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Indian court to rule on Rahul Gandhi’s appeal of conviction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:03 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian court on Thursday heard an appeal from opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi to stay his conviction in a criminal defamation case for mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname which resulted in his expulsion from Parliament.Judge Robin Mogera said he will rule on the appeal on April 20. Attorneys representing Gandhi and the complainant, Purnesh Modi, a state lawmaker belonging to the prime minister’s Bharatiya Janata Party, presented their arguments in court on Thursday.Gandhi was exempted from appearing in court. His lawyer, R.S. Cheema, argued that the law mandates that only a person who is defamed can file a complaint.A stay of Gandhi’s conviction would stop any immediate by-election in his parliamentary constituency to replace him. After the April 20 ruling, the court will hear full arguments on the appeal from both sides for a final ruling on whether the conviction should be overturned.Gandhi was convicted last month and sentenced t...

Stocks open higher on Wall Street as inflation slows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:03 GMT

Stocks are rising on Wall Street Thursday following the latest sign that inflation continues to cool. The S&P 500 is 0.3% higher in early trading after a report showed that inflation at the wholesale level slowed by more than expected last month. The Dow and Nasdaq are also higher at the open. A separate report Thursday said slightly more workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected. Shares in Ohio-based insurer Progressive are tumbling after it reported disappointing first-quarter results. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story appears below. Trading was muted on Wall Street early Thursday, one day after a report showed that inflation in the U.S. eased and Federal Reserve officials said they expect fewer interest rate hikes this year.Futures for the Dow were mostly unchanged and futures for the S&P 500 inched up 0.1% before the bell Thursday.Government data Wednesday showed U.S. inflation declined to 5% in March from the previous month...

Qualifier Struff beats Ruud, reaches Monte Carlo quarters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:03 GMT

MONACO (AP) — German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff took another step in his comeback from an injury as he upset fourth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6 (6) to reach the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday. Having been ranked 29th, Struff dropped as low as as No. 168 after sustaining a foot fracture last year during a match in Miami, an injury that left him sidelined for more than two months.Struff has enjoyed a good start to the season and returned to the Top 100 last month but had not beaten anyone in the Top 10 since June 2021, His aggressive style of play resulted in 37 winners and 23 points won at the net against Ruud, who dropped his serve four times.Struff ended Ruud’s nine-match winning streak on clay. The 2022 French Open runner-up had won his past two tournaments on the surface, in Gstaad last July and in Estoril last week. Struff will next be up against 2021 runner-up Andrey Rublev, who beat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (4), 6-2 at the Country Club.“We know each ot...

First QB helmet designed to help reduce concussions approved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:03 GMT

The first quarterback-specific helmet designed to help reduce concussions has been approved for use by the NFL and NFLPA, the AP has learned.The helmet, manufactured by Vicis, reduces severity of helmet-to-ground impacts, which league data says account for approximately half of quarterback concussions, including the one suffered by Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa last season when his head slammed violently against the turf during a Thursday night game against Cincinnati.“We’ve now analyzed with our engineers and with the Players Association more than a 1,000 concussions on field, we have a pretty good database of how these injuries occur,” NFL executive Jeff Miller told the AP about the helmet-to-ground impacts. “This helmet performs better in laboratory testing than any helmets we have ever seen for those sorts of impacts.”The helmet performed 7% better than the most popular helmet worn by quarterbacks last season, the league said in a memo sent to team executives on Thursday. Jason Neubaue...

What's a 'middle class' income in Denver these days?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:03 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — In 2023, a household can rake in a quarter of a million dollars a year and still be middle class, depending on the city.Payscales for in-demand professions in business, management, health and STEM-related positions have boosted a middle-class income threshold in some cities. Denver has the nation's 20th-highest threshold for a "middle class" income, according to an analysis of American Community Survey income data from financial adviser SmartAsset. The analysts used the Pew Research definition of "middle class," which is two-thirds to two times the median income in a given area. Denver no longer nation’s top city for weed By that definition, a middle-class income in Denver is anywhere from $54,700 to $163,000. Anything beyond $163,000 would be considered upper class. Nationally, the median income was just under $71,000 a year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.Use SmartAsset's chart below to see if your income is in the middle-class range in your city. !function(...

Fire danger: These areas are under a red flag warning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:03 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The continued warm temperatures, dry conditions, and high winds will create high fire danger on Thursday.The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for the southern foothills, Palmer Divide, and Eastern Plains. Denver weather: Fire risk Thursday, cool rain-snow mix Friday The red flag warning is in effect from noon to 8 p.m. with wind gusts up to 45 mph.The Pinpoint Weather team said the fire danger will linger into the evening. Changes are on the way for Friday with light rain and even snow chances.What is a red flag warning?The NWS says a red flag warning is issued when there are warm temperatures, very low humidity, and strong winds that combine to increase fire danger.In Colorado, the following are conditions considered by the NWS when issuing a red flag warning:Frequent gusts of 25 mph or greater and relative humidity of 15% or lessDry thunderstormsWind shifts associated with frontal passagesFirst significant lightning event (w...

Florida mops up after floods close Fort Lauderdale airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:03 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — South Florida kept a wary eye on a forecast that called for more rain as it cleaned up Thursday from nearly a foot (30 centimeters) that fell in a matter of hours, causing widespread flooding, closing the Fort Lauderdale airport, and turning thoroughfares into rivers.Fort Lauderdale issued a state of emergency as flooding persisted in parts of the city. Crews had worked through the night to attend rescue calls, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.Stranded cars littered streets around eastern Broward County, where rains started Monday, with the heaviest downpours coming Wednesday afternoon and evening. Crews worked to clear drains and fire up pumps to clear standing water. People were told to stay off roads until it drained.The Red Cross arrived at 5 a.m. Thursday and set up a staging area to help residents whose homes were flooded, providing them with blankets and coffee, officials said. The staging area also acted as a reunificatio...

Fire crews work to put out house fire in Fort Lauderdale as flooded roadways makes travel difficult

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:03 GMT

A fire broke out a South Florida home. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue arrived at the scene at 2008 SW 10th Ave., Thursday morning. 7Skyforce hovered the scene where smoke emitted from the home. The source of the fire started in the home’s attic. On their way to the scene, crews had to endure flooded roadways caused by heavy rains to get to the home. Fire crews were having issues finding sources of water.The fire has been put under control. No injuries were reported. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

The rainiest day in Fort Lauderdale’s history sparks severe flooding and emergency rescues as roads are submerged

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:03 GMT

(CNN) — Fort Lauderdale experienced the rainiest day in its history Wednesday — a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event — sparking a flash flood emergency in Broward County that has prompted emergency rescues, forced drivers to abandon cars, shuttered schools and shut down the airport through Thursday morning. And more rain is on the way.The region recorded widespread rainfall totals of more than a foot, while Fort Lauderdale tallied 25.91 inches in a 24-hour period, according to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service office in Miami.While the rain Thursday won’t reach nearly the amounts that fell on Wednesday, it will be problematic and create additional flooding, the National Weather Service said. Gusty winds, small hail and even isolated tornadoes are possible.A flood warning is in effect for portions of Broward County until noon Thursday. A flood watch is in effect through Thursday evening.Between 14 and 20 inches of rain have drenched the greater...

Europe, US must stand together, says UK chancellor in wake of Macron’s China comments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:03 GMT

WASHINGTON — History shows Europe and the United States need to “stand together” to defend “democracy and freedom,” U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said, after French President Emmanuel Macron warned against becoming ensnared in a U.S.-China dispute over Taiwan.Speaking to POLITICO on the sidelines of this week’s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, Hunt signaled that the U.K. isn’t interested in breaking with the U.S. on geopolitics — days after the French president called for Europe to bolster its autonomy from Washington.“Ukraine stands free and independent today, because of leadership by the United States,” said Hunt, who talked up the “complete unity in Europe” that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.“That says to me one very simple thing: that when Europe and the United States stand together, we can successfully defend democracy and freedom around the world,” Hunt added.“An...