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☆ It's time for a negotiated peace in Ukraine, Kissinger says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MOSCOW, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The time is approaching for a negotiated peace in Ukraine to reduce the risk of another devastating world war, but dreams of breaking up Russia could unleash nuclear chaos, veteran U.S. diplomat Henry Kissinger said. Ukraine says every Russian soldier must leave its territory, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. "The time is approaching to build on the strategic changes which have already been accomplished and to integrate them into a new structure towards achieving peace through negotiation," Kissinger wrote in The Spectator magazine. "A peace process should link Ukraine to NATO, however expressed. The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine's armed forces in eastern Ukraine.

The committee obtained six years' worth of Trump's tax returns in November, following a years-long court fight for documents that other presidents have routinely made public since the 1970s. The meeting in "consideration" of the Trump documents comes just before Republicans are set to reclaim control of the House — and the committee — next month. While tax returns are confidential under federal law, there are some exceptions — including if the chair of the Ways and Means committee requests them. “No one believes that Chairman Neal requested President Trump’s tax returns so he can study legislation about IRS audits. Every president since Richard Nixon has made their tax returns public.

☆ The 2024 Senate map just got even more difficult for Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Harry Enten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Sinema’s interests are no longer necessarily the Democrats’ best interests in the next Congress, and the 2024 Senate map became even more complicated for Democrats with Sinema’s decision. The Democrats who run against independent Sen. Angus King in Maine have not gained traction in recent elections. Having two people in the race who are going to caucus with the Democratic Party likely makes it more difficult for the Democrats to win. All that said, the Democrats already have a difficult map heading into 2024. With Sinema’s break from the Democratic party, the road is, if nothing else, curvier for Democrats.

☆ How Trump Org's tax fraud conviction could bar Trump from federal contracts, even for Secret Service
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Laura Italiano | Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The Trump Organization was found criminally liable of tax fraud on Tuesday after a six-week trial. A ban could end his 'exorbitant' billing of Secret Service agents who protect him at his resorts. At the Trump Organization headquarters in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the cars, apartments, and tuition were considered part of Weisselberg's $940,000-a-year income, prosecutors said. Secret Service a tough targetWatchdogs concede that Trump's Secret Service billing is a tough target. Barring the unlikelihood of a cash-free solution — Trump letting the Secret Service "stay at our properties for free," as Eric Trump once promised, or forgoing Secret Service protection voluntarily, as Richard Nixon did — Trump's Secret Service spigot may well remain open, watchdogs acknowledge.

☆ Trump's tax returns case lost in the Supreme Court. Now what?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Carol C. Lam | Carol C. Lam Was A U.S. Attorney For The Southern District Of California | A Federal Prosecutor For Years. She Also Was A Superior Court Judge In San Diego County. She Is A Legal Analyst For Msnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Letitia James, the New York attorney general, also has years of tax returns, and has brought a civil case based largely on them. First, the updated House request to the Treasury Department in 2021 calls for more recent tax returns, this time for tax years 2015-2020. Tax returns in the hands of a congressional committee are not the same as tax returns in the hands of a prosecutor. Government prosecutors can obtain, but not disclose, the contents of tax returns — unless, that is, it becomes necessary to introduce relevant portions of the returns into evidence. After evidence came to light that President Richard Nixon had used taxpayer information to target political opponents, legislation was enacted in 1976 that severely restricted a president’s ability to disclose taxpayer information.

☆ Trump's day of reckoning is overdue. Garland's special counsel move adds to the delay.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Michael Conway | Michael Conway Was Counsel For The House Judiciary Committee In The Impeachment Inquiry Of President Richard Nixon In In That Role | He Assisted In Drafting The Committee'S Final Report To The House In Support Of The Three Articles Of Impeachment Adopted The Committee. Conway Is A Graduate Of Yale Law School | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate former President Donald Trump is a miscalculation, with the main problem being timing. Despite assurances from Garland that a special counsel will not bog down the investigation, reality suggests otherwise. Not to mention that past practice demonstrates that the Justice Department has regularly shown that anyone can be held accountable — without resorting to a special counsel. No special counsel was used. I believe Trump’s day of reckoning is long overdue, and Garland’s overly cautious decision to appoint a special counsel may continue postponing that day.

☆ Biden’s granddaughter Naomi ties knot in White House wedding
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

It’s the first White House wedding with a president’s granddaughter as the bride, and the first one ever on the South Lawn. Naomi Biden walks to the White House in Washington, D.C. with first lady Jill Biden and President Joe Biden on Oct. 11, 2021. The couple, who have been living at the White House, was set up by a mutual friend about four years ago in New York City and have been together ever since, the White House said. The White House announced the wedding in a statement following the small, private wedding in the Rose Garden. The White House Correspondents Association, which advocates for press access to the White House and the president, said it was “deeply disappointed” that the White House declined its request for press coverage of Naomi Biden’s wedding.

☆ US Secret Service protection would follow Donald Trump to the slammer if he ever ended up there, former agents say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Robin Bravender | Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"If Donald Trump gets sent to prison, what's the role of the Secret Service in that case?" Federal law entitles Trump and all other ex-presidents to Secret Service protections for life — although it didn't always. "Geez, the fact that we're thinking about him going to jail kind of scares me," said the former Secret Service official. While former presidents are entitled to Secret Service protection, they can opt to decline it — just as Nixon did after leaving office. They did so under the Clinton administration, when a law was passed that would afford ex-presidents 10 years of Secret Service security, rather than lifetime protections.

☆ Analysis: Xi and Biden cool the heat, but China and the US are still on collision course
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The world can breathe a little easier after US President Joe Biden’s talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday. But they could also be read as the kind of lecture that Washington once delivered to Chinese leaders that Xi is now taking the opportunity to throw back at the US. Biden said after the talks that he didn’t find Xi “more confrontational or more conciliatory. Biden publicly told Xi that the US was ready to reengage in climate talks – at an opportune moment for the Egypt climate summit. Before he went to Asia, Biden suggested that China didn’t have that much respect for either Russian President Vladimir Putin or Russia itself.

☆ ‘Here comes the bride’: White House to host its 19th wedding
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON — “Here Comes the Bride” will be heard at the White House very soon. Stewart McLaurin, president of the historical association, said special occasions at the White House aren’t soon forgotten. “It’s like being part of the American fabric.”A White House wedding is no guarantee of a lasting marriage. Lynda Johnson Robb said she never thought about a White House wedding, but circumstances practically dictated that she and Marine Capt. Red is her signature color and December nuptials meant the White House was already decorated for Christmas.

☆ Trump Org is battling prosecutors over 3 little words that could swing the New York tax-fraud trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

It's not enough, they'll be told, for Trump Org executives to get caught selfishly stuffing their pockets. Prosecutors, meanwhile, find the three words so worrisome, they asked the judge — unsuccessfully — to strike them from the case entirely. In defense of their love or hate of the three words, the sides have cited a gamut of arcane case law and other source material. Holtzman — who, as a US Congresswoman, voted to impeach Richard Nixon — is the author of "The Case For Impeaching Trump." Much of the case law being cited, the judge said, was not quite on point, including the bilge and thermometer decisions.

☆ Democratic Lt. Gov. Josh Green faces off against Republican Duke Aiona in Hawaii's gubernatorial election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Joshua Green is running against Republican Duke Aiona in Hawaii's gubernatorial race. Aiona, a former lieutenant governor of Hawaii, is making his third run for governor. Election 2022 Hawaii 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 WisconsinDemocrat Josh Green faces off against Republican Duke Aiona in Hawaii's gubernatorial election. Hawaii's gubernatorial candidatesGreen, the Democratic nominee and the state's lieutenant governor, has roots in Hawaii politics. Following his time as a state representative, he served in the Hawaii State Senate from 2008 to 2018.

☆ Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee faces off against Republican Ashley Kalus in gubernatorial election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Daniel McKee is running against Republican Ashley Kalus in Rhode Island's gubernatorial race. Daniel McKee faces off against Republican Ashley Kalus in Rhode Island's gubernatorial election. Rhode Island's gubernatorial candidatesMcKee was sworn in as governor following former Rhode Island Gov. Kalus, McKee's challenger, is a relative newcomer to Rhode Island, which prompted McKee's campaign to slam her as an outsider. Rhode Island's voting historyRhode Island went for President Joe Biden over Trump by nearly 20 percentage points in 2020.

☆ Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen faces off against Republican Chris Chaffee in Maryland's US Senate election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Chris Van Hollen is running against Republican Chris Chaffee to represent Maryland in the US Senate. Democratic incumbent Sen. Chris Van Hollen faces off against Republican Chris Chaffee in Maryland to represent the state in the US Senate. Prior to being elected to the US Senate, Van Hollen represented Maryland's 8th Congressional District in the US House. He also served as a member of both the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland State Senate. The money raceAccording to OpenSecrets, Van Hollen has raised $8.5 million, spent $6.7 million, and has $2.3 million cash on hand, as of October 19.

☆ Democratic incumbent Sen. Brian Schatz faces off against Republican state Rep. Bob McDermott in Hawaii's US Senate election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz is running against Republican state Rep. Bob McDermott to represent Hawaii in the US Senate. Schatz has raised over $4 million and still has just over $2 million on hand, while McDermott has not reported raising any money for his campaign. McDermott told a local news outlet that running against Schatz "looks like a suicide mission." He currently chairs the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and also serves on the Senate Democratic Caucus' leadership team as chief deputy whip. The money raceAccording to OpenSecrets, Schatz has raised $4.6 million, spent $4.7 million, and has $2.1 million cash on hand, as of October 19.

Tim Walz is running against Republican Scott Jensen in Minnesota's gubernatorial race. Democratic incumbent Tim Walz faces off against Republican Scott Jensen in Minnesota's gubernatorial election. Prior to being elected, Walz represented Minnesota's 1st Congressional District for six terms, from 2007 to 2019. Born and raised in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, Jensen represented Senate District 47 from 2017 to 2021. The state has voted exclusively Democratic in every presidential election since 1976, last voting Republican during Richard Nixon's landslide victory in 1972.

☆ Premarket stocks: What midterm elections could mean for the US economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN Business —Tuesday’s midterm elections come at a time of economic vulnerability for the United States. Americans are feeling the pain of rising interest rates and are facing a winter filled with geopolitical tension. If Republicans get the House, tax hikes are dead in the water,” said David Wagner, a portfolio manager with Aptus Capital Advisors. Biden’s stock market record is the second worst since Jimmy CarterThe stock market under President Biden started with a boom, but as we head into midterm elections, markets are going bust, reports my colleague Matt Egan. By contrast, Biden’s two immediate predecessors headed into their first midterm election with stock markets surging.

Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery — although Twitter owner Elon Musk may not see it that way. The decisions to lock all three out of their Twitter accounts come as Musk, a self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist," draws intense scrutiny for how he handles speech issues on the platform. Griffin, Klein and Sommer all appeared to change their account names on their verified profiles to "Elon Musk" without indicating that they were parodying his account. As of Monday morning, many Twitter accounts still featured "Elon Musk" in their display names, while others added the "parody" disclaimer. In a caption to one of the screenshots, Klein wrote: "Comedy is dead elon musk killed it."

☆ Biden’s stock market record so far is the second worst since Jimmy Carter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —The stock market started the Biden era with a boom. Entering Monday, the S&P 500 advanced just 13.2% since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. Of course, the stock market is not the economy, nor should it be viewed as a barometer to govern towards. Slammed by the Fed’s all-out war on inflation, the S&P 500 is down 20% this year, on track for its worst year since 2008. The underperformance of the stock market under Biden matters because many Americans have exposure to stocks, either directly or indirectly in their 401(k) and pension plans.

☆ Permanent Daylight Saving Time will hurt our health, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

We’ll move them forward (again) next spring when governments put daylight saving back in place. Not according to the United States Senate, which in March passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 – if it becomes law, Daylight Saving Time will be permanent. Our bodies need the early morning light to set our internal body clock, experts say. When President Richard Nixon signed a permanent Daylight Saving Time into law in January 1974, it was a popular move. “The United States has tried permanent daylight saving time twice before and ended it early.

Further, in the midst of chaos, the stock market crashed, resulting in a global bear market that lasted from 1973 to 1974. In my 52 years of investing, I have never seen anyone consistently and accurately predict what the economy or the stock market was going to do. They acquired weaker competitors at bargain prices or gained market share as their rivals faltered. The stock market crash of 1987, the dot-com bubble burst of 2000-2001, the 2007-2008 financial crisis, and now. We seek to accomplish that by investing for the long term in companies we believe are competitively advantaged and managed by exceptional people.

If the Democrats lose badly, I think you may see a fairly strong push for Biden to take himself out of 2024." None of the three would run against Biden in a primary, and they may defer to Harris, too, sources say. A senior Democrat said Newsom "has told people he won’t run against Biden" or Harris. Any Democratic primary contest would weaken the party's financial firepower in 2024, which could seen spending jump again, campaign finance experts believe. “I think the Democratic party and the White House should not presume you need to run the same presidential candidate again to hold the White House,” Suri said.

If the Democrats lose badly, I think you may see a fairly strong push for Biden to take himself out of 2024." None of the three would run against Biden in a primary, and they may defer to Harris, too, the sources said. A senior Democrat said Newsom "has told people he won't run against Biden" or Harris. Any Democratic primary contest would weaken the party's financial firepower in 2024, which could see spending jump again, campaign finance experts believe. "I think the Democratic party and the White House should not presume you need to run the same presidential candidate again to hold the White House," Suri said.

☆ The White House is touting a huge boost to Social Security checks. It's happening because inflation is sky high.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

That's despite Social Security cost of living adjustments being directly tied to inflation since 1972. The boon to Social Security is accurate, but it's one that would happen regardless of Biden's stewardship. The direct relationship between inflation and Social Security has existed since 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed automatic benefit adjustments. It's the largest rise in Social Security payments in about that same amount of time, and will increase monthly Social Security checks by about $145 per month on average, according to the AARP. And protecting Medicare and Social Security are top issues for them, according to an AARP survey analysis.

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