U.S. court tosses hostile workplace, pay discrimination claims against BlackBerry A U.S. court has closed the door on "hostile work environment” and wage discrimination claims made by a former BlackBerry Ltd. Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press Nov 22, 2024 1:19 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message The Blackberry logo located in the front of the company's B building in Waterloo, Ont., Tuesday, May 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Ryan A U.S. court has closed the door on "hostile work environment” and wage discrimination claims made by a former BlackBerry Ltd. executive who accused the company's CEO of sexually harassing her and then retaliating against her when she reported the behaviour. U.S. magistrate judge Sallie Kim granted BlackBerry and John Giamatteo's request in July to turf some claims made by former chief marketing officer Neelam Sandhu but offered her a chance to amend her complaint to provide additional details supporting her allegations. Court records show Kim officially dismissed the hostile work environment and wage discrimination claims late Thursday after being unmoved by additional filings made by Sandhu's lawyers, who did not immediately respond to a request from The Canadian Press for comment. Sandhu, who spent 14 years at BlackBerry, filed a lawsuit in a California court in April under the name Jane Doe, but later forged ahead with her real name when Kim told her for the case to proceed under the pseudonym, she needed court permission. Sandhu alleged Giamatteo had "tried to get close to her" and "woo" her after he became president of the company's cybersecurity business in October 2021. She also said Giamatteo suggested the pair travel together and that at a dinner she considered a business meeting, he allegedly recounted how people mistake him for "a dirty old man" out on a date when he’s with his daughters because of how he dresses. Sandhu said she reported the behaviour to BlackBerry but then found herself excluded from meetings and heard Giamatteo had started telling staff he wanted to get her "out." Later, she said she was told she was being terminated effective immediately as part of a restructuring. Sandhu alleged her treatment constituted harassment and she said the company had fostered a “hostile” work environment where wage discrimination based on sex took place. Kim ruled that alleged instances where Giamatteo asked Sandhu whether she'd work for him so they could travel together and the comment about being out with his daughters could "put a reasonable woman ill at ease." However, she agreed with BlackBerry and Giamatteo that these alleged incidents do not constitute severe or pervasive harassment. Kim also dismissed wage discrimination allegations Sandhu made that suggested the company's presidents were paid more for doing less work than her because the judge found the facts Sandhu provided were not sufficient to plead a claim. “Because it appears that the comparators had greater responsibility than (the) plaintiff, their greater pay does not violate equal pay principles,” Kim wrote in her court order. Kim’s order dismissed the claims with prejudice, which makes the ruling conclusive and prevents it from being heard again. “We are pleased that the court has permanently dismissed all claims against Mr. Giamatteo and all harassment and pay disparity claims against BlackBerry,” Camilla Scassellati Sforzolini, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement. “The court's ruling clearly indicates that the plaintiff failed to substantiate any of her harassment or pay discrimination claims.” While some claims in the case have been dismissed, she said Blackberry is still facing wrongful termination claims from Sandhu. Scassellati Sforzolini called those claims “baseless.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2024. Companies in this story: (TSX:BB) Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More National Business S&P/TSX composite up Friday, U.S. stock markets also rise Nov 22, 2024 1:42 PM New Brunswick oysters test positive for dermo disease, first confirmed case in Canada Nov 22, 2024 1:14 PM Walmart Canada axing some property controls amid grocery competition scrutiny Nov 22, 2024 1:11 PM Featured FlyerAEW Rampage Rating & Viewers Dip Opposite NCAA Playoff GameFrench President Emmanuel Macron named a new government Monday evening, putting together a team under Francois Bayrou, his fourth prime minister of the year, to drag the second-largest EU economy out of political crisis. Macron named former prime minister Elisabeth Borne, 63, education minister in a new cabinet under centrist Bayrou, announced Elysee secretary-general Alexis Kohler. Another former premier, Manuel Valls, 62, returned as overseas territories minister, while former interior minister Gerald Darmanin became justice minister. Both Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot kept their jobs, the presidency said. Lecornu, a 38-year-old loyalist with a keen political nose, has served in every government since Macron's first election as president in 2017. Conservative Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, and right-wing Culture Minister Rachida Dati, also stayed in their posts. The difficult job of delivering a budget plan for next year falls to Eric Lombard, head of public-sector lender Caisse des Depots (CDC), who was named economy minister. "I'm very proud of the team we're presenting this evening," Bayrou said on X, adding his "experienced" cabinet would aim to "rebuild trust". The inclusion of two former prime ministers indicates Macron's desire for a heavyweight government that will enjoy stability and not share the fate of Bayrou's predecessor, Michel Barnier, ousted in a no-confidence vote. Bayrou had hoped to bring in figures from the left, right and centre to protect his government from possible censure, but his 35-member team does not include any members of the left-wing coalition New Popular Front. Macron will assemble Bayrou's team on January 3 for a first Council of Ministers meeting, the presidency said. Barnier was brought down over his failure to win support for an austerity budget to shore up France's shaky finances with spending cuts and tax rises. The priority for 73-year-old Bayrou is to make sure his government can survive a no-confidence vote and that it passes a cost-cutting budget for 2025. The unexpected comeback of Valls, premier from 2014 to 2016, as the head of the overseas territories ministry indicates the importance of the post after authorities were strongly criticised for their response to the deadly cyclone on the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, which killed at least 35 people. Darmanin had long been known to covet the post of foreign minister, but after days of intense discussions will have to content himself with the justice ministry. Just before the official announcement, heavyweight right-wing politician Xavier Bertrand, who had been tipped for the health ministry, announced he would not be part of the government. He alleged that it had been formed with the implicit "backing" of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who will play a key role in ensuring its survival. "The prime minister informed me this morning, contrary to what he had proposed yesterday, that he was no longer in a position to entrust me with responsibility for the justice ministry due to opposition from (Le Pen's) National Rally," Bertrand said in a statement. "Despite his new proposals, I refuse to take part in a government of France formed with the backing of Marine Le Pen." Bertrand is a major irritant for the far right, which he has long opposed. Le Pen on March 31, 2025 faces the verdict in an embezzlement trial on charges she denies. If convicted, she could lose the chance of standing in the 2027 elections and with it her best chance yet of winning the presidency. The announcement came as France observed a day of mourning for victims in cyclone-hit Mayotte, France's poorest overseas territory. Bayrou, the head of the centrist MoDem group, which is allied to Macron's party, was appointed on December 13. He is the sixth prime minister of Macron's mandate. Many already predict Bayrou will struggle to survive. France has been mired in deadlock since Macron gambled on snap elections this summer in the hopes of bolstering his authority. The move backfired, with voters electing a parliament fractured between three rival blocs. Le Pen suggested Macron has been weakened by months of political crisis and would eventually have to resign. "I am preparing for an early presidential election," she told French newspaper Le Parisien last week. bur-as/jhb
BOSTON (AP) — Two men, including a dual Iranian American citizen, have been arrested on charges that they exported sensitive technology to Iran that was used in a drone attack in Jordan that killed three American troops early this year and injured dozens of other service members, the Justice Department said Monday. The pair were arrested after FBI specialists who analyzed the drone traced the navigation system to an Iranian company operated by one of the defendants, who relied on technology funneled from the U.S. by his alleged co-conspirator, officials said. “We often cite hypothetical risk when we talk about the dangers of American technology getting into dangerous hands,” said U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy, the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts. “Unfortunately, in this situation, we are not speculating.” The defendants were identified as Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who prosecutors say works at a Massachusetts-based semiconductor company, and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, who was arrested Monday in Italy as the Justice Department seeks his extradition to Massachusetts. Prosecutors allege that Abedininajafabadi, who also uses the surname Adedini and operates an Iranian company that manufactures navigation systems for drones, has connections to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. They allege that he conspired with Sadeghi to circumvent American export control laws, including through a front company in Switzerland, and procure sensitive technology into Iran. Both men are charged with export control violations, and Abedini separately faces charges of conspiring to provide material support to Iran. A lawyer for Sadeghi, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was arrested Monday in Massachusetts, did not immediately return an email seeking comment. U.S. officials blamed the January attack on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that includes Kataib Hezbollah. Three Georgia soldiers — Sgt. William Jerome Rivers of Carrollton, Sgt. Breonna Moffett of Savannah and Sgt. Kennedy Sanders of Waycross — were killed in the Jan. 28 drone attack on a U.S. outpost in northeastern Jordan called Tower 22. In the attack, the one-way attack drone may have been mistaken for a U.S. drone that was expected to return back to the logistics base about the same time and was not shot down. Instead, it crashed into living quarters, killing the three soldiers and injuring more than 40. Tower 22 held about 350 U.S. military personnel at the time. It is strategically located between Jordan and Syria, only 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Iraqi border, and in the months just after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and Israel’s blistering response in Gaza, Iranian-backed militias intensified their attacks on U.S. military locations in the region. Following the attack, the U.S. launched a huge counterstrike against 85 sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Iranian-backed militia and bolstered Tower 22’s defenses. Tucker and Copp reported from Washington.
The hottest topic in energy circles right now – apart from dealing with the – is battery storage, the plunging price of battery cells and its implications for a future renewable-dominated grid supported by flexible capacity. The CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator earlier this month noted in their draft GenCost report that in terms of price – down 20 per cent from where it was just 12 months ago. An annual assessment from Bloomberg NEF supported that assessment. Since then, an auction in China – the country’s biggest for energy storage – suggests that the price decline in battery cells, thanks to intense competition, technology and efficiency improvements and boosted manufacturing capacity, may be even more dramatic than that. According to reports out of China, the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) has attracted 76 bidders for its unprecedented tender of 16 GWh. The bids were opened on December 4, and according to PV Mag, has attracted prices ranging from $US60.5/kWh to $US82/kWh, with an averaging of $US66.3/kWh. It said 60 of the bids were below $68.4/kWh. The tender is for the supply of energy storage systems – specifically lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells – that will be built in 2025-2026. The winners will be announced after another series of round that will clarify supply chains, equipment quality and delivery ability. The price reportedly includes a comprehensive range of services beyond the delivery of storage equipment, including system design, installation guidance, commissioning, 20-year maintenance, and integrated safety features. “(These are) mind-blowing numbers,” said Marek Rubik, the founder of US-based battery technology company Fluence, and now a director of Saudi green energy project Neom. “(This is) system pricing, not cells,” he wrote on LinkedIn. This, of course, has great significance for the transition to renewables in the main grid, and potentially the shift to EVs in the transport sector. Battery project prices in – albeit still at a cost of around $A300/kWh, which would include local costs such as planning, labour and balance of plant. Just last week, new data from BNEF confirmed the CSIRO and AEMO estimates that battery storage prices had fallen 20 per cent in the last year. Its data showed that the price of lithium-ion battery packs had seen their largest annual drop since 2017, dropping to $US115 per kilowatt-hour – down from $US806 in 2013 and $US144 in 2023. BNEF cited a number of factors in the ongoing decline, including cell manufacturing overcapacity, economies of scale, low metal and component prices, adoption of lower-cost lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, as well as a slowdown in electric vehicle sales growth. Overcapacity, in particular, is high, with 3.1TWh of fully commissioned battery-cell manufacturing capacity around the globe, put in place ahead of what battery manufacturers expected to be increased demand for EV batteries. BNEF says the EV market remains the largest source of battery demand – although it has slowed this year – while the stationary storage markets have “taken off”, according to BNEF, with strong competition across both cell and system providers, especially in China. “The price drop for battery cells this year was greater compared with that seen in battery metal prices, indicating that margins for battery manufacturers are being squeezed,” , the head of BNEF’s battery technology team and lead author of the report. “Smaller manufacturers face particular pressure to lower cell prices to fight for market share.” BNEF noted that the $US115/kWh price point is a global average. It cited then that battery pack prices were lowest in China, coming in at around $US94/kWh. The latest tender results suggest another 20 per cent reduction is already in train. However, BNEF noted it is unclear what the future will bring. While low raw material prices have also helped push down costs, these prices could rise in the next few years, with the threat of increasing geopolitical tensions, tariffs on battery metals, and low prices stalling new mining and refining projects. “One thing we’re watching is how new tariffs on finished battery products may lead to distortionary pricing dynamics and slow end-product demand,” said Yayoi Sekine, head of energy storage at BNEF. “Regardless, higher adoption of LFP chemistries, continued market competition, improvements in technology, material processing and manufacturing will exert downward pressure on battery prices.” The China tender is part of PowerChina’s broader equipment procurement plan that were announced on November 13. These includes 51 GW of solar modules, 51 GW of inverters, 25 GW of wind turbines, and 15,240 prefabricated 35kV substations.
A chorus of support is growing behind actress Blake Lively after she filed a complaint alleging sexual harassment and a smear campaign against "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni. Actress Amber Heard on Monday became the latest celebrity to speak out on behalf of the "Gossip Girl" alum over what she says was a coordinated social media effort to tarnish her name. Over the weekend, Lively filed a complaint claiming that Baldoni and a lead producer had behaved unacceptably during the filming of box office hit "It Ends With Us." The allegations included that Baldoni -- who also directed the film -- had spoken inappropriately about his sex life, and had sought to alter the film to include sex scenes that were not in the script and had not been agreed to. They also detailed how lead producer Jamey Heath had watched Lively while she was topless, despite having been asked to turn away. But the complaint goes into great detail -- including with texts and emails -- on a PR campaign to wreck her reputation and to divert attention from any public comments she might make about the men's alleged misbehavior. This was "a carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others from speaking out about the hostile environment that Mr Baldoni and Mr Heath created," the complaint says. It includes allegations that the two men hired a crisis PR team that amplified or planted negative stories about Lively on social media platforms. "You know we can bury anyone," Melissa Nathan, a member of the team, is alleged to have said, according to messages contained in the complaint. Heard's ex-husband Johnny Depp hired the same PR team during the high-profile defamation trial between the couple in 2022, in which a jury unanimously found that Heard defamed Depp over allegations he abused her. "Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying 'A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on,'" Heard said in a statement carried by NBC News. "I saw this firsthand and up close. It's as horrifying as it is destructive." Heard's support came on the heels of a joint statement by America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel, who starred with Lively in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." "As Blake's friends and sisters for over 20 years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation," they wrote on Instagram. "Throughout the filming of 'It Ends with Us', we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice." A lawyer for Wayfarer, the studio behind the film, said in a statement released to the New York Times that neither the studio, its executives, nor its PR team did anything to retaliate against Lively. "These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media," lawyer Bryan Freedman wrote. The complaint was lodged with the California Civil Rights Department, and is a precursor to a lawsuit. Major Hollywood talent agency WME -- which represents Lively -- has reportedly dropped Baldoni as a client. hg/ahaNoneThe Prime Minister is set to visit British troops serving on Russia’s border as he says Ukraine will require more funding and capability. Sir Keir Starmer was speaking at the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) conference in Estonia where he met leaders of other Baltic states. After signing an energy partnership with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Bergen, Sir Keir flew to Estonia where he spoke alongside Mr Store and their Estonian counterpart Kristen Michal. Asked what else could be done to support Ukraine, Sir Keir said: “There is an ever-increasing demand for more capability. That is understandable, and Ukraine needs all the capability that it can get, so I think all of us have put in more capability into Ukraine by way of equipment.” He added: “A lot of money has been raised, funding has been raised, but more is going to be needed.” The Prime Minister’s also discussed making the economic case at home for continued support for Ukraine. Sir Keir said: “Making the case on the significance of Ukraine, making the case, to double down, linking it back to each of our countries – what does it mean for us if Russia succeeds, is a really important question that we have to answer with our people to make it clear why it is that we are so supportive of Ukraine, why it is that we must stand with our allies on this, why it is we must make sure that Nato is put in the strongest position as well. “Now, this is a different world to the world of 10, 20 years ago, to recognise the world that we are living in, there’s a positive case as well to be made. “Defence spending doesn’t sort of sit in a silo over here with no effect on the rest of the economy, no effect on technology. “It has a huge effect on technologies, the cutting edge of technology and change which can then be used in other areas. “It binds countries together. I think all of us have got joint projects on in terms of defence capabilities that bind us together. There’s a huge number of well-paid jobs that are very important to our economy in defence spending as well. “But we have to make that positive case. I don’t personally feel that we can sort of sit back and assume that all of those in our respective countries necessarily accept all of our arguments unless we make them in that positive way, which I do think the argument can and should and must be made. “But the challenge that you put to us is the right challenge, which is it’s very difficult when finances are tight, as they are in all of our countries.” On Tuesday morning the Prime Minister will meet Taavi Madiberk, the founder of Estonian tech start-up manufacturing low-cost air defence missiles, Frankenburg Technologies, which is planning to open a new office in London Specialising in the manufacture of the missiles, the rapidly growing company already collaborates closely with the UK defence industry, sourcing a significant portion of its subsystems locally, including from propulsion specialists Roxel in Worcestershire. The Prime Minister will again attend the JEF summit, joining leaders from the Nordics and Baltics to discuss support for Ukraine, the sustained threat posed by Russia and wider European security. He will then visit British forces serving in the region to deter malign Russian threats.
State of Oklahoma OMES Takes a Whole-of-State Approach
How major US stock indexes fared Monday, 12/23/2024The hottest topic in energy circles right now – apart from dealing with the – is battery storage, the plunging price of battery cells and its implications for a future renewable-dominated grid supported by flexible capacity. The CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator earlier this month noted in their draft GenCost report that in terms of price – down 20 per cent from where it was just 12 months ago. An annual assessment from Bloomberg NEF supported that assessment. Since then, an auction in China – the country’s biggest for energy storage – suggests that the price decline in battery cells, thanks to intense competition, technology and efficiency improvements and boosted manufacturing capacity, may be even more dramatic than that. According to reports out of China, the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) has attracted 76 bidders for its unprecedented tender of 16 GWh. The bids were opened on December 4, and according to PV Mag, has attracted prices ranging from $US60.5/kWh to $US82/kWh, with an averaging of $US66.3/kWh. It said 60 of the bids were below $68.4/kWh. The tender is for the supply of energy storage systems – specifically lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells – that will be built in 2025-2026. The winners will be announced after another series of round that will clarify supply chains, equipment quality and delivery ability. The price reportedly includes a comprehensive range of services beyond the delivery of storage equipment, including system design, installation guidance, commissioning, 20-year maintenance, and integrated safety features. “(These are) mind-blowing numbers,” said Marek Rubik, the founder of US-based battery technology company Fluence, and now a director of Saudi green energy project Neom. “(This is) system pricing, not cells,” he wrote on LinkedIn. This, of course, has great significance for the transition to renewables in the main grid, and potentially the shift to EVs in the transport sector. Battery project prices in – albeit still at a cost of around $A300/kWh, which would include local costs such as planning, labour and balance of plant. Just last week, new data from BNEF confirmed the CSIRO and AEMO estimates that battery storage prices had fallen 20 per cent in the last year. Its data showed that the price of lithium-ion battery packs had seen their largest annual drop since 2017, dropping to $US115 per kilowatt-hour – down from $US806 in 2013 and $US144 in 2023. BNEF cited a number of factors in the ongoing decline, including cell manufacturing overcapacity, economies of scale, low metal and component prices, adoption of lower-cost lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, as well as a slowdown in electric vehicle sales growth. Overcapacity, in particular, is high, with 3.1TWh of fully commissioned battery-cell manufacturing capacity around the globe, put in place ahead of what battery manufacturers expected to be increased demand for EV batteries. BNEF says the EV market remains the largest source of battery demand – although it has slowed this year – while the stationary storage markets have “taken off”, according to BNEF, with strong competition across both cell and system providers, especially in China. “The price drop for battery cells this year was greater compared with that seen in battery metal prices, indicating that margins for battery manufacturers are being squeezed,” , the head of BNEF’s battery technology team and lead author of the report. “Smaller manufacturers face particular pressure to lower cell prices to fight for market share.” BNEF noted that the $US115/kWh price point is a global average. It cited then that battery pack prices were lowest in China, coming in at around $US94/kWh. The latest tender results suggest another 20 per cent reduction is already in train. However, BNEF noted it is unclear what the future will bring. While low raw material prices have also helped push down costs, these prices could rise in the next few years, with the threat of increasing geopolitical tensions, tariffs on battery metals, and low prices stalling new mining and refining projects. “One thing we’re watching is how new tariffs on finished battery products may lead to distortionary pricing dynamics and slow end-product demand,” said Yayoi Sekine, head of energy storage at BNEF. “Regardless, higher adoption of LFP chemistries, continued market competition, improvements in technology, material processing and manufacturing will exert downward pressure on battery prices.” The China tender is part of PowerChina’s broader equipment procurement plan that were announced on November 13. These includes 51 GW of solar modules, 51 GW of inverters, 25 GW of wind turbines, and 15,240 prefabricated 35kV substations.
Amber Heard criticises social media in response to Blake Lively complaintWASHINGTON — Lawmakers return for what’s expected to be the last workweek of the year with no continuing resolution yet in sight. The text of a stopgap spending bill that would continue funding until at least March 14 was not released over the weekend, though it had been expected to be. Late hiccups this time include a dispute over how to extend farm programs and provide relief to those in the agriculture sector. Absent congressional action, funding would lapse at the end of the night on Friday, when the current stopgap funding law expires. The Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees each issued weekend statements criticizing the other party’s handling of the farm bill provisions. “Their eleventh-hour offer fell short of what farmers need, shortchanged critical farm bill programs, and steals from critically needed assistance to address recent natural disasters. We can and should do both economic and disaster assistance, not pit one against the other.” Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and House Agriculture Committee ranking member David Scott, D-Ga., said in a joint statement. “The failure to include economic assistance will have devastating and lasting consequences on our farm families, the rural communities in which they live and American agriculture. For that reason, we intend to oppose any supplemental spending package that does not provide meaningful assistance to our farmers,” House Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., and Senate Agriculture ranking member John Boozman, R-Ark., said in their own statement. While the funding sparring and talks continue, the Senate is moving toward clearing the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which already passed the House. Senators vote Monday evening on a motion to limit debate on the bill, setting up a vote on final passage likely on Tuesday or Wednesday. Also on the docket is the final agreement on the bipartisan water resources reauthorization bill, which has been named for retiring Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Thomas R. Carper, D-Del. Under a unanimous consent agreement announced last week, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., can call up the House-passed agreement on that bill for a brief debate and vote notwithstanding the restrictions normally imposed by cloture, so it could be on the floor Tuesday while the Senate is still processing the defense authorization bill. Social Security measure Schumer has also filed the cloture motion on proceeding to a bipartisan bill that would eliminate reductions in Social Security benefits for people who held jobs that did not require them to pay into the system. That includes firefighters, teachers and police officers — who may have had multiple jobs, including some for which they did pay Social Security taxes. While the price tag is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office at $196 billion, the measure passed the House 327-75, and it appears to have at least 61 supporters in the Senate, which would be enough to break a filibuster if there’s strong attendance. Schumer also said Sunday that he plans to push for the Senate to take up a bill sponsored by Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., that would provide federal law enforcement with new authorities related to unmanned aircraft. The bill has bipartisan support. It was introduced last year, but the risks posed by drones have made headlines in recent weeks with widespread reports of unidentified flying aircraft, primarily in New Jersey. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Schumer wrote, “These sightings have exposed the federal government’s limitations when it comes to the authorities for protecting against the illicit use of UAS [unmanned aircraft systems]. State and local law enforcement agencies currently lack the explicit authorities to assist DHS in deploying technology to detect drone signals. These local agencies are responsible for keeping our citizens safe at the local level, and they must be part of a coordinated response.” CRA watch One other bit of House business is a prelude to the agenda for the early part of the next Congress. The House is expected to vote on a bill sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., that would make it easier to disapprove of regulations under the Congressional Review Act by allowing a single disapproval measure for multiple executive branch rules to get expedited consideration in the Senate. “House Republicans are stepping up to rein in executive overreach, protect Americans from burdensome regulations, and keep the legislative process transparent and accountable to the American people the way our Founding Fathers intended,” the office of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said in announcing the bill’s placement on the week’s schedule. While the measure probably will not come up in the Senate, it does underscore how much of the first months of the new Congress with President-elect Donald Trump may be spent stopping rules from President Joe Biden’s administration during the “lookback period” that allows a new Congress to overturn rules from the prior year. The review window will likely apply to rules starting around Aug. 1, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Local assemblers call for competitive tax structureLast week, Zack Rosenblatt, Dianna Russini and Michael Silver of The Athletic dropped a bombshell exposé on the New York Jets and team owner Woody Johnson, outlining the various examples of dysfunction within the organization. That report included a number of details about the increasing involvement of Johnson's teenage sons, Brick and Jack, within the organization. The pair reportedly are invited to meetings in team facilities; send articles to their father regarding the team that are believed to influence his decision-making process by some within the organization; are allowed into the locker room on game days (and allowed to invite friends); and Brick even presented a game ball to Garrett Wilson after an October win before quarterback Aaron Rodgers could present one to interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich after his first win upon taking over for the fired Robert Saleh. With that report making the rounds, Rodgers joked on Monday during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that he wouldn't be upset if he was released this offseason by Brick Johnson: "I've never been released before, so being released would be a first. Being released by a teenager, that would also be a first," he said. "Hey, you know, I'm open to everything, and I find the comedy in all of it. If that happens, it's a great story." It wouldn't be surprising if the Jets cut ties with Rodgers, namely because he would be due a $35 million option for 2025 and would carry a dead cap charge of $63 million into the 2026 season. Cutting him this offseason, meanwhile, would carry a dead cap charge of $49 million, which they likely would spread out over two seasons by making him a post-June 1 designation—$14 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026. Expensive, no doubt, but less restrictive than what they'd be facing in 2026 by keeping him around. It will ultimately depend on when, exactly, Brick Johnson is comfortable absorbing the dead cap charge.
Ex-Nine chief Hugh Marks appointed new ABC boss
Michel Barnier always did have a way with words. “I have the honour of submitting to you the resignation of the government,” said his letter, as if he had just been appointed rather than defenestrated. He is the shortest-serving prime minister in French history, the first for six decades to be forced out by a no-confidence motion. And felled, in effect, by Marine Le Pen. Many had assumed that she was on the way out, accused of embezzling European Parliament funds. But as she has just shown the world, her party is perhaps more potent now than ever. Rassemblement National cannot form a government. It lacks the allies. Barnier was right to say he had been taken out by a “coalition of opposites” who agree on nothing more than the need to remove him. But what unites Le Pen and her new partner in insurgency, Jean-Luc Melenchon, is contempt for Emmanuel Macron. His calamitous decision to call a snap parliamentary election resulted in a hung parliament where his only hope was that the Right and Left could never unite. Once again, his enemies have just proved him wrong. About 20 candidates are mooted as potentials for the next presidential race, but none come close to Le Pen’s popularity. Her support is running at about 40 per cent in some polls. Edouard Philippe, mayor of Le Havre, is next at about 25 per cent. A conviction for embezzlement would debar her from the race, but other than that it’s hard to see what could stop her running. Just as the lawfare and obloquy used against Donald Trump ended up making him stronger, the same tactics seem to be powering Mme Le Pen. It wasn’t so long ago that Macron was proposing a centrist “revolution”, publishing a book by the same name. It failed because he failed. For seven years, under the presidency of this former investment banker, French public spending surged – as did national debt – leading to the current budget crisis. The kind of Budget and pension cuts that Barnier was trying to pass are the only solution. But Macron never properly built the case for this, or any proper reform agenda. It was always possible to out-argue Le Pen and hold her fiscal denialism up to ridicule. But portraying her as a far-Right monster was more name-calling than argument. Similar tactics have been deployed against Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Sweden Democrats, Poland’s Law and Justice Party, Geert Wilders’ PVV in the Netherlands and Austria’s Freedom Party. Look around Europe and it doesn’t seem that this tactic is working very well – but it never stops being used. The strange phenomenon we saw in America, how Trump’s enemies attacked him when it was clear that attacks backfired, can be seen all over Europe. Germany is learning this the hard way. Olaf Scholz’s coalition collapsed last month. As the recent state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia demonstrated, the momentum is with AfD. Violent crime in Germany is becoming inseparable from the issue of migration, with police statistics saying that 40 per cent of suspects are foreign-born. Combine this with its woeful economic trajectory and demographics (it’s expected to have one of the sharpest working-age population declines of any major economy) and it adds to a perfect electoral storm for populists. JD Vance, America’s vice-president elect, has a theory that it’s not enough to embody voters’ ambitions: when you’re up against a falling government, you also need to embody their anger. So people vote for Trump (or Le Pen) not because they necessarily think such characters deserve to be president, but because they see him as a necessary corrective to a failed consensus. Under this strategy, attacks are helpful. The louder the shrieks of horror from the establishment, the stronger the Trumpian (or Le Pennian) claim to embody electoral vengeance. Giorgia Meloni has always understood this. Her politics are standard centre-Right (as her presidency has shown) but having the Brothers of Italy denounced as “post-fascist” burnishes her rebel credentials. Now and again, she’ll play it up. She’ll be coy about Mussolini’s record or defend the tricolour flame in her party’s logo (a visual nod to the bad old days) hoping her opponents will take the bait. This is from the Trump playbook of political jiu-jitsu: use your opponent’s vitriol as a campaign fuel. Let them portray themselves as deranged. “They’re not after me, they’re after you,” Trump likes to say. “I just happen to be standing in the way.” The countries where support for the new-Right parties has been waning – Sweden, Poland, Hungary – are those where populists have held or shared power. This is what really hurts: when they get the chance to change, but flop. Perhaps the best way of weakening Le Pen would be having Jordan Bardella, her protégé and parliamentary leader, as prime minister. Let him see how the bruises of government dampen his rebel yell. And if young Bardella would succeed and end up as impressive as Meloni has been? Then the world may have to rethink the far-Right label, one already regarded as nonsense by a good chunk of French voters. But as things stand, Le Pen has Macron exactly where she wants him: in the Elysee, taking the blame, trying to form another government but one which – as she has just demonstrated – can be thrown out by her new rebel alliance at any time. This leaves her in the ideal populist fist-shaking position. As Brexit negotiator, Barnier liked to say that time was running out. Macron has the opposite problem: his time as a lame-duck president has another two and half agonising years to run. Some 59 per cent of French voters want him to stand down earlier but tonight he said he will serve his term “fully, until its end.” To walk away early and trigger another snap election would certainly be a gamble. And after this year’s debacle – and the crisis into which he has now led his country – Macron may well have had enough of those.