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Germany in recession: Berlin braces for budget cut battle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:43 GMT

BERLIN — Europe’s largest economy has money problems for the first time in nearly a decade — and it’s up to three squabbling parties to fix them.Germany has officially fallen into a recession, official figures showed Thursday, with economic output falling by 0.3 percent during the first quarter of the year — the second quarter in a row with a decreasing gross domestic product. The drop was largely attributed to lower consumer spending due to higher prices amid inflation of 7.2 percent.This adds to previously existing pressure on the trio of coalition partners in Berlin’s government to cut costs. That requires tough decisions, but their approaches to the problem are vastly different: The environmentalist Greens want to invest more in things like climate protection by taxing the rich — a prospect rejected by the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), who want to deregulate. Caught in the middle, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats hope attracting skilled forei...

Alex Murdaugh indicted on 22 federal counts for alleged financial schemes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:43 GMT

(CNN) — A federal grand jury has indicted disbarred South Carolina attorney and double murderer Alex Murdaugh on 22 charges in connection with schemes aimed at stealing money from his clients, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.The charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering, the office said Wednesday in a news release.Murdaugh, 54, “has been cooperating with the United States Attorneys’ Office and federal agencies in their investigation of a broad range of activities,” his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, said Wednesday in a statement.“We anticipate that the charges brought today will be quickly resolved without a trial,” they said.Murdaugh, a former personal injury attorney, is appealing his conviction this year in South Carolina for murdering his wife and grown son; he was sentenced to life in prison. He’s being held at McCormick Correctional Institution, a ...

South Carolina governor signs 6-week abortion bill into law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:43 GMT

Washington (CNN) — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday signed a bill into law that will limit most abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.South Carolina now joins a list of Republican-led states that have championed sweeping abortion restrictions in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The entire US South, with the exception of Virginia, has moved to significantly curtail abortion rights in the past year.“With my signature, the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act is now law and will begin saving the lives of unborn children immediately,” McMaster, a Republican, said in a statement. “This is a great day for life in South Carolina, but the fight is not over. We stand ready to defend this legislation against any challenges and are confident we will succeed. The right to life must be preserved, and we will do everything we can to protect it.”The law is effective immediately, but it already facing a legal c...

Actor Tom Hanks delivers Class of 2023 commencement at Harvard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:43 GMT

Harvard University’s Class of 2023 received words of inspiration from a man known for delivering such lines as “Life is like a box of chocolates.”Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks was in Boston this week to deliver the commencement address at Harvard’s graduation ceremony Thursday morning.The star of films such as “Forest Gump,” “The Green Mile,” and “Toy Story” was spotted shaking hands and taking selfies with graduates before the ceremony.“I don’t know much about Latin, I have no real passion for enzymes, and public global policy is something I scan in the newspaper just before I do the Wordle – and yet here I am,” Hanks joked during his speech.According to the university, Hanks was chosen for his contributions to American culture and for getting people to appreciate stories and history.For nearly 30 minutes, the star spoke about community, responsibility, and the role the students have to play in soci...

Giants OTA Notebook: Brian Daboll remains mum on Saquon Barkley at Thursday’s session

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:43 GMT

Saquon Barkley is not attending OTAs, having not signed his franchise tag tender or received a new contract yet. Giants head coach Brian Daboll preemptively announced in an opening statement that he would not comment on Barkley.“That situation is going to be between Saquon and the organization,” he said Thursday. “I’m not going to get into detail of any of the discussions we’ve had.”Daboll would not even say if he expects Barkley at mandatory minicamp in mid-June.“I’m not going to get into any discussions about that,” he said.Daniel Jones said he speaks to Barkley “pretty regularly” and called him a “close friend,” but he also said “that’s Saquon’s business between him and the team.”“I hope they get something done,” Big Blue’s quarterback said, who called Barkley a “great teammate”  and a “very important part” of what the Giants do.PRAC...

Daniel Jones’ new target Darren Waller looks different: ‘He’s a true 6-6 and he can fly’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:43 GMT

Daniel Jones could be forgiven this season if he throws to Darren Waller so often that he gets accused of forcing it to him.Waller looks like the first pick in a pickup basketball game. When he’s covered, he still looks open. He runs like a deer.It didn’t take long for Jones to notice how different Waller would be as a target when they first met in Arizona this spring.“As soon as you walk on the field,” Jones said Thursday with a smile. “He’s a true 6-6, and he can fly and he can run all the routes.”Waller seems to like the tone Jones has set as a leader, too.He said his first impression of the Giants QB was when he arrived at the house in Arizona, where Jones had invited teammates to come train.Jones was getting work done on his body so his arm would be ready to throw the next day.Waller said Jones has also organized extra throwing sessions for players during the spring, when their time playing football at the team’s facility is cappe...

California farm eager to reintroduce sweet, nutritious mulberries to America

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:43 GMT

“All fruits are beautiful, but the mulberry is the king of fruits.”– Persian ProverbMove over cherry, there’s a new berry in town.Thousands of cherry lovers throughout the Bay Area make their way each spring to one of dozens of U-pick farms in Brentwood for the plump, juicy round fruits, but now – for the first time – there’s another option that is arguably just as sweet: the Himalayan purple mulberry, which looks a bit like an elongated blackberry with tiny clusters of fruit.Not only is Habitera Farms the only one allowing visitors to partake in the picking of the tasty, dark-colored fleshy fruit — the season lasts about eight weeks — but it appears to be the only business selling mulberries on such a large scale commercially in the United States.A farmworker picks mulberries that fell onto nets attached to carts designed to shake trees as part of the harvest season at Habitera Farms in Brentwood, Calif., on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)Habitera’s organi...

Cadillac CT4-V series is a head scratcher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:43 GMT

With the elimination of Pontiac and Oldsmobile back in the mid-2000s, General Motors was tasked with identifying an existing brand to consume sports and “market-right” vehicles to reduce the brunt of the loss.  Clearly they wanted to ensure that they didn’t lose customers and continue the legacy of those brands, but through other brands in the fleet; makes total sense to me.In Grasso’s Garage this week, Cadillac is back for a slice of the review pie with their 2023 Cadillac CT4-V series. In Grasso’s Garage, this presents a lot of questions. As the V designation was originally designed to deliver Corvette power in a luxury vehicle, we struggle to understand the reason behind the V-series. So with the roll-out of the Cadillac CTS-V back in the late 2000’s, this helped GM with rolling out a sporty and luxury model which covered the needs of Oldsmobile as well as Pontiac; and it worked, cha-ching!Although a good appearing vehicle and one that simulates curvatures of the past Ponti...

1 injured after shots fired in East County; suspect barricaded inside home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:43 GMT

Editor's note: This story has been updated to say the location is the 8000 block of Longdale Drive, and to reflect updated information from authorities that the injured woman is a neighbor.LEMON GROVE, Calif. -- One person was injured after shots were fired in East County Thursday morning, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department confirmed to FOX 5.The rounds were fired off at a residence on the 8000 block of Longdale Drive in Lemon Grove, and authorities say a female neighbor was transported to a local hospital to be treated for injuries. Owners of San Diego restaurants charged with COVID-relief fraud Meanwhile, the sheriff's department said the suspect was barricading himself inside a home in the area. Authorities are advising the public to avoid the area of Skyline and Longdale drives.Capt. Amber Baggs with the sheriff's department described the suspect as a white, 28-year-old man who may be suffering from a mental health crisis. FOX 5's Elizabeth Alvarez was at the scene and ...

German airline Lufthansa signs deal for minority stake in Italy’s struggling ITA Airways

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:43 GMT

MILAN (AP) — German airline Lufthansa on Thursday signed a deal with the Italian government for a 41-percent minority share in the long-struggling ITA Airways, formerly Alitalia.The deal calls for investments of 575 million euros in capital increases, 325 million euros from Lufthansa and the rest from the Italian Finance Ministry, providing capital for growth. Lufthansa will also have the option of buying the remaining shares at a later date. Lufthansa’s industrial plan for the Italian carrier calls for revenues of 2.5 billion euros ($2.68 billion) this year, growing to 4.1 billion euros in 2027, the Italian Finance Ministry said in a statement. During that period, Lufthansa plans to expand the ITA fleet from 71 aircraft to 94 and bring the workforce to 5,500 employees, from the current 4,000. Once the deal is completed, ITA Airways would be Lufthansa Group’s fifth carrier.Under the strategy, Rome’s Fiumicino airport will become one of the Lufthansa Group’s hubs, as ITA Airway...