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New York City area under state of emergency after storms flood subways, strand people in cars

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:35:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A potent rush-hour rainstorm swamped the New York metropolitan area on Friday, shutting down parts of the city’s subway system, flooding streets and highways, and delaying flights into LaGuardia Airport.Up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in some areas overnight, and as much as 7 inches (18 centimeters) more was expected throughout the day, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday morning. By midday, although there was a break in the clouds, Mayor Eric Adams urged people to stay put if possible. “It is not over, and I don’t want these gaps in heavy rain to give the appearance that it is over,” he said at a news briefing. He and Hochul, both Democrats, declared states of emergency. No storm-related deaths or critical injuries had been reported as of midday, city officials said. But residents struggled to get around the waterlogged metropolis.Traffic hit a standstill, with water above cars’ tires, on a stretch of the FDR Drive — a major artery ...

Angels star Shohei Ohtani finishes with the best-selling jersey in MLB this season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:35:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani’s soaring popularity was even more evident when it came to jersey sales.Ohtani had the best-selling jersey in Major League Baseball this season, the first time a Japanese player finished in the top spot. The league and the Players Association released its top-20 list Friday, with rankings based on sales of Nike jerseys since Opening Day on MLBShop.com.The Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star beat out Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr., Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. and Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers.Houston’s Jose Altuve, Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez, Atlanta’s Matt Olson, Houston’s Alex Bregman and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels rounded out the top 10. Trout has finished in the top 10 every year since his rookie season in 2012.Ohtani finished in the top 10 twice before (2018, 2021), but hadn’t come close to being No. 1.He’s the favorite to earn American League MVP honors after hitting .304, with 44 homers, 95 RBIs,...

Stock market today: Most of Wall Street rises after inflation report helps soften its sore September

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:35:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Most of Wall Street is ticking higher on Friday following some encouraging signals on inflation, as it limps to the end of what’s been a miserable September.The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in midday trading, with the majority of its stocks rising. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 65 points, or 0.2%, to 33,600, as of 12:15 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.Nike jumped 6.1% after reporting better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Strength overseas helped it make up for some declines in North America.Stocks broadly got some relief after yields in the Treasury market eased further off their highest levels in more than a decade. Yields fell after a report showed the measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve prefers to use was a smidgen cooler last month than economists expected.The 10-year Treasury yield pulled back to 4.55% from 4.58% late Thursday. It charged this week to its highest level since 2007, up fr...

FDA wants to regulate thousands of lab tests that have long skirted oversight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:35:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday laid out a proposal to begin regulating laboratory medical tests, a multibillion-dollar industry that the agency says poses a growing risk to patients because of potentially inaccurate results.The proposed rule would end decades of regulatory ambiguity and formally bring thousands of tests performed in large laboratories under FDA oversight. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said the change will help ensure tests used to diagnose cancer, heart disease and many other conditions are safe, accurate and reliable.“A growing number of clinical diagnostic tests are being offered as laboratory-developed tests without assurance that they work,” Califf said in a statement. He added that the agency has long worried that many tests offered by laboratories are not as accurate or reliable as those that undergo FDA review.Here’s a look at the history and background of the testing issue:What are laboratory-developed tests?Most Am...

Judge greenlights class action against Bausch Health on Cold-FX products

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:35:16 GMT

TORONTO — An Ontario Superior Court judge has certified a class-action lawsuit against Bausch Health Companies Inc. that alleges false advertising for some of the pharmaceutical firm’s cold remedies.The lawsuit states that Bausch, formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals, made false or misleading ad claims to consumers around five of its Cold-FX products.Filed in 2019, the suit notes that packaging and social media profiles for the products include statements such as “clinically proven” and “proven by science” to help reduce cold and flu symptoms.Toronto-based law firm Tyr LLP says those claims form the basis of allegations that Bausch breached provincial consumer protection laws as well as the federal Competition Act and the Food and Drugs Act.The class action includes anyone in Canada who bought one of the five Cold-FX products in the nearly seven years between 2017 and this week.Bausch denies it has broken the law or made any false or deceptive stat...

At the New York Film Festival, a sluggish fall movie season seeks a higher gear

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:35:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Momentum has lately been hard to come by at the movies. The big trio of fall film festivals — Venice, Telluride, Toronto — came and went without the usual amount of buzz. With actors on strike, red carpets have been mostly bare. It’s almost like since the heady highs of “Barbenheimer,” the movies have been sleeping off a hangover. When the 61st New York Film Festival opens Friday night, things may finally be stirring once again. There is movement on the labor stoppage. Screenwriters are poised to ratify a new contract after nearly five months of striking. The actors union, SAG-AFTRA, is to recommence talks with the studios next week. At the same time, the New York Film Festival will play host to easily the best assemblage of movies this year. Each major festival has had their highlights, but for the next two weeks, a large share of the fall’s best films will screen at Lincoln Center. “The unsettled state of the industry is an unavoidable talking point the...

Man attempts to sexually assault woman after demanding entry into her apartment: CPD

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:35:16 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are investigating after an attempted sexual assault of a woman on the city's Far South Side.The incident happened around 4:30 a.m. Friday on the 9000 block of South Loomis. According to police, the 41-year-old woman was approached by a 39-year-old man who demanded her to open her apartment door.After entering her apartment, the man then attempted to sexually assault and batter the woman. The man then fled the scene in an unknown direction. Girl, 10, shot by stray bullet that entered her home on South Side No injuries were reported.No one is in custody. Area Two Detectives are investigating.

How the Cubs can still make the playoffs in the final weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:35:16 GMT

ATLANTA — The Cubs' path to the playoffs got harder and a little weirder on Thursday thanks to events in Atlanta and New York.Now the club is going to need a fair amount of help to make the postseason, and may have to wait until Monday to figure out their playoff fate. After losing to the Braves 5-3 at Truist Field on Thursday night, the Cubs now sit a half-game behind the Marlins for the last National League Wild Card spot. Meanwhile, Miami's game with the Mets in New York was suspended due to rain in the ninth inning Thursday after the Marlins had just taken the lead.Because of that, the suspended game would be completed on Monday at Citi Field at 12:10 p.m. if the result could decide the Wild Card.After being swept in Atlanta, the Cubs will face the Brewers for three games in their final series of the season at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Meanwhile, the Marlins are in Pittsburgh for three games against the Pirates. So what has to happen for the Cubs to make the playoffs?Since they ...

Biden administration announces next steps for student debt relief

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:35:16 GMT

(The Hill) - The Biden administration announced its next moves toward student loan forgiveness on Friday, pointing toward a more narrowed effort so far than the mass debt relief it previously offered. The Department of Education announced months ago it is going through the negotiated rulemaking process under the Higher Education Act to try to enact more student loan relief. The department has released its “initial set of policy considerations” for the new plan, focusing on “student loan borrowers in need.”There are five groups the administration is looking at for its new debt relief: borrowers who entered repayment decades ago, whose balances are greater than what they originally owed, who are eligible for relief under specific programs but didn’t apply, those under financial hardship and those who went through programs that didn’t give financial value. “The Biden-Harris Administration has taken unprecedented action to fix the broken student loan system and deliver record ...

AFD finds body while responding to west Austin grass fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:35:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A body was found in west Austin in an area where a grass fire burned Friday morning.The Austin Fire Department said firefighters found the body while responding to a grass fire in the 3600 block of Mesa Drive, which is in the Northwest Hills area. -->AFD responded to the scene shortly after 5 a.m.Arson investigators are at the scene. They have not determined if the body of the person found is connected to the start of the fire.