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Republican congressman-elect George Santos is facing calls for further investigation into his background and finances after he admitted to lying about parts of his biography, following an article in the New York Times that raised questions about claims he had made about his life and career. Mr. Santos, 34 years old, won a New York seat that had previously been held by a Democrat and is set to be sworn into Congress on Jan. 3.
Mr. Santos has said he was born in Queens, N.Y., to Brazilian parents and has dual U.S.-Brazilian citizenship. He said his father’s parents were Brazilian and his mother’s family was Jewish and had fled persecution in Europe. Public records, however, indicate his mother’s parents were born in Brazil, not Europe.
Mr. Santos had embraced both a Jewish and Catholic identity in published interviews and at events.
Mr. Santos said during the campaign that he graduated from Baruch College in Manhattan and had worked at financial-services firms including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. before making an earlier bid for Congress in 2020.
In the 2020 campaign, Mr. Santos declared no major assets and listed a commission bonus from LinkBridge Investors as the only compensation over $5,000, according to a filing with the House clerk.
Two years later, his disclosure filing said he was managing principal of the Devolder Organization, which is described as a consulting company. He claimed a $750,000 salary and assets including an apartment in Rio de Janeiro valued at up to $1 million and checking and savings accounts totaling at least $1.1 million. He listed income earned from salary and dividends from the Devolder Organization of at least $3.5 million for the period spanning 2021 and 2022.
Biden Signs $1.65 Trillion Spending Bill
Mr. Biden signed the bill, which passed Congress last week, while on vacation on the Caribbean island of St. Croix. “Looking forward to more in 2023,” Mr. Biden wrote on Twitter.
The White House flew the 4,000-page-plus legislation to St. Croix so Mr. Biden could sign it, an administration official said.
The legislation includes $858 billion in military spending, $45 billion more than the White House had requested and up about 10% from $782 billion during the prior year. It also includes $772.5 billion in nondefense discretionary spending, up almost 6% from $730 billion during the prior year. The overall price tag works out to about $1.65 trillion, compared with $1.5 trillion during the prior fiscal year.
The legislation includes $45 billion in aid to help Ukraine fight against Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a direct appeal to Congress last week in a surprise trip to Washington.
The bill changes the 1887 Electoral Count Act to make it harder to block the certification of a presidential election, and it revises the U.S. retirement system. It widens a ban on TikTok on government-issued devices.
Lawmakers Plan to Scrutinize Southwest Cancellations, Federal Airline Refund Policies
Federal lawmakers have signaled that they will investigate the mass flight cancellations by Southwest Airlines Co., with some Democrats suggesting the Transportation Department should be more aggressive at protecting passengers.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), who leads the Senate’s committee on transportation issues, said in a statement this week that its members will look into what caused the cancellations and how consumers were affected.
“The problems at Southwest Airlines over the last several days go beyond weather,” Ms. Cantwell said.
The airline canceled nearly two-thirds of its flights Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, part of an effort to dig out from a cascading meltdown after last week’s severe winter storm threw it into disarray. While other airlines were able to recover from the brutal weather within a few days, Southwest continued to spiral.
Mr. Buttigieg sent a letter on Thursday to Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Robert Jordan, calling the disruption “unacceptable” and reminding the company of protections for customers related to meals, hotels and ground-transportation reimbursement, flight refunds and baggage-related compensation.
Search underway after man goes missing while ice surfing on Missouri River
A man remained missing Thursday after he disappeared earlier this week while floating on chunks of ice in the Missouri River east of Washington, Missouri.
Aaron Duenke, 34, of Washington, was last heard from at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, his brother Curtis Duenke told the Post-Dispatch.
Missouri picks up pace of executions. Next is transgender inmate from St. Louis County.
- The Inflation Reduction Act includes three major energy taxes that are expected to increase household energy bills
- One is a regressive tax on American oil and gas development, estimated to increase taxes by $6.5 billion
- Democrats are proposing a 16.4 cents-per-barrel tax on crude oil likely to be passed on to consumers in the form of higher gas prices
- It would shred President Biden’s promise not to raise taxes for Americans making less than $400,000 per year
- US inflation is 7.1% for 12 months to November 2022 after rising 7.7% previously
THE BEE OR NOT THE BEE
Thousands Of Spirit Airlines Passengers Disappointed Their Flights Weren’t Canceled
Airports Forced To Hire Extra Security To Guard Thousands Of Stranded Bags From Sam Brinton
New Canadian Operation Game Just Has You Murder The Patient
U.S. Agrees To Send Ukraine One Unused Border Wall
Republicans Blast Irresponsible $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill They Just Voted For
Ex-Twitter Employee Scores New Job Working For FBI Due To Past Experience Working For FBI
Canadian government promotes assisted suicide in an activity book for little kids.
4 years and more than $500,000 but San Francisco has finally selected its next public trash can.
