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Monthly archive

February 2018

Yellen Replacement Looking at Potential ETF-Wacky Stock Market Phenomenon

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The newly-confirmed head of the Federal Reserve said that the central bank is exploring how increasingly popular passive investment vehicles are impacting financial stability. Jerome Powell, appearing before Congress for the first time on Tuesday, said he didn’t believe Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) were responsible for recent stock market volatility, but claimed the Fed is keeping its eyes open. “I don’t think they were particularly at the heart of what went on in those days,” Powell said. “It’s a question we’re looking into,” he added.…

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Democrats Lament a Lost Cyber “War” at Hearing with NSA Chief

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Liberal lawmakers are upping their rhetoric over alleged Russian interference activities, with several senators on the Armed Services Committee describing them as “warfare.” The head of the National Security Agency (NSA) and US Cyber Command, Adm. Mike Rogers, testified before the panel on Tuesday about future funding, but mostly fielded questions related to the 2016 election and Russia’s online activities. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) was the first during the hearing to employ military language, when he described alleged Russian hacking as part of an “ongoing warfare against…

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“Anti-ICE Protests” Cited in Immigrant Activist’s Deportation Order

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials took into account the political opinions of an undocumented activist that they targeted last year for removal from the United States. Maru Mora Villalpando, a Washington-based Latinx community advocate, was placed into deportation proceedings in December. In an order kicking off that process, examining officer Timothy Black told agents: “It should also be noted that she has extensive involvement with anti-ICE protests.” Black had highlighted an interview given by Villalpando, discussing her work and her status as an undocumented resident,…

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Treasury Downsizes Liquidation Authorities Created to Avert Bailouts

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The Trump administration wants to narrow powers created after the 2008 banking meltdown to help the US government respond to widespread financial market failures. The Treasury Department released a report on Wednesday saying it will limit the so-called Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA) jointly possessed by the agency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Some Republicans have called for the elimination of OLA, which was created in 2010 by Dodd-Frank financial reform. Last year, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would roll back wide swaths…

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Supreme Court Doesn’t Love Guns Enough, Clarence Thomas Complains, as Justices Deny Waiting Period Case

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The Supreme Court on Monday turned down the opportunity to consider litigation questioning California gun laws. Justices denied the challenge, effectively upholding the Ninth Circuit appellate court’s affirmation of the state’s ten-day waiting period on most firearms sales. Denial of certiorari comes amid a backlash to Second Amendment absolutism in the wake of yet another mass shooting. Demonstrations calling on Congress to enact stricter gun control laws have been led by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.–where a gunman last week killed…

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Criminal Justice Reform Clears Senate Hurdle Again, Despite “Interfering” by the Attorney General

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The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced criminal justice reforms for the second consecutive Congress–this time, with the executive branch kicking and screaming. The panel marked up legislation in a 16-5 vote the day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions publicly criticized the proposal, which would enhance re-entry programs and reduce some mandatory minimum sentences with retroactive effect. On Wednesday, Sessions sent a letter to Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) outlining his opposition. In 2015, when the bill first cleared the committee, then-Sen. Sessions (R-Ala.) was…

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Ajit Pai’s Sinclair Connections Now Under FCC Internal Investigation

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A watchdog within the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is probing the panel’s Chairman, Ajit Pai. David Hunt, the agency’s Inspector General, confirmed the investigation to Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who had requested action following a series of decisions by Pai that directly benefited Sinclair Broadcast Group—the nation’s largest television broadcaster. “For months I have been trying to get to the bottom of the allegations about Chairman Pai’s relationship with Sinclair Broadcasting,” Pallone said in a statement Thursday. “I am grateful to the FCC’s Inspector General that…

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Mnuchin Rebrands “Trickle Down” as “Recycled Back”

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Republicans have been trumpeting anecdotes of company bonuses as proof positive that corporate tax cuts are working for all Americans, not just the rich. Government economic data, however, show otherwise at this juncture. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday that real average wages were down 0.2 percent on a monthly basis in January. The drop was more pronounced down the line for “production and nonsupervisory employees,” who saw weekly earnings fall by 0.5 percent. For all workers, inflation wiped out nominal wage increases, the…

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After Killing Lawsuits, Industry Pal Running CFPB Claims Payday Investigation Still Open

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A Trump administration official currently playing multiple lead roles in the executive branch denied that he stopped the probe of a payday lender, despite dropping litigation against the company. Mick Mulvaney told Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Tuesday that “there is an ongoing investigation” into the firm, Golden Valley Lending. Van Hollen had told Mulvaney he wanted to “follow up” with him on the decision to stop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lawsuit. The interim agency director replied, claiming that there was still an…

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Spy Chief Drags US National Debt Into the Realm of “Global Threats”

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At an annual intelligence hearing on international threats, the head of the US spy community fear mongered about a highly politicized domestic issue: the national debt. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coates told senators on the Intelligence Committee Tuesday that increased annual deficit spending is a “dire threat” to US security. The warning came at the tail end of Coates’ remarks, after he ran the gamut of perceived global dangers from around the world–from transnational crime to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions to Russian influence operations.…

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Sessions Smokin’ Mad at Republican Senator Spearheading Actual Drug War Resistance

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions fumed on Monday morning at one of his former Senate colleagues for holding up Justice Department nominees in retaliation for a potential crackdown on recreational cannabis. Speaking before the National Sheriffs’ Association winter meeting in Washington, Sessions hit out at Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) without mentioning the lawmaker by name. “It’s just getting to be frustrating,” the top federal prosecutor said. “I gotta tell you.” Sessions noted how the DOJ was being “blocked” from getting top Deputy Attorney General positions confirmed. The…

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