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Stock market today: Wall Street inches up before the bell ahead of earnings, inflation data

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:40:00 GMT

Wall Street inched higher early Wednesday as markets took in more corporate earnings while waiting for U.S. inflation updates later this week.Futures for the Dow Jones industrials ticked up 0.1% before the bell, while futures for the benchmark S&P 500 rose a modest 0.2%. Corporate earnings for the spring quarter have broadly come in better than forecasts, though expectations were somewhat modest. Markets are also anticipating the latest inflation data coming Thursday and Friday, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision on interest rates.The Federal Reserve has hiked its main interest rate to the highest level in more than two decades in hopes of grinding down inflation. High rates work by slowing the entire economy bluntly, which has raised the risk of a recession.In corporate news, Penn Entertainment jumped more than 18% in after-hours trading after the gaming company announced Tuesday that it was paying $1.5 billion for the exclusive rights to re-...

PSG coach Luis Enrique faces tough challenge, with uncertainty over Mbappe and Neymar

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:40:00 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Luis Enrique is the eighth coach to take charge of Paris Saint-Germain in 12 years of Qatari ownership of the French club, a hire-and-fire approach which has so far failed to deliver the ultimate goal of winning the Champions League. The former Spain and Barcelona coach signed a two-year contract in July after Christophe Galtier was fired. He faces a dual task: making the side competitive in Europe and providing a more attractive brand of soccer than his predecessors. Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said Enrique’s arrival will mark the start of a new cycle and a better style of play, but such pledges at PSG are easier made than carried out.First up is a home game against modest Lorient on Saturday night, where Enrique will look to deploy his preferred 4-3-3 formation. But even before he has taken charge of his first game, reports in Spanish media last weekend said he already wants to quit PSG out of frustration at the handling of the Kylian Mbappe transfer situa...

FACT FOCUS: Zoom says it isn’t training AI on calls without consent. But other data is fair game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:40:00 GMT

An update to Zoom’s terms of service is raising alarm bells on social media, with users claiming it reveals the videoconferencing company is now tapping their online doctor visits and virtual happy hours to train artificial intelligence models.“Zoom terms of service now require you to allow AI to train on ALL your data — audio, facial recognition, private conversations — unconditionally and irrevocably, with no opt out,” read one widely-shared tweet this week that has since been deleted. “Don’t try to negotiate with our new overlords.”The company quickly responded with a blog post on Monday stressing that it “will not use audio, video, or chat customer content to train our artificial intelligence models without your consent,” and adding a line to the terms to make this clearer. Online privacy experts say that this policy is now accurately reflected in the document. However, the terms do still allow Zoom to train AI on other data, such as how customers behave — and they question how ...

Steel Partners: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:40:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK (AP) — Steel Partners Holdings LP (SPLP) on Wednesday reported profit of $59.2 million in its second quarter.The New York-based company said it had profit of $2.44 per share.The diversified industrial company posted revenue of $500.9 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SPLP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SPLPSource

Ebix: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:40:00 GMT

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) — JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) — Ebix Inc. (EBIX) on Wednesday reported profit of $308,000 in its second quarter.On a per-share basis, the Johns Creek, Georgia-based company said it had net income of 1 cent. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 23 cents per share.The supplier of software and e-commerce services to the insurance industry posted revenue of $118.4 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on EBIX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/EBIXSource

How many UFO sightings have been reported in Colorado this year?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:40:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) – Have you experienced an aerial phenomenon? You aren't alone.According to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), roughly 2,000 unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings have been reported in the U.S. so far this year.NUFORC is a non-governmental, nonprofit corporation that investigates UFO sightings. The center says it receives, records, corroborates and documents reports from individuals who believe they have witnessed an aerial phenomenon. Did the government confirm aliens exist? Since its founding in 1974, NUFORC says it has processed over 170,000 reports, which are listed online by date and location. The center explained that guaranteed anonymity to callers is a longstanding policy of the corporation. NUFORC makes available to the public all of its data in summary form with the time, location, duration of the sighting, and a short summary describing the UFO. The organization notes that it can't validate the information provided in reports but it does re...

Florida murder suspect Matthew Flores extradited from Rutherford County

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:40:00 GMT

RUTHERFORDTON, North Carolina (WLOS) — A man wanted for murder in Florida was extradited from Rutherford County on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, the Rutherford County District Attorney’s Office said.Matthew Flores was arrested in February after a chase and crash while he was driving a missing Palm Beach Gardens Lyft driver’s vehicle. Flores, 36, has not been charged in Gary Levin’s death, but police have called him a person of interest.But Flores has been charged in the Jan. 24, 2023, shooting death of Jose Carlos Martinez in Hardee County, Florida. According to court records, a grand jury indicted Flores on charges of first-degree murder, grand theft auto, possession of a firearm by a felon and tampering with evidence in that case.Police were searching for Flores in that case when Levin disappeared after dropping off a customer in Okeechobee.As previously reported, on Feb. 2, 2023, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, Forest City Police Department and Spindale P...

Central Florida school boards introduce controversial policy requiring classroom nickname approval

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:40:00 GMT

CENTRAL FLORIDA (WSVN) — School boards across Central Florida have recently adopted a contentious policy that mandates the use of approved nicknames in classrooms, sparking a mixed reaction from parents, educators, and the community.The new policy, which has been met with both support and skepticism, was introduced by the Florida Department of Education earlier this summer. It necessitates school districts to establish a process for obtaining parental consent before teachers can utilize any nickname other than a student’s legal name during instruction.Jenn Devine, a parent within the Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) district, expressed disbelief at the need for such consent. Devine, whose daughter prefers to be called “Letty” instead of her legal name, is among the many parents now required to provide explicit permission for the use of a chosen nickname.“It’s so ridiculously absurd that I would need to consent for anyone to call her what she wants ...

American nurse and her young daughter freed, nearly two weeks after abduction in Haiti

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:40:00 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter were freed Wednesday, nearly two weeks after they were kidnapped in Haiti’s capital, according to aid organization El Roi Haiti.The Christian group founded by Dorsainvil’s husband asked that neither she nor her family be contacted: “There is still much to process and to heal from in this situation,” the group said in a statement.The group added that it confirmed the safe release “with a heart of gratitude and immense joy.” No other details were immediately available, including whether any ransom was paid.The U.S. State Department said it welcomed news that the two had been freed and thanked its Haitian and U.S. interagency partners for facilitating the release.“We have no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” the agency said. “As you can imagine, these individuals have been through a very difficult ordeal, both physically and mentally.”Officials provided no other de...

Nicola Sturgeon to publish ‘deeply personal’ memoir

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:40:00 GMT

LONDON — Nicola Sturgeon will “reveal the person behind the politics” in an upcoming memoir, the publisher Pan Macmillan announced Wednesday.The as-yet-untitled memoir will tell the story of the former Scottish first minister’s childhood and career in politics, which saw her become the country’s longest serving minister at a time when the pro-independence Scottish National Party enjoyed electoral dominance. The memoir is due for release in 2025.“It will detail her interactions with a range of notable figures, giving her unique perspective on the most eventful and tumultuous era in modern Scottish and British politics,” a pan MacMillan statement read. “The result will be a deeply personal and revealing memoir from one of Britain’s most significant political leaders of recent times,” the publisher added. Though it didn’t reveal how much Sturgeon will earn for the book, the publisher said the rights to publish her memoir had b...