Hochul vows redistricting in New York as she condemns 'insurrection' in Texas
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Speaker Mike Johnson visits occupied West Bank to support Israeli settlers
Mike Johnson became the highest ranked US official to visit the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Republican House speaker drawing measures of praise and condemnation for his trip in support of Israeli settlements amid a worsening starvation crisis in Gaza. The excursion followed Johnson's arrival in Israel on Sunday on an unannounced visit with other Republican lawmakers, and his meeting with Israeli defense minister Israel Katz and foreign minister Gideon Saar. Johnson's visit to the West Bank is the highest profile by a senior US political figure since then secretary of state Mike Pompeo went to Psogat in November 2020 during the final months of Donald Trump's first presidency. It is a private trip hosted by a pro-Israel advocacy group, an Axios report said, and not an official congressional delegation. The outlet said Johnson traveled with fellow Republican representatives Michael McCaul, Nathaniel Moran and Michael Cloud of Texas, and Claudia Tenney of New York. Johnson told Israeli settlers on Monday that Israel was the 'rightful owner' of the contested Palestinian territory, according to a report published on the pro-Palestinian website Common Dreams, and separately, Marc Zell, chair of Republicans Overseas Israel. Common Dreams quoted Johnson as saying that 'the mountains of Judea and Samaria are the rightful property of the Jewish people' and that the territory was at 'the front line of the state of Israel, and must remain an integral part of it'. 'Even if the world thinks otherwise, we stand with you,' he reportedly added, an apparent reference to recent proclamations by France and the UK that they would recognize a Palestinian state if Israel did not commit to a ceasefire in Gaza. His visit was immediately condemned by the Palestinian foreign ministry, which issued a statement calling Israel's annexation of the West Bank a 'blatant violation of international law'. Johnson's stance in support of the settlers, it said, 'undermines Arab and American efforts to stop the war and [the] cycle of violence, while flagrantly contradicting the declared US position on settlements and settler violence'. According to a post on X by Zell, Johnson also said the US should use the 250th anniversary of its independence next year 'to remind the American people of its Judeo-Christian foundations that were formed here in the land of Israel'. Johnson's trip comes as pressure builds on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the growing hunger crisis in Gaza, which some critics have called a genocide orchestrated by Israel. It also comes shortly after a Palestinian American from Florida was killed in the West Bank by Israeli settlers while visiting family. The Trump-appointed ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, called the killing a 'terrorist attack'. Johnson is expected to meet Netanyahu before returning to the US on Sunday. Solve the daily Crossword
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Texas House issues arrest warrants for Democrats who left state to block congressional redistricting
The Texas House voted Monday afternoon to track down and arrest more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who were not present when the chamber gaveled in. After the 85-6 vote, House Speaker Dustin Burrows said he would immediately sign civil warrants for each of the legislators, empowering the chamber's sergeant-at-arms and state troopers to arrest and bring them to the Capitol. They will not face civil or criminal charges from the arrests. The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts to forestall passage of the GOP's proposed redraw of Texas' congressional map. The House used the same tactic to try to force Democrats back to work in 2021, when a majority of them left for Washington, D.C., to protest GOP voting restrictions. Some of the lawmakers challenged the warrants in court, obtaining an injunction against arrests that was later struck down by the Texas Supreme Court. While the Texas Constitution 'enables 'quorum-breaking' by a minority faction of the legislature, it likewise authorizes 'quorum-forcing' by the remaining members,' the court ruled. Rep. Charlie Geren, a Republican from Fort Worth, laid the groundwork for the warrants by motioning for a 'call of the House,' which requires all members to stay within the chamber unless excused. Any members not present can be 'sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found,' by the sergeant-at-arms, according to House rules. Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement he had mobilized the Texas Department of Public Safety to assist in the effort to bring the missing members back to the chamber. Democrats left the state Sunday afternoon to deny the House a quorum — the number of people necessary for the chamber to advance legislation — and delay passage of a new congressional map. The current congressional map, drawn by a Republican-dominated Legislature in 2021, has netted 25 GOP seats in the last two elections. But after pressure from President Donald Trump's team, Gov. Greg Abbott directed lawmakers to redraw the map during the special legislative session, which started July 21. Last week, the House proposed new congressional lines dividing up existing districts in Austin, Houston and Dallas with the aim of netting five more Republican seats. 'This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,' state Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement Sunday, accusing Abbott of 'using an intentionally racist map to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal.' On the House floor Monday, Burrows condemned the members who had left, saying they had 'shirked their responsibilities,' and thanked the 90 members who were present. 'You understand that the issues before us, disaster recovery, fighting for the families who lost loved ones in the floods, human trafficking and more, are not abstract policy debates,' Burrows said. 'Instead of confronting those challenges, some of our colleagues have fled the state and their duty.' The departed House members will face fines of $500 for each day that they miss, as well as the threat of reprimand, censure and expulsion, although that would require a two-thirds vote among members. Abbott said Sunday evening that if the Democrats did not return to Austin by 3 p.m. Monday, he would begin the legal process to have their seats declared vacant. This would be an unprecedented and, legal experts say, likely futile effort requiring individual lawsuits against each member and new elections to fill their seats. At a press conference after the House adjourned, Burrows declined to comment on whether he agreed that removal was a viable option. 'As a lawyer, I try not to give legal answers without actually studying and knowing all of the facts and the law,' he said. Some Republicans demanded Burrows strip Democrats of their roles as vice-chairs of House committees, remove them from chamber seniority and kick them out of their offices, or even consider redrawing state House maps to disadvantage Democratic districts. The House adjourned without taking any further action against the Democrats, who have vowed to stay out-of-state long enough for the 30-day special session to expire in two weeks. The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow! Be there when all-star leaders, innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin, Nov. 13–15. The newest additions include comedian, actor and writer John Mulaney; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher; and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
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FACT FOCUS: Trump says he's cut drug prices by up to 1,500%. That's not possible
Days after he sent letters instructing top pharmaceutical manufacturers to use a 'most favored nation' pricing model for prescription drugs, President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that he had cut costs by up to 1,500%. But Trump's grandiose claim is mathematically impossible. Here's a closer look at the facts. TRUMP: "You know, we've cut drug prices by 1,200, 1,300, 1,400, 1,500%. I don't mean 50%, I mean 14 — 1,500%.' THE FACTS: This is false. Cutting drug prices by more than 100% would theoretically mean that people are being paid to take medications. The Trump administration has taken steps to lower prescription drug prices, but experts say there's no indication costs have seen such a massive drop. Geoffrey Joyce, director of health policy at the University of Southern California's Schaeffer Center, called Trump's claim 'total fiction' made up by the Republican president. He agreed that it would amount to drug companies paying customers, rather than the other way around. 'I find it really difficult to translate those numbers into some actual estimates that patients would see at the pharmacy counter,' said Mariana Socal, an associate professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University who studies the U.S. pharmaceutical market. She added that Trump's math is 'really hard to follow.' Asked what Trump was using to back up his claim, White House spokesman Kush Desai said: 'It's an objective fact that Americans are paying exponentially more for the same exact drugs as people in other developed countries pay, and it's an objective fact that no other Administration has done more to rectify this unfair burden for the American people.' The White House provided a chart of price differentials for drugs in the U.S. and comparable countries, but did not offer any other evidence. On Sunday, Trump also described cuts to drug prices as a future development, not that already happened. 'So we'll be dropping drug prices,' he said. 'It will start over the next two to three months by 1,200, 1,300 and even 1,400%.' Prices for most prescription drugs — unbranded generics are the exception — are higher in the U.S. than they are in other high-income countries. This is in large part due to the way drug prices are negotiated in the United States. Trump made his recent appeal in letters to 17 pharmaceutical manufacturers, the White House announced last week. He asked them to reduce costs in the U.S. by matching the lowest prices of prescriptions drugs in other comparably developed countries. Some drugmakers have since indicated that they are open to cutting costs. This move follows an executive order Trump signed in May setting a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices in the U.S. or face new limits in the future over what the government will pay. The federal government has the most power to shape the price it pays for drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid. It's unclear what — if any — impact the Trump administration's efforts will have on millions of Americans who have private health insurance. Socal pointed out that if drug manufacturers had cut costs to the extent Trump claims, they would be shouting it from the rooftops, especially given the heat they've taken over the years for their pricing practices. 'My expectation would be that they would make announcements — public announcements — and that those announcements would come way in advance of the actual effective dates when those price cuts would come into effect,' she said. Joyce agreed that there has been no indication of a substantial cut. 'Not at all, not at all, none whatsoever,' he said. 'And let alone 1,500.' ___ Find AP Fact Checks here:
