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9 hidden details buried in Rishi Sunak’s Autumn Statement

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:17 GMT

LONDON — With a multibillion-pound tax giveaway, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt hailed his “Autumn Statement for growth” as a sign Britain has “turned a corner.”The star turn was a 2-pence cut to the National Insurance tax paid by 27 million workers, rushed into effect in January. It shows a government in campaign mode, just in time for a general election that could come as early as spring 2024. But not all is rosy for Hunt or PM Rishi Sunak. As ever, the 114-page “green book” of measures — alongside more than 160 pages of analysis from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) — contain several details buried or ignored in Hunt’s 51-minute speech to MPs. Here’s POLITICO’s spin-busting hot take.1) Frozen tax thresholds dwarf the National Insurance cutWednesday’s National Insurance cut — billed as a crowd-pleasing drop in personal taxes for workers — is dwarfed by the impact of what’s known as “fiscal drag.” That is, effectively, the i...

Law firm sues Austrian town for 27 cents after it closed border crossing to Hungary

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:17 GMT

A law firm has sued the Austrian town of Schattendorf for 27 cents in damage because it closed a border crossing between Austria and Hungary. In July, employees of the law firm wanted to cross through the Austrian town to an appointment in the Hungarian town of Agfalva, which they say is the fastest route. The employees, instead, had to take a detour of 3.4 kilometers, costing them 27 cents more in fuel. Schattendorf should now refund this, the law firm argued in court on Wednesday. “We are not doing this out of spite,” Mate Ruzicska, a lawyer at the firm NZP Nagy Legal, said according to Austrian news. The border closure is a breach of the EU’s Schengen law, which requires participating countries to remove all obstacles to smooth traffic flow at internal borders, the law firm argued.The town — a popular transit route for commuters between Austria and Hungary — wanted to reduce traffic by turning the border into a pedestrian crossing from December onward. Con...

5 Tory crowd-pleasers in the autumn statement — and what they actually cost

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:17 GMT

LONDON — Jeremy Hunt dusted off some old Conservative favorites Wednesday as he mixed personal and business tax cuts with a back-to-work push for social security claimants. It all comes with a hefty price tag.The U.K. chancellor unveiled his autumn statement — a big fiscal moment in the U.K.’s political calendar — against a mixed economic backdrop. And with the government, led by Hunt’s boss Rishi Sunak, struggling in the polls, the pair will be hoping a boost to pay packets can turn things around ahead of an election expected next year.POLITICO crunched the numbers on the big headline-grabbing policies below, using the Treasury’s figures to tot up the total projected cost of these Tory crowd-pleasers up to the fiscal year 2028/29.The big National Insurance cutWhat Hunt did: The flagship policy from Hunt’s statement was a big cut in the main rate of National Insurance — the tax paid by Brits and employers that’s meant to go towards health and welfare, but in ...

No injuries reported following 3-alarm fire at Chelsea restaurant

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:17 GMT

Firefighters responded to a three-alarm fire in Chelsea Wednesday morning at Los Amigos restaurant.Heavy smoke and flames could be seen billowing out of both stories of the structure on Broadway when fire crews arrived around 9 a.m. Fire crews could be seen attempting entry through the charred rear of the building and on the roof hammering down. Backup from both the Revere and Everett fire departments were called to the scene.Authorities said the fire was put out in about an hour and that damage was limited to the one structure, but that neighboring buildings potentially had water damage. The 4th Street ramp on Route 1 northbound was closed due to the fire, according to MassDOT. Additionally, multiple streets around the site of the fire were blocked off by police. https://twitter.com/MassDOT/status/1727323822653919514?s=20This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

I am an expert on polls. Here’s why they can’t tell you if Biden beats Trump again — or vice versa

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:17 GMT

By David Lauter, Los Angeles TimesWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has had a tough couple of weeks in polls, deepening the anxiety among his fellow Democrats about his age, political liabilities and the prospect that he could lose a rematch with former President Donald Trump.Biden’s allies pooh-pooh the grim talk. Presidents Clinton and Obama both had miserable polls in the fall of their third years and bounced back to win reelection, they note. Polls a year out from an election have little if any ability to predict the outcome, they add.On both counts, they’re right — up to a point.Related ArticlesPolitics | Ballot questions covering MCAS to psychedelic drugs clear first signature threshold Politics | Trump tops Biden in new national poll Politics | Ohio voted on abortion. Next year, 11 more states might, too Politics | Powerful pro-Israel political group targets the liberal ‘Squad’ and Ayanna Pressley Poli...

NFL power rankings, Week 12: For Ravens, top seed in AFC is there for the taking

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:17 GMT

Each week of the NFL season, The Baltimore Sun will rank all 32 NFL teams. The rankings will take into account not just weekly performance, injuries and roster depth, but how well each team measures up as Super Bowl contenders.Here are the rankings heading into Week 12:1. Philadelphia Eagles (9-1, No. 1 last week)Last week: Win vs. Chiefs, 21-17Up next: vs. BillsThe Eagles avenged their Super Bowl loss by storming back from a 17-7 halftime deficit to stun the Chiefs, cementing their status as the best team in football. While Jalen Hurts and the passing game struggled in rainy conditions, a big game from running back D’Andre Swift, two rushing touchdowns from Hurts and a clutch 41-yard pass to DeVonta Smith to the Chiefs’ 1-yard line midway through the fourth quarter was enough to fuel the comeback. Two dropped passes on Kansas City’s final drive saved the Philadelphia defense from embarrassment, which is something to watch as the team enters a brutal four-game stre...

Boston woman accused of punching and kicking a dog near Boston Common

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:17 GMT

A 26-year-old woman is accused of beating up a dog near Boston Common Tuesday night, according to police who arrested her on animal cruelty and assault charges.Boston woman Jasmine Velasquez has been charged with animal cruelty and assault and battery on a police officer following the reported incident along Tremont Street.After police officers in the area had heard a crying dog, a witness told them that a woman was beating a dog next to 131 Tremont St.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Man charged with animal cruelty after dog found dead in his Chelsea apartment Then as the police officers got near the suspect, they saw her kick the dog.“Officers were able to quickly separate the suspect from the dog, and moved the dog to a safe location as there was broken glass and unknown liquid on the ground,” Boston Police said in a statement.Other witnesses told police that the suspect had struck the dog multiple times. She had allegedly punched, kicked, a...

Ballot questions covering MCAS to psychedelic drugs clear first signature threshold

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:17 GMT

Ballot questions covering issues from legislative audits to classifying rideshare drivers as independent contractors cleared a major hurdle Wednesday when organizing groups said they had enough signatures to advance toward potential placement on the 2024 ballot.Attorney General Andrea Campbell certified 34 ballot questions and proposed constitutional amendments in September, kicking off a roughly three-month race to collect more than 75,000 signatures to hand into local election officials.An industry-backed group looking to classify rideshare drivers working for companies like Uber and Lyft as independent contractors eligible for some benefits collected enough signatures, a spokesperson said.“We will have more to say after Thanksgiving but we have plenty of signatures,” a spokesperson for the ballot question campaign told the Herald. “Well over the threshold.”Another question that would grant drivers for Uber and Lyft the right to unionize also cleared the signature hurdle, accordin...

Never mind: OpenAI brings back ousted CEO

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:17 GMT

The ousted leader of ChatGPT maker OpenAI is returning to the company that fired him just days ago, culminating a short but chaotic power struggle that shocked the tech industry and underscored the conflicts around how to safely build artificial intelligence.And OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman will answer to a different board of directors than the one that fired him Friday. The San Francisco-based company said late Tuesday night that it “reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board.”It will be led by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, who chaired Twitter’s board before Elon Musk took over the platform last year. The other members will be former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo.OpenAI’s previous board, which included D’Angelo, had refused to give specific reasons for why it fired Altman, leading to a weekend of internal conflict at the company and growing outsi...

Israel-Hamas deal hinged on proof-of-life evidence, Qatar sheikh

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:17 GMT

By Jordan Fabian, Fiona MacDonald and Jennifer Jacobs, Bloomberg NewsThe breakthrough between Israel and Hamas that will see dozens of hostages and prisoners released from both sides — and more aid flow into Gaza — almost never happened.Talks over an agreement to free some of the captives held in Gaza began soon after Hamas’s forces stormed into Israel last month and took an estimated 240 hostages back with them, according to U.S. and Qatari officials who briefed reporters as the latest deal was announced.But it wasn’t clear the negotiations in Doha would succeed.Related ArticlesWorld | Israel and Hamas agree on a truce to free hostages in swap, raising hopes of halting war in Gaza World | 3 arrested in New Hampshire for allegedly trespassing at Israel-based defense contractor World | Israeli Cabinet approves truce for hostages deal with Hamas; Palestinian prisoners also to be freed World | Robbins: Israel’s only optio...