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Stock market today: Asian shares slip following a weak close on Wall Street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:24 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares slipped in Asia on Wednesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street a day after stocks there hit their highest level since the start of August. Tokyo and Mumbai advanced while most other major markets declined. U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices edged lower.Trading is tapering off ahead of holidays in the U.S. and Japan on Thursday, with few data releases to drive activity. U.S. home sales fell more than 4% in October, while minutes from the latest policy setting meeting of the Federal Reserve showed the central bank in a holding pattern as it assesses the impact of its aggressive interest rate hikes on inflation and the economy overall. Wednesday will bring an update on durable goods orders and a consumer sentiment survey by the University of Michigan. Asia is also relatively quiet on the data front. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged 0.3% higher to 33,450.18 and the Kospi in Seoul slipped 0.1% to 2,508.55. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng shed 0.1% to 17,720....

LeBron scores 39,000th point, Lakers complete sweep of tourney group play with 131-99 win over Utah

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:24 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored his 39,000th point on the way to 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers completed an unbeaten run through group play in the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 131-99 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.Anthony Davis had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who are likely to host a quarterfinal game early next month to begin the knockout stages of the league’s first in-season tournament. Los Angeles beat Phoenix, Memphis, Portland and Utah by a combined 74 points, capped by this blowout of the Jazz for the Lakers’ sixth victory in seven games overall.The 38-year-old James became the first player in league history to top 39,000 points early in the first quarter. The milestone was another stop in James’ steamrolling of the world’s previous standards for basketball longevity: He began the night averaging 26.4 points per game, by far the most production from any player in NBA history who ma...

Incumbent Salt Lake City mayor leads in bid for second term

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:24 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Incumbent Erin Mendenhall was leading Tuesday in her reelection bid to continue as mayor of Utah’s capital in a ranked-choice contest that includes a challenge by former Mayor Rocky Anderson.Mendenhall had a significant lead over Anderson, which led the former mayor to acknowledge that “it would take a lot of catching up to change the result,” the Salt Lake Tribune reported. But he hadn’t conceded as of Tuesday night. At Mendenhall’s election night party, she told her supporters she would “regroup for a second term” with new energy and urgency, the Tribune reported. “This election ends with voters saying loudly and clearly that they want Salt Lake City to keep moving forward together,” Mendenhall said. “Salt Lakers are not afraid of our incredible future. We’re excited by it. This election was a repudiation of cynicism, and it was a rejection of the politics of fear.”The third left-leaning choice for mayor was Michael Valentine, an activist an...

Chicago Cubs promote Jared Banner — who headed their minor-league system the last 2 years — to assistant GM

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:24 GMT

The Chicago Cubs have filled one of the top openings in their front office.The Cubs are promoting vice president of player development Jared Banner to assistant general manager, a source confirmed to the Tribune. Jeff Greenberg’s departure last year for the Chicago Blackhawks — before he took over as the Detroit Tigers general manager in September — and Craig Breslow’s hiring as the Boston Red Sox’s chief baseball officer last month had left the Cubs front office with one only assistant GM, Ehsan Bokhari, under president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and GM Carter Hawkins.Banner spent the last two years leading the Cubs farm system after joining the organization as vice president of special projects before the 2021 season. Before his time with the Cubs, Banner worked for the New York Mets in 2019-20 as their executive director of player development and for the Red Sox for 11 years, including a stint as vice president of player personnel in 2017-18.Th...

Locals demand answers from leaders after removal of benches at Swami's Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:24 GMT

ENCINITAS, Calif. -- Residents in the North County tell FOX 5 they feel lied to after the city chose to remove benches at a popular beach. Several voiced their concerns Tuesday night at an Encinitas Parks and Recreation meeting. Swami's Beach and Park is arguably the known spot in Northern San Diego County to watch the sunset, play some tunes, catch a wave or even practice Tai Chi any night of the week. It's a known hub for all, but the problem present day? Well, there's no place to sit. One traveling troubadour who is also a Swami's Beach regular brought his own stool to strum the guitar while the sun set Tuesday night. For Connie Byer, it's more than a beach. It's a memorial for her late son Dan, where his ashes were spread in the 90s. "He loves swamis, that’s actually where we did a paddle out for Dan after he died,” Byer said.That memory was marked by a bench dedicated in honor of her son -- one that's no longer in its place.“It would be like someone going to a cemetery and movi...

Coldplay concert in Malaysia can be stopped by organizers if the band misbehaves, government says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:24 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Organizers of Wednesday’s Coldplay concert in Malaysia can stop the show if the British rock band misbehaves, a minister said as the government rejected Muslim conservatives’ calls to cancel the show. Led by the country’s opposition bloc, Muslim conservatives have protested the concert over Coldplay’s support for the LGBTQ+ community. Recently, they also pushed for the concert to be halted in solidarity with Palestinians killed in the Israel-Hamas war. Communication and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said he doesn’t foresee any problem with Coldplay’s first concert in Malaysia later in the night. Security has been beefed up for the show that is expected to draw some 75,000 people at a stadium outside Kuala Lumpur.“Yes, it’s one of the things we have discussed with the organizer,” Fahmi said when asked if a ‘kill switch” to cut off power supply will be used. “The prime minister has also said the band, you kn...

An American sexual offender convicted in Kenya 9 years ago is rearrested on new assault charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:24 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An American man convicted of sexual offences in Kenya nine years ago was denied bail on new charges of defilement, months after he was mysteriously released from prison where he was serving a 50-year sentence.Terry Ray Krieger, 68, was arraigned on Tuesday evening in court in Mavoko County on the outskirts of the capital Nairobi, accused of sexually assaulting a 3-year-old earlier this month. He was arrested on Nov. 10. He faces additional charges of being in Kenya illegally.Senior Principal Magistrate Barbra Ojoo denied Krieger bail after prosecutors argued successfully that he was a repeat offender and a flight risk. He will remain in custody until Nov 27, when the case will be heard again. He did not enter a plea yet. Krieger uses a wheelchair and requested bail because he said he needs additional care. The U.S. national was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2014 for sexually abusing Kenyan children and circulating their images online between December 2013 ...

Stock market today: Asian shares slip in cautious trading following a weak close on Wall Street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:24 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares slipped in Asia on Wednesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street a day after stocks there hit their highest level since the start of August. Tokyo and Mumbai advanced while most other major markets declined. U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices edged lower.Trading is tapering off ahead of holidays in the U.S. and Japan on Thursday, with few data releases to drive activity. But news that ChatGPT-maker OpenAI’s ousted CEO, Sam Altman, was going to return to the company could spur some fresh movement in technology shares. Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and has rights to its technology, quickly moved to hire Altman, though its CEO Satya Nadella said the company was open to having him return to OpenAI. Altman said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “with the new board and (with) Satya’s support, I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI, and building on our strong partnership with (Microsoft).”San Francisco-based Ope...

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI brings back ousted CEO Sam Altman and replaces the board that fired him

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:24 GMT

The ousted leader of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is returning to the company that fired him late last week, culminating a days-long power struggle that shocked the tech industry and brought attention to the conflicts around how to safely build artificial intelligence.San Francisco-based OpenAI said in a statement late Tuesday: “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board.”The board, which replaces the one that fired Altman on Friday, will be led by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, who also chaired Twitter’s board before its takeover by Elon Musk last year. The other members will be former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo.OpenAI’s previous board of directors, which included D’Angelo, had refused to give specific reasons for why it fired Altman, leading to a weekend of internal conflict at the company and growing outside pressure from the startup’s investors.The chao...

Truce deal raises hopes of freeing hostages in Gaza and halting worst Mideast violence in decades

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:24 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement for a four-day halt to the devastating war in Gaza, accompanied by the release of dozens of hostages held by the militant group in return for Palestinian prisoners jailed by Israel, mediators said Wednesday.The truce marks the biggest diplomatic breakthrough since Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel ignited a war that has devastated vast swaths of Gaza and raised fears of a wider conflict across the Middle East.The Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, which has played a key role in mediating with Hamas, announced the deal without saying when it would go into effect. Fifty hostages will be released in stages, in exchange for what Hamas said would be 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Both sides will release women and children first, and the supply of humanitarian aid flowing into the besieged territory will be ramped up, officials said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would resume the war after the ...