Facebook says Chinese phone makers got access to data

SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook on Tuesday confirmed that Chinese phone makers were given access to data on users, including one that has raised security concerns in the US Congress.

Huawei, Lenovo, OPPO and TCL were able to access Facebook data to get the leading social network's applications to perform on smartphones, according to the California-based company.

"Facebook along with many other US tech companies have worked with them and other Chinese manufacturers to integrate their services onto these phones," Facebook mobile partnerships leader Francisco Varela said in a released statement.

"Given the interest from Congress, we wanted to make clear that all the information from these integrations with Huawei was stored on the device, not on Huawei's servers."

"Facebook's integrations with Huawei, Lenovo, OPPO and TCL were controlled from the get go," Varela said.


Huawei has long disputed any links to the Chinese government, while noting that its infrastructure and computing products are used in 170 countries.

"Concerns about Huawei aren't new," US Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the senate select committee on intelligence, said Tuesday in a released statement.

"I look forward to learning more about how Facebook ensured that information about their users was not sent to Chinese servers."

Facebook said that it does not know of any privacy abuse by cellphone makers who years ago were able to gain access to personal data on users and their friends.

Before now-ubiquitous apps standardized the social media experience on smartphones, some 60 device makers like Amazon, Apple, Blackberry, HTC, Microsoft and Samsung worked with Facebook to adapt interfaces for the Facebook website to their own phones, the company said.

Facebook said it was winding up the interface arrangements with device makers as the company's smartphone apps dominate the service. The integration partnership with Huawei will terminate by the end of this week, according to the social network.

The social media leader said it "disagreed" with the conclusions of a New York Times report that found that the device makers could access information on Facebook users' friends without their explicit consent.

Facebook enabled device makers to interface with it at a time when it was building its service and they were developing new smartphone and social media technology.

But the report raised concerns that massive databases on users and their friends -- including personal data and photographs -- could be in the hands of device makers.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

U.S. lawmakers approve warrantless internet spying program

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to renew the National Security Agency's warrantless internet surveillance program, overcoming objections from privacy advocates and confusion prompted by morning tweets from President Donald Trump that initially questioned the spying tool.

The legislation, which passed 256-164 and split party lines, is the culmination of a years-long debate in Congress on the proper scope of U.S. intelligence collection - one fueled by the 2013 disclosures of classified surveillance secrets by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Senior Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives had urged cancellation of the vote after Trump appeared to cast doubt on the merits of the program, but Republicans forged ahead.

Trump initially said on Twitter that the surveillance program, first created in secret after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and later legally authorized by Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, had been used against him but later said it was needed.

Some conservative, libertarian-leaning Republicans and liberal Democrats attempted to persuade colleagues to include more privacy protections. They failed on Thursday to pass an amendment to include a warrant requirement before the NSA or other intelligence agencies could scrutinize communications belonging to Americans whose data is incidentally collected.

Thursday's vote was a major blow to privacy and civil liberties advocates, who just two years ago celebrated passage of a law effectively ending the NSA's bulk collection of U.S. call records, another top-secret program exposed by Snowden.

The bill as passed by the House would extend the NSA's spying program for six years with minimal changes. Some privacy groups said it would actually expand the NSA's surveillance powers.

Most lawmakers expect it to become law, although it still would require Senate approval and Trump's signature. Republican Senator Rand Paul and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden immediately vowed to filibuster the measure but it was unclear whether they could convince enough colleagues to force changes.

The White House, U.S. intelligence agencies and Republican leaders in Congress have said they consider the surveillance program indispensable and in need of little or no revision.

Before the vote a tweet from Trump had contradicted the official White House position and renewed unsubstantiated allegations that the previous administration of Barack Obama improperly surveiled his campaign during the 2016 election.

"This is the act that may have been used, with the help of the discredited and phony Dossier, to so badly surveil and abuse the Trump Campaign by the previous administration and others?" the president said in a tweet.

"WE NEED IT!"  

The White House did not immediately respond to a request to clarify Trump’s tweet but he posted a follow-up less than two hours later, after speaking on the phone with House Republican leader Paul Ryan.

"With that being said, I have personally directed the fix to the unmasking process since taking office and today’s vote is about foreign surveillance of foreign bad guys on foreign land. We need it! Get smart!" Trump tweeted.

Unmasking refers to the largely separate issue of how Americans' names kept secret in intelligence reports can be revealed.

After the vote Thursday, Ryan, asked about his conversation with the president, said Trump's concerns regarded other parts of the law.

"It's well known that he has concerns about the domestic FISA law. That's not what we're doing today. Today was 702, which is a different part of that law ... He knows that and he, I think, put out something that clarifies that," Ryan told reporters.

Asked by Reuters at a conference in New York about Trump's tweets, Rob Joyce, the top White House cyber official, said there was no confusion within Oval Office about the value of the surveillance program and that there have been no cases of it being used improperly for political purposes.

Without congressional action, legal support for Section 702 will expire next week, although intelligence officials say it could continue through April.

Section 702 allows the NSA to eavesdrop on vast amounts of digital communications from foreigners living outside the United States through U.S. companies such as Facebook Inc, Verizon Communications Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google.

The spying program also incidentally scoops up communications of Americans if they communicate with a foreign target living overseas, and can search those messages without a warrant.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Fired FBI chief Comey to testify publicly in Congress

WASHINGTON, United States - James Comey, the former FBI chief whose firing by President Donald Trump has triggered uproar, has agreed to testify publicly about Russian interference in the 2016 elections, lawmakers announced Friday.

"I hope that former Director Comey's testimony will help answer some of the questions that have arisen since Director Comey was so suddenly dismissed by the president," the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, said in a statement.

"Director Comey served his country with honor for many years, and he deserves an opportunity to tell his story. Moreover, the American people deserve an opportunity to hear it."

Both Warner and the committee's chairman, Richard Burr, indicated they were looking forward to Comey's testimony about Russian interference in the November 8 presidential elections that saw Trump secure the White House by scoring the electoral college, though Democratic rival Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.

No date has yet been set for the open session hearing, though the statement said it would take place after the Memorial Day holiday, May 29.

The White House has been thrown into turmoil by a succession of stunning allegations against the president this week, including that he may have obstructed justice by asking Comey to drop an investigation into one of his top advisors.

On Friday, The Washington Post reported that a senior White House official was now under investigation as part of a probe over Russian efforts to tilt the elections in Trump's favor.

And The New York Times said the US president had told top Russian officials Comey's sacking had relieved "great pressure" on him.

Trump told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week that Comey was a "nut job," according to the Times, citing notes taken at the meeting and read to the paper by a US official.

That flies in the face of the White House's public insistence that Comey's dismissal was not linked to his ongoing investigation.

The president's son-in-law Jared Kushner is among those whose contacts with the Russian government have come under scrutiny.

On Thursday, Trump declared himself the victim of the "greatest witch hunt" in American political history and denied allegations of collusion.

"There is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign, but I can always speak for myself, and the Russians -- zero," Trump told reporters.

The White House on Friday predicted that the investigation would back up Trump's account.

"As the president has stated before -- a thorough investigation will confirm that there was no collusion between the campaign and any foreign entity," said spokesman Sean Spicer.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Wall St opens higher after govt shutdown averted

Wall Street opened higher on Monday, led by technology and financial stocks, after U.S. Congress negotiators averted a government shutdown later this week by hammering out a federal funding deal late on Sunday.

The House of Representatives and Senate must approve the deal before the end of Friday, as must President Donald Trump, to keep the government funded through the end of Sept. 30.

"We have some renewed optimism that the market strength will continue helped by strong earnings and as a government shutdown was averted," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

"We're also coming off a weak trading session on Friday, and investors are keeping an eye on the jobs report later this week."

At 9:35 a.m. ET (1335 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 13.15 points, or 0.06 percent, at 20,953.66.

The S&P 500 was up 4.3 points, or 0.18 percent, at 2,388.5 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 21.15 points, or 0.35 percent, at 6,068.76.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by identical gains of 0.35 percent in the financial and technology indexes.

Apple's 1.1 percent rise boosted all three indexes.

Trading volume is expected to be light, with many markets in Asia and Europe closed for Labor Day, but will pick up through the week as major earnings reports and economic data pour in.

A data-heavy week will culminate with the monthly jobs report on Friday. The Federal Reserve's two-day meeting that starts on Tuesday could shed policymakers' insights into weak first-quarter economic growth.

U.S. consumer spending was unchanged in March for a second straight month and the overall monthly inflation rate fell for the first time in a year. But, inflation-adjusted consumer spending increased after two straight months of decline.

Stocks edged lower on Friday due to the weak GDP data, but Wall Street's major indexes ended with gains for April, helped by strong quarterly earnings.

Overall, profit at S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 13.6 percent in the first quarter, the most since 2011, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of Caterpillar were up 0.66 percent at $102.92. Barron's said the stock could rise another 20 percent over the next year, helped by Trump's policies.

Dish Network fell 2.22 percent to $63.01 after the satellite TV provider's quarterly revenue missed expectations.

Tribune Media jumped 8.9 percent to $39.82 after Reuters reported Twenty-First Century Fox is in talks with Blackstone to buy the television station operator. Fox shares were down 0.13 percent at $30.50.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,663 to 857. On the Nasdaq, 1,447 issues rose and 747 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 17 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 40 new highs and 14 new lows. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Republicans fail to repeal Obamacare

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump suffered a stunning political setback on Friday in a Congress controlled by his own party when Republican leaders pulled legislation to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, a major 2016 election campaign promise of the president and his allies.

Republican leaders of the House of Representatives pulled the legislation due to a shortage of votes despite desperate lobbying by the White House and its allies in Congress, ensuring that Trump's first major legislative initiative since taking office on Jan. 20 ended in failure.

House Republicans had planned a vote on the measure after Trump late on Thursday cut off negotiations with Republicans who had balked at the plan and issued an ultimatum to vote on Friday, win or lose.

Republican moderates as well as the most conservative lawmakers had objected to the legislation. The White House and House leaders were unable to come up with a plan that satisfied both moderates and conservatives, despite Trump's vaunted image as a deal maker.

"We learned a lot about loyalty. We learned a lot about the vote-getting process," Trump told reporters at the White House, although he sought to shift the blame to the Democrats, who were unified in their opposition, even though his party controls the White House, the House and the Senate.

Amid a chaotic scramble for votes, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who championed the bill, met with Trump at the White House before the bill was pulled from the House floor after hours of debate. Ryan said he recommended that the legislation be withdrawn from the House floor because he did not have the votes to pass it, and that Trump agreed.

"There were things in this bill that I didn't particularly like," Trump added, without specifying what those were, but expressed confidence in Ryan's leadership.

"Perhaps the best thing that could happen is exactly what happened today, because we'll end up with a truly great healthcare bill in the future after this mess known as Obamacare explodes," Trump said.

Friday's events cast doubt on whether Ryan can get major legislation approved by fractious Republican lawmakers.

"I will not sugarcoat this. This is a disappointing day for us," Ryan said at a news conference, adding that his fellow Republicans are experiencing what he called "growing pains" transitioning from an opposition party to a governing party.

"Doing big things is hard," Ryan added, noting that he got close but failed to muster the 216 votes needed to pass it.

Ryan said he did not know what the next steps would be on healthcare, but called Obamacare so flawed that it would be hard to prop up.

Without the bill's passage in Congress, Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy achievement, the 2010 Affordable Care Act - known as Obamacare - remains in place despite seven years of Republican promises to dismantle it.

Repealing and replacing Obamacare was a top campaign promise by Trump in last year's presidential election, as well as by most Republican candidates, "from dog-catcher on up," as White House spokesman Sean Spicer put it during a briefing on Friday.

AGENDA AT RISK

The House failure to pass the measure called into question Trump's ability to get other key parts of his agenda, including tax cuts and a boost in infrastructure spending, through Congress.

News that the bill had been pulled before a final vote was greeted initially with a small sigh of relief by U.S. equity investors, who earlier in the week had been fretful that an outright defeat would damage Trump's other priorities, such as tax cuts and infrastructure spending.

Benchmark U.S. stock market indexes ended the session mixed after rallying back from session lows following the news. The S&P 500 Index ended fractionally lower, the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped about 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose about 0.2 percent.

The dollar also strengthened modestly on the news and U.S. Treasury bond yields edged up from session lows.

"There's nobody that objectively can look at this effort and say the president didn't do every single thing he possibly could with this team to get every vote possible," Spicer told reporters before the legislation was pulled.

Trump already has been stymied by federal courts that blocked his executive actions barring entry into the United States of people from several Muslim-majority nations. Some Republicans worry a defeat on the healthcare legislation could cripple his presidency just two months after the wealthy New York real estate mogul took office.

In a blow to the bill's prospects, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen announced his opposition, expressing concern about reductions in coverage under the Medicaid insurance program for the poor and the retraction of "essential" health benefits that insurers must cover.

"We need to get this right for all Americans," Frelinghuysen said.

Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher said before the bill was pulled that voting it down would be "neutering Trump" while empowering his opponents.

"You don't cut the balls off a bull and then expect that he can go out and get the job done," Rohrabacher told Reuters. "This will emasculate Trump and we can't do that. ... If we bring this down now, Trump will have lost all of his leverage to pass whatever bill it is, whether it's the tax bill or whatever reforms that he wants."

Trump and House Republican leaders could not afford to lose many votes in their own party because Democrats were unified in opposition, saying the bill would take away medical insurance from millions of Americans and leave the more-than-$3 trillion U.S. healthcare system in disarray.

Republican supporters said the plan would achieve their goal of rolling back the government's "nanny state" role in healthcare.

Obamacare boosted the number of Americans with health insurance through mandates on individuals and employers, and income-based subsidies. About 20 million Americans gained insurance coverage through the law.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said under the Republican legislation 14 million people would lose medical coverage by next year and more than 24 million would be uninsured in 2026.

Days of negotiations involving Republican lawmakers and the White House led to some changes in the bill but failed to produce a consensus deal.

The House plan would rescind a range of taxes created by Obamacare, end a penalty on people who refuse to obtain health insurance, end Obamacare's income-based subsidies to help people buy insurance while creating less-generous age-based tax credits

It also would end Obamacare's expansion of the Medicaid state-federal insurance program for the poor, cut future federal Medicaid funding and let states impose work requirements on some Medicaid recipients.

House leaders agreed to a series of last-minute changes to try to win over disgruntled conservatives, including ending the Obamacare requirement that insurers cover certain "essential benefits" such as maternity care, mental health services and prescription drug coverage.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump: U.S. will win appeal of judge's travel ban order

WASHINGTON/PALM BEACH, Fla - U.S. President Donald Trump said the Justice Department will win an appeal filed late Saturday of a judge's order lifting a travel ban he had imposed on citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries.

"We'll win. For the safety of the country, we'll win," he told reporters at his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, shortly after the Justice Department filed a notice that it intends to appeal the order.

Trump's personal attack on U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle went too far for some who said the president was undermining an institution designed to check the power of the White House and Congress.

"The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!" Trump said on Twitter early on Saturday.

Trump has said "extreme vetting" of refugees and immigrants is needed to prevent terrorist attacks.

Throughout the day, Trump continued to criticize the decision in tweets. Late Saturday, Trump showed no signs of backing down.

"The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy!" he tweeted.

As the ban lifted, refugees and thousands of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who had been stopped in their tracks last weekend by Trump's executive order scrambled to get flights to quickly enter the United States.

The Justice Department did not say when it would file its appeal with the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals of the ruling made by Robart late on Friday that also lifted Trump's temporary ban imposed on refugee admissions.

The judge appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush questioned the constitutionality of Trump's order.

The three-judge panel that will decide whether to immediately block the ruling includes appointees of George W. Bush and two former Democratic presidents, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.

Trump's tweets criticizing the judge's decision could make it tougher for Justice Department attorneys as they seek to defend the executive order in Washington state and other courts, said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, adding that presidents are usually circumspect about commenting on government litigation.

"It's hard for the president to demand that courts respect his inherent authority when he is disrespecting the inherent authority of the judiciary. That certainly tends to poison the well for litigation," Turley said.

U.S. immigration advocacy groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and International Refugee Assistance Project on Saturday in a joint statement urged those with now valid visas from the seven nations "to consider rebooking travel to the United States immediately" because the ruling could be overturned or put on hold. A U.S. State Department email reviewed by Reuters said the department is working to begin admitting refugees including Syrians as soon as Monday.

SEPARATION OF POWERS

It is unusual for a president to attack a member of the judiciary, which the U.S. Constitution designates as a check to the power of the executive branch and Congress. Reached by email Saturday, Robart declined comment on Trump's tweets.

Democratic U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont said in a statement Saturday that Trump's "hostility toward the rule of law is not just embarrassing, it is dangerous. He seems intent on precipitating a constitutional crisis."

"Read the 'so-called' Constitution," tweeted Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence committee.

In an interview with ABC scheduled to air on Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence said he did not think that Trump's criticisms of the judge undermined the separation of powers.

"I think the American people are very accustomed to this president speaking his mind and speaking very straight with them," Pence said, according to an excerpt of the interview.

The court ruling was the first move in what could be months of legal challenges to Trump's push to clamp down on immigration. His order set off chaos last week at airports across the United States where travelers were stranded and thousands of people gathered to protest.

Americans are divided over Trump's order. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week showed 49 percent favored it while 41 percent did not.

Wes Parker, a retiree from Long Beach, California, held a sign saying "Trump is love" at the Los Angeles International Airport, and said he supported the tighter measures.

"We just have to support the travel pause," said Parker, 62.

"If you were a new president coming in, wouldn't you want what you feel safe with?"

Rights groups, Democrats and U.S. allies have condemned the travel ban as discriminatory. On Saturday, there were protests against the immigrant curb in Washington, New York, Los Angeles and other cities.

At the White House, hundreds of protesters chanted "Donald, Donald can't you see? You're not welcome in D.C."

TRAVELERS MOVE WITH HASTE

The sudden reversal of the ban catapulted would-be immigrants back to airports, with uncertainty over how long the window to enter the United States will remain open.

In Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, Fuad Sharef and his family prepared to fly on Saturday to Istanbul and then New York before starting a new life in Nashville, Tennessee.

"I am very happy that we are going to travel today. Finally, we made it," said Sharef, who was stopped from boarding a New York-bound flight last week.

The Department of Homeland Security said on Saturday it would return to its normal procedures for screening travelers but that the Justice Department would file for an emergency stay of the order "at the earliest possible time."

Some travelers told Reuters they were cautious about the sudden change.

"I will not say if I have hope or not. I wait, watch and then I build my hopes," said Josephine Abu Assaleh, 60, who was stopped from entering the United States after landing in Philadelphia last week with five members of her family.

"We left the matter with the lawyers. When they tell us the decision has been canceled, we will decide whether to go back or not," she told Reuters in Damascus, speaking by telephone.

Virtually all refugees also were barred by Trump's order, upending the lives of thousands of people who have spent years seeking asylum in the United States.

Friday night's court decision sent refugee advocacy and resettlement agencies scrambling to help people in the pipeline.

Iraqi refugee Nizar al-Qassab, 52, told Reuters in Lebanon that his family had been due to travel to the United States for resettlement on Jan. 31. The trip was canceled two days before that and he was now waiting for a phone call from U.N. officials overseeing their case.

"It's in God's hands," he said.

(Additional reporting by Issam Abdullah in Beirut, Dan Levine in Seattle, Alana Wise in New York, Robert Chiarito and Nathan Layne in Chicago, Daina Beth Solomon in Los Angeles, and Julia Edwards Ainsley in Washington; Writing by Roberta Rampton and David Shepardson; Editing by Bill Trott, Mary Milliken, Diane Craft and Nick Macfie)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

US Congress approves first step for repealing Obamacare

WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives on Friday joined the Senate in passing a critical measure that marks the first major step toward repealing outgoing President Barack Obama's landmark but controversial health care reforms.

The House's near party-line vote of 227 to 198 approved a budget blueprint which provides Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, with a framework for dismantling the Affordable Care Act.

But one week before Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office, a sense of urgency has swept over Washington about what his party will put forward as a replacement for the law, with Democrats warning of disastrous consequences should Republicans act too hastily.

"This resolution essentially fires the starting pistol... for repealing Obamacare," said Representative Bill Johnson, an Ohio Republican.

"This is a critical first step to deliver relief to Americans struggling under this law," House Speaker Paul Ryan told fellow members, describing as a "rescue mission" the latest effort to unwind Obamacare.

"This experiment has failed," and "we have to step in before things get worse."

The Senate passed the resolution Thursday. It received no Democratic support in either chamber, highlighting the intensely partisan fight that lies ahead.

The resolution provides Republicans with a powerful tool, called reconciliation, which allows repeal legislation to proceed through the 100-member Senate with a simple majority, protected from a Democratic filibuster that requires a 60-vote threshold to overcome.

Trump made repeal of the law a central plank of his insurgent campaign, and he sounded triumphant ahead of the vote.

"The 'Unaffordable' Care Act will soon be history!" he tweeted early Friday.

Days earlier he said the Republicans ought to repeal and replace Obamacare quickly and "simultaneously."

During a Thursday town hall style event Ryan said he was on board, and that he envisioned action on a plan "within the first hundred days."

'CUT' AND RUN?

Unwinding Obamacare will be a monumental task. Republican leadership is moving carefully, stressing it does not want to "pull the rug out from anyone" who might lose coverage if there is no replacement plan on offer.

But there is debate among Republicans about how -- and how fast -- to proceed.

Charlie Dent, one of nine House Republicans who voted against the resolution, expressed "reservations" about quickly repealing parts of Obamacare without a credible replacement at the ready.

"I think the repeal plan needs to be fully developed and better articulated prior to moving forward," he told CNN.

The White House touts Obamacare as a success, saying more than 20 million Americans have gained health insurance through the law.

The Affordable Care Act forbids insurance companies from denying health care due to pre-existing conditions, abolishes lifetime caps on care, and allows children to stay on their parents' plans until age 26, three provisions that have proved popular nationwide.

Ryan insists the Republican plan that moves forward will include its own versions of such provisions.

Democrats warn that scrapping the law could result in tens of millions of Americans losing coverage.

"They want to cut benefits and run. They want to cut access and run," House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said of Republicans, and accused Ryan of peddling "mythology" about the law.

House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries offered harsher criticism about Republican efforts to swiftly dismantle the reforms, despite not formulating a viable replacement plan in the last six years.

"All you have is smoke and mirrors, and the American people are getting ready to get screwed," Jeffries said on the House floor.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Wall Street voting for Clinton, Republican Congress

After an unpredictable and bitter campaign season, Wall Street is eyeing its preferred 2016 election outcome: a Hillary Clinton presidency offset by a Republican-controlled Congress.

Evidence of the market's clear inclination for a Clinton victory has been seen at key junctures in the race, such as when stock futures surged in the moments after the first presidential debate, which was widely seen as a win for the former secretary of state.

"The S&P 500 futures exploded higher," recalled Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets. "It was obvious which candidate the market prefers."

That preference also was on display in response to news about Clinton's email investigation, including Sunday, when stock futures spiked higher after the FBI cleared the Democratic candidate in the latest review of emails linked to her private server.

Analysts view Clinton as a known quantity who is likely to maintain many of the policies of President Barack Obama. In contrast, Republican Donald Trump is viewed as a wildcard with no public service record and a penchant for lambasting everything from free trade deals to the Federal Reserve to people who contradict him.

A surprise win by Trump, who has consistently trailed in the polls, could spur a sharp negative reaction Wednesday, although markets could steady after that.

"The big move would be caused just by the unknown of what he might do and the perception that he's volatile," said Michael Scanlon, managing director of Manulife Asset Management.

"Then the reason I temper that and say it would be short-lived is that we still have a government with checks and balances. It's not like he's being elected king or anything like that."

- Market likes gridlock -

While the market has shown it favors Clinton in the White House, that does not extend to Democrats in Congress.

When Clinton appeared to pull away significantly from Trump in polls last month, some analysts expressed worry that a Democratic congressional sweep could lead to efforts to tax business more heavily, or take other steps viewed as anti-growth.

The market is accustomed to having a Democratic president offset by a Republican Congress and views a change to that equilibrium as a potential threat.

On Monday, "the market rallied on the assumption that the GOP should manage to retain control of one house, if not both houses, of Congress, thereby ensuring an environment of continued political gridlock," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

"It's a view we suspect that doesn't register quite as neatly on Main Street, where millions and millions of votes will be cast today on the basis of wanting to see some meaningful changes."

As far as election evening trading, several leading banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Credit Suisse, plan to provide US staff overnight in expectation that volume will be elevated.

"JPMorgan will have some traders staffed on the New York trading desks during the night hours, ready to support our Asia trading teams manage any potential spikes in volume," a spokesman said. "That is similar to what we did for the Brexit vote."

Although US stock markets will be closed when the election results begin to come in, there are many other available avenues to trade, including the foreign exchange market and the S&P 500 futures market.

Trading volume likely will rise in spurts as key results are announced, such as critical swing states in the presidential contest, including Florida, North Carolina and Ohio.

"Looking at the last election, it seems fair to say that the result comes around midnight," said Erik Nelson, a foreign exchange analyst at Wells Fargo. "I would say around midnight we would get the most volatility as we get a little more sense of what is going on."

JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist of TD Ameritrade, will be monitoring multiple television screens and tracking political blogs.

"I'll be doing what every other loser trader does, sitting in front of my screen and trying to trade futures," he said. "There is going to be opportunity."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Democrats stage sit-in protest on House floor over gun control legislation

WASHINGTON - Talks intensified in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday on compromise legislation to stop gun sales to people on some terrorism watch lists, as Democrats shut down the House of Representatives to protest their chamber's lack of action.

Several dozen U.S. House Democrats pushing for action on gun control protested on the floor of the House, chanting "no bill, no break!" and demanding that the chamber put off an upcoming recess until legislation is debated.

The protest was the latest move by Democrats to persuade the Republican majority in Congress to take up gun control in response to last week's mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, the deadliest in modern U.S. history.

The Democrats stood or sat at the front of the chamber, where such disruptive tactics are relatively rare. When the presiding House officer, Republican Representative Ted Poe, entered the chamber at about noon EDT (1600 GMT), he declared the House not in order. After banging the gavel several times in an attempt to clear the protesters, he announced the chamber would be in recess and left.

The Democrats remained on the House floor, calling for action before a vacation recess scheduled to start at the end of the week and run through July 5.

Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn, likened the push for gun control action to the civil rights movement of the 1960s when sit-ins and other civil disobedience prodded Washington to act on new protections for African-Americans.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted her support for the sit-in, saying, "This is what real leadership looks like."

Democrats in the Senate last week took control of that chamber for nearly 15 straight hours as they called for gun control legislation.

On Monday, the Senate failed to advance four gun measures, including one that would have prohibited gun sales to people on a broad range of government watch lists.

Senators from both parties now are pushing for a compromise. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would schedule a vote on the measure by fellow Republican Senator Susan Collins that would prevent about 109,000 people on "no-fly" and other surveillance lists from purchasing guns.

They were holding private talks on the bill and Collins said it could be voted upon this week.

"We're doing some refinements, reflecting some suggestions that we've had from both sides of the aisle," Collins told reporters. She said one of the issues being negotiated was the question of protecting the constitutional rights of gun buyers.

Senator Orrin Hatch, a senior Republican, said there was a "robust discussion" of the Collins measure but he will not be voting for Collins’ proposal.

"I'm a pro-gun guy," Hatch said.

Senator John Thune, a member of Senate Republican leadership, told reporters: "I think it’s going to get a vote ... whether it can pass or not at this point is kind of a moving target."

The powerful National Rifle Association said it opposes the compromise bill and called it unconstitutional.

PRIMAL SCREAMS

House Republicans have declined to advance gun control legislation and House Speaker Paul Ryan said earlier on Wednesday he was "waiting to see what the Senate does" before discussing the topic.

Many House Republicans say they see the problem differently than Democrats. "We don't view the fact that someone becomes radicalized and decides to kill a bunch of Americans ... as a gun problem," Representative John Fleming of Louisiana said on Wednesday. "We view that as a terrorist problem."

The Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to Islamic State during the June 12 rampage in which he killed 49 people and wounded 53 with an assault rifle and pistol at a gay nightclub before being fatally shot by police.

House Democrats frustrated by inaction on guns have staged several actions on the House floor in recent days. They interrupted a moment of silence in honor of the Orlando victims and unsuccessfully sought recognition to bring up bills on expanding background checks and preventing people on "no-fly" and other surveillance lists from buying guns.

Democratic Representative Bobby Rush, in a news conference with House leadership and gun control groups on the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday, recounted his son's 1999 shooting death in Chicago and the mother's primal scream when the doctor said the man had died.

"It's time to end this chorus of primal screams in our nation and the time to end it is now," Rush shouted. - report from Susan Cornwell and Timothy Gardner, Reuters

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Apple asks to block court order to help decrypt iPhone

WASHINGTON, United States - Apple on Thursday urged a federal court to toss out an order that the company help the FBI hack into an iPhone used by a shooter in the San Bernardino attack, arguing that it was a "dangerous power."

The legal response was fired in what promised to be a landmark case pitting national security against personal privacy.

"Last week's judicial order may have prompted among the most high-profile battles we have seen over device encryption," Internet rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation said on its website.

"But this is not the first time, nor is it likely to be the last time, we are called to defend access to tools that can ensure privacy and security."

Apple chief Tim Cook has called for the stand-off to be resolved by legislation in US Congress, not in the courts.

Cook equated what the FBI was demanding as a software version of "cancer."

Apple said in a court filing that the government overstepped its legal authority in trying to force the company to facilitate access to a locked iPhone used by one of the shooters the San Bernardino attack last year, which left 14 dead.

"No court has ever authorized what the government now seeks, no law supports such unlimited and sweeping use of the judicial process, and the constitution forbids it," Apple's lawyers wrote in the motion filed in California federal court.

The Apple response is the latest in the fight over how far the company must go in helping US law enforcement access a device with data locked by encryption that only the user can normally access.

"The government demands that Apple create a back door to defeat the encryption on the iPhone, making its users' most confidential and personal information vulnerable to hackers, identity thieves, hostile foreign agents and unwarranted government surveillance," Apple's brief said.

- 'Government OS' -

Apple executives, who briefed reporters on condition they not be quoted directly, said the order would effectively require the creation of a "government operating system" which could be used repeatedly by FBI forensics experts and potentially leak out to others.

The iPhone maker is arguing that the government effort violates Apple's constitutional rights to free speech, by forcing it to write software that undermines its values.

Apple's brief also said the legal showdown came despite a pledge by government officials not to seek legislation for easier access to encrypted devices.

"This case is about the Department of Justice and the FBI seeking through the courts a dangerous power that Congress and the American people have withheld: the ability to force companies like Apple to undermine the basic security and privacy interests of hundreds of millions of individuals around the globe," Apple said in the filing.

Apple's tech rivals closed ranks, with Microsoft and Google announcing they would file briefs in court supporting the iPhone maker. Facebook meanwhile endorsed a collective letter supporting Apple.

Microsoft Vice President Brad Smith, appearing in Congress on Thursday, said, "We do not believe that courts should seek to resolve issues of 21st-century technology with law that was written in the era of the adding machine."

The Apple filing comes one week after the US Justice Department filed a motion to compel Apple to provide "reasonable technical assistance" sought by the FBI.

The government filing, in sharp contrast to that of Apple, said the order would not require a "back door to every iPhone."

The Justice Department said Apple's public statements suggest it is basing its defense on "marketing concerns" and that the company was not being asked to hand over any sensitive software that could be used by hackers.

Earlier Thursday, FBI Director James Comey reiterated his position at a hearing on Capitol Hill.

"The San Bernardino litigation is not about us trying to send a message or establish some kind of precedent," Comey told lawmakers at the House Intelligence Committee.

"It's about trying to be competent in investigating something that is an active investigation."

The phone at the center of the standoff belonged to Syed Farook, a US citizen, who carried out the attack on an office party in San Bernardino along with his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik. The attack left 14 dead.

- Lawmakers eye 'solution' -

Separately, US lawmakers moved to break the deadlock that has divided the public by calling a hearing with the FBI and Apple in an effort to craft "a solution."

The hearing called by the House Judiciary Committee for next Tuesday will be the first in Congress since Apple said it would challenge the court order.

A statement said scheduled witnesses include FBI chief Comey and Bruce Sewell, Apple's senior vice president and general counsel.

Also scheduled to appear are Susan Landau, a cybersecurity expert at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Cyrus Vance Jr., the New York district attorney who has criticized Apple for locking its iPhones without allowing law enforcement access.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama says fight against Islamic State is not World War III

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama accused critics on Tuesday of playing into the hands of Islamic State by comparing the fight against the militant group to World War Three, in an address aimed at laying out an optimistic vision of America's future.

Obama, who is delivering his last State of the Union speech to Congress before leaving office next year, said it was fiction to declare the United States was in economic decline or getting weaker on the international stage, despite rhetoric from Republican presidential candidates vying to replace him in the Nov. 8 election.

"Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped. But they do not threaten our national existence," Obama said, according to prepared remarks.

"That's the story ISIL wants to tell; that's the kind of propaganda they use to recruit. We don't need to build them up to show that we're serious, nor do we need to push away vital allies in this fight by echoing the lie that ISIL is representative of one of the world's largest religions," he said, referring to Islamic State by an acronym.

The remarks were a repudiation of Republican criticism of his strategy against Islamic State and, not so subtly, of Republican front-runner Donald Trump's call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.

Obama's address comes as 10 sailors aboard two U.S. Navy boats were taken into Iranian custody. Iran told the United States the crew members would be "promptly" returned, U.S. officials said. The event gave Republicans further fodder to criticize Obama's nuclear deal with Tehran.

Obama did not address the issue at the top of his speech.

The address is one of Obama's few remaining chances to capture the attention of millions of Americans before November's election of a new president who will take office next January.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is delivering the Republican Party's response to Obama's address, will knock his record on fiscal and foreign policy while delivering a not-so-subtle jab at Republican presidential candidates such as Trump.

"During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country," she will say, according to excerpts of her remarks.

Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants.

Obama stuck to themes he hopes will define his legacy.

He emphasized areas where compromise was possible with Republicans in Congress including criminal justice reform, trade and poverty reduction.

He called for lawmakers to ratify a Pacific trade pact, advance tighter gun laws and lift an embargo on Cuba.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama wants US to declare war on Islamic State

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama sent Congress his text on Wednesday for an authorization to use military force in the campaign against Islamic State, limiting operations against the militants to three years and barring use of U.S. troops in "enduring offensive ground combat."

According to the text, Obama also wants to repeal the 2002 measure that authorized the Iraq war. But his proposal leaves in place a 2001 authorization, passed shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, for a campaign against al Qaeda and its affiliates.

Obama said he remained committed to working with Congress to "refine, and ultimately repeal" the 2001 AUMF. He said enacting a measure specific to the campaign against Islamic State fighters could serve as a model for revamping the 2001 measure.

"I have directed a comprehensive and sustained strategy to degrade and defeat ISIL," Obama wrote in a letter accompanying the draft, using an acronym for the Islamist militant group.

"Local forces, rather than U.S. military forces, should be deployed to conduct such operations," he said.

The White House said Obama would make a statement on his request at 3:30 PM EST (2030 GMT).

Obama's proposal must be approved by both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, where it is expected to provoke strong debate between Democrats, who are generally wary of another Middle East war, and Republicans, many of whom have been pushing for stronger measures against the militant fighters.

Obama has defended his authority to lead an international coalition against Islamic State since Aug. 8 when U.S. fighter jets began attacking the jihadists in Iraq. But he has faced criticism for failing to seek the backing of Congress, where some accuse him of breaching his constitutional authority.

Facing pressure to let lawmakers weigh in on an issue as important as the deployment of troops and chastened by elections that handed power in Congress to Republicans, he said in November he would request formal authorization for the use of military force (AUMF).

Secretary of State John Kerry, who spent nearly three decades in the U.S. Senate, said in a statement it was important that the administration work with Congress to secure its passage. The coalition fighting Islamic State will be stronger if it is passed, he said.

"The world needs to hear that the United States speaks with one voice in the fight against ISIL," he said. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

What Pacquiao will do at DC's National Prayer Breakfast

WASHINGTON DC – Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has arrived in Washington DC along with his wife, Jinkee, to attend the National Prayer Breakfast that is held annually at the Washington Hilton on the first Thursday of February.

Thousands of people from over 100 countries, including the Philippines, attend the National Prayer Breakfast yearly.

"It's people from all over, from all countries coming to Washington DC, and the President of the United States, the First Lady, the Vice President and his wife will be present," said Jonathan Frank of the National Prayer Breakfast.

"It's an opportunity for people to come around and unite in faith, setting aside their political differences in prayer and fellowship," he added.

Members of the U.S. Congress host the Prayer Breakfast, which is why Pacquiao, as a representative of Sarangani, was invited.

"He has a position with the government, the Philippines, because of him being a world renowned boxer, and being a Christian, we felt important to the country, the Philippines, to invite him to be part of this prayer breakfast. Who knows, he might end up being the President of the Philippines one day," said Frank.

The Dalai Lama is expected to watch the Prayer Breakfast as well.

Pacquiao will be given 20 minutes to speak, and the "Pacman" said he will emphasize the themes of unity and love and the greatness of God in his speech.

"We'll be giving Manny an opportunity to talk about his faith and how it's affected his life, the change that's been made in his heart," said Frank.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao and his camp have decided to stay mum about the negotiations for a potential fight against unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather Jr.

"Right now we don't have any comments on the boxing issues," Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, said. "We will just wait and see what happens. We just pray and be hopeful."

Pacquiao was also silent when asked about his relationship with Top Rank chief executive Bob Arum, after it was revealed by boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz that Mayweather had questioned Pacquiao's financial arrangement with his promoter.

"No comment muna tayo diyan," said Pacquiao.

Pacquiao is also scheduled to meet with members of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday night.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama: 'The shadow of crisis has passed'

REDWOOD CITY, California - A noticeably revitalized President Barack Obama appeared Tuesday night before the new GOP-led Congress to paint the state of the nation.

"America, for all that we’ve endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back; for all the tasks that lie ahead, know this: The shadow of crisis has passed and the state of the Union is strong," he said.

Obama was buoyed by a growing US economy, increasing number of jobs, lower gas prices, and a job approval rating that’s the highest since the government shutdown in 2013.

By appealing to the needs of the middle class, Obama framed the political debate in the next two years.

"Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?” he said.

Included in Obama’s proposals:

    Lower taxes for low income families
    Affordable child care
    Guaranteed paid sick and maternity leaves
    Equal pay for women
    Free community college education
    Higher wages

“To everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest working people in America a raise,” he said.

But to get these proposals to sail through Congress will be a challenge. The GOP-led Congress is blocking Obama’s recent orders including his executive action on immigration.

For his part, the president made it clear that he will take an offensive stance.

“We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or re-fighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got to fix a broken system. And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, i will veto it,” he said.

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa delivered the GOP’s response to the State of the Union.

She appeared to take a less combative stance by saying she will not respond to the speech, but alluded to Washington’s faults, saying Congress has its own solutions.

“Americans have been hurting,” she said. “But when we demanded solutions, too often Washington responded with the same stale mindset that led to failed policies like Obamacare. It’s a mindset that gave us political talking points, not serious solutions. That’s why the new Republican majority you elected started by reforming Congress to make it function again. And now, we’re working hard to pass the kind of serious job-creation ideas you deserve.”

President Obama said he is willing to work with Republicans. But the tone from both sides of the aisle seemed less than conciliatory.

As for the majority of the public, a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows people believe that a divided government does not work well for the country.

Read more from Balitang America

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Shutdown averted for now as Congress extends US funding

WASHINGTON -- The US Senate on Saturday gave itself four additional days to pass a $1.1 trillion federal spending bill, easing the threat of a government shutdown that was looming at midnight.

Amid deep divisions between Republicans and Democrats over how to proceed on funding government through September, feuding lawmakers unanimously passed a measure that extends funds to late Wednesday.

The extension was the second passed by Congress in as many days as leaders struggle to finalize the spending bill and bid farewell to the 113th Congress, one of the least productive sessions in modern history.

The funding has already been approved by the House of Representatives. It faces a procedural test vote at 1:00 am (0600 GMT) Sunday, and is then expected to pass the Senate on Monday and head to President Barack Obama's desk for his signature.

The battle over the bill has been a bruising one.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had expressed hope that a deal would be reached for a final vote Friday on funding nearly all federal operations through the end of fiscal 2015.

But that collapsed when conservative Republicans like Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, furious that the legislation failed to roll back Obama's recent unilateral immigration action to shield millions from deportation, refused to cooperate.

"Regrettably, a small group of Senate Republicans has determined that it is in their political interests to hold this legislation hostage," Reid told the chamber at the start of a rare Saturday session.

- Obama's immigration order -

Cruz, widely accused by Democrats of causing last year's 16-day government shutdown, appeared in no hurry to ease passage of the spending bill Friday, giving a fiery floor speech attacking congressional leaders for their failure to stand up to Obama's immigration order.

"Before the United States Senate is a bill that does nothing, absolutely nothing to stop President Obama's illegal and unconstitutional amnesty," Cruz said.

The political tempest triggered by Cruz and fellow conservative Senator Mike Lee may have backfired for the Republican Party.

It enabled Reid to use a procedural maneuver to allow votes on up to 20 of Obama's nominees, some of them controversial, including the president's pick for surgeon general.

The Senate was grinding through a slog of nomination-related votes Saturday, and Republicans did not shy away from criticizing Cruz's tactics.

"It will have the end result of causing nominees whom I think are not well-qualified to be confirmed, so I don't understand the approach that he is taking, and I think it's very unfortunate and counterproductive," Senate Republican Susan Collins said, according to The New York Times.

"This reminds me very much of the shutdown last year, where the strategy made absolutely no sense and was counterproductive."

The spending bill funds all government agencies through September except the Department of Homeland Security, which is tasked with carrying out Obama's immigration order.

DHS funding would last until February, setting up another immigration-related fight but this time in a Congress under full Republican control.

Otherwise the bill leaves Obama's executive order intact.

It contains $1.014 trillion in discretionary domestic spending, plus $64 billion in military overseas contingency operations in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The measure provides $5 billion for operations to counter the Islamic State extremist group, and $5.4 billion in emergency funding was secured to respond to the Ebola crisis -- slightly less than the $6 billion requested by Obama.

Progressive Democrats have expressed outrage about the 1,603-page bill because of two policy riders inserted late in the negotiation process, including one that rolls back key financial regulations on Wall Street banks.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama digs in even as he vows to work with Republicans

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to work with Republican lawmakers after their midterm election win but warned he would act without them to protect his core agenda, starting with immigration reform.

The US leader stopped short of accepting direct responsibility for his Democratic party's colossal defeat at the hands of opponents who successfully turned the election into a repudiation of his policies.

The GOP snatched control of the Senate, tightened its grip on the House of Representatives and won key Democrat governorships, in an election Obama admitted was "a good night" for Republicans.

Democrats suffering from the whiplash of their overwhelming defeat were left to contemplate what went wrong.

Some Republicans nevertheless acknowledged they need to find avenues of cooperation with Obama so they are seen as capable congressional stewards ahead of the 2016 presidential race.

In a lengthy White House news conference, Obama insisted he was "eager to work with the new Congress to make the next two years as productive as possible."

Both sides have pointed to the passage of tax reform and approval of two stalled international trade agreements as potential areas of cooperation between the camps.

Obama said he would also ask the new Congress for help in battling the spread of Ebola in West Africa and beyond, and to endorse US-led military action gainst jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

But, in the absence of a strong legislative base for the remaining two years of his presidency, Obama said he would press ahead with plans on immigration reform.

He said he would take executive action this year, without waiting to see whether the new Congress makes progress toward a comprehensive bipartisan immigration reform bill.

"My executive actions not only do not prevent them from passing a law that supersedes those actions, but should be a spur for them to actually try to get something done," Obama insisted.

'Red flag' on immigration

That sets up a potential firestorm with congressional leaders, notably incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who just minutes before Obama spoke expressed an eagerness to cooperate with the president but warned against such a unilateral move.

Taking executive action on immigration, without votes in Congress, would be "like waving a red flag in front of a bull," McConnell told reporters in Kentucky.

Despite Obama insisting he was optimistic about America's future, exit polls Tuesday confirmed the pessimistic mood that several Republican winners had capitalized on during the campaign.

Voters are convinced the nation is headed in the wrong direction and are skeptical of the abilities of the president and his Democrats to turn things around.

At least one senior Democratic official, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's chief of staff, suggested Obama came up short in encouraging voters to back his own party.

Instead of providing a direct mea culpa for the election losses, Obama noted that Americans of all stripes have grown frustrated with Washington, "and as president they rightly hold me accountable to do more to make it work properly."

"Obviously Republicans had a good night and they deserve credit for running good campaigns," Obama said. "Beyond that I'll leave it to you and professional pundits to pick through the results."

The tone was a world away from president Bill Clinton's acceptance of "responsibility" the day after his Democrats lost control of both chambers of Congress 20 years ago.

While Obama said he would "measure ideas not whether they're from Republicans or Democrats but whether they work for the American people," he reiterated he would use his veto powers on any bill that repealed his landmark health care reform that he insists has begun to work well for millions.

"There certainly are some lines I'm going to draw. Repeal of the law I won't sign," he said.

"Efforts that would take away health care from the 10 million people who now have it and the millions more who are eligible to get it, we're not going to support."

But he acknowledged he would study Republican proposals to make "responsible changes" to the law.

Obama's occasionally aloof 70-minute press conference earned a swift rebuke from the Republican National Committee which suggested the president was "in denial" about the election.

"Today, in word and tone he refused to take responsibility or even express humility," RNC chairman Reince Priebus said.

"He seemed to suggest the only ideas he's willing to listen to are his own, old, failed ones," he added.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Tough road ahead for Obama after Republicans seize US Senate

WASHINGTON - Republicans rode a wave of voter discontent to seize control of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, dealing a punishing blow to President Barack Obama that will limit his legislative agenda and may force him to make a course correction for his last two years in office.

The Republican rout was wide and deep in what was bound to be seen as a sharp rebuke to Obama, who has lurched from crisis to crisis all year and whose unpopularity made him unwelcome to Democratic candidates in many contested states.

The Republicans also strengthened their grip on the House of Representatives. When the new Congress takes power in January, they will be in charge of both chambers of Congress for the first time since elections in 2006.

The Republican takeover in the Senate will force Obama to scale back his ambitions to either executive actions that do not require legislative approval, or items that might gain bipartisan support, such as trade agreements and tax reform.

It will also test his ability to compromise with newly empowered political opponents who have been resisting his legislative agenda since he was first elected. And it could prompt some White House staff turnover as some exhausted members of his team consider departing in favor of fresh legs.

Obama, first elected in 2008 and again in 2012, called Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress to the White House on Friday to take stock of the new political landscape.

He watched election returns from the White House, and saw little to warm his spirits.

Before the election results, the White House had signaled no major changes for Obama. Officials said Obama would seek common ground with Congress on areas like trade and infrastructure.

"The president is going to continue to look for partners on Capitol Hill, Democrats or Republicans, who are willing to work with him on policies that benefit middle-class families," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday.

Obama, a one-term senator before he became president, has often been faulted for not developing closer relations with lawmakers.

He will find one familiar face in a powerful new position. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who won a tough re-election battle against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, will replace Democrat Harry Reid as Senate majority leader. Reid has been one of Obama's top political allies and helped him steer the president's signature healthcare law through the Senate in 2010.

"Some things don't change after tonight. I don't expect the president to wake up tomorrow and view the world any differently than he did when he woke up this morning. He knows I won't either. But we do have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree," McConnell said in his victory speech in Louisville.

TOSS-UPS BECOME REPUBLICAN WINS
In Tuesday's comprehensive rout, Republicans won in places where Democrats were favored, taking a Senate race in North Carolina, pulled out victories where the going was tough, like a Senate battle in Kansas, and swept a number of governors' races in states where Democrats were favored, including Obama's home state of Illinois.

Of eight to 10 Senate seats that were considered toss-ups, Republicans won nearly all of them. They needed six seats to win control of the 100-member Senate, and by late evening they had seven.

The winning margin came when Iowa Republican Joni Ernst was declared the winner over Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Thom Tillis defeated incumbent Democratic Senator Kay Hagan in North Carolina.

The Iowa race was particularly indicative of Republican fortunes. Ernst came from behind and surged in recent weeks despite herculean efforts by powerful Democratic figures to save Braley, including a campaign visit by Obama's wife, Michelle.

Republican Senate candidates also picked up Democratic seats in Montana, Colorado, West Virginia, South Dakota and Arkansas.

'RESPONSIBILITY ... TO LEAD'

Once the euphoria of their victory ebbs, Republicans will be under pressure to show Americans they are capable of governing after drawing scorn a year ago for shutting down the government in a budget fight. That will be a factor in their ambitions to take back the White House in 2016.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a conservative firebrand who may run in 2016, told CNN: "The American people, they're frustrated with what's happening in Washington, but now the responsibility falls on us to lead."

While there was talk of conciliation, no major breakthrough in Washington's chilly climate is expected soon.

Partisan battles could erupt over immigration reform, with Obama poised to issue executive actions by year's end to defer deportations of some undocumented immigrants, and over energy policy, as Republican press the president to approve the Keystone XL pipeline carrying oil from Canada.

Jay Carney, Obama's former spokesman, said he expects Obama to make an "all-out push" on his priorities regardless of the makeup of Congress.

Whatever the case, Obama will face pressure to make changes at the White House. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 75 percent of respondents believe the administration needs to "rethink" how it approaches major issues facing the United States. Sixty-four percent said Obama should replace some of his senior staff after the election.

The Republican victory had been widely predicted ahead of Tuesday's voting to elect 36 senators, 36 state governors and all 435 members of the House of Representatives.

Obama and other White House officials blamed the electoral map - noting that many key Senate races took place in conservative states that Obama lost in 2012.

Election Day polling by Reuters/Ipsos found a dour mood among the electorate with less than one-third of voters believing the country is headed in the right direction.

Roughly 40 percent of voters said they approved of the job Obama is doing as president, though they were split over whether they expected the economy to improve or worsen in the coming year.

In a consolation for Democrats, Jeanne Shaheen won re-election over Republican Scott Brown in New Hampshire in what polls had forecast as a tight race.

In Virginia, heavily favored Democratic incumbent Senator Mark Warner found himself in a surprisingly close fight against Republican challenger Ed Gillespie, with much of the vote counted. By late evening, he claimed victory but Gillespie had not yet conceded.

In the most closely watched governors' races, Florida's Republican Governor Rick Scott edged out Democrat Charlie Crist, and Republican Scott Walker survived a challenge from Democrat Mary Burke in Wisconsin.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

U.S. Congress Finally Votes to Cut Student Loan Interest Rates

WASHINGTON - U.S. college students will likely pay a reduced interest rate of 3.86 percent on their student loans for the new school year, after lawmakers on Wednesday finally passed a compromise bill that would reverse a recent rate hike.

The House of Representatives voted 392-31 in support of a bipartisan deal to lower interest rates on millions of new federal student loans. The Senate passed the bill on July 24 and President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law.

The action followed months of partisan bickering, with Democrats and Republicans blaming each other for a politically embarrassing delay that had the potential to cost students and their parents thousands of dollars.

The legislation replaces a system in which Congress fixed interest rates every year and substitutes it with a market-based mechanism tied to the government's cost of borrowing and capped to protect borrowers in the event of a severe spike in rates.

The legislation passed just two days before Congress recesses for five weeks, after several failed efforts in the House and Senate.


Interest rates on student loans automatically doubled on July 1 to 6.8 percent after Congressfailed to meet the deadline to prevent the rate increase. Congress has since incorporated a retroactive fix that would keep borrowers of loans originated since July 1 when rates had doubled from paying the higher rate.

The measure passed Wednesday pegs interest rates on student loans to the 10-year Treasury note plus 2.05 percentage points for undergraduates, and plus 3.6 percentage points for graduate student loans.

The interest rate would roughly work out to 3.86 percent this year for undergraduates and 5.42 percent for graduates.

Supporters of the bill say it gets politicians out of the business of setting student loan rates and provides certainty for students and their families.

'Long-Term Fix'
Critics of a market-based system say it fails to offer enough protection against increasing rates as the economy improves.

"This bill provides American college students immediate debt relief on upcoming studentloans," said California Representative George Miller, the senior Democrat at the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. "Families battered by the recent recession should have received this relief over a month ago."




In 2007, Congress lowered the interest rates on federal subsidized Stafford loans to 3.4 percent. That lower rate was due to expire last year, but Congress extended it for another year rather than argue about a replacement for it during an election year.

Under the caps in the new plan, if market rates rise, undergraduates could pay as high as 8.25 percent and graduates as much as 9.5 percent. The rate could go to 10.5 percent for PLUS loans for parents who borrow to pay for their children's college.

"We wanted to get out of the partisan squabbling that has been happening in this city every year - let the market do it in a way that is fair to students and the taxpayer," said Education Committee Chairman Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican.

"After months of great uncertainty, students can finally breathe a sigh of relief knowing that interest rates on subsidized federal loans for college won't double from last year and a long-term fix will be in place to avoid these annual political chess matches over the loan program," said Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

source: dailyfinance.com