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Jury awards $25.6 million to white Starbucks manager fired after the arrests of 2 Black men

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:48 GMT

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Jurors in federal court have awarded $25.6 million to a former Starbucks regional manager who alleged that she and other white employees were unfairly punished after the high-profile arrests of two Black men at a Philadelphia location in 2018.Shannon Phillips won $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages on Monday after a jury in New Jersey found that race was a determinative factor in Phillips’ firing, in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination.In April 2018, a Philadelphia store manager called police on two Black men who were sitting in the coffee shop without ordering anything. Phillips, then regional manager of operations in Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and elsewhere, was not involved with arrests. However, she said she was ordered to put a white manager who also wasn’t involved on administrative leave for reasons she knew were false, according to her lawsuit.Phillips said she was fired less than a month later after...

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announces GOP presidential bid days after Trump’s indictment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:48 GMT

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON (Associated Press)MIAMI (AP) — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday, jumping into the crowded race just days after GOP front-runner Donald Trump appeared in court on federal charges in Suarez’s city.The 45-year-old mayor, the only Hispanic candidate in the race, declared his candidacy in paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday. He had previously teased an announcement, noting that he would be making a “big speech” on Thursday at the Reagan Library in California.Announcing his run on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday, Suarez repeatedly tried to avoid answering questions about Trump’s behavior and the charges in his indictment, saying he didn’t know “all the details about how he handled classified information.”When reminded that he was running against Trump, Suarez replied, “You see, that’s where you’re wrong. I’m running to be the president of the United States, and I’m ru...

Brandon Nimmo’s walk-off RBI double gives Mets win over Yankees to salvage Subway Series split

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:48 GMT

It was a matchup of two of the game’s premier aces and two former World Series-winning teammates.Right-handers Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander dueled one another in the second game of the Subway Series on Wednesday night at Citi Field, but in the end neither pitcher factored into the decision. Neither pitcher factored into the fireworks of a wild rivalry matchup that featured bad defense, stymied rallies, failed comebacks, a shift violation and a straight steal of home by Isiah Kiner-Falefa.The Mets walked it off in the 10th inning with an RBI double from Brandon Nimmo. The Yankees went to the bullpen to get left-hander Nick Ramirez to counter the left-handed Nimmo, but he sent a double to the right field wall to give the Mets a 4-3 win in front of a sellout crowd of 44,121, the fifth-largest regular-season crowd in Citi Field history.“Guys have been battling,” said manager Buck Showalter. “A lot of close games like that, but to push through it was big.̶...

Woman killed, man injured in North County house fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:48 GMT

ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- Firefighters are battling an early morning house fire in North County that has left one person dead.Located off of the 2400 block of Alexander Drive in Escondido, FOX 5's Elizabeth Alvarez was outside the burning residence shortly after 5:30 a.m. to gather more information. Crews from the Escondido Fire Department were seen attacking the blaze from the ground as well as from their ladder truck. Camp Pendleton Marine arrested on charges alleging use of Molotov cocktail at clinic operated by Planned Parenthood: DOJ When firefighters first arrived to the scene around 2:30 a.m., Battalion Chief Tyler Batson told FOX 5 the blaze was already well involved and crews did conduct a rescue. Batson says a man was standing right outside of the home when they arrived. That man was reported to have burns on his body and was pointing into the house, telling firefighters his wife was inside the residence. Firefighters did manage to rescue the woman from the burning...

Police search for stabbing suspect after 2 injured in Mission Beach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:48 GMT

Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect two people were stabbed in this incident. SAN DIEGO -- Two people were stabbed Wednesday night in Mission Beach, and officers were still searching for the assailant, police said.Police were called about the stabbing shortly before 9 p.m., according to SDPD. The victims were described by authorities as a man and a woman who were both 19-years-old. Man suspected of shooting SDPD officer arrested Police were investigating in the 3300 block of Ocean Front Walk.Check back for updates on this developing story.

14-year-old boy arrested after bomb threat forces evacuation of North York school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:48 GMT

A 14-year-old has been arrested in connection with a bomb threat made against a North York school this week.Toronto police say they received an email on Wednesday that there were bombs on the property of Georges Vanier Secondary School.The school, located in the area of Don Mills Road and Finch Avenue East, was evacuated and searched. No explosives were found on the property.A 14-year-old boy is facing several charges including public mischief and uttering threats.He is scheduled to appear in a Toronto courtroom in July.

European Central Bank hikes rates again and vows more after US Fed hits pause

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:48 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank pressed ahead with another interest rate hike Thursday and pledged more are on the way, aiming to crush inflation that is driving up the cost of groceries even after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a break from its own string of increases.The quarter-point rate boost, to 3.5%, is the eighth straight increase since July 2022 for the 20 countries that use the euro currency. That is an unprecedentedly swift campaign to tighten the flow of credit to the economy as the bank seeks to return inflation to its target of 2% from 6.1%. ECB President Christine Lagarde said more hikes, including at the bank’s next meeting on July 27, are in the cards. ECB projections acknowledge that controlling inflation will take months longer, even after the rate has fallen from a double-digit peak late last year.“Are we done? Have we finished the journey? No, we’re not at destination,” she said at a news conference. “Do we still have ground ...

Stock market today: Wall Street opens mixed amid unclear signs on the economy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is off to a mixed start following a messy mix of economic reports that yielded no clear sign about where the economy and inflation are heading. The S&P 500 was little changed in early trading Thursday, coming off its highest level since April 2022. The Dow was up 45 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite was down 0.3%. The market is still absorbing the Federal Reserve’s warning a day earlier that it could raise interest rates two more times this year in its battle against inflation. The Fed has already raised its benchmark rate to the highest level since 2007.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street is pointing lower after the U.S. Federal Reserve left its benchmark borrowing rate unchanged for the first time in more than a year, but issued projections of as many as two additional quarter-point rate hikes before 2023 is over.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 0.2% before the opening bell Thursday and th...

UN requires delegates at climate talks to reveal affiliation in effort to curb lobbying by Big Oil

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:48 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The United Nations will require delegates attending its annual climate summit to disclose their affiliation in an effort to clamp down on undue influence by fossil fuel companies and others, officials said Thursday.Climate campaigners have long complained that the so-called Conferences of the Parties, or COPs, are undermined by lobbyists for oil and gas firms attending under the guise of country delegates. Participants will also be asked to provide optional information on their relationship with the government agency or organization that’s nominated them and those declining to do so will be flagged accordingly. Civil society groups welcomed the decision, which will apply to them too, but said participants should also have to disclose who is funding their attendance.“Addressing the undue influence of the fossil fuel industry and other Big Polluters must begin, not end, with this step forward,” said Tasneem Essop, executive director of the environmental umbrella or...

‘Stand with Trump’ becomes a rallying cry as Republicans amplify attacks on the US justice system

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Moments after Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he hoarded classified documents and then conspired to obstruct an investigation about it, the Republicans in Congress had his back.Speaker Kevin McCarthy dashed off a fundraising email decrying the “witch hunt” against the former president and urging donors to sign up and “stand with Trump.”Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell steered clear of criticizing the former president, refusing to engage in questions about the unprecedented indictment.And at a public meeting in the Capitol basement, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene compared the case against Trump to the federal prosecution of people at the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, suggesting in both instances it was the Justice Department, not the defendants, under scrutiny.The mounting legal jeopardy Trump finds himself in has quickly become a political rallying cry for the Republicans, many of whom acknowledged they had not fully read the 49-page...