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[ad_1] A sign hangs outside the Shein warehouse in Whitestown, Indiana, on Nov. 29, 2023. Scott Olson | Getty Images The chair of a powerful House committee is drilling down on Shein's data privacy practices and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party as the fast-fashion giant moves closer to a U.S. initial public offering .  Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican who leads the House's Committee on Energy and Commerce, sent a letter to Shein on Wednesday asking about the user data it collects and the communications it has had with the Chinese government. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., who chairs the panel's Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce, co-signed the letter. The lawmakers sent similar missives to TikTok, Temu and Alibaba.  "Media reports indicate that Chinese-owned e-commerce marketplaces are increasingly popular in the western world. This is a serious risk for e-commerce, consumer safety, and people's data privacy and s

[ad_1] The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2023. Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday blocked in full a lower court ruling that would have curbed the Biden administration's ability to communicate with social media companies about contentious content on such issues as Covid-19. The decision in a  short unsigned order  puts on hold a Louisiana-based judge's ruling in July that specific agencies and officials should be barred from meeting with companies to discuss whether certain content should be stifled. The Supreme Court also agreed to immediately take up the government's appeal, meaning it will hear arguments and issue a ruling on the merits in its current term, which runs until the end of June. Three conservative justices noted that they would have denied the application: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch. "At this time in the history of our country, what the court has done, I fear, will be seen by so

[ad_1] KHARTOUM, Sudan - May 6, 2023: Sudanese Army sodliers walk near armoured vehicles stationed on a street in southern Khartoum, amid ongoing fighting against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. AFP via Getty Images One month after fighting between Sudan's two military factions broke out in the capital, Khartoum, internationally-brokered peace talks in Saudi Arabia have yielded no solution. Airstrikes and artillery continued to pound the country's capital and surrounding regions in recent days, and violence has also spread to the long-embattled Darfur region in the west. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said Monday that more than 600 people had been killed and over 5,000 injured as a result of the fighting. The real toll is expected to be far higher. Almost a million people have fled their homes, both to locations within Sudan and across the border to neighboring countries . Meanwhile, those who have stayed put often have no access to essentials despite a

[ad_1] Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after surrendering at the Fulton County jail on August 24, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Joe Raedle | Getty Images For  former President Donald Trump , a picture is worth... more than $7 million. Trump's campaign says he has raised $7.1 million since Thursday when he was  booked at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia  on charges that he illegally schemed to  overturn the 2020 election in the state  and became the first former president in U.S. history to ever have  a mug shot taken . Spokesman Steven Cheung said that, on Friday alone, the campaign brought in $4.18 million — its highest-grossing day to date. The record haul underscores how Trump's legal woes have been a fundraising boon for his campaign, even as his political operation  has spent tens of millions  on his defense. The mounting legal charges have also failed to dent Trump's standing in the Republica

[ad_1] Boxes of mifepristone, the first pill given in a medical abortion, are prepared for patients at Women's Reproductive Clinic of New Mexico in Santa Teresa, U.S., January 13, 2023.  Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters A coalition of a dozen Democratic attorneys general sued the Food and Drug Administration on Friday to force the agency to drop all remaining restrictions on the abortion pill, the latest case in an escalating series of legal battles over access to the medication. The attorneys general asked a federal court in the eastern district of Washington to declare that the abortion pill, mifepristone, is safe and effective and that all remaining restrictions on the medication are unconstitutional. The lawsuit was led by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Oregon's AG Ellen Rosenblum. The attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont were also part of the suit. The attorneys g

[ad_1] WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives entered its second day without an elected speaker Wednesday, after Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., failed in three consecutive votes Tuesday to secure the 218 votes needed to win the coveted post. But after negotiations with fellow Republicans that lasted deep into the night on Tuesday, McCarthy appeared no closer Wednesday to winning over the 20 members of his caucus who had refused to support him the day before. The failed votes marked the first time in 100 years that the majority party in the House has not elected a speaker on its first vote. The staunch opposition to McCarthy from a core group of Republicans grew larger over the course of the day, throwing the party into chaos. The House convened at noon on Wednesday, and members of both parties were advised that there would likely be a fourth vote on the speaker. But this course of events was still up in the air even as members were seated in their seats. If Re

[ad_1] Bristol Myers Squibb on Friday sued the Biden administration over Medicare's new powers to slash drug prices, the third such lawsuit to be filed against the program in a matter of days. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in New Jersey, argues the Medicare negotiations violate the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Bristol Myers Squibb has asked the court to declare the program unconstitutional and prevent the Health and Human Services Department from forcing the company to enter negotiations. The drugmaker's arguments mirror those lodged by Merck last week, which was the first company to sue the federal government over the drug negotiations. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also sued HHS over the program with similar arguments. Bristol Myers Squibb said its blood thinner Eliquis, used to treat clots and strokes, will be subject to the negotiations this year. The company generated $11.8 billion in revenue from Eliquis last year, about 25%

[ad_1] WASHINGTON — The Biden administration's 2024 budget relies almost entirely on additional revenue created by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations and by letting the Trump-era tax cuts expire. If several of the proposals, like a billionaire minimum tax, sound familiar, it's because they have been part of the president's domestic agenda wish list for years. And while a White House annual budget is always one part wish list and one part plan, Biden's tax hikes are even less realistic now — with a Republican majority in the House — than they were when he first tried to pass them through a Democratic-controlled House and Senate. The plan released Thursday by the Treasury Department in its annual Green Book, calls for an even higher minimum tax this year on the top 0.01% of earners and households worth more than $100 million, up to 25% from 20% last year. Read more on Biden's fiscal year 2024 budget plan: It would also quadruple the stock

[ad_1] Travelers check in at Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport in on Dec. 12, 2022, after China relaxed domestic travel restrictions. Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Biden administration will require airline passengers traveling from China to test negative for Covid before entering the U.S. as concern grows that widespread transmission of the virus in the world's most populous country could result in new variants. All airline passengers 2 years and older originating from China, Hong Kong or Macau will be required to get tested for Covid-19 no more than two days before their flight to the U.S. and show a negative result to the airline upon departure, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Wednesday. The requirements, which apply regardless of nationality and vaccination status, start Jan. 5. Travelers can get a PCR test or a rapid self test that is administered and monitored by a telehealth service. The rapid test must be authorized by

[ad_1] In this photo illustration, a TikTok App Logo is displayed on a mobile phone. Stanislav Kogiku | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner, D-Va., said Sunday he is introducing a broad bipartisan bill this week that will outline an approach to banning or prohibiting foreign technology, like the popular video-sharing app TikTok. TikTok is a short-form video platform that is used by more than 100 million Americans. Data privacy concerns have been swirling around the app because of its parent company ByteDance, which is based in China and privately held. Warner said he is working on the bill with Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., adding that he is concerned over the type of content that Americans are seeing on TikTok. "They are taking data from Americans, not keeping it safe, but what worries me more with TikTok is that this can be a propaganda tool," he told "Fox News Sunday." Warner's legislation comes after U.S.

[ad_1] Drone warfare in Bakhmut An Ukrainian serviceman attaches a hand grenade to use in an attack, near Bachmut, in the region of Donbas. An Ukrainian serviceman attaches a hand grenade on a drone to use in an attack, near Bachmut, in the region of Donbas, on March 15, 2023.  Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images An Ukrainian serviceman attaches a hand grenade on a drone to use in an attack, near Bachmut, in the region of Donbas, on March 15, 2023.  Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images — Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images Russia ambassador says Moscow will "no longer allow anyone to break into its waters" Russia's Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov appeared to blame the U.S. for the downing of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday that the U.S. military blamed on the "reckless" and "unsafe" behavior of Russian fighter jets. Mark Wilson | Getty Images News | Getty Images Russia's Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said that Moscow will "no l

[ad_1] Hurricane Idalia barreled toward southeastern Georgia after hitting Florida's Gulf Coast with life-threatening storm surges, leaving at least two people dead and hundreds of thousands without power. More than 280,000 people in Florida were without power as of early afternoon, according to PowerOutage.US. At least two people died in weather-related car crashes in Alachua and Pasco counties, police said.  At least 30 of Florida's 67 counties issued some type of evacuation order prior to the storm. People who did not evacuate should shelter in place, according to the state's emergency management agency. Idalia made landfall in the morning as a catastrophic Category 3 storm at Keaton Beach on the Big Bend coast, less than 90 miles southeast of the state capital of Tallahassee. The hurricane has since weakened to a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.  Idalia is expected to weaken further as i

[ad_1] Boxes of the medication Mifepristone used to induce a medical abortion are prepared for patients at Planned Parenthood health center in Birmingham, Alabama, March 14, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters A federal judge on Friday allowed North Carolina lawmakers to defend restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, after the state attorney general declined to do so. Dr. Amy Bryant, a North Carolina physician, sued the state in January to block its restrictions on mifepristone because they go beyond the Food and Drug Administration's regulations. State Attorney General Joshua Stein, a Democrat, agreed with Bryant and declined to defend the state's restrictions on mifepristone. Stein told North Carolina lawmakers the FDA determined that restrictions like those in North Carolina unduly burden patients' access to a safe and effective drug. The president of North Carolina's Senate, Philip Berger, and state House Speaker Timothy Moore intervened to defend the stat