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Now Biden faces a backlash from a core of rail workers and allied groups, as some of them see a betrayal in the bill he pushed to avert a rail strike. The standoff between rail workers and the profitable companies that employ them posed an awkward dilemma for Biden, forcing him to find an elusive middle ground between dueling campaign pledges. A rail strike threatened to unravel the job gains that no doubt will be central to any Biden re-election campaign. He said he is not giving up on paid sick leave for rail workers and other Americans who don’t receive such benefits. …”Still, the president could have used more leverage to reach a deal that included paid sick leave, union officials and allies contend.

☆ U.S. and Europe Gird for Trade Spat Over Washington’s Push for Domestic Investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Bojan Pancevski | Noemie Bisserbe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Europe is bracing for a confrontation with Washington over a new law that encourages businesses to invest more in the U.S., an initiative European officials say threatens the region’s economy as it teeters on the verge of a recession. President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the issue in Washington this week, and Mr. Biden signaled he was open to talks but made no commitment to amend the legislation. European leaders are now considering their response.

☆ Threat of Rail Strike Reveals Persistent Supply-Chain Risks to U.S. Economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( David Harrison | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Even before the latest labor strife, freight rail customers complained that low staffing levels had hampered rail service, leading to scrutiny from federal regulators. The threat of a railroad strike this month exposed the vulnerability of U.S. transportation networks and revealed potential new risks of supply-chain disruptions just as pandemic-era bottlenecks were fading. President Biden signed into law a bill Friday compelling freight railroads and their workers’ unions to accept a labor agreement, averting a strike that might have disrupted a logistical linchpin of the economy. Even with the dispute resolved, the episode brought about a heightened awareness that supply hiccups could become an ongoing feature of business life in America.

☆ Biden vowed 'consequences' for Saudi Arabia after oil production cut. But the U.S. has no plans to follow through.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Nearly two months after President Joe Biden vowed "there will be consequences" for Saudi Arabia’s actions to cut oil production, the U.S. is not actively considering any significant retaliatory actions against the kingdom, according to two U.S. officials. U.S. and Saudi relations hit a low point after Saudi Arabia pushed OPEC members to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day at their Oct. 6 meeting. Officials, however, also anticipate calls for imposing a cost on Saudi Arabia to ramp back up if OPEC again cuts oil production. The Biden administration's about-face on the oil issue is not the first time it has failed to follow through on a threat to Saudi Arabia. In the lead-up to the 2020 election, Biden vowed to treat Saudi Arabia as a "pariah" state in response to the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

☆ Elon Musk promotes release of internal Twitter documents rehashing platform’s block of Hunter Biden story
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The controversy involving Twitter and Hunter Biden dates to October 2020, weeks before the presidential election between Joe Biden and then-President Donald Trump. Taibbi wrote that he has seen no evidence that there was government involvement in Twitter’s move to block the New York Post story. Shortly after the New York Post published the article, Twitter pointed to concerns about hacked materials as the reason for blocking the story. Zuckerberg cited warnings from the FBI about election-related threats, though none about Hunter Biden in particular. Hunter Biden has said that federal prosecutors in Delaware are investigating his taxes.

☆ Macron says new security architecture should give guarantees for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The West should consider how to address Russia's need for security guarantees if President Vladimir Putin agrees to negotiations about ending the war in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said in remarks broadcast on Saturday. In an interview with French TV station TF1 recorded during his state visit to the United States last week, Macron said Europe needs to prepare its future security architecture. "This means that one of the essential points we must address - as President Putin has always said - is the fear that NATO comes right up to its doors, and the deployment of weapons that could threaten Russia," Macron said. Ukraine says negotiations are possible only if Russia stops attacking and pulls out its troops. The United States said at the time that the Russian demands were "non-starters".

☆ Elizabeth Holmes, Donald Trump, and childcare are all contributing to a loss of trust in women leaders
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Trust in women leaders is decreasing across the globe, a new study found. Experts say that the normalization of sexism, as well as perceived failures of some female leaders, may be why. That's on top of reduced childcare options during the pandemic locking many women out of the workforce. The survey, which was taken by over 30,000 people across the G20 countries, found that trust in women as leaders has fallen significantly over the past year. In particular, she pointed out that when Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election to Trump, many media outlets speculated whether America was really ready for a female president.

☆ Raphael Warnock has a 4-point lead over Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff: poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Warnock has a 50%-46% lead over Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff, per a new SurveyUSA poll. Independents, a critical slice of the Georgia electorate, backed Warnock over Walker by 13 points. In the poll, Warnock enjoyed near-unanimous support (95%) among Democrats, while Walker earned the backing of 87% of Republicans; 11% of GOP respondents crossed party lines to support Warnock over Walker in the survey. Because no candidate received 50% of the vote at the time, a runoff election was triggered. A recent Emerson College Polling survey showed Warnock leading Walker 49%-47% among likely voters, while a new CNN poll had Warnock ahead of Walker 52%-48%, also among likely voters.

☆ Putin not sincere about peace talks now, says top U.S. diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is not sincere about peace talks with Ukraine at this time, a top U.S. diplomat said on Saturday after meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior Ukrainian officials in Kyiv. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he was prepared to speak to Putin if the Russian leader was interested in ending the war. This reaction from Russia, Nuland said, showed "how not serious they are". Nuland also met Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskiy's office, who expressed thanks for the billions of dollars worth of aid Washington has committed to Ukraine. "Ukraine's victory, which we are sure of, will be our joint victory," Zelenskiy's office quoted him as telling Nuland.

☆ Axelrod on 2024 primaries: If you're thinking of challenging Biden, 'forget about it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

David Axelrod says the Democrats moving the first 2024 primary from Iowa to South Carolina shows Biden's intention to run in 2024. "I think the message here is, if you're an insurgent and thinking of challenging the President, forget about it, because there's not going to be an opportunity here to do that."

☆ Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich warns Republicans to stop 'underestimating' Biden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Newt Gingrich recently warned Republicans to stop "underestimating" President Joe Biden. The ex-GOP House speaker blasted Biden's policies but said Democrats had been able to pass "radical" bills. Gingrich said conservative "hostility" to Biden has prevented Republicans from fully judging his record. Gingrich said on Wednesday that GOP opposition to Biden has caused the party to minimize the success of the president and his party. Gingrich represented a slice of suburban Atlanta in the US House of Representatives from 1979 to 1999 and was its speaker from 1995 to 1999.

☆ 9 million student-loan borrowers got an email in November with the wrong subject line informing them their debt relief has been approved. Corrections are coming.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

9 million student-loan borrowers received an email in late November with a subject line that their debt relief had been approved. It should have stated the applications had been received, not approved — an error made by an Education Department contractor. However, that subject line was incorrect, Insider has learned — it was simply supposed to inform borrowers that their applications had been received with the subject line: "Update on Student Loan Debt Relief." The department has previously indicated that 26 million student-loan borrowers had already submitted applications for debt relief. "Our student debt relief program is necessary to help 40M eligible Americans struggling under the burden of student loan debt recover from the pandemic," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

☆ Georgia voters cast over 350,000 ballots for the Senate runoff on the last day of early voting, setting a single-day record
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Georgia voters on Friday cast over 350,000 ballots, setting a one-day statewide early voting record. The previous one-day early voting record was on Tuesday when nearly 310,000 voters cast ballots. On Friday night, Sterling praised the efforts of election officials and precinct workers who had prepared for early voting, which began in some localities last week. Before Friday, the one-day record for early voting in Georgia was set during the 2018 midterm cycle, when 233,000 people voted on the last day of early voting that year. Headed into Election Day on Tuesday, turnout among Georgia voters sat at 26.4% as of December 3, per the secretary of state's office.

☆ Mike Pence said he told Trump he was angry the first time they spoke after the Capitol riot
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mike Pence recounted the first time he spoke to Donald Trump after the Capitol riot on PBS Newshour. Pence reportedly told Trump he was "angry" about the pair's differences and the actions of the rioters. The former vice president told PBS Newshour that Trump asked to speak with him in the Oval Office five days after the "tragic events" of the riot. He said then Trump asked him if he was afraid, and he responded: "No Mr. President, I was angry." When PBS Newshour anchor Judy Woodruff later asked Pence whether he felt anger towards Trump as the riot unfolded, he responded: "Well, yes."

☆ FBI director warns that TikTok could be exploited by China to collect user data for espionage
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

FBI Director Chris Wray said on Friday that he has national security concerns about TikTok, per AP News. Wray warned that China could use TikTok to collect user data for espionage operations, AP News said. He added that China could collect users' data for traditional espionage operations, the news agency reported. TikTok said in June that it started routing American users' data via US-based servers owned by Oracle, per The Verge. However, BuzzFeed News reported that US user data was still being repeatedly accessed from China.

WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration is mulling a proposal from Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to repeal the U.S. military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the White House said on Saturday. But the White House said Biden had agreed only to consider the idea. "Leader McCarthy raised this with the president and the president told him he would consider it," said White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton. McCarthy presented the vaccine mandate deal as a sign of how he would lead the House as speaker. He also rebutted conservative criticism over his attendance at a White House state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron.

☆ Twitter's clumsy handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story spurred enough bipartisan criticism to risk the existence of the internet as we know it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Twitter's decision to throttle stories about Hunter Biden's laptop prompted bipartisan criticism. Some lawmakers have since called to repeal Section 230, a law "that created the internet." The criticism has since intensified a movement to repeal Section 230, which could change the Internet forever. Much of Taibbi's thread focused on Twitter's handling of the New York Post's October 2020 story about Hunter Biden's laptop, which the Post reported was left in a Delaware repair shop. Representatives for Khanna did not answer questions about the congressman's current position on whether or not to repeal Section 230.

☆ Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna reached out to Twitter as it suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story to voice concerns about violating free speech and press freedom principles
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In October 2020, Twitter initially blocked users from sharing a New York Post story about Hunter Biden's laptop. Rep. Ro Khanna sent Twitter concerns about the decision, according to materials published Friday. Less than a month before the 2020 election, the Post published a story that claimed to contain emails retrieved from a laptop that belonged to President Joe Biden's son Hunter. Giving an example, Khanna said if materials uncovering a war crime were hacked and obtained by The New York Times, the Times should be able to publish them. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan established that public figures suing for defamation must establish "actual malice."

☆ Georgia GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan says Herschel Walker will 'probably go down as one of the worst candidates in our party's history'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"I think Herschel Walker will probably go down as one of the worst candidates in our party's history," he said. Walker and incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock are facing off in a December 6 runoff election. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyOutgoing Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said in a recent interview that Trump-backed Senate candidate Herschel Walker will likely become "one of the worst candidates in our party's history." "This wasn't the right brand for Republicanism," he continued to say, "and I think Herschel Walker will probably go down as one of the worst candidates in our party's history.

☆ USMNT knocked out of World Cup in round of 16 by clinical Netherlands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) was defeated 3-1 by the Netherlands and knocked out of the World Cup in the round of 16, despite a spirited performance. US President Biden expressed pride in the USMNT’s performance in the World Cup following the team’s defeat , making a nod to the next World Cup in 2026, which will be held in the US as well as Canada and Mexico. This was the USMNT’s youngest ever starting XI for a World Cup knockout match who lined up to face the Netherlands, aiming to reach the quarterfinals for just the second time in the modern era. With that goal, Dumfries became the first Dutch player to be directly involved in more than three goals in a single World Cup match since 1978, according to the statistics website OptaJoe. USMNT star Christian Pulisic said he was “really proud” of the team’s performances at the World Cup.

☆ Who in the U.S. gets paid sick leave, in four charts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Danica Jefferies | Danica Jefferies Is An Intern With The Data Graphics Team For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Roughly 1 in 5 civilian workers in the U.S. don’t have paid sick leave, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Paid sick leave was at the heart of the dispute between rail workers and freight companies, with some workers demanding seven days paid sick leave. Many sick leave mandates allow workers to take 5 to 8 paid sick days, depending on how many hours they work and the number of employees in the business. Several states including these four have passed legislation blocking cities and counties from enacting paid sick leave. In 2021, Texas became the latest to ban municipal ordinances requiring businesses to provide paid sick leave.

WASHINGTON — Democrats advanced a plan Friday to reorder the early voting states in their presidential primary calendar, one that would put South Carolina first, jettison Iowa and demote New Hampshire. The overhaul calls for South Carolina to hold its Democratic primary on Feb. 3, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on Feb. 6. Georgia would hold its primary on Feb. 13, with Michigan rounding out the early voting on Feb. 27. Democrats have spent months debating their primary calendar, aiming to increase the diversity of states that help select the party’s standard-bearer and to add more general election battlegrounds to the mix. "Our first-in-the-nation primary is part of our culture and has been in place for over 100 years.

☆ GM, LG joint venture to invest $275 million in Tennessee battery cell plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) and LG Energy Solution Ltd (373220.KS) said Friday they are investing another $275 million in their Tennessee joint venture battery cell plant to increase production by more than 40%. It is one of at least four U.S. joint venture battery plants planned to supply GM electric vehicles as the largest U.S. automaker ramps up production. The first Ultium joint venture plant in Warren, Ohio began production in August. GM and LG Energy are also considering an Indiana site for a fourth U.S. battery plant expected to cost around $2.4 billion. They are also building a $2.6 billion battery cell plant in Lansing, Michigan, set to open in 2024.

☆ Asian American voters could help decide the Senate runoff in Georgia, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Sakshi Venkatraman | Sakshi Venkatraman Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

“We’re also meeting people at their doors.”When it came to appealing to South Asian voters in Georgia, Nabilah Islam said her “secret weapon” had been under her nose for years. During her recent campaign for state Senate, the 33-year-old Bangladeshi American brought conversations about issues to aunties and uncles on their home turf: WhatsApp. She's now the first South Asian ever elected to the Georgia state Senate. A bloc starting to gain more recognitionAccording to Karthick Ramakrishnan, co-director of AAPI Data, the concerted efforts to appeal to Asian voters in Georgia are reflected in nationwide politics. Steps like these prove grassroots efforts to appeal to AAPI voters work, Makhija said.

NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed an indictment against Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL], formally ending a criminal sanctions case that strained U.S.-China relations. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn dismissed Meng's indictment with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again. A lawyer for Meng and a spokeswoman for Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On the day Donnelly approved that agreement, Meng flew home to Shenzhen. On Nov. 25, the Biden administration banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from Huawei and China's ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) because they posed an "unacceptable risk" to national security.

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