Tag Archives: lifted

Ezra Miller speaks out after harassment order is lifted: I’ve been ‘unjustly’ targeted by ‘manipulative’ individual – Yahoo Entertainment

  1. Ezra Miller speaks out after harassment order is lifted: I’ve been ‘unjustly’ targeted by ‘manipulative’ individual Yahoo Entertainment
  2. Ezra Miller’s Protective Order Lifted; Statement Released Jezebel
  3. Ezra Miller: The Flash actor ‘grateful’ after harassment order ends BBC
  4. Ezra Miller Claims They Have Been ‘Unjustly and Directly Targeted’ Amid Abuse Allegations Yahoo Entertainment
  5. Greenfield, Mass. temporary protective order against ‘The Flash’ star Ezra Miller lifted MassLive.com
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Houston chemical fire: Precautionary shelter-in-place lifted after heavy smoke in Bellaire area, officials say – KTRK-TV

  1. Houston chemical fire: Precautionary shelter-in-place lifted after heavy smoke in Bellaire area, officials say KTRK-TV
  2. City of Houston issues precautionary shelter in place after three-alarm chemical fire at metal p… KPRC 2 Click2Houston
  3. Shelter-in-place lifted following chemical fire at southwest Houston warehouse FOX 26 Houston
  4. Shelter-in-place lifted following chemical fire at business near Bellaire KHOU.com
  5. Shelter-in-place order lifted after chemical fire at southwest Houston facility KPRC Click2Houston
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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The evacuation order was lifted a week ago near the toxic train wreck in Ohio, but some aren’t comfortable going home – CNN

  1. The evacuation order was lifted a week ago near the toxic train wreck in Ohio, but some aren’t comfortable going home CNN
  2. NTSB says videos of Ohio train derailment include one showing wheel bearing in ‘final stage of overheat failure’ CNN
  3. Ohio resident shares terrifying experience with toxic derailment: ‘Thrown into tragedy’ Fox Business
  4. East Palestine train derailment: People 30 miles away feel impact of Ohio chemical spill The Columbus Dispatch
  5. I’m a physician and the Ohio train derailment has created a serious public health crisis Fox News
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Chinese rush to renew passports as COVID border curbs lifted

  • China dropped quarantine for visitors on Sunday
  • Latest move in easing that has let virus run free
  • Several nations demand COVID tests from China travellers
  • Chinese stocks, yuan rally on growth hopes

BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) – People joined long queues outside immigration offices in Beijing on Monday, eager to renew their passports after China dropped COVID border controls that had largely prevented its 1.4 billion residents from travelling for three years.

Sunday’s reopening is one of the last steps in China’s dismantling of its “zero-COVID” regime, which began last month after historic protests against curbs that kept the virus at bay but caused widespread frustration among its people.

Waiting to renew his passport in a line of more than 100 people in China’s capital, 67-year-old retiree Yang Jianguo told Reuters he was planning to travel to the United States to see his daughter for the first time in three years.

“She got married last year but had to postpone the wedding ceremony because we couldn’t go over to attend it. We’re very glad we can now go,” Yang said, standing alongside his wife.

China’s currency and stock markets strengthened on Monday, as investors bet the reopening could help reinvigorate a $17 trillion economy suffering its lowest growth in nearly half a century.

Beijing’s move to drop quarantine requirements for visitors is expected to boost outbound travel, as residents will not face those restrictions when they return.

But flights are scarce and several nations are demanding negative tests from visitors from China, seeking to contain an outbreak that is overwhelming many of China’s hospitals and crematoriums. China, too, requires pre-departure negative COVID tests from travellers.

China’s top health officials and state media have repeatedly said COVID infections are peaking across the country and they are playing down the threat now posed by the disease.

“Life is moving forward again!,” the official newspaper of the Communist Party, the People’s Daily, wrote in an editorial praising the government’s virus policies late on Sunday which it said had moved from “preventing infection” to “preventing severe disease”.

“Today, the virus is weak, we are stronger.”

Officially, China has reported just 5,272 COVID-related deaths as of Jan. 8, one of the lowest rates of death from the infection in the world.

But the World Health Organization has said China is under-reporting the scale of the outbreak and international virus experts estimate more than one million people in the country could die from the disease this year.

Shrugging off those gloomy forecasts, Asian shares climbed to a five-month high on Monday while China’s yuan firmed to its strongest level against the dollar since mid-August.

China’s blue-chip index (.CSI300) gained 0.7%, while the Shanghai Composite Index (.SSEC) rose 0.5% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (.HSI) climbed 1.6%.

“The ending of the zero-COVID policy is … going to have a major positive impact on domestic spending,” Ralph Hamers, group chief executive officer at UBS, told the Swiss bank’s annual Greater China conference on Monday.

“We believe there is a lot of opportunity for those committed to investing in China.”

‘HUGE RELIEF’

“It’s a huge relief just to be able to go back to normal … just come back to China, get off the plane, get myself a taxi and just go home,” Michael Harrold, 61, a copy editor in Beijing told Reuters at Beijing Capital International Airport on Sunday after he arrived on a flight from Warsaw.

Harrold said he had been anticipating having to quarantine and do several rounds of testing on his return when he left for Europe for a Christmas break in early December.

State broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday that direct flights from South Korea to China were close to sold out. The report quickly shot to the most-read item on Chinese social media site Weibo.

In the near term, a spike in demand from travellers will be hampered by the limited number of flights to and from China, which are currently at a small fraction of pre-COVID levels.

Flight Master data showed that on Sunday, China had a total of 245 international inbound and outbound flights, compared with 2,546 flights on the same day in 2019 – a fall of 91%.

Korean Air said earlier this month that it was halting a plan to increase flights to China due to Seoul’s cautious stance towards Chinese travellers. South Korea like many other countries now requires travellers from China, Macau and Hong Kong to provide negative COVID test results before departure.

Taiwan, which started testing arrivals from China on Jan. 1, said on Monday that nearly 20% of those tested so far were positive for COVID.

China’s domestic tourism revenue in 2023 is expected to recover to 70-75% of pre-COVID levels, but the number of inbound and outbound trips is forecast to recover to only 30-40% of pre-COVID levels this year, China News reported on Sunday.

Reporting by Yew Lun Tian, Liz Lee, Josh Arslan, Eduardo Baptista and Sophie Yu in Beijing; Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Houston boil water: Plant power outages prompted order but Mayor Sylvester Turner hopeful notice can be lifted by Tuesday 3 am

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A boil water notice has been issued for the City of Houston’s main water system after a water treatment plant experienced a power outage Sunday morning. City officials say it’s going to be several more hours before the problem gets resolved.

At a 10:30 a.m. press conference on Monday, Mayor Sylvester Turner said it may take until Tuesday morning at the latest for the notice to be lifted.

On Sunday at 10:30 a.m., the water pressure dropped below the city’s required minimum of 20 PSI due to a power outage at the East Water Purification Plant, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Over 2.3 million people are said to be impacted by this notice, which was sent out six hours after the initial outage.

Houston Water Director Yvonne Williams Forrest said the city’s pressure system was never at zero, just below the regulatory limit. That pressure is important because it prevents anything from infiltrating the water system.

This is a timeline, according to Mayor Turner, of what happened after the power went out.

  • 10:30 a.m.: East water purification plants 1 and 2 lose power
  • Plant 3 loses power, 14 sensors below 20 PSI for less than 2 minutes, 2 sensors below 20 PSI for 30 minutes, 5 sensors never fell below 20 PSI
  • 12:15 p.m.: Power restored to plants 1 and 2
  • 12:30 p.m.: Power restored to plant 3
  • 3:30 p.m.: All sensors back to 35 PSI

Turner said that backup generators were not turned on amid the notice because of the power failure at the plants.

The concern over the water pressure is that when it dips below a certain point, that’s when contaminants could be introduced.

But, the timeline of this issue has left many people questioning why it took so long for the notice to be issued.

Turner sad the pressure didn’t instantly drop when power was lost. He said officials were monitoring closely for any changes and decided to issue the boil water notice out of abundance of caution.

“This is not an instantaneous automatic notice. Just because the power went out, doesn’t mean the power went out in the system. We had to verify that the pressure drop was real and reach out to TCEQ. There are a number of steps to take before issuing a boil water notice,” Forrest said.

What happens next? City officials said they are testing the water across the city, collecting samples that will be submitted to the state. They are now at a City of Houston lab and must be observed and tested.

These samples have to sit for 18 hours to see if anything grows. The hope is that there will be an all clear by 3 a.m. Tuesday. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has authority to lift the notice.

RELATED: Schools announce closures due to massive boil water notice

If you get your water from the City of Houston, you are being urged to boil tap water for at least two minutes before consumption. That includes if you’re making coffee.

If you are instructed to follow a boil water notice, use these tips:

  • Boil all water used for food, drinking, and brushing your teeth
  • Boil the water for at least 2-3 minutes
  • Do not use chilled water lines from on the refrigerators
  • Do not use ice from an automated ice machine
  • Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to deploy necessary resources to support the City of Houston after it announced the boil water notice.

    “The State of Texas is immediately responding and deploying support to Houston as they work to get a safe supply of water back online,” Abbott said. “We have been in contact with Mayor Turner to offer the full support of the state, and we’re currently working to fulfill the city’s request for help with rapid turnaround of water sample results. I thank TDEM and TCEQ for swiftly responding to help address this issue. We urge those that the boil water notice affects to continue heeding the guidance of local officials and take adequate precautions when boiling and using water. Together, we will ensure our fellow Texans are supported while the city’s water supply returns.”

    To see if you are in the impacted area, view the map pictured below

    Click this link to open the map in a full screen window.

    Turner said the City of Kingwood and those serviced by Clear Lake Water Authority are not impacted by Houston’s boil water notice.

    If you’re experiencing water pressure issues or have any questions concerning the matter, call 311 or email waterquality@houstontx.gov.

    For news updates, follow Charly Edsitty on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

    Copyright © 2022 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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    Support from black voters lifted Hochul over Zeldin for gov

    Democrat Kathy Hochul has black voters to thank for saving her job as governor against hard-charging Republican challenger Lee Zeldin, an election results analysis shows.

    While Zeldin’s law and order campaign made inroads with once blue-leaning Asian, Jewish and Latino voters, black voters were Hochul’s firewall in southeast Queens, central Brooklyn, Harlem and parts of the Bronx, the analysis found.

    Hochul garnered a staggering 90% or more votes in many of the city’s predominantly Afro-American and Afro-Caribbean districts — the same working and middle class voters who propelled Mayor Eric Adams last year.

    “Oh, absolutely. Oh, definitely the black community elected Kathy Hochul governor,” said state Assemblywoman Inez Dickens. In Dickens’ 70th Assembly District, residents delivered 27,968 votes for Hochul, and just 2,287 for Zeldin.

    According to Dickens, Zeldin is too closely associated with former President Donald Trump for black voters — and isn’t seen as a moderate in the mold of former three-term GOP Gov. George Pataki. Trump endorsed Zeldin just weeks before the Nov. 8 election.

    “If Zeldin was a Pataki Republican, he would have done better,” the Harlem political veteran said. “He was considered a Trumper by black voters. That was a very, very big part of it.”

    Black voters reportedly were more familiar with Hochul, as she visited many black neighborhoods.
    AFP via Getty Images

    Here’s a revealing breakdown of results in predominantly black districts:

    • In Queens Assembly District 29, covering Laurelton, Rosedale, St. Albans, and Springfield Gardens, Hochul racked up 22,280 votes to 2,538 for Zeldin.
    • In AD 32 (South Jamaica, Richmond Hill), Hochul got 18,312 votes to 2,176 for Zeldin.
    • In AD 33 (Cambria Heights, Hollis, Queens Village, Bellerose) Hochul got 21,773 votes compared with Zeldin’s 3,691.
    • In Brooklyn’s AD 56 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, voters showered Hochul with 25,289 votes to 1,590 for Zeldin.
    • In AD 55 covering Ocean Hill/Brownsville, Hochul racked up 15,774 votes compared with 1,044 for Zeldin.
    • In AD 57 in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, and Crown Heights, residents delivered 34,642 votes for Hochul and 2,940 for Zeldin.
    • In AD 60 in East NY/Starrett City, Hochul got 17,588 votes compared with 1,774 for Zeldin.
    Zeldin carried some districts with large Orthodox Jewish and Asian populations.
    Ron Adar / M10s / SplashNews.com

    Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said like other New Yorkers, black voters are concerned about crime — but focusing on locking people up is perceived as “fear mongering” and “dog whistling” without discussions about opportunities and youth programs to discourage law-breaking.

    “You can have justice and safety at the same time,” Richards said. “We can’t police and incarcerate out of crime. There’s a question of access to good jobs, housing and education.”

    “Zeldin’s campaign reminded black voters of Trump,” he added.

    Both Richards and Dickens pointed out Hochul is well-known in their communities, having visited regularly for years when she was lieutenant governor under ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned last year amid sexual harassment and misconduct accusations.

    “Gov. Hochul doesn’t need a GPS to know where south Queens is. She’s been a  consistent presence and attentive,” Richards said.

    In Pataki’s view, it’s a cruel irony the party of emancipation that freed black people from slavery is now rejected by black voters, He saud winning a statewide race will remain out of reach unless Republicans make at least some inroads with black voters.

    “We have to do far better outreach,” Pataki said. “We have to make the case on the streets in the African-American (communities) every day — not just during an election — that our policies are better for them,” Pataki said.

    Lee Zeldin was viewed as a “Trumper” by many black voters.
    John Lamparski/Sipa USA

    Blacks are disproportionately victims of crime so the GOP push to toughen the cashless bail law should resonate as well as the party’s support for charter schools as an alternative to failing public schools, Pataki said.

    Zeldin, just before and after the election, told The Post he’s proud of making inroads into minority communities, but said becoming more competitive with black voters in a “longer term issue” the GOP has to address.

    We were witnessing some shifting trends amongst some of the minority communities, so it’s possible that two years or four years down the road, any of these groups might be leaning more to the right, especially if one-party rule up in Albany continues to alienate these voters,” Zeldin said. “If the issues that we’re talking about during this campaign only become even more prevalent and more desperately in need of action, that just further pushes more votes away from the Democrats.”

    “So I would seek to build upon the number that we got, just over 30,” he said. “But part of that has to do with direct outreach and relationship building. I would always encourage an earlier start to be able to build those relationships. And one of the other big factors is that there are certainly some trends that we witnessed, where some groups may just naturally be voting more Republican in the future if they continue to get pushed in that direction by certain democratic policies.”

    Hochul carried New York City with 70% of the vote to 30% for Zeldin, a margin he couldn’t overcome despite winning nearly all other counties in the state, including his home turf of Long Island.

    Zeldin did carry some city Assembly districts with large Orthodox Jewish and Asian populations, and fared better in heavily Hispanic districts.

    The Long Island congressman won conservative Staten Island 2-1, and carried six Assembly districts in southern Brooklyn and four in Queens — including Assemblyman Ron Kim’s 40th AD in the heart of heavily Asian-populated Flushing.

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    Asia shares lifted by U.S. futures, oil climbs

    A man walks past a screen displaying a graph showing recent Nikkei share average movements outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, December 30, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

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    • Asian stock markets :
    • Nikkei adds 0.3%, S&P 500 futures rise 0.4%
    • Euro off 7-year high on yen ahead of ECB meeting
    • U.S. CPI report to test market thinking on Fed hikes
    • Oil firms after Saudi Arabia raises prices

    SYDNEY, June 6 (Reuters) – Asian shares joined U.S. stock futures in making cautious gains on Monday ahead of U.S. inflation data this week, while the euro touched a seven-year top against the yen amid wagers on European Central Bank tightening.

    Oil prices firmed after Saudi Arabia raised prices sharply for its crude sales in July, an indicator of how tight supply is even after OPEC+ agreed to accelerate output increases over the next two months.

    MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) inched up 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) recouped early losses to gain 0.6%.

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    S&P 500 futures added 0.5% and Nasdaq futures 0.6%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.8% and FTSE futures 1.0%.

    Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) climbed 1.3% after a survey confirmed service sector activity shrunk in May, but the Caixin index still improved to 41.4 from 36.2. read more

    Sentiment was aided by comments from U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that President Joe Biden has asked his team to look at the option of lifting some tariffs on China. read more

    Markets will be on tenterhooks for the U.S. consumer price report on Friday, especially after EU inflation shocked many with a record high last week.

    Forecasts are for a steep rise of 0.7% in May, though the annual pace is seen holding at 8.3% while core inflation is seen slowing a little to 5.9%.

    A high number would only add to expectations of aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve with markets already priced for half-point increases in June and July, and almost 200 basis points by the end of the year.

    Some analysts thought Friday’s upbeat payrolls report suggested the Fed was on track for a soft landing.

    “May’s numbers came in about as good as the Fed could expect,” said Jonathan Millar, an economist at Barclays.

    “It’s a good sign that the Fed’s plans to cool the labour market are playing out favourably so far, with solid gains in employment continuing to generate steady income gains that will help allay recession worries, for the time being.”

    NOT SO NEGATIVE

    The European Central Bank meets on Thursday and President Christine Lagarde is considered certain to confirm an end to bond buying this month and a first rate increase in July, though the jury is out on whether that will be 25 or 50 basis points.

    Money markets are priced for 125 bps of increases by year-end, and 100 bps as soon as October.

    “Recent communication by ECB officials have looked to 25bp increases at July and September to exit negative rates by the end of Q3, though with some members preferring to leave the door to larger 50bp hikes open,” said analyst at NAB. “Lagarde’s post-meeting press conference will be closely watched.”

    The prospect of rates turning positive this year has helped the euro nudge up to $1.0731 , some way from its recent trough of $1.0348, though it has struggled to clear resistance around $1.0786.

    The euro also made a seven-year peak on the yen at 140.39 , after climbing 2.9% last week, while the dollar held at 130.65 yen having also gained 2.9% last week.

    Against a basket of currencies, the dollar stood at 102.110 after firming 0.4% last week.

    In commodity markets, wheat futures jumped 4% after Russia struck Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, with missiles, dampening hopes for progress in peace talks. read more

    Gold was stuck at $1,855 an ounce , having held to a tight range for the past couple of weeks.

    Oil prices got an added lift after Saudi Arabia set higher prices for shipments to Asia, while investors are wagering supply increases planned by OPEC will not be enough to meet demand especially as China is easing its lockdowns.

    “Perhaps only a third to half of what OPEC+ has promised will come online over the next two months,” said Vivek Dhar, a mining and energy analyst at CBA.

    “While that increase is sorely needed, it falls short of demand growth expectations, especially with EU’s partial ban on Russian oil imports also factored in. We see upside risks to our near term Brent oil price forecast of US$110/bbl.”

    Indeed, Brent is already well past that adding 74 cents on Monday to reach $120.46 a barrel. U.S. crude rose another 75 cents to $119.62 per barrel.

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    Editing by Sam Holmes and Jacqueline Wong

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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    Napa County brush fire: Old Fire at 570 acres, 20% contained; evacuation orders lifted for residents, CAL FIRE says

    NAPA, Calif. (KGO) — Containment for the Old Fire in Napa County has grown to 20% and remains at 570 acres, CAL FIRE said Wednesday afternoon.

    Residents were able to return to their homes after evacuation orders were lifted in Napa County overnight on Wednesday as a brush fire continues to burn, CAL FIRE says.

    The Old Fire was first reported at 2300 Old Soda Springs Road at 4:01 p.m. on Tuesday.

    Officials say crews continued to work through the night to contain and control it.

    Firefighters held the Old Fire in Napa to 570 acres overnight, announcing Wednesday morning it had not grown in size.

    “Overnight, the winds were favorable, we were able to make significant progress. Luckily this morning acreage hasn’t increased, that’s a good sign,” Cal Fire Spokesperson Erick Hernandez said Wednesday.

    He said it wasn’t just the wind that helped, but also the fire’s afternoon start time.

    “Obviously at 2, 3 in the morning, like the Atlas Fire back in 2017, we couldn’t deploy any of our air resources.”

    This time they could, launching 10 planes and helicopters as part of their aggressive attack.

    No structures were damaged in the fire, but Napa resident Todd Walker watched as it burned the hillside across from his home on Soda Springs Road.

    “There was no wind. It was burning very slow, you could watch it. The wind was actually blowing away, as fire was burning downhill you could see flames lapping in the other direction,” Walker said.

    His home is brand new. It’s a rebuild. His original home burned down in 2017’s Atlas Fire. But he built back smarter and this time, he wasn’t too worried.

    “I think we have done a lot to make the area somewhat fire proof. The side of the house is hardy board, the roof is steel, we have lots of defensible space, so I felt pretty confident.”

    He even bought an old fire truck. He started to get it ready Tuesday afternoon but didn’t need it. Soda Canyon Road served as a good fire block, the weather cooperated, his home is fine.

    Hernandez also pointed to a roadside clearing project as helping in this firefight. A grant from Cal Fire paid for the clearing of vegetation along Soda Springs Road, the road used by emergency vehicles and for residents who were evacuating.

    “It’s important to us to have those roads open, fully open, where no embers are creating spot fires (in the vegetation) and at the same time we can evacuate everyone as we did yesterday,” Hernandez said Wednesday.

    He also said Cal Fire offers one-on-one consultations for residents wanting advice on home protection and evacuating.

    VIDEO: Napa residents remember 2017 blaze as Old Fire continues to burn

    Fire officials say the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

    Jacob Schwarz lives in the area and believes he saw the fire begin. He tells ABC7 News he was sitting outside as the wind began to pick up.

    “We heard a pop and then a spark just fly out of it looks like a telephone box or a power box,” Schwarz said.

    Schwarz says a few moments later, he noticed flames spreading from that location.

    But this isn’t the first fire to burn in this area. Both firefighters and residents alike say it’s in the same spot as the Atlas Fire back in 2017. That fire, which was a part of the Northern California firestorm, burned tens of thousands of acres and lasted for weeks.

    VIDEO: Couple recalls watching home saved from Atlas Fire live on TV

    An experience, says nearby resident Tom Bird, that prompted him and his neighbors to take extra steps to help reduce the threat of future wildfires.

    VIDEO: Napa Co. brush fire prompts evacuations

    “Everyone that I know around here, since the ’17 fire, has been working pretty hard to clean up vegetation, clean up brush, but some events you just can’t predict,” Bird said.

    But even as this fire continues to burn just feet from Bird’s house, he says he’s not worried. Instead, placing his trust, in the people fighting it head on.

    “We know the hard working men and women at CAL FIRE will keep these fires under control,” he said.

    Video is from a previous report

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    Stocks End Higher, Lifted by Retailer Results

    U.S. stocks rose Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average notching a fifth consecutive day higher, after strong results from retailers lifted sentiment across the market.

    The blue chips added 1.6%, while the S&P 500 advanced 2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.7%, helped by gains in shares of

    Apple,

    Microsoft,

    Amazon.com

    and

    Tesla.

    The outlook for stocks turned cheerier Thursday when several retailers delivered strong results.

    Macy’s

    reported robust sales growth and lifted its earnings guidance, while discount chains

    Dollar General

    DG 13.71%

    and

    Dollar Tree

    DLTR 21.87%

    beat Wall Street’s earnings expectations.

    Last week, results from retailers including Walmart, Target and Kohl’s raised concerns that rising costs are eroding profits while inflation prompts some consumers to rethink their budgets.

    “After having a real challenging time with retail last week, you’re starting to see some other signs that not everybody in retail is doing poorly,” said

    Wayne Wicker,

    chief investment officer at MissionSquare Retirement. “It probably provides a little more confidence that the consumer continues to be reasonably strong.” 

    Equity investors have endured a particularly volatile period lately. At the end of last week the S&P 500 fell far enough that it was on track to close at least 20% below its January peak. The benchmark then reversed course to avoid closing in bear market territory.

    Despite the advances by major indexes this week, many investors expect markets to remain unsettled for some time to come.

    “I think we’re going to still go through some more volatility ahead,” said

    Leslie Thompson,

    chief investment officer at Spectrum Wealth Management.

    Investors have been considering how the Federal Reserve’s plans to tighten monetary policy to combat inflation could weigh on economic growth and the performance of financial markets.

    Fed meeting minutes released Wednesday showed that policy makers were in agreement for half-percentage point increases in June and July, in line with previous communication. Major stock indexes closed higher after the release. 

    “To some extent, markets have been reassured that the Fed isn’t going to tighten more aggressively than what is expected,” said

    Luc Filip,

    head of investments at SYZ Private Banking.

    Traders worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.



    Photo:

    justin lane/Shutterstock

    Money managers are closely watching fresh data as they gauge the health of the economy. On Thursday a second reading of first-quarter U.S. gross domestic product came in worse than the first with a contraction at an annual rate of 1.5%.

    “Economic data has come in weaker than expected lately. We do see this tightening in the economy. How severe the growth slowdown is what markets are thinking about now,” said

    Shaniel Ramjee,

    a multiasset fund manager at Pictet Asset Management.

    Initial jobless claims fell last week and hovered near historic lows, suggesting a mixed economic picture. 

    Earnings reports continued to drive moves in individual stocks. Analysts have been scrutinizing results for indications that inflation has begun to weigh on profits.

    “We are focusing on earnings and profitability. A lot of stable companies are reporting lower guidance,” Mr. Ramjee said. “Even the tech sector is not immune to margin pressure, especially from input costs like wages.” 

    Nvidia

    shares rose more than 5% after the chip maker posted record revenue, though its sales outlook for the current quarter came in below Wall Street’s estimates.

    Shares of

    Williams-Sonoma

    jumped 13% after the retailer posted profits that beat analysts’ expectations. Macy’s shares climbed 19% after it raised full-year earnings guidance.

    Dollar Tree shares advanced nearly 22% and Dollar General shares rose nearly 14% after the discount retail chains reported profits higher than expectations.

    Shares of

    VMware

    added 3.4% after

    Broadcom

    confirmed that it will acquire the cloud computing firm for $61 billion in cash and stock. Broadcom shares rose 3%.

    In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 2.756%, from 2.746% Wednesday. Yields rise as bond prices fall.

    Global oil benchmark Brent crude added 3% to trade at $117.40 a barrel.

    Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.8%. In Asia, major benchmarks were mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also declined 0.3%. 

    South Korea’s central bank raised a key policy rate to 1.75% on Thursday and signaled it would tighten policy further to keep fighting against high inflation. 

    Write to Karen Langley at karen.langley@wsj.com and Anna Hirtenstein at anna.hirtenstein@wsj.com

    Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    30-acre Owens fire investigated near Point Arena in Mendocino County; evacuations lifted

    Firefighters are investigating the cause of a blaze that scorched 30 acres and forced evacuations for several hours Friday south of Point Arena in Mendocino County.

    The Owens fire was reported just after 3 p.m. and burned east of Highway 1 in an area 50 miles north of Bodega Bay, according to Cal Fire.

    Its forward progression stopped by 8 p.m. Firefighters had contained at least 5% of its perimeter.

    The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office issued mandatory evacuations along Bill Owens and Schooner Gulch roads, which are parallel to each other east of Highway 1.

    Evacuations were lived around 9 p.m. and there was no damage to property.

    The evacuation area stretched just under 3 miles east of the shore and residents were advised to evacuate to Ten Mile Cutoff Road.

    A 1-mile stretch of Highway 1 was closed, according to the California Highway Patrol.

    Shortly after the fire sparked, satellites from the National Weather Service’s Eureka office showed smoke moving south above the Pacific Ocean.

    “It’s kind of faint at this point, but you can see it,” said Matthew Kidwell, a meteorologist with the Eureka office.

    Just after 6:30 p.m., the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office advised smoke had entered the region and urged residents not to dial 911 unless they saw flames.

    Area winds moved southeast with gusts as strong as 24 mph. Temperatures are in the 50s with humidity nearing 80%.

    Weather conditions were in the firefighters’ favor, Kidwell said.

    A cause for the blaze has not yet been determined.

    You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi.

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