Author: Jeremiah Bradley

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is preparing to place First Republic under receivership, Reuters reported on Friday, as the worst banking crisis since 2008 continued to hammer mid-sized US banks. The California-based bank looks set to be the third such financial institution to collapse this year, following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature in March. On Friday trading in First Republic was briefly halted after its share plunged close to 50%, the second such fall in a week. The bank revealed on Monday that it had lost $100bn in deposits during last month’s banking crisis. Although the withdrawals have abated…

Part of a continuing weekly series on Alaska history by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage or Alaska history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of this story. Many jobs across Alaska history have been backbreakingly difficult or inherently risky. Many professions in Alaska have been lonely pursuits, but none were as lonely as lighthouse keepers. Even the most isolated trapper or prospector was free to head toward the nearest town for company. Lighthouse keepers maintained their post day after day after day, staring at storm after storm. And no lighthouse…

The abrupt resignation of a Canadian lawmaker over allegations he secretly met with a Chinese diplomat has escalated a row over allegations that Beijing meddled in Canadian elections – and highlighted the complex and often fraught relationship between the two countries. Han Dong, a member of the governing Liberal party, was reported to have met with Han Tao, China’s consul general in February 2021, to suggest that Chinese authorities delay freeing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians who were detained in China at the time. Dong confirmed the meeting but strongly denied the allegations about the conversation. On Wednesday evening, he…

Justice Paul Rouleau has released his long-awaited report on the government’s use of the Emergencies Act to quell the anti-vaccine mandate convoy protests in Ottawa and in the border communities of Windsor, Ont. and Coutts, Alta. The five-volume, 2,000-page report is a deep dive into the demonstrations that gripped some parts of the country for more than a month in the winter of 2022. After six weeks of public testimony, and with unprecedented access to cabinet documents, Rouleau detailed everything from the genesis of the convoy movement to the disruptive and sometimes dangerous nature of the demonstrations. He described an extraordinary police…

By SUSAN JONES Pitt’s School of Law is joining several other schools, including Penn State and the University of Pennsylvania, in dropping out of the U.S. News and World Report’s law school rankings. “The U.S. News ranking system is systematically flawed and harmful to both legal education and the legal profession,” said Haider Ala Hamoudi, who was named interim dean of the law school this month after Amy Wildermuth stepped down. “Some aspects of the U.S. News rankings are inconsistent with Pitt Law’s mission and values, including our longstanding commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging,” Hamoudi said in a…

A top Republican in the U.S. Congress on Sunday said the odds of conflict with China over Taiwan “are very high,” after a U.S. general caused consternation with a memo that warned that the United States would fight China in the next two years. In a memo dated Feb. 1 but released on Friday, General Mike Minihan, who heads the Air Mobility Command, wrote to the leadership of its roughly 110,000 members, saying, “My gut tells me we will fight in 2025.” “I hope he is wrong. … I think he is right though,” Mike McCaul, the new chairman of…

Russia has strongly criticised the visit to Washington by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing the US of fighting an indirect war against it. President Joe Biden has pledged $1.85bn (£1.45bn) of military aid for Ukraine – including an advanced missile system to help guard against Russian attacks. In a defiant address to US lawmakers, Mr Zelensky welcomed the assistance. But Russia’s US ambassador said these “provocative actions” would lead to an escalation with severe consequences. Anatoly Antonov told Russian state media that Moscow was “trying to appeal to common sense at all levels”, but talk of delivering the Patriot missile system…