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Some more big bank news: First Citizens Bank has announced that it is buying Silicon Valley Bank, with seventeen former SVB locations reopening today under First Citizens. This rescue follows the shutdown of SVB on March 10 ago by the FDIC, which was the second-largest bank failure in history (after the collapse of Washington Mutual in 2008). On another note, watch out if you live in the Philadelphia area! A recent chemical spill in the Delaware River has residents on high alert, and officials say that bottled water is the safer option for now. This happened after a latex product spilled into the water, containing multiple harmful chemicals, including butyl acrylate (a chemical from the East Palestine, Ohio train wreck earlier this year), so make sure to avoid tap water if you live near Philadelphia or near the Delaware River. Lastly, there was just another school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, where a 28-year-old female suspect entered the private Christian school with two assault rifles and a handgun, killing three 9-year-olds, a custodian, a substitute teacher, and the principal. The suspect has been found to be Audrey Hale, who was an alum of the school. He was killed by officers soon after killing the three children and three adults.

It's about the severe weather again today, with a more thorough update on the Mississippi tornado. The EF-4 rated tornado (on a scale of 0-5) smashed through Rolling Fork, Mississippi, killing dozens of people, and any survivors have lost almost all of their belongings. In fact, the mayor of the town even stated that his town is practically gone after the tornado flattened the town. Over 43,000 people are still out of power in the state as well (plus another 15,000 people out in Alabama), but the power lines are completely gone in Rolling Fork. The storm system is now moving through the south, but it also brought severe weather to the Ohio Valley, where over 120,000 people are still out of power across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Thankfully, the system is now moving out, but big tornadoes like this are just becoming more and more frequent as spring passes, because spring is prime time for tornadoes to form.

It is about the weather again today, with a fierce storm smashing through the South. A massive Mississippi-Alabama tornado crashed through multiple counties in the area, killing 25 people in Mississippi and one in Alabama. Over 10,000 people are out of power in Alabama as well. The same storm also battered the Ohio Valley on the same day, sending strong winds and heavy rain to the area, but no injuries or deaths have been reported. However, there have been a lot of power outages in the area, with over 10,000 people out in New York, about 55,000 people out in West Virginia and Michigan, about 110,000 out in Pennsylvania, and over 335,000 people are out of power in Ohio.

Today, it's all about the upcoming weather. The same atmospheric river event that pummeled California this past week is heading for the Ohio Valley and mid-South regions, bringing heavy rain and high winds. Over 20 million people are under flood watches throughout the country and over 20,000 people are already out of power in Mississippi and Tennessee. Many parts of the south could also receive strong tornadoes, hail, and strong wind gusts along with the severe thunderstorms.

Happy National Puppy Day! Today is also the start of Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims. Ramadan Mubarak (Blessed Ramadan)! Anyway, here's what's been happening lately. California is yet again in big trouble with weather. In fact, it was just a month or two ago that Californians were desperately wishing for rain, and their wishes came true, but not in a good way. The state's 12th atmospheric river event is pummeling the area now, spawning a rare tornado east of Los Angeles that injured one, damaged at least 17 buildings, and had sustained winds of up to 110 mph, which is the first tornado of that scale to hit the area since 1983! Some strong winds from the so-called 'bomb cyclone' also slammed the Bay Area near San Francisco, killing five more people as power lines and trees were knocked down. Also, there was another mass shooting today in the US, and this time it was in Denver, Colorado. A 17-year-old suspect arrived at a school in the early morning, where the school guards conduct a daily pat-down before the students are allowed to enter the building. During the suspect's pat-down, the guards retrieved a handgun, and he then took the gun and fired shots in front of the building, two of them hitting administrators. Thankfully, no one was killed, and the suspect was found dead in the woods later on.

Happy World Water Day! Let's get into today's news: The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by another quarter point to help curb inflation, as the country's rates reach a huge high of over 7%. However, that's still nowhere close to the US all-time high, where interest rates hit about 16.63% in 1981. The Fed also said that they were still uncertain about future increases in the rates because of the current problems in the banking system, which could be good news for people who need a loan. On a different note, yet another atmospheric river is slamming into California, dumping huge amounts of rain, high winds, snow, and serious flooding. Five people are dead and over 75,000 people are out of power as the 'bomb cyclone' (as meteorologists are calling it) moves through the southern part of the state as well. Also, a rare reported California tornado hit an area east of Los Angeles, dealing serious damage to some homes and businesses.

Today, a massive earthquake struck the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, suspected to be about a 6.5 magnitude quake, according to the US Geological Survey. It only lasted for about 30 seconds, but tremors were felt in nearby Tajikistan and even Delhi, India. About 12 people were injured and five were killed as the quake struck in northeast Afghanistan, near the Hindu Kush mountain range, which is around the border of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, so the area frequently receives some earthquakes. On another note, California is in for a beating. Another atmospheric river event is moving in, bringing high winds, multiple inches of rain, and up to a foot of snow in the mountains. Over 225,000 people are already without power, and water levels are quickly increasing, flooding towns and cities. This comes after the state has been battered by other similar storms in the past few weeks, and the ground is very overly saturated, so if you live in Southern California, brace for some bad weather. Lastly, President Joe Biden has announced that he is creating two new national monuments, one in Texas and one in Nevada, but Nevada's governor is not happy about it. In Nevada, he protected sacred Native American land, and it will be called the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, which is Mojave for Spirit Mountain. However, Nevada's governor did not like this, claiming that it was 'a historic mistake' because he locked up valuable, mineral-rich land. Biden also created a new monument near El Paso, Texas, in the Chihuahuan Desert called the Castner Range National Monument, and it will include a US Army artillery range and testing ground that has now been vacated. In addition, Biden also paved the way to create a massive marine sanctuary, southwest of Hawaii, that would cover over 777,000 square miles! This would meet the US's goal of conserving 30% of its waters by 2030, and the sanctuary is expected to be fully protected within 30 days.

Today is a fun day! Today is the spring equinox, so it is officially spring, and today is actually the International Day of Happiness! Woohoo! According to the latest World Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest country in the world, for the sixth year in a row, followed by Denmark and Iceland. Israel placed fourth, the Netherlands came fifth, Sweden and Norway in sixth and seventh, Switzerland in eighth, Luxembourg in ninth, and New Zealand rounding out the top ten, with its counterpart Australia placing 12th and the US placing 15th. Anyway, let's get into today's news: UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, has agreed to buy its rival, Credit Suisse, for over 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.25 billion USD) to help stop financial panic after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were shut down in the US recently. Read the breakdown here. Also, we have some more bad news for California. (Yes, it just keeps on coming.) A 12th atmospheric river event is moving in, expected to hit Southern California later this week. The storm will bring high winds, heavy rain, snow (in the mountains), and a high flood risk as well, as many areas in the far West are still overly saturated after the huge storms that have been battering the region all winter. But, look on the bright side: all of these storms have helped with the huge drought!

It's all about nature-caused problems today: Over 500 people are dead after Cyclone Freddy pummeled Mozambique and Malawi, and survivors are still being found as people desperately dig through the mud and rubble to find anyone who is still alive. Oxygen levels in rivers of Australia have recently plummeted, and thousands of dead fish are now floating down rivers and creeks, filling towns up with a putrid stench. Officials are still trying to find the cause of the oxygen drop. A huge avalanche just hit Marble, Colorado, killing one person and injuring two others. The two survivors managed to stay alive in the freezing temperatures, but one skier was sadly, not able to make it.

At least 14 people are dead after a huge 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador and Peru today, and the death toll is sure to rise as aftershocks still rumble the area. Extensive damage has been reported across the region as search-and-rescue crews move in to help rescue any survivors that are trapped under rubble.