Silicon Valley Bank collapse concerns founders of color
March 19, 2023 GMTIn the hours after some of Silicon Valley Bank’s biggest customers started pulling out their money, a WhatsApp group of startup founders who are immigrants of color ballooned to more than 1,000 members.
Bank failures: Anger in Congress, but division on what to do
March 18, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Bills were filed, hearings were planned and blame was cast as Congress reacted this past week to the abrupt failure of two banks.
California, drugmaker partner to produce affordable insulin
March 18, 2023 GMTDOWNEY, Calif. (AP) — The state of California and a generic drug manufacturer announced a 10-year partnership Saturday to produce affordable, state-branded insulin that they hope will rival longtime producers and push down prices for a medication used by millions of Americans.
Washington turns to Wall Street to help rescue dying bank
March 17, 2023 GMTThe scene was reminiscent of the last financial crisis, nearly 15 years ago: Faced with a blossoming emergency in the banking sector, worried regulators and policymakers in Washington turned to Wall Street for help.
Will Americans end up footing the bill for bank failures?
March 17, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The government's response to the failure of two large banks has already involved hundreds of billions of dollars. So will ordinary Americans end up paying for it, one way or another?
Near ‘cliff’s edge,’ Credit Suisse not seen as systemic risk
March 17, 2023 GMTGENEVA (AP) — Longtime troubles at Credit Suisse came to a head this week with a record stock plunge that spread fears of a banking crisis jumping from the U.S.
Biden calls for tougher penalties for execs of failed banks
March 17, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday called on Congress to allow regulators to impose tougher penalties on the executives of failed banks, including clawing back compensation and making it easier to bar them from working in the industry.
Fed lent $300B in emergency funds to banks in the past week
March 16, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Cash-short banks have borrowed about $300 billion from the Federal Reserve in the past week, the central bank announced Thursday.
Nearly half the money — $143 billion — went to holding companies for two major banks that failed over the past week, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, triggering widespread alarm in financial markets.
Experts, banks look for ideas to stop next bank failure
March 16, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The warning signs were all there. Silicon Valley Bank was expanding at a breakneck pace and pursuing wildly risky investments in the bond market. The vast majority of its deposits were uninsured by the federal government, leaving its customers exposed to a crisis.
Japan, German leaders agree to strengthen ties, supply chain
March 18, 2023 GMTTOKYO (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday held the first round of government consultations in Tokyo and agreed to strengthen economic and defense ties to better cope with China's growing influence and global security concerns.
Taylor Swift kicks off US Eras Tour at Super Bowl stadium
March 18, 2023 GMTGLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Taylor Swift opened her U.S. concert series with a three-hour tour of her career.
Swift kicked off the first concert of the 27-date Eras Tour with a six-song set from her album “Lover” on Friday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Super Bowl was played a month ago.
French protesters march past garbage piles, resisting Macron
March 18, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — A smattering of protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise France's retirement age from 62 to 64 took place Saturday in Paris and beyond, as uncollected garbage reeked in the streets of the French capital amid a strike by sanitation workers.
Russia, Ukraine extend grain deal to aid world’s poor
March 18, 2023 GMTKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices are pushing more people into poverty was extended just before its expiration date, officials said Saturday.
Judge won’t toss lawsuit over ivermectin in Arkansas jail
March 18, 2023 GMTFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit that says detainees at an Arkansas jail were given the drug ivermectin to fight COVID-19 without their knowledge.
The lawsuit contends detainees at the Washington County Jail in Fayetteville were given ivermectin as early as November 2020 but were unaware until July 2021.
Pro-Moscow voices tried to steer Ohio train disaster debate
March 18, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Soon after a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in Ohio last month, anonymous pro-Russian accounts started spreading misleading claims and anti-American propaganda about it on Twitter, using Elon Musk's new verification system to expand their reach while creating the illusion of credibility.
Judge extends agreement date for Oklahoma poultry lawsuit
March 18, 2023 GMTA federal judge is giving Oklahoma and nearly a dozen poultry companies, including the world’s largest poultry producer, Tyson Foods, an additional 90 days to reach an agreement on plans to clean a watershed polluted by chicken litter.
Heathrow security guards to strike for 10 days over Easter
March 18, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — Security guards at London's Heathrow Airport will walk off their jobs for 10 days over the Easter break, the latest in a wave of strike action to affect the U.K.
Regulators: Nuclear plant leak didn’t require public notice
March 18, 2023 GMTMinnesota regulators knew four months ago that radioactive waste had leaked from a nuclear power plant in Monticello — but they didn’t announce anything about the leak until this week.
New Mexico opts for veto power on spent nuclear fuel debate
March 18, 2023 GMTALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's governor on Friday signed legislation aimed at keeping spent nuclear fuel produced by commercial U.S. nuclear power plants from being shipped to the state, just hours after the measure cleared its final legislative hurdle.
Farmworkers use Florida march to pressure other companies
March 18, 2023 GMTFarmworkers were leading a five-day, 45-mile (72-kilometer) trek on foot this week from one of the poorest communities in Florida to a mansion-lined, oceanfront town that is one of the richest in an effort to pressure retailers to leverage their purchasing power for better worker pay and working conditions.
Russia will extend Ukraine grain deal for 60 days — not 120
March 18, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — On the eve of the expiration of a deal enabling Ukraine to export grain, the United Nations’ humanitarian chief on Friday called its extension crucial to ensuring global food supplies and keeping prices from spiraling as they did after Russia’s invasion of its smaller neighbor.
Ford recalls 1.5M vehicles to fix brake hoses, wiper arms
March 17, 2023 GMTDETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S. in two actions to fix leaky brake hoses and windshield wiper arms that can break.
The largest of two recalls covers nearly 1.3 million 2013 through 2018 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ midsize cars.
State and US officials tout spending to plug ‘orphan wells’
March 17, 2023 GMTATCHAFALAYA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, La. (AP) — Stacks of valves, networks of pipes and hulking, two-story-tall tanks litter parts of the swampy landscape of Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin, rusting relics of sites where oil wells were drilled in the 1970s, an unwanted legacy of the energy industry that has long helped drive the Louisiana economy.
Violent protests in France over Macron’s retirement age push
March 17, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — Angry protesters took to the streets in Paris and other cities for a second day on Friday, trying to pressure lawmakers to bring down French President Emmanuel Macron's government and doom the unpopular retirement age increase he's trying to impose without a vote in the National Assembly.
The bitcoin bounce: what comes next?
March 17, 2023 GMTMarkets this year are roiling, uncertainty abounds and the U.S. government has had to step in to rescue two large American banks in recent days. So why is bitcoin, considered among the riskiest bets of them all, rising so fast?
Greece raises minimum wage to pre-bailout levels
March 17, 2023 GMTATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece announced on Friday an increase in the minimum wage that will restore pay to levels existing before sweeping cuts were imposed more than a decade ago during an international bailout.
Ski resorts are embracing a new role: climate activist
March 17, 2023 GMTASPEN, Colorado (AP) — Snow falls thick as skiers shed their gear and duck into the Sundeck Restaurant, one of the first certified energy efficient buildings in the U.S. – this one at 11,200 feet (3,413 meters) above sea level atop Aspen Mountain in Colorado.
What to do if you’re concerned you might be laid off
March 17, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The job market in the U.S. remains strong overall, but recent high-profile layoffs at technology and media companies and predictions of a recession later this year may have you thinking about job security.
North Carolina student in good condition after hit by Tesla
March 17, 2023 GMTRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina teenager who was struck by a car this week while departing a school bus in Halifax County is now in good condition, a hospital spokesperson said Friday.
Tillman Mitchell, a 17-year-old student at the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School in Hollister, had just exited the school bus and was walking across the street to his house when he was hit by a 2022 Tesla Model Y, according to the State Highway Patrol.
Ann Summers lingerie chain boss Jacqueline Gold dies at 62
March 17, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — Jacqueline Gold, who helped make lingerie and sex toys a female-friendly mainstream business as head of Britain's Ann Summers chain, has died, her family said Friday.
She was 62 and had been diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago.
Italy’s far-right premier addresses country’s oldest union
March 17, 2023 GMTMILAN (AP) — Premier Giorgia Meloni on Friday became the first Italian leader in nearly 30 years to address the annual meeting of the nation’s largest, oldest and most left-wing CGIL union confederation.
European team ends questioning of Lebanon Central Bank chief
March 17, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — A European legal team on Friday wrapped up two days of questioning of Lebanon’s Central Bank chief in Beirut in a money-laundering probe linked to the governor, officials said.
Spain: Long-term drought to bring more heatwaves, widlfires
March 17, 2023 GMTMADRID (AP) — Spain has officially entered a period of long-term drought, owing to high temperatures and low rainfall over the past three years, and likely faces another year of heatwaves and forest fires.
Germany detains 42 in effort to prevent attacks on ATMs
March 17, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — German police detained 42 people as part of a crackdown on gangs suspected of blowing up cash machines, authorities said Friday.
Incidents in which thieves blow up ATMs and then make off with the cash, usually during the night, have become increasingly common in Germany in recent years.
Danish prince moves to US for defense industry attache post
March 17, 2023 GMTCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Prince Joachim of Denmark is moving to the United States to take up the post of defense industry attache at the Danish embassy in Washington starting in September, the Danish defense ministry said on Friday.
China fines Deloitte $30.8 million over audit failings
March 17, 2023 GMTBEIJING (AP) — The Beijing office of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has been fined $30.8 million for failing to adequately audit a Chinese state-owned asset management company whose former head was sentenced to death on corruption charges.
China appeals for fair treatment after latest TikTok bans
March 17, 2023 GMTBEIJING (AP) — China appealed Friday to other governments to treat its companies fairly after Britain and New Zealand joined the United States in restricting use of TikTok due to fears the Chinese-owned short video service might be a security risk.
Japan, South Korea renew ties at Tokyo summit
March 17, 2023 GMTTOKYO (AP) — Japan and South Korea agreed to resume regular visits between their leaders and take steps to resolve a trade dispute during a long-awaited summit Thursday. Japan's prime minister called their meeting a “big step” to rebuilding the two nations’ security and economic ties as they try to overcome a century of difficult history.
New Zealand lawmakers banned from TikTok amid data use fears
March 17, 2023 GMTWELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand lawmakers and other workers inside the nation's Parliament will be banned from having the TikTok app on their government phones, officials said Friday.
The ban, which takes effect at the end of the month, follows similar moves in many other countries.
Why TikTok’s security risks keep raising fears
March 17, 2023 GMTTikTok is once again fending off claims that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, would share user data from its popular video-sharing app with the Chinese government, or push propaganda and misinformation on its behalf.
Australia to buy up to 220 Tomahawk missiles from the US
March 17, 2023 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia said it's planning to buy up to 220 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States after the U.S. State Department approved the sale Friday.
The deal comes days after Australia announced it would buy nuclear-powered attack submarines from the U.S.
Oregon halts electric vehicle rebates due to demand, money
March 17, 2023 GMTSALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon will temporarily suspend rebates for buying or leasing an electric vehicle for a year starting in May because too many people are applying and the program is running out of money, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Thursday.
Microsoft adds AI tools to office apps like Outlook, Word
March 17, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft is infusing artificial intelligence tools into its suite of office software, including Word, Excel and Outlook emails.
The company said Thursday the new feature, named Copilot, is a processing engine that will allow users to do things like summarize long emails, draft stories in Word and animate slides in PowerPoint.
France’s Macron risks his government to raise retirement age
March 17, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron ordered his prime minister to wield a special constitutional power Thursday that skirts parliament to force through a highly unpopular bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a vote.
Ex-Theranos exec finds way to delay start of prison sentence
March 16, 2023 GMTFormer Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani found an escape hatch Thursday from the scheduled start of his nearly 13-year prison sentence for a blood-testing hoax he engineered with his former boss and lover, Elizabeth Holmes.
What’s next for Alaska’s Willow oil project? AP explains
March 16, 2023 GMTJUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration's approval earlier this week of the largest new oil project in years on Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope was immediately met by lawsuits seeking to stop the Willow project.
ST.. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota regulators said Thursday they're monitoring the cleanup of a leak of 400,000 gallons of radioactive water from Xcel Energy's Monticello nuclear power plant, and the company said there's no danger to the public.
Wisconsin Republicans float bill to designate state rifle
March 16, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican lawmakers began circulating a bill Thursday that would designate a lever-action rifle produced in northwestern Wisconsin as the state's official rifle.
Big banks create $30B rescue package for First Republic
March 16, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Eleven of the biggest U.S. banks Thursday announced a $30 billion rescue package for First Republic Bank in an effort to prevent it from becoming the third to fail in less than a week and head off a broader banking crisis.
Dozens of workers reject union at big Nissan Tennessee plant
March 16, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Several dozen workers among thousands at a Nissan factory in Tennessee voted not to unionize Thursday, another loss in tough territory for organized labor at a foreign-owned auto assembly plant in the traditionally anti-union South.
Court: 2020 sales tax can fund Little Rock highway project
March 16, 2023 GMTLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A half-cent sales tax for highways that voters approved in 2020 isn't limited to funding four-lane roads, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday, clearing the way for the tax to help fund an interstate project in the downtown Little Rock area.
Ivey signs spending plan for $1B in pandemic funds
March 16, 2023 GMTMONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a spending plan to use $1 billion in federal coronavirus funds largely on a mix of water and sewer infrastructure, broadband expansion and reimbursements to health care providers hit financially by the pandemic.
FACT FOCUS: Claims blame ‘woke’ policies on bank’s demise
March 16, 2023 GMTAs Wall Street reels from the swift demise of Silicon Valley Bank — the biggest American bank failure since the 2008 financial meltdown — some social media users are honing in on a single culprit: its socially aware, or “woke,” agenda.
New Jersey casino, sports revenue was up 10.4% in February
March 16, 2023 GMTATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's casinos, horse tracks that take sports bets and the online partners of both types of gambling saw their revenue increase by 10.4% in February.
But what the industry considers to be its core business — money won from in-person gamblers — was up only slightly for the month, and only three of the nine casinos won more than they did in February 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Bid opens to fire SC comptroller for $3.5B accounting error
March 16, 2023 GMTCOLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina lawmakers angry over a $3.5 billion accounting blunder by the state's comptroller general began efforts Thursday to sack the official, a day after demanding he quit or be fired.
Planes in Florida close call were cleared to use same runway
March 16, 2023 GMTFederal investigators say an air traffic controller cleared a plane to take off from Sarasota, Florida, while an American Airlines jet was making its final approach to the same runway last month, leading the American pilots to abandon their landing.
Cooper urges company to keep North Carolina paper mill open
March 16, 2023 GMTCANTON, N.C. (AP) — Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday urged the operators of a large western North Carolina paper mill set to shutter to find a way to keep it running, saying a closure would have a “devastating effect” on the region and its people.
Yellen declares bank system sound, as new rescues ordered
March 16, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen offered firm, upbeat reassurances to rattled bank depositors and investors Thursday, even as American financial institutions and European agencies ordered fresh rescue efforts following the second-largest bank collapse in U.S.
Average long-term US mortgage rates come back down to 6.6%
March 16, 2023 GMTThe average long-term U.S. mortgage inched back down this week after five straight weeks of increases, good news for homebuyers as the housing market's all-important spring buying season gets underway.
Man United bidders get a closer look ahead of potential sale
March 16, 2023 GMTMANCHESTER, England (AP) — Bidders are getting a closer look at Manchester United as the potential sale of one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world gathers pace.
Georgia sports betting plan brought back to life in Senate
March 16, 2023 GMTATLANTA (AP) — A proposal to legalize online sports betting was revived by a Georgia Senate committee on Thursday, although its prospects of becoming law remain uncertain.
The Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee amended House Bill 237 to include the legalization of online betting by early 2024 at the latest, and do so without asking voters to amend the state constitution.
COVID-19 pill Paxlovid moves closer to full FDA approval
March 16, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill Paxlovid won another vote of confidence from U.S. health advisers Thursday, clearing the way for its full regulatory approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
NY cannabis agencies sued by medical marijuana providers
March 16, 2023 GMTALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A coalition that includes some of New York's medical marijuana companies sued state cannabis regulators Thursday in an effort to open up licensing to all retail dispensary applicants immediately.
Biden climate legacy tested by backlash over Willow project
March 16, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — When Elise Joshi was at the White House last year, her eyes welled with happy tears as President Joe Biden hosted thousands of supporters to celebrate groundbreaking legislation targeting climate change.
Five Below, G-III fall, Adobe, Signet rise
March 16, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Thursday:
Adobe Inc., up $19.68 to $353.29.
The software maker's fiscal first-quarter earnings beat Wall Street forecasts.
How major US stock indexes fared Thursday 3/16/2023
March 16, 2023 GMTStocks rallied after a group of big banks offered a lifeline to the bank Wall Street had zeroed in on in its hunt for the next victim in the industry’s struggles..
The S&P 500 jumped 1.8% Thursday, erasing earlier losses following reports that First Republic Bank could get help or sell itself to another bank.
Pizza parlor owner accused of physically abusing employees
March 16, 2023 GMTBOSTON (AP) — The owner of a Boston pizza parlor is accused of physically and verbally abusing a longtime immigrant employee who could not legally work in the U.S., forcing the employee to work long hours, and threatening to turn him over to immigration authorities if he protested, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Kansas anti-ESG push slowed by debate over private investors
March 16, 2023 GMTTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers pushing to prevent Kansas from investing its funds using socially and environmentally conscious principles disagree about also imposing rules for investment managers handling private funds, complicating their efforts to thwart what they see as “woke” investing.
Cyprus to speed up repairs to high-rises amid quake worries
March 16, 2023 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cypriot authorities will spend more than 100 million euros ($106 million) to repair dozens of dilapidated high-rise housing units built decades ago for refugees from the island's 1974 Turkish invasion, officials said Thursday.
Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities
March 16, 2023 GMTBenchmark U.S. crude oil for April delivery rose 74 cents to $68.35 a barrel Thursday. Brent crude for May delivery rose $1.01 to $74.70 a barrel.
Wholesale gasoline for April delivery rose 6 cents to $2.50 a gallon.
Nurses, paramedics reach pay deal to end England strikes
March 16, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — Unions representing more than a million health care workers in England, including nurses and paramedics — but not doctors — reached a deal Thursday to resolve months of disruptive strikes for higher wages.
Floods fill some of California’s summer strawberry fields
March 16, 2023 GMTAs river water gushed through a broken levee, thousands of people in a California farming town were forced to evacuate as their homes were flooded and businesses destroyed.
Europe’s central bank backs big rate hike despite bank chaos
March 16, 2023 GMTFRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank carried through with a large interest rate increase Thursday, brushing aside predictions it might dial back as U.S.
With Saudi deals, US, China battle for influence in Mideast
March 16, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — In a matter of days, Saudi Arabia carried out blockbuster agreements with the world’s two leading powers — China and the United States.
Riyadh signed a Chinese-facilitated deal aimed at restoring diplomatic ties with its arch-nemesis Iran and then announced a massive contract to buy commercial planes from U.S.