TV News LIES

The Senate voted Thursday to avert a costly nationwide rail strike next week that lawmakers in both parties worried would shut down much of the economy and further add to inflation.

Senators voted 80 to 15 for a House-passed bill to implement the labor agreement between freight rail carriers and unionized workers brokered by the Biden administration.

But senators rejected a proposal to add seven days of paid sick leave to the agreement, which four rail unions demanded.

By intervening, Congress will avert the threat of a national rail shutdown that would have ravaged supply chains and brought significant portions of the economy to a halt in the middle of the holidays.

Roughly one-third of U.S. cargo is transported by rail and truckers would not be able to take on more capacity.

More...

Joel Greenberg, the former Florida tax collector who sources say agreed to cooperate in the federal probe into his one-time close associate, Rep. Matt Gaetz, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to crimes ranging from wire fraud to sex trafficking a minor.

Greenberg pleaded guilty last May to six of the 33 federal charges he was facing, including charges of stalking, identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy to bribe a public official, as well as one charge of sex trafficking.

The case grabbed national attention in the spring of 2021 after news broke that the investigation into Greenberg, a Seminole County tax collector, had, according to multiple sources, erupted into a sprawling federal probe that included whether Gaetz, his close friend, had had sex with a minor who he met through Greenberg.

More...

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) was elected assistant minority leader on Thursday, the No. 4 position in House Democratic leadership, after Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) dropped his unexpected challenge.

Why it matters: Cicilline's surprise announcement on Wednesday that he was taking on Clyburn came amid grumbling from some younger members about the 82-year-old Democratic whip's decision to stay in leadership.

• Cicilline, the chair of the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, argued for LGBTQ+ representation in leadership, citing a recent shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs.

What we're hearing: Cicilline, in a speech to the caucus on Thursday, laid out what he would have run on before endorsing Clyburn to applause from his colleagues, according to members in the room.

• Cicilline also said he got to sit down with Democratic leadership and was assured there will be LGBTQ+ representation in leadership – though it's not yet clear what form that will take.

More...

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to approve a bill to block a potentially crippling railroad strike and to mandate paid sick time for rail workers.

Lawmakers voted 290 to 137 to impose a tentative contract deal reached in September on a dozen unions representing 115,000 workers after President Joe Biden warned of the catastrophic impact of a rail stoppage that could begin as early as Dec. 9.

The House separately voted 221 to 207 to give seven days of paid sick leave to railroad employees, but that faces an uncertain fate in the Senate. Democrats and some Republicans have expressed outrage over the lack of paid short-term sick leave for railroad workers.

"We know much more needs to be done for railroad workers," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said ahead of the votes. "No one should be at risk of losing his or her job by staying home when sick, needing to see a doctor or getting lifesaving surgery."

More...

Emboldened House Democrats ushered in a new generation of leaders on Wednesday with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries elected to be the first Black American to head a major political party in Congress as long-serving Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team step aside next year.