Comment on US-backed force has seized a quarter of Raqa from Islamic State: monitor

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Around 50 European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, will be reassessing their trans-Atlantic relations in the hope that Donald Trump’s second U. S. presidency will avoid the strife and political pitfalls of his first administration. Further compounding an already complicated situation, Germany — Europe’s troubled economic juggernaut — sank into political crisis after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister.

Today is Thursday, Nov. 7, the 312th day of 2024. There are 54 days left in the year. Today in history: On Nov. 7, 1991, basketball star Magic Johnson announced that he had tested positive for HIV and was retiring. Also on this date: In 1916, Jeannette Rankin of Montana won election to the U.

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or making important decisions from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. EST today (2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. PST). After that, the Moon moves from Capricorn into Aquarius. Happy Birthday for Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024: You are a strong, opinionated individualist. You do things your own way because you are modern and forward-thinking.

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials are poised Thursday to reduce their key interest rate for a second straight time, responding to a steady slowdown of the inflation pressures that exasperated many Americans and contributed to Donald Trump’s presidential election victory. Yet the Fed’s future moves are now more uncertain in the aftermath of the election, given that Trump’s economic proposals have been widely flagged as potentially inflationary.

In what was supposed to be their first scheduled loss of the season, the Nuggets refused to accept that label. Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon were out due to injuries. Against an undefeated opponent. An undefeated opponent that already crushed Denver at Ball Arena two weeks earlier on opening night. Somehow, still, the short-handed Nuggets roared back from down 16 in the second half to hand Oklahoma City its first loss of the season, 124-122. Michael Porter Jr.

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER WASHINGTON — A military judge has ruled that plea agreements struck by alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants are valid, voiding an order by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to throw out the deals, a government official said Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the order by the judge, Air Force Col.