end of the week, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said after a brief meeting Tuesday with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders at the White House.Meanwhile, Biden is cutting short his upcoming foreign trip because of the looming debt limit crisis, adding urgency to the talks. McCarthy said one new development is that the president has “changed the scope” of who is negotiating in the staff conversations that have been slow-going over the past week.“It is possible to get to a deal by the end of the week,” McCarthy told reporters.Tuesday’s meeting was pivotal as negotiators were staring down a June 1 deadline, which is when the Treasury Department says the U.S. could begin defaulting on its debts.Biden is cutting short his planned trip to Japan, Papua Ne...

Reliever Garrett Crochet, who hasn’t pitched for the Chicago White Sox since 2021, is reinstated from the IL

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:00 GMT

A key member of the Chicago White Sox bullpen is back after the team reinstated Garrett Crochet from the injured list Tuesday.The left-hander missed all of last season after Tommy John surgery.Crochet exited a March 31, 2022, Cactus League game against the Cincinnati Reds in Goodyear, Ariz., with the elbow injury and had surgery five days later.He made six rehab appearances this spring at Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte with a combined 7.50 ERA. He allowed five runs on six hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and four walks.The No. 11 pick in the 2020 draft, Crochet is 3-5 with a 2.82 ERA, 12 holds, 73 strikeouts and a .206 opponents average in 59 relief appearances during two seasons with the Sox (2020-21). He last pitched in a regular-season game Oct. 1, 2021.In Tuesday’s corresponding move, the Sox optioned pitcher Nick Padilla to Charlotte. Padilla allowed two runs on four hits with two strikeouts in two innings in his only appearance with the Sox on May 10...

Could pilot strikes disrupt summer travel?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:00 GMT

Rich Thomaselli | (TNS) TravelPulseThere is a scene in the film “The American President,” almost a throwaway scene, where a change in the president’s plans happens. Apparently, there is an airline strike in St. Louis and he is intending to fly there with the hopes of mediating.As he is putting on his coat, he says, “You know what my economics professor once told me?”His chief of staff then quickly quips back, “Never have an airline strike at Christmas?”Add the busy summer travel season, especially this summer, to that list.A strike by airline pilots could be a major thorn in the side of summer travel this year. In fact, it could disrupt it quite a bit. Both American Airlines and Southwest Airlines pilots have recently voted to authorize a strike.“The lack of leadership and the unwillingness to address the failures of our organization have led us to this point,” Casey Murray, the president of Southwest’s union, said in a statement. “Our pilots are tired ...

Red Sox call up Justin Garza, Ryan Sherriff in bullpen shakeup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:00 GMT

The Red Sox are going to have a couple new faces in the bullpen starting Tuesday night.With righty John Schreiber heading to the injured list and lefty Brennan Bernardino being optioned to Triple-A, the Red Sox are calling up right Justin Garza and lefty Ryan Sherriff to take their place.Garza, 29, was recently claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels and has appeared in 21 big league games, all with Cleveland in 2021. He has posted a 4.71 ERA over 28.2 innings in his MLB career, and since the start of 2022 he has pitched exclusively at Triple-A. This season he has a 3.95 ERA over 13.2 innings split between Salt Lake and Worcester.Sherriff, 32, signed with the Red Sox as a minor league free agent this past offseason and was considered a potential contender for the Opening Day bullpen out of camp. The lefty has posted a 3.65 career ERA in four big league seasons between 2017-21 with St. Louis and Tampa Bay, and this season he has a 3.00 ERA in 15 appearances with Worcester.The...

Rachael Rollins is resigning — ‘in disgrace’ says Sen. Cotton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:00 GMT

Rachael Rollins is resigning her coveted Massachusetts U.S. Attorney post ahead of an ethics probe to be released tomorrow about her ill-advised appearance at a Biden fundraiser last summer that was first reported by the Herald.The blockbuster announcement comes as U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said today he warned her “history of poor judgment” would blow back on the office. Rollins is the top prosecutor in the region.Cotton had called for a Department of Justice investigation after Rollins attended a Democratic fundraiser in Andover in July where First Lady Jill Biden was the star guest.“I warned Democratic senators that Rachael Rollins wasn’t only a pro-criminal ideologue, but also had a history of poor judgment and ethical lapses,” Cotton told the Herald today.“Now that she has resigned in disgrace,” the Republican from Arkansas added, “the Senate should turn its attention to the corrupt, pro-criminal ideologues at the highest rank...

S&P/TSX composite down almost 300 points Tuesday, U.S. markets also move lower

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:00 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index fell almost 300 points Tuesday on the heels of new data showing inflation ticked higher in April, while U.S. stock markets also moved lower.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 297.90 points at 20,242.07, dragged down by losses in the energy sector as well as financials and base metals.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 336.46 points at 33,014.14. The S&P 500 index was down 26.38 points at 4,109.90, while the Nasdaq composite was down 22.16 points at 12,343.05.The TSX was down after the latest consumer price index showed April inflation was hotter than expected, said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investments.The annual pace of inflation rose in April for the first time since it peaked in June last year, at 4.4 per cent compared with 4.3 per cent in March. Higher mortgage interest costs from central bank rate hikes were one of the drivers of the higher print, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. Taylo...

Kentucky voters choose GOP candidate to take on Democratic Gov. Beshear

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:00 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky voters will settle a crowded Republican primary for governor on Tuesday, choosing a GOP candidate to take on the red-leaning state’s popular Democratic governor in November.Attorney General Daniel Cameron and former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft are considered the front-runners in the 12-candidate field vying for the GOP nomination.Although Craft was nominated to her post by Donald Trump, it was Cameron who won the former president’s coveted endorsement early in the campaign. Craft picked up a last-minute endorsement from Trump’s Republican archrival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In touting the endorsement, Craft said that DeSantis “sets the example for Republican leaders around the nation.”Whoever gets the most votes in Tuesday’s primary will be the GOP nominee because there is no runoff rule.Incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is seeking reelection to a second term, awaits the winner of the GOP primary for what’s sure...

Abortion rights face tectonic shift as lawmakers debate sharply curbing procedure in South

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:00 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Abortion rights in the U.S. faced another tectonic shift Tuesday as lawmakers debated laws to sharply limit abortion in North and South Carolina, two of the few remaining Southern states with relatively easy access.North Carolina joined South Carolina and Nebraska among the states that have been able to discuss restricting abortion access because the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which established a nationwide right to abortion. The Republican-controlled legislature of North Carolina was attempting to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has vetoed legislation banning nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. The override of his veto could hinge on a single vote.Under another bill up for a vote Tuesday, in the South Carolina House, abortion access would be almost entirely banned after about six weeks of pregnancy. The South Carolina state Senate rejected a proposal to nearly outlaw the procedure. Abort...

4 rescued in major fire in downtown Portland, Oregon, before firefighters pulled back as blaze rages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:00 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters rescued several people and at least one dog from a dramatic, three-alarm apartment fire in downtown Portland on Tuesday before they were ordered to fall back.Portland Fire & Rescue tweeted that firefighters had been ordered to fall back because of the fire’s growth. It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any casualties. The cause of the blaze wasn’t immediately known.Rick Graves, spokesman for the agency, told KGW-TV at the scene that firefighters had rescued four people but were told to pull back before they could finish searching the building. At several times, windows exploded as the fire ripped through the structure. Authorities were concerned the building might collapse or the flames might spread to another structure just feet away, Graves said. Huge plumes of thick smoke were visible from most areas of the city.“We’re really concerned with a structural collapse as well,” Graves told the station. “We’ve moved our rigs ...

Authorities ID New Mexico gunman who killed 3, wounded 6 as 18-year-old high schooler

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:00 GMT

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The gunman who killed three people and wounded six others while roaming through his northwestern New Mexico neighborhood and apparently firing at random targets was an 18-year-old high school student, authorities said Tuesday.The attack occurred Monday morning in Farmington, a city of about 50,000 people near the Four Corners, where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet.Witnesses and police say the gunman walked through a neighborhood a short drive from downtown Farmington spraying bullets at cars, homes and passersby until police arrived at the scene and shot and killed him.San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari said at a news conference Tuesday that four officers fired a total of 16 rounds at the gunman, including one of two officers who were wounded. Authorities identified the gunman Tuesday as Beau Wilson.Mayor Nate Duckett said Tuesday both wounded law enforcement officers — a local Farmington officer and a state police officer — were treated and re...