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Stars arrive at Oscars looking to snap back after The Slap

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A year after Will Smith strode on stage at the Dolby Theatre and slapped Chris Rock in the face, the Oscars are reconvening Sunday for a ceremony that will try to move past one of the most infamous moments in Academy Awards history. Stars are streaming down the red carpet — or, this year, the champagne-colored carpet — at the Dolby in Los Angeles. After several days of rain in and around Los Angeles, the sun is out again for a ceremony the Academy Awards are hoping is less stormy than last year.James Hong, co-star of best-picture favorite “Everything Everywhere All at Once” arrived with googly eyes on his tie, a reference to one of the film’s absurdist props. “It shows if you wait long enough, you’ll make it,” the 94-year-old Hong told ABC on the carpet. Some arrived already knowing their chances of winning were slim.“We’re going to lose tonight against a liar called ‘Pinocchio,‘” Antonio Banderas joked on the Oscars carpet. Banderas’ voices the main c...

US government moves to stop potential banking crisis

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government took extraordinary steps Sunday to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, assuring depositors at the failed financial institution that they would be able to access all of their money quickly.The announcement came amid fears that the factors that caused the Santa Clara, California-based bank to fail could spread, and only hours before trading began in Asia. Regulators had worked all weekend to try and come up with a buyer for the bank, which was the second largest bank failure in history. Those efforts appeared to have failed as of Sunday. In a sign of quickly the financial bleeding was occurring, regulators announced that New York-based Signature Bank had failed and was being seized on Sunday. At more than $110 billion in assets, Signature Bank is the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history.The Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and FDIC said Sunday that all Silicon Valley Bank clients will be prote...

Nicaragua proposes suspending Vatican ties after comments

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Nicaragua ’s government said Sunday it has proposed suspending relations with the Vatican days after Pope Francis reportedly compared President Daniel Ortega’s administration to a communist or Nazi dictatorship amid a crackdown on the Catholic Church in the Central American country. Relations between the church and the Nicaraguan government have been deteriorating since 2018, when authorities violently repressed antigovernment protests. Some Catholic leaders gave protesters shelter in their churches and the church later tried to act as a mediator between the regime and the opposition.Ortega branded Catholic figures he saw as sympathetic to the opposition as “terrorists” who had backed efforts to overthrow him. Dozens of religious figures were arrested or fled the country. Two congregations of nuns – including from the Missionaries of Charity order founded by Mother Teresa – were expelled last year, and prominent Catholic Bishop Rolando Álvarez was sentenced...

Can the chaos from Silicon Valley Bank's fall be contained?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Can Washington come to the rescue of the depositors of failed Silicon Valley Bank? Is it even politically possible?That was one of the growing questions in Washington Sunday as policymakers tried to figure out whether the U.S. government — and its taxpayers — should bail out a failed bank that largely served Silicon Valley, with all its wealth and power.Prominent Silicon Valley personalities and executives have been hitting the giant red “PANIC" button, saying that if Washington does not come to the rescue of Silicon Valley bank’s depositors, more bank runs are likely.“The gov't has about 48 hours to fix a soon-to-be-irreversible mistake,” Bill Ackman, a prominent Wall Street investor, wrote on Twitter. Ackman has said he does not have any deposits with Silicon Valley Bank but is invested in companies that do.Some other Silicon Valley personalities have been even more bombastic.“On Monday 100,000 Americans will be lined up at their regional bank demanding their ...

Layalina: From Baghdad to Skokie, Assyrian-inspired play highlights immigrant struggle

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO — A play that awakens the story of a multigenerational family emigrating from Baghdad to Skokie, Illinois will now be playing at a world-renowned theater. The playwright, Martin Yousif Zebari, is a the youngest of six kids who moved to the United States from Iraq when he was just a boy.Being the youngest, Yousif Zebari shares how distinct his experiences were from of his siblings growing up. He expresses the play as a means of understanding his privilege compared to their wildly different lifestyles.The protagonist of the show, Layal, is an older sister who helps raise her siblings and acts as the glue that keeps her family together.“What she imagines would be an easy transition and new move with her new husband becomes more complicated than she imagines,” Martin says. With the essence of time separating the play’s acts – the story showcases 17 years of exploring the effects of war, family, queer identities, all through the lens of his Assyrian roots.“It’s a really...

South Side Irish Parade keeps St Patrick's Day celebrations going

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO — The iconic South Side Irish Parade was back in action Sunday, keeping the St. Patrick's Day celebrations rocking and a rolling across Chicago."The South Side is better. We're classier on the South Side," said Annie Gallotta, an attendee of the parade.Gallotta said she has been attending the parade for decades going back to her early childhood, and like many others in attendance Sunday, love the opportunity to celebrate. St. Patrick’s Day Chicago 2023: See a schedule for big events in the city "It's so nice to be back," said Carroll Sweeney Vargas, another attendee of the parade. "I've missed it and I'm happy to be part of it."

Police: Man kidnapped unconscious woman, aimed gun at man

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin man faces three separate charges after police said he kidnapped a woman on March 5 in east Austin, according to Travis County court documents.According to records, Little Abe Hill, 40, faces felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.An APD report said on March 5, at approximately 3:30 a.m. dispatch received a call to the intersection of East 14th Street and Comal Street saying a man in a black sedan abducted a woman at gunpoint and left the scene in the vehicle.The caller said he was in downtown with the woman, and after a night of drinking, they attempted to hail a rideshare. The report claims that a black sedan driven by Hill pulled up to the victims, and believing the vehicle to be a rideshare, they both sat in the backseat. The woman passed out shortly after getting in, according to the caller.“After driving a short distance, Hill abruptly pulled over his vehicle, exited the...

Minnesota Legislature considers allowing terminally ill adults to choose medically assisted dying

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

With Minnesota’s 2023 legislative session in full swing, the DFL majorities in both chambers have advanced several health-related bills, from protecting abortion access to making nonprofit hospitals’ financial assistance programs more accessible.Also in the mix this year are Senate File 1813 and House File 1930, both known as the End of Life Option Act. The companion bills, introduced on Feb. 16, would allow terminally ill adults have the option to choose medical aid in dying, also known as physician-assisted suicide.“It’s modeled after a similar law in Oregon that’s been in effect for more than two decades,” said Rep. Mike Freiberg, DFL-Golden Valley, who has led the effort to pass the End of Life Option Act since 2016.The House version of the bill has 19 authors, including Rep. Andy Smith, DFL-Rochester. Sen. Liz Boldon, DFL-Rochester, is one of five Senate authors.For Boldon, a nurse, the proposal underscores her belief that patients should hav...

1 dead, 1 in custody after Saturday night stabbing in St. Paul, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A man is dead and a woman has been arrested after a stabbing Saturday evening in St. Paul’s Summit-University neighborhood, police say.Officers responded about 7:15 p.m. to a report of an assault at the intersection of Marshall Avenue and Arundel Street, where they found a man sitting next to his vehicle, suffering from a stab wound to his chest, according to a news release issued Sunday by the St. Paul Police Department.The officers administered first aid until St. Paul Fire Department paramedics arrived and took the man to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.On Sunday, homicide investigators located the crime scene at a residence in the 700 block of Dayton Avenue and arrested a 51-year-old woman who lived there. Jacquelyn Olivia Vann was booked into Ramsey County jail on suspicion of murder, the news release said.Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman, said preliminary information indicates the man and woman were in a relationship and had a fight earlier i...

U.S. government moves to stop potential banking crisis

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

NEW YORK — The U.S. government took extraordinary steps Sunday to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, assuring depositors at the failed financial institution that they would be able to access all of their money quickly.The announcement came amid fears that the factors that caused the Santa Clara, California-based bank to fail could spread, and only hours before trading began in Asia. Regulators had worked all weekend to try and come up with a buyer for the bank, which was the second largest bank failure in history. Those efforts appeared to have failed as of Sunday.In a sign of quickly the financial bleeding was occurring, regulators announced that New York-based Signature Bank had failed and was being seized on Sunday. At more than $110 billion in assets, Signature Bank is the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history.The Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and FDIC said Sunday that all Silicon Valley Bank clients will be protected a...