Author: ricardofrancois

The Republican senator who delivered the party's response to President Biden's State of the Union address used a harrowing account of the sexual assault of a young woman to attack his border policies, but the rapes did not occur in the United States or during the Biden administration.In a GOP response, first-term Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama criticized current immigration policies, describing how she met a woman on the U.S.-Mexico border who told her she had been raped thousands of times in a cartel-run sex trafficking operation, starting at age 12.The victim had previously spoken publicly about abuse that occurred…

Read More

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! This week we take a look at the hot global payroll space, neobank Dave's financial results, related stock increases, and more! To get a digest of TechCrunch's biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday at 7:30 a.m. PT, subscribe here. The big story This week alone, we've covered three interesting deals in the global payroll space. For starters, Deel announced that it has acquired Africa-based HR software and services company PaySpace in its largest acquisition to date. It also said it surpassed $500 million in annual recurring revenue…

Read More

A US Army ship carrying equipment to build a temporary dock in Gaza was on its way to the Mediterranean on Sunday, three days after US President Joe Biden announced plans to increase aid deliveries by sea to the blockaded enclave to which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are heading. . starving.The new aid infusion came in the final hours before the holy month of Ramadan, which could begin as early as Sunday evening, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. Hopes for reaching a new ceasefire by the month of Ramadan faded a few days ago, with negotiations…

Read More

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Sunday, March 10th. I'm your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here's what you need to know to start your day: the news Start your day right Sign up for Essential California to get news, features and recommendations from the LA Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. Enter your email address Involve me You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Oppenheimer is preparing for a big evening Three films stand at the top of the list of historic Academy Award victories spanning nearly 100…

Read More

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up for the myFT Global Inflation Brief – delivered straight to your inbox.US inflationary pressures are expected to ease slightly in February, a development the Federal Reserve will welcome as it assesses when to start cutting interest rates this year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday will release its latest U.S. Consumer Price Index report, which is expected to show headline inflation was unchanged at an annual rate of 3.1 percent in February, according to economists polled by Reuters. However, core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy components and is used as…

Read More

Stay informed with free updatesSimply subscribe to myFT Digest for ETFs – delivered straight to your inbox.BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF has reached $10 billion faster than any U.S. ETF in history, fueled by a rally that continues to send the world's largest cryptocurrency to record highs.BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) needed less than two months from its Jan. 11 launch to reach the milestone, surpassing Invesco QQQ's record of just over a year, according to Morningstar. IBIT's total assets now stand at about $12.7 billion, a combination of Bitcoin's appreciation and more than $7 billion in net inflows. IBIT and the…

Read More

Connecticut attorney Jim Asbell would rather pay a larger airfare than worry about additional fees.Aspel, whose son works for an airline, can travel for free on that carrier. But when he has luggage to check in, he prefers Southwest Airlines, which gives customers two checked bags at a discount on the fee that has become almost ubiquitous in the industry.He travels about once a month, and has noticed that over the past decade, plane departures have taken longer, as passengers struggle with the oversized luggage they were carrying on board.“People bring everything but the kitchen sink on board to try…

Read More

China may not have announced bazooka-like incentives at its annual parliamentary meeting last week, but it made clear which sectors it would support. Beijing announced a GDP growth target of about 5% and an official fiscal deficit of 3%, which is consistent with last year's goals. The authorities announced plans for “long-term” bonds for special projects, while hinting that they could still deploy other stimulus tools. “While the level of fiscal stimulus may be modest and underlying real estate risks remain, we believe that the strategic focus on nurturing new productive forces, developing the digital economy, encouraging domestic consumption, and…

Read More

Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.Saudi Aramco boosted its dividend to nearly $100 billion, reporting the second-highest annual profit in its history, even as lower oil prices and state-led production cuts weighed on performance.Net income at the state-owned group was $121 billion last year, down about a quarter from the $161 billion set in 2022 when rising fossil fuel prices pushed profits to record levels, the company said on Sunday.However, CEO Amin Nasser said the world's largest oil producer is able to increase its total profits in…

Read More

Barring divine intervention or the West Coast falling into the sea, President Biden will easily win California in the November election.But if he – or presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump – secures a second term in the fall, the future of either party's political agenda depends largely on which party controls Congress, where Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the US House of Representatives.And since the Golden State is home to some of the most contentious swing districts in the country, the fate of the House of Representatives will almost certainly lie with California.The battle for partisan political control…

Read More