“WASHINGTON—Senate Democrats’ latest effort to overhaul election rules nationwide was blocked Wednesday by Republicans, leaving the effort at a standstill and progressive activists frustrated.
All Democrats voted to cut off debate and advance the ‘Freedom to Vote Act,’ but Republicans were united in opposition, leaving it short of the 60 required votes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) then changed his vote to no, making the final tally 49 in favor and 51 opposed. Mr. Schumer’s parliamentary maneuver would enable him to bring the bill up again at a later date.
Democratic lawmakers have called their elections push a priority, arguing it would protect and expand voter access as many GOP-led states pursue tighter laws and former President Donald Trump and his allies continue to reject the 2020 election results. Republicans have blocked the Democrats’ efforts, calling the proposed changes federal overreach that could weaken the integrity of elections and take rules out of the hands of local officials.
The bill would make Election Day a national holiday, require states to allow voters to register on the day of an election starting in November 2022, mandate 15 days of early voting, restore voting rights to felons who have completed their prison sentences, and force all states to allow mail-in voting, among other provisions.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“As President Biden works with legislators to wrap up negotiations on his domestic spending priorities, he’s made it clear some sort of climate deal needs to be done before he arrives in Scotland next week for the United Nations' COP26 climate summit. Biden says entering the summit without something to show for his pledge to dramatically reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions would damage America’s credibility. Ideally, those climate measures would be part of the Democrats’ budget package, but in case that isn’t set by then, White House officials say executive orders or other environmental regulations would still be options. Biden aims to ramp up his public sales pitch for his sweeping domestic agenda tonight in a CNN town hall event. Here's how to watch.” Read more at CNN
“Senior Biden officials briefed top Democratic lawmakers on a potential shift in the party’s tax plans on a private call Wednesday, as the White House searches for unity on how to pay for its multi-trillion-dollar economic package, according to three people with knowledge of the call, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation.
While the Biden administration initially proposed increasing the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, a move that would partially unwind the tax cuts under former president Donald Trump, the president’s aides on Wednesday instead discussed an alternative range of tax hikes, likely excluding a corporate tax rate hike as part of a new source of revenue for the package, the people said.
Instead, Biden’s advisers said that they are pursuing a range of ideas that could still raise substantial sums of money from corporations and the rich, including a tax on billionaires’ assets that would resemble a more modest version of the wealth tax championed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
House Democrats circulate new tax plan as party seeks unity on key economic package
Biden aides on Wednesday also discussed a new minimum tax on corporations; a plan to beef up tax enforcement through the Internal Revenue Service; a tax on companies issuing stock ‘buybacks’ to company shareholders; and an overhaul of international tax provisions aimed at raising minimum taxes on multinational firms, the people said.” Read more at Washington Post
“Biden’s plan for free community college is likely to be cut from his budget package.
The plan that Biden and then-President Barack Obama first pitched in 2015 as a way to increase U.S. economic competitiveness and decrease income inequality is being sidelined amid negotiations to bring down the overall proposal’s $3.5 trillion price tag. Free community-college tuition is more vulnerable than some other proposals because it had relatively few champions on Capitol Hill and faced opposition from several key Democrats, some Republican governors and a handful of powerful interest groups. For example, Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) said he prefers the social programs to be means-tested and targeted to the lowest-income Americans and has said he doesn’t back free community college for all. Lobbyists for public four-year colleges have said states might redirect funding from their institutions. And students who otherwise would have attended four-year colleges might opt to attend community college for the first two years, sapping tuition from those campuses. Biden’s $109 billion 10-year proposal, which House Democrats advanced as a $45.5 billion five-year plan, would waive tuition for two years of public community college. States would have to opt in to participate, and the federal government would provide all funding the first year and decrease its contribution by 5% each subsequent year, with states picking up the rest of the tab.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The FDA has authorized booster doses of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines and officially given the go for ‘mix and match’ boosters among all three authorized vaccines. Now the CDC will weigh in. If it signs off, new boosters could be available within days. In the UK, British and international authorities are watching with concern as a new subtype of the Delta variant is causing more infections. The subtype accounted for about 6% of new cases in the last week of September. Experts have suggested the AY.4.2 descendant could be slightly more transmissible than the original Delta variant, but it is not yet considered a ‘variant of concern.’” Read more at CNN
“Pediatricians are urgently warning that the mental health crisis rising among American children has swelled into a national emergency. Three pediatric health organizations say that ‘soaring’ rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation among kids stem from pandemic stress and ongoing struggles for racial justice. As with many health crises, children of color are particularly affected.” Read more at NPR
“The Biden administration says it’s ready to roll out COVID-19 vaccines to children aged 5 to 11 once the Pfizer shot is authorized by federal health officials. That could happen in a couple of weeks.
The White House says it has enough doses — and smaller needles — for the country’s 28 million kids in this age group.” Read more at NPR
“Surgeons in New York have successfully attached a kidney grown in a genetically altered pig to a human patient and found that the organ worked normally, a scientific breakthrough that one day may yield a vast new supply of organs for severely ill patients.
Although many questions remain to be answered about the long-term consequences of the transplant, which involved a brain-dead patient followed only for 54 hours, experts in the field said the procedure represented a milestone.” Read more at Boston Globe
“WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is voting Thursday on whether to hold Steve Bannon, a longtime ally and aide to former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from a committee investigating the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
That committee has vowed to move swiftly and forcefully to punish anyone who won’t cooperate with the probe. But it’s likely up to the Justice Department, and the courts, to determine what happens next.
If the House vote succeeds, as is expected, there’s still considerable uncertainty about whether the Justice Department will prosecute Bannon, despite Democratic demands for action.
The outcome could determine not only the effectiveness of the House investigation but also the strength of Congress’ power to call witnesses and demand information — factors that will certainly be weighing on Justice officials as they determine whether to move forward. While the department has historically been reluctant to use its prosecution power against witnesses found in contempt of Congress, the circumstances are exceptional as lawmakers investigate the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol in two centuries.” Read more at AP News
“Local prosecutors are investigating financial dealings at a Trump Organization golf course north of New York City, according to people familiar with the matter, compounding the legal pressure on former President Donald Trump’s company, which is already under indictment.
The criminal investigation, conducted by the office of Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah, a Democrat, is examining whether the Trump Organization made misrepresentations to local officials related to the valuation of Trump National Golf Club, a private course in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., the people familiar with the matter said. The Westchester district attorney’s office has subpoenaed information about the course, the people said.
The property’s tax assessment has been the subject of years of litigation between the Trump golf club and the town of Ossining, N.Y., which includes part of Briarcliff Manor. Lawyers for the golf club have repeatedly said as part of that litigation that the property’s tax assessment was too high. Property owners often appeal their tax assessments in the hopes of lowering their taxes.
A 2016 court filing shows the town assessed the property at $15.1 million. The golf club’s ‘requested correct valuation’ was $1.5 million, the filing says.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“California's governor has issued an executive order to address the shortage of truck drivers and container storage to try to move critical cargo out of the state’s ports and alleviate congestion. The order directs agencies to find state, federal and private land for short-term container storage while identifying freight routes for trucks so officials can temporarily exempt weight limits on the road. It also addresses educational programs and training for port workers and others in the supply chain. Supply chain backups and shortages are causing all kinds of consumer woes, including low or missing stock. Out-of-stock items jumped 172% in August compared to pre-pandemic levels.” Read more at CNN
“California recorded its driest year in nearly a century. Only in 1924 was there even less annual rain and snowfall. With the state facing devastating wildfires, extreme heat and extended droughts, water officials warned that ‘California’s climate is transitioning to a warmer setting in which historical relationships among temperature, precipitation, and runoff are changing.’” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Exxon is debating whether to continue with several major oil and gas projects. The company is facing pressure from investors to restrain fossil-fuel investment to limit carbon emissions and return more cash to shareholders. Environmentalists and some government officials are also pressuring the company to produce less oil and gas.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to murder in the 2018 Parkland school shooting. Cruz killed 17 students and staff members and attempted to kill 17 others. He will face a jury to determine his sentence, which would be a minimum of life in prison without the possibility of parole and a maximum sentence of death.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Outside a Netflix office in Los Angeles yesterday.Mark Abramson for The New York Times
“Netflix employees staged a walkout yesterday to protest Dave Chappelle’s latest stand-up special, ‘The Closer,’ which critics have called transphobic.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-chief executive, supported Chappelle in memos to employees, and has said that the special would not lead to real-world harm. On Tuesday, Sarandos said that he ‘screwed up’ with internal communications, but he defended the company’s decision to carry the special. ‘I do not believe it falls into hate speech,’ he said.
Last week, the company also fired a transgender employee whom it accused of leaking sensitive documents. (The leak was featured in a Bloomberg report that included company metrics for how valuable the special was relative to its budget.)
Outside a Netflix office in Los Angeles yesterday, employees joined more than 100 protesters, carrying signs that read ‘Hey Netflix: Do Better’ and ‘Transphobia Is Not a Joke.’ Employee demands include the hiring of more transgender people and the addition of warning labels to transphobic content.”— Sanam Yar, a Morning writer Read more at New York Times
“Authorities said they discovered unidentified human remains as well as items belonging to Brian Laundrie, who vanished after his fiancee, Gabby Petito, went missing during the couple’s cross-country trip and was later found dead.
The unidentified remains were discovered along with Laundrie’s backpack, notebook and other items in an area of Carlton Reserve that had been underwater until recently, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson said in a news briefing Wednesday. He said the investigation remained ongoing and declined to answer further questions about the latest update in a lengthy search for Laundrie, a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance.
An official with Sarasota County Medical Examiner told The Washington Post on Wednesday that officials were sent out to Carlton Reserve, a roughly 25,000-acre wetlands area in Sarasota County. Steve Bertolino, an attorney for the Laundrie family, told The Post that ‘articles’ belonging to the 23-year-old were found on a trail that Laundrie frequented while his parents were at the scene….
Petito’s disappearance during the couple’s cross-country trip attracted national interest for more than a month and highlighted inequities in missing person cases. Internet sleuths tried to piece together clues from the “#vanlife” enthusiast’s social media posts. Petito and Laundrie were on a months-long cross-country road trip, and they were last known to be together in Grand Teton, Wyo., on Aug. 25, heading toward Yellowstone National Park.
“Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, the Maryland couple charged with attempting to sell nuclear secrets to a foreign country, were indicted in West Virginia on a single count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data and two counts of communication of restricted data.” [Vox] Read more at NYT / Julian E. Barnes and JoAnna Daemmrich
“Jailed Russian dissident and Putin critic Alexei Navalny, who narrowly survived poisoning last year, has been awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the European Union’s top human rights award — a slap in the face to the Putin regime.” [Vox] Read more at AP / Raf Casert
“North Korea has launched a ballistic missile from a submarine — at least its fifth weapons test since September — indicating that it is diversifying its weapons supply in accordance with a plan laid out by leader Kim Jong Un in January.” [Vox] Read more at Washington Post / Michelle Ye Hee Lee
“The UK and New Zealand have struck a free trade agreement, the latest in a flurry of trade deals Britain has had to broker after its exit from the European Union. The deal with New Zealand is not expected to increase UK GDP, but it will mean reduced tariffs on things like bulldozers, wine, buses and clothing. This deal and another with Australia have encountered opposition from UK farmers, who are worried the agreements could allow cheap imports. The European Union accounted for 42% of UK exports of goods and services and 50% of imports in 2020, and Britain is rushing to compensate for losing the economic benefits of bloc membership.” Read more at CNN
NLCS Game 4: Braves center fielder Adam Duvall makes a catch against the wall to rob Dodgers' Gavin Lux in the second inning. Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports
“The Atlanta Braves have been firing on all cylinders during the National League Championship Series against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, getting terrific pitching, hits in bunches and great defense, including this amazing catch from Adam Duvall off the bat of the Dodgers' Gavin Lux during Game 4 Wednesday night.
The Braves pulled away from the Dodgers and won Game 4 9-2 in front of a stunned sellout crowd of 53,025 at Dodger Stadium. The Braves now lead the series 3-1 and they can clinch their first berth in the World Series since 1999 Thursday.” Read more at USA Today
“Amherst College will no longer give children of alumni preference in admissions, ending a longstanding policy criticized for primarily benefiting white, wealthy students and undercutting efforts to create a more racially diverse student body.
The private liberal arts college became one of the first highly selective schools to abandon the practice and raised hopes among critics of so-called legacy admissions that other top-tier schools will follow suit.” Read more at Boston Globe
“Hotels are still advertising free breakfasts even when they aren’t always available.
Hotel chains have posted notices on their websites that some amenities might not be available at some properties because of the pandemic. But drill down to offerings at specific hotels, and often nothing has been updated. It isn’t always clear whether service reductions are due to Covid-19 safety precautions or cost-cutting. Some hotels are offering hot buffets on weekends, when they’re full, but no hot breakfast on weekdays, when occupancy is lower because of weak business travel. Short-staffed properties have struggled to supply services such as daily housekeeping or loyalty-group lounges. The American Hotel and Lodging Association estimates the industry lost $49 billion in business-travel revenue in 2020 compared with 2019. It is also on pace to finish with $10 billion less in business-travel revenue this year compared with 2020.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The University of Kentucky community is searching for answers a day after Thomas ‘Lofton’ Hazelwood, an 18-year-old freshman, died at a fraternity house on the school's Lexington campus.” Read more at USA Today
“Lives Lived: Nadia Chaudhri, a neuroscientist with terminal ovarian cancer, raised money for graduate students of diverse backgrounds and chronicled her disease on Twitter. She died at 43.” Read more at New York Times
“160,500 — The municipal workforce of New York City, all of whom will be required to get vaccinated against Covid-19 under a new order by the mayor. About 71% of that group is already partially or fully vaccinated, according to official estimates.
13 — The minimum number of people killed Wednesday—including children—when Syrian government forces shelled a marketplace and roads in the last major section of the country held by rebels.
$35 billion — The market value of Pinterest. The payments giant PayPal is in talks to buy the social-media platform.
1021 — The earliest year archaeologists believe Vikings crossed the Atlantic and settled in North America, based on newly discovered wooden artifacts in Newfoundland, Canada. The date is nearly five centuries before Columbus’s famous voyage.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Former President Trump last night announced plans to launch a social media network called ‘Truth Social,’ which is to go public via a SPAC, Axios' Sara Fischer and Dan Primack report.
Why it matters: Most ex-presidents focus on their legacies — creating presidential libraries or engaging in philanthropy. Trump remains consumed by social media.
The holding company for the app is called Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG).
Truth Social plans to begin a beta launch for invited guests in November. A nationwide rollout is expected in Q1 2022.” Read more at Axios
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