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☆ Meta opens up its Horizon Worlds VR app to teens for the first time, prompting outcries from US lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —Meta is forging ahead with plans to let teenagers onto its virtual reality app, Horizon Worlds, despite objections from lawmakers and civil society groups that the technology could have possible unintended consequences for mental health. On Tuesday, the social media giant said children as young as 13 in Canada and the United States will gain access to Horizon Worlds for the first time in the coming weeks. Zuckerberg has pushed to spend billions developing VR hardware and software, even as Meta has scaled back significantly in other parts of its business. “Meta is despicably attempting to lure young teens to Horizon Worlds in an attempt to boost its failing platform,” said Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who last month, along with Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, urged Zuckerberg to reconsider letting teens use the app. Lawmakers have previously raised alarms about the impact of some of Meta’s other products, including Instagram, on younger users.

☆ House, Senate to renew fight pitting child tax credit vs. corporate cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The fate of that corporate tax policy, supported by many Democrats, had been linked to the Democratic Party's desire for a deal on the child tax credit . But House and Senate members are getting ready to reintroduce legislation on the R&D tax credit. Indexing the child tax credit to inflation would also be a matter of tax policy that both parties might agree on as a way to enshrine future increases in law. But there's still the divide on the corporate tax priorities and child tax credit, and at a basic level, getting a bipartisan tax bill through the House and Senate and to the White House is always challenging. Many companies were surprised that the R&D tax credit did not get extended in the late year legislative package because it had so much bipartisan support.

This year, women will hold all four of the top positions on the House and Senate Appropriations committees for the first time in history. “Oftentimes people say, you know, ‘We need to have women at the table.’ Well, women are the table.”Spending and debt fights loomOver the decades, these women have seen their share of spending fights. But I’m absolutely convinced that we have to stand together,” said Granger, who last week became the first female Republican to chair the House Appropriations Committee. Women, Murray said, are good communicators, and she and her colleagues can translate a big, complicated appropriations bill for everyday Americans. But as a 14-year House Appropriations staffer, she also intimately knows each of the top appropriators and recognizes the significance of this glass-ceiling-shattering moment.

☆ Kyrsten Sinema's party switch may make life that much harder for her already stressed out Hill staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Warren Rojas | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kyrsten Sinema's staff have had a tough time on Capitol Hill, with complaints of a "demoralizing" workplace. "He (and his staff) built a lot of good relationships with other senators and their staff," Overland wrote of the goodwill Lieberman had earned during his career. "Sen. Sinema has been in office less than one term and has been causing headaches for the party pretty much the entire time." A Sinema spokesperson declined to comment for this story. John LaBombard, Sinema's former communications director, said on Friday that Sinema told her staff about her decision in advance and he had not heard any negative reaction so far.

☆ Joe Biden, who turns 80 on Sunday, may struggle to win voters concerned about his age in 2024. But he's also the 'guy who knows how to beat Donald Trump.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"He knows he can beat Trump," Jim Moran, a former Democratic House member from Virginia, told Insider. As Trump trashed Biden while announcing his third presidential bid, Biden responded with a video detailing the low points of Trump's record on Twitter, writing "Donald Trump failed America." "The obligation would be cataclysmic, existential, monumental," the friend told Insider in an August interview. On Friday, the progressive "Don't Run Joe" campaign released a birthday greeting for Biden, urging him not to seek re-election. "If our focus is on winning, then going with the guy who knows how to beat Donald Trump is a pretty smart play," Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, previously told Insider.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy on Monday called for an immediate investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia's stake in Twitter after Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media company. “The purpose of these reviews is clear: to protect the national security interests of the United States and American citizens,” Murphy wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who leads CIFIUS. Late last week, Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company and the private office of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said they would help Musk finance his Twitter deal by rolling over their ownership of shares of the company worth about $1.89 billion, according to a statement tweeted by Alwaleed. Together all the way @Twitter,” Prince Alwaleed tweeted. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, led by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, owns nearly 17 percent of Kingdom Holding, according to Reuters.

☆ Senate Democrat wants national security investigation of Saudi Arabia’s role in Elon Musk-Twitter deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN Business —Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is calling on the federal government to investigate national security concerns raised by Saudi Arabia’s role in Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. The Connecticut Democrat urged the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, to conduct an investigation into the “national security implications” of the Saudi involvement. Even though Musk already closed his takeover of Twitter late last week, it may still be subject to national security review. Earlier this month, Twitter shares dropped after Bloomberg News reported Biden officials are in early discussions about possibly subjecting some of Musk’s ventures to national security reviews, including the Twitter deal. “We do now know of any such conversations,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement on October 21.

☆ Biden administration considers hindering military aid to Saudi Arabia in a 'punishing' response to it cutting oil production, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration is considering deliberately delaying military aid to Saudi Arabia, NBC reports. The move is being considered in response to the Kingdom's decision to cut oil production. It could include shipments of Patriot 104-E guided ballistic missiles, of which Saudi Arabia has a contract to purchase 300 of from the US. Along with hindering military aid, another option is to exclude Saudi Arabia from upcoming military exercises and regional engagements, the outlet said. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, previously suggested moving US air-defense systems from Saudi Arabia to Ukraine in response to the oil decision.

☆ The US should punish Saudi Arabia by taking away its air-defense systems and putting them in Ukraine, Sen. Chris Murphy says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US Sen. Chris Murphy said the US should halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia. In a series of tweets Thursday, Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he supported halting US arms exports to Saudi Arabia, and two further measures, in response to the recent decision by Saudi Arabia. Second, he said, US Patriot missile defense systems in Saudi Arabia should be removed and sent to Ukraine. "If Saudi Arabia isn't willing to take the side of Ukraine and U.S. over Russia, why should we keep these Patriots in Saudi Arabia when Ukraine and our NATO allies need them?" Saudi Arabia imports most of its weapons from the US, a relationship underpinning the geopolitical status quo in the region.

☆ Saudi Arabia and OPEC risk causing a US recession, Sen. Blumenthal says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal isn’t buying that argument from Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and is leading the push to punish the kingdom. Blumenthal and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna announced legislation on Tuesday to stop all US arms sales to Saudi Arabia for one year. Blumenthal said he hopes the legislation will lead to a “rebalancing” of the “one-sided” relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. “Saudi Arabia gets arms, it gets paid for oil and then basically turns around and betrays us,” he said. More immediately, Blumenthal said the goal is to get OPEC+ to reverse its decision to slash oil production beginning next month.

☆ Tech leaders dish on how asinine it is to try to describe their companies, products, and worth to Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Hanna Kang | Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Tech companies are worried an aging Congress can't meet or even understand their demands. Younger members of Congress are beginning to take the lead in conversations on tech issues. Hawley said younger members are generally more critical of big tech. However, he added, new technologies are more widely used by younger people, and users tend to understand technology better. Meanwhile, major tech companies continue to ramp up their federal lobbying spending, together spending more in 2021 than in any other year in history.

☆ Why Joe Biden thinks he's never too old to be your president
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

As the oldest sitting president, he's raising concerns about how long he can continue governing. Republicans — including Trump — have gleefully seized on Biden's verbal misadventures, such as when he called his vice president "President Harris." President Joe Biden drives the Ford's new all-electric F-150 Lightning in Dearborn, Michigan. Ruggerio described the idea that Joe Biden is diminished or can't remember things as "bull crap." Cox said that while he thinks Biden is "still Joe" and still capable, he worries that Biden's age is a problem.

☆ Meet the GOP's biggest Hollywood donors
▼ + stars: | 2020-08-26 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

America First Action, the most notable super PAC backing President Donald Trump, has directly criticized Hollywood. Donors from Hollywood-area ZIP codes also rank among the most generous donors to key Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida. 3 donor ZIP code in the nation, trailing only ZIP codes in Houston and Palm Beach, Florida, which is home to his Mar-a-Lago Club resort. Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesTrump continues to profit from HollywoodIn messages to supporters this year, Trump has decried "liberal HOLLYWOOD donors" and "MEGA HOLLYWOOD DONORS," while his son Donald Trump Jr. has castigated the "Hollywood Elite." As president, Trump's pension earned him more than $84,000 in 2017, about $91,000 in 2018, and about $78,000 in 2019, his personal financial disclosures showed.

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