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☆ Morning Bid: Tech politics, debt cap brinkmanship
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Well-choreographed brinkmanship over the debt ceiling standoff looks set to go down to the wire, while technology firms have once again become a battleground in tense geopolitics. As AI-fueled U.S. technology stocks have led the way this year, the S&P (.SPX) has gained almost 10% this year and hit its highest level in nine months on Friday. Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari said on Sunday he could support holding rates steady at the next meeting. Futures markets see more than an 80% chance of a June pause and still price almost 50bp of cuts by yearend. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet to discuss the debt limit on Monday after a "productive" phone call as the president headed back to Washington, the top House Republican leader said on Sunday. McCarthy, speaking to reporters following the call, said there were positive discussions on solving the crisis and that staff-level talks were set to resume later on Sunday. "Much of what they've already proposed is simply, quite frankly, unacceptable," Biden said before heading back to Washington. Kenny Holston/Pool via REUTERSA source familiar with the negotiations said Republicans had proposed an increase in defense spending, while cutting overall spending. The source said the Biden administration had proposed keeping non-defense discretionary spending flat for the next year.

Section Four of 14th Amendment, adopted after the 1861-1865 Civil War, states that the "validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned." WHERE DOES THE WHITE HOUSE STAND ON THE 14TH AMENDMENT? HOW WOULD MARKETS REACT IF BIDEN USES THE 14TH AMENDMENT? Administration officials and economists have said that a default triggered by a debt-ceiling breach would roil the world financial system and plunge the United States into recession. That immediate catastrophe might be avoided if Biden invoked the 14th Amendment.

Biden said he would speak to top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy on his flight home and hoped the speaker of the House of Representatives had been waiting to negotiate with Biden directly. McCarthy, in an interview on Fox News, said he expected to speak with Biden later on Sunday morning. A source familiar with the negotiations said Republicans had proposed an increase in defense spending, while cutting overall spending. The source said the Biden administration had proposed keeping non-defense discretionary spending flat for the next year. Biden stressed that he was open to making spending cuts and said he was not concerned they would lead to a recession, but he could not agree to Republican demands.

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said June 1 remains a "hard deadline" for raising the federal debt limit, with the odds quite low that the government will collect enough revenue to bridge to June 15, when more tax receipts are due. Yellen, speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" program, said there would be hard choices to make about payments to Americans if Congress failed to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling before Treasury ran out of cash and was forced to default. So I think that that's a hard deadline," she said. U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday called Republicans' latest offers in talks on lifting the government's debt ceiling "unacceptable," but said he would be willing to cut spending together with tax adjustments to reach a deal. Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Susan Heavey; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Biden said he would speak to top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy on his flight home and hoped the speaker of the House of Representatives had been waiting to negotiate with Biden directly. "Much of what they've already proposed is simply, quite frankly, unacceptable," Biden said. The source also said House Republicans wanted to extend tax cuts passed under then-President Donald Trump, which would add $3.5 trillion to the federal debt. SPENDING CUTSBiden heads back to Washington on Sunday after truncating his Asia trip to focus on the debt ceiling talks. Biden stressed that he was open to making spending cuts and said he was not concerned they would lead to a recession, but he could not agree to Republican demands.

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday said he was willing to cut spending but would not agree to a deal with Republicans in Congress on raising the U.S. federal debt limit and cutting the budget solely on their terms. "It's time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely on their partisan terms. That would trigger a default that could cause chaos in financial markets and spike interest rates. Biden said he still believed he could reach a deal with Republicans, but could not guarantee that Republicans would not force a default by "doing something outrageous." Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason, writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Why Montana’s TikTok ban may not work
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The TikTok ban immediately prompted one lawsuit from TikTok users who allege it violates their First Amendment rights, with more legal challenges expected. How can a state ban TikTok? Montana’s new law, SB419, makes it illegal for TikTok and app marketplaces to offer the TikTok service within state lines. How can Montana enforce a TikTok ban? But internet providers are not named as a type of entity subject to the TikTok ban.

☆ US House hardliners could try to block debt-ceiling deal without 'robust' cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden and Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have voiced growing confidence about striking a debt-ceiling deal to avoid a catastrophic default, but they could be tripped up by last-minute opposition from the hardline House Freedom Caucus. We need something that's going to work," said Representative Chip Roy, a prominent Freedom Caucus member. Freedom Caucus members are demanding greater spending austerity than some Democrats will accept. Something tepid won't do," said Representative Dan Bishop, a Freedom Caucus member. "There should be no further discussion until the Senate passes the legislation," the Freedom Caucus statement said.

☆ Democratic senators urge Biden to use 14th Amendment to avoid debt default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - A group of U.S. Senate Democrats called on President Joe Biden to prepare to invoke the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment to avoid a debt default if negotiations with Republicans fail, according to a letter released on Thursday. Led by independent Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats, the 11 lawmakers said while they appreciated Biden's efforts to find a bipartisan deal to lift the debt ceiling, Republicans in Congress were "not acting in good faith." "Using this authority would allow the United States to continue to pay its bills on-time, without delay, preventing a global catastrophe," they said. The periodic lifting of the federal government's borrowing limit allows the government to pay for spending Congress has already authorized. Reporting by Jasper Ward and Paul Grant; Editing by Doina ChiacuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: The paparazzi who pursue Harry and Meghan - what are the rules?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Harry, the younger son of King Charles, and Meghan cited media intrusion as one of the reasons for stepping back from royal duties and moving to California in 2020. Rules on how the "paps" can operate vary from country to country and from state to state in the U.S.Below is a summary of the different restrictions. BRITAINPhotographers may take pictures in all public places, including photos of people, as long as they do not harass members of the public. California, where paparazzi are a constant presence thanks to Hollywood, has enacted several laws intended to protect celebrities from harm since Diana's death. The New York Press Photographers Association issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the reported behaviour as a violation of the basic principle that news photographers should act as "documentarians and observers."

The price surpasses the $30.8 million paid in 1994 for Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester manuscript, Sotheby's said. The document offers a critical link bridging Jewish oral tradition to the modern Hebrew Bible. The auctioneer said the Codex Sassoon had been dated to either the late 9th or early 10th century on both scientific and paleographic grounds and contains almost the entirety of the Bible. The Hebrew Bible contains 24 separate books organized into three parts — the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Writings. Starting with the book of Genesis and ending with Chronicles, the Hebrew Bible is foundational to Judaism, as well as Christianity and Islam.

☆ Montana governor bans TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Greg Gianforte signed a bill Wednesday banning TikTok in the state. The bill, which will take effect in January, specifically names TikTok as its target, prohibiting the app from operating within state lines. In a statement to CNN, TikTok said it would push to defend the rights of users in Montana. “Governor Gianforte has signed a bill that infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok, a platform that empowers hundreds of thousands of people across the state. NetChoice, a technology trade group that includes TikTok as a member, called the Montana bill unconstitutional.

The law exempts existing owners, giving them a deadline of Jan. 1, 2024, to register their assault weapons with state police. The case is one of several contesting the state's ban in both federal and state courts. The Supreme Court, with its conservative majority, has expanded gun rights in key rulings since 2008. In a landmark decision last June striking down New York state gun limits, the Supreme Court recognized the right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense. In asking the Supreme Court to halt the ban, the challengers said AR-15s and similar rifles are in common use in the United States and there is no historical analogue to such a ban.

☆ Fact Check-New York Gov. Kathy Hochul not authorized to fill potential vacancy if Rep. George Santos steps down
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The House Vacancies Clause in the U.S. Constitution can be seen (here). New York state law requires the governor to call a special election within 10 days of a House vacancy (see subdivision three) (here). “Hochul has no power to replace Santos,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert at the University of Iowa College of Law (here). “If Santos resigns, it depends on when he resigns as to whether there will be a special election before the next general election to fill his vacancy,” he said. “Hochul must announce within 10 days, and the special election must take place within 70 to 80 days, but not if the vacancy occurs after July 1, 2024.”VERDICTMisleading.

Musk's decree resolved an SEC lawsuit accusing him of defrauding investors with an Aug. 7, 2018, tweet that he had "funding secured" to take his electric car company private. Musk and Tesla each also paid $20 million in civil fines, and Musk gave up his role as chairman. But the three-judge appeals court panel said the SEC had opened just two subsequent inquiries into Musk's tweets, and those tweets "plausibly violated" the decree's terms. It also said Musk chose to allow screening of his tweets, and had no right to revisit the matter "because he has now changed his mind." The case is SEC v Musk, 2nd U.S.

The opulent hotel with a soaring clock tower, located on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the U.S. Capitol, opened shortly before Trump was elected in 2016. The hotel became a gathering spot for Trump supporters, lobbyists and foreign dignitaries, who Democrats and watchdog groups complained could patronize the hotel in order to curry favor with Trump when he was in office. Lawsuits accused Trump of violating the U.S. Constitution's anti-corruption provisions by maintaining ownership of his businesses including the Washington hotel while in office. The justices ordered those cases dismissed because they became moot with Trump leaving office in 2021 after his election loss to Biden, a Democrat. Some of the lawmakers who sued are no longer part of the committee while some others are no longer in Congress.

WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a bid by South Carolina officials to revive a Republican-crafted voting map that a lower court said had unconstitutionally "exiled" 30,000 Black voters from a closely contested congressional district. In this case, the Republican legislators were accused of racial gerrymandering to reduce the influence of black voters. South Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature adopted a new voting map last year following the 2020 U.S. census. The Republican map resulted in a 1st congressional district with a larger percentage of white, Republican-leaning voters. The judges – all three appointed by Democratic presidents – ruled that no elections can take place in the 1st district until it has been redrawn, prompting the South Carolina Republican officials to appeal to the Supreme Court.

☆ U.S. Supreme Court allows death row inmate's lawsuit after failed execution
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Andrew Chung | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A majority of the justices in November cleared the way for the execution of Smith, sentenced to death for his role in a 1988 murder-for-hire plot. The method in Alabama posed an "intolerable risk of torture, cruelty or substantial pain," Smith's lawsuit stated. A judge dismissed Smith's lawsuit, but on Nov. 17, the day of his scheduled execution, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. The 11th Circuit also in a separate decision stayed his execution, but after the state appealed to the Supreme Court, the justices allowed it to proceed. Smith's case is not a challenge to the death penalty itself.

Critics have said such awards encourage frivolous lawsuits and excessive fees going to class action attorneys who may seek to benefit their own interests instead. The Supreme Court in 2019 sidestepped resolving a challenge to cy pres awards in a case involving Google. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, dissenting in that case, called cy pres settlements "unfair and unreasonable." Monsanto has called the group, which advocates against what it considers abusive class action procedures, a "serial objector to class-action settlements." The group said in court papers that further steps could have taken to distribute the settlement award to class members.

☆ What Biden, McCarthy, McConnell said about the US debt ceiling
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said his chamber will not approve any deal that doesn't cut spending to address a growing budget deficit. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN"I had a productive meeting with congressional leadership about the path forward, to make sure America does not default on its debt." Biden also did not rule out eventually invoking the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, an untested approach that would seek to declare the debt limit unconstitutional. KEVIN MCCARTHY, SPEAKER, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES"Everybody in this meeting, reiterated the positions they were at. MITCH McCONNELL, SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER"We ought to have at least some restraint on our spending related to the debt ceiling, and this is not unusual.

☆ Biden, McCarthy divided over debt ceiling but talks continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Biden, McCarthy and the three other top congressional leaders were set to meet again on Friday. And he did not rule out eventually invoking the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, an untested approach that would seek to declare the debt limit unconstitutional. U.S. President Joe Biden hosts debt limit talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, May 9, 2023. Biden would agree to a separate discussion on the budget but not tied to the debt ceiling, the White House said. Stalemate in Washington over raising the U.S. debt limit raises the risk of fresh turmoil for markets.

☆ Biden, McCarthy divided over debt ceiling but still talking
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Biden called the meeting “productive” and reported that McCarthy said during the meeting that the U.S. would not default on its debt. U.S. President Joe Biden hosts debt limit talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, May 9, 2023. Biden would agree to a separate discussion on the budget but not tied to the debt ceiling, the White House said. Prices for short-term Treasury bills fell on Tuesday as investors sold off debt that could come due around the time the U.S. debt limit could be hit. Stalemate in Washington over raising the U.S. debt limit raises the risk of fresh turmoil for markets.

Biden, McCarthy and the other participants were expected to offer their own version of the meeting later on Tuesday. Past debt ceiling fights have typically ended with a hastily arranged agreement in the final hours of negotiations, thus avoiding a default. U.S. President Joe Biden hosts debt limit talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, May 9, 2023. Biden would agree to a separate discussion on the budget but not tied to the debt ceiling, the White House said. Stalemate in Washington over raising the U.S. debt limit raises the risk of fresh turmoil for markets.

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