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☆ Live Updates: Muted Reactions to Israeli Strikes on Iran Hint at De-Escalation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Some Democrats are fine sending defensive weapons to Israel, but want to see some limits on offensive weapons, which could be used against civilians in Gaza. But progressive Democrats estimated that 40 to 60 members of their party may oppose it on the House floor on Saturday. The legislation would allocate $5 billion to Israel’s defense capabilities and $9 billion for “worldwide humanitarian aid,” including for civilians in Gaza. “To give Netanyahu more offensive weapons at this stage, I believe, is to condone the destruction of Gaza that we’ve seen in the last six months. But they see a “no” vote as part of a strategy to pressure Mr. Biden to condition aid and halt future offensive weapons transfers.

Persons: Biden, ’, Pramila Jayapal, Joaquin Castro, We’re, Mr, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, ”, Ro Khanna, Netanyahu, Nancy Pelosi, Mike Johnson, —, Becca Balint, “, it’s, Lloyd Doggett, Doggett, Ms, Balint, Dan Kildee, Greg Casar Organizations: Democrats, Democratic, “, Congressional Progressive Caucus, ”, Democrat, Israel, Democratic Party, Republican, Republicans, Texas Democrat, White House, Michigan Democrat Locations: Israel, Gaza, Iraq, Washington, Texas, Ukraine, Taiwan, United States, Rafah, Iran, California, Yemen, Louisiana, Vermont, U.S, American

☆ Opinion | What the O.J. Trial Taught America About Domestic Violence
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Rachel Louise Snyder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years now, I’ve had advocates who work with survivors of domestic violence tell me that two events in 1994 changed entirely the landscape for victims’ services in their field: the passage of the Violence Against Women Act and the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. In fact, many advocates cite her death in June of that year as instrumental in Congress’s prioritizing the passage of the Violence Against Women Act that September, which in turn authorized the creation of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Simpson trial. It was the first time many Americans were even made aware of the domestic violence services offered in their own backyards. Yet it’s worth taking a moment to remember the ways his case, even in light of the outcome, had profound and lasting consequences for domestic violence victims, for their advocates and for court systems.

Persons: I’ve, Nicole Brown Simpson, hotlines, Simpson, Brown, Ron Goldman’s —

Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube Listen and follow ‘Hard Fork’This week, the companies building artificial intelligence are facing a limit to what training data is publicly available on the internet. Will that stop them from building God? Then, a new bipartisan national privacy law proposal just dropped. We ask what’s in it. And finally, ByteDance is building new apps instead of fighting Congress’s TikTok ban.

Persons: Congress’s Organizations: Apple, Spotify, YouTube

☆ US debt: Is America at risk of a Liz Truss-style market meltdown? The CBO thinks so
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In an interview with the Financial Times, CBO director Phillip Swagel said US government debt — which the Treasury Department puts at nearly $35 trillion — is on an “unprecedented” trajectory. UK government bonds, or gilts, and the pound sold off sharply, partly in response to plans by Truss to issue more debt in order to pay for tax cuts. Mortgage rates and other borrowing costs soared as investors demanded much higher premiums for owning UK debt. He has promised to extend his 2017 tax cuts and has also spoken about reducing the corporate tax rate from the current 21% to 15%. “I will make the Trump tax cuts the largest tax cut in history,” he said last month at the Black Conservative Federation’s Honors Gala in South Carolina.

Persons: Phillip Swagel, Liz, ”, Truss, ” Swagel, Dave Ramsden, Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden, Fitch, “, Trump Organizations: London CNN, Congressional, Financial Times, Treasury Department, CNN, Bank of England, Democrats, Trump, Black Conservative, US Treasury, Federal, CBO Locations: United States, United Kingdom, South Carolina

☆ Avdiivka: Ukraine’s defeat darkens the mood in the West
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Traveling from the Munich Security Conference towards Ukraine’s frontlines, the polite frustration and manicured pleas of Western leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky feel yet more desperate. Ukrainian soldiers of Brigade 71 fire artillery in the direction of Avdiivka on February 18, 2024. Latvia’s president spoke of “murder,” Germany’s defense minister of how the death showed Russia was “willing and able to provoke” the West. Tobias Schwarz/ReutersIn and of itself, the Ukrainian defeat Avdiivka does not herald a sea change in Kyiv’s fortunes. Instead they may face larger existential questions about providing a lot more help, very urgently, to stop Ukraine’s war becoming Europe’s.

Persons: Ukraine’s frontlines, Volodymyr Zelensky, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Alexey Navalny, Putin, ”, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Zelensky –, –, Tobias Schwarz, Avdiivka, Bakhmut, —, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Oleksandr Syrsky —, Zelensky, ’, Tucker Carlson, Kostiantyn, Zaluzhnyi Organizations: CNN, Munich, Ukraine’s, Ukrainian, United States Congress, Brigade, Getty, Trump, NATO, Republican, Reuters, European Union Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Avdiivka, Anadolu, Russia, West, Munich, Germany, Moscow, Kyiv, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Russian, Poland, frontlines, North Korea

☆ Group of Democrats call on Blinken to provide answers on bypassing Congress to approve arms sales to Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A group of 19 predominantly Democratic lawmakers is calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to provide answers about why he bypassed Congress last month to approve arms sales to Israel. The top US diplomat made two emergency determinations in December to immediately approve the transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in military equipment to Israel. In their letter, the lawmakers noted the rarity of administrations using emergency declarations to immediately approve arms sales without congressional approval. “Use of a national emergency waiver does not exempt the U.S. government from assessing whether arms sales are consistent with” those standards, they wrote. I would say that the process that the secretary followed and the process that we follow here at the State Department is the process that the law actually prescribed,” Miller said at a State Department briefing.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Joe Biden, Independent Sen, Bernie Sanders, Democratic Sens, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Peter Welch, James McGovern, Earl Blumenauer, Joaquin Castro, Judy Chu, Raúl, Pramila Jayapal, Barbara Lee, Betty McCollum, Chellie Pingree, Mark Pocan, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Jill Tokuda, Maxine Waters, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Leahy, credibly, “ Israel, ”, ’, “, Matt Miller, ” Miller Organizations: CNN, UN, Independent, Democratic, State Department, Leahy, ”, Department Locations: Israel, Gaza, Hamas

☆ Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro sentenced to 4 months in jail for defying congressional subpoena
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Devan Cole | Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —Peter Navarro was sentenced Thursday to four months in jail for contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena related to the congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack. Each count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one month in prison, but prosecutors had asked Mehta to sentence Navarro to six months for each count – running concurrently – and fine him $200,000. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two contempt counts and later sentenced to four months in prison. The Justice Department used its testimony to make the case that the committee had good reason to subpoena Navarro and that he was informed repeatedly of its demands. Navarro has insisted that he didn’t comply with the subpoena at the direction of Trump, who he claimed invoked executive privilege in the matter.

Persons: Washington CNN — Peter Navarro, Navarro, Amit Mehta, “, ”, ” Mehta, Trump, Mehta, stonewalled, Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Elizabeth Aloi, Navarro “ Organizations: Washington CNN, Trump, DC, Appeals, Capitol, Justice Department, Prosecutors Locations: Navarro

☆ Palestinian ‘Pay for Slay’ Keeps Growing
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Images: AP/Reuters Composite: Mark KellyRecently we told you that Palestinian Authority law requires the Oct. 7 terrorists to be compensated financially for a massacre well done. Now the PA has taken steps toward making that a reality. It acted just in time for Secretary of State Antony Blinken ’s visit to Ramallah. Last Wednesday’s Al-Hayat Al-Jadida , the PA’s newspaper and mouthpiece, announced 23,210 additional “martyrs,” using the Hamas-supplied Gaza casualty figure that includes every dead Hamas terrorist. The PA pays a one-time lump sum plus a monthly stipend for life to the families of any “martyr” killed attacking Israel or in a confrontation with Israel.

Persons: Mark Kelly, Antony Blinken ’, Al, Hayat Al, ”, Israel Organizations: Reuters, Palestinian Locations: Ramallah, Last, Gaza, Israel

Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma has taken on one of Congress’s most thankless and politically risky jobs: leading negotiations to overhaul the country’s immigration laws. Democrats and Republicans agree that a fix is overdue—the last major changes were passed in 1986. Past rounds of talks have gotten nowhere because the issue is so charged and the system so legally complex that any rewrites of the law risk cascading and unintended effects. Now Lankford is one of a trio of senators taking another crack at it, as migrant apprehensions at the Southern U.S. border hit a record 250,000 a month.

Persons: Sen, James Lankford of Organizations: Southern Locations: James Lankford of Oklahoma, Southern U.S

Persons: Sen, James Lankford of Organizations: Southern Locations: James Lankford of Oklahoma, Southern U.S

☆ Supreme Court Wary of Remaking Income Tax
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Jess Bravin | Richard Rubin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Supreme Court doesn’t take many cases about the scope of federal taxing power. Photo: Shawn Thew/ShutterstockWASHINGTON—The Supreme Court looked unlikely to impose strict new limits on Congress’s power to tax income, with some conservative and liberal justices alike signaling wariness about upending long-settled principles of the federal tax code. Tuesday’s arguments involved a relatively small payment required by a one-time charge under the 2017 tax overhaul. Challengers are seeking a ruling limiting income that can be taxed to money “realized” by taxpayers—that is, cash they receive or in some fashion control, as opposed to a mere increase in the value of their holdings.

Persons: Shawn Thew, WASHINGTON —, “ Organizations: WASHINGTON

Just this week, the SEC sued Kraken, another crypto exchange, alleging that it is operating as an unregistered securities exchange. Binance is exiting the US as part of the agreement the crypto exchange made with law enforcement agencies. That also includes the Justice Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission , and the Treasury Department. There is even a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team within the Justice Department actively identifying and investigating criminal cases involving digital assets. That is precisely how the feds secured the first ever corporate settlement with a crypto exchange.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Zhao, Binance, Brian Armstrong, Coinbase, ” Armstrong, “, General Merrick Garland, ” Changpeng Zhao, Anthony Kwan, cryptocurrencies, ethereum, Bitcoin, ’, it’s, Ethereum, Treasury Department —, Kraken, Tiffany Hagler, ” Garland, Lisa Monaco, Tuesday’s presser, “ I’ve, Benham Organizations: New, New York CNN, Justice Department, Bloomberg, Getty, Washington DC, US Department of Justice, Department of Justice, Treasury, Securities and Exchange Commission, Treasury Department, SEC, Geard, Futures Trading Commission, Cryptocurrency, feds Locations: New York, United States, Binance, Washington, U.S, “, rulemaking

The leader of a South Dakota tribe is expected to declare an emergency on the state’s largest Native American reservation because of rampant crime that he said hasn’t been curbed due to the U.S. government’s inadequate funding for law enforcement. Only 33 officers and eight criminal investigators are responsible for more than 100,000 emergency calls each year across the 5,400-square-mile (14,000-square-kilometer) reservation, tribal officials have said. Oglala Sioux officials contend the tribe is entitled to federal funding for 120 fully equipped officers for the reservation, something the federal government has disputed. Giovanni Rocco, a spokesperson for the Interior Department, noted in an email to the AP that the department’s Law Enforcement Task Force has recommended the federal government increase law enforcement staffing levels on reservations. Lange, the judge in the Oglala Sioux case, has noted the Pine Ridge reservation is among the most impoverished places in the country.

Persons: hasn’t, Frank Star, “, ”, Ben Fenner, Roberto Lange, it's, They're, Giovanni Rocco, Robert Miller, Miller, Lange, ” ___ Trisha Ahmed, @TrishaAhmed15 Organizations: U.S, Oglala Sioux, Sioux, Interior Department, of Indian Affairs, The Associated Press, District, AP, Force, Arizona State University, ., Shawnee Tribe, Tribal, Northern Cheyenne, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: South Dakota, Oglala, U.S, States, Connecticut, reevaluate, United States, Oglala Sioux, Shawnee, Oklahoma, Montana, Pine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission has enacted new rules intended to eliminate discrimination in access to internet services, a move which regulators are calling the first major U.S. digital civil rights policy. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that Congress required the agency to adopt rules addressing digital discrimination, through bipartisan infrastructure legislation passed at the start of the Biden administration. Poorer, less white neighborhoods were found to have received lower investment in broadband infrastructure and offered worse deals for internet service than comparatively whiter and higher-income areas. It is simply not plausible that we could prevent and eliminate digital discrimination by solely, solely addressing intentional discrimination,” said fellow commissioner Geoffrey Starks. President Joe Biden has said the investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law are meant to connect every U.S. household to quality internet service by 2030 regardless of income or identity.

Persons: Jessica Rosenworcel, Biden, ” Rosenworcel, ”, Nicol Turner Lee, Brendan Carr, “ It’s, Carr, Geoffrey Starks, “, Trump, Joe Biden, Christopher Ali, “ That’s, Ali, ” Ali, ” ___ Matt Brown Organizations: WASHINGTON, Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Associated Press, Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institution, National Cable and Telecommunications Association, Free Press, Pennsylvania State University Locations: U.S, “

☆ Democrats in Congress Weigh Calls for Cease-Fire Amid Pressure From the Left
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

But few have embraced progressive Democrats’ demands for a complete and lasting cease-fire, even as pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets over the weekend to demand a total cessation of hostilities. Most Democrats, including some of Congress’s most influential liberal leaders, have argued that a full cease-fire would give Hamas time to regroup and launch another assault on Israel. President, the American people are not with you on this one,” Ms. Tlaib said. Representative Elissa Slotkin, also a Michigan Democrat, insisted in a series of posts on the social media platform X that Ms. Tlaib apologize. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat of Florida, also criticized Ms. Tlaib’s use of the slogan, as well as her calls for a cease-fire.

Persons: Biden, “ You’ve, You’ve, Israel’s, Bernie Sanders, “, ”, Richard J, Durbin, Mr, Rashida Tlaib, Ms, Tlaib, Elissa Slotkin, Slotkin, Debbie Wasserman Schultz Organizations: Israel, Hamas, CNN’s, White, Senate, Illinois, Democratic, United Nations, American, Defamation League, Michigan Democrat, Democrat Locations: Gaza, Israel, Vermont, CNN’s “ State, United States, Michigan, Jordan, Florida

☆ Zelensky invites Trump to Ukraine and says former president ‘can’t bring peace’ because of Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Donald Trump to visit Ukraine, after the former US president claimed he could end Russia’s war against Ukraine war within 24 hours if he wins reelection next year. “If he can come here, I will need 24 minutes – yes, 24 minutes… to explain (to) President Trump that he can’t manage this war. “If I’m president, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours,” Trump told CNN. “The Russian fleet is being destroyed by our ammunition,” Zelensky told NBC, after a number of successful Ukrainian strikes on Russian warships and Crimean ports over the summer. Former President Donald Trump told CNN's Kaitlan Collins in May he would end Russia's war on Ukraine in "24 hours."

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump, Zelensky, Trump’s, NBC’s “, “, Trump, Putin, ” Zelensky, Joe Biden, ” Trump, he’d, Russia’s, “ I’ll, I’ll, ”, Valery Zaluzhny, Zaluzhny, CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Will Lanzoni, Mike Johnson, Biden, Washington’s, – Organizations: CNN, Ukraine, Press, Zelensky, NBC, Russia, US Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Avdviika, Vuhledar, Donetsk, Kupyansk, Kharkiv, Crimea, Crimean, Israel, NATO

☆ The nonstop sparring match between Justice Samuel Alito and Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —Justice Samuel Alito is the tip of the spear for conservatives challenging the Biden administration during oral arguments at the Supreme Court. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar is the Biden administration’s top lawyer at the court, defending the policies that are the source of much of Alito’s consternation. “I think our best example historically is the Customs Service,” Prelogar responded. The Biden administration was backing admissions practices that considered students’ race as a factor in admissions to achieve campus diversity. “No, Justice Alito,” Prelogar said.

Persons: Samuel Alito, Biden, He’s, Elizabeth Prelogar, Alito, Prelogar, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, George W, Sandra Day O’Connor, ” Prelogar, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Robert Mueller, Joe Biden, –, ” Alito, “, ”, John Roberts, Roberts, I’m, It’s, ” Alito interjected, ’ Jeffrey Wall, Trump, …, Wall, We’re, Justice Alito, Juliet, Friar Laurence, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Friar, Taylor Swift, Friar Lawrence, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, Supreme, Princeton, Yale Law School, Department of Justice, Emory University, Harvard Law School, Miss, ahs, Senate, Republicans, Democrats, Consumer Financial, Federal Reserve System, Customs Service, Biden, FDA, OSHA, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Harvard, University of North, America, United States, Fair, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Verona Locations: Trenton , New Jersey, New Jersey, Boise , Idaho, Miss Idaho, University of North Carolina, America, ”, Verona, Washington

☆ Opinion | On This Issue, the House G.O.P. ‘Whack Jobs’ Have a Point
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Peter Suderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

That is no way to manage a government budget, and it’s not just right-of-center rabble-rousers who feel this way. Because spending bills are negotiated not only out of public view but out of sight from most legislators, there is little democratic accountability to the budget process. In September, explaining on the floor of Congress his motion to vacate Mr. McCarthy as speaker, Mr. Gaetz cast his vote as a demand to end that dysfunction. This demand is not unique to Mr. Gaetz, or to the specific vote that led to Mr. McCarthy’s removal. Mr. McCarthy was ousted after failing to do so by the end of Congress’s fiscal year and proceeding instead with a continuing resolution, supported by some Democrats.

Persons: it’s, McCarthy, Gaetz, ”, “, Mr Organizations: Mr, Congress

☆ Influencer model infects US political fundraising
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In turn, leaders like former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Republican Speaker Paul Ryan collected tens of millions of dollars to divert to politically valuable campaigns elsewhere in the party. Florida Republican Matt Gaetz has raised nearly $2 million this year, helped by fundraising emails sent in the lead-up to his successful effort to remove Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy as House speaker. Vocal conservatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert have raised $2.7 million and $2.4 million, respectively, for their 2024 House campaigns. McCarthy raised 2.9% of House Republicans’ cash in the 2022 elections. Republican Representative Garret Graves criticized Representative Matt Gaetz on Oct. 3 for using his vote to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as a fundraising opportunity.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Nathan Howard, –, Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan, Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, Kevin McCarthy, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, McCarthy, John Boehner, Taylor, Garret Graves, Matt Gaetz, Graves gestured, Gaetz, ” Gaetz, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: Republican, U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Representatives, Democratic, Florida Republican, Republicans, U.S . House, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Florida, U.S

☆ Could Mike Johnson, the New House Speaker, Undermine the 2024 Election?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Luke Broadwater | More About Luke Broadwater | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ever since Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana assumed office on Wednesday, a question has been on Democrats’ minds: Could the elevation of Mr. Johnson, who worked in league with former President Donald J. Trump in trying to undermine the 2020 election results, allow him to succeed in 2024 where he failed the last time? The speakership, which is second in line to the presidency, comes with broad powers over the functioning of the House. And Mr. Johnson, a constitutional lawyer whose stature in his party has grown with his election to the top post, could try again to interfere. Mr. Trump encouraged Mr. Pence to throw out legitimate votes in favor of false slates of electors, a move Mr. Pence said was unconstitutional. Vice President Kamala Harris is in line to preside over the joint session on Jan. 6, 2025, when Congress will meet in a joint session to certify the results of the 2024 election.

Persons: Mike Johnson of, Johnson, Donald J, Trump, Mike Pence, Pence, Kamala Harris Locations: Mike Johnson of Louisiana

☆ Republicans leave Ukraine, weed, crypto in limbo
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Legislative casualties of U.S. Congress’s budget fight are emerging. His caving to extreme members of the party augurs poorly for measures like Ukraine aid and cannabis banking. Republicans including Representative Matt Gaetz and Representative Andy Biggs have already denied calls for new Ukraine aid. By siding with further-right members, McCarthy gives them more power to hold the line.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Jonathan Ernst, Joe Biden, Biden, McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Ben Winck, Bernie Sanders’s, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, Reuters, Republican, Wednesday, Banking, X, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Ukraine, Washington

☆ US Attorney General Merrick Garland tells Republicans defunding FBI would be 'catastrophic'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Justice Department works for the American people." [1/3]U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and attendees in the room hold their hands over their hearts for the U.S. Republicans have also been critical of the department's handling of a five-year-long tax investigation into Hunter Biden, 53. Hunter Biden lives in California. Republicans on Wednesday grilled Garland about the Hunter Biden case.

Persons: General Merrick Garland, Garland, Donald Trump, Joe Biden's, Hunter Biden, Biden, Hunter, Jerrold Nadler, Jack Smith, Trump, Smith, Tanya Chutkan, David Weiss, Weiss, Mike Johnson, Sarah N, Lynch, Scott Malone, Matthew Lewis, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S, FBI, Justice Department, Republican, Department of Justice, Democratic, Department, Trump, Capitol, Chinese Communist Party, House, U.S . Department of Justice, Republicans, Attorney, Internal Revenue, Justice, D.C, DOJ, Thomson Locations: U.S, New York, Georgia, Delaware, Washington, Central California, California

☆ McCarthy Declines to Host House Forum for Zelensky Amid G.O.P. Rifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A small band of Republican holdouts has prevented the Senate and the House from moving spending bills through their respective chambers. And instead of rolling out the red carpet for the Ukrainian president, Mr. McCarthy — who just months ago spoke forcefully about his commitment to Kyiv — now says Mr. Zelensky must convince him that supporting the fight against Russia is worth Congress’s money and time. I don’t think I have to commit anything,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday. The stance has put Mr. McCarthy out of step with other Republican leaders, like Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, as well as the bulk of his own members in the House. They have argued that helping Ukrainian troops by budgeting for a steady flow of weapons is a moral imperative, and that Mr. Zelensky could help persuade their more skeptical colleagues of that necessity, if only the speaker would give him the chance.

Persons: Republican holdouts, McCarthy —, Kyiv —, Zelensky, Mr, McCarthy, Biden, Mitch McConnell Organizations: Republican, Senate, Kyiv, Russia, Republicans Locations: Russia, Ukraine

CNN —Attorney General Merrick Garland forcefully rebuked congressional Republicans who have accused the Justice Department of political bias as he opened a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday. Even with the face-saving indictment last week of Hunter Biden, everyone knows the fix is in,” House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan said in his opening statement. The House Judiciary Committee has also been probing allegations from an IRS whistleblower that the Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden was politically tainted. “House Republicans will use their time today to talk about long-discredited conspiracy theories and Hunter Biden’s laptop. Several House Republicans – including McCarthy – have floated an impeachment of the attorney general, although those calls have quieted down as House Republicans have turned their impeachment lens on President Joe Biden himself.

Persons: General Merrick Garland, “, ” Garland, ”, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, Hunter Biden, Jack Smith’s, Jim Jordan, Garland, –, Kevin McCarthy, Hunter, Trump, Jerry Nadler, ” Nadler, Jordan, Hunter Biden’s, he’s, David Weiss, Gary Shapley, Weiss, McCarthy, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Department, Republicans, Trump, US, IRS, Capitol, FBI, DOJ Locations: Washington, politicization, ”, York, Jordan

☆ Opinion | The Hope at the Bottom of the ‘Child Care Cliff’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

So I called Kathryn Anne Edwards, an economist and economic policy consultant, to see if there’s an argument that might change people’s minds about the utter necessity of more robust government child care funding — or if I should lose all hope in the possibility of a shift in the way that child care is thought about, discussed and sustained in the United States. labor force participation is midway through a historic decline. In Edwards’s phrasing, it “has been frozen in time for 25 years.” When you see headlines about how we’re at all-time highs for women’s labor force participation, Edwards suggests, that’s misleading. When you look at the actual level of increase since the 1990s, labor force participation among women has barely budged, and without a policy shift, we shouldn’t expect it to go up much in the coming years. The second thing that could force Congress to act on child care is that the birthrate is on the decline in the United States, Edwards said.

Persons: Kathryn Anne Edwards, Edwards, ”, ” Edwards, “, Peter G Organizations: Social, Peterson Foundation, Social Security Locations: United States

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