Subject: Daily News Clips 2/28/14
From: "Sam Losow" <[email-masked]>
To: "undisclosed-recipients:"
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 09:59:34 -0500

*National News:*

Wall Street threatens GOP on bank
tax<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/wall-street-republicans-dave-camp-bank-tax-reform-104065.html>Wall
Street is warning Washington Republicans: The money spigot is turning off.

Rep. Dave Camp's tax proposal -- which jacked up taxes on banks and
threatens the bottom line of some major private equity players in New York
-- has infuriated donors in high finance.

Private equity and investment firms in New York are telling key Republican
players in D.C. that commitments for big-dollar fundraising have been
"canceled for the foreseeable future," according to one GOP lobbyist with
knowledge of the conversations.

Lobbyists for Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan and others are
meeting privately with lawmakers to explain what the bank tax would cost
and how it would function.

Big banks want to turn Republicans against the bank tax. The situation puts
the party at risk of seeing a reliable source of campaign cash dry up right
in the middle of a critical election year.

..........................................................................................

*FDA revamps nutrition labels*
First lady Michelle Obama announced Thursday that the Food and Drug
Administration is changing nutrition labels on 700,000 food products to
more accurately tell Americans whether what they are eating is good for
them. The changes will be the first major revamping of food labels in 20
years. Mrs. Obama, whose "Let's Move" campaign aims to combat
obesity<http://theweek.com/article/index/256914/a-drop-in-obesity-the-skinny-on-those-new-statistics>,
said the labels would help grocery shoppers quickly and easily select
healthy food. [*The Christian Science
Monitor*<http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2014/0227/Michelle-Obama-pitches-new-food-labels-more-focus-on-sugar-less-on-fat>
]

..........................................................................................
Clinton Library to release first of withheld
records<http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2014/02/clinton-library-to-make-first-release-of-withheld-184166.html?hp=f3>The
Clinton Presidential Library will make its first release on Friday of
records that were previously withheld from the public under legal
provisions that expired early last year, a spokeswoman for the National
Archives said.

About 4,000 to 5,000 pages will be put online at 1 P.M. Friday, with paper
copies becoming simultaneously available at the library in Little Rock, the
spokeswoman said. More releases are expected in the next couple of weeks.

POLITICO reported Tuesday that about 33,000 pages of records withheld as
confidential advice to President Bill Clinton or information about
candidates for appointments to federal office, were still unavailable to
the public even though the legal basis to withhold them under the
Presidential Records Act ran out in January 2013--12 years after Clinton
left office. Some of the records come from then first lady Hillary
Clinton's office and include advice given to her by aides.

A White House official said Tuesday that lawyers there had approved release
of about 25,000 of the 33,000 previously-withheld pages.

The remainder of the roughly 25,000 pages are expected to be posted online
in the next couple of weeks. The White House has extended the deadline on
the additional 8,000 pages until March 26, the Archives said earlier this
week.

..........................................................................................
It's been 20 years since the Brady bill passed. Here are 11 ways gun
politics have changed.<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/02/28/its-been-20-years-since-the-brady-law-passed-how-have-gun-politics-changed/>Today
marks the 20th anniversary of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act,
which went into effect in 1994. The law -- named after James Brady, who was
shot during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981
-- made background checks a requirement for gun purchases from licensed
dealers. From the law's passage until 2009 -- the latest year statistics
are available -- over 107 million Brady-mandated background checks were
conducted.

Gun politics have also changed since the passage of the Brady bill. Here
are a few notable examples.

..........................................................................................

*Armed men seize Ukraine airports*
Several hundred pro-Russia gunmen in unmarked military uniforms took over
the entrances to two airports in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, stoking fears
of a separatist rebellion. Ukraine's interior minister, part of the
pro-Europe government that has just taken
over<http://theweek.com/article/index/256812/the-5-secrets-to-a-great-relationship-according-to-research>,
said the men were Russian troops launching "an armed invasion and
occupation." Moscow, which has military bases in Crimea, denied any
involvement. [*The New York
Times*<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/world/europe/ukraine.html?hpw&rref=world&_r=0>
, *Reuters*<http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA1Q1E820140228>
]

..........................................................................................

*Yanukovych turns up in Russia*
Ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych resurfaced in Russia on
Thursday, insisting that he was still the legitimate ruler of his country.
Yanukovych requested -- and apparently received -- Moscow's protection after
fleeing Kiev on Saturday. He said opposition leaders had backed out of a deal
to share power<http://theweek.com/article/index/256930/speedreads-ukraines-yanukovych-had-planned-to-cleanse-kiev-of-protesters>.
The interim government has accused him of ordering the killings of civilian
protesters. [*The Washington
Post*<http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gunmens-seizure-of-parliament-building-stokes-tensions-in-ukraines-crimea/2014/02/27/2539871c-9f83-11e3-9ba6-800d1192d08b_story.html>
]
..........................................................................................

*British spies intercept Yahoo users' nude pictures*
Britain's signals intelligence division has stolen hundreds of millions of
Yahoo users' webcam videos, including a trove of nude and sexually explicit
images, Britain's* The Guardian*
reported<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/27/gchq-nsa-webcam-images-internet-yahoo>Thursday.
If the information is confirmed, Yahoo said, it would constitute "a whole
new level of violation of our users' privacy." About 1.8 million users'
video communications were intercepted in one six-month period stretch in
2008. [*The Associated
Press*<http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Report-UK-spies-intercept-webcam-pics-nudity-5273665.php>
]
..........................................................................................

*North Korea responds to U.S. drills with Scud tests*
North Korea fired short-range Scud missiles into the sea on Thursday. It
was the first time the isolated communist regime had fired that kind of
weapon since 2009. Security experts interpreted the move as a protest
against annual joint military exercises the U.S. and South Korea began on
Monday. North Korea called the drills a rehearsal for an invasion, but
South Korea didn't expect tensions to escalate over the exercises.
[CNN<http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/27/world/asia/north-korea-missiles/>
]
*Biden News:*

Biden calls new Ukraine
leader<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/joe-biden-ukraine-prime-minister-arseniy-yatsenyuk-104069.html?hp=l20>
Vice President Joe Biden has told Ukraine's new prime minister that the
U.S. welcomes the formation of the country's new government.

The White House says Biden called Arseniy Yatsenyuk Thursday.

It's an important signal of U.S. recognition for Yatsenyuk as the de facto
leader of the former Soviet republic.

Biden told Yatsenyuk the U.S. will give full support as Ukraine seeks to
restore order in the wake of a major political crisis.

The White House has said by fleeing the capital, President Viktor
Yanukovych abdicated power, but he reportedly still claims authority. Biden
had spoken to him regularly during the crisis.

Yatsenyuk was overwhelmingly approved by Parliament Thursday. He's widely
viewed as a technocratic reformer and has said Ukraine's future lies with
the European Union.

*Opinion:*

Business and the Minimum
Wage<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/opinion/business-and-the-minimum-wage.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>

Paying workers more can help companies lower turnover and improve
productivity.

*DE News:*

*Carper to chair transportation subcommittee*

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper has been selected to chair the Transportation and
Infrastructure Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate on Environment and Public
Works by the full committee's chair - California Democratic Sen. Barbara
Boxer.

Carper leaves his chairmanship of the Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
subcommittee to focus on transportation issues, which could be at the
center of economic debate in Congress with President Barack Obama proposing
$302 billion in transportation upgrades paid for by an overhaul of
corporate taxes.

The Congressional Budget Office says the federal Highway Trust Fund is
running dry, and won't have enough revenue to fund obligations by 2015.

Like in Delaware, the federal gas tax, pegged at 18.4-cents-per-gallon, has
not been raised in 20 years.

"As our country continues to grow and our infrastructure ages, falling gas
tax revenues are no longer able to support the many demands on our
transportation system including our need to reduce congestion while moving
freight and helping people get where they need to go affordably and
efficiently," Carper said in a written statement.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell is proposing a 10-cent increase in Delaware's
23-cent-per-gallon gas tax to fund new transportation projects, mainly road
and bridge improvements. Markell is, however, facing opposition to his plan
inside Legislative Hall. Lawmakers in Maryland and Pennsylvania recently
increased gas taxes in those states to fund new transportation
infrastructure.

Carper said Congress must solve the federal government's transportation
problem.

"States and cities across the country - red and blue, urban and rural - are
doing their part by raising revenues to invest in innovative transportation
projects," he said. "In Congress we need to do our part to support this
partnership by finding solutions to return the Highway Trust Fund to
solvency, while at the same time evaluating promising new policies to
address transportation challenges more efficiently and cost-effectively."

-- 
Sam Losow
*Finance Assistant*
Beau Biden, DE Attorney General
Office: (302) 295-8340
Cell: (202) 821-3399
[email-masked]