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US retail sales in October decline as consumer spending cools after summer splurges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:18:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — US retail sales in October decline as consumer spending cools after summer splurges.Source

UK top court says a plan to send migrants to Rwanda is illegal. The government still wants to do it

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:18:16 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British government said Wednesday it will still try to send some migrants on a one-way trip to Rwanda, despite the U.K. Supreme Court ruling that the contentious plan is unlawful.In a major blow to one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s key policies, five justices on the country’s top court ruled unanimously that asylum-seekers sent to Rwanda would be “at real risk of ill-treatment” because they could be returned to the conflict-wracked home countries they’d fled.Sunak, who has pledged to stop migrants reaching Britain in small boats across the English Channel, said the ruling “was not the outcome we wanted” but vowed to press on with the plan.He said the court had “confirmed that the principle of removing asylum-seekers to a safe third country is lawful,” even as it ruled Rwanda unsafe.He said the government was working on a treaty with Rwanda that would address the court’s concerns, “and we will finalize that in light of today’s judgmen...

Griffon: Fiscal Q4 Earnings Snapshot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:18:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK (AP) — Griffon Corp. (GFF) on Wednesday reported net income of $42 million in its fiscal fourth quarter.On a per-share basis, the New York-based company said it had profit of 79 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.19 per share.The garage door and building products maker posted revenue of $641.4 million in the period.For the year, the company reported profit of $77.6 million, or $1.42 per share. Revenue was reported as $2.69 billion.Griffon expects full-year revenue of $2.6 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on GFF at https://www.zacks.com/ap/GFFSource

This is how much your Thanksgiving meal will cost this year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:18:16 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A Thanksgiving meal will cost less than last year, but that's not saying much.The American Farm Bureau Federation conducted its 38th annual survey and calculated the national average using the best possible price (excluding deals) from all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Avoid this highway in Colorado during Thanksgiving weekend, AAA says In 2023, the prices for Thanksgiving dinner will be less expensive than last year, but still more expensive than any other previous year.Cost of Thanksgiving (Courtesy of American Farm Bureau Federation)The cost of Thanksgiving has been steadily rising for the past 20 years. In 2003, the survey estimated a Thanksgiving meal would cost $36.28. Last year, the price of Thanksgiving doubled from 2003.In 2022, a Thanksgiving feast for 10 reached an all-time high at an estimated cost of $64.05 and was updated to $81.30 when adding additional Thanksgiving items like green beans and potatoes. Do you need to cook a turkey longer in Colorado?...

Butler scores 32, Heat beat Hornets 111-105 to remain unbeaten in NBA In-Season Tournament play

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:18:16 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 32 points, Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 11 rebounds and the Miami Heat remained unbeaten in NBA In-Season Tournament play with a 111-105 victory over the short-handed Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.Duncan Robinson added 18 points for Miami, which has scored 113.8 points per game during its six-game win streak. The Heat averaged 102.4 while stumbling to a 1-4 start this season.No wonder Butler offered a simple explanation for the Heat’s turnaround.“We’ve been scoring more points,” Butler said.Miami is 2-0 in group play; the Hornets are 1-1.The Heat finished off a 4-0 road trip that included wins against San Antonio, Atlanta and Memphis. But they still have a big challenge ahead. Miami returns home Thursday night, then heads back on the road for another five games.“We talked at the start of this trip that this month would be an opportunity for us to be able to galvanize around a tough schedule and see if we can become bette...

This iconic jingle is making a comeback, and you won’t be able to get it out of your head

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:18:16 GMT

New York (CNN) — One of the most recognizable jingles in history is making a return.Chili’s is bringing back its “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back…ribs” jingle for a new advertising campaign promoting the dish that’s been a staple on the chain’s menu since the late 1980s.The chain has hired Boyz II Men to sing an updated version of the jingle, a nod to the misconception that many people might have thought the R&B group originally recorded it — around the same time their fourth studio album was released, “Evolution,” which sold two million copies in the US.The jingle, last used in the mid-2000s, became an earworm for anyone watching TV during the ’90s when it seemingly blanketed the airwaves nonstop. Chili’s is hoping that nostalgia will draw renewed interest in the restaurant chain that’s in the midst of a turnaround.Chili’s is in a crowded field of chain restaurants all fighting for customers who aren’t particularly loyal to any one brand. Stale menu offerings sen...

Reckless crime spree ends in high-speed crash for Florida felons

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:18:16 GMT

LAKELAND, Fla. (WSVN) — Startling surveillance footage captures a Florida man, Timothy Hogue, engaging in a car crime spree at a breakneck speed of 80 miles per hour in a Lakeland residential neighborhood. The spree culminated in a head-on collision with a parked car, fortunately causing no injuries.Hogue and his alleged accomplice, Rebecca Kozub, were apprehended by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office after a 911 call reported their early Monday morning escapades of breaking into cars and theft.Hogue, boasting a criminal record spanning over 15 years, now faces a litany of charges, including resisting an officer, burglary, possession of meth, and petty theft. This arrest adds to his staggering tally of 31 criminal felonies, encompassing armed burglaries, grand theft, identity theft, and drug possession.Kozub, implicated as Hogue’s partner in crime, carries her own history with 19 felonies, including charges of grand theft.The Polk County Sheriff’s Office emphas...

OutKast’s André ‘3000’ is releasing an instrumental flute album

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:18:16 GMT

(CNN) — André “3000” Benjamin is set to release his debut solo album, “New Blue Sun,” an entirely instrumental album centered around woodwinds.Co-produced by Benjamin and multi-instrumentalist Carlos Niño, the album will feature instrument playing from Nate Mercereau, Surya Botofasina, Deantoni Parks, Diego Gaeta, Matthewdavid, V.C.R, Diego Gaeta, Jesse Peterson, and Mia Doi Todd.According to a press release, the album is a “a celebratory piece of work in the form of a living, breathing, aural organism.”“Over the past decade, André 3000 has lived without anchors, gently floating in a breeze. Blink and you might miss him: There he is in Japan, flashing a bright smile and a peace sign, his other hand holding a custom wooden flute,” the release states. “There he is again, this time in an airport terminal, playing a few spare notes to pass the time. Wait, is that André in SoHo with a latte? Casually walking around like he’s not who he is?”It continues: “André is...

Israel slams Belgian parliament for not showing Hamas attack video

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:18:16 GMT

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Wednesday lambasted Belgium’s Chamber of Representatives for refusing to screen footage of Hamas’ violent attack on Israel, accusing the chamber’s president of “turning a blind eye” to the militant groups’s crimes.“In your decision not to screen in parliament the video depicting the atrocities, the President of the Parliament of Belgium [Eliane Tillieux] is turning a blind eye to the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Hamas,” Cohen wrote on X.Over the past month, a 45-minute video of Hamas’ October 7 attack, which killed 1,200 people, has been played to selected groups of journalists and politicians around the world, including in Brussels. The video, distributed by Israeli officials, reportedly includes gruesome unreleased body-cam footage taken from Hamas militants, clips from security cameras and social media posts shot on the day of the attack.On Tuesday, Israeli Ambassador to Belgium Idit Rosenz...

Dems on Beacon Hill Face Short Window For Spending Deal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:18:16 GMT

The Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday night approved a plan that injects $250 million more into the state’s emergency shelter system, opening a window of just about 30 hours for House and Senate Democrats to hammer out differences before lawmakers depart on a holiday break.Senators voted 36-3 to approve a roughly $2.8 billion spending bill that, in addition to directing more funding to the emergency shelter crisis, would also close the state’s financial books for fiscal year 2023, schedule the next primary for Sept. 3, 2024, and remove barriers to construction of a professional soccer stadium in Everett.There’s consensus in both branches on most of the spending, including about $2.1 billion for MassHealth, hundreds of millions of dollars for collective bargaining agreements, and $75 million to support school districts saddled with a spike in special education costs.But House and Senate Democrats have different visions for how the state should respond to an unpre...