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Calista241

Calista241's Journal
Calista241's Journal
January 18, 2022

Russia moves troops to Belarus for joint drills amid Ukraine invasion fears

Source: NBC

Russia and Belarus will rehearse repelling an external attack when they hold joint military drills in Belarus next month, both sides said on Tuesday, at a time of acute tensions with the West over neighboring Ukraine.

Russian military forces and hardware began arriving in ex-Soviet Belarus on Monday for the “Allied Resolve” drills to be held near Belarus’s western border with NATO members Poland and Lithuania, and close to its southern flank with Ukraine.

The West has voiced fears of a possible invasion of Ukraine by tens of thousands of Russian troops gathered near its border.

Russia has denied such plans, but troop movements are being closely scrutinized as the military buildup near Ukraine and a barrage of threatening rhetoric have stirred fears about the Kremlin's plans.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-moves-troops-belarus-joint-drills-ukraine-invasion-fears-rcna12533



This is a big deal. Russia needs a 2nd corridor for any invasion of the Ukraine, and Belarus is the easiest / only option.
January 18, 2022

US ballistic missile submarine stops in Guam amid Indo-Pacific tensions

Source: The Hill

A U.S. ballistic missile submarine made a stop in Guam on Saturday amid tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.

The USS Nevada arrived at the Apra Harbor in Guam on Saturday, according to a statement from the Navy. The branch said the rare visit reflects the United States' “commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, and complements the many exercises, operations, training, and military cooperation activities conducted by Strategic Forces to ensure they are available and ready to operate around the globe at any time.”

The USS Nevada is an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine that is typically kept at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state. It serves as an undetectable launch platform for ballistic missiles.

The vessel provides the U.S. with its “most survivable leg of the nuclear triad,” according to the Navy. It carries 20 Trident ballistic missiles and is armed with dozens of nuclear warheads, CNN reported.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/590077-us-ballistic-missile-submarine-stops-in-guam-amid-indo-pacific-tensions



This is a big, big deal. Ballistic missile subs rarely do this kind of thing, and wouldn't have done it if the Administration hadn't wanted to send a message to whoever's listening.
January 11, 2022

McCarthy vows to remove Democrats from committees if Republicans win House

Source: CNN

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has vowed to remove three Democratic lawmakers from key committee assignments if Republicans win back the chamber in the upcoming midterm elections.

Citing a "new standard" that Democrats had created last year by removing GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from their committees for inflammatory rhetoric and posts, McCarthy told Breitbart he would strip Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, both of California, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota of their committee assignments.

Schiff and Swalwell serve on the House Intelligence Committee, while Omar serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"The Democrats have created a new thing where they're picking and choosing who could be on committee. Never in the history have you had the majority tell the minority who could be on committee," McCarthy lamented in the interview.

The California Republican had previously hinted that if Republicans win back the House, a GOP majority may kick some House Democrats off their committee seats. "[House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi has set new policies here. Those same members that I talked about in my speech ... voted for these new policies," McCarthy said in November, alluding to Schiff, Swalwell, Omar and Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, also of California. "This isn't about threats, but it's about holding people accountable."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/10/politics/kevin-mccarthy-committees-republican-house-majority/index.html

December 23, 2021

Biden says he supports filibuster carve-out for voting rights

Source: CNN

President Joe Biden says he supports making an exception to the Senate filibuster rules in order to pass voting rights legislation.

"If the only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is the filibuster, I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster," Biden told ABC News' David Muir in an interview that aired Thursday morning.

It's the most direct answer Biden has given on his position on the filibuster and voting rights.

CNN's Anderson Cooper asked Biden at a CNN town hall in October, "When it comes to voting rights, just so I'm clear though, you would entertain the notion of doing away with the filibuster on that one issue, is that correct?"

"And maybe more," Biden responded.

Since Democrats won a slim majority in Congress, Republicans have blocked several Democratic-sponsored bills that seek to expand voting access and aim to end voter suppression, arguing that the proposals are a federal power grab. That's led some progressive Democrats and activists to demand an end to the filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes to advance most legislation, in order to pass federal voting rights protections. But Democrats also don't have the votes they need in the Senate to change the filibuster due to opposition from members of their own party, including from Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/23/politics/joe-biden-filibuster-voting-rights/index.html

December 23, 2021

CNN Exclusive: US intel and satellite images show Saudi Arabia is now building its own ballistic mis

Source: CNN

US intelligence agencies have assessed that Saudi Arabia is now actively manufacturing its own ballistic missiles with the help of China, CNN has learned, a development that could have significant ripple effects across the Middle East and complicate the Biden administration's efforts to restrain the nuclear ambitions of Iran, the Saudis' top regional rival.

Saudi Arabia is known to have purchased ballistic missiles from China in the past but has never been able to build its own -- until now, according to three sources familiar with the latest intelligence. Satellite images obtained by CNN also suggest the Kingdom is currently manufacturing the weapons in at least one location.

US officials at numerous agencies, including the National Security Council at the White House, have been briefed in recent months on classified intelligence revealing multiple large-scale transfers of sensitive ballistic missile technology between China and Saudi Arabia, according to two sources familiar with the latest assessments.

The Biden administration is now confronted with increasingly urgent questions about whether Saudi's ballistic missile advancements could dramatically change regional power dynamics and complicate efforts to expand the terms of a nuclear deal with Iran to include restraints on its own missile technology -- a goal shared by the US, Europe, Israel and Gulf countries

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/23/politics/saudi-ballistic-missiles-china/index.html



I would bet money they're all aimed squarely at Iran.
December 17, 2021

Senate parliamentarian rejects Democrats' third attempt to include immigration in economic bill

Source: CNN

The Senate parliamentarian on Thursday rejected Democrats' third attempt to include immigration in President Joe Biden's economic bill, delivering a major blow to Democrats who have repeatedly sought to include immigration provisions in the Build Back Better bill.

It's the latest hit to the Biden administration's immigration agenda and likely marks the end of the road for providing protections to millions of undocumented immigrants through the budget process known as reconciliation, which would not require GOP votes.

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advises the chamber on how its rules, protocols and precedents should be applied as Democrats and the White House figure out what they can include in the massive spending bill.

Democratic aides had pushed for the third attempt, dubbed "Plan C," before MacDonough and her staff weeks ago after she struck down two other attempts to include more extensive immigration provisions in the bill.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/16/politics/immigration-senate-democrats-parliamentarian-build-back-better/index.html

December 11, 2021

Better.com CEO is taking time off after laying off 900 employees via Zoom

Source: CNN

Better.com CEO Vishal Garg, who laid off 900 employees over a Zoom meeting that lasted less than three minutes, is taking time off from the company, Vice reported.

"If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off," Garg said on the December 1 webinar. "Your employment here is terminated, effective immediately," he told them.

Garg's leave is also effective immediately, according to a Friday email from the company's board of directors. Day-to-day operations will be taken over by the company's CFO, Kevin Ryan. Better.com added that it is hiring a third party firm to do a "leadership and cultural assessment," whose recommendations "will be taken into account to build a long-term sustainable and positive culture at Better."
CNN Business has viewed the email and has asked Better.com for comment.

"The recommendations of this assessment will be taken into account to build a long-term sustainable and positive culture at Better," the email said.

The online mortgage company's mass layoff affected about 9% of its staff. Just days later, three of the company's top communications executives resigned, according to multiple media reports.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/10/business/better-com-ceo-vishal-garg-time-off/index.html

November 29, 2021

POLITICS CNN host Chris Cuomo used his media sources to find out info on brother Andrew's accusers,

Source: CNBC

CNN host Chris Cuomo used his sources in the media world to seek information on women who accused his brother Andrew Cuomo, then the governor of New York, of sexual harassment, according to documents released Monday by the New York Attorney General’s Office.

While Chris Cuomo has previously acknowledged advising his brother and his team on the response to the scandals, the records show that his role in helping the then-governor was much larger and more intimate than previously known.

Chris Cuomo was actively in touch with Melissa DeRosa, who was the then-governor’s top aide, about incoming media reports that detailed alleged sexual harassment by Andrew Cuomo, according to exhibits from the Attorney General’s probe and a transcript of his interview with the state’s investigators. He also lobbied to help the governor’s office as it sought to weather the storm of accusations, and he dictated statements for the then-governor to use.

“Please let me help with the prep,” Chris Cuomo said to DeRosa in one message in early March. Then, three days after the New York Times reported in March about how Andrew Cuomo attempted to kiss a woman, Anna Ruch, in an unwanted advance at a wedding, Chris Cuomo texted DeRosa: “I have a lead on the wedding girl.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/29/cnn-host-chris-cuomo-used-sources-to-find-info-on-andrew-cuomo-accusers-records.html

November 11, 2021

Manchin may delay Biden social spending plan over inflation

Source: Axios

Red-hot inflation data validates the instinct of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to punt President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda until next year — potentially killing a quick deal on the $1.75 trillion package, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.

Why it matters: The data released Wednesday set the president and White House staff scrambling. Slowing down work on the massive tax-and-spending plan is against the fervent desire of the administration and House progressives.

With a limited number of legislative days left in the year, Manchin is content to focus on the issues that need to be addressed, Axios is told. They include funding the government, raising the debt ceiling and passing the National Defense Authorization Act.

Manchin, like a group of House moderates, also wants to see a Congressional Budget Office analysis of the true cost of each of Biden’s proposed programs, as well as the tax proposals to fund them.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/manchin-chill-bbb-6b58cd70-6c07-40f9-af4e-c944a7b3a39d.html

November 10, 2021

GOP billionaire Ken Langone says he will hold a fundraiser for Democrat Joe Manchin, who has worked

Source: CNBC

Republican billionaire Ken Langone says he plans to host a fundraiser for Sen. Joe Manchin after the conservative West Virginia Democrat blocked key elements of President Joe Biden’s agenda.

The comments came as Democrats in Congress continue to hash out major parts of Biden’s economic plans, namely social safety net spending and plans to battle climate change.

Langone, in an interview Wednesday with CNBC’s “Squawk Box”, praised Manchin for his “guts and courage” and explained that he was set to raise money for him. Manchin is up for reelection in 2024.

“I don’t see leadership any place in this country. Thank God for Joe Manchin,” Langone said.

“I’m going to have one of the biggest fundraisers I’ve ever had for him. He’s special. He’s precious. He’s a great American,” he added. Langone has never contributed to one of Manchin’s campaigns, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/10/republican-billionaire-ken-langone-says-he-will-hold-fundraiser-for-joe-manchin.html

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Hometown: Atlanta
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