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Wages are finally rising in Japan, as inflation eats away at consumer gains

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:43 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Wages are rising in Japan more than they have in decades, at least for some workers. But so are prices, leaving many people feeling they must scrimp more than ever. In May, the consumer price index was up 3.2% from a year earlier, well above the central bank’s target of about 2%. That’s great news for policymakers trying to get the world’s third largest economy out of the doldrums by keeping credit super cheap to spur demand and push prices higher.But a government survey of companies with five or more employees found real wages, taking into account higher prices, fell 3% from the a year earlier in April, marking the 13th straight month of declines.Although all the major companies have raised wages this year, with large labor union members landing a 4% hike, the highest in 30 years, a quarter of small and medium-size businesses — employers of more than two-thirds of all workers — gave no pay raises, according to the think tank Tokyo Shoko Research.“My wages haven’t gone ...

6 killed, dozens injured in spate of weekend shootings across US

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:43 GMT

A spate of weekend mass shootings and violence across the U.S. killed at least six people, including a Pennsylvania state trooper, and left dozens injured.The shootings follow a surge in homicides and other violence over the past several years that experts say accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. They happened in suburban Chicago, Washington state, central Pennsylvania, St. Louis, Southern California and Baltimore.“There’s no question there’s been a spike in violence,” said Daniel Nagin, a professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie Mellon University. “Some of these cases seem to be just disputes, often among adolescents, and those disputes are played out with firearms, not with fists.”Researchers disagree over the cause of the increase. Theories include the possibility that violence is driven by the prevalence of guns in America, or by less aggressive police tactics or a decline in prosecutions for misdemeanor weapon offenses, Nagin said. As of Sunday evening, non...

Amazon, Marriott and other companies vow to hire thousands of refugees in Europe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:43 GMT

Multinational companies including Amazon, Marriott and Hilton pledged Monday to hire more than 13,000 refugees, including Ukrainian women who have fled the war with Russia, over the next three years in Europe.Just ahead of World Refugee Day on Tuesday, more than 40 corporations say they will hire, connect to work or train a total of 250,000 refugees, with 13,680 of them getting jobs directly in those companies.“Every number is a story of an individual family who left everything, seeking safety, seeking protection and wanting to be able to rebuild as quickly as possible,” said Kelly Clements, U.N. deputy high commissioner for refugees. “So the commitments that businesses are going to make on Monday are absolutely essential.” She says 110 million people have been displaced worldwide, with an estimated 12 million from Ukraine, nearly half of whom are living in Europe after the continent’s largest movement of refugees since World War II. The hiring push in Europe was o...

Verdict in Oregon wildfires case highlights risks utilities face amid climate change

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:43 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A jury verdict that found an Oregon power company liable for devastating wildfires — and potentially billions of dollars in damages — is highlighting the legal and financial risks utilities take if they fail to take proper precautions in a hotter, drier climate.Utilities, especially in the U.S. West, are increasingly finding themselves in a financial bind that’s partly of their own making, experts say. While updating, replacing and even burying thousands of miles of powerlines is a time-consuming and costly undertaking, the failure to start that work in earnest years ago has put them on the back foot as wildfires have grown more destructive — and lawsuits over electrical equipment sparking blazes have ballooned.“How do they pay for that and at the same time try to do grid hardening at a pace that could prevent the need for constant shutting down of the power?” Josh Hacker, chief science officer at Jupiter Intelligence, a company that provides advice on managing...

4 people fatally shot at residence in Idaho, suspect in custody, news report says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:43 GMT

KELLOGG, Idaho (AP) — Police in Idaho arrested a suspect in a shooting that killed four people on Sunday, according to a news report.The Kellogg Police Department and the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in Kellogg around 7:30 p.m. and found four people who died of gunshot wounds, the Shoshone News-Press reported on the newspaper’s Facebook page.The shooting occurred at multi-dwelling units behind the Mountain View Congregational Church in the city about 36 miles (58 kilometers) east of Coeur d’Alene, the News-Press reported.There was no ongoing threat to the public and an investigation was underway by the Kellogg Police Department and the Idaho State Police, the newspaper reported.The Kellogg Police Department did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional information.The Associated Press

Biden to make announcement in Palo Alto for $600M climate funding plan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:43 GMT

(KRON) -- President Joe Biden will arrive in the Bay Area on Monday. He is scheduled to spend three days in the area and is expected to make a big announcement. 2 people injured in shooting near Pier 39: SFPD Biden will be at the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto Monday afternoon. He is expected to announce a $600 million plan for climate funding, a White House official said. The President will discuss his administration's actions to "combat the climate crisis, create good-paying clean energy jobs, and protect our environment for future generations." Biden will be joined by state, community, environmental justice and youth leaders. Other plans for Biden's three-day Bay Area visit have not been released.KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: ...

Muere en México primer paciente por infección de hongo Fusarium solani

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:43 GMT

(CNN Español) — La Secretaría de Salud del estado mexicano de Tamaulipas informó del primer fallecimiento de una paciente a causa de la infección al sistema nervioso central, provocado por el hongo Fusarium solani. La mujer se encontraba internada en una clínica particular de la ciudad de Matamoros.El secretario de Salud de Tamaulipas, Vicente Joel Hernández Navarro, dijo que “a pesar de los esfuerzos médicos y la aplicación de los medicamentos, la salud de la paciente empeoró con el paso de los días”.Explicó que, hasta el momento en la entidad, suman 24 casos de esta infección “teníamos seis personas hospitalizadas, dos están en el Hospital de Alta Especialidad de Victoria, a quienes se les trasladó para darles seguimiento; no están graves, una más era la paciente del hospital privado, y el resto está en distintas instituciones médicas bajo estricta vigilancia y atención médica”, aseguró Hernández Navarro.Destacó que la investigación sobre las causas que provocaro...

Caddie John Ellis basks in joy of seeing Wyndham Clark win the U.S. Open

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:43 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — John Ellis understands the pressure of playing in the U.S. Open. Now the caddie for Wyndham Clark, Ellis competed in the championship twice.Ellis said he felt just as much pressure carrying Clark’s bag as he played the back nine Sunday during the final round at Los Angeles Country Club.“I care about my guy so much that you know, I find myself getting nervous for him because I want him to do well,” Ellis said after Clark beat Rory McIlroy by one shot to win his first major. “The kid was a rock today.”As Clark was taking questions from reporters, Ellis was smiling and enjoying a beer near the clubhouse.The player-caddie relationship began in 2016, when Clark transferred to the University of Oregon, where Ellis was an assistant coach. Clark said Sunday night that Ellis has had other opportunities but has stuck by him.“I owe a lot to him. I feel like John is meant to be my caddie, but it’s so much more than just a business relationship,” Clark said. “This just m...

POLITICO Pro Morning Energy and Climate UK: Labour’s green game plan — Grid headache — Supply chain snarls

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:43 GMT

Presented by SSE By CHARLIE COOPER and ABBY WALLACE PRESENTED BY View in your browser or listen to audioSNEAK PEEK— Keir Starmer is in Edinburgh today where he will reveal more details of Labour’s green energy plan.— Parliament’s environmental audit committee (EAC) meets this afternoon. What’s on the agenda? Grid queues of course. — Stuart Broadley, chief executive of the Energy Industries Council (EIC), tells MECUK that delays in getting renewable projects off the ground put the U.K.’s net zero targets at risk.Good Monday morning and welcome to POLITICO Pro Morning Energy and Climate UK. Good news all round: you made it through the weekend and we made it to a second week! Here’s your latest update.As always, please send all your tips, musings, encouragement and (gentle) criticism our way at [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]. Or reach us on Twitter: @hargraver; @charliecoope...

How US-made sniper ammunition ends up in Russian rifles

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:43 GMT

As gear reviews go, it was a glowing one: In a 60-second video clip posted on Telegram, a masked sniper sporting the death’s-head insignia of the Wagner mercenary army sings the praises of the Russian-made Orsis T-5000 rifle.“The equipment comes very well recommended,” the soldier, pictured in the charred interior of a building, tells a war reporter from the Zvezda TV channel run by the Russian Ministry of Defense.Pulling out the clip of the weapon at his side, he continues: “It uses Western .338 caliber ammunition. It works very well. It can penetrate light cover if the enemy is behind it. And, in the open, it can strike the enemy at a range of up to 1,500 meters.”The Orsis T-5000 is made by a company based in Moscow called Promtekhnologiya that has been sanctioned by the United States.And the “Western” ammunition?Filings obtained by POLITICO indicate that Promtekhnologiya and another Russian firm called Tetis have acquired hundreds of thousands of rounds made by Hornady, a U...