DOT awards $155 million in November construction contracts

Associated Press
Surging auto insurance rates squeeze drivers, fuel inflation
Relentlessly rising auto insurance rates are squeezing car owners and stoking inflation. Auto insurance rates rose 2.6% in March and are up 22% from a year ago. Premium costs have been marching steadily higher since 2022, even as inflation at the consumer level steadily cooled from its 9.1% peak in the middle of that year.
6m ago
Associated Press
A man accused in a Harvard bomb threat and extortion plot is sentenced to 3 years probation
A New Hampshire man accused of participating in a plot in which a caller issued bomb threats last year to Harvard University and demanded a large amount of bitcoin was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation. The threats caused the evacuation of Harvard’s Science Center Plaza and surrounding academic buildings, and the controlled detonation of what was later determined to be a hoax device on April 13, 2023, according to prosecutors. William Giordani, 55, was arrested last year on charges including making an extortionate bomb threat.
8m ago
CBS News
Book excerpt: "The Demon of Unrest" by Erik Larson
The latest by the New York Times bestselling author is a riveting account of the months leading up to the Confederate forces' attack on Fort Sumter, the first shots fired in the Civil War.
19m ago
Associated Press
140,000 people did their taxes with the free IRS direct file pilot. But program's future is unclear
The IRS said Friday that more than 140,000 taxpayers filed their taxes through its new direct file pilot program and participants saved roughly $5.6 million in fees they would have otherwise spent with commercial tax preparation companies. The government pilot program, rolled out this tax season in 12 states, allows people with very simple W-2s to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS for free. “We will take time to analyze the data and collect feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders before making a decision about direct file's future,” IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel said on a call with reporters.
21m ago
AFP
US approves gene therapy treatment for hemophilia
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has received US approval for a gene therapy against a form of hemophilia, a rare and inherited blood clotting disorder, the company said Friday.Pfizer's genetic therapy targets hemophilia B, the second most common form of the condition, which primarily affects males.
25m ago
Yahoo Finance
Hermès eludes luxury slowdown, could overtake Louis Vuitton as top brand, analyst says
A Citi analyst contends Hermès is set to surpass its biggest competitor in the next few years and become the largest luxury fashion brand.
26m ago
AFP
Erdogan's White House talks with Biden postponed: Turkish official
A rare meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Joe Biden at the White House has been postponed, a Turkish official said Friday, amid tensions over the Gaza war."The postponement is a pretty big deal, since Erdogan has been trying -- for three years now -- to get invited to the White House to meet US President Biden," said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Program at The Washington Institute.
28m ago
Associated Press
New leaders take on Haiti's chaos as those living in fear demand swift solutions to gang violence
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — It has been only a day since the transitional presidential council was installed in Haiti, and the list of demands on the Caribbean nation's new leaders is rapidly growing. The members of the council, tasked with with bringing political stability to Haiti, are under immense pressure to produce quick results, despite a deep-seated crisis that has been years in the making. Making Haiti safer is a priority.
37m ago
Associated Press
Maine govenor signs off on new gun laws, mental health supports in wake of Lewiston shootings
The governor told lawmakers during her State of the State address that doing nothing was not an option after an Army reservist with an assault rifle killed 18 people and injured 13 others in Lewiston on Oct. 25. The bills drew opposition from Republicans who accused Democrats, who control both legislative chambers, of using the tragedy to advance proposals, some of which had been previously defeated.
38m ago
AFP
Despite climate crisis, US Green Party struggling for traction
Climate change is a major issue on the US political agenda, yet the country's Green Party and its candidate Jill Stein are next to invisible in the presidential race.And she rejects assertions that the Green Party doesn't have any influence on the US political agenda.
47m ago
Politico
‘March or April’: How Zelenskyy gave Johnson a deadline for military aid
A December meeting between the speaker and Ukrainian president influenced Johnson’s decision to approve military aid for Ukraine.
51m ago
Reuters
Kyiv evacuates two hospitals after Belarus KGB chief sparks airstrike fears
The Ukrainian capital Kyiv evacuated two civilian hospitals on Friday after the head of the Belarusian KGB security service said they were housing soldiers, sparking fears of an airstrike. The Kyiv city administration said a video widely circulated online, which it did not identify, contained a threat to attack the two facilities, including a children's hospital, on the false grounds that soldiers were located there. Ivan Tertel, the head of the Belarusian KGB, provided the addresses of the two Kyiv hospitals where he said fighters were "hiding behind the backs of children".
54m ago
AFP
US stocks rebound on tech earnings, London hits new record
Buoyant big tech earnings lifted US stocks on Friday while London scaled another peak as investors tracked a series of takeover bids for UK companies."The bidding bonanza for UK-listed firms goes on, and this is acting as a constant reminder to global investors that, even with the FTSE 100 at a record high, UK stocks look cheap compared to their US cousins," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
59m ago
NBC News
Severe spring storms put 21 million under threat of possible tornadoes and hail
Severe spring storms will bring heavy rain and thunder to the Plains into the Mississippi Valley this weekend — including possible powerful tornadoes, large hail and flooding.
1h ago
AFP
At least 10 people killed in Brazil fire: officials
At least 10 people were killed Friday in a fire that broke out in a defunct hotel being used as a makeshift homeless shelter in the city of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, officials said.The fire broke out around 2:00 am (0500 GMT), officials said.
1h ago
Popular Science
Bird flu virus traces detected in 1 in 5 pasteurized cow milk samples
H5N1 has been detected in 33 herds in six states.
1h ago
CNN
Kenya floods leave 70 dead as truck is swept away in deluge
At least 70 people have died from country-wide flooding in Kenya, a government spokesperson said Friday as authorities ordered more evacuations of people from at-risk areas due to ongoing heavy rainfall.
1h ago
Associated Press
Private security firm says missile fire seen off the Yemen coast in the Red Sea near crucial strait
Missiles suspected to have been fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels landed a distance away from a ship traveling through the Red Sea on Friday, a private security firm said. The attack follows an uptick in assaults launched by the Houthis in recent days after a relative lull in their monthslong campaign over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis did not immediately claim the missile fire, though it typically takes the rebels several hours to acknowledge their attacks.
1h ago
Associated Press
Minneapolis approves $150K settlement for witness to George Floyd's murder
The Minneapolis City Council has agreed to pay a $150,000 settlement to an eyewitness who tried to intervene to prevent George Floyd’s murder and who says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result. Donald Williams, a mixed martial arts fighter who testified against former Officer Derek Chauvin in his 2021 murder trial, sued the city last spring, alleging he was assaulted by police while trying to prevent Floyd's death on May 25, 2020. The lawsuit alleged that Chauvin looked directly at Williams, grabbed a canister of chemical spray and began shaking it toward him and other bystanders expressing concern for Floyd’s welfare.
1h ago
The Conversation
College administrators are falling into a tried and true trap laid by the right
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, conservative activists led a counterattack against campus antiwar and civil rights demonstrators by demanding action from college presidents, the courts and the police.
1h ago

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