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Amid strained US ties, China finds unlikely friend in Utah

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:45:39 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — China’s global campaign to win friends and influence policy has blossomed in a surprising place: Utah, a deeply religious and conservative state with few obvious ties to the world’s most powerful communist country.An investigation by the Associated Press has found that China and its U.S.-based advocates spent years building relationships with the state’s officials and lawmakers. Those efforts have paid dividends at home and abroad, the AP found: Lawmakers delayed legislation Beijing didn’t like, nixed resolutions that conveyed displeasure with its actions and expressed support in ways that enhanced the Chinese government’s image.Its work in Utah is emblematic of a broader effort by Beijing to secure allies at the local level as its relations with the U.S. and its western allies have turned acrimonious. U.S. officials say local leaders are at risk of being manipulated by China and have deemed the influence campaign a threat to national security.Beijing’s success...

First Citizens to acquire troubled Silicon Valley Bank

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:45:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — North Carolina-based First Citizens will buy Silicon Valley Bank, the tech industry-focused financial institution that collapsed earlier this month, rattling the banking industry and sending shockwaves around the world. The deal could reassure investors at a time of shaken confidence in banks, though the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and other regulators had already taken extraordinary steps to head off a wider banking crisis by guaranteeing that depositors in SVB and another failed U.S. bank would be able to access all of their money.Customers of SVB will automatically become customers of First Citizens, which is headquartered in Raleigh. The 17 former branches of SVB will open as First Citizens branches Monday, the FDIC said.Nasdaq-traded shares of First Citizen BancShares Inc. jumped 12.4% to $654.95 in premarket trading Monday. Shares in mid-sized San Francisco-based First Republic Bank, which serves a similar clientele as Silicon Valley Bank and had appeared t...

Man stabbed onboard TTC bus in Toronto’s west end

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:45:39 GMT

A man is in hospital with serious injuries after a stabbing onboard a TTC bus in Toronto’s west end.Police say they received reports that a man was stabbed on a bus on Keele Street near Donald Avenue, just north of Rogers Road, around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.Officers located an injured man at the scene. He was transported to hospital with serious injuries.The suspect fled the scene.Police tell CityNews the victim and the suspect knew each other and the attack was not random.No suspect information has been made available.The investigation is ongoing.STABBING:Keele St & Donald Ave– reports of a man stabbed onboard a TTC bus @TTCNotices– police o/s– officers located a man with injuries – @TorontoMedics o/s – took the patient to hospital with serious injuries– suspect fled– ongoing investigation#GO671006^al— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) March 27, 2023The stabbing onboard a TTC vehicle comes one day after a teen boy was...

Man critically injured in shooting on West Side

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:45:39 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are looking for the person responsible for shooting two men late Sunday night on Chicago’s West Side.According to police, the two men were standing a courtyard around 11 p.m. near 13th Street and Throop in the city’s Near West Side neighborhood. Police said a man approached the men and began shooting.One of the men, a 40-year-old, was shot in the back and side and taken to the hospital in critical condition.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesThe other man, who police said is in his 60s, was shot in the leg. He refused medical attention at the scene.No one is in custody.

Chilly, cloudy and dry to start the week

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:45:39 GMT

Monday starts mostly cloudy in the morning, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. N 5-10 mph. High Monday of 46.Air quality is in the Good category with pockets of Moderate air quality near Milwaukee, NW Illinois, and SW Michigan. Monday night will see increasing clouds late, frosty overnight. N 5-10 mph. Low 28Full forecast details at the WGN Weather CenterTuesday morning will see clouds with partly cloudy in the afternoon.NW 5-10 mph High of 47 Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Extended outlook calls for Wednesday to start with some sunshine, but clouds increasing a chance of a line of rain/snow showers to move through from the north in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 40s. Thursday looks mostly cloudy for the Cubs home opener and rain showers could hold off to the evening with a high finally above normal in the lower 50s. Rain looks likely after midnight and into Friday morning's commute. Friday set to be a mild day where we could score our first 60 of the year. Ste...

All 7 victims of Pennsylvania chocolate factory blast found

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:45:39 GMT

WEST READING, Pa. (AP) — All seven bodies have been recovered from the site of a powerful explosion at a chocolate factory in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, officials said.West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag said in a statement Sunday night that none of the victims will be named until officials are certain that all families have been contacted.“Please understand that this is a devastating loss, but we are truly grateful to bring closure to the families involved in the upcoming days,” Kaag said.West Reading Borough Chief of Police Wayne Holben said at a press briefing just after 9 p.m. that rescue workers had found the bodies earlier in the evening and that they are believed to be the remaining two individuals who were listed as missing earlier in the day. Their identities will be confirmed by the Berks County Coroner’s Office, he said.One of the victims was found around 6:50 p.m. and the other around 8:20 p.m., Holben said. The deaths brought the total number killed to seven in ...

Isolated storms late day, low severe risk

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:45:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Although no day looks like a washout, every day this week will bring a low chance of showers and storms, but little in the way of meaningful rain is expected.A few isolated storms are possible this evening into early night (5PM-11PM) with a low risk of strong to severe storms east of I-35. Coverage looks minimal, but one or two storms may have just enough strength to bring a hail risk.Low risk of sever storms east of I-35 late MondayA weak cold front will slide in early Tuesday morning bringing cooler temperatures and a bump in wind speeds. We'll hang on to a low chance of a few spots of light rain (10%) Tuesday and Wednesday, but midweek will be dry for most of us.More storms and potentially severe weather return Thursday into Friday. Some rain chances continue into next weekend too. Watching for a possible risk of severe storms late weekFIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up to date with your Central Texas forecast, sign up for our weather newsletter at kxan.com/newslette...

Marble Falls High School choir performs unexpected concert on European stage

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:45:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After a 30-hour travel day, the Marble Falls High School choir finally touched down in Europe, ready to visit, and possibly perform, in some of the most breathtaking cathedrals and basilicas in Spain and Portugal. The group did not know it yet, but their adventure would soon lead them to a perform on a stage very few high school choirs get a chance to see. It is a tradition that Bryce Gage, the Marble Falls choir teacher, started back in 2013. Every two years, Gage will take his students overseas to learn about the history and culture of different countries and to perform concerts. "We sing nearly everyday somewhere," Gage explained. The trip can be life-changing and eye-opening for many students. Gage said some of the kids on this most recent spring break trip had never been on a plane before, and some had never even left the state of Texas. Gage also said he pushes the kids to avoid eating at the international chains, such as Starbucks and McDonald's, and instead...

Keeping the connection: On Wisconsin’s Madeline Island, residents aim to preserve their ferry lifeline

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:45:39 GMT

The Island Queen cuts through a channel after departing La Pointe on Madeline Island Tuesday, March 21, 2023 in Lake Superior. The ferry provides a critical lifeline for the island’s residents, who depend on it for transportation of goods and services, daily commutes and tourist travel. (Derek Montgomery / MPR News)LA POINTE, Wis. — Ask any of the 400 or so year-round residents of Madeline Island about the ferry that motors back and forth on Lake Superior from Bayfield, Wis., and invariably they’ll use the word “lifeline” to describe its importance to their day-to-day lives.The Madeline Island Ferry Line’s five boats carry locals and their vehicles on the 25-minute trip across to the island. They also carry workers back and forth and, of course, throngs of tourists in the summer.The ferry hauls the mail, groceries, propane tanks, beer, lumber and appliances.It also takes students to and from school on the mainland. And when there’s an emergency on the island, a boat is a...

St. Paul centenarian Gordon Kirk ‘still trying to be of assistance to others’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:45:39 GMT

There were four generations of Gordon Kirks at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Sunday morning.The eldest Gordon Kirk celebrated his 100th birthday last week, and his grandson, great-grandson and great-great-grandson joined about two dozen parishioners in the church’s basement after the 10 a.m. service to mark their namesake’s milestone.“I guess I’m just one of the lucky ones,” Kirk said of his longevity. “I’ve been blessed. I mean, I’m the first Kirk to ever reach 100 years old. Dad died at 99, mother died at 94.”St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz both issued proclamations last week recognizing the World War II veteran’s service to his city and state.Kirk has spent much of his long life helping others. Holy Trinity parishioner Paula Mitchell described Kirk as a pillar of the community.“We could always depend on him,” she said Sunday. “At 100 years old, he’s still trying to be of assi...