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Year: 2026

Trump rolls out ‘Great Healthcare Plan,’ urges Congress to slash costs for Americans

Trump rolls out ‘Great Healthcare Plan,’ urges Congress to slash costs for Americans

President Donald Trump unveiled his new “Great Healthcare Plan” Thursday, and urged Congress to create and pass legislation with the provisions included in an attempt to lower healthcare costs for Americans.  The plan, which comes amid a big push from the White House to focus on affordability issues for Americans, calls on Congress to get behind a series of provisions outlined in the plan that stem largely from previous executive orders the president has signed during this term.  DEMOCRATS HOLD THE GOVERNMENT HOSTAGE OVER SUBSIDIES AMERICANS DON’T WANT  Specifically, the “Great Healthcare Plan” calls on Congress to codify Trump’s most “favored nations drug pricing” initiative that instructs drug companies to lower costs and keep them in alignment with what drugs in other developed countries cost, according to a White House fact sheet. Trump issued an executive order on the matter in May.  The plan also aims to maximize price transparency, and require providers or insurers to take Medicare or Medicaid to “prominently post their pricing and fees in their place of business and ensure insurance companies are complying with price transparency requirements,” according to the fact sheet. 17 REPUBLICANS REBEL AGAINST HOUSE GOP LEADERS, JOIN DEMS TO PASS OBAMACARE EXTENSION The plan also calls for ending taxpayer-funded subsidy payments to insurance companies, and instead of sending those funds to eligible Americans instead — a proposal that Trump has suggested previously.  “The government is going to pay the money directly to you. It goes to you, and then you take the money and buy your own health care,” Trump said in a video the White House released Thursday. “Nobody has ever heard of that before, and that’s the way it is.” It’s unclear how the federal government plans to directly distribute funds to Americans, and an administration official told reporters Thursday that the administration is open to working with Congress on that front. “These are commonsense actions that make up President Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan, and they represent the most comprehensive and bold agenda to lower health care costs to have ever been considered by the federal government,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday. “Congress should immediately take up President Trump’s plan and pass it into law.”  Meanwhile, the Senate is prepared to vote on extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which were a sticking point during the government shutdown in October and expired at the end of 2025. The House passed extending the subsidies for three years Jan. 8. 

What lies ahead for Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado?

What lies ahead for Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado?

Prioritising stability Questions about Machado’s role in Venezuelan politics emerged within hours of the US operation to remove Maduro, a leader accused of violently suppressing dissent. Machado, 58, had been living in hiding for months after the 2024 election, for fear of facing arrest. But that changed in December, when she escaped abroad to accept the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to advance Venezuelan democracy. Given her longstanding public opposition to Maduro, Machado was widely viewed as a favourite to replace him, should his government ever fall. But when Trump announced the US military operation to remove Maduro, he quickly quashed the prospect of Machado stepping into Venezuela’s presidency. “I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country,” Trump said at a news conference hours after the attack. Rather than work with Machado, Trump announced plans to cooperate with Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s vice president. She has since been sworn in as interim president. “She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump said of Rodriguez. Maduro, who has long been accused of human rights violations, has been charged alongside his wife Cilia Flores with being part of a conspiracy to traffic drugs into the US. While Trump’s decision to topple Maduro has sparked jubilation among Venezuelans in exile, his military intervention — and quick dismissal of Machado — have raised concerns about his respect for Venezuelan sovereignty and international law. “I think [the Trump administration] basically bet on what they consider to be the most stable transition possible,” said Freddy Guevara Cortez, a former opposition member in Venezuela’s National Assembly. “They think that they can convince the same members of the Maduro regime to dismantle themselves.” Guevera Cortez, who has lived in exile in the US since 2021, emphasised that he supports Trump’s actions in Venezuela. “Obviously, we would have preferred something else, but we also understand how complex the situation is,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)

Timeline of Israel’s genocide on Gaza

Timeline of Israel’s genocide on Gaza

NewsFeed The Trump administration has announced its ceasefire plan for Gaza is now in ‘Phase Two’, following 27 months of death, displacement and destruction in Israel’s genocide. Published On 15 Jan 202615 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)

Fifteen former NCAA players charged in US-China basketball rigging case

Fifteen former NCAA players charged in US-China basketball rigging case

Former players among those charged in alleged scheme to rig basketball games in US and China. Published On 15 Jan 202615 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Federal prosecutors in the United States have charged 20 people, including 15 former college basketball players, in what they call a betting scheme to rig National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) games. Of the defendants, 15 played basketball for Division 1 NCAA schools as recently as the 2024-2025 season. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The other five defendants were described by authorities as fixers. They include two men who prosecutors said on Thursday worked in the training and development of basketball players. Another was a trainer and former coach, one was a former NCAA player and two were described as gamblers, influencers and sports handicappers. Some individuals were previously charged ⁠in an NBA-related gambling probe. The charges, including bribery in ‍sporting contests and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, were unsealed ​by federal prosecutors in Philadelphia. They accuse the defendants of conspiring to fix games from about September 2022 through February 2025. During the 2022-2023 CBA season, ‍the individuals ⁠sought to “fix” men’s basketball games by “point shaving”, prosecutors alleged in the documents filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Point shaving is a form of cheating in which individuals try ​to manipulate the margin of victory. Some ‌of those charged allegedly sought to target games at Nicholls State University, Tulane University, Northwestern State University, La Salle University, DePaul ‌University, Robert Morris University, University of Southern Mississippi and North Carolina A&T ‌State University. Advertisement Players at Kennesaw State ⁠University, Coppin State University, University of New Orleans, Abilene Christian University, Eastern Michigan and Alabama State University were also targeted as part ‌of the scheme, according to the indictment. In the 70-page indictment, authorities said the fixers recruited the college basketball players with “bribe payments” usually ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game. The indictment follows a series of NCAA investigations that led to at least 10 players receiving lifetime bans this year for bets that sometimes involved their own teams and their own performances. And the NCAA has said at least 30 players have been investigated over gambling allegations. More than 30 people were also charged in last year’s sprawling federal takedown of illegal gambling operations linked to professional basketball. Adblock test (Why?)