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Global economy still only limping, IMF says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:44 GMT

MARRAKECH, Morocco — The world’s economy is slowing down but fears of a painful contraction and mass unemployment have subsided, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.Global growth remains dampened by supply chain disruptions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, persistently high inflation, and spiraling borrowing costs. But on the bright side, historically high employment levels and a steady decline in prices have reduced the chances of a “hard landing” scenario, which in April the IMF had flagged as likely.“Projections are increasingly consistent with a ‘soft landing’ scenario, bringing inflation down without a major downturn in activity,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF chief economist, said in Marrakech, where the IMF and the World Bank are hosting their annual meetings despite a devastating earthquake that hit the country in September.Following 3.5 percent global growth in 2022, the IMF now expects world GDP to come in at 3 percent this year an...

Spotty Showers, Seasonable

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:44 GMT

Some classic October air has settled in over the last couple of days and will continue over the next several days. With the seasonable air today, we’ll see a mix of clouds and some sun, and a few spotty showers. Not all towns get wet, and showers that do pop up are generally brief. Temps are a bit higher tomorrow and Thursday with highs in the mid to upper 60s. While Friday ends the workweek dry, we’ll likely start to see wet weather move back in some time over the weekend. The highest chance for rain looks to be late Saturday, through Sunday, with a chilly ocean breeze kicking in, holding temps in the 50s.

Biden’s second try at student loan cancellation moves forward with debate over the plan’s details

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s second attempt at student loan cancellation is moving forward with a round of hearings beginning Tuesday to negotiate the details of a new plan.In a process known as negotiated rulemaking, 14 people chosen by the Biden administration will meet for the first of three hearings on student loan relief. Their goal is to guide the Education Department toward a proposal after the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s first plan in June.The negotiators all come from outside the federal government and represent a range of viewpoints on student loans. The panel includes students and officials from a range of colleges, along with loan servicers, state officials and advocates including the NAACP.Biden directed the Education Department to find another path to loan relief after the conservative court ruled that he couldn’t cancel loans using a 2003 law called the HEROES Act.The latest attempt will rest on a sweeping law known as the H...

Bruins rookie Poitras plays his way onto roster. Now he needs to find a place to live

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:44 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand put a nasty move on 19-year-old Matthew Poitras in a 2-on-2 drill in practice on Monday, leaving the Bruins rookie to pick himself up off the ice.“A little ‘welcome to the league’ moment out there,” Marchand said with a chuckle. “But, you know, he gives it to guys every day, too. So it’s fun to see out there.”Marchand followed up his ankle-breaker by skating over to Poitras (pronounced POT’-rah) for a little stick tap on the shinguard — the new, mature version of the “Little Ball of Hate” that was promised when he ascended to the captaincy this summer. Afterward, there was more encouragement for the Canadian juniors product who led the team with three goals this preseason and played himself onto the Bruins roster.“I really like him. He’s a really good kid,” Marchand said. “He’s just seems like he’s never under pressure. The game doesn’t move too fast for him. … He has all the attributes to be a great player in this league, and we’ll see how it p...

The Ravens played ‘probably our worst game ever’ in London 6 years ago. This time, they’re doing everything ‘the opposite.’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:44 GMT

The NFL has been playing games abroad for decades. It started with exhibitions taking place everywhere from Mexico to Japan to England to Australia, among others.The first regular-season game outside the United States, however, didn’t take place until 2005, in Mexico City. Two years later, the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins in the league’s first regular-season game in England.It wasn’t until a decade later that the Ravens ventured across the pond for the first time, and the outcome made them uninterested in going back anytime soon.The Jacksonville Jaguars blew out Baltimore, 44-7, on Sept. 24, 2017, in a game that was filled with blunders and an abundance of missed tackles in what was the second-largest margin of defeat in franchise history. Then-Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith said, “We fell flat on our faces.” Receiver Jeremy Maclin added, “That’s what happens in the National Football League when ...

Former Orioles pitcher Wally Bunker was a teen sensation and a World Series hero, but the success was fleeting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:44 GMT

Sixty years ago, Wally Bunker burst onto the baseball scene, an 18-year-old phenom who pitched for his high school team one day and for the Orioles the next. Or so it seemed. In June 1963 — two days after high school graduation — Bunker signed with Baltimore. Three months later, on Sept. 29, the kid from San Bruno, California, strode to the mound at Memorial Stadium to face the Detroit Tigers.Bunker lost the game, 7-3. But he roared back in 1964 to go 19-5, with a winning percentage (.792) that tied him with Los Angeles Dodgers ace Sandy Koufax for best in the major leagues. That season, Bunker pitched two one-hitters and finished runner-up for American League Rookie of the Year honors behind Minnesota Twins outfielder (and Hall of Famer) Tony Oliva. Bunker also drew votes in balloting for the league’s Most Valuable Player, an award won in a landslide by the Orioles’ Brooks Robinson.“He’s too young to pitch,” Harry Brecheen, Baltimore...

The wonder years: An Orioles season to remember, especially for young fans who could be hooked for life

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:44 GMT

Bradley Glubo had trouble sleeping the night before the first day of the rest of his baseball life.But once he did, the 8-year-old Ellicott City boy said, “I started dreaming about the game. I dreamed about Adley and Gunnar hitting home runs.”Rutschman, Henderson and their teammates embedded themselves into the waking and sleeping hours of many an Orioles fan this season and into the American League Division Series, which goes into Game 3 tonight with the Orioles down 2-0 and facing elimination.But, research suggests, if a team finds its way into your heart around the age of 8, it could remain there for life.“It’s a crucial time,” said Bob Heere, a professor of sports management at the University of North Texas.He and others who have researched sports fandom say this age sits at a sweet spot for developing a deep alliance with a team, usually through a parent, most often a father, siblings or friends.Sports teams are a vehicle for socialization and...

Joe Saunders, the Orioles’ 2012 wild-card hero, knows what it takes to deliver in must-win playoff game vs. Rangers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:44 GMT

Joe Saunders isn’t aware he’s a cult hero for a portion of the Orioles’ fan base.The former major leaguer pitched for 10 seasons, but just 48 of his nearly 1,400 career innings came as an Oriole. But that doesn’t matter to Baltimore fans, who fondly remember Saunders’ stunning start against the Texas Rangers in the 2012 wild-card game — the Orioles’ first playoff victory of the 21st century.Last week, when the Orioles learned the Rangers would be their opponent in the American League Division Series, Baltimore fans flooded to social media to reminisce on Saunders’ stellar — and surprising — start in that game 11 years ago in Arlington. They posted photos, videos and memes of Saunders’ contribution that, in some ways, defined the scrappy team that brought playoff baseball back to Baltimore.“Oh, that’s awesome,” said Saunders, unaware of the fanfare. “I’ll be honest with you...

IMF outlook worsens for a ‘limping’ world economy. Mideast war poses new uncertainty

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:44 GMT

WASHINGTON — The world economy has lost momentum from the impact of higher interest rates, the invasion of Ukraine and widening geopolitical rifts, and it now faces new uncertainty from the war between Israel and Hamas militants, International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.The IMF said it expects global economic growth to slow to 2.9% in 2024 from an expected 3% this year. The forecast for next year is down a notch from the 3% it predicted back in July.The deceleration comes at a time when the world has yet to fully mend from a devastating but short-lived COVID-19 recession in 2020 and now could see fallout from the Middle East conflict — particularly to oil prices.A series of previous shocks, including the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, has slashed worldwide economic output by about $3.7 trillion over the past three years compared with pre-COVID trends.“The global economy is limping along, not sprinting,” IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said at a news conf...

Sweden’s police chief says escalation in gang violence is ‘extremely serious’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:44 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s national police chief said Tuesday that an escalation in gang violence this year — with almost daily shootings and bombings that have claimed dozens of lives, including teenagers and innocent bystanders — is “extremely serious.”Sweden has grappled with gang violence for years but the latest surge has been exceptional, Anders Thornberg said at a news conference, calling it “the most violence we have ever had in the country.” He added that police have “prevented about 80 imminent murders or explosions” since the start of the year.Twelve people died and five others were injured in attacks last month that Thornberg described as “terrorist-like violence.” The attacks are linked to criminal gangs that often recruit teenagers from socially disadvantaged immigrant neighborhoods to carry out hits.Some 42 people have died in 290 shootings in Sweden this year, according to official police statistics. Authorities say the surge in violence is related to a fe...