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Bank collapses shine light on loosened regulations · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Tuesday, March 14th. I'm Shumita Basu, this is "Apple News Today." On today's show, how Trump's legal troubles could affect his presidential campaign, Biden's controversial move allowing oil drilling in Alaska and why cats rule in March Madness.
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  But first, we're learning more about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Analysts say the end of SVB is not expected to have widespread impact on the economy in part because it served a specific tech-startup client base. But there are still big questions about the consequences, and whether the right regulations were in place. And a bank collapse isn't just an accounting event. There are real people and businesses who depend on them.
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  Tiffany Dufu is founder of a startup called The Cru, which focuses on women's career development. Her company had money at SVB. Dufu told "NPR" that when the bank failed, she had to set aside personal funds to pay her people.
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  Tiffany Dufu: We have families, we have food that we need to put on the table, and particularly because we have team members, we have employees who work hard every day for our companies. It was incredibly stressful to not be able to potentially meet payroll.
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  Founders like Dufu, regulators, lawmakers and ordinary people with savings accounts, they're all now asking questions about how this happened and what rules were in place. There's an intense focus on deregulation that was passed under the Trump administration with substantial Democratic support. A 2018 law rolled back some banking regulations put in place after the 2008 financial crisis. It removed some of the strictest rules for small and midsize banks. That meant less rigid regulations for SVB and Signature Bank, which both failed recently.
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  It's not clear whether the old rules would've stopped their collapse, which was driven by leadership's decisions and broader economic factors. And several lawmakers who voted for deregulation in 2018 are defending that position. One argument for changing the regulations was that the rules were expensive and difficult for smaller banks to comply with. That this gave an unfair advantage to big banks.
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  As is often the case, it's coming out now that several high-profile former officials in both parties did work for SVB and Signature Bank, including pushing for lighter regulation. Longtime critics of the 2018 law are raising their voices again, saying it was a mistake that needs to be revisited.
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  A quick update, that today, President Biden is announcing a new executive order with moves on guns. It'll reinforce background checks for buyers, and it'll also boost federal support for red flag laws, which allow a court to decide whether a person is dangerous and should have their firearms temporarily removed.
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  Today Biden is visiting Monterey Park, California, where 11 people were killed at a Lunar New Year celebration earlier this year. Today's steps are incremental and limited. That's largely because there's not enough support in a divided Congress to take further action. You can head to the Apple News app to read more.
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  One of the criminal investigations into former President Trump is at a critical stage, and it's all happening while he campaigns to return to the White House and while Republicans try to figure out who to back in 2024.
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  As was mentioned before on the show, New York prosecutors invited Trump to testify to a grand jury this week. His attorney says he does not plan to accept. An invitation like this can signal that criminal charges are close.
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  Manhattan prosecutors have been looking into Trump's role in a hush-money scheme involving payment to adult-film actor Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied wrongdoing. His former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, testified before the Manhattan grand jury yesterday. So far, he's played a big role in this investigation. He pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018, testified before Congress, and says he's met with Manhattan prosecutors 20 times. "The Wall Street Journal" explains how Cohen's testimony is another sign that the investigation is entering its final stages. The grand jury has now heard from all the big players, aside from Trump himself.
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  Any indictment is likely weeks away. Trump's attorney, Joe Tacopina, told "ABC's" George Stephanopoulos that he believes this case against the former president has been politically motivated.
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  Joe Tacopina: I expect justice to prevail. And if that's the case, George, there shouldn't be an indictment.
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  This is just one of several investigations into the former president. There's also the Atlanta district attorney's probe into Trump's role in trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. And the DOJ is still investigating his role in the January 6th attack on the Capitol. So far, at least 1,000 people have been arrested on charges related to January 6th.
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  Trump's legal problems have political consequences. "The Washington Post" reports on how many key Republicans, including Trump allies, are starting to support other candidates. Many are looking to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who hasn't formally announced his bid, but recently visited Iowa in a trip that looked pretty campaign-y.
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  Some Republican donors and voters haven't decided yet. Trump fans might be turned off by his legal troubles. Or, it might have the opposite effect. One anti-Trump Republican adviser tells "The Post" that some primary voters may back Trump because they think he's being persecuted. Another GOP strategist told "The Post," if the primaries were held today, Trump would be the party's 2024 nominee.
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  A massive oil drilling project in Alaska is moving forward, one of the largest of its kind on U.S. soil. The Biden administration approved the ConocoPhillips' Willow project yesterday. It covers 23 million acres, thought to hold nearly 600 million barrels of oil. Once the project is up and running, greenhouse gas emissions over its lifespan could be the equivalent of adding 70 new coal-powered plants.
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  Climate activists and some Alaska Native communities are outraged the Biden administration gave this project the greenlight. They say the president is undermining his own climate agenda and breaking promises made to the American people. Siqiniq Maupin and her family have lived near the project site for generations. She told "CNN" that revenue from the project would come at a high human cost.
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  Siginiq Maupin: We've been held in an economic hostage situation. We either choose our health, our children's health, our ways of life or being able to have plumbing and infrastructure and running water.
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  Alaska's Congressional representatives, two Republicans and a Democrat, are strong supporters of the project, citing the potential economic benefits. And many Alaska Native organizations back the drilling for the same reasons. Nagruk Harcharek, president of a nonprofit that represents a number of Native communities in the region, spoke to "CNN."
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  Nagruk Harcharek: The economics that a project like this would bring into the region, mainly to the North Slope borough in the form of taxes, to help provide and maintain first-world conditions.
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  The approval for this project comes as the administration is banning future oil and gas drilling in the U.S. Arctic Ocean, as well as protecting millions of acres of Alaska land deemed sensitive to Native communities.
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  March Madness is back! The First Four men's matchups get underway today, and later in the week, the main action starts. And that's when brackets everywhere start to crumble. That's the fun of it, right? No matter how many games you caught during the season or how much you pored over the data, anyone who puts together a March Madness bracket is ultimately going to see a lot of it fall apart.
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  Now, we all know someone who's not really into basketball and chooses their teams based on jersey color or mascot or some other "why not?" factor. It's the kinda thing that drives sports fans and data wonks nuts. Might as well throw a dart. But "The Wall Street Journal" decided to do some serious data crunching on these factors that should have nothing to do with a team's performance to see if they could put a little statistical rigor to a whimsical approach.
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  When it comes to jersey color, the "Journal" says go for blue, which wins 63 percent of the time when playing teams in a different jersey color. Teal, meanwhile, tends to have a losing record, so stay away from teal.
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  As for mascots, birds soar high above the rest. Teams with an avian mascot have played more games through all tournament rounds than any other mascot species. But if you're looking for a championship pick, consider a team that's represented by a cat. They've taken home the most titles.
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  For more unconventional bracket tips, and lots of charts, check out the "Journal's" story. You can read the whole thing in the Apple News app, along with all of today's news.
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  Also today is Equal Pay Day. It's the symbolic marker of how far into this year women must work in order to earn as much as men did last year.
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  It's a day to think hard about women in the workplace. So, we have cued up a narrated article from "Elle" for you. It's about how young women are redefining workplace culture and asking big questions about what really matters.
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  If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, that'll play for you next. Enjoy listening to that, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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