The News Caravan

Tag: overhaul

  • House GOP plots crypto overhaul

    House GOP plots crypto overhaul

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    Why it matters: It’s unclear what the committee will propose, but the effort comes as federal banking and markets regulators ramp up enforcement of traditional financial regulations in the crypto space. Digital asset firms are urging Congress to carve out a specialized rulebook for crypto, as some jurisdictions like the European Union have started to do.

    The recent crackdown by U.S. agencies will be the focus of a subcommittee hearing that Hill will lead Thursday. It will feature testimony from Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of the U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase.

    “Europe, the U.K., Australia and Singapore — just to name a few — are putting in place regulatory frameworks that are creating high standards for crypto,” Grewal said in prepared remarks. “It is truly a race to the top, and the U.S. is already behind.”

    Fed Chair Jerome Powell, testifying on Capitol Hill this week, suggested it would be a good idea for Congress to weigh in. Hill pressed him on it Wednesday.

    “I do think it would be important for us to have a workable legal framework around digital activities,” Powell said Tuesday. “That is important, and something Congress in principle needs to do because we can’t really do that.”

    Hill dropped some possible hints Wednesday about the GOP’s direction on a crypto regulation plan.

    During the hearing, he asked Powell if a U.S. digital asset framework would help banks, brokers and custodians understand how they could participate in the market safely. He also asked if it should preserve the role of state regulators in overseeing the industry.

    Republicans signal crypto support: Thursday’s digital assets subcommittee hearing will showcase a handful of Republican-led crypto bills that are generally supportive of the industry and its customers. The legislation may get a committee vote at a markup planned for March 28.

    “I’m not sure that we’ll mark them up there, but we’re talking about it,” Hill said. “We may have some other ones introduced, so we may have some other priorities.”

    The bills include proposals that would express congressional support for blockchain tech and digital assets, exempt blockchain developers from some reporting and licensing requirements and scale back tax reporting requirements for crypto firms.

    The Senate: Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who has floated her own crypto regulation plan, said Wednesday she has “had some conversations” with her House counterparts.

    “There’s certainly, I think, a general belief that this is an area that needs to be regulated, so [as] to protect consumers,” she said.

    Asked whether she expected lawmakers to reach agreement, she replied: “I’m actually optimistic. I think the hard part is the farm bill.”

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    #House #GOP #plots #crypto #overhaul
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Mass protests in Israel as lawmakers prepare 1st vote on judicial overhaul

    Mass protests in Israel as lawmakers prepare 1st vote on judicial overhaul

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    Jersalem: Israeli protesters gathered outside the Parliament building in Jerusalem as Israel’s far-right government is pressing ahead with a controversial overhaul of the judicial system and ready to hold the first vote on two bills.

    A spokesperson with the Jerusalem district’s police told Xinhua news agency that “tens of thousands” of people attended several massive rallies in the city on Monday.

    Inside Parliament, lawmakers were preparing to hold the first vote on two bills aimed at curbing the Supreme Court’s oversight over legislation and increasing politicians’ influence over the court.

    The vote is the first stage of three rounds of votes, after which the bills will become law, kick-starting the government’s planned overhaul.

    One bill aims to alter the composition of the nine-member committee that appoints judges in a way that would limit the influence of legal professionals and grant the government an outright majority.

    If approved, the law would enable the government to choose judges.

    The other bill calls to eliminate the Supreme Court’s authority to invalidate basic laws passed by the Knesset, or the Parliament, even if they are unconstitutional.

    The bills are the first two in a series of bills pushed forward by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultra-religious and ultranationalist coalition government, which according to critics will undermine the democratic foundations of Israel.

    Netanyahu and his coalition partners argue that the plan aims to address the excessive influence of courts and legal advisers in lawmaking and decision-making.

    Many protesters arrived in Jerusalem in convoys from across the country, blocking major routes on their way.

    The protest started at dawn, with dozens of off-duty reserve soldiers rallying outside the home of Simcha Rothman, one of the leading lawmakers of the reform, in the settlement of Pnei Kedem.

    Similar demonstrations were held outside the homes of other members of the coalition across the country.

    A major concern of the protesters is that the reform will concentrate power in Netanyahu’s hands.

    Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, is facing trial over corruption charges and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara has warned his involvement in proposed reform puts him in a conflict of interest.

    Earlier in the day, Netanyahu accused the protesters of “trampling democracy” and “not accepting the results of the election” during his speech at the Knesset.

    He said his coalition is open to a dialogue with critics of the reform but will press ahead with the planned votes in the Knesset.

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    #Mass #protests #Israel #lawmakers #prepare #1st #vote #judicial #overhaul

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • SNP top leaders urge overhaul of Sturgeon independence plan

    SNP top leaders urge overhaul of Sturgeon independence plan

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    Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation could prompt a major rethink around her plans to fight the next UK general election as a de facto referendum on independence, the Scottish National party’s leader in Westminster has suggested.

    After the shock announcement of the first minister’s departure on Wednesday, Stephen Flynn said the special conference due to be held next month on Sturgeon’s plan should be pushed back to give the new leader time to set out their intentions.

    “I think it’s sensible that we do hit the pause button on that conference and allow the new leader the opportunity to set out their vision,” he told Sky News.

    That proposal was supported by Mike Russell, the party’s president, who told BBC Scotland on Thursday: “There is a question to be asked as to whether that should be postponed whilst the leader comes into place.”

    Russell, one of the SNP’s most senior figures, said Sturgeon had touched on that prospect in her speech on Wednesday. Although he supported Sturgeon’s stance on how to fight the next general election, he said: “I think it’s a matter that needs to be discussed.”

    The conference was organised to approve Sturgeon’s highly controversial proposal but it is one Flynn and others inside the SNP have widely criticised, and is deeply unpopular with voters. There is speculation at Holyrood it may now be repurposed as a leadership hustings event for SNP members in the Edinburgh area.

    Jostling will begin in earnest among potential replacements for Sturgeon, who served as the first female first minister and spent decades in frontline politics – outlasting all the leaders both in Holyrood and Westminster she worked alongside.

    The SNP’s national executive committee is scheduled to meet online at 6.30pm on Thursday to discuss the timing for a leadership contest. Russell has said he expects that process to be “shortened” and for there to be a “contested election”.

    Nicola Sturgeon: the moments that marked her leadership – video

    Sturgeon’s push to use the next general election, expected to be held in 2024, as the main battleground for another independence push caused controversy within the SNP. Some believe she was anticipating heavy opposition to the plan, and the outgoing first minister acknowledged in her resignation statement it would have been dishonest to chair the conference, knowing she was minded to quit soon after.

    Flynn, who became Westminster leader of the SNP in December, said party figures were “going to be discussing and debating the merits” of the treatment of the next general election as a de facto referendum.

    But he added: “I personally think that party conference should be paused, for obvious reasons. I think the new leader should have the opportunity and indeed the space to set out their position, their values and their intentions going forward.”

    Asked if the position of treating the next general election as a de facto referendum was “dead” on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday, he said the party should give the next leader space to set out their “agenda”.

    As speculation mounted about who could replace Sturgeon, Flynn said he had “not seen anyone throw their name in the ring yet” and declined to say who he would most like to see lead the SNP.

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    Flynn ruled out taking up “the big task” himself, and said he had “no doubt there’ll be a number who will consider themselves as being capable of taking on the challenge”.

    While Sturgeon has said she will remain as first minister until her successor is chosen, the SNP’s national executive committee has not yet published a timetable for the election of its next party leader.

    Early possible contenders to succeed Sturgeon include Keith Brown, the SNP’s deputy leader; the finance and economy secretary, Kate Forbes; the constitution secretary and former Westminster leader of the party, Angus Robertson; the deputy first minister, John Swinney; and the health secretary, Humza Yousaf.

    A protracted leadership election, given pressures on the NHS and the cost of living crisis, is likely to be capitalised on by opposition parties. Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said the Scottish government should focus on issues that “really matter to people”.

    Kenny MacAskill, the deputy leader of the pro-Scottish independence Alba party, argued on Thursday that Sturgeon’s departure should lead to a recognition that the cause was about more than “one individual or one party”.

    He told the Today programme the SNP was “one part of the independence movement” and should use Sturgeon’s departure “to recalibrate, to recognise that there have been strategic flaws, to look for a new direction”.

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    #SNP #top #leaders #urge #overhaul #Sturgeon #independence #plan
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Conservative trustees oust president at Florida’s New College amid leadership overhaul

    Conservative trustees oust president at Florida’s New College amid leadership overhaul

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    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The newly-installed conservative board of trustees at New College of Florida ousted its current president in favor of former state education commissioner Richard Corcoran Tuesday, launching the initial move in reshaping the campus under the vision of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

    The decision came at the first board meeting since DeSantis appointed six new trustees with the idea of overhauling the liberal arts college in Sarasota into a more conservative-leaning institution. That track was accelerated Tuesday when the board paved the way for new leadership as students and parents protested the major changes that appear bound for New College.

    “Some have said these recent appointments amount to a partisan takeover of the college. This is not correct,” said trustee Matthew Spalding, a constitutional government professor and vice president at Hillsdale College’s D.C. campus who was appointed by DeSantis. “It’s not a takeover — it’s a renewal.”

    A leadership switch from President Patricia Okker to Corcoran as interim leader is one of several moves made Tuesday by the board, which also signaled its intent to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion programs on campus — all policies pushed by DeSantis. The changes are major developments at the school spurred by the new appointees, including Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who has advised DeSantis on critical race theory, and Eddie Speir, the co-founder of Inspiration Academy, a Christian charter school in Bradenton, Fla.

    Tuesday’s meeting was met with apprehension from dozens of students and parents who protested what they called a “hostile takeover” at New College. They urged Okker to stay on as president and push back against the new mandates from the DeSantis administration to model the school as a “Hillsdale of the South” in reference to the private conservative religious “classical“ college in Michigan.

    Okker in an emotional address told the board — and the campus — that she couldn’t continue to serve as president amid accusations that the students are being inundated with liberal indoctrination.

    “The reality is, and it’s a hard reality and it’s a sad reality, but the vision that we created together is not the vision I have been given as a mandate here,” Okker said.

    In remaking the board at New College, the DeSantis administration said the school was “completely captured by a political ideology that puts trendy, truth-relative concepts above learning” and in need of change following downward enrollment trends. To move on from Okker, trustees agreed to a “generous” exit package that includes at least 12 months of paid professional development leave and benefits. Corcoran is unable to begin serving until March, leaving Okker’s chief of staff Bradley Thiessen in charge until then.

    “New leadership is the expectation and I think it makes sense,” Rufo said at the meeting. “I don’t think it’s a condemnation of Dr. Okker, scholarship or skills or character.”

    DeSantis’ changes at New College follow other efforts to reshape higher education in Florida. Earlier Tuesday, the GOP governor proposed several changes to Florida’s university system, including pressing the GOP-led Legislature to cut all funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and to allow university leaders to launch tenure review of professors. Last year, DeSantis and state Republicans placed GOP allies in top university posts and pushed legislation that could limit how professors teach race.

    New College is also now set to review its Office of Outreach & Inclusive Excellence at the request of Rufo as part of the state’s stance against diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools. Rufo originally pushed to abolish the office outright, including four positions, and take other actions tied to diversity and equity, but decided to request further details on the program for a discussion in February.

    Tuesday’s meeting was tense at times, with audience members frequently shouting over and at the new trustees as they spoke. Several parents and students addressed the board before they huddled, often criticizing their plans to retool the university and asking them to leave the college alone.

    Some faculty said students felt “hopeless” about what could happen at the school, which is a unique college of under 700 undergraduates where students craft personalized education plans and don’t receive letter grades.

    “Many students came here to feel safe and access the education that is their right as Floridians,” Diego Villada, Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance Studies, told the board. “And the impulse to make this a place where race, intersectionality and DEI are banned indicates to them that you want everyone to be the same – to be like you.”

    Trustees, though, made it clear that the New College overhaul is fully underway, a message that came the same day DeSantis pledged to invest millions of dollars into recruiting faculty to the school.

    “The campus needs a deep culture change. You sat up here, you called us racists, sexists, bigots, outsiders,” said trustee Mark Bauerlein, professor emeritus of English at Emory University who was appointed by DeSantis. “We are now in a position of authority in the college. And the accusations are telling us that something is wrong here.”

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    #Conservative #trustees #oust #president #Floridas #College #leadership #overhaul
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Conservative trustees oust president at Florida’s New College amid leadership overhaul

    Conservative trustees oust president at Florida’s New College amid leadership overhaul

    [ad_1]

    new college conservatives 56635

    A leadership switch from President Patricia Okker to Corcoran as interim leader is one of several moves made Tuesday by the board, which also signaled its intent to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion programs on campus — all policies pushed by DeSantis. The changes are major developments at the school spurred by the new appointees, including Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who has advised DeSantis on critical race theory, and Eddie Speir, the co-founder of Inspiration Academy, a Christian charter school in Bradenton, Fla.

    Tuesday’s meeting was met with apprehension from dozens of students and parents who protested what they called a “hostile takeover” at New College. They urged Okker to stay on as president and push back against the new mandates from the DeSantis administration to model the school as a “Hillsdale of the South” in reference to the private conservative religious “classical“ college in Michigan.

    Okker in an emotional address told the board — and the campus — that she couldn’t continue to serve as president amid accusations that the students are being inundated with liberal indoctrination.

    “The reality is, and it’s a hard reality and it’s a sad reality, but the vision that we created together is not the vision I have been given as a mandate here,” Okker said.

    In remaking the board at New College, the DeSantis administration said the school was “completely captured by a political ideology that puts trendy, truth-relative concepts above learning” and in need of change following downward enrollment trends. To move on from Okker, trustees agreed to a “generous” exit package that includes at least 12 months of paid professional development leave and benefits. Corcoran is unable to begin serving until March, leaving Okker’s chief of staff Bradley Thiessen in charge until then.

    “New leadership is the expectation and I think it makes sense,” Rufo said at the meeting. “I don’t think it’s a condemnation of Dr. Okker, scholarship or skills or character.”

    DeSantis’ changes at New College follow other efforts to reshape higher education in Florida. Earlier Tuesday, the GOP governor proposed several changes to Florida’s university system, including pressing the GOP-led Legislature to cut all funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and to allow university leaders to launch tenure review of professors. Last year, DeSantis and state Republicans placed GOP allies in top university posts and pushed legislation that could limit how professors teach race.

    New College is also now set to review its Office of Outreach & Inclusive Excellence at the request of Rufo as part of the state’s stance against diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools. Rufo originally pushed to abolish the office outright, including four positions, and take other actions tied to diversity and equity, but decided to request further details on the program for a discussion in February.

    Tuesday’s meeting was tense at times, with audience members frequently shouting over and at the new trustees as they spoke. Several parents and students addressed the board before they huddled, often criticizing their plans to retool the university and asking them to leave the college alone.

    Some faculty said students felt “hopeless” about what could happen at the school, which is a unique college of under 700 undergraduates where students craft personalized education plans and don’t receive letter grades.

    “Many students came here to feel safe and access the education that is their right as Floridians,” Diego Villada, Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance Studies, told the board. “And the impulse to make this a place where race, intersectionality and DEI are banned indicates to them that you want everyone to be the same – to be like you.”

    Trustees, though, made it clear that the New College overhaul is fully underway, a message that came the same day DeSantis pledged to invest millions of dollars into recruiting faculty to the school.

    “The campus needs a deep culture change. You sat up here, you called us racists, sexists, bigots, outsiders,” said trustee Mark Bauerlein, professor emeritus of English at Emory University who was appointed by DeSantis. “We are now in a position of authority in the college. And the accusations are telling us that something is wrong here.”

    [ad_2]
    #Conservative #trustees #oust #president #Floridas #College #leadership #overhaul
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )