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☆ Top Democrats demand that Chief Justice John Roberts open investigation into Clarence Thomas after report claims he accepted free vacations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from a GOP mega donor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Democrats are urging the Supreme Court to address ethics concerns around Justice Clarence Thomas. ProPublica reported this week that Thomas has accepted free vacations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They close by urging Chief Justice Roberts to ensure that the highest court's ethics code is treated are more than just a suggestion. "The highest court in the land should have the highest ethical standards," Kyle Herrig, president of the advocacy group Accountable.US, said in a statement. A spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Top Democrats demand that Chief Justice John Roberts open investigation into Justice Clarence Thomas after report claims he accepted free vacations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from a GOP me
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The news outlet said the frequency of the gifts have "no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court." Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "This cries out for the kind of independent investigation that the Supreme Court — and only the Supreme Court, across the entire government — refuses to perform," Whitehouse said on Twitter. The ProPublica report is the latest revelation to prompt ethics concerns about Thomas. Thomas's failure to report the trips provided by Crow appears to violate a federal law requiring justices, judges and other federal officials disclose most gifts, ProPublica reported, citing legal ethics experts.

☆ U.S. lawmakers introduce bipartisan bill to help news media negotiate with Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers reintroduced a bill to allow news organizations to join together to negotiate ad rates with tech giants such as Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google. The measure would allow news broadcasters and publishers with fewer than 1,500 full-time workers to jointly negotiate ad rates -- many of which face financial struggles. The bill was introduced by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, along with Senator John Kennedy, a Republican. The News/Media Alliance, a media trade association, praised the bill it says will protect and sustain local journalism. Reporting by Diane Bartz; additional reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A new bill will try to finally fix television commercials that are way, way louder than the programming
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Madison Hall | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The CALM Act was originally passed in 2010, but at the time, the FCC didn't have jurisdiction over streaming services. The newly introduced act would make sure the FCC enforces the law and cover both TV and streaming services. The original CALM Act passed through the Senate unanimously and the House in a voice vote before it was signed by then-President Barack Obama. After the original law was passed, large stations and providers were supposed to abide by a monitoring program for two years. That is to say, the sum total of FCC enforcement on disproportionately loud commercials in the decade since the CALM Act has amounted to two letters — and no enforcement."

March 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices and federal judges will be required to provide greater public disclosure of any free trips, meals or gifts they receive under new regulations adopted at the urging of lawmakers and judicial transparency advocates. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who has argued for broader ethics reforms at the Supreme Court. He and other Democrats in Congress have introduced legislation that would require the Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics, strengthen recusal standards for judges and bolster financial disclosure requirements. Under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, U.S. Supreme Court justices and federal judges are required, like certain other government officials, to complete financial disclosure reports annually. Under the new regulations, judges still will not have to disclose gifts that include food, lodging or entertainment extended by an individual for a non-business purpose.

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican U.S. senators urged the Biden administration on Friday to share information with the International Criminal Court that could assist as it pursues war crimes charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last week, the court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The legal move will obligate the court's 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory. Although the United States is not a party to the ICC, Biden said last week that Putin has clearly committed war crimes, adding that the ICC warrant was justified. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elizabeth Warren demands Fed crackdown on large regional banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Senator Elizabeth Warren is cranking up the pressure on the Federal Reserve following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Both Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank fit into that asset threshold when they failed earlier this month. The bipartisan 2018 rollback of Dodd-Frank freed large regional banks in that range of assets from the toughest oversight. Notably, the letter was signed by Senator Angus King, the Maine independent who voted in favor of the 2018 rollback. Days after the bank failures, the Federal Reserve launched a review of the regulation and oversight of Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Amid bank strains, Democrats and Republicans spar over U.S. budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstWASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Budget Committee debated Democratic President Joe Biden's $6.8 trillion budget proposal on Wednesday, as new financial strains at Credit Suisse threatened to raise the stakes in a partisan standoff over spending and debt. "The president's budget proposal continues to take our nation down a path of fiscal and economic ruin," said Senator Chuck Grassley, the panel's top Republican. "President Biden is proposing levels of debt, deficits and spending previously reserved for times of world war or depression. Market turmoil exacerbated fears about the banking system days after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and New York's Signature Bank. Republicans are determined to avoid tax hikes and to preserve tax cuts for the wealthy implemented under former President Donald Trump.

☆ U.S. Senate Democrats, Republicans to battle over spending amid bank collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Biden's proposal is an early step in a negotiation over fiscal 2024 spending with Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives, who say they will refuse to raise the nation's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to sharp spending cuts. "Republicans have pledged to use draconian cuts to pro-growth investments for everyday Americans," Whitehouse said in a statement on Tuesday. Leaders of both parties say they will not cut Social Security and Medicare which currently account for about one- third of the federal budget. Not touching those, or failing to cut defense spending, leaves little chance of addressing the government's budget deficit. Republicans are determined to avoid tax hikes and to preserve tax cuts for the wealthy implemented under former President Donald Trump.

☆ Britain to announce energy security measures by month-end
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - British government measures to support energy security will be announced later in March, a budget document said on Wednesday without mention of any fresh incentives for oil and gas or renewable energy producers. "In addition to the measures in the spring budget, the government will set out further action later this month to ensure energy security in the UK and meet our net zero commitments," the government said in a budget document. "The Government has repeatedly ignored warnings from the renewable sector as it bulldozes through its tax raid on green electricity generators," said Rod Wood, managing director at wind energy developer Community Wind Power. "We are disappointed that it has not removed obstacles for offshore energy firms and the homegrown oil and gas producers." Reporting by Shadia Nasralla and Susanna Twidale Editing by David Goodman, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US senators blast Treasury's 'lack of progress' on climate risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a letter to Yellen viewed by Reuters, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse and Edward Markey criticized the work done by John Morton, Yellen's first climate counselor. "Treasury has been central to delivering on the Biden Administration’s climate agenda," she said, when asked about the senators' letter. In their letter, the senators also faulted Treasury's leadership of climate work by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which identified climate change as an "emerging and increasing threat to U.S. financial stability" in October 2021. The second Treasury official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the independent agencies grouped under FSOC were taking action, but those steps followed prescribed processes. No Treasury climate counselor could speed up that work since the agencies were independent, the official said.

☆ US senators blast Treasury's failure to move faster on climate risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - Three U.S. senators blasted the Treasury Department on Thursday for its failure to act more swiftly to counter climate risks, and urged Secretary Janet Yellen to appoint a new climate counselor to lead the effort. In a letter to Yellen viewed by Reuters, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse and Edward Markey criticized the work done by John Morton, Yellen's first climate counselor. The second Treasury official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the independent agencies grouped under FSOC were taking action, but those steps followed prescribed processes. No Treasury climate counselor could speed up that work since the agencies were independent, the official said. They asked Yellen to respond to over a dozen questions on Treasury's efforts to mitigate risks to the U.S. economy posed by accelerating climate change.

☆ SEC Chair Gensler says 'Scope 3' emissions disclosures aren't 'well developed,' hinting they could be scaled back in climate rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee during an oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 15, 2022. WASHINGTON — SEC Chair Gary Gensler hinted again Monday that the agency was considering scaling back its emissions disclosure rule. The SEC received a record 15,000 or so comments on the rule, "more than we've gotten on any other role in the history of our commission," Gensler said. Gensler has previously said the agency was considering making "adjustments" to the rule, given the volume of public comments. But a group of Democratic lawmakers are pressing Gensler not to drop Scope 3 disclosures from the final rule.

☆ Top Senate Democrats press Chamber of Commerce on threat to sue FTC over noncompete clause ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Signage is seen on the Chamber Of Commerce Building in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., April 21, 2021. WASHINGTON — Two top Senate Democrats on Tuesday will press the largest U.S. business advocacy organization on its threat to sue the Federal Trade Commission over a plan to ban noncompete clauses. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., are requesting detailed information from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about its plan to sue the FTC to halt the proposal. The new rule that would bar employers from imposing noncompete clauses could increase workers' wages by $300 billion a year, according to the FTC. A ban in Oregon helped raise wages for lower wage workers by 2% to 3%, according to a 2021 study.

☆ Merrick Garland's stonewalling about multiple investigations is annoying lawmakers on both sides of aisle ahead of his Capitol Hill visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Warren Rojas | Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want Merrick Garland to debrief them about DOJ investigations. Garland is scheduled to join the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 1 for a general oversight hearing — his first of the 118th Congress. In early February, both Durbin and his Republican counterparts leading the House Judiciary Committee requested briefings about McGonigal. The Senate letter requested information from Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray; the House letter was addressed to Wray but not Garland. "Everything is on the table," a staff member from House Judiciary told Insider.

☆ Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse demands more transparency on gifts, food, lodging and entertainment that federal judges and Supreme Court justices receive
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse sent a letter to an agency demanding more information on ethics rules for federal judges. Unlike lower federal judges, Supreme Court justices are not bound by a code of conduct. In a new letter obtained by Insider, Whitehouse demanded answers on how the justices and all other federal judges disclose hospitality they receive, including gifts, food, lodging and entertainment. The letter is a follow-up to a lengthy back-and-forth in recent years between Whitehouse and the agency on the judges' ethics rules. The American Bar Association also urged the Supreme Court this month to adopt ethics rules similar to those followed by all other federal judges.

☆ These 26 words ‘created the internet.’ Now the Supreme Court may be coming for them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

This week, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on two pivotal cases dealing with online speech and content moderation. A set of rulings against the tech industry could significantly narrow Section 230 and its legal protections for websites and social media companies. If that happens, the Court’s decisions could expose online platforms to an array of new lawsuits over how they present content to users. Such a result would represent the most consequential limitations ever placed on a legal shield that predates today’s biggest social media platforms and has allowed them to nip many content-related lawsuits in the bud. “The massive social media industry has grown up largely shielded from the courts and the normal development of a body of law.

☆ Russian president's behavior is 'speeding' the energy transition, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | 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 EmailRussian president's behavior is 'speeding' the energy transition, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse saysSheldon Whitehouse, U.S. member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, says Russian President Putin’s behavior is "speeding" the energy transition.

After the retirement of Boeing Capital Corp (BCC) President Tim Myers this spring, Boeing said it would "realign" the financing arm within the commercial airplane unit while maintaining "strong coordination" with Boeing's treasury arm. Boeing Capital, a subsidiary of Boeing, provides asset-based financing and leasing to airlines. The closing of Boeing Capital continues a trend for Boeing to consolidate its operational structure and ends a significant chapter in the fast-expanding air finance industry. A Boeing spokesperson said the shift will provide airlines "with more consistent support" for arranging aircraft financing. Rob Martin, finance chief for the commercial airline business, and Boeing Treasurer David Whitehouse will be responsible for the transition, West said in the memo.

☆ How Social Security and Medicare became the latest battleground in Biden's showdown with the GOP
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Social Security and Medicare have taken the spotlight in the battle to raise the debt limit. Then came the big question of what exactly Republicans want to cut, and Social Security and Medicare entered the frame. "So, folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now. White House, Biden double down on GOP attacksThe receipts kept coming once Republicans claimed they never proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare. It noted, though, that Social Security and Medicare "are earned benefit programs that must be saved and strengthened."

☆ Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and other Democrats are once again trying to give retirees an additional $2,400 in their Social Security checks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sanders, Warren and other Democrats introduced a bill to extend Social Security solvency through 2096. Sanders, alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Val Hoyle, introduced legislation to beef up Social Security benefits and keep the program solvent through 2096. Social Security beneficiaries are currently facing down checks being cut as soon as 2035, as the program's trust fund slowly runs out. "Our job is to expand Social Security so that every senior in America can retire with the dignity that they deserve and every person with a disability can live with the security they need." Currently, only up to $162,000 is taxed for Social Security while any income above that limit is free from the tax.

☆ Patrick Mahomes' wife Brittany Mahomes has built her own sports empire as a professional soccer player, part owner of a women's soccer team, and a fitness guru
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kelly Mclaughlin | Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | Meredith Cash | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is celebrating his latest win with his wife Brittany. The Kansas City Chiefs selected Patrick in the first round of the NFL Draft in April 2017. Her team won its league in September 2017, according to her Instagram, and by October 2017 she was in Kansas City. I think the people are what we love the most about Kansas City," Mahomes said. He took the Chiefs to their second-consecutive Super Bowl in February 2021, though the team lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jan 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday shot down Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) attempt to offload tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products into bankruptcy court. The appeals court ruling revives those lawsuits. Monday's decision by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia dismissed the bankruptcy filed by the J&J subsidiary in 2021. The appeals court decision could force companies considering the strategy to more carefully consider its risks, two legal experts said. The Texas two-step has garnered criticism from Democratic lawmakers in Washington, and inspired proposed legislation that would severely restrict the practice.

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☆ From FTX to Adani Group, Fraud Allegations Are Going to Rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Kaja Whitehouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Then there's the Adani Group, which lost a jaw-dropping $72 billion in market value after short-seller firm Hindenburg Research last week accused it of "brazen" market manipulation and accounting fraud. Adani Group, whose founder's net worth recently approached Elon Musk's, has vehemently denied the allegations. Could Wall Street get hit by the Adani Group fiasco? But Wall Street is placing its bets on a California chipmaker, helping its founder get richer to the tune of $5 billion. From Madonna to Tom Brady, many celebrities who shilled for crypto or NFTs are either being sued civilly or facing regulatory scrutiny, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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