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A28 u.s. news
Diaranson 9 December 2020

Stock indexes rise in afternoon trading on Wall Street

(AP) — U.S. stocks edged governments worldwide a stalled recovery as the virus push-and-pull of hope for an been a push for broader in-
higher in afternoon trad- have been tightening restric- surge broadens nationally, in- eventual economic recovery vestments in many of those
ing Tuesday, shaking off a tions on businesses in an ef- cluding slower job growth in pitted against the continued industries and not much
weak start on worries over fort to stem the latest surge the U.S. last month. economic damage inflicted pullback, said Andrew Slim-
rising virus cases. in cases. by the pandemic. mon, senior portfolio manag-
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and Health care stocks made Cruise line operators gained er at Morgan Stanley Invest-
The U.K. became the first hovered near the record high solid gains. Pfizer rose 2.5% ground, including a 3.8% ment Management.
Western country to start it set on Friday. The Dow and Johnson & Johnson rose rise from Norwegian Cruise “It’s a very positive sign when
a mass vaccination pro- Jones Industrial Average rose 1.9%. Energy companies also Line. The sector very much you see very broad participa-
gram after British regulators 115 points, or 0.4%, to 30,185 rose. Exxon added 3.4%. needs the virus to recede in tion,” he said. “It tells me po-
last week authorized the use as of 1:18 p.m. Eastern time. Shop-from-home clothing order to get back to normal sitioning is still in the process
of a COVID-19 shot devel- The Nasdaq rose 0.3%. seller Stitch Fix soared 40.7% operations. Other compa- of moving more into cyclical
oped by U.S. drugmaker after reporting a surprise nies that need a more normal stocks.”
Pfizer and Germany’s BioN- Investors are also keeping profit in its latest quarter. economy in order to recover The yield on the 10-year
Tech. a close eye on Washington. Etsy jumped 4.8%. are still slipping. Darden Res- Treasury remained steady at
U.S. health regulators have Congress is still stuck in A mix of companies that rely taurants, which operates Ol- 0.91% from late Monday.
given a positive initial re- a partisan stalemate over the on direct consumer spend- ive Garden, fell 1%. European markets were
view of that vaccine and a de- size and scope of any addi- ing and those that would Overall, many of the com- mixed. France’s CAC 40 was
cision to allow its use is ex- tional aid to help cushion the greatly benefit from a fuller panies that have been beaten down less 0.2%, Germany’s
pected within days, however financial impact to people economic recovery contin- down have been doing better DAX rose 0.1% and the FTSE
wide distribution is likely and businesses. The econo- ued to see a bit of churn. The as investors see an eventual 100 in London rose 0.1%.
months away. Meanwhile, my has been showing signs of moves reflect the constant end to the pandemic. There’s Asian markets declined.

House moves to approve defense bill amid Trump veto threat

name bases such as Fort Ben- without Senate confirma-
ning and Fort Hood named tion, Trump has chipped
for Confederate generals, but away at the legislative branch
Trump opposes the idea and throughout his term.
has threatened a veto over If he does veto the defense
it. The fight erupted this bill, Congress could cut short
summer amid widespread its Christmas recess to hold
protests over police killings override votes, senior House
of unarmed Black men and members said Monday.
women, and Trump used White House press secre-
the debate to try to appeal to tary Kayleigh McEnany said
white Southern voters nos- Trump’s attempt to pressure
talgic about the Confederacy. Congress on Section 230 was
Smith and Thornberry said justified.
in a joint statement last week “Twitter has become a pub-
that lawmakers had “toiled lisher, choosing to fact-check
through almost 2,200 provi- content,” she said. “And when
sions to reach compromise you’re a publisher, there are
(AP) — The Democratic- the veto threat. new weapons systems and on important issues affecting certain responsibilities with
controlled House is mov- Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, military readiness, military our national security and our that and you should not be
ing toward approval of a a member of the House Re- personnel policy and other military.” immune from liability.”
wide-ranging defense pol- publican leadership, urged military goals. For 59 straight years, they Past presidents have certainly
icy bill, even as President Trump not to follow through Troops should not be “pun- added, the NDAA has passed threatened to veto defense
Donald Trump renews on his veto threat, but added ished” because politicians because lawmakers and presi- bills, which set annual policy
his threat to veto the bill that if he does veto it, “We failed to enact needed leg- dents agreed to set aside their with troop levels, equipment
unless lawmakers clamp should override.’’ islation to ensure their pay, own preferences “and put the priorities, pay raises and oth-
down on social media If Trump vetoes the bill, “we said Rep. Mac Thornberry needs of our military person- er matters.
companies he claims were will come back to vote to of Texas, the top Republican nel and America’s security The defense bill is typically
biased against him during override,” said Rep. Adam on the Armed Services panel. first. The time has come to a widely bipartisan measure,
the election. Smith, D-Wash., the chair- The $731 billion measure in- do that again.” one of the few areas of com-
man of the House Armed creases hazardous duty pay The powerful Republi- mon ground. Over the sum-
Trump tweeted Tuesday that Services Committee. for overseas deployments can chairman of the Senate mer, the Senate approved
he will veto “the very weak But with Trump pressuring and other dangerous job as- Armed Services Committee, its version, 86-14, while the
National Defense Authoriza- Republicans to stand with signments, hikes recruiting Sen. James Inhofe of Okla- House similarly passed its ef-
tion Act,’’ or NDAA, unless it him, it remains to be seen and retention bonuses and homa, said he had spoken to fort, with opposition coming
repeals so-called Section 230, whether the bill will receive adjusts housing allowances. Trump and explained that the mostly from the liberal and
a part of the communica- the two-thirds support that The dispute over social me- defense bill is not the place conservative flanks.
tions code that shields Twit- would be needed to override dia content — a battle cry of for the big tech fight. Trump’s allies on Capitol
ter, Facebook and other tech a veto. The House Freedom conservatives who say the so- “I agree with his sentiments Hill, including House Mi-
giants from content liability. Caucus, a bloc of roughly cial media giants treat them — we ought to do away with nority Leader Kevin Mc-
Trump also wants Congress three-dozen conservatives, unfairly — interjects an un- 230,” Inhofe told reporters. Carthy, have railed against
to strip out a provision of the backed Trump’s position related but complicated issue “But you can’t do it in this the social media companies,
bill that allows renaming of Tuesday and said it will op- into a bill that Congress takes bill.” especially during the heated
military bases that now hon- pose the bill. pride in having passed unfail- Trump’s veto threat in the November election.
or Confederate leaders. Smith and other lawmak- ingly for nearly 60 years. It final months of his adminis- Some Democrats, including
Congressional leaders have ers noted that many defense follows Trump’s bid to sabo- tration is his latest attempt to Senate Democratic Leader
signaled they will move programs can only go into tage the package with an ear- bend the norms. From redi- Chuck Schumer, agree the
ahead on the hugely popular effect if the bill is approved, lier veto threat over Confed- recting money intended for Section 230 provision could
bill — which affirms auto- including military construc- erate base names. military bases to build the be revisited, even as they dis-
matic 3% pay raises for U.S. tion. The measure guides Measures approved by the border wall with Mexico to agree with Trump’s tactic of
troops and authorizes other Pentagon policy and cements House and Senate would installing acting nominees attaching it to the defense
military programs — despite decisions about troop levels, require the Pentagon to re- in administrative positions bill.