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Graham tells Zuckerberg, ‘you have blood on your hands,’ audience cheers

Graham tells Zuckerberg, ‘you have blood on your hands,’ audience cheers

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., gave a harsh rebuke to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the onset of Wednesday’s highly anticipated Big Tech hearing on child exploitation online. “Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us. I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands,” Graham, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, garnering applause from the audience. “You have a product that’s killing people.”  Graham referenced South Carolina State Rep. Brandon Guffey, who is suing Instagram after his 17-year-old son Gavin died by suicide after falling victim to an extortion group from Nigeria operating through the Meta-owned app.  “They threatened the young man that if you don’t give us money, we’re going to expose these photos. He gave them money, but it wasn’t enough. They kept threatening, and he killed himself. They threatened Mr. Guffey and a son. These are bastards. By any known definition,” Graham said.  GOP SENATOR URGES SCOTUS TO REIN IN BIG TECH’S CONTENT CENSORSHIP THAT DEFIES ‘LOGIC’ Graham noted that Congress has taken action to regulate cigarettes and tobacco and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regulates guns, yet social media companies are largely shielded from being held liable in court under Section 230 of Title 47 of the United States Code that was enacted as part of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.  “The bottom line is you can’t be sued. You should be. And these emails would be great for punitive damages,” Graham said, referencing Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., whom he dubbed the “dynamic duo” for recently releasing 90 pages of internal emails from fall 2021 showing top Meta officials weighing the addition of dozens of engineers and other employees to focus on children’s well-being and safety. The emails show that one proposal to Zuckerberg for 45 new staff members was declined. “But the courtroom’s closed to every American abused by all the companies in front of me. Of all the people in America we could give blanket liability protection to, this would be the last group I would pick. It is now time to repeal Section 230,” Graham said.  “We live in an America in 2024 where there is no regulatory body dealing with the most profitable, biggest companies in the history of the world,” Graham said. “They can’t be sued. And there’s not one law on the books that’s meaningful in protecting the American consumer.”  GOP AGS ASKS SUPREME COURT TO PEEL BACK CONTENT MODERATION FROM BIG TECH IN LANDMARK FIRST AMENDMENT CASE Zuckerberg did not address Graham’s “blood on your hands comment” directly in his own opening statement.  “Over the last eight years, we’ve built more than 30 different tools, resources and features that parents can set time limits for their teens using our apps, see who they’re following, or if they report someone for bullying,” Zuckerberg said in part.  “Mental health is a complex issue and the existing body of scientific work has not shown a causal link between using social media and young people having worse mental health outcomes. A recent National Academies of Science report evaluated over 300 studies and found that research, quote, ‘did not support the conclusion that social media causes changes in adolescent mental health and also suggested that social media can provide significant positive benefits when young people use it to express themselves, explore and connect with others.’” he said.  “Still, we’re going to continue to monitor the research and use it to inform our roadmap. Keeping people safe has been a challenge since the Internet began. As criminals evolve their tactics, we have to evolve our defenses to comply with law enforcement to find bad actors and help bring them to justice. But the difficult reality is that no matter how much we invest or how effective our tools are, there are always more. There’s always more to learn and more improvements to make.”  “We have around 40,000 people overall working on safety and security. We’ve invested more than $20 billion in this since 2016, including around $5 billion in the last year alone. We have many teams dedicated to child safety in all three and a lot of areas,” Zuckerberg said. “Parents should have the final say on what apps are appropriate for their children and shouldn’t have to upload their ID every time. That’s what app stores are for.” 

James Biden to appear for transcribed interview with House Oversight Committee in February

James Biden to appear for transcribed interview with House Oversight Committee in February

President Joe Biden’s younger brother, James Biden, will appear before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 21 for a transcribed interview. The younger Biden was subpoenaed as part of the investigation into Hunter Biden and President Biden in November. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing by the FBI.  House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into President Biden believe that James has knowledge of Hunter’s business deals and whether the president was involved.  HOUSE REPUBLICANS NEGOTIATE WITH PRESIDENT’S BROTHER ON DEPOSITION TERMS In December, The Washington Post reported that James Biden’s discussions were monitored in an FBI investigation, although he wasn’t the focus of it. The FBI recorded Biden’s conversations due to his association with Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, a Mississippi attorney convicted of bribery involving a judge, as part of the investigation. “I’m going to hold off criticism of the president’s brother. He obviously has due process and we have heard from his attorney. We’re trying to make that work and I feel like that’ll happen soon,” House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said last month. This is a breaking story, check back for updates.  Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report. 

Blue-state Republicans score commitment from Johnson on SALT vote after House floor protest: sources

Blue-state Republicans score commitment from Johnson on SALT vote after House floor protest: sources

House GOP leaders committed to putting a targeted tax bill up for a House floor vote next week to appease blue-state Republicans who were angry over its exclusion from a bipartisan tax deal expected to pass Wednesday, sources told Fox News Digital. A group of New York Republicans almost tanked a normally sleepy procedural vote known as a “rule” vote on Tuesday in a protest of the bipartisan legislation announced earlier this week. They were frustrated it did not address the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, an issue that’s critical to Republicans in the politically fickle suburbs outside of major cities like New York City and Los Angeles. They also were furious at being sidelined by GOP leaders’ decision to have the tax deal bypass its own procedural hurdle and get a vote under suspension of the rules, likely out of concern for similar protests. JOHNSON CAUGHT BETWEEN WARRING HOUSE GOP FACTIONS: ‘DRIFTING TOWARD MOB RULE’ But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., narrowly avoided disaster on Tuesday afternoon when the four Republican rebels switched their votes from “no” to “yes,” passing the rule along party lines. It’s a rare mutiny from Johnson’s moderate flank, in contrast with the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, which has weaponized several rule votes this term. Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., one of the Republicans who protested, told reporters afterward that Johnson committed to meeting with members of the “SALT caucus” to find a possible way forward. CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS STRIKE DEAL TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINES What resulted from those hours of meetings was a promise by Johnson and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., to bring a separate SALT deduction cap bill to the floor aimed at removing the statute’s “marriage penalty,” according to two sources familiar with the discussions. It would raise the maximum cap to $20,000 for married couples filing jointly, versus the current $10,000 limit that applies to both single and joint returns, according to one of the sources. The proposal would also be aimed at providing more targeted relief for middle class families, the source said. Further details were not immediately available. There was no cap on state and local levies people could deduct from their federal taxes before 2017, when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed. The SALT deduction cap is a politically contentious issue and is unique in that it does not fall evenly across party lines.  HOUSE GOP ERUPTS IN DIVISION OVER CALL TO PUSH JOHNSON OUT OF SPEAKERSHIP: ‘WORKING FOR JOE BIDEN’ Republicans in places like New York and California have argued that it provides necessary relief for middle-class families living in expensive areas.  Lawmakers in more rural areas claim it further lines the pockets of high-income earners – a concern the new targeted proposal is seeking to alleviate. Meanwhile, Republicans from districts affected by the SALT cap have warned that Congress’ action on the issue – or lack thereof – could decide who holds the House of Representatives next year. “We can address this right now, on our terms, get a win out of it politically,” Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital last week. “Or we can do nothing, lose potentially a lot of races because we passed this opportunity to address SALT, which is very important to New York and California, and then try to have a conversation about the new policies when… we’ve lost the majority because we passed this opportunity to help the swing district members get a win on the SALT cap.”  Fox News Digital reached out to the Ways & Means Committee and the speaker’s office for comment.

Israeli soldiers taunt Palestinians at Gaza checkpoint

Israeli soldiers taunt Palestinians at Gaza checkpoint

NewsFeed Israeli soldiers can be heard taunting Palestinian women and children as they passed by a checkpoint to monitor people being forcibly displaced in southern Gaza. The soldiers are also heard mocking leaders of Hamas over the loudspeaker. Published On 31 Jan 202431 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)

Russia and Ukraine complete first prisoner exchange since plane crash

Russia and Ukraine complete first prisoner exchange since plane crash

The crash of a plane carrying prisoners of war had cast doubt on the future of prisoner exchanges. Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, in the first prisoner swap since the crash last week of a Russian military transport plane that Moscow says was carrying 65 Ukrainian soldiers. The Russian Ministry of Defence said that each side got 195 soldiers back and that its soldiers would be flown to Moscow to receive medical and psychological treatment. “On January 31, as a result of the negotiation process, 195 Russian servicemen who were in mortal danger in captivity were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In return, exactly 195 prisoners from the armed forces of Ukraine were handed over,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement. It was cited by the RIA state news agency as saying that the United Arab Emirates had played a role in brokering the deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his official account on X that it was one of the biggest swaps so far. He gave a slightly higher number for the number of Ukrainians returned. “Our people are back. 207 of them. We return them home no matter what,” said Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s governmental body in charge of POWs said that this was the 50th prisoner exchange of its kind. It returned home soldiers involved in the defence of the cities of Mariupol and Kherson, as well as soldiers captured by Russia on Snake Island in the Black Sea. The body said marines and combat medics were among those handed back and that 36 of the returned Ukrainians had injuries or serious illnesses. The two countries have carried out periodic prisoner swaps via intermediaries since the war began nearly two years ago, despite the absence of any peace talks between them since the early months of the conflict. The latest and biggest exchange was on January 3, when they traded a total of 478 captives following mediation by the UAE. The crash on January 24 of a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 plane in a field before a similar planned swap had thrown doubt on the future of prisoner exchanges between the two sides. Moscow said Ukrainian soldiers being carried to a scheduled exchange were killed when the plane was shot down by Kyiv’s forces. Kyiv has not outright denied Moscow’s version of events but questioned whether captured Ukrainian soldiers were actually on board. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that a US-made Patriot missile was used to shoot down the military cargo plane. “The plane was shot down, it has already been established for certain, by an American Patriot system,” Putin said in a televised appearance. Adblock test (Why?)

‘Unwaveringly loyal’: Why El Salvador’s Bukele is poised for reelection

‘Unwaveringly loyal’: Why El Salvador’s Bukele is poised for reelection

San Salvador, El Salvador – He suspended civil liberties. Led a mass incarceration effort. And provoked international criticism for human rights violations. But five years after he was first elected, President Nayib Bukele appears on track to secure a second term in office when El Salvador holds its general elections on Sunday. An estimated 69.9 percent of voters approve of his reelection bid, despite questions about its constitutionality: Before Bukele, presidents in El Salvador had historically been limited to one term. Bukele himself has embraced the condemnation he faces, labelling himself “the world’s coolest dictator”. “On the surface, his base appears unwaveringly loyal to him even if he implements policies that negatively impact a large number of people,” said Rafael Paz Narvaez, a professor from the University of El Salvador. Still, despite Bukele’s solid base of support, some observers question how long voters will back his strongman approach, particularly as more and more people feel its sting. Under Bukele, El Salvador has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, with an estimated 2 percent of its adult population behind bars. The country once had one of the highest homicide rates too: In 2015, there were 105 murders for every 100,000 residents, a towering sum. But Bukele has credited his “mano dura” or “iron fist” tactics for causing that number to tumble to just 7.8 homicides out of every 100,000 people — the lowest in Central America. Soldiers patrol the historic centre of San Salvador, El Salvador, on January 25 [Camilo Freedman/Al Jazeera] Security a primary concern That argument has proven compelling for many Salvadorans, who have struggled with decades of widespread gang violence. Douglas Guzmán, 35, counts himself among Bukele’s ardent supporters. Wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with the slogan “Bukele 2024-2029”, he recently joined dozens of people to watch the daily performance of street dancers in the Libertad Plaza, part of downtown San Salvador. “This square used to be deserted because of how dangerous it used to be, but now thousands of people come to enjoy life,” Guzmán told Al Jazeera. Gúzman arrived at the plaza with a selfie stick: He is part of an online community of content creators who use social media platforms like TikTok to preach their support for Bukele. When asked about the accusations of human rights abuses under Bukele, Gúzman was quick to dismiss the reports. “It doesn’t matter if they want to write negative things about the president,” he said of Bukele’s critics, among them non-governmental organisations (NGOs). “I’ve walked through the dangerous communities, and until those NGOs walk through those streets, they won’t understand that this isn’t what they’re calling human rights violations.” He emphasised that life had improved since Bukele took office in 2019. “The government is finally valuing human life. Bukele is saving the lives of Salvadorans.” Douglas, 35, livestreams people dancing at Libertad Plaza on January 25 in San Salvador, El Salvador [Camilo Freedman/Al Jazeera] An ongoing state of emergency Bukele’s ascent to the presidency marked a shift in Salvadoran politics. Only 37 years old at the time of his first presidential campaign, Bukele positioned himself as a political outsider, opposed by major parties on the right and left. His inauguration five years ago made him the youngest president in Latin America, and he proceeded to make good on his ambitions of shaking up the status quo. Some of his policies were aimed at shoring up El Salvador’s struggling economy: Under Bukele, for instance, the country started to accept the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender. But his signature issue has been his crackdown on crime. In 2022, Bukele declared an ongoing state of emergency to stamp out gang violence. The designation curtailed certain rights — including the rights to due process and public gatherings — and expanded the government’s authority to surveil, arrest and prosecute suspected gang members. An estimated 75,163 people have been arrested since then, according to government figures. Bukele’s administration also opened last year a new mega-prison, designed to house 40,000 people. In addition to the state of emergency, El Salvador’s legislative assembly — controlled by Bukele’s New Ideas party — approved a series of judicial reforms last July that gave prosecutors the ability to conduct mass trials. A mural depicting President Nayib Bukele is seen on the side of an apartment complex on January 26 in Mejicanos, El Salvador [Camilo Freedman/Al Jazeera] Under the reforms, up to 900 people could be tried at once, limiting their ability to prove their innocence. That tough-on-crime approach has formed the centrepiece for Bukele’s reelection campaign, as well as those of his fellow party members. To maintain his party’s hold over the legislature, Bukele has narrated radio advertisements, warning: “If we lose one Congress member, the opposition will let all gang members free.” Other party officials have echoed similar themes, playing on fears that the country could return to the high rates of crime it saw before. For instance, Christian Guevara, the head of the New Ideas caucus in Congress, posted on social media, “The opposition has already said it would open the prison doors and let [suspected criminals] free.” Narvaez, however, said that Bukele’s popularity is buoyed in part by his government communications strategy, one that has heavily invested state-run news sources and social media. Bukele himself is renowned for his media savvy: On the social media platform X alone, he has more than 5.8 million followers. “The Salvadoran people are grateful to not have to pay extortion any more. They’re grateful to be able to roam around the city with peace, but this is a feeling that has been constructed through the usage of public funds for Bukele’s propaganda machine,” Narvaez explained. “As long as undemocratic actions can be justified as bolstering Bukele’s carefully crafted image, they will continue to be applied, not only with no significant backlash from the other state powers but with their compliance.” Demonstrators from the organisation MOVIR protest against the state of emergency on November 18 in San Salvador,