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☆ Senate Banking Committee to consider bipartisan bill to claw back executives' pay when banks fail
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday will consider a bill that would aim to hold banking executives accountable in the wake of the collapse of several big banks. The Recovering Executive Compensation from Unaccountable Practices Act, known as the RECOUP Act, would give regulators power to claw back compensation for executives of failed banks, institute penalties for misconduct and direct banks to beef up corporate governance, according to the committee. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, chairman of the committee, and ranking member Tim Scott, R-S.C., announced an agreement on the legislation last week. Brown is up for reelection next year, and Scott is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Persons: Sherrod Brown, Tim Scott, Brown, Scott Organizations: WASHINGTON Locations: Ohio

☆ Illumina acquisition of Grail wins support from GOP lawmakers, state AGs as FTC tries to block it
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Republican lawmakers, state attorneys general and several advocacy groups have voiced their support for Illumina's acquisition of cancer-test developer Grail while the Federal Trade Commission fights to unwind the deal. The groups filed 14 amicus briefs Monday urging the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse an FTC order that would have Illumina undo the $7.1 billion Grail deal over concerns that it stifles competition. Thirty-four Republican lawmakers touted Grail's early screening test, which can detect more than 50 types of cancers through a single blood draw. And activist investor Carl Icahn, who holds a 1.4% stake in Illumina, launched a proxy fight with the company over the Grail deal. Icahn's opposition stemmed from Illumina's decision to close the acquisition without first gaining approval from antitrust regulators.

Persons: Illumina, Carl Icahn, Francis deSouza Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, U.S, FTC, Food and Drug Administration, European Commission Locations: San Diego, Alaska , Arkansas, Georgia , Idaho , Indiana , Iowa , Kentucky, Louisiana , Nebraska, South Carolina , Utah, Virginia, Illumina

☆ Why some Democrats think Biden shouldn't worry about legal challenges that would come from getting rid of the debt ceiling forever
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A US default could be days away, and Congress still doesn't have a debt ceiling deal. Some Democrats think Biden should use the 14th Amendment to address the crisis. On Monday evening, McCarthy and Biden met once again to attempt to reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling and avoiding an unprecedented default. Experts and lawmakers have said that this clause makes a default, and therefore the debt ceiling, unconstitutional, getting rid of the issue forever. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesWhy Biden shouldn't worry about legal challengesNo president has ever invoked the 14th Amendment to address the debt ceiling.

☆ The Deep State Is All Too Real
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( David Bernhardt | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Wonder Land: Joe Biden and Donald Trump ignore a mother’s wisdom to the detriment of the country. Images: AP/Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyThere are two competing conceptions of American governance: the version students are taught in the classroom, and the one that exists in the real world. In practice, however, power has become concentrated in the executive branch and largely wielded by unaccountable career bureaucrats. The notion of a “deep state” isn’t a conspiratorial talking point but a manifest political reality. As the Constitution outlines, the U.S. has three distinct and coequal branches of government: a legislature that passes laws, an executive branch that implements them, and a judiciary that interprets them.

☆ A herring fishermen group's lawsuit will give the Supreme Court the chance to hamstring federal climate regulations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The US Supreme Court will take up a case brought by a group of New Jersey fishermen. If overturned, the case could have major impacts on federal climate and environmental regulations. The doctrine, established in the 1984 Supreme Court case Chevron USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council, calls for courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous federal laws. Cause of Action Institute counsel Ryan Mulvey added that the Supreme Court "has an opportunity to correct one of the most consequential judicial errors in a generation." The conservative-majority Supreme Court is slated to hear the case in its next term.

☆ Daniel Ellsberg, the Man Who Leaked the Pentagon Papers, Is Scared - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Alex Kingsbury | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The media as a whole has never really investigated the secrecy system and what it’s for and what its effects are. Q. What’s it like to live surrounded by thoughts of nuclear war and unaccountable government? I think about nuclear war not because I find it fascinating but because I want to prevent it, to make it unthinkable, because I care about the world that it would destroy. Q. Robert McNamara, who was secretary of defense during the Cuban missile crisis, once said, “The indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will destroy nations.” Why haven’t we seen nuclear weapons used since 1945? We have seen nuclear weapons used many times.

Persons: John Podesta’s, Snowden, Steven Aftergood, Steve, ”, Robert McNamara, They’re Organizations: Federation of American Scientists, WikiLeaks, National Security, RAND Corporation, Cuban Locations: Russian, California, Berkeley, Ukraine

☆ House Republicans target the CFPB as the agency takes aim at 'junk fees'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers discussed ways to reform, or altogether defund, the nation's foremost consumer protection agency on Thursday, as the regulator takes aim at illegal "junk fees" levied on consumers. GOP lawmakers in the hearing criticized the Biden administration's push to eradicate "junk fees," largely regulated by the CFPB. On Wednesday, the agency released a list of illegal junk fees encompassing deposit accounts; auto and mortgage loan servicing; and payday and title lending. Subcommittee member Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., said Chopra has used junk fees as an excuse to expand his authority. The CFPB's working definition of junk fees is "any fee they don't like," argued Devin Watkins, an attorney at the conservative-leaning Competitive Enterprise Institute.

☆ Elizabeth Warren urges the Supreme Court to strike down Trump-appointed judges' decision to imperil funding for a student-loan industry and consumer-rights watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court will take on a lower court's decision that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's federal funding is unconstitutional. Senator Elizabeth Warren advocated for the Supreme Court to strike down that decision. "If the Supreme Court follows more than a century of law and historical precedent, it will strike down the Fifth Circuit's decision before it throws our financial markets and economy into chaos." McHenry, who now runs the House Financial Services Committee, has hinted at seeking stronger oversight for CFPB for months now. And that's on top of a longer context of Republicans challenging the CFPB's funding and decision making.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has vowed not to allow an increase in the $31.4 trillion legal limit on federal borrowing without an agreement from President Joe Biden's Democrats in Congress to rein in federal spending. Failing to lift the debt ceiling could trigger a default on the federal government's debt that would take a heavy toll on the American and probably world economies. Vought, whose plan also calls for $150 billion in cuts, said Democratic control of the Senate makes limited austerity more politically realistic. Another Budget Committee Republican, Freedom Caucus member Ralph Norman, described in general terms a debt-ceiling playbook, backed by other conservatives, that aligned with Vought's plan. McCarthy spokesman Mark Bednar said federal spending growth was "entirely unsustainable, and House Republicans were elected to bring it to an end."

☆ Florida to place leadership of Disney's special operating district under DeSantis' control
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Rob Wile | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

One of those procedures concerns the district's ability to raise taxes and issue bonds to build and maintain infrastructure serving the Walt Disney World Resort. And the district will be renamed: From the Reedy Creek Special Improvement District to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. "Until Governor DeSantis acted, the Walt Disney Company maintained sole control over the District," a spokesman for the governor said in a statement. Disney is monitoring the legislation, Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement. But construction still appears to be progressing on a Disney office campus in Lake Nona, roughly 20 miles east of Disney World.

☆ Florida governor assumes control over Disney district board
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Florida lawmakers granted Governor Ron DeSantis effective control of the board that oversees development in and around Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) central Florida theme parks, escalating the Republican's battle with the emblematic company. The board members will be confirmed by the Senate, and will have no involvement in the day-to-day operations of the theme parks. "Reedy Creek gifted extraordinary special privileges to a single corporation," DeSantis' spokesman Bryan Griffin wrote on Twitter. Disney World is the largest employer in central Florida with close to 75,000 employees, drawing 36.2 million visitors in 2021, according to the Themed Entertainment Association. The new bill preserves the Reedy Creek special district, though within two years it will be renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

☆ CBS News pressed Sen. Ted Cruz on why he's running for reelection after he introduced a bill limiting senators to 2 terms in office: 'Why aren't you holding yourself to that standard?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is running for a third term while also backing a two-term limit for senators. "If and when it passes, I will happily, happily comply. "You also introduced a bill to limit terms to two six-year terms in office for senators. Cruz continued: "If and when it passes, I will happily, happily comply. However, Cruz sought to sidestep talk of a presidential bid during the CBS interview, reiterating that he was running for reelection.

The party-line vote on Tuesday aims to do just that, setting up a "Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government." The body is set to launch a wide-ranging probe of Democrat Biden's administration, which Republicans accuse of "weaponizing" the FBI against Trump. Among the federal agencies targeted are those looking into Trump's attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat and alleged mishandling of classified documents. On Monday the White House said that lawyers for Biden found classified documents at a Washington think tank affiliated with the president. That would create a situation where he could seek to oversee a federal investigation into himself.

"The worst governments are already going to suppress speech," said David Kaye, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine and the former free speech watchdog for the United Nations between 2014 and 2020. The free speech experts who spoke to NBC News on Friday said Twitter's actions could invite international attempts to manipulate Musk. Would some head of state say, 'Hey, can you do this for my country and prevent public reporting?' Kaye, the former U.N. free speech watchdog, said Musk's behavior reminded him in part of authoritarian leaders who enforce rules against challenging the government or criticizing powerful figures, such as royal family members or regime allies. Musk can talk about standing for free speech all he wants, but this should make it clear to everyone that what he’s doing is quite the opposite.

☆ Man demanded $300K before killing 4 Chinese nationals at Oklahoma pot farm, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A man accused of killing four people at an illegal Oklahoma marijuana farm last month opened fire after demanding employees give him $300,000 as a return for his “investment” in the illegal operation, prosecutors said. He is accused of killing Chinese nationals Quirong Lin, Chen He Chun, Chen He Qiang and Fang Hui Lee and injuring Yi Fei Lin, according to charging documents. Police respond to a crime scene where four people were found dead in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, on Nov. 21, 2022. The marijuana farm has since been seized by law enforcement, the filing stated. Law enforcement officials have reported a rise in black market operators using suspected human trafficking victims, including Chinese nationals, to grow and trim marijuana sold in legal dispensaries.

☆ ‘There’s no rules. It’s crazy’: New money in NCAA recruiting leaves elite athletes ripe for exploitation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Kit-Ramgopal-Byline.Jpg | Kit Ramgopal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +15 min

Instead, the coveted junior recruit was benched, due to a decision from the state’s governing body for high school sports. Meanwhile, in a growing number of states, including California, even high school athletes can enter contracts. But boosters can pay prospective students through NIL deals, as long as the money is not contingent on enrollment or athletic performance. A University of Miami booster has earmarked $10 million to sign players to NIL deals through his companies. Cunningham’s message to high school athletes is “the grass isn’t always greener,” even in California.

☆ What is Hive? I tried the latest Twitter alternative to gain steam
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

This week, Hive Social garnered the top spot in the social networking category on the US App Store. As I tried to download the Hive app on my Apple device, however, I was greeted with a series of errors. Hive Social, which lists just two employees on LinkedIn, did not respond to CNN Business’ requests for an interview or further comment. On its website, Hive Social also outlines goals for keeping the community respectful. To be fair, Hive started in 2019 and never sought to be a Twitter clone or to welcome a sudden influx of disgruntled Twitter users.

☆ After being falsely accused of spying for China, Sherry Chen wins significant settlement
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

An Asian American scientist who was wrongfully accused of spying for China is speaking out after reaching a lucrative settlement with the U.S. government last week. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, which backed Chen, the hydrologist will receive $550,000 from the Commerce Department and an annuity over 10 years valued at $1.25 million. Neither the Commerce Department nor the DOJ commented further on Chen’s ordeal. However, the Commerce Department appealed the decision and placed her on administrative leave. As part of the settlement, Chen is retiring from the NWS, her lawyers said.

☆ Democrats Run for the Memory Hole
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Karl Rove | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rarely do candidates admit they’ve changed their minds about extreme views they once held. More often, they ignore what they previously said, as if they have always held reasonable opinions. What’s unusual about this election cycle is how many high-profile Democrats—even in this era of video and social-media archives—claim Republicans are lying when they remind voters of their old, now-unfashionable positions. Following George Floyd ’s death in 2020 in Minnesota’s largest city, the Minneapolis City Council moved to dismantle the police department. At a Twin Cities rally, one activist declared: “We’re safer without armed, unaccountable patrols supported by the state hunting black people.”

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