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☆ Fewer states than ever could pick the next president
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Five states decided the last presidential race by flipping from Trump in 2016 to Joe Biden in 2020 – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees have each carried 20 states in every election since at least 2008. Democrats did not demonstrate the capacity to threaten any of the GOP’s core 20 states, as Republicans did in Nevada. A race with just Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona as true battlegrounds would begin with Democrats favored in states holding 260 Electoral College votes (including Washington, DC) and Republicans in states with 235. After 2022, the list of genuinely competitive presidential states may be shrinking, but, if anything, that could increase the tension as the nation remains poised on the knife’s edge between two deeply entrenched, but increasingly antithetical, political coalitions.

☆ Same-sex marriage protection bill clears initial hurdle in U.S. Senate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It would serve as a legal backstop against any future Supreme Court action by requiring the federal government to recognize any marriage that was legal in the state it was performed. It would not block states from banning same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allows them to do so. All 50 Democrats and 12 Republican senators voted to advance the bill in the 100-member Senate. Speaking before Wednesday's vote, Republican Senator Thom Tillis, another key negotiator, called the bill "a good compromise... based on mutual respect for our fellow Americans." In a mark of how far the country has moved on the issue, the Mormon church - once a virulent opponent of legalizing same-sex marriage - came out in support of the bill.

☆ Top CBS Executives Exit Amid Broader Restructuring at Paramount
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Joe Flint | Jessica Toonkel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kelly Kahl, CBS’s head of entertainment, will leave his post at the end of the year, the company said. The top two entertainment executives at CBS are leaving as part of a broader restructuring at the network and its parent company, Paramount Global . CBS’s head of entertainment, Kelly Kahl , and his top lieutenant, Thom Sherman , will leave their posts at the end of the year, the company said.

☆ Four Republican senators so far have broken with their party to support a bill codifying same-sex marriage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate is set to take a procedural vote Wednesday on a bill codifying same-sex marriage into law. Four Republican senators are publicly backing the bill so far, but more could emerge this week. Senators tweaked the bill, which sailed through the Democratic-controlled House in July, to get GOP support. A Gallup poll from June 2021 found that 70% of Americans — including 55% of Republicans — support same-sex marriage. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is broadly supportive of same-sex marriage, while retiring Republican Sens.

☆ U.S. Senate to hold initial vote on bill protecting same-sex marriage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday will hold an initial vote on legislation to protect the right to same-sex marriage, spurred by concerns that a conservative Supreme Court could reverse its earlier decision that made it legal nationwide. The bill, which is expected to pass the Senate, would serve as a legal backstop against any future Supreme Court action by requiring the federal government recognize any marriage that was legal in the state it was performed. However, it would not block states from banning same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allows them to do so. Supporters of same-sex marriage were spurred to act when Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should also reconsider the legality of same-sex marriage, in a concurring opinion to the court's overturning of federal protections for abortion in June. The bill will have to jump through several more procedural hoops in the Senate before going back to the House for final approval.

The Orion spacecraft shared its first view of Earth more than nine hours after launch Wednesday morning. NASAThe towering, 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket lit its engines at 1:47 a.m. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Before the launch was scrubbed on September 3, spectators wait for the NASA Artemis I rocket to launch at the Kennedy Space Center. Brynn Anderson/AP The NASA launch countdown clock was stopped after the launch was delayed on August 29. Throughout the mission, NASA engineers will be keeping a close eye on the spacecraft’s performance.

☆ Bipartisan senators revive effort to pass bill codifying same-sex marriage protections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A bipartisan group of senators on Monday released an updated version of a bill to codify federal protections for same-sex marriages that they say they feel confident can get enough Republican support to pass in the Senate. Democrats are aiming to pass the bill before next year when Republicans are favored to take back control of the House. The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which was largely invalidated by two Supreme Court rulings. After the high court struck down Roe v. Wade in June, advocates warned that the same-sex marriage rulings could also be in jeopardy. The bill would require the federal government to recognize a marriage between two individuals if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed.

☆ Senate same-sex marriage bill says people with 'diverse beliefs about the role of gender in marriage' are 'due proper respect'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A bipartisan group of senators released the text of their amendment to a bill that codifies same-sex marriage. "Diverse beliefs about the role of gender in marriage are held by reasonable and sincere people based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises. A Gallup poll from June 2021 found that 71% of Americans — including 55% of Republicans — support same-sex marriage. A handful of Republican senators stated their support for the bill following House passage, though some balked at the necessity of the legislation. If the amended bill passes the Senate, the House will have to vote on the measure again before January.

☆ How Spotify stayed No. 1 in streaming audio even with Apple, YouTube and Amazon aiming for it
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Barbara Collins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Spotify, once a Swedish startup tasked with tackling music piracy issues, is now the most popular audio streaming subscription service in the world. The platform disrupted the audio streaming field – being named to the CNBC Disruptor 50 list in 2013, also making appearances on the list in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 – and set the blueprint for audio streaming services to come. Spotify's success quickly caught the eye of major technology competitors, who have since released their own streaming music platforms such as Apple Music, YouTube Music and Amazon Music. 1 audio streaming service and has kept pace on subscription prices. The pricing tweaks continue between the players in the streaming music space.

☆ Senate Republicans want the SEC to explain why staff are quitting
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Senate Republicans want the SEC to explain why staff are leaving the nation's corporate watchdog at the highest rate in 10 years amid a flurry of proposed rules, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Sunday. Republicans want Gensler to explain how he will address the concerns in the report and also to allow more time for industry feedback on the new rules. Employees interviewed for the internal watchdog report said they received little feedback on rules they had written, according to the report. The SEC is losing employees at its highest pace in 10 years, said the Inspector General's report. Senate Republicans Thom Tillis from North Carolina, Mike Crapo from Idaho, Tim Scott from South Carolina, Michael Rounds from South Dakota, Bill Hagerty from Tennessee and Steve Daines from Montana signed the letter.

WisconsinDemocrats see Republican Sen. Ron Johnson as a vulnerable incumbent. Barnes has espoused progressive views in office, but his Senate campaign has focused more on pocketbook issues such as inflation and taxes. Vance appears locked in a tight Senate race against Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, despite running in a red-leaning state that Trump won handily in 2020. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan's approval ratings have fallen, including among unaffiliated voters who make up a major chunk of the state's electorate. FloridaFormer Orlando police chief and Democratic Rep. Val Demings aims to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.

☆ Duke Energy is one of the top leakers of a gas that is 25,000 times more polluting than carbon dioxide, EPA records show
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Phil Mckenna | Inside Climate News | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +22 min

The emissions were equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of more than 59,000 automobiles, according to the EPA’s greenhouse gas equivalency calculator. Under such a scenario Duke Energy would likely have years of low emissions punctuated by a single year of high emissions. While other utilities have participated for decades in a voluntary program with the EPA to reduce SF6 emissions to next to nothing, Duke Energy has not. Brooks said Duke Energy is also targeting its most leaky equipment for faster replacement. The figure is roughly half of 1% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, far smaller than yearly emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary driver of climate change.

☆ Exclusive: Saudi Arabia buys pair of SpaceX astronaut seats from Axiom -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Under the deal, two Saudi astronauts will ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to the space station for a roughly weeklong stay early next year, the sources said. Officials with the Saudi Space Commission, Riyadh's space agency founded in 2018, were not immediately available to comment. The Saudi astronauts will join two previously announced Americans, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Shoffner, the sources said. Axiom launched its first private mission to the space station in April, sending a four-man crew to the space station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that included a Canadian investor and an Israeli businessman. Axiom's astronaut flight business is crucial experience for the company's broader goals of deploying its own private space station by mid-decade.

WASHINGTON — The Senate won't vote on legislation to protect same-sex marriage until after the midterm elections, key senators said Thursday, in an apparent bid to give Republicans political space to support the bill without offending their base. "We're very confident that the bill will pass but we will need a little more time," Baldwin told reporters Thursday. The underlying legislation, which would enshrine federal protections for same-sex marriage, is co-sponsored by Collins and Sen. He is "100 percent committed to holding a vote on the legislation this year," Goodman added. "There have been some that said the timing of the vote was political," Tillis added.

☆ Meta launches Avatars store where users can buy designer brands like Balenciaga, Prada, and Thom Browne for their virtual selves
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-21 | by ( Isabella Zavarise | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Meta Avatars Store will launch in the next few weeks in the US, Canada, Thailand, and Mexico. "Part of how people express themselves is through what they wear," said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Balenciaga CEO Cédric Charbit said the collabs could create new territories for the luxury market. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Friday that customers will be able to buy outfits from high-end fashion brands such as Balenciaga, Prada, and Thom Browne. The Meta Avatars Store will launch in the next few weeks in the US, Canada, Thailand, and Mexico on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.

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