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Representative Gregory F. Murphy, M.D.: February updates from Eastern NC and Washington, D.C. — Neuse News

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Representative Gregory F. Murphy, M.D.: February updates from Eastern NC and Washington, D.C. — Neuse News


Before departing for a District Work Period, House Republicans passed strong legislation to put an end to President Biden’s anti-American energy agenda and took a bold step to hold the Biden Administration accountable for the border crisis by impeaching DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In addition, I participated in several important committee hearings throughout the week on matters ranging from artificial intelligence, cyber security and oversight over the VA neglecting sexual harassment allegations.

This past week, I returned to Eastern North Carolina to visit local businesses and meet with constituents throughout the district, as well as host my office’s third Veterans History Project event in New Bern, NC. The initiative has been a tremendous success, and I am so grateful to help preserve the stories of our veterans for future generations.

The next few weeks will be pivotal for our country. I look forward to being back in Washington to D.C. to fight on your behalf. As always, it is my privilege to be your representative and voice in Congress.

If you wish to stay more engaged and aware of what is happening in Washington and our District please follow me on my socials linked above or here: InstagramTwitterFacebook and YouTube.

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Congressional Art Competition

I am excited to announce that my office will participate in this year’s annual Congressional Art Competition. A huge thank you to the Craven Arts Council and Gallery in New Bern for hosting this special event.

The first-place winner of the competition will be invited to Washington, DC, for the national reception where the artwork will be showcased in the Capitol.

I’m excited to see the interpretations of this year’s theme of “Scenery” for NC-03’s competition. Artwork submissions are being accepted now through March 23rd, 2024! More details below.

 Key Votes

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Impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

Secretary Mayorkas bears responsibility for the unprecedented crisis at our border, has failed to enforce laws passed by Congress, and has breached the public’s trust. The self-inflicted crisis has cost this nation over 450 billion dollars, accelerated human and drug trafficking, and endangered community safety. Impeachment is one of the most consequential actions granted to Congress in the Constitution. It is a vote no Member of Congress takes glee in taking.

After great deliberation and consideration of the Articles brought forth against him, I voted in favor. Mayorkas’ actions and purposeful neglect of our nation’s laws are unbecoming of the office he holds. Our nation cannot prosper if our leaders are not held accountable when they fail to uphold the oath they made to our Constitution and the American people.

Read the Articles of Impeachment here

View the Committee on Homeland Security’s Phase 1 Report on Evidence of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ Dereliction of Duty here

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Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2024

Biden’s decision to ban LNG exports to appease climate extremists will have catastrophic consequences on our economy, national security and efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The world should be powered with natural gas from America, not Russia.

For months, Americans have felt the financial burden of escalating energy expenses, and this latest ban twists the knife. Unleashing American energy here at home to reduce our reliance on adversaries is absolutely essential to our nation’s prosperity.

I voted YES to putting an end to Biden’s anti-American energy agenda:

 National Sweetpotato Month

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Happy National Sweetpotato Month! North Carolina is the largest producer of sweetpotatoes in the United States. Our state has fueled a remarkable surge in production thanks to the contributions of 300 local family farms.

In 2023, North Carolina produced 72,000+ acres of sweetpotatoes accounting for 40% of the annual produced crop being exported!

Thank you North Carolina Sweetpotatoes for dropping off some delicious sweetpotatoes!

VA Full Committee Oversight Hearing

Allegations of the VA neglecting sexual harassment reports is deeply concerning and should be evaluated without a partisan lens.

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This incident has absolutely nothing to do with politics. While I appreciate Secretary McDonough for responding to these allegations, actions speak louder than words. There must be disciplinary measures implemented and rules enforced to prevent this from happening again.

We must press forward with this investigation and demand transparency to ensure justice and accountability.

Watch my full questioning of Secretary McDonough here

Ways and Means Full Committee Hearing

In the Ways and Means Committee, we held a hearing with IRS Commissioner Daniel Warfel. I raised my concern with cyber and national security risks surrounding TikTok’s availability on government devices, despite its prohibition.

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TikTok is a tool used by the Chinese Communist Party to gather personal data of users and influence behavior through meticulously rigged algorithms. I appreciate his commitment to investigate this further and ensure there are no artificial intelligence biases when conducting audits.





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Washington, D.C

Storm Team4 Forecast: A chilly, gusty Sunday before a cool start to the week

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Storm Team4 Forecast: A chilly, gusty Sunday before a cool start to the week


4 things to know about the weather:

  1. Chances of rain in the morning
  2. Gusty Sunday
  3. Chilly Monday
  4. Temps will rise again through the work week

Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.

After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.

The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.

Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.

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However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.

QuickCast

SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s

MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s

Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.



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‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington

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‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington


The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest.

In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war.

“Some countries are in panic,” said the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, addressing the finance ministers and central bank bosses in town for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. “The sooner it [the Iran war] ends, the better for everybody.”

Such gatherings are not typically used to fight geopolitical battles. “You don’t get people shouting at one another at these things,” one senior figure remarked. But, as a record-breaking April heatwave swept the US capital, no one could ignore the mounting damage from the Iran war.

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Those familiar with the mood over breakfast at a meeting of the G20’s representatives on Thursday, which included Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the outgoing US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell – said the atmosphere in the room was sombre amid an open exchange of serious views.

“It is such a twilight-zone meeting,” said Mohamed El-Erian, a former IMF deputy managing director who is now chief economic adviser at the Allianz insurance group. “There are several shadows hanging over it: one is the shadow that comes from concern about the global economy as a whole.

“The second is that some countries are going to be particularly hard hit, and it’s mostly countries that very few people are talking about. But the third concern is the adding of insult to injury: the fact that the US, which started a war of choice, is going to be hit, but by a lot less than elsewhere in relative terms.”

Before Thursday’s breakfast, Rachel Reeves had started her day with an early-morning jog. Joined by her counterparts from Spain, Australia and New Zealand for a run down the iconic National Mall, she posted an Instagram selfie with a not-so-subtle dig: “Friends that run together – work together.”

A day earlier, the chancellor had told a CNBC conference that she thought “friends are allowed to disagree on things” as she criticised Trump’s Iran war as a “mistake” and a “folly” that had not made the world safer.

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Rachel Reeves posted this image on Instagram from Washington DC on Thursday with the message: ‘Friends that run together – work together.’ Photograph: Rachel Reeves/Instagram

Speaking at a venue just steps away from the White House, before a one-on-one meeting with Bessent, she said this “fair message” was needed because UK families and businesses were feeling the pain from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict.

Those close to Reeves insist her meeting remained cordial. Britain and the US have significant shared interests in AI, financial services and trade. The chancellor also said the UK government had little time for the Iranian regime.

But with the IMF having warned on Tuesday that the Iran war could risk a global recession – in which Britain would be the biggest G7 casualty – it was clear Reeves had travelled to Washington ready to pick a fight.

“I’m struck by how vocal she has been and the words she used,” said one global financier. “We know the disagreement between Bessent and [European Central Bank president] Christine Lagarde earlier in the year. But that was in private.”

At a cocktail party held at the British ambassador’s residence for hundreds of diplomats and financiers – including the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan, and dozens of senior figures – this transatlantic tension, weeks before King Charles’s US state visit, was a major topic of conversation.

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The other, in the balmy residence gardens, was one of its former occupants, Peter Mandelson, as revelations about the former ambassador’s appointment threatened to further rock the UK government.

Before the war, the agenda for the IMF had been about global cooperation; the adoption of AI, jobs and work to eradicate poverty. Each of those tasks had now been complicated, but not least the task of countries working together.

For many at the meetings, the focus was on forging closer global cooperation without the world’s pre-eminent superpower.

“Everybody is talking about how you hedge against American decisions,” said David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, who now runs the International Rescue Committee. “You can’t do without them, because they’re 25% of the global economy. But, in a lot of fora, they’ve pulled out.

“So everyone has to think, how does one structure international cooperation? The old west is not coming back. And so everyone has to figure out how to position themselves for that world.”

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For those gathering in Washington, there was irony in the fact that they were meeting in the halls of institutions founded, under US leadership, to promote global cooperation after the second world war. The whole idea of the Bretton Woods institutions was to avoid the dire economic conditions and warfare of the 1930s and 1940s. Yet this year’s meeting was taking place amid these intertwining problems.

In their conversations about the best economic policy response to the shock of conflict, the economists also knew the real power to make a difference lay two blocks across town from the IMF and the World Bank – behind the security cordons and construction equipment blocking the White House from public view. “It is not clear they can do anything about it,” said El-Erian.

Still, with a booming economy driven by AI – including Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, the topic of much conversation – most countries cannot afford to completely break off US ties.

“People want to find ways to insulate themselves from the mess. But, on the other hand, they admire the US private sector,” El-Erian said. “The best way I’ve heard it put, is: they want to go long the private sector and short the mess. But it’s almost impossible to do.”





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Rosselli opens in DC, serving classic Italian flavors from chef Carlos

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Rosselli opens in DC, serving classic Italian flavors from chef Carlos


Rosselli is the newest restaurant to open in DC.

Bringing in classic Italian flavors, Chef Carlos explained how he hopes his food is a unique addition to the Italian food scene in the DMV.

Chef also demoed a signature dish with Brian and Megan.

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You can learn more and book your table here.



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