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☆ Relax, those objects in the sky are probably just from one of the 90 countries and 10,000 companies that make up the nearly $1 trillion space economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US shot down three unidentified objects over the weekend, following the downing of a Chinese balloon earlier this month. The space economy was valued at nearly $500 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow to over $1 trillion by 2030. Over the weekend, the US shot down three unidentified objects over Alaska, Canada, and Lake Huron. These entities, none of which have claimed ownership of the objects, include the 90 countries and roughly 10,000 companies currently involved in the global space industry. But on Monday, the White House said President Biden will establish a team to analyze unidentified objects in the US airspace.

☆ Sen. Tom Cotton: It's in America's interest to stop Russia in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSen. Tom Cotton: It's in America's interest to stop Russia in UkraineSen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss why continued support for Ukraine is good for the U.S., how the U.S. allies are considering the type of weapons to offer Ukraine, and more.

☆ The American Case for Supporting Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Tom Cotton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After years of observing Russian leaders up close during World War II, Winston Churchill remarked that “there is nothing they admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than for weakness, especially military weakness.” Churchill therefore warned against “offering temptations to a trial of strength.”Unfortunately, that’s exactly what President Biden did in his first year in office, tempting Vladimir Putin to pursue his long-standing ambition to reassemble the Russian Empire by conquering Ukraine. Having failed to deter the war, Mr. Biden’s timid approach has now prolonged it.

[1/2] The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. REUTERS/Randall HillWASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Sunday it is searching for remnants of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon it shot down the previous day, in a dramatic spy saga that has further strained American-Chinese relations. A successful recovery could potentially give the United States insight into China's spying capabilities, though U.S. officials have downplayed the balloon's impact on national security. Democrats said Biden's decision to wait to shoot down the balloon until it had passed over the United States protected civilians from debris crashing to Earth. The Pentagon will brief senators on the balloon and Chinese surveillance on Feb. 15, Schumer said.

☆ Republicans criticize Biden for waiting to shoot down Chinese balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. Schumer said downing the balloon into the ocean likely enables U.S. intelligence officials to examine its remnants. The Pentagon will brief senators on the balloon and Chinese surveillance on Feb. 15, Schumer said. Trump on Sunday disputed Austin's statement that Chinese government surveillance balloons had transited the continental United States briefly three times during his presidency. Speaking on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures" show, Trump's former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe also denied such balloon incidents.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a visit to China that had been expected to start on Friday after a Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States, a U.S. official said. China earlier expressed regret that what it called a "civilian" airship had strayed into U.S. territory after being blown off course, an incident that sparked a political furor in the United States. Republican Senator Tom Cotton had called for Blinken to cancel his trip, while Republican former President Donald Trump, a declared presidential candidate for 2024, posted "SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON!" It said it would continue to communicate with the United States to "properly handle" the unexpected situation. Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said the spy balloon was alarming but not surprising.

"The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters. It was not clear how the discovery of the spy balloon might affect those plans. Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said the spy balloon was alarming but not surprising. A separate U.S. official said the spy balloon had been tracked near the Aleutian Islands and Canada before entering the United States. Spy balloons have flown over the United States several times in recent years, but this balloon appeared to be lingering longer than in previous instances, an official said.

☆ Republicans are lashing out at DirecTV for supposedly ‘censoring’ conservative voices. Here’s what’s really going on
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Several Republican senators unleashed on the satellite carrier Wednesday over its move to drop the right-wing channel Newsmax from its lineup, adding to mounting pressure DirecTV has faced over the matter. The senators suggested DirecTV’s move was all part of a nefarious plot to “censor” conservative viewpoints. DirecTV also balked at paying for the same content that streams to users for free on other platforms, such as Roku. But the right-wing channel, led by Chris Ruddy, who is well-connected in GOP circles, has sought to leverage its political power to pressure DirecTV into paying up. Last week, it added to its lineup the right-wing channel The First, which features hosts such as Bill O’Reilly, Dana Loesch, Liz Wheeler, and Jesse Kelly.

Haines also refused to discuss the sensitive material, citing ongoing special counsel investigations, according to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee who attending the classified briefing. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was so furious after the briefing that he threatened to block presidential nominees or funding for some federal agencies until the Biden administration shows key lawmakers the classified documents. “Whether it’s blocking nominees or withholding budgetary funds, Congress will impose pain on the administration until they provide these documents. The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Intelligence panel emerged together from the secure briefing room and rejected the administration’s argument. “I’m not saying anything bad about the three [Biden, Trump and Pence], but classified information in the wrong hands can create problems for our country, put people at risk.

☆ Debt ceiling fight threatens to deepen divide between GOP and corporate America
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Shannon-Pettypiece-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Shannon Pettypiece | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

WASHINGTON — Corporate America’s warnings of a financial catastrophe if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling are falling on deaf ears among key congressional Republicans who find themselves increasingly at odds with the party's longtime allies. Republicans, who for decades closely aligned with the business community, have largely downplayed the alarm bells sounded by business groups, corporate CEOs and Wall Street investors over the economic consequences of missing an early June deadline for action on Capitol Hill. Instead, many GOP lawmakers vow to seek spending cuts in exchange for passing legislation that would let the U.S. government keep paying its bills. “The business groups and the major economic agents in this country are still going to be very influential by once again reminding Congress about the severe consequences the U.S. will face if the debt ceiling is not raised,” said the political consultant with corporate clients involved in the debt ceiling debate. “I think a lot of Republicans in the House, in the Senate, will understand that.

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., on Tuesday announced his campaign for the Senate seat held by GOP Sen. Mike Braun, who decided against running for re-election in 2024 and will run for Indiana governor instead. Banks, a staunch ally of former President Trump, is the first candidate to enter the Senate race. Mitch Daniels if he jumps into the Senate race. Banks’ Senate campaign is endorsed by Rep. Larry Buschon, R-Ind., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., state Rep. Michelle Davis and state Sen. Justin Busch. After Pelosi rejected Banks and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, McCarthy ultimately withdrew all five names.

☆ Safety official's remarks about possible gas stove ban fuel hot GOP takes about Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Republicans are warning that the Biden administration is coming for your stove if it's fueled by gas. “Gas stoves are the next thing the Biden Administration is coming after,” he tweeted. “Washington bureaucrats should have no say in how Americans prepare their dinner.”Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Biden to "get your hands off our gas stoves!!!!" “There’s been a lot of gaslighting today about gas stoves,” Beyer tweeted Tuesday. “To be clear, I didn’t call for a ban on gas stoves.

☆ A top Republican says Biden's proposals to make monthly student-loan payments cheaper are a 'backdoor' for his 'radical free college agenda'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Biden administration announced new regulations to improve income-driven repayment plans. The changes are meant to make payments cheaper, and "create faster pathways to forgiveness," according to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. Foxx has been an outspoken opponent of Biden's broad student loan forgiveness and other pandemic-era debt-relief measures. Under IDR, borrowers are meant to make monthly payments based on their incomes, with eventual loan forgiveness after at least 20 years of payments. "These plans will significantly cut monthly loan payments and it's part of a real transformation of the student loan system."

☆ Sen. Tom Cotton says Biden's border trip is 'meaningless' 15 months after criticizing the president for being 'too busy' to travel there
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Republicans, including Sen. Tom Cotton, have criticized Biden for not visiting the US-Mexico border. Now that Biden is traveling there, Cotton said the trip will be "meaningless" because of his policies. Now that Biden is traveling to El Paso, Texas on Sunday, Cotton is calling the trip "meaningless." "Visiting the border is meaningless if Biden continues to push policies that invite illegal immigration," the Arkansas Republican tweeted on Thursday. During the news conference, Biden criticized Republicans for rejecting bipartisan efforts in the Senate to put together a comprehensive immigration plan.

☆ The World According to Tom Cotton
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Walter Russell Mead | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Most politicians try to keep the writing bug at bay, perhaps remembering Job’s cry in the Bible: “Oh . For Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton , however, writing has been key to his political rise. As an Army officer serving in Iraq, he wrote a letter to the New York Times expressing hope that the Justice Department would prosecute the journalists responsible for revealing information that endangered the lives of soldiers. The Times declined to publish it, and the resulting controversy helped launch his career. Subsequent Cotton encounters with the Times have been equally consequential, wreaking havoc at the paper and boosting his standing on the right.

☆ Home Depot's 93-year-old cofounder who said 'nobody works' anymore because of 'socialism' has donated $64 million to elect Trump and the Republican party over the years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Bernie Marcus, the billionaire cofounder of Home Depot, said Thursday "nobody works" anymore. Marcus donated millions to Trump in 2016 and 2020, and more to other Republicans over the years. In an interview with the Financial Times published Thursday, 93-year-old Bernie Marcus said "nobody works, nobody gives a damn," blaming the change on "socialism." In 2020, he made two separate donations of $5 million each to the Preserve America PAC, a single-candidate PAC that supports Trump. Marcus has also donated extensively to House and Senate races, contributing to a long list of Republican lawmakers that includes Sens.

☆ Republicans went after BlackRock and sustainable investing in 2022. Meet 12 officials crusading against 'woke capitalism.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A group of vocal conservative officials are criticizing aspects of ESG investing. Players in the ESG ecosystem, like S&P Global and BlackRock, the world's largest money manager and an influential proponent of ESG investing, are often the subject of their critiques. Instead, officials often paint large financial firms' ESG strategies as functions of left-leaning agendas. Here are key GOP players who are taking aim at ESG investing. Abbott, who is seeking reelection in November, was early to denouncing ESG investing.

☆ Here are the 14 Republican senators who may have doomed their bills in the new GOP House by voting for a major spending bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kevin McCarthy even vowed to block House consideration of bills sponsored by GOP senators who voted for it. But a slew of GOP senators voted for it anyway, including 4 who are retiring and 14 who will remain. "Kevin's in a tough spot," Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, a former House Republican and an opponent of the omnibus himself, told CNN's Manu Raju. "Statements like that... is the very reason that some Senate Republicans feel they probably should spare them from the burden of having to govern." Additionally, four Republican senators who voted for the bill are retiring, making the threat meaningless to them.

☆ Upset the sun sets so early? Blame the House for not voting to make daylight savings time year-round.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The House could have voted this year to make daylight savings time permanent. The chair of the relevant House committee told Insider he still wants to find "consensus" on the issue. "It's polarizing as hell," Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a key sponsor of the bill, told Insider at the Capitol in December. "I'm just trying to reach a consensus," he told Insider at the Capitol. "The problem is, half the people want standard time, others want daylight [savings time], others don't want to change it at all."

☆ Kellyanne Conway slams GOP senators who didn't stump for Herschel Walker ahead of the Senate runoff: 'Why weren't you in Georgia?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kellyanne Conway last week criticized GOP senators who didn't stump for Republican Herschel Walker. "Where were the other senators to say, 'I want Herschel Walker, not Raphael Warnock in the Senate with me?'" In last month's general election, Warnock edged out Walker 49.4%-48.5% statewide, which triggered a runoff as neither candidate hit the requisite 50% of the vote to declare victory. Warnock on Tuesday won the runoff over Walker 51.4%-48.6%. I don't like it because it's not Election Day, it's election season, election trimester.

☆ Meet 12 Republican officials crusading against BlackRock and ESG investing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Skeptical lawmakers from across the political spectrum questioned executives at grocers Kroger Co (KR.N) and Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N) on Tuesday about their planned $25 billion merger amid concerns the tie-up could boost already-high food prices. The deal will be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission to ensure it is legal under antitrust law. Stores under the Albertsons umbrella include Balducci's, Haggen, Kings, Safeway, Star Market, Tom Thumb, United Supermarkets and Vons, among others. The companies have also been criticized for a plan to give Albertsons' shareholders a $4 billion dividend payment. Senator Tom Cotton, a conservative Republican, criticized Kroger for the company's aprons with a design that appeared to support gay pride.

☆ Meet a first-generation attorney with $347,000 in student debt who can't land a job and says 'there are a substantial number of people like me that are being forgotten'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Steve Pederzani was told that going to law school would set him up for a comfortable future. But he hasn't been able to land a steady job and is buried in $347,000 worth of student debt. "And with law school, everyone said that I'll never have to worry about those things." But after graduating from law school in 2017, Pederzani today has $347,000 in student debt that keeps growing. Those loans are included in President Joe Biden's plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers making under $125,000 a year.

☆ Calls for TikTok ban gain steam as Biden administration weighs deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Melissa Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCalls for TikTok ban gain steam as Biden administration weighs dealCalls for a TikTok ban get louder as Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) point out the security threat. With CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders, Tim Seymour, Courtney Garcia, Dan Nathan and Guy Adami.

☆ Rep. Zeldin taking supporters’ calls about running for RNC chair, longtime adviser says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

“He has received calls from around the country,” John Brabender said Sunday. Under the party’s rules, the top two posts must be held by one man and one woman. Zeldin, a four-term House member from Long Island, lost to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul by 53% to 47% — in a state where Trump lost by 22 percentage points in 2020. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., praised Zeldin on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, although did not address a possible RNC bid.

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