As I noted in Friday’s newsletter, at the end of last week Silicon Valley Bank, a tech industry favorite that worked with many startups and venture capital firms, spiraled into failure, shocking the sector and leaving many tech founders, companies and investors uncertain of the status of their deposits with the bank.

Grid have been covering the developments in the SVB story and the response from regulators and political figures over the weekend.

See why the FDIC’s decision isn’t a typical bailout – and isn’t a typical bank resolution, either:
https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2023/03/13/the-fdic-decision-on-silicon-valley-bank-isnt-a-typical-bailout-but-its-not-a-typical-bank-resolution-either-heres-what-just-happened/

See how post-2008 reforms did and didn’t prepare us for SVB’s collapse.

https://www.grid.news/story/economy/2023/03/12/how-post-2008-reforms-did-and-didnt-prepare-us-for-the-silicon-valley-bank-collapse/

Learn how the Fed’s interest rate hikes endangered the banking sector, leading to SVB’s collapse.

https://www.grid.news/story/economy/2023/03/13/how-the-feds-interest-rate-hikes-endangered-the-banking-sector-leading-to-svbs-collapse/

Read more about SVB’s role as the tech sector’s favorite bank.

https://www.grid.news/story/economy/2023/03/10/what-was-silicon-valley-bank-how-svb-the-startup-tech-sectors-favorite-bank-collapsed/

And see how SVB’s collapse reveals the power of Trump-style populism.

https://www.grid.news/story/economy/2023/03/13/silicon-valley-bank-collapse-reveals-the-power-of-trump-style-populism/?utm_campaign=20230313_Grid%20Today&utm_content=topper&utm_medium=email&utm_source=mailchimp&utm_term=thedaily360

The U.S. has accused Russia of committing “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine. President Joe Biden himself has gone as far as to accuse Russia of committing “genocide” — generally considered the most serious crime under international law — and said that President Vladimir Putin should face a “war crimes trial” over the massacres committed in the town of Bucha. And earlier this month, Attorney General Merrick Garland paid a visit to Kyiv, vowing to hold Russian perpetrators of war crimes responsible.

The world’s premier criminal court may be on the verge of doing just that. The New York Times reported on Monday that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is on the verge of opening two war crimes cases: one alleging that Russia deliberately abducted Ukrainian children to send them to reeducation camps and another alleging that Russian forces deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure.

And yet — despite what U.S. officials have said — Washington may be a less-than-willing partner in the prosecution of these cases. Why?

https://www.grid.news/story/global/2023/03/13/why-prosecuting-russian-war-crimes-in-ukraine-may-be-awkward-for-the-us/

Today is Equal Pay Day, and a reminder that there’s still a ways to go to close the gender pay gap. Women make 82 cents on the dollar compared to men – an increase of only 2 cents over the past 20 years.

More on the state of equal pay in 2023: https://mailchi.mp/grid.news/grid-today-chinas-great-wall-of-steel-plans

Yesterday, President Xi Jinping closed China’s annual National People’s Congress – “a critical gathering” of the country’s leaders, China Reporter Lili Pike writes – with a focus on national security concerns, economic growth targets and what he termed the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” (As Lili reported at the start of the People’s Congress last week, the event is “more of a performance – the actual decisions have been made well in advance” by the country’s top leadership.)

This year’s “Two Sessions” gathering “was the first time for the past 10 years that Xi has the kind of freedom to arrange whoever he wants” in place in the Chinese government, Jing Qian, the managing director of the Center for China Analysis at the Asia Society, told Grid.

Today’s newsletter features five key takeaways from the event:

https://mailchi.mp/grid.news/grid-today-chinas-great-wall-of-steel-plans

In a statement provided to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – a potential 2024 presidential candidate, as I’ve covered in this newsletter — said “while the U.S. has many vital national interests,” the country “becoming further engaged in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them.”

“The Biden administration’s virtual ‘blank check’ funding of this conflict for ‘as long as it takes,’ without any defined objectives or accountability, distracts from our country’s most pressing challenges,” he continued. “It was DeSantis’ clearest statement to date about the war” in Ukraine, my colleagues Sophie Tatum and Tom Nagorski write. What does this position mean for the ongoing conflict, and for the Republican Party?

More in today’s newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/grid.news/grid-today-what-desantis-means-on-ukraine

Some good news for ovivores: The price of eggs has dropped after hitting historic highs, according to new numbers from the Consumer Price Index.

https://mailchi.mp/grid.news/grid-today-what-desantis-means-on-ukraine

Hey all, it’s Cameron Hood, Grid’s newsletter editor.

Why are eggs still so expensive? I took a closer look in today’s newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/grid.news/grid-today-why-are-eggs-still-so-expensive

Plus, my colleague Politics Reporter Sophie Tatum covers how banking regulation — especially a controversial 2018 bill — is already emerging as a focus in Democratic congressional races:

https://mailchi.mp/grid.news/grid-today-why-are-eggs-still-so-expensive

Today, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for allegations of war crimes in Ukraine.

But prosecuting those crimes may be awkward for the U.S., which has a complicated relationship with the ICC:

https://mailchi.mp/grid.news/grid-today-drones-russia-us-unfriendly-skies

One week ago, Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, shocking the tech and startup sectors. It was notably the largest bank collapse since 2008 and a moment of impact for the banking and tech industries, policy, politics and the economy. 

In the week since, my colleagues across Grid’s newsroom have covered SVB’s collapse, its consequences and what it all means moving forward.

https://mailchi.mp/grid.news/grid-today-drones-russia-us-unfriendly-skies

A growing body of research into “the healing potential of psychedelics,” such as psilocybin, derived from mushrooms, or MDMA, also known as molly or ecstasy, “has shown these substances, which trigger highly altered mental states characterized by an expansion of consciousness, can provide rapid and enduring relief for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction and end-of-life anxiety when guided by a trained therapist,” Public Health Reporter Jonathan Lambert writes in his latest story.

It’s thought that these substances “work by rewiring brain circuitry,” but as Jon reports, neuroscientists, psychiatrists and other medical professionals “are increasingly divided on a fundamental question: Do the apparent benefits of these mind-bending substances stem from the ‘trip’ itself? Or might it be possible to strip away this experience while retaining the neuroplastic power of psychedelics, to design a drug that sparks similar brain changes but without the experiential baggage?

https://mailchi.mp/grid.news/grid-today-to-trip-or-not-to-trip-inside-the-psychedelic-debate

Inside the scientific debate that’s shaping the future of psychedelic therapy: To trip or not to trip

https://www.grid.news/story/science/2023/03/21/inside-the-scientific-debate-thats-shaping-the-future-of-psychedelic-therapy-to-trip-or-not-to-trip/

A new round of layoffs at Amazon and Meta have brought tech layoffs so far this year close to surpassing 2022’s record figure – and we’re still in March.

https://mailchi.mp/grid.news/grid-today-to-trip-or-not-to-trip-inside-the-psychedelic-debate

Donald Trump’s hold on the Republican Party might be slipping in polls, but Republican leaders still follow his cues as they respond to breaking news — even when the news is that the former president may be hours away from being indicted.

https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2023/03/21/trump-steers-allies-and-opponents-on-the-right-to-a-new-enemy-manhattan-district-attorney-alvin-bragg/

In the long, salacious saga that begins with an adult film actress and may end with the history-making indictment of an ex-president, one court document could play a key role: the one that sent Michael Cohen to prison.

https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2023/03/21/what-the-federal-case-that-sent-michael-cohen-to-prison-says-about-a-possible-case-against-trump/