Korea Presidential Aide Pushes for Gradual Corporate Stock Plan
The proposal is part of a broader set of initiatives by President Lee Jae Myung — backed by lawmakers in his Democratic Party, which holds a legislative majority — to bolster the local stock market they view as undervalued compared to regional peers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
10 minutes ago
- UPI
State Department to burn birth control worth $9.7M meant for poor nations
The U.S. government plans to destroy $9.7 million of contraceptives for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the nation "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction." UPI file photo | License Photo July 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. government plans to destroy a stockpile of contraceptives worth $9.7 million for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the State Department "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction." The contraceptives include nearly 2 million doses of injectables, 900,000 implantable devices and more than 2 million oral packets, according to internal auditing in April obtained by The Washington Post. Chelsea Polis, a researcher with Guttsmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, told the newspaper that the contraceptives could provide more than 650,000 women with pregnancy protection for up to one year and 950,000 women for three years. U.S. laws and rules prohibit sending U.S. aid to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel about the procedure or advocate for the right overseas. "The State Department confirms that a preliminary decision was made to destroy certain abortifacient birth control commodities from terminated Biden-era USAID contracts," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Only a limited number of commodities have been approved for disposal. No HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." The destruction will cost $167,000, the spokesperson said. Most contraceptives have less than 70% of shelf life before expiration, the spokesperson said. The Guardian contacted an aide who visited the warehouse in Belgium and found the earliest expiration date was 2027. Two-thirds didn't have any labels. Belgium, the United Nations and humanitarian groups said they unsuccessfully stopped the destruction plans for the contraceptives. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump disbanded and merged into the State Department, was to have distributed them. They are part of a $9.5 billion program over 10 years to provide aid to more than 40 nations. The government said it based its decision on a policy that restricts funding for reproductive-related actions in the Mexico City Policy and the Kemp-Kasten amendment. President Ronald Reagan instituted the policy in 1985 and it has become a political issue. It has rescinded by Democratic presidents and reinstated by Republicans several times, including by President Donald Trump when he returned to office in January. A bipartisan group of U.S. legislators doesn't want the contraceptives to be destroyed, including Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. "This is a waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars and an abdication of U.S. global leadership in preventing unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and maternal deaths," said Shaheen, who in June sent a letter to the Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the matter. The U.N. Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Federation were interested in receiving the contraceptives. "UNFPA was in conversation with Chemonics about purchasing the contraceptives but didn't receive an answer from them," UNFPA spokesman Eddie Wright said. "It's the height of hypocrisy for a government to preach efficiency and cutting waste, only to turn around and recklessly destroy lifesaving supplies when the need has never been greater," Micah Grzywnowicz, regional director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network, said in a statement MSI Reproductive Choices offered to pay for shipping and repackaging. MSI provides abortion services. "The complete dismantling of the world's largest donor for international family planning has been a catastrophe for the global supply chain of contraceptives," said Sarah Shaw, associate director of advocacy and for the organization. Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced an increase in teen births, according to a study at Columbia University in 2024. The number of births climbed from 4.5 million births in 2000 to 6.1 million in 2021as they decreased in the rest of the world. In Africa, 30% of all woman use birth control but more than half would use it if available, according to DebboAfrica, a healthcare company for African women. Worldwide, around half of women of reproductive age of 15-19 use some form of contraception, according to Focus2030. Foreign aid cuts could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths by 2023, including two-thirds children, according to a study published in Lancet earlier this month. Congress earlier this month passed legislation to remove $8 billion in foreign assistance. The Atlantic reported earlier this month that 551 tons of emergency food were expiring and will be incinerated rather than being fed to almost 1.5 million children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Almost 800,000 Mpox vaccines to be sent to Africa also are not usable because they are past their expiration date, Politico reported earlier this month.
Miami Herald
28 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Calif., Illinois may fight new Texas congressional maps with their own
As the Texas Legislature plans to redraw congressional maps in an effort to increase Republican members in the U.S. House, the governors of California and Illinois may devise their own new borders. Traditionally, the boundaries are changed every 10 years with the latest U.S. Census data but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called a special legislative session after pressure from the White House to preserve the GOP majority in the U.S. House. President Donald Trump believes an additional five seats could be created by changing the borders. Of the state's 38 districts, 25 are held by Republicans. Democrats hold seats in big cities of Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, McAllen, San Antonio. Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Republicans hold a 219-212 advantage in the House with four vacancies -- three Democrats who died and one Republican who resigned this week. More than a dozen Texas House members flew to Illinois and California -- two blue states -- on Friday for a meeting with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzkeper, during which they revealed their intentions. 'Donald Trump called up Governor Abbott for one simple reason: to rig the 2026 elections. California's moral high ground means nothing if we're powerless because of it,' Newsom said after meeting with Democrats from the Texas House. 'This moment requires us to be prepared to fight fire with fire. Whether that's a special election, a ballot initiative, a bill, a fight in court. If they proceed in Texas, we will be ready.' 'This is not a bluff. This is real, and trust me, it's more real after listening to these leaders today, how existential this is,' Newsom said. As the most populous state in the nation, California has 43 Democratic members of the house and nine Republican members, while Illinois is represented by 14 Democrats and three Republicans. 'Everything is on the table,' Pritzer said. The Illinois governor said he doesn't want to redraw the maps but 'if they're going to take this drastic action, then we might also take drastic action to respond.' 'We want the country to understand [that] what's going on in Texas is a national battle,' State Rep. Richard Pena Raymond, a Democrat from Laredo, said. Raymond told Pritzner that redistricting is 'clearly aimed at affecting the entire country.' Responsibility for determining Congressional district maps differs from state to state. In California, an independent commission approved by voters in 2010 works on the maps. Illinois maps, on the other hand, are put together by the state lawmakers have been drawn strongly to favor the Democrat Party in the state. Newsom said he is considering having a referendum to change the rules before the 2026 election, unless the Legislature comes up with another solution, which would take two-thirds of legislators voting in favor of. 'We have to fight fire with fire,' Newsom said. Two other Democratic governors are considering new maps -- Phil Murphy in New Jersey and Kathy Hochul in New York. 'There's other states that are violating the rules,' Hochul said during a news conference on Thursday. 'I'm going to look at it closely with Hakeem Jeffries,' a New York member of the House, as well has House minority leader. In New York, Democrats have a 19-7 advantage as a result of their districting maps. 'It's deplorable,' Murphy said during an interview at the summer meeting of the bipartisan National Governors Association in Colorado Springs. 'If they're going to play these games, we're going to have to be just as aggressive. We can't bring a knife to a gunfight.' Democrats hold nine of the 12 seats in New Jersey. In Florida, the state Supreme Court on July 17 upheld its newest congressional map. He said he believes the state had been 'malappropriated' and redistricting 'would be appropriate' in a few years. Florida's congressional delegation is controlled by Republicans, 20-8. In Ohio, legislators are required to redraw maps before 2026. The GOP has 10 of the 15 seats. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is against redistricting more frequently. The state's maps are overseen by an independent commission and it's eight U.S. House seats are evenly split 4-4. Texas last redrew its borders in mid-cycle in 2003 after the GOP gained control of both chambers for the first time since Reconstruction. In Texas, Abbott noted a July 7 letter from the Justice Department that said majority Black and Hispanic districts in Dallas need to be redrawn based on a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit last year. The DOJ said those districts are 'unconstitutional racial gerrymanders,' but Abbott argued the opposite in 2021. In federal court in El Paso, he argued race had not been taken into account there. 'We are no longer compelled to have coalition districts,' Abbott said in an interview with KDFW in Dallas. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, appeared at a state House hearing. 'That's what's at stake here, whether you all are going to work for the people of Texas, as we used to do, to try to do, or whether you take your commandments from Donald Trump and the White House,' Castro said. 'I hope that you all will choose to do the business of the people of Texas, as this body has a history of being independent from the federal government.' Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Miami Herald
28 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
GOP field begins to emerge in 2026 race for Pennsylvania governor
Influential Republicans believe the perfect candidate to go up against popular Democratic incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro might be a woman who is a decorated veteran, has business chops and has already aced a state-level election by getting the most votes in Pennsylvania history. But will Stacy Garrity run? Virtually the entire Republican Party in Pennsylvania is waiting for the answer. The 2026 gubernatorial election race looms, and Garrity, the twice-elected state treasurer from Bradford County, has been the main focus of attention since U.S. Rep Dan Meuser removed himself from consideration. "I will have an announcement about the future of my career in service very soon," Garrity said when asked about her plans. Social media posts have hinted the 2022 Republican nominee, Sen. Doug Mastriano of Franklin County, might be thinking about another run. But attempts to obtain a comment from Mastriano were not successful, and higher-ups in the party say there has been little talk about the former nominee. "I have not heard a soul discuss that he is running, or should run, or that he would have any support," said Jason Richey, Allegheny County Republican Committee chairman and a former gubernatorial candidate himself. "I think Stacy is going to announce. I think she is going to run." State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward of Westmoreland County said she hopes Garrity will run. "She's a fighter. And she's smart. She's a really intelligent, thoughtful treasurer, and I think she would make a superb governor because she's got all the ingredients," Ward said. "I look forward to her announcement and being behind her 100%." And Melissa Hart, an attorney in Allegheny County and former Republican congresswoman, said Garrity has the "inner strength" to go up against Shapiro - widely regarded as a very tough opponent. While he has not yet formally announced a bid for reelection, recent polling has shown more than twice as many Pennsylvanians approve of Shapiro's job performance than disapprove. And his national prominence was underscored by a Thursday night appearance on Stephen Colbert's late-night television show. To Hart, who was once a state senator, hesitancy to declare candidacy is understandable. There's a "coarseness" in modern politics that did not used to be present, she said. Hence, the "enthusiasm for running for office is not as healthy as it should be," she said. Nonetheless, while Republican chatter focuses on an unannounced Garrity, other potential Republican candidates may be sitting on the sidelines, according to pollster Chris Borick. A political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Lehigh County, Borick said if Garrity chooses not to run, "you would probably see a bunch of candidates throw their hats in the ring." In 2024, Garrity beat Democratic challenger Erin McClelland in the state treasurer's race by a 52%-to-46% margin in a field with five candidates. Her total of more than 3.5 million votes was the largest ever for a state-level candidate in Pennsylvania history, observers said. The campaign raised eyebrows when Shapiro opted not to endorse McClelland, a fellow Democrat - a decision that may have been influenced by less-than-flattering social media posts made by McClelland concerning Shapiro. The only hat in the ring for Democrats in the May 19, 2026, primary will likely belong to the 52-year-old Shapiro. He will ride into the 2026 contest on a long string of election victories - for state representative, Montgomery County commissioner, attorney general, and governor. "Gov. Shapiro is in a very strong position, as most incumbent governors are," said former Republican state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman of Centre County. To date, Corman said, things "have gone very well" for Shapiro but a lot could happen before the November 2026 general election. In his first year on the job, Shapiro received a barrage of criticism from Republicans for a decision to line-item veto money for a voucher-style school scholarship program, a concept he had supported during during his election campaign. They have consistently attacked his spending proposals as unsustainable - one senator said a Shapiro budget would "bankrupt" the state - and more recently, Republicans have attacked what they describe as a lack of transparency in the use of taxpayer-funded airplanes. Some Republicans believe Shapiro's continued flirtation with a possible presidential run may sour some voters. "Gov. Shapiro has always had his eye on his next office," Ward said. "Everything he has done, as far as I am concerned, has been calculated into 'How does that affect his run for president.' And I don't think that's a positive for Pennsylvania." Since he was a finalist in Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' 2024 search for a running mate, Shapiro has remained on the national stage. A late June Emerson College poll put Shapiro in a tie for fourth when Democratic primary voters nationwide were asked about a potential 2028 presidential candidate. Both Shapiro and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez polled at 7%, behind former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg with 16%, Harris with 13%, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom with 12%. Shapiro will have national and state Democratic backing in the 2026 governor's race, according to state Sen. Jay Costa of Allegheny County, the top Democrat in the state Senate. Hanging on to the Pennsylvania governorship is "imperative" for the party, Costa said, and Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis of McKeesport comprise "a very strong, formidable team." Borick said that's a charge Republicans are sure to hurl at the governor regardless of who their candidate is. His likely response, Borick said, has already become apparent in his frequent appearances all over the state. "He is saying, 'Look at my job performance. Look at where I am. Look at what I am doing,'" Borick said. As July nears to a close, Shapiro is bogged down in closed-door negotiations for a state budget that had a deadline of June 30. How long it takes and how the spending plan is perceived will influence the upcoming campaign, multiple observers said. And even though Garrity has not declared her intentions, friction has developed between supporters of Shapiro and those who plan to back Garrity. Earlier this month, a Philadelphia-area union official said on social media that if Garrity ran for governor, she would never again have support from the union, "not even for county dog catcher." That and other comments raised the ire of Ward and other women in the Senate Republican caucus, who claimed they were sexist and meant to intimidate. Costa, who said he saw the posts, rejected that notion and said the wording did not convey the message Republicans were trying to attach to it. Shapiro was asked about it during a public appearance on Wednesday, and he brushed it off. "Here is what I know to be true. The Republicans will nominate someone to run against me for governor. Let them play that out - that deals with their politics on their side. I am going to continue doing my job, governing for all Pennsylvanians," he said. That response drew more fire from Republican women in the Senate, who believed he failed to address the issue. Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, said it was a "masterful" dodge of the topic. Shapiro's win by more than 700,000 votes over Mastriano in 2022 came after the senator was the top vote-getter in a bruising, nine-way primary. The state Republican party wants to avoid a repeat of the chaotic scenario. Its communications director, James Markley, said the GOP is working to narrow Democrats' registration advantage, which he put at less than than 70,000 "active" voters. The goal, he said, is to provide the eventual nominee with "the strongest infrastructure possible" for the campaign. Garrity worked at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. in Towanda in Bradford County for decades - eventually becoming a corporate vice president - but also served a full career in the Army Reserve, with three deployments. Markley said Garrity has produced "real results" in multiple aspects of her life. And Borick, the pollster, said an opt-in from Garrity would set up a fascinating match. "We don't see this very often in Pennsylvania politics - where you get two clear party stars to face off." _____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
