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☆ Less than 10% of 2022’s anti-LGBTQ state bills became law, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

State legislators across the country proposed a record number of bills targeting LGBTQ rights last year, but less than 1 in 10 have become law, a report published Thursday by the Human Rights Campaign found. The LGBTQ advocacy group’s 2022 State Equality Index, an annual review of state legislation and policies that affects the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, found that state lawmakers introduced 315 bills that HRC described as “anti-equality.” Of those, just 29 became law. “I know they don’t see that, but these are not winning issues.”This year’s State Equality Index also found that state lawmakers introduced 156 “pro-equality” bills, of which 23, or just under 15%, became law. Seventeen states bar Medicaid from covering certain transgender medical care. In just the first few weeks of the year, state lawmakers have introduced nearly 150 such bills, with the majority continuing to target LGBTQ youth, according to an NBC News analysis.

☆ U.N. Security Council members stress Al Aqsa mosque status quo
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Mike SegarUNITED NATIONS, Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council members voiced concern on Thursday and stressed the need to maintain a status quo at the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, days after Israel's new far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir briefly visited the site. The decades-old status quo allows only Muslim worship at the compound, a site also revered by Jews, who call it the Temple Mount. "What red line does Israel need to cross for the Security Council to finally say, enough is enough," Mansour told the 15-member council, accusing Israel of showing "absolute contempt." Israel has not harmed the status quo and has no plans to do so." "We note that Prime Minister Netanyahu's governing platform calls for preservation of the status quo with relation to the holy places.

New legislation working its way through Congress could improve retirement security for U.S. workers. The plan is part of a stopgap spending bill, and it includes a provision that would automatically enroll eligible employees into their company's retirement plan. Under the new legislation, employers could consider a worker's student loan payment to be the equivalent of a 401(k) contribution and match it accordingly. Finally, the legislation offers a 100% tax credit to businesses with 50 employees or fewer for the cost of maintaining a 401(k) plan. "It’s a bill that helps all income levels and all different types of workers and retirees," Richman, of the Insured Retirement Institute, said.

☆ 'Secure 2.0' is part of the $1.7 trillion spending bill, putting it on track to usher in retirement system improvements
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Another round of changes to the U.S. retirement system appears to be on its way. A collection of retirement-related provisions known as "Secure 2.0" is included in a 4,100-page, $1.7 trillion spending bill — which would fund the government for the 2023 fiscal year — that was unveiled Monday night. "I don't believe there will be further changes to [Secure 2.0]." More from Personal Finance:How to prevent package theft on your doorstepUsed-car prices are down 3.3% from a year agoThe 10 best metro areas for first-time homebuyersThe Secure 2.0 provisions are intended to build on improvements to the retirement system that were implemented under the 2019 Secure Act. Those changes included giving part-time workers better access to retirement benefits and increasing the age when required minimum distributions, or RMDs, from certain retirement accounts must start — to age 72 from 70½.

☆ Zelenskiy urges residents to be strong as Ukraine races to restore power
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Nick Starkov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Russia has been pounding Ukraine's power infrastructure since early October, causing blackouts and leaving millions without heating as temperatures plummet. RESTORING POWERIn Ukraine, officials have been resorting to scheduled blackouts as they race to restore power. In Kherson, left largely without power when Russian forces abandoned the southern city last month, the regional governor said 85% of customers now had electricity. On the battlefront, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were holding positions along the front line, including near Bakhmut, viewed as Russia's next target in their advance through Donetsk. Russian forces trained tank and artillery fire on both cities and about eight other centres.

☆ Ukraine, Baltics rebuke Macron for suggesting 'security guarantees' for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

read moreUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's top aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that it is the world that needs security guarantees from Russia, not the other way around. "Civilized world needs 'security guarantees' from barbaric intentions of post-Putin Russia," Podolyak said on Twitter on Sunday. "Someone wants to provide security guarantees to a terrorist and killer state?" "The only security guarantees we should focus on are essentially non-Russian," he said on his Twitter account. "After that, we are ready to sit down at the negotiation table and talk about security guarantees."

☆ Putin not sincere about peace talks now, says top U.S. diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is not sincere about peace talks with Ukraine at this time, a top U.S. diplomat said on Saturday after meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior Ukrainian officials in Kyiv. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he was prepared to speak to Putin if the Russian leader was interested in ending the war. This reaction from Russia, Nuland said, showed "how not serious they are". Nuland also met Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskiy's office, who expressed thanks for the billions of dollars worth of aid Washington has committed to Ukraine. "Ukraine's victory, which we are sure of, will be our joint victory," Zelenskiy's office quoted him as telling Nuland.

☆ Putin takes war to new level of 'barbarism,' U.S. diplomat says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is not sincere about peace talks with Ukraine while he is taking the war to a new level of "barbarism" by trying to turn off the lights of civilians, a top U.S. diplomat said on Saturday. "And it's very clear, whether it's the energy attacks, whether it's the rhetoric out of the Kremlin and the general attitude, that Putin is not sincere or ready for that." U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he was prepared to speak to Putin if the Russian leader was interested in ending the war. "Putin has taken this war to a new level of barbarism, taking it into every single Ukrainian home as he tries to turn off the lights and the water and achieve what he couldn't on the battlefield," Nuland said. "Ukraine's victory, which we are sure of, will be our joint victory," Zelenskiy's office quoted him as telling Nuland.

Asked about the protests on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the Chinese government was adjusting its Covid measures based on the realities on the ground. “We believe that with the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the support of the Chinese people, our fight against Covid-19 will be successful,” he said at a regular news briefing. Zhao also addressed the detention of BBC journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested Sunday while covering the protests in Shanghai. The Communist Party “has a lot of experience accumulated over the years in dissipating social unrest,” she said. Most of the people who protested appeared to be from the Han ethnic group that dominates China.

☆ For retirement-system changes proposed in Congress via 'Secure 2.0,' December is do-or-die time
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

While no specific agenda has been released yet, supporters of the retirement-change proposals collectively called "Secure 2.0" are hopeful that it will be among the pieces of legislation that make it across the finish line. Increasing the extra amounts — so-called catch-up contributions — that individuals age 50 or older can put in their retirement accounts. watch nowThis year, the House passed its version of Secure 2.0, the Securing a Strong Retirement Act (H.R.2954), in late March with a bipartisan vote of 414-5. Secure 2.0 could be attached to a must-pass billAssuming that Secure 2.0 wouldn't get floor time for a vote on its own, supporters are hoping legislators will attach it to a must-pass bill this year. In September, Congress passed a stopgap measure to fund the government's 2023 fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, through Dec. 16.

☆ Trump is 'one of the weakest candidates' in the Republican Party: Professor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailTrump is 'one of the weakest candidates' in the Republican Party: ProfessorCentre-left Professor Lincoln Mitchell from Columbia University's School of International and Political Affairs explains why he thinks former President Trump is the reason behind the Republicans failure to capture more seats in the U.S. midterm elections.

☆ Congress is still considering changes to the retirement system, including catch-up contributions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Tom Brenner | ReutersThere's still a decent chance that changes to the U.S. retirement system will be enacted before the end of the year. "There's still tremendous bipartisan interest in doing another retirement security bill," said Paul Richman, chief government and political affairs officer for the Insured Retirement Institute. Upping the catch-up contribution anteNosystem Images | E+ | Getty ImagesCurrently, retirement savers age 50 or older can make so-called catch-up contributions to their retirement savings. The House bill would expand the 401(k) catch-up to $10,000 for individuals who are age 62, 63 or 64. The Senate proposal differs by allowing people from age 60 through age 63 make the extra $10,000 catch-up contribution.

☆ Why Joe Biden thinks he's never too old to be your president
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

As the oldest sitting president, he's raising concerns about how long he can continue governing. Republicans — including Trump — have gleefully seized on Biden's verbal misadventures, such as when he called his vice president "President Harris." President Joe Biden drives the Ford's new all-electric F-150 Lightning in Dearborn, Michigan. Ruggerio described the idea that Joe Biden is diminished or can't remember things as "bull crap." Cox said that while he thinks Biden is "still Joe" and still capable, he worries that Biden's age is a problem.

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