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Tuesday, May 2, 2023

5/2 WAKE-UP CALL: Banking Crisis Reignites

Regulators seized First Republic Bank struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase & Co., heading off a chaotic collapse that threatened to reignite the recent banking crisis. JPMorgan said it will assume all of First Republic’s $92 billion in deposits—insured and uninsured. It is also buying most of the bank’s assets, including about $173 billion in loans and $30 billion in securities. As part of the agreement, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will share losses with JPMorgan on First Republic’s loans. The agency estimated that its insurance fund would take a hit of $13 billion in the deal. JPMorgan also said it would receive $50 billion in financing from the FDIC.

San Francisco-based First Republic, the second-largest bank to fail in U.S. history, lost $100 billion in deposits in a March run following the collapse of fellow Bay Area lender Silicon Valley Bank.

➤YELLEN WARNS ON DEFAULT: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress on Monday that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1, if legislators do not raise or suspend the nation’s borrowing authority before then and avert what could potentially become a global financial crisis. In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Yellen urged congressional leaders “to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible” to address the $31.4 trillion limit on its legal borrowing authority. She added that it is impossible to predict with certainty the exact date of when the U.S. will run out of cash.

➤FED EXPECTED TO RAISE RATES: The Fed is on track to raise the benchmark federal-funds rate to a 16-year high this week. Along with a potential quarter-point hike, the central bank’s meeting tomorrow and Wednesday could include a debate over pausing the fastest tightening cycle in 40 years. The Fed began raising rates from near zero in March 2022 in an effort to tame inflation. Last month’s quarter-point increment brought rates to a range between 4.75% and 5%. The Fed fights inflation by slowing the economy through higher rates, which causes tighter financial conditions such as higher borrowing costs, lower stock prices and a stronger dollar to curb demand.

➤UKRAINE REGAINS GROUND IN BAKHMUT: Ukrainian units have ousted Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut amid fierce battles, a top Ukrainian general said on Monday, as the White House believes that more than 20,000 Russian fighters have been killed in Ukraine since December. "The situation (in Bakhmut) is quite difficult," Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Ukrainian commander of ground forces, said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. "At the same time, in certain parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions" in recent days, he said. The 10-month-long battle for the eastern Ukrainian city has taken on a symbolic importance for both sides. It has become the fulcrum of a war that has seen little shift in front lines since late 2022, leaving both sides looking for a breakthrough.



➤20,000 RUSSIANS REPORTEDLY DEAD: Ukrainian forces have killed approximately 20,000 Russian fighters and wounded roughly 80,000 more over the past five months, US officials revealed Monday. The latest estimate — formerly classified — brings the total number of approximate Russian casualties in the 14-month-old war to about 200,000 after Gen. Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed in November that both Ukraine and Russia had suffered 100,000 casualties each. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to say how many Ukrainian troops had been killed or injured since December, and Russian propaganda estimates of “up to 300,000” Kyiv casualties are considered unreliable.

➤PARIS COPS SET ON FIRE AS A REPORTED 2.3M PROTESTERS TURN UP FOR DEMONSTRATIONS IN FRANCE: French police clashed with hundreds of black-clad anarchists in Paris and other cities during union-led protests against President Emmanuel Macron's increase in the retirement age, as workers staged Labour Day rallies across Europe. Demonstrators pelted Paris police with Molotov cocktails and fireworks, torched building materials and smashed up bus stops. Protesters marching peacefully booed the police as they responded with tear gas and baton charges. Violence also erupted in Lyon and Nantes, where some vehicles were set ablaze and business premises were trashed. Nearly 200 people were arrested on a day some 782,000 people took to the streets, according to the interior ministry.

➤DUST STORM CAUSES MASSIVE PILE-UP IN ILLINOIS: A dust storm that cut visibility to near zero on Monday triggered a series of chain-reaction crashes involving dozens of vehicles on an Illinois highway, killing six people and injuring at least two dozen others, authorities said. Roughly 40 to 60 passenger cars and 30 commercial vehicles, including numerous tractor-trailer trucks, were involved in the pileup around 11 a.m. CT on Interstate 55 in southern Illinois, state police said in a news release. Two of the big-rig trucks caught fire as a result. 

The crashes occurred on both sides of I-55 along a 2-mile stretch of the highway near the town of Farmersville, about 200 miles southwest of Chicago, police said. More than 30 people were transported to area hospitals with injuries, ranging from minor to life-threatening, and the patients ranged in age from 2- to 80-years-old, police said. Joletta Hill, chief deputy for the Montgomery County Coroner's Office, confirmed by telephone that at least six people were confirmed dead from the accidents. 

➤SAG WRITERS ON STRIKE: Shows hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers will all air re-runs on Tuesday, after Hollywood writers voted to strike for the first time in 15 years. The decision is the culmination in a months-long battle with studios over pay in the streaming era. The last strike lasted 100 days and cost Hollywood $2.1 billion. During the 2007 strike, late-night hosts eventually returned to the air and improvised material. Jay Leno wrote his own monologues - a move that angered union leadership.

NY Post 5/2/23
➤NYC MAYOR PLAYS THE RACE CARD: Mayor Eric Adams on Monday played the race card against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, claiming the GOP pol has been busing thousands of migrants to the Big Apple and elsewhere to “hurt Black-run cities.” Adams made the explosive claim in a seething statement — even though a Texas Democratic mayor of Mexican descent has shipped more than twice the number of migrants both to New York City and Chicago. Hizzoner suggested that Abbott had recently backed off continuing to send busloads of illegal migrants-turned-asylum seekers to New York City, only to plan to ramp up the “morally bankrupt” program again. “This weekend, we learned that Governor Abbott is once again deciding to play politics with people’s lives by resuming the busing of asylum seekers to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and Washington, D.C.,” the black Democratic mayor wrote in a press release. “Not only is this behavior morally bankrupt and devoid of any concern for the well-being of asylum seekers, but it is also impossible to ignore the fact that Abbott is now targeting five cities run by Black mayors.


➤OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR SIGNS GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE BAN FOR KIDS: Oklahoma on Monday became the latest state to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors as Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill that makes it a felony for health care workers to provide children with treatments that can include puberty-blocking drugs and hormones. Oklahoma joins at least 15 other states with laws banning such care, as conservatives across the country have targeted transgender rights.

➤BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ENDING VACCINE MANDATE FOR FEDERAL WORKERS, TRAVELERS: The Biden administration is ending the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees, federal contractors and other federally funded workers. It's also ending vaccine requirements for international travelers ahead of the busy summer travel season. The vaccine requirements will end May 11, when the Biden administration is officially declaring an end to the public health emergency. In April, Congress passed, and the president signed, an end to the national and public health emergencies related to the pandemic, effective immediately.

➤BRIDE DEAD MOMENTS AFTER RECEPTION: Samantha Miller, 34, and Aric Hutchinson, 36, celebrated their nuptials moments before they were rear-ended by Jamie Komoroski, 25, at Folly Beach, South Carolina, on Friday. The 'sweet' newlyweds and two other occupants of the buggy were inside the vehicle when it rolled several times over 100 yards, killing the bride instantly. Komoroski was traveling at 65mph in a 25mph zone and was drunk behind the wheel of a rented Toyota Camry, according to Folly Beach Police. Aric has been left in a critical condition, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his mother, Annette Hutchinson. He has had one reconstruction surgery and is set to have another, as well as suffering numerous broken bones and a brain injury. Sam and Aric were being escorted by his brother-in-law Ben Garrett and nephew Brogan when they were hit by Komoroski. Ben was also 'seriously injured'. A family member confirmed that Brogan was released on Sunday, and is recovering despite being 'banged up and sore'.

Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, told cops at the scene she only had two drinks but said she was an eight out of 10 on the impairment scale after she crashed a rented Toyota into newlyweds on Friday, killing the bride and leaving the groom fighting for his life. Newly-released police affidavits show that Komoroski was 'uncooperative' in the aftermath when cops asked her to perform a sobriety test. She is now charged with three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily harm or death and one count of reckless homicide.

🍺BAD AFTER-TASTE FOR BUD LIGHT: Bud Light's sales off-premise - away from bars and restaurants - fell by 26.1 percent from a year earlier in the week ended April 22. So far this year, Bud Light volumes are down 8 percent. The Bud Light drama began when the beer brand presented transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney with personalized cans showing her face, which she promoted on April 1. Fans of the beer erupted in fury: a boycott was declared, Kid Rock used Bud Light cans as target practice, and $5 billion has been wiped off the value of the brand. Two senior marketing executives have taken leave of absence amid the fiasco.

➤HUNTER SEES BABY MAMA IN COURT: The judge presiding over Hunter Biden's child support trial on Monday ripped into the First Son for 'sealing and redacting' his financial information. 'The ability to redact is somewhat being abused,' Judge Holly Meyer fumed. ‘I’m seeing a lot of things filed, especially by Mr. Biden’s counsel, sealing things, redacting things, that are not confidential.' She suggested that lawyers for the First Son's baby mama should subpoena a downtown Manhattan art gallery to find out exactly how much he has made from selling his art. And the judge ordered the First Son to produce more financial documents to back his claim that he should be allowed to reduce the amount he gives Lunden Roberts each month. Roberts, 32, and Biden, 53, came face to face for the first time since she gave birth to his daughter, Navy Joan, now four.

⚾BRYCE HARPER TO RETURN TO PHILLIES' LINEUP TUESDAY: Two-time MVP Bryce Harper was cleared to return to play barely five months after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his throwing elbow and is expected to rejoin the Philadelphia Phillies at designated hitter Tuesday against the Dodgers. The 30-year-old Harper underwent Tommy John surgery on Nov. 23 and was expected to be out until July. The timetable shifted during spring training, when Harper's recovery was going better than expected, and accelerated in recent weeks for a return two months ahead of schedule.

🏀DILLON BROOKS DOESN'T REGRET VERBAL JAB AT LEBRON JAMES: Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks said he doesn't regret his comments about LeBron James despite the spotlight it put on the impending free agent during his team's first-round series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Brooks called James "old" after the Grizzlies' win in Game 2 of that series, adding "I poke bears. I don't respect anyone until they come and give me 40."

🏈BRONCOS PICK UP WR JERRY JEUDY'S 5TH-YEAR ROOKIE OPTION: On Monday, the Denver Broncos' formally showed how much they believe in wide receiver Jerry Jeudy's potential by picking up his fifth-year option. Jeudy, who was the Broncos' first-round pick in 2020, is now signed through the 2024 season. Jeudy will earn $12.98 million in 2024, which will be the fifth and final year of his rookie deal.

🏈BILLS SIGN VETERAN RB LATAVIUS MURRAY TO ONE-YEAR DEAL: The Bills added a veteran presence to the team's running backs room, signing Latavius Murray to a one-year deal just two days after the 2023 NFL draft concluded. The Bills did not address the position in the draft but did sign former Fresno State running back Jordan Mims to a deal as an undrafted free agent following the draft.

🏀NBA SCORES:
Philadelphia 76ers 119 vs Boston Celtics 115
Denver Nuggets 97 Phoenix Suns 87

🏒SNOOP DOGG JOINS NEKO SPARKS' BID TO BUY OTTAWA SENATORS: Hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg has joined businessman Neko Sparks' bid to buy the Ottawa Senators. Snoop confirmed his involvement in an Instagram post Monday. "Amazing what Neko Sparks is trying to do in Ottawa & I'm looking forward to being apart of that ownership team. I WANNA BRING HOCKEY BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY." Snoop wrote to his 80 million followers.



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