Your First Look at Today's Top Stories

Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.

Sponsored By

DaybreakInsider.com

Friday, January 19, 2024

Senate Passes Short-Term Spending Bill to Keep Government Open

Washington Post: The Senate on Thursday passed legislation to keep the federal government open into March, kicking the measure to the House as Congress continues its struggle to approve long-term spending laws. The bill, which passed 77-18, would extend federal funding deadlines to March 1 and March 8. Otherwise, money for roughly 20 percent of the government — including the Transportation Department, some veterans’ assistance and food and drug safety programs — is set to expire just after midnight Saturday morning. The remainder — which funds the Defense and State departments, among others critical functions — would expire on Feb. 2 without the new extension (Washington Post). New York Times: The action in Congress would clear the measure for Mr. Biden, who is expected to quickly sign it before the midnight deadline on Friday. It would mark the third time since the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1 that Congress has extended spending on a temporary basis. Lawmakers in both parties hope it will be the last, and that Congress can finish up its spending business for the year by the beginning of March (New York Times).

Democrats Upset Biden is Willing to Deal with Republicans on Border Crisis

Messenger: Progressive Democrats on Thursday chided President Joe Biden for considering significant immigration policy changes in a secretive Senate-led border deal, which they charged is an effort to elevate his sagging poll numbers. “The only reason that we’re even entertaining these negotiations is because there are too many Democratic politicians who’ve seen the poll numbers, who see that we’re down 20 to 25 points on immigration,” Rep. Ro Khanna said Thursday morning outside the U.S Capitol while flanked by dozens of supporters toting signs reading “Save Asylum” and “No more racist border policies” (Messenger). Wall Street Journal: Biden’s willingness to negotiate with Republicans lays bare what many liberal Democrats have long feared—that he is willing to move to the right to cut a deal on immigration and secure funding for the wars. A CBS News poll conducted earlier this month found Biden’s approval rating on handling immigration issues to be at a record low, with 68% of those surveyed saying they disapproved of his border policies and 63% saying they wanted him to be tougher (Wall Street Journal).

U.S. Launches Strike Against Houthis, Destroys 14 Terrorist Missiles

National Review: The U.S. conducted its fourth round of air strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis on Wednesday in an attempt to prevent the terror group from continuing its campaign against commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The most recent U.S.-led retaliatory strikes destroyed 14 missiles and their launchers as the Houthis were preparing to fire them from Yemen. The strikes reportedly hit three locations in the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The U.S. has attacked Houthi militants four times in the past week (National Review). Associated Press: Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. would continue to take military action to prevent further attacks. “They are exploiting this situation to conduct attacks against the ships and vessels from more than 50 countries … around the world. And so we’re going to continue to work with our partners in the region to prevent those attacks or deter those attacks in the future,” Ryder said (Associated Press).

Asian Parents Sue New York’s STEP Program for Discriminatory Admission Practices

Daily Wire: A group of Asian parents filed a federal lawsuit this week claiming that New York’s state-funded STEM summer program is declining to accept their children in favor of black and Hispanic students. The parents sued New York’s Department of Education on Wednesday over the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), claiming that black and Hispanic kids are accepted to the program regardless of their income while Asian and white kids must show proof of their low-income status (Daily Wire). New York Post: In 1985, New York lawmakers passed legislation aimed at boosting interest in science, technology, and healthcare among low-income and underrepresented minority students — resulting in the creation of STEP, which earmarked public funds to 56 colleges, universities and medical schools statewide to instruct the younger students. Colleges host and operate STEP initiatives for 7th-to-12th-grade students that include instruction, exam preparation, hands-on and research training, college admissions guidance and career-focused activities such as field trips and college visits (New York Post).

Squad Member Proposes a $14 Trillion Reparations Measure Stating the U.S. Has “a moral and legal obligation”

Keep in mind, the US National debt sits at $34 trillion. Fox News: A New York lawmaker wants the federal government to push a $14 trillion reparations measure. The measure is touted by “Squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who wants the federal government to be held accountable for slavery and the aftermath of it. Bowman is among nine sponsors of H.R. 414, which seeks to establish that the U.S. has “a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the enslavement of Africans and its lasting harm on the lives of millions of Black people in the United States.” The measure, introduced in 2023, would prompt the federal government to spend $14 trillion on a reparations program that would support the descendants of enslaved Black people and people of African descent. Blacks make up 12% of the population in the U.S. (Fox News). Daily Mail: The $14 trillion sum would represent well over half the United States’ entire economy. The federal government spent about $7 trillion in 2020, about 28 percent of the nation’s $25 trillion economy. Bowman argued that the federal government could ‘find’ the cash – citing the response to the COVID pandemic as proof (Daily Mail). We are in massive, crippling debt as a result of COVID.

Arab Nations Propose Israel-Hamas Peace Plan Which Would Recognize Palestinian State

Financial Times: Arab states are working on an initiative to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza as part of a broader plan that could offer Israel a normalization of relations if it agrees to “irreversible” steps towards the creation of a Palestinian state (Financial Times). Jerusalem Post: A condition of the deal would be that the US and European governments would formally agree to recognize a Palestinian state. The state would then be allowed full membership in the United Nations (Jerusalem Post). Times of Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly rejected a proposal from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that would have seen Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel in exchange for Jerusalem agreeing to provide the Palestinians with a pathway toward statehood (Times of Israel).

Pakistan Launches Retaliatory Airstrikes on Iranian Militants

Border tensions in the Middle East flare. Reuters: Pakistan launched strikes on separatist militants inside Iran on Thursday, in a retaliatory attack two days after Tehran said it struck the bases of another group within Pakistani territory. Iranian media said several missiles hit a village in the Sistan-Baluchestan province that borders Pakistan, killing at least nine people, including four children. The tit-for-tat strikes are the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years and have raised alarm over wider instability in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct. 7 (Reuters). CNN: The new strikes mean both Pakistan and Iran have now taken the extraordinary step of attacking militants on each other’s soil this week at a time of expanding conflict in the Middle East and wider region (CNN).

Fulton County DA Fani Willis Ordered to Hearing to Address Misconduct Allegations

National Review: A hearing will take place in Georgia next month over accusations that Fulton County District attorney Fani Willis and her lead prosecutor on the county’s election-interference case against former president Donald Trump had an improper relationship and mishandled taxpayer funds. The hearing is scheduled for February 15, according to an order from Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. Lawyers for Roman called for Willis and prosecutor Nathan Wade to be removed from the case and for the charges against Roman to be dismissed “on the grounds that the district attorney and the special prosecutor have been engaged in an improper, clandestine personal relationship during the pendency of this case, which has resulted in the special prosecutor, and, in turn, the district attorney, profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers.” Wade has been paid more than half a million dollars through his involvement in prosecuting the Trump election-interference case (National Review). Townhall: McAfee’s order appears to be forcing her to do so in televised court proceedings, a development that could at the least be embarrassing for the district attorney and at worst derail the investigation completely” (Townhall).

Drug Makers Drastically Increase Prices

Wall Street Journal: Drugmakers kicked off 2024 by raising the list prices for Ozempic, Mounjaro and dozens of other widely used medicines. Companies including Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, and Eli Lilly, which sells Mounjaro, raised list prices on 775 brand-name drugs during the first half of January. The median increase is higher than the rate of inflation, which ticked up to 3.4% in December. Among the notable increases: The price for Ozempic, a diabetes treatment that many people are taking to lose weight, went up by 3.5% to nearly $970 for a month’s supply. Mounjaro, a diabetes drug in the same class that is also widely used for weight loss, climbed 4.5% to almost $1,070 a month (Wall Street Journal). Daily Mail: Novo said the change was due to market conditions and inflation, while Lilly said it determines its prices based on a drug’s value, efficacy and safety. Companies normally increase the list prices of their products in the first few weeks of a new year. Some companies said the list price would not impact patients’ access to the drugs, because they will still be covered by insurance. However, premiums could still be inflated (Daily Mail).

10.

Macy’s Plans for Layoffs

Wall Street Journal: Macy’s plans to lay off about 13% of its corporate staff and close five stores in a bid to trim costs and redirect spending to improve the shopping experience for customers. The job cuts total roughly 2,350 positions, or 3.5% of Macy’s overall workforce excluding seasonal hires, according to a memo sent to employees Thursday afternoon and people familiar with the situation. Macy’s plans to add more automation to its supply chain and is outsourcing some roles, according to the memo, which didn’t specify which jobs. It’s also reducing management layers to speed decision-making (Wall Street Journal). CNN: The company opened its first Macy’s in 1858 and now operates about 500 Macy’s branded stores, as well as 55 of the more upscale Bloomingdale’s chain. Macy’s stock price has dropped 75% from a peak of $73 a share in 2015. Since then, it has closed nearly 300 stores — almost one third of its stores — and operates about 700 across its brands (CNN).