Rachael Rollins, U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, has been formally resigned following investigations that found she lied to prosecutors and attempted to use her position to influence local elections. In November, Rollins was investigated for using her personal cellphone for Justice Department business and an ethics investigation was launched after her presence at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser featuring first lady Jill Biden was revealed. In total, detailed in a report by the Inspector General, the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts violated professional standards in seven different instances.
A nominee to Connecticut’s highest court has pulled out of consideration after state lawmakers raised questions about her support for a federal appeals court position for Judge Amy Coney Barrett in a 2017 signed letter. Sandra Slack Glover withdrew her nomination from Governor Ned Lamont four days after appearing before a Democratic-controlled Judiciary Committee. Glover assured lawmakers that she would not have signed the letter if she knew Barrett would later vote to overturn Roe v. Wade's abortion protections as a member of the US Supreme Court.
Michigan's revenue will be nearly $900m less than forecasted this year due to new tax cuts, according to state officials. The dip in revenue is said to be a result of intentional policy changes, including an income tax rate reduction that will cost the state an estimated $647m over the next two years. Michigan will have an estimated surplus of $7.5bn going into the next fiscal year, however the lower revenue means Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's $79bn budget proposal will need to be reduced slightly.
Australia's Labor government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has celebrated its first anniversary, with the party in a stronger position than it was when it was elected. However, Albanese is playing "a long game" amid growing opposition from left and right-leaning forces, including climate activists and independent MPs. His administration has so far focused on rebuilding trust in the political process and laying the foundations for future policy changes. The government's immediate challenges include dealing with inflated living costs that are hitting Australian citizens, as well as dealing with cost issues arising from the AUKUS submarine deal. Additionally, dealing with rising inflation and the housing crisis may lead to a shift in sentiment if Labor fails to deliver results, although the party is put off by the Greens in the Senate. Albanese has also promised to work on delivering an Indigenous Voice to parliament in an effort to unite the country but experts warn that failure to achieve the goal could have disastrous consequences for First Nations people.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended his government's "mature and orderly" approach to implementing policy, arguing its avoidance of rash promises would ultimately serve to deliver greater outcomes. Albanese, who won the federal election in May 2021, said the years preceding his election were characterised by a lack of action and that it was important that the government was sure any change would occur before it was promised. The leader of the Labor Party also suggested his government was successful because it had not over-promised in areas such as climate change policy, where Albanese stressed his government had achieved more than the previous, coal-supporting government.
Labour’s lasting popularity in the polls was linked to a focus on democratic governance and the commitment to following through on well-considered plans, such as extending parental leave, Albanese said. The opposition, led by Peter Dutton, has accused the government of breaking key election promises, such as the commitment to lowering power bills, but Dutton’s claims have been refuted by economists. The government’s most pressing issue is finding more housing options for Australians, but its plan to invest $10bn in building costs has been blocked in the Senate. Nevertheless, Albanese is confident that housing concerns would be addressed prior to the next election, which takes place in 2025.
Liberal proposal to clarify sanctions regime does the opposite, lawyers argue
CBC
23-05-20 00:50
Proposed reforms to Canada's sanctions regime in the new federal budget bill have been criticised by The Canadian Bar Association and a trade lawyer. The new changes, designed to clarify which entities have sanctions applied to them, still leave the situation too unspecified, according to lawyers. Proposed amendments that may cause difficulty for companies include legislation targeting foreigners who can direct businesses "directly or indirectly, and through any means", and a lack of application guide for entities facing sanction as a result of multiple persons' involvement.
Debt limit talks have resumed at the US Capitol after the Republican House Speaker called for talks to pause on Friday. President Biden’s administration is attempting to come to an agreement with Republicans as Nigeria careens towards a potentially catastrophic debt default if the government is unable to increase the borrowing limit, which currently sits at $31tn. Republicans are calling for spending cuts, but the Democrats oppose the reductions. Any deal would require support from both parties to find agreement in a divided Congress. If the debt-default went ahead, it could cause financial shock waves throughout the economy of a negative impact on markets.
North Carolina GOP gubernatorial field expects former congressman Mark Walker to join
The Toronto Star
23-05-20 05:05
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker is expected to formally announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the race for North Carolina governor over the weekend. Walker is entering a primary already filled with the standing lieutenant governor and state treasurer. The Democratic side has Attorney General Josh Stein announced his gubernatorial bid in January. Primary elections are scheduled for March. North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is barred by the state constitution from seeking a third consecutive term in the gubernatorial election.
Many of this year’s statehouse proposals to restrict gender-affirming care for youths, as introduced or enacted, are identical or very similar to some model legislation, or ready-made bills suggested to lawmakers by interest groups, an Associated Press analysis has found. The AP obtained the texts of more than 130 bills in 40 state legislatures from Plural, a public policy software company, and analyzed them for similarities to model bills touted by conservative groups Do No Harm and the Family Research Council. Some statehouse bills share similarities with Do No Harm’s model legislation and a 2021 Arkansas bill endorsed as a model by the Family Research Council. The model bills have similar preambles, including the assertion — rebutted by major medical organizations — that the risks of gender-affirming care outweigh its benefits. They both also include nearly the same list of circumstances under which the care would be permitted and similar descriptions of how the provisions of the bill should be enforced.
Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) is leading the debt ceiling negotiations for House Republicans and is considered by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to be the obvious pick. Graves is respected by many who have worked with him due to his calm demeanor and attentiveness, and his knowledge and experience of the legislative process. However, some more conservative colleagues are concerned his openness to striking a deal with Democrats could misrepresent or ignore their attempts to cut spending. Some commenters suspect McCarthy may be positioning Graves as a “fall guy” to blame if negotiations fail to appease the far-right flank of the conference.
Graves was the top Republican in finding consensus among Republicans to elect McCarthy as speaker and bring together the disparate ideals of the conference. He has never served as committee chair or been elected to House leadership so some think he lacks the experience for such a high-stakes mission. In terms of his policy work, Graves has remained a conservative who toes the party line and has a 96 percent conservative score. When serving on the House Climate Crisis Committee, McCarthy appointed Graves as the top Republican to establish an energy, climate, and conservation task force that crafted policy prescription agreements.
Graves is negotiating with two trusted Biden aides: counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, who coincidentally is from the southern Louisiana district that Graves represents. Regardless of his background, and beyond party politics, what is clear is Graves’ calibre as a ‘workhorse.’ As Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) observes, while Graves may not be very visible, “if they want to debate Graves on policy, it’s best to come overprepared.”
The Move Forward party, which won Thailand's recent election, is vying for senator’s votes and is confident its coalition will win the prime ministerial vote for its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat. The party's coalition partners hold about 313 votes in the 500-member House of Representatives, but it needs at least 376 lawmakers in a joint sitting of the lower house and the Senate to select the new Prime Minister. The Senate comprises 250 members who have tended to support the pro-military establishment of current Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha. However, while some senators are set to hold informal meetings on May 23 to determine their votes for the new prime minister, there are built-in obstacles to forming a government. Party leaders are urging senators to gain a better understanding of their policies before making decisions. Meanwhile, Move Forward has pledged to amend the law that mandates as many as 15 years in jail for insulting top royals, but its coalition partner Pheu Thai has maintained that the issue should be settled in parliament.
The US has failed to provide immigration assistance to most Afghans who helped American forces. The United Kingdom pledged to allow Afghans who assisted British forces to build a life in safety and security, but many are undergoing deportation. Despite the broad bipartisan support of both houses of US Congress and President Joe Biden, Congress has failed to live up to its commitments to Afghans. Most Afghans who came to the United States after the withdrawal of US military forces from the country arrived on what is called humanitarian parole, wherein people who may be otherwise ineligible for admission into the US are allowed to enter for humanitarian reasons, but in a few months, many humanitarian parolees will lose their status.
White House and Republican negotiators failed to make progress in raising the federal debt ceiling after a second meeting broke up late on Friday. US Treasury has warned that the federal government could be unable to pay all its debts from 1 June, potentially triggering a default which could cause financial chaos and spike interest rates. Republicans want sharp spending cuts in exchange for increasing the federal government's borrowing limit, while Democrats want to keep spending steady at this year's levels, with a wide swathe of government spending being cut by at least 8% next year.
John Podesta, adviser to President Joe Biden and ex-adviser to President Barack Obama, is tasked with unravelling an obstacle to the US's transition to carbon-free electricity – a bureaucratic permitting process for renewable energy projects. Podesta argues that environmentalists will have to accept the need for oil and gas production in the short term, or risk slowing the pace of change. A recent Brookings Institution analysis of federal data found that transmission lines can take up to seven years to be permitted, while natural gas pipelines can take less than half that time. Biden's proposed $1tn infrastructure bill, which has yet to pass through the Senate, includes measures to shorten federal permitting times.
Haley and Scott, former governors of South Carolina and now both presidential candidates, find themselves in an unexpected competition for home state support as tensions heighten with both running for the same job. As both are considered long shots on home turf against former president Donald Trump, many doubt either will make it as far as the first-in-the-South GOP primary, contributing to the scramble for support. Haley, who launched her bid earlier than Scott, has gained little traction since the start. Interviews with South Carolina donors revealed how personal and tight the competition has become; patrons of both are nervously delaying backing their preferred candidate. While insiders insist their relationship is cordial, people privately see it as a heated competition for home state support. This recent article suggests the competition became starker after Haley talked with her former classmates and finance chairman Mikee Johnson and her AUI family company partner, Chad Walldorf, who chose to endorse Scott. Many South Carolina donors praise Haley and Scott for their state pride and hope their campaigns will represent the GOP's political future, but a personal yet intense competition lingers.
Artificial intelligence (AI) may be a cause for job losses, but new advances in technology can also lead to the creation of new jobs, according to experts. Erik Brynjolfsson, a professor at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, said he wished people would realise the scope for undertaking tasks that had never previously been possible. Researchers at OpenAI and the University of Pennsylvania found that in about 80% of jobs, at least 10% of tasks could be automated using generative AI, which can produce things like text and images. However, the new technology may complement human labour, allowing workers to focus on new areas of work. Brynjolfsson cited the example of an AI tool that generated live responses for call centre staff to give to customers, boosting productivity by 14% on average and improving customer sentiment.
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) poses potential issues for discrimnation, damaging democracies and staging a mass elimination of jobs, and tech leaders are wary of unintended consequences. The concerns over AI have led to calls for a law to regulate AI systems, codifying penalties for bad actors, as well as prompting fears over the ability of the technology to manipulate and persuade voters. Following the missed opportunity of regulating social media, world leaders are being urged to come together to monitor and regulate AI, with a piecemeal approach being deemed inadequate.
The 2022 midterm elections in the US produced a significant turnout, with no national trend that produced swings across the board as in past elections, according to a report by the Democratic data analytics firm Catalist. The findings show that there were two elections last year, one in highly contested states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Georgia (almost certainly to be battlegrounds in the 2024 presidential campaign), and one in states without competitive statewide contests. In contested Senate and governor elections, Democrats received a slightly larger share of the two-party vote than in 2020, with younger voters playing an important role in their success.
However, turnout among black voters fell from past midterms, prompting a debate about whether the decline suggests a growing trend detrimental to Democrats. Overall, Latino support for the party remained consistent, but Cuban Americans in Florida and Mexican Americans in Arizona, among other states in the Southwest, had conflicting voting loyalties. Suburban areas also saw higher turnouts, but Democratic support fell nationwide, apart from in the contested races in the states where presidential elections are decided, where it remained at 54%.
The report highlights the challenges Republicans face with an electorate that is producing higher turnout, which has led to Democratic successes in three straight elections, particularly as some Democratic analysts argue that in the current political era, their party has a superior election machine and stronger coalition. The report suggests the key issues for the 2024 presidential campaign will be the perception of the Republican party pushing an extreme agenda and whether the party is associated with former President Trump, who may become its nominee.
Concerns about the health of U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein are growing amid revelations this week that she was diagnosed with encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain caused by complications from shingles. Feinstein still managed to cast a couple of votes after returning from a two-month absence last week, but her home-state party seems to be increasingly concerned about her ability to continue to work. As it stands, Feinstein's aides have revealed hardly any information about her medical conditions. However, State Party Progressive Caucus Chairman Amar Shergill told The Washington Post that Feinstein's struggles "during simple conversations with reporters about when she was working and when she wasn't” may suggest she is no longer capable of "representing her constituents in D.C."
Despite growing tensions, there is no indication that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, or California Governor Gavin Newsom, deem it their role to ask Feinstein to step down. If she does, the subsequent appointment will be politically fraught. Newsom, who would make the selection, would need to choose between three Democratic members of the House from California who are vying to replace her: Adam B. Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. Newsom is also under pressure to appoint a Black woman, in line with a promise made in 2021 to replace Senator Kamala Harris. Among the key choices are Lee, who was a past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and is currently the highest-ranking Black woman appointed to Democratic leadership in the House. However, others, including former Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, may be in contention for the role.
The referendum on whether to enshrine an indigenous "Voice" to parliament in Australia's constitution is headed for failure, according to the country's media. Though Yes campaigners believe they may win back support, the opinion of pollsters and conservatives is that it is in a decline that could end in this coming week, when the government may have to choose to compromise or press ahead. Many conservatives believe the only way to salvage the proposal and make constitutional recognition work is to change the wording and trajectory of the referendum before it is too late.
