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Secret Pakistan Cable Documents U.S. Pressure to Remove Imran Khan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:00 GMT

The U.S. State Department encouraged the Pakistani government in a March 7, 2022, meeting to remove Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a classified Pakistani government document obtained by The Intercept.The meeting, between the Pakistani ambassador to the United States and two State Department officials, has been the subject of intense scrutiny, controversy, and speculation in Pakistan over the past year and a half, as supporters of Khan and his military and civilian opponents jockeyed for power. The political struggle escalated on August 5 when Khan was sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges and taken into custody for the second time since his ouster. Khan’s defenders dismiss the charges as baseless. The sentence also blocks Khan, Pakistan’s most popular politician, from contesting elections expected in Pakistan later this year.One month after the meeting with U.S. officials documented in the leaked P...

A wave of National Landing office vacancies is looming

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:00 GMT

JBG Smith, the largest commercial landlord in the Northern Virginia area that is now called National Landing, expects a wave of tenants not renewing their leases by the end of next year.National Landing includes the Arlington neighborhoods of Crystal City and Pentagon City.JBG Smith reports 1.8 million square feet of office leases coming up for renewal across 72 leases by the end of 2024. It says based on tenant discussions, it expects 1.2 million square feet of that will not be renewed, which would be a retention rate of just 33%.A good portion of the expiring leases are office buildings in Crystal City that had been leased by Amazon while the first phase of its HQ2 was being developed in Pentagon City. Minus the impact of those non-renewed Amazon leases, JBG Smith expects a lease retention rate in National Landing between now and the end of 2024 of 50% — compared to is long-term tenant retention rate of 70%.“Our efforts to re-lease certain spaces will be targeted toward buil...

Stock market today: Wall Street slips ahead of inflation report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are slipping Wednesday, weighed by drops for Big Tech companies, as Wall Street waits for a highly anticipated report on inflation that’s arriving the next day.The S&P 500 was down 0.6% in midday trading, coming off a rough run where it’s dropped in five of the last six days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 113 points, or 0.3%, at 35,200, as of 11:20 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.3% lower.Stocks have cooled in August since soaring 19.5% through the first seven months of the year. Several reasons are behind the mini-pullback, including criticism that Wall Street too quickly formed a consensus that inflation will keep cooling, the economy will keep growing and the Federal Reserve has already finished its hikes to interest rates.A report on Thursday will offer a big clue on how warranted those hopes are. The U.S. government will give the latest monthly update on inflation that consumers are feeling across the country, and e...

New Jersey is now the last state in America where drivers can’t pump their own gas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:00 GMT

High gas prices at fuel pump(Getty Images/iStockphoto/CRobertson) High gas prices at fuel pump(Getty Images/iStockphoto/CRobertson) New York (CNN) — New Jersey is now the only state in America where it’s illegal for drivers to pump their own gas.Oregon last week lifted its 72-year-old ban on self-service gas stations, allowing stations to operate half of their pumps as self-serve. Oregon’s law, which was signed Friday by Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek, was passed over the objections of a union representing 800 workers at stations.Oregon’s move makes New Jersey the last state where drivers can’t touch the gas pump. Gas station owners in New Jersey can be fined as much as $250 for a first offense if drivers are ca...

CNBC: clientes de Target ahora pueden ordenar su café de Starbucks sin bajar del auto

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:00 GMT

Target busca impulsar las ventas añadiendo bebidas y alimentos de Starbucks a su servicio de recogida en la acera en tiendas de todo el país.El miércoles, el minorista dijo que ampliará esta oferta a sus más de 1,700 tiendas que tienen cafeterías Starbucks y Drive Up, su servicio de recogida en la acera. Se trata de la gran mayoría de sus casi 2,000 establecimientos. La compañía dijo que comenzará el despliegue en toda la cadena este verano y tendrá la nueva característica en todas las tiendas en octubre.Target ha experimentado con formas de endulzar la experiencia de compra y aumentar la fidelidad de los clientes, especialmente a medida que los consumidores compran menos artículos discrecionales y dan prioridad al gasto en experiencias como conciertos y salir a cenar. Entre sus estrategias, la cadena de descuento ha abierto más mini tiendas Ulta Beauty, ha estrenado las devoluciones en la acera y ha invertido en envíos más rápidos.Target tiene un acuerdo de licencia con Starbucks. ...

Millions scramble to afford energy bills amid heat waves, but federal program to help falls short

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:00 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Bobbie Boyd is in a losing battle against near triple-digit temperatures in northwest Arkansas.Her window air conditioner runs nonstop and the ballooning electric bill carves about $240 out of her $882-a-month fixed income. So the 57-year-old cuts other necessities. Boyd eats one meal a day so her 15-year-old grandson, who she’s raising alone, can have two. She stopped paying car insurance and skips medical appointments.“The rent and the light bill. And I’m broke,” said Boyd, who needs the cooling to stave off her heat-induced asthma attacks.As climate change ratchets up temperatures across the U.S., millions of the poorest Americans grapple with the same agonizing decisions as Boyd — between enduring perilous heat or paying costly bills. While President Joe Biden has invested billions into federal programs that subsidize the poorest Americans’ energy costs, the money reaches only a fraction of the most vulnerable during the sweltering summer months.Nationw...

Germany arrests a citizen who is accused of trying to spy for Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German citizen was arrested on Wednesday on allegations that he tried to spy for Russia, authorities said.The suspect, who was only identified as Thomas H., in line with German privacy rules, was arrested at his home in the western city of Koblenz, and his apartment and workplace were searched.Germany’s federal prosecutor said in a brief written statement that the man works for the Germany military, in the army’s office for equipment, information technology and in-service support. Starting in May, the man began approaching the Russian Consulate in the western city of Bonn and the Russian Embassy in Berlin on several occasions and on his own initiative, offering to cooperate with them. On one occasion, the suspect passed on information he had obtained in the course of his professional activities for the purpose of forwarding it to a Russian intelligence service, the prosecutor’s office said.The investigation was conducted in close cooperation with the Fede...

Alleged high-profile sexual predator arrested in Jeffco

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:00 GMT

Editor’s note: This story contains details about sexual assault and harassment. DENVER (KDVR) — Deputies in Jefferson County have arrested an alleged high-profile sexual predator who was wanted for targeting female hikers.On Aug. 8 at 6:15 p.m., 911 received a call from a female hiker who encountered the suspect near the Beaver Brook Trail at Stapleton Park. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, the suspect was wearing a gray T-shirt and green sweatpants. He allegedly approached the hiker, exposed himself and performed lewd acts.The victim was able to run away and call for help.A couple of minutes later, Jeffco deputies said the suspect confronted another lone female hiker. He allegedly attempted to grab one of the victims before fleeing. Female hikers warned about sexual predator along Jeffco trails After what deputies described as an intense two-and-a-half-hour search. The man was found hiding in the woods. Jeffco deputies said the man tried to run but was ultimate...

Hollywood man arrested for coordinating stolen high-end car sales across South Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:00 GMT

After a two-year investigation, BSO deputies from the Burglary Apprehension Team arrested a Hollywood man suspected of masterminding a widespread operation involving the sale of stolen luxury vehicles throughout Broward County. On Thursday, Aug. 3, detectives took 35-year-old Clint Augustin-Cox into custody. Augustin-Cox faces multiple charges, including four counts of grand theft auto, four counts of dealing in stolen property, and charges related to organized fraud and felony facilitation through a two-way communication device.According to law enforcement officials, Augustin-Cox allegedly played a central role in brokering and overseeing the transactions involving stolen high-end cars throughout South Florida. Detectives believe played a pivotal role between car thieves and prospective buyers, connecting both ends of the illicit market.Authorities say Augustin-Cox’s operation has been ongoing since September 2021, during which he is suspected of facilitating the sales of sev...

Special counsel obtained search warrant for Donald Trump’s Twitter account

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:00 GMT

(CNN) — The special counsel investigation into Donald Trump secured a search warrant of the former president’s Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, according to a newly unsealed court filing.The search was so secret that Twitter was barred from telling Trump the search warrant had been obtained for his account, and Twitter was fined $350,000 because it delayed producing the records sought under the search warrant.The special counsel’s office, which is now working on the criminal case against Trump in DC District Court related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, sought the warrant in January 2023.Twitter ultimately produced the records, according to the filing, now public in the US Circuit Court of Appeals.Court was worried Trump would ‘flee from prosecution’Twitter and special counsel Jack Smith’s office spent several months litigating the question of whether Trump should be told about the search warrant.The dispute came to light on Wednesday when...