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NATO Braces for Donald Trump Returning 'With a Vengeance'
The former president shows no sign of easing his first-term criticism of an alliance he reportedly threatened to withdraw from.
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- Johnson's on the hot seat: The niece of former President Donald Trump believes Speaker Mike Johnson's job is now under threat amid discontent from members of his own party over a deal with the Democrats. Read more about Johnson's deal below.
- Hunter Biden's legal woes: Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, has agreed to appear before House Republicans for a private deposition after previously resisting congressional subpoenas.
- Ukraine hackers hit 'jackpot': A Ukrainian hacking group, dubbed 'Blackjack,' linked to the country's main spy agency, has stolen construction plans for more than 500 Russian military sites, Ukraine's military intelligence agency, the GUR, said Friday.
- Plane catches fire mid-air: A social media video shows flames trailing from an Atlas Air flight minutes shortly after takeoff from Miami International Airport on Thursday night. A Miami airport spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek that the cargo flight had landed safely late last night.
- Hawaii's SNAP benefits: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will potentially recalculate SNAP benefits in Hawaii due to exceptionally high food costs.
In the ongoing war in Ukraine, Lawmakers in the German Bundestag voted down a motion to provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles to aid in its ongoing war with invading Russian forces, dashing Ukrainian hopes of receiving more long-range weapons.
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TL/DR: With Republicans disagreeing on funding levels, the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate could once again struggle to reach an agreement.
Congress extended government funding to March, averting a potential shutdown but also marking the third time that it has failed to meet its deadlines. This follows leadership changes and a laddered resolution, as prior deadlines were missed and negotiations for a funding agreement stalled. After Kevin McCarthy's ouster, Mike Johnson became House Speaker in October, leading Congress to pass a laddered resolution extending funding for government agencies into early February. However, little progress has been made toward reaching a funding agreement since those deadlines have been extended to March 1 and March 8.
Why it matters: Johnson has pledged that Congress will fund the government through "regular order," meaning all 12 appropriations bills must pass individually, a feat not accomplished since 1997. What remains at issue is the top-line spending levels. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Johnson reached a top-line fiscal agreement ahead of the extension vote. Still, some hardline conservatives opposed it, believing it does not do enough to cut spending, and floated the idea of filing a motion to vacate. Rumors circulated that Johnson could walk away from the deal, but yesterday, he said the top-line agreement "remains."
Read more in-depth coverage:
Full List of Republicans Who Voted Against Mike Johnson's Shutdown Bill
Mike Johnson Ignores Marjorie Taylor Greene's Threats
Government Shutdown Debate Fuels House Republican Civil War
What happens now? It appears Democratic lawmakers are moving ahead on drafting these bills under the Johnson-Schumer agreement. But whether they can pass these bills through Congress remains the question. The Senate has only passed three of the 12 bills. The House has passed seven of the 12 bills but has struggled to move the remaining measures, as Republicans remain intent on putting forth bills without bipartisan support and cannot agree amongst themselves on which provisions should make the final cut.
TL/DR: "It's an odd [primary], I think Democrats will come home to Biden." David Watters, leader of the Biden write-in campaign, said.
President Joe Biden's unusual absence from the New Hampshire primary ballot is drawing attention to a standoff between the Democratic National Committee and New Hampshire's state party over its decision to go ahead with the scheduled primary date. As Democrats prepare for a likely rematch between Biden and former President Trump on the heels of a landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses last week, Biden will not campaign in the state at all, and his name will be excluded from the ballot. As a result, Biden's allies have launched a campaign for voters to write the president's name on the ballot.
Why it matters: The New Hampshire primary is an early test of Biden's popularity, with low job approval numbers and most national polls showing him narrowly trailing Trump. The DNC stripped New Hampshire of convention delegates, labeling the primary "non-binding" and "meaningless" after the state resisted changing its schedule when Biden asked them to move South Carolina ahead of Iowa in 2022. While Biden is predicted to do well, several Democrats and veteran political observers conceded that the write-in campaign adds an element of uncertainty as a campaign on a roughly $70,000 budget with only two paid staffers.
Read more in-depth coverage:
Ireland Turns on Joe Biden Over Israel
Joe Biden Faces Problem in His Birth State
Iowa Caucus Result Was Donald Trump's Dream Scenario for Three Reasons
What happens now? New Hampshire primaries kick off Jan. 23. Democratic insiders in New Hampshire said Biden should easily beat his two primary challengers, Dean Phillips, a Democratic congressman from Minnesota, and author Marianne Williamson. Voters in New Hampshire without a party affiliation can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries on the same day. A plurality of voters in the state are not registered with either major party, and New Hampshire is still a swing state. Former New Hampshire Governor Jim Lynch told Newsweek this creates a “big unknown” for Biden’s campaign.
TL/DR: "Look, NATO has taken advantage of our country. The European countries took advantage," Donald Trump said last week.
NATO leaders fear that if Donald Trump wins the presidential election that he will be back "with a vengeance," especially towards European members. The runaway leader for the Republican nomination is showing no sign of easing his criticism of the 74-year-old alliance.
Why it matters: Asked about his commitment to defending NATO nations while in office, Trump replied: "Depends if they treat us properly." Some NATO officials publicly welcomed such criticism when Trump was in office, crediting the president with pushing national leaders closer to agreed defense spending targets. However, most alliance members have still not reached the 2 percent of GDP military spending target set in 2014. Alliance leaders committed to meeting that threshold by 2024. But as the deadline looms, most nations—including big hitters like Germany, France, Turkey, Italy, and others—are falling short.
Read more in-depth coverage:
Donald Trump's NATO Remarks Ring Alarm Bells
Ex-NATO Chief Outlines Strategy for Beating Trump in 2024
NATO Hits Major Equipment Target
What happens now? NATO allies also appealed to Trump's business instincts, framing rising alliance spending as an opportunity for U.S. coffers. Fabrice Pothier—a former director of policy planning for NATO told Newsweek allies may look to play the same cards in a second Trump term. NATO capitals may also offer to expand the alliance's raft of responsibilities to take certain matters off the White House's plate. The doomsday scenario for NATO is that Trump follows through on his threat to withdraw from the alliance. "There is this concern that this time he might mean it, and not only that he might mean it, but that he might do it," Pothier said. "This is obviously a far-fetched scenario, but I think NATO's most senior officials will still have this in the back of their minds."
TL/DR: "The year 2024 will be dedicated to cleaning Gaza. It will mean—every day—raids into Gaza by our forces." Ex-Netanyahu aide Yaakov Amidror told Newsweek.
Israel's war on Hamas and other militant groups in the Gaza Strip will not end anytime soon, according to a former national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yaakov Amidror, even if the operation transitions to a less intense phase. Amidror told Newsweek during a Jerusalem Press Club briefing that Israeli operations in Gaza will continue through 2024, pulling troops only if "someone begins to build a threat against Israel". Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and intelligence services strike groups, he said, will look to "destroy" targets linked to top Hamas leaders and the group's infrastructure, such as weapons depots and tunnels.
Why it matters: The IDF's "Operation Swords of Iron" has so far killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, the Associated Press reports, with around 85% of the Strip's 2.3 million people displaced. Israeli forces have taken control of large parts of northern Gaza and are continuing operations in the south of the Strip where fierce fighting is ongoing around the southern city of Khan Younis. Israel has not captured or killed its two main Hamas targets: group leader Yahya Sinwar and commander Mohammed Deif—and is yet to free around 100 hostages.
Read more in-depth coverage:
Netanyahu Draws Red Line for Ending War in Gaza
Houthis Hit Back As Biden Does U-Turn On 'Terrorism' Label
Hamas Hostage Families Say Politics Cloud Goal of Saving Loved Ones
What happens now? Amidror noted that Israeli leaders "will not hesitate" to extend the operation into 2025 if needed. Tensions have escalated and Israeli officials have expressed little hope of a diplomatic solution to the unraveling standoff with Hezbollah. Amidror warns that a full-scale conflict with the Lebanese militant group would be "ten times more complicated, and hard, and devastating than the war in Gaza” as they possess much more rockets, missiles, and drones than Hamas.
TL/DR: "We're talking more about the poorer and disadvantaged sections of society, which are benefiting more, but this isn't the bulk of patients who mostly receive drugs," Jay Patel, a pharma industry analyst at GlobalData, said.
In January, the FDA allowed Florida to import prescriptions for a select number of illnesses—including diabetes, HIV, and asthma— from Canada. This a long-sought change aimed at reducing high medication prices in the U.S. market. However, it only applies to certain people, including prisoners, the elderly and Medicaid recipients. The Biden administration has called Florida's authorization "a step in the right direction," while the state's Governor, Ron DeSantis, hailed the announcement as a win for "patients over politics and the interests of Floridians over Big Pharma."
Why it matters: As of 2018, prescription prices in the U.S. were, on average, 256% more than in 32 comparable countries, and as of 2021, were more than three times the cost in Canada. While it is estimated that the program will save taxpayers up to $183 million a year, activists saw it as only the first step on the road to lower prescription costs, as people with private healthcare were unlikely to see the immediate benefits. Also, while Florida's health administration will have to test the drugs it imports, report to the FDA regularly and relabel them to be in line with FDA regulations, the U.S. pharmaceutical industry argued that the decision risked patient safety.
Read more in-depth coverage:
Big Pharma Is Raising Prices This Month
How AI Is Being Used To Discover New Drugs
America's Secretive Drug Shortage Explained—By a Pharmacist Fighting Back
What happens now? While there are early signs that Florida's authorization may lead to an expansion of drug imports across the U.S., the approval given by the FDA is limited in its scope, expansion of the policy is likely to be slow, and it is also unlikely that U.S. pharma companies will cede their market share quietly. But even though importation of foreign drugs could still face pressures from the Canadian government and lobbyists, experts who spoke to Newsweek said the FDA's announcement could be the first chink in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry's erstwhile unbroken hold on the domestic prescriptions market.
I Lead a Texas Militia Patrolling the U.S. Border
The Patriots for America (PFA) militia came about in 2015, but it was all very informal back then. We were just helping people get to their cars at rallies.
It was a violent, intense political atmosphere when Donald Trump was running against Hillary Clinton. When we saw people getting attacked just for attending political rallies, we wanted to protect them.
Left or right, Republican or Democrat, I believe you should be able to attend your own political rallies without fear for your safety.
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