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NYTimes
New York Times
28 Apr 2023


NextImg:Your Friday Evening Briefing

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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Friday:

ImageThe federal government took control of Silicon Valley Bank last month.
Credit...Aaron Wojack for The New York Times

1. The Fed took some of the blame for the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

In a sweeping internal review, the central bank said it failed to “take forceful enough action” to address growing risks at Silicon Valley Bank ahead of its collapse last month. It was a rare instance of overt self-criticism from the Fed, and it came as the aftershocks of the bank’s collapse continue to shake the American financial system.

The review detailed how Silicon Valley Bank grew rapidly in size and risk with limited intervention from supervisors, who missed obvious problems and moved slowly to address the ones they did recognize. It called for the Fed to consider a range of changes, including stronger deterrents against risk-taking and limits on incentive compensation for the heads of struggling banks.

A separate report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation criticized the “poor management” and inadequate risk policing practices of Signature Bank, which collapsed soon after Silicon Valley Bank. The F.D.I.C. acknowledged its shortcomings in communicating with Signature Bank’s management, citing staff shortages.

In economic news, wages continued to rise rapidly last month, according to new data. It’s good news for workers, but a source of concern for the Fed.

Worried about a recession? Our columnist urges patience.


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Credit...Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

2. Russia unleashed a wave of missile attacks that killed at least 25 people in Ukraine.

Russian bombers fired about two dozen cruise missiles at targets across Ukraine, including one that hit an apartment block in the central city of Uman, killing at least 23 people. It was the largest Russian assault on civilian targets in more than a month and one of the deadliest this year.

The strikes highlighted the critical role Ukrainian air defense systems play in limiting the damage Russia can wreak. Leaked Pentagon documents warned in recent months that the air defense networks could soon break down without more aid.

In other news from the war, the U.S. is wiring Ukraine with sensors that can detect‌‌ bursts of radiation from a nuclear weapon and confirm the identity of the attacker. They are designed to deny Russia any opportunity to detonate an atomic bomb without attribution.


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Credit...Sean Rayford/Getty Images

3. North Carolina’s top court reversed itself in an important gerrymandering case.

Just a year after Democratic justices on the state’s Supreme Court threw out its congressional maps, declaring them to be partisan gerrymanders, a newly elected Republican majority said the exact opposite.

The practical effect is to enable the Republican-controlled state legislature to scrap the court-ordered district boundaries and draw new maps skewed in their favor for elections in 2024. To some legal experts, the ruling sent a clear message: In politically charged cases, the deciding factor is not the law or legal precedent, but which party holds the majority.

In other elections-related news, Florida lawmakers cleared the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president.


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A row of waiting buses In Khartoum today.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

4. The U.S. is evacuating hundreds of Americans from Sudan.

About 300 Americans left Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, today in buses headed on a 525-mile journey to the Red Sea. It was the U.S.’s first organized effort to evacuate its citizens from Sudan after two weeks of intense fighting there between the Sudanese Army and a powerful paramilitary force.

The bus convoy is following an evacuation route used by the U.N. and many other nations in recent days, and the buses are being tracked by American drones. The U.S. was ramping up its evacuation as other countries were winding theirs down. About 16,000 Americans live in Sudan.


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Gov. Kathy Hochul said today that the details of the budget were still being fine tuned.Credit...Yuki Iwamura/Associated Press

5. New York’s new budget would raise the minimum wage and ban gas stoves in new buildings.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today that she and state lawmakers had reached an agreement on a roughly $229 billion state budget. Under the deal — the result of weeks of contentious negotiations — the minimum hourly wage would go up to $17, from $15, by 2026.

If the budget passes, as is expected, New York will become the first state to ban natural gas in new buildings, effectively requiring all-electric heating and cooking. Environmental groups have pushed for the ban as a critical step in reducing dependence on fossil fuels.


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Credit...Ian Allenden/Alamy

6. Speaking two languages may help stave off dementia.

A study in Germany found that older people who used two languages on a daily basis from a young age have better memory skills later in life than those who only spoke one language.

Neuroscientists hypothesize that because bilingual people switch fluidly between two languages, they may be able to deploy similar strategies in other skills — such as multitasking, emotion management, and self-control — that help delay dementia.

In other health news, dozens of members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine demanded an explanation for the organization’s handling of donations from the Sackler family, the owners of Purdue Pharma.


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Credit...Anders Pettersson/Getty Images

7. The stretch limo is on the way out.

It was once a symbol of affluence, used by the rich and famous. But over time it became more of a common luxury, booked for children’s birthday parties or by teenagers heading to the prom. Now, hardly anyone rides in stretch limos.

Limo company operators say the industry was first hit by the recession in the late 2000s and then by the rise of alternatives like Uber and Lyft. These days, chauffeurs tend to drive around in large black S.U.V.s or sedans instead.


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From left: the Edge, Bono, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. in their early days.Credit...Lex van Rossen/MAI and Redferns, via Getty Images

8. How U2’s music helped save my colleague’s life.

When Theodore Kim, The Times’s director of career programs, underwent a 30-session radiation cycle to treat a benign tumor this year, the hospital staff allowed him to pick the music. Without fail, he chose to blare songs from U2 over the speakers.

For Theodore — who has attended nine of the band’s concerts — it served two purposes: It was an escape as the treatment became harder to bear, and it gave him a sense of time. U2 songs are typically about four minutes, meaning that four or five could get him through a session.

“I think about the village of people that has helped me during this health crisis,” Theodore wrote. “Doctors, nurses, support staff, family, friends, colleagues. My wife, Amy, especially. Count U2 among them.”


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Credit...Romulo Yanes for The New York Times

9. What to do this weekend:

Cook: Make your Saturday morning more enjoyable with these crispy pancakes.

Watch: Showtime’s “Couples Therapy” is back tonight with nine new episodes.

Read: Han Kang’s “Greek Lessons” is one of the nine new books our editors recommend.

Follow: Round 2 of the N.B.A. playoffs begins tomorrow, with more Heat-Knicks rivalry.

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Credit...Staff

10. And finally, who are you calling a copycat?

That was one of the burning questions in this week’s olive oil drama. Didn’t know there was an olive oil drama? Well, my colleagues Madison Malone Kircher and Anna Grace Lee have you covered.

The C.E.O. of Graza, a start-up that sells olive oil in squeezable, forest-green plastic bottles, posted an angry message on LinkedIn denouncing “#copycat culture” and calling out a competitor for selling its oil in a similar bottle. His post set off an online debate about what level of imitation is fair game and whether a squeeze bottle can truly be proprietary.

For more juicy internet stories, sign up for Madison’s weekly newsletter.

Have an original weekend.


Brent Lewis compiled photos for this briefing.

We welcome your feedback. Send us your suggestions at briefing@nytimes.com.