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Business confidence turns pessimistic for the first time since 2020

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:09:23 GMT

Business confidence among the state’s employers fell last month to the lowest level seen since the height of the pandemic, according to a recent survey of Massachusetts employers.The Associated Industries of Massachusetts, in its monthly Business Confidence Index, says Massachusetts business owners’ faith in the economy plunged half-a-point in May, dropping from 50.1% to 49.6% and continuing a downward trend that first began in November.And while a half point may not sound like a lot, the move is significant as a reading below 50 indicates a pessimistic outlook.“Massachusetts employers turned pessimistic about the economy for the first time since December 2020 last month as the state economy slowed to a crawl and the Federal Reserve continued to raise interest rates,” the survey reads, in part.The index, taken well ahead of Friday’s unexpected report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing the economy had added a further 339,000 jobs and before President Biden’...

As India grieves train crash that killed 275, relatives wait for bodies of loved ones

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:09:23 GMT

BHUBANESWAR, India (AP) — Families of the victims of India’s deadliest train crash in decades filled a hospital in Bhubaneswar city on Monday to identify and collect bodies of relatives, as railway officials recommended the country’s premier criminal investigating agency to probe the crash that killed 275 people.Distraught relatives of passengers killed in the crash Friday lined up outside the eastern city’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Meanwhile, survivors being treated in hospitals said they were still trying to make sense of the horrific disaster.Outside the hospital, two large screens cycled through photos of the victims, their faces so bloodied and charred that they were hardly recognizable.Each body had a number assigned to it, and relatives stood near the screen and watched as the photos changed, looking out for details like clothing for clues.Many of them said they had spent days on desperate journeys from neighboring states, travelling in multiple trains, buses ...

Biden, looking to shore up Hispanic support, faces pressure to get 2024 outreach details right

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:09:23 GMT

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Joe Biden vowed in 2020 to work “like the devil” to energize Hispanic voters, and flew to Florida seven weeks before Election Day to do just that. But as he stepped to the podium at a Hispanic Heritage Month event near Disney World, Biden declared, “I just have one thing to say” and used his phone to play part of “Despacito.” It was meant as a salute to the singer of the reggaeton hit, Luis Fonsi, who had introduced Biden and cried, “Dance a little bit, Joe.” Still, the gesture triggered swift online backlash from some Hispanics, who saw it as playing to belittling stereotypes — proof that while outreach is important, failing to strike the right cultural tone can undermine such efforts. “The details actually matter for people because it’s respecting their background, respecting their history, respecting their culture,” said Grecia Lima, national political director of Community Change Action. “It’s not an insignificant portion of what ca...

Belgium investigating whether arms destined to defend Ukraine ended up in Russia fighting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:09:23 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium is investigating whether weapons it sent to help Ukraine defend its territory were used in fighting just over the border following a news report that said equipment produced by a Belgian company turned up around Russia’s Belgorod region. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo warned Monday against jumping to any hasty conclusions since shipments over decades and different regions can make arms turn up in unexpected places. “Defense and information services started a probe to be absolutely sure what happened there,” De Croo told Belgian broadcaster VRT. The Washington Post published extensive reporting over the weekend saying that arms from some NATO member countries, including the United States, Poland, Czechia and Belgium, had appeared in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine. The Post’s report cast doubt on whether Ukraine had proper controls in place. De Croo said European Union nations supplied Ukraine with weapons on the condition the arms were u...

Hormone patches or creams for menopause symptoms may have lower blood pressure risk than pills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:09:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Women often use hormone therapy to relieve hot flashes and other menopause symptoms — and new research suggests patches or creams may be safer for their blood pressure than pills.As women’s bodies produce lower levels of reproductive hormones during menopause their risk for heart disease rises. High blood pressure further increases that risk — but it’s not clear whether there’s a link with hormone therapy for menopause symptoms.Canadian researchers wondered if the way hormones are absorbed — orally, vaginally or through the skin — could play a role.The University of Calgary team examined health records of more than 112,000 women ages 45 and older who filled prescriptions for at least six months’ worth of estrogen-only hormone treatment between 2008 and 2019. They tracked which women went on to develop high blood pressure at least a year after starting treatment.While the differences weren’t huge, women who took estrogen pills had a 14%...

Dozens of dangerous rail crossings will be eliminated with $570 million in grants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:09:23 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — With the rail industry relying on longer and longer trains to cut costs, the Biden administration is handing out $570 million in grants to help eliminate many railroad crossings in 32 states.The grants announced Monday will contribute to building bridges or underpasses at the sites of more than three dozen crossings that delay traffic and sometimes keep first responders from where help is desperately needed. In some places, trains routinely stretching more than 2 miles (3.2 km) long can block crossings for hours, cutting off access to parts of towns and forcing pedestrians to attempt the dangerous act of climbing through trains that could start moving without warning.“We see countless stories of people unable to get to work on time, goods being blocked from getting where they need to be and first responders being delayed by these these trains that can be slowed or stopped — even seeing images of children having to crawl between or under freight trains in order to ...

France’s spectacular abbey Mont-Saint-Michel celebrates 1,000th birthday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:09:23 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s beloved abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel has reached a ripe old age. It’s been 1,000 years since the laying of its first stone. The millennial of the UNESCO World Heritage site and key Normandy tourism magnet is being celebrated until November with exhibits, dance shows and concerts. French President Emmanuel Macron is heading there on Monday.Macron plans to deliver a speech and to see a new exhibit tracing the Romanesque abbey’s history via 30 objects and pieces, including a restored statue of Saint Michael. Legend has it that the archangel Michael appeared in 708, duly instructing the bishop of nearby Avranches to build him a church on the rocky outcrop.The exhibit, two years in the making, opened last month. It covers the complex process of building what is considered an architectural jewel on a rocky island linked to the mainland only by a narrow causeway at high tide. Four crypts were constructed on the granite tip along with a church on top. The exh...

No survivors found after plane that flew over DC and led to fighter jet's sonic boom crashes in Virginia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:09:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A wayward and unresponsive business plane that flew over the nation's capital Sunday afternoon caused the military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane crashed in Virginia, officials said. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region.Hours later, police said rescuers had reached the site of the plane crash in a rural part of the Shenandoah Valley and that no survivors were found.The Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna Citation took off from Elizabethtown, Tennessee, on Sunday and was headed for Long Island’s MacArthur Airport. Inexplicably, the plane turned around over New York’s Long Island and flew a straight path down over D.C. before it crashed over mountainous terrain near Montebello, Virginia, around 3:30 p.m.Search and rescue teams leave the command post at St. Mary's Wilderness en route to the Blue Ridge Parkway to search for the site where a Cessna Citation crashed over mountainous terrain near Montebe...

WCSO responds to fatal Hebron motorcycle crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:09:23 GMT

HEBRON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to a fatal motorcycle crash that happened around 7:25 on Sunday morning. Deputies say the motorcycle was the only vehicle involved in the crash, and they have not released the victim's name pending family notification. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Once units arrived on the scene, they found a motorcycle off the road into a guide rail. Deputies say a preliminary investigation showed the driver was traveling south on State Route 22 when a deer entered the roadway. Deputies say the driver struck the deer, causing him to lose control and be thrown from the motorcycle. The driver was pronounced dead on the scene. A portion of the roadway was closed for some time while law enforcement investigated.

Columbia's savvy base running gets them to the semis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:09:23 GMT

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Columbia Blue Devils have punched their ticket to the final four of the Class A state baseball tournament. They defeated Section 3's Jamesville DeWitt 3-2 and used opportunistic base running to take the lead in extra innings. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Jamesville DeWitt scored in the first inning off a base hit from Luke VanMarter, but the Blue Devils took the lead in the top of the third. Jacob Skarlis hit a triple to right field that plated runs from Steven Heller and Andrew Gabriel. The Red Ram's offense swung the momentum back in their favor in the bottom of the seventh, scoring off an error by Columbia that tied the game at two forcing extra-innings. In the top of the eighth Luke Mcquaid threw a wild pitch allowing the Blue Devils to score the game-winning run.