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Stocks edge lower as some calm remains on Wall Street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged lower in relatively quiet trading on Tuesday, and Wall Street is regaining some cool at the tail end of what’s been a turmoil-filled month.The S&P 500 was 0.6% lower in afternoon trading, with slightly more losers than gainers within the benchmark index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 126 points, or less than 0.4%, at 32,306 as of 2:14 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1% lower. There was calm even in the bond market, which has been home to some of Wall Street’s wildest moves since fears flared about the banking system earlier this month. Yields were moving only modestly following their historic-sized moves in prior weeks. This month has been dominated by worries that banks around the world may be cracking under the pressure of much higher interest rates. In the U.S., investors have been on the hunt for smaller and midsized banks that could see a quick exodus of customers akin to the run that toppled Silicon Valley Bank. In...

NASCAR makes major announcement on Chicago Street Race Tuesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:14 GMT

CHICAGO - As the inaugural event in downtown Chicago gets closer and closer, more and more about the Chicago Street Race is being announced.That included Tuesday, when another founding partner has come on board for the event in early July.Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois announced that they will be one of the founding partners for the event, doing so at a news conference in downtown Chicago. They will join McDonald's, who announced their founding partnership last week. What tickets are for sale for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race? Both companies will have official presenting, marketing and promotional rights for the Xfinity Series "The Loop 121" race on Saturday, July 1 and the Cup Series "Grant Park 220" on Saturday, July 2. “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is part of the fabric of Chicago and Illinois. The NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend is taking place on the doorstep of our headquarters building and we expect it to be an exciting addition to Chicago’s sports legacy...

Highest-rated things to do in Chicago, according to Tripadvisor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:14 GMT

Stacker compiled a list of the highest rated things to do in Chicago on Tripadvisor. Tripadvisor rankings factor in the average rating and number of reviews.#30. The Art Institute of Chicago- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (24,407)- Type of activity: Art Museums- Address: 111 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603-6110- Read more on Tripadvisor#29. Millennium Park- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (25,010)- Type of activity: Points of Interest & Landmarks • Parks- Address: 201 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601-6530- Read more on Tripadvisor Chicago suburbs’ most expensive home for sale #28. Cloud Gate- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (18,210)- Type of activity: Points of Interest & Landmarks • Monuments & Statues- Address: not available- Read more on Tripadvisor#27. The Magnificent Mile- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (15,769)- Type of activity: Neighborhoods • Points of Interest & Landmarks- Address: North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611- Read more on Tripadvisor#26. Inside Chicago Walking Tours- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (1,713)- ...

US opens probe into Tesla seat belts coming loose

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:14 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. highway safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into problems with Teslas, this time tied to complaints that the seat belts may not hold people in a crash.The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers an estimated 50,000 Model X SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years.The agency says it has two complaints from Tesla owners that the front belts weren’t sufficiently connected at the factory. Tesla faces two class-action lawsuits for allegedly monopolizing repairs Documents posted by the agency Tuesday say the belt linkage and pretensioners, which tighten the belts before a crash, are anchored to the seat frames.Both complaints allege that the linkage and pretensioner separated from the frames when the vehicles were driving and force was exerted. Neither incident involved a crash.The agency says it’s opening the probe to look into Tesla’s manufacturing processes, how often the problem happens and how widespread...

'You must grieve': Columbine survivor to Nashville community

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:14 GMT

(NewsNation) — Everything changed in the blink of an eye for Crystal Woodman Miller when she was 16 years old. A survivor of the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, Woodman Miller remembers the day she was forced to grow up very quickly. "Everything that I had known, the safety, the security, the innocence of childhood was gone," Woodman Miller said on "Morning in America," the day after a shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee. Seven people, including the shooter, died on Tuesday. Nashville police identified the victims as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9 years old, as well as Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60 and Mike Hill, 61."We all want the same thing," Woodman Miller said. "We all want our children to be safe..No parent should have to hug their kids at the school door and wonder if they'll see them again."What needs to happen, she said, is for people from across political lines to come together and talk t...

“Five Indigenous Schools Selected for Youth Environmental Leadership Summit”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:14 GMT

Austin car dealership ordered to pay damages after firing worker over COVID safety concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A U.S. district court is ordering an Austin luxury car dealership to pay an employee $15,000 in damages after they were allegedly fired over raising COVID-19 safety concerns. Hi Tech Imports LLC -- operating as Porsche Austin -- is required to pay the employee damages after they had been fired within an hour of alerting their coworkers that another coworker had tested positive for COVID. This happened in December 2020, when the employee alerted Porsche Austin's management that a coworker tested positive for COVID-19 and asked if management could notify other employees of their exposure risk, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Labor. After the dealership didn't do anything, the employee emailed all company employees about the COVID case and potential hazards, the release said. The employee was fired less than an hour later, according to the release. Last July, the Department of Labor negotiated an agreement that required the company to pay the e...

A breezy cool afternoon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The cold front that passed south this morning left a strong north wind that gusts into the 30s during the morning. One of the peak gusts was 40 mph at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Camp Mabry's peak gust was 37 mph shortly before 11 a.m.Gusty winds will stir up the tree pollen this afternoon so allergy sufferers should be prepared.Wind gusts to lower during the afternoonThe north wind will keep our highs below today's normal of 77°. Most of our maximum temperatures this afternoon will peak in the middle/upper 60s. Some low 70s will be felt in some of Caldwell, Fayette, and Giddings Counties.Limited moisture will keep our rain chances low this afternoon and tonight.A few may get some rain late this afternoon and tonightAnother upper-level low coming through the Pacific today heads to the southern Colorado/northern New Mexico by Thursday night/Friday morning. Based on future trends it looks like the upper energy will stay far enough to our north that the bes...

Travis County paid $18M in sheriff's office overtime last year, may consider raising officer pay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Battling high corrections officer vacancies, Travis County commissioners may look at raising officer pay before the next budget. On Tuesday, county commissioners asked county staff to bring back a budget adjustment proposal in 30 days to increase officer pay and also approved a yearlong extension of an overtime incentives program to encourage overtime use and retain employees.Commissioners and county staff talked about the need to increase correctional officer pay to lower vacancies and compete with neighboring counties. The county reported 263 corrections officer vacancies in March 2023—a 129% increase from March 2022. There are also increased year-over-year vacancy numbers in the law enforcement and courthouse security departments. The county spent $18 million on sheriff's office overtime pay in fiscal year 2022. A number that was alarming for some county commissioners at the Tuesday meeting. “Clearly, the vacancies are the real problem and I think we need to addre...

Allergy season getting worse in these Texas cities, study finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:14 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – That extra head congestion you’ve been feeling lately may not all be in your head, so to speak.A new report on seasonal allergies found the growing season has lengthened by more than two weeks, on average, nationwide. A longer growing season means more days of sniffles, sneezes and headaches for allergy sufferers.Climate Central, an organization of scientists and journalists focused on studying the impacts of climate change and warming global temperatures, analyzed temperature data from 203 U.S. cities since 1970. They found allergy season is worsening in at least eight Texas metro areas. Texas allergens you may be forgetting about El Paso saw the biggest shift — the allergy season there has grown 50 days longer over the past 52 years, according to the report. The Texas cities where allergy season has grown the most since 1970, according to Climate Central, are:El Paso: 50 days longerDallas-Fort Worth: 21 days longerSherman: 20 days longerTyler: 18 days...