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Silicon Valley Bank collapse: What you need to know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two large banks that cater to the tech industry have collapsed after a bank run, government agencies are taking emergency measures to backstop the financial system, and President Joe Biden is reassuring Americans that the money they have in banks is safe.It’s all eerily reminiscent of the financial meltdown that began with the bursting of the housing bubble 15 years ago. Yet the initial pace this time around seems even faster. Over the last three days, the U.S. seized the two financial institutions after a bank run on Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California. It was the largest bank failure since Washington Mutual went under in 2008. How did we get here? And will the steps the government unveiled over the weekend be enough? Here are some questions and answers about what has happened and why it matters: WHY DID SILICON VALLEY BANK FAIL? Silicon Valley Bank had already been hit hard by a rough patch for technology companies in recent months and the...

Zebra bites, injures owner’s arm before it’s fatally shot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:44 GMT

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A zebra attacked its owner at an Ohio home and bit the man’s arm before it was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy, authorities said.The attack occurred around 5:30 p.m. Sunday in Circleville. Pickaway County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the home and found the man in a fenced-in field, lying on the ground.The large male zebra continued acting aggressively and charged at a deputy’s cruiser that had been positioned to keep the animal away from the victim, the sheriff’s office said. One deputy was able to briefly scare it away using their cruiser’s horn and sirens, but the zebra continued to charge at deputies and other first responders and eventually was shot and killed.It was not clear what caused the zebra’s aggressive behavior, but officials said it may have been trying to protect some female zebras that were in the same field.The zebra’s owner was hospitalized but is expected to recover. No other injuries to humans or animal...

School pulls test question equating ideology to race, gender

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:44 GMT

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s largest school system is removing a test question given to a college-level social studies class that equated liberals and conservatives with specific racial and gender demographics.The question appeared on a test given to students of an AP Government class at Fairfax County Public Schools’ Online Campus. The multiple-choice question asked students, “Which of the following is an accurate comparison of liberals versus conservatives?” The potential answers for “liberals” included “Young, white males;” “Middle aged, urban lesbian;” “College-educated black male professional” and “White, upper-middle class suburban male.” The potential answers for “conservatives” included “East Coast, Ivy League educated scientists;” “Southern male migrant laborer;” “Catholic, midwestern middle-aged male” and “West coast, Hispanic teacher. ”Rory Cooper, a Fairfax County parent and school system critic who posted the question on Twitter, said it i...

US repels migrants as asylum app frustration grows in Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:44 GMT

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A large group of migrants in Mexico who were poised to barge into the U.S. over the weekend were blocked from crossing a bridge leading from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman said.The migrants were “posing a potential threat to make a mass entry,” and physical barriers were put up to restrict their entry at the Paso Del Norte International Bridge on Sunday afternoon, spokesman Roger Maier said in a statement to The Associated Press on Monday.Barricades also were used for a short time Sunday afternoon at an El Paso crossing at the Bridge of Americas and at one in Stanton, Maier said.Video of the scene at the Paso Del Norte bridge on Sunday showed hundreds of migrants brush past Mexican National Guard officers on the Mexican side, some carrying children on their shoulders. Many appeared to be Venezuelan, by their accents.Shouting “We want to get through!,” the migrants ran up to the center line of the bridge,...

Imprisoned Navalny learns documentary about him wins Oscar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:44 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny learned Monday from his lawyer that a film detailing his poisoning and political activism won the Oscar for best documentary feature. The 46-year-old politician was attending a court hearing via video link from the prison when his attorney broke the news to him about the documentary, “Navalny,” by director Daniel Roher, according to his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh. She called it “the most remarkable announcement of an (Oscar) win in history.”Yarmysh did not report what Navalny’s initial reaction was to the Oscar win.According to Yarmysh, Navalny faced a court hearing in Kovrov, a town near where the prison is located in the Vladimir region east of Moscow. President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic participated in the hearing on a complaint he filed against Russian penitentiary officials.At a briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the Oscar win, saying that he hasn’t seen the film ...

Woman fatally stabbed on CTA platform ID'd attacker before she died: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:44 GMT

CHICAGO — A 31-year-old man has been charged in the fatal stabbing of a woman on a CTA platform in the city's Loop.Police said Alejandro Arellano, 31, faces one felony count of first-degree murder after he was identified by the victim before she succumbed to her injuries. The stabbing happened around 1:25 a.m. Saturday in the 200 block of South Wabash Avenue while the 26-year-old woman was standing on a CTA platform. She was stabbed by Arellano multiple times in the chest, abdomen and left arm. The woman was transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead shortly after. Woman fatally stabbed on CTA platform in Loop: Police Arellano was arrested less than 14 hours later after the stabbing occurred in the 1600 block of North Kimball Avenue.He is due in bond court Monday.

Almost 2 in 3 Americans say threat of deadly pandemics is growing: poll

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:44 GMT

(The Hill) -- A new poll shows nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the risk of deadly pandemics is rising in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a survey published Friday by the Pandemic Action Network, 61 percent of Americans strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that "we are now in an era of increasing risk due to deadly infectious disease outbreaks and pandemic threats that can land at our doorstep in a matter of days." Only 20 percent of those polled disagreed with that statement. When asked about whether the country was prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic, 45 percent of respondents said that the United States government was "very unprepared" and 24 percent said the government was "somewhat" unprepared. Just 4 percent said the U.S. was "very prepared." COVID and health policy press aide to leave White House Most Americans said they wanted to see the government spend more on pandemic preparedness, with over 60 percent saying they want to see more federal and s...

Thefts reported at Joliet Amazon facility after 30 car windows smashed in

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:44 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. — Several thefts were reported after 30 vehicles were broken into Saturday night into Sunday at an Amazon facility in Joliet.On Sunday, Joliet police were dispatched to the facility, located in the 200 block of Emerald Drive, on the report of damage to numerous vehicles.Police said 30 vehicles had some of their windows smashed in between 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 a.m. Sunday. Multiple Amazon employees told police items were stolen from their vehicles. 2 dead after head-on collision in Will County Last month, WGN News reported that an Amazon facility in Monee was dealing with a similar situation.No suspects are in custody. Anyone with information can call 815-724-3240.

Zebra bites Ohio man's arm off before being put down

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:44 GMT

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) - A man was taken to the hospital Sunday afternoon after a zebra attacked him in Pickaway County, Ohio. According to an incident report from the Pickaway County Sheriff's Office, deputies were sent around 5:30 p.m. to a fenced-in field after reports that a man had his arm dismembered by a zebra he owned. Pickaway County deputies and a victim's family member fend off a zebra after it bit a man's arm off. (Courtesy Photo/Pickaway County Sheriff's Office)As deputies arrived, they saw the victim lying on the ground with his right arm covered with his sleeve. According to the incident report, dispatch logs said the victim had his arm bitten off by the zebra.An edited version of deputies' body camera footage is below. While deputies were treating the man, the zebra continued acting irate and charged one deputy's cruiser, which was positioned to block the man from the animal. The man was accompanied by family members as he was being...

Elizabeth Smart celebrates 20 years since her rescue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:44 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (KTVX) -- Twenty years ago Sunday, March 12, Elizabeth Smart and her family were reunited after she was abducted from her home and separated from her family for nine months.“When I was rescued, I couldn’t imagine thinking one day I’ll say, '20 years ago'. That just felt like an impossibility,” Smart said. Unexpected details from the Elizabeth Smart case In June 2002, Smart was 14 when kidnappers stole her from her bedroom in Salt Lake City. Her kidnappers, Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, took her captive for nine months. In March 2003, police found and rescued her in a Sandy neighborhood. Mitchell was sentenced to life in prison, and Barzee was sentenced to fifteen years and released early on parole.Now 20 years later, Smart says she feels fortunate."I don’t know who I would be if it hadn’t happened to me," Smart said. "People are always like, 'Oh, it’s so wonderful, you seem so healthy; it seems like you’ve really healed.' I think, 'Yes, thank good...