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CNN —Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly said two staffers were injured Monday by a man wielding a bat who came into his district office in Fairfax. Connolly told CNN that the assailant who entered his office and attacked two of his aides did so with a metal bat. “He was filled with out of control rage,” Connolly told CNN in a phone interview. Connolly told CNN he was at a ribbon cutting at the time for a food bank when the assailant drove to his office and entered the building. In October, a man attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, hospitalizing him after hitting Paul Pelosi with a hammer in the couple’s home in San Francisco.

Florida lawmakers sent DeSantis a bill that would let him stay governor while running for president. "I don't think we have seen a six-month stretch that has ever been this productive in the history of our state," DeSantis said at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee on Friday. Should DeSantis be successful in a presidential run, he would follow in the footsteps of Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican George W. Bush. Ron DeSantis speaks during an election night watch party at the Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on November 8, 2022. During a press conference in Panama City, Florida, on Thursday, DeSantis continued to play coy about his intentions.

☆ Senate Votes to Disapprove of Biden Solar Tariff Exemption
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( David Harrison | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lawmakers who oppose the solar-tariff exemption say it harms U.S. manufacturers. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesThe Senate voted 56-41 on Wednesday to block a move by the Biden administration to temporarily remove tariffs on solar materials imported from Southeast Asia, sending the measure to President Biden’s desk for an expected veto. Nine Democrats sided with Republicans in favor of the resolution, while one GOP lawmaker, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against the measure. The Senate’s vote follows the House’s passage of the measure by a vote of 221-202 with 12 Democrats in support.

☆ A Hostile, Under-the-Radar Primary Splinters Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Nick Corasaniti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“A celebrity versus the resources versus old school,” said Scott Jennings, a Republican operative in the state, summing up the contest between the three top contenders. “Cameron is the front-runner, but there’s no doubt this race has gotten close and remains fluid,” added Mr. Jennings, who like many other Republicans has remained neutral. Indeed, many of the major forces in Kentucky Republican politics are staying on the sidelines. For Republicans, part of the challenge of defeating Mr. Beshear has to do with the G.O.P. Yet that has kept Mr. Beshear from contentious showdowns with Republicans on hot-button issues, and has let him focus on using state resources to help repair infrastructure and improve the economy.

☆ Cannabis stocks light up after a group of lawmakers again seeks to protect banks that work with legal marijuana businesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cannabis stocks jumped Thursday as lawmakers sought again to pass a bill to protect banks that work with legal pot firms. The SAFE Banking Act of 2023 was refiled by Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate. The Secure and Fair Enforcement, or SAFE, Banking Act was refiled late Wednesday by House and Senate lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties. They say the proposal is aimed at dealing with safety concerns stemming from legal cannabis businesses being locked out of banking services. Merkley said there's now a path for the first time for the SAFE Banking Act to move through the Senate Banking Committee and to a Senate floor vote.

☆ Dr. Fauci Looks Back: ‘Something Clearly Went Wrong’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +55 min

Dr. Fauci Looks Back: ‘Something Clearly Went Wrong’ In his most extensive interview yet, Anthony Fauci wrestles with the hard lessons of the pandemic — and the decisions that will define his legacy. But when people say, “Fauci shut down the economy” — it wasn’t Fauci. But somehow or other, the general public didn’t get that feeling that the vulnerable are really, really heavily weighted toward the elderly. We also had a public-health system that we thought was really, really good. But it was really, really antiquated.

☆ The federal government wastes at least $247 billion in taxpayer money each year. Here's how
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Juhohn Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Improper payments, which refer to payments that are made incorrectly by the government, cost the U.S. $247 billion in 2022, according to the Government Accountability Office. "In the federal government, everything is 'Go spend more money' and if that doesn't work, it's 'Go spend more money.'" It's the job of the GAO to audit and report any wasteful spending by the federal government. Nevertheless, wasteful spending by the government can have painful consequences to the health of the economy, according to watchdog groups. Watch the video to find out more about why taxes feel so high in the U.S. and why so much taxpayer money gets wasted.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow tax money is wasted in the U.S. The U.S. government wasted almost $2.4 trillion on just payment errors over the last two decades, according to the Government Accountability Office. Oversight reports from nonprofits and lawmakers like Rand Paul, R-Ky., claim that billions more are being wasted every year on duplicative and needless programs. So just how much of our taxpayer dollar is wasted every year and what can be done about it?

☆ One of the most important conservative think tanks is changing its tune on the free market and state power to keep up with the 'New Right' ushered in by Trump and DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A recent report published by the think tank outlines how government could play a greater role in the economy. The foundation is trying to keep up with American right's turn away from free markets with Trump and DeSantis. On the other side are libertarian conservatives like Sen. Rand Paul who opposes interfering with free markets. The Reaganite fusion of free markets, social traditionalism, and anti-communism "is fundamentally dead," Geoff Kabaservice, vice president of political studies at the market-oriented think tank Niskanen Center, told Insider. Heritage's president, Kevin Roberts, took over in 2021 and has aligned the think tank much more with the New Right, which is home to figures like Florida Gov.

☆ Opinion: Banning TikTok isn’t just a bad idea. It’s a dangerous one
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Evan Greer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The US government is racing ahead with proposals aimed at banning TikTok, the viral video platform used by more than 150 million Americans. Banning TikTok won’t make us safer from China’s surveillance operations. But banning TikTok isn’t just foolish and dangerous, it’s also unconstitutional. You do that by passing a strong national data privacy law that bans companies from collecting more data about us than they need to provide us with the service we’ve requested. Join us on Twitter and FacebookIt’s a national embarrassment that we have no basic data privacy law in the United States.

☆ GOP's early 2024 pickle: Support 1 of 3 minority candidates for president or stick with the aggrieved white guy who could be a convicted felon by Election Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Republican Sen. Tim Scott has inched closer to challenging Donald Trump in 2024. Current polling casts Trump, who is battling multiple investigations, as the odds-on favorite. Market research firm Morning Consult shows both Scott and Ramaswamy polling at only 1%, and Haley polling at 4%. And that's after he was arraigned on 34 counts of falsifying business records, charges Trump and his House GOP defenders assert are politically motivated. "Our divisions run deep, and the threat to our future is real," Scott said of the existential crisis at hand.

☆ US senators defend push to give Biden new tools to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The White House and 26 senators support the Restrict Act that would apply to foreign technologies from China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. Critics say the bill is overbroad and hurts civil liberties of Americans including the more than 150 million U.S. TikTok users. The senators denied targeting individual users or people using a virtual private network to access TikTok. Last week, Republican Senator Rand Paul blocked a bid to fast-track a separate bill to ban TikTok introduced by Senator Josh Hawley, who said the Restrict Act "doesn’t ban TikTok. Then President Donald Trump's attempts in 2020 to ban TikTok were blocked by U.S. courts.

The lobbying comes amid a sustained effort by TikTok to play down fears raised by lawmakers who want to ban the app, which has 150 million monthly active users in the U.S. She defended the work of TikTok's team in Washington and said the company is trying to address lawmakers' privacy and safety concerns. At the furthest end of the extreme is the legislation from Hawley and Buck that simply seeks to ban TikTok outright by directing the president to block transactions with ByteDance. Hawley has not eased his campaign to ban TikTok. But after, "our phones were ringing off the hook," with the majority of callers voicing opposition to a TikTok ban.

☆ Republicans are starting to split over exactly how — and whether — to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Republicans generally support banning TikTok, but they're beginning to disagree on how. Sen. Rand Paul has also come out against a TikTok ban, blocking a bill from Sen. Josh Hawley. But even among Republicans who favor a TikTok ban, there are growing concerns about the RESTRICT Act — arguably the most prominent proposal put forward to deal with the issue. "So, I think we should ban TikTok. "It's worse than banning TikTok, because it can be applied to lots of other companies," said Paul.

☆ 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.

☆ Sen. Rand Paul says the GOP would 'permanently lose elections for a generation' if TikTok is banned
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Rand Paul is speaking out against a possible ban on TikTok, contradicting much of his own party. He said a ban amounts to a "national strategy to permanently lose elections for a generation" for the GOP. "Before banning TikTok, these censors might want to discover that China's government already bans TikTok," wrote Paul. In recent weeks, calls to ban TikTok over concerns over Chinese government surveillance have only grown in Washington. Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri, who have both introduced nationwide TikTok ban bills.

☆ 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.

☆ Dozens of Senate Republicans oppose overturning the law that made the disastrous 2003 Iraq invasion possible
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Bryan Metzger | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Senate began the process on Thursday to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Iraq War AUMFs. "It should be easy to remove," quipped Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a supporter of repeal. "I don't want to do anything that reduces the President's ability to kill somebody like Soleimani," said Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. For Sen. Paul, repealing the Iraq War AUMFs — which he called "symbolic" — isn't going far enough. The 2001 AUMF opened the door for the invasion of Afghanistan, launching the longest war in US history.

☆ Rep. Katie Porter’s Senate campaign conundrum
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Lincoln Mitchell | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The GOP is likely to have a better chance in Porter's district with her out of the picture. Enter Katie Porter, the first candidate to announce her intention to run for Feinstein’s seat. Her Senate run has a potential downside for national Democrats that should be clear. The problem Porter’s campaign raises for the Democrats has nothing to do with her chances of winning or what she would do in the Senate. If they decide to seek the Senate seat, there will be no cost to House Democrats because their replacements are almost sure to be Democrats as well.

☆ West backs Nigeria's war on extremists, and backs off on human rights
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +21 min

“While respect for human rights is unquestionably a high priority, we have many other equities at stake,” McCulley wrote. He said the focus on human rights had sent relations between the two countries into the “lowest ebb” in his three years there. Nigeria’s human rights record wasn’t only a moral issue – it was a legal one. Working under these laws provided “openings to incentivise and institutionalise” human rights protections within the Nigerian military, the State Department said. The pact also noted that London and Abuja had agreed on an “enhanced human rights dialogue” to ensure compliance with international rights standards.

Its failure to pass a funding bill on time, which is becoming a norm, meant that the government had to function on temporary extensions of last year's funding levels, which Democrats and Republicans alike say poses threats to national security. House Republicans oppose the bill, arguing it is too bloated and was crafted in secrecy among top congressional leaders. The 4,155-page bill was passed on Thursday in the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 68-29. The legislation would provide the Defense Department with a record $858 billion, up from $740 billion last year. It is an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way," Zelenskiy, told a joint meeting of Congress.

☆ Here are the 5 senators who voted against giving workers break time to pump breast milk
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Five senators voted against expanding protections for breastfeeding workers. The PUMP Act will now be included in the federal Omnibus bill, which the president is expected to sign. In online statements on Thursday, Merkley and Murkowski celebrated the passage of the PUMP Act. "I am encouraged to see the PUMP Act pass the Senate—good progress toward ensuring no mother ever has to choose between a job and nursing her child," Murkowski said. Merkley and Murkowski initially tried to get the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act voted on as a standalone bill on Tuesday, but the attempt was blocked by Paul.

Share this -Link copied'It's too much for me': Zelenskyy begins speech by thanking U.S. Zelenskyy began his remarks before a joint meeting of Congress at 7:40 p.m. "I think we share the exact same vision, that of a free, independent and prosperous Ukraine," Biden said. The Ukrainian president added that the soldier told him that "many (of) his brothers, this system saved." President Joe Biden holds a medal presented to him by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Share this -Link copiedPhoto: Zelenskyy shakes hands with Biden as he arrives President Joe Biden welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Congress in a moving Wednesday speech. Zelenskyy's speech came after the Ukrainian president joined Biden for a joint press conference on Wednesday afternoon, during which the latter reaffirmed ongoing support to Ukraine from the US. The Ukrainian president told reporters that he was grateful for US assistance and emphasized that the two countries are fighting for "common victory against this tyranny." President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky assailed Senate GOP leaders for agreeing to the latest tranche of Ukraine aid already baked into the year-end spending deal.

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