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2 Federal Reserve officials say spike in bond yields may allow central bank to leave rates alone

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Federal Reserve officials suggested Monday that the central bank may leave interest rates unchanged at its next meeting in three weeks because a surge in long-term interest rates has made borrowing more expensive and could help cool inflation without further action by the Fed. Since late July, the yield, or rate, on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note has jumped from around 4% to about 4.8%, a 16-year high. The run-up in the yield has inflated other borrowing costs and raised the national average 30-year mortgage rate to 7.5%, according to Freddie Mac, a 23-year high. Business borrowing costs have also risen as corporate bond yields have accelerated. Philip Jefferson, vice chair of the Fed’s board and a close ally of Chair Jerome Powell, said in a speech Monday to the National Association for Business Economics that he would “remain cognizant” of the higher bond rates and “keep that in mind as I assess the future path of policy.” Jefferson’s comments fol...

Jalen Hurts finally flashes a breakout run game. The 5-0 Eagles need more of it to stay undefeated

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:51 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts had been more grounded this season than he was a year ago, when he was an explosive runner in a breakout season that saw him lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl.The big plays will come, he insisted.Hurts finally broke free Sunday in a win against the Rams.The Eagles led by three in the third quarter when they faced third-and-7 in their own territory. Maybe the Rams would have one more scoring drive in them should they stop the Eagles and force a punt.Hurts instead dropped back, faced pressure and took off toward his right sideline and beat two defenders before bruising his way for a few more yards. Hurts got 17 yards on the run that kept the drive alive and ended with a field goal.That was the Hurts the Eagles had waited for this season.“There’s gonna be games he has to get freaky out there,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “I thought he did a really nice job of making some plays that only he can make.”Hurts passed for 303 yards and a touchdown and rushed for...

Will you be able to see Saturday's solar eclipse in Denver?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Oct. 14 marks the annual solar eclipse, where the moon passes between the sun and Earth creating a "ring of fire." While Denver's not exactly in the total eclipse path, people in the Mile High City still might get a chance to see it.The map below shows the “path of annularity," a track less than 150 miles wide from which the “ring of fire” will be visible in October. MAP: Will you be able to see the 2023 annular eclipse in Colorado? While Denver isn't exactly close to the path of full visibility, physics and astronomy professors at Regis University say Denver will still get to see a partial eclipse.In the mid-morning of the 14th, Denver will see about 85% coverage."It won't be an annular 'ring of fire' like in southwest Colorado, but it should still be an impressive solar event," said Frederick Gray, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Regis University. Will you see the solar eclipse? NASA map shows ‘path of totalit...

EU U-turns after halting Palestinian funding following Hamas attack

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:51 GMT

The EU’s united front on Israel’s war with Hamas is already showing its first cracks.On Monday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi announced the Commission would put €691 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority under review, with all payments immediately suspended. Hours later, with that move causing concern across the bloc, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said the Commission “will not suspend the due payments” as “punishing all the Palestinian people” would have “damaged the EU interests in the region and would have only further emboldened terrorists.”Before the U-turn, there were already public disagreements within the Commission over whether to freeze aid to the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, Tuesday’s EU foreign affairs ministers meeting risks leading to an internal showdown, EU diplomats and officials warned, given the disagreements between EU countries on the conflict. “Israel-Palestine is one of the m...

As Republicans split over who will be House speaker, McCarthy positions himself as a de facto leader

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:51 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have no clear idea who to elect U.S. House speaker, leaving an unprecedented power vacuum in Congress and severely limiting America’s ability to quickly respond to the crisis in Israel — or any number of other problems at home or abroad.On Monday, the ousted former speaker, Kevin McCarthy, quickly jumped into the void, bitterly criticizing President Joe Biden’s administration over the strength of its defense of Israel and positioning himself as a de facto Republican leader even though his colleagues toppled him from power.But it’s not at all clear if McCarthy could seriously make a comeback — or if any other Republicans seeking the gavel, Steve Scalise or Jim Jordan — can be elected speaker as their majority dissembles into infighting. House Republicans are scheduled to meet behind closed doors Monday evening to try to regain control of their majority ahead...

In a drying West, every drop counts. A new tool could help farmers care for their crops — and themselves

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:51 GMT

SAN LUIS — When the water is flowing down from the mountains, Joe Lobato wakes up most mornings and drives from his home in San Luis to his fields spread across the valley where his family has farmed for more than 100 years.During spring and summer runoff, Lobato uses a series of ditches to direct water to the fields where he grows alfalfa, mixed grains and Timothy grass. He strategically opens and closes a series of gates and places tarps in the ditches to direct the water to flood his fields at the right time.But driving all over Costilla County and manually opening and closing gates or placing tarps to direct water is time intensive — especially since Lobato and his family all work other full-time jobs in addition to farming.“You have to work a day job to afford to farm or ranch,” he said.The Lobatos are one of the first farming families in the state to try a new, Colorado-grown technology aimed at reducing farmers’ workload and managing Colorado’s shrinking water supply more eff...

Editorial: Israel will prevail

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:51 GMT

Saturday’s Hamas terror onslaught from their stronghold in Gaza into Israel, murdering hundreds, was a sneak attack, just like the sneak attack by Egypt and Syria on Israel on Yom Kippur exactly 50 years ago. 9/11 was a sneak attack, as was Pearl Harbor and Hitler’s surprise invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.The targets, be it Israel or the United States or the Russians, are caught off guard by their enemies, stunned, suffering major psychological damage and loss of human life. But then comes the response and the counteroffensive.Those earlier sneak attacks failed. Hopefully, this one will also. We pray it does.Hamas claims that its fighters are soldiers, but soldiers don’t kidnap civilians from their homes to seize them as hostages, as Hamas did in launching raids into Israel in addition to their barrage of thousands of rockets fired at civilian population centers, including Tel Aviv.Both of those are acts of terrorism, which makes perfect sense, as Hamas is a terror group...

Olympics set to tackle flag football at Los Angeles Olympics in 2028

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:51 GMT

By EDDIE PELLS (AP National Writer)First, Taylor Swift. Next, the Olympics.The NFL’s ongoing push for worldwide exposure got another boost Monday when organizers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics delivered a proposal to put flag football on the program when the Summer Games return to the United States for the first time in 32 years.The International Olympic Committee will vote on the proposal at meetings in Mumbai, India, that begin later this week. Also on the LA proposal were baseball and softball, which have been bouncing on and off the program for decades; lacrosse; squash; and cricket — a fitting contrast to flag football in that it is virtually unknown in the United States but immensely popular over wide swaths of the globe.LA chairman Casey Wasserman said the new sports are “relevant, innovative and community-based, played in backyards, schoolyards, community centers, stadiums and parks across the U.S. and the globe.”Though participation numbers hav...

EU reverses earlier announcement that it was suspending development aid to Palestinians

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:51 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union late Monday reversed an earlier announcement by an EU commissioner that the bloc was “immediately” suspending development aid for Palestinian authorities and instead said it would urgently review such assistance in the wake of the attacks on Israel by Hamas to make sure no money was misused.“There will be no suspension of payments” at the moment, a terse European Commission statement said late Monday, five hours after EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi had said that all payments from the development program for Palestinians would be “immediately suspended. All projects put under review. All new budget proposals … postponed until further notice.”No immediate explanation for the reversal was given. A full European Commission statement always trumps a statement from an EU commissioner, but the reversal on a 691 million-euro ($730 million) program capped an embarrassing day at the EU’s executive at a time of extreme geopolitical sensitivities. Since Satur...

Ted Schwinden, who served two terms as Montana governor, dies at age 98

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:18:51 GMT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Ted Schwinden, a wheat farmer and Word War II veteran who gained national attention for keeping his home phone number listed during two terms as Montana’s governor, has died. He was 98.Schwinden died Saturday in Phoenix at his daughter’s home, son Dore Schwinden said Monday. The cause of death was “old age,” his son said: “He went to sleep in the afternoon and didn’t wake up.”Ted Schwinden was a Democrat who served as Montana’s 19th governor from 1981 and 1989. He and his wife, Jean, opened the governor’s mansion to the public for the first time and often welcomed the public tours in person.The governor periodically drew national attention because he answered his own, listed telephone. Radio talk shows throughout the nation would call him at home for impromptu interviews.“When Ted was on the phone, it was impossible to tell if he was talking to the governor of Oregon or a custodian at the Capitol. Every caller warranted his respect and full a...