Latest news with #Obama-era
Int'l Business Times
13 hours ago
- Health
- Int'l Business Times
Poll Suggests Republicans Do The Unthinkable to Keep House Majority Through Midterms
A new poll suggests that Republicans key to keeping the House majority may lie in embracing an Obama-era policy, as voters worry about healthcare coverage, according to a new poll. Originally passed under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, individuals who purchase health insurance themselves are eligible for healthcare premium tax credits . However, that credit is set to expire this year. According to a new poll by Fabrizio Ward , if Republicans were to extend that tax credit, it could help them better compete with Democrats, who are currently leading by three points over the typical Republican, and by seven points with motivated voters. Though the tax credit was initially passed during the Obama administration and amended under the Biden administration with the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the tax credit has bipartisan support. When asked about creating tax credits to help make it more affordable for families to buy health insurance, 79% of all participants supported the idea. Voters of President Donald Trump supported the proposal by 68%, while swing voters and those who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris supported it by 78% and 91% respectively. A Republican who supports extending the tax credit could sway voters in their favor, extending their lead over Democrats six points on a generic ballot, and four points for motivated voters, according to the poll. But if Republicans allow the credit to expire, they face falling behind Democrats by 15 points. The poll also found that the majority of voters want Americans to have healthcare coverage. When the poll added that potentially 5 million Americans could lose coverage if the tax credit expires, 73% of all participants said Congress should extend the tax credit, with 56% of Trump voters and 69% of swing voters agreeing with the sentiment. Trump's "big, beautiful bill," which passed Congress earlier this month, includes steep cuts to Medicaid. In the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office estimates up to 11.8 million Americans could lose coverage, CBS News reported. The cuts were met with intense backlash from Democrats and even caution from some Republicans. As the 2026 midterm elections approach, healthcare coverage is expected to be a major talking point among candidates and constituents. Originally published on Latin Times
Politico
a day ago
- Politics
- Politico
Senate confirms first new judge of Trump's second term
The Senate has voted to confirm the first judicial nominee of Donald Trump's second term, marking the resumption of the president's longstanding campaign to install a conservative tilt across the federal judiciary. Whitney Hermandorfer was confirmed in a 46-42 vote along party lines to replace an Obama-era appointee on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals — pushing the court which hears appeals from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee further to the right. Trump has long indicated he expects a level of enduring loyalty from his picks to the federal bench, calling them 'my judges.' But the Senate vote also follows an aggressive campaign from Trump allies to target existing judges whose rulings have created obstacles to the administration's agenda, culminating in calls for their impeachment. The House never pursued those impeachment resolutions. And efforts to hamstring the power of district court judges — including by limiting their ability to issue injunctions with sweeping, nationwide implications — have also proved fruitless, after the provisions were stripped from Trump's landmark domestic policy bill signed into law earlier this month. In Trump's first term, the vast transformation of the federal judiciary was a marquee accomplishment. He nominated hundreds of judges to the federal bench, buoyed by changes to Senate rules that facilitated their swift confirmation. Now, relatively few seats remain for Trump to fill, after former President Joe Biden also nominated and succeeded in seating hundreds of judges. Official U.S. courts data show roughly 49 existing vacancies. A graduate of Princeton University and George Washington University Law School, Hermandorfer clerked for Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett and then-D.C. Circuit judge Brett Kavanaugh. She has served as director of the Strategic Litigation Unit of the Tennessee Attorney General's office and defended the state's near-total abortion ban along with its prohibition on gender-affirming care for minors. In his announcement of her nomination, Trump called Hermandorfer 'a staunch defender of Girls' and Women's Sports.' Democrats and their allies argued that Hermandorfer, who graduated law school in 2015, lacked the professional experience to hold a lifetime appointment on the powerful appeals court and criticized her work on the frontlines of conservative culture wars. Democratic Senators voted in unison to reject her nomination.
3 days ago
- Politics
A court called off a key 9/11 suspect's plea deal. Here's where the case stands
NEW YORK -- The United States' long legal case against accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed remains in limbo after an appeals court this week scrapped a plea deal that the government had negotiated but had later withdrawn. Essentially, the ruling leaves the case on track for trial before a military commission. It is unclear when that might happen. Here's what to know about the case and how it got here: Mohammed is accused of developing and directing al-Qaida's plot to crash hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Another of the hijacked planes flew into a field in Pennsylvania. In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in one of the deadliest attacks ever on the United States. Mohammed was arrested in 2003 in Pakistan and eventually taken to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. At the time, it was where the U.S. held hundreds of men captured in President George W. Bush's 'war on terror.' Military prosecutors filed charges in 2008 against Mohammed and some co-defendants. After an Obama-era plan to try them in a civilian court in New York collapsed, the case remained with the military commission. The case dragged on through years of legal and logistical challenges. A major point of contention has been how much the evidence and case have been tainted by the men's torture while in CIA custody during the first years after their capture. Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times. Military prosecutors and defense lawyers began plea talks several years ago. Last year, Mohammed and two others agreed to plead guilty, under an agreement that would have led to life in prison instead of a potential death penalty. The deal also would have required the men to answer questions posed by Sept. 11 victims' relatives. Military prosecutors called the arrangement 'the best path to finality and justice.' Some 9/11 families also saw the deal as the best hope for bringing the painful case to a conclusion and getting some answers from the defendants. But other victims' relatives said a trial was the right way to get justice and information, and some saw the plea deal as capitulation. Republican lawmakers also criticized the agreement, negotiated during Democratic President Joe Biden's administration. Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin soon rescinded the deal, saying that victims' relatives, U.S. troops and the American public ' deserve the opportunity ' to see military commission trials play out. Defense attorneys and the government wrangled in various courts over whether Austin was legally able to scrap the deal. It was on-again, off-again for months. A panel of appeals judges put it on hold in January and then, on Friday, issued 2-1 ruling saying that Austin had the authority to rescind the agreement. The order bars the military judge from taking any guilty pleas under the now-undone deal. It is not clear whether defense lawyers plan to appeal. A message seeking comment was sent Saturday to Mohammed's attorneys. Without a plea deal, the case would once again be back in the pretrial stage within the military commission system, with the legal and logistical complications that it has faced. Questions about whether the men's torture would prevent the use of evidence, including statements they made, are yet to be resolved.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
A court called off a key 9/11 suspect's plea deal. Here's where the case stands
NEW YORK (AP) — The United States' long legal case against accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed remains in limbo after an appeals court this week scrapped a plea deal that the government had negotiated but had later withdrawn. Essentially, the ruling leaves the case on track for trial before a military commission. It is unclear when that might happen. Here's what to know about the case and how it got here: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused mastermind of 9/11 Mohammed is accused of developing and directing al-Qaida's plot to crash hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Another of the hijacked planes flew into a field in Pennsylvania. In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in one of the deadliest attacks ever on the United States. Mohammed was arrested in 2003 in Pakistan and eventually taken to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. At the time, it was where the U.S. held hundreds of men captured in President George W. Bush's 'war on terror.' Military prosecutors filed charges in 2008 against Mohammed and some co-defendants. After an Obama-era plan to try them in a civilian court in New York collapsed, the case remained with the military commission. The case dragged on through years of legal and logistical challenges. A major point of contention has been how much the evidence and case have been tainted by the men's torture while in CIA custody during the first years after their capture. Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times. The plea deal called for life in prison Military prosecutors and defense lawyers began plea talks several years ago. Last year, Mohammed and two others agreed to plead guilty, under an agreement that would have led to life in prison instead of a potential death penalty. The deal also would have required the men to answer questions posed by Sept. 11 victims' relatives. Military prosecutors called the arrangement 'the best path to finality and justice.' Some 9/11 families also saw the deal as the best hope for bringing the painful case to a conclusion and getting some answers from the defendants. But other victims' relatives said a trial was the right way to get justice and information, and some saw the plea deal as capitulation. Republican lawmakers also criticized the agreement, negotiated during Democratic President Joe Biden's administration. Defense secretary withdrew the plea deal Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin soon rescinded the deal, saying that victims' relatives, U.S. troops and the American public ' deserve the opportunity ' to see military commission trials play out. Defense attorneys and the government wrangled in various courts over whether Austin was legally able to scrap the deal. It was on-again, off-again for months. A panel of appeals judges put it on hold in January and then, on Friday, issued 2-1 ruling saying that Austin had the authority to rescind the agreement. The order bars the military judge from taking any guilty pleas under the now-undone deal. The case could be headed to pretrial stage It is not clear whether defense lawyers plan to appeal. A message seeking comment was sent Saturday to Mohammed's attorneys. Without a plea deal, the case would once again be back in the pretrial stage within the military commission system, with the legal and logistical complications that it has faced. Questions about whether the men's torture would prevent the use of evidence, including statements they made, are yet to be resolved.
Euronews
5 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
Hoekstra warns Trump policy is a 'major blow' to climate efforts
The Trump administration's reversal of climate policy will have "significant consequences" for the future, EU Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra has said. The EU recently outlined its path to attaining 90% net reduction in greenhouse gasses by 2040. Europe is the fastest warming continent with dramatic weather events – from floods to drought -already unfolding across several member states. Hoekstra says the US pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord is a "major blow" to international efforts to tackle climate change. US President Donald Trump fundamentally changed America's climate change policy when, for the second time, he withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord. In addition, the Trump administration reversed an Obama-era clean power plan aimed at reducing carbon emissions from power plants and rolled back emissions standards for vehicles. Although the EU says it is pressing ahead with its plans to deal with global warming, the overall ability for the world to tackle the issue is limited due to the about turn by the US, Hoekstra told Euronews. As the world's second largest emitter of CO2 gas, its "clearly deeply unfortunate and a major blow to international effort", Hoekstra said. "Climate change doesn't discriminate. It doesn't matter for the heating up of the planet where CO2 is being pumped into the air. And if then the second largest emitter, the most formidable power across the globe in geopolitical terms, and the largest economy basically says, well, thanks but no thanks, we no longer play ball. That is, of course, something that has very significant consequences," he said. But Hoekstra says all might not be lost if US investors see the dividends from technologies in the green tech sector. He says the private sector will be useful in paving the way for innovation and delivery of better, greener technologies which will help the environment. "My read is that you will see in the US that whenever an investment in, for example, cleantech pays off, and as a side effect is also something that is good for climate, businesses are not gonna stop it," he said. Hoekstra also points out that Europe needs to grasp this opportunity to win back or attract innovation to the continent in the growing, green technology sector though major European investment and a functioning capital markets system across the EU. "We need to reshape the landscape in such a way that innovation can flourish across Europe and that will take huge steps in terms of the capital markets union," he said. It will take "way more investments from businesses and governments alike in tech and in AI," he said.
