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China Premier Li seeks to bolster his country’s economic outlook at the Shanghai export fair

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:48 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Seeking to generate excitement around a largely lackluster economy, Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday pledged to continue deepening reforms, expand free trade zones and relax market access for foreign investment.Li made the remarks when delivering a keynote speech at the opening of the 6th China International Import Expo in Shanghai, seeking to draw thousands of foreign businesses shopping for Chinese products and looking to expand trade and investment with the world’s second-largest economy. China’s economy expanded at a 4.9% annual pace between July-September, beating analysts’ forecasts of about 4.5%, official data show. But that was much slower than the 6.3% annual growth rate of the previous quarter.The Chinese government has adopted various policies to help the economy; raising spending on building ports and other infrastructure, cutting interest rates and easing curbs on home-buying. But economists say wider reforms are needed to address lon...

Walters: How to lower California’s highest-in-nation poverty rate

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:48 GMT

The numbers of Californians living in poverty or near-poverty edged upward this year as federal pandemic programs expired, according to a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California and Stanford University’s Center on Poverty and Inequality.Currently, 13.2% of California’s nearly 40 million residents live in families which fall below the $39,000 annual income mark deemed the minimum for a family of four to meet its needs. The rate climbs to 31.1% if those in near-poverty (incomes up to $60,000) are included.The California Poverty Measure, or CPM, is derived from the federal Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, or SPM, which was devised to cure the deficiencies of the official poverty rate, a one-size-fits-all data point that measures just some income but is not adjusted for the cost of living.Both the California and the census rates use wider arrays of income and measures them against what it costs to live. The SPM varies by state while the California measure is...

Stone has 4-point night and Hill gets shutout in Golden Knights’ 7-0 romp over Avalanche

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:48 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mark Stone, as part of a four-point effort, became the first Golden Knights player to score two short-handed goals in a game and goalie Adin Hill had 41 saves to help keep red hot Vegas rolling with a 7-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.William Karlsson and Jack Eichel also scored two goals, William Carrier had a goal and Chandler Stephenson and Pavel Dorofeyev each finished with two assists in the meeting between the NHL’s two most recent champions.Karlsson extended his point streak to nine games to tie four other players for the longest streak in team history.Stone’s two goals gave him 200 for his career. It is the third time in Knights history they have scored two short-handed goals in a game.“It’s different guys every night,” Stone said. “The Karlsson line’s kind of carried us along. We’ve had some tight games the last couple of weeks, so it’s nice for (Eichel’s) and my line to kind of get going.”Hill’s sixth career shutou...

Arizona knocks off No. 20 UCLA to win 3 straight against ranked opponents for first time

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:48 GMT

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona’s fans poured over the wall and sprinted onto the field, joining the players in a raucous celebration for the second straight week.The Wildcats have an even bigger streak to revel in, one that’s never happened in the football program’s 124 years.Noah Fifita threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns, and Arizona knocked off No. 20 UCLA 27-10 on Saturday night to give the Wildcats victories over ranked opponents in three consecutive games for the first time in school history.“It was as good of a game as I’ve been a part of the year,” coach Jedd Fisch said. ”I’ve said that now a few weeks in a row and I think that’s what makes us cool. You know that we can keep saying we’re getting better.”Coming off wins over then-No. 19 Washington State and No. 16 Oregon State, the Wildcats (6-3, 4-2 Pac-12) picked apart one of the nation’s top defenses to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2017 — two years after going 1-11 in Fisch...

Sherrod runs for 132 yards and a TD, adds 95-yard KOR for a score; Fresno St. beats Boise St. 37-30

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:48 GMT

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Malik Sherod ran for a career-high 132 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown, and returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score to help Fresno State beat Boise State 37-30 Saturday night. Dylan Lynch made field goals of 48, 22 and 24 yards for Fresno State (8-1, 4-1 Mountain West Conference). Mikey Keene was 24-of-38 passing for 290 yards with a touchdowns and an interception. Keene threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tre Watson that capped a seven-play, 78-yard opening drive and the Bulldogs led the rest of the way. Maddux Madsen connected with Billy Bowens for a 2-yard throw-and-catch that trimmed the deficit to 13-10 with 7 seconds left in the first half but the ensuing kickoff bounced a couple times before Sherrod scooped it up at the 5, raced up the middle, bent it back to the left sideline near midfield and broke a would-be tackle by the kicker near the 15 on his way to the end zone as time expired to make it 20-10 at halftime. Boise State (4-5, 3-2) trimmed its d...

Stanford shuts down high-scoring Washington State in 10-7 victory

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:48 GMT

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Stanford kicker Joshua Karty hit the go-ahead field goal with less than 6 minutes left, and the Cardinal defense shut out Washington State in the second half in a gritty 10-7 victory on Saturday night.The Cardinal (3-6, 2-5) snapped a six-game losing streak to the Cougars in the last Pac-12 Conference matchup between these longtime league foes. Next year Stanford will move to the ACC while the Cougars’ conference fate is uncertain.Washington State (4-5, 1-5) lost its fifth straight game after starting the season 4-0 and reaching No. 13 in The AP Top 25 poll.After a quiet three quarters, Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor caught a key 30-yard pass on third down and Cardinal backup QB Justin Lamson converted a fourth-and-1 to set up Karty’s 31-yard field goal with 5:56 remaining.The Cardinal forced a three-and-out on the Cougars’ ensuing possession and salted away the final five minutes with a 10-play drive.Washington State, which had one of the nation’s most e...

Penguins win 10-2, hand Sharks record-tying 11th straight loss to start season

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:48 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Reilly Smith and Jake Guentzel each had two goals and two assists, Evgeni Malkin also scored twice, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat San Jose 10-2 on Saturday night, handing the Sharks their NHL record-tying 11th straight loss to start the season and second straight while allowing 10 goals.Smith set the tone with two first-period goals as the Penguins — who had lost five of their last six — got back on track against the team with the league’s worst record. Guentzel’s goal early in the second that pushed Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-0 was the 200th of his career.Bryan Rust had a goal and three assists, and Vinnie Hinostroza, Kris Letang and Matt Nieto also scored for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry had 24 saves.For all the desperation that the winless Sharks might have brought to the rink, the Penguins said they wanted the win more after a 3-6 start.“I don’t think we like where we are this early in the season,” Rust said. “Don’t like our record, don’t like some of the res...

No. 16 Oregon State keeps Shedeur Sanders in check in 26-19 win over Colorado

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:48 GMT

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — DJ Uiagalelei threw for a touchown and ran for another and Oregon State’s swarming defense held Shedeur Sanders to 245 yards passing, including just 41 in the first half, in the 16th-ranked Beavers’ 26-19 win over fading Colorado on Saturday night.Sanders, who entered the game as the nation’s second-leading passer with an average of 337 yards a game, repeatedly limped to the sideline and even to the locker room late in the third quarter after taking a beating for a second straight week behind a porous O-line and in the midst of a switch of play-callers that was slow to produce meaningful change.The Beavers (7-2, 4-2) started slowly but picked up steam with a pair of touchdown drives spanning halftime, including Uiagalelei’s 20-yard toss to Deshawn Fenwick with 16 seconds left in the fist half.With their fifth loss in six games, the Buffs (4-5, 1-5 Pac-12) fell under .500 for the first time all season. They scored two late touchdowns afte...

Thousands sleep outside in Nepal after earthquake kills at least 157 people and destroys most houses

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:48 GMT

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Thousands of villagers in the mountains of northwestern Nepal slept outdoors Saturday night in the bitter cold after an earthquake killed at least 157 people and damaged or destroyed most homes.Most of the houses in villages in Jajarkot district either collapsed or were severely damaged by the sudden earthquake Friday night, while the few concrete houses in towns were also damaged. “We are waiting to cremate the bodies of our villagers and have been trying to take care of the people who were injured in the earthquake,” said Lal Bahadur Bika, a resident of Chiuri village, pointing to 13 bodies wrapped in white cloth awaiting cremation on Sunday morning.Most houses in Chiuri village collapsed.People used whatever they could find to set up shelter for the night, using plastic sheets and old clothes to keep them warm. Most people have been unable to retrieve their belongings from under the rubble. Most of those killed were crushed by debris when their houses — us...

Sharangovich, Backlund score early in 3rd, Flames beat Kraken 6-3

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:45:48 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Yegor Sharangovich and Mikael Backlund scored early in the third period to lift the Calgary Flames past the Seattle Kraken, 6-3 on Saturday night.Sharangovich broke a 2-2 tie with a tip-in at 1:33, and Backlund scored on a rebound at four minutes after goalie Philipp Grubauer made a sprawling save on A.J. Green’s breakaway.“I thought we went out in the third and took care of the game right away,” Backlund said. “We dictated the third period. I thought we played a really mature game all night, didn’t give them too many shots and chances. It was really good.”Calgary snapped a six-game losing streak.“We’ve dropped a bunch in a row, so you don’t necessarily want to think it’s that big of a game,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “But it’s important for us because we played the right way. I think we limited scoring shots and there were a lot of guys that elevated their game.”Martin Pospisil and Noah Hanifin also scored for Calgary, and Backlund and Rasmus Andersson had ...