Category: Democrat

House panel wants any evidence Trump’s phones were tapped

President Donald Trump, back center, meets, Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, second from left, with his wife Merle Bari, left clockwise, Trump, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and his wife Hilary Geary, right, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his fiancee Scottish actress Louise Linton, together with other members of his cabinet and the White House staff, Saturday, March 11, 2017, at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va.

6 changes the FCC has made in just six weeks

Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2mI3xq2 One of the FCC’s moves under the new administration was the removal from the agenda an order that would require pay-TV providers make free apps so subscribers could watch programming without a set-top box. In just six weeks under the Trump administration, the Federal Communications Commission has quickly made its mark on issues such as Net neutrality and online privacy.

Senate Dems grill FCC chairman

Democrats grilled the new Republican chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday, at his first hearing before Congress since taking over the agency. In his first month on the job, Chairman Ajit Pai has quickly begun rolling back a number of Obama-era initiatives and regulations, and faced tough questions from Dems at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing.

Trump SEC Pick Made Millions Representing Banks and Hedge Funds

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission has earned $7.62 million since 2015 representing some of Wall Street’s biggest firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management, according to a federal disclosure form. Jay Clayton, the Sullivan & Cromwell partner tapped by Trump, outlined his clients — and his potential conflicts — in a filing to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics that he signed in January.

Senators push FCC to keep its net neutrality rules

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission should reverse course and keep the net neutrality rules it passed just two years ago, several Democratic senators said Wednesday. The FCC has not yet moved to repeal the regulations prohibiting broadband providers from selectively blocking or slowing web traffic, but the agency’s new chairman, Republican Ajit Pai, has called the rules a “mistake.”

Trump Set to Roll Back Federal Fuel-Economy Requirements

In this Jan. 18, 2017, file photo, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator-designate, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public … Works Committee. On inauguration eve, five law professors filed a brief in support of a 2015 regulation giving EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers discretion to regulate tributaries and wetlands far upstream from navigable lakes and rivers to protect water quality.

Marathon’s $89,000 Drug May Exploit Patients, U.S. Senators Say

Marathon Pharmaceuticals LLC is facing added criticism over the $89,000 price tag on its drug for a rare muscle disorder as a group of eight U.S. lawmakers said they’re concerned that it “exploits” patients. In a March 3 letter to Marathon Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Aronin, seven Democratic U.S. senators and one independent demanded information on the closely held drugmaker’s pricing practices and product development costs for Emflaza, used to treat lethal Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

FCC grants waiver allowing JCCs to receive caller information

The Federal Communications Commission has granted Jewish Community Centers throughout the country a temporary waiver allowing them to receive caller information, in response to the recent series of bomb threats on the Jewish institutions. The waiver, approved on Friday, comes days after 29 JCCs and Jewish schools across the country received called-in bomb threats, the fifth such incident in less than two months.

JCCs Win Special Permission To Identify Callers Amid Wave Of Threats

The Federal Communications Commission has granted Jewish Community Centers throughout the country a temporary waiver allowing them to receive caller information, in response to the recent series of bomb threats on the Jewish institutions. The waiver, approved on Friday, comes days after 29 JCCs and Jewish schools across the country received called-in bomb threats, the fifth such incident in less than two months.

Under threat, JCCs given special okay to track caller information

US Jewish leaders meet with the FBI director James Comey to discuss the ongoing investigation of bomb threats to JCC on March 3, 2017. The Federal Communications Commission has granted Jewish Community Centers throughout the country a temporary waiver allowing them to receive caller information, in response to the recent series of bomb threats on the Jewish institutions.

The Latest: Reporter says bomb threat suspect harassed him

The Latest on an arrest in connection with threats made to Jewish institutions nationwide and the Anti-Defamation League’s headquarters in New York : A former journalist from St. Louis accused of making threats to at least eight Jewish community centers had been accused of bizarre behavior before. Juan Thompson is facing a federal charge of cyberstalking an ex-girlfriend.

Jewish Centers get FCC help in tracking bomba

Jewish Centers get FCC help in tracking bomb threats Jewish Community Centers are getting a federal waiver to help them identify perpetrators behind a wave of bomb threats. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2lnCTD4 People evacuated because of a bomb threat return to the David Posnack Jewish Community Center and David Posnack Jewish Day School, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017, in Davie, Fla.

FCC approves waivers to track Jewish center threats

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is granting an emergency temporary waiver to Jewish community centers and telecommunications carriers that serve them to help track down callers who have made threats, the agency said on Friday. Jewish community centers and schools in at least 13 U.S. states have reported receiving bomb threats this year, stoking fears of a resurgence of anti-Semitism.

JCCs can now trace threatening calls after bomb scares

After more than 30 Jewish Community Centers around the country received call-in bomb threats this week, the Federal Communications Commission on Friday granted Sen. Charles Schumer’s request that Jewish organizations that feel targeted be allowed to trace threatening calls. The Joan & Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center on Manor Road in Sea View was one of 31 around the country that received a threatening phone call Monday.

Trump: Investigate Sen. Schumer Over Photo With Putin

President Trump is responding to calls for an investigation into his Attorney General over concerns that he is too close to Russia. President Trump tweeted that an immediate investigation should be launched into Sen. Chuck Schumer’s ties with Russia due to a photo featuring Schumer and Vladmir Putin.

Top Bush ethics lawyer: Russia could have blackmail on…

President George W. Bush’s top ethics lawyer told Business Insider on Thursday that while it was “debatable” whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions perjured himself during his Senate confirmation hearing, he must resign. Richard Painter, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School who was the chief White House ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007, added the latest Russia-related White House firestorm could leave Sessions open to the risk of “blackmailing.”

Pelosi Calls on Sessions to Quit After Post Discloses Russia Contacts

U.S. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign on Wednesday after the Washington Post reported he failed to disclose two meetings he had with Russia’s ambassador before Donald Trump was inaugurated as president. Citing Justice Department officials, the Post said Sessions spoke twice last year with Russia’s ambassador while he was still a U.S. senator.

Us FCC stays data security regulations for broadband providers

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has halted new rules that would require high-speed internet providers to take ‘reasonable’ steps to protect customer data. In a 2-1 vote that went along party lines, the FCC voted Wednesday to stay temporarily one part of privacy rules passed in October that would give consumers the right to decide how their data is used and shared by broadband providers.

FCC puts data security protections on hold – CNET

As expected the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday voted 2-1 along party lines to stop a new data security rule from taking effect. It was part of a bigger set of privacy regulation, approved by the FCC in October , that’s supposed to protect consumers’ sensitive personal information online.

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross confirmed as Trumpa s secretary of commerce

Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., takes his seat at a hearing of Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee on January, 18, 2017 in Washington, DC. Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., a former banker and investor who earned billions during decades buying and selling industries and who Trump has touted to lead his trade negotiations, was confirmed as Secretary of Commerce on Monday night in a 72 to 27 vote in the Senate.

Patrick Kennedy Talks The “Turmoil” Of Protecting Mental Health Care In The Trump Age

We spoke to the former Congressman about the future of mental health treatment and his new project, Advocates for Opioid Recovery. After his father, Ted Kennedy, passed away, former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy chose not to run for re-election in the House of Representatives so he could devote more energy to the issue that he cares most deeply about: changing the way we talk about and treat millions of Americans who suffer from mental health disorders.

Warren Buffett praises a talented and ambitious immigrantsa in shareholder letter

Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events It’s become an American tradition to parse billionaire Warren Buffett’s annual letters to his shareholders for nuggets of plain-spoken insight, wit and sometimes a dash of politics. In this year’s letter, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman brought up a familiar subject under Donald Trump’s presidency: immigrants.

Trump Tower Protection Cost NY City $24M From Election to Inauguration

It cost New York City about $24 million to provide security at Trump Tower, President Donald Trump’s skyscraper home in Manhattan, from Election Day to Inauguration Day, or $308,000 per day, New York’s police commissioner said on Wednesday. The revelation prompted renewed calls for Congress to reimburse the city for the cost of protecting Trump’s private residence on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, where his wife and their son continue to reside.

FCC defends not fighting legal challenge to prison call rates

The Federal Communications Commission is defending its decision not to fight a legal challenge to its rate cap on prison phone calls that it passed under the Obama administration. Brendan Carr, the commission’s acting general counsel, wrote in a letter to Rep. Bobby Rush that the FCC’s stance has changed now that the group is chaired by Republican Ajit Pai, who criticized the original rule when it first passed.

FCC defends not fighting legal challenge to prison call rates

The Federal Communications Commission is defending its decision not to fight a legal challenge to its rate cap on prison phone calls that it passed under the Obama administration. Brendan Carr, the commission’s acting general counsel, wrote in a letter to Rep. Bobby Rush that the FCC’s stance has changed now that the group is chaired by Republican Ajit Pai, who criticized the original rule when it first passed.

Senators Want Sessions to Review AT&T, Time Warner Deal

The planned $85 billion merger between AT&T and Time Warner could be facing further scrutiny as top senators on the Judiciary Committee are urging the DOJ to look into the deal further, due to antitrust concerns. Subcommittee chair Sen. Mike Lee and Amy Klobuchar sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions highlighting parts of the deal they find concerning, The Hill reports.

Marathon CEO Placed Steep Price Hikes on Drugs Before Emflaza

The CEO of the latest drugmaker to face criticism over a product’s high price has a history of steep hikes on other drugs and at past companies. Marathon Pharmaceuticals LLC Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Aronin, under fire for setting an $89,000 price on the company’s drug for a rare, deadly muscle disease, was questioned in a letter more than two years ago by Washington lawmakers about mark-ups on two heart drugs.

The dubious cases against one med-tech tax and for a subsidy

The enduring adage that we detest taxes but obligingly accept public benefits those taxes support is playing out in Minnesota by one of the state’s largest and most prosperous interest groups. That’s hardly surprising, but eyebrows may wrinkle in this case, in which highly questionable “facts” are pushed to knock down a federal tax and, in St. Paul, to prop up a subsidy that some call a freebie handout to folks who often don’t need it.