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Found 19 results

  1. Biden to meet with governors on weather, hike salaries for firefighters Tue, June 22, 2021, 2:59 PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he will host a meeting next week of governors from states in the western United States, cabinet members and federal emergency management officials to help prepare for heat, drought and wildfires. With hurricane season under way and a heat wave afflicting the U.S. west, Biden told reporters that he wanted to make sure the United States is in a position to help Americans deal with severe weather. "We're in for a tough season," Biden said at the start of a meeting with Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and homeland security adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall and other officials. Biden also vowed to increase wages for federal firefighters, saying their current pay of $13 an hour was ridiculous. "I just realized - I didn't realize this, I have to admit - that federal firefighters get paid $13 an hour. That's going to end in my administration. That's a ridiculously low salary to pay a federal firefighter." Biden said it was critical for the United States to be prepared and have every resource available to address flooding, wildfires and other extreme weather events. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters earlier that Biden wanted to meet with federal emergency management officials to discuss preparedness and response efforts given the onset of peak wildfire and storm season. In a speech last week, Criswell said 2020 was one of the most active hurricane seasons in U.S. history, coupled with the pandemic, and warned that climate change would exacerbate weather conditions in the future. "We are now getting accustomed to a ‘new normal’ while the world continues to change before our eyes," she said. "Weather patterns are telling us that the 2021 hurricane and wildfire seasons could be busy again." https://news.yahoo.com/biden-meet-governors-weather-hike-185919224.html GO RV, then BV
  2. 'Pure insanity': Justice Dept. rebuffed Trump bid to overturn election FILE PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks at CPAC in Washington By Jan Wolfe and Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former President Donald Trump pressed the Justice Department during his waning weeks in office to join his failed effort to overturn his election defeat based on his false claims of voting fraud, but its leaders refused, with one decrying the "pure insanity" of the claims, documents released on Tuesday showed. The House of Representatives Oversight and Reform Committee, which obtained the records as part of an investigation, outlined a series of overtures made by the Republican former president, then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and an outside private attorney, Kurt Olsen, pushing the department to act on Trump's claims. The department ultimately did not join the effort and numerous courts rejected lawsuits seeking to overturn election results in various states. Congress also is investigating the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters trying to stop the formal certification of Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory. "These documents show that President Trump tried to corrupt our nation's chief law enforcement agency in a brazen attempt to overturn an election that he lost," said Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat. These overtures were separate from the revelations that the Trump-era Justice Department secretly sought https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-leaks-justice/us-justice-dept-to-strengthen-policies-on-getting-lawmakers-records-idUSKCN2DQ1I3 the phone records of at least two Democratic lawmakers, a move that led Biden's Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday to vow to strengthen policies aiming to protect the department from political influence. The department under outgoing Attorney General William Barr, who left his post on Dec. 23, and his short-term replacement Jeffrey Rosen decided not to act on the false claims of voting fraud. Biden took office on Jan. 21. The emails showed that Meadows asked Justice Department officials to investigate an unfounded conspiracy theory called "Italygate" alleging that U.S. electoral data was changed in Italian facilities with the knowledge of the CIA. On Jan. 1, Meadows sent Rosen a link to a YouTube video detailing the theory. Rosen forwarded the email to then-acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, who replied: "Pure insanity." The documents also showed that Trump pressured Rosen when he was deputy attorney general to have the Justice Department take up the election fraud claims. The emails showed Rosen declined to arrange a meeting between Justice Department officials and Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani about his false claims that the November election was stolen from Trump. Meadows had asked Rosen to help arrange the proposed meeting with Giuliani, the emails showed. "I flatly refused, said I would not be giving any special treatment to Giuliani or any of his 'witnesses,' and re-affirmed yet again that I will not talk to Giuliani about any of this," Rosen wrote to a Justice Department colleague on Jan. 1. Giuliani had played a prominent role in promoting Trump's false election claims. Trump, through an assistant, sent Rosen a Dec. 14 email with documents purporting to show evidence of election fraud in northern Michigan - a debunked allegation that a federal judge had already rejected. Two weeks later, on Dec. 29, Trump's White House assistant emailed Rosen, who by then was the acting attorney general, and other Justice Department lawyers a draft legal brief that they were urged to file at the U.S. Supreme Court. The department never filed the brief. Emails released by the House committee showed that Olsen, a Maryland lawyer involved in writing Trump's draft brief, repeatedly tried to meet with Rosen but was unsuccessful. The draft brief backed by Trump argued that changes made by the states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania to voting procedures amid the COVID-19 pandemic to expand mail-in voting were unlawful. Biden won all those states Similar arguments were made in a lawsuit filed by Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas and a Trump ally. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected that long-shot lawsuit in December. Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The document release comes ahead of the House Oversight committee's hearing with FBI director Christopher Wray and General Charles Flynn, brother of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who has also voiced Trump's election conspiracy theories. https://news.yahoo.com/u-house-panel-justice-department-111928828.html GO RV, then BV
  3. Biden administration sets up 'strike force' to go after China on trade FILE PHOTO: Chinese and U.S. flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing Michael Martina and Trevor Hunnicutt Tue, June 8, 2021, 5:07 AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States will target China with a new "strike force" to combat unfair trade practices, the Biden administration said on Tuesday, as it rolled out findings of a review of U.S. access to critical products, from semiconductors to electric-vehicle batteries. The "supply chain trade strike force," led by the U.S. trade representative, will look for specific violations that have contributed to a "hollowing out" of supply chains that could be addressed with trade remedies, including toward China, senior administration officials told reporters. Officials also said the Department of Commerce was considering initiating a Section 232 investigation into the national security impact of neodymium magnet imports used in motors and other industrial applications, which the United States largely sources from China. President Joe Biden ordered the review of critical supply chains in February, requiring executive agencies to report back within 100 days on risks to U.S. access to critical goods like those used in pharmaceuticals as well as rare earth minerals, for which the United States is dependent on overseas sources. Though not explicitly directed at China, the review is part of a broader Biden administration strategy to shore up U.S. competitiveness in the face of economic challenges posed by the world's second largest economy. "Semiconductors are the building blocks that underpin so much of our economy, and are essential to our national security, our economic competitiveness, and our daily lives," U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Gina Raimondo, who unveil the review at the White House later on Tuesday, said in a statement. Other top U.S. economic officials are scheduled to address reporters at the White House at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT). The United States faced serious challenges getting medical equipment during the COVID-19 epidemic and now faces severe bottlenecks in a number of areas, including computer chips, stalling production of goods such as cars. U.S. agencies are required to issue more complete reports a year after Biden's order, identifying gaps in domestic manufacturing capabilities and policies to address them. TRADE WARS WITH ALLIES NOT WANTED A senior official said the United States had faced unfair trade practices from "a number of foreign governments" across all four of the supply chains covered in the initial review, including government subsidies and forced intellectual property transfers. "Obviously, a number of Chinese industrial policies have contributed to vulnerable U.S. supply chains," the official said. "I think you are going to see this strike force focusing in feeding into some of our China policy developments." The United States was not looking to "wage trade wars with our allies and partners," the official added, noting the strike force would be focused on "very targeted products." But the senior officials offered little in the way of new measures to immediately ease chip supply shortages, noting in a fact sheet that the Commerce Department would work to "facilitate information flow" between chip makers and end users and increase transparency, a step Reuters previously reported https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/exclusive-facing-chips-shortage-biden-may-shelve-blunt-tool-used-covid-fight-2021-05-05. In medicine, the administration will use the Defense Production Act to accelerate efforts to manufacture 50 to 100 critical drugs domestically rather than relying on imports. And to address supply bottlenecks from lumber to steel that have raised fears of inflation, the administration is starting a task force focused on "homebuilding and construction, semiconductors, transportation, and agriculture and food." Semiconductors are a central focus in sprawling legislation currently before Congress, which would pump billions of dollars into creating domestic production capacity for the chips used in everything from consumer electronics to military equipment. Biden has said China will not surpass the United States as a global leader on his watch, and confronting Beijing is one of the few bipartisan issues in an otherwise deeply divided Congress. But some lawmakers have expressed concerns that a package of China-related bills includes huge taxpayer-funded outlays for companies without safeguards to prevent them from sending related production or research to China. The official said a measure of success of the supply chain effort would be more diverse suppliers for crucial products from like-minded allies and partners, and fewer from geopolitical competitors. "We're not going to build everything here at home. But we do have to see more domestic manufacturing capability for key products," the official said. https://news.yahoo.com/biden-administration-sets-strike-force-090728608.html GO RV, then BV
  4. U.S. Supreme Court dumps last of Trump's election appeals Lawrence Hurley Mon, March 8, 2021, 9:49 AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday disposed of the last of three cases brought to the justices by former President Donald Trump challenging his election loss, bringing a muted end to his futile quest in the courts to hold onto power. The court without comment rejected Trump's appeal challenging thousands of absentee ballots filed in Wisconsin, an election battleground that the Republican businessman-turned-politician lost to Democrat Joe Biden by more than 20,000 votes. Biden became president on Jan. 20. It was the last of three petitions filed at the Supreme Court near the end of Trump's presidency that the justices declined to take up. The court on Feb. 22 turned away Trump's other two appeals - a second Wisconsin challenge and one relating to voting in Pennsylvania, another pivotal state Trump lost. Lower courts previously had ruled against Trump in those three cases. It already was clear that the high court, which includes three justices appointed by Trump, had no intention to intervene in the cases and others filed by his allies because it did not act before Congress on Jan. 6 certified Biden's victory. That formal certification was interrupted when a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. In the Wisconsin case, Trump sued two days after the state had certified its election results. He challenged several Wisconsin election policies including one allowing the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both a federal judge and the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the claims, noting in part that Trump had waited too long to sue. Courts around the country rejected the cases brought by Trump and his allies, sometimes in colorful terms. A judge put it this way in November in rejecting a Trump challenge in Pennsylvania: "This claim, like Frankenstein's Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together." Trump has made - and continues to make - false claims that the Nov. 3 presidential election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud and irregularities. Republicans are now seizing on those same unsubstantiated allegations in an effort to impose new voting restrictions in numerous states. The Supreme Court on Monday also turned away another election-related case filed by Trump ally Lin Wood, who had asked the justices to block the Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections in Georgia. The court never acted on the request and Democrats won both races, giving them narrow control of the Senate. https://news.yahoo.com/u-supreme-court-dumps-last-144904229.html GO RV, then BV
  5. Big questions loom ahead of Biden's next spending push, like 'what is infrastructure?' U.S. President Joe Biden hosts meeting on infrastructure with members of Congress at the White House in Washington Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt Mon, March 15, 2021, 7:10 AM By Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt (Reuters) - With a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package finally passed, U.S. President Joe Biden's next big spending push is already on the horizon - repairing the nation’s ailing bridges, roads and airports and investing billions in new projects like broadband internet. Biden may sketch the outline of the plan, promised on the campaign trail, in a joint address to Congress this month and provide details in April, giving lawmakers several months to work on the bill before an August recess, people familiar with the White House plans said. The White House has added infrastructure experts to the administration in recent weeks, and called in lawmakers and companies to discuss the topic. With a narrow majority in Congress, Biden and Democrats need to either move all or parts of the package through a budget process that would only require party-line votes known as reconciliation, or attract Republican votes and make it a bipartisan effort. Either way, Reuters' interviews with lobbyists, lawmakers, administration officials and company executives show broad questions still need to be answered before any bill can be written. HOW DO YOU DEFINE INFRASTRUCTURE? Biden and his fellow Democrats hope to expand the definition of infrastructure beyond existing transportation architecture to include items aimed at tackling climate change and its effects, echoing the $2 trillion, 10-year "Build Back Better" proposal floated during his campaign. That includes investments in electric vehicle charging stations, zero-emission buses and zero-carbon electricity generation by 2035, and directing dollars to minority neighborhoods and contractors, part of a pledge to increase racial equity. Democrats have signaled they want to invest billions in creating and refurbishing affordable housing in any package and expand broadband internet access to all Americans, particularly in rural communities. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday that she had directed senior Democrats to begin working with Republicans on a “big, bold and transformational infrastructure package." Republicans and influential trade groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce support large-scale infrastructure spending, but not Democratic efforts to inject climate change or equality policy into a spending bill. Representative Peter DeFazio, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said in an interview his “tentative timeline” is for the committee to complete action on its portion of an infrastructure bill before the end of May. He said a proposal could be divided between reconciliation to raise revenue and direct funds and traditional legislative procedures to set policy. HOW TO PAY FOR IT? House Democrats passed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package last year that died in the Senate, but could be a blueprint here. It was one-third funded from existing fuel taxes and budget transfers. Leading Democrats suggest doing away with Trump’s 2017 tax cuts or imposing new taxes on the super wealthy - ideas that are a non-starter for most Republicans and some Democrats. Some economists and business groups have suggested lawmakers should forget about finding new funding for the whole package and instead borrow some of the money given the historically low cost of debt and economic growth projections. Others, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, suggest creating a federal infrastructure bank that can lend money at cheap rates to private companies. CAN THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND BE FIXED? The Highway Trust Fund, established in 1956, finances most federal government spending for highways and mass transit - but it has been in the red since 2008, according to the Tax Policy Center. Federal taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, a key source of revenue, have not increased from 18.3-cents-per-gallon for gasoline or 24.3 cents for diesel since 1993, requiring some $140 billion in transfers from general revenues. The latest fund spending plan expires in September, and there's little political appetite to raise fuel taxes. Some Democrats want to rethink how drivers are taxed, switching to a vehicle-miles traveled tax that would sweep in electric cars, but collecting the tax is difficult and raises many issues, including privacy concerns. CAN EARMARKS HELP? The American public doesn’t particularly like "earmarks," federal funding stuffed into bills for a specific project in one lawmaker's district or state, but they may be a way to bring bipartisan policy back. The practice, banned since 2011 because of abuses, has some support among both parties. Democratic lawmakers hope earmarks can help keep their narrow majorities together on big votes, boost vulnerable members’ reelection chances in 2022 and attract Republicans to support bills. Republicans are also weighing whether to embrace earmarks again. https://news.yahoo.com/big-questions-loom-ahead-bidens-111016116.html GO RV, then BV
  6. Former U.S. presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, Carter and First Ladies promote vaccine in new advertisements Scroll back up to restore default view. Sheila Dang Thu, March 11, 2021, 12:06 AM By Sheila Dang (Reuters) - Former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter will star in two new public service announcements (PSA) for the coronavirus vaccine alongside former First Ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillarious Clinton and Rosalynn Carter, the Ad Council announced on Thursday. "The science is clear. These vaccines will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease," said President Bush in one of the PSAs with Obama and Clinton, urging Americans to get vaccinated. "That's the first step to ending the pandemic and moving our country forward," said Obama. Noticeably absent in the vaccine PSAs, created by nonprofit the Ad Council, are former President Donald Trump and Melania Trump. During his run for re-election last year, Trump widely touted his administration's role in bringing a vaccine to market. When asked about Trump's absence, a spokesman for the Ad Council said one of the PSAs was filmed at President Joe Biden's inauguration in January, which Trump did not attend. The spokesman added the organization was pleased when Trump recently advised Americans to "go get your shot" after receiving the vaccine. The new ads are part of the Ad Council's nationwide vaccine education campaign titled "It's Up To You." More than 300 partners are supporting the nonprofit in the effort to battle hesitancy about the vaccine's safety and help convince more people to get the shot. A second PSA features each of the presidents and First Ladies wearing masks and receiving a dose of the vaccine. "Now it's up to you," Carter says in the ad. https://news.yahoo.com/former-u-presidents-obama-bush-050637661.html GO RV, then BV
  7. Georgia Secretary of State's office launches probe into Trump's election phone call Linda So Mon, February 8, 2021, 5:06 PM By Linda So WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Georgia's Secretary of State's office opened a probe on Monday into former U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results, a step that could lead to a criminal investigation by state and local authorities. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had faced calls to open a probe after Trump was recorded in a Jan. 2 phone call pressuring Raffensperger to overturn the state's election results based on unfounded voter fraud claims. "The Secretary of State's office investigates complaints it receives," said Walter Jones, a spokesman for Raffensperger's office, describing the investigation as "fact finding and administrative." "Any further legal efforts will be left to the attorney general." He said the probe, which was first reported by Reuters, was prompted by a complaint filed on Monday by George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf. Banzhaf told Reuters he spoke with an investigator in Raffensperger's office on Monday, hours after he filed the complaint requesting a probe into Trump's potential election interference. It was his fourth such complaint to Georgia officials since the Jan. 2 call, he said. Jason Miller, a Trump adviser, said, "There was nothing improper or untoward about a scheduled call between President Trump, Secretary Raffensperger and lawyers on both sides. If Mr. Raffensperger didn't want to receive calls about the election, he shouldn't have run for Secretary of State." Legal experts say Trump's phone calls may have violated at least three state criminal election laws: conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud, and intentional interference with performance of election duties. The felony and misdemeanor violations are punishable by fines or imprisonment. If Trump were prosecuted, he would likely argue that he genuinely believed the election was rigged against him, the experts said, noting that criminal laws generally require a guilty state of mind or a deliberate intent to carry out a crime - and that this may be a high hurdle to clear in this case. In the Jan. 2 phone call, Trump urged Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, to "find" enough votes to overturn his Georgia loss. The transcript quotes Trump telling Raffensperger: "All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes," which is the number Trump needed to win. On Jan. 6 - the day of the U.S. Capitol riots - Trump bragged about the call in a speech to supporters: "People love that conversation because it says what's going on," he said. "These people are crooked." In addition, two Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives - Kathleen Rice, of New York, and Ted Lieu, of California - asked in a Jan. 4 letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a criminal probe into Trump's call to Raffensperger. LEGAL PERILS The push for investigations illustrates the legal perils facing Trump since he lost the constitutional protections that shield sitting presidents from prosecution. Trump now faces nearly a dozen legal battles, including a criminal probe by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr into his business dealings, and several civil lawsuits. Trump has described investigations into his family business as politically motivated. David Worley, the lone Democrat on Georgia's state election board, had planned to introduce a motion at Wednesday's board meeting urging state Attorney General Chris Carr and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to open a criminal investigation into Trump's phone calls with election officials. Worley said such a move was unnecessary now Raffensperger's office had opened an investigation. "I won't need to make my motion," Worley told Reuters. "This is the normal thing that should happen when a complaint is filed. If a complaint is filed, an investigation is started, that's how it works." Spokespeople for Carr and Willis did not reply to requests for comment. Once the Secretary of State's investigation is complete, the office's investigations division will write a report and present it to the state election board, Worley said. The board will then decide if the matter is referred to the state attorney general or a local district attorney. Willis, a Democrat, has held internal discussions about launching a criminal probe to investigate Trump's alleged election interference, Reuters reported on Jan. 28, quoting people familiar with the matter. In addition to the January phone call, Trump made another call in December to Georgia's chief elections investigator, Raffensperger's office has said. It wasn't immediately clear if the December call would be included in the Secretary of State's probe. "The investigation will go where it needs to go," said Jones. "It's not like a prosecutor where you're limited to the parameters of the complaint." (Editing by Jason Szep and Rosalba O'Brien) https://news.yahoo.com/georgia-opened-inquiry-trumps-january-042810727.html GO RV, then BV
  8. U.S. voting rights activist Stacey Abrams nominated for Nobel Peace Prize FILE PHOTO: Stacey Abrams speaks at Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. August 18, 2020 Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche Mon, February 1, 2021, 8:08 AM By Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche OSLO (Reuters) - U.S. voting rights activist and Democratic Party politician Stacey Abrams has been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize for her work to promote nonviolent change via the ballot box, a Norwegian lawmaker said on Monday. Abrams, whose work was credited with boosting voter turnout last year, helping Joe Biden win the U.S. presidency, joins a long list of nominees, including both former President Donald Trump and his son-in-law, former White House adviser Jared Kushner. "Abrams' work follows in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s footsteps in the fight for equality before the law and for civil rights," said Lars Haltbrekken, a Socialist Party member of Norway's parliament. King, a Baptist minister who became a leader of the 1960s civil rights movement, won the Nobel prize in 1964 and remains among its most famous laureates. "Abrams' efforts to complete King's work are crucial if the United States of America shall succeed in its effort to create fraternity between all its peoples and a peaceful and just society," Haltbrekken said. Thousands of people, from members of parliaments worldwide to former winners, are eligible to propose candidates, and a nomination does not imply endorsement from the Nobel committee in Oslo. Other candidates this year include Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, the World Health Organization and climate campaigner Greta Thunberg. The U.S. Black Lives Matter movement, as well as Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the "Pentagon Papers" about the Vietnam War, U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and WikiLeaks, have also been nominated, as have pro-democracy and civil rights campaigners from Belarus to Poland and Hungary. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides who wins the award, does not comment on nominations, but nominators can choose to reveal their picks. Prominent former U.S. winners include Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, and former vice president, Al Gore. The 2021 laureate will be announced in October. https://news.yahoo.com/u-voting-rights-activist-stacey-130850201.html GO RV, then BV
  9. Police officer killed in storming of U.S. Capitol to lie in honor in Washington Scroll back up to restore default view. Updated Tue, February 2, 2021, 6:04 AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The police officer killed when supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol last month trying to overturn the election results will lie in honor in the building's historic rotunda on Tuesday and Wednesday. The body of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died of his injuries the day after the Jan. 6 attack, will arrive at the rotunda on Tuesday evening and his fellow officers will begin viewing him at 10 p.m. ET (0300 GMT). Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed into the Capitol, attacking police, smashing windows and sending lawmakers into hiding, after a fiery speech in which the then-president urged them to "fight" his election loss to President Joe Biden. Four others died in the violence. The incident led to Trump's second impeachment; he will face trial in the Senate on a charge of inciting insurrection next week. Since the 19th century, the caskets of about three dozen distinguished Americans have been honored at the Capitol. Twelve have been former presidents, who along with other government officials, judges and military leaders are said to "lie in state." The category of "laying in honor" was created after two Capitol Police officers were fatally wounded in 1998 by a gunman who ran to the offices of then-Majority Whip Tom DeLay. Sicknick, who died at 42, is the fifth American to lay in honor at the rotunda. The other two were civil rights leader Rosa parks in 2005 and the Reverend Billy Graham in 2018. Members of Congress will be able to view Sicknick on Wednesday morning. There will be a congressional tribute on Wednesday before a ceremonial departure. Sicknick will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. In the Jan. 6 violence, Sicknick was pepper-sprayed and hit in the head, according to his father. An ambulance crew resuscitated him twice as he was rushed to a nearby hospital. He died the following day. Sicknick, who had served in the New Jersey Air National Guard, joined the Capitol Police in 2008. The Capitol remains shaken by the events, which have led to the erection of eight-foot-high fence around the complex as a temporary measure. Acting Capitol Police chief Yogananda Pittman called last week for permanent fencing and back-up security forces near the building. (Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell) https://news.yahoo.com/police-officer-killed-storming-u-110331024.html GO RV, then BV
  10. Senate Democrats seek February hearing for attorney general nominee Garland FILE PHOTO: U.S. President-elect Joe Biden announces Justice Department nominees at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware Sarah N. Lynch Updated Mon, February 1, 2021, 9:57 PM By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday blamed partisan gridlock for stalling the confirmation of President Joe Biden's attorney general nominee, Merrick Garland, and called on Republicans to set a Feb. 8 confirmation hearing. In a letter to the Judiciary Committee chairman, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, incoming Democratic Chairman **** Durbin said it was "regrettable" the two sides were still unable to reach a deal on a timetable for proceeding with Garland's confirmation. "There is simply no justification to object to a Feb. 8 hearing," Durbin wrote in his letter to Graham, saying the date will not conflict with former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, which is due to start the following day, and will still afford the committee members "ample time" to review Garland's record. Garland, 68, is currently as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, one of 13 federal appeals courts In response, Graham wrote to Durbin that a one-day hearing on Garland's nomination was not enough, noting that the last five nominees for attorney general had two-day hearings. "I look forward to questioning Judge Garland and potentially supporting his nomination, but not on February 8," Graham wrote. "Proceeding with the confirmation of an attorney general and the impeachment of a former president at the same time would give neither the attention required," he wrote. Since Biden was sworn into office on Jan. 20, the Senate has confirmed several key members of his cabinet, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. However, Garland's nomination has yet to be scheduled, as Democrats and Republicans continue to hash out control of the Senate going forward. Democrats control the 50-50 split chamber by virtue of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' holding the tie-breaking vote in the Senate. But Democratic and Republican leaders were working out details on how committees will operate. Durbin is expected to become the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democratic former President Barack Obama nominated Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016 while Biden was vice president. The Republican-controlled Senate refused to hold hearings on the nomination, allowing Trump to fill the seat after he assumed office in January 2017. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Leslie Adler) https://www.yahoo.com/news/senate-democrats-seek-february-hearing-230146178.html GO RV, then BV
  11. Kushner, Berkowitz nominated for Nobel peace prize for Israel deals FILE PHOTO: Kushner at a press briefing on the Israel-UAE agreement at the White House in Washington Steve Holland Sun, January 31, 2021, 10:24 PM By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and his deputy, Avi Berkowitz, were nominated on Sunday for the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in negotiating four normalization deals between Israel and Arab nations known as the "Abraham Accords." The deals were announced in a four-month span between mid-August and mid-December and were the most significant diplomatic breakthroughs in the Middle East in 25 years as the region girds for a prolonged confrontation with Iran. Nominating the pair of former deputies to then-President Donald Trump was American attorney Alan Dershowitz, who was eligible to do so in his capacity as a professor emeritus of Harvard Law School. Dershowitz had defended Trump in his first impeachment trial last year and said in a Jan. 20 comment in the Wall Street Journal that the Senate should dismiss the article of impeachment against Trump over the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol as he is no longer president. Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law, and Berkowitz, who was the Middle East envoy, were key figures in negotiating deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. In a statement, Kushner said he was honored to be nominated for the prize, which will be awarded in October. President Joe Biden's administration is expected to review all national security deals struck during the Trump administration, including arms packages for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Some lawmakers have complained about the Morocco deal because, to win the nation's agreement, the United States recognized its sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara. Trump left office on Jan. 20 under a cloud of controversy, potentially affecting whether the two aides would be awarded the Nobel. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) https://www.yahoo.com/news/kushner-berkowitz-nominated-nobel-peace-032442799.html GO RV, then BV
  12. U.S. Congress Republicans face dilemma in controversies around Cheney, Greene Richard Cowan Thu, January 28, 2021, 6:09 AM By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deep divisions roiling the U.S. Republican Party came into clear focus this week in controversies about Representatives Liz Cheney and Marjorie Taylor Greene - two politicians with little in common beyond their work address. House of Representatives Republicans already were debating whether to punish Cheney, the No. 3 member of party leadership, for voting to impeach Donald Trump when CNN reported that Greene in online posts had expressed support for executing Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President **** Cheney, was the most prominent of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting insurrection for his speech urging his followers to "fight" and march to Congress on Jan. 6. Pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden's election victory. Cheney accused Trump of "betrayal" in a statement that many House Democrats cited in casting their own votes to impeach. Greene, a first-term Georgia congresswoman who has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, came into office defending Trump and lashing out at Democrats for everything from impeachment votes to the installation of metal detectors at the door of the House chamber. In a Twitter post, Greene did not specifically address details of the CNN report but said some of her social media posts "did not represent my views." She accused CNN of "writing yet another hit piece on me focused on my time before running for political office." In choosing which to reprimand or support, Republicans can send a signal as to whether they want to pivot away from the Trump era or double down. "Given everything that's going on, they're all scared - for really good reasons," said Doug Heye, a former aide to Republicans including former Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. If Republicans hit back at Cheney for her impeachment vote of conscience but leave Greene unscathed, "There will have to be a very long explanation on what Republicans hope to achieve now as well as in the coming years," Heye said. Greene had already gained notoriety during her campaign for Congress last year because of her interest in QAnon, which advances the baseless claim that prominent Democrats are part of a cabal of pedophiles. 'FAMILY' MEETING Heye said many Republicans privately concede they are exhausted by Trump's incendiary language, the nepotism he brought to the White House and "the self-profiting; all those things Republicans would never allow an Obama or a Clinton to get away with." Tensions between Cheney and some of her fellow conservatives could deepen on Thursday when Republican Representative Matt Gaetz is scheduled to appear in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheney's home state, where he plans to lambaste her for voting to impeach Trump. "I believe that we ought to embrace the spirit and style of President Trump," Gaetz told reporters on Monday. Republicans are expected to address Cheney's revolt during a "family" meeting, as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy framed it this week. But toppling Cheney, 54, is a multi-step process and some House Republican aides, who asked not to be identified, think there is nowhere near enough support to punish her. Cheney, who declined requests for an interview, backed Trump's impeachment after Republican leadership decided not to pressure members to vote against it. While McCarthy said Trump "bears responsibility" for the mob that attacked the Capitol and told Fox News his members can tolerate "differences of opinion," more recently he has criticized Cheney for not being a team player. "I assume Cheney will continue to come under heavy fire from within" the Republican ranks, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. In the longer term, however, Cheney "actually could benefit from her daring words" urging impeachment, especially if Trump's star fades, Sabato said. One Republican congressional aide described her as a hard-nosed pragmatist. "She's no-nonsense and not afraid to be a ball buster," said the aide. Cheney has won a reputation for running an effective leadership office that is responsive to members' needs, the aide said. As for Cheney, whose Twitter feed declares "The world needs more cowboys," she has stood her ground, telling reporters, "I'm not going anywhere." (Reporting by Richard Cowan, additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool) https://news.yahoo.com/u-congress-republicans-face-dilemma-110950682.html GO RV, then BV
  13. Former White House spokeswoman Sanders launches bid for Arkansas governor FILE PHOTO: Former White House Press Secretary Sanders joins U.S. President Trump as he rallies with supporters in Des Moines, Iowa Mon, January 25, 2021, 8:35 AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sarah Sanders, who served as one of former U.S. President Donald Trump's White House press secretaries, on Monday announced she would seek the Republican Party's nomination for governor of Arkansas in the 2022 election. Sanders, who left the White House in 2019 under good terms with Trump and backed his failed bid for re-election in November, faces a potential crowded race that could test the former president's hold on the Republican Party as it regroups. In a video posted online, Sanders echoed much of Trump's rhetoric, vowing "law and order," and positioning herself as a bulwark against "the radical left," "socialism" and "cancel culture." Arkansas's Lieutenant Governor Tim Griffin has said he will also seek the Republican nomination in the race, which could also include state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Arkansas Senate President Jim Hendren, according to local media reports. Current Governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term in the deeply conservative southern U.S. state. Sanders, 38, served as Trump's second press secretary after Sean Spicer. She left the job to return home to Arkansas, where her father Mike Huckabee also served as governor from 1996 to 2007. https://news.yahoo.com/former-white-house-spokeswoman-sanders-133500315.html GO RV, then BV
  14. U.S. Senate wrangles over $2,000 stimulus checks, defense veto as deadline looms David Morgan Tue, December 29, 2020, 5:03 AM EST By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate will grapple on Tuesday with whether to increase payments to Americans reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and override President Donald Trump's veto of a $740 billion defense bill, two measures set to lapse if lawmakers fail to act before a new Congress takes office on Sunday. Democrats, with help from Trump's Twitter feed, are pushing for a vote on the additional money, a step they believe could give them an advantage in two Georgia runoff elections next week that will determine which party controls the Senate under President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration. The bill faces a tough path in the Republican-led Senate, with many Republicans pointing to hundreds of billions of dollars in added costs of COVID-19 relief. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to speak on the chamber floor at Noon (1700 GMT). A combined $892 billion bipartisan coronavirus relief package and $1.4 trillion spending bill that Trump signed into law on Sunday contains $600 checks for people hit hard financially by a pandemic that has infected more than 19 million Americans and killed over 333,000. The Democratic-led House of Representatives on Monday approved the increase in direct payments to $2000. Trump's signing of the package staved off a U.S. government shutdown but he also pushed for the stimulus checks. He reasserted that demand on Tuesday, tweeting: "$2000 for our great people, not $600! They have suffered enough from the China Virus!!!" Separately, the House on Monday voted to override the president's veto of the defense policy bill by 322-87. If the Senate seconds the House action, the bill becomes law. It would be the first veto override of Trump's presidency, which ends on Jan. 20 when Biden takes office. A Senate vote on the defense bill veto had been expected on Wednesday but could be delayed until the weekend by political wrangling over the stimulus money. With the New Year's Day holiday on Friday and a new Congress due to be sworn into office on Sunday, lawmakers have only a short time to act. SENATE RESISTANCE Final passage of the COVID aid increase in the Senate would require 60 votes and the backing of a dozen Republicans. The Joint Tax Committee, a congressional panel that tracks federal spending, estimated on Monday that Trump's $2,000 checks would cost $463.8 billion. Republican Senator Marco Rubio voiced early support for the increase. "I agree with the president that millions of working class families are in dire need of additional relief, which is why I support $2,000 in direct payments," he said in a statement late on Monday. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also welcomed it. "The House just took a strong, bipartisan vote to pass $2,000 checks," Schumer said on Monday. "I'll move to pass the bill in the Senate. Workers, families and people are crying out for help. Every Senate Democrat is for this relief. Senate Republicans should not stand in the way." Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, who has championed higher direct payments to Americans, threatened late on Monday to block the Senate from moving quickly to override Trump's veto of defense bill until McConnell agrees to allow a vote on the $2,000 checks. "This week on the Senate floor Mitch McConnell wants to vote to override Trump's veto of the $740 billion defense funding bill and then head home for the New Year," Sanders said on Twitter. "I'm going to object until we get a vote on legislation to provide a $2,000 direct payment to the working class." (Reporting by David Morgan; additional reporting by Susan Cornwell;Editing by Noeleen Walder and Alistair Bell) https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/battle-over-2-000-covid-100359693.html GO RV, then BV
  15. Over 1.1 million ballots cast in early voting for Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs FILE PHOTO: U.S. President-elect Joe Biden campaigns on behalf of Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Ossoff and Warnock in Atlanta, Georgia U.S. President-elect Joe Biden campaigns on behalf of Democratic U.S. senate candidates Ossoff and Warnock in Atlanta Jason Lange Fri, December 18, 2020, 7:24 AM EST By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) -More than 1.1 million Georgians have voted in twin U.S. Senate runoff elections that will determine which party controls that chamber of Congress, and with it the fate of much of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's agenda, state data showed on Friday. The surge in turnout after four days of early in-person voting, and about four weeks of mail-in voting, showed that voter participation in the two races is on pace to rival the records set in the November presidential contest in which Biden defeated Republican incumbent Donald Trump. State data published on Friday showed the number of accepted ballots was just below the level seen at the same point in early voting for November's election. Voting in the Senate runoffs, which are taking place because no candidate won 50% support on Nov. 3, ends on Jan. 5. Biden's razor-thin victory in Georgia last month amid record-high turnout underscored the Southern state's transformation from Republican stronghold to one of the country's most competitive political battlegrounds. A record 159 million people nationwide voted in November, up from 138 million in the November 2016 elections, according to data compiled by Michael McDonald, a political scientist at the University of Florida. He estimated that nearly 67% of U.S. eligible voters voted last month, the highest share since 1900. Signs of high turnout in January's Senate contests in Georgia point to another squeaker, analysts said. "This is going to be a really close election," said McDonald, who is tracking early voting in Georgia. He said comparing current turnout with the November cycle is tricky. It was possible that voters have crowded the polls to be done with voting ahead of the December holidays. "It does seem to me like we're in for a higher turnout election than is typical for a runoff," McDonald said. DEMOCRATS NEED SWEEP Democrats need to win both contests to achieve a 50-50 split in the Senate, which would give Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote. Even one Democratic loss would allow Republicans to keep a razor-thin majority they could use to block many of Biden's legislative goals and judicial nominees. The runoffs pit Democratic challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff against Republican incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, respectively. Perdue won more votes than Ossoff in November, while Warnock won more than Loeffler in a 20-candidate field that also included Republican Congressman Doug Collins. Loeffler and Collins together drew nearly 46% of the vote. Ballots accepted through Thursday were only just below the 1.2 million that were cast at the same point in the November election, when turnout eventually totaled about 5 million votes. Roughly 2 million votes were cast in the last runoff for a Senate seat in Georgia, when Republican Saxby Chambliss defeated Democrat Jim Martin in 2008. Nearly 4 million Georgians voted in the 2018 congressional midterm elections. Republicans have often performed better in low-turnout elections. But voters in both parties appear energized by the stakes in the January contest and each party has poured resources into Georgia ahead of the vote. Biden returned to the campaign trail on Tuesday to stump for Warnock and Ossoff in Georgia, and Harris will campaign for the Democrats there on Monday. Trump, who has refused to concede that he lost the November election, has also campaigned in Georgia for Perdue and Loeffler, as will his daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump on Monday. Republicans maintain that holding control of the Senate will help keep Washington from veering hard to the left under Biden. But Trump's involvement in the contests, and his unsubstantiated claims that Biden won because of widespread voter fraud, could be fueling high turnout among Democrats, according to Jessica Taylor, an analyst at the Cook Political Report who sees the Senate races as toss-ups for either side. "It's not just Republicans that are enthused to come out to keep a firewall in the Senate, but Democrats (saying) 'We beat Trump and he still won't quit,'" Taylor said. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone, Mark Heinrich, Rosalba O'Brien and Dan Grebler) https://www.yahoo.com/news/more-1-1-million-ballots-122415721.html GO RV, then BV
  16. Biden to pick former Michigan governor Granholm to be energy secretary -sources Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm addresses at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia Jarrett Renshaw, Trevor Hunnicutt and Timothy Gardner Tue, December 15, 2020, 5:45 PM EST By Jarrett Renshaw, Trevor Hunnicutt and Timothy Gardner (Reuters) -President-elect Joe Biden is expected to pick former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to be secretary of energy in his administration, two people familiar with the decision said on Tuesday. Granholm, 61, was Michigan's first female governor, serving two terms in the battleground state from 2003 to 2011. She worked with Biden, who was vice president under former President Barack Obama, on the 2009 bailout of automobile manufacturers General Motors Co and Chrysler. A spokesman for Biden's transition team did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Granholm did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. While governor, Granholm supported efforts to build advanced battery plants for electric cars in Michigan, despite concerns from some in the auto industry about moving away from gasoline-powered engines. She also pushed through a modest energy standard that required a portion of the state's energy to be generated by renewable sources. More recently she has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, on subjects including state budgets, clean energy jobs, and diversifying the economy. In 2015 she launched the American Jobs Project, to focus on promoting state policies to create middle-class jobs in batteries and other forms of advanced energy technology. If confirmed by the Senate, Granholm is expected to play a role in the department's support of advanced batteries, energy efficiency and electricity generation from renewable and nuclear power as Biden makes curbing climate change one of the pillars of his administration. She would also likely deal with energy ministers in Russia, Saudi Arabia and other oil and gas-producing countries. Granholm would be the second female U.S. energy secretary after Hazel O'Leary served under former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. President Donald Trump's two energy secretaries spent much of their time on oil and gas politics. Rick Perry, his first, was a former governor of Texas. Trump's second, Dan Brouillette, was a former lobbyist for Ford Motor Co and a state energy regulator in Louisiana. Most of the department's budget goes to modernizing the country's stockpile of nuclear warheads and to cleaning up nuclear sites. Biden picked Granholm over Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, his former adviser when he was in the Senate, and who served in the Obama administration as deputy secretary of energy. Granholm also beat out Arun Majumdar, the first director of the department's agency that promotes and funds research and development of advanced energy technologies, and Ernest Moniz who was energy secretary during the Obama administration. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York, Jarrett Renshaw in Atlanta, and Timothy Gardner in WashingtonEditing by Chris Reese and Matthew Lewis) https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-pick-former-michigan-governor-224546944.html GO RV, then BV
  17. Biden taps former rival Pete Buttigieg for U.S. transportation secretary Jarrett Renshaw and David Shepardson Tue, December 15, 2020, 1:54 PM EST By Jarrett Renshaw and David Shepardson WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - President-elect Joe Biden announced Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday as his nominee to lead the U.S. Transportation Department, making him the first of Biden's Democratic rivals for the presidency to land a role in his Cabinet. The appointment of Buttigieg, 38, is another step in a meteoric political rise for the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who showed surprising strength as a presidential candidate. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he would run a sprawling federal agency that oversees the nation's airlines, highways and transit systems. Buttigieg would also make history as the first openly LGBTQ Cabinet secretary to be approved by the Senate. "I am nominating him for Secretary of Transportation because this position stands at the nexus of so many of the interlocking challenges and opportunities ahead of us," Biden said in a statement. "Jobs, infrastructure, equity, and climate all come together at the DOT, the site of some of our most ambitious plans to build back better." Buttigieg had been rumored for several different spots in Biden's administration. He was surprisingly competitive during the Democratic Party presidential race, winning the first-in-the-nation caucuses in Iowa, showing formidable fundraising might and enjoying massive popularity on social media. Once Biden took control of the race after winning the South Carolina primary in February, Buttigieg quickly dropped out and endorsed him, helping Biden consolidate the support of the moderate, establishment wing of the party. He became a valued Biden supporter on television in the election's final weeks. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest advocacy group for the LGBTQ community, praised the nomination, saying Buttigieg "was open and honest" about his identity and gave a voice to the community. "His voice as a champion for the LGBTQ community in the Cabinet room will help President-elect Biden build back our nation better, stronger and more equal than before," Alphonso David, the group's president, said in a statement. Despite being viewed as a rising star within the party, Buttigieg’s potential nomination to a Cabinet post has been opposed by a number of progressive groups and Black leaders who have criticized his record on civil rights. During the Democratic contest, Buttigieg faced attacks from African-American activists, who argued he did not do enough as mayor to battle systemic racism in South Bend and help Black residents share in the city’s economic revitalization. He also was criticized over the shooting death of a Black man by a white police officer in South Bend, as well as questions over diversity on the city’s police force. The top transportation job offers him a chance to confront the nation’s history of plowing highways through disadvantaged neighborhoods, and what advocates say are the lasting social, economic and environmental consequences of doing so. At 78, Biden will be the oldest person to assume the presidency in U.S. history, leading to speculation that he may only serve one term. While Kamala Harris, Biden's vice president, could be the leading contender to succeed him, Buttigieg's transportation post will allow him to travel to communities across the country and remain in the public eye - something that could buttress a future presidential run. EMPHASIS ON LOYALTY Biden has appeared largely unconcerned by liberal complaints about appointments to his administration, preferring to reward those who demonstrated loyalty to his campaign when it was struggling to build support. A U.S. Navy veteran who served as a reservist in Afghanistan, Buttigieg had also been considered to head the Department of Veterans Affairs. That slot went to former Obama White House aide Denis McDonough. Buttigieg’s nomination is in line with Biden’s stated commitment to diversity in the Cabinet. U.S. Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico has emerged as Biden's leading choice to head the Interior Department, according to three sources familiar with the decision process, a selection, that if confirmed by the Senate, would make her the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency. At the Transportation Department, Buttigieg may be charged with overseeing much of Biden’s plan to dramatically boost infrastructure spending, including building 550,000 electric-vehicle charging stations and boosting spending on high-speed rail and other green projects, and persuading Congress to find a way to pay for new spending. Since 2008, Congress has transferred about $141 billion in general revenues to the Highway Trust Fund. To maintain existing spending levels, Congress will need to find $107 billion over five years, government auditors say. Buttigieg would face challenges on aviation, including plans in Congress to overhaul how the Federal Aviation Administration certifies new airplanes following two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that led to the plane’s grounding for 20 months. He would also have to decide how to oversee self-driving cars and driver assistance systems like Tesla Inc’s autopilot that have come under scrutiny following fatal crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a Transportation Department agency, has not had a Senate-confirmed administrator since January 2017. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Wilmington and David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Writing by James Oliphant; Editing by Soyoung Kim, Howard Goller and Peter Cooney) https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-biden-taps-former-rival-185424496.html GO RV, then BV
  18. House Democrats turbocharge committee probes of Trump By Ginger Gibson and Karen Freifeld , Reuters•January 22, 2019 FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on border security and the partial shutdown of the U.S. government from the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., Jan. 19, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo By Ginger Gibson and Karen Freifeld WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have quietly tweaked a rule on taking secret depositions that is likely to give a boost to their investigations of President Donald Trump, his personal finances and his administration. The little-noticed change, made since the Democrats took over majority control of the House earlier this month, will let staffers of House investigative committees take testimony from subpoenaed witnesses without a lawmaker being present. By eliminating complications with lawmakers' schedules, the change will let staffers work faster and range more widely, said former staffers and sources inside the committees that are launching several inquiries into Trump and his presidency. The importance of this was underscored, legal experts said, when attorney general nominee William Barr indicated last week that he was unlikely to release the final report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller to lawmakers in its original format. Mueller has been probing for many months Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, any collusion between Moscow and Trump's campaign, and obstruction of justice. If Barr is confirmed and holds back on Mueller's report, the rule change may help House investigators rapidly replicate Mueller's work. "Dropping the member requirement will give much more power to staff investigators in different committees, which will lead to increasingly dispersed and now unsupervised authority for investigations," said Kristina Moore, a managing director at FTI Consulting and a former investigator for the House Oversight Committee when it was chaired by Republican Darrell Issa. "This change to the House rules represents a further expansion of the majority's oversight and investigations targets, for which everyone in the private sector needs to prepare," Moore said. The government shutdown caused by a standoff between Trump and Democrats over his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall has been center-stage in Washington for weeks, but Democrats have been moving ahead on plans to probe Trump and his administration. On Feb. 7, former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify to the House Oversight Committee, now chaired by Democrat Elijah Cummings. On the next day, acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker is slated to testify to the House Judiciary Committee. CHANGE FROM REPUBLICAN RULE When the Republicans controlled the House, up until early January, a lawmaker from the committee that issued the subpoena had to be present for a witness deposition. That sometimes presented challenges, said current and former aides. For example, when witnesses in New York were being interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee over the past two years, lawmakers had to travel with staff to conduct the questioning, one aide said. Getting lawmakers to sit through long interviews of low-profile witnesses, even ones with valuable information, could also be difficult, the aide said. The rule change was requested by the House Oversight Committee, said several congressional aides said. But it will also affect the work of other investigative panels, such as the Intelligence and Judiciary committees. Andy Wright, former associate counsel to President Barack Obama, said the heads of the House investigative committees will be able to subpoena all the witnesses who gave grand jury testimony for Mueller. "So now a subpoena for a deposition can be conducted by staff," he said. "More depositions in shorter time and fewer steps between request and contempt." https://news.yahoo.com/house-democrats-turbocharge-committee-probes-trump-110530308.html?.tsrc=jtc_news_index One less step between stonewalling and transparency. As always, just my opinion. GO RV, then BV
  19. (Reuters) - A deal aimed at resolving a dispute between Baghdad and Kurdish regional authorities over crude oil exports looked fragile on Monday with the semi-autonomous region's prime minister threatening to withhold exports. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a temporary oil export agreement reached in December, but Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani cautioned Baghdad against breaking its side of the bargain. "If they don't send the budget, we won't send oil," he said in comments published by Rudaw online newspaper. A temporary agreement was reached in December whereby the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) agreed to export 550,000 barrels per day of oil from its own fields and Kirkuk through Iraq's state marketing authority SOMO. In return, Baghdad would reinstate budget payments to the Kurds, which it had cut early in 2014 as punishment for the region's moves to export oil independently. Barzani said Baghdad had only offered to send $300 million in Sunday's talks, "less than half of what we agreed on earlier". "Obviously we have an agreement with a bankrupt country," he said. The December agreement was hailed as a breakthrough helping Iraq increase oil exports at a time when revenues are strained by low global prices and the cost of financing a war against Islamic State militants in the north and west. The deal enabled Baghdad to pass a budget last month for the first time since 2013. Arez Abdullah, chairman of parliament's oil and energy panel, said Kurdish officials proposed Baghdad resume initial payments. "They are discussing now ways to reach a compromise," he told Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/16/us-iraq-oil-kurds-idUSKBN0LK19A20150216
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