A NEWS CO-OP IN DC SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE

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Sam Knight - page 52

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

CBO: “Black Monday” Doesn’t Impact Forecast

A leading government economic analyst said Tuesday that global financial markets’ chaotic start to the week have not thus far impacted his office’s outlook. Congressional Budget Office Director Keith Hall described the worldwide dip in stock market indexes that occurred Monday as routine over the long-run. He made the remarks during a press conference announcing updated CBO data that is predicting the federal deficit will this year be less than previously believed by $60 billion. “With respect to the stock market, I’m not sure we… Keep Reading

Incomplete, Loophole Ridden Dodd-Frank Praised by White House for Stemming China Crisis

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest claimed Monday that regulations implemented since President Obama took office will likely stop the ongoing global financial turmoil from being as severe as the crisis of 2008. Earnest said that rules mandated in 2010 by Dodd-Frank financial reform have the left the US more able to cope with market hiccups like the current global panic. On Monday, investors around the world participated in an asset fire informed by increasingly vocal concerns about the underlying health of China’s economy. The… Keep Reading

Twenty One House Dems Ask Kerry to Suspend Aid to Honduran Junta

Twenty one House Democrats this week called on the Obama Administration to suspend US assistance to law enforcement and state security forces in Honduras. The lawmakers said in an Aug. 19 letter to Secretary of State John Kerry that the aid should be frozen “until human rights abuses are adequately addressed by the Honduran government.” Signed by Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairs, Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and House Foreign Affairs Committee member Karen Bass (D-Calif.) among others, the letter detailed widespread government… Keep Reading

Walker Unveils Healthcare Plan With “Cynically Inaccurate” Chain Email Style Claim

Republican Presidential candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker gave his outsider image a boost on Tuesday when he promised to close a legal loophole that doesn’t exist. While unveiling his alternative to Obamacare in Minnesota, Walker said he would prod the legislative branch to repeal the landmark law by ordering the removal of a Congressional exemption that has been repeatedly described as fictitious by non-partisan fact-checkers. “On my very first day, I will issue an executive order that will pull back on the special deal… Keep Reading

Dissent: Appeals Court Should Have Ruled Entrapment on A.T.F. “Fictional House” Hit

A “shot in the dark” sting tactic ruled legal by a federal appellate court should have been declared unlawfully heavy-handed, a dissenting judge who presided over the case concluded. Judge John Noonan said Monday that his colleagues on the ninth circuit court of appeals in San Francisco should have used their authority to consider arguments not made by the defendant to conclude he was a victim of entrapment. The court ruled 2-1 that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives was justified when it… Keep Reading

Walker Declares Self Ready for Republican Purge

Republican Presidential candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Monday that he wouldn’t spare his own party from attacks, if elected. Walker made the remarks while campaigning at the Iowa State fair as part of an attempt to portray himself as a scrappy outsider. “They told you during the last election that if we just elected a Republican senate, the leadership would put a bill to repeal Obamacare on the desk of the president,” he said. “It’s August. We’re still waiting for that measure.” The… Keep Reading

Pentagon: Taliban Infighting “An Opportunity Here, We Think” For Peace

A US military spokesperson in Afghanistan said Thursday, somewhat optimistically, that a recently revealed schism among Taliban leaders represents an opening for the group to lay down its arms. Army Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner said that news about Mullah Omar’s 2013 death and the internal fighting it has exacerbated gives the Taliban “an opportunity here, we think, to strike for peace with the Afghan government.” “We know that the government of Afghanistan has invited the Taliban to join as part of a political process. We… Keep Reading

Kerry: “Diplomatic Malpractice” to Already Reject Wider Iranian Rapprochement

Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday briefly detailed how Iranian diplomats have expressed hope that the nuclear deal, if implemented, could foster broader bilateral cooperation between the US and Iran. Kerry made the remarks at a Thomson Reuters forum in Manhattan, offering insight on an aspect of the multilateral agreement that many have asked about—the possibility of normalization of relations between Washington and Tehran. “But I’m telling you this, given the experience that I’ve had for the last several years negotiating with them, they… Keep Reading

China Devalues Currency, Treasury Does Nothing, Senators Cry Foul

State Department officials and financial regulators shrugged their shoulders in response to the Tuesday devaluation of China’s currency, as top lawmakers urged the administration to sanction Beijing. State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said Tuesday afternoon that “we have seen progress” in China’s orientation toward letting foreign exchange markets determine the value of the yuan, while an unnamed Treasury Department spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that it was “too early to judge” the move. “China has indicated that the changes announced today are another step… Keep Reading

Wind Prices at Record Lows in 2014, But “Policy Cliff Awaits” Industry

Wind energy prices reached new lows in 2014 but the sector still remains in the long run almost entirely at the mercy of tax policymakers in Congress, the Department of Energy said Monday. The department said in a report on the industry that retail prices for wind energy have fallen to about one-third of their 2009 peak and that the source is “competitive with wholesale power prices” in the interior of the country, but warned that “a possible policy cliff awaits” wind producers. “With the [production… Keep Reading

Teachers’ Strike Causes Largest One-Month Discontent Increase Since 2013

The District Sentinel Discontent index in May increased by the largest amount in two years. The measure was up to 106.7 from 105.01 due to a sharp uptick in strike action that drove a significant one-month increase in Labor Discontent. The subcomponent grew to 30.25 from 28.75 in May. Consumer Discontent was up in May by 0.28 points to 32.31 while Housing Discontent did not fluctuate, remaining steady at 44.22. The number of workers involved in major strike activity measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics–a… Keep Reading

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