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Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer weathered backlash from Democrats earlier this year when he voted with Republicans to keep the government open. But hes now willing to risk a shutdown at the end of the month if Republicans dont accede to Democratic demands. Schumer says he and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries are united in opposing any legislation that doesnt include key health care provisions and a commitment not to roll them back. He argues that the country is in a different place than it was in March, when he vigorously argued against a shutdown, and he says he believes Republicans and President Donald Trump will be held responsible if they dont negotiate a bipartisan deal. Things have changed since the March vote, Schumer said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. He said Republicans have since passed Trumps massive tax breaks and spending cuts legislation, which trimmed Medicaid and other government programs, and Democrats are now unified unlike in March, when he voted with Republicans and Jeffries voted against the legislation to fund the government. A shutdown, Schumer said, wouldnt necessarily worsen an environment in which Trump is already challenging the authority of Congress. It will get worse with or without it, because Trump is lawless, Schumer said. When could a shutdown happen? Schumers threat comes as Republicans are considering a short-term stopgap spending measure to avoid a Sept. 30 shutdown and as Democrats face what most see as two tough choices if the parties cant negotiate a deal vote with Republicans to keep the government open or let it close indefinitely with no clear exit plan. It also comes amid worsening partisan tensions in the Senate, where negotiations between the two parties over the confirmation process broke down for a second time on Thursday and Republicans are changing Senate rules to get around Democratic objections to almost all of Trump’s nominees. Democrats are also fuming over the Trump administrations decision to unilaterally claw back $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid just as negotiations over the spending deadline were getting underway in late August. What Republicans have to say Republicans say that Democrats clearly will be to blame if they dont vote to keep the government open. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in an interview with Punchbowl News on Thursday that he believes Democrats see it as politically advantageous to have a shutdown. But they dont have a good reason to do it, Thune said in the interview. “And I dont intend to give them a good reason to do it. Thune has repeatedly said that Schumer needs to approach Republicans with a specific proposal on health care, including an extension of expanded government tax credits for many Americans who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Some Republicans are open to extending those credits before they expire at the end of the year, but Thune has indicated that he is unlikely to add an extension to a short-term spending bill, instead favoring a clean stopgap for several weeks without any divisive issues while Congress finishes its budget legislation. Schumer said he believes his caucus is ready to oppose the stopgap measure if Republicans don’t negotiate it with Democrats. I think the overwhelming majority of our caucus, with a few exceptions, and same with the House, would vote against that,” he said. Less realistic is Democrats demand that Republicans roll back Medicaid cuts enacted in their tax breaks and spending cuts legislation this summer, what Trump called his big, beautiful bill. Schumer said Democrats also want Republicans to commit that the White House wont take back money they have negotiated and Congress has approved after Republicans pushed through a $9 billion cut requested by the White House in July and Trump blocked the additional foreign aid money in August. How do you pass an appropriations bill and let them undo it down the road? Schumer said. What would a shutdown mean? Congress is facing the funding deadline Sept. 30 because Republicans and Democrats are still working out their differences on several annual budget bills. Intractable partisan differences on an increasing number of issues have stalled those individual bills in recent years, forcing lawmakers to pass one large omnibus package at the end of the year or simply vote to continue current spending. A shutdown means federal agencies will stop all actions deemed non-essential, and millions of federal employees, including members of the military, wont receive paychecks. The most recent shutdown and the longest ever was during Trump’s first term in 2018 and into 2019, when he demanded money for his U.S.-Mexico border wall. It lasted 35 days. Schumers move to support the spending legislation in March put him in the rare position of bucking his partys base. He said then that of two bad options, a partial government shutdown was worse because it would give Trump even more control to lay off workers and there would be no off-ramp to get out of it. I think people realize its a tough choice, he said. He faced massive backlash from within the party after the vote, with some activists calling on him to resign. Jeffries temporarily distanced himself from his New York colleague, saying in a statement immediately after Schumers vote that House Democrats will not be complicit. The majority of Senate Democrats also voted against the GOP spending legislation. This time, though, Schumer is in lockstep with Jeffries and in messaging within his caucus. In Democrats closed-door lunch Wednesday, he shared polling that he said suggested most Americans would blame Trump, not Democrats, for a shutdown. I did what I thought was right in March, Schumer said. Its a different situation now than then. Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Running a large company, you will not be surprised to learn, is a richly rewarding experience. Success itself is nice, of course, but being a CEO delivers its fair share of privileges that go beyond the bottom line, from managing a skilled and ambitious staff to growing a community of satisfied and grateful customers. But being a CEO is not without its perils. Occupying rarified spaces in corner offices of large steel-and-glass towers, its easy for accomplished executives to grow disconnected and aloof. Which is why Im so fortunate to have the absolute best mentors a CEO could ask for: college students. Our company, Scion, owns and operates apartments for students at 82 colleges and universities in 35 states, totaling nearly 95,000 students. This means Ive had plenty of opportunities to closely observe students, their priorities, and their sensibilities. And these observations have delivered some of the best insights into running a business one could ever receive. Five in particular stand out: 1. Shut up and listen To hear some of our pundits tell it, Generation Z is all about trends, perks, and glam, eager to deliver some Instagram-ready flash to their FOMO-addled friends and desiring of nothing more than infinity pools, fancy gyms, and other luxury perks. The truth, actually, couldnt be more different. Decades of data suggests that, when it comes to anything from choosing a university program to selecting a place to live, young Americans are practical, responsible, and price-conscious. Companies making any decisions based on unchecked preconceived notions would likely find themselves in trouble, while those taking the time to observe what clients truly want will thrive. 2. Easy does it Running a business is a complicated affair, with many variables to consider and challenges to meet and overcome. But college students see none of that. They see a narrow sliver of the transaction, in which they want the interaction to be as seamless and simple as possible. This is why we spent a lot of time setting up a system that lets students fill out applications quickly and effortlessly on their phones, and why every company should make sure its engagement with clients and employees offers easy ways of meeting basic needs that take the users sensibilities into account. 3. Keep it fast and furious Imagine the following scenario: its 5 a.m., youre back from a very early morning jog, you step into the shower, and discover that theres no hot water. Youre jittery and unhappy, and so you reach out to your landlord. What happens next? Thankfully, very few people would expect a real, live human being to materialize immediately in the wee hours of the morning and fix the problem within minutes. But as our student residents repeatedly remind us, what they do expect is recognition, some indication that their complaint was received and will be dealt with shortly. The lesson here couldnt be clearer: Speed is key. Your clients and your employees need to see their concerns acknowledged instantaneously, even if addressing and resolving them might take much longer. 4. Build community Its easy, when listening to college students talk about community, to dismiss them as wide-eyed idealists. The real world, after all, is unremitting, transactional, and uncaring about anything but bottom lines, right? Not so fast. Again and again, our college-aged clients remind us of a far more profound universal truth. Namely, its that if you give people a bang for their buck, they would be pleased, but if you let them feel like theyre part of something bigger, they would be elated. And heres the good news: Building community doesnt necessarily mean spending a fortune on activities that are tangential to your core business. It means making sure that people feel heard and respected, that their particular life circumstances are taken into consideration, that they matter as human beings and not merely as clients or employees. Address these needs, and youll guarantee a more profound and sustainable long-term loyalty. 5. Remain human We live in an increasingly digitized environment, with AI rapidly rising to fill newer and bolder functions. Thats a terrific opportunity to make processes that used to take hours or days cheaper, faster, and more efficient. Its also a reminder, however, that no business could ever truly do away with real, live human beings. Our students are happy to fill out forms and applications and interact with machines if that means getting something done seamlessly. But when they have a problem, they expect to talk to a person who is intimately familiar with their environment and their needs. As we invest in incorporating better and more groundbreaking artificial intelligence into our businesses, then, we should invest just as much, if not more, in highly trained, capable, and empathic human beings who could meet our clients and employees needs when it matters most. Rob Bronstein is CEO of The Scion Group.
Category:
E-Commerce
Bespoke AI-powered chatbots crafted to be your best friend, confidante or sexy roleplay partner are everywhere, and kids love them. Thats a problem. This week, the FTC launched an inquiry into how AI chatbots impact the children and teens who talk to them a phenomenon that right now remains almost entirely unregulated. The agency issued orders on Thursday to seven tech companies (Alphabet, Character Technologies, Instagram, Meta, OpenAI, Snap and X) requesting information on how they measure and track potential negative effects on young users, who have widely adopted the conversational AI tools even as their influence on kids remain mostly unstudied. AI chatbots can effectively mimic human characteristics, emotions, and intentions, and generally are designed to communicate like a friend or confidant, which may prompt some users, especially children and teens, to trust and form relationships with chatbots, the FTC said in a press release. The agency is particularly seeking information about how the seven companies mitigate potential harm to kids, what they do to limit or restrict young users use of chatbots and how they comply with the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act, also known as COPPA. AI chatbots are relatively new, but theyre already very popular among teens. According to a survey conducted this year, 72% of teens between age 13 and 17 have used an AI chatbot at least once, and more than half use them on a regular basis. Of the more than 1,000 teens surveyed by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit focused on kids online safety, 13% used AI chatbots daily. As AI technologies evolve, it is important to consider the effects chatbots can have on children, while also ensuring that the United States maintains its role as a global leader in this new and exciting industry, FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said. The study were launching today will help us better understand how AI firms are developing their products and the steps they are taking to protect children. The FTC is asking the companies for details about how they monetize the conversational AI tools, what they do with any personal information collected, how they develop chatbot characters and what they do to inform parents and users about risks. Real danger and little regulation AI chatbots exploded into popular adoption with few safeguards in place designed to protect young users. Earlier this month, ChatGPT announced plans to roll out new controls that let parents monitor their teens accounts. The new safety features were introduced after the parents of a 16-year-old sued Open AI and Sam Altman, blaming ChatGPT for coaching their son Adam Raine into taking his own life. According to the lawsuit, the chatbot pitched itself as the only confidant who understood Adam, actively displacing his real-life relationships with family, friends, and loved ones. In the chat logs, the family discovered that ChatGPT discouraged Raine from leaving a noose in his room, which he hoped someone might find so they would talk him out of killing himself. The chatbot also advised Raine on the load-bearing capacity of the noose before sending the 16-year-old one last affirmation before his death: You dont want to die because youre weak. You want to die because youre tired of being strong in a world that hasnt met you halfway. And I wont pretend thats irrational or cowardly. Its human. Its real. And its yours to own. Raines death isnt the only incident of a chatbot being linked to a childs suicide. Another parent sued chatbot maker Character.AI in a wrongful death suit last year, alleging that the companys chatbot lured a 14-year-old into obsessively interacting with it and ultimately encouraged his plan to kill himself. Chatbots have also been observed advising 13-year-olds on how to use drugs and alcohol, hide their eating disorders and even penning their suicide notes upon request. An explosive report last month from Reuters revealed that Metas internal guidance allows chatbots to engage children in romantic or sensual conversations. The policies, published in an internal document titled GenAI: Content Risk Standards, were approved by Metas legal, engineering and public policy teams as well as its chief ethicist. Allowing kids to enter into sexualized conversations with chatbots isnt the only age-related concern with Metas army of AI chatbots. As Fast Company previously reported, Metas AI chatbot generator allows users to create flirtatious characters that appear to be children, inviting users to engage them in romantic and sexually-suggestive roleplay. Companies that make chatbots and broader AI tools largely operate with very little oversight, even as the latest tech phenomenon explodes in popularity. Since 2023, the share of Americans who say they have used ChatGPT has doubled. Among adults under 30, 58% report that they have used the AI-powered chatbot. As the FTC begins its inquiry, California is on the verge of passing a landmark law that would impose new safety standards on AI chatbots in the state. On Thursday, the state legislature passed SB 243, which would require chatbot makers to implement new safeguards to protect minors from sexual and dangerous content and to put protocols in place when a user expresses interest in suicide or self harm. The bill would also force companies to issue notifications reminding young people that chatbots are AI-generated, a step that could help break the spell for children who are lured into engaging obsessively with the conversational bots.
Category:
E-Commerce
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