Saturday, May 18

United States

The U.S. political situation grew increasingly polarized in the last two decades with both parties moving away from the ideological center. What started as intense partisanship has turned into outright extremism, in some cases. Extremism peaked after the 2020 presidential election. It culminated in a violent and deadly scene as the defeated candidate denied he lost the election and encouraged a mob to “fight like hell” at the U.S. Capitol. Several factors are increasing the divide, including gerrymandering–or carving out–districts, the primary system for selecting candidates in the two parties, the amplification of partisanship in cable news and mass media, and campaign finance.

As US-China Digital Battle Begins, Global Tech Firm Tencent Holdings Hires U.S. Lobbyist
18Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Brief, United States

As US-China Digital Battle Begins, Global Tech Firm Tencent Holdings Hires U.S. Lobbyist

August 18, 2020--As the United States and China begin to battle over the use digital technologies by consumers, Tencent Holdings, a Chinese-based multinational technology company that owns the social media app WeChat, hired a law firm to lobby the U.S. government. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison a global law firm headquartered in New York, filed a lobbying disclosure filed on August 7 with the Senate. According to the disclosure, the firm intends to represent Tencent, its largest shareholder Naspers Limited, and WeChat in the areas of consumer issues/safety/protection, media and trade. The firm's chief lobbyist on behalf of Tencent is Roberto Gonzalez, an attorney specializing in high-stake litigation, economic sanctions and export controls. Gonzalez has held senior pos...
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15May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief, United States

U.S. House Primed to Vote on Massive $3 Trillion Stimulus

May 15, 2020-The U.S. House is scheduled to vote today on a new supplemental spending bill for the current fiscal year. It's the fifth in a series of COVID-19 related stimulus bills, and it is massive in both physical size and its $3 trillion expense. Called the HEROS Act, the 1,815-page bill would extend unemployment benefits to furloughed workers for an additional six months, provide direct payments to businesses, give additional checks worth up to $1,200 for individuals, provide health care to unauthorized immigrants, financial support to farmers, renters and workers and $1 trillion for states and local governments. The Congressional Budget Office, which normally provides estimates for spending bills, has not published a report on the bill. Partisan Support Democrats are s...
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16Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief, United States

Congress Clears US-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal

January 16, 2020-It's a big week for trade. A day after the United States and China agreed to a phase one of a trade deal, the U.S. Senate approved a trade agreement that replaces NAFTA. Only nine senators voted against it while 89 voted for it. Since the House has previously passed it with a bipartisan 385-41 vote, the agreement is cleared for the White House. The deal, the USMCA, is a massive three-way agreement that covers goods worth about $1.3 trillion. Leaders of Mexico, Canada and the United States signed the deal in late 2018. Mexico's Senate voted for the agreement on June 20, 2019 and a revised treaty on Dec. 12, 2019. It's up to the Mexican president to ratify it. Canada is expected to consider implementing legislation when the new Parliament begins its session. Fo...
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NAFTA Replacement to Move Forward in U.S. Congress
10Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief, United States

NAFTA Replacement to Move Forward in U.S. Congress

December 10, 2019-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow House Democrats announced support for the U.S. -Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement today. Pelosi said the trade agreement is better than NAFTA and "infinitely better" than what President Donald Trump had initially proposed. "It's a victory for America's workers and one we take great pride in advancing." It's been a year since the leaders of Canada, the United States and Mexico signed the trade agreement. The deal covers agriculture, intellectual property, digital trade and financial services. The legislatures in all three countries need to ratify the deal before it takes effect. Democrats said the key to winning their support was working out enforcement mechanisms, particularly in the areas of labor and environment.
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US Debt Tops $22 Trillion as Lawmakers Deliver New Deal
23Jul By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Domestic Politics, Global Economics, Types of News: Brief, United States

US Debt Tops $22 Trillion as Lawmakers Deliver New Deal

July 23, 2019--U.S. lawmakers agreed to raise the limit on incurring national debt to $22 trillion to July 31, 2021. They also agreed to a two-year budget agreement that increases spending by $320 billion. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it a "bold, bipartisan and a victory for Democrats and the American people." President Donald Trump said in a tweet the deal is "a real compromise in order to give another big victory to our Great Military and vets." According to Pelosi's statement, the deal increases both defense and non-defense spending and avoids a government shutdown. The U.S. national debt has risen from $11.9 trillion in 2009 to $22 trillion in 2019. Meanwhile, the interest on the debt (marketable non-government) has risen from 2.28 percent to 2.5 percent in t...
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Trump Proposes Merit-Based U.S. Immigration System
17May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Migration, Immigration, Borders, Types of News: Brief, United States

Trump Proposes Merit-Based U.S. Immigration System

May 17, 2019-U.S. President Donald Trump introduced sweeping changes to the U.S. immigration system. "We are proposing an immigration plan that puts the jobs, wages, and safety of American workers first," Trump said while outlining the plans on Thursday. If enacted by Congress, the new system would reshape the American immigration system by increasing merit-based admissions while accepting fewer family-based and humanitarian immigrants. It would identify-candidates based on age, talent, vocation and academic records. Meanwhile, it would prioritize immediate family relationships such as parent and child. 'Dead on Arrival' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the plan was "dead on arrival" in Congress. She said the plan had "repackaged the worst" of immigration...
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Trump Emboldened By Completion of U.S. Special Counsel Investigation
25Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Types of News: Brief, United States

Trump Emboldened By Completion of U.S. Special Counsel Investigation

March 25, 2019 -- A 22-month Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election concluded on Friday, clearing President Donald Trump from a suspicion of conspiring with foreign agents to influence the outcome of the election. Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report to the Justice Department Attorney General Robert Barr. On Sunday, Barr released a four-page letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate judiciary committees summing up key findings from the report. 'No collusion' The fundamental finding is that the Trump campaign did not "knowingly coordinate with" the Russia's Internet Research Agency in its disinformation and social media operations to sow social discord in the United States or with t...
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U.S. Lacks Funds to Handle Migrants, Asylum Cases, Trump Says
25Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Migration, Immigration, Borders, Types of News: Brief, United States

U.S. Lacks Funds to Handle Migrants, Asylum Cases, Trump Says

June 25, 2018-The United States not only has "the worst immigration laws in the history of the world," it also lacks the funds and resources to deal with migrants crossing its borders, President Donald Trump said late last week as he met with his Cabinet. The statements came just before the U.S. Congress set aside immigration legislation and as the federal government came under scrutiny for separating migrant families. Blame the Other Party Congress appears to be stalemated despite the need to clarity U.S. immigration laws and despite the fact that tens of thousands of migrants are crossing into the United States from Mexico and Central America each year. According to the White House, 200,000 unaccompanied minors migrated to the United States since 2014. "So [Democrats] want us to ...
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As Gov’t Begins Reuniting Families, Congress Sets Immigration Reforms Aside
23Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Migration, Immigration, Borders, Types of News: Brief, United States

As Gov’t Begins Reuniting Families, Congress Sets Immigration Reforms Aside

June 23, 2018-As the U.S. government began reuniting migrant children with their parents, who are being held for illegally crossing the U.S. border, the prospects for immigration reform in Congress appeared dead. The massive migration from Central America to the United States and the U.S. government's inability to handle it have created a crisis with both human and economic costs. The issues involved relate to bureaucratic incompetence, human smuggling, transnational crime, and a broken political system. Many Children And Parents Remain Apart Under pressure mounting pressure from an outrages public, the U.S. government started reuniting parents held under prosecution with their children. According to CBS News, the government returned 500 of the 2,300 children held in detention centers wi...
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U.S. Struggles to Clarify Laws on Immigration
21Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Migration, Immigration, Borders, Types of News: Analysis, United States

U.S. Struggles to Clarify Laws on Immigration

June 21 -- A day after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reverse his administration's policy of separating children from their parents as the parents are prosecuted, Congress took up legislation to reform the nation's immigration and employment laws. If legislation is enacted, it would make sweeping changes to policies affecting political asylum, guest worker programs, employment-verification requirements,  transnational criminal organizations, border security and the legal status of foreign-born people who were brought to United States as children. But the question of "if" is a big one. A Longstanding Impasse Congress's track record in enacting immigration legislation is not good. Despite the need to clarify the nation's laws, its members have not enacted m...
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