Comment on Budget talks hit impasse

It’s the end of a standoff that had veered from the bizarre to the downright embarrassing. Early on Wednesday morning, hundreds of investigators finally entered the fortified compound in Seoul where South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol had been holed up since his mid-December impeachment over an earlier declaration of martial law that prosecutors contend amounted to insurrection. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] In executing their arrest warrant—the first against a sitting South Korean President—law enforcement officials avoided a repeat of tense scenes from Jan.

Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host whom Donald Trump has nominated to be Defense Secretary, came under fire on Tuesday during his Senate confirmation hearing, where he faced questions about his history of alleged sexual assault and excessive drinking, his views on women in the military, and his role in the pardoning of men accused of war crimes.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Tuesday vetoed a new law to expand access to needle exchanges, one day after the measure was passed by the City Council. Johnston described the ordinance as “the wrong solution at the wrong time” in a letter to the City Council released by his office Tuesday night. “I support harm reduction strategies and also believe we need to place more emphasis on connecting individuals from needle exchange programs to substance misuse services to help them break the cycle of addiction,” Johnston wrote. The ordinance would have allowed an unlimited number of needle exchanges in areas zoned for medical offices and removed the 1,000-foot buffer between the sites and schools or day cares. In the veto letter, Johnston wrote there is “no reason” to remove the cap on needle exchange programs in the city and claimed there is no evidence that providers need an unlimited number of sites or that Denver residents want them. Johnston also claimed the use of syringes for drugs has declined and the city’s providers are able to meet the current need. The mayor also objected to removing “common sense setbacks” for the sites, according to the letter. Three needle exchange programs operate in Denver, with the first opening in 2011 because of limitations in state law. Denver City Council approved the measure on an 8-5 vote on Monday.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced plans to create a new agency called the External Revenue Service to collect tariffs and other revenues from foreign nations. “We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying,” Trump said Tuesday on his social media site, Truth Social.

If the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal goes according to the current draft, then fighting will stop in Gaza for 42 days, and dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed. In this first phase Israeli troops will pull back to the edges of Gaza, and many Palestinians will be able to return to what remains of their homes as stepped-up aid flows in. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The question is if the ceasefire will survive beyond that first phase. That will depend on even more negotiations meant to begin within weeks.

The U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued billionaire Elon Musk, saying he failed to disclose his ownership of Twitter stock in a timely manner in early 2022, before buying the social media site. As a result, the SEC alleges, Musk was able to underpay “by at least $150 million” for shares he bought after he should have disclosed his ownership of more than 5% of Twitter’s shares.