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National

Social Security’s scheduled cost of living increase ‘won’t make a dent’ for some retirees

WASHINGTON (AP) — Social Security recipients are expected to receive a smaller cost-of-living increase in January than in recent years as inflation moderates. The Social Security Administration will announce the increase Thursday. In advance, analysts are forecasting a 2.5% increase for 2025. The announcement comes as the national social insurance plan faces a severe financial shortfall in the coming years. The annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report in May that the program’s trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035. If the trust fund is depleted, the government will be able to pay only 83% of scheduled benefits.

Pilot dies aboard Turkish Airlines flight, forcing emergency landing in New York

NEW YORK (AP) — A Turkish Airlines jetliner headed from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency landing in New York after the captain died on board. An airline spokesperson says the 59-year-old pilot lost consciousness at some point after Flight TK204 took off from Seattle Tuesday night. The co-pilot decided to make an emergency landing while crew members tried to revive the pilot, but he died before the plane landed. Data from the tracking site FlightAware shows that the Airbus A350 landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport just before 6 a.m. Arrangements were being made for passengers to reach their destination from New York.

Lawyers: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs seeks trial next April or May on charges

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs say the jailed hip-hop mogul is seeking to go to trial on sex trafficking charges next spring. The lawyers and prosecutors advised a judge on Wednesday about their expectations for a Thursday hearing in Manhattan federal court. Combs has been locked up since his Sept. 16 arrest on charges alleging that he has physically and sexually abused women for years. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, says Combs is not guilty and is determined to clear his name at trial. Lawyers for Combs are trying to get him freed on bail. Two judges have already rejected the request.

Nazi-looted Monet artwork returned to family generations later

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Nazi-looted Claude Monet pastel has been returned to descendants of the man who owned it when it was seized in Austria decades ago. The pastel was sold off to support the Third Reich, but the family got the artwork back Wednesday at the FBI field office in New Orleans. Françoise Parlagi said her father and grandfather spent much of their lives attempting to track down and recover the Monet pastel and other artwork. The Commission for Looted Art in Europe searched for a decade, ultimately finding the artwork in New Orleans. It’s one of an estimated 600,000 pieces of artwork stolen by the Nazis.

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