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☆ Fact Check-Claim AOC said 'government must shut down unapproved news agencies’ stems from satire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Democratic U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not say “the government must shut down unapproved news agencies to defeat fascism.” The quote stems from an article by satirical website The Babylon Bee, but some social media users have shared screenshots of the article without this context. Although some users acknowledge the content is satire, others don’t. The screenshot circulating stems from an article by The Babylon Bee published on April 23 (archive.ph/akNvz). The Babylon Bee describes itself as “the world’s best satire site (…) We write satire about Christian stuff, political stuff, and everyday life” (www.babylonbee.com/about). This fabricated quote stems from an article by The Babylon Bee.

☆ SVB depositors including Roku and Roblox are under scrutiny from Elizabeth Warren and AOC for their 'unusually cozy' relationships with the failed bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Top SVB depositors got letters from Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "Silicon Valley Bank's unusually cozy relationship with its clients increased the threat of contagion when the bank went under." The Democrats representing Massachusetts and New York on Sunday sent letters to 14 of SVB's largest depositors about a month after SVB's implosion, the report said. "Silicon Valley Bank's unusually cozy relationship with its clients increased the threat of contagion when the bank went under," Warren told Bloomberg in a statement. Warren and Ocasio-Cortez also sent letters to BILL, Eiger, Ginkgo Bioworks, iRhythm Technologies, LendingClub, Oncorus, Payoneer Global, Protagonist Therapeutics, Rocket Lab USA, and Sangamo Therapeutics.

☆ Lawmakers seek details on ‘unusually cozy’ ties between tech executives and SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Democratic lawmakers sent letters to 14 of the largest depositors at Silicon Valley Bank, seeking details about the lender’s “unusually cozy” relationships with its well-heeled clients. Silicon Valley Bank was known to cater to the tech startup world. But Warren and Ocasio-Cortez, citing media reports, raised concerns about whether the bank’s relationships went beyond industry standards and potentially hastened its collapse last month. SVB reportedly provided lower-interest-rate mortgages for tech start-up founders whom other banks wouldn’t lend to, according to the New York Times, while sponsoring industry ski trips, conferences, and fancy dinners, the lawmakers wrote. “Silicon Valley Bank’s unusually cozy relationship with its clients increased the threat of contagion when the bank went under,” said Senator Warren in a statement.

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Sunday she wants Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to be impeached and his advisers probed after a media report described luxury trips he has taken over decades, funded by a Republican donor. "It is the House's responsibility to pursue that investigation in the form of impeachment," she told CNN in an interview. ProPublica reported on Thursday that Thomas accepted expensive trips from Crow over decades despite federal law requiring the disclosure of most gifts. Crow told ProPublica he had "never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue." Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ocasio-Cortez wants Supreme Court's Thomas impeached
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsOcasio-Cortez wants Supreme Court's Thomas impeachedPostedDemocratic U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Sunday (April 9) she wants Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to be impeached and his advisers probed after a media report described luxury trips he has taken over decades, funded by a Republican donor. Angela Johnston reports.

☆ Republican Senator Rand Paul blocks bid to ban Chinese-owned TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Senator Rand Paul on Wednesday blocked a bid to fast-track a ban of popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, which more than 150 million Americans use, citing concerns about free speech and uneven treatment of social media companies. Republican Senator Josh Hawley had sought unanimous consent for a TikTok ban bill. We're going to be just like China and ban speech we're afraid of?" Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a TikTok video on Friday opposed a TikTok ban, calling it "unprecedented" and said Congress has not gotten classified TikTok briefings. Then President Donald Trump's attempts in 2020 to ban TikTok were blocked by U.S. courts.

☆ 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.

☆ Comedian sues Ocasio-Cortez for blocking him on Twitter after he catcalled her outside U.S. Capitol
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, during a news conference outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. A political provocateur sued Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday for blocking him on Twitter after he heckled her outside the U.S. Capitol, shouting crude remarks about her body and her position on abortion. Look at that booty on AOC," he catcalled to Ocasio-Cortez. Hot, hot, hot like a tamale." The appeals court said Trump was acting in his official presidential capacity when he blocked those people.

☆ Fact Check-Quote about daylight savings time is misattributed to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A quote about Daylight Savings Time and climate change has been falsely attributed to U.S. House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The quote reads, “If we change our times with the sole intent of increasing the amount of daylight we receive, that’s an extra hour of sun shine. We need to repeal Daylight Savings Time as a primary measure to decrease the rate of climate change. Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez, told Reuters via email that “she did not say that or anything like it.”VERDICTFalse. There is no evidence that U.S. House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said this quote about Daylight Savings Time and climate change.

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar from a high-profile committee over remarks widely condemned as antisemitic, two years after Democrats removed two Republicans from committee assignments. The deeply divided House voted 218-211 along party lines to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee with Republicans citing the 2019 remarks for which she later apologized. She was in line to be the top Democrat on the foreign affairs panel's Africa subcommittee. [1/6] U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) walks to her office after being ousted by the Republican-lead House of Representatives to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 2, 2023. McCarthy previously rejected assignments of Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

☆ Fact Check-Video does not show Ted Cruz making Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video of a speech made by Senator Ted Cruz about immigration and border protection is being used to make the claim that he made U.S. House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cry. However, the video is unrelated and there is no footage showing Ocasio-Cortez crying. The image shows Ocasio-Cortez wiping away tears after hearing the testimony of Yazmin Juarez from Guatemala, who lost her infant daughter at a detention facility at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to reports. The video being shared shows Cruz talking at a Senate Session more than two years later on Sept. 22, 2021, as seen on C-SPAN at around the 10:58 mark (here). The video does not show Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez crying because of Senator Ted Cruz.

☆ Divided U.S. House members spar over national security committee seats
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reflecting the bitter divide in the newly seated House, where Republicans hold a slim majority, McCarthy on Tuesday formally rejected Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell as members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. McCarthy, who as speaker can act unilaterally appoint the members of a select committee like the intelligence panel, insists he is acting in the best security interests of the country. McCarthy and other Republican leaders also said they do not want Representative Ilhan Omar to serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. At least two have said they opposed her removal; Republicans have only a five-seat majority in the House. Gosar also had posted a video on social media showing him appearing to kill another House member, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

☆ Read Mark Zuckerberg's deposition about Facebook user data, released years later thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mark Zuckerberg told the SEC in 2019 he'd heard news of Cambridge Analytica and the 2016 US election. He was "curious" to understand the group's use of Facebook then, per a newly released deposition. The deposition with the SEC was released thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request. A newly released deposition of Zuckerberg's questioning in 2019 by the US Securities and Exchange Commission is another piece of the puzzle. In a House hearing in 2018, Representative Anna Eshoo, a Democratic Representative from California, asked Zuckerberg pointedly about Cambridge Analytica.

☆ U.S. lawmakers urge Biden to guarantee rail workers' sick leave
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - More than 70 lawmakers including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday urged President Joe Biden to take executive action to guarantee rail workers paid sick days. On Dec. 2, Biden signed legislation to block a national U.S. railroad strike that could have devastated the American economy after some unions voted against the deal over a lack of paid sick leave. The White House did not immediately comment on the lawmakers' letter, signed by 72 Democratic lawmakers and Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Railroad workers have no paid short-term sick days after unions representing 115,000 workers asked for 15 days and railroads settled on one personal day. "Guaranteeing that workers are not operating trains or inspecting rail signals while sick or tired would fundamentally improve the safety of our national rail operations," the letter said.

☆ The House passes an agreement that would stop a rail strike — and give workers 7 days of sick leave
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The House took the first step towards averting a rail strike, passing legislation to impose an agreement. But members also voted to pass a measure that would give workers 7 paid sick days. Paid sick leave, or lack thereof, has emerged as one of the biggest issues among rail workers. But both the tentative agreement and the paid sick leave resolution still need to pass the Senate. If the agreement passed without paid sick leave, "it's going to make life hard for railroad workers," Grooters said.

The U.S. Justice Department, which approved Ticketmaster's much-criticized purchase of Live Nation in 2010, is different than it was 12 years ago. A probe is well short of a decision to file a lawsuit asking a judge to break up a company. Ticketmaster previously said in a statement the Swift ticket sale problems were caused by unprecedented demand, much of it by bots trying to buy tickets to resell. "Live Nation was a new entrant, but it had the wherewithal to really compete," he said. A previous Ticketmaster fight with the department culminated in a December 2019 settlement that extended for another five years a consent decree that was part of the deal's initial approval.

☆ Ticketmaster expected 1.5 million 'verified' Taylor Swift fans on the site but 14 million people were trying to get tickets, Live Nation chairman says: 'We could have filled 900 stadiums'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ticketmaster was only supposed to be opened to 1.5 million "verified" Taylor Swift fans for presale. Live Nation's chairman said 14 million people tried to get tickets, and could've filled 900 stadiums. "Despite all the challenges and the breakdowns, we did sell over 2 million tickets that day," Live Nation's Greg Maffei said. However, among the 14 million fans were bots, "which are not supposed to be there," Maffei said. Maffei said Ticketmaster attempted to build "capacity for peak demand," but Swift's ticket sales "exceeded every expectation."

☆ NY Democrat who lost his race criticizes AOC, saying she didn't campaign much and 'was nowhere to be found'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He said she didn't help the party enough, an allegation she denies. Moloney was asked by The New York Times on Thursday who was to blame for their party's poor performance. The Times' question related to criticism that Ocasio-Cortez gave of the New York Democratic party on Thursday, also to The Times. She also said the party was fractured there: "Not once has the New York State Democratic chair ever called me. Didn't do anything for our frontline candidates except give them money when they didn't want it from her."

But none of that explains why political campaigns have been turning away from Facebook. Political ads have always been a small part of Facebook's overall business. The pandemic accelerated that trend since so many consumers turned to streaming platforms while stuck at home, and content for cord-cutters proliferated. Ad tracking firm AdImpact projected that of the $9.7 billion spent on political ads this cycle, $1.4 billion would go to connected TVs. Apple's crackdown has indeed diminished Facebook's position in political advertising.

☆ AOC slams Republican lawmaker for insulting witness
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsAOC slams Republican lawmaker for insulting witnessPostedDemocratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized what she called unprecedented "disrespect" of a witness by a Republican colleague during a hearing on the fossil fuel industry on Thursday.

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