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Exxon profit falls compared record-setting numbers last year, but sector consolidation in full swing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

Exxon Mobil’s third-quarter profit declined compared with last year when the oil giant put up record numbers as oil prices soared, but net income jumped 15% compared with the previous quarter. It also raised its quarterly dividend.Those lofty crude prices have fueled a shopping spree this year as Exxon acquired pipeline operator Denbury, the beneficiary of changes in U.S. climate policy, for $4.9 billion in July, and then a few weeks ago the company said that it would buy Pioneer for $60 billion. Exxon isn’t alone. Earlier this week, Chevron said it would spend more than $50 billion to acquire Hess. Exxon Mobil Corp. earned $9.07 billion, or $2.25 per share in the period. That compares with $19.66 billion, or $4.68 per share, a year earlier.Removing certain items, earnings were $2.27 per share.Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research predicted higher earnings of $2.36 per share, but Exxon does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales as ...

Pope orders Vatican to reopen case of priest accused of adult abuse but allowed to keep ministering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has ordered the Vatican to reopen the case of a well-known priest-artist accused of sexually, psychologically and spiritually abusing adult women, and removed the statute of limitations on their claims, the Vatican said Friday. The announcement marked a major turnaround for the Holy See and followed an outcry among victims and their advocates over the handling of the case of the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik, a former Jesuit whose mosaics grace churches and basilicas around the world.The scandal has been a headache for the Jesuits, the Vatican and Francis himself due to suspicions that Rupnik received favorable treatment from the Holy See, where a Jesuit is pope and other Jesuits head the sex crimes office that investigated Rupnik and declined to prosecute him because the claims against him were deemed too old.A Vatican statement said Francis’ abuse prevention commission had flagged “serious problems” in the way his case was handled initially, particularly in...

Watch Live: Fearful Maine residents remain behind locked doors amid massive search for mass killing suspect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Shocked and fearful Maine residents kept to their homes Friday as hundreds of heavily armed police and FBI agents searched intensely for Robert Card, an Army reservist authorities say fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in the worst mass killing in state history.Much of Thursday’s search focused on a large property belonging to one of Card’s relatives in rural Bowdoin, where trucks and vans full of armed agents from the FBI and other agencies eventually surrounded a home. Concerned locals said Card could have the upper hand in navigating the rural, wooded area that he knows well.Police officers speak with a motorist at a roadblock, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine, during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday's mass shootings. The shootings took place at a restaurant and bowling alley in nearby Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)The Cards have lived in Bowdoin for generations, neighbors said. Various membe...

Oct. 27-29: Things to do near Denver this weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — There is always something to do, especially during the spookiest time of the year. Denver's weather is looking slightly frightful, which is on par for the holiday. You might want to wear a long sleeve under your costume, the temperatures could get as low as 20 degrees overnight.The weekend starts with some light snow on Saturday and continues into Sunday. Nevertheless, it's still Halloween weekend and there are plenty of things to do. Will this Halloween’s weather make history? FOX31 picked out some of the top events this weekend. Events: Oct. 27 – Oct. 29Disney in Concert: Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' - Oct. 27Get in the holiday spirit by watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Except at Boettcher Concert Hall, it's with a live symphony in the background. The big screen comes with dialogue, singing and effects from with the Colorado Symphony.Oddities & Curiosities: Festival of Frights! - Oct. 27-28Walk through the interactive experience wit...

US calls on UK to expand crackdown on Hamas financing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

LONDON — A senior Biden administration official on Friday urged the British government to expand its sanctions on militant group Hamas militants following its attacks in Israel this month.During a visit to London, Deputy Secretary to the U.S. Treasury Wally Adeyemo announced new U.S. sanctions targeting Hamas-linked officials and financial networks.“Today’s action targets additional assets in Hamas’s investment portfolio and individuals who facilitate sanctions evasion,” said Adeyemo, making the announcement at the Royal United Services Institute defense think tank in London.Adeyemo said he is “meeting with our U.K. colleagues today to expand our efforts,” and revealed he met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s national security advisor early Friday. He said he will also meet with officials in the British Treasury and Foreign Office to coordinate new sanctions to cut off funding to the terrorist group.Adeyemo is visiting London, Brussels and Berlin in the coming days to coordina...

EU countries tell Brussels to tighten its own belt 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

BRUSSELS — In lean times, European Union countries aren’t keen to send more money to Brussels.That’s lowered expectations for a proposed top-up of the EU’s common budget by year’s end.The European Commission in June asked for €66 billion of additional funds from EU capitals to cover unexpected spending, arguing that the bloc’s coffers have been depleted by multiple crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine.And while EU leaders are near consensus on providing extra cash for Kyiv — bar Hungary and Slovakia — there is very little appetite to finance other spending priorities the Commission put forward for an increase.The two-day leaders’ summit in Brussels this week brought those divisions to the fore, underscoring how an agreement on the budgetary update is still a long way off, as all 27 EU countries need to back it.“You could see a clear bloc of leaders emerging around the table — and it was not just the frugals — who were telling the Commission: We ...

Investigators gather more information about suspect in Lewiston, Maine shootings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

LEWISTON, MAINE (WHDH) – Investigators are gathering more information about the 40-year-old man accused in connection with Wednesday’s deadly mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine. Robert Card remained on the run Friday more than a day after investigators said he allegedly opened fire at a bowling alley and at a restaurant, killing 18 people. Speaking to CNN, law enforcement officials said a working theory on a possible motive behind the massacre now suggests Card may have targeted the two locations because he thought his ex-girlfriend might be there. The pair recently broke up. While they were together, they reportedly frequented the bowling alley and the restaurant. Law enforcement officials also said there appeared to be some planning done before Wednesday’s attack, adding Card’s skills as an outdoorsman combined with his military history have made the current search more challenging and dangerous.Authorities identified Card first as a person of interest and later as a susp...

Patriots’ cornerbacks group still has potential ‘through the roof’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots are unlikely to see the full potential of their cornerback group this season, but thanks to an early-season trade they can at least get close.The Patriots are expected to be without cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones for the rest of the season, but they put a very strong group on the field Sunday. And the unit should be getting even better in time for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.J.C. Jackson, reacquired in a trade with the Chargers earlier this month, is back to playing close to 100% of defensive snaps in his return to the Patriots. Jack Jones, in his first game back from injured reserve, and Jonathan Jones, who was nursing a knee injury suffered in Week 7, split snaps at the other outside cornerback spot. And Myles Bryant manned the slot. Jackson, Jack Jones and Jonathan Jones all played in Sunday’s win over the Bills but never all shared the field at the same time.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots mail...

Where you’ve seen Atlanta, dubbed the ‘Hollywood of the South,’ on screen

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Metropolitan Atlanta is home to the second highest number of soundstages in the U.S., including the massive Tyler Perry Studios and Trilith Studios. But many productions have chosen to shoot in and around the city itself, often as stand-ins for other locations (it’s a popular double for New York). Here are some landmarks and towns you might recognize:— Swan House: Part of the Atlanta History Center, this historic home in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood served as President Coriolanus Snow’s mansion in the “Hunger Games” movies.— Midtown High School: This public high school was known as Grady High School when it stood in for the interiors of Peter Parker’s school in “Spider-Man: Homecoming” but now shares a name with the fictional Queens academy.— High Museum of Art: The high-profile museum doubled as London’s fictional Museum of Great Britain, the scene of Killmonger’s heist early in Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther.”— Downtown Atlanta: The streets (and parking lots) of d...

Americans face still-persistent inflation yet keep spending despite Federal Reserve’s rate hikes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve showed price increases remained elevated in September amid brisk consumer spending and strong economic growth.Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that prices rose 0.4% from August to September, the same as the previous month. And compared with 12 months earlier, inflation was unchanged at 3.4%.Taken as a whole, the figures the government issued Friday show a still-surprisingly resilient consumer, willing to spend briskly enough to power the economy even in the face of persistent inflation and high interest rates. Spread across the economy, the strength of that spending is itself helping to fuel inflation.September’s month-to-month price increase exceeds a pace consistent with the Fed’s 2% annual inflation target, and it compounds already higher costs for such necessities as rent, food and gas. The Fed is widely expected to keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged when it meet...