Bernie Sanders plans to spearhead legislation on key Trump proposal
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he will push forward new legislation to cap credit card interest rates to 10%, which is something President-elect Donald Trump said he wanted to do temporarily on the campaign trail. “During the recent campaign Donald Trump proposed a 10% cap on credit card interest rates. Great idea. Let’s see if he supports the legislation that I will introduce to do just that,” Sanders wrote on X. DEM SENATOR REVEALS HOW SHE NARROWLY WON KEY STATE THAT TRUMP FLIPPED: ‘BE PRACTICAL TO FIND RESULTS’ While campaigning in New York before winning the election against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump threw his support behind a “temporary cap on credit card interest rates.” “We’re going to cap it at around 10%. We can’t let them make 25 and 30%.” REPUBLICANS HAMMER BIDEN FOR FEDERAL DEATH ROW REPRIEVES AHEAD OF LEAVING OFFICE Trump framed the temporary policy as something to help Americans as they “catch up.” The amount of credit card debt held by Americans rose to $1.17 trillion in the third quarter of 2024, per MarketWatch. According to data from Lending Tree, the average credit card interest rate in December was 24.43%, MarketWatch also reported. Regarding whether the president-elect still intends to implement this policy after he debuted it in September, transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital in a statement, “The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver.” Sanders’ office did not answer whether the cap in his legislation would be temporary, as Trump said, when asked for comment by Fox News Digital. TOP TRUMP AIDES JOIN GROUP PREPPING TO SHORE UP SUPPORT FOR MAGA AGENDA DURING SECOND TERM While Trump backed such a temporary cap, Republicans have often opposed policies that could be harmful to businesses and restrict the availability of credit cards. In fact, top Trump ally and incoming Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., was a top opponent of efforts during the Biden administration to crack down on late fees and further regulate the credit card industry. SENATE PASSES BILL TO STOP SHUTDOWN, SENDING IT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S DESK Earlier this year, Scott explained that the administration’s rule to cap credit card late fees would “decrease the availability of credit card products for those who need it most, raise rates for many borrowers who carry a balance but pay on time, and increase the likelihood of late payments across the board.” Scott’s office declined to comment on a potential 10% interest rate cap.
The Pentagon chief loses bid to reject 9/11 plea deals
A military appeals court has ruled against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s effort to throw out the plea deals reached for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants in the 9/11 attacks, a U.S. official said. The decision puts back on track the agreements that would have the three men plead guilty to one of the deadliest attacks on the United States in exchange for being spared the possibility of the death penalty. The attacks by al-Qaida killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001, and helped spur U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in what the George W. Bush administration called its war on terror. The military appeals court released its ruling Monday night, according to the U.S. official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Military prosecutors and defense attorneys for Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the attacks, and two co-defendants reached the plea agreements after two years of government-approved negotiations. The deals were announced late last summer. PETE HEGSETH SAYS HE HASN’T HEARD FROM WEST POINT SINCE EMPLOYEE ‘ERROR’ DENYING HIS ACCEPTANCE Supporters of the plea agreements see them as a way of resolving the legally troubled case against the men at the U.S. military commission at Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba. Pretrial hearings for Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi have been underway for more than a decade. Much of the focus of pretrial arguments has been on how torture of the men while in CIA custody in the first years after their detention may taint the overall evidence in the case. Within days of news of the plea deal this summer, Austin issued a brief order saying he was nullifying them. He cited the gravity of the 9/11 attacks in saying that as defense secretary, he should decide on any plea agreements that would spare the defendants the possibility of execution. Defense lawyers said Austin had no legal authority to reject a decision already approved by the Guantanamo court’s top authority and said the move amounted to unlawful interference in the case. The military judge hearing the 9/11 case, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, had agreed that Austin lacked standing to throw out the plea bargains after they were underway. That had set up the Defense Department’s appeal to the military appeals court. TOM COTTON DEMANDS DOD RECORDS ON BORDER-WALL MATERIAL SALES BE PRESERVED Austin now has the option of taking his effort to throw out the plea deals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Separately, the Pentagon said it had repatriated one of the longest-held detainees at the Guantanamo military prison, a Tunisian man who U.S. authorities approved for transfer more than a decade ago. Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi’s return to Tunisia leaves 26 men at Guantanamo. That’s down from a peak population of about 700 Muslim men detained abroad and brought to the prison in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks. Al-Yazidi’s repatriation leaves 14 men awaiting transfer to other countries after U.S. authorities waived any prosecution and cleared them as security risks. The Biden administration, pressed by rights groups to free remaining Guantanamo detainees held without charge, transferred out three other men this month. The U.S. says it is searching for suitable and stable countries willing to receive the remaining 14. In a statement, the U.S. military said it had worked with authorities in Tunisia for the “responsible transfer” of al-Yazidi. He had been a prisoner at Guantanamo since 2002, when the U.S. began sending Muslim detainees taken abroad there. Al-Yazidi is the last of a dozen Tunisian men once held at Guantanamo. Of those remaining at Guantanamo, seven — including Mohammed and his 9/11 co-defendants — face active cases. Two others of the 26 total have been convicted and sentenced by the military commission.
GOP mocks Gavin Newsom’s ‘brag’ over modest increase in homelessness hike
California Republican leaders appeared to mock Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fiery response to a critical analysis of his handling of the Golden State’s homelessness crisis, saying that any increase in homelessness is not admirable. State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones criticized Newsom, calling the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s year-end Homelessness Assessment Report an indictment of his capabilities. “Gavin Newsom literally lost track of the $27 billion he spent on the homeless crisis,” Jones said, citing the report as listing California first in homelessness, with an increase of 3% to 187,000. CA VOTERS NARROWLY REJECT $18/HR MINIMUM WAGE “Today’s HUD report makes it clear that instead of solving the problem, Newsom’s endless spending ‘solution’ has only made it worse,” said Jones, R-San Diego. The report, however, also cited that Illinois, Wyoming, Hawaii and Colorado were the states where family homelessness doubled or worse. BRIAN W. JONES: SUPER SANCTUARY IMMIGRATION POLICY THREATENS LIVES AND AIDS VIOLENT CRIMINALS A statement from the Republican caucus of the California State Assembly keyed into Newsom’s recent thorough defense against an op-ed in the outlet CalMatters that made similar criticisms. “In case you missed it, Governor Newsom’s office threw a tantrum over a column… that broke down his history of failure on homelessness,” the caucus, led by Assemblyman James Gallagher of Yuba City, collectively wrote. The CalMatters op-ed claimed Newsom’s handling of the homelessness crisis will be a key point of attack for his prospective 2028 Democratic presidential primary challengers if he chooses to seek higher office then. The column cited Newsom as saying “what’s happening on the streets has to be a top priority,” and reported he indicated a willingness to hold local officials accountable as well. “People have to see and feel the progress and the change…” Newsom said, according to the column. Gallagher’s caucus then cited Newsom’s response to the column, which consisted of a series of pointed posts. “Given the sheer population size of California, to talk about homelessness without any of the broader context or how this administration’s efforts compare to the prior is a disservice to Californians, plain and simple,” Newsom’s office’s account wrote on X. ICE DEPORTATIONS CATCH UP TO TRUMP-ERA IN FY 2024 AS BIDEN ADMIN COMES TO A CLOSE “As the Governor has said many times, the work is far from over and urgency and results at the local level are needed more than ever. It’s why new accountability tools have been put in place, for quicker results. It’s also a longer-term effort — through implementation of Prop 1, CARE Court, conservatorship reform, the just approved BH-Connect waiver all of which are aimed at addressing the systemic issues of homelessness but not yet fully online.” Newsom’s office also posted that unsheltered homelessness grew four times faster during the waning years of Gov. Edmund “Jerry” Brown’s administration than under his. “The number of unsheltered homeless increased by 13.83% during the Newsom Administration (2019-2023), compared to an increase of 51.79% in the five-year period prior to the administration (2015-2019),” the post read. California’s 14% homelessness increase also fell below the national increase of 21%, the governor’s office added. Assembly Republicans responded to Newsom’s comments. “Since the governor is committed to gaslighting on this issue, we’ll state the obvious: an increase of 20% is not progress,” their statement read. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Jones, the Senate minority leader, cited Friday that he co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to change California’s homelessness policies and focus on “compassionate enforcement” of encampment violations. One of his proposals from this past term, which did not make it to Newsom’s desk, focused on existing state law deeming “lodging” in a public or private place without permission to be disorderly conduct. The bill would have delayed any indictment on that count for 72 hours after first notice and imposed a “state-mandated local program” for homeless individuals in those situations. Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom for further response to the criticisms but did not receive a response by press time.
Why Yemen awarded death sentence to Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya
India said it is extending all possible help to explore relevant options in the case of Priya.
Biden moving to ban oil and gas leases for 20 years in Nevada region, just weeks before Trump inauguration
The Biden administration is attempting to implement last-minute restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the west just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. On Monday, the Department of the Interior announced plans to pursue a 20-year ban on oil and gas leases in 264,000 acres of Nevada’s Ruby Mountains. The administration submitted an application to withdraw the acreage from any potential leasing, which initiated a two-year ban on new mineral leases in the area during the approval process. The proposal now heads into a 90-day public comment period, which will fall under the Trump administration. “The Ruby Mountains are an iconic landscape with exceptional recreation opportunities and valuable fish and wildlife habitat worth preserving for the future,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. “Today’s action honors the voices of Tribal communities and conservation and sportsmen’s groups and marks another important step to protect a treasured landscape.” ‘WRONG-HEADED’: ENERGY INDUSTRY LEADERS BLAST BIDEN ADMIN REPORT ON NATURAL GAS EXPORTS The Biden administration’s lease limitation does not put restrictions on mining in the region. SCOTUS HEARS ARGUMENTS IN CASE THAT COULD RESHAPE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW During Trump’s first administration, the Forest Service conducted a study to determine whether 54,000 acres could be leased for oil and gas drilling in the Ruby Mountains. The proposal was eventually rejected in 2019 after the public comment period saw “thousands of comments from the local area, the state of Nevada, and from across the nation” opposing the idea, according to William Dunkelberger, the forest supervisor who signed the decision. Jenna Padilla, the geologist for the Humboldt-Toiyabe Ruby Mountains ranger district at the time, said that geological surveys “show there is low to no potential for oil” in the region, the LA Times reported in 2018. It is unclear whether the Trump administration will consider potential leases in the region, but such actions could face roadblocks following the Biden administration’s new proposal.
Gaza hospitals on ‘brink of total collapse’ from Israel attacks: UN
A UN report says Israel’s claims that Gaza hospitals are being used for military purposes by Palestinian armed groups are “vague” amid continuing Israeli attacks on health facilities protected under international law. The report – released on Tuesday by the UN human rights office – said Israeli strikes targeting hospitals and their surroundings in the Gaza Strip have pushed the territory’s healthcare system “to the brink of total collapse with catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care”. The 23-page report looked at the period from October 7, 2023, to June 30, 2024. During this time there were at least 136 attacks on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, inflicting significant casualties among doctors, nurses, medics, and other civilians while causing significant damage to, if not the complete destruction of, civilian infrastructure. A UN delegation visits Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in September [Hassan Zaanin/Anadolu] ‘A death trap’ The report highlighted that international humanitarian law explicitly protects medical personnel and hospitals as long as they do not engage in or are not used to commit acts harmful to the enemy outside their humanitarian function. “Insufficient information has so far been made publicly available to substantiate these allegations, which have remained vague and broad, and in some cases appear contradicted by publicly available information,” the UN report said. The deliberate destruction of healthcare facilities “may amount to a form of collective punishment, which would also constitute a war crime”, it added. Advertisement “The one sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe in fact became a death trap,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said. “The protection of hospitals during warfare is paramount and must be respected by all sides at all times.” Israel has in recent days escalated attacks on the besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, detaining its director. The World Health Organization said the Kamal Adwan Hospital’s remaining 15 critical patients, 50 caregivers, and 20 health workers were transferred on Friday to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, which it described as “destroyed and non-functional”. Hamas dismissed Israel’s assertion its members operated from the hospital throughout the 15-month Gaza war, saying no fighters had been there. Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told Al Jazeera even if his country did provide evidence to back up claims that Hamas used medical facilities for military operations, it would not justify attacking hospitals. “There is a discrepancy between the big headlines … and the failure to come up with the evidence to support this,” he said. While the Israeli military said more than 250 Hamas fighters were arrested at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, Pinkas noted even if that is true, it still “does not justify rendering the hospital inoperative”. Transparent investigation The report called for credible, independent investigations into the health facility attacks, emphasising the “limitations” of Israel’s justice system in addressing the actions of its armed forces. Advertisement “It is essential that there be independent, thorough and transparent investigations of all of these incidents, and full accountability for all violations of international humanitarian and human rights law which have taken place,” said Turk. He also urged that “all medical workers arbitrarily detained must be immediately released”. “It must also be a priority for Israel, as the occupying power, to ensure and facilitate access to adequate healthcare for the Palestinian population,” Turk said. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 45,500 people in the besieged territory, mostly civilians, according to the Health Ministry. Adblock test (Why?)
A Year of Censorship: Social Media Crackdown
We look at how censorship on the internet has increased and ask what freedom of expression means online. With some governments banning apps like TikTok and social media platforms suspending and banning accounts with pro-Palestinian views, it’s been a challenging year for free speech on the internet. We look at what tech companies and institutions around the world have done to censor both content and users expressing their opinions. Adblock test (Why?)
Sde Teiman: Israel’s notorious detention facility
NewsFeed Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safia from Kamal Adwan Hospital is believed to be detained at Israel’s infamous Sde Teiman military base that doubles as a prison for Palestinians. Here’s why the facility is so controversial. Published On 31 Dec 202431 Dec 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
New Year 2025 bank holiday: Are banks closed on January 1? Check here
Barring some specific exceptions, all Indian banks will have a working day on January 1, 2025, which falls on a Wednesday. As of yet, though, the RBI hasn’t declared the holidays of the new year.
Hochul’s polluters pay bill could result in regressive costs for working families: economists
A New York democratic bill aimed at charging oil and gas companies for pollution could result in regressive costs for working families in the state, energy and economic experts tell Fox News Digital. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed the Climate Change Superfund Act, a bill that seeks to charge polluters up to $75 billion for pollution dating from 2000 to 2018. The money will reportedly be used to fund projects rebuilding infrastructure damaged by weather over the years. While the bill seeks to fine large corporations, some economists say that such actions will result in higher prices for some New Yorkers. “It’s heartwarming to see Governor Hochul finally acknowledge what energy advocates have long understood: the best way for humanity to thrive is through adaptation to a changing climate. By signing this bill, she’s effectively endorsed that philosophy—though in the most counterproductive way possible,” Jason Isaac, CEO and founder of The American Energy Institute, said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. BIDEN SETS ECONOMY-WIDE CLIMATE TARGET: REDUCING EMISSIONS 66% IN 2035 FROM 2005 LEVELS “Instead of incentivizing innovation, this legislation piles billions in new costs onto energy producers, punishing the very industry that keeps the light and heat on for New Yorkers,” Isaac continued. “The real tragedy here isn’t just the higher energy costs for working families; it’s watching businesses and residents flee a state that refuses to adapt its own bloated policies to economic reality.” “The result will be higher energy costs for households, families, and small businesses in one of the most expensive states to live in the country,” Trisha Curtis, economist at the American Energy Institute, said. “With no plan to address the broader economic consequences, this law will drive people, businesses, and state revenue out of New York and into other more competitive states.” O.H. Skinner is the executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, a Phoenix-based nonprofit committed to ensuring consumer protection efforts, class action lawsuits, and attorney general enforcement actions are consistent with the rule of law. He is also a member of the Washington, D.C.-based Federalist Society. FIVE WAYS TRUMP COULD DISMANTLE BIDEN’S CLIMATE AGENDA Skinner called the bill “the latest attempt by left-wing politicians in New York to drive reliable energy production out of existence and force everyone to abide by their preferred Progressive Lifestyle Choices.” “This policy will do nothing except raise energy prices for hardworking Americans and decrease our standard of living, while progressive elites pat themselves on the back for punishing disfavored industries,” Skinner told Fox. “Whether it’s charging citizens to drive into their own city, banning new gas appliances, or foisting a massive new tax bound to significantly raise the price of energy, hardly a day goes by that New York government doesn’t implement ESG policies that make their citizens’ lives quantifiably worse,” said Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild. Fox News contributor David Webb said that the bill is “going to cost New Yorkers.” “If you’re an energy company, you’re already guilty. They’re just going to decide over the next decade how they’re going to charge you for your guilt,” Webb told “Fox & Friends First,” calling Hochul a “far left governor” that is “bound to this ideology.” However, proponents praised the legislation for requiring companies to pay for fossil fuel pollution in the state. “By signing the Climate Change Superfund Act, Gov. Hochul is addressing the financial burden placed on New Yorkers by the fossil fuel companies,” said Richard Schrader, Director of New York Government Affairs at Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental organization. “It’s a key example of what putting fiscal fairness and environmental justice front and center looks like.” In total, 38 firms reportedly deemed carbon polluters will be on the hook, such as American oil giants Exxon and Chevron, as well as the UK’s Shell and BP. Vermont remains the only other state to adopt similar pieces of legislation. The bill comes just weeks after Hochul rolled out a plan to offer payments of up to $840 to New York residents who switch out their washing machines for a green alternative.