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If Biden and McCarthy reach a deal, possibly as soon as Sunday, Congress could struggle to get enough votes for passage ahead of a June. Liberal Democrats, including Senator Raphael Warnock and Representative Ro Khanna, put Biden on notice that they do not support more stringent requirements to existing law. Republicans have called for saving $120 billion by expanding work requirements to qualify for food aid, monetary help for poor families and other assistance. Warnock accused Republicans of "using poor people as pawns" in negotiations, saying their proposal "presupposes that poor people are in some way morally deficient. The Republican-controlled House Ways and Means Committee describes the steps as "common-sense work requirements to help lift families out of poverty and revitalize the American workforce."

☆ Dems warn Biden against toughening aid for the poor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsDems warn Biden against toughening aid for the poorPostedDemocrats in the U.S. Congress expressed frustration with President Joe Biden's willingness to engage with Republicans demanding tougher work requirements for food aid recipients as part of any deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling. This report produced by Freddie Joyner.

☆ Live Updates: Biden, Congressional Leaders to Meet on Debt Limit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Zolan Kanno-Youngs | Catie Edmondson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

President Biden and his allies said the White House and congressional teams had productive talks in recent days. The government reached the $31.4 trillion debt limit on Jan. 19, and the Treasury Department has been using accounting maneuvers to keep paying its bills. The president is scheduled to depart for Japan on Wednesday to attend the Group of 7 meeting, heightening the sense of urgency to make progress on the debt limit. While Mr. McCarthy played down progress, Mr. Biden and his allies said the White House and congressional teams had productive talks in recent days. “SNAP already has work requirements,” said Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

☆ Opinion: How will Russia’s war end? Zelensky’s representative in the US has an unflinching view
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he arrives in Washington on December 21, 2022. From the start, our president has been very vocal, saying that we need to liberate Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. We heard it also from our strategic partners here, and even at the recent phone call of our president with President Xi. Andelman: So why did President Zelensky recently have a long conversation with Xi Jinping? Andelman: You know President Zelensky very well personally.

WHAT IS TITLE 42? The COVID restrictions, known as Title 42, were first implemented under Republican then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. The Biden administration intends to lift Title 42 next Thursday when the U.S. COVID public health emergency ends. In April, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended some 183,000 migrants, according to preliminary data provided by Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a 13 percent increase from March. U.S. border cities are bracing for a possible rise in migrants when Title 42 ends.

☆ FTC says Meta should be barred from monetizing data from younger users
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The FTC said Meta should be banned from monetizing data it collects from younger users. In a statement on Wednesday, Meta spokesman Andy Stone called the FTC proposal “a political stunt” and vowed to contest the effort. Meta had allowed personal information to leak to apps that users of the platform were no longer using, the FTC alleged. That data sharing, the FTC claimed, contrasted with Meta’s public statements about how it cuts off a third-party app’s access to Facebook users’ information if the users stop using the third-party app for 90 days. In a statement, Bedoya said he was skeptical whether there was enough of a connection between Meta’s alleged harms and the proposed remedies to legally sustain a complete ban on monetizing the data of young users.

REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File PhotoWASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration will temporarily send 1,500 additional troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, in preparation for a possible rise in illegal immigration when COVID-19 border restrictions lift later this month. Biden, a Democrat running for reelection in 2024, has grappled with record numbers of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since he took office in 2021. The 1,500 troops could arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border by May 10, Ryder said during a briefing. U.S. military troops have been used to help secure the border during previous presidential administrations, including Republican George W. Bush, Democrat Barack Obama and Trump, who deployed thousands of active-duty and National Guard troops. Immigration advocates have criticized previous efforts to send troops to the border.

☆ Microsoft, Activision Decision Shows Tech Companies Face New Scrutiny From Regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Jae C. Hong/Associated PressBRUSSELS—The U.K. decision to block Microsoft Corp.’s plan to buy videogame producer Activision Blizzard Inc. is the latest sign of how global regulators are toughening their approach to market-dominating tech companies. The Competition and Markets Authority, the U.K.’s antitrust watchdog, said Wednesday that it was prohibiting the deal because commitments Microsoft had proposed didn’t go far enough in addressing its concerns. Microsoft said it would appeal the decision.

☆ Young Thais who questioned monarchy look to win seats in parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Panu Wongcha-Um | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

They are bringing the issue of the role of monarchy in society into the open. Changing - though not abolishing - those laws is part of the platform of Lookkate's progressive Move Forward party, which is campaigning on reducing the severity of punishments for royal insult and how it is applied. Kanokrat said the protests had put issues such as LGBT rights and the ending of the military conscription on the agenda. They had energised the progressive left while at the same time triggering the rise of a right-wing royalist party, Thai Pakdee, which is campaigning on toughening up the lese majeste law, he said. "We have a real progressive left that connects with street politics and a far-right party that rises as a response."

☆ 'The credit crunch has started': Here's what tighter lending standards mean for American consumers and businesses as banks navigate the SVB wreckage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"Each bank is going to apply those credit standards differently," a source told Insider. Requiring higher minimum credit scores and minimum repayments and curbing credit limits were among tweaks banks were making. Lending to consumers dropped and credit standards and terms "continued to tighten sharply," with marked rises in loan pricing. A "dramatic worsening of firm and consumer access to bank credit," is how a 2014 paper on the Federal Reserve's website describes a credit crunch. Tighter lending standards may have a big impact on floating-rate loans versus fixed loans, CFRA equity analyst Alexander Yokum told Insider.

☆ Breakingviews: Trump charges could leave important fish unfried
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Money markets and currencies were unmoved on Friday morning after a grand jury’s decision to press criminal charges was announced on Thursday night. While pressing charges against a former leader can amount to a dangerous political tool if used frivolously, it also shows that future American leaders are not immune to criminal charges, creating an extra incentive for them to behave. But moments of high political drama make politicians run to their corners of the boxing ring. Follow @thereallsl on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSFormer U.S. President Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on March 30 and is expected to face criminal charges next week. The poll found 46% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters support Trump, while 32% support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

☆ ESG tops regulatory demands in finance as UK, EU rules diverge - KPMG
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Financial firms in Britain and the European Union remained under significant pressure to comply with diverging environmental, social and governance (ESG) rules over the past six months, KPMG's Regulatory Barometer showed on Monday. The barometer, aimed at helping firms with compliance planning, also tracks the scale of the divergence between UK and EU regulations, with KPMG saying the biggest differences are in areas like customer protection and access to markets. "The volume of emerging requirements for ESG and Sustainable Finance may lead to further divergence despite global standard-setters' best efforts," she said. Being aligned with EU rules would be a pre-condition for Britain if it wanted to regain access to the bloc's financial market. Britain has said it wants to tailor some rules inherited from the EU to better fit into UK markets, while maintaining high international standards.

[1/2] An oil tanker is docked while oil is pumped into it at the ships terminal of PDVSA's Jose Antonio Anzoategui industrial complex in the state of Anzoategui April 15, 2015. It reinforces measures implemented last year after several buyers skipped out on payments for oil, which provides most of the South American country's income. After taking the helm, Tellechea launched an extensive audit of supply contracts, according to a written order to PDVSA seen by Reuters. The new terms narrow a wide variety of contract modalities to a few requiring prepayment of cargoes entirely in cash or allowing payment via goods and services to Venezuela, but they must be received before Venezuela will release the oil, according to the documents. Even long-term buyers must abide by the new rules that require payment in full by cash before each oil delivery.

☆ A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +18 min

The resting places were adorned with simple wooden crosses and brightly coloured wreaths that bore the insignia of Russia’s Wagner Group - a feared and secretive private army. The news agency matched the names of at least 39 of the dead here and at three other nearby cemeteries to Russian court records, publicly available databases and social media accounts. He said gravediggers told him the bodies had come from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, close to Russia’s border with Donetsk region. According to Russian court documents, Kochas and another man burst into the apartment of an acquaintance while drunk in an attempted robbery. But he refused, so he’s a fool.”A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army By Felix Light and Filipp Lebedev in Tbilisi and Reade Levinson in London Photo editing: Simon Newman Graphics: Fielding Cage Art direction: Eve Watling Edited by Janet McBride

☆ Who is Shou Zi Chew? Mounting scrutiny on TikTok could put new spotlight on its CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Months later, when TikTok was grilled by Congress over privacy and security concerns, Pappas was the TikTok executive in the hot seat fielding questions. But Chew, who took over as TikTok CEO in April 2021, has largely stayed out of the spotlight at a time when the app he leads can’t seem to avoid it. He eventually went on to become the CFO of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, which he helped take public in 2018. While Chew is not a Chinese national, Quint noted Chinese tech companies and leaders that have drawn too much attention to themselves have faced tough government crackdowns. Ultimately, Quint said, “I don’t think the CEO of TikTok has much relevance at all” for US lawmakers scrutinizing its ties to China.

☆ How Warner Bros. Discovery layoffs, content cuts, and reorganization shocked Hollywood and fired up Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Lucia Moses | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

David Zaslav has been enjoying a stock runup after Wall Street analysts expressed increased optimism about Warner Bros. Discovery, with much cost-cutting behind it and growth ahead as it plans to launch a new streaming service. AT&T's WarnerMedia merged with Discovery in 2022 in a $43 billion deal, creating a content behemoth combining Warner's HBO, CNN, and famed Warner Bros. film studio with Discovery's lifestyle and reality fare. Read more:A new content strategy that could tarnish crown jewel HBOWBD also looked for savings and revenue by shifting its content strategy ahead of combining HBO Max and Discovery+ into a mega streaming service to launch this spring. WBD shocked entertainment insiders by canceling high-profile projects like "Batgirl" and yanking episodes of shows including "Sesame Street" from HBO Max, and it has made other moves that concerned Hollywood creatives.

☆ North Korea's Kim orders 'exponential' expansion of nuke arsenal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

During the six-day meeting meant to determine new state objectives, Kim called for "an exponential increase of the country's nuclear arsenal" to mass produce battlefield tactical nuclear weapons targeting South Korea. They still reaffirmed that the door to dialogue with North Korea remains open, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry. Worries about North Korea's nuclear program have grown since the North last year approved a new law that authorized the preemptive use of nuclear weapons in a broad range of situations and openly threatened to use its nuclear weapons first. Earlier Sunday, South Korea's military detected a short-range ballistic missile launched from the North's capital region. North Korea test-fired more than 70 missiles last year, including three short-range ballistic missiles detected by South Korea on Saturday.

☆ Speed far above the limit and we'll take your car, Austria says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Drivers in Austria guilty of extreme speeding will have their cars seized and auctioned off, the government said on Monday, seeking to deter "boy racers" by threatening to take away their prize possession. Local authorities say they are trying to bring illegal street races and other cases of extreme speeding under control. Specifically, anyone caught driving 60 km per hour (37 miles per hour) above the speed limit in towns, where the speed limit is usually up to 50 kph, or 70 kph above the limit elsewhere, where the limit is up to 130 kph, will have their car seized for up to two weeks, according to the government's plan. The latest plan is in addition to measures introduced last year that increased how long drivers lose their licenses for in cases of speeding and extreme speeding. "He who has no car anymore cannot speed anymore.

AMC Networks told its employees Tuesday that it is planning significant layoffs, according to a memo obtained by CNBC and people familiar with the matter. In recent years, AMC Networks has been seen as an acquisition target for larger media companies. We have directed the executive leadership of AMC Networks to undergo significant cutbacks in operations. These will include a large-scale layoff as well as cuts to every operating area of AMC Networks. We are confident that AMC Networks will come through this even stronger.

☆ Chile's Codelco trials fully-electric loader in bid to cut emissions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Natalia A. Ramos Miranda | Marianna Parraga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A LHD electric loader is charged inside the Codelco El Teniente copper mine, the world's largest underground copper mine, near Rancagua, Chile, November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Natalia RamosEL TENIENTE MINE, Chile, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A huge fully electric-powered 14-ton loading shovel has begun operating at Chile's century-old El Teniente copper mine, in what state miner Codelco (COBRE.UL) said on Wednesday was a first for South America. Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, said the equipment the loader and hauler, developed by Swedish manufacturer Epiroc (EPIRa.ST) is the first 100% electric machinery of its kind to operate in the region. El Teniente, located in the highlands some 76 kilometers (47 miles) southeast of Chile's capital, produced 459,817 metric tons of copper last year. Codelco plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2030, as it looks to meet targets set by Chile's government in recent years.

☆ Analysis: For Twitter boss Elon Musk, now comes the hard part
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The long term potential for Twitter in my view is an order of magnitude greater than its current value." "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app," Musk tweeted earlier this month. Twitter permanently suspended Trump for risk of further incitement of violence after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Tesla's expanding business in China, where it generated $14 billion last year, could also put Twitter at risk, Goldman, the former Twitter board member, said. Twitter is staffed with experts who review data requests from governments, but Musk has shown his contempt of these experts, he said.

☆ Britain's NatWest closes further 43 branches as banks cut costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - NatWest (NWG.L) said on Thursday it is closing a further 43 branches, as lenders reduce their presence on Britain's high streets to cut costs and to adapt to more customers taking up online banking. The branches will close between January and March next year. The closures are the latest in a series of such moves by NatWest, which said it February it would close 32 branches. The move also comes just two days after Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said it was toughening up guidance on branch closures, saying lenders had to make sure an alternative was in place beforehand. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Iain Withers, Editing by Lawrence WhiteOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fact Check-‘Presidential Election Reform Act’ would not automatically ban Trump from becoming president again
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Experts told Reuters there would need to be a determination that such an amendment would apply to the former president. Some on social media said the bill would ban Trump from running for office and becoming president. One user tweeted on Sept. 20: “Liz Cheney (R) and Zoe Lofgren (D) have jointly proposed a bill that would bar Trump from ever becoming president again. The op-ed also does not state that the bill would automatically disqualify Trump from a future election. The Presidential Election Reform Act would not automatically bar Donald Trump from serving again as president if re-elected.

☆ UK Prime Minister Liz Truss slams Putin, hails queen in debut UN speech
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Wednesday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of making "saber-rattling threats" to cover his failed invasion of Ukraine, as she told the United Nations that its founding principles were fracturing because of aggression by authoritarian states. In her first international speech since becoming prime minister two weeks ago, Truss hailed the founding principles of the United Nations, while calling for new international alliances to circumvent the influence of authoritarian regimes. She also called for a toughening of the West's response to Russia's invasion. To Truss, a Conservative free marketeer, that means cutting individual and corporate taxes and slashing regulations for business. Despite the economic shockwaves, Truss said Britain's commitment to defending Ukraine "is total."

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens on Wednesday, a move that threatens to escalate his faltering invasion of Ukraine following a string of defeats that caused recriminations in Moscow. US President Joe Biden condemned the mobilization and the Kremlin’s planned votes, during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. “Putin claims he had to act because Russia was threatened, but no one threatened Russia – and no one other than Russia sought conflict,” Biden added. A billboard promoting contract army service, with the slogan "Serving Russia is a real job," in St. Petersburg. On Tuesday, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, amended the law on military service, toughening the punishment for violation of military service duties – such as desertion and evasion from service – according to state news agency TASS.

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