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☆ House Approves Bill to Boost Military Spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—House lawmakers on Thursday passed a defense policy bill that authorizes U.S. military leaders to purchase new weapons and increase pay for troops, and lifts a requirement for members of the military to get vaccinated against Covid-19. In a 350-80 vote, lawmakers approved the annual National Defense Authorization Act to increase America’s total national security budget for fiscal year 2023 to $857.9 billion. That is a roughly 10% increase from last year’s $778 billion authorization bill. The measure was passed under a process requiring approval from two-thirds of voting House members.

Private-sector efforts also have sprung up offering credits for "voluntary" carbon markets, while a range of registries such as Verra and Gold Standard is accrediting and tracking them. The new database - called the Climate Action Data Trust (CAD Trust) - aims to address these issues by collating all the project and carbon credit data in one place and making it free to the public. It brings us up to speed with what is required within the carbon markets," he said. He said Bhutan is in discussions with possible buyers who want details about how carbon credits from its forests are being registered, verified and monitored. "The CAD Trust meets all the technical requirements of host countries and buyers."

As the COP15 biodiversity summit kicks off in Montreal, businesses and corporate leaders are pushing for an ambitious agreement with strong policies that will provide guidance to companies seeking to change. They are under increasing pressure to show progress in tackling climate change and reducing harm to the environment. The agency has said some $384 billion will be needed each year for nature projects by 2025. "If we take that mindset to nature, it leads to the investment models that would allow us to invest in nature as infrastructure," he said. "Two years ago, all these governments around the world said 'let's put trillions of dollars into nature.'

Three people close to FTX and Bankman-Fried told CNBC that the former CEO lobbied aggressively for a partnership with 11-time Grammy Award winner Taylor Swift. Bankman-Fried's commitment to getting the Swift deal done despite the deteriorating business environment fit a pattern of ignoring his lieutenants and going it alone, a half-dozen former company insiders and business partners said. The Financial Times reported earlier that FTX held talks with Swift about a potential sponsorship. Part of the Swift deal would have included the production by the singer of a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or digital items that can rise and fall in value. Beyond that, there was a lack of clarity over what Swift would be doing for the company, sources said.

☆ Lawmakers Spar Over Marijuana, Energy Permits in Defense-Bill Talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | Lindsay Wise | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Congress has passed the huge defense-policy legislation more than 60 years in a row, and it is one of the few bipartisan bills likely to be approved before the end of the year. WASHINGTON—Negotiations over a defense-policy bill bogged down Tuesday as Congressional leaders wrangled over provisions unrelated to the military, including proposals to overhaul energy permitting and enable banks to do business with marijuana companies. The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is an annual must-pass bill that approves pay raises to U.S. military service members and Defense Department workers, and budgets for the purchase of new aircraft, ships and vehicles for combat.

☆ Lawmakers Agree to Rescind Military’s Covid-19 Mandate in Defense Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | Lindsay Wise | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The possibility that the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate could be repealed was acknowledged by Biden administration officials. WASHINGTON—House and Senate negotiators agreed to rescind the requirement that members of the military be vaccinated against Covid-19, a measure that was added to secure Republican support for the annual defense-policy bill that authorizes spending for new weapons and pay increases for troops. The compromise National Defense Authorization Act announced Tuesday would increase America’s total national security budget for fiscal year 2023 to $857.9 billion. That is $45 billion more in military spending than President Biden had requested, and a big increase from the $778 billion total national security budget passed by Congress last year.

☆ Biden Backs Tying Energy Permitting Plan to Defense Policy Measure
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | Ken Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The White House said President Biden supports including a proposal to speed up environmental reviews of energy projects in an annual defense-policy law, as lawmakers prepare to unveil the proposal as soon as this week. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated support for the permitting proposal’s inclusion at a press briefing on Monday. Mr. Biden “believes we should pass the defensive authorization bill and that the permitting bill should be included in the legislation,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

REUTERS/Rebecca Naden/File PhotoMONTREAL, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Countries are gathering Tuesday for a key U.N. nature conference in Montreal, aiming to broker a new global agreement to protect what's left of Earth's wildlife and natural spaces. Global Land Outlook assessment. Like many other campaigners, Zabey called for "an ambitious, clear and enforceable international agreement" similar to the Paris Agreement on climate change. Unlike the U.N. climate talks, Montreal's summit will see few world leaders, which negotiators say could make it tougher to reach an ambitious agreement. Meanwhile, Montreal police have put up a 3-meter (10-foot) fence around the downtown summit venue, Palais des congrès, and are preparing for thousands of student protesters expected to swarm the Montreal's streets to demand a strong deal to protect nature.

☆ Explainer: What's on the agenda at the U.N.'s COP15 nature summit?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

MONTREAL, Dec 6 (Reuters) - A key United Nations summit to halt nature loss begins this week in Montreal, Canada. China's COP15 summit has been delayed four times, however, from its original date in 2020 due to COVID. The world's last set of nature targets - the Aichi Targets - expired in 2020. To protect nature, countries will need cash - a lot of it. Environmental groups argue that rich nations should provide at least $60 billion per year to help developing countries meet their nature targets.

And Wagner’s beloved fireflies – like so many insects worldwide – have largely vanished in what scientists are calling the global Insect Apocalypse. “Insects are the food that make all the birds and make all the fish,” said Wagner, who works at the University of Connecticut. Humans, too, see some 2,000 species of insects as food. “We’d see yields dropping of all of these crops.”And in nature, about 80% of wild plants rely on insects for pollination. WINNERS AND LOSERSWhile the situation is bleak for insects at large, a few types of insects are thriving.

☆ Biden Signs Legislation Preventing Railroad Strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | Tarini Parti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—President Biden on Friday signed legislation to prevent a nationwide strike by railroad workers, the last step in resolving a long-running dispute between workers and major freight railroads. With his signature, Mr. Biden ordered unions to implement a labor contract mediated by his administration that four unions representing more than half of unionized rail workers had rejected after the deal was struck in September. The agreement doesn’t include an expansion of paid sick leave benefits sought by unions and some lawmakers. It marks the first such intervention in a railroad labor dispute in three decades.

☆ Senate Votes 80-15 to Pass Bill Blocking Nationwide Railroad Strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | Esther Fung | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The Senate voted to intervene to prevent a nationwide strike by railroad workers while rejecting a proposal to give them expanded paid sick leave, with lawmakers saying they reluctantly heeded President Biden’s call to resolve the long-running labor dispute. In a 80-15 vote, with one senator voting present, lawmakers agreed to force unions to adopt an earlier labor agreement mediated by the administration. The measure now goes to the White House, and Mr. Biden said he would sign it as soon as it got to his desk.

☆ Senate Votes 80-15 to Pass Measure Blocking Nationwide Railroad Strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Senate lawmakers passed a bill Thursday to prevent a nationwide strike by railroad workers after rejecting a proposal to give them expanded paid sick leave. In a 80-15 vote, with one voting present, lawmakers agreed to force unions to adopt an earlier labor agreement, exceeding the 60-vote threshold for the measure to pass. The move is expected to end the long-running labor dispute between Union Pacific Corp., CSX Corp. and other freight railroads and more than 115,000 workers.

☆ Senate Votes on Measures to Prevent Railroad Strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said lawmakers will try to vote as quickly as they can ‘to get this done.’WASHINGTON—The Senate embarked on a series of votes Thursday on legislation to prevent a nationwide strike by railroad workers, weighing a proposed labor deal along with related measures to boost paid sick leave and delay a looming strike deadline. “We’re going to try to vote as quickly as we can to get this done,” said Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) on the Senate floor.

☆ House to Vote on Imposing Railroad Labor Deal, Paid Sick-Leave Measure
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Union Pacific is one of the freight railroads involved in a long-running labor dispute. The House plans to vote Wednesday on a measure to end rail workers’ labor dispute ahead of a possible strike, while also taking up a proposal to impose paid sick leave, a step demanded by some lawmakers. On Wednesday morning, House lawmakers were preparing to vote on legislation that would force the adoption of a tentative labor agreement by rail workers, using the power of a 1926 law that allows Congress to intervene in railroad disputes that threaten to disrupt the U.S. economy.

☆ House Approves Imposing Railroad Labor Deal, Paid Sick-Leave Measure
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | Esther Fung | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The House voted Wednesday to approve a measure ending a rail workers’ labor dispute ahead of a possible strike, while also backing a proposal to impose paid sick leave, a step demanded by some lawmakers. House lawmakers voted 290 to 137 on legislation that would force the adoption of a tentative labor agreement by rail workers, using the power of a 1926 law that allows Congress to intervene in railroad disputes that threaten to disrupt the U.S. economy. On paid leave, lawmakers voted 221-207 to approve the proposal, with Democrats in favor and almost all Republicans opposed. Both measures now head to the Senate.

☆ House Approves Imposing Railroad Labor Deal, Plans Vote on Paid Sick-Leave Measure
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | Esther Fung | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Union Pacific is one of the freight railroads involved in a long-running labor dispute. The House voted Wednesday to approve a measure ending a rail workers’ labor dispute ahead of a possible strike, while also planning to take up a proposal to impose paid sick leave, a step demanded by some lawmakers. House lawmakers voted 290 to 137 on legislation that would force the adoption of a tentative labor agreement by rail workers, using the power of a 1926 law that allows Congress to intervene in railroad disputes that threaten to disrupt the U.S. economy.

☆ Same-Sex Marriage Bill Nears Senate Passage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) spoke with reporters before Senate Democrats moved forward on legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriage earlier this month. WASHINGTON—Senate lawmakers were on track to pass a law protecting Americans’ access to same-sex marriage late Tuesday, solidifying rights that were established in a 2015 Supreme Court ruling. The legislation is intended to codify the ability of same-sex and interracial couples to get married and requires states to recognize the marriages. Under an agreement related to amendments, final passage will require 60 votes.

☆ Elon Musk is on track to become Twitter's most-followed account. From Barack Obama to Katy Perry, here's how his rivals rank.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk is expected to become Twitter's top influencer in JanuaryDimitrios Kambouris/Getty ImagesMusk, who acquired Twitter in late October, has the second most-followed account on the platform with 119.5 million followers. Social Blade, an analytics website, told BBC News it predicts that Musk would have the most Twitter followers by January 17. Musk has gained an average of 268,303 Twitter followers a day over the past year, Social Blade told the BBC. When Twitter fired contractors on November 12, Musk lost almost 200,000 followers in a day, according to Social Blade. Since he took over Twitter, Musk has posted 84% more often and hit his tweet record on November 22 with 75 tweets, Social Blade told the BBC.

☆ Congressional Leaders Commit to Quickly Pass Legislation to Avert Rail Strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said that House lawmakers will take up legislation on Wednesday to stop a nationwide strike by railroad workers, saying Congress needs to intervene to prevent devastating job losses. In a press conference, Mrs. Pelosi said that the House will aim to quickly pass legislation that accepts the original labor union agreement negotiated by Biden administration officials plus additional railway worker benefits added from subsequent negotiations.

☆ Senate Passes Bill Protecting Same-Sex Marriage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Oil-and-gas companies are anticipating a friendlier environment in Washington as the House comes under Republican rule next year, while the clean-energy sector is bracing for a slowdown in the Biden administration’s aggressive push away from fossil fuels. House Republicans, who gained a slim majority in the midterm elections, are expected to support measures aimed at boosting domestic oil-and-gas production, which they have framed as a matter of national security following supply strains triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Congress Returns to Tackle Government Funding, Same-Sex Marriage, Railroad Strife
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Electoral Count Act, which would change how Congress deals with presidential-election disputes, is also on the agenda. Lawmakers return to work this week with a to-do list that includes passing a critical government-funding bill, solidifying access to same-sex marriage and setting priorities for the U.S. military before the start of the new Congress next year. Congress faces a Dec. 16 deadline to pass legislation that would continue funding the federal government; failure to do so could result in a partial shutdown. Lawmakers must decide whether to approve a short-term bill or reach a deal on more-detailed legislation that would fund the government for the full fiscal year.

☆ House Republicans’ Slim Majority Creates Extra Challenges for Party Leaders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Members-elect from the House of Representatives prepared for a group photo outside the U.S. Capitol building this month. WASHINGTON—Republicans won enough seats during midterm elections to capture a slim majority in the House, but their ability to advance their agenda will face both practical and ideological challenges tied to such a historically small margin. With little wiggle room, party leaders will need the support of nearly every Republican to propel partisan legislation, giving each member more leverage to alter or block proposals. The slim majority could complicate leaders’ efforts to reach deals on “must pass” bills funding the government, addressing the debt limit or setting farm and military policies in cooperation with the Democratic-controlled Senate.

It also referred to the need to reform international financial institutions. It should lead to a tripling of the amount international financial institutions lend "with a clear focus on climate and sustainable development goals," Prasad said. Similarly, Akinwumi Adesina, head of the African Development Bank said: "If you want to do more, you actually need more." "There has to be a lot more increase in capital, for the multilateral development banks," he told Reuters. "Our international financial architecture is built for a different time and different challenges," he said.

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