Social media stoked Sunday’s attack by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro on Brazil’s Congressional building, federal court and presidential palace, NPR reports. The riot was organized on such outlets as Telegram and Whatsapp, often using coded language, and was livestreamed by Bolsonaro supporters on YouTube, and could be found on Facebook, TikTok and Twitter, according to a report on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Bolsonaro supporters were also cheered on January 8 by Donald J. Trump confidant and supporter Steve Bannon, as “freedom fighters.” NPR notes that Facebook is expected to announce soon whether ex-President Trump will be allowed to return to the platform. Trump’s two-year Facebook ban was up on Sunday, January 8.
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Debt Ceiling Showdown to Come?
TUESDAY 1/11/23
With a thin majority in the 118th Congress, House Republicans have no chance of getting such controversial legislation as rescinding IRS funding (see right column) through the Democratic-majority Senate and back to President Biden’s desk. But the 221 Republican members of the House can deny an increase in the federal debt ceiling necessary to pay for an already-passed budget and potentially shut the government down. After House Republicans voted to approve Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) rules package Monday, ex-President Trump called on them to "play tough" on the debt ceiling, stoking "fears of a chaotic Congress," according to The Guardian.
That’s the sort of disruption House Democrats, as expressed by minority whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, fear of the concessions Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made to secure the votes to become speaker.
“Kevin McCarthy hasn’t held the speaker’s gavel for a whole week,” Clark said, “and already he’s handed over the keys to MAGA extremists and special interests for the next two years.”
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Feinstein Gets a Push – Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) turns 90 this coming June, and already she is the oldest member of Congress. Feinstein has filed paperwork for re-election for 2024, though she has not declared her candidacy for a sixth full term (she won a special election in 1992).
But on Monday, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) announced Monday she is running for U.S. Senate in 2024. California’s other U.S. senator, fellow Democrat Alex Padilla, won re-election in 2022 (California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed him to replace Kamala Harris when she became vice president in 2021) and therefore is not up for re-election until 2028.
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