The IMF now sees 1.1% growth for the U.K. economy this year, up from its July forecast of 0.7%, and reiterated a forecast for 1.5% expansion in 2025.
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Canada’s Comprehensive Healthcare at Home partners with global leader Chooch to Revolutionize Health Outcomes and Support Aging in Place
After months of secret preparations, Boston Celtics players and fans got their first look at the team’s championship rings on Tuesday night. They were presented to the players on a table where the 2024 trophy was placed by Celtics legends Bob Cousy, Cedric Maxwell, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce at the start of the ceremony. Details posted by the team show the gold rings feature the motto, “Whatever it takes” on one side, and list all 18 championship years around the ring. The inside is engraved with the team’s record through the playoffs. Eighteen diamonds on the outer bezel represent each of the team’s championships. Fifteen carats of white diamonds represent the teams of the NBA’s Eastern Conference.The tops of the rings twist off to reveal the 2024 banner and a piece of the parquet floor. The rings were made by Jason of Beverly Hills. The rings were presented as part of the Celtics’ celebration of their record-setting 18th NBA championship. Boston’s celebration also included raising the banner to the rafters of TD Garden.”I can honestly say to the best fans in the world, lets do it again,” Jayson Tatum told fans at the conclusion of the ceremony. The top-seeded Celtics went 64-18 in the 2023 regular season, ensuring home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, and dropped only one game in the Finals. With their Game 5 win, the Celtics broke a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers, the only other team in the league with 17 championship victories.Boston fans got their first look at a banner on the day of the team’s championship parade, when Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck walked the banner and trophy into TD Garden because he got caught in traffic.The banner made for the rafters of TD Garden was delivered a few days ago by Woburn-based New England Flag & Banner. The Celtics were coached to their first championship in 16 years by Joe Mazzulla, who at 35 is the youngest coach to win a title since Bill Russell won one as a player-coach for Boston in 1969. Mazzulla is entering his third year at the helm. He originally took on the role of interim head coach just before the start of training camp in 2022, but his impressive success led the team to remove interim from his title later that season.On the court, the dynamic duo of 26-year-old Jayson Tatum and 27-year-old Jaylen Brown led the way. Both All-Stars have played for the Celtics since they were drafted in 2017 and 2018, respectively.Other key players on this Celtics championship team include Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard. All are returning for the next season. The Celtics’ new campaign begins on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against the New York Knicks.
The IRS released its inflation adjustments to income thresholds for tax brackets as well as deductions, credits and other provisions that will take effect for tax year 2025.
Cade Cunningham’s journey with the Detroit Pistons hinges on his ability to convert personal growth into team success.
Sporting Kansas City will honor Curran at Childrens Mercy Park in conjunction with a home match during the 2025 season.
Early voting started off with a bang in Greenville County Monday. By far, the longest measure on the ballot addresses a sales tax and dozens of roads within the county.The tax has been called a few things: a penny sales tax; a one-percent sales tax. If it passes, it will impact everything from main thoroughfares to subdivision streets. Greenville County voters can decide whether to pass this tax, which would add an extra penny on every dollar spent within the county except on things like groceries, medicine, rent/mortgage, utilities, and gas. Greenville County already has a six-percent sales tax. Passing this would bring it to seven percent. The ballot measure clarifies the increase would only go to improving listed roads and would be collected for up to the next eight years.The vote to put it on the ballot had some bumps in the road. “We didn’t get a thorough discussion,” said Rick Bradley, Greenville County’s District 26 Councilman. “We didn’t take the time to discuss a $1.8 billion project.”The tax drove controversy on Greenville’s County Council. They voted to put it on the ballot, 8-4.”The better roads we have, the easier it is to create industry, create economic growth jobs,” said Ennis Fant, Sr., District 25’s Greenville County Councilman.One group said fixing roads this way would be an unnecessary weight on your wallet. “The majority of the roads are state roads that are going to be paved,” said Bradley. “We pay a gasoline tax for that. So, I’m not in favor of just throwing more money at a project that we already have money.”Another group says using this to fill potholes now would spread responsibility to other pocketbooks. “Why is it fair that only people who live in Greenville County, who has a car registered in Greenville County, bear the brunt of all the roads in Greenville County,” Fant asked. “Why not let people who come to Greenville to work here, who come to visit, who come to shop, who come to eat, who come to go to the movies, let everybody who comes to Greenville participate in paving our roads.”The decision is now in the hands of the driver who live and vote within the county.The ballot measure states this will impact more than 1,400 roads projects, the sheer number of which can’t be covered by the 14 million a year we’re taxed for roads.
A custom-built escape in one of the nations most popular coastal destinations has been a home away from home for its vendors for almost 25 years. Now this stunning property can be yours.
The WNBA players union has decided to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement, two years before its expiration. The league and players union had the option to do so before Nov. 1.Related video above: Thousands pack Boston’s TD Garden for first WNBA game everThe early opt-out marks a crucial juncture for the league. The WNBA signed a historic 11-year media rights deal worth $200 million a year.The league had record attendance and viewership this year that culminated in the WNBA Finals that saw New York beat Minnesota in overtime on Sunday in a decisive fifth game.This is a defining moment not just for the WNBA, but for all of us who believe in progress,” WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike said Monday. “The world has evolved since 2020, and we cannot afford to stand still. If we stay in the current agreement, we fall behind. This is a new era, and we are ready to lead transformational change.The league has been skyrocketing, with 2024 marking a huge breakthrough after years of significant and sustained growth. ESPN had huge increases in ratings, with viewership in the regular season going up 170%, according to the union.The current CBA will still cover the 2025 season, so the two sides have a year to negotiate a new agreement.”With the historic 2024 WNBA season now in the books, we look forward to working together with the players and the WNBAPA on a new CBA that is fair for all and lays the foundation for growth and success for years to come,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.Engelbert said at her state-of-the-league address before Game 1 of the Finals that with the new media rights deal in place and many more corporate partners the strength of the league is in a great spot. She also went on to say that the players have been getting a lot more marketing deals, making them into household names.The union said it was hoping for a new economic model that transforms the current system, which imposes arbitrary and restrictive caps on the value and benefits of players. The players want an equity-based model that grows and evolves with the leagues increased business success.Other areas that the union would like to see improved include salaries, retirement benefits, better child care and family planning benefits.”This isn’t some sudden wake-up call. It’s the culmination of what we’ve been driving for over the last several seasons,” WNBPA vice president Kelsey Plum said. “We’ve played a key role in the leagues historic growth, and now we’re breaking free from the current system to demand full transparency and an equitable stake in the business weve helped build.”
Asian markets swung Monday as traders weigh Chinese central bank interest rate cuts aimed at reigniting the world’s number two economy, while gold hit a record high on geopolitical concerns. Another record day on Wall Street on Friday was unable to inspire a similar rally at the start of the week, with traders also gearing
Lil Woody Apologizes to Young Thug in Emotional Interview, Reflects on Regret and Personal Growth Lil Woody Apologizes to Young Thug in Emotional Interview, Reflects on Regret and Personal Growth
Israel’s military announced Sunday it will now take aim at the Lebanon-based Hezbollah’s financial arm and plans to attack a large number of targets in the coming hours in Beirut and elsewhere.Related video above: Firefighters work to extinguish blaze after rockets were launched from LebanonIsraeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said they will issue evacuation warnings for people in parts of Beirut, and anyone who will be near the sites used to finance Hezbollahs terrorist activity is required to stay away from them immediately.The strikes will target al-Qard al-Hassan “all over Lebanon, a senior Israeli intelligence official said. Al-Qard al-Hassan is a unit in Hezbollah that’s used to pay operatives of the Iran-backed militant group and help buy arms, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with army regulations.The registered nonprofit, sanctioned by both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, provides financial services and is also used by ordinary Lebanese.The scope of the new Israeli evacuation warnings was not immediately clear.A year of escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah over the war in Gaza turned into all-out war last month, and Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon early this month.Israel’s announcement came a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called civilian casualties in Lebanon far too high in the Israel-Hezbollah war and urged Israel to scale back some strikes, especially in and around Beirut.Iran supports the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and the United States is investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents indicating that Israel was moving military assets into place for a military strike in response to Irans ballistic missile attack on Oct. 1, according to three U.S. officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to discuss the matter publicly.Lebanese army says 3 soldiers killed in Israeli strikeThe Lebanese army said three soldiers were killed in an Israeli strike Sunday on their vehicle in southern Lebanon. There was no immediate comment on that from the Israeli military, which said it struck more than 100 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past day and continued ground operations there.Lebanons army has largely kept to the sidelines in the war. The military is a respected institution in Lebanon but isn’t powerful enough to impose its will on Hezbollah or defend the country from an Israeli invasion.Israel’s military said Hezbollah fired more than 170 rockets into the country Sunday. Israels Magen David Adom rescue service said three people were slightly injured from a fire sparked by a rocket attack on the northern city of Safed.Israel has increased strikes on southern neighborhoods of Beirut known as the Dahiyeh, a crowded residential area where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It is also home to many civilians unaffiliated with the militant group.Medics warn of a catastrophic situation in GazaIsraeli strikes on homes in the northern Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday left at least 87 people dead or missing, the territorys Health Ministry said, as a large-scale operation continued against Hamas militants said to be regrouping.The ministry said another 40 people were wounded in the strikes on the town of Beit Lahiya, which was among the first targets of Israels ground invasion nearly a year ago. The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas target.The U.S. is urging Israel to press for a cease-fire in Gaza following the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week. But neither Israel nor Hamas has shown interest in such a deal after negotiations sputtered to a halt in August.Among the dead from the strikes in Beit Lahiya were parents and eight children, according to Raheem Kheder, a medic. He said the strike flattened a multistory building and at least four neighboring houses.The Israeli military said it used precise munitions against a Hamas target. It said the area is an active war zone and it was trying to avoid harming civilians.Mounir al-Bursh, director general of the Health Ministry, posted on X that the flood of wounded from the strikes compounded an already catastrophic situation for the health care system in northern Gaza.Six people, including a child, were killed when a strike hit a car in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital officials said. The bodies were counted by AP journalists.Doctors Without Borders, the international charity known by its French acronym MSF, called on Israeli forces to immediately stop their attacks on hospitals in northern Gaza after the Health Ministry said that Israeli troops had fired on two hospitals over the weekend.The nonstop Israeli military operations over the past two weeks in northern Gaza “have horrifying consequences, said Anna Halford, an MSF emergency coordinator.Israel’s military said that it was operating near one hospital but hadn’t fired directly at it.Internet connectivity went down in northern Gaza late Saturday, making it difficult to gather information about strikes and complicating rescue efforts.Israeli operation in northern Gaza enters third weekIsraeli forces have repeatedly returned to Jabaliya in northern Gaza, a densely populated urban refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. The north has suffered the heaviest destruction of the war and has been encircled by Israeli forces since late last year.Israel ordered the entire population of the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, to evacuate to the south in the war’s opening weeks and reiterated those instructions this month. Most of the population fled last year, but around 400,000 people are believed to have remained.On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israels security fence and stormed in, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 captives are still being held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.Israels offensive in Gaza has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who don’t distinguish combatants from civilians. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.___Samy Magdy reported from Cairo. Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, and Zeke Miller, Mike Balsamo, Eric Tucker and Tara Copp in Washington, contributed to this report.