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☆ The Comstock Act Is a Danger to Abortion Rights. I Want to Repeal It. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Tina Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A long discredited, arcane 150-year-old law is back in the news in 2024, and that should terrify anyone who supports reproductive freedom. Anti-abortion activists like to bring up the Comstock Act because one of its clauses prohibits sending through the mail “every article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine or thing” that could possibly lead to an abortion. That could effectively make abortion impossible to access even in places like Minnesota, which has affirmatively protected a woman’s right to choose by passing reproductive freedom laws. In response, I’m prepared to fight back — including by introducing legislation to take away the Comstock Act as a tool to limit reproductive freedom. The Comstock Act hasn’t been broadly enforced since the 1930s.

Persons: doesn’t, Trump, I’m, hasn’t, Biden Organizations: Supreme, of Justice, Food, Drug Administration Locations: Minnesota

☆ 'He's a non-entity': House Democrats no longer see Dean Phillips as a threat — just a joke
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

When Rep. Dean Phillips first began making noise about launching a quixotic presidential campaign, the mood among House Democrats might have best been described as anger and disbelief. Since launching his campaign, Phillips has generally been absent from Capitol Hill, effectively cutting down Democrats' ranks by one seat. AdvertisementOn Wednesday evening, Sen. Tina Smith made light of her Minnesota colleague's recent struggles in a video message to the Congressional Dinner, an annual gathering of reporters and lawmakers. At first, Phillips's campaign seemed to constitute a real threat to Biden, even if he was unlikely to actually defeat him. In a statement for this story, a Phillips spokesperson chastised his Democratic colleagues who now speak ill of him.

Persons: Dean Phillips, Sydney Kamlager, Dove, Axios, Phillips, Joe Biden, Sen, Tina Smith, Smith, Biden, Donald Trump, Maxwell Frost of Florida, — Phillips, Brendan Boyle, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Dean's, Tom Williams, Angie Craig, Craig, wouldn't, Phillips's, we've, Dean, Jim Clyburn, Zach Gibson, Mark Pocan, Ro Khanna, Khanna, it's Organizations: Trump, Rep, Sydney, California congresswoman, Democratic, Capitol Hill, Biden, New, Democrats, Minnesota Democrat, Democratic Party, Twitter, South Carolina Democratic Party, California Locations: California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Alexandria, New York, lockstep, South, Wisconsin

☆ Opinion: The Supreme Court may make America’s gun violence problem even worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Opinion Shannon Watts | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It’s also a clear sign that the gun safety movement needs to get to work reforming the Supreme Court. Regardless of how Rahimi is decided, the Supreme Court has already done enormous damage to our ability to keep Americans safe from gun violence. We need Supreme Court expansion to restore balance and sanity to the Court. Fortunately, Supreme Court expansion is clearly constitutional: Congress has done it multiple times throughout American history and we can do it again. Expanding the Supreme Court would be yet another way we can fight the war against senseless gun violence.

Persons: Shannon Watts, Christopher Langford, It’s, Bruen, Rahimi, Sandy Hook, Bill Clinton, Sens, Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith, Jamie Raskin, Jerrold Nadler, Hank Johnson, Biden’s Organizations: CNN, York, National Rifle Association, Shooting Sports Foundation, NRA, New York’s Department of Financial Services, Supreme, US, Representatives, Democrat, Maryland Locations: America, Lewiston , Maine, United States, Bruen, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Georgia

The Hamas terrorist attack on Israel is reprehensible. Israel is under heavy attack right now by Hamas and taking action to defend itself and its people. Israel has every right to defend itself.”Sen. Jon Tester, Montana Democrat“I strongly condemn the terrorist attacks launched by Hamas against our ally Israel. I will continue to closely monitor the situation.”Sen. Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Democrat“Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel is nothing short of horrifying. Israel has every right to defend itself from this unjust war.”Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat“The terrorist attack on Israel is appalling.

Persons: Hakeem Jeffries, “, Steve Scalise, ” Kevin McCarthy, ” Chuck Schumer, –, Herzog –, ” Mitch McConnell, ” Tom Emmer, ” Katherine Clarke, ” Dick Durbin, ” John Thune, ” Sen, Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Democrat “, Israel, Amy Klobuchar, Mark Warner, Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat “, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Cory Booker , New Jersey Democrat “, Joe Manchin, West Virginia Democrat “, Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Democrat “, Gary Peters, Gary Peters , Michigan Democrat “, Catherine Cortez Masto, Brian Schatz, Hawaii Democrat “, Jeff Merkley, Oregon Democrat “, John Barrasso, Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican “, Sen, Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Republican “, Steve Daines, Montana Republican “, Mike Lee, Mike Crapo, Chuck Grassley, Tommy Tuberville, Katie Britt, Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, Kyrsten, Mark Kelly, John Boozman, Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican “, Alex Padilla, Laphonza Butler, California Democrat “, today’s, Michael Bennet, Colorado Democrat “, John Hickenlooper, Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat “, Chris Murphy, Tom Carper, Delaware Democrat “, Chris Coons, Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, Jon Ossoff, Georgia Democrat “, Anat Sultan, Raphael Warnock, “ I’m, Mazie, Tammy Duckworth, Todd Young, Mike Braun, Jerry Moran, Kansas Republican “, Hamas’s, Roger Marshall, Netanyahu, Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican “, Bill Cassidy, John Kennedy, Susan Collins, Maine Republican “, Ben Cardin, Maryland Democrat “, Chris Van Hollen, Ed Markey, Tina Smith, Minnesota Democrat “, Roger Wicker ,, Roger Wicker , Mississippi Republican “, Cindy Hyde, Josh Hawley, Eric Schmitt, Jon Tester, Montana Democrat “, Deb Fischer, Nebraska Republican “, Pete Ricketts, Jacky Rosen, Nevada Democrat “, Jeanne Shaheen, Jeanne Shaheen , New Hampshire Democrat “, Maggie Hassan, Maggie Hassan , New Hampshire Democrat “, Bob Menendez, Bob Menendez , New Jersey Democrat “, Martin Heinrich, New Mexico Democrat “, Biden, Ben Ray Lujan, Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Democrat “ I'm, Thom Tillis, Ted Budd, North Carolina Republican “, John Hoeven, John Hoeven , North Dakota Republican “, Kevin Cramer, Sherrod Brown, Ohio Democrat “, J.D, ”, Vance, James Lankford, Markwayne Mullin, Israel –, Ron Wyden, Bob Casey, John Fetterman, craven, Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse, Lindsey Graham, Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican “ I’m, Mike Rounds, South Dakota Republican “ Shocked, Marsha Blackburn, Marsha Blackburn , Tennessee Republican “ Israel, Bill Haggerty, Tennessee Republican “, John Cornyn, John Cornyn , Texas Republican “, Ted Cruz, Mitt, Vile, Peter Welch, Vermont Democrat “, Tim Kaine, Patty Murray, Washington Democrat “, Maria Cantwell, Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican “ Israel, Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming Republican “, Jim Jordan, Jared Moskowitz, Abigail Spanberger, Elissa Slotkin, Don Bacon, perpetrating, Cori Bush, Missouri Democrat “, Kevin Hern, Kevin Hern , Oklahoma Republican “, ” Rep, Ritchie Torres, Ritchie Torres , New York Democrat “, Michael McCaul, Michael McCaul , Texas Republican “ I, Ilhan Omar Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Biden, House, Michigan Democrat, Minnesota Democrat, Virginia Democrat “, Senate Intelligence, Massachusetts Democrat, Islamic, Cory Booker , New, Cory Booker , New Jersey Democrat, West Virginia Democrat, Wisconsin Democrat, Gary Peters , Michigan Democrat, Nevada Democrat, Hawaii Democrat, State, Oregon Democrat, John Barrasso , Wyoming Republican, Iowa Republican, West Virginia Republican, Montana Republican, Utah Republican, Idaho Republican, Alabama Republican, Alaska Republican, Alaska Republican “, Arizona Democrat, John Boozman , Arkansas Republican “, Jewish, Arkansas Republican, California Democrat, Colorado Democrat, Connecticut Democrat, Delaware Democrat, Israel, Florida Republican, Georgia Democrat, Hawaii Democrat “, Indiana Republican, Indiana Republican “, Kansas Republican, Kentucky Republican, Louisiana Republican, Maine Republican, Maryland Democrat, Roger Wicker , Mississippi Republican, Smith , Mississippi Republican, Josh Hawley , Missouri Republican, Missouri Republican, Montana Democrat, Nebraska Republican, Jeanne Shaheen , New, Jeanne Shaheen , New Hampshire Democrat, Maggie Hassan , New Hampshire Democrat, Bob Menendez , New, Bob Menendez , New Jersey Democrat, New Mexico Democrat, New, New York Democrat, United, North Carolina Republican, John Hoeven , North Dakota Republican, Kevin Cramer , North Dakota Republican “, Ohio Democrat, Vance , Ohio Republican, James Lankford , Oklahoma Republican, Oklahoma Republican, “ Hamas, Rhode, Lindsey Graham , South Carolina Republican, South Carolina Republican, South Dakota Republican, Marsha Blackburn , Tennessee Republican, Tennessee Republican, John Cornyn , Texas Republican, Ted Cruz , Texas Republican, Vermont Democrat, Washington Democrat, Wisconsin Republican, Wyoming Republican, ”, Ohio Republican “, Missouri Democrat, Kevin Hern , Oklahoma Republican, Ritchie Torres , New, Ritchie Torres , New York Democrat, Jewish State, Michael McCaul , Texas Republican Locations: Israel, United States, Tehran, The United States, Iran, Michigan, U.S, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Vermont, Cory Booker ,, Cory Booker , New Jersey, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Gary Peters , Michigan, Nevada, Hawaii, Oregon, John Barrasso , Wyoming, America, Iowa, West, Montana, Iranian, Utah, Idaho, Alabama, Alaska, Alaska Republican “ America, @Israel, Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona, John Boozman , Arkansas, Jewish State, Arkansas, Saudi Arabia, California, Gaza, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Mazie Hirono, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Palestine, Roger Wicker , Mississippi, Smith , Mississippi, Josh Hawley , Missouri, Missouri, Nebraska, Jeanne Shaheen ,, Jeanne Shaheen , New Hampshire, Maggie Hassan , New Hampshire, Bob Menendez ,, Bob Menendez , New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North, John Hoeven , North, Kevin Cramer , North, Ohio, Vance , Ohio, James Lankford , Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Lindsey Graham , South, South, States, Marsha Blackburn , Tennessee, Tennessee, John Cornyn , Texas, Ted Cruz , Texas, Mitt Romney, Virginia, “ Hamas, Washington, Wyoming, Ohio Republican “ America, Kevin Hern , Oklahoma, Ritchie Torres ,, Ritchie Torres , New York, Michael McCaul , Texas

☆ What We Lose When We Loosen Dress Codes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Rhonda Garelick | More About Rhonda Garelick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Responses to the Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer’s new relaxation of Senate dress codes have so far fallen along partisan lines: Republicans have been deploring it as a lapse in decorum and order. “Most if not all Republican senators think we ought to dress up to go to work,” Mitch McConnell said. How we dress telegraphs intricate messages to those around us, as well as to ourselves — messages we receive and interpret constantly, consciously or not. There is no such thing as “total freedom” of dress, only different registers of meaning, which are entirely context dependent. Men’s suits say “we are heads, not bodies.”

Persons: Chuck Schumer’s, ” Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tina Smith, John Fetterman, “, ” Organizations: Democrats, Democratic, “, Republicans, MSNBC

☆ ‘Friends’ and ‘Seinfeld’ knew the cure for loneliness
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Racial and class segregation have also long shaped and limited access to public places. "The fundamental rule of public space is that what attracts people most is other people." So it's counterproductive to stop responsible drinkers from enjoying themselves in parks, at street fairs, and in other public places. There are an average of eight public toilets for every 100,000 people in the US, but access to facilities varies widely. By contrast, countries like the UK and Switzerland have many more public toilets per capita.

Persons: Sara Hoy, Hoy, she'd, I've, Erin Boyd, Culdesac, We're, —, Severance, Vivek Murthy, millennials, Sen, Chris Murphy, Murphy, Tina Smith, Smith, Leslie Kern, Kern, Mitchell Reardon, Reardon, Eid, Kristen Ghodsee, who's, Ghodsee Organizations: Central Pennsylvania, Peace Corps, today's, Seneca Village, Dodger, Connecticut Democrat, Minnesota Democrat, Soho House, Social, Centers for Disease Control, East European Studies, University of Pennsylvania, National Association of Realtors Locations: Central, Moldova, Korea, Sweden, Phoenix, Arizona, New York, Seneca, Washington, Rock Creek, Los Angeles, Connecticut, America's, Wethersfield , Connecticut, Minnesota, Soho, America, Seattle, York City, Rochester , Minnesota, Europe, Germany, It's, Switzerland, Homebuyers, Houston, Austin

☆ US senators push drugmakers for details on low-cost insulin programs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Democratic Senators Maggie Hassan and Tina Smith sent a letter asking the drugmakers for information on eligibility criteria for the programs, including whether a patient’s insurance status or income barred them from joining, and the steps insulin users had to take to sign up. Novo, Lilly and Sanofi, which account for 90% of the U.S. insulin market, pledged in March to lower the list prices of many of their insulin products by 70%-78% later this year or in 2024. The White House on Tuesday announced that a Novo insulin was among the 10 high-cost prescription drugs selected for the first-ever price negotiations by the U.S. Medicare health program that covers 66 million people. Hassan and Smith argued that to enroll in the drugmakers’ insulin programs, patients had to go through a lengthy and complicated process that required them fill out five to 10 pages of documentation and wait an unknown amount of time for approval. Around 8.4 million of the 37 million people in the United States with diabetes use insulin, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Persons: George Frey, Eli Lilly, Maggie Hassan, Tina Smith, Lilly, Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Hassan, Smith, Patrick Wingrove, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical, REUTERS, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Democratic, U.S, Democrat, American Diabetes Association, Thomson Locations: Provo , Utah, U.S, United States

☆ Amy Klobuchar and other powerful Minnesota politicians enjoy their photo ops with shirtless firefighters at State Fair
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

There's nothing politicians love more than a good, old-fashioned state fair. Three Democratic congresswomen encountered a group of shirtless firefighters in Minnesota. On Friday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar tweeted out her must-sees of the 2023 Minnesota State Fair. "State Fair pro tip: You don't want to miss the Minnesota firefighters at the @MNAFLCIO," she tweeted. Tim Walz should make it real), goes to Minnesota's senior senator, Tina Smith.

Persons: Democratic congresswomen, Sen, Amy Klobuchar, Paul ., Ilhan Omar, Tim Walz, Tina Smith Organizations: Democratic, Service, Committee, American Federation of, Minnesota, vikings Locations: Minnesota, Wall, Silicon

☆ California has spent billions to fight homelessness. The problem has gotten worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Nick Watt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Los Angeles CNN —California has spent a stunning $17.5 billion trying to combat homelessness over just four years. “The problem would be so much worse, absent these interventions,” Jason Elliott, senior adviser on homelessness to Gov. David Swanson/AFP/Getty ImagesThe admittedly reductive math would leave nearly $4 billion for services like mental health treatment. Still, tackling mental health issues among the unhoused is a major plank in the Newsom administration’s effort. “One of the surprising things was how optimistic people were that relatively small amounts of money would have prevented their homelessness,” Kushel said of the people surveyed.

Persons: Jason Elliott, Gavin Newsom, ”, Elliott, “, David Swanson, we’ve, “ It’s, CNN Cristina Smith, Dr, Margot Kushel, ” Kushel, Newsom, Karen Bass, Sam Liccardo, Dai Sugano, There’s, Kushel, Rather, “ We’ve, ” Elliott, molesters, gosh, Bass, “ They’re Organizations: Los Angeles CNN, Gov, CNN, Getty, Democrats, KCBS, “, UCSF Center, California Gov, San Jose, Area, AP Locations: Los Angeles CNN — California, California, AFP, Los Angeles, America, San Jose, Angeles, LA, “, Golden State

☆ Scathing Report on Police Leaves Minneapolis Reeling 3 Years After Floyd Murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Ernesto Londoño | Dan Simmons | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The wounds of Minneapolis are far from healed. Veterans of the city’s Police Department, which has lost more than 300 officers, say they are running on fumes, weary from patrolling under a cloud of suspicion. Three years after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, a Department of Justice report released on Friday concluded that the city’s Police Department was plagued by unlawful conduct, discrimination and mismanagement. In some ways, it was meant as an answer to the death of Mr. Floyd and to years of complaints about policing in this city of 425,000. But the devastating report seemed to bring little closure in Minneapolis, where many remain traumatized and riven by mistrust.

Persons: T.J, Johnson, George Floyd, Floyd, —, Tina Smith Organizations: Veterans, city’s Police Department, Justice, Democrat Locations: Minneapolis, South Minneapolis

☆ Online College Classes Are Making the Student Debt Crisis Worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

She applied and was accepted to the online program in 2020. In exchange for expanding course offerings and recruiting students, OPMs receive a big chunk of the tuition revenue from the online programs, which usually cost the same as in-person schooling. While it's not always the case, many experts and grads told me that OPMs were offering online students a worse education for a sky-high price. A third-party provider to those schools, 2U signs a contract to offer services such as recruiting and technology to boost online enrollment. OPMs have helped fuel the student debt crisis, saddling may students with tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt and an uncertain future.

Persons: Iola Favell, Favell, Rossier, Zavareei, USC Rossier, OPMs, it's, grads, Eric Rothschild, John Katzman, Katzman, Clare McCann, McCann, —, Aaron Ament, Barack Obama, That's, STEFANI REYNOLDS, Helen Drinan, Cabrini University —, Drinan, Democratic Sens, Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith, Sherrod Brown, Pearson, Rosa DeLauro, Virginia Foxx, Ament Organizations: University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education, USC, Student Defense, Zavareei LLP, US, Education Department upended, Education Department, Arnold Ventures, OPM, Office, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street, Canyon University, Grand Canyon, Century Foundation, Getty, Cabrini University, Simmons University, Democratic, GAO, Republican, GOP, Universities, Protection, Consumer Financial, Bureau Locations: California, Georgetown, —, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts

☆ Online College Class Providers Screwing Over Students, Adding to Debt Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

She applied and was accepted to the online program in 2020. In exchange for expanding course offerings and recruiting students, OPMs receive a big chunk of the tuition revenue from the online programs, which usually cost the same as in-person schooling. While it's not always the case, many experts and grads told me that OPMs were offering online students a worse education for a sky-high price. A third-party provider to those schools, 2U signs a contract to offer services such as recruiting and technology to boost online enrollment. But beyond scandals, the everyday business of OPMs is leaving many online students with exorbitant bills, despite how cheap it is to administer the courses.

Persons: Iola Favell, Favell, Rossier, USC Rossier, OPMs, it's, grads, Eric Rothschild, John Katzman, Katzman, Clare McCann, McCann, —, Aaron Ament, Barack Obama, That's, STEFANI REYNOLDS, Helen Drinan, Cabrini University —, Drinan, Democratic Sens, Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith, Sherrod Brown, Pearson, Rosa DeLauro, Virginia Foxx, Ament Organizations: University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education, USC, Student Defense, US, Education Department upended, Education Department, Arnold Ventures, OPM, Office, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street, Canyon University, Grand Canyon, Century Foundation, Getty, Cabrini University, Simmons University, Democratic, GAO, Republican, GOP, Universities, Protection, Consumer Financial, Bureau Locations: California, Georgetown, —, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts

☆ Senate Democrats are asking Biden to stop negotiating with Republicans on a debt ceiling solution and take a route that would get rid of the problem forever
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Senate Democrats are asking Biden to prepare to use the 14th amendment to solve the debt ceiling crisis. The 14th amendment would allow Biden to bypass Congress and declare the debt ceiling unconstitutional. On Wednesday, The Washington Post first reported that five Democratic senators have spearheaded an effort to urge Biden to invoke a clause in the 14th amendment to address the debt ceiling. Rep. Jamie Raskin, for example, told Insider in a Wednesday interview that the 14th amendment "provides the whole structure for resolving the conflict." He said that he doesn't think the 14th amendment "solves our problem now.

☆ US Senate Republicans go after Biden's labor nominee for stance on Uber, Lyft, others
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Julie Su speaks at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on her nomination to be Labor Secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2023. She needs at least 50 votes in a Senate where Democrats have a slim 51-49 majority. Industry groups that represent companies employing gig labor have launched an aggressive campaign to oppose her nomination. Cassidy also accused her of eliminating independent contracting during her tenure as Biden's deputy secretary of labor. It is not a given that all Senate Democrats will support Su.

☆ Elizabeth Warren demands Fed crackdown on large regional banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Senator Elizabeth Warren is cranking up the pressure on the Federal Reserve following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Both Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank fit into that asset threshold when they failed earlier this month. The bipartisan 2018 rollback of Dodd-Frank freed large regional banks in that range of assets from the toughest oversight. Notably, the letter was signed by Senator Angus King, the Maine independent who voted in favor of the 2018 rollback. Days after the bank failures, the Federal Reserve launched a review of the regulation and oversight of Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ College students are drowning in textbook costs. There's a push in Congress to make them free.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Some members of Congress have joined the movement to provide free textbooks to university students. The college textbook landscape, however, isn't a free market, as students must buy whichever course materials their professor selects for their class. As states across the country create their own grants for open textbooks, members of Congress have also begun to take notice. "We are helping cut the cost of attending college by supporting the creation and expansion of open college textbooks," Durbin told Insider in a statement. And while there's no timeline for the Affordable College Textbook Act to make it through Congress, federal legislators have granted $47 million in funds for open textbooks since 2018 as part of the Open Textbook Pilot Program.

☆ Binance reportedly had secret access to its US arm's bank account
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The US partner of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has confirmed that a trading firm managed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao operated as a market maker on its platform. It did not elaborate on when in 2021 the activity ceased, or comment on Zhao’s role at the trading firm. A spokesperson for Binance.US referred CNN to its Thursday tweet, emphasizing the line that reads: “ONLY Binance.US employees have access to Binance.US bank accounts. Before that story’s publication, Binance.US had told Reuters that “Merit Peak is neither trading nor providing any kind of services on the Binance.US platform,” without giving further details. Adobe StockBinance.US’s executives were concerned by the outflows from the Silvergate account to Merit Peak because the transfers were taking place without their knowledge, according to the messages reviewed by Reuters.

LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. partner of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has confirmed that a trading firm managed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao operated as a market maker on its platform. It did not elaborate on when in 2021 the activity ceased, or comment on Zhao's role at the trading firm. Binance transferred over $400 million from the account at California-based Silvergate Bank to Merit Peak between January and March of 2021, Reuters reported on Thursday. Before that story's publication, Binance.US had told Reuters that "Merit Peak is neither trading nor providing any kind of services on the Binance.US platform," without giving further details. A spokesperson for the global Binance exchange, which did not respond to Reuters' questions for the story on Thursday, told crypto news outlet CoinDesk that the transfers were "a Binance.US issue."

☆ Democrats renew push for national paid family and medical leave program
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Had a federal paid leave policy been in place, many of those women may have been able to stay employed, she said. "Imagine if, during the pandemic, we had had a national paid leave program," Gillibrand said. The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, or FAMILY Act, was reintroduced by lawmakers including Gillibrand and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., with the goal of creating the first paid national family and medical leave program. "It is a reasonable, pragmatic way to get to paid family leave," Duckworth, who is a co-sponsor of the bill, told CNBC.com in an interview. The Education Support Professionals Family Leave Act would provide education support workers such as school bus drivers with unpaid leave under FMLA.

The GOP-controlled House passes a rules package for 118th Congress with just one GOP defection, NBC’s Kyle Stewart reports. ... President Biden spends his final day in Mexico City at North American Leaders’ Summit. But first: The news that the Justice Department is reviewing Obama Era classified documents found at a think tank tied to President Biden is quite a political gift to Donald Trump. “When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House?” Trump posted on his Truth Social account. 6: The number of shootings recently at or near the homes of New Mexico Democratic political leaders, including the incoming state House speaker.

News of the FTX's fall first prompted questions to lawmakers about Bankman-Fried's political donations. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and John Boozman of Arkansas said they would donate Bankman-Fried’s campaign contributions, though they did not specify the charities they intended to donate the money to. Bankman-Fried also poured millions into super PACs that support candidates outside of their campaigns, including the Senate Majority PAC, or SMP, a super PAC supporting Democratic Senate candidates. The disclosed sums likely don't capture the full breadth of Bankman-Fried's political spending. "The candidates who received money from dark money organizations don't really have to answer for it," Sherman said.

New York CNN —Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, has agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee next week as questions and confusion swirl about the collapse of his companies. One of the key questions prosecutors are likely to probe is whether FTX misappropriated customer funds when it made loans to Alameda. “I didn’t knowingly commingle funds,” he told The New York Times last week. The Times said the issue is part of a broadening inquiry into the collapse of FTX, and it’s not clear whether prosecutors have determined any wrongdoing by Bankman-Fried. In a statement to the paper, Bankman-Fried said he was “not aware of any market manipulation and certainly never intended to engage in market manipulation.”

☆ Senators Warren, Smith ask Fed for accounting of banks' crypto ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith are demanding an accounting from the Federal Reserve and other U.S. financial regulators of banks' cryptocurrency activity and ties to the industry following the implosion of crypto exchange FTX. "We write to express concern ... and to inquire about how your agency assesses the risks to banks and the banking system associated with those relationships," wrote the senators, both Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee. The letters asked for details on oversight of banks' cryptocurrency trading and loans to crypto firms, and asked if regulators plan to conduct a review of crypto firms' relationships with banks. They gave regulators two weeks to respond to their requests. Reporting by Ann Saphir; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. lawmakers press federal banking regulators on the industry’s exposure to crypto after Alameda stake in bank comes to light
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Top Senate Democrats pressed key banking regulators on possible ties between the industry and digital currency exchanges following the bankruptcy of major cryptocurrency firm, FTX. "Banks' relationships with crypto firms raise questions about the safety and soundness of our banking system and highlight potential loopholes that crypto firms may try to exploit to gain further access." Silvergate Capital Corp., Provident Bancorp Inc., Metropolitan Commercial Bank, Signature Bank, Customers Bancorp Inc. are among several noted banks experiencing heightened volatility after the FTX failure. "Banks' relationships with crypto firms raise questions about the safety and soundness of our banking system and highlight potential loopholes that crypto firms may try to exploit to gain further access to banks," the senators wrote. To better understand the banking industry's exposure to crypto, the senators asked for responses to a roster of questions, including all business relationships between FTX, Alameda and Moonstone, by Dec. 21.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried: US lawmakers want answers from FTX founder
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Lawmakers are demanding that Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, appear before the Senate Banking Committee next week over “significant unanswered questions ” surrounding the collapse of his companies. FTX was one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world until last month, when it faced a sudden wave of customer withdrawals that it couldn’t cover. One of the key questions prosecutors are likely to probe is whether FTX misappropriated customer funds when it made loans to Alameda. The Times said the issue is part of a broadening inquiry into the collapse of FTX, and it’s not clear whether prosecutors have determined any wrongdoing by Bankman-Fried. In a statement to the paper, Bankman-Fried said he was “not aware of any market manipulation and certainly never intended to engage in market manipulation.”

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