USA News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

Connecticut Gov. Says He Will Cancel Hundreds Of Millions In Medical Debt

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) announced Friday that his administration is erasing hundreds of millions in medical debt for around 250,000 eligible residents, saying Connecticut will be the first to take such action at the state level.

“This is not something they did because they’re spending too much money. This is something where they got hit with a medical emergency. They should not have to suffer twice,” Lamont told ABC News, which first reported the news.

No one will need to apply for the debt forgiveness. Households will receive letters in the mail if they are eligible — if their medical debt equals 5% or more of their annual income, or if their annual income is under 400% of the federal poverty line, Lamont told CNN Friday. (That’s about $125,000 for a family of 4.)

The governor said that he would spend $6.5 million in federal funding that Connecticut received through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The state will then work with a nonprofit that bundles the debt and then purchase it, often for pennies on the dollar.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ned-lamo ... 8779f963bb

[weatheriscool]

Powell: Federal Reserve on track to cut rates this year with inflation slowing and economy healthy

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell said in an interview broadcast Sunday night that the Federal Reserve remains on track to cut interest rates three times this year, a move that’s expected to begin as early as May.

Powell, in an interview recorded Thursday for the CBS news program “60 Minutes,” also said the nation’s job market and economy are strong, with no sign of a recession on the horizon.

“I do think the economy is in a good place,” he said, “and there’s every reason to think it can get better.”

Powell’s comments largely echoed remarks he gave at a news conference Wednesday, after the Fed decided to keep its key interest rate steady at about 5.4%, a 22-year high. To fight inflation, the Fed raised its benchmark rate 11 times beginning in March 2022, causing loans for consumers and businesses to become much more expensive.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/federal-rese ... 759fa512b4

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[firestar464]

More on that by ABC:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rnc-cha ... =107009390

[caltrek]

Republicans’ Plot to Impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas Flops
by Isabela Dias
February 6, 2024

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) On Tuesday, House Republicans fell short of getting enough votes to adopt a resolution to impeach Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in what would have been the first impeachment of a cabinet leader since 1876. The vote was the culmination of incessant attacks by House Republicans against the secretary, who they accused of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of public trust.” For months, Democrats and an array of legal experts have decried the proceedings as a “political stunt” with no basis on constitutional grounds.

The final vote was 214-216 with four Republican lawmakers joining Democrats in voting against the resolution, including Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), and Blake Moore (R-Utah).

“They say this is about securing the border,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said of his GOP counterparts on the House floor, “and their plan to secure the border is to impeach the guy responsible for securing the border and replace him with—now wait for it…they aren’t sure.” He added: “Republicans simply do not want to participate in government. They want to create chaos, they want to create confusion, and they want to create a campaign issue for Donald Trump going into the next election.”

As I’ve written about before, Republicans’ scapegoating of Mayorkas has been a long time in the making:

• Almost since the moment Mayorkas, a career public servant with extensive experience as a federal prosecutor and head of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), began the job as head of DHS, Republicans have made him a target. They say that Mayorkas has willfully violated his oath of office by refusing to do his job of securing the border. Republicans claim Mayorkas has abused his office’s authority when using a discretionary parole program to allow certain groups to lawfully enter the country and has lied to Congress about having “operational control” of the border—an impossible, congressionally defined standard that requires “the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States.”

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/ ... eachment/

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[Time_Traveller]

Squishmallows has launched a legal fight against Build-A-Bear

4 hours ago

Fur may be about to fly as two hugely popular plush toy makers square up for a fight over a copyright issue.

Squishmallows, says Skoosherz, a new toy made by Build-A-Bear Workshop is too similar to its own egg-shaped cushion animal characters.

Despite the cuddly nature of the subject matter it will be more hard-nosed legal battle than pillow fight.

Jazwares, the maker of Squishmallows, has launched an intellectual property lawsuit in California.

But Build-A-Bear Workshop has launched its own lawsuit in retaliation in Missouri, aiming to establish that the Skoosherz, another dinner plate-sized huggable, is simply its own version of a type of toy that has become popular in recent years.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68280258

[Time_Traveller]

US Senate passes $95bn package of aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

26 minutes ago

The US Senate has approved a long-awaited $95bn (£75.2bn) aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of political wrangling.

While Democrats were in favour of passing the bill, Republicans were divided and previously voted it down.

The package includes $60bn for Kyiv, $14bn for Israel's war against Hamas and $10bn for humanitarian aid in conflict zones, including in Gaza.

The bill will now go to the House, where its fate remains uncertain.

The package, which also includes more than $4bn in funds for Indo-Pacific allies, passed the Senate despite criticism from Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and former President Donald Trump.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68284380