Day: January 4, 2017

U.S. Banks Gear Up to Fight Dodd-Frank Act’s Volcker Rule

Big U.S. banks are set on getting Congress this year to loosen or eliminate the Volcker rule against using depositors’ funds for speculative bets on the bank’s own account, a test case of whether Wall Street can flex its muscle in Washington again. In interviews over the past several weeks, half a dozen industry lobbyists said they began meeting with legislative staff after the U.S. election in November to discuss matters including a rollback of Volcker, part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform that Congress enacted after the financial crisis and bank bailouts.

Our failed Israel policy

Try as he might this late in the game, President Barack Obama’s Israel policy should go down in history as a failure. In keeping with a broader pattern, the White House has expected Israel to accept its judgments on the largest matters, such as Iran, and then has become frustrated when Israel reacts poorly to its judgments on smaller ones, such as the status of settlements.

4 dead following plane crash in rugged Arizona mountains

Searchers in Arizona found the bodies of four members of a family Tuesday in the wreckage of a small plane that crashed on a flight from Scottsdale to Telluride, Colorado, officials said. Debris from the single-engine Cessna 210 was spotted north of Payson on the rugged Mogollon Rim, Gila County Sheriff Adam Shepherd said.

Trump, with 2 tweets, helps push GOP reversal on ethics

Members of the House of Representatives, some joined by family, gather in the House chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, as the 115th Congress gets under way. Members of the House of Representatives, some joined by family, gather in the House chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, as the 115th Congress gets under way.

GOP Senator outlines Obamacare provisions on chopping block

With Republicans looking to make immediate progress on a repeal of the Affordable Care Act this month — and Democrats rallying on Capitol Hill Wednesday to try to preserve it — Sen. Bill Cassidy said American voters who favor repeal of the law have particular provisions in mind, and aren’t necessarily talking about the whole law. “Really we have to, if you will, differentiate between Obamacare — the penalties, the mandates, you gotta do this or the federal government is coming after you — and the other things that were in the bill that were put in there because it was a vehicle,” Cassidy said during the debut of CBSN’s new daily political show “Red and Blue.”

Commentary: Trump should target defense waste

Donald Trump has an opportunity to chart a new course for Republicans on defense spending — a course that would combine GOP hawkishness with a budget-cutter’s approach to Pentagon waste. Although falling as a percentage of the federal budget, defense is still the federal government’s largest single non-entitlement spending item — about 16 percent of the budget in 2016.

Commentary: So long to dump things politicians said

And while it’s unnerving having an unpredictable motormouth running the show, as we plunge into 2017, we should at least rejoice in having a chance to mothball a lot of ridiculous statements made over the past 12 months by politicians who should have known better. Let’s never hear again the phrase “basket of deplorables,” which Hillary Clinton unfortunately used to describe Donald Trump supporters.

Big banks are gearing up to fight the Volcker rule

Big U.S. banks are set on getting Congress this year to loosen or eliminate the Volcker rule against using depositors’ funds for speculative bets on the bank’s own account, a test case of whether Wall Street can flex its muscle in Washington again. In interviews over the past several weeks, half a dozen industry lobbyists said they began meeting with legislative staff after the U.S. election in November to discuss matters including a rollback of Volcker, part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform that Congress enacted after the financial crisis and bank bailouts.

Shankland Talks Plans for Finance Committee

Rep. Katrina Shankland is Central Wisconsin’s voice on the Joint Committee on Finance in the state legislature this session, and she’s not planning on taking the role lightly. Shankland says her first day back in session was full of discussions of common ground, despite being a member of the minority party in both houses.

Trump nixes pet projects

It’s been a tough year for political elites, here and around the world, what with the passage of Brexit in June in Britain, the repudiation of Colombia’s Nobel Peace Prize recipient in the October FARC referendum and the defeat of America’s Nobel Peace Prize recipient’s preferred candidate in the November presidential election. Not all the consequences are clear.

Police, feds looking for burglars who robbed Ohio gun store

Local police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are searching for a team of burglars who broke into a northeast Ohio gun shop last month and stole seven rifles. The ATF says the theft occurred around 4:15 a.m. on Dec. 27 at Accurate Arms and Ammunition gun store in North Royalton.

French corruption trial of African leader’s son postponed

Amid reports that Charles Manson has been taken from his California prison cell to a hospital, a state corrections official would confirm only that the 82-year-old killer and cult leader was still alive. Amid reports that Charles Manson has been taken from his California prison cell to a hospital, a state corrections official would confirm only that the 82-year-old killer and cult leader was still alive.

‘Pressing concern’ to manage water in Middle East troublespot

There is a “pressing concern” to manage Euphrates River water, a key resource for a “politically volatile” area of the Middle East, US officials said, in a face of another sub-par rice crop in Iraq. Iraq, which until the mid-1970s relied on home-grown rice to cover most domestic demand, has seen buy-ins soar, becoming one of the top 10 biggest importers.

Obama, Pence to Capitol as health care overhaul fight begins

President Barack Obama heads to the Capitol on Jan. 4, to give congressional Democrats advice on how to combat th… Amid reports that Charles Manson has been taken from his California prison cell to a hospital, a state corrections official would confirm only that the 82-year-old killer and cult leader was still alive. Amid reports that Charles Manson has been taken from his California prison cell to a hospital, a state corrections official would confirm only that the 82-year-old killer and cult leader was still alive.

Rick Perry’s Texas giveaways: There’s something fishy about…

Donald Trump’s selection of Rick Perry to lead the Department of Energy has prompted many Democrats to question Perry’s qualifications for the position. While he governed a state rich in fossil fuels and wind energy, Perry has far less experience than President Obama’s two energy secretaries, both physicists, in the department’s primary work, such as tending the nuclear-weapons stockpile, handling nuclear waste and carrying out advanced scientific research.

Put an end to gerrymandering

As it turns out, state legislative Republicans who have claimed that electoral fraud is rampant in Pennsylvania are right. They are dead wrong in identifying the source of the contagion, however.

Photo: Evan Vucci/AP, License: N/A, Created: 2016:11:29 17:19:18

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US House Republicans set to vote on repealing Obamacare

U.S. House Republicans were moving ahead on Friday with legislation aimed at dismantling Obamacare , despite concerns about not having a replacement for the healthcare program and the potential financial costs in repealing President Barack Obama’s landmark law. Moderate Republican Representative Charlie Dent said he had reservations about voting for the effort to start a repeal but would not say whether he would vote for or against it.

Turkey closing in on nightclub gunman, official says

Chicago police say charges are expected against four people who police say beat a man in an assault that was broadcast live on Facebook. Charges are expected against four people who police say beat a man in an assault that was broadcast live on Facebook, Chicago police said.