North America

NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday and sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase Bank in a bid to head off further banking turmoil in the U.S.

San Francisco-based First Republic is the third midsize bank to fail in two months. It has struggled since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and investors and depositors had grown increasingly worried it might not survive because of its high amount of uninsured deposits and exposure to low interest rate loans.

COLUMBUS (Ohio, US), April 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fourteen people were injured as a roof at an off-campus house near Ohio State University in Columbus collapsed Saturday night, officials said.

First responders were called to East 13th Avenue, blocks away from the university’s campus, around 7:40 p.m. to reports of a roof collapse during a party.

All victims were transported to several nearby hospitals with unspecified injuries, but are in stable condition, the Columbus Fire Department said.

LOS ANGELES, April 30 (NNN-XINHUA) — One person was killed after a small plane crashed Saturday night in a mountainous area here in Los Angeles, authorities said.

The incident was reported about 8:09 p.m. local time, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

Air Traffic Control asked the LAFD to check a large swath of mountainous territory in the area after they reportedly lost radar contact with the small single-engine airplane believed to be traveling between two Los Angeles-area airports — Santa Monica Airport and Van Nuys Airport.

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday was essential in advancing his country's national interest and strengthening the "very important alliance" between Manila and Washington.

Before leaving for his four-day official visit to Washington, Marcos said on Sunday he would convey to Biden his determination to forge "an even stronger relationship" with the United States to "address the concerns of our times," including issues related to the economy.

TORONTO, April 30 (Reuters) - As Canada's largest strike by federal workers approaches its third week, thousands of people are in immigration limbo amid canceled hearings and stalled applications, which could make it harder for the country to compete for global talent as employers face a tight labour market.

About 155,000 federal public servants have been on strike since April 19. While wages are a primary sticking point, the union also wants remote work included in its collective agreement.

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday, in a possible preview of a 2024 presidential campaign theme, attacked news outlets he said used "lies told for profit and power" to stir up hatred, as he coupled his remarks with pointed jokes about Fox News.

Speaking at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Biden referred to "truth buried by lies," in an apparent reference to false conspiracy theories that his 2020 election win was the result of a massive voter fraud.

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - The United States urged China on Saturday to stop harassing Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, pledging to stand with the Philippines after another maritime confrontation between the two Asian countries.

"We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — A tornado touched down in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on Saturday as a powerful storm system brought intense rain and powerful winds to the state, overturning cars, damaging homes and snapping tree branches.

The National Weather Service in Miami said the tornado hit late Saturday afternoon with winds of 100 mph (160 kph) near Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center and headed northeast toward the coast.

DIXON, Ill. (AP) — Gertie Wadsworth was in the arms of her grandmother that bright day when sunshine dissolved distasteful memories of a long, brutal winter. Christan Goble held the 3 1/2-year-old girl in a crowd of more than 200 on the bridge over the Rock River. After a procession down Galena Avenue from the Baptist Church on May 4, 1873, the Rev. J.H. Pratt began baptizing parishioners in the brisk, rapid current.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Research on a flat spot for air evacuations. Talk of old-style civil defense sirens to warn of fast-moving wildfires. Hundreds of urban firefighters training in wildland firefighting techniques while snow still blankets the ground.

This is the new reality in Alaska’s largest city, where a recent series of wildfires near Anchorage and the hottest day on record have sparked fears that a warming climate could soon mean serious, untenable blazes in urban areas — just like in the rest of the drought-plagued American West.