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Wildfires kill at least 3 and displace thousands across southern Europe

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Wildfires intensified across southern Europe on Wednesday with a round-the-clock battle to protect the perimeter of Greece’s third-largest city and at least three deaths reported in Spain, Turkey and Albania. Outside the Greek port city of Patras, firefighters struggled to protect homes and agricultural facilities as flames tore through pine forests and olive groves. Tall columns of flames rose behind apartment blocks on the outskirts of the city, while dozens of vehicles were torched as flames swept through a nearby impound lot. “Today is another very ...

Wall Street ticks higher

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks ticked higher on Wednesday after a rally spurred by hopes for lower U.S. interest rates wrapped around the world. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 463 points, or 1%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to its own record set the day before. Treasury yields eased in the bond market as expectations reached a virtual consensus that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate for the first time this year at its next meeting in September. Lower rates can boost investment prices and ...

‘Liberation Day’ reignites D.C. statehood debate

(The Center Square) — As the National Guard begins patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., after President Donald Trump announced their deployment in support of making the city safer, the move has reignited a debate over the district’s statehood. Since the president’s Monday announcement, protests have emerged to “keep D.C. free,” after fears Congress could rescind the district’s Home Rule Act, granting it limited autonomy. In response to Trump’s executive action to declare a crime emergency, or “Liberation Day,” in the district by implementing federal control ...

Social Security’s 90th anniversary sparks talks over how to address insolvency

(The Center Square) — On the day before Social Security’s 90th anniversary, fiscal watchdogs were urging Congress to seriously address the program’s impending funding shortfalls — particularly in light of the now $37 trillion national debt — even as lawmakers met Wednesday to discuss increasing benefits. “The looming shortfalls in Social Security are intimately connected with our nation’s overall deteriorating fiscal outlook, and every year of delay makes the choices more difficult and the trade-offs more punishing,” Executive Director Carolyn Bourdeaux of Concord ...

GE Appliances announces $3B investment in U.S. production

(The Center Square) — GE Appliances announced a $3 billion investment over the next five years to increase production at facilities across the country. The appliance manufacturer, whose parent company is China-based Haier, will begin with increased production at the company’s plants in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee. The five year plan anticipates adding an additional 1,000 new jobs. “No other appliance company over the last decade has invested more in U.S. manufacturing than we have, and our $3 billion, five-year plan shows that our commitment to U.S. ...