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Why does US see Chinese-owned TikTok as a security threat?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. lawmakers have grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about data security and harmful content, with some pushing to ban the popular short-video app nationwide.A Singaporean native, Chew told the lawmakers that TikTok prioritizes user safety and as he sought to avert a ban by downplaying the app’s ties to China. Both Republican and Democratic representatives aggressively questioned Chew on topics including TikTok’s content moderation practices, its data security plans, and past spying on journalists.Here’s a look at some of the concerns about TikTok and its ownership.WHY DOES WASHINGTON SAY TIKTOK IS A THREAT?TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd., which appoints its executives.ByteDance is based in Beijing but registered in the Cayman Islands, as is common for privately owned Chinese companies. Its headquarters is in Beijing’s northwestern Haidian district, home to key univers...

King Charles III’s European state visit hits French hurdle

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III’s state visit to France has been postponed indefinitely amid widespread protests over President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms, putting a damper on the new monarch’s debut on the international stage.Charles and his wife, Camilla, will still travel to Germany on Wednesday in what was scheduled to be the second leg of his first overseas trip since ascending the throne in September.The original six-day visit to France and Germany, the two biggest countries in the European Union, was designed to highlight efforts to rebuild relations between Britain and its neighbors after six years of squabbling over Brexit. But the prospect of Charles being confronted by protesters and piles of garbage in the streets of Paris forced officials in France and Britain to rethink their plans.“The king and queen consort’s state visit to France has been postponed,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office said in a statement. “This decision was taken with the consent of a...

Suspected tornado touches down in northern Texas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

DECATUR, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a suspected tornado touched down early Friday in north Texas. Wise County Emergency Management Coordinator Cody Powell says the tornado struck in southern Wise County near the Parker County line and that authorities were just beginning to assess the damage.Powell said he had no reports of injuries. Parker County officials and the National Weather Service did not immediately return phone calls for comment. The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center has forecast severe weather through Friday evening primarily from the lower Mississippi Valley to the lower Ohio Valley.The greatest risk of tornadoes includes an area from eastern Arkansas, northern Louisiana, western Mississippi and western Tennessee.Storms with damaging winds and hail are expected along a swath from eastern Texas and southeastern Oklahoma into much of western Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama and including much of Louisiana and Mississippi and parts of southeast Missouri and southe...

Deutsche Bank shares drop amid global jitters over banks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Shares in Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest lender, fell sharply on Friday, dragging down major European banks as fears about weaknesses in the global financial system send fresh shudders through the markets.Deutsche Bank shares were off 12.8% in midday trading on the German stock exchange. The drop follows a steep rise in the cost of financial derivatives, known as credit default swaps, that insure bondholders against the bank defaulting on its debts. Rising costs on insuring debt were also a prelude to a government-backed takeover of Swiss lender Credit Suisse by its rival UBS. The hastily arranged marriage Sunday aimed to stem the upheaval in the global financial system after the collapse of two U.S. banks and jitters about long-running troubles at Credit Suisse led shares of Switzerland’s second-largest bank to tank and customers to pull out their money last week.Like Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank is one of 30 banks considered globally significant f...

French protests continue; King Charles III’s trip postponed

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French citizens angry at President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms engaged in scattered protest actions Friday, as the ongoing unrest across the country persuaded officials to postpone a planned state visit by Britain’s King Charles III.Demonstrators had demanded that Charles cancel his trip, which was scheduled to start Sunday. The protests and labor strikes against Macron’s decision to raise France’s retirement age from 62 to 64 already had promised to impact his visit, with workers refusing to roll out the red carpet for the king’s arrival. Although no major protests were planned for Friday, train traffic was slowed, rows of trucks blocked access to Marseille’s port for several hours and debris still littered the streets of Paris following the previous day’s mass demonstrations. Over 450 protesters were arrested in Paris and beyond as some 300 demonstrations on Thursday drew more than a million people nationwide. Polls show that most F...

Man drives into pedestrians inside German airport garage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A motorist drove into several pedestrians Friday in a parking garage at Cologne-Bonn Airport in western Germany and injured some of them slightly, police said.A man allegedly drove straight at people inside the garage, but most were able to avoid him, German news agency dpa reported.No one’s life was in danger, police said, and the injuries were considered mostly minor. The man also drove into several cars, dpa said.The 57-year-old driver was detained and taken to the hospital. Police said there were indications he had mental health issues.Two police officers also received slight injuries when the suspect alleged resisted his detention.The Associated Press

We don’t just hang out anymore. It’s a problem.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, your friends and family live in your phone. Sure, you see them from time to time, but usually for scheduled events, planned well in advance, with an agenda and a timeframe. How often do you just find a friend, and chill?Sheila Liming, author of Hanging Out: The Radical Power Of Killing Time, joins us on The Big Story to discuss the book, and all that she learned about the importance of human connection while writing it.“Hanging out is about finding ways to cultivate care, maybe in very small ways or even in the most mundane examples or experiences,” she said, “it can grow from there into a more hypothetical sense and a more wide-ranging sense.”There’s a particular kind of energy we get from just killing time, or wandering, and we’re losing it. What’s that doing to us?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.

Israeli AG warns Netanyahu defied conflict of interest rule

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s attorney general on Friday warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he has violated the Supreme Court’s conflict of interest ruling, which barred him from direct involvement in his government’s divisive plans for a judicial overhaul.Netanyahu’s far-right government has barreled ahead with plans to weaken the Supreme Court and grant politicians less judicial oversight in their policymaking despite massive protests from across Israeli society — including an uproar among business leaders, top legal officials and military reservists. On Thursday, just hours after his coalition passed a law that would protect the Israeli leader from being deemed unfit to rule because of his corruption trial and claims of a conflict of interest, Netanyahu defiantly pledged to proceed with the overhaul.Netanyahu contended that stripping the attorney general of the power to remove him from office was necessary to clear the way for him to participate in the ne...

Dean's Reviews: 'John Wick: Chapter Four'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

Check out WGN Entertainment Reporter Dean Richards' reviews for the latest on the new films coming to theaters and Paramount Pictures.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

Dean’s Weekender: Paw Patrol Live, Wilco, Impractical Jokers Live — and more

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

Check out Dean’s Weekender for the top events coming to the Chicagoland area this weekend.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!