1 Facebook Whistleblower Testifies The Company Harms Children
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has upped the ante in making claims against Facebook. In the wake of her “60 Minutes” interview over the weekend, she was on Capitol Hill yesterday to accuse her former company of harming children, stoking division and weakening democracy. Haugen is a former lead product manager who claims Facebook puts profits over public safety. During a Senate hearing, Haugen said the company intentionally hides vital documents from the public and government regulators. "The choices being made inside Facebook are disastrous,” she offered. “For our children, for our public safety, for our privacy and our democracy." As for fixes? Among other things, she’s suggesting stronger regulation and raising the age for children to access social media to 17. For his part, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is rejecting her claims. Taking to the site himself, Zuckerberg posted said that it's "just not true" and added he's spent a lot of time "reflecting on the kinds of experiences I want my kids and others to have online."
2 Biden Pushes Hard For Extension Of Debt Limit As He Promotes Agenda
President Biden is pushing hard for an extension of the federal debt limit – and he’s lacing it inside promotion of his “Build Back Better” agenda. During a speech in Michigan, the President said the U.S. has taken its foot "off the gas." As part of that, he made a big pitch for a number of items, including his hotly debated one-point-two-trillion-dollar infrastructure bill (and the much larger social spending measure). Biden again called the bigger package a "human infrastructure bill." He argued the U.S. is at an "inflection point" and noted fierce competition from other nations, including China. Biden said America needs to "think big" and "get back in the game." Of course, final passage of the infrastructure bill in the House is being held up in a dispute among Democrats over the price tag on the social spending bill. But they’re shifting blame, too. On one side, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is accusing the GOP of “manufacturing a crisis” that threatens to put the economy back into a recession. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted Dems have control of the Senate, the House and the White House…and can go it alone. A Senate vote on the measures is scheduled for today.
3 Divers Find Evidence Underwater Oil Pipeline Was Dragged
There's new evidence the underwater pipeline that caused a massive oil spill in Southern California may have been struck – or dragged – by something. The unified command that includes the U.S. Coast Guard says divers found a big section of the pipeline was moved out of place by over 100-feet. Not only that, they say a four-thousand foot section was displaced and a 13-inch split is visible in the line. What caused it? The company that runs the pipeline believes a cargo ship anchor might have damaged the line. As for “who,” that’s anyone’s guess. Dozens of the massive ships waiting to get into the nearby Port of Long Beach are in the waters off Huntington Beach. Officials say 140-thousand gallons of oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean.