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☆ Chinese influence operation targets U.S. down-ballot races, Microsoft says
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

An army of Chinese-controlled social media bots is attempting to influence voters in Alabama, Texas and Tennessee while denigrating Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, according to research published Wednesday by Microsoft. The troll network has “parroted antisemitic messages, amplified accusations of corruption and promoted opposition candidates,” according to Microsoft. The bots amplified support for Blackburn’s election rival while spreading claims that she took money from pharmaceutical companies. Moore, McCaul and Blackburn are all running for re-election next month. The Microsoft researchers found the influence effort did not result “in high levels of engagement.” The report did not provide any metrics for how many Americans viewed the relevant social media posts.

Persons: denigrating Sen, Marco Rubio, Barry Moore of, Michael McCaul of, Sen, Marsha Blackburn of, Rubio, China “, Moore, McCaul, ”, Madison Green, Israel, —, China — Organizations: Microsoft, China’s Public Security Ministry, Embassy, Blackburn, Senate Intelligence Committee, Moore, Chinese Communist Party, CCP, National Intelligence, Reuters Locations: Alabama , Texas, Tennessee, Marco Rubio of Florida, Barry Moore of Alabama, Michael McCaul of Texas, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Washington, China, U.S, Israel, Russia, Iran

☆ Path Is Cleared for One of the Largest U.S. Arms Sales to Israel in Years
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Robert Jimison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Mr. Meeks said that the sale would take years to deliver and that he supported the Biden administration’s plans to hold up the sale of other munitions. The department declined to comment on the arms orders, including on whether it would soon give that formal notification. Congressional sign-off on arms sales has almost always been a foregone conclusion when it comes to Israel. “I don’t want the kinds of weapons that Israel has to be utilized, to have more death,” Mr. Meeks said in an interview with CNN in April. Both of the top Republicans on those panels, Senator Jim Risch of Idaho and Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, immediately approved.

Persons: Gregory W, Meeks, Mr, Benjamin L, Cardin, Haiyun Jiang, Biden, ” Mr, “, ”, Jim Risch of, Michael McCaul of, Edward Wong Organizations: Biden, Democratic holdouts, Foreign Affairs Committee, White House, National Security Council, Democrat, Foreign Relations, Republicans, The New York, State Department, Hamas, CNN, The State Department, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Senate Armed Services Committee Locations: Israel, New York, Gaza, Maryland, United States, Jim Risch of Idaho, Michael McCaul of Texas

☆ U.S. Lawmakers Visit Taiwan and Vow Support in Face of Chinese Military Drills
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Catie Edmondson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After China performed two days of military drills intended to punish Taiwan, Representative Michael McCaul of Texas on Monday stood alongside the island nation’s newly elected president, Lai Ching-te, and issued a promise. “The United States must maintain the capacity to resist any resort to force or coercion that would jeopardize the security of the people of Taiwan,” Mr. McCaul, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said. “That is what we stand for, and that is what we continue to say.”Mr. McCaul, a Republican, traveled this week to Taipei with a bipartisan delegation of other American lawmakers in an attempt, he said, to show that the U.S. government stood in lock step with Mr. Lai and Taiwan. The trip, which will last through the week, comes at a fraught time: Just days after Mr. Lai was sworn into office and vowed in his inaugural address to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty, China responded by surrounding the self-governing island with naval vessels and military aircraft. Before the lawmakers arrived, the Chinese government had publicly warned them to “seriously abide by the one-China policy” and “not to schedule any congressional visit to Taiwan.”

Persons: Michael McCaul of, Lai Ching, ” Mr, McCaul, Mr, Lai, “, ” Organizations: Foreign Affairs, Republican Locations: China, Taiwan, Michael McCaul of Texas, United States, Taipei, Lai

☆ How Mike Johnson Got to ‘Yes’ on Aid to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Catie Edmondson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For weeks after the Senate passed a sprawling aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, Speaker Mike Johnson agonized over whether and how the House would take up funding legislation that would almost certainly infuriate the right wing of his party and could cost him his job. He huddled with top national security officials, including William J. Burns, the C.I.A. He met repeatedly with broad factions of Republicans in both swing and deep red districts, and considered their voters’ attitudes toward funding Ukraine. And finally, when his plan to work with Democrats to clear the way for aiding Ukraine met with an outpouring of venom from ultraconservatives already threatening to depose him, Mr. Johnson, an evangelical Christian, knelt and prayed for guidance. “I want to be on the right side of history,” Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, recalled the speaker telling him.

Persons: Mike Johnson agonized, William J, Burns, Johnson, “, Michael McCaul of Organizations: Senate, U.S . Naval Academy, Ukraine, Foreign Affairs Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Michael McCaul of Texas

☆ House sends Mayorkas impeachment articles to the Senate
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Annie Grayer | Priscilla Alvarez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —House Republicans have sent to the Senate two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a step that launches a trial in the Senate as GOP lawmakers seek to highlight President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration policy. House Republicans do not have the votes or concrete evidence to impeach Biden given their razor-thin majority, leaving that separate impeachment inquiry stalled. GOP arguments for impeachment and pushback from constitutional expertsWhen Johnson originally informed Schumer he would be sending the impeachment articles over to the Senate, he laid out why he believed a Mayorkas impeachment was justified. “These articles lay out a clear, compelling, and irrefutable case for Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment,” Green said in a statement provided to CNN. “I think that what the House Republicans are asserting is that Secretary Mayorkas is guilty of maladministration,” Garber said.

Persons: Alejandro Mayorkas, Joe Biden’s, Mayorkas, Biden, —, impeaching Biden, ”, Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, Trump, Ian Sams, Johnson, Schumer, Mark Green of, Alejandro Mayorkas ’, ” Green, systemically, Samuel Alito, Ross Garber, ” Garber, “, Michael Chertoff, George W, Bush, Jonathan Turley, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, “ I’m, CNN’s Manu Raju, I’ve, –, John Thune, ” Johnson, Pro Tempore Patty Murray, Michael McCaul of, Andy Biggs of, Clay Higgins, Ben Cline of Virginia, Michael Guest of, Andrew Garbarino, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Pfluger, Harriet Hageman of, Laurel Lee, CNN’s Ted Barrett, Morgan Rimmer Organizations: CNN — House Republicans, Homeland, Senate, Democratic, Republicans, Homeland Security, Biden, House Republicans, DHS, ’, Louisiana Republican, Truth, White, CNN, Congress, Tulane University, Republican, Senate Democratic, Mayorkas, Pro Tempore Locations: Louisiana, Mark Green of Tennessee, Washington, Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Michael Guest of Mississippi, New York, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Texas, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Laurel Lee of Florida

☆ More than 20 members of Congress send letter to UPenn over alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The letter, dated November 1, comes after the college was accused by wealthy donors and alumni of alleged failure to condemn antisemitism and hate following the attack. A similar letter from Norman was sent the same day to other universities such as Yale, Columbia and Harvard. Controversy began when a multiday event took place in September on campus at UPenn called the Palestine Writes Literature Festival. “This is an incredibly challenging moment in the world, and we are feeling its reverberations on our campus,” Magill wrote. “We can and will do better to combat antisemitism and to reject hate in all its forms.”UPenn didn’t immediately respond for comment about the letter.

Persons: Liz Magill, –, Ralph Norman of, Nancy Mace, Nicole Malliotakis, Michael McCaul, Norman, “, ” Norman, UPenn, Marc Rowan, ” Rowan, Magill’s, ” Magill, UPenn didn’t, – CNN’s Matt Egan Organizations: New, New York CNN, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, Apollo Global Management Locations: New York, Israel, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, South Carolina, Michael McCaul of Texas, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, ”

☆ These 16 lawmakers did not vote for a House resolution supporting Israel after the Hamas attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The House passed a resolution in support of Israel in the wake of the Hamas attack. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a resolution in support of Israel by an overwhelmingly 412-10-6 margin following the October 7 attack by Hamas. Over a dozen progressive Democrats — and one Republican — voted "nay" or "present." The bipartisan resolution, drafted by Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas and Democratic Rep. Greg Meeks of New York, is a largely symbolic gesture. Furthermore, several progressives have described Israel as an "apartheid state," a description also employed by several international human rights organizations.

Persons: Mike Johnson, —, Republican —, Mike Johnson of, Michael McCaul of, Greg Meeks, Israel, Waleed Shahid, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Thomas Massie, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Andre Carson, Al Green, Summer Lee, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Delia Ramirez, Rashida Organizations: —, Service, Republican, Republican Rep, Democratic, Justice, Vermont, New York Rep, Missouri Rep, Indiana Rep, Texas Rep, Pennsylvania Rep, Kentucky Rep, Cortez of New York Rep, Minnesota Rep, Illinois Rep Locations: Israel, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Michael McCaul of Texas, New York, States, Gaza, Kentucky, Missouri, Alexandria, Cortez of, Minnesota, Michigan

And others, still, cited grievances with Scalise’s record or with maintaining the status quo by elevating the No. By Thursday afternoon, even lawmakers Scalise had previously flipped changed their minds, and his backing began deteriorating. And in a razor-thin GOP majority, Scalise needs the support of all but four of his conference to secure the gavel if every Democrat casts a ballot. “I love Steve Scalise,” Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said heading into the conference meeting to determine the next steps. “I think we need to start voting.”Others said the disagreement should be fleshed out in private before proceeding to a floor vote.

Persons: Steve Scalise, “ We’re, Scalise, it’s, Jim Jordan of, Jordan, Kevin McCarthy, Max Miller of, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Massie of, Chip Roy, Nancy Mace, Carlos Gimenez, Lauren Boebert, Bob Good, Michael Cloud of, Barry Moore of, Lloyd Smucker, George Santos, George Santos of New York –, McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, speakership, Scalise’s speakership, ”, hasn’t, “ We’ve, Michael McCaul, “, Andy Ogles, I’m, Steve, ” Greene, Ralph Norman of, Donald Trump – Organizations: Louisiana Republican, Scalise, – Rep, Max Miller of Ohio, George Santos of New York, speakership, Rep, Republican, ” Locations: mended, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Texas, South Carolina, Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Colorado, Virginia, Michael Cloud of Texas, Barry Moore of Alabama, Pennsylvania, George Santos of, Florida, California, George Santos of New York, Israel, Tennessee, Ralph Norman of South Carolina

Elon Musk’s Unmatched Power in the Stars The tech billionaire has become the dominant power in satellite internet technology. Today, more than 4,500 Starlink satellites are in the skies, accounting for more than 50 percent of all active satellites. 53% of active satellites are Starlink.” The Starlink satellites are highlighted and are all operating in low-Earth orbit. How Starlink customers connect to the internet Starlink satellites orbit at much lower altitudes than traditional satellite internet services. “Everywhere on earth will have high bandwidth, low latency internet,” Mr. Musk predicted on the Joe Rogan podcast in 2020.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, Mark, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Elon Musk, Zaluzhnyi, General Zaluzhnyi, Musk, Musk’s, ”, Starlink’s, ” Mykhailo Fedorov, Mr, Biden, ” Dmitri Alperovitch, Sir Martin Sweeting, Sweeting, Mike Blake, Patrick Seitzer, Rafael Schmall, Joe Rogan, Jeff Bezos, Starlink, Russia —, Fedorov, —, Clodagh Kilcoyne, Nancy Pelosi, Colin H, Kahl, Lynsey Addario, messaged Mr, Lloyd Austin, Gregory C, Allen, we’ve, Mykhailo Podolyak, Volodymyr Zelensky, Jason Hsu, Hsu, “ Elon, Michael McCaul of, Tsai Ing, Tsai, Audrey Tang, Mariana Suarez, Thierry Breton, SpaceX, Chérif El, Amazon Organizations: Joint Chiefs of Staff, Ukraine’s Armed Forces, SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter, Mr, U.S . Defense Department, NASA, Senior Pentagon, The Defense Department, Starlink, European Union, Silverado, Accelerator, Surrey Satellite Technology, Reuters, Airbus, Earth, Getty, Satellite, University of Michigan, National Science Foundation, Rivals, Amazon, Origin, Viasat, Pentagon, CNN, The New York Times, U.S, Defense Department, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Elon, Harvard Kennedy School, Republican, House Foreign Affairs, OneWeb, Agence France, European, United Nations Locations: Ukraine, United States, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Starlink, Crimea, Russian, Starlinks, Europe, Taiwan, China, Beijing, British, Colorado, Cape Canaveral, Fla, —, California, Florida, Latin America, Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Rwanda, Ukrainian, Russia, Kreminna, Aspen, Colo, Kherson's, Kherson, Dnipro, Shanghai, Taipei, Michael McCaul of Texas, del, Uruguay, European Union

☆ Americans trying to flee Sudan are hiring private security companies to get out of the civil war zone after the US said no military evacuation is coming
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Hannah Getahun | Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Private security contractors are being hired to evacuate Americans and other foreign nationals from Sudan. As a result, some citizens have taken it upon themselves to hire private security, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Private security for hireDale Buckner, CEO of private security firm Global Guardian, told WSJ the company's staff has escorted dozens of expatriates to neighboring countries — sometimes dodging gunfire, artillery, and mortar fire. "Our rescue teams have to navigate dozens of checkpoints in an active war zone," Buckner told WSJ. "It is not our standard procedure to evacuate American citizens living abroad," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday.

☆ Ukraine-Russia War: Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Helene Cooper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

As she told her story with the help of an interpreter, some members of the House committee grew visibly emotional. At one point, the turret of an armored vehicle was pointed at them, Ms. Bobrovska said. Ms. Bobrovska said he and other Ukrainian children were visited by Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, who informed them that they would be adopted. Roman eventually managed to return to Ukraine with the help of volunteers, Ms. Bobrovska said, but she did not detail how, citing safety concerns. The prosecutor general of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, addressed the Republican-led House committee after the survivors’ testimony to urge increased international pressure on Russia to return the children.

Greene told CNN on Thursday she was “surprised and angered” over the incident and said she already spoke to McCarthy. “He agreed with me,” Greene said, indicating the speaker believed she shouldn’t have silenced. Greene told CNN later Thursday that she and Chairman Green had a chance to talk but that they disagreed about what happened at Wednesday’s committee meeting. Identifying or calling someone a liar is unacceptable in this committee and I make the ruling that we strike those words,” said Green, a Tennessee Republican. But the sooner we can get back to kind of civility amongst colleagues, the better for everybody,” he told CNN.

A far-right faction of House Republicans is pushing against continued US aid to Ukraine. Those concerns ratcheted up amid House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's tumultuous journey to secure the gavel last month. Kyiv, for its part, has kept a close eye on Congress' dynamics since the GOP won a narrow House majority in the November midterms. "This GOP House majority will demand more oversight, transparency, and accountability to ensure assistance to Ukraine is used as intended," McCaul said in a statement. "Most Europeans don't think that suddenly the US is going to cut support to Ukraine," Araud said, adding that nobody anticipates Washington will "dump Ukraine."

☆ The House of Representatives will have more guys named 'Mike' than women chairing committees under the new Republican majority
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

House Republicans have announced a new slate of committee chairs for the new Congress. Six of the committees will be chaired by a man named Mike or Michael. On Monday, House Republicans sorted out a number of contested chairmanships, and House Majority Steve Scalise released a list of recommendations for chairmanships that were ratified by the conference on Tuesday. The result: men named "Mike" will outnumber women two-to-one among committee chairs. Under Democratic leadership in the previous Congress, 7 House committees were chaired by women.

☆ New poll suggests Americans' support for Ukraine is softening as GOP vows to slow the massive aid effort
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new Morning Consult poll shows Ukraine is not a top foreign policy priority for US voters. The Ukraine war ranks sixth among Democrats and 10th among Republicans in foreign priorities. This comes as House Republicans signal they'll move to slow US aid to Kyiv. Earlier on in the war, polling showed strong support among US voters for US aid to Ukraine. The incoming Republican majority in the House has signaled that it won't support massive aid packages to Kyiv.

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