News in Review: Tuesday, March 21, 2023
What does the news landscape look like?
Former President Trump’s legal issues and the 2024 GOP race remain the top story. The ongoing banking crisis is in second place, followed by Russia and Ukraine.
This is how the top stories were covered on each side of the media yesterday:
Trump arrest / DeSantis / GOP 2024 (65% more on the left)
Banking crisis (18% more on the right)
Russia / Ukraine (11% more on the left)
Media bias ratings are from AllSides.
This is how articles from liberal and conservative outlets were distributed over the past five days among the top stories.
Liberal outlets used these words more than conservative outlets:
bush (2.1x)
georgia (1.9x)
grand (1.1x)
Conservative outlets used these words more than liberal outlets:
esg (3.5x)
biden (1.9x)
democrats (1.9x)
What is happening in the top stories?
Now for a deep dive into our top three stories, starting with…
Trump arrest / DeSantis / GOP 2024
Key people: Donald Trump, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Michael Cohen, Ron DeSantis
Background:
Donald Trump is facing a New York grand jury investigation into hush money payments to women who alleged sexual encounters with him during his presidency.
Trump has claimed that his arrest is imminent and has called for his supporters to protest.
Latest developments:
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is anticipated to serve Trump with a criminal indictment this week, accusing him of breaking campaign finance laws in the payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels.
Workers have erected barricades around a Manhattan courthouse as New York City braces for a possible indictment of Trump.
Far-right grassroots groups have opted not to heed Trump’s call for protests, fearing a trap.
Banking crisis
Key people: President Biden, Jamie Dimon, Swiss regulators, House Freedom Caucus
Latest developments:
Hardline Republicans in the House of Representatives vowed to oppose any universal federal guarantee on bank deposits above the current $250,000 limit, throwing a major roadblock to a key tool regulators could deploy if bank runs re-emerge as financial confidence wobbles.
Investors took some heart from the rescue of troubled lender Credit Suisse by its Swiss rival UBS, though concerns lingered about the risk of shockwaves further damaging credit markets and smaller U.S. banks.
The value of shares in First Republic Bank plummeted to a historic low on Monday as continued withdrawals from customers have destabilized the institution.
Attention is now on this week’s meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, with traders wondering whether the central bank’s relentless rate hikes might be at an end.
First Republic customers reportedly withdrew around $70 billion since panic began to sweep the financial markets in the wake of SVB’s failure.
Russia / Ukraine
Key people: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Dmitry Peskov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu
Background:
The Kremlin has said that its full-scale invasion of Ukraine has “stretched out” longer than initially planned and that its war against Kyiv has developed into a conflict with the entire NATO alliance.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Russia this week to meet with President Vladimir Putin, amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Beijing’s efforts to present itself as a neutral arbiter of the conflict.
The visit comes after China presented a 12-point peace plan for “a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis,” which was followed by calls for a ceasefire and negotiations alongside Belarus.
The U.S. has eyed Beijing’s peace efforts with skepticism, accusing China of “strongly considering” providing Russia with lethal aid for its war effort.
China and Moscow struck a “no limits” partnership shortly before the invasion, and U.S. and European leaders have said they are concerned Beijing may send arms to Russia.
Latest developments:
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for his first visit since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, serving as a reminder of China’s emergence as a global powerbroker and raising questions about whether America is in danger of losing its place as the undisputed leader in international diplomacy.
The three-day state visit is a major display of solidarity with Russia from its most important global partner, and the two leaders discussed pressing issues related to the future of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction between Russia and China.
Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin told Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in a letter published on Monday that the Ukrainian army was planning an imminent offensive aimed at cutting off his Wagner forces from the main body of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.
Prigozhin said the “large-scale attack” was planned for late March or the start of April, and he was providing details of the Ukrainian plan and of his own proposal to counter it in an attachment to the letter.
