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Fed is set to leave interest rates unchanged while facing speculation about eventual rate cuts

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:15:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — With inflation edging closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, its policymakers are facing — and in some cases fueling — hopes that they will make a decisive shift in policy and cut interest rates next year, possibly as soon as spring. Such a move would reduce borrowing costs across the economy, making mortgages, auto loans and business borrowing less expensive. Stock prices could rise, too, though share prices have already risen in expectation of cuts, potentially limiting any further rise. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, though, has recently downplayed the idea that rate reductions are nearing. With the central bank poised to keep its key short-term rate unchanged when it meets this week, Powell hasn’t yet signaled that the Fed is conclusively done with its hikes. Speaking recently at Spelman College in Atlanta, the Fed chair cautioned that “it would be premature to conclude with confidence” that the Fed has raised its benchmark rate high enough to f...

Do teachers outed for moonlighting in adult content have legal recourse?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:15:39 GMT

At a small rural Missouri high school, two English teachers shared a secret: Both were posting adult content on OnlyFans, the subscription-based website known for sexually explicit content.The site and others like it provide an opportunity for those willing to dabble in pornography to earn extra money — sometimes lots of it. The money is handy, especially in relatively low-paying fields like teaching, and many post the content anonymously while trying to maintain their day jobs.But some outed teachers, as well as people in other prominent fields such as law, have lost their jobs, raising questions about personal freedoms and how far employers can go to avoid stigma related to their employees’ after-hour activities.At St. Clair High School southwest of St. Louis, it all came crashing down this fall for 28-year-old Brianna Coppage and 31-year-old Megan Gaither.“You’re tainted and seen as a liability,” Gaither lamented on Facebook after she was suspended. Coppage resigned.The indu...

Snow emergency declared in Pittsfield

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:15:39 GMT

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) -- A snow emergency has been declared in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, effective 7 a.m. on Monday. The snow emergency will last through 7 a.m. on Wednesday. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Throughout the snow emergency, residents are asked to use off-street parking. If off-street parking is unavailable, residents are asked to observe the following alternate-side parking rules:From 7 a.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday, parking will be on the odd side of the street. From 7 a.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday, parking will be on the even side of the streetResidents can use the McKay Street parking garage for overnight parking. It will be open to the public throughout the snow emergency. GasBuddy: Avg. Alb. prices drop 5.3 cents in last week All other signed parking regulations are active. Non-permitted cars are prohibited from parking or standing in any open municipal parking lots between midnight and 7 a.m. Cars violat...

GasBuddy: Avg. Alb. prices drop 5.3 cents in last week

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:15:39 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Average gasoline prices in Albany have fallen 5.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.40/g Monday, according to GasBuddy's survey of 546 stations in Albany. Prices in Albany are 19.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 16.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 8.4 cents in the last week and stands at $4.10 per gallon. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Albany was priced at $2.86/g on Sunday, while the most expensive was $3.69/g, a difference of 83.0 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.57/g while the highest was $4.59/g, a difference of $2.02/g.The national average price of gasoline has fallen 9.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.11/g Monday. The national average is down 23.7 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 10.1 cents per gallo...

Ask Amy: Parents struggle to handle child’s school stress

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:15:39 GMT

Dear Amy: My son is 8 years old and is very talkative and inquisitive. He asks lots of “why” questions that don’t always coincide with the current conversation, but are about a previous topic.His two reading teachers have said that he is disrespectful and does not participate enough in class.We have talked about this — both with the teachers and with him.He comes home with complete papers, does well on spelling tests and is above grade level on reading assessments.What they say and what we see coming home doesn’t make sense.We have asked for examples of situations when he’s disrespectful so we can talk to him about it, but the teachers become vague and won’t give an example.His other teachers say he is kind and helpful, while also being a bit too talkative, but they say he is on track and doing well.We want to help solve the issue with his reading teachers, but can’t seem to get straight answers.He comes home crying sometimes because his reading t...

Commission launches public consultation on the Implementing Regulation on transparency reporting under the DSA

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:15:39 GMT

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to gather feedback on the Implementing Regulation on the templates that intermediary services and online platforms will have to use for their future transparency reports under the Digital Services Act (DSA).The DSA requires providers of intermediary services and online platforms to publish periodic transparency reports on content moderation on their services. These reports must include information such as the number of orders providers have received from Member States' judicial or administrative authorities, the human resources dedicated to content moderation, the number of accounts and items of content taken down voluntarily by the provider, and the accuracy and rate of error of their automated content moderation systems.Since November 2023, designated Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines published their first reports. Building on the assessment of the first reports, the Commission has decided to use the powers gr...

Word Game: Dec. 11, 2023

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:15:39 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — LICHENS (LICHENS: LYE-kins: Plantlike organisms made up of algae and fungus growing on a solid surface.)Average mark 14 wordsTime limit 30 minutesCan you find 17 or more words in LICHENS? The list will be published tomorrow.SATURDAY’S WORD — CHECKMATE cache cachet cake came catch chat cheat check cheek hack hake hate heat heck each etch kame ketch mace machete make match mate math meat mecca meek meet meta mete ache acme ahem tack take tame teach teak team tech teem thee them themeTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vu...

France to host Germany in a friendly game next March ahead of European Championship

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:15:39 GMT

PARIS (AP) — World Cup runner-up France will face Germany in a friendly next March as part of its European Championship preparations.Coach Didier Deschamps’ side take on Julian Nagelsmann’s struggling Germany team on March 23 at Lyon’s Groupama Stadium in its first friendly match leading up to Euro 2024, which will be hosted by Germany from June 14-July 14.Germany’s 2-0 loss to Austria last month capped a year of bad results, with Germany having lost six of the 11 games it played and winning just three. One of those, however, was a 2-1 friendly win over France in Dortmund in September under caretaker coach Rudi Völler. Of the teams who beat Germany — Belgium, Poland, Colombia, Japan, Turkey and Austria — only Belgium is ranked in the top 10 in the world.By contrast, free-scoring France coasted into Euro 2024 on the back of seven wins and a draw in qualifying, scoring 29 goals and conceding only three. France routed Gibraltar 14-0 along the way for a for recor...

Bayern Munich brings anger and unbeaten record to Man United in the Champions League after 5-1 loss

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:15:39 GMT

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Six years and 39 games. That’s how long it’s been since Bayern Munich lost a Champions League group stage game.That makes Tuesday’s game against Bayern an especially daunting task for Manchester United. After its own loss to Bournemouth, United needs to beat Bayern to have any chance of avoiding an embarrassingly early exit from the Champions League.Bayern — which is already qualified for the knockout stages — won’t just be playing to add a 40th game to that unbeaten record. After a shock 5-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, forward Thomas Müller called on his teammates to show their emotion at Old Trafford.“There has to be a reaction following this. We need to tap into our anger, but we can’t lose our heads,” he said.The Frankfurt game was much closer than the score suggests — Bayern actually had four more shots than its opponent — but Bayern is keen to bounce back.Midfielder Leon Goretzka suggested Bayern hadn’t bee...

If college athletes can earn NIL money from the schools, what becomes of donor-backed collectives?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:15:39 GMT

Donor-fueled collectives that raise money and funnel it to college athletes through name, image and likeness opportunities they facilitate probably won’t go away entirely if NCAA President Charlie Baker’s proposals for paying athletes become reality. But changes will be inevitable.Baker has recommended that Division I schools be allowed to enter into licensing deals directly with their athletes, essentially paying them to be school ambassadors. He suggested that the wealthiest schools be required to pay half of their athletes at least $30,000 per year. For a school like Texas, with some 700 athletes, that would be a sum of some $10 million. Collectives, technically operating independently from the schools they serve, have sprung up across the country since the NCAA began allowing athletes to make money off their celebrity two years ago. The collectives — some 200 of them — seek donations from boosters, alumni and fans and then arrange opportunities for athletes to be pai...