Friday, January 17, 2025
■ Today's Top News
"Israel chose not to go to war simply against Hamas, but has instead waged an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people," Sanders wrote.
By Eloise Goldsmith
With a cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel set to go into effect as soon as Sunday, Senator Bernie Sanders released a statement Friday saying that he's please the Israeli security cabinet has signed off on the agreement, but highlighted the approved deal "is essentially the same agreement that Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and his extremist government rejected in May of last year."
"More than 10,000 people have died since that proposal was presented, and the suffering of the hostages and innocent people in Gaza only deepened," he wrote.
On Wednesday, President Biden announced the breakthrough, saying “this is the ceasefire agreement I introduced last spring."
What's more, the independent senator from Vermont said that Americans must "grapple with our role in this dark chapter." The U.S. government, he said, "allowed this mass atrocity to continue by providing an endless supply of weapons to Netanyahu and failing to exert meaningful leverage."
The U.S. has provided Israel with at least $17.9 billion in military aid to its ally in the Middle East since October 2023, when Israel's military campaign in Gaza commenced following an attack by Hamas on Israel. In early January the State Department informed Congress of a planned $8 billion arms sale.
Local health officials in Gaza say the death toll in the enclave stands at over 46,000. However, a recently published peer-reviewed analysis estimates that Israel's assault on Gaza had actually killed 64,260 people—mostly civilian men, women, and children—have been killed between October 7, 2023 and June 30, 2024—a figure significantly higher than the official one reported by the enclave's health ministry.
Multiple human rights organizations have said that Israel's conduct in Gaza constitutes genocide or acts of genocide, and the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. The body has also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged crimes against humanity,
In his Friday remarks, Sanders called Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel "barbaric" and stated that Israel "clearly had the right to defend itself against Hamas."
However, he said, "Israel chose not to go to war simply against Hamas, but has instead waged an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people."
"It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people," said the president.
By Julia Conley
More than half a century after the U.S. Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment, President Joe Biden on Friday announced his administration's official opinion that the amendment is ratified and its protections against sex-based discrimination are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
The announcement has been long demanded by rights advocates including Democratic lawmakers who have recently called on Biden to affirm the ERA's ratification in order to protect reproductive rights that have been gutted by the Republican Party.
"It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people," said Biden. "In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex."
The statement came five years after Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA. With that move, state lawmakers completed the requirement that three-fourths of U.S. states ratify the amendment.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, ratification deadlines that were set by Congress after the ERA had passed by the time Virginia ratified the amendment, and five states have rescinded their approval.
But a senior White House official toldCNN Friday that the president's decision was informed by the American Bar Association's opinion that "no time limit was included in the text of the Equal Rights Amendment."
"The Constitution's framers wisely avoided the chaos that would have resulted if states were able to take back the ratifying votes at any time," according to the legal association.
Former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who in November called on Biden to take every action available to him in order to protect reproductive rights, including ensuring the ERA was recognized as part of the Constitution, called the president's announcement "an historic and consequential step."
"For over a century, we have fought for the principle that 'equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex,'" said Bush. "These 24 words must now be published and enshrined in our Constitution to provide a crucial safeguard against discrimination for women, LGBTQ+ folks, and all marginalized communities."
With Biden issuing his opinion, advocates have held that the archivist of the United States, Colleen Shogan, must now certify and publish the amendment.
In December, Shogan released a statement saying that in 2020 and 2022, "the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable" arguing that the ERA could not be certified.
The senior administration official told CNN that Shogan "is required to publish an amendment once it has been effectively ratified."
"It will be up to the courts to interpret this and their view of the Equal Rights Amendment," they added.
Kate Kelly, a human rights lawyer who wrote the book Ordinary Equality about the ERA, asserted the amendment has been part of the Constitution since it was ratified by Virginia in 2020.
"The Archivist has no constitutional or legal role in the amending process," said Kelly. "She does NOT get to decide what is or is not in the U.S. Constitution. Her boss (the president of the United States) has spoken for his administration. That's it. The ERA is in! This is a victory."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Biden's action on Friday honored "the work of generations of activists and organizers for equal rights."
"While we still have much work to do to ensure that the next generation of women has more, not less, rights than previous generations, this is an important declaration," said Jayapal. "Now we must do the work to truly make this the practice of the land."
Human Rights Watch warned that "continued weapons sales to Israel by its partners despite vast evidence of its unchecked atrocity crimes are putting those countries and officials at risk of direct complicity."
By Brett Wilkins
While people around the world welcomed Wednesday's announcement of an agreement to pause Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip and free the remaining hostages held by Hamas, human rights defenders stressed that the only way to truly end the suffering of Palestinians is to address the root causes of their oppression and for countries to stop arming Israel.
"The news that a cease-fire deal has been reached will bring some glimmer of relief to Palestinian victims of Israel's genocide. But it is bitterly overdue," Amnesty International secretary-general Agnès Callamard said Thursday. "For Palestinians—who have endured more than 15 months of devastating and relentless bombardment, have been displaced from their homes repeatedly, and are struggling to survive in makeshift tents without food, water, and basic supplies—the nightmare will not be over even if the bombs cease."
"Israel's continuous and deliberate denial and obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza has left civilians facing unprecedented levels of hunger and children have starved to death," Callamard continued. "The international community, which has thus far shamefully failed to persuade Israel to comply with its legal obligations, must ensure Israel immediately allows lifesaving supplies to urgently reach all parts of the occupied Gaza Strip to ensure the survival of the Palestinian population."
"Unless Israel's illegal blockade of Gaza is promptly lifted, this suffering will only continue," she added. "Israel must dismantle the brutal system of apartheid it imposes to dominate and oppress Palestinians and end its unlawful occupation... once and for all."
Human Rights Watch (HRW)—which highlighted Israel's alleged "unchecked crimes against humanity and war crimes" in its annual World Reportpublished Thursday— asserted that "all countries which provide weapons to Israel, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, should suspend weapons transfers due to the Israeli military's repeated, unlawful attacks on civilians."
HRW added that nations should defend the International Criminal Court—which last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defense chief—as well as the International Court of Justice, which is weighing a genocide case against Israel and has ordered its forces to prevent genocidal acts and allow the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid into besieged Gaza. Critics have accused Israel of ignoring the ICJ orders.
"Israel's decadeslong systematic repression of Palestinians worsened dramatically and plunged civilians in Gaza into a horrifying abyss, but possibilities for international justice are emerging," HRW Middle East and North Africa director Lama Fakih said on Thursday. "Continued weapons sales to Israel by its partners despite vast evidence of its unchecked atrocity crimes are putting those countries and officials at risk of direct complicity."
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem welcomed the cease-fire—which was approved by Israel's Security Cabinet on Friday and, if agreed upon by the country's full Cabinet as expected, is set to take effect Sunday—but stressed that "the catastrophe persists" in Gaza.
"Millions of people in Gaza remain destitute, starving, and homeless," the group said in a statement. "A cease-fire is only the first step, and one that should have happened long ago. There is a real concern that Israel will resume fighting after the first phase of the deal is complete."
As Common Dreamsreported Thursday, Israeli forces killed scores of Palestinians in Gaza following Wednesday's cease-fire announcement.
"The international community must do everything in its power to demand Israel stop the war completely and permanently," B'Tselem said. "Beyond a lasting cease-fire that includes enough humanitarian aid for the entire Gaza Strip, its residents must be allowed to return to all parts of Gaza."
"Israeli decision-makers responsible for serious violations of the laws of war and for crimes against humanity must be held accountable, and all Israeli violence against the Palestinian people in the entire area between the Jordan [River] and the Mediterranean must cease," the group stated.
"The only way to break the cycle of bloodshed is to end the occupation, oppression, and apartheid regime and ensure the human rights of everyone living in this space," B'Tselem added.
"We will soon find out," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
By Jake Johnson
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders welcomed news Friday that the Biden administration included the expensive and increasingly popular drugs Ozempic and Wegovy on a slate of 15 medications that will soon be subject to price negotiations.
That is, if President-elect Donald Trump allows the Medicare price-negotiation program to continue.
"Will Trump make sure that all Americans—not just those on Medicare—pay no more than people in other countries for Ozempic and Wegovy?" Sanders (I-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), asked in a statement Friday, pointing to the president-elect's previous criticism of Big Pharma. "Or will Trump back down on his commitment and continue to allow the pharmaceutical industry to get away with murder by taking away the government's power to negotiate prices?"
"We will soon find out," said Sanders, who has publicly grilled pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk's CEO over the exorbitant prices of the obesity and diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
Reutersreported that shortly following the 2024 election, the pharmaceutical industry began pushing Trump's team to weaken the price negotiation program, which was put in place by the Inflation Reduction Act.
"Pharma expects to piggyback on Republican moves to scrap some of the energy and green subsidy provisions in the legislation," Reuters reported.
The drug industry is reportedly not lobbying senators to block the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). If confirmed, Kennedy would oversee the price-negotiation program.
"The Trump administration could go in one of three directions with the Medicare negotiations program: stay the course, water it down, or repeal it altogether," KFF senior vice president Tricia Neuman wrote Friday. "There are potential tradeoffs with each, but the first would be most popular."
"We must keep pushing to expand the wildly popular Medicare negotiation program. Patients fought extremely hard for the passage of these reforms."
HHS said Friday that the 15 newly selected drugs—which add to the 10 medications that have already faced price negotiations—"accounted for about $41 billion in total gross covered prescription drug costs under Medicare Part D."
"When combined with the total gross covered prescription drug costs under Medicare Part D of the 10 drugs selected for the first cycle of negotiations over that same time period, this represents over a third of total gross covered prescription drug costs under Medicare Part D," the agency said.
If the Trump administration allows negotiations on the 15 drugs to proceed, the new prices would take effect in 2027.
"For the last twenty years, drug corporations have rigged the system in their favor—hiking prices at will and leaving millions of patients at their mercy," said Merith Basey, executive director of Patients for Affordable Drugs. "Thanks to the 2022 prescription drug law, last year Medicare negotiated a better deal on 10 of some of the most expensive and most commonly used drugs covered by the program."
"Today's announcement of 15 additional high-cost drugs builds on that historic progress and will lower costs for millions more patients in 2027," Basey added. "But let's be clear: We must keep pushing to expand the wildly popular Medicare negotiation program. Patients fought extremely hard for the passage of these reforms and they continue to vigorously defend them against pharma's attacks—because nobody should have to choose between life-saving drugs and their basic needs."
One ACLU campaigner blasted the justices for "giving the executive branch unprecedented power to silence speech it doesn't like."
By Brett Wilkins
The United States Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a federal law banning TikTok if its Chinese parent company does not sell the popular social media app by Sunday.
The justices ruled in TikTok v. Garland, an unsigned opinion, that "Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary."
"The problem appears real and the response to it not unconstitutional," the high court wrote. "Speaking with and in favor of a foreign adversary is one thing. Allowing a foreign adversary to spy on Americans is another."
President Joe Biden signed legislation last April forcing ByteDance, which owns TikTok, to sell the app to a non-Chinese company within a year or face a nationwide ban. Proponents of the ban cited national security concerns, while digital rights and free speech defenders condemned the law.
Approximately 170 million Americans use TikTok, which is especially popular with younger people and small-to-medium-sized businesses, and contributes tens of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy annually.
The ACLU—which this week called TikTok v. Garland "one of the most important First Amendment cases of our time"—condemned Friday's decision as "a major blow to freedom of expression online."
"The Supreme Court's ruling is incredibly disappointing, allowing the government to shut down an entire platform and the free speech rights of so many based on fear-mongering and speculation," ACLU National Security Project deputy director Patrick Toomey said in a statement.
"By refusing to block this ban, the Supreme Court is giving the executive branch unprecedented power to silence speech it doesn't like, increasing the danger that sweeping invocations of 'national security' will trump our constitutional rights," Toomey added.
The digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said in response to Friday's ruling, "We are deeply disappointed that the court failed to require the strict First Amendment scrutiny required in a case like this, which would've led to the inescapable conclusion that the government's desire to prevent potential future harm had to be rejected as infringing millions of Americans' constitutionally protected free speech."
"We are disappointed to see the court sweep past the undisputed content-based justification for the law—to control what speech Americans see and share with each other—and rule only based on the shaky data privacy concerns," EFF added.
The Biden administration said Friday that it would leave enforcement of any ban up to the incoming Trump administration.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that Republican U.S President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office next week, is weighing an executive order to suspend enforcement of the ban for 60-90 days.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who earlier this week introduced a bill to delay ByteDance's sale deadline until October, said Friday: "I am deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the TikTok ban. I am not done fighting to pass my 270-day extension. We need more time."
"The fossil fuel industry invested $75 million to secure Trump's victory, and now they're expecting a return," said the executive director of Oil Change International.
By Jake Johnson
The fossil fuel industry pumped tens of millions of dollars into President-elect Donald Trump's successful bid for a second White House term—and it could begin seeing a return on its investment on his very first day in office.
Trump pledged on the campaign trail to be a "dictator" on day one in the service of accelerating U.S. fossil fuel production, which is already at record levels as nations around the world—including the United States—face the devastating consequences of planet-warming emissions.
Soon after his inauguration on Monday, Trump is expected to begin signing executive orders—some of them likely crafted by fossil fuel industry lobbyists—revoking climate-protection rules implemented by his predecessor and paving the way for new liquefied natural gas export permits, among other gifts to the industry.
Citing "several fossil fuel industry lobbying groups helping shape Trump's energy agenda," Business Insider reported Thursday that Trump "could direct federal agencies to approve new terminals to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) and start unwinding restrictions on oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters."
The president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry's powerful lobbying group, said earlier this week that his organization is "excited" about the prospect of Trump lifting the LNG pause.
A study published Friday warns that a flurry of LNG terminal approvals would "deliver a windfall for U.S. fracking companies and exporters of liquefied methane" while "extending an export explosion that's pushing up prices for American consumers while harming the climate and vulnerable communities."
"Trump is handing these companies a blank check to expand their operations at precisely the moment we need to end fossil fuel extraction."
Trump, whose Cabinet is set to be packed with fossil fuel industry allies, has also said he would immediately move to roll back President Joe Biden's ban on offshore oil and gas drilling across more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal territory—even though the law Biden used does not give presidents the power to undo previous offshore drilling bans.
In a statement on Friday, Oil Change International (OCI) listed a number of other actions Trump could take on day one, including withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, an emergency declaration to boost fossil fuel production, an expansion of drilling on public lands, and an attempt to revive the Keystone XL pipeline.
OCI dubbed the agenda "Trump's day one climate destruction package."
"The fossil fuel industry invested $75 million to secure Trump's victory, and now they're expecting a return," said Elizabeth Bast, OCI's executive director. "By appointing fossil fuel CEOs to key Cabinet positions and planning to dismantle critical environmental protections, Trump is handing these companies a blank check to expand their operations at precisely the moment we need to end fossil fuel extraction."
"As Trump returns to office, we're witnessing the deadly price tag of fossil fuel industry control over our democracy," Bast said. "From the still-burning wildfires in Los Angeles to the destruction left by Hurricane Helene in Asheville, to the unprecedented droughts and floods devastating Southern Africa, the climate crisis is accelerating. These deadly disasters are driven by fossil fuel executives who put their profits ahead of our future."
E&E News reported Friday that Trump "could sign somewhere between 50 and 100 executive orders" on the first day of his second term. One of the first targets, according to the outlet, will be Biden's early executive order directing federal agencies to take part in a "government-wide approach to the climate crisis."
Trump is also expected to take aim at renewable energy initiatives, including wind projects and an electric vehicle tax credit implemented under the Inflation Reduction Act.
In response to Trump's planned actions, climate activists said the movement for a livable future must mobilize around the world and fight back in every way possible.
"One man and one election may temporarily cloud the horizon, but they cannot halt the relentless momentum of climate action," Dean Bhekumuzi Bhebhe, senior just transitions and campaigns adviser at Powershift Africa, said Friday. "If anything, such moments are an invitation for historically polluting nations to step forward, not with the rhetoric of obstruction, but with the deeds of redemption. The world is watching, and we've seen enough bluster, now it’s time for genuine action. The stakes are no longer abstract, lives are being lost every day."
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