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Monday, March 13, 2023

Wake-Up Call: U-S Acts To Shore Up Banking Confidence

The U.S. government took extraordinary steps Sunday to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, assuring all depositors at the failed institution that they could access all their money quickly, even as another major bank was shut down. The announcement came amid fears that the factors that caused the Santa Clara, California-based bank to fail could spread. Regulators had worked all weekend to try to find a buyer for the bank, which was the second-largest bank failure in history. Those efforts appeared to have failed Sunday. In a sign of how fast the financial bleeding was occurring, regulators announced that New York-based Signature Bank had also failed and was being seized on Sunday. At more than $110 billion in assets, Signature Bank is the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history. The near-financial crisis that U.S. regulators had to intervene to prevent left Asian markets jittery as trading began Monday. 

➤AND IN NEW YORK: The sudden closure of New York’s Signature Bank by state regulators Sunday underscored the urgency of extraordinary of US efforts to backstop the nation’s banking system and quell mounting concerns among customers about the safety of their deposits. Federal regulators swept the lender into receivership just days after the demise of fellow crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital Corp. and SVB Financial Group’s Silicon Valley Bank. The announcement coincided with a slate of measures out of Washington, including the Federal Reserve’s creation of a new lending program for banks, aimed at ensuring they can meet any customer requests to withdraw money. Both Signature’s insured and uninsured customers will be able to access all their deposits under the same “systemic risk exception” that will give Silicon Valley Bank customers access to their cash starting Monday, regulators said.

➤POTENTIAL FLASHPOINT: Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations in a deal China mediated.  The accord, which ends seven years of estrangement and upends Middle East geopolitics, is a diplomatic win for Beijing in a region where the U.S. long dominated. In recent years, China has strengthened its economic ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia, both important oil suppliers to the world’s second-largest economy. The renewed ties come as Washington tries to broker a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel; the fate of those efforts is uncertain. Meanwhile, Washington and the EU are trying to defuse their dispute over clean-energy technology subsidies to focus on Russia and China, which are seen as threats to the West. A summit in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak kindled what’s been dubbed “Le Bromance,” and Australia and India are deepening their security and economic ties as tensions with China rise.

➤UKRAINE'S ZELENSKY: MORE THAN 1,100 RUSSIAN DEAD IN LESS THAN A WEEK IN BAKHMUT: Russian forces suffered more than 1,100 dead in less than a week of battles near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the focal point of fighting in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. "In less than a week, starting from 6th March, we managed to kill more than 1,100 enemy soldiers in the Bakhmut sector alone, Russia's irreversible loss, right there, near Bakhmut," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

➤8 DEAD AFTER SMUGGLING BOATS CAPSIZE OFF SAN DIEGO COAST: At least eight people were killed when two migrant smuggling boats capsized in shallow but treacherous surf amid heavy fog, authorities said Sunday, marking one of the deadliest maritime human smuggling operations ever off of U.S. shores.Coast Guard and San Diego Fire-Rescue crews pulled bodies of eight adults from the wat er, but fog hampered the search for additional victims. Recovery efforts resumed Sunday but no additional bodies were found.

➤MIGRANTS STORM BORDER CHECKPOINT: Heavily-armed Mexican military and US Customs and Border Protection officers were manning the El Paso border on Sunday evening after around 1,000 migrants unsuccessfully tried to rush a checkpoint.  Video shared by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin showed the 'bilateral show of force' on the border, which included armed security forces in riot gear, barbed wire, concrete blocks and mesh fence on the Paso Del Norte Bridge. It was shared hours after different footage showed hordes of migrants charging past a line of Mexican officials at the border between Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.


➤MUTINY AT THE BBC: Britain's BBC faced a mounting crisis as a row over football presenter Gary Lineker's criticism of government migration policy led to a presenter mutiny, drew a comment from the prime minister and left the broadcaster's boss defending his position. The BBC was forced to axe much of its sports coverage on Saturday as presenters refused to work in a show of solidarity with Lineker, after the BBC sought to defend its impartiality by taking him off the air due to his comments on social media. Lineker, a former England soccer captain, the BBC's highest-paid presenter and the anchor of the football highlights program "Match of the Day", was suspended from his role following his criticism of Britain's migration policy. Critics of Lineker's suspension say the BBC bowed to government pressure, leading to a furious debate about the impartiality of the national broadcaster.

➤PENCE DISSES TRUMP: Mike Pence has offered a rebuke of his one-time boss Donald Trump, saying history will hold the former president accountable for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Pence, then vice-president, was in the Capitol when thousands of Trump supporters breached the building in an attempt to stop Congress certifying the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden. As Senate president, Pence presided over the ceremonial task of approving the votes of the electoral college. Throughout the siege, Trump sent several tweets, one calling on Republicans to “fight” and others making false claims of voter fraud. He also criticized Pence for certifying the results.

➤IF INDICTED, TRUMP SHOULD QUIT THE RACE: Donald Trump should quit the race for the Republican nomination in 2024 if he is indicted in New York over a hush money payment to a porn star during his victorious run in 2016, a prospective rival said. “It doesn’t mean that he’s guilty of it or he should be charged,” said Asa Hutchinson, a former governor of Arkansas. “But it’s just such a distraction that would be unnecessary for somebody who’s seeking the highest office in the land.” Hutchinson has not declared a run. Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor, remains Trump’s only declared opponent from the Republican mainstream. The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, is Trump’s only serious challenger in polling.

➤MOST MEN DIAGNOSED WITH PROSTATE CANCER DON'T NEED TO RUSH TO SURGERY, RADIATION TREATMENTS: STUDY: Men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer who want to avoid immediate surgery or radiation can safely choose to actively monitor the disease as a treatment method, according to a study released Saturday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers in the study determined most men shouldn't panic or rush to treatment decisions following a diagnosis as the mortality rate from the cancer 15 years later was relatively low regardless of treatment approach.

➤NASA'S SPACEX CREW-5 SPLASHES DOWN ON EARTH AFTER 5-MONTH MISSION ABOARD ISS: An international crew of four astronauts returned to Earth late Saturday after spending 157 days in orbit aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina splashed down aboard SpaceX’s Dragon "Endurance" capsule in the Gulf of Mexico just off the Florida coast near Tampa. The Crew-5 astronauts completed 2,512 orbits around Earth after arriving at the space station last October.


🎥‘SCREAM VI’ KILLS AT THE BOX OFFICE: Scream VI killed it at the domestic box office over the weekend, bringing in $44.5 million. This marks the franchise’s highest debut yet. Deadline attributes the success of the “sixquel” in part to social media campaigns and Jenna Ortega’s star power following Wednesday. Creed III came in second place, pulling in $27.1 million—the best second weekend for a Creed movie. 65 came in third place, outperforming its projections with $12.3 million. Box Office Numbers from Friday (March 10th) through Sunday (March 11th):

1. Scream VI, $44.5 million
2. Creed III, $27.1 million
3. 65, $12.3 million
4. Ant-man and the Wasp Quantumania, $7 million
5. Cocaine Bear, $6.35 million
6. Jesus Revolution, $5.3 million
7. Champions, $4.77 million
8. Avatar: The Way of Water, $2.7 million
9. Demon Slayer…Swordvillage, $1.7 million
10. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, $1.64 million

⚾NCAA UMP SUSPENDED AFTER BAD CALL: The Southland Conference has suspended an umpire who ended a game with an egregious third strike call Friday night. With two outs in the ninth inning, left fielder Davon Mims was at the plate with a 1-1 count. Mims took a pitch low in the zone that was called a strike by the home plate ump and Mims protested the call.


🏈RAMS TRADING STAR CB JALEN RAMSEY TO DOLPHINS: The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to trade star cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins for a 2023 third-round pick (No. 77 overall) and tight end Hunter Long. The trade will be processed Wednesday, when the 2023 league year officially begins.

🏈COMMANDERS DT DARON PAYNE GETS 4-YEAR, $90M DEAL: The Washington Commanders and defensive tackle Daron Payne have reached agreement on a four-year, $90 million deal that includes $60 million guaranteed. The Commanders had placed the franchise tag on Payne earlier this month, but then quickly started negotiating with Payne's representatives. The Commanders wanted to strike a deal before free agency to help them retain their other key players and to also be more active in free agency.

⚾SHOHEI OHTANI LAUNCHES 1ST HR OF WBC AS JAPAN STAYS PERFECT: Shohei Ohtani hit a 448-foot, three-run home run in the first inning that landed just below his image on a video advertising board and had four RBIs to lead Japan over Australia 7-1 Sunday night at the World Baseball Classic. Japan, already assured of advancement, won its group with a 4-0 record and will play a quarterfinal on Wednesday against Italy, which advanced along with Cuba from Group A on tiebreakers.

⚾CORBIN CARROLL, DIAMONDBACKS AGREE ON 8 YEARS, $111M: Outfielder Corbin Carroll and the Arizona Diamondbacks are in agreement on an eight-year, $111 million contract extension, the deal includes a ninth-year club option that would bring the total to $134 million.

🏈NEW YORK GIANTS SIGN WR STERLING SHEPARD TO NEW DEAL: The New York Giants are expected to sign wide receiver Sterling Shepard to a one-year deal. Shepard, who was drafted in the second round out of Oklahoma in 2016, was the longest-tenured Giants player at the end of last season. Despite the injuries, Shepard has 362 career receptions for 4,038 yards and 23 total touchdowns in 75 games.

⚾MLB (World Baseball Classic):
  • Australia 8 vs Czech Republic 3
  • Italy 7 Netherlands 1
  • Canada 18 Great Britain 8
  • Venezuela 9 Puerto Rico 1
  • Mexico 11 United States 5

➤WINTER WEATHER WOES START THE WEEK: A last-gasp winter storm could ease the city’s snow deficit. A powerful nor’easter is expected to bring robust wind gusts, heavy rain — and even some snow — to the city and suburbs as it moves up the Northeast coastline. The nor’easter will develop off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia early Monday before howling its way north. “That is when NYC will kind of move to a heavier rain and the winds will start to pick up,” According to Fox Meteorologist Cody Braud. “It does look like there will be a period of snow for NYC. Now the question is how much will accumulate.” Braud said the Big Apple could see about an inch of snow following some heavy rain, though the forecast may change as the storm takes shape Monday.

➤THOUSANDS EVACUATED AFTER CALIFORNIA LEVEE BREACHED BY FLOODING: A Northern California agricultural community famous for its strawberry crop was forced to evacuate early Saturday after the Pajaro River's levee was breached by flooding from a new atmospheric river that pummeled the state. The National Weather Service said the next system, expected on Monday, could exacerbate severe flooding that overwhelmed the area in recent days, prompting a levee failure and widespread evacuations Saturday in farming communities near the state's central coast.



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