173014742 story [](//news.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=usa) Posted by msmash on Thursday February 08, 2024 @11:10AM from the how-about-that dept. The Federal Trade Commission isn't happy with the outcome of Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, telling a court on Wednesday that Microsoft's recent layoffs [contradict promises it made to get the merger approved](https://gizmodo.com/ftc-microsoft-letter-activision-blizzard-layoffs-1851238343). From a report: _In a letter to the clerk of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the FTC criticized Microsoft for the layoff of 1,900 workers in January, which represented about 8% of its gaming division. The layoffs largely affected employees at Activision Blizzard. The antitrust regulator explained that the layoffs were "inconsistent with Microsoft's suggestion to this Court that the two companies will operate independently post-merger." "As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business," Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer said in a memo announcing the layoffs in January. "Together, we've set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we're all aligned on the best opportunities for growth." The letter comes two weeks after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, urged the FTC to maintain its firm stance against the merger._

Senator [Elizabeth Warren](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/elizabeth-warren) has urged regulators to block Capital One’s $35bn takeover of Discover Financial, arguing that combining two of the US’s largest credit card companies would harm consumers and challenge financial stability. The blockbuster deal would inevitably lead to higher costs and fees for cardholders, according to the leftwing senator. Richard Fairbank, chairman and chief executive of Capital One, has claimed the planned acquisition amounts to “a singular opportunity to bring together two very successful companies with complementary capabilities and franchises, and to build a payments network that can compete with the largest payments networks and payments companies”. Analysts said the move could shake up the payments industry, which is largely dominated by the giants Visa and Mastercard. But Warren, the progressive Democrat from Massachusetts, said the move would dent, rather than strengthen, competition. The payments space – particularly Visa and Mastercard – has faced heightened scrutiny in recent years. The Biden administration has adopted an aggressive stance on antitrust issues. Discover Financial investors, who must vote on the deal, have been offered shares in Capital One worth almost $140: a significant premium to the $110.49 that shares in Discover closed at on Friday. Announcing the deal on Monday, Capital One said it expects the transaction to be done “in late 2024 or early 2025”, subject to “customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by the shareholders of each company”. Both companies are likely to face questions from lawmakers, including Warren. The acquisition “threatens our financial stability, reduces competition, and would increase fees and credit costs for American families”, the senator said in a statement. “This Wall Street deal is dangerous and will harm working people. “Regulators must block it immediately.” Capital One and Discover Financial did not immediately response to requests for comment. _Associated Press contributed reporting_

Lawmakers from both parties plan to introduce a sweeping bill in Congress on Wednesday that would force the military for the first time to track and limit troops’ exposure to damaging shock waves from firing their own weapons. Routine exposure to blasts in training and combat was long thought to be safe. But research suggests that over time, exposure to repeated blasts can cause microscopic brain injuries that lead to profound mental problems, like mood swings, insomnia, substance abuse, panic attacks and suicide. The bill, known as the Blast Overpressure Safety Act, would order the military to begin recording troops’ individual blast exposures in training and regularly give exposed troops neurocognitive tests to check for signs of possible injuries. It would also require military medical personnel to be trained in recognizing injuries from repeated blast exposure, which are currently often misdiagnosed as behavioral health issues, if they are diagnosed at all. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, plan to introduce the bill in the Senate on Wednesday. Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, plans to introduce a similar bill in the House. “The Defense Department is not meeting its responsibilities to prevent traumatic brain injuries from blasts,” Senator Warren said in an interview. “We are beginning to understand the scope of the threat, and how devastating the injury can be. But the Department of Defense is not moving with the urgency they need to use.” The bill would also force the military to change how it designs new weapons. A number of heavy weapons [now in wide use](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/26/us/military-brain-injury-rocket-launcher.html) produce shock waves far more powerful than are considered safe under current military guidelines. The bill would require the military to modify some existing weapons to reduce the strength of their blasts, and take into account, for the first time, the need to minimize brain-damaging blast waves when acquiring new weapons. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F04%2F09%2Fus%2Fpentagon-blast-exposure-brain-elizabeth-warren-joni-ernst.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F04%2F09%2Fus%2Fpentagon-blast-exposure-brain-elizabeth-warren-joni-ernst.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F04%2F09%2Fus%2Fpentagon-blast-exposure-brain-elizabeth-warren-joni-ernst.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F04%2F09%2Fus%2Fpentagon-blast-exposure-brain-elizabeth-warren-joni-ernst.html).

As more progressive Democrats implore the Biden administration to suspend its pipeline of military aid to Israel as a means of compelling a course change in Gaza, lawmakers and analysts say the law offers several tools for doing so. U.S. leverage over Israel owes in large part to the $3.3 billion in annual security assistance Washington provides to the Jewish state, making it the largest recipient of American military aid. Israel’s growing isolation on the international stage — fallout from the staggering number of civilian casualties and an emerging famine in the Palestinian enclave — has only underscored the importance of its relationship with the United States, observers say. The fury being felt by some lawmakers came through this week as they grilled senior national security officials during congressional budget hearings. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) lamented to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that “we are the ones” supplying Israeli forces with the bombs being used “to destroy homes and hospitals and refugee camps.” The U.S. government provides “an extraordinary amount” of weaponry to Israel, said Brian Finucane, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, noting that the Biden administration has authorized more than 100 arms sales since Oct. 7, including through emergency means that bypass congressional review. “And so,” he said, “all of that gives the United States a lot of potential leverage, either by outright withholding or blocking transfers, or through the credible threat of doing so.” If President Biden wished to take such a step, he would not need new legislation. “There are a lot of laws on the books,” said Sarah Margon, director of foreign policy at the Open Society Foundations, “that can be used to restrict and condition security assistance in whole or in part.”

With private investors poised to profit from water scarcity in the west, US senator [Elizabeth Warren](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/elizabeth-warren) and representative Ro Khanna are pursuing a bill to prohibit the trading of water as a commodity. The lawmakers will introduce the bill on Thursday afternoon, the Guardian has learned. “Water is not a commodity for the rich and powerful to profit off of,” said Warren, the progressive Democrat from Massachusetts. “Representative Khanna and I are standing up to protect water from Wall Street speculation and ensure one of our most essential resources isn’t auctioned off to the highest bidder.” Water-futures trading allows investors – including hedge funds, farmers and municipalities – to trade water and water rights as a commodity, similar to oil or gold. The practice is currently limited to California, where the world’s first water futures market was launched. So far, the market hasn’t taken off, dampened by the reality that the physical trade of water in the state has been [limited](https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-water-market/). After a couple of wet years in California, the price of water futures has also plummeted. But Warren and Khanna’s Future of Water Act has been reintroduced amid growing concerns about meddling from investors in western water rights. The bill was originally introduced two years ago but did not get taken up for a vote. The lawmakers and supporters of the bill argue that now is a crucial moment to re-introduce it – and stop water-futures trading before the climate crisis and booming water speculation threaten to shrink supplies and inflate prices. A [Guardian investigation](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/16/arizona-colorado-river-water-rights-drought) into an unprecedented $24m sale of Colorado River water found that corporations have discreetly acquired thousands of acres of farmland – and the water rights that come with them. As water grows increasingly scarce, these firms are poised to make huge profits selling water to thirsty developing communities. “There’s a big water grab out west that now is a really good time to introduce us to cut off one avenue for these massive financial interests to exploit water scarcity,” said Mary Grant, a campaign director with Food and Water Watch, one of more than 275 environmental and advocacy groups including the Sunrise Movement and the Center for Biological Diversity that have backed the legislation. “I think we need to stop the market right now. before it takes off,” Grant said. The first-ever water-futures market – the Nasdaq Veles California Water Index (NQH2O) – was launched in 2020 and allowed investors to wager on the price of water and likelihood of water scarcity. The market was initially [advertised](https://www.cmegroup.com/media-room/press-releases/2020/9/17/cme_group_to_launchfirst-everwaterfuturesbasedonnasdaqvelescalif.html) as a way for California water users, including farmers and municipalities, to hedge their risks against a volatile water market amid diminishing supplies. No physical water is exchanged in this market. Rather, participants are betting on whether the price of water will go up or down. As the [Pacific Institute explains](https://pacinst.org/californias-water-futures-market-explained/), if a farmer buys water futures for $600 and, when his contract is settled, the price jumps to $800, the seller will owe him $200. The farmer could use that money to purchase physical water, or cover losses. Interest in water-futures trading has so far remained low. Investors also appeared to be turned off by the fact that the formula and transaction data used to calculate water prices for the futures market are public. Still, lawmakers, environmental groups and even a [United Nations expert on water and human rights](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2020/12/water-futures-market-invites-speculators-challenges-basic-human-rights-un), have been sceptical of the new market, which they said could further the commodification and privatisation of water, and even encourage investors to manipulate the real-life water market. If the water futures market does pick up, “it could give a large financial speculator a really big incentive to actually get involved in the underlying water market”, Grant explained. “They could, for example, buy water rights to drive the price up so that they can then make money on the futures market.”

Apr 25, 2024 11:58 AM US senators have called for fresh scrutiny of crypto’s role in paying for child sexual abuse imagery online, a problem that they say has worsened.  Elizabeth Warren has penned a letter to the DOJ asking it to investigate crypto’s role in online child sexual abuse.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images US senators Elizabeth Warren and Bill Cassidy have called for the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to redouble efforts to stop the [use of cryptocurrency to pay for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online](https://www.wired.com/story/csam-sellers-monero-rise/), a problem they claim has worsened. In a letter sent on Thursday, addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, the senators claim that [the “pseudonymity”](https://www.wired.com/story/tracers-in-the-dark-welcome-to-video-crypto-anonymity-myth/) afforded by crypto transactions is helping those that trade in CSAM to evade detection by law enforcement. Citing data from the US Treasury’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network as well as [research from Chainalysis](https://www.wired.com/story/csam-sellers-monero-rise/), a company that specializes in tracing crypto transactions, and the Internet Watch Foundation, a CSAM-focused charity, the letter asserts that the “use of cryptocurrency in the illicit trade of CSAM appears to be increasing.” Between 2020 and 2022, financial institutions identified 1,800 bitcoin wallets suspected of engaging in transactions linked to child sexual exploitation or human trafficking, the letter states. Although the scale of the crypto-based market for CSAM decreased in 2023, Chainalysis found, an increase in sophistication among sellers allowed them to evade detection for far longer than in previous years. The people participating in the trade of CSAM online use a variety of methods to conceal their activity, the senators claim, including using [crypto mixing services](https://www.wired.com/story/the-science-of-crypto-forensics-court-battle/) and ATMs to conceal the origin of funds used in CSAM transactions and to launder the proceeds. “These are deeply troubling findings revealing the extent to which cryptocurrency is the payment of choice for perpetrators of child sexual abuse and exploitation,” wrote the senators. To jump-start a response, Warren and Cassidy have asked the DOJ and DHS to publish details of their own research into the scope of crypto’s role in the CSAM problem, as well as information about the challenges specific to prosecuting this category of crime. The senators have given the agencies until May 10 to respond to their questions. For her frequent and voluble criticism of cryptocurrency and its role in illicit activity, Warren has become something of a villain in crypto circles. Lately, the senator has [come under criticism](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-20/crypto-industry-steps-up-attacks-on-senator-elizabeth-warren-s-anti-crime-bill) for a piece of [anti-money-laundering legislation](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2669/text) she proposed in July 2023, which the Chamber of Digital Commerce, a crypto advocacy group, has [claimed](https://digitalchamber.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Chair-Sherrod-Brown-S2669.pdf) will “erase hundreds of billions of dollars in value for US startups and decimate the savings of countless Americans invested in this asset class legally.” Warren has reiterated her stance that the crypto industry [must follow the same stringent rules](https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/02/28/senator-warren-hits-out-at-crypto-again-says-industry-needs-to-follow-the-same-rules-as-tradfi/) as other financial organizations in the US in order to prevent misuse by criminal actors, including vendors of CSAM.

As [Meta](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/meta) held its annual shareholder meeting online Wednesday, human rights groups coordinated online protests calling the company to put an end to what they call systemic censorship of pro-Palestinian content, both on the company’s social networks and within its own workforce. The day of action comes after nearly 200 Meta employees [signed a letter](https://www.metamates4ceasefire.com/) to Mark Zuckerberg this month demanding the company put an end to alleged censorship of internal voices advocating for Palestinian rights. The employees called for more transparency around alleged biases on public facing platforms and issued a statement urging for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Activists say after years of urging Meta and other platforms to exercise more fairness and transparency around content moderation, it is important to put pressure on shareholders, who may have more influence over the company than the public. “This problem has been going on for at least a decade, and we have not been seeing any real improvement – the policies are the same,” said Nadim Nashif, founder and director of social media watchdog group 7amleh, which helped coordinate the action. “We have seen in the recent conflict that it is getting worse, and we need to try other strategies, including shareholder engagement.” The public statement from Meta employees released this month comes after [a separate petition](https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-employee-says-shes-under-155049500.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHAzJ3UeM55tgCNI96QsLI1ddHr6eOtIR7Pqyqj4UK1T-r9AnqEyNBCXfMECdrxgzGtBlHbfzuJKEq0K9FWfZMWz2NuZ6vTsZ0P0Cjw7efUc3Xuflp_vrSLfV_-P-yW_O_0HptLH6vPjzn4o1IqElNbVGVtfzWgy8ut4F4F0NSfa) that was circulated internally gathered more than 450 signatures in 2023. The employee behind that letter claimed she was investigated by the company’s human resources department for violating company rules, a claim echoed in the newest letter. Such actions from Meta have created a “hostile and unsafe work environment” for Palestinian, Arab, Muslim and “anti-genocide” colleagues at the company, the letter said. “Many have tried to articulate this through posts on Workplace only to be censored, rebuffed and/or penalized,” the letter said. “Feedback shared directly with leadership on Workplace Chat has been met with dismissiveness.” Employees cited the company’s failure to address external allegations of censorship, including findings from an [external audit](https://humanrights.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/September-2023-Israel-and-Palestine-HRDD-Meta-Update.pdf) in 2023 that determined Meta repeatedly censored pro-Palestinian voices in response to a conflict in the region three years go. The company has also “ignored reasonable requests for transparency” on content policies, the employees allege, including a [letter sent by Senator Elizabeth Warren](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/14/elizabeth-warren-mark-zuckerberg-meta-instagram-censorship) in December 2023. On Wednesday’s investor call, Meta sidestepped the issue of Palestinian censorship entirely, touting its artificial intelligence projects and fielding questions from shareholders on controlling disinformation. The company did not immediately respond to request for comment regarding the letters and petitions circulating related to its moderation of Palestine-related content.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced a new bill this week that aims to rein in private equity misconduct in the health care industry, as many PE-backed medical business have filed for bankruptcy in recent years The proposed Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act would impose strict penalties, including jail time, for private equity executives whose deals result in the death of a patient. A [press release](https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senators-warren-markey-introduce-the-corporate-crimes-against-health-care-act-of-2024) about the bill from Warren’s office said that “aggressive deal-making in the health care sector poses grave risks to patient health” as firms “routinely load up portfolio companies with usurious debt, sell off valuable assets, and extract exorbitant dividends and fees.” Warren announced the bill at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston — which belongs to the Steward Health Care System. Steward, the nation’s largest physician-owned hospital network, was once backed by Cerberus Capital Management and in May filed for bankruptcy. Warren said her bill would have prevented “what happened with Steward from ever happening again.” She added, “When private equity gets hold of health care systems, it is literally a matter of life and death, so if you drive a hospital like Steward into bankruptcy, putting patients and communities at risk, you should face real consequences.” At least [17 medical business](https://pestakeholder.org/private-equity-healthcare-bankruptcies-are-on-the-rise/) backed by private equity filed for bankruptcy last year, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Under Warren’s proposed bill, executives who “loot” health care business such as hospitals and nursing homes could face six years in prison if their looting results in a patients death. The bill would also give the Department of Justice the power to claw back all executive compensation within a 10-year period before or after a health care business faces “serious, avoidable financial difficulties due to that looting.” In response to the bill, Drew Maloney, CEO of the private-equity trade group American Investment Council told the [Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/articles/warren-bill-would-jail-buyout-execs-whose-looting-of-hospitals-caused-death-ffec140d), “Private equity in Massachusetts helps develop cures, supports urgent care facilities, and improves access for patients. Senator Warren’s bill is a purely political attack—not a real solution that will help patients, providers and hospitals.”

* [Jalopnik](//jalopnik.com) * [Kotaku](//kotaku.com) * [Quartz](//qz.com) * [The Root](//theroot.com) * [The Inventory](//theinventory.com) She also points out that Powell had initially expressed support for the rules agreed upon by global financial regulators in July 2023 following a series of bank failures. The [Wall Street Journal article](https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/dimon-led-bank-ceos-to-fend-off-tougher-capital-rules-b647756d) suggested that the required capital increases for large banks could be on average about half as much as originally proposed under the regulators’ new proposals. In her letter, Warren urges Powell to allow the Federal Reserve Board to vote on the originally proposed 16% percent increase by June 30th. According to CNBC, there are concerns that time is running out to finalize and approve the rules before the November election, with analysts suggesting that the implementation could be delayed or halted entirely if Donald Trump wins the election. A Federal Reserve spokesperson told CNBC that Warren would receive a response to her letter. According to CNBC, banks and their lobbying organizations have called the rules unnecessarily aggressive and said they could lead banks to curtail lending. Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.

 Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is recruiting for his [$3.2 trillion company](https://qz.com/apple-nvidia-stock-market-cap-microsoft-tech-ai-1851521409), and says he’s a “very nice boss” who is “universally loved.” During his [commencement speech](https://www.youtube.com/live/-qXDdToZHzE) at the California Institute of Technology on June 14, Huang told the graduating class part of the reason he was there is because he’s recruiting. [Read More](https://qz.com/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-caltech-commencement-ai-chips-1851543630)

∙ [全球速报 >](/list_25429)  美国总统拜登 ... 视觉中国 图 据中国新闻网6月29日报道，当地时间27日晚，美国2024年大选首场候选人辩论正式开始，这也是时隔4年，再次上演“拜特对决”。多家美媒分析认为，与特朗普相比，拜登的首场辩论表现并不让人满意

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is accusing [Tesla’s](https://qz.com/tesla-elon-musk-ev-auto-industry-history-1851366760) board of directors of “neglecting its duty” and asking if it has reviewed CEO Elon Musk’s plans to use the company’s resources to help his other companies. “Regardless of his personal pursuits and his vast personal wealth, Mr. Musk has legal responsibilities to Tesla — a publicly traded company — and its shareholders,” Warren wrote in a [letter](https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/final_-_warren_letter_to_tesla_board_re_musk_conflicts_of_interest.pdf) addressed to Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm on Thursday. “The Tesla Board must act to ensure that Mr. Musk is meeting all of these responsibilities.” The outreach from Warren comes after a wave of concern over Musk’s handling of his portfolio, which includes aerospace firm [SpaceX](https://qz.com/startup-first-satellite-launch-sell-data-service-spacex-1851616470) and [artificial intelligence](https://qz.com/ai-artificial-intelligence-glossary-vocabulary-terms-1851422473) startup [xAI](https://qz.com/elon-musk-memphis-tennessee-xai-supercomputer-ai-grok-1851521924). He also leads brain chip startup [Neuralink](https://qz.com/elon-musk-neuralink-second-patient-superpowers-chip-1851613159), social media company [X Corp](https://qz.com/elon-musk-lawsuit-ad-group-garm-suspend-rumble-1851617006)., and tunneling venture [The Boring Co](https://qz.com/elon-musk-boring-company-tunnel-las-vegas-toxic-mud-1851287646). Warren, like other critics of Musk, said she is concerned with Musk’s launch of xAI as a separate venture, even as he continues to bill Tesla as an AI company and plots its future based off advancements in that industry, not electric vehicles. Much of Tesla’s future value is [expected to be derived from self-driving vehicles](https://qz.com/tesla-ai-fsd-elon-musk-evs-stock-boost-robotaxi-analyst-1851607895), humanoid robots, and the “Dojo” [supercomputer](https://qz.com/elon-musk-nvidia-blackwell-hardware-chip-tesla-xai-1851355904). Musk has also threatened to build future AI projects outside of Tesla if he doesn’t get [more control over the company](https://qz.com/tesla-elon-musk-pay-package-investors-vote-legal-fight-1851538777). Musk had also reportedly asked [Nvidia](https://qz.com/nvidia-history-origin-ai-chip-jensen-huang-1851372906) to [prioritize its shipment of AI chips to X and xAI](https://qz.com/elon-musk-tesla-evs-twitter-xai-nvidia-ai-chips-dojo-av-1851518016) over Tesla. And, last month, asked his social media followers if Tesla [should invest $5 billion into xAI](https://qz.com/elon-musk-tesla-ai-xai-investment-1851603342), “assuming the valuation is set by several credible outside investors.” After a majority of the more than 958,000 accounts — including many of which likely have no relationship to Tesla — that took his poll said he should, Musk said he would “[discuss](https://electrek.co/2024/07/25/elon-musk-will-discuss-tesla-investing-5-billion-private-ai-company/#:~:text=Despite%20this%20mess%20of%20a,Will%20discuss%20with%20Tesla%20board.)” it with the board. In June, Musk was [sued](https://qz.com/musk-lawsuit-tesla-ai-1851538942) by Tesla shareholders for his “brazen disloyalty” for prioritizing xAI over his EV maker; Musk has denied those claims. Warren asked the board to answer a series of questions by Aug. 23, including whether there are protections in place to protect Tesla from conflicts of interest involving xAI. She also inquired about whether Tesla employees were used to benefit xAI; Several Tesla engineers have [left the automaker to join xAI](https://fortune.com/2024/04/04/elon-musk-tesla-openai-sam-altman-xai-grok-talent-war-salaries/), in what, Musk says, was a necessary move to prevent them from joining [rival OpenAI](https://qz.com/elon-musk-lawsuit-sam-altman-openai-tesla-microsoft-1851613031). It’s just the latest shot fired in a years-long feud between the senator who [wants to tax the rich](https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/ultra-millionaire-tax#:~:text=On%20November%201%2C%202019%2C%20Elizabeth,additional%20%241%20trillion%20in%20revenue.) and the billionaire with [more money than most people can imagine](https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#323e76983d78). Since 2021, Musk has called Warren “[Senator Karen](https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/15/investing/elon-musk-elizabeth-warren-taxes/index.html),” while she has repeatedly called for inquiries into his dealings and behavior. In March, the senator [asked regulators](https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-renews-call-for-sec-investigation-of-tesla-board-of-directors-and-chief-executive-elon-musk-raises-fresh-conflict-of-interest-concerns) to investigate Musk and Tesla’s board over potential conflicts of interest related to his roles at Tesla and X. A letter to the board expressing similar concerns in December received no response, Warren said Thursday. And, in September, she said the Senate should [investigate](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/elizabeth-warren-says-senate-investigate-elon-musks-role-thwarting-att-rcna104891) Musk’s alleged role in preventing a Ukrainian drone from attacking Russia. Warren serves on both the Senate’s Banking and Armed Services committees.

[Elizabeth Warren](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/elizabeth-warren) says “American women are not stupid” enough to believe JD Vance’s promise that Donald Trump would veto any nationwide abortion ban passed by Congress if the Republican presidential ticket wins November’s election. “American women are not stupid, and we are not going to trust the futures of our daughters and granddaughters to two men who have openly bragged about blocking access to abortion for women all across this country,” Warren said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. The Democratic senator from Massachusetts added that she suspects conservative activists could use the Comstock Act, a 19th-century anti-obscenity law which bans mailing abortion-related materials, to enforce a federal ban on abortion if the former president clinches a second presidency with Vance as his running mate. She said it would not be all that “hard to accomplish” with “the right person \[in\] the Department of Justice and one of their extremist judges out in the world”. “Understand this: today 30% of all women live in states that effectively ban abortion,” Warren said, referring to how [14 US states](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/jul/29/abortion-laws-bans-by-state) have enacted near-total bans on the procedure since the 2022 US supreme court ruling that eliminated federal abortion rights. “Donald Trump and JD Vance in the White House – it won’t be 30%. It’ll be 100%.” Warren’s remarks came in response to a separate Meet the Press interview with Vance in which he was asked whether Trump, if elected again to the Oval Office, would use the presidency’s veto powers overrule a congressional federal abortion ban. “I think he would,” Vance [told](https://x.com/MeetThePress/status/1827473548853616804) Meet the Press host Kristen Welker in a pre-recorded clip which the show began promoting Saturday. “He said … explicitly that he would.” Trump himself pledged in April that he would not sign a national abortion ban into law, with [polling](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/) showing a clear majority of Americans favor abortion being legal in all or most cases. But Democrats maintain that he is lying. They point out that Trump has spoken proudly of his three supreme court appointees who formed part of the conservative majority that dissolved the federal abortion rights previously established by the [Roe v Wade](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/roe-v-wade) decision in 1973. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/26/elizabeth-warren-jd-vance-nationwide-abortion-ban-veto#EmailSignup-skip-link-8) Sign up to The Stakes — US Election Edition The Guardian guides you through the chaos of a hugely consequential presidential election **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion And they note how the 900-page [Project 2025](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/project-2025) plan drafted by a conservative thinktank that supports Trump calls for the Food and Drug Administration to completely revoke its approval of the abortion medication mifepristone. Project 2025 also discusses using the Comstock Act to criminally prosecute people who send abortion pills or tools through the mail. Vance in 2023 [joined](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/26/jd-vance-abortion-ban-travel) 40 of his fellow Republican lawmakers calling on US justice department prosecutors to investigate pursuing physicians, pharmacists and others “who break the federal mail-order abortion laws”. In June, Warren – a 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate – helped introduce legislation aiming to [repeal the Comstock Act](https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/20/comstock-act-democrats). It has not garnered the 60 votes necessary to advance bills in the Senate. But part of the proposed bill’s strategy was to raise awareness of the Comstock Act’s consequences for the 168 million women living in the US – a country of 333 million. According to Warren on Sunday, the only way to protect abortion access in the US was to elect Democratic nominee Kamala Harris over Trump – as well as a Congress with a clear liberal majority that would pass laws enshrining the right to access abortion-related care nationwide. “She will sign it into law,” Warren said. “And then we will restore a right to half the population in this country.”

174861484 story [](//yro.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=usa)[ ](//yro.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=technology)[](//yro.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=yro) Posted by msmash on Wednesday August 28, 2024 @11:12AM from the how-about-that dept. Device manufacturers across multiple industries are [lobbying against](https://www.404media.co/appliance-and-tractor-companies-lobby-against-giving-the-military-the-right-to-repair/) proposed legislation that would require military contractors to provide the U.S. military with easier access to repair materials and information, according to a document obtained by 404 Media. The legislation, Section 828 of the Defense Reauthorization Act, aims to address the military's current inability to repair equipment ranging from fighter jets to Navy battleships without relying on contractors. Sen. Elizabeth Warren highlighted the issue in a May hearing, citing examples of how repair restrictions lead to increased costs and operational delays for the Department of Defense. The lobbying effort extends beyond military contractors to include organizations representing industries such as irrigation equipment, motorcycles, tractors, plumbing, medical devices, and consumer technology. In a letter to lawmakers, these groups argue that the legislation would impose significant burdens on contractors and undermine existing technical data rights statutes.

Massachusetts U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren are among several political leaders who are attacking the leader of a troubled health care system for refusing to comply with a subpoena to appear before a Senate committee BOSTON -- Several political leaders, including Massachusetts U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, attacked the leader of a troubled health care system on Thursday for [refusing to comply](https://apnews.com/article/steward-health-care-ceo-senate-subpoena-bankruptcy-62bb08339211d57e8c59395d62cb484d) with a subpoena to appear before a Senate committee. Lawyers for Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre said Wednesday that he won't testify before a [committee investigating](https://apnews.com/article/steward-health-care-senate-investigation-bankruptcy-86a84b1d4f7fe7910b270c9dbfed4e7b) the Dallas-based hospital company's bankruptcy because a federal court order prohibits him from discussing anything during an ongoing reorganization and settlement effort. Warren and Markey both dismissed those concerns on Thursday, saying de la Torre is trying to avoid accountability. Steward, which operated about 30 hospitals nationwide, [filed for bankruptcy in May](https://apnews.com/article/steward-health-care-massachusetts-bankruptcy-dddb6acbc19cea9f914d378c7aaf2cec). It has been trying to sell its more than half-dozen [hospitals in Massachusetts,](https://apnews.com/article/steward-hospitals-closing-massachusetts-torre-2ad77d38d57eee3bbe196895357b7087) but received inadequate bids for Carney Hospital in Boston and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in the town of Ayer, both of which closed on Saturday. A federal bankruptcy court on Wednesday approved the sale of Steward’s other hospitals in Massachusetts. In a letter Wednesday to Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, de la Torre did not rule out testifying before the committee at a later date. “He is in hiding because he does not want to answer to the American people or Congress or the patients and workers of Massachusetts for what he has done,” Markey, speaking at a press conference Thursday, said of de la Torre. “He wants to hide from the accountability of what the last five months have exposed.” Warren said de la Torre could invoke his constitutional right against self-incrimination if he “believes the answers will put him at risk for going to jail.” “Ralph de la Torre is one more rich guy who thinks the rules don’t apply to him,” Warren said. “He seems to think he’s above the law and that he can take whatever he wants and not have to answer for any of the destruction that he leaves behind.” Warren argued that de la Torre's decision not to appear should result in his ouster from Steward. “I understand it’s way late in the process, but I’d like to see someone else who gets their eyes on all of the information that’s happening confidentially, internally, and not disclosed to the public — someone besides Ralph de la Torre,” she said. In their letter to Sanders, lawyers for de la Torre said the Senate committee is seeking to turn the hearing into “a pseudo-criminal proceeding in which they use the time, not to gather facts, but to convict Dr. de la Torre in the eyes of public opinion.” Sanders said in a statement that he will work with other members of the panel to determine the best way to press de la Torre for answers. “Let me be clear: We will not accept this postponement. Congress will hold Dr. de la Torre accountable for his greed and for the damage he has caused to hospitals and patients throughout America,” Sanders said. “This Committee intends to move forward aggressively to compel Dr. de la Torre to testify to the gross mismanagement of Steward Health Care.” The committee’s options include holding de la Torre in criminal contempt, which could result in a trial and jail time; or civil contempt, which would result in fines until he appears. Both would require a Senate vote. De la Torre also refused invitations to testify at a Boston field hearing earlier this year chaired by Markey.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is warning regulators that Citigroup ([C](https://qz.com/quote/C)) has become “too big to manage” and that federal regulators should enforce stricter restrictions on the bank. In a letter to Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu, Warren stated that Citi has suffered with its risk management and operational controls, along with many other management crises, according to [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-senator-warren-asks-regulator-impose-growth-curbs-citi-2024-10-03/). “According to your own framework, it is clearly time to protect the American financial system by imposing growth restrictions on Citi,” Warren wrote in the letter, per Reuters. On Tuesday, [the Federal Reserve announced that it had ended its decade-old enforcement action](https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/enforcement20241001a.htm) it filed against Citigroup in 2013, regarding the firm’s anti-money laundering policies. The action was originally filed against Citi and its Banamex Financial Group subsidiary. Citi declined a request for comment from Quartz. This isn’t the first time Citigroup has found itself in a tough situation with lawmakers, in June, [federal regulators found a weakness, known as a “shortcoming,” in four banks’ plans](https://qz.com/jpmorgan-citi-bofa-goldman-fdic-federal-reserve-plans-1851554192?_gl=1*1u8oiww*_ga*MTA1MTg2OTg2MS4xNzE3MDY4MzAz*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTcyNzk4MTQ2OC4yNS4xLjE3Mjc5ODE0OTUuMzMuMC4w) – including Citi, which raised questions about the feasibility of their living will plans that were submitted in 2023. In Citi’s case, the FDIC found that the bank’s plan had a more severe weakness, known as a “deficiency,” meaning that the agency believed the plan was not credible or would not result in an orderly resolution under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In October 2020, the Federal Reserve and the OCC fined Citi about $400 million in penalties – which the company agreed to pay and ordered the bank to craft a plan elaborating on its goals for improving its operational issues. Warren, who has long criticized the actions of large banks, such as JP Morgan ([JPM](https://qz.com/quote/JPM)), Bank of America ([BAC](https://qz.com/quote/BAC)), and Wells Fargo ([WFC](https://qz.com/quote/WFC)) – says banks need to have tougher pushback from regulators and federal agencies.

Do you develop on GitHub? You can keep using GitHub but automatically [**sync your GitHub releases to SourceForge**](https://sourceforge.net/p/forge/documentation/GitHub%20Importer/) quickly and easily with **[this tool](https://sourceforge.net/p/import_project/github/)** so your projects have a backup location, and get your project in front of SourceForge's nearly 20 million monthly users. It takes less than a minute. Get new users downloading your project releases today! × 175186709 story [](//tech.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=government)[](//tech.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=technology) Posted by [BeauHD](https://www.linkedin.com/in/beauhd/) on Thursday October 03, 2024 @06:02PM from the called-out dept. "The Fight to Repair Newsletter is reporting that U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling out agricultural equipment giant John Deere for [possible violations of the federal Clean Air Act and a years-long pattern of thwarting owners' ability to repair their farm equipment](https://fighttorepair.substack.com/p/senator-calls-out-deere-for-clean?triedRedirect=true)," writes longtime Slashdot reader [chicksdaddy](/~chicksdaddy). From the report: _Deere "appears to be evading its responsibilities under the Clean Air Act to grant customers the right to repair their own agricultural equipment." That is costing farmers an estimated $4.2 billion annually "causing them to miss key crop windows on which their businesses and livelihoods rely," Warren wrote in a letter (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/3/24260513/john-deere-right-to-repair-elizabeth-warren-clean-air-act) dated October 2nd. The [letter from Warren](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25655376/Final___Warren_Letter_to_John_Deere_re._Right_to_Repair.pdf) (PDF), a Senator from Massachusetts and strong repair advocate, is just the latest volley lobbed at Illinois-based Deere, an iconic American brand and the largest supplier of agricultural equipment to farms in the U.S. Deere controls [an estimated](https://www.economicliberties.us/our-work/cheat-to-win-the-john-deere-story) 53 percent of the U.S. market for large tractors and 60 percent of the U.S. market for farm combines. In recent weeks, Deere faced criticism, [including from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump](https://www.reddit.com/r/LouisRossmann/comments/1ft37fj/1_minute_ago_trump_just_destroyed_john_deere_again/), after [laying off](https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/equipment/article/2024/07/24/deere-lays-undisclosed-number) close to 2,000 U.S. based employees at facilities in Iowa and Illinois, moving many of those jobs to facilities in Mexico. The company has also been [repeatedly called out](https://pirg.org/arizona/resources/deere-in-the-headlights-ii-2/) for complicating repair and service of its farm equipment -- often relying on software locks and digital rights management to force farmers to use Deere dealers and authorized service providers for even the simplest repairs. _

It’s becoming a common experience for Americans going to the grocery store: your bag of chips seems lighter, your favorite drink comes in a slimmer bottle, and you’re running out of laundry detergent more quickly than usual. And yet things are staying the same price. On Monday two Democratic lawmakers launched an attempt to get to the bottom of the phenomena, accusing three major companies, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Mills, of shrinking the size of products while charging consumers the same price – a price-gouging practice known as “[shrinkflation](https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/oct/21/shrinkflation-youre-right-from-gin-to-butter-quantity-and-quality-are-taking-a-hit)”. Senator [Elizabeth Warren](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/elizabeth-warren) and US representative Madeleine Dean allege in letters to the CEOs of the three companies that they have participated in shrinkflation, subtly decreasing the size of cereals and sodas sold in stores. General Mills decreased its box of “family size” Cocoa Puffs from 19.3 ounces to 18.1 ounces over the last few years, the letter alleges. Meanwhile, PepsiCo downgraded the size of Gatorade bottles from 32 ounces to 28 ounces. Companies often say that decreases in size can be attributed to changes in packaging that are unrelated to pricing or the economic environment. PepsiCo [told](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/walmart-chipotle-higher-prices-criticism-rcna160713) NBC News in July that their 28-ounce bottle has been around for years and that the company had planned to widen its distribution as part of a long-term strategy. But many remain skeptical at the widespread variety of products that seem to be shrinking. “Shrinking the size of a product in order to gouge consumers on the price per ounce is not innovation, it’s exploitation,” Warren and Dean said in a [statement](https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-dean-press-cocacola-pepsico-and-general-mills-on-shrinkflation-price-gouging-and-tax-dodging). “Unfortunately, this price gouging is a widespread problem, with corporate profits driving over half of inflation.” People on social media have been talking about the slimming down of products for months, with users posting about their shrinkflation experiences with side-by-side pictures of products before and after shrinking. “Major corporations are trying to gaslighting us, trying to make us believe that what we’re seeing is not real,” said TikTok user Melissa Simonson in a [video](https://www.tiktok.com/@realmelissasimo/video/7347141052131757354?q=shrinkflation&t=1728318997644) from March, where she points out the sizes of drinks, cereals, chips, orange juice, gum and laundry detergent, among other grocery store items, have gotten smaller. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Mills did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letters. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/oct/07/elizabeth-warren-madeleine-dean-shrinkflation-coke-pepsi-general-mills#EmailSignup-skip-link-11) Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which calculates the US inflation rate each month, [says](https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-12/measuring-shrinkflation-and-its-impact-on-inflation.htm) its economists try to incorporate any instances of shrinkflation into its inflation calculations. For example, if a tub of 64-ounce vanilla ice cream was priced at $5.99 in January, then the price-per-ounce is $0.093. If in February, the tub remains the same price, but shrinks to 60 ounces, the price-per-ounce has gone up, representing a kind of price increase. Warren and Dean also used the letters as an opportunity to blast the companies for paying less taxes on higher profits after [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump)’s corporate tax cuts in 2017. The lawmakers cited a recent [report](https://itep.org/corporate-taxes-before-and-after-the-trump-tax-law/) from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that said Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Mills all paid taxes at a rate of 15% or under from 2018 to 2022, despite making billions in profit. “We strongly oppose these corporate tax giveaways, and have fought to pass tax increases on big corporations, including the 15 percent minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations,” the lawmakers said in their statement. “No corporation should pay a lower tax rate than working Americans – especially when that same corporation turns around and gouges consumers on the other end through shrinkflation.”

Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Richard Blumenthal and Representative Katie Porter are demanding the Justice Department [prosecute tax preparation companies](https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/22/24275913/warren-tax-prep-companies-doj-prosecute-data-meta-google-tracking-pixel) for allegedly sharing sensitive taxpayer data with Meta and Google through tracking pixels. The lawmakers' call follows a Treasury Inspector General audit confirming their earlier investigation into TaxSlayer, H&R Block, and Tax Act. The audit found multiple companies failed to properly obtain consent before sharing tax return information via advertising tools. Violations could result in one-year prison terms and $1,000 fines per incident, potentially reaching billions in penalties given the scale of affected users. In a letter shared with The Verge, the lawmakers said: _"Accountability for these tax preparation companies -- who disclosed millions of taxpayers' tax return data, meaning they could potentially face billions of dollars in criminal liability -- is essential for protecting the rule of law and the privacy of taxpayers," the letter reads. "We urge you to follow the facts and the conclusions of TIGTA and the IRS and to take appropriate action against any companies or individuals that have violated the law."_

[Elizabeth Warren](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/01/elizabeth-warren-donald-trump-fight), a leading progressive voice in the US Senate, has denounced the [Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden) administration’s failure to punish Israel over the dire humanitarian situation in [Gaza](https://www.theguardian.com/world/gaza) and endorsed a joint resolution of disapproval in [Congress](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-congress). The amount of aid reaching the territory has dropped to the [lowest level in 11 months](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/11/aid-gaza-trucks-food-lowest-level-year-despite-us-ultimatum), official Israeli figures show. The White House last month gave Israel an ultimatum of 30 days to improve conditions or risk losing military support. As the deadline expired on Tuesday, international aid groups said [Israel](https://www.theguardian.com/world/israel) had fallen far short. But the US state department announced it would not take any punitive action, insisting that Israel was making limited progress and was not blocking aid and therefore not violating US law. Warren condemned the Biden administration’s decision to continue supplying arms to its ally. [ UN special committee likens Israeli policy in Gaza to genocide ](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/14/united-nations-special-committee-israel-gaza-genocide) “On October 13, the Biden administration told Prime Minister Netanyahu that his government had 30 days to increase humanitarian aid into [Gaza](https://www.theguardian.com/world/gaza) or face the consequences under US law, which would include cutting off military assistance,” the Massachusetts senator said in a statement shared with the Guardian. “Thirty days later, the Biden administration acknowledged that Israel’s actions had not significantly expanded food, water and basic necessities for desperate Palestinian civilians. Despite Netanyahu’s failure to meet the United States’ demands, the Biden administration has taken no action to restrict the flow of offensive weapons.” For the first time on the issue, Warren threw her weight behind a [joint resolution of disapproval](https://ballotpedia.org/Joint_resolution_of_disapproval_(administrative_state)), a legislative tool that enables Congress to overturn actions taken by the executive branch. Such a resolution must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate. She added: “The failure by the Biden administration to follow US law and to suspend arms shipments is a grave mistake that undermines American credibility worldwide. If this administration will not act, Congress must step up to enforce US law and hold the Netanyahu government accountable through a joint resolution of disapproval.” Eight international aid groups have said that Israel failed to meet the US demands to improve access for assistance, while food security experts have said it is likely that famine is imminent in parts of Gaza. Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, [told reporters on Wednesday](https://www.reuters.com/world/us-wants-real-extended-pauses-fighting-gaza-blinken-says-2024-11-13/) that Israel had taken some steps to improve aid but they needed to be sustained to take effect. He called on Israel to rescind evacuation orders to allow those displaced by its operations to return home and to resume commercial trucking deliveries into Gaza. Biden has backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked the country in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. Since then, more than 43,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza, with 2 million displaced people and much of the strip reduced to rubble. The president, whose term ends in January and who will be replaced by his predecessor Donald Trump, is facing growing dissent from Democrats over his handling of the war. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland [told Zeteo this week](https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-top-democratic-senator): “President Biden’s inaction, given the suffering in Gaza, is shameful. I mean, there’s no other word for it.” Bernie Sanders, an independent senator for Vermont, announced that next week he will bring joint resolutions of disapproval that would block the [sale of certain weapons](https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/FINAL_Fact-Sheet-Joint-Resolutions-of-Disapproval-for-Israel-arms-sales-003.pdf) to Israel. “There is no longer any doubt that Netanyahu’s extremist government is in clear violation of US and international law as it wages a barbaric war against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” he said. And on Thursday, 15 members of the Senate and 69 members of the House announced efforts to press the Biden administration to hold members of the Netanyahu government – specifically, the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir – and others accountable for the rise in settler violence, settlement expansion and destabilising activity in the [West Bank](https://www.theguardian.com/world/west-bank).

 America’s roads have been becoming safer in the years since fatalities spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a group of Democratic senators are telling the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) that they’re still far too dangerous. In [a letter to the agency](https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/nhtsa_traffic_safety_letter2.pdf) released Wednesday, they are urging the NHTSA to do more to prevent driving-related deaths. “Although this number fell 3.6 percent from 2022, it remains unacceptably high, with nearly 10,000 more deaths annually than in 2011,” the senators, a group that includes Sen. Ed Markey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, wrote. “We urge NHTSA to quickly implement the remaining \[Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act\] traffic safety provisions and ensure that motor vehicle fatalities continue to move in reverse.” Specifically, the senators said that they want to see more statistics on how often manufacturers are completing safety recalls, research around reducing distracted driving, and tweaks to rules around headlamp brightness, among other ideas. In September, the NHTSA said that there were [nearly 19,000 traffic fatalities](https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/nhtsa-estimates-traffic-fatalities-declined-first-half-2024) in the first half of the year. “Reversing the rise in roadway deaths has been a top priority for this Department, so we’re encouraged to see continued reductions in traffic fatalities—yet the overall proportions of this issue remain at crisis levels and there is much more work to do,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement accompanying the numbers. Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.

Nov 22, 2024 1:00 PM US senator Elizabeth Warren and congressman Jerry Nadler have demanded the government investigate whether VeriSign, steward of the .com domain, is ripping off customers and violating antitrust laws.  Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images US senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and congressman Jerry Nadler of New York have called on government bodies to investigate what they allege is the “predatory pricing” of .com web addresses, the internet’s prime real estate. In a letter delivered today to the Department of Justice and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a branch of the Department of Commerce that advises the president, the two Democrats accuse VeriSign, the company that administers the .com top-level domain, of abusing its market dominance to overcharge customers. In 2018, under the Donald Trump administration, the NTIA [modified the terms on](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-27/biden-administration-should-end-verisign-monopoly-over-com-domain-groups-say) how much VeriSign could charge for .com domains. The company has since hiked prices by 30 percent, the letter claims, though its service remains identical and could allegedly be provided far more cheaply by others. “VeriSign is exploiting its monopoly power to charge millions of users excessive prices for registering a .com top-level domain,” the letter claims. “VeriSign hasn’t changed or improved its services; it has simply raised prices because it holds a government-ensured monopoly.” “We intend to respond to senator Warren and representative Nadler’s letter, which repeats inaccuracies and misleading statements that have been aggressively promoted by a small, self-interested group of domain-name investors for years,” said Verisign spokesperson David McGuire in a statement to WIRED. “We look forward to correcting the record and working with policymakers toward real solutions that benefit internet users.” In an August [blog post](https://blog.verisign.com/domain-names/myths-vs-facts-about-dot-com/) entitled “Setting the Record Straight,” the company claimed that discourse around its management of .com had been “distorted by factual inaccuracies, a misunderstanding of core technical concepts, and misinterpretations regarding pricing, competition, and market dynamics in the domain name industry.” In the same blog post, the company argues that it is not operating a monopoly because there are 1,200 generic top-level domains operated by other entities, including .org, .shop, .ai, and .uk. Though far from a household name, VeriSign [takes in about $1.5 billion in revenue](https://investor.verisign.com/static-files/e48e67b2-29e4-43e5-9667-cd188cb6950d) each year for servicing its particular section of the internet’s inscrutable plumbing. In their letter, Warren and Nadler allege that VeriSign has exploited its exclusive right to charge for highly sought-after .com addresses to juice its revenues and drive up its share price—all at the expense of customers for whom there is no viable alternative. The letter claims that separate agreements with the NTIA and Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a nonprofit established by the Commerce Department to oversee the web’s domain name system, have allowed VeriSign to establish monopoly power. The former sets how much the company can charge its customers for registering .com addresses, while the latter assigns VeriSign as the “sole operator” of the .com domain. The letter also alleges that VeriSign might be in violation of the Sherman Act. The NTIA’s decision in 2018 to lift the price cap imposed on VeriSign also benefited ICANN, which in its role as overseer can reject price increases proposed by domain registry services. ICANN [signed an agreement](https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/icann-decides-on-com-amendment-and-proposed-binding-letter-of-intent-between-icann-and-verisign-27-3-2020-en) with VeriSign in 2020, sanctioning the maximum allowable price increases in return for $20 million over a five-year period. Thus, allege Warren and Nadler, “Verisign and ICANN may have a collusive relationship.” In June, a coalition of activist groups wrote to the [DOJ](https://www.economicliberties.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AELP-Verisign-Letter-to-DOJ-Final-062624.pdf) and [NTIA](https://www.economicliberties.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Verisign-Letter-to-NTIA-Final-062624.pdf) to express similar allegations. “ICANN and VeriSign function as a de facto cartel, and the NTIA should stop sanctioning the ‘incestuous legal triangle’ that serves as a shield to deflect overdue antitrust scrutiny into their otherwise likely illegal collusive relationship,” the coalition claims. The group urged the government to “stop this cycle of exploitation” by refusing to renew the relationship between the NTIA and VeriSign. Neither ICANN nor the NTIA responded immediately to requests for comment. The NTIA has since indicated that it will renew its agreement with VeriSign. However, the terms of that agreement are up for review on November 30, before the start of Trump’s second term, leaving the outgoing Democratic administration with an opportunity to put in place pricing rules that will apply for a six-year period, as a parting gift. In an [August letter](https://www.ntia.gov/other-publication/2024/ntia-letter-verisign), the NTIA told VeriSign that it “had questions related to \[the company's\] pricing” and wanted to “discuss possible solutions.” VeriSign said it welcomed “an opportunity to have this important discussion.” But Warren and Nadler are now publicly pressing the NTIA to make sure that customers cannot be overcharged by VeriSign—and pressing the DOJ to review for potential antitrust violations, too. “Verisign has squeezed customers to enrich its investors while doing nothing to improve service,” they claim. “NTIA and DOJ should take action to ensure that over the next six years, VeriSign’s consumers are charged fair prices for .com registration.” _Updated 11/22/24 4:51pm ET: This story has been updated with comment from Verisign._

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pushing President-elect Donald Trump to outline and enforce ethics rules on Elon Musk, a key member of his transition team who has been tapped to lead a group scrutinizing the same federal agencies that regulate his companies. “Putting Mr. Musk in a position to influence billions of dollars of government contracts and regulatory enforcement without a stringent conflict of interest agreement in place is an invitation for corruption on a scale not seen in our lifetimes,” the Democratic senator wrote in a [letter](https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-presses-trump-for-answers-on-elon-musks-glaring-conflicts-of-interest) to Trump. Warren is referring to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk will be leading alongside former Roivant CEO Vivek Ramswamy. It’s not actually a government department but rather an outside group that plans to work with [congressional officials](https://qz.com/elon-musk-doge-trump-democrat-allies-sanders-khanna-1851714483?_gl=1*gc9bvr*_ga*MTU2MDE5NDI5OS4xNzI3NzIxMzUz*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczNDAxODM5Ni4xMzMuMS4xNzM0MDIwMzc5LjM0LjAuMA..) and the White House to recommend ways to reduce federal spending. **Read more:** [The Trump administration’s billionaires are worth more than $450 billion. Here’s who they are](https://qz.com/trump-rich-cabinet-billionaires-musk-lutnick-rfk-jr-1851718924) DOGE plans to [take aim](https://qz.com/musk-ramaswamy-trump-doge-congress-mtg-rfk-jr-cuts-1851704757) at remote work for federal employees, non-government organizations, and regulations Musk and his allies deem burdensome. Some agencies could even be on the chopping block for DOGE, according to Musk and Ramaswamy. All in all, Musk wants to slash some $2 trillion in spending. Slashing government waste is a relatively popular idea, given that [every president since Bill Clinton has studied it](https://www.govexec.com/management/2024/11/good-luck-department-government-efficiency/401155/). But Musk’s oversight presents a ripe opportunity for potential conflicts of interest, according to Warren. “Mr. Musk is no ordinary citizen,” she wrote, adding that his “substantial private interests present a massive conflict of interest with the role he has taken on as your ‘unofficial co-president.’” Musk is the CEO of Tesla ([TSLA+3.66%](https://qz.com/quote/TSLA)) and SpaceX, the owner of the social media network X, and the founder of Neuralink, xAI, and The Boring Co. His companies have collectively received [billions of dollars](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/20/us/politics/elon-musk-federal-agencies-contracts.html) in government contracts and frequently come into conflict with regulators. He’s threatened to [sue](https://qz.com/spacex-elon-musk-lawsuit-faa-fine-1851650534?_gl=1*j6lruz*_ga*MzI0MTc4MTE1LjE3MzAzMDkyMTg.*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczNDQ1Mzc1My4xMDMuMS4xNzM0NDU1MDUxLjQ5LjAuMA..) the Federal Aviation Administration over delays with SpaceX’s Starship and is currently [attempting to dismantle](https://www.legaldive.com/news/elon-musk-takes-campaign-against-the-regulatory-state-from-labor-to-aviatio/728337/) the National Labor Relations Board. Last week, Musk [published](https://qz.com/elon-musk-sec-gary-gensler-neuralink-tesla-twitter-1851720587) a letter from his lawyer to the Securities and Exchange Commission after it reopened an investigation into Neuralink and issued a 48-hour settlement deadline over a probe into his purchase of X, then named Twitter. In statements posted on X, Musk called the SEC a “weaponized institution doing political dirty work.” Since the election, Musk’s [wealth has ballooned](https://qz.com/elon-musk-net-worth-wealth-spacex-tesla-xai-bezos-meta-1851718701?_gl=1*18x52ci*_ga*MTg5MTcwNzc2MC4xNzMyNTU1MTcy*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczMzg2NjI5MS41LjEuMTczMzg2NjcxNC4yMS4wLjA.), with Forbes estimating his net worth as $453 billion, as Tesla stock has [surged](https://qz.com/tesla-stock-record-election-musk-trump-robots-evs-1851716605) thanks to his relationship with Trump. The president-elect’s team has reportedly discussed a number of actions that would benefit Musk, including [rolling back](https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/trump-transition-recommends-scrapping-car-crash-reporting-requirement-opposed-by-2024-12-13/) car-crash reporting rules Tesla opposed. The entrepreneur has become an almost constant presence in Trump’s orbit since the [2024 election](https://qz.com/elon-musk-donations-donald-trump-election-win-bannon-1851709146), joining calls and meetings with major CEOs and world leaders, while several of his allies have been chosen for roles in Trump’s future administration. “I don’t think so,” [Trump told Time magazine](https://time.com/7201565/person-of-the-year-2024-donald-trump-transcript/) when asked whether Musk has a potential conflict of interest, adding that Musk puts the country “long before his company.” “I mean, he’s in a lot of companies, but he really is, and I’ve seen it. He considers this to be his most important project, and he wanted to do it,” Trump said. Warren has requested that Trump’s team provide answers to a number of questions she posed by December 23. That includes whether Musk has signed the transition team’s ethics agreement and complied with that agreement, what ethical standards will apply to Musk as co-chair of DOGE, and whether he will recuse himself from matters impacting any company he owns or has a “substantial” investment in. This isn’t Warren’s first tangle with Musk. Earlier this year, she [accused](https://qz.com/elon-musk-tesla-board-conflict-of-interest-xai-warren-1851618083) Tesla’s board of directors of “neglecting its duty” and said the Senate should [investigate](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/elizabeth-warren-says-senate-investigate-elon-musks-role-thwarting-att-rcna104891) Musk’s alleged role in preventing a Ukrainian drone from attacking Russia. Since 2021, Musk has called Warren “[Senator Karen](https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/15/investing/elon-musk-elizabeth-warren-taxes/index.html)” while she has repeatedly called for inquiries into his dealings and behavior.

The Massachusetts Democratic senator [Elizabeth Warren](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/elizabeth-warren) has called on [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) to institute new ethics rules to guard against scandals involving appointees such as [Elon Musk](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/elon-musk), the SpaceX, Tesla and X owner who will jointly lead an effort to slash federal spending after the new administration takes power on Monday. Trump “can and should top” Joe Biden’s ethics standards for government officials, Warren told Trump’s transition co-chairs in a letter exclusively obtained by the Guardian. Offering seven suggestions related to lobbyists and lobbying, Warren added: “I encourage you to also consider adding new provisions to address some of the key corruption risks that arose during President Trump’s last administration – including restrictions on special government employees who maintain dual private-sector employment.” Having donated hundreds of millions to Trump’s campaign, Musk installed himself at Trump’s side during transition planning. The South African-born billionaire will now oversee a so-called “department of government and efficiency”, or Doge, an attempt to cut trillions of dollars from government programs, jointly led by Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech investor. Warren also said Trump should institute ethics standards for “former officials who engage in business deals with foreign governments” – an apparent jab at Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and first-term chief adviser whose firm [received](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/jared-kushner-saudi-investment-fund.html) $2bn from a Saudi investment fund shortly after Trump left power four years ago. The recipients of Warren’s letter, Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon, will be subject to ethics standards if confirmed to Trump’s cabinet. Lutnick, chair and chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, is nominated for commerce secretary. McMahon, co-founder and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, was small business administrator in Trump’s first administration and is now nominated for education secretary. In her letter, Warren said an ethics pledge issued under Trump’s name in 2017, at the outset of his first administration, “included unique strengths, such as a strong post-employment ban on lobbying activities and a permanent ban on former officials working as foreign agents. “And while President Biden issued a strong ethics pledge \[in 2021\], it still contained troubling elements, such as narrowing President Trump’s ban on former officials engaging in shadow lobbying” – [defined](https://sunlightfoundation.com/2016/04/19/what-is-shadow-lobbying-how-influence-peddlers-shape-policy-in-the-dark/) by the Sunshine Foundation as “perform\[ing\] advocacy to influence public policy, like meeting legislators or their staff, without registering as a lobbyist”. “President Trump can and should top President Biden’s standard, and his own, with an ethics pledge that includes key improvements,” Warren said, adding: “Each of the last three presidents has required incoming appointees to abide by an ethics pledge, in response to growing public concern about government officials’ conflicts of interest. “President Trump’s own 2017 ethics pledge sought to restrict the ties between appointees and the lobbyists and foreign governments seeking to influence them and to profit from their relationships. “The pledges help fill the gaps in existing ethics law and hold officials to robust standards of public integrity. These pledges have become expected because the American people have seen that, all too often, government officials use their positions to benefit their own pocketbooks, as well as the special interests, and even foreign governments, that have employed them before and after their government service. “Even the appearance of such corruption is enough to damage Americans’ trust in government – which has reached an all-time low and appears to be trending in the wrong direction.” According [to Pew Research](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/06/24/public-trust-in-government-1958-2024/), public trust in the federal government stood at 22% in April 2024. That was up from the year before, when just 16% of Americans “said they trusted the government just about always or most of the time, which was among the lowest measures in nearly seven decades of polling”. Warren’s letter may raise eyebrows among Democrats, given continuing controversy over Trump’s own ethics problems, including a multimillion-dollar business fraud penalty in New York; his appointment of billionaires to key roles; and proliferating lobbying scandals that marked his first term. Prominently, in his first term Trump appointed Scott Pruitt, an oil industry lobbyist, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt eventually [resigned](https://americanoversight.org/investigation/investigating-the-epa-administrator-scott-pruitt/), amid scandal. This week, lobbying work by nominees for key positions in the second Trump administration has come under scrutiny, not least in the case of Pam Bondi, picked for attorney general and recently a [lobbyist](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/us/politics/pam-bondi-trump-ag-lobbyist.html) for interests including Amazon, General Motors, Uber and Qatar. Democrats also charge that Trump never properly divested from his own business interests while in power first time round. Last year, Democrats on the House oversight committee released a [report](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/04/trump-businesses-payment-house-investigation-china-saudi-arabia) that said Trump “repeatedly and willfully” violated the constitution by “allowing his businesses to accept millions of dollars from some of the most corrupt nations on Earth”, prominently including China. Earlier this month, Trump’s company released an ethics pledge, saying he would not be involved while in power. Experts [said](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/10/trump-org-issues-ethics-plan-second-term-critics-say-its-not-enough/) the pledge was not strong enough. In her letter to Lutnick and McMahon, Warren also said Trump should commit not to rescind ethics standards on leaving office, as he did in 2021. That move, countering a campaign promise to “drain the swamp” of Washington corruption, echoed a move by Bill Clinton that Trump had criticized strongly, [saying](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/politics/trump-revokes-lobby-ban/index.html) Clinton “rigged the system on his way out”.