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"If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes," Powell said. Republicans focused on whether energy policy was restricting supply and keeping prices higher than needed, and whether restrained federal spending could help the Fed's cause. As of December, officials saw that rate rising to a peak of around 5.1%, a level investors expect may move at least half a percentage point higher now. With a 50-basis-point rate hike now in play, Brown said a strong monthly jobs report on Friday would likely lead to "calls for a 6% terminal rate," nearly a percentage point higher than Fed officials had projected as of December. How much remains unclear, but Powell said the focus will remain more squarely on how inflation behaves.

☆ Twelve U.S. senators back giving Commerce Secretary new powers to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO:. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo speaks during the High-Level Economic Dialogue Second Annual Meeting in Mexico City, Mexico September 12, 2022. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha/PoolWASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators will introduce legislation Tuesday that would give Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo new powers to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats, Senator Mark Warner said. "I think it is a national security threat," Warner said on CNBC, adding the bill would give Raimondo "the ability to do a series of mitigation up to and including banning" TikTok. Reporting by David ShepardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TikTok a potential target in upcoming US bill to ban some foreign tech - Senator
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) speaks to the media following a classified briefing for U.S. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File PhotoWASHINGTON March 5 (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators plan to introduce legislation this week aimed at letting the government "ban or prohibit" foreign technology products such as Chinese-owned TikTok, Senator Mark Warner said on Sunday. Warner, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said TikTok would be "one of the potentials" for review under the bill. The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted on Wednesday to give President Joe Biden the power to ban TikTok, in what would be the most far-reaching U.S. restriction on any social media app. He said he planned to introduce the legislation this week with Republican Senator John Thune.

☆ US sanctions three people for abuse of Russian opposition politician
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Katharine Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on three Russians it accused of serious human rights abuses against Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was arrested last year after speaking out against the war in Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury Department said the sanctions target Elena Anatolievna Lenskaya, Andrei Andreevich Zadachin and Danila Yurievich Mikheev for abuses under the Global Magnitsky Act. Kara-Murza, who holds both British and Russian citizenship and was a pallbearer at the 2018 funeral of U.S. Senator John McCain, was a close aide to opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead in central Moscow in 2015. Kara-Murza has pushed for the U.S., Canada, European Union and Britain to use Magnitsky-style sanctions to target human rights abusers and corrupt actors in Russia, the Treasury Department said.

☆ Fact Check-CNN did not publish a report stating US Senator John Fetterman died
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CNN did not publish a news report on Democratic Senator for Pennsylvania John Fetterman dying on Feb. 23, 2023, but posts on social media shared a fabricated screenshot alleging the broadcaster published and retracted an obituary. The URL mentions the date of publishing as Feb. 23, 2023. A web archive for late Feb. 23 for CNN’s U.S. news home page shows no such article (here). CNN did not publish a report stating John Fetterman died on Feb. 23, 2023. (Updates paragraph 10 to include response from Fetterman’s office)This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

☆ Republican drive against Biden ESG investment rule gains momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Approval could open the door to other Republican efforts to overturn Biden administration regulations. "We 100% have the votes," a Senate Republican aide said after Tester released a statement. The Democratic-led Senate was due to vote on the Republican resolution at 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT). The Labor Department said the Trump-era rule failed to account for the positive impact that ESG investing can have on long-term returns. Industry has been split on the Biden rule, with fossil-fuel companies opposed and other businesses voicing support.

In an interview with NBC News Monday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says he expects Senator John Fetterman to come back to the Senate and to “serve for a good long while.”Shapiro would be charged with naming an interim replacement should there be a vacancy and there would then be a special election in November 2024 to fill the rest of the term — a scenario that would put both of the state’s Senate seats on the ballot next year. When asked If there is a contingency plan in place in case Fetterman decides to step down, Shapiro said, “There is no contingency plan and it is 100% Senator Fetterman’s decision as to what he will do in the future.”Shapiro said he feels no pressure from inside the Democratic Party to push Fetterman to resign, nor does he feel pressure to push him to stay in the seat to benefit Democrats in the 2024 election. Fetterman checked himself into the hospital for treatment of “clinical depression” on February 16th. “I’m proud of Senator Fetterman for getting the help that he needs and I’m there for Gisele and their family. And I know the people of Pennsylvania I’ve talked to are encouraging him along to get the help that he needs.”Today the Senator’s team sent their first official update on his status since announcing his hospitalization.

☆ US House Republicans target ESG investments in latest culture war salvo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The measure is the latest salvo in the Republican culture war against the use of issues that promote environmental interests, social equality and corporate responsibility in business and investment decisions. "Retirement plans should be solely focused on delivering maximum returns, not advancing a political agenda," said Republican Representative Andy Barr, who introduced the House resolution. "If Congress doesn't block the Department of Labor's rule greenlighting ESG investing in retirement plans, retirees will suffer diminished returns on the investment of their hard-earned money." The measure is widely expected to pass the House, where Republicans hold a slim 222-212 seat majority. Two Democratic absences could give Republicans the simple majority necessary to pass the measure and send it to Biden's desk.

☆ Former GOP Senator James Inhofe retired because of long COVID symptoms. Other colleagues have it but keep it secret, he said.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former Republican Senator James Inhofe said he retired due to long COVID symptoms. During his time in office, the Oklahoma senator repeatedly voted against COVID protections. The CDC estimated that one in five American adults with the disease suffers from long COVID symptoms. He said "five or six" other political colleagues have long COVID, "but I'm the only one who admits it." In March 2020, Inhofe voted against the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which broadly expanded benefits for those affected by the pandemic.

☆ U.S. Senator Jon Tester will again run in 2024, in boon for Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Jon Tester will run for reelection, he said on Twitter on Wednesday, in a major win for Democrats who are defending seats in several battleground states in 2024. Tester, who has represented Montana in the U.S. Senate since 2007, is a reliable moderate who has won three tight races in the past in the increasingly Republican state. Even with an incumbent's advantage, Tester will likely still face a tough battle for reelection. Upcoming races in states like Montana, West Virginia, Ohio and Arizona all present challenges to the Democrats' ability to hold onto their Senate majority going into 2025. Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Richard Cowan and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Democrat Jennifer McClellan Wins Virginia House Seat, Becoming State’s First Black Woman in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Eric Bazail-Eimil | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jennifer McClellan, a longtime state lawmaker, emphasized in her campaign racial justice, the economy and abortion access. WASHINGTON—Democratic state senator Jennifer McClellan won a special House election in Virginia Tuesday, becoming the first Black woman to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in Congress, the Associated Press projects. Virginia’s fourth congressional district, a heavily Democratic area that runs from the capital of Richmond down to the border with North Carolina, has been without a member of Congress since Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin died in November after winning re-election.

MUNICH, Germany Feb 17 (Reuters) - Nearly 50 lawmakers from both major U.S. political parties on Friday attended the start of Europe's premier annual security conference to affirm bipartisan support for U.S. aid to Ukraine. But Lindsey Graham, a leading advocate of aiding Ukraine, said in Munich that China would be encouraged to invade Taiwan if the United States and its European allies failed to back Ukraine. But Republicans and some Democrats also say President Joe Biden's administration should better explain its Ukraine policy. The United States is Ukraine's leading military aid supplier at some $30 billion, including long-range artillery, air defence systems and advanced armored vehicles. There are now calls on both sides of the Atlantic for Ukraine to receive advanced Western fighter jets.

☆ Sen. John Fetterman will likely be in hospital for a few weeks for clinical depression treatment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), leaves a classified briefing for U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., will receive inpatient hospital care for "a few weeks" as he seeks treatment for clinical depression, a senior aide to the senator told NBC News. Fetterman suffered a life-threatening stroke on the campaign trail last year, and he has continued to experience health issues in office. Fetterman's return to the Senate will not be a matter of days, the senior aide told NBC on Thursday night. Fetterman's aide told NBC that the senator has struggled to adjust to his current situation, leading him to seek treatment.

☆ U.S. Congress members seek halt to $1 billion Nigeria weapons deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We write to express our concern with current U.S. policy on and military support to Nigeria," the lawmakers said. The United States has paired security assistance to Nigeria with training focused on compliance with international law. Nigerian military leaders denied the program has ever existed and said Reuters reporting was part of a foreign effort to undermine the country's fight against the insurgents. Nigerian military leaders told Reuters the army has never targeted children for killing. Amid international outcry, Nigeria’s defense ministry agreed to cooperate with an investigation by Nigeria’s Commission on Human Rights, which is underway.

☆ U.S. Senator Fetterman in hospital for clinical depression -statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed medical center on Wednesday to receive treatment for severe clinical depression, his office said. The 53-year-old Pennsylvania Democrat, who suffered a stroke last year, was evaluated by the attending physician for Congress on Monday, who recommended inpatient care, his chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, said in a statement on Thursday. "While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks," Jentleson said. Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Kanishka Singh; editing by Rami Ayyub and Eric BeechOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ John Fetterman checks into Walter Reed hospital to receive treatment for depression
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

US Senator John Fetterman is currently at Walter Reed hospital receiving treatment for depression. In a statement, his office said Fetterman checked himself in on Wednesday night. Fetterman, elected last fall, is recovering from a May 2022 stroke that has impaired his ability to process speech. Fetterman is currently being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Jentleson said he is "receiving treatment on a voluntary basis." "After examining John, the doctors at Walter Reed told us that John is getting the care he needs, and will soon be back to himself," Jentleson said.

☆ DeSantis seeks wins on guns, abortion before facing Trump in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Griffin also noted the support DeSantis' proposals receive from lawmakers. If DeSantis does enter the race for the Republican nomination, he will join a field still dominated by Trump. "We have articulated a vision for a free and prosperous state," DeSantis said at his second inauguration last month. In a brief interview, Collins called DeSantis’ support “a blessing.” He resisted the suggestion that the legislature was a rubber stamp for the governor. DeSantis' hard-right stance on issues such as guns and abortion risks alienating the suburban voters he eventually would need to win the presidency in 2024.

☆ Before facing Trump in 2024, DeSantis seeks wins on guns, abortion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers sharply criticized the U.S. military and the Biden administration on Thursday for failing to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon when it first entered U.S. airspace, instead of waiting a week to do so. Pentagon officials said they were able to monitor the balloon's path and protect and conceal areas sensitive to U.S. national security. Republican Senator Susan Collins said the decision to let the balloon trek across the United States sent the wrong message to China and other U.S. adversaries. "In my judgment, U.S. deterrence was weakened when the spy balloon was permitted to transverse Alaska and several other states, included hovering over sensitive military bases and assets," Collins added. Separately, the House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously backed a resolution condemning the incursion of the balloon as "a brazen violation of United States sovereignty."

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) on Thursday faced harsh criticism from U.S. senators at a hearing investigating the airline's meltdown that disrupted travel plans for 2 million customers, with one lawmaker calling the situation an "unmitigated disaster." While Southwest cited weather impacts, the union singled out poor preparation and a failure to modernize technology. Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen called it an "unmitigated disaster" that had a "devastating impact on families." Watterson said it has received about 284,000 cases from passengers impacted by meltdown and reimbursed more than 273,000 -- leaving 10,782. Cantwell said Southwest Chief Executive Officer Bob Jordan, who had been invited to the hearing, "didn't want to show up."

☆ U.S. Senator Fetterman hospitalized but did not have a new stroke -spokesman
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Senator John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke last year, was taken to a hospital late on Wednesday after feeling lightheaded but tests show he did not have a new stroke, his office said in a statement on Thursday. The 53-year-old Pennsylvania Democrat asked his staff to take him to a hospital in Washington after feeling lightheaded at a Senate Democratic retreat, his spokesman Joe Calvello said. "The results of the MRI, along with the results of all of the other tests the doctors ran, rule out a new stroke," Calvello said. Fetterman remains at George Washington Hospital for observation, the spokesman said. Fetterman had a stroke last year while campaigning for one of the key political swing state's two U.S. Senate seats.

Sydney/Hong Kong CNN —Australia’s defense ministry will remove Chinese-made cameras from its offices over spying concerns, the country’s Minister for Defence Richard Marles has said. The concerns were raised by Senator James Paterson of the opposition Liberal Party, who said Wednesday that he had conducted an “audit” of Chinese-made security devices in use on Australian government premises. The audit found 913 devices, including cameras, access control systems and intercoms, made by Chinese-state owned enterprises Hikvision and Dahua, Paterson noted. “These companies have a very close relationship with the Chinese Communist Party, and they are subject to China’s National Intelligence laws, which require all Chinese companies and individuals to secretly cooperate with Chinese intelligence agencies if requested,” Paterson said in a radio interview Wednesday. And where those particular cameras are found they’re going to be removed.”Asked about the Australian government’s concerns over Chinese-made cameras, a spokesperson for Beijing’s foreign affairs ministry said China opposes “generalizing national security, abuse of state power and acts that discriminate and suppress Chinese companies.”

☆ Australia to remove Chinese-made security cameras from national war memorial -reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Australia's national war memorial will remove several Chinese-made security cameras installed on the premises because officials are concerned they could be used for spying, local media reported on Wednesday. Eleven surveillance cameras manufactured by Hikvision (002415.SZ), partly owned by Chinese state investors, will be removed from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra by mid-2023, according to the Canberra Times. The Australian War Memorial said in a statement on Wednesday it did not comment on security matters. Opposition senator James Paterson said on Wednesday he is conducting a full audit of all government departments and agencies for possible exposure to Chinese-made surveillance devices. Paterson first raised the issue of Chinese-made surveillance equipment during public hearings last year.

☆ TikTok Dealt Another Hit as Democratic Senator Joins Calls for Banning the App
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( John D. Mckinnon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Another prominent Democrat has joined Republicans seeking to hobble TikTok, with Sen. Michael Bennet (D., Colo.) calling on Apple Inc. and Google to bar the Chinese-owned video platform from their app stores. Republicans have been the most outspoken critics of TikTok, but in recent weeks, Democrat Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois joined with Republicans to sponsor legislation to ban TikTok outright.

"We call on the Sudanese government to exercise all available legal means to reverse this decision and to re-arrest Abuzeid," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters. Officials met with the Sudanese ambassador to the United States on Thursday and the U.S. ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, is engaging Sudanese officials at the highest levels on the issue, Price said. Peter Lord, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Africa, Sudan and South Sudan will also take up the issue and demand action when he travels to Khartoum next week, Price said. Abuzeid's brother said on Monday that his sibling was released by Sudan's high court based on a multimillion dollar 2020 settlement between Sudan and victims of attacks including the one that killed Granville. "In no way did (the settlement) say that that money was going to release any of these men that killed John," Jane Granville said.

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