AOC resurrects ‘Green New Deal’ moniker for public housing bill
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., will resurrect her “Green New Deal” terminology with a new housing bill she plans to announce Thursday, according to Politico. Ocasio-Cortez will announce the “Green New Deal for Housing” alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders I-Vt., who is sponsoring the legislation in the Senate. She says the bill will focus largely on public housing, arguing that private housing is no longer realistic for many Americans. “For a long time, we could pass a tax incentive here or there and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got a great housing policy,’” Ocasio-Cortez told Politico. “And everyday people … were supportive because there was still that dream and that idea that ‘I’m going to be buying a home soon … that’s within the horizon for me.’ Right now, we have an entire generation — that is ascending into becoming the most powerful electorate, the largest electorate — for which that is decades away.” The legislation’s central change would be to repeal the Faircloth Amendment, which for decades has prevented the Department of Housing and Urban Development from funding new public housing. HUNTER BIDEN’S EX-BUSINESS PARTNER TONY BOBULINSKI SLAMS HIM FOR ‘RUNNING AWAY’ FROM HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE “No housing conversation is complete without a conversation around public housing,” Ocasio-Cortez added. “We in the United States have lived under the scourge of the Faircloth amendment for decades, and that has helped precipitate — and contributed to — the housing crisis that we are living in today. A major part of our housing problem is a supply problem.” JOE BIDEN IS ‘THE BIG GUY,’ TONY BOBULINSKI SAID DURING ‘UNSHAKEABLE’ TESTIMONY AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY The legislation comes several years after Ocasio-Cortez’s first attempt at a “Green New Deal,” which sought to reshape the conversation around clean energy use and emissions in the U.S. That bill was dead on arrival in Congress, as is likely to be the case with her latest effort. President Biden’s administration wished the effort well in a Thursday statement but shied away from endorsing the legislation. AOC SAYS TRUMP ‘WILLING TO SELL THE COUNTRY FOR A DOLLAR’ AS LAWMAKERS REACT TO POTENTIAL PROPERTY SEIZURES “As he laid out in his State of the Union address and again this week in Nevada, President Biden is laser focused on lowering housing costs for owners and renters alike,” a White House spokesman told Politico when asked about the bill. “We welcome ideas from members of Congress to build on our strong agenda.” Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders are expected to announce the legislation at an event on Capitol Hill later Thursday.
Education voucher expansion passes South Carolina House, but chances in Senate are uncertain
Republicans in the South Carolina House gave key approval Wednesday to a bill expanding a program allowing parents to spend taxpayer money on private and home-school education even as a pilot plan is just starting and the state’s highest court is considering whether it is legal. After the 69-32 vote, the bill faces one more routine approval before heading to the Senate, where leadership has been more dubious about going ahead with the court case hanging over the education voucher program. But Senate leadership hasn’t shut the door on expansion. The opposition was almost entirely Democrats, joined by two Republicans. SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE TO WEIGH HOUSE-APPROVED $13.2 BILLION BUDGET “I might plant a few acres of something to see how it’s going to work. But I don’t think I want to go and experiment with my entire operation and not know what the results might be,” said Democratic Rep. Russell Ott, whose family owns a farm in St. Matthews. The General Assembly passed what it calls the education scholarship trust fund program last year with a cap of $6,000 for 5,000 students. The money can go toward tuition, transportation, supplies or technology at either private schools or public schools outside a student’s district. Over three years, the current program expands to a $120,000 family income cap and a limit of 15,000 students. The House-passed proposal opens the program to all students and sets the amount given to parents to rise along with spending per public school student. The program needs to be expanded as soon as possible so more parents can access the help, House Education and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Shannon Erickson said. She was the only Republican to speak in favor of the bill and only for a few minutes. “I’m an all-of-the-above education advocate,” said Erickson, a Republican from Beaufort. “We can support our public school and our public school teachers, and we can support the needs of children and our families — and we can do it well.” Earlier this month, the South Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments about whether the 2023 law violates part of the state constitution banning direct aid to anything other than public schools. Proponents of the law argued the money goes to a trust fund that gets tapped by parents, so it isn’t direct aid. This year’s House bill expands aid to home-schools. It also eliminates state audits for private schools getting the money and does not require them to give their students the same standardized tests as public school students. Democrats suggested several changes to the bill like keeping the amount the Education Department can collect to pay a private firm to run the program at 2% instead of an increase to 5% or requiring private schools certify they didn’t raise prices for voucher students. All their amendments were rejected. “The pilot program was supposed to be the test. But the test has not been given,” said Democratic Rep. Kambrell Garvin of Blythewood. Garvin taught for about three years. Allowing parents to spend public money on private schools has been a two-decade effort that ran through three governors, four House speakers and five education superintendents in a state where Republicans have been consolidating and expanding their power. The law is part of a nationwide movement. Groups that study the programs report that as many as 16 states have some form of the vouchers. Georgia’s Senate passed a $6,500-per-student voucher bill Wednesday and sent the proposal to the governor.
US citizens’ flight out of Haiti chartered by DeSantis touches down in Florida
A flight chartered by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis transporting U.S. citizens out of Haiti has touched down in the United States. The rescue flight landed in Orlando, Florida, late on Wednesday, bringing home 14 passengers who were stranded on the island amid increasing violence. “We are willing to dedicate the resources, we understand this is important, we understand that there’s people that are really in danger right now that are our fellow Floridians,” DeSantis said of the operation during a press conference, according to Politico. US ORGANIZING AMERICAN EVACUATIONS FROM HAITI BY HELICOPTER AS NUMBER OF THOSE SEEKING HELP NEARLY DOUBLES Approximately 500 Americans — 360 of whom are Floridians — have contacted the state government about evacuating the island, according to local outlet ABC10. The governor stated that flights are being provided for U.S. citizens free of charge. “We are picking people up at their front door, getting them into a plane, getting them to this airport and getting them back to their front door in Florida — that’s what we’re committed to doing,” said Florida Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie, according to the report. US EVACUATES FIRST AMERICAN CITIZENS FROM PORT-AU-PRINCE AS HAITI CRISIS DEEPENS The number of Americans who have filled out a form on the U.S. State Department’s website seeking assistance in Haiti is “approaching 1,600,” according to State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel. Amid the chaos in Haiti, DeSantis has directed the state National Guard and law enforcement to protect the southern coast and stop illicit vessels traversing the sea into the U.S. from Haiti. “For quite some time, the state of Florida has been dedicating significant resources to combat illegal vessels coming to Florida from countries such as Haiti,” DeSantis announced last week. He continued, “Given the circumstances in Haiti, I have directed the Division of Emergency Management, the Florida State Guard, and state law enforcement agencies to deploy over 250 additional officers and soldiers and over a dozen air and sea craft to the southern coast of Florida to protect our state.” The U.S. response efforts come after weeks of gang violence that has sent Haiti spiraling into chaos. Armed gangs launched a new wave of attacks in Port-au-Prince’s suburbs early Wednesday, with heavy gunfire echoing across once-peaceful communities near the Haitian capital. The attacks came two days after gangs went on a rampage through the upscale neighborhoods of Laboule and Thomassin in Pétion-Ville, with at least a dozen people killed. The violence forced the closure of banks, schools and businesses across Pétion-Ville, which until now had been largely spared from the attacks that gangs launched on Feb. 29. Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
Delhi liquor policy case: HC refuses to grant interim protection from coercive action to CM Arvind Kejriwal
The court sought a response from ED on a fresh interim plea and listed the matter for April 22.
Biden rakes in $21 million as cash lead over Trump continues to grow
President Biden raked in another $21 million in donations in February, extending his cash lead over former President Trump and the Republican National Committee. Combined with the Democratic National Committee, Biden has a war chest of $97.5 million, of which over $70 million belongs to the campaign. Trump and the RNC have less than half that at $44.8 million, according to Politico. The Biden campaign plans to use its deep pockets to flood Trump with ads in swing states across the country, much as Trump attempted to do to Biden in 2020. This year’s data is a stark inversion of the last election cycle, where Trump entered March 2020 with an overwhelming financial advantage over the Biden campaign. That year, Trump and the RNC boasted a war chest of $225 million, while Biden and the DNC had a paltry $20 million, according to the New York Times. LOCKING IT UP: TRUMP CLINCHES 2024 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION DURING TUESDAY’S PRIMARIES Trump nearly matched Biden’s fundraising in February, bringing in just over $20 million. NEW POLL REVEALS AMERICANS TRUST DONALD TRUMP OVER BIDEN TO LEAD THE US AS PRESIDENT “Americans know that they were better off with President Trump four years ago than with Crooked Joe Biden and his disastrous policies,” Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “We need a return to America First policies that successfully kept our country safe and supercharged the economy for all Americans.” Trump officially became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee earlier this month after victories in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington state primaries. Biden also secured his party’s nomination earlier this month. BIDEN VS. TRUMP IS FORCING AMERICANS TO CONFRONT THE AGE ISSUE. BUT NO ONE WILL ANSWER ONE BIG QUESTION The November contest between Biden and Trump is the first rematch in a White House race since 1956, when Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Democratic former Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson when they faced off a second time. The latest Fox News Poll from earlier this month had Trump leading Biden in a head-to-head match up. Meanwhile, a separate new ABC/Ipsos poll found that more respondents trust Trump – at 36% – over Biden at 33%. About 30% of respondents said they would not trust either candidate.
Schumer refuses Netanyahu request to speak to Democrats
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday refused a request from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak with Senate Democrats. Netanyahu met with Senate Republicans in a closed-door virtual meeting on Wednesday. But a Schumer spokesperson said there would be no such meeting with Democrats and that any discussions with the Israeli leader should be bipartisan. “Sen. Schumer made it clear that he does not think these discussions should happen in a partisan manner. That’s not helpful to Israel,” the spokesperson said. Schumer reiterated his position on meeting with Netanyahu during a press conference Wednesday. HOUSE REPUBLICANS MAY INVITE NETANYAHU TO ADDRESS CONGRESS AMID RIFT WITH BIDEN, DEMOCRATS “As I said, when you make these issues partisan, you hurt the cause of Israel,” the top Democrat told reporters. Schumer’s refusal of Netanyahu’s request comes days after he labeled Netanyahu an obstacle to peace between Israel and Hamas in a speech on the Senate floor. Democrats have become increasingly critical of the Israeli government as war between Israel and Hamas drags on with mounting civilian casualties in Gaza. SCHUMER TRASHED FOR ‘DISGUSTING’ SPEECH CALLING ON ISRAEL TO DUMP NETANYAHU: ‘OUTRAGEOUSLY INAPPROPRIATE’ In his remarks, Schumer implored Israel to hold new elections and warned it of becoming a “pariah” if Netanyahu remained in power. He claimed Netanyahu had “lost his way by allowing his political survival to take the precedence over the best interests of Israel.” Republicans slammed his speech as “unprecedented” and “ridiculous.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accused Schumer of “interfering in the democracy of a sovereign ally.” Netanyahu responded to Schumer in a Sunday appearance on “Fox & Friends Weekend.” SCHUMER’S ANTI-NETANYAHU SPEECH STRENGTHENS BIBI IN ISRAEL’S WAR TO DEFEAT HAMAS “I think Schumer’s statements are wholly inappropriate. I think we’re not a banana republic. The people of Israel will choose when they’ll have elections, who they elect, and it’s not something that will be foisted upon us,” he said. “Just imagine that, after 9/11, and when you’re in the midst of fighting al Qaeda, and winning… some Israeli would say, ‘Oh, the right thing to do is not to have new elections in America or have President Bush resign.’ It’s inappropriate. Shouldn’t have been said. It’s wrong,” he added. Amid the controversy over Schumer’s remarks, House Republicans have floated sending an invitation to Netanyahu to address Congress. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he had a “lengthy conversation” with Netanyahu on Wednesday morning, but he did not confirm plans to invite him to give an address. “We didn’t talk about those logistics, but it’s one of the things that we have in mind, and we may try to arrange for that,” Johnson told reporters. “I think it’s very important for us to show solidarity and support with Israel right now in their time of great struggle. And we certainly stand for that position. We’ll try to advance that in every way that we can.”
Enforcing Texas’ new immigration law may be challenging, even for authorities that support it
A new law allowing local authorities to deport migrants remains tied up in court. Even if it goes back into effect, logistical challenges could complicate enforcement.
GOP leaders open joint probe into global energy group influencing net-zero policies in US
FIRST ON FOX: Republican leaders in the Senate and House have opened a joint probe into the International Energy Agency (IEA), a powerful group with influence on major global decarbonization policies. In a letter late Wednesday to IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said the Paris-based group has strayed in recent years from its core mission of “promoting energy security.” They warned that IEA’s actions threaten to harm the group’s reputation for impartiality. “We would argue that in recent years the IEA has been undermining energy security by discouraging sufficient investment in energy supplies,” Barrasso and McMorris Rodgers wrote in the letter. “Moreover, its energy modeling no longer provides policymakers with balanced assessments of energy and climate proposals. Instead, it has become an ‘energy transition’ cheerleader.” “Until recently, the IEA has served as a valuable source of reliable information on the security of oil markets, and has provided a mechanism whereby oil-consuming countries can respond effectively to oil shortages,” they continued. “Consequently, the IEA must conduct its energy security mission in an objective manner. We believe the IEA is failing to fulfill these responsibilities.” MASSIVE CHINESE FIRM SUES SMALL MICHIGAN TOWN OVER OPPOSITION TO CONTROVERSIAL EV BATTERY PROJECT Barrasso and McMorris Rodgers noted that the Biden administration cited IEA forecasts, rather than internal studies, when justifying its recent action to pause new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects, a move heavily criticized by many in the U.S. energy industry. Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk, who previously served as a leader at the IEA, confirmed the administration’s reliance on IEA forecasts last month, which the two GOP lawmakers characterized as “deeply troubling.” 130+ HOUSE, SENATE REPUBLICANS JOIN FORCES IN OPPOSITION OF BIDEN’S UPCOMING EV MANDATE “To defend the indefensible, the Biden administration trots out its ostensible fear that more LNG export capacity may be built than is needed,” the pair continued in their letter to Birol. “The basis of that fear is the IEA’s unrealistic modeling. Decisions about future LNG export capacity should be left up to market participants and investors, not politicians or bureaucrats.” According to the IEA, it was founded in 1974 amid the global oil crisis to help coordinate the international response to oil supply disruptions. But in recent years, Republicans have criticized it for changing direction by placing a large emphasis on pursuing decarbonization policies and “building net-zero emissions energy systems to comply with internationally agreed climate goals” – a quote from the Barrasso-McMorris Rodgers letter. And in 2021, the IEA published a Net Zero Roadmap report that the GOP pair described as “long on aspiration, but short on the things that matter most to policymakers.” At the same time, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) lists the IEA as a key partner on policy analysis and facilitating energy security and technical cooperation. Several senior DOE staff also represent the U.S. on various IEA committees. Barrasso and McMorris Rodgers concluded their letter by listing a series of questions for Birol to answer about his group’s activities and energy research. The IEA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Ramadan no Palestinian will ever forget
It was in the streets of Nablus, el-Bireh, and – whenever I was able to sneak past illegal checkpoints – those of occupied East Jerusalem, that I first experienced the purest form of Ramadan and recognised the true meaning and purpose of my religion. It was there that I realised Ramadan is much more than just fasting and prayer, that it is a remembrance of the strength of our faith, and a celebration of the resilience of our people. In those streets, occupied and under constant threat of aggression, but defiantly full of hope and children’s laughter, I came to appreciate the unique beauty of the sound of Adhan and the calming wisdom of being Muslim. This Ramadan, I am not at home, in Palestine. And as I break my fast at every sundown with the images and sounds of my homeland’s ongoing destruction playing out in my mind, I am devastated to think what Ramadan now looks and feels like for my beloved people. For those in Gaza, who survived more than five months of genocide, there is no food for Iftar. Israel is still blocking aid from reaching the most desperate, and people are cooking grass to have something, anything, to break their fast with. Babies and children are all malnourished, and dozens have already died from lack of food and clean water. Everyone in the besieged enclave lost someone, but they are not even provided with the time and space to breathe, mourn and process their trauma. There is no mosque left undamaged, and no safe place for collective prayer. Indeed, people of Gaza are still under constant bombardment. Even those who tried to find refuge in Rafah, that last so-called “safe zone” in the besieged enclave, are still being threatened with a ground invasion – an invasion that would undoubtedly kill and maim thousands more innocents. Sure, Ramadan has not been carefree for the people of Gaza for years – due to Israel’s relentless blockade, many parents were going without food in this holiest of months to feed their children long before the beginning of this genocide. Yet death and destruction has never been this close, and fear about the future this acute in this once beautiful land, during any Ramadan, ever. For those in the West Bank, Ramadan is nothing like it was before either. Sure, Ramadan was never a straightforward affair in the occupied territory. It always involved navigating illegal checkpoints, enduring harassment from occupation soldiers and resisting provocations. But this year, it is much, much worse. Palestinians in the West Bank are not only agonising over the genocide of their brothers and sisters in Gaza, but also trying to survive relentless attacks from settlers, police and soldiers. They wonder who among them will be the next to be arbitrarily arrested, displaced or assaulted – they wonder whether they and their loved ones will live to see another Ramadan. And for those in the diaspora, we are left practicing our faith with an undying guilt that I do not have the capacity to describe neither in English nor in Arabic. How should I break my fast when so many of my people haven’t properly eaten in months? Pray in a mosque while my people pray on rubble? Religiously, I know I must, but that does answer the questions that make my heart bleed. Ramadan after Ramadan, the Palestinian people have been tested. But the Palestinian spirit will outlive the tyranny of occupation. As I watch Gazans perform Friday prayer amidst the rubble of their society, I am reminded of what steadfastness looks like: that you can destroy one’s home or mosque, but never one’s Iman (faith). I often imagine what Ramadan would look like if Palestine were never occupied. Perhaps I would be breaking fast with the children of Gaza who are no longer here. Perhaps I would be making knafeh, my speciality, in the eastern mountains of Nablus, on land that was stolen from my grandfather, who never got to see freedom. One thing is certain, Ramadan will never be the same. Every year from now on, my prayers will not be for myself but for my martyred people who are no longer able to pray for themselves. I will be praying to absolve my guilt for not being able to do enough to save them. May God’s mercy be upon the souls of our martyrs. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Adblock test (Why?)
Israel’s war on Gaza will continue, Netanyahu tells US Republican senators
Israel’s war on Gaza will continue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told US Republican senators, despite mounting criticism from Democratic leaders about the growing humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged Palestinian territory. Speaking to Republican senators via videolink on Wednesday, Netanyahu said his government would continue its efforts to defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to the lawmakers he addressed. “He’s going to do what he said he’s going to do. He’s going to finish it,” Senator Jim Risch said. Netanyahu’s speech came after Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic majority leader and a Jewish American, in last week’s Senate address branded the prime minister an “obstacle to peace” in the region. Schumer said Netanyahu was no longer fit to govern Israel because of his government’s “dangerous and inflammatory policies” particularly around getting aid into Gaza, as pressure mounts within the Democratic Party for the United States to discontinue its unconditional political and military support for Israel. Netanyahu has, however, retained backing in Republican circles. Republican Senator John Barrasso criticised Schumer’s comments and said: “We told [Netanyahu] Israel has every right to defend themselves and he said that’s exactly what they continue to do.” Senate Republicans heard from Prime Minister @Netanyahu today — he gave us an update on the war, hostage releases, and defeating Hamas.@POTUS and @SenSchumer are running scared of the extremists in their own party. Republicans continue to stand with the people of Israel. pic.twitter.com/ZX8DOO2Iov — Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) March 20, 2024 A spokesperson for Schumer said Netanyahu had offered to speak to the Democrats as well, but Schumer declined, saying the conversation should not be partisan. “I care deeply about Israel and its long-term future. When you make the issue partisan, you hurt the cause of helping Israel,” Schumer told reporters. ‘Mistake’ US President Joe Biden warned Netanyahu in a call this week that Israel’s stated goal to invade Rafah in southern Gaza – the last refuge in which approximately 1.5 million displaced Palestinians have sheltered – without a clear humanitarian plan would be a “mistake”. Biden also asked Netanyahu to send a team of intelligence and military officials to Washington, DC to hear concerns about a potential invasion of the city. “Gaza’s other major cities have largely been destroyed, and Israel has not presented us or the world with a plan for how or where they would safely move those civilians – let alone feed and house them and ensure access to basic things like sanitation,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday. “I made it clear to President Biden in our conversation, in the clearest way, that we are determined to complete the elimination of Hamas in Rafah as well,” Netanyahu said of the call in a statement on X. Rafah, on the Gaza Strip’s southernmost tip, has seen its population balloon from 300,000 to about 1.5 million people, as Israel has forcefully pushed hundreds of thousands of displaced residents fleeing bombardments in north and central Gaza since the start of the war in October. Western countries, including Israel’s European allies, have cautioned against a ground attack on Rafah, which serves as a key hub for humanitarian aid coming through the Egyptian border. Looming famine This week, United Nations experts warned of a looming famine between now and May in parts of Gaza because of an acute shortage of food and water. About 1.1 million people – half the population – were facing “catastrophic” levels of hunger as people resort to skipping meals for days on end, and as some starve to death, according to the researchers. Oxfam, a global charity, accused Israel of “deliberately” blocking the entry of critical food and medical supplies into the Strip by using bureaucracy to slow down the inflow of trucks carrying humanitarian supplies via the two Israel-controlled border crossings currently open to aid. Josep Borell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, reiterated previous calls for Israel to lift the blockade and again accused it of using starvation as a “weapon of war”. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks across Gaza in the last 24 hours. Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Thursday that at least 31,988 Palestinians have been killed and 74,188 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. Adblock test (Why?)