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Biden taps Philip Jefferson to be Fed’s vice chair, Adriana Kugler as first Hispanic on Fed board

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has nominated Philip Jefferson, a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, to serve as vice chair of the board, the White House announced Friday.Biden has also chosen Adriana Kugler, a Georgetown University economist, to join the Fed’s board. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first Hispanic American on the Fed’s interest-rate-setting committee. The two nominations arrive as the Fed is grappling with an increasingly fraught economy marked by rising interest rates, still-high inflation and a shaky banking system. Since March 2022, the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate 10 times, to the highest level in 16 years, in an aggressive drive to cool price increases. After a policy meeting last week, Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the Fed may now pause its rate hikes.In the coming months, the Fed will face tough decisions about whether to keep rates unchanged for the rest of this year or resume raisin...

Turkish Red Crescent chief, slammed for selling tents meant for quake survivors, steps down

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:25 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The head of Turkey’s Red Crescent organization has stepped down, the state-run news agency reported Friday, months after the aid agency came under intense criticism for selling tents to a charity instead of dispatching them directly to areas devastated by a powerful earthquake in February. Kerem Kinik’s resignation came a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the Red Crescent’s actions during a town hall meeting with young people while campaigning ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary and presidential elections.Erdogan had previously remained silent on the scandal that had led to widespread outrage and calls for Kinik to resign.“I was seriously saddened by this issue,” Erdogan said in the campaign event on Thursday. “The Red Crescent cannot engage in the sale of tents. He (Kinik) must rectify this wrong.”The organization was criticized for selling thousands of tents to a charity days after the Feb. 6 earthquake, amid a shortage of tents and shelte...

US Postal Service honors civil rights leader, Ponca tribe Chief Standing Bear, with stamp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:25 GMT

A Ponca tribe chief whose landmark lawsuit in 1879 established that a Native American is a person under the law was honored Friday with the unveiling of a U.S. Postal Service stamp that features his portrait.The release of the stamp of Chief Standing Bear comes 146 years after the Army forced him and about 700 other members of the Ponca tribe to leave their homeland in northeast Nebraska and walk 600 miles (965 kilometers) to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Chief Standing Bear was arrested and imprisoned in Fort Omaha when he and others tried to return. This prompted him to file a lawsuit that led to an 1879 ruling ordering his release and finding that a Native American is a person with a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.“For so long people didn’t know his story or the Ponca story — our own trail of tears,” Candace Schmidt, chairwoman of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska said. “We are finally able to tell his story of perseverance and how we as a tribe are...

Maine West High School deemed safe after active shooter alarm goes off; school canceled

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:25 GMT

DES PLAINES, Ill. — Maine West High School was deemed safe Friday morning after authorities responded to a report of shots fired due to a potential accidental push of an active shooter button.Officers are currently holding a perimeter at the school, located in the 1700 block of South Wolf Road, and there have been no reports of injuries. The district said the building has been cleared by authorities and students and staff are "safe."District officials believe "there was an accidental push of the active shooter button or a short in the system that caused that alarm to go off."The reunification area for parents to pick up their children is at Prairie Lakes, located at 515 E. Thacker St.Police asked residents to avoid the area until further notice.It is unknown when the alarm went off.SkyCam9 over the school earlier showed several students exiting the school and some were running.No other information is available at this time. WGN News will update this story once more details become av...

New Twitter CEO is NBC's Linda Yaccarino, an executive with deep advertising roots, Musk says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:25 GMT

(AP) – Elon Musk has confirmed that the new CEO for Twitter, or X Corp. as it's now called, will be NBCUniversal’s Linda Yaccarino, an executive with deep ties to the advertising industry.“I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” Musk wrote in a Friday tweet. He added that Yaccarino “will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.”Yaccarino has worked at NBCUniversal for nearly 12 years — with her team generating more than $100 billion in ad sales since 2011, her company bio notes. According to LinkedIn, Yaccarino previously served as NBC's chair for advertising and client partnerships and as president of cable entertainment and digital advertising sales. Prior to her time with NBC, Yaccarino worked at global entertainment company Turner for almost two decades.Yaccarino interviewed Musk on a Miami stage last month in front of hundreds of advertisers.Twitter CEO Elon Musk, center, speaks with Linda Yaccarin...

Netflix just announced its summer movie slate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:25 GMT

BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. DetailsFROM BLOCKBUSTER ACTION TO GRIPPING DOCUMENTARIES, HERE'S NETFLIX'S SUMMER LINEUPIN THIS ARTICLE:West Bend Stir Crazy Movie Theater Popcorn PopperChanasya Super-Soft Fuzzy Faux Fur Throw BlanketZigtiger Sofa CaddyThere's no shortage of movies coming to the theaters. Whether it's an insanely over-the-top action-thriller like "Meg 2: The Trench" or the quiet hilarity of a Sundance favorite like "Theater Camp," there's something for everyone. However, you don't even have to leave the house to see some of this summer's best movies. Here's a list of every film that Netflix is releasing this summer. TOP ACTION AND COMEDY PICKS THIS SUMMERNetflix's summer lineup contains 16 films. The genres run the gamut from comedy to thriller and include mega-talent such as Chris Hemsworth, Gal Gadot, Adam Sandler and others. Here are our top action and comedy picks.Image credit: Jasin Boland/Netflix Copyright© 2...

These are most popular baby names of 2022: Social Security Administration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:25 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Ten years ago, the most popular baby names were Jacob and Sophia, according to the Social Security Administration. That wasn't the case in 2022.New data from the federal agency shows Liam and Olivia were the most popular names of last year — not much of a surprise, considering Liam had been the most popular since 2017 while Olivia had held the top spot since 2019. In 2021, the only new name to enter the ranks of the top 10 — for either boys or girls — was Theodore, ranking as the 10th most popular boys' name.This year, the only new name to crack the top 10 was Luna, replacing Harper as 10th most popular.The ten most popular baby names of 2022, as recorded by the Social Security Administration, are below.BoysGirls1. Liam1. Olivia2. Noah2. Emma3. Oliver3. Charlotte4. James4. Amelia5. Elijah5. Sophia6. William6. Isabella7. Henry7. Ava8. Lucas8. Mia9. Benjamin9. Evelyn10. Theodore10. LunaThe aforementioned Jacob and Sophia? In 2021, Jacob ranked 24th while Sophia sat in 6th....

Tiny home community for people experiencing homelessness opens in east Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Fifty tiny home units are now occupied by people experiencing homelessness at the Esperanza Community in east Austin. The Other Ones Foundation (TOOF), which operates the community, plans to build a total of 200 on the site, divided into four neighborhoods. In addition to the cabins, the property also consists of communal areas, food access areas and hygiene facilities. PREVIOUS: Businesses help nonprofit build transitional shelter at sanctioned homeless encampment “It has been incredible to see so much support around the Esperanza Community. This is a vital resource to our City. Our approach is far from traditional: We’re extremely low barrier, non-congregate, and our services are holistic and person-centered. This allows us to serve chronically homeless people who are unable to access more traditional homelessness resources,” Founder and Executive Director Chris Baker said in a news release.TOOF broke ground on the project in September, and Baker said most of th...

Austin Watershed Protection prepares for weekend storm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin's Watershed Protection department director said it is clearing and monitoring "hot spots" known to experience flooding ahead of storms rolling into central Texas this weekend. Those hot spots include street inlets and storm culverts that run along Austin's vast stretch of creek beds. Storm culverts became clogged with tree debris during a storm on April 20 which led to the flooding of homes along Mearns Meadow Boulevard. Clearing creek beds The city council passed a resolution last week providing aid for homeowners that experienced flood damage, and it also directed Watershed Protection, Austin Resource Recovery and the Parks and Recreation Department to develop a plan to clear out creek beds of tree debris. The debris in the creek beds comes from the winter storm in late January. "Our priority is to triage. So we focus on the 20 to 30 feet in front of the culvert, but walking up and down the creek, that's something we're still working on a strategy moving fo...

Teen charged with murder in shooting of St. Paul dad, youth hockey coach outside St. Anthony Park home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:25 GMT

One of Michael Brasel’s sons was in his family’s St. Paul home when he heard his father yell outside, “What are you doing?” The sound of gunshots followed, according to murder charges filed Friday against a 17-year-old.Brasel’s wife, who said the 44-year-old confronted someone trying to break into her car, rushed outside and found Michael Brasel had been shot in their front yard in the quiet St. Anthony Park neighborhood on Saturday morning. She is a registered nurse and she gave him CPR.Paramedics took Brasel to the hospital, where the father of two and youth hockey coach died.Michael Brasel (Courtesy of the family)Police announced Wednesday that the department’s SWAT team carried out a search warrant about noon that day in the 1600 block of East Reaney Avenue on behalf of homicide investigators and arrested the 17-year-old suspect.The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged Kle Swee, of St. Paul, with two counts of second-degree murder ...