USA

SAN FRANCISCO, March 16 (Xinhua) -- As the share price of San Francisco-based First Republic Bank fell and its credit was downgraded, 11 U.S. large banks said on Thursday they would make uninsured deposits worth 30 billion U.S. dollars into First Republic Bank to shore it up.

The deposits came from Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon, PNC Bank, State Street, Truist and U.S. Bank.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Senate voted Thursday to legalize medical marijuana in the state, delivering a breakthrough endorsement after years of resisting access to cannabis for people suffering from a series of debilitating illnesses.

The measure was passed by the Senate on a 26-11 vote, sending it the House, which has supported medical cannabis measures in the past. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a number of improvements in access to mental health care on Thursday to reduce suicides in the military, but held off on endorsing more controversial recommendations to restrict gun and ammunition purchases by young troops, sending them to another panel for study.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Besieged Republican Rep. George Santos arrives on the House floor most days to deliver short speeches — celebrating women-owned small businesses, a special high school in his district or raising concern about various countries in crises.

At other times he can be seen dashing through the halls of the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers do, from one meeting to the next. He once passed out doughnuts to the press corps staking out his office.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 16 (APP): United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has praised the “exemplary” service of Major General Zia Ur Rehman of Pakistan who has completed his assignment as Force Commander of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), a world body’s spokesman said Thursday.

Gen Reman has been replaced by Major General Md Fakhrul Ahsan of Bangladesh, Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at the regular noon brief at UN Headquarters in New York.

PORTLAND (Oregon), March 15 (NNN-XINHUA) — Two people were killed on Wednesday in a shooting at a hotel in Portland in the US state of Oregon, police said.

Port of Portland Police responded to the shooting at the Embassy Suites hotel near Portland International Airport (PDX) around 2 am. A man and a woman were confirmed dead, police said, adding their identities have not been confirmed.

“There is no ongoing threat to the PDX airport or the surrounding area at this time,” police said in a statement. No information about the suspect has been released.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - Eleven weeks into his third stint as Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to be received at the White House, signaling apparent U.S. unhappiness over the policies of his right-wing government.

Most new Israeli leaders had visited the United States or met the president by this point in their premierships, according to a Reuters review of official visits going back to the late 1970s. Only two out of 13 previous prime ministers heading a new government waited longer.

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - The Atlanta grand jury that probed ex-President Donald Trump's 2020 election meddling heard a taped telephone call he placed to Georgia's Republican House leader seeking to reverse Democrat Joe Biden's victory in that swing state, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Wednesday.

The existence of such a recording, or that it was played for the 23-member special grand jury during the course of its eight-month investigation, has not been previously reported.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - From an empowered Iran and eroded U.S. influence to the cost of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria to combat Islamic State fighters, the United States still contends with the consequences of invading Iraq 20 years ago, current and former officials say.

Then-U.S. President George W. Bush's 2003 decision to oust Saddam Hussein by force, the way limited U.S. troop numbers enabled ethnic strife and the eventual 2011 U.S. pullout have all greatly complicated U.S. policy in the Middle East, they said.

NEW YORK, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices suffered steep losses on Wednesday, pressured by mounting fears of a banking crisis.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery dropped 3.72 U.S. dollars, or 5.22 percent, to settle at 67.61 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, reaching its lowest level since December 2021.

Brent crude for May delivery lost 3.76 dollars, or 4.85 percent, to close at 73.69 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.