DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Republican Senator Rand Paul opposes TikTok ban push in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - Republican Senator Rand Paul on Wednesday opposed efforts in Congress to ban popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, which is used by more than 150 million Americans. Republican Senator Josh Hawley said this week he hoped to get unanimous consent for a TikTok ban bill. TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew appeared before Congress last week and faced tough questions about national security concerns over the ByteDance-owned app. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a TikTok video Friday opposed a TikTok ban, calling it "unprecedented" and said Congress has not gotten classified TikTok briefings. Last week, three Democrats in the House of Representatives opposed a TikTok ban, as do free speech groups like the American Civil Liberties Union.

DeSantis' muddled messaging on Ukraine and the multiple legal investigations into Trump mean that this year’s primary race “is a vast sea of uncertainty,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist and former DeSantis pollster. Metals magnate and donor Andy Sabin backed Trump in 2016 and 2020 but is now planning to spend money in the Republican primary on “anybody but Trump." Enthusiastic crowds of Trump supporters were mostly quiet when he mocked DeSantis at two recent rallies. For now, despite the volatility, Trump and DeSantis remain the two leading contenders, said David Tamasi, a Republican donor and lobbyist. "You have two candidates getting 75-80% of the vote," said Tamasi, who previously backed Trump but is not this time.

☆ U.S. lawmakers make new push to bar convicted violent passengers from flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - A group of lawmakers on Wednesday will make a new push for legislation to bar passengers fined or convicted of serious physical violence from commercial flights after a series of recent high-profile incidents. Senator Jack Reed and Representative Eric Swalwell, both Democrats, and Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick said Monday they plan to reintroduce the "Protection from Abusive Passengers Act." Despite the end of the airplane mask mandate in April 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigated 831 unruly passenger incidents in 2022, up from 146 in 2019, but down from 1,099 in 2021, the lawmakers noted. Reporting by David Shepardson Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US lawmakers make new push to bar convicted violent passengers from flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Wednesday will make a new push for legislation to bar passengers fined or convicted of serious physical violence from commercial flights after a series of recent high-profile incidents. Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union opposed creating a no-fly list for unruly passengers, saying the U.S. government "has a terrible record of treating people fairly with regard to the existing no-fly list and other watch lists that are aimed at alleged terrorists." Despite the end of the airplane mask mandate in April 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigated 831 unruly passenger incidents in 2022, up from 146 in 2019, but down from 1,099 in 2021, the lawmakers noted. The FAA received 2,456 unruly passenger reports in 2022 and proposed $8.4 million in fines, down from 5,981 reports in 2021, which included 4,290 mask-related incidents. In February 2022, Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) CEO Ed Bastian urged the U.S. government to place passengers convicted of on-board disruptions on a national no-fly list that would bar them from future travel on any commercial airline.

☆ Exclusive: Biden nominee to head FAA withdraws after Republican criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is withdrawing his nomination after Republican criticism that he was not qualified to serve as the top aviation regulator. Last year, Biden nominated Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington to serve as FAA administrator. A White House official had earlier told Reuters "politics must not hold up confirming an administrator to lead the FAA, and we will move expeditiously to nominate a new candidate for FAA administrator." Some industry officials think the White House could name acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen as a new nominee. Nolen, who was named head of the FAA's aviation safety office, has been the acting FAA administrator since April 2022 and has received backing from many Republicans in Congress.

☆ How drag was pushed back into the shadows in Tennessee
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Now, a Tennessee law restricting drag in front of minors is due to come into force on April 1. Several planned drag events were canceled over the winter after protests, and many venues felt forced to make previously family-friendly drag shows into adults-only events. Drag performers and venue owners say they are worried about their livelihoods and their rights of free expression. The Starbucks say there is no such thing as family-friendly drag; drag performers cite Bugs Bunny, Shakespeare's cross-dressing comedies and the Robin Williams film "Mrs. Doubtfire" among counterexamples. Outside of public Pride events, most Tennessee drag performers largely work in clubs and bars that admit only those over 18.

☆ Man behind guns in Haitian president's assassination pleads guilty
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Sarah Morland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 24 (Reuters) - A dual Haitian-Chilean citizen pleaded guilty in a U.S. court on Friday to three charges involving his role in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, gunned down in his home in 2021. According to a plea statement Jaar signed on Friday, he provided personnel and funds to kidnap Moise, but the initial plan later turned into a murder plot. Some of the funds were used to buy weapons and pay bribes to the some of the president's security detail, the statement said. Jaar met with the co-conspirators the night before the assassination, according to the statement, at which time Haitian-American James Solages stated the aim was to kill Moise. Sentencing for Jaar, who faces up to life in prison, is set for June 2 in Miami, court filings showed.

But members of the grand jury were told to stay home on Wednesday, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has been investigating $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of Trump's 2016 election campaign. Security was high around the courthouse where the grand jury has been meeting, with court officers out early and barricades up around the building. On Monday, the grand jury heard from a witness, lawyer Robert Costello, who said that Cohen acted on his own. Cohen has publicly said that Trump directed him to make the payments and has appeared twice before the grand jury.

NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - A New York grand jury was expected on Wednesday to resume its closed-door investigation of whether Donald Trump made illegal hush-money payments to a porn star, which could yield the first-ever criminal charges against any U.S. president. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has been investigating $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of Trump's 2016 election campaign. Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen has said he made the payments at Trump's direction to buy her silence about Trump's extramarital affair. On Monday, the grand jury heard from a witness, lawyer Robert Costello, who said that Cohen acted on his own. Cohen has publicly said that Trump directed him to make the payments and has appeared twice before the grand jury.

NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - - A New York grand jury is expected on Wednesday to resume its closed-door investigation of whether Donald Trump made illegal hush-money payments to a porn star, which could yield first-ever criminal charges against any U.S. president. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has been investigating $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of Trump's 2016 election campaign. Trump has denied the affair took place, and others in his orbit have said Cohen acted on his own. On Monday, the grand jury heard from a witness, lawyer Robert Costello, who said that Cohen acted on his own. Cohen has publicly said that Trump directed him to make the payments and has appeared twice before the grand jury.

☆ Fact Check-A video clip does not show John McCain confronting Rand Paul for opposing Ukraine joining NATO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A video from 2017 shows U.S. senator John McCain characterizing fellow senator Rand Paul as “working for” Russian President Vladimir Putin, after Paul said he objected to Montenegro joining NATO. The clip was shared on social media (here), (here), (here) with captions such as: “The late Sen. John McCain called out Rand Paul for objecting to the proposal for Ukraine join NATO. So, I repeat again, the senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin.”But McCain and Paul were referring to the possibility of Montenegro, not Ukraine, joining NATO. A second video (here) from March 27 shows Paul saying that he opposed the U.S. committing to defend “yet another country” (at timecode 02:08:17). A clip shows John McCain confronting Rand Paul about his objection to Montenegro, not Ukraine, joining NATO.

☆ As John Fetterman heals, his Senate staff soldiers on with the help of veteran lawmakers and crisis bonding: 'We all have each other's back'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Sen. John Fetterman has been hospitalized for clinical depression since February 15. Casey is coordinating with Fetterman staff on constituent services issues and legislative priorities, according to recent reports, but doesn't call Fetterman directly so as not to disturb his ongoing recovery. Some of the others working hard to meet that internal standard include legislative assistant Madeleine Marr, a former aide to Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire. Conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller has been more blunt, accusing Fetterman's staff of unduly wielding power in his absence. "John Fetterman's chief of staff is not an elected senator," Miller wrote in an op-ed run by the Delaware Valley Journal.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. banking system remains sound and Americans can feel confident that their deposits are safe, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday, but she denied that emergency actions after two large bank failures mean that a blanket government guarantee now existed for all deposits. "I can reassure the members of the committee that our banking system is sound, and that Americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them," Yellen said. More than $9.2 trillion of U.S. bank deposits were uninsured at the end of last year, accounting for more than 40% of all deposits, according to U.S. central bank data. Those uninsured deposits are not distributed evenly across the country, FDIC data shows. She also noted the high level of uninsured deposits at Silicon Valley as an aggravating factor.

☆ Top US Senate Democrat Schumer wants legislative response to banking ills
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We need strong legislation and hopefully we can put something together that's bipartisan," Schumer told reporters following a closed policy lunch with his fellow Democrats. Calls for increased oversight of the U.S. banking industry grew as fallout from Friday's collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) widened. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, however, downplayed the likelihood of Congress passing a "significant" banking bill anytime soon. Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives and Democrats do not control enough votes in the Senate to advance legislation without Republican cooperation. Reporting by Moira Warburton and Richard Cowan in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter and Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Forty of the 100 U.S. senators co-sponsored a resolution on Wednesday urging a strong U.S. government response to any Chinese efforts to clamp down on dissent in Hong Kong, including the use of sanctions and other tools. The resolution is non-binding, but is intended to convey a strong sense that lawmakers are closely watching events in China and will respond. China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 outlawing acts including subversion with up to life in prison. The law has been criticized by some Western governments as a tool to crush dissent, but the Chinese and Hong Kong governments say it has restored stability to the city after protracted pro-democracy protests in 2019. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fact Check-Ron DeSantis did not voice support for bill requiring bloggers to register with Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ole Ron DeSantis wants to violate the First Amendment rights of all Florida residents by introducing a bill that will require bloggers who write about governor to register with the state! The bill on “information dissemination” was introduced by State Senator Jason Brodeur, a Republican, on March 7 (here). Some news outlets and social media users have referred to the legislation as the “blogger bill” or “blogger registration bill” (here). DeSantis addressed claims that he supports the bill, saying it is “not anything that I’ve ever supported” (see 00:45 timestamp). Governor Ron DeSantis has said publicly that he does not support a bill introduced in the Florida legislature that would require certain bloggers to register with the state and disclose their payment sources.

☆ Joe Manchin says he looks at his 2018 vote on easing bank regulations 'differently now' after Silicon Valley Bank's collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In 2018, Sen. Joe Manchin was one of 13 Democrats to vote for easing some banking regulations. The rollback of those regulations meant that Silicon Valley Bank was subject to less scrutiny. That vote has come under renewed scrutiny after the abrupt shuttering of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and subsequent bailout of its depositors. Manchin did tell Raju that it was not a mistake to vote through that 2018 legislation, or at least it wasn't at the time. Other Democratic lawmakers who also voted for the 2018 legislation are similarly standing by their decisions.

☆ Biden wants $886 billion defense budget with eyes on Ukraine and future wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The total amount of the 2024 budget proposal is $28 billion more than last year's $858 billion. Congress has passed an annual defense budget for more than 60 years. Biden's budget request also speeds the Department of Defense's pace for buying the stealthy F-35 fighter jet to 83. The 2023 budget request asked for 61 F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin and Congress increased that number to 77. The budget would benefit the biggest U.S. defense contractors including Lockheed, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and General Dynamics Corp (GD.N).

☆ Rubio takes aim at planned Ford US battery plant using Chinese technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Marco Rubio on Thursday introduced legislation that takes aim at Ford Motor's (F.N) deal to use technology from Chinese battery company CATL (300750.SZ) as part of the automaker's plan to spend $3.5 billion to build a battery plant in Michigan. Rubio, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, introduced legislation that would block tax credits for electric vehicle batteries produced using Chinese technology, saying it would "significantly restrict the eligibility of IRA tax credits and prevent Chinese companies from benefiting." Last month, Rubio asked the Biden administration to review Ford's deal to use technology from CATL. Rubio called for an immediate Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of the licensing agreement between Ford and CATL. The $430 billion IRA imposes restrictions on battery sourcing and is designed to wean the United States off the Chinese supply chain for electric vehicles (EVs).

☆ U.S. Senate confirms Biden's pick to lead Internal Revenue Service
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted to confirm management consultant Danny Werfel as the new Internal Revenue Service commissioner on Thursday, returning the former Obama administration budget official to the tax agency he briefly led on an acting basis. Five Republicans crossed party lines to support Werfel in the 54-42 vote, more than offsetting Democratic Senator Joe Manchin's vote against President Joe Biden's nominee in a protest against his administration's implementation of clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. Werfel, who previously led Boston Consulting Group's public sector practice, is charged with leading a massive transformation of the IRS, with $80 billion in new funding approved last year to boost collections of unpaid taxes, modernize technology and improve taxpayer services. The agency in the coming weeks is due to produce a spending blueprint on how it will deploy the $80 billion in new funding over the next decade. Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US Senator Manchin to vote against Biden nominee to head IRS - statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Joe Manchin said on Wednesday he will vote against Daniel Werfel for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) commissioner, a week after President Joe Biden's nominee to head the agency was approved by a Senate committee. "While Daniel Werfel is supremely qualified to serve as the IRS Commissioner, I have zero faith he will be given the autonomy to perform the job in accordance with the law and for that reason, I cannot support his nomination,” Manchin said in a statement. Reporting by Kanishka Singh; writing by Rami AyyubOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Google, Meta, and Snap would be the biggest winners if TikTok is banned, with shares set to rise on billions in new ad revenue, CFRA says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some US lawmakers are working to ban TikTok. The research firm says TikTok could make $9 billion-$10 billion in US revenue in 2024. There probability TikTok will be banned is still low but it's gone up significantly over the last six months, the firm said. "We place less than a 50% probability that TikTok will be banned by the end of 2024," Zino said. "A TikTok ban would move the needle more for SNAP than others," said Zino.

☆ White House backs Senate bill to boost US ability to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The bill gives the Commerce Department the ability impose restrictions up to and including banning TikTok and other technologies that pose national security risks, said Democratic Senator Mark Warner, who chairs the Intelligence Committee. He said it would also apply to foreign technologies from China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. TikTok said in a statement that any "U.S. ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide." Warner said it was important the government do more to make clear what it believes are the national security risks to U.S. from the use of TikTok. McCaul said he thinks the full U.S. House of Representatives could vote on bill this month.

☆ Biden pick for FCC withdraws, says agency will 'remain sidelined'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sohn had been a senior aide to Tom Wheeler when he was the FCC chair under President Barack Obama. The open internet laws seek to bar internet service providers from blocking or slowing traffic or offering paid fast lanes. "The FCC deadlock, now over two years long, will remain so for a long time," Sohn said in a statement. Many Democrats said Republicans were doing the bidding of powerful telecom companies that did not want to face regulation from the FCC. In July 2021, Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the open internet net neutrality rules.

☆ Biden U.S. FCC pick in jeopardy after Democrat Manchin opposes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks to reporters following the weekly Democratic caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 29, 2022. Senator Joe Manchin said on Tuesday he will vote against confirming Gigi Sohn as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), potentially imperiling her nomination by President Joe Biden. The open internet laws seek to bar internet service providers from blocking or slowing traffic or offering paid fast lanes. In July 2021, Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the open internet net neutrality rules. Reporting by David Shepardson and Katharine Jackson; writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Senator J"

25 mentions found