Wednesday, January 1, 2025
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"Our real problem is not so much a healthcare crisis as it is a political and economic one," he wrote in an op-ed.
By Olivia Rosane
Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has an ambitious New Year's resolution: a nine-point policy proposal to "Make American Healthy Again" by reforming the United States' "broken and dysfunctional healthcare system."
In an op-ed published in The Guardian on Tuesday, Sanders said his ideas were informed by his time serving as the chair of the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which will end in 2025.
"We are the wealthiest nation on Earth," Sanders wrote. "There is no rational reason as to why we are not the healthiest nation on Earth. We should be leading the world in terms of life expectancy, disease prevention, low infant and maternal mortality, quality of life, and human happiness. Sadly, study after study shows just the opposite. Despite spending almost twice as much per capita on healthcare, we trail most wealthy nations in all these areas."
"Working-class Americans live far shorter lives than the rich because of the stress of trying to survive on a paycheck-to-paycheck existence."
Sanders first prescription for a healthier nation? Medicare for All.
"Healthcare is a human right," Sanders argued. "The function of a rational healthcare system is to guarantee quality healthcare to all, not huge profits for the insurance industry. The United States cannot continue to be the only wealthy nation that does not provide universal healthcare."
The other eight recommendations on Sanders' list are:
- Lower the cost of prescription drugs;
- Paid family and medical leave;
- Reform the food industry;
- Raise the minimum wage to a living wage;
- Lower the workweek to 32 hours with no loss of pay;
- Combat the epidemic of loneliness, isolation, and mental illness;
- Address the climate and environmental crisis; and
- Create a high-quality public education system.
Sanders also sent the list in an email to supporters on December 27 with the introduction, "Here's a New Year's resolution" and tweeted out the first six proposals in a statement on December 24. The Vermont senator's renewed call for Medicare for All comes as the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last month—and the explosion of anti-insurance industry dark humor it sparked—has highlighted persistent flaws in the country's private health-insurance system. In the aftermath of the killing and the online response, Sanders called for a political movement to reform the nation's healthcare system.
"Killing people is not the way we're going to reform our healthcare system," he said at the time. "The way we're going to reform our healthcare system is having people come together and understanding that it is the right of every American to be able to walk into a doctor's office when they need to and not have to take out their wallet."
Sanders' agenda is also a clear rejoinder to Trump supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign. Kennedy, who President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has a record of pushing dangerous health-related conspiracy theories, in particular by questioning the effectiveness and safety of vaccines. While Kennedy has voiced criticisms of the food, agriculture, and chemical industries shared by many environmentalists, he has also advocated for harmful practices such as drinking raw milk and downplayed the climate emergency.
Trump has signaled that any environmental policies Kennedy might implement during his administration would take a backseat to his commitment to Big Oil.
"Bobby, stay away from the liquid gold," he said in his election night victory speech. "Other than that, go have a good time, Bobby."
Sanders, in contrast, made tackling the climate emergency one of his priorities and called out the fossil fuel industry specifically.
"The fossil fuel industry cannot be allowed to continue making us sick, shortening our lives, and destroying the planet," he wrote Tuesday.
He also emphasized working conditions as a public health issue.
"Working-class Americans live far shorter lives than the rich because of the stress of trying to survive on a paycheck-to-paycheck existence," he wrote in his call for a higher minimum wage.
In general, Sanders argued that it was not possible to tackle health without tackling corporate power.
"Our real problem is not so much a healthcare crisis as it is a political and economic one," he wrote in The Guardian. "We need to end the unprecedented level of corporate greed we are experiencing. We need to create a government and economy that works for all and not just the wealthy and powerful few."
In his email to supporters, Sanders spoke even more directly about the need to "take on powerful special interests who make billions in profits by making us sick and shortening our lifespans."
He portrayed wealthy individuals and corporations as the force ultimately standing in the way of a healthier nation.
"The truth is that their ideology of greed requires them to want more, and more, and more. And if that greed makes us sicker or shortens our lives, that's the price they require us to pay," he wrote. "But we say NO. We are fighting back. We can and will create a government and economy that works for all, and not just the few. We can and will create a society which enhances human health and well-being, and not the wealth and power of the billionaire class."
"How did a bill to protect Netanyahu make it into the House rules package to be voted on immediately after the speaker vote?" asked one lawmaker. "Where are our priorities?!"
By Jessica Corbett
A Republican congressman known for sometimes clashing with his own party's leaders called them out on Wednesday for part of the proposed rules package that is an apparent response to a global court issuing arrest warrants for top Israeli politicians over the U.S.-backed assault on the Gaza Strip.
The GOP-controlled U.S. House Representatives for the 119th congressional session is scheduled to meet Friday afternoon to swear in members, hold a speaker election, and consider the 36-page package released Wednesday. Proposed changes include renaming or reestablishing some panels, making it harder to remove the speaker, and promoting electronic committee voting.
The rules resolution also states that once it is adopted, members shall consider a dozen bills listed at the end of the document. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) took issue with the inclusion of the eighth bill, which would impose sanctions over any International Criminal Court (ICC) "effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies."
The ICC issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in November. Although Israel, like the United States, is not a party to the treaty establishing the ICC, the court has jurisdiction over occupied Palestinian territories—Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Massie said on social media Wednesday: "The United States is a sovereign country, so I don't assign any credibility to decisions of the International Criminal Court. But how did a bill to protect Netanyahu make it into the House rules package to be voted on immediately after the speaker vote? Where are our priorities?!"
Massie's comments on the rules package came two days after he publicly disagreed with President-elect Donald Trump's endorsement of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to keep his job for the upcoming session, saying that "we've seen Johnson partner with the Democrats to send money to Ukraine, authorize spying on Americans, and blow the budget."
So far, at least one other lawmaker—Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)—joined Massie on Wednesday in criticizing what he referred to as a "special protection provision for Netanyahu." Like her colleague from Kentucky, the Georgia Republican took aim at the court that prosecutes individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.
"I will not support giving any credibility or power to the International Criminal Court in our House rules package," Greene said of the ICC, which has faced opposition from both Democrats and Republicans over the years. "This clause needs to be removed."
Amid speculation that the ICC would issue the arrest warrants—as it ultimately did—the House passed Rep. Chip Roy's (R-Texas) Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act with bipartisan support in June. It never received a floor vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate, though the Biden administration reportedly worked with the Israeli government in a bid to block the warrants.
Under the American Service Members' Protection Act, a 2002 law that critics call the Hague Invasion Act, Biden has the authority to "use all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release" of an American or allied person detained or imprisoned by or on behalf of the ICC. Soon, the person with that power will be Trump.
Both Biden and Trump have spoken out against the ICC warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, while a few progressive lawmakers—including Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a leading critic of the Israeli assault on Gaza and the only Palestinian American in Congress—have welcomed them and called out the U.S. government for providing billions of dollars in weapons to Israel.
"The International Criminal Court's long overdue decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity signals that the days of the Israeli apartheid government operating with impunity are ending," Tlaib said in November. "Our government must urgently end our complicity in these violations of human rights and international law."
THANK YOU NC GOV. COOPER!
Calling Cooper "courageous," executive director of the state's ACLU noted that with this decision, the Democrat "has commuted more death sentences than any governor in North Carolina's history."
By Jessica Corbett
Death penalty abolitionists are praising former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper for one of his final actions in office: The Democrat on Tuesday commuted the sentences of 15 men on death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Term-limited Cooper—who passed the torch to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein on Wednesday after eight years in office—announced the decision following a campaign by racial justice advocates and outgoing President Joe Biden's decision last week to commute the sentences of 37 people on federal death row to counter an expected killing spree under President-elect Donald Trump.
Although no executions have occurred in North Carolina in nearly two decades due to ongoing litigation, Cooper received clemency petitions from 89 of the 136 people on death row in the state, according to his office. After reviewing each case, the governor—who previously served as the state's attorney general for 16 years—granted 15.
"These reviews are among the most difficult decisions a governor can make, and the death penalty is the most severe sentence that the state can impose," Cooper said in a statement. "After thorough review, reflection, and prayer, I concluded that the death sentence imposed on these 15 people should be commuted, while ensuring they will spend the rest of their lives in prison."
Welcoming the announcement, Chantal Stevens, executive director of ACLU of North Carolina, said that "with this action, Gov. Cooper has commuted more death sentences than any governor in North Carolina's history and joins the ranks of a group of courageous leaders who used their executive authority to address the failed death penalty."
"We have long known that the death penalty in North Carolina is racially biased, unjust, and immoral, and the governor's actions today pave the way for our state to move towards a new era of justice," Stevens continued. "This historic decision, following President Biden's decision to commute the sentences of 37 people on federal death row, reflects growing recognition that the death penalty belongs in our past, not our future."
"With 121 people still on death row in our state, we know there is much more work to be done to realize that vision, and the ACLU of North Carolina will continue to advocate for the end of the death penalty once and for all," she added.
Stevens' group as well as the national ACLU's Capital Punishment Project, the Center for Death Penalty Litigation (CDPL), the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), and Durham attorney Jay H. Ferguson have represented Hasson Bacote, who brought the lead case challenging the death penalty under North Carolina's Racial Justice Act (RJA).
Bacote, a 38-year-old Black man convicted of first-degree murder in Johnston County in 2009, was among those who had their sentences commuted on Wednesday. According to Cooper's office, the other 14 men are:
- Iziah Barden, 67, convicted in Sampson County in 1999;
- Nathan Bowie, 53, convicted in Catawba County in 1993;
- Rayford Burke, 66, convicted in Iredell County in 1993;
- Elrico Fowler, 49, convicted in Mecklenburg County in 1997;
- Cerron Hooks, 46, convicted in Forsyth County in 2000;
- Guy LeGrande, 65, convicted in Stanly County in 1996;
- James Little, 38, convicted in Forsyth County in 2008;
- Robbie Locklear, 52, convicted in Robeson County in 1996;
- Lawrence Peterson, 55, convicted in Richmond County in 1996;
- William Robinson, 41, convicted in Stanly County in 2011;
- Christopher Roseboro, 60, convicted in Gaston County in 1997;
- Darrell Strickland, 66, convicted in Union County in 1995;
- Timothy White, 47, convicted in Forsyth County in 2000; and
- Vincent Wooten, 52, convicted in Pitt County in 1994.
"We are thrilled for Mr. Bacote and the other... people on death row who had their sentences commuted by Gov. Cooper today," said Cassandra Stubbs, director of the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project. "This decision is a historic step towards ending the death penalty in North Carolina, but the fight for justice does not end here. We remain hopeful that the court will issue a ruling under the state's Racial Justice Act in Mr. Bacote's case that we can leverage for relief for the many others that still remain on death row."
The North Carolina General Assembly passed the RJA, which barred seeking or imposing the death penalty based on race, in 2009. Although state legislators then repealed the law in 2013, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that those who had already filed claims under it should still receive hearings.
Bacote's evidentiary hearing began last February, and the court heard closing arguments in August. LDF senior counsel Ashley Burrell noted Tuesday that "the RJA hearing demonstrated that racial bias infiltrates all death penalty cases in North Carolina, not just Mr. Bacote's and those in Johnston County."
Shelagh Kenney, deputy director of the Durham-based CDPL, similarly said that "Mr. Bacote brought forth unequivocal evidence, unlike any that’s ever been presented in a North Carolina courtroom, that the death penalty is racist."
"Through years of investigation and the examination of thousands of pages of documents, his case revealed a deep entanglement between the death penalty and North Carolina's history of segregation and racial terror," Kenney added. "We are happy Mr. Bacote got the relief he deserves, and we hope Gov. Cooper's action will be a step toward ending North Carolina's racist and error-prone death penalty for good."
NC Newsline reported that "the commutations came as inmates in North Carolina face a ticking clock on the death penalty, which has been on hold for nearly 20 years amid challenges to the punishment's legality. Should the courts in North Carolina rule against those challenges, executions could resume with haste, as dozens of the state's death row inmates have exhausted all other avenues for appeal."
Separately on Tuesday, Cooper announced commutations for 54-year-old Brian Fuller, who has served 27 years after being convicted of second-degree murder in Rockingham County, and 63-year-old Joseph Bromfield, 63, who has served 34 years after being convicted of first-degree murder in Cumberland County. They will both become parole eligible immediately.
Cooper also pardoned 43-year-old Brandon Wallace, who was convicted of conspiracy to traffic cocaine and marijuana in Lee County in 2007, and 53-year-old John "Jack" Campbell, who was convicted of selling cocaine in Wake County in 1984
The decisions capped off Cooper's two terms as governor, during which he often had to contend with Republicans' veto-proof legislative majorities. Due to that experience, the Democrat frequently faces speculation that he may pursue federal office.
"If you're going to run for public office again, you must have your heart and soul in it, you must have the fire in the belly," Cooper told The Associated Press in December, explaining that he plans to spend the next few months considering his future. "I'm going to think about how I can best contribute to the things that I care about."
"It is civilians in Yemen who pay the ultimate costs," humanitarian groups warned following a flurry of airstrikes by Israel and the United States.
By Jake Johnson
Dozens of humanitarian aid groups warned Tuesday that millions of Yemeni civilians are in danger as Israel and the United States carry out new airstrikes on the impoverished country, which is already ravaged by years of sustained attacks from a U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition.
The aid groups said in a joint statement that they are "deeply concerned about the airstrikes on critical civilian infrastructure, including Sanaa International Airport, power stations in Sanaa and Hodeidah Governorates, and seaports in and near Hodeidah"—a reference to Israeli strikes on December 26.
"These attacks on vital infrastructure serve as a stark reminder of the importance of respecting international humanitarian law, particularly the need to protect critical civilian air and maritime gateways that are indispensable to the survival of millions of Yemenis," the groups said, noting that the airport Israel targeted is "a much-needed delivery point for humanitarian aid in a country where around half of the population (anticipated to rise from 18 million to 19.5 million people in 2025) are in need of assistance—77% of whom are women and children."
"We call on all actors to adhere to international humanitarian law, to ensure the protection of civilian infrastructure that provide critical essential services indispensable for the survival of millions of civilians in Yemen. The consequences of attacks on civilian facilities will be severe and long-lasting for Yemeni civilians, already suffering exhaustion from a decade-long conflict," the groups continued. "We further urge every actor to de-escalate, recognizing that it is civilians in Yemen who pay the ultimate costs."
The coalition's statement came on the same day the U.S. military carried out airstrikes on Yemen, characterizing the attacks as part of an "effort to degrade Iran-backed Houthi efforts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels in the region."
Some progressive members of the U.S. Congress have argued that the Biden administration's repeated attacks on Yemen without congressional authorization are illegal. U.S. President Joe Biden admitted last January that American airstrikes in Yemen have not successfully deterred Houthi rebels from attacking vessels in the Red Sea—but said the strikes would continue regardless.
Israel, for its part, pledged to inflict a "miserable fate" on the Houthis in response to the group's recent drone and ballistic missile attacks.
Mohammed Abdulsalam, a spokesperson for the Houthis, said Tuesday that the latest flurry of U.S. strikes represent "a blatant violation of the sovereignty of an independent state, and blatant support for Israel to encourage it to continue its crimes of genocide against the people of Gaza."
Drop Site reported that across Yemen, people view the U.S. and Israeli attacks "as primarily harming civilians," echoing the concerns of aid groups.
"This attack harms no one but the people and their livelihoods," said Hodeidah resident Muhammad Alwi.
The superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department said that "this man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could."
By Common Dreams Staff
This is a developing news story... Please check back for possible updates...
A man driving a pickup truck plowed through a crowd in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the early hours of Wednesday morning, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more in what the Louisiana city's mayor called a "terrorist attack."
Anne Kirkpatrick, superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, told reporters that the deadly incident "was not a DUI situation."
"It was very intentional behavior," said Kirkpatrick. "This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could."
After driving into the crowd on Bourbon Street amid New Year's celebrations at around at around 3:15 am, the man exited his vehicle and opened fire on police, according to the superintendent. The suspect reportedly wounded two police officers.
NOLA.com later reported that the man "has been identified by a law enforcement source as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar."
"Police fatally shot him after the attack," the newspaper noted. "The source said Jabbar was carrying an ISIS flag in the truck."
The FBI said it is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism and working to determine whether an explosive device was found at the scene, NBC's Tom Winter reported.
In a statement, the FBI said that "this morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing a number of people and injuring dozens of others."
"The subject then engaged with local law enforcement and is now deceased," the bureau added.
LaToya Cantrell, the mayor of New Orleans, said that while the investigation is still ongoing, "we do know that the city of New Orleans was impacted by a terrorist attack."
Gov. Jeff Landry wrote on social media that "a horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning."
"I urge all near the scene to avoid the area," the governor added.
Israel's military bombed two refugee camps in the besieged enclave, pushing the official death toll since October 7, 2023 to 45,553.
By Jake Johnson
Israel's U.S.-backed assault on the Gaza Strip continued unabated on the first day of 2025, with airstrikes and drone attacks across the besieged enclave killing more than 20 people on Wednesday, including women and children.
One Israeli strike on the Jabilia refugee camp in northern Gaza killed at least 15 people, including four children and one woman, according to Al Jazeera. Others are still missing under the ruins of the house targeted by Israeli forces, which have systematically destroyed the Palestinian territory's civilian infrastructure during the nearly 15-month assault.
The Associated Press reported that "another strike overnight in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies."
"A third strike early Wednesday in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people, according to the nearby Nasser Hospital and the European Hospital, which received the bodies," AP added.
Gaza's Ministry of Health said Wednesday that the Israeli military's latest attacks pushed the official death toll in the enclave since October 7, 2023 to 45,553—a count that experts believe dramatically understates the actual toll.
Israel's incessant attacks and obstruction of humanitarian assistance have turned Gaza into what one aid group recently called a "death trap," with no safe place for civilians who are at growing risk of disease and starvation—emergency conditions exacerbated by winter weather.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said Tuesday that six babies have frozen to death in Gaza in recent days.
"More babies will likely die due to the cold, lack of shelter, and basic winter supplies," the organization warned. "Blankets, mattresses, and warm clothes are sitting outside Gaza waiting for approval to get in. The siege must be lifted."
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA's commissioner-general, said Tuesday that "horrors continue" in Gaza "under the world's watch," pointing to Israel's killing of aid workers, attacks on U.N. shelters, and torture of detainees.
"In northern Gaza, since the intensification of the military operation nearly three months ago, there has been a significant increase in attacks on our staff, buildings, and operations," said Lazzarini. "I reiterate my call for independent investigations into the systematic disregard for the protection of humanitarian workers, premises, and operations. This cannot become the new standard and impunity cannot become the new norm."
