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Year: 2024

9/11 families call on Trump, Harris to oppose US-Saudi deal until kingdom admits involvement in terror attack

9/11 families call on Trump, Harris to oppose US-Saudi deal until kingdom admits involvement in terror attack

More than 3,000 family members of 9/11 victims are demanding both former President Trump and Vice President Harris oppose any Middle East peace deal with Saudi Arabia unless the kingdom acknowledges and is held accountable for its involvement in the attack. “We waited 23 years for truth, justice and accountability,” Brett Eagleson, head of the advocacy group 9/11 Justice who lost his father in the World Trade Center, told Fox News Digital ahead of the 23rd anniversary of the nation’s deadliest terror attack.  “As we continue to push and as we continue to make noise, we’re seeing more and more evidence, smoking-gun evidence coming out about the kingdom’s role in supporting 9/11 hijackers, and our government has done nothing to hold them accountable.” Both Trump and President Biden have been pushing for a security deal that would normalize relations between Israel and the Saudis, allow for civil nuclear energy cooperation and defense guarantees to counter Iran. That deal was put on ice after the Hamas attack on Israel last October. The families point to video footage of a Saudi government agent “casing” the U.S. Capitol as proof of Saudi involvement.  They sent an original letter to both Harris and Trump last week and a follow-up one this week. They also invited both candidates to meet with them at Ground Zero next Wednesday on the 9/11 anniversary. “As you campaign to become the next President of the United States, we ask you to pledge that you will not endorse any Middle East peace deal involving Saudi Arabia unless it fully addresses the role of the Saudi Arabian government in the 9/11 attacks,” their letter reads. HARRIS’ RECORD GIVES INSIGHT TO GOALS: GETTING TOUGH ON SAUDI ARABIA AND RENEWING IRAN DEAL  Omar al-Bayoumi, who the FBI says was an operative of the Saudi intelligence service with close ties to two of the 9/11 hijackers, can be seen filming a video published by CBS in June 2024 around the Capitol pointing out entrances and exits, security posts and a model of the building.  Al-Bayoumi noted the airport nearby and pointed to the Washington Monument and said he would “report to you what is in there.”  Federal investigators believe the hijackers of Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, had intentions of flying the plane into the Capitol.  “We’re saying that if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia truly wants to engage with the West, and they want to continue to buy our weapons, and they want our nuclear technology, and they want the defense of our troops, the least they can do is admit their fault and admit that the practices within their government 23 years ago, with supporting the hijackers and exporting this radical form of Islam, admit that it were not for that, 9/11 would have never had happened.” Eagleson said Saudi Crown-Prince Mohammed bin Salman [MBS] “had nothing to do with 9/11 – we were both 15 at the time.” “To MBS’ credit, he is sort of being a progressive, but … it doesn’t absolve them from the sins of their past.” Formed by families of victims in Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia, 9/11 Justice has sued the Saudi government and pushed the U.S. government to declassify all remaining documents about 9/11.  Fifteen of the 19 al Qaeda hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, but the direct links of the Saudi government have remained murky for years.  “The leaders of our government, the two candidates for office, have refused to address this issue, and we’re sick and tired of it,” said Eagleson.  OPINION: WHY SAUDI ARABIA MATTERS MORE THAN EVER TO THE US In 2021, Biden signed an executive order for the review and declassification of 9/11 documents, but it’s “not working,” Eagleson says. “We’re having to go outside of the country to get this information,” he added, noting that the casing video had come from British police. The London Police provided the FBI with the video years ago, but it was never made available to the 9/11 commission or the CIA, according to Deputy Director Michael Morrell.  “I’m 99.9% confident that we did not have this video. I was the president’s briefer at the time. If somebody had shown me this video, I would have shown it to the president,” he told CBS.  “Have President Biden and Vice President Harris seen this video? Has President Trump seen it? Why was this video buried?” Eagleson said. “The fact that they’re not answering that question just smells of conspiracy, it smells of cover-up.” The Harris and Trump campaigns could not be reached for comment.

Dems face tight timeline to confirm Biden-Harris judges, surpass Trump legacy

Dems face tight timeline to confirm Biden-Harris judges, surpass Trump legacy

President Biden and Senate Democrats are racing to confirm more judicial nominees than former President Donald Trump did while in office.  However, they face a difficult schedule to get it done, with several time-sensitive pieces of legislation due this fall and an entire month out of session in October.  Prior to the August break, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., announced that seven nominees had been advanced out of committee to be considered for confirmation. It’s unclear when these votes will take place once the Senate is back.  MCCORMICK SAYS ‘PEOPLE ARE RECOGNIZING’ IMPORTANCE OF 2024 ELECTION AS PENNSYLVANIA SENATE POLLS TIGHTEN A spokesperson for Durbin told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Senate Democrats are in a strong position to confirm additional Biden-Harris judicial nominees through the rest of the year. Chair Durbin will continue holding nominations hearings and markups through the end of the Congress, as well as push for floor votes on these highly qualified, diverse nominees who are bringing balance to the federal judiciary.” So far, Biden has appointed 205 federal judges in his term, compared to the 204 whom Trump had appointed, as of Sept. 5, 2020, according to the Heritage Foundation’s judicial tracker.  Both Biden and Trump have put a renewed emphasis on the federal judiciary, each focusing on quickly facilitating as many appointments as they could during their terms. Their appointments during one term have rivaled those of their predecessors, who had double the time to confirm them.  POLITICAL HANDICAPPER SHIFTS MONTANA SENATE TO ‘LEANS REPUBLICAN’ AS TESTER FALLS BEHIND Trump was particularly successful at appointing more judges to influential appellate court positions. In fact, Trump appointed nearly the same number of such judges in his sole term as former President Barack Obama did in both of his.  In May, Biden’s White House had officially outpaced Trump at the same time in his term, appointing 200 federal judges. “Judges matter. These men and women have the power to uphold basic rights or to roll them back,” he said in a statement at the time, emphasizing his commitment to judicial appointments.  While Biden was ahead of Trump in the key metric of judicial appointments in the spring, he’d fallen back on par with the former president by August when the Senate departed Washington, D.C., for recess. The lengthy blocks of out-of-session time in both August and October pose a significant obstacle to Democrats in the Senate getting future Biden judges confirmed.  SENATE GOP BRACING FOR LAST-MINUTE LEADER BIDS — POTENTIALLY BY KEY TRUMP ALLY Not only this, but several time-sensitive legislative fights are shaping up in Congress that are likely to take up valuable time. A partial government shutdown looms at the end of this month if Congress isn’t able to agree on a spending deal before the deadline. This could prove difficult, as conservative Republicans in the House and Senate, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have demanded a six-month continuing resolution (CR) to keep spending levels steady until March, as well as an attached bill to require proof of citizenship to vote.  The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act’s inclusion is likely to be a nonstarter for Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital that the spending deal needed to be bipartisan when asked about the Republican-backed measure.  SENATE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR ‘CONCERNED’ OVER FUNDRAISING DISPARITY BUT PREDICTS WHO WILL WIN MAJORITY While five House Democrats voted in favor of it in the lower chamber, it doesn’t seem that it is enough for Schumer, who has refused to give it a vote on the Senate floor.  Once September is up, Congress is scheduled for an additional month-long recess. When they return for November and December, which each have holidays to consider, there will be minimal time to get final judges confirmed.  Schumer’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital regarding his confidence in getting more judges appointed than Trump, given the time constraints. 

House Dems issue response to GOP report on Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan

House Dems issue response to GOP report on Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan

The House Democrats on the Foreign Affairs Committee released their own memo on President Biden’s chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan after committee Republicans released a report criticizing the president for what went down at the time. Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, the Republican chair of the committee, released a GOP-led report disputing Biden’s claims that his hands were tied to the agreement former President Trump had made with the Taliban establishing a deadline for U.S. withdrawal for the summer of 2021. It also said State Department officials had no plan for helping Americans and allies out while there were still troops in the region to protect them. McCaul’s report also noted the failure to adequately respond to terror threats ahead of the ISIS-K bombing at Abbey Gate at the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 150 Afghan civilians, and that the Taliban likely had access after the withdrawal to $7 billion in abandoned U.S. weapons and up to $57 million in U.S. funds that were initially given to the Afghan government. But New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the Democrat ranking member of the committee, released a dueling report in response to the GOP-led report, accusing Republicans of criticizing the Biden administration for the withdrawal for political purposes and failing to offer feasible alternatives. HOUSE GOP RELEASES SCATHING REPORT ON BIDEN’S WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN Meeks also said Republicans did not involve Democrat members in their report and stressed that plans for withdrawing from Afghanistan began under the Trump administration. He said in the memo’s summary that Republicans sought to avoid facts involving Trump, including “his committing the United States to a full, date-specific withdrawal in a deal he negotiated with the Taliban that excluded the Afghan government or any reference to the rights of Afghan women and girls.” The ranking member also knocked Trump’s “unilateral announcements to withdraw troops, often a surprise to many of his own senior officials, which undercut U.S. leverage because those announcements were divorced from Taliban compliance with the deal; and his forcing the Afghan government to release 5,000 Taliban fighters back to the battlefield before a final Taliban offensive ultimately took Kabul.” “When former President Trump took office, there were approximately 14,000 American troops in Afghanistan,” Meeks wrote. “Days before leaving office, the former President ordered a further reduction to 2,500. President Trump initiated a withdrawal that was irreversible without sending significantly more American troops to Afghanistan to face renewed combat with the Taliban.” “All witnesses who testified on this issue agreed that the United States would have faced renewed combat with the Taliban had we not continued the withdrawal,” he added. “Rather than send more Americans to fight a war in Afghanistan, President Biden decided to end it.” Addressing the Abbey Gate bombing. Meeks said Republicans “knew for months that the attack was not preventable and that, even though a witness told our Committee he thought he had the ISIS-K bomber in his sights, he did not.” Republicans, Meeks said, made partisan attempts to garner headlines rather than acknowledge the full facts and substance of their investigation during the height of the election cycle. He also said Republicans attempted to tie Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democrats’ presidential nominee, to the withdrawal even though she is referenced only three times in 3,288 pages of the committee’s interview transcripts. HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBPOENAS BLINKEN OVER AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL “American taxpayers have funded this Committee’s oversight, and the American people deserve the truth,” Meeks said. “We owe it to them to highlight the facts elicited in this investigation without undue spin and with respect for the seriousness of the subject and the witnesses who have voluntarily testified to us about it.” “It strikes me now as it did during that hearing that many of those critical of the withdrawal effort simply have a fundamental objection to President Biden fulfilling his pledge to be the last Commander-in-Chief to preside over the war in Afghanistan,” he added. “They are masking their displeasure with criticisms but have failed to offer feasible alternatives. We must continue to wrestle with these matters not to rewrite the past or assign partisan blame, but to identify lessons that can help us better fight and end wars in the future.”

In the Philippines, users of loan apps decry deception, threats and debt

In the Philippines, users of loan apps decry deception, threats and debt

Manila, the Philippines – From the early morning hours to late at night, Lance receives hundreds of threatening texts and dozens of missed calls each day. When he answers the phone, the person on the other end of the line often immediately hangs up. Other times, a threatening voice tells him that his days are numbered if he does not pay the debts he has racked up using online lending platforms. “They’re toying with me,” Lance, who asked to use a pseudonym, told Al Jazeera. His family’s breadwinner, Lance, 31, lost his job in sales twice during COVID-19 lockdowns in Manila. Unable to provide a good enough credit rating for a bank loan, he turned to loan apps. “It starts with one. Then somewhere along the line, you’re faced with even a small emergency. You don’t pay them back on time, which leads you to another app,” he said. Since 2021, Lance has accumulated close to one million pesos in debt on more than 20 different lending platforms. Now with a better credit rating, he has resorted to taking out bank loans to cover the fast-rising penalty fees. On social media, hundreds of thousands of anonymous accounts populate support groups for users of loan apps who, like Lance, feel they have been taken advantage of. They say that many apps are designed to trick users into taking on bigger and bigger debts, and that relentless verbal abuse and threats follow when they inevitably cannot pay up. Many of those who have been burned accuse the authorities of not doing enough to keep predatory lenders in check. Loan apps exploded in popularity during the pandemic, racking up millions of downloads. In 2023 alone, the number of new or unique users of such platforms soared by 64 percent to 47.5 million, according to digital lending company Digido. The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued licences for 140 digital lending companies, many of which offer services through apps. So far, the licences of fewer than 40 platforms have been revoked for unfair debt collection practices. Robert Dan Roces, chief economist for Security Bank Philippines, said the platforms have been a “disruptor” in the world of finance. With minimal requirements, “they offer the unbanked and underbanked faster and easier access to credit”, Roces told Al Jazeera. While the convenience offered by the apps can be tempting for people in straitened circumstances, it “often comes at a steep price, with predatory practices”, he added. Kikay Bautista, the founder of the United OLA (Online Lending Apps) Victims Movement, said that exploitative online lending platforms are a growing problem in the Philippines. “It’s getting worse, and many are still being tricked,” Bautista, who founded her support group after she was forced to sell her furniture to pay off debts racked up using online lending platforms, told Al Jazeera. Users of loan apps such as MocaMoca say they have faced harassment after failing to make repayments on time [Michael Beltan/Al Jazeera] Bobbie, a 22-year-old university student in Manila, said he turned to loan app MocaMoca after being “bombarded” with advertisements promising ultra-quick processing, low interest rates and a 90-day repayment window. “Easy money. Who wouldn’t be interested?” Bobbie, who requested to use a pseudonym, told Al Jazeera. Bobbie said he borrowed 2,500 Philippine pesos ($42) but the app only transferred him 1,500 ($25), with the difference eaten up by processing fees. He said he was then suddenly informed that he had seven days to return 2,300 pesos ($39), and 90 days to pay back the remaining 200 pesos (USD3). “It only tells you this once they’ve lent you the money! I was able to pay at first. But eventually I took care of family expenses and missed a day of payment,” Bobbie said. Within hours, agents were threatening violence and to have him jailed, he said. Bobbie said that Mocamoca imposed a 400-peso ($6.90) penalty for late repayment the following day. Struggling to keep up with repayments, Bobbie said he resorted to borrowing from other apps, including MoreGold, and eventually amassed a debt of 200,000 pesos ($3,421), which he is still trying to repay. Although the SEC stripped MocaMoca operator Copperstone Lending of its licence to operate in April last year, the platform continues to operate pending an appeal. When contacted for comment, Mocamoca said that it follows the “legal process” without elaborating further. A visit by Al Jazeera to the address listed as Mocamoca’s office found that it belongs to a hotel in Manila. Staff at the hotel denied having any affiliation with any lending platform and said that they often have to explain to disgruntled customers that the hotel has no connection to the app. The listed address for the office of the lending app Mocamoca belongs to a hotel in Manila [Michael Beltan/Al Jazeera] A representative for MoreGold, which Bobbie said had also made threatening phone calls, told Al Jazeera that “our company maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy regarding any form of harassment”. When Al Jazeera visited the address listed as MoreGold’s office, building security said there was no such company at that location. The platform did not respond to requests for comment about its address and location. Since 2022, the SEC has set the monthly interest rates and additional fees that most online platforms may charge their clients at 15 percent. Nonetheless, borrowers such as Bobbie have found that many platforms charge much higher rates in practice. The SEC told Al Jazeera that it is actively investigating fraudulent practices. The regulator said it had revoked the licences of three platforms since 2023, with another currently under investigation. Lending platforms have also come under fire for their lax approach to data collection and privacy. Many borrowers have complained of being inundated with spam calls and messages after using their services, often from people whose identity and company affiliation are unclear. In August 2021, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) ordered the immediate takedown of four platforms – which it did not name –