Supreme court to hear new challenge to Biden’s student debt relief plan – live - The Guardian US

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The US government’s commercialized regulator is weighing whether to OK the merger of 2 of the country’s largest supermarket chains, adjacent arsenic workers fret it could pb to wide layoffs, Michael Sainato reports:

Thousands of workers astatine 2 of America’s biggest supermarkets are informing of imaginable wide layoffs arsenic the elephantine firms propulsion for a merger.

Kroger, the 2nd largest market chain successful the US, and Albertsons, the 4th largest, are pushing for a merger done the Federal Trade Commission, which is reviewing the proposal.

Local unions representing implicit 100,000 Albertsons and Kroger workers powerfully oppose the merger due to the fact that of its apt interaction connected competition, prices for consumers, and occupation cuts that volition effect arsenic scores of stores are divested.

During US Senate sheet hearings, Kroger’s main executive, Rodney McMullen, claimed nary employees would beryllium laid off, but said the institution planned to spot 100 to 350 stores into a spin-off company. Albertsons announced it would wage shareholders astir $4bn successful peculiar dividends arsenic portion of the merger agreement, and spend $24.6bn to get Kroger, with expectations to adjacent the woody by aboriginal 2024 if approved by national regulators.

“A triumph for our customers, a triumph for our associates, and a triumph for the communities,” McMullen has said successful enactment of the merger. McMullen’s wage of $18m successful full compensation is 679 times that of the median idiosyncratic astatine Kroger.

But galore market workers who witnessed the 2014 and 2015 merger betwixt Albertsons and Safeway saw akin promises made and past breached by firm executives.

Joe Biden is nether unit from media organizations and others to driblet the prosecution of WikiLeaks laminitis Julian Assange, Eric Lichtblau reports:

The Biden administration has been saying each the close things lately astir respecting a escaped and vigorous press, aft 4 years of relentless media-bashing and ineligible assaults nether Donald Trump.

The lawyer general, Merrick Garland, has adjacent enactment successful spot expanded protections for journalists this fall, saying that “a escaped and autarkic property is captious to the functioning of our democracy”.

But the biggest trial of Biden’s committedness remains imprisoned successful a jailhouse compartment successful London, wherever WikiLeaks laminitis Julian Assange has been held since 2019 portion facing prosecution successful the United States nether the Espionage Act, a century-old statute that has ne'er been utilized earlier for publishing classified information.

The January 6 committee’s mandate expires astatine the extremity of the year, and it inactive needs to merchandise its study into the insurrection and determine whether to marque ceremonial transgression referrals to the justness department.

The committee’s seat Bennie Thompson has said to expect the report’s merchandise connected 21 December, portion NBC News contiguous has details of wherever lawmakers are successful their deliberations of who to notation to prosecutors for imaginable charges:

Supreme tribunal to perceive different situation to Biden indebtedness forgiveness plan

The ultimate tribunal has agreed to instrumentality up a 2nd situation to Joe Biden’s program to cancel arsenic overmuch arsenic $20,000 successful national pupil loans, Bloomberg reports:

Announced successful August, the program has been connected hold aft Republicans successful six states sued, saying the White House had exceeded its authority. The ultimate tribunal has besides agreed to perceive that case, apt sometime betwixt precocious February and aboriginal March.

The unit is rising successful Congress arsenic it faces a Friday deadline to walk a spending statement oregon hazard a authorities shutdown.

Neither Democrats oregon Republicans privation to spot the authorities tally retired of funding, and it’s apt they’ll walk a measure to support it open, but astir apt lone for different week. The volition determination is to bargain clip to question an statement connected an omnibus spending bill, which volition beryllium filled with some Democratic and Republican priorities, and apt beryllium capable to support the authorities moving for different year.

For Democrats, specified a woody would beryllium 1 past amusement of unit by their unified Congress, earlier the Republicans instrumentality implicit the House of Representatives astatine the commencement of adjacent year. But getting a woody done volition necessitate extended negotiations, and astir surely the votes of astatine slightest immoderate Republicans successful the Senate.

In a motion of however things are going, Democratic legislator Brian Schatz said prospects an omnibus measure would walk are improving:

Greene’s comments person not been good received by Joe Biden’s White House.

Spokesman Andrew Bates responded angrily, according to CBS News. Here’s what helium had to say:

It “goes against our cardinal values arsenic a state for a Member of Congress to privation that the carnage of January 6th had been adjacent worse, and to boast that she would person succeeded successful an equipped insurrection against the United States government. This convulsive rhetoric is simply a slap successful the look to the Capitol Police, the DC Metropolitan Police, the National Guard, and the families who mislaid loved ones arsenic a effect of the onslaught connected the Capitol. All leaders person a work to condemn these dangerous, abhorrent remarks and basal up for our Constitution and the regularisation of law.”

Over the weekend, 1 of Donald Trump’s staunchest allies successful Congress appeared to marque the lawsuit to beryllium enactment successful complaint of the adjacent insurrection, the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington reports:

The far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has bragged that had she and the erstwhile Donald Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon been successful complaint of organizing the insurrection astatine the US Capitol connected January 6, 2021, the convulsive assemblage would person won, and everyone successful it “would’ve been armed”.

The notorious provocateur made her comments astir the deadly January 6 onslaught during a code to a gala of the New York Young Republicans Club connected Park Avenue successful Manhattan connected Saturday night. Hatewatch monitored the lawsuit connected behalf of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Greene, who entered the US House arsenic a recently elected typical from Georgia past year, said: “January 6 happened, and adjacent happening you know, I organized the full thing, on with Steve Bannon here. And I volition archer you something, if Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would person won. Not to mention, it would’ve been armed.”

She went on: “See that’s the full joke, isn’t it? They accidental that full happening was planned and I’m like, are you kidding me? A clump of conservatives, 2nd amendment supporters, went successful the Capitol without guns, and they deliberation that we organized that? I don’t deliberation so.”

In stroke to Trump, Mar-a-Lago papers reappraisal officially ends

A national justice has formally ended Donald Trump’s effort to person a court-appointed authoritative reappraisal documents taken by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago, which had slowed advancement of the probe into whether helium illegally held connected to authorities secrets aft leaving the White House, Bloomberg reports:

The ruling by Judge Aileen Cannon, who had primitively granted the erstwhile president’s petition to name a peculiar maestro successful the case, came aft an appeals tribunal ruled she ne'er should person made that decision.

The extremity of the peculiar maestro reappraisal came aft Trump’s ineligible squad decided not to entreaty the substance to the ultimate court, wherever the erstwhile president has been connected a losing streak lately. Trump had requested the assignment of a peculiar maestro aft national agents searched his southbound Florida spot successful August, arguing a reappraisal was indispensable to support prosecutors from utilizing documents covered by enforcement oregon attorney-client privilege successful their investigation. Critics claimed the peculiar maestro process lone served to frustrate the national enquiry into whether the erstwhile president unlawfully took concealed materials with him aft leaving the White House past year.

Bernie Sanders whitethorn beryllium a chap independent, but helium says he’s acceptable to instrumentality connected Arizona legislator Kyrsten Sinema implicit her determination past week to permission the Democratic party, the Guardian’s Ramon Antonio Vargas reports:

The fashionable progressive US legislator Bernie Sanders would see supporting immoderate Democrat who mightiness equine a situation against his enclosure workfellow Kyrsten Sinema aft she precocious near the enactment and declared herself an autarkic similar him, arguing that she has “helped sabotage” immoderate of Congress’s astir important legislation.

Sanders’s comments connected Sunday connected CNN’s State of the Union added to the chorus of detractors against the Arizona lawmaker who has undermined the docket of the Joe Biden White House and different progressives, including by voting down raising the minimum wage to $15 an hr and reforming the Senate filibuster truthful that voting rights authorities tin pass.

The autarkic from Vermont who votes successful enactment with Democratic interests told the amusement host, Dana Bash, that the leftwing party’s members successful Arizona were “not each that enthusiastic astir idiosyncratic who helped sabotage immoderate of the astir important authorities that protects the interests of moving families and voting rights and truthful forth”.

Shifting for a infinitesimal from our perchance fusion-powered aboriginal to matters that are amazingly not successful the past, Maya Yang reports that a caller victor has emerged successful a Massachusetts section contention aft each ballots formed successful the 8 November predetermination were counted again:

A recount successful a governmental contention successful Massachusetts has flipped a authorities location of representatives predetermination from Republican to Democrat by a azygous vote.

Democrat Kristin Kassner won against her Republican hostile and five-term incumbent Lenny Mirra earlier this week aft a recount that shrank the candidates’ constrictive ballot shortage to one. The candidates were each vying for a spot based successful the North Shore area, which is simply a coastal portion betwixt Boston and New Hampshire.

Before the recount, Mirra led Kassner by 10 votes retired of implicit 23,000 ballots that were formed successful that portion during the 8 November midterm election.

The 10-vote shortage was wrong the ineligible threshold of a recount. On 30 November, the Massachusetts caput of state, Bill Galvin, ordered manus recounts successful a wide country wherever Mirra held a slim advantage.

After officials recounted the votes successful question Thursday, the results emerged arsenic 11,763 to 11,762.

Kassner was up by the slightest of margins.

Energy caput Jennifer Granholm and her under-secretary for atomic information Jill Hruby are expected to denote “a large technological breakthrough” connected Tuesday, the Financial Times reports, which volition probably beryllium the occurrence of an experimentation to get much vigor retired of a fusion absorption than was enactment in.

While the FT’s nonfiction has 3 unnamed sources confirming that specified a improvement did occur, the section tried to discourage the insubstantial from getting up of its ceremonial announcement.

“Initial diagnostic information suggests different palmy experimentation astatine the National Ignition Facility. However, the nonstop output is inactive being determined and we can’t corroborate that it is implicit the threshold astatine this time,” the section told the paper.

“That investigation is successful process, truthful publishing the accusation … before that process is implicit would beryllium inaccurate.”

US laboratory reportedly makes fusion breakthrough successful boost to Biden's cleanable vigor agenda

Good morning, US authorities readers. The terms of gasoline and different vigor sources are ever a liability for American presidents, and Joe Biden is nary exception. But what if those nary longer mattered? That’s the committedness from a breakthrough successful fusion powerfulness made by American scientists, who managed to get much vigor retired of a absorption than they enactment in, the Financial Times reported implicit the weekend. The authorities hasn’t announced the experiment’s results yet and it volition astir apt beryllium years, if not decades, for fusion to go a large portion of the electrical grid. Nonetheless, the breakthrough volition apt beryllium invited quality for a White House keen to tout its dedication to promoting carbon-free vigor sources.

Here’s what other is going connected today:

• Congress is up against a Friday deadline to money the authorities oregon hazard a shutdown, 1 of a big of year-end legislative priorities the Democratic bulk is trying to get done earlier Republicans instrumentality the House adjacent year.

• Biden’s lone nationalist event volition beryllium a sojourn to a Marine Corps Toys for Tots lawsuit astatine a subject basal conscionable crossed the stream from Washington held astatine 12:40 p.m. eastbound time.

• White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre volition beryllium joined by nationalist information advisor Jake Sullivan astatine her briefing today, astatine 3 p.m. eastbound time.