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Stock market today: After Dow hits unprecedented heights, Wall Street points still higher

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

Wall Street pointed toward gains early Thursday following a powerful rally that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record high as the Federal Reserve indicated that interest rate cuts are likely next year. Futures for the S&P 500 rose more than 0.3% before the bell as did futures for the Dow. Lower rates can ease pressure on the economy and goose prices for all kinds of investments. Markets have been rallying since October on hopes not only that the Fed’s aggressive series of rate hikes were over, but that cuts may be on the way.The Federal Reserve held its main interest rate steady at a range of 5.25% to 5.50% Wednesday as was widely expected. That’s up from virtually zero early last year. And inflation has retreated sharply from its peak of 9% while the economy has remained solid. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the benchmark rate is likely already at or near its peak while acknowledging that inflation remains too high. Powell said Fed officials don’t...

5 units destroyed in large overnight fire at Aurora construction site

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Aurora firefighters battled a large fire that engulfed several residential buildings that were under construction early Thursday morning.At 12:11 a.m., Aurora Fire Rescue responded to a third-alarm fire near the 7300 block of South Addison Court. The area is next to the Red-tailed Hawk Park in the Heritage Eagle Bend neighborhood. Arson suspect wanted in large downtown Littleton fire Photos provided by Aurora Fire Rescue show the extent of the fire.Aurora Fire Rescue battled a large fire in a neighborhood under construction on Dec. 14. (Aurora Fire Rescue)Viewer photo of Aurora Fire Rescue battling a large fire on Dec. 14. (Viewer: Oscar)Aurora Fire Rescue battled a large fire in a neighborhood under construction on Dec. 14. (Aurora Fire Rescue)Aurora Fire Rescue battled a large fire in a neighborhood under construction on Dec. 14. (Aurora Fire Rescue)Since the fire started at residential buildings under construction, crews said they ran into several obstacles, inc...

Coloradans pay this much in taxes on average

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — If you haven't looked at your gross income before taxes -- don't. Coloradans pay thousands of dollars in total taxes even in the lowest income tax bracket.According to Colorado Department of Revenue data, the average Coloradan pays about $25,000 in yearly taxes.These include state, local and federal taxes. Local and state taxes go towards products like gasoline, alcoholic beverages and registration fees to residential property and specific ownership. Meanwhile, federal taxes go towards things like social security. IRS announces 2024 income tax brackets – see where you fall Federal taxes are the same in every state, while state and local taxes are specific to where you live.Here's how much the average Coloradan is taking home after state, local and federal taxes.Average total taxes paid by incomeIncomeAverage taxes$0 to $15,000$3,342$15,000 to $29,999$5,439$30,000 to $39,999$7,987$40,000 to $49,999$10,207$50,000 to $69,999$13,945$70,000 to $99,999$20,290$100,000 to ...

FDA recalls soda in 3 states after foreign material found in cans

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has initiated a recall of approximately 2,000 cases of Diet Coke, Sprite, and Fanta due to potential foreign material. The affected products are being removed from shelves in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.As of now, the FDA has not disclosed details about the nature of the foreign material. Consumers in these states are advised to check their purchased products and promptly discard any impacted items.

Police release mugshot of man who shot mother, daughter in Miami

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

Alexander Travieso, 48, is now behind bars, accused of a double shooting in the city of Miami. The victims, identified as 50-year-old Irisbel Cartalla and her daughter, 22-year-old Isbelsy Olivera, were allegedly targeted by Travieso, who, according to police, was the daughter’s ex-boyfriend.The shooting occurred Wednesday morning at an apartment complex along Eighth Street and Northwest 47th Avenue; both women were found dead in their apartment complex. Authorities said that Travieso turned himself into the police later that day.As the investigation continues, Travieso faces two counts of first degree murder.

Woman accuses Boston fertility doctor of secretly inseminating her with his own sperm in lawsuit spurred by DNA kit discovery

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

(CNN) — More than 40 years after a couple sought the help of a Boston, Massachusetts, fertility specialist, their daughter discovered through a purchased DNA kit that the doctor is her biological father, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts.The suit alleges Dr. Merle Berger secretly used his own sperm to inseminate the mother, Sarah Depoian, in 1980.“This is an extreme violation,” Depoian said in a statement released by her attorney, Adam Wolf. “I am still struggling to process it. I trusted Dr. Berger fully. We thought he would act responsibly and ethically. I will never fully recover from his violation of me.”At the time, Depoian was told by Dr. Berger — one of the founders of Boston IVF and a former Harvard Medical School professor — that the sperm used in the insemination would be from a medical resident “who resembled her husband” and “whom she did not know,” according to the ...

Illinois NAACP conference president under fire for video saying migrants are ‘like savages’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

(CNN) — Teresa Haley, the top official of the Illinois NAACP is under fire from the state’s governor and others after a leaked video call with NAACP leaders around the state appears to show her comparing recent migrant arrivals to “savages” and saying “they’ve been raping people.”Asked about the recording Tuesday, Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called the comments “reprehensible remarks, I would hope that she would apologize for the remarks. I also think that people should recognize that immigrants to this country are all around us,” according to CNN.In a recording of the Oct. 26 call released by Patrick Watson, the former DuPage County, Illinois, branch president for the NAACP, Haley, complains that incoming migrants are being treated more favorably than Black residents in need. She made the comments after another caller began discussing the topic of migrants.“Black people have been on the streets forever and ever, and no...

Polish abortion verdict violated rights of pregnant woman, human rights court rules

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled that a Polish constitutional court judgment that forced a woman to travel abroad to get an abortion violated her right to respect for private and family life.The case was brought by a woman whose baby was diagnosed with a fetal anomaly while she was pregnant.“The applicant had become pregnant, and the fetus was diagnosed with trisomy 21. A scheduled hospital abortion had been cancelled when the legislative amendments resulting from the constitutional court ruling had come into force,” the ECHR said in a statement.Unable to have an abortion in Poland, the woman ultimately had to travel to a private clinic outside of Poland for the procedure, the court added.The human rights court said it found that the legislative amendments in question, which had forced the woman to travel abroad for an abortion at considerable expense and away from her family support network, had a significant psychological impact on her.“Such interf...

US retail sales rebounded last month, as lower gas prices free up cash

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

Washington, DC (CNN) — Spending at US retailers rebounded in November after declining in the prior month, pointing to the continued resilience of the US consumer.Retail sales, which are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation, rose 0.3% in November from the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That trounced economists’ expectations of a 0.2% decline, according to FactSet, and is a resurgence from the 0.2% decline in October, the first monthly decrease since the spring.Excluding sales at gasoline stations, retail sales rose by an even stronger 0.6% last month.Retail spending has only declined three times on a monthly basis since January, underscoring the remarkable strength of consumer spending this year.Sales rose across most categories in November, increasing the most at restaurants, by a strong 1.6%. Americans also spent at a solid clip at specialty stores and online. Meanwhile, sales at gasoline stations declined the most in November, dropping 2.9%....

Rudy Giuliani now won’t testify in defamation trial brought by former Georgia election workers

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

(CNN) — Former Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani will no longer testify in his defamation damages trial over how much he should pay two Georgia election workers millions of dollars in damages for spreading conspiracy theories about them after the 2020 election.A spokesman for Giuliani confirmed to CNN that the former New York mayor will not testify.The decision not to appear comes after the Georgia election workers – Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss – provided gut-wrenching testimony over the course of two days about how the lies spread by him damaged their reputations and upended their lives.Freeman and Moss are asking an eight-person jury in Washington, DC, to order Giuliani to pay them millions of dollars in damages for the emotional and reputational harm they say they’ve suffered.The case has refocused attention on the human impact of disinformation spread by Trump and his allies after the 2020 election as the former president awaits his own c...