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Instead the opposite happened," said Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the select committee, in his opening remarks. McMaster said the United States must put a priority on expediting delivery of billions of dollars of weapons and munitions that Taiwan has already purchased. Although the committee is bipartisan, some Democratic lawmakers have voiced concerns that it could fuel anti-Asian sentiment within the United States. The select committee has 13 Republican and 11 Democratic members. It will not write legislation, but will draw attention to competition between the United States and China on a range of fronts and make policy recommendations.

This is where having an adequate life insurance policy can make all the difference. Even if you're only interested in a cheap funeral life insurance policy, the price is inevitably lower when you buy early. When I asked Gura about life insurance in the early days after death, he said, "Whole life and universal life insurance used in planning is very, very impactful. For example, let's look at a modest $300,000 whole life insurance policy. Even if you're not ready to have the discussion about end-of-life arrangements, life insurance is also made for the living.

☆ Exclusive: U.S. plans $550 million aid for Ukraine, Moldova energy security
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Arshad Mohammed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Firefighters work to put out a fire at energy infrastructure facilities damaged by Russian missile strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv region, Ukraine November 15, 2022. State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERSSAINT PAUL, Minn., Feb 24 (Reuters) - The United States plans to announce $250 million in aid on Friday to shore up Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the face of Russian attacks and $300 million for Moldova, partly to help Chisinau wean itself from energy dependence on Russia. The $300 million for Moldova includes $80 million in budget support to offset high electricity prices, $135 million for electric power generation projects and $85 million to improve its ability to obtain energy supplies from alternative sources, according to a second draft document. Moldova, a former Soviet republic of 2.5 million people neighboring Ukraine to the west, is one of the poorest nations in Europe and has traditionally been heavily reliant on Russian gas. The money is from a pool of $45 billion for Ukraine included in a broader spending bill passed by Congress last year.

☆ Once tortured by criminals, Mexico 'survivor' dog looks to win top pet contest
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Alberto Fajardo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Rescued as a one-year-old with his front limbs destroyed, Pay de Limon (Lemon Pie) found much-needed love at the Milagros Caninos sanctuary, a shelter south of Mexico City, which says he is thriving 12 years later. "He is a survivor of human cruelty and organized crime groups," Patricia Ruiz, founder of Milagros Caninos, told Reuters. Found abandoned in a dumpster in Mexico's central Zacatecas state, a hotbed for cartels and organized crime, Lemon Pie was later transported to the safety of the shelter in the capital. Now, he is ready to take a shot in the online contest for Americans' most dashing dog, albeit a non-native contestant. The contest, America's Favorite Pet, is open to pets on the American continent and runs as part of a charity fundraiser.

☆ U.S. weapons sales to get stricter human rights review under Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We are looking at a policy of prevention when there is a risk of violation of human rights," one official said. Biden's administration was criticized last year for approving the potential sale of radars and aircraft to Egypt despite what Human Rights Watch called Egypt's "atrocious human rights record." Reuters reported in 2021 that the Biden administration was considering a CAT policy shift to emphasize human rights. For example, Senator Bob Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opposes the sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 aircraft to Turkey for reasons including disregard for human rights. He rolled out a CAT policy in 2018 that gave commercial concerns as much weight as human rights in deciding whether to approve weapons sales.

"We withstand all threats, shelling, cluster bombs, cruise missiles, kamikaze drones, blackouts and cold ... And we will do everything to gain victory this year." "Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko 1 2 3 4 5Igor, walking through Moscow, said Russia must win: "We're looking forward to it ending successfully. Despite strong support for Ukraine in the West, big developing nations, above all China and India, have kept clear of imposing sanctions on Moscow. Learn more about the Ukraine war.

☆ Your Credit Score Affects Your Mortgage Rate—Here’s How to Improve It
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

How does your credit score affect your mortgage rate? “There is no single, specific credit score that will automatically qualify you for a mortgage.”What else determines your mortgage rate? How to check your credit scoreTo get your credit score, check your banking or credit card dashboard if you have one. Many come with automatic credit score monitoring, allowing you to check your score at any time. Make on-time paymentsThe best way to improve your credit score is to avoid late payments—particularly on student loans, credit cards and other types of debts that get reported to credit bureaus.

☆ Venezuela’s Oil Industry, Reopening to Investors, Is Major Polluter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Kejal Vyas | Patricia Garip | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Venezuela’s oil industry suffers from maintenance and management problems, a likely challenge for Western companies looking to resume work there. Across Venezuela’s once-thriving oil industry, environmentalists say rusty pipelines and storage tanks routinely leak contaminants into the ground. Frequent spills stain the mangroves of national parks with oil. Refinery explosions in recent years have sent black smoke billowing into the sky. And Venezuela’s national oil company, unable to process the natural gas that is a byproduct of oil production, burns enough each day to supply the state of Georgia.

They are demanding steep spending cuts to tame the deficit at a time when the United States is pumping billions of dollars in military and other aid into Ukraine. For now, Republican leaders in Congress, who fiercely oppose Biden on most issues, support aid for Ukraine's defense, even calling for Washington to send more powerful weapons, more quickly. "Americans' support for Ukraine is reflected in strong bipartisan support Ukraine assistance has received in both houses of Congress," Watson said. A global Ipsos poll late last year found that majorities in NATO members including Canada, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Poland back continued military support to Ukraine. Only in Hungary and Italy did more oppose than support it, and those countries' leaders have fallen in line with European initiatives to support Ukraine.

☆ Buenos Aires opposition mayor Larreta set to join election race
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jorge Otaola | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, mayor of Argentine capital Buenos Aires, is set to announce his 2023 presidential election bid, a spokesman for the conservative opposition politician said on Wednesday, as a fragmented field of runners starts to emerge. Larreta, a 57-year-old economist who has led the city since 2015, will seek to represent the main Together for Change opposition coalition, where he faces likely internal competition from former Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich. The conservative coalition internal race will likely see Larreta take on Bullrich who has long signaled she will be a candidate, as well as former Buenos Aires provincial governor Maria Eugenia Vidal and politician Elisa Carrió. Argentine President Alberto Fernández has said he wants to seek re-election, while powerful former president and current Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner ruled out being a candidate late last year, though could pull off a surprise. Reporting by Jorge Otaola; Writing by Maximilian Heath; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vanderbilt University apologizes after using ChatGPT to write mass shooting email
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Vanderbilt University’s Peabody School has apologized to students for using artificial intelligence to write an email about a mass shooting at another university, saying the distribution of the note did not follow the school’s usual processes. At the end of the email was a surprising line: “Paraphrase from OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023,” read a parenthetical in smaller font. Nicole Joseph, one of the three signatories of the original letter, called using ChatGPT “poor judgment,” according to the Vanderbilt Hustler, a student newspaper. On Tuesday, Vanderbilt said Joseph and assistant dean Hasina Mohyuddin, another signer of the email, have stepped back from their responsibilities while the school conducts a complete review. “The development and distribution of the initial email did not follow Peabody’s normal processes providing for multiple layers of review before being sent.

☆ Exclusive: U.S. to vet human rights more closely before approving arms deals, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Defense companies and activists scrutinize such policies for insight into the administration's posture as it balances commercial interests of exporters like Lockheed Martin Co (LMT.N) and Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N) against the country's stated commitment to human rights. One change is how the CAT policy addresses the possibility that arms from the United States could be used for major human rights violations, the officials said. Previous CAT policy had said such transfers would not be authorized only when Washington had "actual knowledge" that the arms would be used in such actions. "We are looking at a policy of prevention when there is a risk of violation of human rights," one of the officials said. For example, Senator Bob Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opposes the sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 aircraft to Turkey for reasons including disregard for human rights.

Healthcare group Fresenius (FREG.DE) said late on Tuesday it would give up strategic control over FMC via a planned change of the division's legal form, also releasing annual results and an outlook that failed to impress investors. Fresenius CEO Michael Sen, a former E.ON (EONGn.DE) and Siemens (SIEGn.DE) executive who took over the helm in October, wants to simplify the company's structure but said he will hang onto the 32% stake Fresenius owns in FMC. This makes a sale more likely in the future, said Florian Oberhofer, portfolio manager at Union Investment, which holds 0.26% of Fresenius shares. Sen said Fresenius was banking on a business improvement at FMC and Vamed and on participating financially in this through its holdings in both. FMC and Fresenius shares lagReporting by Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss; Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Josephine Mason, Elaine Hardcastle and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

That money was to be given in $2 billion annual installments of Foreign Military Financing, or FMF, grants over five years. Republicans accused Biden's administration of failing to advocate strongly enough for the Taiwan grants, given that his fellow Democrats controlled both the Senate and House last year. "Securing FMF funding is always a challenge given the tight budget constraints, even for priority partners like Taiwan," said Eric Lee of the Project 2049 Institute think tank. "I would prefer to see a revival of FMF grants, but with clear strings attached," said Michael Hunzeker, a Taiwan military expert at George Mason University. Grants to buy specific weapons could be made on condition of Taiwan showing further moves toward asymmetric defense, he said.

☆ Peru Congress moves to allow corruption charge of ex-President Castillo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LIMA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Peru's Congress passed a constitutional complaint on Friday against ousted former President Pedro Castillo for alleged corruption, a step towards a formal judicial charge. Castillo has been held in pre-trial detention in Lima since his abrupt Dec. 7 ouster and arrest after he tried to illegally shutter Congress to avoid impeachment over the corruption accusations, which he denies. Friday's complaint allows Attorney General Patricia Benavides to formally accuse Castillo before Peru's judiciary. During the congressional debate, Castillo, via his lawyer Eduardo Pachas, declined to present a defense, saying that he wanted to participate in person. Pachas only reiterated Castillo's denial of corruption and denial of the charge that he belonged to a criminal organization.

But U.S. and Canadian authorities also announced they had called off searches for three unidentified objects shot down over last weekend, without locating any debris. The last of the debris from the Chinese balloon, which was downed by a Sidewinder missile, is heading to an FBI laboratory in Virginia for analysis, the U.S. military's Northern Command said. Reuters was first to report the conclusion of the recovery efforts for the suspected Chinese spy balloon, which were halted on Thursday. Kirby said the United States had already learned a lot about the balloon by observing it as it flew over the United States. "We will maintain the perspective that we have in terms of what should be the relationship between China and the United States," she said.

More than 50% of workers earned less than 1,000 euros per month last year while rents and house prices have skyrocketed. Prime Minister Antonio Costa told a news conference the crisis was now affecting all families, not just the most vulnerable. It is not clear when the measures, worth at least 900 million euros ($962.19 million), will come into effect. To address the housing shortage, Costa said the state would rent vacant houses direct from landlords for a period of five years and put them on the rental market. At a small housing protest in Lisbon, 23-year-old activist Andreia Galvao accused the government of failing to live up to promises it made to address the housing crisis in the past.

☆ U.S. Republicans ask Biden to boost Taiwan in his budget request
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stephen LamWASHINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The top Republicans on U.S. congressional foreign affairs and armed services committees pressed Democratic President Joe Biden on Thursday to include $2 billion in military assistance grants for Taiwan in his upcoming budget request. Congressional aides said they expect Biden to release the budget on March 9. They stressed the need to support Taiwan, an independently ruled island that China views as a breakaway province. Congress late last year overwhelmingly approved legislation authorizing $10 billion - or $2 billion per year for five years - of annual FMF grants for Taiwan. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.

☆ Regulator Orders Crypto Firm Paxos to Stop Issuing Binance Stablecoin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Patricia Kowsmann | Caitlin Ostroff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BUSD, also known as Binance USD, is a stablecoin backed by U.S. dollars on a one-to-one basis. New York regulators directed a crypto company to stop issuing one of the largest dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies, as a government clampdown on the sector widens. The New York Department of Financial Services ordered Paxos Trust Co., which issues and lists Binance’s dollar-pegged cryptocurrency, to stop creating more of its BUSD token, Binance said in a statement. Paxos will continue to manage redemptions of the product, the crypto exchange added.

The SEC issued a letter to Paxos known as a Wells notice, which the agency uses to inform companies of a possible enforcement action. The Securities and Exchange Commission has told crypto firm Paxos Trust Co. that it plans to sue the company for violating investor protection laws, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest move in the agency’s escalating campaign in crypto enforcement. The SEC’s enforcement staff issued a letter to Paxos known as a Wells notice, which the agency uses to inform companies and individuals of a possible enforcement action, according to the people.

☆ Crypto Firm Paxos to Stop Issuing Dollar-Pegged Binance Token
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Patricia Kowsmann | Caitlin Ostroff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New York regulators directed a crypto company to stop issuing one of the largest dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies, as a government clampdown on the sector widens. The New York Department of Financial Services ordered Paxos Trust Co., which issues and lists Binance’s dollar-pegged cryptocurrency, to stop creating more of its BUSD token. Paxos will continue to manage redemptions of the product, according to a Binance statement.

☆ Explainer: What we know about the objects shot down by the U.S. military
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here is what we know - and do not know - about the objects:WHAT ARE THE OBJECTS? It has been identified by U.S. officials as a balloon that China was using to spy on the United States. F-22s also shot down the objects over Alaska on Friday and Canada on Saturday. IS THE UNITED STATES SENDING BALLOONS OVER CHINA? Washington said another Chinese balloon had been spotted over Latin America.

☆ Bayer's new CEO has a full in-tray as investors push for change
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

February 9 - By Ludwig Burger and Patricia WeissFRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer's incoming CEO is inheriting a full in-tray from his predecessor: Thousands of lawsuits claiming its weedkiller causes cancer, an underwhelming drug development pipeline and disgruntled investors looking for major change. "The most important task for Bill Anderson is to regain investors' trust," said Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at Germany's Union Investment, a top 20 shareholder. Bayer's shares lag those of its global rivals, having fallen about 40% - knocking about 30 billion euros off its market valuation - since it bought Monsanto in 2018 for about $63 billion. Baumann's early exit has stirred debate about what the 56-year-old Anderson can do to restore investor trust and boost Bayer's shares. A stand-alone pharmaceuticals business, with 18.3 billion euros in 2021 sales, could also become a takeover target.

☆ U.S. House votes 419-0 to condemn 'brazen' Chinese spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously backed a resolution condemning the incursion of a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week as "a brazen violation of United States sovereignty." The House voted 419-0 for the resolution, five days after the U.S. Air Force shot down the device over the Atlantic Ocean. Biden administration officials also held classified briefings on Thursday for members of the House and Senate. China's foreign ministry has said it was a weather balloon that had blown off course and accused the United States of overreacting. The resolution also denounces the Chinese Communist Party's "efforts to deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns."

☆ With eye on China, U.S. Democrats want more resources for Indo-Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 9(Reuters) - Washington must commit more diplomatic and security resources to the Indo-Pacific to push back against China as Beijing seeks to create a regional sphere of influence and become the world's most influential power, U.S. Senate Democrats said on Thursday. The committee's chairman, Senator Robert Menendez, is expected to discuss the report at a hearing on Thursday where senior diplomat Wendy Sherman will testify on China policy. The Senate report says that vision is "commendable," but gives recommendations as to how the U.S. government should sharpen the aims of the strategy and do more to ensure there are enough resources available to back up its efforts. The report said the Biden administration must significantly increase funding for diplomacy and development across the U.S. government and dedicate a larger portion of the Department of State operating budget and foreign assistance to the Indo-Pacific. Its recommendations include working closely with Congress, including providing a detailed list of its plans for implementing the Indo-Pacific Strategy and advancing economic integration with countries in the region, including prioritizing a meaningful trade program with Taiwan.

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