Category: Politics

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Senate Passes Budget Resolution, Vice President Harris Breaks Tie

The Senate approved a budget resolution early Friday morning that tees up President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill for passage without Republican support. With the Senate evenly divided, Vice President cast the tie breaking vote.

Lawmakers approved the resolution shortly after 5:30 a.m. following hours of votes on amendments — a process known as a vote-a-rama.

The resolution allows Democrats to move forward with an eventual coronavirus relief bill that can circumvent the 60-vote threshold required to end a filibuster. They could now potentially pass the future bill with a simple majority.

The House must now pass the same version of the budget measure before lawmakers can begin writing the final relief package. That vote may come later Friday.

The budget resolution gives committees the authority to draft legislation reflecting Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package. It’s expected to eventually include $1,400 stimulus checks for Americans and expanded pandemic unemployment aid.

Republicans oppose the size of Biden’s proposal and have offered a smaller alternative. The president said he “will not settle” on his pandemic relief bill.

Source: Senate Passes Budget Resolution, Vice President Harris Breaks Tie

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AOC blasted for exaggerating Capitol riot experience

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being dubbed “Alexandria Ocasio-Smollett” as details emerge that she exaggerated the extent of her “trauma” from the Capitol riot, given that she was not at the site of the siege, but in an office building nearby.

In the four weeks since the riot, Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has said repeatedly that she feared for her life on Jan. 6, as a result of a “very close encounter.”

This week, the progressive pol shared more details of that encounter during an Instagram Live.

Ocasio-Cortez was in her office, which is located in the Cannon building, when rioters stormed the Capitol. The building is part of the overall Capitol complex, but is not within the Capitol building itself.

She had been barricaded in her office for hours when a man who turned out to be a Capitol Police officer rushed into her office to direct her to a safer location for lawmakers.

The officer, AOC said, had “anger and hostility in his eyes,” making her question if he was trying to put her in a “vulnerable situation.” Still, she chose to trust him and not “pass judgment.”

The 31-year-old lawmaker then became emotional, revealing that she was a sexual assault survivor, which caused her to “struggle with the idea of being believed.”

She gave no details about the assault or when it took place.That struggle, she said, kept her from speaking out initially about her experience at the Capitol.

After she shared her story, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) revealed that during the riot, Ocasio-Cortez walked into her office, didn’t stop to speak to her and just began opening cabinet doors.“

I was like, ‘Can I help you?’ Like, ‘What are you looking for?’” Porter shared during an MSNBC appearance.“‘

I’m looking for where I am going to hide,’” Ocasio-Cortez reportedly responded.

Porter said she tried to calm AOC down, saying that she was a mom and had plenty of supplies in the office to sustain them.

Source: AOC blasted for exaggerating Capitol riot experience

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‘He’s clearly laying groundwork’: Hawley paves Election 2024 path – POLITICO

The face of the Biden resistance is taking shape in the Senate: Josh Hawley.

In a prelude to a widely expected 2024 presidential bid, the Missouri Republican is the only senator to oppose every one of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees — a distinction sealed Tuesday when he voted against confirming new Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Hawley briefly held up the confirmation of another Cabinet official, for the Department of Homeland Security.

Even before Biden became president, Hawley initiated his bid for the Trump wing of the party by becoming the first senator to announce he would vote against the Electoral College results certifying the new president’s win, thrilling the outgoing president and his followers.

Hawley, whose Senate seat is up for election in 2024, has said repeatedly that he isn’t running for president.“

All I can say is no,” Hawley said in an interview on Wednesday, denying he has an overarching plan to oppose Biden’s nominees. “What can I say? That’s clearly not my focus.”

But aside from Hawley’s allies, no one familiar with presidential politics or the U.S. Senate is taking the 41-year-old at his word — especially after several Democratic senators used their opposition to early Trump appointees as a springboard to 2020.

Source: ‘He’s clearly laying groundwork’: Hawley paves 2024 path – POLITICO

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Democrats push forward with $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill, clearing Senate hurdle – CBS News

Washington — The Senate on Tuesday cleared a procedural hurdle on the road to passing President Biden‘s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief proposal, a signal that congressional Democrats will continue to move forward with a vote to provide more economic assistance whether or not Republicans come to the negotiating table.

“We cannot, cannot afford to dither, delay or dilute. We need a big, bold package along the lines of what President Biden has proposed, the American Relief Plan. We hope that our Republican colleagues will join us in offering amendments,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a speech ahead of the vote on Tuesday.

A motion to proceed to debate over the budget resolution that serves as the vehicle for the aid package passed by a 50 to 49 vote along party lines in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon.

Source: Democrats push forward with $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill, clearing Senate hurdle – CBS News

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Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf wants to increase taxes for some residents | Fox News

Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf wants to raise taxes on wealthy residents and the natural gas industry to help pay for new investments into education and coronavirus relief.

The governor’s proposal will call for increasing the personal income tax rate from 3.07% to 4.49%.

The reported budget plan follows a statement Tuesday in which Wolf’s office said 67% of Pennsylvania taxpayers would see tax cuts or have their taxes stay the same under his plan to cut costs for working class households while raising billions to invest in education and “workforce development.”

Source: Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf wants to increase taxes for some residents | Fox News

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Coronavirus stimulus: Joe Biden to meet with Republican senators about relief bill

President Biden will meet with 10 GOP senators after they put forward a $618 billion counteroffer to his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.

  • President Joe Biden will meet with 10 Republican senators as he tries to pass a coronavirus relief package.
  • The GOP lawmakers put forward a $618 billion aid package, which scales back the direct payments and unemployment benefits in Biden’s plan and does not include state and local government aid.
  • Biden has to decide whether to move forward with his $1.9 trillion proposal with only Democratic votes in the Senate or try to negotiate a smaller piece of legislation with Republicans.

Source: Coronavirus stimulus: Joe Biden to meet with Republican senators about relief bill

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A decade after junta’s end, Myanmar military back in charge

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar’s military staged a coup Monday and detained senior politicians including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi — a sharp reversal of the significant, if uneven, progress toward democracy the Southeast Asian nation has made following five decades of military rule.

An announcement read on military-owned Myawaddy TV said Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing would be in charge of the country for one year. It said the seizure was necessary because the government had not acted on the military’s claims of fraud in November’s elections — in which Suu Kyi’s ruling party won a majority of the parliamentary seats up for grabs — and because it allowed the election to go ahead despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The takeover came the morning the country’s new parliamentary session was to begin and follows days of concern that a coup was coming. The military maintains its actions are legally justified — citing a section of the constitution it drafted that allows it to take control in times of national emergency — though Suu Kyi’s party spokesman as well as many international observers have said it amounts to a coup.

It was a dramatic backslide for Myanmar, which was emerging from decades of strict military rule and international isolation that began in 1962. It was also a shocking fall from power for Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate who had lived under house arrest for years as she tried to push her country toward democracy and then became its de facto leader after her National League for Democracy won elections in 2015.

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Source: A decade after junta’s end, Myanmar military back in charge

(Editor’s Note According To Wikipedia) Myanmar (English pronunciation below; Burmese: မြန်မာ [mjəmà])[nb 1] or Burma, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar,[nb 2] is a country in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. Myanmar is the largest country in Mainland Southeast Asia and the 10th largest in Asia by area. As of 2017, the population was about 54 million.[7] Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon).[2]

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Why you haven’t seen a sit-down Biden interview yet – POLITICO

Joe Biden waited nearly four decades to become the most powerful man in the free world. Now that he is, he’s making himself scarce.

Biden is leaning on doctors and health experts to publicly detail his Covid policy. He’s relying on his Cabinet, economic advisers and other high-ranking administration officials to help sell his nearly $2 trillion rescue package. Biden’s press team, meanwhile, is standing in for their boss by blanketing TV programs with pledges to tell the truth even when it’s inconvenient. It’s one of the more arresting shifts after four years of a president who delighted in torturing the media with sudden pronouncements that often surprised and befuddled his own advisers.

“He trusts them, and Americans will trust experts,” John Anzalone, a top Biden adviser and campaign pollster, said of the president’s approach to his team. “Plus,” he added, “Biden is dealing with multiple crises and is a good delegator.”

White House aides describe the strategy not so much as delegation but as an concerted effort to restore confidence with a public battered by the contradictory messaging and scorched-earth politics of the Trump years. In just over a week, the White House has booked 80 TV and radio interviews with 20 senior administration officials, members of the Covid-19 response team and Cabinet secretary designates. They’ve had officials on each major network, booking them on every Sunday show in the first week. And they worked with CNN to have three of the doctors in charge of its Covid-19 response take questions from the public during a coronavirus town hall, said Mariel Sáez, the White House director of broadcast media.

Who’s not been booked for any sit-down interviews: Biden.

But the president hasn’t exactly been absent either. He appeared for brief ceremonies where he signed executive orders and delivered mostly scripted remarks. He’s taken a handful of questions from the news media. And he’s expected to give a major foreign policy address on Monday amid a planned trip to the State Department, his first visit to a Cabinet agency.

Source: Why you haven’t seen a sit-down Biden interview yet – POLITICO

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Maxine Waters has given over $1 million in campaign cash to daughter | Fox News

California Democrat, Rep. Maxine Waters has cashed in more than $1 million for her daughter through her campaigns since 2003, according to federal election data.

Karen Waters received over $1.1 million for her services with her mother’s campaigns — $250,000 of which came from the most recent election cycle, reported the Federal Election Commission.

MAXINE WATERS’ CAMPAIGN PAID HER DAUGHTER $240G OVER 2019-20 ELECTION CYCLE, FEC RECORDS SHOW

Slate-mailing is an uncommon practice in federal elections, where a consulting firm is hired to create a pamphlet of sorts that contains a list of candidates or policy measures, and advises voters how to cast their ballots.

Congresswoman Waters was reportedly the only federal politician to use a slate-mailer operation during the 2020 general election.

Though the practice is not all together that uncommon in the state of California, who has seen politicians like Gov. Gavin Newsom use the campaigning method. Vice President Kamala Harris also used slate-mailers during her 2017 Senate campaign.

Source: Maxine Waters has given over $1 million in campaign cash to daughter | Fox News

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Hawley denies trying to overturn election results | TheHill

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) denied on Wednesday that he was trying to overturn the presidential election with his votes to challenge the Electoral College results in Arizona and Pennsylvania on Jan. 6.

“I never said that the goal was to overturn the election,” he said. “That was never the point and it was never possible.”

Hawley’s votes to contest the results came after former President Trump for weeks after the election promoted unfounded claims that widespread voter fraud led to his loss and called on his supporters to protest certification on Jan. 6.

Rioters supporting Trump ended up storming the Capitol that day in an attack that resulted in five deaths and temporarily delayed Congress from affirming Biden’s election win.

Congress reconvened later that evening after the building was secured. Eight Republican senators and 139 House GOP members still voted to challenge the Electoral College results in at least one of the two states despite the day’s violence.

Hawley and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) were among the most scrutinized, facing accusations they incited violence by committing to teaming up with House Republicans contesting the results, which forced both chambers to head into debate before eventually certifying the vote.

Source: Hawley denies trying to overturn election results | TheHill

Just In…

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Opinion: Biden’s Payback To China – DickMorris.com

Those who wondered why China chose to give $1.5 billion to Joe Biden’s son Hunter need wonder no more. Three executive orders issued during his first week in the White House made clear the payback Biden is giving China in return for its generosity to his family.

 

1) Biden repealed President Trump’s order that banned investments and materials from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in America’s electric power grid.

Trumps order noted that “foreign adversaries are increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in the United States bulk-power system.”

He explained that “unrestricted acquisition or use in the United States of bulk-power system electric equipment designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of foreign adversaries augments the ability of foreign adversaries to create and exploit vulnerabilities in bulk-power system electric equipment, with potentially catastrophic effects.”

On January 16th, the week before Biden’s inauguration, Trumps’ secretary of energy Dan Roulette supplemented the order to prohibit utilities that supply electricity to critical defense facilities from doing business with the CCP.

2) A week later Biden ordered US officials from calling the Covid19 epidemic “the China virus” as former president Trump accurately called it. The virus was developed, released, and concealed by China, so the phrase was completely appropriate.

3) Biden also killed the Keystone pipeline this week. China opposes the pipeline because it sends Canadian oil to the United States. If the pipeline is not completed, China will likely get the oil instead of us. The oil now earmarked for Keystone would go to Canadian Pacific Ocean ports to be shipped to China.

Why on Earth would Biden issue these orders, especially in a week when the Chinese air force flew incursions into Taiwanese air space, a move that would normally have led to American condemnation and a response?

Biden’s executive order on the power grid was issued with no explanation or justification, so we can only speculate.

Could these orders be partial payback for China’s bribes to Hunter?

Source: Biden’s Payback To China – DickMorris.com at DickMorris.com

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Progressives Democrats urge Biden to consider recurring stimulus checks – Business Insider

In a letter on Thursday, the group said Biden’s proposal of a one-time direct payment worth $1,400 would only “provide a temporary lifeline.”

  • Over 50 progressive Democrats urged President Joe Biden on Thursday to consider sending recurring stimulus checks to Americans.
  • The letter, signed by Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and others, doesn’t specify an amount, but the group has previously shown support for $2,000.
  • Biden has proposed a one-time direct payment of $1,400 in his stimulus proposal.

Source: Progressives Democrats urge Biden to consider recurring stimulus checks – Business Insider

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Biden pitches Green New Deal-like $2 trillion environmental plan

President Biden on Wednesday unveiled his environmental plan, a Green New Deal-like initiative aimed at putting “climate change at the center of our domestic, national security and foreign policy,” which is drawing criticism for its high cost and potential job losses as the US tries to dig out of its COVID-19-induced economic troubles.

Biden pitched the package of policy changes — including eliminating coal, oil and natural gas as electricity sources by 2035 — as a boon to the workforce, but was met with worry over the current jobs that would be lost amid a health crisis, economic crisis and $27 trillion national debt.

Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia’s Republican attorney general, said Wednesday that Biden’s policies will be “destructive” to the economy, especially as it tries to recover from the coronavirus business slowdown.

Source: Biden pitches Green New Deal-like $2 trillion environmental plan

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Jessica Levinson : Pro-Trump Republicans claim Senate’s impeachment trial is unconstitutional. Nice try.

The Senate not only has the constitutional right to try Trump; it has a constitutional duty to do so.

Opinion By Jessica Levinson, professor at Loyola Law School

The Senate is on the cusp of the historic second Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.

On Monday, the House delivered its article of impeachment to the Senate. On Tuesday, the members of the House who will act as trial lawyers will be sworn in, with the trial set to begin Feb. 8.

The question is straightforward — the sole article of impeachment alleges that Trump incited an insurrection. We all saw the insurrection play out live on television, computer and phone screens across the country. We all saw our elected officials wearing gas masks and sheltering in place in the people’s house, the Capitol. We all saw the speech Trump gave moments before the insurrection. We have likely all made up our minds already whether Trump’s behavior rises to the level of an impeachable offense.

But while the facts feel relatively clear, the next two weeks give Trump and his GOP allies a chance to strategize. And a primary Republican defense is already taking shape: that the Senate lacks the constitutional power to hold the trial because Trump is no longer in office.

“Our members, irrespective of what they might think about the merits, just believe that this is an exercise that really isn’t grounded constitutionally and, from a practical standpoint, just makes no sense,” Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told Politico.

This is a demonstrably weak argument. The Senate not only has the constitutional right to try Trump; it has a constitutional duty to do so.

Let us start with the text of the Constitution itself. Article II, Section 4 provides that the president and other federal officials subject to the clause can be impeached for treason, bribery or “other high crimes and misdemeanors.” This is no less true if the impeachable offense occurs at the end of a president’s term or right before a president were to resign. In fact, in this case, it may be even more urgent to impeach and convict Trump because his alleged actions — working to overturn a free and fair election — threaten the integrity of any democracy’s primary way of getting rid of officials: elections.

(editors note) The actual text of the part of the US Constitution that covers impeachment is as follows as quoted from The National Constitution Center: 

“Article II, Section 4

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”

 

Source: Jessica Levinson : Pro-Trump Republicans claim Senate’s impeachment trial is unconstitutional. Nice try.

Source: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/full-text

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Biden issues executive orders promoting racial equity – POLITICO

President Joe Biden on Tuesday rolled out an additional slate of executive actions to address racial equity, a move to fulfill a key campaign promise that he made during the height of this past summer’s protests.

Biden said that Tuesday’s actions are a direct response to the groundswell of protests that emerged following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by Minnesota police and the resulting calls for racial justice. In brief remarks at the White House, the president said Floyd’s death “opened the eyes of millions” and paved the way for change.

Source: Biden issues executive orders promoting racial equity – POLITICO

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Trump creates ‘Office of the Former President’ in Florida | Fox News

Former President Trump on Monday established an official post-presidency office in Palm Beach County, Fla., to oversee his affairs, Fox News has learned.

A statement from Trump’s office said the Office of the Former President will be responsible for his “correspondence, public statements, appearances, and official activities.”

“The Office will also “advance the interests of the United States and … carry on the agenda of the Trump Administration through advocacy, organizing, and public activism.”

Source: Trump creates ‘Office of the Former President’ in Florida | Fox News

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Angry farmers storm India’s Red Fort in huge tractor rally

NEW DELHI (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesting farmers drove long lines of tractors into India’s capital on Tuesday, breaking through police barricades, defying tear gas and storming the historic Red Fort as the nation celebrated Republic Day.

They waved farm union and religious flags from the ramparts of the fort, where prime ministers annually hoist the national flag to mark the country’s independence.

Thousands more farmers marched on foot or rode on horseback while shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At some places, they were showered with flower petals by residents who recorded the unprecedented rally on their phones.

Source: Angry farmers storm India’s Red Fort in huge tractor rally

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Now that Biden is President, it’s our job to hold him accountable – Pittsburgh Current

By Charlie Deitch
Pittsburgh Current Editor
charlie@pittsburghcurrent.com

This year was obviously not the first time in my life that I voted nor was it the first time that I’ve had a strong emotional reaction to an election.

At the age of eight, my dad came in to wake me up for school and he told me that Jimmy Carter lost in a landslide. I began wailing. I loved Jimmy Carter, although I’m not sure how that happened in 1979 growing up in a Republican household. I must’ve had a feeling that Regan wasn’t going to be good for Americans. In 1988, as a senior in High School, I was all in for Jesse Jackson, but he didn’t get the nomination with Democrats selecting sacrificial lamb, Mike Dukakis. Dukakis’ 8-point loss to the first George Bush to unnecessarily wage war against Iraq. I was pissed off again in 2000 when Al Gore lost to the second George Bush to unnecessarily wage war against Iraq and then again when Bush beat John Kerry to secure a second term (the only time, by the way, that Democrats have lost the popular vote in the past 20 years (which includes two Dem losses.

Then after eight blissful years of Barack Obama, I, and most of you, were kicked in the political nuts when Donald Trump would win the White House and spend the next four years cementing his legacy as the worst President in U.S. history. He was impeached twice, used his office in an attempt to further his own political and financial future, and launched an unsuccessful attempt to take down the republic. Joe Biden solidly beat Trump but we had to spend three months listening to nonsense about a stolen election.

I have been eagerly waiting for Jan. 20, 2021 since Jan. 20, 2017. I’ve almost felt like I’ve been living in an enemy-occupied territory for four years. And when the moment came that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were finally sworn in, I knew I’d be relieved, but I actually had a physical reaction. I could feel the stress and tension leave my body, the panic in my chest magically disappeared. As I watched Joe Biden and, especially, Kamala Harris being sworn in, I was proud to be an American for the first time in1,460 days.

I wasn’t alone.

I talked to a lot of people yesterday who felt the same thing. And yes, it was because Trump was gone, but it was also because of the history that took place with Harris taking the oath and because of the 17 executive orders he signed, the first steps in undoing some of Trump’s dangerous and divisive policies.

Read The Source: Now that Biden is President, it’s our job to hold him accountable – Pittsburgh Current

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Biden to sign ‘Buy American’ executive order Monday

By Allan Smith

President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Monday aimed at promoting the “Buy American” agenda he campaigned on last year, which seeks to bolster U.S. manufacturing through the federal procurement process.

The executive order directs agencies to strengthen requirements about purchasing products and services from U.S. workers and businesses, cuts some red tape and creates a position in the Office of Management and Budget responsible for enforcing the directive, an administration official told reporters on a conference call Sunday.

The order will also reiterate the Biden administration’s support for the Jones Act, which limits foreign maritime shipping between U.S. ports to U.S.-made or -owned vessels.

During the campaign, Biden proposed a Buy American plan calling for a $400 billion, four-year increase in government purchasing of U.S.-made products and services. Former President Donald Trump made a similar push, but the Biden administration official said the new effort is a “clear directive” with a “clear direction.”

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

Source: Biden to sign ‘Buy American’ executive order Monday

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders to run for governor | TheHill

Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will announce Monday that she will run for governor of Arkansas in what will amount to one of the first tests of the battle for the future of the Republican Party.

The Washington Post first reported Sanders’s plans. A top Republican who will attend her announcement on Monday confirmed her plans to The Hill.

Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), served almost two years as former President Trump’s press secretary. Her combative relationship with the media echoed the president she served, delighting conservative fans and irritating the reporters with whom she sparred.

Source: Sarah Huckabee Sanders to run for governor | TheHill

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Bipartisan group of senators pushes back on Biden Covid plan – POLITICO

A bipartisan group of senators told White House officials on Sunday that the stimulus spending in President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief plan provides too much money to high-income Americans, an opening setback in the new administration’s complex pandemic negotiations with Congress.

Biden’s proposal would provide $1,400 direct payments to Americans, some of whom senators say don’t need the money. Still, the discussion was civil and there was a “consensus” on the need to act urgently on vaccine distribution, said multiple senators on the call. It was also a sign that the Biden White House will be more hands on than former President Donald Trump, who nearly refused to sign the last relief bill after making a flurry of last-minute requests after the bill already passed Congress.

Source: Bipartisan group of senators pushes back on Biden Covid plan – POLITICO

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Zuckerberg’s Biden problem – BBC News

President Biden’s open dislike of Facebook could spell problems for the social network.

This week, Joe Biden took the job that many believe Mark Zuckerberg secretly craves, or at least craved. And in doing so, he completed a reverse metamorphosis for Zuckerberg. A butterfly no longer, he finds himself alienated politically.

“He’s not a welcome figure at the cocktail party any more. And I don’t think he has been for a long time,” says Sarah Miller, director of the American Economic Liberties Project. She also happens to be on Joe Biden’s transition team.

“There is not a lot of love lost there,” she told me. “Facebook is broadly seen as the most prominent villain, among all the tech monopolists.”

Obama’s administration was considered to be close to Silicon Valley and to Facebook. If Biden was ever a friend, he’s not now.

In fact, the president often uses Facebook as a byword for the ills of a free internet gone wrong.

Talking to the New York Times a year ago he said:

“I’ve never been a fan of Facebook, as you probably know. I’ve never been a big Zuckerberg fan. I think he’s a real problem.”

It’s not just Biden. In the days after Biden’s election victory, his deputy head of communications, Bill Russo, tweeted:

“If you thought disinformation on Facebook was a problem during our election, just wait until you see how it is shredding the fabric of our democracy in the days after.”

Source: Zuckerberg’s Biden problem – BBC News

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Control over the @POTUS Twitter account has now been given to Joe Biden – MarketWatch

Since the November election, the transfer of presidential power between Biden and Trump has been a trending topic.

Another transition taking place on Wednesday is the control over the @POTUS Twitter TWTR, +1.99% account.

While it is true that Donald Trump’s personal Twitter account was suspended on Jan. 8, the ban does not include the official @POTUS account.

 

Source: Control over the @POTUS Twitter account has now been given to Joe Biden – MarketWatch

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Retired Pittsburgh cop Tony Moreno says he dislikes politics but has what it takes to be mayor | TribLIVE.com

After Tony Moreno retired from the Pittsburgh police in 2018, he intended to move to Florida.

But Moreno, 51, of Brighton Heights, said he had ideas about how the city could be improved. He looked for someone to share them with, someone who could run for office.

“I started seeing how drastically Pittsburgh was changing in policy and demographics and I didn’t like it,” Moreno said.

Eventually, friends encouraged Moreno to run himself.

A Democrat, Moreno was the first person to announce his candidacy for mayor. He did so in September 2019, prompting incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto to affirm he would seek a third term.

Peduto formally announced his reelection bid last week and it was followed by Tuesday’s announcement that state Rep. Ed Gainey is also running in the Democratic primary.

“I have a dislike for politics,” Moreno said. But after 24 years on the force, working in what he called a “broken system,” he decided to run for mayor.

“I can’t leave Pittsburgh worse than when I got here,” said Moreno, who is originally from Whittier, Calif, the boyhood home of President Richard Nixon.

Source: Retired Pittsburgh cop Tony Moreno says he dislikes politics but has what it takes to be mayor | TribLIVE.com

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Katie Couric is ‘ruled out’ as permanent host of Jeopardy after asking Bill Maher ‘how are we going to deprogram the cult of Trump?’ – amid fears she has offended the show’s older audience | Daily Mail Online

Couric’s comments have reportedly worried the producers of Jeopardy!, where she’s preparing for a week-long guest hosting gig, making her the first woman to lead the game show.

  • Couric recently appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, where she discussed extremist beliefs in Congress, following the riot on the Capitol
  • The 64-year-old said: ‘And the question is how are we going to really almost deprogram these people who have signed up for the cult of Trump’
  • She’s now facing backlash from the mostly ‘conservative’ audience of Jeopardy!, ahead of her guest hosting gig
  • The average age of the show’s audience is 64.2 years old, and it’s made an effort to avoid politics 
  • A source told Page Six that the game show’s producers are worried, adding: ‘At the very least, she already appears to have ruled herself out of becoming the permanent host of the show’
  • It comes after the death of beloved host Alex Trebek back in November

Source: Katie Couric faces backlash from Jeopardy’s ‘conservative’ audience over ‘cult of Trump’ comments | Daily Mail Online

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Roman Catholic bishops alarmed by ‘misguided’ Biden executive order | Fox News

Roman Catholic bishops criticized on Friday President Biden’s recent executive order on applying anti-discrimination protections to certain groups, arguing it didn’t properly account for religious liberty and furthered “false theories on human sexuality.”

Wednesday’s order, they said, “threatens to infringe the rights of people who recognize the truth of sexual difference or who uphold the institution of lifelong marriage between one man and one woman. This may manifest in mandates that, for example, erode health care conscience rights or needed and time-honored sex-specific spaces and activities.”

Signed by bishops from across the country, the statement represented another sharp disagreement Church leadership had with the second U.S. president to identify as Roman Catholic.

The executive order referenced the Supreme Court’s decision last year in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which Justice Neil Gorsuch issued a controversial opinion on what’s protected under sex-based anti-discrimination law.

Source: Roman Catholic bishops alarmed by ‘misguided’ Biden executive order | Fox News

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