Silicon Valley Bank: Largest Bank to Go Under Since 2008

New York Times: On Friday, Silicon Valley Bank, a lender to some of the biggest names in the technology world, became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis. The move put nearly $175 billion in customer deposits under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The F.D.I.C. created a new bank, the National Bank of Santa Clara, to hold the deposits and other assets of the failed one. The agency said in a news release that the new entity would be operating by Monday morning and that checks issued by the old bank would continue to clear (New York Times). Wall Street Journal: Silicon Valley Bank’s failure boils down to a simple misstep: It grew too fast using borrowed short-term money from depositors who could ask to be repaid at any time, and invested it in long-term assets that it was unable, or unwilling, to sell. When interest rates rose quickly, it was saddled with losses that ultimately forced it to try to raise fresh capital, spooking depositors who yanked their funds in two days (Wall Street Journal).

Over 1,000 Migrants Storm Port of Entry in Paso del Norte

Daily Wire: A massive group of at least 1,000 migrants rushed the Paso del Norte Port of Entry along the US-Mexico border between Texas and Chihuahua state on Sunday in an attempt to enter the United States, according to new video posted on social media (Daily Wire). Monica De La Cruz: Thousands of illegal immigrants rushing the border near El Paso. This is unacceptable. The Biden administration must act immediately to secure our southern border and provide our men and women in green with the resources they need to protect Americans (Twitter). Bill Melugin: Another video from our contact. We’re told some crowd control measures were used (unclear which side of border), and a chunk of the group was repelled, and is now gathering at another smaller bridge, while some are trying to cross in the river. Waiting for more details from CBP (Twitter).

Stanford Law Students, DEI Dean Heckle Guest Speaking Judge

Daily Mail: Stanford University has apologized to a Trump-appointed judge who faced an embarrassing protest by a woke student mob – joined by the school’s dean of ‘equity’ – after he was invited to speak at the college’s Law School. Judge Kyle Duncan, from the fifth circuit of appeals, was ambushed by associate dean of equity, diversity and inclusion Tirien Steinbach during a discussion Thursday night. Steinbach – a former ACLU lawyer who previously defended free speech – initially claimed Duncan had a right to express his views. But she then launched into an impassioned six minute speech – which she had written down – condemning his life’s work (Daily Mail). Ryan Cunningham: Stanford Law Students heckled their guest speaker Fifth Circuit appellate judge Kyle Duncan while he was trying to speak. A Dean of the schools diversity, equity, and inclusion dept. then lectures him in what appears to be a setup for the Judge (Twitter). Hugh Hewitt: News of meltdown at Stanford Law School spreading quickly as example of ideological extremism run amok in higher education which has its counterparts at the college, secondary and elementary levels. This severance of public expectations from actual results will brand them all (Twitter).

NYPD Exodus Continues with Record-Breaking Number of Departures

New York Post: New York City cops are resigning at a record-breaking pace this year as the NYPD’s alarming exodus continues. “The NYPD staffing emergency is approaching the point of no return,” said Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch. The shocking stats show 239 officers tapped out in January and February, a 36% spike from the 176 who fled in the same period last year and a disturbing 117% jump from the 110 in 2021, NYPD pension data show (New York Post). Daily Wire: Officers have said that poor working conditions, pay, and politics have all contributed to the large number of officers leaving the force. If resignations continue at the current pace, about 1,400 officers will have quit the department by the end of the year. Some of the officers are going to work for New York’s metro system while others have moved to states like Florida (Daily Wire).

Jane Fonda Implies Pro-Life Republicans Should be Murdered

Daily Wire: Jane Fonda went on “The View” Friday and appeared to suggest that “murder” was an appropriate response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade — and when one of the co-hosts said the actress was “just kidding,” Fonda didn’t give them an answer (Daily Wire). Nicholas Fodnacaro: When asked for a solution to new pro-life laws around the country, Jane Fonda declares that they need to “murder” Republican politicians. Joy Behar immediately jumps in to claim “she’s just kidding,” warning “they’ll pick up on that and run with it.” Fonda gives a negative look (Twitter). HotAir: The murder answer was quickly downplayed by Joy Behar. She told the audience that Fonda was just kidding. Then Fonda looked like she wasn’t kidding at all. Fonda explained that “We’re not going back. I don’t care what the laws are” (HotAir).

Mexican President Launches “Information Campaign” Against US Republicans

Fox News: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to launch an “information campaign” in the U.S. against Republicans, telling Mexicans and Hispanics not to vote for them unless U.S. lawmakers change their treatment of Mexico — an apparent threat of election interference by the head of state in response to U.S. calls for action against cartels smuggling fentanyl across the border (Fox News). Townhall: He insisted that his campaign would cause Republican candidates to receive “not one vote” from Mexicans and Hispanics living in the U.S. According to the Mexican president, the deadly drug is not being brought over to the U.S. from his country despite reports from the Drug Enforcement Administration concluding that “most of the fentanyl trafficked by the Sinaloa and CJNG Cartels is being mass-produced at secret factories in Mexico with chemicals sourced largely from China” (Townhall).

Kentucky Senate Passes Bill Banning Public Drag Performances

Hill: The Kentucky Senate passed a bill that would ban drag performances on public property or in front of children, sending the legislation to the state House. The legislation would prohibit any individual in the state from engaging in an “adult performance” on a publicly owned property or at a place where they know or should know someone under 18 years old could see it. The definition also includes a live performance involving male or female “impersonators” who provide entertainment appealing to a prurient interest without serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. The first two offenses under the act would be misdemeanors, while the third and subsequent offenses would be felonies (Hill).

China’s Influence in the Middle East Grows as They Address Tensions in the Region

CNN: When Saudi Arabia and Iran buried the hatchet in Beijing on Friday, it was a game-changing moment both for a Middle East shaped by their decades-old rivalry, and for China’s growing influence in the oil-rich region. The announcement was surprising yet expected. The two regional powerhouses have been in talks to re-establish diplomatic relations for nearly two years. At times, negotiators seemed to drag their feet, the deep distrust between the two countries appearing immovable. Iran’s talks with Saudi Arabia were unfolding at the same time as negotiations between Iran and the United States to revive the 2016 nuclear deal were faltering. Beijing has shown an ability to transcend the many rivalries that criss-cross the Middle East. China has forged good diplomatic relations with countries across the region, driven by strengthening economic ties, without the Western lectures on human rights (CNN). Wall Street Journal: China is the biggest importer of Iranian oil and has significant economic leverage there. Before Friday’s announcement, China allowed Iran to tap parts of funds in Chinese banks—which total $20 billion—that were frozen when the U.S. left the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions in 2018, Iran’s Mehr semiofficial news agency reported (Wall Street Journal).

Eric Swalwell Hints at Barring Fox News from Military Personnel

Daily Wire: Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) suggested on Saturday that despite not wanting to “get in the business of telling troops what they can and cannot watch,” he might be open to banning Fox News on military installations (Daily Wire). RNC Research: “Nothing makes (our troops) feel more like home than their access to American television programming, and a popular channel is Fox News,” says Democrat Eric Swalwell. “We need to take a look at how (Fox News) is being broadcast to our troops” (Twitter). Townhall: The Democrat continued to say that a threat from Congressional oversight may scare the network just enough for “Fox News to clean up” any programming that did not align with the Left-wing narrative (Townhall).

UK Government to Spend Additional $6 Billion in Military Spending

Wall Street Journal: The U.K. government said Sunday that it would spend an extra $6 billion investing in its nuclear-defense capabilities and replenishing munitions stockpiles, as part of a refreshed national-security review that aims to bolster support to Ukraine and deter an increasingly assertive China. In a written statement, the British government said it would spend the extra funds over the next two years to reinforce its stretched military. The bulk of those funds would go into the country’s nuclear program, including enhanced support for its submarine fleet. The government is also buying fresh ammunition supplies to replace the equipment that it has given to Ukraine during its war with Russia (Wall Street Journal). Daily Mail: Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in October that meeting a 3 percent spending level by the end of the decade was ‘necessary’. At the time, he was reported to be ready to resign over the issue. But the move would have cost a staggering £157billion and was ruled too expensive. He has also warned that the military has been ‘hollowed out’ by years of spending cuts (Daily Mail).