--:-- Gideon Resnick: Good morning. It's Wednesday, March 22nd. I'm Gideon Resnick in for Shamita Basu, and this is Apple News Today.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: On today's show, why the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin, a major strike affecting LA schools, and a thrilling end to the world baseball classic. But first, it's a big day in economic news. The Federal Reserve will announce what's happening next to interest rates later today.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And as The Wall Street Journal explains it, this will be one of the toughest calls yet for Jerome Powell, who has led the central bank since 2018.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: This decision comes amid the backdrop of a tumultuous past few weeks for worldwide banking. There was the collapse of Silicon Valley and Silvergate banks in the U.S., the emergency rescue sale of Credit Suisse in Switzerland. Meanwhile, the fate of First Republic hangs in the balance after a group of large banks injected billions of deposits to shore it up.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: This is the most chaos the U.S. financial system has seen in more than a decade. And all that uncertainty, plus the ongoing fight to bring down high inflation, leaves the Federal Reserve with a tricky choice here.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Bloomberg columnist and former Fed member Bill Dudley takes a look at two potential outcomes. Behind door number one, the Fed takes a timeout and pauses interest rate hikes.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: That could add fuel to the uncertainty some people are feeling right now about the health of the banking system. And even if investors are ultimately relieved by a pause, it would be counterproductive in the inflation fight.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Then there is door number two. The Fed could raise interest rates again, which would continue to squeeze the pockets of borrowers and potentially look bad in hindsight should the banking turbulence get worse.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: But former Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida told The Wall Street Journal that raising rates, as previously expected, could also send a positive message about the central bank's confidence in financial conditions.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tried to calm nerves among the American Bankers Association, a lobbyist group. The situation is stabilizing and the U.S. banking system remains sound.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And she pledged to intervene if necessary to protect smaller financial institutions like regional and community banks. Our intervention was necessary to protect the broader U banking system. And similar actions could be warranted if smaller institutions suffered deposit runs that pose the risk of contagion.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: In its decision today, the Federal Reserve will need to try and strike the right balance between managing these very real banking concerns and very real inflation concerns.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Chinese President Xi Jinping departed Russia today after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The summit is the first time the two leaders have met since Russia started the war in Ukraine.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: It's a major move for China, which observers say is trying to demonstrate that it can overtake the U.S. as a global power that brokers peace.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Putin and Xi have called themselves dear friends, and together the two countries hope to shape a new world order.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: But China's proposed 12-point plan for peace is unlikely to garner any support from Ukraine. For one thing, it doesn't call for Russian troops to withdraw from occupied Ukrainian territory.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: In fact, Russian forces launched more airstrikes on Ukraine while she was in Moscow. Just days before the visit, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of abducting children in Ukraine.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Under an international agreement, 123 nations are obligated to extradite him to The Hague to face trial as a war criminal if he ever shows up in their territory.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The Kremlin has dismissed the warrant, calling it outrageous. But Russia doesn't deny it's taking Ukrainian children. In fact, the Russian government touts the adoption of children by Russian families in its propaganda campaigns.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Xi's visit. That President Xi is traveling to Russia days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Putin suggests that China feels no responsibility to hold the Kremlin accountable for the atrocities committed in Ukraine.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And instead of even condemning them, it would rather provide diplomatic cover for Russia to continue to commit those very crimes.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The Guardian spoke to one Ukrainian father from occupied Mariupol. He said all three of his children were abducted into Russia while he was being held in jail.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: He was told by Russian officials they were taken to a camp in Moscow. They were eventually reunited. But that's not the case for the vast majority of most families who have been separated.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: According to the Ukrainian government, over 16,000 children have been deported to Russia. Around 10,000 have been found, but only 308 have returned to their families.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Russia has called these moves adoption or re-education, but the International Criminal Court is calling it by a different name, kidnapping.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: We're overworked and underpaid. We're overworked and underpaid.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Classes in the country's second largest public school district are closed once again today. That's because some of the lowest paid employees in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Everyone from bus drivers to custodians and cafeteria workers, they're on strike, demanding better wages and working conditions.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Here's what bus driver Lanier Boyd-Peterson told KTLA 5 on Tuesday. Honestly, we're not managing at all. Some of our bus drivers are actually homeless. Some of them can't pay their bills. They can't even pay their mortgage.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And in the summertime, we're actually not working all the time. So our bills are backed up. So it's impossible.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The Los Angeles Times spoke with the head of the union leading the strike, who said this wasn't an easy decision, but it was one they felt forced to make after almost a year of bargaining with the district.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Members of another major union representing teachers, nurses, counselors, and librarians joined them in solidarity. Local 99 is asking for $2 more per hour for its lowest paid members and a 30% salary increase for members overall.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Currently, the average annual wage is just $25,000. Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff joined the picket line yesterday and described the current average as poverty wages.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The district, for its part, denies allegations of unfair labor practices. And according to the LA Times it has increased its offer to workers in recent days including a cumulative 23 raise with some retroactive raises and bonuses expanded hours more full positions and improved eligibility for health care
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The strike means that learning is being interrupted for more than 420,000 students. Some have also been forced to go without vital meal services.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Volunteers and distribution sites helped fill the gap yesterday, despite heavy rain in some areas, packing up meals and healthy snacks for parents to pick up.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: A campus aide at one school told the LA Times that they understood the burden the strike has created for parents and kids. He asked for patience, saying, quote, We need you on our side. We know it's difficult, but we all survived the pandemic, and I think we can get through three days.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Finally, let's talk about a little bit of March Madness that actually happened in the world of baseball. So last night, the World Baseball Classic came to a dramatic close.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Shohei Otani faced off against Mike Trout with the title on the line. The two players, considered two of the best in the game, have been teammates on the Los Angeles Angels.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: But last night, Otani was representing Team Japan and pitching to Trout, who was representing the U.S.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Here's how the final pitch sounded, with Japan up 3-2 and the championship on the line. Three and two from Otani. He throws. Trout strikes out, swinging!
--:-- Gideon Resnick: This marked the third victory for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. And as Otani put it after the game, it had big implications for the country.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: He said it proves that Japanese baseball can beat any team in the world.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the app, stick around. We've got a narrated article coming up next from Gia Tolentino.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: She writes for The New Yorker about Ozempic and how it's renewed our cultural fixation on being thin.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: So sit back, check that out, and we'll be back with the news tomorrow.
