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☆ Senators push for airline passenger protections after holiday travel meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Two Senate Democrats on Tuesday reintroduced legislation to strengthen airline passenger protections following a year of travel disruptions that was capped by chaos that stranded thousands of people over the December holidays. The Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is planning to hold a hearing on the latest airline disruptions in the coming weeks. The bills also follow a push by the Biden administration for stricter airline passenger rules, including for traveler refunds. Airlines for America, said its members, the largest U.S. carriers, "abide by — and frequently exceed – all DOT regulations regarding consumer protections."

But add a candidate representing the Bernie Sanders wing of the party, Ro Khanna, and a living legend who got her start with the Black Panthers and would become the only Black woman in the Senate, Barbara Lee — now you're talking about a California Senate race for the ages. Reaching voters isn’t easy in California, with a population approaching 40 million and a land mass bigger than that of many countries. But the race will affect the future of the Democratic Party, both in California and beyond. “An appointment would be a way to make sure that this country has the essential voice of a Black woman,” Allison said. And I don’t see and I don’t understand why it isn’t happening.”Meanwhile, as Lee watches Feinstein, Bernieworld is watching Lee.

☆ Mitch McConnell gloats about the 'big dilemma' facing Democrats over Kyrsten Sinema's independent Senate bid in Arizona
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democrats will soon have to decide whether to back a Democrat or Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona. But he took the opportunity to praise the first-term senator while boasting about the situation facing the Democratic Party as she prepares to run for re-election in 2024. "I think it is a big dilemma for the Senate Democratic majority to decide whether to support her or to support somebody running on the Democratic ticket," he added, visibly smirking. For now, Sinema's vote is crucial for maintaining the party's 51-seat majority in the Senate. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont — another independent who caucuses with Democrats — has previously made noise about potentially backing a primary challenger to Sinema.

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego announced Monday he will run for the Arizona U.S. Senate seat currently held by centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December to become an independent. In his statement Monday, Gallego said: “The problem isn’t that Senator Sinema abandoned the Democratic Party — it’s that she’s abandoned Arizona. Karrin Taylor Robson, who narrowly lost to Lake in the 2022 primary after spending $20 million of her family’s money, is seriously considering a Senate run, a source close to her said. And Mark Lamb, the Pinal County sheriff, is also considering a Senate run in 2024, said an Arizona Republican source. A Gallego adviser said he's prepared for a two-way race if Sinema steps aside or a three-way race if she chooses to run.

☆ Live updates: Suspect in shooting at dance hall near Los Angeles is dead, sheriff says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Erick Mendoza | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mirna-Alsharif-Byline-Jm.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +33 min

Share this -Link copiedAlhambra officials release statement on Monterey Park shooting Alhambra officials released a statement on the Monterey Park shooting early Sunday evening. Officials also acknowledged the shooting that occurred in the city after the Monterey Park shooting. Share this -Link copiedPolice release pictures to identify Monterey Park shooting suspect The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has released pictures seeking to identify the Monterey Park shooting suspect. Law enforcement has connected him to the Monterey Park shooting and a shooting minutes later in Alhambra. Patrons of the Alhambra dance hall wrestled a firearm away from a man about 20 minutes after the Monterey Park shooting.

☆ This Social Security change would be ‘easiest and quickest,’ Manchin says. What debt ceiling negotiations may mean for benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But that should not include cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits, he said. "I've got 60% of my population that that's all they have is Medicare and Social Security," Manchin told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. How raising payroll tax cap could aid Social SecurityIn 2023, wages up to $160,200 are subject to a 6.2% tax for employees and employers that goes to Social Security. Other Democrats have also proposed raising payroll taxes to help shore up Social Security. More from Personal Finance:What the U.S. debt ceiling could mean for Social Security and MedicareApproaching 62?

☆ Drag artist says George Santos was a left-wing Lula supporter in Brazil before going to the US and turning into 'this crazy thing'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Virginia Alves | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A drag artist who knew him in the mid-2000s told Insider Santos supported Brazil's left-wing president then. Rochard said Santos supported Lula and then "goes to the US and turns into this crazy thing there. They were all Lulistas and Anthony was too because he hung out with us," Rochard told Insider, using the name Rochard says Santos used in Brazil, "Anthony." Brazilian drag artist Eula Rochard holds a newspaper from 2008 that she says shows GOP Rep. George Santos in drag attire. Rochard met Santos when he was about 17 years old and said she used to catch Santos in "little white lies."

☆ Live updates: Possible suspect in mass shooting at dance hall near Los Angeles is found dead, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Erick Mendoza | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mirna-Alsharif-Byline-Jm.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +31 min

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party, which long championed campaign finance reform, got so good at the game that it used more dark money than Republicans during the 2020 presidential campaign. He was also charged with campaign finance violations, allegedly using "straw donors" to circumvent contribution limits by giving money to allies who would then donate to politicians in their own names. There have been no campaign finance bills introduced in the new Congress, no new policies from regulators and barely even any discussion about reform. But I’m not so surprised," said Sheila Krumholz, the executive director of OpenSecrets, which tracks political donations, of Bankman-Fried’s use of the campaign finance system. "This is yet another example of how lax campaign finance rules allow someone with money to throw their weight around and build influence and maybe it is not gaining traction because it’s just one of many stories like this."

☆ Key Senate Democrats push Southwest CEO for answers on holiday meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President Bob Jordan speaks as he is interviewed by CNBC outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 9, 2021. The questions push for details about the causes of the meltdown, including Southwest's outdated software and staffing failures. The mass cancellations came alongside an intense snowstorm and elevated holiday travel demand, which posed a challenge to many airlines. The senators' letter also highlights Southwest's use of funds, claiming it neglected to update company-wide systems that have long been out of date. "Southwest has long known that its software was outdated, and the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association had warned that such a debacle was inevitable unless Southwest invested in new scheduling systems," the letter says.

☆ Sen. Sanders asks Moderna not to hike COVID vaccine price
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Michael Erman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi, U.S. December 20, 2020. Senator Bernie Sanders sent Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) a letter this week asking the drug company to halt planned U.S. price increases on its COVID-19 vaccine, saying price hikes could make the shot unaffordable for millions of Americans. Sanders said in his letter that raising prices would be particularly egregious after the U.S. government provided around $1.7 billion to fund development of the vaccine. The Vermont senator has railed against high drug prices and backed Medicare-for-all, and his chairmanship of the HELP committee could put drug companies in his crosshairs. Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine sales were around $18.4 billion in 2022.

☆ Sen. Bernie Sanders urges Moderna not to hike price of Covid-19 vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday urged Moderna not to quadruple the price of its Covid-19 vaccine once distribution of the shots moves to the commercial market. In a letter to Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, Sanders called the price increase "outrageous." Private health insurance premiums would also rise as a consequence of a vaccine price hike , Sanders wrote. Pfizer is also considering raising the price of its Covid vaccine to $110 to $130 per dose. Moderna's Covid vaccine is the company's only commercially available product.

☆ Katie Porter Launches 2024 California Senate Bid, Isn't Waiting on Feinstein
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Katie Porter of California on Tuesday officially announced a 2024 Senate bid. Sen. Feinstein is up for reelection in 2024, but hasn't yet announced whether she'll run for another term. "In times like these, California needs a warrior in Washington," she said in her official campaign announcement on Tuesday. In entering the race, Porter is staking out a lane as an lawmaker who would usher in a different sort of governance. In November, Porter won a tough reelection race, edging out former California assemblyman Scott Baugh by four points (52%-48%).

☆ Bernie Sanders calls out Trump pausing student-loan payments as a reason why Biden's debt relief plan is legal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump used the HEROES Act to extend the student-loan payment pause in March 2020. Biden used the same law to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers, but that plan is held up in court. Sen. Sanders said Trump's past usage of the Act supports the legality of Biden's broad relief plan. "Let's be clear: If Trump had the authority to pause student debt payments, President Biden has the authority to cancel student debt," Sanders wrote on Twitter on Friday. "The Supreme Court must reject the Republicans' baseless lawsuits to take away student debt relief to 40 million Americans who desperately need it."

WASHINGTON — Patrick Leahy was swept into the Senate nearly a half-century ago in the wake of the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon’s resignation and pardon. Ron Frehm / APSen. Leahy take photos on the inaugural stand during Barack Obama's presidential inauguration at the Capitol on Jan. 21, 2013. Let’s stay here and vote where we can be seen.”Sen. Leahy, D-Vt., walks to the Senate Chamber on Jan. 6, 2021. Ira Schwarz / APSupreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor is sworn in by committee chairman Sen. Leahy, D-Vt., during her confirmation hearing in 2009 in Washington. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in the Senate subway.

☆ 2022 was the year the Overconfidence Man fell back to earth
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Maureen Tkacik | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

Naturally, Elon Musk, the platonic ideal of the peculiar self-aggrandizing, self-parodying personality type that thrived during the Trump years and peaked during the pandemic, tops this list. By 2022, the media had pronounced him variously the next Warren Buffett, J.P. Morgan and Charles Koch. "bye bye @trussliz Congrats to lettuce", tweeted Putin's one-time stand-in Dmitry Medvedev, to which Elon Musk could not resist replying, "pretty good troll tbh." Elon Musk speaks at the 2020 Satellite Conference and Exhibition in March 2020. Elon MuskIt's weird to recall now that Elon Musk once seemed like, graded on the billionaire curve anyway, a net positive for a cursed American society.

☆ Stop complaining, says billionaire investor Charlie Munger: 'Everybody's five times better off than they used to be'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Billionaire Charlie Munger thinks we should all be a lot happier. During that annual meeting, Munger complained that envy is a driving factor for too many people today. In 2019, Munger downplayed the effects of wealth and income inequality, and claimed that the politicians who were "screaming about it are idiots." At the Daily Journal's annual meeting this year, he added that most people's concerns over wealth inequality and criticisms of the extremely wealthy were "motivated" by envy. Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletterDon't miss: Billionaire investor Charlie Munger: ‘The world is not driven by greed, it’s driven by envy’

☆ The man behind Trump World’s myth of rigged voting machines
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +32 min

He publicly announced his purchase of Montgomery’s data in August at a gathering in Missouri of hundreds of his followers. “I own it,” Lindell said of Montgomery’s data, touting it as irrefutable proof Trump was cheated. On Nov. 9, far-right podcaster Joe Oltmann linked Montgomery’s Hammer and Scorecard claims to a parallel conspiracy theory: that widely used voting machines manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems were rigged to flip votes from Trump to Biden. Powell amended her complaint a few days later and dropped the expert’s declaration and the references to Montgomery’s claims. But the government said in a recent court filing that the order has nothing to do with election data.

☆ CNN Poll: Americans have little appetite for Biden-Trump rematch in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jennifer Agiesta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —There’s little appetite for a 2020 rematch in the coming presidential election, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, as majorities of registered voters within each party say they’d rather see someone new nominated in 2024. In January, the poll found a near-even split: 50% said they hoped Trump would be the nominee and 49% wanted someone else. By July, 44% wanted Trump to be the party’s nominee, and now, 38% say the same. Among Democrats who say they’d like someone else as the party’s nominee, nearly three-quarters (72%) say they have no one specific in mind. Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the president does not deserve reelection (62%), while only 37% say he does.

☆ Elizabeth Warren slams the Fed's Jerome Powell for 'pushing hard to get more people fired' as he continues to aggressively fight inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates again today, but not at the same fast pace as past months. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced it would be increasing interest rates yet again, raising them 0.5 percentage points. "He's pushing hard to get more people fired because he thinks that is one way to help bring down inflation," Warren told HuffPost's Arthur Delaney, referencing Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell. This isn't the first time Warren has sounded the alarm on continued interest rate hikes. The Federal Reserve isn't the only body that could take action: Congress could step in with legislation aimed at lowering prices.

☆ Rail workers are rallying nationwide after both Congress and management refused them paid sick days, showing that the battle for time off isn't over
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Rail workers won't give up sick leave and better conditions without a fight. However, a progressive-backed proposal to tack seven paid sick days onto that contract did not pick up enough votes to pass. "It is literally beyond belief that rail workers are not guaranteed this basic and fundamental human right. "Expanding paid sick leave access is a priority for President Biden," a White House spokesperson told Insider. There are 115,000 union-eligible rail workers across the US who prepared to walk out.

Democrats both in Washington D.C. and Arizona spent the weekend processing Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to leave the party and register as an independent. The Biden White House’s statement called her a “key partner” that they expect to continue to work with. A growing field in Indiana: Four Republicans could be running to succeed Indiana GOP Gov. This comes as Indiana GOP Sen. Mike Braun and the state’s GOP Lt. Gov. Fort Wayne businessperson Eric Doden has already announced his campaign, and the state’s Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers is expected to jump into the race as well.

☆ Democratic senators won't say whether the party should support Kyrsten Sinema's re-election in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"It doesn't change my life one bit," said Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. "I don't think anybody's announcing anything," Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona told reporters, saying he didn't want to get into "hypotheticals." Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the head of the DSCC for 2022, also declined to say whether the party should back Sinema. But she too declined to say whether the party should back Sinema in 2024, waving as the elevator closed. Asked by reporters on Monday what he made of Sinema's announcement, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware dramatically shrugged as he boarded an elevator.

☆ Republicans seek to sabotage year-end spending bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

An omnibus spending bill that would avert the closure of the federal government would be one of the last acts of unified Democratic political control of Washington. Democrats, meanwhile, understand that the government spending bill likely represents their last chance to enact Biden’s ambitious domestic plans until the next presidential election. If lawmakers cannot agree on a deal, they will face the possibility of either passing a short-term spending bill to carry the debate into the new Congress or a longer-term continuing resolution that would extend current spending levels. But in a sign of the consuming nature of the spending showdown, Republicans emerged from the meeting complaining that the two secretaries spent time lobbying for an omnibus spending bill over a continuing resolution. He said that Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had asked Blinken and Austin to explain why the new spending bill was so necessary.

☆ U.S. Congress creeps toward deadline to pass $1.5 trillion funding bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A man walks past the U.S. Capitol building as a government shutdown looms in Washington, U.S., September 30, 2021. Over the weekend, behind-the-scenes efforts made progress toward a deal on an "omnibus" spending bill. That prompted Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy to pull back from a plan to introduce a Democratic-written funding bill this week. "Chairman Leahy feels that sufficient progress in negotiations took place over the weekend to delay the introduction of the omnibus appropriations bill for the time being. But it was promptly attacked by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

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