Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 House Votes Against Slimmed-Down Federal Government Funding Bill
The House of Representatives refused a slimmed-down continuing resolution yesterday with a 174-235 vote, leaving the federal government in danger of shutting down at midnight tonight. The earlier 1,547-page bill was replaced with a much smaller 116 page bill, stripping out most of the measures that were included in the original. The CR voted on last night included funding for the government through the middle of March, disaster relief, an extension of the farm bill, and a temporary extension of the debt limit. The debt limit was cited by some Democrats as a problem, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling it a “hard no.” After the vote, each party placed the blame for a potential shutdown on the opposite party, and Democrats also placing the blame on Elon Musk, referring to him as “President Musk” throughout the day. House Democrats plan to meet this morning to discuss government funding, while Republicans are now left to scramble for a new plan. The last time the federal government was shut down due to a lack of an agreement on funding was in December 2018, lasting for 35 days. That was the longest shutdown of the federal government in history.
2 Federal Aviation Administration Bans Drones In Parts Of New Jersey And Threatens "Deadly Force"
After weeks of reassurances from various federal officials that there’s no threat from the mystery drones that have been spotted in over a dozen states so far, the Federal Aviation Administration took unusual action yesterday. The FAA issued a ban on drone operations in almost two dozen areas of New Jersey and New York, saying in a statement “At the request of federal security partners, the FAA published 22 Temporary Flight Restrictions prohibiting drone flights over critically New Jersey infrastructure.” A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the flight restrictions were issued “out of an abundance of caution.” Also yesterday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that temporary flight restrictions would be granted over some of New York’s critical infrastructure. There was one part of the announcement that received a lot of attention, as the restrictions include notice that the government can use “deadly force” against the drones if they pose an “imminent security threat.” Sunday, an FAA official said there have been drones flying over New Jersey “without a doubt.”
3 Amazon Workers On Strike At Multiple Warehouses
Unionized workers at seven Amazon facilities went on strike yesterday, with the Teamsters trying to pressure the company for a labor agreement during the busiest time of year for the online retailer. The union said Amazon ignored a Sunday deadline the union had set for contract negotiations. The Teamsters haven’t said how many workers will participate in the strike; the union says it represents almost 10,000 workers out of the 800,000 people employed in Amazon’s US warehouses. The company says it doesn’t expect the walkout to have an impact on its operations, but some shipments could be delayed in some metro areas. Shares of Amazon rose about 1.3-percent yesterday by the close of trading.