North America

LAS VEGAS, March 14 (Xinhua) -- North America's largest construction trade show opened on Tuesday in Las Vegas, showcasing the world's most advanced technologies and products in machinery and construction.

The show, named CONEXPO-CON/AGG, drew over 1,800 equipment manufacturers representing products in asphalt, aggregates, concrete, earth digging equipment, lifting, mining and many others, according the organizer.

More than 175 education sessions will be held during the show which runs through Saturday.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A newly formed and now Republican-majority North Carolina Supreme Court listened on Tuesday to arguments that could determine the extent to which state legislators can create electoral districts that could help lock in their political power.

The new 5-2 GOP majority allowed a rare “rehearing” of the case last month. The redistricting litigation was ruled on just three months ago, when Democrats held a 4-3 seat advantage. That edition of the court threw out out a state Senate map the legislature drew and upheld congressional boundaries drawn by trial judges.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A day after the Biden administration approved a major Alaska oil project, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland waded into another thorny battle in the state — a long-simmering dispute over building a road through a national wildlife refuge to provide health care access for a remote, and largely Indigenous, community.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty years after the U.S. invaded Iraq — in blinding explosions of shock and awe — American forces remain in the country in what has become a small but consistent presence to ensure an ongoing relationship with a key military and diplomatic partner in the Middle East.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Payments of $5 million to every eligible Black adult, the elimination of personal debt and tax burdens, guaranteed annual incomes of at least $97,000 for 250 years and homes in San Francisco for just $1 a family.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras President Xiomara Castro announced Tuesday that her government will seek to establish diplomatic relations with China, which would imply severing relations with Taiwan. The switch would leave Taiwan recognized by only 13 countries as China spends billions to win recognition for its “One China” policy.

Castro said on her Twitter account that she instructed Honduran Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Reina to start negotiations with China and that her intention is “expand frontiers freely in concert with the nations of the world.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — After the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters started furiously working the phones to find out what was going on with the failed lender — and what would happen to its panicked depositors.

Waters, former chair of the House Financial Services Committee, had her doubts that another bank would step up as a savior and buy the defunct institution.

“Banks don’t just wake up and say: ‘Oh, there’s a problem with another significant bank and they’ve collapsed. Let’s just take it over,”’ she said.

March 13 (Reuters) - Becoming "further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia" is not a vital U.S. national interest, said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is eying running for president, in comments released on Monday.

Public opinion polls show DeSantis as the strongest threat to former President Donald Trump for their party's nomination for the 2024 presidential contest.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday posted on Twitter responses to a questionnaire from Republican candidates and possible hopefuls on the war in Ukraine.

March 14 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley Bank's collapse pressured global bank stocks further on Tuesday as investors fretted over the financial health of some lenders, in spite of assurances from U.S. President Joe Biden and other policymakers.

An indicator of credit risk in the euro zone banking system leapt to its highest since mid-July, as worries about contagion risks from the collapse of two U.S. banks compounded investor concerns about the impact on lenders of rising interest rates.

NEW YORK, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street's major averages finished mixed on Monday as investors dumped financial shares after recent bank failures in the United States.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 90.5 points, or 0.28 percent, to 31,819.14. The S&P 500 decreased 5.83 points, or 0.15 percent, to 3,855.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 49.95 points, or 0.45 percent, to 11,188.84.