Ron Wyden

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Dem Senators Want Special Counsel for Clarence Thomas

Whitehouse, Wyden ask AG Garland to investigate Thomas' 'suspicious silence' over gifts

(Newser) - After a slew of jarring stories tying Clarence Thomas to multiple undisclosed gifts, loans, and other perks from ultra-wealthy friends, two Democratic senators are now trying to get to the bottom of it. The Hill reports that Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Ron Wyden of Oregon have requested...

Manchin Rejects Billionaire Tax
Manchin Rejects Billionaire Tax
Mar 30, 2022 6:08 PM CDT

Manchin Rejects Billionaire Tax

That's probably the end of Biden's plan passing, though Sanders doesn't accept Manchin's veto

(Newser) - Sen. Joe Manchin didn't immediately come out in opposition to President Biden's plan to place a 20% minimum income tax on billionaires—he waited almost 12 hours. Manchin doesn't like the idea of including unrealized gains on stocks and other assets, before they're sold and become...

Reported Secret CIA Program Sees Pushback: 'It Is Not OK'

Edward Snowden, civil rights advocates slam initiative that reportedly scooped up Americans' info

(Newser) - Facebook isn't the only entity you might need to worry about when it comes to your personal data. According to two lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee, the CIA has been secretly scooping up info en masse on Americans, and civil liberties activists aren't happy about it. News...

Elon Musk Asks Twitter Users to Decide His Stock Move
Twitter
Makes a
Big Decision
for Elon Musk
UPDATED
Nov 8, 2021 12:02 AM CST

Twitter Makes a Big Decision for Elon Musk

Nearly 58% vote in favor of him selling 10% of his Tesla stock

(Newser) - Update: Twitter has spoken. Of the more than 3.5 million users who took part in Elon Musk's poll, 57.9% of them voted that, yes, he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock, the Verge reports. In proposing the poll, the Tesla CEO had pointed out, "Note,...

Top Democrats Push to Legalize Pot at Federal Level

They're calling for an end to prohibition

(Newser) - Top Senate Democrats have unveiled draft legislation to legalize marijuana, remove federal penalties, and erase nonviolent federal cannabis-related criminal records. The proposal from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, and Sen. Cory Booker, dubbed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, would remove marijiuana, now fully...

Senator Has a 'Plan B' to Raise Minimum Wage

Large corporations could face new 5% tax if pay falls below threshold

(Newser) - With the door shut on raising the federal minimum wage through the COVID-19 relief bill , Democrats are looking for another route. Instead of mandating a $15 hourly wage, Sen. Ron Wyden suggests going at it another way: penalizing large corporations whose employees don't make a certain amount. The companies...

Josh Hawley Begins Fighting Back
Josh Hawley's 8th-Grade
Yearbook Had Telling Signature
the rundown
Jan 25, 2021 10:30 AM CST

Josh Hawley's 8th-Grade Yearbook Had Telling Signature

'Josh Hawley, president 2024'

(Newser) - Josh Hawley has been roundly condemned by Democrats in the wake of the Capitol riot because of his prominent role in backing former President Trump's election challenge. On Monday, however, the Missouri senator fought back in two notable ways. He scored the cover of the right-leaning New York Post ...

Senate Report Calls NRA a Russian Asset for Election

Democratic investigation finds group might have broken tax laws

(Newser) - A Democratic senator charges in a new report that the National Rifle Association acted as a "foreign asset" for Russia in the run-up to the 2016 election, and that NRA insiders provided access to the American political system to advance personal business interests. The report by Oregon Sen. Ron...

He Fled Home to Saudi Arabia Before US Trial. It Worked

State Department says there's not much it can do to bring back Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah

(Newser) - A man accused of killing an Oregon teenager in a hit-and-run crash appears to be in the clear after he fled home to Saudi Arabia— apparently with his government's help . The State Department says there is little it can do to force Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah to return to America...

NSA Confirms 'Back Door' Used to Spy on Americans

Sen. Ron Wyden wants to shut it quickly

(Newser) - It took a few months, but Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon finally got his answer from national intelligence chief James Clapper. Yes, Clapper wrote in a letter , the NSA does indeed spy on Americans' emails and phone calls—without a warrant—thanks to a revision in a law originally...

NSA Has 'Backdoor' to Search US Emails

Senator Ron Wyden confirms latest Snowden leak

(Newser) - The NSA has a secret legal "backdoor" allowing it to search for emails and other information related to specific Americans without a warrant, the Guardian reports. It's the latest leak from Edward Snowden, and this time it comes with confirmation from Senate Intelligence Committee member and perpetual NSA...

Critics Piling On US Intelligence Chief

James Clapper's 'least untruthful' explanation not sitting well

(Newser) - Edward Snowden may be getting vilified in some camps over the NSA leaks, but the nation's intelligence director isn't having such a great time, either. Witness this piece in Slate by Fred Kaplan demanding that James Clapper be fired for lying. The issue, as the Washington Post and...

8 Senators: Blow the Doors Open on FISA Court

Bipartisan group wants FISA rulings declassified

(Newser) - Here's one way to cut down on leaks about spy agencies' use of the super-secret FISA court—make the rulings public. Eight senators from both parties backed a bill today that would bring far more transparency to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, reports Roll Call . They want key rulings...

Brennan's CIA Hearing: How Dramatic Will It Get?

Drones, torture hang over proceedings

(Newser) - John Brennan will head to Capitol Hill today for his CIA confirmation hearing, and everyone's wondering the same thing: How dramatic is this going to get? Questions are hanging in the air about the Obama administration's drone strikes, classified information, and torture, but there's a chance lawmakers...

GOP Rolls Out Budget With Huge Tax Cuts

There would be just two brackets, with the top at 25%

(Newser) - House Republicans rolled out a new Paul Ryan-penned budget proposal today that calls for a drastic tax-code overhaul, major changes to Medicare and Medicaid, and deep cuts in domestic spending, all while softening a set of automatic defense spending cuts set to hit in January. The budget would scrap our...

New Ryan Plan Would Keep Medicare

He'll offer new strategy with Democrat Ron Wyden

(Newser) - Paul Ryan looks to be backing off his controversial plan to scrap Medicare entirely—the one Newt Gingrich famously derided as "right-wing social engineering," reports the Hill . Instead, the GOP congressman and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden will unveil a new strategy tomorrow that would allow the program to...

Senator Wyden: The Real Patriot Act Is Classified

And he wants the government to make it public information

(Newser) - If you think the Patriot Act is invasive, you don’t know the half of it, Ron Wyden says—and he can’t tell you. In an interview with Wired , the Democratic Oregon senator reveals that the government is operating on a much broader interpretation of the law than it...

In Budget Deal, Lobbyists Win Surprising Battle

Ron Wyden's voucher plan scrapped—though that won't save money

(Newser) - Soon after Democrats and Republicans settled on a deal to avoid a government shutdown, Ron Wyden got a call from Harry Reid. “You lost free-choice vouchers,” he said. Translation: Somehow in the budget scuffle, those involved agreed out of the blue to kill a plan Wyden had fought...

Sen. Wyden Has Prostate Cancer, May Miss Votes

Democrat will undergo surgery next week

(Newser) - Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden has been diagnosed with early-state prostate cancer and will undergo surgery next week. The long-term prognosis is good for the 61-year-old from Oregon, but he will miss votes tomorrow and next week, potentially complicating Democratic efforts to gather 60 votes to pass measures including the START...

Senate Faces Another Fight on Extending Benefits

Starring Tom Coburn as Jim Bunning

(Newser) - With the Senate scheduled for a two-week recess after tomorrow, there’s another showdown brewing over unemployment benefits—and this time, the Republicans have introduced a bill of their own in an apparent effort to avoid the negative publicity that came with Sen. Jim Bunning’s one-man filibuster earlier this...

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