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☆ Elizabeth Warren blasts a federal court's 'lawless and reckless decision' striking down the funding mechanism for a top student-loan industry watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who helped create the agency, called the ruling a "reckless decision." "This is a lawless and reckless decision," Warren wrote on Twitter. "This reckless decision could stop the CFPB from enforcing rules that prevent debt collectors from harassing you," she added. Rules to stop financial firms charging you outrageous junk fees." "Other federal financial regulators and the entire Federal Reserve System are funded that way, and programs such as Medicare and Social Security are funded outside of the annual appropriations process," the spokesperson said.

Eastman was one of Trump's attorneys when the former president and his allies challenged his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterRepresentatives for Trump and Eastman did not immediately return requests for comment. "The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public," the judge wrote. The judge said four other emails "demonstrate an effort by President Trump and his attorneys to press false claims in federal court for the purpose of delaying the January 6 vote." Trump and his allies filed over 60 lawsuits challenging the 2020 election, which Biden won, with some complaints alleging voter fraud without evidence to support those claims.

BALLARI, India, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Members of India's opposition Congress party voted on Monday to elect its first head in nearly 25 years from outside the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty of leaders, with a veteran loyal to the family expected to win. "We are strongly supporting Kharge and expect he will get 80% to 90% of the votes of party delegates," Ajay Kumar Lallu, a Congress delegate from the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, told Reuters. "Kharge represents the ideology of the party, has the support of the senior leadership, and is likely to work by taking along party workers," Lallu added. He was speaking as Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra, or march to unite India, arrived in the district of Ballari in the southern state of Karnataka. Kharge has said he was seeking the "support of the delegates to strengthen Congress for a better India".

☆ Kevin McCarthy berated a Republican congresswoman who voted for Trump's impeachment until she cried, book says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kevin McCarthy reportedly berated Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler until she cried in a February 2021 meeting. McCarthy reportedly yelled at Beutler. Both McCarthy and Herrera Beutler have denied the report. Herrera Beutler was one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for incitement of an insurrection following the attacks, and was recently defeated in her primary by Trump-backed candidate Joe Kent. In a rare joint statement issued to book authors Rachael Bade and Karoun Demirjian, both members of Congress denied the account.

☆ Private sector to pledge $8 bln to combat U.S. hunger-White House
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday plans to unveil $8 billion in new private sector spending to combat hunger, including hundreds of millions of dollars for meals after lawmakers failed to further extend pandemic-era nutrition supports like universal school meals and increased aid to food banks. Biden aims to end U.S. hunger and reduce diet-related diseases in a majority of Americans by 2030, but is turning to the private sector to underwrite some of the spending, after Congress failed to further extend school lunch aid. Key contributions to be announced Wednesday include a pledge by nonprofit FoodCorps to invest $250 million for free, healthy school meals and to expand nutrition education in schools. The private sector commitments also come after recent revelations of hundreds of millions of stolen federal dollars that were supposed to be spent on food aid during the coronavirus pandemic. "We are exploring what our next steps look like in terms of accountability," the officials said, speaking to reporters on condition of anonomity.

☆ A conservative group is suing to block Biden's student debt forgiveness, but it faces legal hurdles
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Pacific Legal Foundation announced Tuesday it was filing suit against student loan relief. "Congress did not authorize the executive branch to unilaterally cancel student debt," Caleb Kruckenberg, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, said in a press release. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that, according to projections spanning the next 30 years, student loan relief will cost $400 billion. "The claim is baseless for a simple reason: No one will be forced to get debt relief. Because opponents of the debt relief plan are trying anything they can to stop this program that will provide needed relief to working families."

☆ Oath Keepers on trial: A high-stakes seditious conspiracy case could reveal new details about plotting for Capitol attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Jury selection is set to start in the trial of five Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy. Oath Keepers plan to argue they were waiting on January 6 for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act. "We aren't getting through this without a civil war," Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes wrote on November 5, 2020, according to court records. On Tuesday, jury selection began in the trial of Rhodes and four other Oath Keepers members confronting the most serious charges to date in a prosecution stemming from the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. "We must now do what the people of Serbia did when Milosevic stole their election," Rhodes wrote on November 7, referring to Slobodan Milošević.

☆ Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler clashed over Trump's first impeachment with Nadler saying Democrats' plans were 'unfair' and 'unconstitutional'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Jerry Nadler also reportedly pushed Democrats to have Trump's lawyers more involved. "It's unfair, and it's unprecedented, and it's unconstitutional," Nadler reportedly told Schiff, according to an excerpt from "Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress's Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump." In the end, Schiff's House Intelligence Committee took the lead role in handling Trump's impeachment, a break from the historic tradition of the Judiciary Committee handling such proceedings. "I write the rules of my committee, not you," Nadler reportedly told his colleague once. Schiff, according to the book, retorted, "I don't really care about your resentment.

☆ The White House calls a lawsuit to block student loan forgiveness 'baseless' because anyone can opt out of relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A conservative legal organization sued the Education Department over Biden's debt relief plan. It's the first major lawsuit against the Biden administration's announcement that it would forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers making under $125,000. "The claim is baseless for a simple reason: No one will be forced to get debt relief. Anyone who does not want debt relief can choose to opt out," Abdullah Hassan, White House assistant press secretary, said in a statement to Insider. Because opponents of the debt relief plan are trying anything they can to stop this program that will provide needed relief to working families."

☆ India's Congress party likely to get first non-Gandhi chief in 25 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A supporter waves a flag of India's main opposition Congress party at a massive rally organised by the party against inflation, at Ramlila Ground, in New Delhi, India, September 4, 2022. REUTERS/Anushree FadnavisNEW DELHI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - India's main opposition Congress party is likely to elect a new party president from outside the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty for the first time in nearly 25 years, as it looks for a reset ahead of the next election to compete with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many senior Congress leaders have quit to form their own party or to join the BJP, blaming the weak Congress leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the son of ailing party president Sonia Gandhi, who took charge temporarily in 2019. Sonia Gandhi, the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, led the party uninterrupted for nearly two decades until 2017. Rahul Gandhi, who took over from her but resigned in 2019 following the drubbing by Modi's party, has declined to stand in the party election.

☆ An advisor to the January 6 committee said Mark Meadows' texts provide 'irrefutable' proof of a comprehensive plot to overturn the 2020 election
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Denver Riggleman said texts from Mark Meadows showed a "roadmap" to overturning the election. Meadows was receiving texts about the alternate electors plot just days after the election. He said Meadows' texts showed a "roadmap" for how allies of former President Donald Trump were trying to overturn the election. Host Bill Whitaker asked Riggleman to confirm his belief that Meadows' texts "provide irrefutable, time-stamped proof of a comprehensive plot at all levels of government to overturn the election." Insider previously compiled a list of all the texts Meadows had received while the January 6 insurrection was unfolding.

☆ Members of the Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, are asking for a change of venue before their upcoming sedition trial, citing the 'incessant negative publicity' of Jan. 6 defendants
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Attorneys for a group of Oath Keepers are asking for a change of venue in their federal sedition trial for the Jan. 6 attack. The group of Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, argued that they cannot receive a fair trial in DC. Attorneys for the group decried the "incessant negative publicity regarding J6 defendants." "Most recently, the 'Oath Keepers' have been all over the news," attorneys said in the court filing obtained by Insider, decrying the "incessant negative publicity regarding J6 defendants." The House committee recently released audio recordings from a walkie-talkie app that the Oath Keepers used while inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

☆ Just 9 House Republicans broke ranks to vote for a bill from Liz Cheney and House Democrats that aims to prevent another January 6. All of them are retiring.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The bill amends the Electoral Count Act and clarifies the vote-counting role of the vice president. Senators introduced their own bipartisan bill two months ago, and some say this is just a messaging bill. "The ambiguity around the Electoral Count Act was the overwhelming rationale behind objections" on January 6, he said, indicating his support. The Senate introduced its own separate bill to reform the Electoral Count Act in July, and it now has ten co-sponsors from each party, a good indication of potential success. Here are the 9 House Republicans who voted for the bill:

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