Lawmakers drop journalism act from ‘must-pass’ defense spending bill under pressure from Facebook
An effort to add proposed journalism legislation to an annual “must-pass” defense spending bill was shot down by lawmakers after a public face off with Meta/Facebook over required payments to publishers for online news content. The 4,408-page text of the National Defense Authorization Act, released Tuesday evening, did not include any reference to the journalism bill.
The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act would temporarily exempt newspapers, broadcasters and other publishers from antitrust laws to collectively negotiate an annual fee from Google and Meta/Facebook, which dominate the nearly $250 billion U.S. digital advertising market.
Introduced in the House and the Senate last year, the proposed legislation made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee in September but is running out of time to pass before the House flips to Republican control in January. Including it in the defense bill was seen as a pathway to approval during the lame-duck Congress session.
But reports of the legislative maneuvering Monday generated significant pushback from Meta, which threatened to “consider removing news from our platform altogether” if the act passed as part of the defense bill. That may have turned the tide against pairing the journalism and defense legislation, sources said Wednesday.
—Chicago Tribune
Milo Yiannopoulos reportedly slaps Kanye West with huge consulting fee
Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos reportedly sent the pop star formerly known as Kanye West a $116,000 bill for the period the pair worked together to advance the rapper’s 2024 presidential ambitions.
The invoice is dated Dec. 1, according to TMZ, which reports that sources close to Ye claim he and Yiannopoulos never had a financial agreement. Everyone working on the unofficial presidential campaign has done so as a volunteer, Ye’s side claims.
The “Gold Digger” singer announced Nov. 19 that he’d brought on Yiannopoulos to work on his campaign, which is yet to launch officially.
“Thanks, I accept,” Yiannopoulos said on a YouTube video posted by gossip site X17Online.
—New York Daily News
Los Angeles officials ban Styrofoam products in move toward 'zero-waste' city
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council has approved a new ban on certain single-use plastics, taking the latest step in an effort toward becoming a "zero-waste" city.
All 12 council members present for Tuesday's meeting voted to approve an ordinance that prohibits the distribution and sale of expanded polystyrene products, more commonly known by the trade name Styrofoam.
The new ban comes alongside two similar ordinances — which closed loopholes in the city's single-use plastic bag ban and will require city departments to have zero-waste practices at city facilities and events — that were also passed without an opposing vote Tuesday.
"Today, Los Angeles is once again taking the lead in defense of our environment," said Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell. "We're leading by example by committing to zero-waste policies in the operation of the city, and we're moving forward with some of the boldest local ordinances in the country to reduce single-use plastic waste."
—Los Angeles Times
Germany conducts nationwide raid to thwart right-wing extremists planning coup
German authorities carried out the biggest-ever raid targeting right-wing extremists, saying a nationwide operation thwarted a domestic terrorist group planning to violently overthrow the government.
More than 3,000 German law-enforcement officers participated in the property search across at least seven of the country’s 16 states early on Wednesday. Twenty-five people were taken into custody, including a ring-leader nobleman and a former lawmaker with the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany. Others are former military personnel.
Authorities didn’t describe an imminent attack. But members of the group, which adhered to a far-right ideology that rejects the legitimacy of Germany’s post-World War II order, planned to attack the German parliament in Berlin, according to the Federal Prosecutor.
The organization is “united by their hatred of democracy, of our state and of people who stand up for our community,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement “That is why we are taking action against such efforts with the full force of the rule of law.”
—Bloomberg News
