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UK ministers mull how to shield British tech sector from Silicon Valley Bank collapse

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:16 GMT

LONDON — Britain’s science and technology minister pledged Saturday to do “everything we can” to minimize the impact of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on the U.K.’s tech sector.Ministers held talks with tech industry figures on Saturday afternoon after a run on deposits drove the California-based institution into insolvency, marking the largest bank failure since the financial crisis. Its U.K. arm, Silicon Valley Bank UK, stopped trading on Friday.U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt earlier on Saturday held talks with Andrew Bailey, the governor of Britain’s central bank, the Bank of England, the Treasury said in a statement.In a tweet, Michelle Donelan, who heads the newly created Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, said: “We recognize that the tech sector is often not cashflow positive as they grow and I am determined to stand with them as we do everything we can to minimize impact on the sector.”In an open letter on Satur...

Bruins come back to beat Wings, 3-2, for 50th win

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:16 GMT

The Bruins did not start Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings like they wanted to atone for their performance in Thursday’s loss, but they still managed to send everyone home happy Saturday.After erasing an early 2-0 deficit with a dominant second period, Garnet Hathaway gave the B’s their first lead of the game with his first goal as a Bruin with 6:06 left in regulation. Hathaway scored on a rebound of an AJ Greer shot off goalie Magnus Hellberg to give the B’s a 3-2 lead, capping off a strong afternoon for the fourth line.Linus Ullmark, terrific in the third period, then shut it down the rest of the way for their 50th win of the season. The B’s are the fastest team ever to reach that milestone.But there were some serious blemishes early on.The first 10 minutes of the game represented some of the worst hockey in what has been a magical B’s season season thus far. On an early power play chance, zone entries remained problematic. David Kre...

Speeding boats, fishing gear the leading causes of North Atlantic right whale deaths, conservation experts say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:16 GMT

A top ocean conservation group in the country is calling on the feds to enforce boat speed limits along the Atlantic coast and issue stronger protections to prevent more deaths of North Atlantic right whales.The group Oceana released an analysis Thursday that found hundreds of boats had sped through mandatory and voluntary slow zones designed to protect the critically endangered species in the Virginia Beach area in the weeks leading up to a North Atlantic right whale death.There are just 340 right whales left in the world today, a number that has declined by 25% over the past decade, according to conservation scientists.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined blunt force traumatic injuries as the cause of death of the 20-year-old male right whale. The injuries mirrored those of a boat strike, a leading threat to such whales.“Speeding boats and slow swimming whales are a recipe for disaster, but a preventable one,” said Gib Brogan, campaign director at Oceana....

Heat embrace Lowry return amid stretch run; Martin out, with Robinson in NBA protocols

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:16 GMT

The timing is largely coincidental, with the Miami Heat for over a week having targeted Saturday’s road game against the Orlando Magic as the return date for Kyle Lowry from the knee issue that has had him out since the start of February.The fact that it comes in the wake of the Heat committing 20 or more turnovers in two of their last four games makes it all the more heartening.“That’s my brother,” forward Jimmy Butler said. “I’m glad to have him back. He’s going to change the game in so many ways for this team. He’s going to help us get in a groove, he’s going to help us win some games down the stretch moving into the most important part of the season.”The Heat largely had downplayed the timetable, not confirming until after Friday night’s home victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers that Lowry would be traveling, and not upgrading Lowry to questionable until midday Saturday.But even with Lowry, 36, in the midst of an ...

Rob Gronkowksi has thoughts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:16 GMT

Rob Gronkowski has two words of advice for Mac Jones: “Learn defenses.”Gronkowksi, the former New England and Tampa Bay tight end, doesn’t mean just learn defenses during games. He means Jones should learn defenses in practice. Learn defenses in meetings. Learn defenses during off days. And learn defenses in the offseason.“The advice for Mac Jones is just learn the defenses, understand the defenses. When you go to the line of scrimmage, you’re not thinking at all, obviously you got to learn the playbook, the offensive side of the playbook, that’s aspect No. 1. But aspect No. 2 is to learn every single defense out there,” Gronkowski said.And some defenses are more important than others, according to Gronkowski.“Your divisional opponents, study them up, know who the ‘Mike’ linebacker is, the middle linebacker, who you got to point out every single play to help out the offensive line to know who’s blocking who. Understand what’s going on on the defensive side of...

Jehovah’s Witnesses shocked by Hamburg attack, thank police

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:16 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The Jehovah’s Witnesses expressed shock Saturday over the deadly shooting at one of the group’s halls in Hamburg, Germany, but thanked German authorities for preventing more bloodshed through their swift intervention during the attack.A gunman shot dead six members of the Hamburg congregation and wounded eight others, including a woman who lost her unborn child, before killing himself late Thursday. The shooting drew widespread condemnation and calls for a tightening of Germany’s firearms laws.In a statement, the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany confirmed that the man police identified as the gunman was a former member who left the church voluntarily two years ago.“We do not know the motive for this terrible crime,” it said. “Like the rest of the world, we were shocked and bewildered when we read (…) that the gunman reportedly bore ‘particular anger’ not just toward the Jehovah’s Witnesses but also toward other religious groups and his former empl...

Off-duty cop found dead in North Side home: Police

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:16 GMT

CHICAGO — Police have confirmed that an off-duty police officer was found dead inside a Norwood Park home Saturday morning.According to CPD, the 43-year-old man was discovered unresponsive inside a home at the 5700 block of North Ozark Avenue around 7:45 a.m. where he was pronounced dead on the scene. Woman fatally stabbed on CTA platform in Loop: Police Police are still investigating this incident and there is no further information provided.

Trump indictment? Possibility throws wrench into campaign plans

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:16 GMT

(The Hill) – Former President Trump is reportedly on the brink of facing charges related to a hush money payment during the 2016 campaign, throwing a wrench into the nascent 2024 GOP presidential primary. Trump has already said in interviews that he plans to continue his campaign for the presidency even if he is indicted, and he was defiant in posts on Truth Social late Thursday that made clear he was undeterred by the latest specter of criminal charges.But a possible indictment in New York would be another blow for Trump, whose extensive legal woes already have some Republican voters and leaders suggesting it may be time for the party to move on to a candidate with less baggage.“Given all the unknowns right now, it's far too early to know the political impact,” said Alex Conant, who worked on Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) 2016 campaign. “That said, it's hard to see how this is a positive for Trump,” added Conant, who now works with Firehouse Strategies. “At a minimum, it's a dis...

Dateline correspondents talk with KXAN about Austin crimes ahead of their first SXSW appearance at 4 p.m.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Keith Morrison and Josh Mankiewicz of Dateline – which has covered several notorious Austin murders, including Moriah Wilson and Heidi Broussard – will appear at SXSW for their first panel discussion Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. CT at the Austin Convention Center. The two sat down with KXAN’s Sam Stark ahead of their session to talk Dateline, their voyage into podcasting and reporting on Texas crimes. Can you talk about the explosion of the true crime genre in recent years?“I give credit to our boss, frankly, who persuaded us. He saw the zeitgeist and saw what was coming – he recognized that [true crime] were the sorts of stories that most attracted people's attention. Whenever we did a true crime story, back in the 90s, the numbers show a pretty clear indicator that it was what people wanted to watch,” Morrison said. “Most people in their lives will never be the victim of violent crime. But everybody has been in a relationship that did not work out how ...

Suspect disguised as technician robs two Austin businesses

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin Police Department said it was searching for a man suspected of robbing an Austin business March 1.According to police, the suspect entered two Verizon locations attempting to pass himself off as an IT employee.Police said the suspect initially tried the disguise at the Verizon Store at 2401 S. Lamar Blvd. in south Austin but was turned away. However, according to police, the suspect entered the Barton Creek Square Verizon store approximately 30 minutes later, confronted a store employee in the back room and made threats indicating he had a weapon.APD said the suspect then accessed the store’s safe and quickly left with an undisclosed number of devices.The suspect was described as a 6-feet tall white man between 20 and 30 years old with a thin build and short, light brown hair. Police said he was last seen wearing:Red Nike baseball capDark Hoodie with Verizon “V” logo, red zipper, and gray liningBlack pantsWhite sneakersBlack computer bag with silver laptop...