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☆ Oil companies ‘could doom global efforts’ around climate change, House committee finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Lucas Thompson | Lucas Thompson Is A Content Producer For The Nbc News Climate Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The companies mentioned in the report did not return requests for comment. Internal documents also showed oil executives privately admitting that divesting, or moving around the accountability of emissions, will not have a meaningful impact on overall emissions levels. The report comes after Democrats lost control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections, and with it the ability to direct House Oversight investigations. Khanna said the millions of documents acquired by the committee will be handed over to those with more resources who can act on the information. “You can’t expect a House subcommittee to go up against oil companies that have been misleading American public for 40 years and all of a sudden have accountability.

☆ Juul to Pay $1.7 Billion in Legal Settlement
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jennifer Maloney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Juul has said it never targeted young people and that it has been working to regain the public’s trust. Juul Labs Inc. has agreed to pay $1.7 billion in a broad legal settlement covering more than 5,000 lawsuits, according to people familiar with the matter. Many of the lawsuits accused the e-cigarette maker of marketing its addictive products to children and teens. Juul has said it never targeted young people and that it has been working to regain the public’s trust.

☆ AOC wasn't the first lawmaker to attend the Met Gala. But how she got the ticket — and that dress — may have made her a target for an ethics complaint, expert says.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

One ethics expert told Insider a potential ethics violation would depend on who paid for her ticket. In June, the OCE, a non-partisan body, referred the complaint to the House Ethics Committee. For instance, if Facebook purchased a Met Gala table and gifted one of its seats to a lawmaker, that could constitute an ethics violation. Wintour has served as an official co-chair or honorary chair of the Met Gala nearly every year since 1995. Rep. Carolyn Maloney also attended the Met Gala on several occasions — and became the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation this year.

[1/3] A natural gas flare on an oil well pad burns as the sun sets outside Watford City, North Dakota January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Cullen/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Major energy companies are not doing enough to prevent the worst effects climate change despite public promises to fight the problem, a U.S. House panel said about documents released on Friday that it got in a probe. Shell's Smith said the House panel's probe failed to uncover evidence of a climate disinformation campaign. "Today's new evidence makes clear that these companies know their climate pledges are inadequate, but are prioritizing Big Oil’s record profits over the human costs of climate change." The House panel previously released a memo on Sept. 14 showing that oil majors "greenwashed" their record on climate change "through deceptive advertising and climate pledges - without meaningfully reducing emissions."

☆ Democratic lawmakers accuse big oil companies of 'greenwashing'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A pair of Democratic lawmakers on Friday accused the largest oil companies in the United States of "greenwashing" their public image and not doing enough to decarbonize fast enough to meet climate change targets. These efforts are particularly offensive, Maloney and Khanna said, because of the amount of money the biggest oil companies are making right now. Burning natural gas produces about 117 pounds of carbon dioxide per million British thermal units (a measure of heat). That's compared with 200 pounds for coal and 160 pounds for fuel oil. Equally critically, the production of natural gas results in leaks of methane all throughout the production process and methane is a greenhouse gas, too.

☆ Big Oil has engaged in a long-running climate disinformation campaign while raking in record profits
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( René Marsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Big Oil companies have engaged in a “long-running greenwashing campaign” while raking in “record profits at the expense of American consumers,” the Democratic-led House Oversight Committee has found after a year-long investigation into climate disinformation from the fossil fuel industry. The committee found the fossil fuel industry is “posturing on climate issues while avoiding real commitments” to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Lawmakers said it has sought to portray itself as part of the climate solution, even as internal industry documents reveal how companies have avoided making real commitments. Many of their requests for internal documents were heavily redacted by the companies, which did not specify reasons for withholding the information. “These companies know their climate pledges are inadequate but are prioritizing Big Oil’s record profits over the human costs of climate change,” Maloney said.

☆ Dozens of Washington Commanders employees hurt by ‘toxic work culture’ over 2 decades, House Oversight Committee finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Antonio Planas | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Dozens of employees of the Washington Commanders were harmed for more than two decades because of a “toxic work culture” in which sexual harassment and bullying were pervasive, according to a scathing report released Thursday by the House Oversight Committee. The NFL and Washington Commanders were not immediately reached for comment Thursday afternoon. "Rather than address issues of workplace misconduct head on, the NFL has deferred responsibility to its clubs. The allegations were made by six former employees of the Washington, D.C., NFL franchise during a House Oversight Committee roundtable on toxic workplace culture. Representatives for the team, renamed the Commanders released a statement from Snyder on Thursday denying the allegations from the hearing.

For the past three cycles, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a leadership post, had been elected by rank-and-file Democrats. But members recently voted to reinstate a rule that gives the party’s leader the power to select the chair, putting the decision in Jeffries’ hands. House Republicans last month elected Richard Hudson of North Carolina as their campaign chief for the 2024 cycle. We went 35-4 in the front-line races.”But several Democrats think a different approach is needed, and they are urging Jeffries to look outside the Democratic Caucus. “It should be someone who can really campaign well, who is familiar with the process and dynamics of the House.

CNN —A year-long investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform revealed on Thursday that Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder established a “culture of fear” within the NFL organization and attempted to intimidate witnesses from cooperating with investigators. The 79-page report found “sexual harassment, bullying, and other toxic conduct” pervaded the workplace for decades. An internal investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson last year resulted in the NFL fining the Commanders $10 million and Snyder handing control of the franchise’s daily operations to his wife. But the NFL declined to publicly release its findings, sparking the House Oversight Committee’s review in October. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy issued a statement on Thursday afternoon in response to the report’s findings, saying it did not impede the investigation.

☆ Juul settles another 5,000 lawsuits after receiving equity investment, an effort CEO calls 'yet another significant step to secure our path forward'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Juul Labs settled over 5,000 lawsuits covering 10,000 plaintiffs on Tuesday. The company said it secured an equity investment to fund the settlement, according to a spokesperson. Juul agreed to pay $439 million to US states and territories in a separate settlement in September. Plaintiffs of the suit include Juul consumers, personal-injury plaintiffs, government entities, and Native American tribes, WSJ reported. A spokesperson for the vape company told Insider the settlement is a "major step" in shaping the future of the company.

☆ Juul Reaches Settlement of Over 5,000 Lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Jennifer Maloney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Juul said that it had secured an equity investment to cover the cost of the settlement. Juul Labs Inc. reached a sweeping legal settlement Tuesday covering more than 5,000 lawsuits and about 10,000 individual plaintiffs, resolving much of the legal uncertainty that had pushed the e-cigarette company to the brink of bankruptcy. Juul said Tuesday that it had secured an equity investment to cover the cost of the settlement. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Juul has been in talks with early investors including two of its longtime board members, Hyatt Hotels heir Nick Pritzker and California investor Riaz Valani, to fund a bailout that would cover legal liabilities, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

☆ PepsiCo to Lay Off Hundreds of Workers in Headquarters Roles
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Lauren Thomas | Jennifer Maloney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PepsiCo employed about 129,000 people in the U.S. as of Dec. 25 last year. PepsiCo Inc. is laying off workers at the headquarters of its North American snacks and beverages divisions, a signal that corporate belt-tightening is extending beyond tech and media, according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Hundreds of jobs will be eliminated, one of the people said. The cuts affect the company’s North America beverage business, which is based in Purchase, N.Y., and its North America snacks and packaged-foods business, which has headquarters in Chicago and Plano, Texas, the people said.

☆ Efforts to Make Legal Cannabis Industry Equitable Are Falling Flat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Vipal Monga | Jennifer Maloney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

More than a dozen states have created programs to give minorities who were disproportionately affected by the war on drugs a chance to participate in their legalized cannabis industries. So far, those efforts haven’t worked.

☆ Efforts to Make Legal Cannabis Equitable Are Falling Flat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Vipal Monga | Jennifer Maloney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Elon Musk Says He Will Reinstate Suspended Twitter Accounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Jennifer Maloney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, it has reinstated several high-profile accounts, including those belonging to former President Donald Trump and rapper Kanye West. Elon Musk said he would reinstate suspended accounts on Twitter Inc.’s social-media platform, bringing back users that previously had been banned for posting hate speech, inciting violence or engaging in other behavior that violated its policies. Mr. Musk said Thursday the amnesty would begin next week, provided the accounts haven’t “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam.” He made the decision after polling users on the platform. “Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” he tweeted, a Latin phrase meaning the voice of the people is the voice of God.

☆ House Republicans say TikTok made misleading claims in briefings on data handling
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN Business —House Republicans say TikTok may have misled congressional staff in private briefings about the company’s handling of US user data, in a new letter to the short-form video app this week. And it foreshadows how House Republicans, having gained a majority in the 2022 midterm elections, are likely to approach TikTok in the coming months. “Both claims appear to be misleading at best, and at worst, false,” Comer and McMorris Rodgers wrote. Tuesday’s letter calls on TikTok to preserve a broad swath of documents, communications and other records, in a preview of how House lawmakers could investigate the company in the coming months. And it reiterated a half-dozen other requests for information the GOP lawmakers had sent to the company during the summer.

☆ These 7 members of Congress who violated a federal conflict-of-interest law lost their elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Seven members of Congress who violated the STOCK Act lost their races in the 2022 midterm elections. Three of the members of Congress lost in their primary races. Since 2021, Insider and other outlets have identified 75 members who've violated provisions of the conflict-of-interest law. Since 2021, Insider's "Conflicted Congress" project — and other news organizations — have uncovered 75 members of Congress who've violated disclosure provisions of the STOCK Act. "I'm pleased to hear Trump supports a ban on congressional stock trading," Merkley said in an email.

☆ Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney faces ethics inquiry after wrangling a Met Gala ticket: 'It is the one thing she cares about'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Madison Hall | Walt Hickey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

While in office, Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York has been a frequent attendee of the Met Gala. "She has been coming to the party for years, and it is the one thing she cares about," the Met's former president said in an email. The OCE is a nonpartisan body, created by Congress itself in 2008, that investigates allegations of misconduct by House members and staff. The OCE also noted that they had obtained evidence Maloney "may have requested a Met Gala invitation, as recently as 2020." Maloney lost her primary after her district was merged with Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler's district.

"For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic Caucus that I so deeply respect," Pelosi, 82, said in her floor speech. “Pelosi and Hoyer showed a lot of grace in stepping aside,” one younger Democratic lawmaker told NBC News. Meg Kinnard / AP fileAguilar said Friday he is now running for Democratic Caucus chairman. Under that scenario, Aguilar's caucus chair role would move up to No. But with Clyburn going for the assistant job and Aguilar entering the race for caucus chair, Neguse could find himself the odd man out.

☆ How did Democrats make it so close in the House midterm elections?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +18 min

While the GOP did still take the House, the close margin of victory was a performance well below what was possible. Here are eight perspectives from across the ideological spectrum on why the Democrats were able to make it so close. And this reality was essential given the defection of Black and Latino voters to the Republican Party and its candidates. America can credit Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s obstruction of a democracy bill and an economic bill for the narrow Republican House majority. But now, America needs to deal with a Republican House, thanks in good part to Manchin’s obstruction.

ID.me said it was reviewing the panels' findings and did not have immediate comment. Congress began investigating ID.me after former ID.me employees, government watchdog groups and lawmakers complained the company had been unprepared to handle an onslaught of unemployment insurance applications early in the pandemic. While Reuters and other media last year reported on the waits, investigators said their analysis definitively showed that issues had been widespread. The Democrat-led committees are continuing to investigate other concerns about ID.me, including the accuracy of its facial recognition system and the adequacy of its support for non-English speakers. Reporting by Paresh Dave; Editing by Bradley Perrett and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ New York Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman says it's 'gangster' that the top Democrats in Congress could both be from New York City
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rep. Jamaal Bowman chuckled when asked about New York City's impending moment of power. Pelosi's decision to step down from leadership means the top two Democrats could both hail from New York. House Democrats won't formally elect their new leaders until new elections are held in the coming weeks. Pelosi announced that while she will be stepping down from party leadership, she will remain in Congress. Her announcement set into motion a massive overhaul for the top 3 House Democrats, ushering in a new generation of party leadership.

ID.me responded that calling its fraud estimate baseless or too high was premature because government auditing was ongoing. Congress began investigating ID.me after former ID.me employees, government watchdog groups and lawmakers complained the company had been unprepared to handle an onslaught of unemployment insurance applications early in the pandemic. While Reuters and other media last year reported on the waits, investigators said their analysis definitively showed that issues had been widespread. ID.me said it regretted the long waits but described them as "short-lived and temporary and caused by historic fraud." The Democrat-led committees are continuing to investigate other concerns about ID.me, including the accuracy of its facial recognition system and the adequacy of its support for non-English speakers.

☆ Republicans take control of the House, NBC News projects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Republicans will take majority control of the House, NBC News projects, ousting Democrats from key positions of power and complicating President Joe Biden's legislative hopes for the remainder of his term. Despite his weakened standing in the Republican Party, Trump on Tuesday night launched his 2024 presidential campaign. McCarthy won in a 188-31 vote, NBC reported, signaling that the narrow Republican majority in the next Congress may grapple with internal divisions. But it wasn't enough for Democrats to keep their grip on a narrow House majority. Biden's low approval ratings hardly helped Democrats in tough House and Senate races, forcing some to distance themselves from the administration.

Republicans won the House on Wednesday when they picked up a 218th seat, the majority needed to control the chamber. How House district results compare with presidential election results in Florida 2022 House margin 2020 presidential margin Voted more Democratic than presidential election 2020 presidential margin 2022 House margin Voted more Republican than presidential electionwon Republicanwonwon Democratwon Notes: Chart shows all districts where there was one candidate from each major party. How House district results compare with presidential election results in Michigan 2022 House margin 2020 presidential margin Voted more Democratic than presidential election 2020 presidential margin 2022 House margin Voted more Republican than presidential electionwon Republicanwonwon Democratwon Notes: Chart shows all districts where there was one candidate from each party. Clinton-Biden districts where Republicans won in 2022 Where Democrats won the presidential vote in 2016 and 2020 and a Republican won the House in 2022 Vote margin Rep. win by ≥10% Rep. win by <10% Dem. Trump-Biden districts where Republicans won in 2022 Where Trump won the presidential vote in 2016, Biden won in 2020 and a Republican won the House in 2022 Vote margin Rep. win by ≥10% Rep. win by <10% Dem.

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