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Cartel letter doesn't dull pain for Americans' families

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:38 GMT

LAKE CITY, S.C. (AP) — Relatives of Americans abducted in Mexico said that a purported apology from the Mexican cartel blamed for the attack has done little to dull the pain of their loved ones being killed or wounded. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros where the Americans were kidnapped, the Mexican woman who died in the cartel shootout, and the four Americans and their families.But later in the day, the father of Shaeed Woodard, one of the two Americans who died, said he was speechless upon hearing that the cartel had apologized for the violent abduction captured in video which quickly spread online. “I’ve just been trying to make sense out of it for a whole week. Just restless, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat. It’s just crazy to see your own child taken from you in such a way, in a violent way like that. He didn’t deserve it,” James Woodard...

Silicon Valley Bank seized by FDIC in largest bank failure since 2008

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized the assets of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday, marking the largest bank failure since Washington Mutual during the height of the 2008 financial crisis.The bank failed after depositors — mostly technology workers and venture capital-backed companies — began withdrawing their money creating a run on the bank.Silicon Valley was heavily exposed to tech industry and there is little chance of contagion in the banking sector as there was in the months leading up to the Great Recession more than a decade ago. Major banks have sufficient capital to avoid a similar situation.The FDIC ordered the closure of Silicon Valley Bank and immediately took position of all deposits at the bank Friday. The bank had $209 billion in assets and $175.4 billion in deposits as the time of failure, the FDIC said in a statement. It was unclear how much of deposits was above the $250,000 insurance limit at the moment.Notably, the FDIC did not announce...

'Disrespected': 9th grader's parents suing over Pledge of Allegiance confrontation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:38 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The parents of a ninth grade South Carolina student who said she was accosted by a teacher for quietly walking to class instead of stopping and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance are suing the teacher, principal, school district and state education officials.Marissa Barnwell said she was walking quietly to class and decided not to stop for the pledge or a moment of silence that followed. A teacher yelled at her, confronted her and pushed her against a wall.Barnwell was then sent to the principal's office, which she said was humiliating because she feared she was in trouble. The principal promised to look at the video of the encounter and sent her back to class, but Barnwell said he never let her know that the teacher was wrong and she was right.“I was completely and utterly disrespected,” Barnwell, 15, said at a news conference Thursday, according to The State newspaper. “No one has apologized, no one has acknowledged my hurt. ... The fact that the school i...

Here are the movies most likely to win each major Oscar category

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:38 GMT

(Stacker) - The Academy Awards ceremony is Hollywood's biggest night, and in the weeks leading into the 95th soiree of pomp and cinematic excellence, film-world pundits have pored over this year's facts, figures, and numbers to get down to the nitty-gritty of making their predictions of who will win and who will simply smile and politely clap.Film fans will only know the answer to those questions on Oscar night when those hallowed envelopes are opened and all suspense comes to an end. But until then, one can make logical predictions based on the awards the nominated films have already won and been nominated for so far. Handily, Metacritic keeps an ongoing scoreboard based on first-place wins, second-place wins, and overall nominations, all of which are then translated to cumulative points to get a sense of how well films are faring during awards season.Stacker looked at Metacritic's film awards and nominations scorecard for 2022 films and cross-referenced it with Oscar nom...

U.S. adds 311,000 jobs in February, unemployment rate rises to 3.6%

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:38 GMT

America’s employers added a substantial 311,000 jobs in February, fewer than January’s huge gain but enough to keep pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively to fight inflation.The unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, from a 53-year low of 3.4%, as more Americans began searching for work but not all of them found jobs.Friday’s report from the government made clear that the nation’s job market remains fundamentally healthy, with many employers still eager to hire. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress this week that the Fed would likely ratchet up its rate hikes if signs continued to point to a robust economy and persistently high inflation. A strong job market typically leads businesses to raise pay and then pass their higher labor costs on to customers through higher prices.February’s sizable job growth shows that so far, hiring is continuing to strengthen this year after having eased in late 2022. From October through December, the average monthly job gain wa...

History is made after Schumer swears in Albany native

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:38 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer swore in Anne Nardacci on March 10 at the James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse in Albany. Nardacci’s swearing-in will make the Northern District of NY (NDNY) a majority-female bench for active judges for the first time in history. Get all of the latest news, weather, sports, and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! An Albany native, Nardacci has spent twenty years holding people accountable and fighting for transparency in the Capital Region. Nardacci is said to bring profound expertise, honor, and history to the Capital Region bench. Judge Nardacci is the third woman Schumer has recommended for nomination to serve on the NDNY bench, following Judge Mae D'Agostino and Chief Judge Brenda Sannes.“I am truly elated that Anne Nardacci, one of the Capital Region’s own, will finally get to bring her tremendous expertise, integrity, and intelligence to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District, which receives such a wide ...

Deadline today for St. Louis homeless camp eviction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:38 GMT

ST. LOUIS - City leaders are moving forward today with a plan to clear a homeless encampment along the riverfront downtown very close to Laclede's Landing. Dozens of homeless people have been living in tents under the pavilion where the President Casino inside the Admiral Riverboat was once located years ago.Now city leaders say it’s time for the people and the tents to go.  The city posting notices last week that the camp would be disbanded today. Top story: Kim Gardner’s chief trial assistant leaving the Circuit Attorney’s Office Several homeless people who were living at the camp told us today that they are sad about being forced to leave, and they are uncertain about what their future holds. Groups advocating for the homeless are also at the site today, protesting the closing of the camp.City officials say they been meeting with people living in the encampment recently and have been able to offer them housing as well as other resources to help address their needs and put them...

Colorado state basketball tournaments 2023 Final Four results and coverage, March 10

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:38 GMT

The semifinals of the Colorado high school basketball state tournaments for Classes 4A-6A take place Thursday and Friday at Denver Coliseum. Our staff will be there throughout the weekend providing live coverage. Refresh this page for the latest updates and results.Tournament info: Favorites, challengers, dark horses and underdogs | Final 4, Day 1 coverage | Denver East’s run at a title | Arapahoe ready for battleUpdatesNo. 2 Cherry Creek (22-4) vs. No. 11 Grandview (17-9)10:59 a.m.: We’re about to tip things off in the first semifinal of Day 2 at Denver Coliseum, and it features a couple of longtime Centennial League rivals. The Bruins and Wolves split their first two games of the season, with Creek winning 56-40 on Feb. 1 and Grandview getting its revenge a few weeks later with a 55-36 victory on Feb. 16.These two teams account for two of the last three contested big school state titles, with Grandview winning the 5A crown last year and Cherry Creek in 2019. The winner...

Colorado Republicans all-night filibuster sought to stall gun reform, safe drug-use site bills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:38 GMT

More than 16 hours after they entered the House chamber, Colorado lawmakers advanced two controversial bills regulating guns and drug use in the early morning hours Friday tay, ending a marathon session of often emotional debate about how to best save lives amid dueling public health crises.House Republicans had pledged to fight the Democrat-backed bills, one of which would enact a minimum three-day waiting period for buying a gun, and the other would allow local governments to open safe-use drug sites. They made good on those threats Thursday: Debate on the gun measure began at 1:30 p.m. and ended at 2:30 the next morning. Republicans rejected a deal to end debate in exchange for a modest amendment as midnight approached, and Democrats shot down more than a dozen Republican attempts to change the gun bill.Ultimately, the gun measure passed with the slight change that Republicans had rejected hours before, which will delay when the bill — should it be signed into law — b...

The Future of Bitcoin, CBDCs, NFTs, and GameFi: Insights from OKX's Product Marketing Manager

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:38 GMT

CoinReporter interviewed Matthew Osofisan, OKX's Product Marketing Manager, on the Future of Bitcoin, CBDCs, NFTs, and GameFi and Why to Be Cautious About Regulations."What do you think is the long-term outlook for Bitcoin, and do you think Bitcoin can become a global reserve currency?I think it's a great question. You're in the right place, asking the right people. I fundamentally believe in the technology that supports Bitcoin as a store of reserve. We're starting to see a lot more adoption across the world, and as you think about where the next wave of Bitcoin adoption will come from, it will start to come from larger governments, it will start to come from more and more central banks. And I do believe that over time we will see Bitcoin becoming a sort of certified store of value overall. So the potential in the future is almost limitless, and that's why we believe in the technology that supports it and believes in the future for Bitcoin as well.Do you think regulation can stifle...