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Today: January 19, 2025
Today: January 19, 2025
The Los Angeles Post

The Los Angeles Post

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World

Stock market today: Asian stocks mixed after US inflation cools

Asian stock markets were mixed Wednesday after a cooler reading on U.S. inflation buoyed hopes the Federal Reserve will postpone a possible interest rate hike. Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney rose while Hong Kong and Seoul declined. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.7% to a 14-month high after government data Tuesday showed U.S. consumer inflation eased to 4% over a year earlier in May from the previous month’s 4.9%. It was less than half last June’s peak of 9.1% but still double the Fed’s 2% target. That reinforced hopes the Fed will avoid announcing another rate

Stock market today: Asian stocks mixed after US inflation cools
World

As conditions for Syrians worsen, aid organizations struggle to catch the world's attention again

Six months after she got the call informing her that her U.N. assistance would be cut, Najwa al-Jassem is struggling to feed her four children and pay rent for their tent in a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. She once received food rations and cash that covered most of their modest monthly expenses. The family now only gets the equivalent of $20 a month, which just covers the rent for their cramped tent. Her husband gets only sporadic day labor and “my kids are too young for me to send them to

As conditions for Syrians worsen, aid organizations struggle to catch the world's attention again
World

China's foreign minister airs concerns in phone call with Blinken ahead of planned visit

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang shared concerns on a phone call Wednesday ahead of a planned visit by the U.S. official to China meant to shore up relations. “Spoke tonight with PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang by phone,” Blinken’s official Twitter account read. “Discussed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues.” The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on one of its social media pages that Qin urged the United States to respect “China’s core concerns”

China's foreign minister airs concerns in phone call with Blinken ahead of planned visit
World

Original Golden Knights key part of Vegas' Stanley Cup run

Bruce Cassidy has been the Golden Knights’ coach for only a year, but he knows full well the history of the Misfits. So in the game that would win the Stanley Cup for Vegas, Cassidy started five of the original Knights and sent the sixth one in for the second shift Tuesday night in a 9-3 victory over the Florida Panthers. “They’re the original guys, right?” Cassidy said. “They’re the foundation of this hockey team. The first building blocks started with them. They’ve been here since the beginning. They lost in a final like I did.

Original Golden Knights key part of Vegas' Stanley Cup run
World

Russian cruise missile strike on southern Ukrainian city of Odesa kills 3, injures 13

Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight, killing at least three people and injuring more than a dozen others in a strike that damaged homes, a warehouse, shops and cafes downtown, the regional state administration said. The attack launched from the Black Sea involved four sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles, three of which were intercepted by air defenses, the regional administration said on Facebook. Three employees of a food warehouse were killed and seven others injured, and searchers were looking for possible survivors under the rubble, it said. Another six people

Russian cruise missile strike on southern Ukrainian city of Odesa kills 3, injures 13
World

How Europe is leading the world in the push to regulate AI

Authorities worldwide are racing to rein in artificial intelligence, including in the European Union, where groundbreaking legislation is set to pass a key hurdle Wednesday. European Parliament lawmakers are due to vote on the proposal — including controversial amendments on facial recognition — as it heads toward passage. A yearslong effort by Brussels to draw up guardrails for AI has taken on more urgency as rapid advances in chatbots like ChatGPT show the benefits the emerging technology can bring — and the new perils it poses. Here’s a look at the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act: HOW DO

How Europe is leading the world in the push to regulate AI
World

UK police hunt motive in Nottingham attack as friends mourn student athlete victims

Police worked Wednesday to piece together details of a knife and van attack that killed two 19-year-old students and another man in the English city of Nottingham, as friends and family remembered the two younger victims as talented athletes with a passion for life. Nottingham University students Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar were stabbed to death in a street near student housing before dawn on Tuesday. Police say a 31-year-old suspect also killed a man in his 50s more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) away, stole his van and ran down a group of pedestrians. Three people

UK police hunt motive in Nottingham attack as friends mourn student athlete victims
World

South Korea sues rival North Korea for blowing up joint liaison office in 2020

South Korea filed a 44.7 billion won ($35 million) damage suit against North Korea on Wednesday for blowing up a joint liaison office just north of their border in 2020, which highlighted a revival of tensions between the rivals following the collapse of larger nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea. The symbolic lawsuit filed with the Seoul Central District Court comes amid a prolonged freeze in diplomacy and growing concerns over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs. South Korea had until this Friday to claim damages, when a three-year statute of limitations

South Korea sues rival North Korea for blowing up joint liaison office in 2020
World

Silvio Berlusconi's polarizing force in Italy remains strong as his funeral is held in Milan

Silvio Berlusconi’s legacy — positive or negative — was being hotly debated among Italians as the nation prepared for a national day of mourning and a state funeral in Milan’s Gothic-era Duomo cathedral on Wednesday. Most Italians identify Berlusconi, a media mogul, soccer entrepreneur and three-time former premier, as the most influential figure in Italy over recent decades. But they remain sharply divided on whether his influence was for the better or worse. They are split over whether the three-time former premier merits all the fuss and ceremony. Berlusconi died at the age of 86 on Monday

Silvio Berlusconi's polarizing force in Italy remains strong as his funeral is held in Milan
Political

Democrats and Republicans share core values but still distrust each other

Americans on the right and the left have a lot more in common than they might think — including their strong distrust of each other. A survey published on Wednesday finds that when asked about core values including fairness, compassion and personal responsibility, about nine in 10 Democrats and Republicans agreed they were very or extremely important. Yet only about a third of either group said they believed the same was true for the opposing party. The results of the survey, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago and the nonprofit group Starts With Us, reveal

Democrats and Republicans share core values but still distrust each other
World

Philippine volcano's eruption, which has displaced thousands, can last for months

A gentle eruption of the Philippines’ most active volcano that has forced nearly 18,000 people to flee to emergency shelters could last for months and create a protracted crisis, officials said Wednesday. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to northeastern Albay province to reassure villagers who were forced to evacuate from mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of the Mayon volcano’s crater since volcanic activity spiked last week. Marcos distributed food packs and other aid to displaced villagers, and was expected to meet Albay town mayors later Wednesday to discuss the unfolding crisis. The

Philippine volcano's eruption, which has displaced thousands, can last for months
World

US beefs up campaign to ensure accurate animal welfare claims on meat, poultry packaging

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it hopes to weed out false or misleading animal-welfare claims on meat and poultry packaging with new guidance and testing. The claims __ such as “pasture-raised,” “humanely raised,” and “raised without antibiotics” __ are increasingly popular with consumers and allow producers to charge a premium. Perdue “free range” chicken breasts with no antibiotics sell for $5.78 per pound at Walmart, for example; store brand chicken breasts without those claims sell for $2.79 per pound. Both meat producers and animal welfare advocates say the USDA isn’t adequately substantiating the claims or ensuring they meet

US beefs up campaign to ensure accurate animal welfare claims on meat, poultry packaging
World

Abortion rights protests planned across Poland after death of pregnant woman

Women’s rights advocates have called for protests in dozens of Polish cities on Wednesday under the slogan “Stop killing us,” after a woman in her fifth month of pregnancy died of sepsis, the latest such death since a tightening of Poland’s abortion law. The protests demanding a liberalization of the abortion law are scheduled to take place in the capital and nearly 50 other cities in the afternoon and evening. The 33-year-old woman died last month in the John Paul II hospital in Nowy Targ in southern Poland. It is a hospital in a deeply conservative

Abortion rights protests planned across Poland after death of pregnant woman
World

Russian court sends an associate of Kremlin foe Navalny to prison for 7 1/2 years

A court in Russia on Wednesday convicted an associate of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny on extremism charges and sentenced her to 7 1/2 years in prison, the latest step in a yearslong crackdown by the Kremlin on opposition activists. Lilia Chanysheva, who used to head Navalny’s office in the Russian region of Bashkortostan, was found guilty of calling for extremism, forming an extremist group and founding an organization that violates rights. The charges against Chanysheva, who was arrested in November 2021, stem from a court ruling earlier that year that designated Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting

Russian court sends an associate of Kremlin foe Navalny to prison for 7 1/2 years
World

Wimbledon prize money up more than 11%, winners of singles to get $3M each

The total prize money at Wimbledon this year will rise by more than 11%, with the winners of the singles each getting 2.35 million pounds ($3 million). The total prize fund at the championships will be 44.7 million pounds ($56.5 million), the All England Club said Wednesday. That is an increase of 17.1% compared to 2019, the last Wimbledon before the pandemic. The earnings for the winners of the singles competitions are back to the levels they were in 2019. The prize for the singles champions had dipped to 1.7 million pounds in 2021, after the tournament

Wimbledon prize money up more than 11%, winners of singles to get $3M each
World

It’s almost time to resume student loan payments. Not doing so could cost you

After three years, the pandemic-era freeze on student loan payments will end soon. Student loan interest will start accruing on September 1 and payments are starting in October. It might seem tempting to just keep not making payments, but the consequences can be severe, including a hit to your credit score and exclusion from future aid and benefits. More than 40 million Americans will have to start making federal student loan payments again at the end of the summer under the terms of a debt ceiling deal approved by Congress. Millions are also waiting to find

It’s almost time to resume student loan payments. Not doing so could cost you
World

Google must break up digital ad business over competition concerns, European regulators say

European Union antitrust regulators took aim at Google’s lucrative digital advertising business in an unprecedented decision, saying Wednesday that the tech giant must sell off some of its ad business to address competition concerns. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch and top antitrust enforcer, said its preliminary view after an investigation is that “only the mandatory divestment by Google of part of its services” would satisfy the concerns. The 27-nation EU has led the global movement to crack down on Big Tech companies — including groundbreaking rules on artificial intelligence — but it has previously relied

Google must break up digital ad business over competition concerns, European regulators say
Arts

Klimt portrait 'Lady with a Fan' up for sale with $80M estimate

A late-life masterpiece by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt could become the most expensive painting ever sold in Europe when it is auctioned later this month. Auctioneer Sotheby’s said on Wednesday that “Dame mit Fächer” — Lady with a Fan — will go up for sale June 27 in London, with an estimated price of 65 million pounds ($80 million). The last portrait Klimt completed before his death in 1918, the painting shows an unidentified woman against a resplendent, China-influenced backdrop of dragons and lotus blossoms. It was last sold in 1994, going for $11.6 million at an

Klimt portrait 'Lady with a Fan' up for sale with $80M estimate
World

Indigenous community wins, then loses, path to reclaim ancestral rainforest land in Peru

A landmark ruling that an Indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon could reclaim ancestral rainforests has been set aside by an appeals court in a move some legal experts called irregular. Kichwa tribes lived in the area of Cordillera Azul National Park for centuries before the park was founded in 2001 in what the Kichwa say was theft of their land. Major companies such as Shell and TotalEnergies have spent more than $80 million since then buying credits in the park to counter their carbon emissions. That money hasn’t helped the Puerto Franco community of Kichwa, who fell into food

Indigenous community wins, then loses, path to reclaim ancestral rainforest land in Peru
Political

Blinken heads to China this weekend on mission to salvage sinking ties and keep communications open

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China this weekend as part of the Biden administration’s push to repair deteriorating ties between Washington and Beijing and keep lines of communication open, the State Department said Wednesday. Blinken will be the most senior U.S. official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office. His visit had initially been planned for earlier this year but was postponed indefinitely after the discovery and shootdown of what the U.S. said was a Chinese spy balloon over the United States. Since then, however, there have been lower-level engagements between

Blinken heads to China this weekend on mission to salvage sinking ties and keep communications open
World

Vodafone, Three to merge UK mobile phone operations to capitalize on 5G rollout

Two of the U.K.’s four mobile phone operators agreed Wednesday to merge their businesses to capitalize on the rollout of next-generation 5G wireless technology in the country. The tie-up of Vodafone U.K. and Three U.K., which is owned by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison, would create Britain’s biggest mobile phone player, with a combined 27 million customers. But the deal is likely to face stiff regulatory scrutiny because it will reduce the number of mobile networks down to three. Vodafone will account for 51% of the merged firm, with CK Hutchison owning the rest. Vodafone will have an

Vodafone, Three to merge UK mobile phone operations to capitalize on 5G rollout
World

What you should know as the Fed nears the peak of its rate-hiking cycle

The Federal Reserve’s likely decision Wednesday afternoon to leave interest rates alone for the first time in 11 meetings will raise hopes that it may be nearing the end of its rate-hiking campaign to cool inflation. That’s not to say the Fed is done raising rates. Most economists foresee another increase or two, starting as soon as next month. And even after the Fed has stopped hiking, it’s likely to keep borrowing rates at a peak for months to come. Consumers would still have to bear the weight of higher-cost auto loans, mortgages, credit cards and

What you should know as the Fed nears the peak of its rate-hiking cycle
Health

Adjusting jobs to protect workers' mental health is both easier and harder than you might think

Work doesn’t have to make you feel burned out. Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images U.S. employees are increasingly struggling with mental health challenges tied to their jobs, such as depression, anxiety and burnout. We’re professors who research how employees interact and workplace well-being. After noticing that research on mental health and work had not kept up with the increasing prevalence of mental health challenges, we reviewed existing findings on mental health and work to see how scholars can best investigate these issues going forward. We found that employers could greatly reduce the causes of many of their employees’ mental health

Adjusting jobs to protect workers' mental health is both easier and harder than you might think
Economy

Inside the black box of Amazon returns

Retailers’ costs for managing returns are rising. Ronny Hartmann/picture alliance via Getty Images E-commerce may make shopping more convenient, but it has a dark side that most consumers never see. Say you order an electric toothbrush for Father’s Day and two shirts for yourself from Amazon. You unpack your order and discover that the electric toothbrush won’t charge and only one shirt fits you. So, you decide to return the unwanted shirt and the electric toothbrush. Returns like this might seem simple, and often they’re free for the consumer. But managing those returns can get costly for retailers, so much

Inside the black box of Amazon returns
Political

Refugees are living longer in exile than ever before, with complex consequences for them and their host communities

Rohingya girls share a laugh in Kutupalong, the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images The number of people forced from their homes, primarily because of conflict or climate change, is on the rise, topping 100 million people in 2022 – more than double the number of displaced people in 2012. About a third of those 100 million people are refugees. Refugees live in a legal limbo that can increasingly stretch for decades. And the number of people remaining refugees for five years or longer more than doubled over the past decade, topping 16 million in 2022. These

Refugees are living longer in exile than ever before, with complex consequences for them and their host communities

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