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☆ NBA roundup: Warriors withstand Joel Embiid's 46-point game
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/5] Mar 24, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles the basketball against the Philadelphia 76ers in the fourth quarter at Chase Center. A 23-9 run in the first 5:59 out of the locker room quickly flipped the game in the Kings' favor. Booker finished with 32 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, and Ross' 30 points marked a season high. Italian rookie Simone Fontecchio led Utah with 26 points, while Kelly Olynyk chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds. Haliburton and Myles Turner each scored 20 points to lead Indiana, which trailed by 29 in the fourth quarter.

☆ A key air defense system wasn't working right when a drone killed an American in Syria, pushing the US to retaliate with force
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The main air defense system at a coalition airbase was "not fully operational" when the attack unfolded, The New York Times reported on Friday. One US official told the Times that the Avenger defense system could have been suffering from a maintenance problem. The drone, which the US intelligence community suspects is of Iranian origin, killed a US contractor and wounded five American service members and an additional contractor. The three injured service members and the contractor were transported to a coalition medical facility in Iraq, while the other two injured service members were treated on site. Austin said his thoughts are with the family and colleagues of the contractor who was killed and also with the wounded service members.

☆ Spring training roundup: A's yield inside-the-park HR, rally past Angels
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Taylor Ward scored an inside-the-park home run for the Angels in the first inning. Ward's liner to center got past a diving Esteury Ruiz, and the A's were slow to chase it down. Jake Cave hit his third homer of spring training for Philadelphia, while Pirates veteran Andrew McCutchen hit his first of the spring, a two-run shot. Washington got a two-run homer from Victor Robles and outhit St. Louis 15-6. The Giants had 16 hits, hanging six hits and six runs on Dodgers starter Noah Syndergaard (1-2) over 4 1/3 innings.

☆ NHL roundup: Streaking Rangers blow by Predators
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

They have scored 15 unanswered goals in their last three games, the longest streak in the NHL this season. Goalie Jaroslav Halak stopped all 22 shots he faced one night after Igor Shesterkin recorded the shutout with 33 saves. Kirill Marchenko and Liam Foudy scored goals and Patrik Laine had two assists for Columbus, which suffered its seventh loss in eight games. Daniil Tarasov made 24 saves on 29 shots before being pulled with 3:03 left in the second period. Hofer made 33 saves in his second game filling in for Jordan Binnington, who completed his two-game NHL suspension Sunday.

☆ Putin to offer 'clarifications' on Russia's position on Ukraine during Xi visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 20 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin will provide Chinese President Xi Jinping with detailed "clarifications" on Russia's point of view on the Ukraine conflict during Xi's state visit to Russia that begins on Monday, the Kremlin said. "One way or another, the topics that figured in this plan will inevitably be touched upon during the exchange of views on Ukraine" between Putin and Xi, Peskov said. "But here, of course, exhaustive clarifications will be given by President Putin, so that President Xi can get a first-hand view of the current moment from the Russian side." Ukraine cautiously welcomed it but the United States was dismissive, given China's refusal to condemn Russia's invasion. Asked if China could become an intermediary between Moscow and Washington, Peskov declined to answer directly.

☆ Black Sea drones show U.S. involvement in conflict against Russia, says Kremlin
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. drone flights over the Black Sea are a sign of direct U.S. involvement in conflict with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Sunday. "And in fact, we are talking about the direct involvement of the operators of these drones in the conflict, and against us." Russia said the drone had violated airspace restrictions and lost control after manoeuvring sharply. Moscow says the United States and its allies are using Ukraine to wage war on it and inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia. (This story has been corrected to say Black Sea from Baltic Sea in paragraph 1)Reporting by Reuters Editing by David Goodman and Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NBA roundup: 3-pointer at buzzer pushes Mavs past Lakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Anthony Davis scored 26 points with 10 rebounds for the Lakers after missing Wednesday's defeat to the Houston Rockets because of load management. Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Dennis Schroder added 15 as Los Angeles played its 10th consecutive game without LeBron James (foot). Washington's 12 points and Kelly Oubre Jr.'s 11 points led Charlotte. Jalen Green paced Houston with 25 points while Kevin Porter Jr. added 20. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 31 points and six assists, while Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points and 17 rebounds.

[1/3] Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto shake hands during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey March 17, 2023. The parliaments of all 30 NATO members must ratify newcomers. "We have decided to initiate the ratification of Finland's accession process to NATO in our parliament," Erdogan told reporters after meeting with Niinisto, adding he hoped parliament would endorse the bid before May 14 elections. Amid simmering tensions with Sweden, Erdogan signalled in January that Turkey could endorse Helsinki ahead of Stockholm. Washington and other NATO members had hoped the two Nordic countries would join the alliance at a NATO summit set for July 11 in Vilnius.

[1/3] Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto shake hands during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey March 17, 2023. The parliaments of all 30 NATO members must ratify newcomers. "We have decided to initiate the ratification of Finland's accession process to NATO in our parliament," Erdogan told reporters after meeting with Niinisto, adding he hoped parliament would endorse the bid before May 14 elections. Washington and other NATO members had hoped the two Nordic countries would join the alliance at a NATO summit set for July 11 in Vilnius. Turkey's parliament is expected to ratify Finland before it closes in mid-April ahead of the parliamentary and presidential votes scheduled for May 14.

☆ EU and US green arms race misses bigger picture
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The European Union’s pushback on aggressive U.S. green production incentives is taking shape. In pushing back against Washington’s green industrial aid, Europe has a case for deploying trade and state-aid means in the short term to support its green industries. An expensive green arms race with its allies would be the wrong road to go down. The European Union on March 9 announced that it would loosen state aid rules up until 2025 to give member states more scope on green technology subsidies. Other responses to the 2022 U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $369 billion in green technology subsidies, are in the works.

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Thursday: Banks, Fed, TikTok and Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Shares of FRC drop roughly 30% in premarket trading despite the Swiss National Bank extending a lifeline to embattled Credit Suisse (CS). Susquehanna upgrades chipmaker and Club stock Qualcomm (QCOM) to buy. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

☆ TikTok confirms the U.S. has threatened ban if Chinese parent ByteDance doesn't sell stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter told Reuters that the company had recently heard from the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The committee told ByteDance to sell its shares in TikTok, or the app could face a U.S. ban. Washington asked TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest its stake in the short video app or face a possible ban in the U.S., CNBC has confirmed. TikTok has repeatedly stated that U.S. user data is not stored in China where those laws apply. A TikTok spokesperson said divesting the business would not resolve the U.S.'s concerns.

☆ The White House is 'not sure' the US can recover the drone a Russian warplane ran into over the Black Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian fighter jet hit a US military drone on Tuesday, forcing it to crash into the Black Sea. It's unclear if the US will be able to recover the aircraft, a White House official said Wednesday. I mean, where it fell into the Black Sea, very, very deep water. During the Tuesday incident, two Russian Su-27 jets conducted what US European Command described was an "unsafe and unprofessional intercept" of the Reaper drone as it flew in international airspace over the Black Sea. It was also the latest in a string of provocative and aggressive Russian actions against NATO militaries around the Black Sea, where intercepts, including unsafe intercepts, are fairly common.

The U.S. Treasury Department and other bank regulators said in a joint statement on Sunday that all depositors of Signature Bank will be made whole, and "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer." Signature Bank reported deposit balances totaling $89.17 billion as of March 8. Representatives for Signature Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FDIC on Sunday established a "bridge" successor bank to Signature Bank, which will enable customers to access their funds on Monday. Signature Bank's depositors and borrowers will automatically become customers of the bridge bank, the FDIC said.

☆ 3 Failed Banks This Year Were Bigger Than 25 That Crumbled in 2008
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Karl Russell | Christine Zhang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The three banks that failed this year were worth more in inflation-adjusted assets than the 25 that collapsed in 2008. Before Silicon Valley Bank, the last bank to fail was in late 2020, as the coronavirus was ravaging the country. First Republic Bank ranks 14th, Silicon Valley Bank ranks 16th and Signature Bank ranks 29th. Silicon Valley Bank’s chief executive, Greg Becker, was a strong supporter of the move. In a review of the Fed’s oversight of Silicon Valley Bank released on Friday, Michael S. Barr, the central bank’s vice chair for supervision, said the Fed would “re-evaluate” its rules for banks that were similar in size to Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Georgia's parliament drops 'foreign agents' bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Jake Cordell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Lawmakers attend a plenary session of parliament where they vote on controversial 'foreign agents' bill that sparked mass protests in recent days, in Tbilisi, Georgia March 10, 2023, in this still image taken from video. Parliament of Georgia/Handout via REUTERSSummary Proposals had triggered massive street protestsCritics said bill was Russian-inspired, authoritarian moveGovernment defended proposals as boosting transparencyTBILISI, March 10 (Reuters) - Georgia's parliament on Friday dropped plans for a "foreign agents" bill that had triggered a major domestic political crisis and threatened to derail the Caucasus nation's bid for closer ties with Europe. The bill would have required non-government organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register with Georgia's Justice Ministry as a Foreign Agent. The Kremlin said it had no involvement whatsoever in the Georgian bill and rejected suggestions that it was Russian-inspired. Georgian Dream lawmakers had said the bill was based on the United States' own Foreign Agents Registration Act, which primarily covers lobbyists working directly for foreign governments.

☆ The Second-Biggest Bank Failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Karl Russell | Christine Zhang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

A bar chart of U.S. bank failures since 2001, showing that Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse was the second-biggest in U.S. history in terms of assets. Before Silicon Valley Bank, the last firm to fail was in late 2020, as the coronavirus was ravaging the country. It’s unclear whether the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will spread to the broader industry. Silicon Valley Bank 209 17. Silicon Valley Bank 209 Fifth Third Bank 17.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank is the biggest US bank failure since Washington Mutual during the 2008 financial crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank on Friday following a catastrophic bank run. The largest bank failure before that was Washington Mutual in 2008, which had $307 billion in assets. The size of the failure is second only to Washington Mutual Bank's closure during the sub-prime mortgage crisis in 2008. A representative for Silicon Valley Bank did not immediately respond to Insider's emailed request for comment on Friday. FDIC, now the official receiver for Silicon Valley Bank, said it has taken measures to safeguard customers.

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☆ Factbox: Why is Georgia in turmoil over a "foreign agents" law?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jake Cordell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

TBILISI, March 9 (Reuters) - Ruling lawmakers in the South Caucasus country of Georgia on Thursday scrapped plans to introduce what critics called a Russian-inspired "foreign agents" law after two days of intense street protests in the capital Tbilisi. Here is a guide to what's going on:WHAT IS THE PROPOSED 'FOREIGN AGENTS' LAW? - Swathes of Georgian civil society, including election monitors, corruption watchdogs and independent media outlets would have been covered by the law. - Rights groups say the "foreign agent" tag is a designed to make it easier for the government to discredit its opponents. - It says it is modelled on the U.S. 1938 "Foreign Agents Registration Act", which primarily covers lobbyists and organisations directly working for or under the control of foreign governments.

☆ China says it's 'puzzled' after report Germany might ban Huawei from parts of 5G mobile network
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Huawei is back in the spotlight in Europe after a report suggested Germany may ban some equipment from the Chinese telecommunications giant in its 5G network. On Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing a government source, that Germany is considering banning certain components from Chinese firms in its mobile networks. The embassy spokesperson claimed that any ban of Chinese equipment in telecommunications networks "violates economic laws and the principle of fair competition." A Huawei spokesperson told CNBC that the company has a "strong security record" in Germany and globally for over 20 years. Any decision to block Huawei from its 5G networks would mark a major shift from 2019 when the country said it wouldn't make such a move.

☆ Germany Reviews 5G Network Safety, Opening Door to Possible Huawei Ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( William Boston | Bertrand Benoit | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Germany has previously resisted U.S. calls to ban the use of equipment made by Huawei in its critical infrastructure. BERLIN—The German government has launched a review of the country’s 5G high-speed mobile telecommunications networks as part of a broader revamp of its relationship with China, suggesting Berlin is moving closer to banning Chinese suppliers from German networks. The move marks a shift for Berlin, which for years resisted U.S. calls for its European partners to ban the use of equipment made by Huawei Technologies Co. and state-controlled ZTE Corp. in their critical infrastructure. Washington has warned that the existence of Chinese components in its allies’ 5G networks made them vulnerable and could compromise intelligence sharing between Washington and Berlin.

☆ Responding to Chinese 'joke', Russia says US is 'invisible hand' in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, March 7 (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday that the United States was driving the war in Ukraine, saying China's foreign minister was joking when he said an "invisible hand" was to blame. You know what the joke is: this is not an invisible hand, this is the hand of the United States of America, this is the hand of Washington," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Moscow has repeatedly declared that the United States and its allies are using Ukraine to wage war against it. China has refused to name Russia as the aggressor, while often criticising the United States for bullying other countries with sanctions.

☆ NHL roundup: Bruins bounce Rangers for 10th straight win
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

At the end of a board battle behind Elliott in the second period, Hinostroza one-timed his second goal off a pass from Casey Mittelstadt at 5:35 for Buffalo's first lead. Captain Dylan Larkin scored in the second period and Magnus Hellberg made 32 saves for the Red Wings, who have lost five straight games (0-4-1). Bennett, who had missed six straight games, scored one goal. Capitals 8, Sharks 3Craig Smith scored twice in Washington's four-goal second period and the visitors rallied for a win against San Jose. Predators 3, Blackhawks 1Philip Tomasino, Tyson Barrie and Colton Sissons scored for visiting Nashville in a win against Chicago.

☆ Are Butterflies Wildlife? Depends Where You Live.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

The creatures are simply left out of state conservation statues, or their situation is ambiguous. “State agencies are really at the forefront of conservation for wildlife,” said Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, a nonprofit group that advocates for insect conservation. Sometimes, aquatic insects come under the purview of state wildlife agencies. But across the states without insect authority, officials are often reluctant to broach adding it, Mr. Winton said. Seven of the states without insect conservation authority are in the West, which has felt the effects of climate change intensely.

☆ The cheapest and most expensive U.S. airports to fly out of—JFK, LAX didn't make either list
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CivMetrics ranked the cheapest and most expensive airports in the U.S. based on average flight costs. Among the busiest airports, Ted Stevens Anchorage International in Alaska was the most expensive, with an average flight price of $540. On the other end, St. Pete Clearwater International in Florida, where flight costs average around $147, ranked as the cheapest airport. Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, came in third place. The Ted Stevens International Airport is a critical supply chain hub.

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