Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon carjacked in Philadelphia's FDR Park

Source: WPVI

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon was the victim of a carjacking in South Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon.

Police say it happened around 2:45 p.m. on the 1900 block of Pattison Avenue in FDR Park after a tour including members of Congress.

Scanlon was walking to her parked vehicle and was approached by two men driving a dark-colored SUV.

Both men, who were armed, demanded the keys to her vehicle, police say.


Read more: https://6abc.com/mary-gay-scanlon-carjacked-congresswoman-carjacking-philadelphia-fdr-park/11372337/

If everything in BBB is so popular,

why not break it up so that each program is in an individual bill? Then bring up each bill for a vote.

Sinema pops Democrats' filibuster trial balloon on voting rights

Source: Politico

Kyrsten Sinema supports the elections reform bill that Democrats are considering a year-end push to pass. She doesn't support a shortcut around the filibuster to get it done.

The Arizona moderate is making clear that she intends to keep protecting the Senate’s 60-vote requirement on most legislation and she isn’t ready to entertain changing rules to pass sweeping elections or voting legislation with a simple majority. Her Democratic colleagues have been discussing those revisions as they weigh dropping their focus on President Joe Biden’s $1.7 trillion climate and social spending bill and pivoting to voting rights, though it’s not clear that avenue will be any more successful.

In a statement to POLITICO, a spokesperson said that Sinema “continues to support the Senate's 60-vote threshold, to protect the country from repeated radical reversals in federal policy which would cement uncertainty, deepen divisions, and further erode Americans’ confidence in our government.” Since joining the Senate in 2019, Sinema’s been a fierce defender of the filibuster and warned that reversing it could lead to terrible outcomes for Democrats down the line.

Sinema continues to support the Freedom to Vote Act, which was negotiated with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, even as she raises questions about how to pass those bills in an evenly divided Senate. Democratic senators have mostly focused on lobbying Manchin to try and sway him to pass elections legislation with a simple majority, but Sinema isn’t there yet either.

Read more: Sinema pops Democrats' filibuster trial balloon on voting rights

Cuomo Is Ordered to Forfeit Earnings From $5.1 Million Book Deal

Source: New York Times

ALBANY, N.Y. — Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo was ordered to turn over roughly $5.1 million in proceeds from his 2020 pandemic memoir within 30 days, after a state ethics board found that he had run afoul of state ethics laws.

The board, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, directed Mr. Cuomo on Tuesday to relinquish the money to the state attorney general’s office, and authorized the office to enforce the collection.

Mr. Cuomo has vowed to fight the resolution, which owing to its unique circumstance would seem to have little precedent, in court. “JCOPE’s actions today are unconstitutional, exceed its own authority and appear to be driven by political interests rather than the facts and the law,” said Jim McGuire, a lawyer for Mr. Cuomo. “Should they seek to enforce this action, we’ll see them in court.”

The order, which is sure to set up a protracted legal fight, could be complicated by the fact that Mr. Cuomo already donated $500,000 of the book’s proceeds to charity, and placed another $1 million in a trust for his daughters.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/12/14/nyregion/andrew-cuomo-book.amp.html

Gov. Whitmer says President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate a 'problem,' report says

Source: Detroit Free Press

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in her strongest public remarks to date about President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for employers, said Monday that the requirement is "a problem" for her and state government, according to a published report.

The Daily News in Greenville reported Whitmer as telling business leaders in Montcalm County that she had the same concerns as some of them that the mandate, if enforced, could lead to workers, including those in state government, walking off the job.

"We’re an employer too, the state of Michigan is," Whitmer was reported as saying. "I know if that mandate happens, we’re going to lose state employees. That’s why I haven’t proposed a mandate at the state level. Some states have. We have not, we’re waiting to see what happens in court."

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.freep.com/amp/6423638001

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