A freight train derailed in western Arizona Wednesday evening, though it was initially believed to be carrying hazardous materials. It was later confirmed to be carrying corn syrup, and no injuries or spills were reported. The cause of the derailment is still under investigation, and it is not yet known which company the freight train belonged to.
News Mash
Credit Suisse, a banking giant, announced on Monday that they had borrowed $54 billion from Switzerland's central bank in an effort to ease mounting fears of a global banking crisis. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Koerner both released statements reassuring the public that the banking system remains sound and that depositors' savings remain safe.
US-Russia tensions have risen following the release of a US military video showing a Russian Su-27 fighter jet conducting an "unsafe/unprofessional intercept" of a US Air Force MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea. The footage shows the Russian jet making two passes by the drone and dumping fuel on it, and US Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker has accused the jet of nearly causing the two aircraft to crash. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned that the incident has damaged relations between the two countries.
Two hikers have been found dead and one has been rescued after they were caught in a flash flood while trekking the popular Buckskin Gulch slot canyon in southern Utah. The search for the group was launched after the wife of one of the hikers called the sheriff’s office, concerned that she hadn’t heard from her husband. The flash flood may have been triggered by an atmospheric river that has drenched the West this week, and the tragic incident serves as a reminder of the dangers of flash floods and the importance of staying informed about weather conditions before embarking on outdoor activities.
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has sent shockwaves through the financial world, with Senate Republicans denying the bank deregulation bill they passed in 2018 had anything to do with it. The Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hikes have been blamed for the bank run, and the Senate Banking Committee has written a bill that could shape the federal response. Experts suggest the whole debacle could have been avoided if the regulators had stepped in, but the exact cause of the bank’s collapse remains unclear.
A special grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia has heard an audio recording of former President Donald Trump pressuring Georgia House Speaker David Ralston to call a special session to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. This is the third recording of Trump's calls to Georgia officials that has been heard by a grand jury, and the contents of the recording have not been made public. The grand jury is investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election in Georgia, and the results of the investigation have yet to be released.
Tens of thousands of LAUSD employees, including teachers, are set to strike from Tuesday to Thursday, likely shutting down the nation's second-largest school system. The strike is a result of stalled contract negotiations between the SEIU and the district, with the union demanding a 6.5% pay raise, smaller class sizes, and more support staff. The district has offered a 6% raise, but the union has rejected it, and it is unclear how long the strike will last.
The Biden administration has issued an ultimatum to TikTok, a popular social media app with over 100 million US users, to be sold by its Chinese owners or face a ban across the US. The move is in response to security concerns posed by the app's Chinese ownership, and marks a possible turning point in the long-running negotiations between federal officials and the company. TikTok has expressed disappointment with the ultimatum, and it remains to be seen how the company will respond.