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☆ Biden plans limits on oil drilling in Alaska, Arctic Circle, AP reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will prevent or limit oil drilling in 13 million acres of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean, the Associated Press reported on Sunday, citing an administration official. The reported move comes as Biden's administration earlier this week said that it has not yet made a final decision on whether to approve ConocoPhillips' (COP.N) massive Willow oil project in northwest Alaska. To start with, Biden will bar drilling in nearly 3 million acres of the Arctic Ocean, closing off the rest of its federal waters from oil exploration. Citing the administration official, the report added that the administration will then develop new rules for more than 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska. ConocoPhillips' Willow project has support from the oil and gas industry and state officials eager for jobs, but it is opposed by environmental groups who want to move rapidly away from fossil fuels to combat climate change.

Since the Senate on March 1 passed the bill - by unanimous consent - it now goes to the White House for Biden to sign into law or veto. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his intentions. The debate was refueled last month, when the Wall Street Journal first reported that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. Four other U.S. agencies still judge that COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided. Representative Mike Turner, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said as he urged support for the measure.

U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston was randomly assigned the case despite the Justice Department's contention that the lawsuit should be heard by another judge who is overseeing a separate antitrust case involving JetBlue. The Justice Department on Tuesday argued that Sorokin should hear the Spirit case as well because both involved "an assessment of JetBlue's network plans, aircraft orders and configurations, and pricing strategy." Sorokin, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, on Wednesday in a brief order said the Spirit case was wrongly assigned to him because it was "incorrectly marked as related and thus not randomly assigned." The Justice Department and JetBlue declined to comment. In the case filed on Tuesday, the Justice Department said the merger of JetBlue and Spirit would "combine two especially close and fierce head-to-head competitors."

☆ FBI chief says TikTok 'screams' of US national security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - China's government could use TikTok to control data on millions of American users, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday, saying the Chinese-owned video app "screams" of security concerns. "This is a tool that is ultimately within the control of the Chinese government - and it, to me, it screams out with national security concerns," Wray said. The White House backed legislation introduced on Tuesday by a dozen senators to give President Joe Biden's administration new powers to ban TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats. Other top U.S. intelligence officials including Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director William Burns and National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone agreed at the hearing that TikTok posed a threat to U.S. national security. Nakasone on Tuesday expressed concern during Senate testimony about TikTok's data collection and potential to facilitate broad influence operations.

In a 2021 complaint filed with the ITC, Dish and its Sling TV unit accused Peloton and iFit of infringing four patents for video-streaming technology through imports of products that stream at-home fitness content. President Joe Biden's administration has 60 days to review the import ban before it takes effect, though presidents rarely reverse such actions. Cheney found that the Peloton, Lululemon and iFit streaming-capable products infringed patents related to Dish's Hopper set-top boxes. Dish said its patents covered adaptive bitrate streaming technology that lets users stream content from around the world in real time "at the highest possible quality". The technology was developed by Move Networks Inc and was acquired by Dish in 2012, according to court papers.

☆ Biden's public approval ticks up to 42%, highest since June: Reuters/Ipsos poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jason Lange | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval rating edged up to 42%, its highest level since June, as inflation has eased in the United States and job growth has stayed strong, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. Since then, his approval level has risen gradually, with this week's 42% job approval up from 41% recorded a month earlier. The Reuters/Ipsos poll has a margin of error of three percentage points either way. Biden's administration is currently defending in court an program to forgive some student loans made by the federal government, and the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed sharp partisan divisions on the issue, much like they have on Biden's own performance. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted throughout the United States, gathered responses from 1,023 adults, using a nationally representative sample.

☆ Analysis: Biden's focus on deficit in budget is targeted at Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Biden's increasing emphasis on the deficit now doesn't mean the White House sees an imminent crisis looming from the nation's $32 trillion debt. Instead, the White House hopes to draw a sharp contrast with Republican threats to refuse to raise the debt limit without sharp spending cuts. Including this fiscal plan in Biden's agenda can help shore up his economic credibility before his expected 2024 re-election campaign, the White House believes. That doesn't mean that what the White House is proposing is going to happen, of course. Reuters GraphicsNearly six in ten people told Pew Research Center in January that reducing the deficit should be a top Biden administration priority.

☆ 3 reasons why a major student-loan lender thinks millions of borrowers should be thrown back into repayment, with or without debt relief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Student-loan lender SoFi filed a lawsuit to end the student-loan payment pause. The administration pushed back on the lawsuit, saying the payment pause is legal. Here are three reasons why SoFi thinks it's time for millions of student-loan borrowers to start paying off their debt. SoFi has suffered revenue loss from the payment pauseSoFi laid out direct harm the student-loan payment pause has caused its business. If the court does not end the entire student-loan payment pause, SoFi is asking that borrowers ineligible for broad relief reenter repayment and place a permanent injunction preventing the Education Department from giving those borrowers additional relief.

March 8 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Florida on Wednesday agreed with the state's Republican attorney general that the policy of President Joe Biden's administration to release many people who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexican border rather than detaining them violates U.S. immigration law. Republican critics have called the policy "catch and release." The judge agreed with the argument made by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who challenged the policy. Moody sued DHS in 2021, claiming its policy, officially known as Parole Plus Alternative to Detention, violates a U.S. law called the Immigration and Nationality Act. Federal immigration law allows DHS to "parole" migrants rather than detaining them "on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit."

☆ Push to give Biden new powers to ban TikTok moves ahead in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] TikTok app logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. A White House spokeswoman told Reuters the administration is "working with Congress" but declined to say if it would endorse the Senate legislation. Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines on a bill sponsored by Representative Michael McCaul to give Biden the power to ban TikTok after then President Donald Trump was stymied by courts in 2020 in his efforts to ban TikTok and WeChat. TikTok and CFIUS have been negotiating for more than two years on data security requirements. TikTok said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on rigorous data security efforts and rejects spying allegations.

For 100 of those applicants, the Energy Department has hired staff to provide business development advice and "intense mentorship," Jigar Shah, head of the Energy Department's Loan Programs Office, told Reuters on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. Given the rapidly evolving technologies in the clean energy space, Shah said the department might shorten loan terms. If we think that that's a risk, then we just change the terms of the loan," Shah said. The LPO office would like more applications from electric utilities and oil and gas companies for projects designed to reduce emissions, as well as geothermal companies, Shah said. Commercial debt markets are "less interested in the more innovative approaches that (wind companies) are taking.

☆ Biden to host S.Korea's Yoon for state visit April 26 -White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will host South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit on April 26, the White House said on Tuesday. "The upcoming visit celebrates the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance, which is critical to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity for our two countries, the Indo-Pacific, and around the world," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. The visit will highlight the United States' "unwavering commitment" to South Korea, she said. The state visit is the second of Biden's administration, she said. Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina ChiacuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"If corporate profits were to decline from the extremely high levels that we saw recently, would it be possible to sustain" growth in workers' benefits "even as we get inflation down to the target of 2%?" Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen asked Powell during the Fed chief's semi-annual testimony before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. "Wages affect prices and prices affect wages," Powell said, associating current earnings growth to the current ultra-low unemployment rate of 3.4%, and suggesting the labor market may need to weaken at least somewhat for inflation to fall. SHORTAGESUltimately, Powell said he felt profits would likely moderate on their own as the U.S. economy moves beyond the pandemic. "What we're seeing in the economy is pretty much about shortages ... supply chain blockages," Powell said.

☆ Biden's clean energy factory jobs may elude U.S. union workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Right to work laws allow employees to work in union-represented workplaces and be covered by collective bargaining agreements without joining a union or paying dues. American products, he vowed, would be made with union labor. Union labor. Many of the jobs created will be union jobs, the official added. "It's not a favorable environment, but we can still organize," Samantha Smith, senior adviser for clean energy jobs at the AFL-CIO, said in an interview.

☆ U.S. defense secretary aims to reassure Mideast allies, deliver tough message
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Idrees Ali | Thomson Reuters | National Security Correspondent Focusing On The Pentagon In Washington D.C. Reports On U.S. Military Activity | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The United States has about 30,000 troops in the region and is seen as pivotal in helping counter Iranian influence. Austin is poised to send a clear message on the need for Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to respect human rights, underscoring Washington's concern on the issue. "I fully expect him to bring up human rights, respect for fundamental freedoms," the U.S. defense official said. The United States has withheld small amounts of military aid to Cairo, citing a failure to meet human rights conditions. The United States has committed more than $32 billion in weapons to Ukraine including sophisticated air defense systems and tanks.

☆ A major student-loan lender just asked a federal court to end the payment pause — and return borrowers not eligible for Biden's broad relief back into repayment 'at minimum'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Student-loan lender SoFi asked a federal court to end Biden's student-loan payment pause. SoFi also detailed how it has been harmed by the additional payment pause extension. "Because the Moratorium suspended payments and interest for federal student loans, and because privately refinanced loans are ineligible for programs and policies applicable to federal student loans, the Moratorium has eliminated the primary benefits of student loan refinancing. After releasing its fourth-quarter earnings last month, Noto told Yahoo Finance that the latest payment pause extension will "subsidize people that don't need it." "The Department of Education should immediately cancel all federal student loans.

☆ Ukrainian pilot pair in Arizona to fly military simulators -US officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - Two Ukrainian pilots are in Arizona to fly flight simulators and be evaluated by the U.S. military, two U.S. officials said on Saturday, as Washington remains mute on whether it will send fighter jets or sophisticated remotely piloted drones to Kyiv. "This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities," the defense official said. Other allies have also conducted similar events in the past, the defense official said. The defense official did not say how long the Ukrainians had been in the Southwestern state. Training on military equipment, both for its use and maintenance, has been a leading indicator of a potential transfer.

☆ US Treasury puts cost of outbound investment risk program at $10 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - A program to address the risks of outbound U.S. investment in areas with sensitive technology potentially harmful to national security would cost $10 million if set up this fiscal year, according to a U.S. Treasury Department report obtained by Reuters. Congress sought the analysis from the Treasury Department, which would lead any such program's implementation, as well as a review by the U.S. Commerce Department, which would coordinate with Treasury. She added that she would seek to support any executive action on outbound investment through legislation. The Treasury report did not cite China specifically. We're talking to industry, talking to stakeholders, talking to Treasury whose going to have to administer this."

☆ USTA, US Open hoping unvaccinated Novak Djokovic gets special nod to enter country
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Novak Djokovic of Serbia competes during the men's single quarter final match of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship on March 3, 2023. The United States Tennis Association and the U.S. Open are hoping Novak Djokovic is successful in his bid to enter the country after the Serbian, who is not vaccinated against Covid-19, applied for special permission last month. "Novak Djokovic is one the greatest champions our sport has ever seen," the U.S. Open Twitter account said on Friday. "The USTA and U.S. Open are hopeful that Novak is successful in his petition to enter the country, and that the fans will be able to see him back in action at Indian Wells and Miami," it added. Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas said in January it would be a "disgrace" if Djokovic was not allowed to compete this year after the Serbian also missed last year's U.S. Open.

☆ The US could be 4 months away from a potentially disastrous debt-ceiling breach, but nobody's negotiating over how to fix it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

GOP lawmakers have refused a clean increase, but have yet to produce details on what they want in a deal. The US could breach the debt ceiling as soon as July, the CBO estimated. That's because no one seems to be ready or willing to negotiate over how to raise the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling dictates how much money the government can borrow to pay off the expenses it's already approved. For now, Biden's administration has maintained that raising the debt ceiling should be done in a bipartisan way, and without negotiations.

☆ Factbox: Willow oil and gas project in Alaska sparks green opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

March 3 (Reuters) - Environmental and climate activists are rallying online against ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska as the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden weighs whether to greenlight the controversial plan. Here are some details about the project:WHAT IS THE WILLOW PROJECT? The Willow project is a $6 billion proposal from ConocoPhillips' (COP.N) to drill oil and gas in Alaska. The Willow project area holds an estimated 600 million barrels of oil, or more than the amount currently held in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the country's emergency supply. The Biden administration has also been urging U.S. oil companies to invest in boosting production to help keep consumer energy prices in check.

☆ Factbox: What is the Willow project in Alaska, and why do green activists oppose it?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The sun sets behind an oil drilling rig in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska on March 17, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File PhotoMarch 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Monday announced it would approve a trimmed-down version of ConocoPhillips' Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska, triggering angry reactions from climate activists. Here are some details about the project:WHAT IS THE WILLOW PROJECT? The Willow project is a $6 billion proposal from ConocoPhillips (COP.N) to drill oil and gas in Alaska. The Willow project area holds an estimated 600 million barrels of oil, or more than the amount currently held in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the country's emergency supply.

☆ Opponents of Biden's student-loan forgiveness are spotlighting another way to give borrowers debt relief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A challenger to Biden's student-debt relief argued he could have used the Higher Education Act of 1965 to cancel student debt. "During the campaign, they were talking about doing broad-based debt relief," he said. Senator Warren and others passed resolutions urging the Secretary to use the Higher Education Act to pass debt forgiveness. She added at the end of the arguments that Biden's relief "is a pandemic-related program. So unlike the HEROES Act, the Higher Education Act would allow for the canceling of debts without the existence of an emergency like COVID-19.

☆ Russians intensify assault on Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces try to dig in
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ukrainian aircraft launched three strikes on areas of concentration of Russian forces, according to a statement by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Tuesday night. Bakhmut had a pre-war population of around 70,000 but has been ruined during months of fighting as a focal point of Russian assaults and determined Ukrainian defence. A Russian takeover of Bakhmut would open the way to seizing the last remaining urban centres in the industrial Donetsk province. 'GRINDING SLOG'[1/4] Ukrainian service members ride BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 27, 2023. The meeting will be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Britain's James Cleverly, while China is expected to send its foreign minister, Qin Gang.

☆ Biden's administration made a 'powerful defense' of its student-loan forgiveness plan before the Supreme Court, education secretary says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Supreme Court concluded oral arguments on Biden's student-debt relief on Tuesday. The Supreme Court will make a decision on the legality of Biden's plan by June. In the hours leading up to arguments, advocates, Democratic lawmakers, and borrowers rallied outside the Supreme Court to voice their support for Biden's plan. The Supreme Court needs to apply the letter of the law, and we need to get this done." Now, all eyes turn to the Supreme Court, which is expected to make a final decision on the legality of Biden's plan by June.

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