DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Stalemate in Washington over raising the U.S. debt limit raises the risk of fresh turmoil for markets. Past debt ceiling fights have typically ended with a hastily arranged agreement in the final hours of negotiations, thus avoiding a default. "No," McCarthy said when asked by reporters if he would agree to align the debt ceiling with the budget process should Biden propose such an idea. Biden would agree to a separate discussion on the budget but not tied to the debt ceiling, the White House said. White House staff and aides to the congressional leaders quietly met on Friday to begin talking about the debt limit.

☆ Biden, McCarthy start U.S. debt ceiling talks as clock ticks to default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Stalemate in Washington over raising the U.S. debt limit raises the risk of fresh turmoil for markets. Past debt ceiling fights have typically ended with a hastily arranged agreement in the final hours of negotiations, thus avoiding a default. McCarthy, whose party holds the House by only a slim majority, wants to tie a vote on the debt ceiling to broad spending cuts the White House considers draconian. Biden would agree to a separate discussion on the budget but not tied to the debt ceiling, the White House said. Few countries in the world have debt ceiling laws and Washington's periodic lifting of the borrowing limit merely allows it to pay for spending Congress has already authorized.

☆ Biden, McCarthy start debt ceiling talks as clock ticks to default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Stalemate in Washington over raising the U.S. debt limit raises the risk of fresh turmoil for markets. Past debt ceiling fights have typically ended with a hastily arranged agreement in the final hours of negotiations, thus avoiding a default. McCarthy, whose party holds the House by only a slim majority, wants to tie a vote on the debt ceiling to broad spending cuts that the White House considers draconian. Biden would agree to a separate discussion on the budget but not tied to the debt ceiling, the White House said. Few countries in the world have debt ceiling laws and Washington's periodic lifting of the borrowing limit merely allows it to pay for spending Congress has already authorized.

The Biden Administration’s signature drug pricing reform, part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), aims to save $25 billion through price negotiations by 2031 for Americans who pay more for medicines than any other country. The first ever Medicare drug price reduction process begins in September, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services(CMS) identifies its 10 most costly drugs. Reuters has seen responses to CMS from five of the world's top drugmakers raising legal concerns with the law and the agency's proposed roadmap. Former CMS head Andy Slavitt, who now works at a venture capital company focused on healthcare, said the Medicare agency would have consulted lawyers. One said the Medicare roadmap, which did not go through a formal process with proposed and final rules, could be challenged in court for being unlawful as well.

☆ Factbox: An overview of Donald Trump’s legal troubles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Trump denies the allegations and the affair but has admitted to reimbursing Cohen for his payment to Daniels. Trump's reimbursement checks for the suppression payment falsely stated that the money was for a "retainer agreement," prosecutors said. Prosecutors say Trump falsified records in part to cover up the fact that the payment to Daniels exceeded federal campaign contribution limits. U.S. CAPITOL ATTACKThe U.S. Justice Department has an investigation under way into Trump's actions after he lost the 2020 election. NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL CIVIL LAWSUITNew York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and his Trump Organization last September for fraud.

HOW THE LAWSUITS DIFFERDisney's lawsuit was filed in federal court and alleges that DeSantis violated the company's protections under the U.S. Constitution, including its First Amendment right to free speech. In contrast, the state court lawsuit against Disney focuses on the procedures the old board followed in approving the agreements with Disney. The Florida district is asking the state court to void the Disney agreements. The district could file a motion in federal court to ask Walker to dismiss or pause Disney's federal case while the state court proceeds. Legal doctrines hold that federal judges should refrain from hearing a case where there is a related state court proceeding, particularly when a state court decision could resolve the federal lawsuit.

May 8 (Reuters) - A case brought by anti-abortion groups seeking to ban the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide will be heard next week by a panel of three deeply conservative judges hostile to abortion rights, a federal appeals court revealed on Monday. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans on May 17 to overturn a court order that suspended the federal government's approval of mifepristone. The U.S. Supreme Court put that order on hold, meaning that mifepristone remains available while the case is appealed. In 2021, Ho was in the majority in a 2-1 ruling refusing to block Texas's six-week abortion ban. Wilson, another Trump appointee, as a state legislator voted to ban abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected, around six weeks.

The union in the complaint said it will seek an order temporarily blocking the debt limit law while the case proceeds. The union said in the lawsuit that Congress cannot impose a debt limit "without at least setting the order and priority of payments once that limit is reached, instead of leaving it to the president to do so." The union is seeking to strike down the law setting a debt limit and to block the Biden administration from limiting borrowing in the event of a default so it can continue funding government agencies. The U.S. reached its debt limit in January, and Yellen at the time told Congress that she would suspend investments in federal government workers' retirement and health benefit funds to avoid an immediate default. But Biden and other Democrats have insisted that raising the debt limit should not be linked to budget talks.

☆ Texas mall shooting prompts Biden to renew call for gun control
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Maria Caspani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Reuters TVMay 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday called on Congress to pass gun control bills in the wake of yet another mass shooting that left nine people dead, including the gunman, at a Texas mall on Saturday. The gunman killed eight people, including children, and wounded at least seven, before a police officer killed him, police said on Saturday. Some Twitter users said people and politicians needed to see videos like this one to grasp the magnitude and horrific nature of gun violence. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats stressed the need to pass stronger gun safety legislation to curtail gun violence. One unidentified eyewitness told local ABC affiliate WFAA TV that the gunman was "walking down the sidewalk just ... shooting his gun outside."

☆ Biden says not yet ready to invoke 14th Amendment to avoid debt default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I've not gotten there yet," Biden said in an interview with MSNBC when asked about the possibility of invoking the amendment. If Congress fails to act, some legal experts say Biden has another option to avert a crisis: Invoke the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure the United States can continue to pay its bills. Section Four of the amendment, adopted after the 1861-1865 Civil War, states that the "validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned." Some experts have suggested that Biden could invoke this amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own if Congress does not act. Biden and top Republicans and Democrats from the U.S. Congress will sit down on Tuesday next week to try to end the three-month standoff over the federal debt ceiling and avoid a crippling default before the end of the month.

☆ Left-Leaning Groups Seek Florida Ballot Measure to Expand Abortion Access
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Katie Glueck | Nicholas Nehamas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The NewsA coalition of organizations that support abortion rights is planning to spend millions of dollars in an effort to place a measure protecting abortion rights on Florida’s ballot next year. The coalition of groups includes Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Planned Parenthood’s Florida affiliates, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Florida Rising and Women’s Voices of SW Florida. Last month, a liberal Wisconsin judge won a crucial State Supreme Court race by a significant margin after running on her support for abortion rights. At the same time, if Mr. DeSantis runs for president as expected, he has clear incentives to defend the six-week ban he signed. A representative for Mr. DeSantis did not immediately respond on Friday when asked for comment on the ballot initiative plans.

[1/2] The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, U.S., April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File PhotoLaw Firms Reed Smith LLP FollowWASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday halted the scheduled execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, whose cause drew support from the state's Republican attorney general after an investigation shed new light on evidence relating to the 1997 murder Glossip was convicted of commissioning. "We are very grateful to the U.S. Supreme Court for doing the right thing in stopping Richard Glossip's unlawful execution," Knight said. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on April 20 upheld Glossip's murder conviction, rebuffing Drummond's request. Glossip has pending petitions for appeal before the Supreme Court challenging his conviction on grounds including that prosecutors failed to hand over evidence about Sneed to Glossip's defense counsel.

Law Firms Reed Smith LLP FollowWASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday halted the execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, whose case has drawn support from the state's Republican attorney general after an investigation shed new light on evidence relating to the 1997 murder Glossip was convicted of commissioning. A separate independent investigation conducted last year by the law firm Reed Smith at the request of Oklahoma lawmakers also raised serious concerns about Glossip's case and conviction. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on April 20 upheld Glossip's murder conviction, rebuffing Drummond's request. Sneed confessed to carrying out the killing and said Glossip, a manager at the motel, had hired him to do it. Glossip has pending petitions for appeal before the Supreme Court challenging his conviction on grounds including that prosecutors failed to hand over evidence about Sneed to Glossip's defense counsel.

☆ US criminal justice alliance seeks to erase 'trial penalty'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The effort is complicated by the U.S. criminal justice system's diffuse nature, with local, state and federal courts. Defendants who plead guilty typically get credit for accepting responsibility for their crimes and spend less time in prison. Criminal justice advocates point to a downside. Defendants who plead guilty are not given access to all evidence against them and their appeal rights are limited. The National Registry of Exonerations, which collects information about exonerations of innocent criminal defendants, has tracked 3,300 exonerations since 1989.

If Congress fails to act, some legal experts say Democratic President Joe Biden has another option to avert a crisis: Invoke the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure the United States can continue to pay its bills. 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." HOW WOULD MARKETS REACT IF BIDEN USES THE 14TH AMENDMENT? Administration officials and economists have warned 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.

May 2 (Reuters) - A lawyer for a Florida prosecutor on Tuesday urged a federal appeals court to reinstate his client after the state's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, indefinitely suspended him over his pledge not to prosecute people seeking or providing abortions. "This governor punishes dissenting voices," David A. O'Neil, a lawyer for suspended prosecutor Andrew Warren, told a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Henry Whitaker, a lawyer in the Florida Attorney General's office representing DeSantis, said Warren was suspended for his conduct of refusing to enforce the law, not for his speech. Whitaker urged the court to uphold a January ruling in favor of DeSantis by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle. Warren, who won re-election in 2020 as the Hillsborough County state attorney, sued DeSantis last August.

☆ Amending the U.S. Constitution Could Start With the E.R.A. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kate Shaw | Julie C. Suk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The last truly significant amendment — the 26th, which lowered the voting age to 18 — belonged to another era, in 1971, when Richard Nixon was president. It looked to be sailing to ratification, for which the Constitution requires approval by three-quarters of the states. in 1972, it included a ratification deadline, providing that the amendment would be part of the Constitution “when ratified within seven years” — that is, 1979. What Article V of the Constitution does say is that Congress is in charge of proposing amendments that it deems necessary. If the deadline power belongs to Congress, shouldn’t the power to change any deadlines it imposes — as well as the power to refuse to recognize rescissions — also lie with Congress?

☆ Windfall tax seizure case in Michigan deepens appellate split on class standing issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The county auctioned Fox's property for about $25,000 — and kept the $22,000 difference between the sale price and Fox's tax obligation. But Fox’s class action did not name only Gratiot County as a defendant. Circuit Court disagreed. The 6th Circuit in the Fox case agreed with the 2nd Circuit's holding that trial courts must consider constitutional standing issues ahead of class certification. The Michigan counties that challenged class certification were represented at the 6th Circuit by Douglas Curlew of Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho.

Companies United States Senate FollowWASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - Ethics concerns relating to U.S. Supreme Court justices are set to be scrutinized on Tuesday by a Senate panel during a hearing called amid revelations about luxury trips and real estate transactions involving members of the nation's top judicial body. "Supreme Court ethics reform must happen whether the court participates in the process or not," Durbin said in a statement responding to the decision by Roberts not to appear. "It is time for Congress to accept its responsibility to establish an enforceable code of ethics for the Supreme Court, the only agency of our government without it." Roberts has said Supreme Court justices consult that code in assessing their own ethical obligations. In a letter to Durbin declining to testify, Roberts attached a "Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices" to which the justices adhere.

☆ Factbox: U.S. debt ceiling standoff: Platinum coins, the 14th Amendment could be paths out
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

14TH AMENDMENTSection Four of 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted after the 1861-1865 Civil War, states that the "validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned." Some experts have suggested that Biden could invoke this amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own if Congress does not act. BYPASS REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIPDemocrats and rank-and-file Republican allies in the House could bypass McCarthy and force a vote on a "clean" debt ceiling increase, free of spending cuts or other conditions. GET RID OF ITCongress could vote to abolish the debt ceiling entirely, which would eliminate the need to vote on the issue periodically but also erode Congress's authority on fiscal matters. Attempts to abolish the debt ceiling have gotten no traction in Congress in recent years.

May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to the legality of an Indiana requirement that abortion providers bury or cremate embryonic or fetal remains following the procedure, sidestepping another dispute involving a contentious Republican-backed state policy concerning abortion. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the state's requirement after a federal judge had invalidated it. Indiana's ban is currently blocked after decisions by lower court judges. The Supreme Court on April 21 blocked restrictions set by lower courts on a widely used abortion pill while litigation continues in lower courts in a challenge by abortion opponents to the drug's federal regulatory approval. Women themselves "may choose to take custody of the remains and dispose of them as they please," that court added.

☆ Biden attacks news outlets for 'lies of conspiracy and malice'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington, U.S., April 29, 2023. Speaking at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Biden referred to "truth buried by lies," in an apparent reference to false conspiracy theories that his 2020 election win was the result of a massive voter fraud. Lies of conspiracy and malice repeated over and over again designed to generate a cycle of anger and hate and even violence," Biden said. That cycle, Biden added, has emboldened local jurisdictions to ban books, and "the rule of law and our rights and freedoms to be stripped away." Biden said he and his administration were "here to send a message to the country and quite frankly to the world.

☆ The Disney-DeSantis Knife Fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As Donald Trump sides with Bob Iger in Ron DeSantis's escalating row with Disney, all three stand to lose more than they'll gain. Images: AP/Zuma Press/Shutterstock/Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyThe donnybrook between Disney and Ron DeSantis keeps escalating, and what should be a dispute over corporate welfare has devolved into an unfortunate political brawl that both could lose. Disney sued Florida this week claiming the state is retaliating because the company opposed its law that bars instruction on sexuality and gender ideology in grades K-3. The state’s alleged retaliation, Disney says, violates its First Amendment rights and the U.S. Constitution’s contracts and takings clauses.

April 28 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Denver on Friday rejected a Catholic medical center's bid to block Colorado from banning an unproven treatment meant to reverse the effects of a medication abortion drug. Medication abortion begins with the drug mifepristone, which blocks action of the hormone progesterone, crucial for sustaining pregnancy, and is completed with a second drug, misoprostol. Proponents of medication abortion reversal say that if a woman changes her mind after taking mifepristone but before taking misoprostol, the pregnancy can be continued by administering a high dose of progesterone. Mifepristone is the subject of a heated legal battle as anti-abortion groups seek to pull it from the market. Republican state legislatures have also taken steps to restrict access to the drug, while Democratic legislatures have sought to protect it.

☆ DeSantis' tough words may come back to haunt him in Disney lawsuit, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Tom Hals | Thomson Reuters | Tom Hals Is An Award-Winning Reporter With Years Of Experience Working In Asia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Florida Governor and likely 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks as part of his Florida Blueprint tour in Pinellas Park, Florida, U.S. March 8, 2023. Disney on Wednesday sued DeSantis to prevent the state from ending the company's virtual autonomy in central Florida where it has its theme parks. Disney said DeSantis' actions amounted to a "targeted campaign of government retaliation." Disney claimed in its lawsuit that the state adopted a "targeted campaign of government retaliation — orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech." DeSantis' tough talk toward Disney is cited throughout the lawsuit, including 18 quotes referring to some form of "woke Disney."

Search resuls for: ". Constitution"

25 mentions found