US Domestic News Roundup: California man gets 25 years to life for 1996 murder of student Kristin Smart; Signature Bank becomes next casualty of banking turmoil after SVB and more

The prison term imposed on Smart's one-time classmate, Paul Flores, the maximum sentence under California's current penal system, was announced by the San Luis Obispo County district attorney in a statement. Signature Bank becomes next casualty of banking turmoil after SVB State regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank on Sunday, the third largest failure in U.S. banking history, two days after authorities shuttered Silicon Valley Bank in a collapse that stranded billions in deposits.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

California man gets 25 years to life for 1996 murder of student Kristin Smart

More than a quarter-century after college freshman Kristin Smart vanished in what became one of California's most notorious unsolved crimes, the man ultimately convicted of killing her was sentenced on Friday to serve 25 years to life in prison. The prison term imposed on Smart's one-time classmate, Paul Flores, the maximum sentence under California's current penal system, was announced by the San Luis Obispo County district attorney in a statement.

Signature Bank becomes next casualty of banking turmoil after SVB

State regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank on Sunday, the third largest failure in U.S. banking history, two days after authorities shuttered Silicon Valley Bank in a collapse that stranded billions in deposits. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of Signature, which had $110.36 billion in assets and $88.59 billion in deposits at the end of last year, according to New York state's Department of Financial Services.

Hundreds of migrants try to force their way into US at Mexico border

U.S. officials stopped hundreds of mostly Venezuelan migrants entering the country from Mexico on Sunday after a large group broke through Mexican lines to demand asylum in the U.S., only to be thwarted by barbed wire, barriers and shields. Frustrated with problems securing appointments to seek asylum using a new U.S. government app, the migrants gathered at the frontier in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, but could not breach the crossing connecting the two countries.

California copes with heavy rain, flooding in latest 'atmospheric river' storm

Emergency officials in several California counties spent Friday patrolling levies and swollen rivers as an "atmospheric river" storm drenched the already-sodden state with torrential rains, causing floods that washed out roads and prompted evacuations. The latest deluge from dense streams of Pacific moisture sweeping California's skies soaked some mountain areas still clogged with piles of snow dumped by a recent spate of paralyzing blizzards, while bringing even more snow to higher elevations.

Biden to defend U.S. banking system after SVB, Signature collapse

President Joe Biden on Monday will address a banking crisis that led U.S. regulators to step in with a series of emergency measures after the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank threatened to trigger a broader crisis. His remarks are scheduled for 9 a.m. (1300 GMT), according to the White House, before U.S. markets open at 9:30 a.m. (1330 GMT).

Texas man sues 3 women for helping his ex-wife obtain abortion pills

A Texas man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit accusing three women of helping his ex-wife obtain abortion pills, in one of the first major legal challenges under a state abortion ban since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Plaintiff Marcus Silva filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Galveston County, Texas, alleging that three Texas women are liable for wrongful death because they helped his ex-wife obtain abortion pills to terminate a pregnancy in July 2022. The civil lawsuit is seeking damages of $1 million against each woman.

Eight dead after two migrant boats capsize near San Diego

At least eight people have died after two fishing boats capsized off the coast of San Diego, California, in an apparent migrant smuggling operation, emergency officials said on Sunday.

San Diego emergency crews began a search and recovery operation late Saturday night, after receiving a 911 call from a Spanish-speaker about fishing boats in distress off the coast of San Diego's Black's Beach.

Trump looks to play catch-up to DeSantis on education in 2024 race

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has shown that waging cultural warfare over education can pay off with voters, and now Donald Trump is looking to get in on the action. The former president, who is making another bid for the White House in 2024, is slated to deliver remarks on education policy at a campaign event in the key early voting state of Iowa on Monday.

Biden administration wants Congress to bar airlines from charging family seating fees

The Biden administration on Monday asked U.S. lawmakers to approve legislation to bar airlines from charging family seating fees if adjacent seats are available during booking. U.S. Transportation Secretary (USDOT) Pete Buttigieg wrote lawmakers and sent them draft legislation that would ban airlines from charging an accompanying adult to sit next to children 13 or younger if certain conditions are met.

'History will hold Donald Trump accountable' for Jan. 6, Pence says

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence offered his most forceful rebuke to date of his one-time boss Donald Trump on Saturday, saying that history will hold him accountable for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Pence was in the Capitol when thousands of Trump supporters breached the building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden.