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With the partisan politics in the U.S. Congress exceeding anything that happened before, both sides Republican and Democrats, are rarely talking to each other. During the many hours of impeachment debate in the U.S. Senate, Chief Justice Roberts had to call for civil discourse to be maintained. Republicans have remained loyal to the president throughout the debates. Following the rejection of impeachment in the vote on party lines, president Trump heads into the State of the Union speech to Congress on February 4th in which he will have the opportunity to defend his administration's record.

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New York City's 11 public hospitals have switched to plant based meals without meat or dairy. Just don't call them vegan, as it may turn off people, says an official of the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation. An Oxford University study shows that plant based diets account for 75% less greenhouse gas emissions than diets with 3.5 ounces of meat a day. Satisfaction is 90%. The hospital system reduced its carbon emissions food related by 36%.  It expects to turn out 800,000 plant based dishes this year at its hospitals. 

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Prime minister Netanyahu of Israel says he will call snap elections if secular and religious parties in his centre right alliance do not come together to form a new government. Likud lacks the 61 seats for a majority in parliament resulting in negotiations with other religious and secular parties that back Netanyahu. Mr. Lieberman one of the secular party leaders says the ultra orthodox must serve in the military with other Israelis.

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Germany's chancellor gives her support to French president Macron's call for agreement before the summer holidays on a 750 billion euro rescue package. Merkel told 27 leaders of EU countries Europe faces "very, very difficult times" and even said that she was not sure the gravity of the situation was truly understood. The value of the economies of some states could drop by 10% in 2020.

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"Win with Flynn" shows JFK's The Soft American first published in 1962 in The Sports Illustrated magazine. It is about building a nation that takes pride in vigorous exercise that improves the quality of life in so many ways. It was a call to the Marines by Teddy Roosevelt in 1902, it was a call to the nation for the Presidential Fitness badge of JFK. Today the call is once again sounded by JFK Jr. His father Robert F. Kennedy made the 50 mile walk through snow and slush on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail on the way from Great Falls VA toward Camp David, Maryland. Knowing today's flabby generation and JFK not afraid of calling that out, it is once again time to revive this kind of challenge and the Presidential Fitness Badge for all Americans - the right way to Make America Great Again but more so to improve our overall health and wellbeing as Americans and as a Nation.

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The first sign of light as European leaders meet with DJT at the White House on August 18, 2025, with all the signs that the carefully planned steps are taking place, the atmosphere of conflict is being replaced by an atmosphere of settling this war and bringing peace to Europe. For the first time even the announcement is carefully orchestrated by all the leaders. DJT speaking first but from carefully worded script reading from it, for someone who always speaks spontaneously. It is as if everyone wanted to do it right, to get it right- DJT, Zelensky who also had carefully prepared words.

DJT says he will call president Putin right after this communication on television that lasted 15 minutes around a table where DJT was seated next to Starmer, Macron, Merz, Meloni, with the president of Finland present.

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Changes proposed by Labour's Gordon Brown and Keir Starmer of Labour for the UK now strive for-

"The goal of an irreversible transfer of wealth, income and opportunity to working families across the UK is dependent on the irreversible transfer of political power closer to the people, the two go together."

"This Commission is demanding a new economic and political settlement to ditch a century of centralization, the over concentration of power in Westminster, and call time on the era of "the man in Whitehall knows best."

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By failing to show a grasp of the problems of rural poverty and lack of upward mobility, of health and education, in the rural parts of the US, Paul Krugman ignores the spirit that for so long kept the lights on for rural America in the time of FDR and Truman. The NYT's Thomas Edsall has done a great service to America by showing where the Democratic party under Clinton and Obama lost the spirit of FDR and Truman of standing by the common man, of "The People, Yes" that Carl Sandburg wrote so eloquently about not so long ago.

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A vote to call witnesses, including former National Security Advisor Mr. Bolton, by Democrats fails in the Senate 51 votes against to 49 votes in favor, with only 2 Republican Senators voting in favor. The impeachment trial of president Trump now goes forward to a vote almost certain to acquit Mr. Trump of all charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. A key vote was cast in favor by Republican Senator Lamar Alexander who said Mr. Trump had acted inappropriately on Ukraine but this clearly was not treason, and not a high crime and misdemeanors, the bar set in the Constitution for impeachment.

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Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity Party visits Washingto and meets VP Kamala Harris. Yoav Gallant, Defense Minister, call for enlistment in army of Ultra-Orthodox which would lead to the fall of the coalition and new elections. Netanyahu popularity is a low and National Unity Party of Gantz is likely to win in new elections. There are serious differences between Gantz and Netanyahu, on post war policy. Under the coalition agreement all three are actively involved in decisionmaking. The US airdrop of humanitarian aid was a sign of US discomfort with Netanyahu and both Gantz and Biden are pushing for a humanitarian aid policy.

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A majority of 300 adult members of the Rockefeller family who are significant shareholders of Exxon have voted to support four shareholder resolutions at the company's annual meeting in late May. The proposals are to first create an independent chairman position , cut greenhouse gas emissions, and examine whether Exxon should take a more active role in developing sustainable energy technologies. The feeling is that Exxon has tunnel vision and that it has become out of touch with the way the world is moving and changing. On Wednesday several members of the Rockefeller family are holding a press conference to express their concerns. If the Rockefeller family takes a stand, Harvard College and the Ford Foundation and others may be jolted out of their complacency about Exxon's increasingly out of touch positions when it comes to developing a plan for the future.

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This article by Michael Shifter, who heads the Inter American Dialogue, says it is important there be an amnesty for the military officers so that Venezuela can make a peaceful transition with an interim government that meets the international community's call for new credible elections. He says the head of the National Assembly who heads the interim government has taken the right steps to ask for an amnesty for the military from the National Assembly.

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Rural counties in California and Washington call for easing of lockdowns earlier than more urban areas in the two states. Social distancing is much easier in rural areas, even with shops open. The governors of the two states say they will maintain their stay at home orders till about the middle of May.

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Positives for the US stock market are that it is clearly now broad based, not just AI. Companies that have difficult times ahead are down including Tesla with Chinese BYD CATL competition and declining profit margins, an Apple with broad lawsuit from the Justice Department for monopolistic behaviour and as its relationship in China is faltering. Holding up are Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta with its advances in AI. Clearly with the investments in infrastructure and science there is more to it than just AI for a sustainable future for the economy and the stock market should reflect that.

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U.S. president Obama calls Hillary Clinton more qualified for the job of president than himself or Bill Clinton, in his speech at the Democratic National Convention. He made a strong effort to rally the party behind Hillary Clinton in his speech, and thanked Bernie Sanders in a separate phone call for helping bring party unity. Vice President said that Trump did'nt have a clue to what would help the middle class, that the truly passionate supporter for the middle class was Hillary Clinton. Kaine and Bloomberg built on this theme.

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Call for concerted European response to the crisis than each country doig it on its own and a call for a new European regulatory structure to replace the patchwork of different national regulatory structures at a time when banking is cross borders.