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☆ Brett Kavanaugh: Internal emails dispute Trump’s claims that FBI had ‘free rein’ to probe assault allegations, new report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-08 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The White House, however, instructed the FBI to only interview 10 witnesses, according to the report. The report sheds light on the tight limits the White House imposed on the FBI as it undertook a “supplemental” background investigation while Kavanaugh’s confirmation hung in the balance. According to the report, those Trump comments were then flagged by an FBI public affairs office in emails to others at the agency, including some top officials. The White House finally told the official that it would be in touch it if had additional guidance to offer on the supplemental investigation. With the report, Whitehouse is calling for the agency to put in place standard procedures for how such supplemental investigations should be handled.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh, –, Christine Blasey Ford, Trump, ”, Rhode Island Sen, Sheldon Whitehouse, Joe Biden, Whitehouse, ” Whitehouse, CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz, John Fritze Organizations: CNN, FBI, White, Trump White House, NBC, Rhode Island, House

☆ Senate Democrats Plan to Subpoena Wealthy Figures Who Paid for Thomas’s and Alito’s Luxury Trips
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas Alito didn’t disclose the gifts on legally mandated annual financial reports. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press (2)WASHINGTON—Senate Democrats intensified their investigation into the ethics of Supreme Court justices, announcing plans to subpoena documents from three wealthy figures who helped provide trips to Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito . “The Supreme Court is in an ethical crisis of its own making,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin of Illinois and Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who heads a courts subcommittee, said in a Monday statement. By accepting “lavish, undisclosed gifts, the justices have enabled their wealthy benefactors and other individuals with business before the court to gain private access to the justices while preventing public scrutiny of this conduct.”

Persons: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas Alito didn’t, Scott Applewhite, Clarence Thomas, “, Dick Durbin of, Rhode Island Sen, Sheldon Whitehouse, ” Organizations: Associated Press, WASHINGTON —, Democrats, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Rhode Locations: Rhode Island

The decision by EPA Administrator Michael Regan means that one of the agency's most important air quality regulations will not be updated until well after the 2024 presidential election. Political Cartoons View All 1145 ImagesThe delay marks the second time in 12 years that a Democratic administration has put off a new ozone standard prior to an election year. Former President Barack Obama shut down plans to tighten ozone standards in 2011, leading to four-year delay before the standards were updated in 2015. "Unfortunately we’ve seen the process for updating the ozone standards repeatedly swept up in political games that risk lives,'' the lawmakers said in an Aug. 7 letter to EPA. Lianne Sheppard, a University of Washington biostatistics professor who chairs the scientific advisory panel, said Regan's decision was “his alone” to make.

Persons: Michael Regan, “, Regan, ”, Barack Obama, Paul Billings, Raul Garcia, ” Garcia, Sen, Sheldon Whitehouse, we’ve, Conor Bernstein, EPA’s, Donald Trump, Bernstein, Andrea Woods, —, Lianne Sheppard, Richard Moore, Peggy Shepard, Moore, Sheppard, Tomas Carbonell, Carbonell Organizations: WASHINGTON, Environmental Protection Agency, Republicans, Democratic, American Lung Association, National Mining Association, American Petroleum Institute, Scientific Advisory, White, Environmental, EPA, University of Washington, E, White House, Los Jardines Institute, WE ACT, Environmental Justice, Air Locations: Billings, Albuquerque , New Mexico, New York City

☆ Senate Democrats pressure PayPal, Venmo, Cash App over fraud protections
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Thursday urged PayPal and Cash App to better protect users of their peer-to-peer payment applications from fraud. The letters were sent to PayPal president and CEO Dan Shulman and Cash App CEO Brian Grassadonia. PayPal, Venmo and Cash App did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC. Cash App transactions also brought in over $203 billion in inflows among 51 million monthly users as of December 2022, according to a Block annual report. The letter is part of an ongoing inquiry into P2P platform consumer safety spearheaded by Warren over the past several years.

Persons: Sen, Sherrod Brown of, Massachusetts Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Rhode Island Sen, Jack Reed, Jack Reed and New Jersey Sen, Bob Menendez, Dan Shulman, Cash, Brian Grassadonia, PayPal's, Warren, Menendez, Reed Organizations: PayPal, Massachusetts, Block, CNBC, Pew Research Center Locations: WASHINGTON, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Rhode Island, Jack Reed and New Jersey

☆ Facebook considering whether to allow Trump to return, decision expected in ‘coming weeks’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Facebook’s parent company Meta is considering whether to allow former President Donald Trump back on to its platforms and is due to announce its decision in the coming weeks, a company spokesperson told CNN on Monday. Trump was banned from Meta’s platforms Facebook and Instagram after the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021. Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said he is overseeing the decision. In a blog post in June 2021, Clegg explained how the company would consider allowing Trump back on its platforms. “Based on Meta’s own statement on standards for allowing Trump back on the platform, his account should continue to be restricted.”

☆ Democratic lawmakers urge Meta not to restore Trump's Facebook account in January
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The letter from California Rep. Adam Schiff and Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse cites numerous news reports about Trump’s postings on Truth Social, the former president’s Twitter alternative. On Truth Social, Trump has also reportedly amplified adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory that Meta banned from its platforms in 2020, the lawmakers wrote. “For Meta to credibly maintain a legitimate election integrity policy, it is essential that your company maintain its platform ban on former president Trump,” the letter said. The company suspended Trump for two years after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, over concerns he had fomented violence. A key metric in determining whether Trump’s account will be restored will be whether there is a continued risk of real-world violence, Meta has said.

☆ The Senate Judiciary Committee will review reports that Alito's Hobby Lobby decision was leaked to an anti-abortion leader: 'another black mark on the Supreme Court's increasingly marred ethical recor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Anti-abortion leaders knew about a 2014 Supreme Court decision before it was official, NYT reported. Alito's Hobby Lobby decision on contraception would be the second of two known leaks from the court. The Senate Judiciary Committee will investigate the allegations, AP reported. The Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision held that corporations can refuse on religious grounds to pay for contraception as mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Representatives for the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Durbin, and the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls for Ticketmaster-Live Nation 'monopoly' to be broken up in response to Taylor Swift pre-sale controversy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Pre-sale tickets for Taylor Swift's upcoming "Eras" tour went on sale Tuesday. Ocasio-Cortez took the opportunity to voice longstanding concern about the 2010 merger of Ticketmaster, the ticket sales and distribution company, and Live Nation, the events promoter and venue operator, into Live Nation Entertainment. "We write in support of strong antitrust enforcement by the Biden Administration, including the live event ticket sales marketplace," the letter begins. Social media influencer Ellie Schnitt tweeted, "When Taylor Swift wrote 'the great war' she was actually preparing us for the Battle of Ticketmaster." — Taylor Swift, but also Ticketmaster after its site crashed.

☆ Live Election Results: Rhode Island State Legislature
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Polls close in the state at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It symobilizes the 2022 Election. Election 2022 Rhode Island Results Explore more election results Alaska Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York North Carolina Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Texas Virginia Washington Wisconsin (1 District) Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. RI-02 HouseThe Rhode Island House and Senate are currently under Democratic control and are not seen as particularly competitive. Rhode Island House of Representatives election results:Rhode Island Senate election results:

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