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The top Democrat on the House banking panelon Wednesday saida Republican banking bill could lead to greater concentration in the U.S. financial industry, already dominated by behemoths like JPMorgan Chase (JPM) , Bank of America (BAC) , Citigroup (C) , Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) .

"Does this open up the door to more acquisitions?" asked Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee at a hearing on a package of Republican banking bills. "Instead of five or six big banks maybe we'll have three in this country."

At issue is a provision in the bills, known as the Financial Choice Act of 2017, thatwould exempt banks from any limits on "mergers, consolidations, or acquisitions of assets or control" if they increase their capital buffers to meet a 10% leverage ratio requirement.

The provision is part of a much broader package of bills thatwould give banks relief from a substantial majority of the Dodd-Frank Act -- legislation written in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Waters suggested the bill provides big banks with relief without the oversight and regulation included in the Dodd-Frank Act.

Testifying at the hearing, Michael Barr, a former assistant secretary for financial institutions at the U.S. Treasury between 2009 and 2010 in the Obama administration, said that the measure eases restrictions on the largest firms to engage in M&A "irrespective" of concerns about financial stability.

Republicans countered by pointing outthat the legislative package, sponsored by House Financial Services Committee chiefJeb Hensarling, R-Texas, is opposed by some executives at the biggest banks, who argue that they have already set up a system to handle the new rules, while changes would breed uncertainty.

"The little guys are getting crushed by Dodd-Frank," said Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc. "The big titans, the big boys, they like it."

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Top Democrat: GOP Bill Would Make Big Banks Bigger - TheStreet.com

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Americans offer hope, prayer in assessing Trump's 100 days

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KAWEEWIT KAEWJINDA

ASSOCIATED PRESS | April 26, 2017, 7:15AM

| Updated 3 hours ago.

BANGKOK A man in Thailand upset with his wife hanged their 11-month-old daughter on Facebook Live and then killed himself, police said.

Police Col. Jirasak Siemsak said officers found the bodies of 20-year-old Wuttisan Wongtalay and the baby in an abandoned hotel in Phuket province after receiving reports of the video.

"He felt neglected by his wife because they had been fighting so he took his 11-month-old daughter to the site of the crime which is the abandoned hotel," Jirasak said Tuesday. "Then we found the bodies hanging off the hotel."

The man made the broadcast Monday evening, and the video was made inaccessible by Facebook late Tuesday afternoon.

"The mother of the child was crying and was very sad," Jirasak said. "I am also very sad. It is a personal dispute and they were still very young."

The incident came less than two weeks after a man in Cleveland, Ohio, posted on Facebook footage of himself shooting a man to death. A series of other offensive broadcasts, including sexual assaults, has caused Facebook to seek ways to block such videos as quickly as possible.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said last week that his company has "a lot of work" to do on the problem.

The chief investigator in the Phuket case, Lt. Jula-at Suwannin, said police have yet to question Wuttisan's 20-year-old widow because they are giving her time to grieve.

In Thailand, the potential for problems with Facebook Live became an issue last May when local media used the platform to broadcast live video of a university lecturer who was locked in a six-hour standoff with police who were seeking him in the shooting deaths of two colleagues. After negotiations for his surrender failed, he fatally shot himself with a handgun, a moment that was shown live.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Cleveland shooting wasn't on Facebook Live.

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Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., on Wednesday displayed the controversial painting that was removed from the Capitol complex after complaints that it depicted police officers as pigs.

The painting was displayed for weeks before Republicans complained and asked that it be taken down by the Architect of the Capitol. He blamed Republicans for "acts of theft" after GOP lawmakers took it down a few times in protest.

Clay complained on the floor that the painting was removed in an act of "politically motivated, unconstitutional retroactive censorship."

He was joined on the floor by other Democrats, including Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who called the painting a "pretty amazing" piece of art.

The painting was removed in February after a three-member panel decided the painting violated the rules of the Capitol. Among those rules is one saying the paintings cannot generate political controversy.

The panel was comprised of House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The painting was the winner of a congressional art competition in Clay's district, and was displayed for a time along with other student works of art.

Clay filed a lawsuit against the decision.

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Democrat displays 'cops as pigs' painting on the House floor - Washington Examiner

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Americans offer hope, prayer in assessing Trump's 100 days

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RANDI ROSSMANN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | April 25, 2017, 12:43PM

| Updated 1 hour ago.

Heroin overdoses have caused five deaths in Sonoma County in the past 10 days, according to Sonoma County Coroners Office officials, who warned Tuesday the spike in fatalities could mean a particularly potent batch of the drug is on the streets.

The deaths of three men and two women all occurred in the Santa Rosa area, said Sheriffs Sgt. Spencer Crum.

One commonality is theyre all dying and appear to have recently injected heroin, he said.

Final autopsy and toxicology reports are still pending, but coroners officials Tuesday decided to release the information, believing heroin the likely cause and hoping to prevent another death, Crum said.

The five victims came from a range of age and social standing. The men were 28, 29 and 52 years old and the women were 27 and 66. Three two men and one woman were homeless. The circumstances of their deaths also varied. One died in a Starbucks bathroom.

The rash of five deaths since mid-April was a marked jump in the countys monthly totals. Two people died from overdosing on heroin in March and one person died in both January and February, according to coroners statistics.

This is definitely a spike for us. We have the occasional overdose death, Crum said. But its not been like this in this short of time.

The nine heroin overdoses so far this year also stand out when compared with the two such deaths in the first four months of 2016, according to the Coroners Office. People also are dying from overdosing on drugs other than heroin; there were 15 such deaths in the same time period in 2016 and 21 deaths so far this year.

Unfortunately, Im not surprised, said Mike Perry, Sonoma Countys chief deputy public defender, who oversees the countys drug court that works with defendants who have drug problems and are facing criminal charges. Heroin addiction for years was an infrequent factor in drug court cases, overshadowed by people with methamphetamine problems. But there has been a dramatic shift over the last three or so years and most drug court clients now are heroin addicts, Perry said.

Its just shocking. Ive been doing this work for over 39 years and Ive never seen a demographic shift like this, said Perry. Its turned so quickly. Were losing people. All my clients know people whove died.

Sonoma Countys spike in heroin deaths is a common story nationwide and internationally. An increase in heroin addictions, overdoses and fatalities, coupled with abuse and deaths from synthetic opioid drugs such as fentanyl, are reaching crisis proportions. In 2015, 12,989 people died nationwide from heroin overdoses, quadrupling the number of annual deaths since the start of the century, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Because of how the data is reported, it can be difficult to distinguish heroin from other drug deaths. According to California Department of Public Health data, in 2015 there were 15 deaths due to heroin overdoses in Sonoma County, the majority men.

An online search Tuesday showed rising heroin deaths in a variety of places from Chilton County, Alabama to Delaware and British Columbia. U.S. legislators are making a bipartisan push for a bill to give U.S. Customs and Border Protection $15 million to improve efforts to find synthetic opioids coming into the county from Mexico and Canada.

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Santa Rosa police narcotics officers have been responding to an increase in opiate-related cases in recent years and have made multiple arrests of heroin dealers, including highlevel suspects.

Just like everybody else, were trying to battle this opioid epidemic, said Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Rich Celli, who oversees drug investigations. Weve been talking about opiates for the last couple of years. Were working them more and more now. It just seems like its everywhere.

A recent shift seen by narcotics officers has involved heroin users moving toward nonpharmaceutical fentanyl. The synthetic drug is cheaper than heroin, available online and is known to be stronger than morphine and heroin.

But heroin sold on the street is growing in potency, especially when cut with illegally made fentanyl.

Theyre kind of playing Russian roulette with fentanyl, with the way the dealers are cutting it, because its not pharmaceutical grade, Celli said.

In Santa Rosa, all fire engines and ambulances carry the drug Narcan, a prescription antidote for opioid overdose.

Its not an uncommon occurrence for paramedics to arrive at a scene and find somebody who was ingesting some sort of opiate, which depressed their respiratory system, said Santa Rosa fire Battalion Chief Mark Basque. A quick administer of Narcan will reverse the effects of the opioid.

But increasingly, Basque said, the Narcan dosage isnt keeping up with more potent heroin and fentanyl mixtures, and firefighters and paramedics are having to give a larger dose.

The warning released by the Coroners Office is directed at heroin and opioid users more than the general public, said Dr. Karen Milman, the Sonoma County health officer. County Health Services are spreading the word to counselors and care providers.

Were getting the information out as best as we can, Milman said. People are going to be most responsive when the hear it from someone they trust.

Staff Writer Nick Rahaim contributed to this report.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.

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Spike in suspected heroin overdose deaths in Santa Rosa spurs public warning - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Democrats enthused by last weeks primary in Georgia, and their strong showing in Kansas earlier this month, have been making noise about playing more aggressively in upcoming elections that were previously dismissed as long shots specifically Montana.

Mentioned less often, however, is South Carolina.

Most people dont realize SC-05 is the most competitive election of any of the specials weve had so farin terms of congressional matchups, said South Carolina Democratic strategist Tyler Jones.

By which he means that this districts Democratic candidate for Congress last fall earned a higher percentage of the vote than Democrats in the Kansas or Georgia districts. This years special election in the Peach States 6th District got all the early attention, Jonessaid, because of Hillary Clintons narrow loss there.

President Donald Trump carried South Carolinas 5th District by 9 points less than he carried Kansas 4th District in November.

While the Democrat still lost the Kansas special electionearlier this month, the Republicanwinner finished20 points worse than Trumps margin of victory last fall. If that shift in partisan performance in Kansas were applied in the South Carolina district, We would win, Archie Parnell saidin a Monday interview.

Parnell is the leading Democrat running for the seat left behind by former Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a co-founder of the Freedom Caucus, whos now the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Before Mulvaney, former Democratic Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. held the seat for 28 years.

The primaries to fill the seat are next week. Unlike Georgia, where 18 candidates from all parties ran together, Democrats and Republicans will run in separate contests on May 2. And if no one receives more than 50 percent of the vote, therell be runoffs two weeks later.

Out of seven Republicans, three are most often mentioned as front-runners: State House Speaker Pro Tempore Tommy Pope, former state Rep. Ralph Norman, and former South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Chad Connelly.

Among the three Democrats in the race, Parnell has raised the most money and has an impressive team behind him, including John Anzalone for polling and GMMB for media consulting.

Its not like the guy has spent 10 million bucks, but he is communicating. Hes out there, hes a full-time candidate, said one Democrat involved in the race. Parnell launched his first TV ad Monday, which he said is running on cable and broadcast.

All the Democratic Party establishment types he just waved his check and they fell in line, said South Carolina Democrat Phil Noble of Parnell, a former Goldman Sachs adviser. Noble questioned how much enthusiasm there is for a relatively unknown candidate on the ground.

Parnell gave his campaign $100,000 of the $243,000 he raised during the first quarter. Hes prepared to spend more of his own money on the race, but he wouldnt say how much. I have a number in my head, but thats in my head, he said.

Democrat Alexis Frank, a 26-year-old Army veteran, raised just $44,000, and admitted to voting for Mitt Romney. But Jones, the Democratic strategist, cautioned that shes not to be discounted. While Parnell has received the most national attention, both candidates have field operations that often go unnoticed outside the district. And even if Parnell does finish first, he still needs to clear 50 percent, not an easy feat in a three-way primary.

With Parnells round tortoise-shell glasses, the 66-year-old tax lawyer doesnt present the boyish fresh-face that Georgias Jon Ossoff does, nor does he offerthe quirkiness of Rob Quist,the Democratic nominee in Montana, whos a musician in the Mission Mountain Wood Band.

But Parnells defenders say hes not pretending to be anything he isnt, andthat might just be his biggest strength.

He supported Clinton in last years presidential primary, and although he wouldnt wade into social issues in theinterview, this father of two daughters left little doubt where he stands on abortion, an issue that recently roiled the Democratic Partys unity tour.

Im running for Congress, Im not running to be anybodys doctor, he said, adding that he also opposed Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood.

Parnell said hes in touch with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and that he expects to have more of the groupssupport after the primary. Hed be particularly appreciative of their resources and assistance in the field, he said.

With a 28 percent African-American population, Democrats argue that the district has more of Democratic base than Kansas. Similar to Georgias 6th, South Carolinas 5th District includes suburban businesspeople who commute to Charlotte. Its not a bunch of rednecks, Noble said.

Parnell knows the race will be a steep hill, but his campaign is looking to follow Ossoffs model of expandingturnout. In other words, they want to turn presidential-election voters into special-election voters.

But Georgia continues to suck up much of the national attention and some nearby South Carolina Democratic volunteers. The general election for both seats ison June 20.

No one is really talking about this race, other than mentioning it quickly, said one national Republican, pointing to Trumps 19-point victory in the district as an explanation.

Of course, Kansas went for Trump by even more than that, so you never know, the Republican added.

For Parnell, the next hurdle is winning next Tuesdays primary, possibly a runoff, and finding out who his Republican opponent will be.

It hasnt caught fire like the other ones, said one Democrat involved with Parnells race. But theres a spark there.

Correction 12:54 p.m. | An earlier version of this story misstated the number of years Rep. John M. Spratt Jr., D-S.C., held the 5th District seat. He represented the district for 28 years.

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Should Democrats Turn to South Carolina's Special Election Next? - Roll Call