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North Korea Summit Canceled by White House; Pompeo Claims Pyongyang Stopped Talking

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The United States has pulled out of next month’s bilateral summit with North Korea. President Trump announced the move Thursday, in a public letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate at this time, to have this long-planned meeting,” said Trump. Last month, Washington and Pyongyang had agreed to meet on June 12 in Singapore. Last week, North Korean officials said they would “reconsider,” citing…

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U.S. to Spark Confrontation with Mexico, China over Fentanyl

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The Trump administration looks set to spearhead another initiative likely to heighten diplomatic tensions. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the Chinese and Mexican governments of playing a role in fueling the ongoing opioid crisis, saying the two countries will face penalties as a result. The allegations came while Pompeo testified on Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, during an exchange with Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.). “Is there an aggressive plan to punish China and Mexico for flooding into the United States the extremely…

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Education Sec. DeVos Unfazed by Conflict of Interest Charges

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A pilot program with the aim of delivering student loans through prepaid bank cards is vulnerable to a conflict of interest, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was warned during a hearing on Tuesday. DeVos, however, dismissed those concerns, and later appeared to know very little at all about the card program. The Education Department’s Office of Student Aid is planning to launch the pilot program this year, dispersing loans to as many as 100,000 students via prepaid cards, similar to debit cards. The initiative would be…

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Sanctions for Allies Coming, After Trump Violates Nuclear Deal

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Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed that foreign companies who do business in Iran can expect penalties from the Trump administration. Mnuchin made the remarks Tuesday before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, noting that he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have already warned US allies. “The Iran sanctions will go back in place, both the primary sanctions and the secondary sanctions,” Mnuchin told Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). “And yes we’ve already communicated with our European partners, both through Secretary Pompeo and myself, that we will be…

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Supreme Court: Workers Can’t Organize to Sue Their Bosses

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The landmark law giving workers the right to organize doesn’t include the right to collectively seek legal redress, the Supreme Court ruled. Justices said employers can force their workers to adjudicate claims on an individual basis through private arbitration, in a 5-4 decision issued on Monday. The dispute was centered around whether the National Labor Relations Act guarantees the right of collective legal action. The conservative majority ruled that it does not; and that workplace contracts mandating individualized private dispute settlement are permitted under the…

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Leahy Rips FCC Chairman for Appearing With Alt-Right “Pizzagate” Conspiracist

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The head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Ajit Pai appeared before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Thursday, where he was harangued about an attempt he made to produce a viral video with a far-right publication. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) accused the FCC Chairman of showing “contempt” for the public. “You mocked those who disagreed with you in what I think was an ill-advised attempt at what you might think is humor,” Leahy said. Last December, Pai starred in a video produced by the Washington, D.C.-based…

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C.F.P.B. Payday Loan Rule Likely Spared Wrath of Congressional Review Act

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There was rare good news for regulatory safeguards this week: The window closed for Congress to pass legislation repealing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule on payday loans, according to advocates of the initiative. Stop the Debt Trap, a coalition of labor unions and non-profits, said Wednesday evening that the “legislative clock has expired” on efforts to annul the rule under the Congressional Review Act. “Consumer and civil rights advocates are urging the consumer bureau to keep intact the rule, which is set to go…

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Senate Explores Ties Between Cambridge Analytica, Ex-Spies from Israel and Russia

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Lawmakers on Wednesday questioned the whistleblower at the heart of the Cambridge Analytica 2016 election scandal, probing him about allegations the company engaged in “black ops.” The whistleblower, Christopher Wylie, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he repeated previously-made assertions about the company engaging in questionable activities with Russian and Israeli ex-intelligence operatives. Under questioning from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Wylie said he first learned of these operations from Alexander Nix, the now-former CEO of Cambridge Analytica. Nix was suspended by the company in…

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Senate Committee Confirms Haspel, Wyden Alleges “Abuse of Power”

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In a secret vote on Wednesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved of Gina Haspel to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Ten Senators on the panel supported the nomination, while five were opposed. “No” votes included Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who blasted both Haspel and the committee immediately after the proceedings. “Gina Haspel and the CIA have committed one of the most blatant abuses of power in recent history, aided and abetted by a total failure of Congressional oversight,” Wyden said in a statement. The senator referenced…

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Report: Regulators to tweak Volcker Rule to allow 60-day Wall Street asset flips

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Banks look set to be given more freedom by the Trump administration to engage in practices that were previously banned under rules on speculative trading. Regulatory agencies, led by the Federal Reserve, are set to propose scrapping a key assumption about short-term holdings by depository institutions, according to Bloomberg. Assets held by banks for less than 60-days will no longer be presumed to be violation of the Volcker Rule, under the change. The new framework will put “the onus on regulators” to prove banks are…

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SCOTUS Rules 6-3 to Dismantle National Ban on Sports Gambling

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The Supreme Court struck down a federal prohibition on sports betting, paving the way for states to legalize the activity. In a 6-3 decision on Monday, the high court found that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional. The court ruled that provisions in the law requiring states to prohibit sports gambling was an unlawful form of commandeering, prohibited by the Tenth Amendment. “The Constitution gives Congress no such power,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority. Without PASPA in place, states legislatures…

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