Maryland Gov. Moore endorses bills aimed at mitigating housing crisis
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore testified Tuesday in support of measures aimed at making housing more affordable and protecting renters, some of the governor’s top priorities this legislative session. Moore, a Democrat, told lawmakers that the state is facing “a true housing crisis,” largely due to a lack of housing supply. He said that’s holding back the state’s economic growth as well as making it more expensive to live in Maryland. “This legislation that we will work on together will help spur new housing construction, enhance long-term financial investments in low-income areas, help the state move in partnership with local governments instead of being in constant conflict with them, centralize resources for Maryland renters and get our economy moving again,” Moore said. MARYLAND GOV. MOORE UNVEILS $90M ‘DOWN PAYMENT’ FOR CLIMATE INITIATIVES One of the measures backed by the governor endeavors to increase the state’s housing supply by incentivizing construction and removing barriers to development. To do that, the bill would modernize land-use law and simplify approval for transit-oriented development, as well as development on former state-owned complexes, and housing development by 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, which are created to revitalize communities, particularly impoverished ones. The bill would incentivize the development of these projects by allowing greater density when certain conditions are met. The governor said his administration has been careful to work with local officials on the proposals. With an estimated shortage of 96,000 housing units, Moore said the state has to be able to work together with local jurisdictions to address that kind of shortage. “This is a piece of legislation that is not heavy-handed,” Moore told the Maryland House Environment and Transportation Committee. “It really more works hand-in-hand.” Another measure would strengthen state financing tools for housing and community development. The bill would create an independent quasi-government unit called the Maryland Community Investment Corporation to invest in low-income communities. It also would apply for federal tax credits. The Housing and Community Development Financing Act also expands the eligible uses of the state’s Strategic Demolition and Smart Growth Impact Fund to include debt payments and credit enhancement. The fund was created in 2016 to provide grants and loans for revitalization projects. “Together these bills will help us to build new homes so we can narrow the supply gap,” Moore testified. “We can strengthen our economy for the long-term and we can create new pathways from poverty to prosperity.” Moore also testified in support of a measure to protect renters. It would increase the maximum surcharge imposed by courts from $8 to $93 for landlords to evict tenants for failing to pay rent. Half of the revenue would go into the Statewide Rental Assistance Voucher Program, and the other half would go to the Maryland Legal Services Corporation, which is used to finance civil legal services to indigent clients. The bill also would create an Office of Tenant Rights that would provide renters with information about their rights and create a Tenant Bill of Rights. The measure also would reduce the allowable security deposit from two months’ rent to one month. The legislation also modifies the state’s new rental voucher program to provide prioritization of vouchers for families with children under the age of 5 and pregnant women. The bill also would allow renters the right to purchase their home, if it is being sold, by creating a right of first refusal.
Trump leadership PAC spends nearly $3M in January on legal expenses, FEC filing shows
Former President Trump’s leadership PAC spent another $2.9 million on legal bills last month, according to a campaign finance filing Tuesday. The leadership PAC, Save America, spent about $50 on Trump’s legal expenses last year, Politico reported. Save America received another $5 million from the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc., according to Tuesday’s filing with the Federal Elections Committee (FEC). The money went to covering Save America’s $2.9 million in legal spending in January – less than the leadership PAC has spent on legal bills in recent months, though the amount still accounted for most of Save America’s spending. At the end of January, Save America said it had $6.3 million left in the bank. MAGA Inc. sent $42 million to Save America last year to help cover legal expenses. BIDEN CAMPAIGN BRINGS IN $42 MILLION IN JANUARY, TOUTS ‘HISTORIC’ CASH-ON-HAND Trump’s web of political committees spent more than they raised collectively last year, according to Politico. Over the last two years, Trump’s Save America political action committee, his presidential campaign and his other fundraising organizations have devoted $76.7 million to legal fees, according to the Associated Press, and campaign finance experts expect the current GOP front-runner to spend PAC money to defray the cost of his judgments in some way. After spending more money on ads and legal expenses than it received from donors, Trump’s campaign cash holdings dropped to just over $30 million at the end of January – down from about $33 million in December, the campaign’s FEC filing shows, according to Reuters. But last month, he did successfully sweep GOP primary contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. The Trump campaign said it spent more than $11 million and raised more than $8 million in January. As the Democratic incumbent faces a less competitive primary contest, the Biden campaign reported in its FEC disclosure that it ended January with about $56 million in cash – an increase from the $46 million in December. Trump’s legal expenses might now exceed half a billion dollars, according to the AP. New York Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his companies Friday to pay $355 million in fines, plus interest, after ruling that he had manipulated his net worth in financial statements in a case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The stiff penalty comes just weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to the columnist E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault and defamation. A separate jury last year awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump has adamantly denied wrongdoing and pledged to appeal, a process that could take months or even years. Between Friday’s ruling and the two judgments in Carroll’s case, Trump would be on the hook for about $542 million in legal judgments. Trump owes another $110,000 for refusing to comply with a subpoena in the civil fraud case and $15,000 for repeatedly disparaging the judge’s law clerk in violation of a gag order. As part of Friday’s ruling, the judge also ordered both of Trump’s adult sons to pay $4 million apiece. BIDEN CAMPAIGN AIMS TO USE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS AS RESET AFTER DAMNING SPECIAL COUNSEL CLAIMS: REPORT Trump’s court-ordered debts don’t end there. Last month, he was ordered to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times after suing the newspaper unsuccessfully. He is currently appealing a judgment of $938,000 against him and his attorney for filing what a judge described as a “frivolous” lawsuit against Hillary Clinton. Though it is not uncommon for the size of judgments, particularly high-dollar amounts, to be reduced on appeal, Trump has already deposited $5 million owed to Carroll for the first defamation case into a court-controlled account, along with an additional $500,000 in interest required by New York law. Carroll will not have access to the funds until the appeals process plays out. Trump may soon be forced to do the same for the $83.3 million judgment in the second Carroll case. Alternatively, he could secure a bond and pay only a portion up front — though that option would come with interest and fees and likely require some form of collateral. Trump would have to find a financial institution willing to front him the money. In the civil fraud case, it will be up to the courts to decide how much Trump must put up as he mounts his appeal. He may be required to pay the full sum immediately after the appellate court rules, which could come as soon as this summer, University of Michigan law professor Will Thomas told the AP. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Israeli air strikes kills two people in Syria’s capital: State media
The attack took place in Damascus’s Kafr Sousa area near a large, heavily guarded complex used by security agencies. At least two people have been killed in Israeli air strikes in the Syrian capital, Damascus, state media reported. The attack on Wednesday took place in Kafr Sousa, an area that is home to a number of security and military headquarters, the news agency SANA reported. Israel has not confirmed the strikes. Videos on social media verified by Al Jazeera showed an apartment on fire in a multistorey building. Windows were shattered in nearby buildings and dozens of parked cars were damaged in the area. An empty bus for the nearby Al-Bawader Private School was damaged and people were seen rushing to fetch their children. The neighbourhood also has residential buildings and Iranian cultural centres. Witnesses heard several back-to-back explosions and ambulances rushed to the area, the Reuters news agency reported. Syrian state TV did not say who was killed. Rami Abdulrahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Britain-based opposition war monitor, said the two killed were inside an apartment but did not give any clues about their identities. Abdulrahman said that the strike was similar to last month’s killing in Beirut, Lebanon, of Saleh al-Arouri, a top official with the Palestinian group Hamas. Two people were killed inside an apartment [Firas Makdesi/Reuters] SOHR said the blasts in Damascus were “a result of a new Israeli targeting of Syrian territory”. Since the start of the year, the group said it has documented 13 Israeli attacks on Syrian territory – eight air strikes and five rocket attacks by ground forces, which destroyed nearly 31 targets and left 31 fighters dead and 13 others injured. Eight civilians, including a woman, were also killed in the Israeli strikes this year, according to SOHR. The United States and Israel have for years carried out attacks against what they describe as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran’s influence has grown since it backed President Bashar al-Assad in the war that erupted in 2011. The attacks renewed in intensity since October 7 when Hamas fighters stormed communities in southern Israel killing more than 1,100 people and taking about 240 captive. The unprecedented assault triggered a ferocious response by Israel which has killed more than 29,000 people in the Gaza Strip. Last month, an Israeli strike on the Syrian capital’s western neighbourhood of al-Mezzeh destroyed a building used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), killing at least five Iranians. In December, an Israeli air strike on a suburb of Damascus killed Iranian general Seyed Razi Mousavi, a longtime adviser of the IRGC in Syria. Israel has also targeted members of Palestinian and Lebanese armed groups in Syria over the past years. Adblock test (Why?)
German champions Bayern to part ways with coach Tuchel at end of season
Struggling German champions will take ‘new direction’ with a different coach next season, club says after announcing Tuchel’s departure. German club Bayern Munich will part ways with coach Thomas Tuchel at the end of a disappointing season, the Bundesliga champions have said in a statement. Tuchel’s contract, which was signed less than a year ago and runs until 2025, will be terminated at the end of the current season. Bayern lost their last three games in all competitions, including a 3-0 defeat to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen and have now dropped eight points behind them in the Bundesliga. Tuchel had taken over in March 2023 from Julian Nagelsmann but despite leading them to the Bundesliga title last season on the final matchday, they have not shown the form this season that saw them dominate German football for the past decade. Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said there would a “a new direction” next season with a new coach. “In a good, open discussion, we came to the decision to end our working relationship by mutual agreement in the summer,” Dreesen said on Wednesday. “Our goal is to pursue a new footballing direction with a new head coach for the 2024/25 season.” “Until then, every individual at the club is expressly called upon to achieve the maximum possible in the Champions League and Bundesliga. I also explicitly hold the team accountable in this regard.” New direction for the new season: FC Bayern and Thomas Tuchel to end their working relationship in the summer. 🔗 https://t.co/nKsSeKx3kk pic.twitter.com/1q22LRSMcy — FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) February 21, 2024 Tuchel, who in the past had been in charge at Borussia Dortmund and Paris St Germain, and also won a Champions League title with Chelsea in 2021, said his remaining time in Munich would be focused on the remaining goals in the Bundelsiga and the Champions League. His first full season at Bayern had been hit by a string of injuries to key players and by what he had said was a relatively thin squad at the start of the campaign despite the arrival of Bundesliga record signing Harry Kane. “We have agreed that we will end our working relationship at the end of this season,” Tuchel said. “Until then, I will of course continue to do everything I can with my coaching staff to achieve maximum success.” Bayern’s next game is against RB Leipzig who beat Bayern the last two times in Munich. The club’s last season without a title was in 2011-12. They have won all 11 Bundesliga titles since then, four German Cups, and two Champions Leagues to clinch trebles in 2013 and 2020. Now they trail Leverkusen by eight points, were beaten in the German Cup by a third-division side and have to overcome the deficit against Lazio to stay alive in Europe. Leverkusen are coached by Xabi Alonso who as a former Bayern player could be a top candidate for them in summer. But he is also linked with another ex-club, Liverpool, where Jurgen Klopp is leaving in summer. Klopp, for his part, has been seen as a future Bayern coach but said he wants to take time off after leaving Anfield. Adblock test (Why?)
Police fire tear gas at protesting Indian farmers marching to New Delhi
Police have fired tear gas at thousands of Indian farmers who resumed their protest march to the capital, New Delhi, after talks with the government failed to end an impasse over their demands for guaranteed crop prices. The protests come at a crucial time for India, where national elections are due in the coming months and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is widely expected to secure a third successive term in office. The farmers began their protest last week but were stopped some 200km (125 miles) from the capital. The authorities are determined to contain the protests, which have renewed the movement from more than two years ago when tens of thousands of farmers had camped out on the outskirts of the city for more than a year. At the time, the farmers pitched tents, bought food supplies and held out in the sit-in until they forced Modi to repeal new agriculture laws in a major reversal for his government. This time around, the authorities have barricaded the highways into New Delhi with cement blocks, metal containers, barbed wire and iron spikes to prevent the farmers from entering. On Wednesday, the farmers arrived at the barricades with bulldozers and excavators to try and push through. Last week, the farmers had paused their protest and hunkered down near the town of Shambhu, close to the border between the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, as unions engaged in discussions with government officials. They rejected a proposal from the government that offered them five-year contracts of guaranteed prices on a set of certain crops, including maize, grain, legumes and cotton, and the farmers resumed their march on Wednesday. Adblock test (Why?)
State Rep. Julie Johnson and trauma surgeon Brian Williams lead pack to succeed U.S. Rep. Colin Allred
As Allred vies to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a crowded field of 10 Democrats is lining up to replace him.
University of Houston students face off against administrators over how to spend student fees
Students want to reallocate funding for athletics to other student services, but university leaders rejected that recommendation. The University of Houston Board of Regents will decide Wednesday.
‘It is happening’: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav confirms alliance with Congress
“There is no conflict. Everything will be out and clear soon, ” Yadav told reporters in UP’s Moradabad.
James Biden to testify in brother’s impeachment inquiry behind closed doors
James Biden is expected to testify in the impeachment inquiry against his older brother, President Biden behind closed doors on Wednesday morning. The president’s brother is set to appear for a deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees Wednesday at 10 a.m. JOE BIDEN RECEIVED $40K IN ‘LAUNDERED CHINA MONEY’ FROM BROTHER IN 2017, COMER SAYS James Biden, also referred to as Jim Biden, had been subpoenaed in November to appear for a deposition as part of the impeachment inquiry — prior to it being formalized by the full House. James Biden was involved in the Biden family business ventures with his nephew, Hunter Biden. So far, during the investigation, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said he has found that Biden family members, their business associates and their “related companies” received “significant payments from individuals and companies in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania.” Comer said the committee has learned throughout its investigation that the Biden family and their business associates brought in more than $24 million between 2014 and 2019 by “selling Joe Biden as ‘the brand’ around the world.” James Biden is expected to be questioned on whether Joe Biden was involved in the family’s foreign business ventures. James Biden is also expected to be questioned on “loan repayment” checks — one for $200,000 and another for $40,000 — that he wrote to the president. JAMES BIDEN GIVEN LOAN, DIDN’T PROVIDE SERVICES TO AMERICORE DESPITE PROMISES TO USE LAST NAME, TRUSTEE SAYS Comer said his panel had uncovered evidence that the president, in 2018, received a “$200,000 direct payment” in the form of a “personal check” from James Biden and Sara Biden. That check was labeled “loan repayment.” Comer said that James Biden “received $600,000 in loans from Americore — a financially distressed and failing rural hospital operator.” “On March 1, 2018, Americore wired a $200,000 loan into James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account — not their business bank account,” he continued. “And then, on the very same day, James Biden wrote a $200,000 check from this same personal bank account to Joe Biden.” Comer said James Biden “wrote this check to Joe Biden as a ‘loan repayment.’” “Americore — a distressed company — loaned money to James Biden, who then sent it to Joe Biden,” Comer said. The White House said the committee found that as a private citizen, the president loaned his brother his own money when his brother needed it, and after reviewing bank records, there is a record that he was repaid. Comer also said the president received another $40,000 “loan repayment” from James Biden, which the chairman described as “laundered China money.” COMER RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT $200K ‘DIRECT PAYMENT’ FROM JAMES BIDEN TO JOE BIDEN IN 2018 Comer said the “money trail” began in July 2017 when Hunter Biden demanded a $10 million payment from a CEFC associate. In a WhatsApp message, he claimed “he was sitting with his father and that the Biden network would turn on his associate if he didn’t pony up the money,” Comer explained. Hunter Biden in the WhatsApp message allegedly told a Chinese business associate from Chinese energy company CEFC that he and his father would ensure “you will regret not following my direction.” Hunter requested the $10 million wire for his joint-venture with CEFC called SinoHawk Holdings. “I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter Biden told Henry Zhao, the director of Chinese asset management firm Harvest Fund Management. “And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.” Zhao responded, in part, “CEFC is willing to cooperate with the family.” Comer, citing bank records he and his committee have obtained, said that on Aug. 8, 2017, the $5 million in funds were sent to Hudson West III, a joint-venture established by Hunter Biden and CEFC associate Gongwen Dong. The same day, Hudson West III sent $400,000 to Owasco, P.C.— a separate entity controlled and owned by Hunter Biden, Comer said. BIDEN MET WITH CHAIRMAN OF CHINESE ENERGY FIRM HUNTER DID BUSINESS WITH IN 2017, EX-ASSOCIATE TESTIFIES Days later, on Aug. 14, 2017, Hunter Biden wired $150,000 to Lion Hall Group, a company owned by James Biden and his wife Sara Biden. By Aug. 28, 2017, Comer said Sara Biden withdrew $50,000 in cash from Lion Hall Group and later deposited it into her and James Biden’s personal checking account. “A few days later, Sara Biden cut a check to Joe Biden for $40,000,” Comer said, referring to the Sept. 3, 2017, check his committee obtained. “The memo line of the check said, ‘loan repayment.’” James Biden’s expected testimony comes days after his former business associate Tony Bobulinski testified before the committee, telling congressional investigators that Joe Biden was involved in the family’s business ventures, and testifying that he personally met with him. Days before Bobulinski’s testimony, another former business associate, Rob Walker, testified that Joe Biden met with the chairman of the Chinese energy firm his brother and son did business with. After Walker’s testimony, the House Oversight Committee said it was able to “now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son.” Meanwhile, the president, last week, called for the House impeachment inquiry to be dropped, calling it “an outrageous effort from the beginning.”
Pressure grows on Johnson to make move on Ukraine aid as Russian invasion nears 2-year mark
House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing growing pressure from both sides of the aisle to deliver some kind of plan for Ukraine as the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion approaches on Feb. 24. The topic has become a lightning rod within the GOP, with a growing contingent of populist Republican lawmakers voicing skepticism about the U.S.’s involvement in the conflict. Some have gone as far as threatening Johnson’s leadership role if he held a vote on Ukraine aid. But mainstream Republicans and Democrats still argue that it’s in the country’s best interest to help Kyiv remain independent of Russian President Vladimir Putin and that helping defeat the authoritarian leader is critical to avoiding a wider, more intense conflict. That pressure took on a new significance over the weekend when Russia announced it had captured the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka after Ukrainian forces, low on ammo and personnel, retreated. It was the first significant gain by Russia in months. RUSSIA WARNS UK THAT TROOP DEPLOYMENT IN UKRAINE WOULD BE ‘DECLARATION OF WAR’ And on Friday, the Russian government announced the death of top Putin critic Alexey Navalny in a penal colony in the Arctic Circle. “Ukrainians are literally running out of ammo and fleeing cities while Putin kills off his main rival in the gulag. Now is not a good time to give the Russians a hand,” a Senate GOP aide told Fox News Digital. On the Democrat side, White House communications director Ben LaBolt criticized the House GOP for being in recess during the situation, declaring in a statement on Tuesday, “House Republicans are on Day 5 of an early, undeserved vacation while their inaction does escalating damage to our national security.” ZELENSKYY EXTENDS TRUMP AN OFFER TO VISIT UKRAINE’S FRONT LINES: ‘IF MR TRUMP WILL COME, I AM READY’ On Friday, a small group of bipartisan House members introduced a supplemental security package giving roughly $66 billion in military-only aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, while also taking steps to mitigate the U.S. border crisis, like reinstating the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy for a year. House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, warned the same day that Johnson likely will have little choice on whether to hold a vote on some kind of foreign aid. “He’s either going to have to do it — put it on the floor himself — or it’s going to be by virtue of a discharge petition, which is a complete evisceration of his power because it basically says we’re going to do this without the speaker being in charge,” McCaul said at a Christian Science Monitor panel event. Meanwhile, Johnson has rejected two efforts by the Senate to pass its own supplemental security proposals, which both included about $60 billion for Ukraine. He said this month that passing Ukraine aid remains a focus of his, but he has not shared public plans to do so. “There is significant pressure on Johnson to act. That is part of the reason why Republicans that oppose Ukraine aid were so keen to see the Senate fail to pass [their plans],” Doug Klain, policy analyst at Razom for Ukraine, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “They know the urgency, and members of Congress, including Johnson, they’ve been getting classified briefings telling them just how critical U.S. aid is to the war effort and what the stakes are for Ukraine.” ZELENSKYY TO FACE ‘RECKONING’ WHEN WAR WITH RUSSIA ENDS, EXPERT SAYS Fox News Digital reached out to a Johnson spokesperson to ask if the speaker would put the House bill up for a vote but did not hear back. Meanwhile, a senior House GOP aide warned Fox News Digital that plan may already be “dead in the water.” That aide noted that Republican hard-liners are pushing for nothing less than H.R.2, the House GOP border bill that Democrats panned as a “nonstarter.” “They really want this to be a Republican bill, and getting a … really stripped-down version of H.R.2 for Ukraine funding is not necessarily what they want,” the House aide said. GOP lawmakers opposed to Ukraine aid have raised questions about corruption within Kyiv’s government and have argued that the U.S. has too many issues of its own to be involved in a conflict with Russia. Indeed, moving a Ukraine aid bill would come at a personal risk to Johnson. Conservatives in his conference, like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, have publicly floated threats to boot him from the speakership if it came to the floor. But at least one GOP lawmaker suggested to Fox News Digital that those threats could hold less weight than they appear. “Some conservatives caught hell back home for not [voting to vacate ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy], so now they are trying to curb all that heat by getting tough on [Johnson] before their primary,” that lawmaker said.