USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty years after the U.S. invaded Iraq — in blinding explosions of shock and awe — American forces remain in the country in what has become a small but consistent presence to ensure an ongoing relationship with a key military and diplomatic partner in the Middle East.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Payments of $5 million to every eligible Black adult, the elimination of personal debt and tax burdens, guaranteed annual incomes of at least $97,000 for 250 years and homes in San Francisco for just $1 a family.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters started furiously working the phones to find out what was going on with the failed lender — and what would happen to its panicked depositors.

Waters, former chair of the House Financial Services Committee, had her doubts that another bank would step up as a savior and buy the defunct institution.

“Banks don’t just wake up and say: ‘Oh, there’s a problem with another significant bank and they’ve collapsed. Let’s just take it over,”’ she said.

March 13 (Reuters) - Becoming "further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia" is not a vital U.S. national interest, said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is eying running for president, in comments released on Monday.

Public opinion polls show DeSantis as the strongest threat to former President Donald Trump for their party's nomination for the 2024 presidential contest.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday posted on Twitter responses to a questionnaire from Republican candidates and possible hopefuls on the war in Ukraine.

March 14 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley Bank's collapse pressured global bank stocks further on Tuesday as investors fretted over the financial health of some lenders, in spite of assurances from U.S. President Joe Biden and other policymakers.

An indicator of credit risk in the euro zone banking system leapt to its highest since mid-July, as worries about contagion risks from the collapse of two U.S. banks compounded investor concerns about the impact on lenders of rising interest rates.

NEW YORK, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street's major averages finished mixed on Monday as investors dumped financial shares after recent bank failures in the United States.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 90.5 points, or 0.28 percent, to 31,819.14. The S&P 500 decreased 5.83 points, or 0.15 percent, to 3,855.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 49.95 points, or 0.45 percent, to 11,188.84.

NEW YORK, March 13 (Xinhua) -- New York-based Signature Bank, a key lender in the crypto industry, was shut down Sunday by state regulators over a "similar systemic risk exception," the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said in a joint statement.

The move came two days after California's Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed as depositors rushed to withdraw funds.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday aiming to increase the number of background checks to buy guns, promote better and more secure firearms storage and ensure U.S. law enforcement agencies are getting the most out of a bipartisan gun control law enacted last summer.

13 Mar 2023; MEMO: More than 250 US-based financial investors warned Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel's judicial overhaul could prevent further investments into the country.

In an open letter addressed to the Prime Minister, published yesterday, the 255 investors expressed "deepest dismay" regarding the planned legislation, which they described as a "judicial coup".

13 Mar 2023; MEMO: The man responsible for leading the resignation of 15 members of the Carter Centre's Board of Councillors in 2007, over former US President Jimmy Carter's criticism of Israel has announced his apology to the ailing figure, admitting that Carter was right about Israel becoming an apartheid state.