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Fire destroys main post office in Philippine capital, a nearly 100-year-old neo-classical landmark

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A massive fire tore through Manila’s historic post office building overnight, slightly injuring one person and and razing the nearly 100-year-old landmark in the Philippine capital, police and postal officials said Monday.The fire started before midnight in the basement of the neo-classical, five-story building and was brought under control Monday morning more than seven hours after it began, firefighters said.An investigation was underway to determine the cause of the fire and what was damaged, officials said.The Manila Central Post Office was one of the capital’s busiest office buildings but was closed when the fire started. The building was the country’s main mail-sorting and distribution hub and was the central office for the Philippine Postal Corporation. Postal service in the Philippines began during the Spanish colonial period with horse-riding mail couriers. The building now recognized as a national landmark was built in 1926 with high columns in t...

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise despite worries about US debt talks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly drifted higher Monday as investors fretted whether the United States government would be able to reach a deal to avoid a federal default. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was little changed in morning trading, gaining nearly 0.1% to 30,833.94. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.3% to 7,261.40. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.9% to 2,560.16. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.2% to 19,691.82, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1% to 3,287.30. Markets are closely watching a pivotal meeting set for later in the day at the White House between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling. A default on the U.S. debt would almost surely cause a recession in the American economy, which would have damaging effects on global economies. “It seems pretty likely that a full-fledged deal will be reached before early June, but the timing is hard to predict,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said ...

Debt ceiling explained: Why it’s a struggle in Washington and how the impasse could end

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet face to face Monday after a weekend of on again, off again negotiations over raising the nation’s debt ceiling and mere days before the government could reach a “hard deadline” and run out of cash to pay its bills. The two sides are working to reach a budget compromise before June 1, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the country could default. McCarthy and Republicans are insisting on spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit. Biden has come to the negotiating table after balking for months but says the GOP lawmakers will have to back off their “extreme positions.” On Sunday evening, negotiators met again and appeared to be narrowing on a 2024 budget year cap that could resolve the standoff. After speaking with Biden by phone as the president traveled home from a trip to Asia, McCarthy sounded somewhat optimistic. But he warned that “there’s no agreement on anyth...

Death of 8-year-old girl in Border Patrol custody highlights challenges providing medical care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The recent deaths of an 8-year-old Panamanian girl and 17-year-old boy from Honduras who were under U.S. government supervision have again raised questions about how prepared authorities are to handle medical emergencies suffered by migrants arriving in the U.S., especially as agencies struggle with massive overcrowding at facilities along the southern border. Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez became unresponsive on a what was at least a third visit to medics Wednesday at a Border Patrol station in Harlingen, Texas, and died later in a hospital, U.S. Customs and Protection said. The girl had complained that day of vomiting and stomach pains.She died on her family’s ninth day in custody; the most time allowed is 72 hours under agency policy. The family told agents that the girl had a history of heart problems and sickle cell anemia, CBP acknowledged in its second statement on the death. She was diagnosed with influenza on the family’s sixth day in custody, whic...

Tim Scott set to announce launch of his 2024 GOP presidential campaign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — As he launches his presidential campaign on Monday, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is officially wading into a GOP primary battle already largely dominated by two commanding figures: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.Scott, the only Black Republican senator, will make his campaign announcement in his hometown of North Charleston after making it official last week with the Federal Election Commission. The late morning event is taking place at Charleston Southern University, Scott’s alma mater and a private school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.Then he’ll spend Tuesday with donors in Charleston before a whirlwind, two-day campaign swing to Iowa and New Hampshire.Like others in the GOP race, including former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and “Woke, Inc.” author Vivek Ramaswamy, Scott will have to find a way to stand out in a field led by Trump and DeSantis, the ...

Biden, McCarthy to hold pivotal meeting on debt ceiling as time to resolve standoff grows short

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are set to meet at the White House at a pivotal moment as Washington works to strike a budget compromise and raise the nation’s borrowing limit in time to avert a devastating federal default. The meeting Monday afternoon between the Democratic president and the new Republican speaker will be critical as they race to prevent a looming debt crisis. After a weekend of start-stop talks, both men appeared upbeat as they face a deadline, as soon as June 1, when the government could run out of cash to pay its bills. Biden and McCarthy spoke by phone Sunday while the president was returning home on Air Force One after the Group of Seven summit in Japan. “It went well, we’ll talk tomorrow,” Biden said in response to a shouted question upon his return late Sunday.The call revived talks and negotiators met for 2 1/2 hours at the Capitol late Sunday evening, saying little as they left. Financial markets turned do...

Russia claims to have Bakhmut but top Ukrainian military leaders say the battle is not over

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Although Russia claims it has won control of Ukraine’s eastern city of Bakhmut, after a grinding nine-month conflict in which tens of thousands of fighters have died, top Ukrainian military leaders say the battle is not over.Ukrainian officials acknowledge they now control only a small part of Bakhmut. But, Ukraine says, their fighters’ presence has played a key role in their strategy of exhausting the Russian military. And they say their current positions in the areas surrounding Bakhmut will let them strike back inside the 400-year-old city. “Despite the fact that we now control a small part of Bakhmut, the importance of its defense does not lose its relevance,” said Col.-Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of ground forces for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. “This gives us the opportunity to enter the city in case of a change in the situation. And it will definitely happen.”The fog of war made it impossible to confirm the situation on the ground in ...

Biden gets low ratings on economy, guns, immigration in AP-NORC Poll

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Joe Biden embarks on his reelection campaign, just 33% of American adults say they approve of his handling of the economy and only 24% say national economic conditions are in good shape, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.Public approval of Biden’s handling of the economy remains low in a time of high inflation, a difficult housing market and concerns about a potential U.S. government debt default. American opinion is also gloomy about Biden’s efforts on gun policy and immigration, with only 31% saying they approve of the president’s performance on those hot button issues. Overall, 40% say they approve of the way Biden is doing his job, similar to where his approval rating has stood for much of the past year and a half.Zoie Mosqueda, 24, who does not identify with any political party, said her family is ready to buy their first home but with the average mortgage interest rate hove...

Survey of economists: Inflation will stay high this year, and so will Fed’s key interest rate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve will make only modest progress in its fight against inflation for the rest of this year, even while keeping its benchmark interest rate at a 16-year high, a group of business economists predict in a survey released Monday.The National Association for Business Economics’ survey of 45 economists found that the median forecast is for inflation to average 4.2% this year, up from a 3.9% forecast in the group’s previous survey in February. That is far above the Fed’s inflation target of 2%. The findings reflect a survey of economists from businesses, trade associations and academia. The persistence of high inflation is likely the main reason the business economists expect the Fed to keep its key rate at its current level of roughly 5.1%, its highest point in 16 years. That is a quarter-point above the estimate from the NABE’s February survey and is a sign that the economists don’t expect the Fed to cut rates later this ye...

Heat crush Celtics 128-102, take 3-0 lead in Eastern finals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Erik Spoelstra had his team fully expecting that Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals would be extremely difficult, that the Miami Heat were going to have to take the best shot that a desperate bunch of Boston Celtics could muster.He was wrong.It was a Heat romp — and a team that had to pull off a frantic rally just to make the playoffs is now one win from the NBA Finals.Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points, Duncan Robinson added 22 and the eighth-seeded Heat rolled past the Celtics 128-102 on Sunday night. Miami leads the series 3-0, with a chance to finish off a stunning sweep on Tuesday night at home in Game 4.“That was a solid, mature, professional approach,” said Spoelstra, now on the brink of a sixth trip to the NBA Finals as Miami’s coach. “There’s a lot of pent-up stuff here and we’re getting closer, but we still have to finish this off.”Caleb Martin scored 18, Jimmy Butler finished with 16, Bam Adebayo had 13 and Max Strus added 10 f...