Steve Bannon has claimed executive privilege as a reason for not co-operating with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January. Steve Bannon. Photograph: Michal Čížek/AFP/Getty Images The letter from his lawyers to the committee (see block here) echoes a letter sent to Jerrold Nadler, the … Read more
Leaders on Capitol Hill were in discussions past midnight over raising the debt limit and avoiding economic catastrophe. To recap: Congress must vote to raise the country’s debt ceiling, our artificially imposed borrowing limit, by 18 October, or risk the US defaulting on its debts for the first time in its history. Defaulting on our … Read more
2.53pm BST14:53 Bipartisan anger over the Facebook whistleblower testimony Greetings, live blog readers. Yesterday, Frances Haugen, a 37-year-old former Facebook employee, testified before the Senate about how the social media giant harms children, is destabilizing democracies and is putting “astronomical profits before people”. While many have been critical about the role of tech companies in … Read more
Senator Richard Blumenthal has kicked off the hearing with opening statements, laying out the revelations about Facebook made public by Haugen and condemning the company for pursuing profit above all else. He noted one of the biggest bombshells from the documents – proof that Facebook knew its products were harming teenagers and uses its algorithms … Read more
4.15pm BST16:15 Andrew Yang to leave the Democratic Party Andrew Yang announced today that he was leaving the Democratic party to register as an independent. Yang, who attracted a staunch following after his 2020 presidential run on a platform that celebrated math, nerdiness and a universal basic income, posted on his website that despite having … Read more
4.29pm BST16:29 At one point during her press conference, Nancy Pelosi described the reconciliation package as “the culmination” of her political career. “I just told members of my leadership that the reconciliation bill was a culmination of my service in Congress because it was about the children,” Pelosi said. CSPAN (@cspan) [email protected]: “You said this … Read more
As a Democrat representing Republican-leaning West Virginia, Joe Manchin has consistently maintained that his moderate politics prevents him from fully embracing many of the reforms and social spending that make up Biden’s platform. But in his home state, the Democrats’ $3.5tn reconciliation plan is immensely popular. Zack Harold reports for the Guardian: Eizabeth Masters isn’t … Read more
2.56pm BST14:56 Defense secretary Lloyd Austin began his opening remarks by defending the execution of the Kabul mission, noting that the US military helped evacuate more than 120,000 people over two and a half weeks. “Was it perfect? Of course not,” Austin said. The defense secretary acknowledged that the Pentagon is “still working to get … Read more
The agency said it had asked airline trade groups at a meeting on Tuesday to disclose within a week what steps they will take to curb such incidents. The FAA said the industry is facing a record number of airline passenger disturbances, and it plans to soon hold similar meetings with representatives from airports and … Read more
The previously unreported talks involving the GOP economic grandees — Henry Paulson, who served as treasury secretary under President Bush; and Steven Mnuchin, treasury secretary under President Trump — did not resolve the matter and the U.S. is now racing toward a massive fiscal cliff with no clear resolution at hand. Paulson and Mnuchin have … Read more