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Northern Star

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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

Sanders’ ‘summer camp’ in Vermont becomes fodder in debate

By LISA RATHKE | February 20, 2020

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Can a socialist own a summer house?That's the question unabashed capitalist billionaire Mike Bloomberg — who himself owns about a dozen homes — posed as he tried to brand Sen. Bernie Sanders a hypocrite in Wednesday night's...

How major US stock indexes fared Thursday

By The Associated Press | February 20, 2020

Major stock indexes closed with modest losses Thursday after a wobbly day of trading on Wall Street that snapped a three-day streak of all-time highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

Investors turned cautious following news of a surge in cases of the new virus in China. The latest figures dashed hopes that the spread of the outbreak was peaking, which had helped lift stocks earlier in the week.

On Thursday:

The S&P 500 index dropped 5.51 points, or 0.2%, to 3,373.94.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 128.11 points, or 0.4%, to 29,423.31.

The Nasdaq fell 13.99 points, or 0.1%, to 9,711.97.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks rose 4.36 points, or 0.3%, to 1,693.74.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 46.23 points, or 1.4%.

The Dow is up 320.80 points, or 1.1%.

The Nasdaq is up 191.46 points, or 2%.

The Russell 2000 is up 36.96 points, or 2.2%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 143.16 points, or 4.4%.

The Dow is up 884.87 points, or 3.1%.

The Nasdaq is up 739.36 points, or 8.2%.

The Russell 2000 is up 25.27 points, or 1.5%.

Trump campaign, RNC to spend $10M on voting lawsuits

By AAMER MADHANI | February 20, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee announced Thursday that they will spend more than $10 million during the 2020 election cycle to battle Democrats on voting-related lawsuits and to...

Libya’s warring parties resume talks in Geneva

By JAMEY KEATEN | February 20, 2020

GENEVA (AP) — Libya's warring parties have returned to negotiations aimed at salvaging a fragile cease-fire in the North African country after they had suspended talks earlier this week, a U.N. spokesman said Thursday.United Nations spokesman Rheal...

Bloomberg News wrestles with coverage of candidate Bloomberg

By DAVID BAUDER | February 20, 2020

NEW YORK (AP) — Three months after Bloomberg News tried to thread the needle with a plan for covering a presidential campaign with company founder Mike Bloomberg as a candidate, its journalists are learning how hard that can be.Bloomberg's rise in the...

Free USC tuition to students with $80K or less family income

February 20, 2020

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of Southern California will phase in free tuition for undergraduate students from families with an annual income of $80,000 or less, USC President Carol L. Folt announced Thursday.As part of the initiative, ownership...

Amid protests, Portugal lawmakers vote to allow euthanasia

By BARRY HATTON | February 20, 2020

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s parliament voted Thursday in favor of allowing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill people.The landmark vote left Portugal poised to become one of the few countries in the world permitting...

‘Black in Space’ looks at final frontier of civil rights

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS | February 20, 2020

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — In 1959, Ronald Erwin McNair walked into a South Carolina library. The 9-year-old aspiring astronaut wanted to check out a calculus book, but a librarian threatened to call the police if he didn't leave. McNair was black.Years...

US expert says 5G tiff could affect information exchanges

February 20, 2020

MADRID (AP) — The top U.S. diplomat for cybersecurity policy says he welcomes European Union moves toward recognizing the risks at stake in 5G technology, but warned that the U.S. will not be able to share top-level information with countries that choose...

Conflict of interest fears cast shadow over EU budget talks

By LORNE COOK | February 20, 2020

BRUSSELS (AP) — As European Union leaders deliberated over their 1 trillion-euro ($1.1 trillion) budget Thursday, lawmakers were deeply concerned about potential conflicts of interest that could see hundreds of millions of euros in funds granted to...

Uber resumes operating in Colombia after three-week hiatus

By MANUEL RUEDA | February 20, 2020

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Uber restarted operations in Colombia on Thursday after shutting down its app for almost three weeks.In a statement, the platform said it had found “new alternatives” to work legally in the South American country.Uber said...

Justices return for season of big decisions, amid campaign

By MARK SHERMAN | February 20, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — For a Supreme Court that says it has an allergy to politics, the next few months might require a lot of tissues.The court is poised to issue campaign-season decisions in the full bloom of spring in cases dealing with President Donald...