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Karl W. Smith: Housing is Fed’s secret weapon in battle against inflation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:06:50 GMT

The consumer price index report for July showed the smallest back-to-back monthly increase in two years. This is welcome news in the battle to tame inflation, but the even better news was buried deep in the report. There, it was revealed that rising shelter costs accounted for a whopping 90% of the increase in the CPI. Why is that good? Because the category is notoriously out of date and most likely already in decline, making the moderate inflation data even more benign in reality.Let’s start with what shelter costs are and how they are measured. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates this metric — which accounts for about a third of CPI — by looking at changes in actual rents and something called owners’ equivalent rent. That second part is essentially a survey-informed assessment of how much homeowners think they could get by renting their home.What this all means is that a backward-looking metric is what’s driving the CPI numbers. How so? We know ...

Explainer: Why is a police raid on a newspaper in Kansas so unusual?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:06:50 GMT

Tensions between public officials and the press are hardly unusual. To a large extent, it’s baked into their respective roles.What’s rare in a democratic society is a police raid on a news organization’s office or the home of its owner. So when that happened late last week, it attracted the sort of national attention that the town of Marion, Kansas, is hardly used to.The Marion Police Department took computers and cellphones from the office of the Marion County Record newspaper on Friday, and also entered the home of Eric Meyer, publisher and editor. The weekly newspaper serves a town of 1,900 people that is about 150 miles (241 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City, Missouri.Within two days, the raid drew the attention of some of the nation’s largest media organizations, including The Associated Press, The New York Times, CNN, CBS News, the New Yorker and the Gannett newspaper chain.What prompted this action?Police said they had probable cause to believe ther...

U Albany students ponder careers on Move In Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:06:50 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — On move in day at U Albany, students' questions about future job prospects might come down to a decision between passion and opportunity.4 ways restarting student loan programs could impact the economyWheeling push carts full of belongings into their new homes for the semester, the weight of the future might be just as heavy for these future graduates. Business Administration major Owen Hoey wants to get into sports management. While Hoey says he chose the most popular major because of its flexible opportunities, he was very much motivated by passion. Albany among top areas for college graduates in 2023“When you're working it's, ‘oh I gotta go to work, work my 9-to-5 like I'm exhausted’ but if you're working and you're doing something you love, it doesn't feel like a job” Hoey said. Pre Med Major Alexandria Joseph thinks otherwise. While she's passionate about her major, it was important for her to choose a high demand career path. “While it is important to b...

State requests federal assistance in migrant situation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:06:50 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)----Governor Kathy Hochul has been asking for federally owned sites such as Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn and Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island to be used to shelter asylum seekers."I’ve been asking for one in particular---a large airfield, Floyd Bennett Field, and that will be able to handle 2,000+ migrants," Hochul said at a press conference last Thursday. "We have been supporting directly independent of what the mayor has asked for support for these large scale places and we’ve listed them many times."State, federal, and city officials have been touring the locations. After a meeting with the U.S. Department of the Interior on Sunday, the governor’s request is still pending. In the state budget, $1 billion was allocated to help with the asylum seeker crisis. $250 million is now available to reimburse New York City."We are also continuing to pay for the National Guard directly out of our pockets," said Hochul. "That is a high cost, approaching $200 million dol...

City of St. Charles shuts down water treatment plant due to ammonia drop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:06:50 GMT

ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The City of St. Charles shut down its Elm Point Water Treatment Plant on Sunday and is now solely reliant on the City of St. Louis for its drinking water.According to a statement from the city, the plant was closed on Sunday following a drop in the free level of ammonia in raw water.The plant had been producing a million gallons of drinking water per day for St. Charles residents and businesses.John Phillips, superintendent of utilities for the City of St. Charles, tells FOX 2 that St. Charles is purchasing between 6 and 7 1/2 million gallons of water per day from St. Louis City. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News SIGN UP NOW This is a developing story and is being updated. Please refresh this page every few minutes for the latest.

Man shot, killed by Denver police was holding a marker, not a weapon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:06:50 GMT

The Denver police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man during an alleged domestic violence incident earlier this month believed the man was armed with a knife, but he was actually holding only a black marker, according to body-worn camera footage released Monday.The shooting happened Aug. 5 just before 8 p.m. in the 2300 block of West Cedar Avenue. The graphic body-worn camera footage shows Brandon Cole, 36, held a black marker in his hand and raised the marker to chest-level as he charged at a police officer that night.The officer, who has not been publicly identified, shot Cole twice. The body-worn camera footage shows an uninvolved woman and young child were standing directly behind Cole when the officer opened fire. Cole was killed; no one else was injured.“This is a tremendous tragedy,” Chief Ron Thomas said during a news conference Monday in which police offered the most detailed account to date of the killing.The incident began at 7:56 p.m., when a neighbor ...

Popular Denver restaurant closing after 10 years on 17th Avenue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:06:50 GMT

Humboldt Kitchen + Bar’s 10-year run is coming to an end. The neighborhood eatery, located at 1700 Humboldt St., plans to close in early September, according to a notice on its website.“After negotiation, the restaurant owners and landlord were unable to settle on lease extension terms that were acceptable and sustainable for the future of the business,” the announcement reads. “Additional information regarding the restaurant’s closing schedule and activities will be announced on our website once available.”Concept Restaurants, which owns Humboldt and eight other restaurants (including Stout Street Social in Denver, and a few hotels), opened Humboldt in 2013. The New American restaurant is popular for its farm-to-table and fish-centric menu filled with oysters, craft beer and wine. It is also known for its award-winning hamburger.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | Chocolate Lab closes less than five months after reopening Restaurant...

15 August 1975: Murder of Bangladesh’s Founding Father - An evil attempt to murder Bangladesh

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:06:50 GMT

48 years ago, on 15 August 1975, Bangladesh witnessed the darkest dawn in its history since independence in 1971. The Father of the Nation of Bangladesh and then President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, popularly known as "Bangabandhu" (Friend of Bengal) along with most of the members of his family including his ten-year old son were brutally assassinated by a group of terrorist military officials. His two daughters survived the carnage as they were abroad. The eldest one, Sheikh Hasina, is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh,A few weeks later, a notorious Indemnity Ordinance was promulgated by the brutal usurper Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed, who proclaimed martial law on 15 August 1975 and declared himself the President of the country, preventing the trial of this gravest crime against humanity. This national traitor Ahmed appointed then Major General Ziaur Rahman as the Chief of Army Staff, who eventually declared himself President in April 1977. The killing spree by the internal enemie...

Officials offer rewards in unsolved L.A. County killings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:06:50 GMT

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Monday offered rewards for information in four unsolved homicide cases.Sheriff Robert Luna said detectives have exhausted all resources in their searches for those responsible in the killings, and families still have no answers.Loved ones are seeking closure and are pleading for the public’s help to help solve the cases.Luis Sandoval was killed in 2007. (KTLA) “We can’t do this without you,” Luna said.“Any day that a killer goes by without accountability is another day that we’re all at risk,” District Attorney George Gascón said. A $25,000 reward is being offered to find who gunned down 70-year-old Luis Sandoval as he was riding his bicycle at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Hicks Avenue in East Los Angeles in 2007.He was caught in the middle of gunfire teen two rival groups, officials said.In 2016, 43-year-old Keith Jackson was found fatally shot in the driver’s seat of a parked car in Compton.A $20,000 reward is being offer...

Heads up, online daters: You may be wooing a robot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:06:50 GMT

In a development that should surprise exactly no one, the online dating world is embracing newfangled chatbots, making it entirely possible that would-be Romeos are in fact courting virtual Juliets.Popular dating apps such as Tinder and Hinge are already incorporating AI into their technology, allowing users to turn over online exchanges to chatbots.The automated systems are also serving as trainers and matchmakers for people who consider themselves lovers, not fighters.And there are apps available that serve as your digital Cyrano de Bergerac, offering snappy responses to online queries from potential partners.This was probably inevitable in light of how quickly AI and chatbots have entered workplaces and education, allowing users to skip a lot of the work that once went into reports or school assignments.Roughly half of all adults under 30 have tried a dating site or app, according to Pew Research. But many come away with a negative experience -- shallow conversations, endless swi...