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Mexican president says his country safer than United States

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:07 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president claimed Monday that his country is safer than the United States, a week after two U.S. citizens were killed and two kidnapped and later rescued in the border city of Matamoros.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said U.S. travel warnings and reports of violence in Mexico were the result of a conspiracy by conservative politicians and U.S. media outlets to smear his administration.Despite López Obrador’s assurances that Mexico was safe for travel, the FBI confirmed last week that three other women from the small Texas town of Peñitas have been missing in Mexico since late February.“Mexico is safer than the United States,” López Obrador said at his morning news briefing. “There is no problem in traveling safely in Mexico.”Mexico’s nationwide homicide rate is about 28 per 100,000 inhabitants. By comparison, the U.S. homicide rate is barely one-quarter as high, at around 7 per 100,000.The president brushed off continued concern over violence...

2 women robbed at gunpoint while vacationing in Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:07 GMT

Two women vacationing in Miami are questioning whether or not they will return after, they said, they became victims of an armed robbery. Speaking with 7News, one of the victims said they were being driven home after a night out when they woke up outside a condo building with a gun pointed at their faces. “We came down here on vacation, I live in Holland,” Suhhai Casteallucceo said. Crime scene investigators could be seen taking photos of a gray Mercedes and questioning the women hours after the robbery. Casteallucceo said she and her friend went to a club with a man they had previously met in Miami. At the end of the night, Casteallucceo said, that man was supposed to give the two a lift back to their hotel. On the ride back, she fell asleep. “When I woke up, I saw a man with a gun in my face, and it was a terrible moment of my life,” Casteallucceo said.She said they were parked in front of a condo building on Northeast 15th Street, near the Venetian Causew...

Russia agrees to extend Black Sea grain deal, but only for 60 days 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:07 GMT

Russia said Monday it had agreed to extend a deal that allows Ukrainian grain exports to pass through the blockaded Black Sea, but only for another 60 days, drawing an immediate challenge from Kyiv.The deal, initially brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, was extended once in November for 120 days and rolls over automatically on March 18 if no side objects. Some 23 million tons of Ukrainian produce have been transported under the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative so far, amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s all-out war on Ukraine.Russia “does not object to the next extension of the ‘Black Sea Initiative’ after the expiry of the second term on March 18, but only for 60 days,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said in a statement issued by the Russian mission to Geneva after talks with U.N. officials.Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksander Kubrakov responded in a tweet, however, that the original agreement under the Black Sea grain deal foresees a 1...

Saving Silicon Valley Bank UK: How the British tech sector averted disaster

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:07 GMT

LONDON  — British officials woke up Saturday with a ticking time bomb: find a new home for Silicon Valley Bank’s local operations or face a potential implosion to the United Kingdom’s tech sector.Amid a flurry of late-night WhatsApp messages, intensive lobbying from high-profile techies, and last-minute negotiations with HSBC, the Treasury Department pulled it off — and allowed the U.K.’s startup community to breathe a sigh of relief after the tech industry’s go-to bank was scooped up by its much-larger rival.“I was extremely relieved,” said Andy Cockburn, co-founder of Mention Me, a British startup, who penned an open letter to the U.K. government on Saturday urging politicians to step in and save the bank. The request for support garnered more than 140 signatures from other U.K. startup founders in less than two hours.“There were tens of thousands of employees at risk,” he added. If the bank had gone under, “it would have set back the industry 20 years.”POLITICO ta...

Dolphins reach deal with backup QB, local product Mike White to start free agency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:07 GMT

On the first day of free agency, the Miami Dolphins found their backup quarterback.The Dolphins and former New York Jets quarterback Mike White have agreed to terms, according to a league source. The deal is reportedly for two years and worth up to $16 million, according to ESPN.It’s a homecoming for White, the Pembroke Pines product and former Broward County high school football standout at University School, which stands on the same Nova Southeastern University campus as the Dolphins’ old practice facility in Davie.Over the past two seasons with the Jets, White, who turns 28 on March 25, has played in eight games with seven starts. He was 2-5 in those starts, completed 62.2 percent of passes for 2,145 yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions.Adding the former USF and Western Kentucky college quarterback who was a fifth-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2018, marks the third consecutive offseason the Dolphins bring home a local product to back up Tua Tagovai...

Giants re-signing WR Sterling Shepard to one-year contract for eighth NFL season with team

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:07 GMT

Career Giant Sterling Shepard is running it back for an eighth season in New York on a one-year contract, a source confirmed to the Daily News.Shepard, 30, is the longest-tenured current Giants player as a second-round pick of ex-GM Jerry Reese out of Oklahoma in 2016.He is rehabbing a torn left ACL suffered in last year’s Week 3 Monday night loss to the Dallas Cowboys. But he made 13 catches for 154 yards and a TD on 24 targets in three games before going down and intends to contribute once healthy this fall.His 65-yard touchdown catch and run from Daniel Jones in Week 1 helped the Giants to a defining victory over the Tennessee Titans that set the tone for a playoff season that exceeded expectations.He was also part of the team’s heartbeat even after his season-ending injury, with contagious energy on the sidelines at games, on the field at practices and inside the locker room.He even helped coach and provide tips to wide receivers, including midseason waiver claim Isa...

Former Knicks center Felton Spencer dead at 55

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:07 GMT

Felton Spencer, a longtime NBA center who played two seasons with the Knicks, died Sunday at age 55, his family announced.The former first-round pick out of Louisville died “peacefully,” said his sister, who did not disclose a cause of death.“It was befitting that he received excellent care in his final hours from the providers at the University of Louisville Hospital, his Alma mater that he loved so dearly,” Tammy Pollock tweeted. “He was a kind, gentle giant whose physical presence will be sorely missed.”The 7-foot Spencer starred at Louisville from 1986-90, setting a school record with a career field goal percentage of 62.8%.Spencer went sixth overall in the 1990 NBA Draft to the Minnesota Timberwolves and also played for the Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs before spending his final two seasons with the Knicks from 2000 to 2002.The best seasons of his 12-year NBA career came with Utah. He started all but one of his 184 ga...

Former Jets QB Mike White signs two-year deal with rival Dolphins: reports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:07 GMT

Sometimes, you can go home again.After four seasons with the Jets, quarterback Mike White will sign a two-year contract with the rival Dolphins, according to a source. ESPN reports that White’s contract will be worth $16 million as Miami now improves its backup quarterback position.White was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale as he attended high school at University before going to college at South Florida and later Western Kentucky. Last season, White became the Jets’ starting quarterback last November after they benched former first-round pick Zach Wilson following a 10-3 loss to the Patriots.In four starts last season, White passed for 1,192 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. White did miss time due to five broken ribs he suffered against the Bills in December. He aggravated the same rib injury against the Seahawks as he missed the season finale against the Dolphins.Last year, the Dolphins had Teddy Bridgewater and rookie seventh-round pick Skylar Thompso...

Biden OKs Alaska oil project, draws ire of environmentalists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:07 GMT

By MATTHEW DALY and CHRIS MEGERIAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Monday it is approving the huge Willow oil-drilling project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope, a major environmental decision by President Joe Biden that drew quick condemnation that it flies in the face of the Democratic president’s pledges to slow climate change. The announcement came a day after the administration, in a move in the other direction toward conservation, said it would bar or limit drilling in some other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.The Willow approval by the Bureau of Land Management would allow three drill sites, which would include up to 199 total wells. Two other drill sites proposed for the project would be denied. Project developer ConocoPhillips has said it considers the three-site option workable, and company chairman and CEO Ryan Lance called the order “the right decision for Alaska and our nation.”Houston-based Cono...

How to keep crowdfunding proceeds on the right side of tax rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:07 GMT

By Sabrina ParysCrowdfunding organizations, such as GoFundMe, have made it easier than ever to raise and collect funds for personal causes.If you found yourself at the helm of a campaign last year, or if you set up a fundraiser for another person, chances are that meeting your donation goal was top of mind. But there are also some important tax considerations to be aware of as you prepare to file.The nature of your campaign and how you go about collecting funds play a big role in whether the IRS will deem the money you raised to be taxable. So, if you want to avoid a headache at tax time, knowing the rules helps.Is crowdfunded money taxed?Donations can be considered nontaxable gifts for tax purposes, according to the IRS. However, you may have to pay taxes on money raised in a crowdfunding campaign for a few reasons:If donors receive something of value in return for their contribution, the IRS could consider the donation a sale, which would mean any profits could be taxed as persona...