Three female senators call NYT coverage of Sinema's clothes 'sexist'

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) on Friday criticized The New York Times for a string of pieces related to fellow Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's (D-Ariz.) clothing.

The three female senators pointed to four stories recently published by the Times — one style section piece published last month and three opinion section pieces in the past three weeks from one writer — saying they "cannot imagine The Times printing similar pieces on the fashion choices of any of our male colleagues."

"Senator Sinema is a serious, hardworking member of the Senate who contributes a great deal to the policy deliberations before us. Your repeated focus on how she dresses, rather than what she says and does, is demeaning, sexist and inappropriate," the senators wrote in a letter to the editor published Friday.

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Asked about the criticism from the senators, Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for The Times, said, "the aim of our Opinion coverage is to invite intelligent discussion from informed people with a diversity of opinions and ideas. We believe in open debate and always welcome reactions such as the Senators' letter to the editor."

more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/582400-three-female-senators-call-times-coverage-of-sinemas-clothes-sexist

I stand by what the jury has to say. The jury system works.

Budget Office Determines Democrats' Spending Bill Will Nudge Deficit Higher

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday evening that President Biden’s sprawling climate change and social policy package would increase the federal budget deficit by $160 billion over the next 10 years.

That determination is at odds with Mr. Biden’s pledge to fully pay for the legislation but is unlikely to stop House Democrats from approving the bill as soon as Thursday evening.

The budget office’s analysis found that the bill’s tax cuts and spending programs were almost — but not entirely — offset by new revenue and spending cuts. The package would be largely paid for with tax increases on high earners and corporations, which was estimated to bring in nearly $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Savings in government spending on prescription drugs were estimated to bring in another $260 billion.

The fact that the bill could slightly add to the federal deficit over the next 10 years is unlikely to dissuade House lawmakers from proceeding to vote for the bill, in part because the analysis boiled down to a dispute over a single line item: how much the Internal Revenue Service would collect by cracking down on people and companies that dodge large tax bills.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/11/18/us/politics/cbo-biden-spending-bill.amp.html

Republican primary winner is ex-felon who never applied for the right to hold office

Source: FRESH TAKE FLORIDA

The winning Republican in this week’s congressional primary in South Florida is a convicted felon who did not go through the state’s process to restore his civil rights after his imprisonment, interviews and records show. That step is required under Florida law for a candidate to hold political office.

Jason Mariner, 36, of Palm Beach Gardens, an advertising executive and self-described “America First” conservative candidate, won Tuesday’s GOP primary with 58 percent of votes in the heavily Democratic 20th Congressional District.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the election’s outcome would be challenged. The general election will be Jan. 11. Democrats have held the seat — one of the most Democratic districts in Florida — for more than two decades.

Mariner had served roughly two years total in the Palm Beach County Jail over 2007 and 2012 on charges that included felony theft, burglary, cocaine possession, obstruction and violently resisting arrest, records show. He was open during his campaign about his criminal background, telling voters, “Before running for Congress, I ran from the law.” He also promised he would be tough on crime.



Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article255548606.html

Biden says $450K payments to families separated at southern border are 'not going to happen'

Source: Politico

President Joe Biden on Wednesday dismissed the idea that immigrant families separated at the southern border under his predecessor’s zero-tolerance policy could receive payments of $450,000 per person in monetary settlements, calling the report “garbage.”

Following remarks at the White House about Covid vaccines for children, Biden was asked by a Fox News reporter whether the payments would incentivize more people to cross the border illegally.

“If you guys keep sending that garbage out, yeah,” Biden said. “But it’s not true.”

When pressed on the matter, Biden appeared surprised by the $450,000 figure.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.yahoo.com/amphtml/biden-says-450k-payments-families-232647254.html

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown declares victory over socialist challenger

Source: CNN

(CNN)Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown declared victory Tuesday night in his write-in campaign for a fifth term. Brown lost the Democratic primary earlier this year to Democratic Socialist India Walton.

As of 12:30 a.m. ET, about 59% of votes had been cast for write-in candidates, and 41% had gone for Walton. Brown's campaign likely accounts for the strong showing for write-in candidates on the ballot, but Erie County won't begin to tabulate the write-in votes until November 17.

That makes it impossible to say definitively who voters wrote in, despite Brown's victory declaration.

After effectively sitting out the nominating contest and refusing to engage with or debate Walton, Brown launched a well-funded general election campaign asking voters -- this time including Independents and Republicans -- to "Write Down Byron Brown."

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/11/03/politics/buffalo-mayor-byron-brown/index.html

Brooklyn lawyers plead guilty to a charge in Molotov cocktail case tied to George Floyd protest

Source: CNN

(CNN)Two lawyers who federal prosecutors say took part during an anti-police brutality protest last year in making a Molotov cocktail and throwing it at an empty New York Police Department vehicle have each pleaded guilty to one charge related to the incident.

Colinford Mattis, 34, and Urooj Rahman, 32, each pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Brooklyn courtroom to a count of knowingly making and possessing a destructive device -- one of several charges brought by prosecutors.

Each attorney could face up to 10 years in prison, US District Judge Brian Cogan said, adding the two would face "virtually certain disbarment." Both have been free on bond.

"I deeply regret my conduct, and wish I'd made better choices on that night," Mattis told Cogan during Wednesday's plea hearing. He noted he is being treated for substance abuse and completed inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse in May.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/us/new-york-lawyers-molotov-cocktail/index.html

Yellen says Democrats raise proposed IRS bank reporting threshold to $10,000

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday she welcomed a revised proposal from congressional Democrats to raise a bank account tax reporting threshold to $10,000 in annual transactions from a proposed $600 level, with an exemption for wage earners.

The change was made after major opposition https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-banking-lobby-groups-oppose-proposed-tax-reporting-law-2021-09-17 from banking and other lobbying groups who charged that initial proposal would raise financial privacy concerns by requiring financial firms to track and submit to the Internal Revenue Service data on aggregate inflows and outflows from every bank account above a minimum threshold of $600 a year.

The Treasury has argued that the proposal, part of President Joe Biden's massive "reconciliation" social spending and tax hike package, would not track individual transactions but was aimed at making it harder for wealthy Americans to hide sources of income from taxation, allowing the IRS to target them for audits.

The Treasury estimates that the cost of tax evasion among the top 1% of taxpayers exceeds $160 billion annually, part of a "tax gap" between taxes owed and those collected estimated at more than $7 trillion over a decade.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.yahoo.com/amphtml/u-treasurys-yellen-says-democrats-160733714.html

Congresswoman Maxine Waters' Twitter account hacked

Biden DOJ shields ex-Trump officials from testifying about election fraud cases

Source: Politico

A top official in President Joe Biden's Justice Department blocked efforts by Senate investigators to probe the handling of voter fraud complaints in the aftermath of the 2020 election, according to transcripts released Thursday.

As Senate Judiciary Committee aides investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election questioned top Trump-era Justice Department officials, a DOJ attorney present for the interviews intervened repeatedly to say such questions were outside the scope of the panel’s inquiry.

The official, veteran DOJ attorney Bradley Weinsheimer, cited guidance he issued in July that paved the way for congressional testimony but limited the topics former DOJ officials were permitted to discuss. But his assertions drew repeated, and sometimes pointed, challenges from Judiciary Committee aides in both parties, the transcripts show.

“It strikes me as completely within the scope of this interview,” said Sara Zdeb, chief oversight counsel for Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), after Weinsheimer intervened to block an answer from Byung Pak, a former U.S. attorney from the Atlanta area. Pak resigned on Jan. 4 under pressure from Trump to interfere in election-related matters.

Read more: https://www-politico-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2021/10/07/doj-shields-ex-trump-officials-515594?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#aoh=16336432213590&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com%2Fnews%2F2021%2F10%2F07%2Fdoj-shields-ex-trump-officials-515594