WASHINGTON (AP) — Tensions are mounting between the Pentagon and Congress over the flow of information to lawmakers about the U.S. military's priorities, with both Democrats and Republicans accusing a Defense Department leader of being frustratingly opaque.
Some senators from both parties say they were left deeply unsettled Thursday after the Pentagon's top policy adviser, Defense Undersecretary Elbridge Colby, failed to provide an expected update on the Trump administration's National Defense Strategy at a classified briefing.
The lawmakers also say they were unsatisfied with Colby's answers to questions ranging from inquiries about the Iran war to growing concerns that President Donald Trump could deploy troops to polling places during November's midterm congressional elections. Colby acknowledged that discussions about deploying the National Guard were taking place.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Colby "was not forthcoming" and "did not really address our concerns or issues."
Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican also on the committee, described the classified briefing as "just sort of dodge and punt."

#national #committee #lawmakers #concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Wednesday that he's going to block a proposed sale of $2.8 billion in heavy weaponry to Israel over concerns that the powerful bombs may not be used in line with U.S. and international law.
Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York said he would withhold approval for the sale because of "grave, unresolved concerns" about how these munitions could be used in densely populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
"The Trump administration has not provided sufficient ****** urances that these weapons will be used by the Netanyahu government in accordance with U.S. law and with appropriate protections for civilians," Meeks said in a statement. "I therefore will not clear this sale at this time."
Meeks' objections, however, will not likely affect the sale, which was informally notified to lawmakers on Tuesday. Once it is formally notified to Congress, Secretary of State Marco Rubio can bypass the normal congressional review process by making an emergency determination that the transaction is an urgent national security interest.
Rubio has done so in the past, including bypassing a normal congressional review process to approve a nearly $3 billion sale to Israel last year. The administration then approved a new series of arms sales to Israel totaling $6.67 billion in January.

#used

By Jacob Bogage
WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Postal Service has told confidants that he is deeply discouraged by his job and wants to resign, according to four people familiar with his thinking, as the agency comes under scrutiny over financial losses and President Donald Trump's ‌effort to tighten rules on mail-in voting.
Postmaster General David Steiner, who took office in July 2025 after the White House forced out his predecessor, has ‌expressed frustration over a lack of help from the White House and Congress in addressing the mail service's long-running financial woes, the people said.
At the same time, the Postal Service was thrust to the center of a debate over the federal government's role in voting after Trump directed it in March to serve as a clearinghouse for mail ballots. The Supreme Court on Monday blocked the agency from implementing key elements of the plan, dealing the White House a significant setback.
The pressures culminated in a contentious June Senate hearing, where lawmakers from both parties interrogated Steiner over poor delivery service, Trump's ballot restrictions and his compensation.

#white #mail

The Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, announced on Wednesday that he would again cancel votes scheduled for Thursday, sending lawmakers home one day early ahead of the midterm election recess.
The latest change to the legislative schedule means House members will avoid voting on Republican Thomas Massie's resolution to impeach the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and comes amid a frenzied attempt to propose legislation on artificial intelligence.
It's the latest round of cancellations at the hands of Johnson, who had already cut the pre-election session short by two weeks. Democrats have reacted angrily, encouraging Johnson to keep lawmakers on Capitol Hill before the midterm recess beginning on Friday.
Related: More Republicans are turning on Iran war as midterms come into view
"I think it shows the cowardice of the Republican party. They are canceling votes to do business for the American people because they are afraid that that impeachment resolution of Pete Hegseth would pass on a bipartisan basis," the Democratic representative Pramila Jayapal told MediasTouch.

#votes #election

Congressional Republicans have a plan to pass key portions of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act before the end of this year.
The election integrity bill backed by President Donald Trump and fiercely opposed by Democrats has stalled in Congress, where Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has been reluctant to call it up for a vote, given that it's all but ***** ured to fail.
At least several Democrats would be needed to reach the Senate's 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster. But left-wing lawmakers in the House and Senate have panned the legislation as an attempt to sow doubt in U.S. elections at best and voter suppression at worst.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is now pushing Republicans to pass the bill's main mandates via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party in power to pass sweeping fiscal policy without input from the minority due to its sidelining of the Senate filibuster. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., chairman of the Committee on House Administration, is tasked with overseeing how that part of the bill gets done.
Trump Questions Thune's Leadership As Save America Act Stalls

#Trump #bill

Sept 13 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Barack Obama has warned that artificial intelligence could be "dangerous" if not properly managed, and urged ‌Democrats to frame policy and governance agendas to tackle the ‌issue, the New York Times said on Sunday.
The remarks at a recent private fundraising event come as growing numbers of U.S. lawmakers call for tougher rules on AI systems after dire warnings from two Anthropic researchers that rapid industry progress risks extinction of the human race.
"This is something that is moving very fast ‌in private hands, and if ⁠we don't get on top of it, I think can be dangerous," the newspaper quoted Obama as saying on ⁠Thursday.
Citing a partial transcript of remarks from Obama's office, the paper said he encouraged House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to help shape a public conversation on AI policy if Democrats regained the House in midterm elections on November 3.
"Once ‌you are speaker, I would strongly urge that the Democrats put together a framework for a very public conversation," Obama told Jeffries, the paper added.

#obama #democrats #private

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's proposal to send $5,000 to every American adult if his Republican Party maintains control of the House and Senate in the November election needs congressional approval, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday, while pledging to try to make it happen.
Trump made the unusual pitch at the party's midterm convention in Dallas last week, promising a "Trump Dividend" if voters keep the GOP in power on Capitol Hill. The president later told CBS News Texas that he did not think Congress would need to authorize the payments, though he did not specify how he could spend more than $1 trillion without lawmakers' authorization.
But Johnson, R-La., said congressional approval is needed. "I would ***** ume, yes, he'd need Congress to act, and that's a creative idea," he said.
A few hours later, Trump said he would deliver on his promise. "The 5,000's going to happen, 100%," he told reporters before boarding Air Force One in Ireland, where he attended a pro golf tournament at his resort.
Johnson, meanwhile, said he would work to get Trump's proposal through Congress despite a small Republican margin.

#proposal

Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney, a Republican, is asking President Donald Trump to rename Lake Erie to "Lake Pennsylvania" following similar renaming efforts by the president.
Maloney is preparing a resolution calling on Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and lawmakers on Capitol Hill to take steps to rename Lake Erie to "Lake Pennsylvania," arguing that the change is needed to reflect the lake's modern identity.
"This is Pennsylvania's only Great Lake. Its modern economy and identity are increasingly tied to the boaters, anglers, families and tourists who come to enjoy it," Maloney said in a statement. "Ohio has plenty of shoreline. New York already has two Great Lakes. Canada has four others."
New York Gov Hochul Rejects Trump's 'Lake America' Renaming With Blunt Message
Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney, a Republican, is asking President Donald Trump to rename Lake Erie to "Lake Pennsylvania."

#republican

WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Three U.S. lawmakers have called on the American government to blacklist a set of Indian IT firms over what ‌they describe as "more than fifteen years of targeted espionage against U.S. citizens, ‌businesses, and the lawyers representing them."
In a letter issued Wednesday, Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Republican Representative Pat Harrigan, asked the Commerce Department to add BellTroX, CyberRoot, and Sunkissed Organic Farms Pvt. Ltd. (formerly known as "Appin Technology Pvt. Ltd.") and its subsidiaries, to the Commerce Department's Entity List. Such a designation would cut them off from ‌U.S. software, cloud infrastructure, and ⁠cybersecurity tools.
Sunkissed representatives, CyberRoot and the Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment. BellTroX could not be reached for ⁠comment.
All three companies have been described in media coverage and in reports published by major tech firms as being fronts for hack-for-hire activities.
In 2022, Reuters named CyberRoot and BellTroX as key players in the cybermercenary industry, saying they were frequently tapped by Western ‌lawyers and private investigators to spy on one another during legal and business disputes. A 2023 Reuters report identified Appin as a pioneer in the field, saying the company grew from an educational startup to a hack-for-hire powerhouse that stole secrets from executives, politicians, military officials and wealthy elites around the globe.

#three

DALLAS - Some Republicans are saying they are worried about the cost and inflationary impacts of President Donald Trump's pledge to give American adults a $5,000 dividend if the GOP maintains control of Congress after the midterm election.
While a few Republicans expressed enthusiasm - Sen Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said on X he will "get a bill ready" to get the dividend "passed immediately" after the election - a number of them expressed skepticism about Trump's promise.
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Several lawmakers, including Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas), who is facing a competitive reelection bid, said Trump's speech was the first "we all heard about" the dividend proposal.
"We're going to see what, actually, [and] how this plays out," said Scott Singer (R-Florida), who also first heard about the dividends during Trump's speech and is running in a swing district. "We'll actually see the specifics, but I believe tax cuts are going to provide the benefits that we need."

#post #expressed #heard

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is embracing his inner cowboy, seeking to gallop into this week's Republican convention in Dallas and save the midterm elections for his party just in the nick of time.
As first-of-their-kind festivities open Wednesday, Trump wants to stoke his core supporters' enthusiasm by making Election Day on Nov. 3 all about himself — a referendum on his record at an event he conceived to help his party, even if he's not actually on the ballot.
The question is whether he'll do more to fire up Republicans or Democrats at a moment when his popularity has reached historic lows.
The president is planning to take the stage both nights of the convention, giving a keynote address Wednesday and then closing remarks after Vice President JD Vance gives his own speech the following night.
That means effectively staging a two-day Trump show with a supporting cast that includes some of the party's most vulnerable lawmakers.

#convention

By Friederike Heine
BERLIN, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Mamad Mohamad watched with mixed emotions as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) swept to a historic victory on Sunday evening in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.
A member of the Greens, the 46-year-old ‌is set to become one of the first lawmakers with an immigrant background to enter the state parliament, alongside Mustafa ‌Groener of the Left (Die Linke) party.
For Mohamad, who arrived in Germany from Syria as a 16-year-old Yazidi Kurd in 1996, it was a milestone that should have been a moment of celebration. Instead, he described it as a "poisoned victory".
"My heart was split," Mohamad said, recalling the first projections that showed the AfD outperforming expectations while Chancellor Friedrich Merz's governing conservatives slumped to a historic low.

#historic #victory #year

There are far more important issues to discuss. But in these divided times, surely we can all come together for a brief moment and agree that President Donald Trump's "dumb" story makes no sense.
Trump has been saying it over and over for months, straight-faced and dead serious, as he tries to brand Democrats as "Dumocrats." The president who has a long history of ***** erting ***** ody knew things lots of people actually knew is this time declaring that…nobody knows, or at least most people don't know, that "dumb" ends with the letter B.
"Most people don't know that 'dumb' has a B at the end," he told Republican lawmakers at the White House on Wednesday. "You know, they think it's D-U-M, and that's okay."
"Most people don't know that 'dumb' has a B," he said at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in July.
"Nobody knows that 'dumb' has a B," he said in a New York Post interview in June.

#don 't

A top House Republican accused Democratic fundraising powerhouse ActBlue of operating as a "money laundering operation," saying that millions of dollars in foreign contributions had flowed through the platform.
Speaking on the "Fox News Rundown" podcast, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, said ongoing congressional investigations into the group have uncovered fraud prevention failures and noted that several people affiliated with ActBlue have invoked the Fifth Amendment while being questioned by lawmakers.
"Well, [it's clear] ActBlue had become a money laundering operation for the Democratic Party. And that's very unfortunate," Fallon told Fox News' Jessica Rosenthal.
"Their compliance and fraud prevention was severely lacking, and they actually were training their employees to do almost no verifications."
Texas Ag Paxton Sues Dem Fundraising Platform Actblue, Alleging 'Fraudulent And Foreign Donations'

#democratic #platform

By Mike Stone, Erin Banco and David Jeans
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The White House has reviewed candidates to potentially replace Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg, three people familiar with the discussions told Reuters, a sign that more leadership change could come for a Pentagon already facing unusually high staff turnover.
The effort, which was ‌under way in June, has included conversations with senior lawmakers in the Senate about whether the administration's picks would have enough support to be confirmed, said two of ‌the people, one of whom added that the review was still going on as of late August. Reuters could not determine when the White House began considering candidates.
The three sources said no decision had been made to remove Feinberg from his post. They did not say why the White House was reviewing potential replacements and did not specify which candidates the White House was considering.
"These so-called anonymous 'sources' have no idea what they are talking about," said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly.

#white

Anti-Israel journalist Rula Jebreal apologized "unconditionally" after calling House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., an "AIPAC monkey" during an interview earlier this week, a remark the Congressional Black Caucus and several Democratic lawmakers condemned as blatantly racist.
The comment came as Jebreal appeared on Wajahat Ali's "The Left Hook" podcast Wednesday and accused Jeffries, who is Black, of carrying out the agenda of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and blasted his support for Israel.
"His name is Hakeem. 'Hakeem' is an Arabic name which means 'healer.' He's not a healer, he's a divider," Jebreal said.
Left-wing Podcaster Blasts Schumer, Jeffries As 'Fascist Collaborators'
Rula Jebreal speaks during a conference on the situation in the Gaza Strip in Parma, Italy, July 3, 2025.

#name

A father rejected Democratic lawmakers' expressions of sympathy on Capitol Hill this week, accusing them of only showing concern when the cameras are rolling after his daughter was left permanently disabled in a car crash allegedly caused by an illegal immigrant.
"I reject your guys' sympathy, to be honest with you. There's no way you guys are sorry," Marcus Coleman told lawmakers Tuesday.
Coleman criticized Democratic lawmakers for what he called their "ignorance" during a follow-up interview Thursday, telling Fox News' Trace Gallagher that he struggled to make them understand his position.
"Talking with the Democrat representatives, I mean, the language they speak is ignorance, and it's hard for me to translate what I'm trying to say to them," he said. "I can explain it all day, I just can't understand it for them."
Angel Dads Face Another Father's Day Without Children Killed By Illegal Immigrants: 'She Should Be Graduating'

#hill

A trade group representing American automakers is urging Congress to permanently bar the sale of Chinese vehicles in the U.S.
In a letter to senior lawmakers, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation on Thursday called on them to "enact a permanent ban on the sale, import and manufacture of Chinese connected vehicles, hardware and software" in the U.S., citing China's alleged unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft and pattern of surveillance.
"This behavior is a feature of the Chinese approach and especially acute when it comes to China's strategy to dominate global automotive manufacturing and critical supply chains," wrote the group's president and CEO, John Bozzella.
Bozzella also said that non-Chinese automakers are unfairly disadvantaged by China's industrial and manufacturing policy, which the car industry group said threatens to undermine the U.S. automotive manufacturing sector.
U.S. automakers face mounting competition from Chinese rivals, including BYD, which is exporting more low-cost vehicles worldwide.

#automotive #sale

President Donald Trump wants to be heavily involved in Republicans' midterm push. They're not all thrilled.
As Trump begins to unveilhis midterm campaign plans, many Republicans facing tough elections — even in areas the president carried by double digits in 2024 — are wary of tying themselves too closely to Trump as his approval rating continues to drag.
Many privately admit they're stuck in an uncomfortable spot: By running too far from Trump, Republicans risk alienating the MAGA faithful or the president himself, whose super PAC is sitting on more than $400 million they desperately need deployed to help them win key races. But if the candidates keep Trump close, they could be dragged down by the president, as the unpopular war in Iran has increased costs for Americans across the country.
So far, they haven't settled on a unified approach, according to interviews with more than two dozen GOP lawmakers, candidates and operatives. Mostly, they don't want to talk about it.
When asked in an interview if he wants Trump to campaign in his swing district this fall or spend time elsewhere, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) gave an indirect answer.

#Trump #candidates

Circle Internet Group (NYSE: $CRCL) President Heath Tarbert warned lawmakers on Wednesday that the United States could lose its financial influence if the next generation of money and capital markets develops on infrastructure governed outside the country.
Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, Tarbert argued that the rise of stablecoins, tokenized ****** ets, and blockchain-based settlement is turning financial infrastructure into software, according to his written testimony. He claimed that this is giving governments a new battleground over where money moves and which laws govern it.
"Congress cannot determine which technologies will succeed. It can determine whether American law, American institutions, and the dollar will remain embedded in the systems that do," Tarbert said.
More From Cryptoprowl:
MEXC Launches Earn Plus With Limited-Time Event Offering Up to 800% APR Booster

#american #infrastructure

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is pressing the Army to explain why it told a unit based in Europe to stop specializing in drone warfare, an order that comes as the world's battlefields rapidly evolve and military tactics increasingly rely on uncrewed systems to fight.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade was building its own drones and practicing the kind of warfare that Ukraine has pioneered against Russia and that Iran has fought against the U.S. — warfare that has killed and wounded American troops. The brigade of 600 soldiers was set up in November to be deployed anywhere that drones were needed.
"We have deep concerns that eliminating this specialized drone unit will limit our ability to learn from allies, particularly the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and hinder our efforts to modernize drone warfare at the speed necessary to compete on the modern battlefield," the lawmakers said in a letter shared with The ****** ociated Press.
It requests a briefing from the Army to explain its decision and was sent Tuesday to departing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army's acting chief of staff. It was signed by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, independent Sen. Angus King of Maine and Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio.
"This specialized unit was a prudent response in a moment when the character of warfare is changing faster than a conventional formation's ability to adapt," the lawmakers say.

#lawmakers #brigade #explain

LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Britain will set out a "comprehensive" package of ‌measures on Israeli settlements in ‌the occupied West Bank in the coming weeks, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said on Tuesday.
Miliband told lawmakers that Israel's E1 settlement project would cut across land ‌which the ⁠Palestinians seek for a state and "risks making a Palestinian state ⁠unviable".
"This government will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution," he said. "We will act and I will ‌set out a comprehensive set of measures in the coming weeks."
Britain and other European nations have criticised Israel's plans, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham ‌said before taking office that he was "looking at measures to ban trade in ‌goods with illegal settlements".
The Times reported on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is "closely" tracking any plans to ‌introduce a trade ban.

#measures #settlements #weeks #trade

GOP Rep. Max Miller spent Monday morning not on the campaign trail, but Zooming into an Ohio courtroom in a dispute with ex-girlfriend and former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, the second time the embattled congressman has been forced to appear in county court in less than a week.
As House lawmakers return to Washington for a sprint ahead of the midterms, Miller appeared from DC via Zoom to address whether he violated a 2023 settlement agreement with Grisham. That agreement came after Grisham alleged Miller abused her, he denied the allegation and then sued her for defamation. As part of their deal, Grisham and Miller were barred from disparaging each other publicly.
It's the latest legal battle facing Miller as he runs for re-election in a district Trump won in 2024 by more than 10 points but Republicans now fear will be competitive over his legal and personal issues. The congressman has faced calls from some Senate Republicans to step down, but Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN on Monday that he supports Miller's reelection bid, calling him "a great member of Congress."
Miller is also locked in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno. She has alleged that Miller abused her, including holding a gun to her when their daughter was an infant. Miller has denied the allegations. Miller came to court in person in that custody case last week.
Zooming in to the wood-paneled courtroom Monday, Miller faced questions over his social media habits, recent media interviews and whether he called Grisham a liar after the two of them entered into the 2023 settlement agreement.

#moreno #congressman

PG&E Corp (NYSE:PCG) shares fell more than 19% after California lawmakers advanced wildfire legislation that stopped short of the liability protections utility investors had been seeking.
The amended Senate Bill 492 excludes a proposal from Governor Gavin Newsom that would have blocked insurance companies from suing utilities over wildfire-related claims, raising fresh concerns about Pacific Gas and Electric Company's exposure to future disasters.
PG&E said the legislation, amended by the California Legislature, would make some progress on wildfire risk reduction and recovery but would not provide the sustainable solution the state needs.
"Specifically, the bill does not adequately address the financing risks created by California's current wildfire liability framework," the company said in a statement. "As a result, it falls short of creating the long-term durability needed to attract affordable investment to support a safer, more reliable energy system and help keep costs down for customers."
The company pointed to an April report from the California Earthquake Authority, which found that existing funding mechanisms are not sufficient. PG&E said SB 492 does not adequately address those concerns.

#wildfire #legislation #short #adequately

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Switzerland wants UBS to be safer after Credit Suisse blew up. UBS says too much safety could make it less competitive. Now lawmakers are trying to mix a regulatory **** tail that protects taxpayers without turning the country's last megabank into a padded cell with a banking license.
Swiss lawmakers are expected to send a softened banking reform proposal to the upper house of parliament, as the country tries to settle one of the biggest questions left by the Credit Suisse collapse: how much capital should UBS be forced to hold?
The Swiss government originally wanted UBS to hold about $20 billion in additional Common Equity Tier 1 capital. CET1 is the hard stuff: high-quality equity capital that absorbs losses first and gives regulators comfort when a bank gets into trouble.
The proposed requirement followed UBS's emergency takeover of Credit Suisse in 2023. That deal stopped one crisis, but created another problem. Switzerland now has one giant globally important bank, and regulators want to make sure taxpayers are not dragged back into another rescue.

#make

Resumed U.S.-Iran strikes sent oil up 3%, lifting CVX and XOM roughly 1.5% each at Monday's open as Middle East risk premiums returned.
OXY fully offset Middle East production losses via Permian volumes, while PCG collapsed 19% after California lawmakers blocked wildfire liability reform.
Trump's Venezuela deal covers 65 billion barrels, but degraded infrastructure means years of investment separate the reserves announcement from actual new supply.
Act now: the ***** yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Exxon Mobil didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
Energy stocks led the market higher Monday morning as two major oil catalysts hit at once. CNBC's Dominic Chu framed the setup on the network's opening segment on Monday: "Oil prices did jump by about 3% on the resumption of those attacks, and that sent energy stocks higher."

#resumed

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California would allow Jews to voluntarily identify their Jewish heritage on state forms under a bill the state Legislature passed Monday.
The bill, which lawmakers sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk, would require state agencies that collect demographic information to add "Jewish" as an option for ethnicity or ancestry. The goal is to give state officials and researchers better data on Jewish Californians, including their unemployment rates and representation in schools.
The data would enable lawmakers to create policies that address the needs of Jews in the state, said David Bocarsly, CEO of Jewish California, an advocacy group.
"It's about inclusion as a community," Bocarsly said, noting the Legislature has passed laws in recent years to collect more inclusive demographic data on Middle Eastern, North African and LGBTQ+ communities.
Some opponents of the bill are worried about the idea of the state collecting such data given the traumatic history of the **** government keeping records of Jews during the Holocaust. The proposal would bar agencies from disclosing "personal identifying information," and bill author Henry Stern, a Democratic state senator who is Jewish, said California already has robust privacy protections that should **** uage those concerns.

#state

At this point more than two months before the midterm elections, Democrats retaking control of Congress and its subpoena power is far from certain. But President Donald Trump is already laying down legal markers for how he'll fight any attempt by lawmakers to investigate him.
In a Justice Department memo and legal filings, the Trump administration is arguing that the president can keep secret not just the conversations he has with his advisers within the White House, but that his dealings with individuals outside the government can be shielded as well. The White House is also saying in court that even disclosing the identities of the people who worked on significant policy efforts would infringe upon the presidential confidentiality to which Trump is entitled. And the administration has taken the stance that it can ignore a Watergate-era law prohibiting the destruction of White House documents.
The posturing comes as Trump, in his second term, has been notably reliant on a constellation of business moguls, non-government attorneys and old friends to help shape his agenda.
"There has been an unprecedented amount of interaction between the Executive Branch — particularly the White House — and the private sector that Congress has made clear is going to be the subject of oversight," said Jamie Bair, a partner and head of congressional investigations at the law firm Crowell & Moring.
Congressional Democrats are already probing the administration's interactions with FIFA, how Trump's ties to the crypto-industry are affecting federal policy, and other examples of Trump family business maneuverings that Democrats say can be tied to government policies.

#congressional

The World Cup reignited a familiar debate about American youth sports. At the same time, lawmakers from both parties have introduced legislation aimed at curbing predatory private equity practices, reflecting growing concern over rising costs and shrinking access. Those conversations are connected, and they point to a bigger question: What should youth sports actually be optimized for?
As former NFL players, fathers, and people who have spent our lives around youth athletics, we believe the answer is simple: participation.
We understand why this moment has prompted scrutiny. Youth sports have become more expensive. More complicated. Too often, families feel like they're being asked to spend thousands of dollars before a child has even decided whether they love the game.
Those concerns affect far more than the next generation of athletes and deserve addressing head-on.
But as the national conversation continues, we also believe it's important to distinguish between the practices that deserve criticism and the investments that are helping remove barriers for families. The question isn't simply who is investing in youth sports. It's whether those investments are making it easier or harder for kids to play.

#Youth #deserve

By Nupur Anand
NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Former JPMorgan Chase executive Jes Staley told U.S. lawmakers he repeatedly shared confidential and market-sensitive bank information with Jeffrey Epstein and was at one point ‌named as a trustee of his estate, according to a transcript released by the U.S. Congress House ‌Oversight Committee.
These admissions come as lawmakers probe the late convicted **** offender's ties with political and business elites. Staley appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in July as part of its investigation into Epstein and his **** ociate Ghislaine Maxwell. Transcripts from the meeting were released on Wednesday.
In the closed-door, voluntary interview conducted on July 24, Staley said he divulged to Epstein the bank's communications with the Federal Reserve during the 2008 financial crisis, a figure of $44 billion in private ‌bank inflows over two weeks, his own ⁠compensation, and details of pending deals.
Staley also admitted to sharing other confidential information about JPMorgan with Epstein, according to the transcript.

#staley #epstein #oversight