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Biden, GOP reach tentative deal to raise debt ceiling, avoid calamitous US default

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:02 GMT

By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK, ZEKE MILLER and KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an “agreement in principle” to raise the nation’s legal debt ceiling late Saturday as they raced to strike a deal to limit federal spending and resolve a looming crisis ahead of a June 5 deadline, the House speaker said. The deal would avert a catastrophic U.S. default, but it also risks angering both Democratic and Republican sides with the concessions made to reach it. Negotiators agreed to some Republican demands for enhanced work requirements on recipients of food stamps that had sparked an uproar from House Democrats as a nonstarter. Support from both parties will be needed to win congressional approval.The Democratic president and Republican speaker reached the agreement after the two spoke earlier Saturday evening by phone, said McCarthy. The country and the world have been watching and wai...

Are Cincinnati Reds closer to playoffs than Chicago Cubs? ‘We’re not where we want to be, I’m sure of that,’ manager David Ross says.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:02 GMT

Good thing for the Chicago Cubs they say their focus is on the road ahead.Because objects in the rearview are a lot closer than they appear.In fact, as they took the field against the Cincinnati Reds Saturday night, in third place and slumping, they were one loss combined with a St. Louis Cardinals victory from getting dropped into last place in the National League Central.That may not mean much on Memorial Day weekend in the context of a 2023 season that has four months to go.But if recent indications mean much, those objects in the mirror might be closer when it comes to the longer road of Jed Hoyer’s Next Great Cubs Team and what might be a steeper hill to climb toward October in the National League Central.Much of the Reds’ identified next-gen core is on the team now, including 100-mph starter Hunter Greene, or on the doorstep at Triple A, including the game’s No. 1-ranked prospect, shortstop Elly De La Cruz.And after the 23-year-old Greene — who signed a...

Division 3 state track: Billerica girls, Westboro boys capture championships

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:02 GMT

FITCHBURG – Winning the indoor state title over the winter wasn’t enough for the Billerica girls track and field program.As part of a deep effort that saw them maintain a slim lead from Thursday in the Div. 3 state championships at Fitchburg State University, the Indians’ outdoor squad outlasted reigning champion Mansfield on Saturday night to claim another team crown in succeeding seasons – their first ever in outdoor.The top team and the eighth team in the standings from the first day were separated by just 14 points, but Billerica put on a show to turn that into the difference against the next best team.The Indians finished with 83.25 points, Mansfield was second with 69.75, Milton came in third with 52, and Chicopee placed fourth with 50.5.“It feels really good and it took the whole entire season to get to this point, it definitely didn’t just start today,” said Billerica outdoor head coach Scott Arsenault. “I’m so proud of these girls, they showed up every day, and from the fir...

Road reopened after Mission Bay crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:02 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A two-vehicle crash Saturday prompted a road to temporarily close in Mission Beach, authorities said.The collision, involving a vehicle and motorcyclist, occurred around 4:15 p.m. at 1000 West Mission Bay Drive, according to the San Diego Police Department.Eastbound West Mission Bay Drive, between Mission Boulevard to the Ingraham Street connector, has reopened after being closed for about an hour, police said. Woman dead after cement bags fall from overturned truck on I-805 "Traffic remains heavily impacted in the Mission Beach, Mission Bay, and Pacific Beach neighborhoods," SDPD tweeted.Authorities did not say who was hurt, but did confirm there were "serious injuries."Check back for updates on this developing story.

Biden, McCarthy reach debt ceiling deal to avoid default

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:02 GMT

Top leaders in both parties reached a long-sought deal on Saturday to avoid an unprecedented government default, announcing an agreement on a plan to lift the debt ceiling immediately and apply new caps on federal spending in the name of curbing deficits.To get there, negotiators had to iron out their differences on a small but crucial list of outstanding issues that had dogged the talks in recent days, including lower spending levels, new work requirements for social benefit programs and permitting reforms to expedite approval of energy infrastructure projects — three Republican demands that were opposed by most Democrats. The impasse became so entrenched Saturday evening that President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who had no plans to speak, staged a break-the-glass phone call in an 11th-hour effort to break the stalemate. McCarthy said during a press call that there's still some work left to do, but he expects to post the legislative text on Sunday, and s...

‘Anatomy of a Fall’ wins Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, the 3rd time a woman has won top honor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:02 GMT

Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” won the Palme d’Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in a ceremony Saturday that bestowed the festival’s prestigious top prize on an engrossing, rigorously plotted French courtroom drama that puts a marriage on trial. “Anatomy of a Fall,” which stars Sandra Hüller as a writer trying to prove her innocence in her husband’s death, is only the third film directed by a woman to win the Palme d’Or. One of the two previous winners, Julia Ducournau, was on this year’s jury. Cannes’ Grand Prix, its second prize, went to Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest,” a chilling Martin Amis adaptation about a German family living next door to Auschwitz. Hüller also stars in that film. The awards were decided by a jury presided over by two-time Palme winner Ruben Östlund, the Swedish director who won the prize last year for “Triangle of Sadness.” The ceremony preceded the festival’s closing night film, the Pixar animation ...

Biden GOP agree to 2 year budget-debt ceiling deal, work requirements for food aid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:02 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an “agreement in principle” late Saturday as they raced to strike a deal to limit federal spending and resolve the looming debt crisis ahead of a June 5 deadline, the House speaker said.A deal would avert a catastrophic U.S. default, but risks angering both Democratic and Republican sides with the concessions made to reach it.The Democratic president and Republican speaker reached the agreement after the two spoke earlier Saturday evening by phone, said McCarthy, speaking Saturday night. The country and the world have been watching and waiting for a resolution to political standoff that threatened the U.S. and global economy.With the outlines of a deal in place, the legislative package could be drafted and shared with lawmakers in time for votes early next week in the House and later in the Senate.Central to the package is a two-year budget deal that would hold spending flat for 2024 a...

No teacher raises, no voucher program: Lawmakers fail to reach compromise on school funding bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:02 GMT

AUSTIN (The Texas Tribune) — A multibillion-dollar school funding bill that became a last-ditch effort to enact a voucher-like program in the state — a priority for Gov. Greg Abbott this legislative session — died Saturday after lawmakers failed to reach a compromise before a key deadline. Previous: Districts in "dire straits" as they watch school funding fights in Texas legislature It was a dramatic end for one of the top items on the governor’s wish list. Abbott, who traveled around the state promoting the idea, has said he’s prepared to call lawmakers back for a special session if lawmakers didn’t pass a “school choice” bill he liked.The proposal’s failure means that school districts won’t get funding to raise teachers’ salaries or balance their budgets, which they said became necessary expenses after the pandemic rattled their finances and inflation diminished the value of the money they get from the state. The Legislature’s proposed budget, which was released Thursday, d...

St. Paul’s many changes to rent control

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:02 GMT

St. Paul voters approved one of the nation’s strictest rent control policies in November 2021, imposing a 3% cap on rent increases. The city’s administrative rules have offered landlords a way to seek exemptions for capital improvements, increased operating expenses and new services, and the St. Paul City Council approved additional changes last fall through a wide-ranging ordinance amendment.The new provisions, which took effect Jan. 1, include:• The city council approved a complete exemption from rent control for all new construction for 20 years. A lookback period exempts apartments built within the past 20 years, as well.• Affordable housing was exempted, too. That includes subsidized housing, deed-restricted housing and other apartments whose rents are maintained below a certain level through written agreements with city, state or federal government.• The city council’s ordinance amendment includes improved tenant notifications when a landlord seeks a rent con...

St. Paul rents flat for two-bedrooms, spike for three-bedrooms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:02 GMT

Pricing in key segments of St. Paul’s rental market remained relatively flat this past year.Median rents for two-bedroom apartments ($1,300 per month) in St. Paul showed no increase from March 2022 to March 2023, according to the housing research group HousingLink. Rents for two-bedroom rentals in Minneapolis increased 7% in the same period.Did rent control have an impact there, or were St. Paul’s stable rents a function of the same pandemic-era trends — like relocations due to remote work — that have softened rents in many urban areas across the country, from New York to San Francisco?That’s unclear.“There’s a lot of dynamics at play,” said Angie Wiese, director of the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections. “Housing supply has an impact. The number of bedrooms has an impact. The supply chain has an impact. Workforce has an impact.”Median rents for three-bedrooms or family-size housing in the Twin Cities tell a diff...