The following is a rundown of the day’s news drawn from other media sources with topics curated just for Money and Markets readers: the federal budget, personal freedom and world news!
Budget deal
House and Senate Negotiators Reach Budget Deal
House and Senate negotiators unveiled an $85 billion agreement late Tuesday to fund federal agencies through the fall of 2015, averting another government shutdown and ending the cycle of crisis that has paralyzed Washington for much of the past three years.
Rubio Opposes House-Senate Budget Deal
“This budget continues Washington’s irresponsible budgeting decisions by spending more money than the government takes in and placing additional financial burdens on everyday Americans.”
Boehner Statement on House-Senate Budget Agreement
While modest in scale, this agreement represents a positive step forward by replacing one-time spending cuts with permanent reforms to mandatory spending programs that will produce real, lasting savings.
President Obama’s Statement on Budget Deal
President Barack Obama praised budget negotiators for striking a deal on the federal government’s budget, which rolls back some sequester cuts to military and other programs in 2014 and 2015.
House Conservatives Could Still Scuttle the Budget Deal Over $1 Trillion Price Tag
Conservatives inside and outside of Congress began carping as soon as news emerged Tuesday morning that a budget bargain was in the works, guessing that it wouldn’t likely include enough spending cuts to satisfy them.
Personal Safety and Freedom
Google Wants Microphones in Your Ceiling and Microchips in Your Head
Although the idea of embedding a microchip inside the brain is a horror for some, there is a whole movement of people who call themselves transhumanists that will openly embrace such a scenario. Those who refuse to adopt the technology will eventually be seen as luddites and technophobes.
Air Force Base Takes Down Nativity Scene Following Complaint
“It was very sectarian in nature and a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution as well as a blatant violation of Air Force Instruction 1-1 Section 2.11,” according to a statement.
Satanic Temple Monument in Oklahoma May Include ‘Interactive Display’ for Kids
Satan worshipers are seeking to build their own monument at the state Capitol, and Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the Satanic Temple, said he’s “optimistic” it will be approved. “I really don’t see grounds which they can reject this,” he told ABC News.
JPMorgan Files Patent for Bitcoin-Style Payment System
Like Bitcoin, JPMorgan’s proposed system would allow people to make anonymous, electronic payments over the Internet, without having to reveal their name or account numbers or pay a fee, according to the patent application.
NSA Uses Google Cookies to Pinpoint Targets for Hacking
The National Security Agency is secretly piggybacking on the tools that enable Internet advertisers to track consumers, using “cookies” and location data to pinpoint targets for government hacking and to bolster surveillance.
World news
Putin Vows to Beef Up Arctic Military Presence
He said Russia is “intensifying the development of that promising region” and needs to have “every lever for the protection of its security and national interests there.”
Canada Plans Claim of Land That Would Include North Pole
Countries including the U.S. and Russia are increasingly looking to the Arctic as a source of natural resources and shipping lanes. If Canada’s claim is accepted by the U.N. commission, it would dramatically grow its share.
Madagascar Village ‘Hit by Bubonic Plague’
Bubonic plague, known as the Black Death when it killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages, is now rare. Last year, Madagascar had 60 deaths from the plague, the world’s highest recorded number.
Will Uruguay Trigger a Global Marijuana Revolution?
The Uruguayan government will oversee the cultivation and distribution of pot, and residents will be able to purchase up to 1.4 ounces of marijuana each month. Along with Uruguay, other nations are considering marijuana law reforms.
Obama Shakes Hands With Cuba’s Castro at Mandela Memorial
The handshake was seen by millions around the world on live television. The Cuban government hailed it as a hopeful sign, writing on its website: “May this … be the beginning of the end of the U.S. aggressions.”
Best wishes,
The Money and Markets Team
