The News Caravan

Category: National

  • GOP drops $1M on Manchin as Justice preps run

    GOP drops $1M on Manchin as Justice preps run

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    Manchin is bristling on a near-daily basis at Biden’s implementation of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act and keeps declining to support the president’s reelection. But Republicans are making clear that last year’s multibillion-dollar bill will be the centerpiece of their campaign to defeat him.

    Splicing in clips of Manchin close to Biden during the law’s signing ceremony, the new ad push claims that “100,000 West Virginia jobs are at risk thanks to Sen. Joe Manchin falling in line with D.C. liberals to pass the Inflation Reduction Act.” And One Nation is signaling more is to come.

    “The so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ will hurt Americans’ quality of life in a lot of ways, and One Nation will continue to advocate against bad policies,” said the group’s president and CEO Steven Law.

    Manchin has not yet announced his own reelection plans, saying he won’t decide on his future until the end of the year. In the meantime, he’s fighting openly with the Biden administration over its implementation of the law he helped write, dinging a missed deadline on stricter sourcing requirements for electric vehicles. On Tuesday he called new EPA emission standards “dangerous.”

    He’s also acknowledged Republicans were likely to come after him for supporting the party-line bill. Manchin cut a slimmed-down deal with Schumer last summer after rejecting a more sweeping plan known as “Build Back Better” in 2021.

    “I’m fighting the administration for trying to implement a piece of legislation we didn’t pass,” Manchin said in an interview, alleging that Biden’s team is stretching the intent of the smaller bill that passed to a more progressive extent. “The intent of the bill was for energy security. And we were not energy secure … Just implement the bill that was passed, not the bill you think you wanted.”

    Manchin has faced tough races before and should never be underestimated, even in a state Biden lost by nearly 40 points. While 2024 could be even more challenging, particularly if Justice gets in, Manchin does have a couple cards up his sleeve: He has nearly $10 million in his campaign account and the support of national Democrats if he runs.

    “West Virginians know Joe Manchin’s work has decreased the deficit and made prescription drugs more affordable. One Nation should save their cash for a bloody primary that will pit Club for Growth’s carpetbagger against Mitch McConnell’s ethically challenged pick,” said Sarah Guggenheimer, a spokesperson for Senate Majority PAC, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

    Polls show Manchin with an early lead against Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) in a hypothetical matchup, but with work to do against Justice. And Justice is close enough to jumping in that he’s looking at several dates for his launch, including April 27, as well as several other days.

    “I do think the governor made a decision,” the Republican strategist close to Justice said, speaking candidly on the condition of anonymity. “It’s only a matter of time.”

    However, Republicans in the state and in D.C. cautioned that Justice is a seat-of-his-pants politician, and a campaign kickoff isn’t final until the moment the governor decides. Not to mention that plenty can change in the GOP primary over the next year; the state’s attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, lost to Manchin in 2018 but decided to run for governor next year after flirting with another Senate bid.

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    #GOP #drops #Manchin #Justice #preps #run
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • DeSantis is in a rut. His trek to D.C. didn’t help.

    DeSantis is in a rut. His trek to D.C. didn’t help.

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    “[DeSantis] is in a much weaker position now than he was a few months ago. Trump is in a much stronger position,” said Sarah Longwell, a moderate Republican strategist. DeSantis, she said, has “had a tough few weeks.”

    While DeSantis stays out of the race — he’s planning an entrance after Florida’s legislative session ends in the coming weeks — Trump has begun to consolidate support. The former president and a PAC boosting him are using the time to hammer away at the Florida governor.

    Three Florida Republicans joined four of their colleagues in endorsing Trump this week: Rep. Greg Steube announced his backing of the former president Monday night on Newsmax, Rep. John Rutherford tweeted his support Tuesday afternoon and Rep. Brian Mast told CNN he would be with Trump. He later confirmed his support to POLITICO, adding he might chair a committee of veterans backing the ex-president.

    In yet another slight, Republican Texas Rep. Lance Gooden issued a statement Tuesday noting he had a “positive meeting” with DeSantis but is still backing Trump.

    At the same time, a PAC backing Trump took to the airwaves with an ad claiming DeSantis will cut Social Security and Medicaid — while mocking him for reportedly once eating chocolate pudding with his fingers. (DeSantis laughed off the jab in an interview with Piers Morgan last month, saying he had no recollection and calling it nonsense.)

    A DeSantis spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment, but his allies have begun pushing back.

    A PAC supporting him has released an ad of its own, showing a clip of him promising to keep the entitlement programs intact and contrasting it with another video of Trump indicating he would consider reducing them.

    The Never Back Down PAC sought to compete with Trump for Florida endorsements on Tuesday, announcing the support of Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), who had worked as his secretary of state. In her statement, Lee cited his “character” and “commitment to core conservative principles” before focusing on what is expected to be DeSantis’ main contrast with Trump: “Ron DeSantis fights for what matters, and he wins when it matters most.”

    In Washington, DeSantis spoke to a jam-packed room at The Heritage Foundation, where congressional staff and family attended with members.

    Many lawmakers weren’t ready to endorse DeSantis, but expressed curiosity about his platform and record. DeSantis drew a solid turnout, even as protesters chanted outside.

    “I want to see a really robust primary. I think it would be healthy for the Republican Party to have a really robust debate on issues,” Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) said. “And I’d love to see whether it’s Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis or some of the others that may run that haven’t announced … There’s some very sharp potential Republican presidential candidates. I would go see any of them.”

    Still, several Republican strategists who have been critical of Trump are voicing concern about DeSantis’ prospects. FiveThirtyEight’s polling average shows him trailing Trump by 23 points but still far outpacing anyone else in the field.

    “In many ways he was the frontrunner even ahead of Trump. He struggled a little bit with how best to handle that,” said Wisconsin Republican operative Mark Graul, who believes DeSantis remains “a very strong contender.”

    “DeSantis is in D.C. to try locking up some endorsements for himself because every time Trump picks up another endorsement, he gets a whole news cycle out of it,” added Longwell, who runs focus groups and publishes The Bulwark. “DeSantis is on the precipice of Trump seeming inevitable.”

    Some donors and supporters are starting to worry about DeSantis’ viability. They’re worried about Trump’s apparent strength, bolstered by backlash to the Manhattan district attorney’s indictment. And in one unusual instance, top GOP donor Thomas Peterffy told the Financial Times he is withholding monetary support for DeSantis’ bid, due to “his stance on abortion and book banning.”

    The move is not just a financial blow; it undercuts DeSantis’ argument that only “woke” Democrats are troubled by his support for legislation that removes flagged books from school library shelves until the book is either banned or deemed appropriate.

    If DeSantis was struggling to get the star treatment in Washington, it wasn’t exactly smooth for him in his home state, either. His long running fight with Disney attracted new criticism from other Republicans — including New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie.

    “He looks like a governor. He peaked months ago,” said one Republican ex-politician from New York who is backing Trump but likes DeSantis and was granted anonymity to speak freely about the dynamics of the race. “I don’t think the party moves forward until we get through [Trump’s] comeback chances. The road to DeSantis 2028 goes through Trump 2024.”

    The person added, “Redemption today, DeSantis tomorrow.”

    Gary Fineout and Ally Mutnick contributed to this report.



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    #DeSantis #rut #trek #D.C #didnt
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Opinion | Biden Can Steamroll Republicans on the Debt Ceiling

    Opinion | Biden Can Steamroll Republicans on the Debt Ceiling

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    There are other ideas floating around, but the one thing they all have in common is that they rely on the Federal Reserve’s cooperation and its willingness to continue acting as the government’s “fiscal agent” — essentially its banker, a role established by the Fed’s statute.

    Under one scenario, for instance, if the Treasury Department decided to switch to issuing low face value, high coupon bonds, the Federal Reserve would have to facilitate the creation of such bonds in their book entry system, facilitate their sale and make periodic interest payments on Treasury’s behalf. Alternatively, if the Biden administration decided to declare the debt ceiling unconstitutional, or made other similar maneuvers, the Fed would again have to facilitate auctions of securities and defer to Treasury legal interpretation. In this sense, the platinum coin option is the most straightforward one since it draws on the Federal Reserve’s most basic “fiscal agent” responsibilities — accepting deposits.

    Naturally then, the conversation around unilateral White House options has come to focus on the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell. When asked in February whether he’d follow Treasury’s direction in issuing payments amid a debt ceiling crisis, Powell dodged, cryptically stating “In terms of our relationship with the Treasury, we are their fiscal agent. And I’m just going to leave it at that.”

    In fact, in a largely overlooked episode from the recent past, Powell already showed he’d be willing to do whatever it takes to avoid the catastrophic consequences of federal default. To truly understand what Powell’s Fed is prepared to do, go back to what he said when he was a Fed governor during 2013’s debt ceiling crisis.

    Despite the Federal Reserve’s uneven record on transparency, it does eventually release transcripts of some of its most critical meetings in the years after they happen. And in an October 2013 conference call, Fed officials discussed a memo with options for how to respond to a government default. On that call, Powell and most of his colleagues reluctantly endorsed buying defaulted Treasury securities — an unprecedented move to maintain financial stability — if a legislative debt ceiling solution did not come in time.

    Here’s the key exchange between Powell and then-Fed Chair Ben Bernanke (options “8 and 9” in the memo are purchases of defaulted Treasury securities and the Fed “swapping” non-defaulted Treasury securities for defaulted Treasury securities):

    Powell’s willingness to purchase defaulted Treasury securities — however “loathsome” he finds it — casts the entire debate over bypassing Congress on the debt ceiling in a new light. No option under discussion is more extreme, from the Federal Reserve’s point of view, than stepping in and buying compromised securities of uncertain underlying value. If Powell will buy Treasury securities in the face of government default, he will almost certainly fulfill the Federal Reserve’s legal responsibilities as a fiscal agent and allow the Treasury Department to avoid government default in the first place.

    In fact, Powell’s comments on disclosure in this meeting are especially revealing in that they signal he won’t be more forthright about what he will do in public until the last minute:

    In short, not only will Powell likely not interfere with any of the White House’s options to make an end run around the debt ceiling, his deflection on how he would respond to the Biden administration is consistent with what he said privately back in 2013.

    The moves up for debate should also be considered less “loathsome” to the Fed because they would involve doing as the Treasury directs, rather than stepping into a charged political environment on its own. Buying defaulted Treasury securities would stem from the Fed’s independent judgment about its own financial stability mandate. In contrast, if the Treasury mints a trillion dollar coin, Powell could accurately tell the press that he did so at Treasury’s order to fulfill the Fed’s legal obligation as the government’s banker.

    No doubt the Fed would experience some political blowback from the right if it went along with a unilateral White House maneuver. But clearly Powell sees the prospect of an actual federal default as far more explosive and worth avoiding at all costs.

    Given that the Federal Reserve is not a real barrier to solving the debt ceiling crisis without Congress, the White House has the freedom to be bolder. Joe Biden and Janet Yellen should threaten to deploy any of the alternative options being proposed, and if Republicans don’t pass a “clean” debt ceiling increase, simply use one of them. The White House doesn’t have to negotiate with hostage takers, so it shouldn’t.

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    #Opinion #Biden #Steamroll #Republicans #Debt #Ceiling
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • RJR uses California as test market for skirting upcoming national menthol cigarette ban

    RJR uses California as test market for skirting upcoming national menthol cigarette ban

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    210429 menthol cigarettes gty 773

    Menthol cigarettes make up nearly 40 percent of cigarette sales and are particularly popular in minority communities. About 90 percent of Black smokers report using menthol products.

    RJR, whose Newport brand is one of the most popular menthol cigarettes on the market, has been packaging its new cigarettes in blue and green boxes — similar to its menthol predecessors — and aggressively marketing them to menthol smokers.

    “It’s definitely a test case,” for tobacco companies to figure out how to offset lost sales as the government moves to outlaw menthol cigarettes, said Alex Liber, an assistant professor in the department of oncology at Georgetown University’s School of Medicine who studies tobacco sale trends.

    Though RJR’s new cigarettes haven’t entirely replaced the state’s quashed menthol market yet, sales are “rapidly rising,” Liber said.

    Luis Pinto, an RJR spokesperson, said the company’s new products don’t violate California state law because they don’t have a distinguishable taste or aroma other than tobacco. He added that the FDA cleared these products for market, and declined to elaborate.

    RJR sold 2.8 million packs of Camel-branded menthol cigarettes and 2 million packs of Newport-branded menthol cigarettes in California in March 2022, according to Liber’s data. This year, Camel sold 1.4 million “California compliant” packs, and Newport sold about 800,000 “California compliant” packs.

    “The rate of increase month-on-month was huge, effectively starting from zero in December when the [state] ban came into place,” Liber said. “This figure will grow in … April and May of this year.”

    Both the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Justice say they’re aware of the new products, but public health doesn’t have the power to enforce the ban and the state attorney general wouldn’t comment on a potential investigation.

    Abigail Capobianco, an FDA spokesperson, declined to comment on RJR’s new cigarettes. But she said that at the federal level, the final rule banning menthol cigarettes will be comprehensive. “The final rule will take into consideration all of the public comments, including comments on compliance and enforcement of the rule, such as how [the tobacco industry] may attempt to evade the requirements of the rule,” she said. The ban is expected in August of this year.

    What’s flavored tobacco?

    California law defines a flavored tobacco product as any product that has a “distinguishable taste or aroma, or both, other than the taste or aroma of tobacco, imparted by a tobacco product or any byproduct produced by the tobacco product.”

    There is no federal definition of flavor in tobacco products, but in the proposed language for a national menthol cigarette ban, the FDA defines flavor as “the multisensory experience ( i.e., taste, aroma and cooling or burning sensations in the mouth and throat) of a flavor during use of a tobacco product.”

    “On the proposed federal menthol ban, we strongly believe there are more effective ways to deliver tobacco harm reduction than banning products,” Pinto added.

    Legal experts said the only way these new cigarettes could be sold in California is if they don’t raise new public health issues. They point to the FDA’s substantial equivalence marketing authorization — a pathway for tobacco companies to bring a new product to market that has either the same traits as existing products or is a similar product with minor changes.

    “The FDA is the entity that should enforce this problem,” said Desmond Jenson, the deputy director of the commercial tobacco control program at the Public Health Law Center. “But it is also the unfortunate truth that the FDA created this problem by authorizing these products.”

    Menthol is a naturally occurring chemical in some plants with a minty flavor. It provides a cooling sensation on the body surfaces it touches, which makes it easier for the user to inhale the burning tobacco. They aren’t inherently more harmful than traditional tobacco cigarettes, but they do make it easier to start smoking and they make it harder to quit, according to the CDC.

    Sairam Jabba, a senior research scientist focusing on tobacco regulatory science at Duke University, said that the reason RJR’s new products don’t seem to violate California’s flavor ban is because the state’s flavor definition is vague. “It gives a lot of room for these tobacco companies to go around and add chemicals like the synthetic cooling agents that don’t have a specific aroma or taste, but have the same pharmacological effects as menthol,” he said.

    ‘California compliant’

    RJR says some of its new products, like the Camel Crisp, contain a lab-made chemical called ethyl menthane carboxamide, or WS3. That chemical has less of the minty odor than menthol, but it gives the body the same cooling, soothing effect as conventional menthol cigarettes.

    Other new “California-compliant” cigarette products don’t list WS3 as an ingredient, but RJR’s spokesperson declined further comment, explaining that the company considers many of its ingredients to be proprietary and is only required to list them under a cover-all description of “natural and artificial flavors.”

    In some ways, the vague language of flavored cigarette product definitions is intentional, some experts said. “The last thing that a regulator would want to do … is come up with a definition that inadvertently excluded something that should have been included,” said Mitch Zeller, the former head of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.

    “People were completely blindsided by it, and they’re trying to figure out what to do,” said Phillip Gardiner, co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, a group that advocates to remove flavored tobacco products.

    The state of play in California doesn’t bode well for the forthcoming federal ban of menthol cigarettes, either, when the responsibility of enforcement will shift to the FDA.

    More than a few federal lawmakers said the FDA’s track record for clearing the market of illegal tobacco products has been dismal. Last month, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wrote to the head of FDA and the Department of Justice to ask why the agencies have failed to remove hundreds of vapes without marketing authorization from store shelves. And in March, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said the committee is probing the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products in part over its failure to clear the market of unauthorized tobacco products. The FDA said it would address Durbin privately, and did not comment on the CTP investigation. The DOJ did not respond to an inquiry about Durbin’s request.

    It’ll be challenging to enforce a flavored cigarette ban “as there is a population of people, who want mentholated products,” said Dave Dobbins, a former chief operating officer of the Truth Initiative, an advocacy group that focuses on reducing youth smoking, who now consults for the tobacco company Altria.

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    #RJR #California #test #market #skirting #upcoming #national #menthol #cigarette #ban
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Democratic governors lose their grip as Republicans nab supermajorities

    Democratic governors lose their grip as Republicans nab supermajorities

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    Conservatives are triumphant about the recent legislative victories they see as shoring up support among their base and solidifying future success at the ballot box. And that’s left many Democrats, who are facing dwindling numbers in state legislatures throughout the South and parts of the Midwest, feeling deflated and helpless.

    “If people are power-hungry enough, they’ll do whatever they can to keep power and control it,” North Carolina state Sen. Sydney Batch, a moderate Democrat representing parts of Raleigh, said in an interview.

    The rise of these 29 supermajorities — seven of which emerged since the 2022 midterms — can be attributed to two things: GOP-crafted redistricting that protects the party’s candidates, and the polarization of the nation’s politics. And while anti-transgender laws have been passed in places like Idaho, Indiana, Iowa and Arkansas, the consequences are particularly challenging for the Democratic governors of Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana and North Carolina, who joust with a GOP legislature. (Vermont’s Phil Scott is the only Republican governor with a Democratic-controlled supermajority legislature.)

    Cooper, of North Carolina, has highlighted his role in stopping “bad culture war legislation” coming from a GOP legislature he’s faced since stepping into office in 2017. But Republicans have a supermajority in the Senate and, until recently, a working supermajority in the House by tapping persuadable Democrats to join their causes.

    Last month they bypassed Cooper’s veto on a bill that eliminates a requirement for sheriffs to issue a permit before someone buys a handgun, marking the first time Republicans successfully overrode him since 2018.

    Since that vote, however, a House Democrat has switched parties, giving Republicans an official supermajority in that chamber.

    Under the new law, sheriffs will no longer have the authority to deny permits based on criminal background checks or mental health evaluations. Bill supporters had argued that the handgun permitting process was burdensome for sheriffs and duplicative of the national background check system.

    “After years of Gov. Roy Cooper obstructing our Constitutional rights, today marks a long overdue victory for law-abiding gun owners in our state,” a group of Republican lawmakers said in a joint statement the day the legislation was approved for the second time. They also issued a warning for the term-limited Democrat: Their veto “set forth a path to overcoming any future impediments from the lame-duck governor.”

    They’re likely right that more veto overrides may be coming down the pipeline. Democrats are on edge about the prospects of Republicans agreeing to abortion restrictions that they have little means of stopping. Under current law, the procedure remains legal for up to 20 weeks of pregnancy but Republicans are considering rolling back the threshold to 12 weeks or less. Cooper has vowed to reject such legislation.

    Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, another Democratic leader of a red state, is dealing with a similar situation. Last month, Republicans dismissed his refusal to sign legislation banning transgender children from receiving gender-affirming health care and dictating what bathrooms they can use.



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    #Democratic #governors #lose #grip #Republicans #nab #supermajorities
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Republican in-fighting gets heated in the most important governor’s race in 2023

    Republican in-fighting gets heated in the most important governor’s race in 2023

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    “Craft has bought herself into a two person race,” said Scott Jennings, a well-known Republican operative in the state who has remained neutral in the contest. “The question is ‘is there enough runway left?’”

    But the brutal primary between the two could also come at a cost. The Kentucky governorship is a prime target for Republicans this year — with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear occupying the governorship in a state Trump won by 26 points in 2020. The circular firing squad now unfolding in the GOP primary is giving an already popular Democratic incumbent an opening to peel off at least a sliver of Republican voters turned off by the in-fighting.

    Public polling for the primary has been incredibly sparse in the race — a recent poll from Emerson College/Fox56 released last week had Cameron at 30 percent and Craft at 24 percent — but Republicans believe the race has tightened since the beginning of the year, when Cameron was broadly believed to have a yawning lead.

    Republicans point to two big inflection points left on the calendar: The lone debate where all three of the top-tier candidates will share a stage — a May 1 faceoff hosted by Kentucky Educational Television — and arguably the biggest event all year in the state: The Kentucky Derby. It falls just 10 days before the primary election.

    Craft has loaned her campaign $7 million since the start of the year, according to campaign finance reports filed on Tuesday night, with an additional $260,000 coming from other donors. Cameron, by comparison, raised just over $400,000 in that same time period.

    Ryan Quarles, the state agriculture commissioner, is a possible viable third candidate in the race — especially if the fight between Cameron and Kelly becomes hotter. Quarles was at 15 percent in the Emerson poll, the only other candidate sniffing double digits, and has touted a deep bench of endorsements from across the state’s 120 counties.

    Craft’s campaign and Commonwealth PAC, a super PAC supporting her bid, have been throwing most of the haymakers, with Craft until relatively recently having the TV airwaves all to herself.

    A pair of ads from her campaign looked to tie Cameron to President Joe Biden, Beshear and Obama on the future of a West Virginia coal plant — a deep blow in a state that has historically been the home to the coal industry.

    And in a series of ads, the super PAC has used an extended motif of Cameron being a “soft establishment teddy bear,” literally transforming Cameron into a stuffed bear in a suit at the end of the ads. The most recent one is the Bragg ad, going after Cameron for at one point supporting cash bail reform. (“Prosecuted Trump!” the ad declares as a video of Bragg talking about bail reform plays.) It ends by morphing the two men into teddy bears.

    Cameron’s backers have just started hitting back on the airwaves. On Tuesday, a pro-Cameron super PAC Bluegrass Freedom Action launched a new ad saying a “desperate Kelly Craft falsely attacks” Cameron, while noting that Trump has endorsed Cameron, not Craft. And in a statement to POLITICO, the super PAC’s general consultant Aaron Whitehead questioned if she was eligible to run for office under the state’s residency requirement.

    “Absentee Ambassador Kelly Craft was a no show for her previous job — and now she’s pulling the same trick on Kentuckians by trying to buy her way out of a scandal,” Whitehead said. “No one knows if she actually lives in Kentucky or still lives in Oklahoma — which could disqualify her from the ballot.”

    The group’s charge relies on reporting from POLITICO in 2019 that found she spent roughly a third of her time as U.S. ambassador to Canada in Kentucky or Oklahoma, along with federal and state political donations she has made through the 2022 cycle with an Oklahoma address. State law requires gubernatorial candidates to be a “citizen and resident of Kentucky for at least 6 years next preceding his [sic] election.”

    Craft’s campaign was dismissive of the broadside from the super PAC. “The only thing more palpable than the momentum behind Kelly Craft is the Cameron team’s desperation,” Kristin Davison, a senior adviser for Craft, said in a statement.

    Cameron could also lean more into Trump — who endorsed his campaign last summer, shortly after Craft and her husband, coal magnate Joe Craft, were prominently pictured with the former president at the Kentucky Derby but months before her own campaign launch.

    Kentucky’s most powerful Republican in Washington, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, has not publicly weighed in on the race. But he has close ties to both candidates.

    Craft and her husband have been longtime financial supporters of McConnell and the Republican Party more broadly. The then-Senate majority leader was instrumental in getting Craft nominated and confirmed to be U.N. ambassador.

    Cameron has perhaps even deeper ties. He worked in McConnell’s office for two years and was widely assumed to be the successor-in-waiting for McConnell’s seat in the Senate when he eventually retires. Cameron’s decision to run for governor caught many by surprise, both in Washington and Kentucky.

    Davison, the adviser to Craft, took a swipe at that close relationship between the two men in her statement, saying Cameron’s team was “having a bad morning after finding out their Mitch McConnell-groomed candidate has fallen a net 19 points over the last few weeks.”

    Madison Fernandez contributed to this report.

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    #Republican #infighting #heated #important #governors #race
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Jr NTR’s wife Pranathi enjoys night shopping in Charminar during Ramzan

    Jr NTR’s wife Pranathi enjoys night shopping in Charminar during Ramzan

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    Jr NTR's wife Pranathi enjoys night shopping in Charminar during Ramzan

    Hyderabad: Lakshmi Pranathi is known as the better half of Jr NTR, but she is much more than that. The Telugu superstar’s low-key wife has managed to keep a relatively low profile in the public eye, much to the delight of her fans. However, a leaked photo of Pranathi shopping at Charminar has created on the internet.

    Pranathi is seen in the photo dressed simply and accompanied by two bodyguards as she shops in the bustling night bazaar in old city during Ramzan. Pictures of Pranathi’s visit to the iconic market in Hyderabad have been making rounds on social media, with fans excited to see the star’s wife indulging in the festive shopping spree.

    Jr NTR wife Lakshmi Pranathi shopping at Charminar Night Bazaar jpg

    Viral picture of Pranathi’s visit to the iconic market in Hyderabad have been making rounds on social media, with fans excited to see the star’s wife indulging in the festive shopping spree. Fans have praised her down-to-earth personality, with many taking to social media to express their admiration for her simple way of life.

    MS Education Academy

    Despite being married to Jr. NTR, one of Tollywood‘s most popular actors, Pranathi is rarely seen in public, preferring to keep a low profile and maintain her privacy. Her recent appearance at Charminar has thus thrilled fans.

    Lakshmi Pranathi clearly prefers to let her husband be the center of attention. Pranathi is a true example of grace and simplicity, whether she’s shopping at the night bazaar or cheering on her husband at international events.

    Subscribe us on The Siasat Daily - Google News



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    #NTRs #wife #Pranathi #enjoys #night #shopping #Charminar #Ramzan

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • 48 hrs after Shiv Sena (UBT)’s plea, Maha govt bans open-air rallies

    48 hrs after Shiv Sena (UBT)’s plea, Maha govt bans open-air rallies

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    Mumbai: In a major decision, the Maharashtra government has banned all open-air public meetings/rallies between 12 noon to 5 p.m., state Tourism Minister Mangal Prabha Lodha said here on Wednesday.

    The move came three days after the deaths of 14 people, ‘Shrisadasyas’, who died hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah conferred the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan Award’ 2022 on social reformer Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari, revered as Appasaheb, at an open-air event which attracted an estimated 20 lakh followers.

    The development also came 48 hours after Shiv Sena (UBT) Kishore Tiwari made a strong plea to the Centre and state governments to come out with a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all such mega-events and prevent recurrence of such calamities with loss of precious human lives.

    MS Education Academy

    Lodha said that the decision has been taken after the “unfortunate disaster in Navi Mumbai and to avoid similar tragedies in future”.

    State Congress President Nana Patole said on Wednesday that given new social media photos/videos, the government must clarify whether the deaths took place due to a stampede at the award venue.

    “What is the truth, and what is the government suppressing? Both the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must resign. I am appealing to Governor Ramesh Bais to sack this regime,” Patole said sternly.

    On Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Party’s Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar had demanded a judicial probe by a retired judge into the tragedy, and lodging culpable homicide cases against all those found guilty for the shortcomings.

    Pointing out that the state government had sqaundered Rs 13 crore for the Rs 25-Lakh Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Tiwari asked Shinde-Fadnavis to give compensation of at least Rs 1 crore to the kin of each deceased who hailed from very poor families.

    Senior leaders of other political parties including Atul Londe, Clyce Crasto, Dr. Raghunath Kuchik, Trade Unions Joint Action Committee state convenor Vishwas Utagi, NGOs and social activists have slammed the state government for the lapses leading to the tragedy.

    Moved by the tragedy, Shah expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives after he gave away the Maharashtra Bhushan Award to Appasaheb Dharmadhikari on Sunday.

    “My heart is heavy with the passing of the ‘Shrisadasyas’ who lost their lives due to heatstroke while attending the Maharashtra Bhushan Award ceremony held yesterday I pray for the speedy recovery of those who are undergoing treatment,” said Shah.

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    #hrs #Shiv #Sena #UBTs #plea #Maha #govt #bans #openair #rallies

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Watch: Sultan Al Neyadi sends back critical research sample from ISS

    Watch: Sultan Al Neyadi sends back critical research sample from ISS

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    Watch: Sultan Al Neyadi sends back critical research sample from ISS

    Abu Dhabi: The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) on Tuesday announced Sultan Al Neyadi along with his crew was responsible for sending back critical research samples on the Dragon cargo spacecraft before its return from the 27th contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

    The spacecraft carrying approximately 1950 kg of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth, splashed down off the coast of Tampa, Florida in the US on Sunday at 12:58 UAE time.

    Al Neyadi, who has been working on scientific experiments on the ISS, completed the stowage of critical research samples along with his Expedition 69 crew members, that include NASA’s Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg and Frank Rubio. Al Neyadi further accessed the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer (MELFI) on the ISS, that can reach temperatures to a low of -100°C, to preserve some samples before sending them to Earth and was also involved in loading the used station hardware inside the Dragon spacecraft.

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    Some of the scientific investigations that were returned to Earth include the following:

    • Space tomato harvest: Studying the growth, nutritional value, and microbial safety of dwarf tomatoes grown in a miniature greenhouse aboard the ISS, which could improve food systems and horticultural therapy on Earth.
    • Growing higher quality crystals: Testing a crystal growth method for silicon-germanium (SiGe) semiconductors in space, with potential applications in solar cells and electronics.
    • Analysing aging arteries: Monitoring arterial changes in astronauts to identify cardiovascular risks and provide insight for prevention and treatment of arterial stiffness on Earth.
    • Fire safety: Investigating burning and flammability in microgravity to enhance fire safety for future space missions, and improve combustion models for terrestrial applications.

    Al Neyadi also activated the Dragon spacecraft’s monitoring tools and software and closed the vehicle’s hatch before it undocked from the ISS. After splashing down off the coast of Florida, the Dragon cargo carrying the experiments were transported to NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth’s gravity. The completed research and discarded lab gear will now be sent to scientists and engineers around the world for analysis.

    (Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Shah Rukh Khan, Nayanthara’s Jawan budget is Rs…

    Shah Rukh Khan, Nayanthara’s Jawan budget is Rs…

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    Mumbai: The much-anticipated film ‘Jawan’ starring Shah Rukh Khan, is attracting attention not only for its star-studded cast but also for its massive budget. The upcoming action thriller, directed by Atlee, stars SRK alongside two South Indian superstars, Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi.

    Any guesses what’s the film budget is? According to popular Twitter page and box office expert Harminder, it is Rs 220 crore.

    The massive budget of ‘Jawan’ is unsurprising given the film’s grand scale, which includes exotic locations and cutting-edge special effects. Atlee is known in the South Indian film industry for his blockbuster hits, and with SRK’s star power, the film is expected to set new standards in Indian cinema.

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    Despite the high price, the producers of ‘Jawan’ are optimistic about the film’s commercial success, owing to its gripping storyline, high-octane action sequences, and stellar performances. The film’s first poster displayed SRK’s unwavering dedication to pushing the boundaries of Indian cinema and would provide SRK fans with an unforgettable cinematic experience.

    Finally, with its large budget, talented ensemble cast, and grand scale, “Jawan” is one of the most anticipated Indian films of the year. Fans are eager to see if it will live up to their expectations and become a box-office smash.



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    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )