Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some really intriguing stories to share with you today, and here’s what’s going on.
Incorrect Social Security payments are costing the government agency more than $1 billion, the CEO of a major bank is cautiously optimistic we can avoid a recession, and a U.S. senator questions immigration parole for a man flagged on the federal watch list. Also, U.S. officials have sent a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East, and one study says TikTok favors the Chinese communist regime.
Improper Social Security Payments Reach $1.1 Billion; Agency Backlog Hits All-Time High
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) says the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) backlog of pending actions hit an “all-time high” of 5.2 million as of February of this year, and that number stems from the growing underpayments or increasing overpayments to beneficiaries.So you know, overpayments put Social Security beneficiaries under a lot of pressure since the agency at one point will ask them to pay back the extra money they’ve been overpaid. There’s no timetable on the SSA’s request for overpayment, and some recipients may not be in a financial position to pay them back by the time the agency gets around to asking for it.
Meanwhile, underpayments mean other beneficiaries will not receive their correct monthly payment, which is financially challenging for many recipients. It’s the delay in resolving the differences between underpayments and overpayments that has caused the record-breaking $1.1 billion worth of improper payments as listed by the OIG.
The SSA is blaming this huge backlog on increased workload, staff reductions, and lower-than-expected funding for overtime. It points out that the agency has “over 650 fewer employees working on processing centers’ workloads now” than it had eight years ago, while the beneficiary count has risen from roughly 64 million people to nearly 72 million during that same time period.
Interesting to note that back in February, the SSA proposed a rule for using information from payroll data providers in its calculations. The proposed Payroll Information Exchange is expected to reduce manual reporting errors, which could then reduce improper payments.
Bank of America Reverses Recession Call, but Warns of ‘Very Negative’ Consumer Spending Risk
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said his company no longer believes that the U.S. economy will slip into a recession. However, he says that could change if current consumer spending worsens, which could potentially push shoppers into a “very negative” state that would be difficult to reverse.Moynihan made those remarks during an interview Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. He also encouraged the Federal Reserve to carefully manage the interest rate policy to prevent a deeper economic downturn, suggesting that easing rates may be necessary to sustain consumer confidence and spending.
Interesting to note that last August, Bank of America predicted that the U.S. economy would enter a recession.
Moynihan says its outlook this year changed when looking at data coming from its base of 60 million consumers. He said it shows consumer spending grew by about 3 percent year over year in July and August of this year, which is around half the pace of growth in the comparable period last year.
So you know, Moynihan says part of what sent inflation to multi-decade highs in recent years was too much stimulus, enabled by cheap borrowing costs at ultra-low interest rates. He went on to say that he believes the era of near-zero rates is gone for good and that the central bank will eventually settle at 3 percent to 3.5 percent, which he called “back to normal.”
By the way, Moynihan’s cautious optimism contrasts with the outlook of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who remains less convinced that the U.S. economy will manage to avoid a recession.
Sen. Grassley Questions Immigration Parole for Alleged Trump Assassination Plotter
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a series of questions to the head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, asking for clarity on the recent arrest of a Pakistani national regarding his attempts to assassinate high-ranking U.S. government officials, allegedly including former President Donald Trump.To refresh your memory, the alleged Pakistani plotter, 46-year-old Asif Raza Merchant, was apprehended last month when he attempted to leave the United States. Merchant’s plot to murder high-ranking U.S. citizens was foiled when he allegedly conspired with undercover agents who posed as assassins.
This alleged scheme was part of a larger Iranian ploy to retaliate against the killing of Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland. If you don’t remember, Soleimani was taken down in 2020 during the Trump administration for targeting the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
Citing media reports, Grassley said that Merchant was interviewed by the Joint Terrorism Task Force when he first came to the United States back in April because he was flagged in the federal database as a “Lookout Qualified Person of Interest.” Despite this, Grassley says Merchant was granted Significant Public Benefit Parole by the DHS, which he overstayed.
Among the questions he wants Mayorkas to answer include: did the DHS grant Merchant Significant Public Benefit Parole before or after his placement on the terrorist watchlist, and on what basis was Merchant granted this special parole designation? Grassley also wants to know how many individuals on the Terrorist Screening Database the DHS has granted parole to and allowed entry into the United States.
By the way, Merchant’s alleged plan to assassinate Trump has not been confirmed by federal agencies.
US Sending Guided-Missile Submarine to Middle East
On Sunday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of the USS Georgia guided-missile submarine into the waters of the Middle East due to the mounting tensions between Israel and Iran.The Pentagon stated that Austin gave the instruction after speaking with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, during which he reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to “take every possible step” to defend Israel.
The defense chief also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to speed up its transit to the Middle East after its earlier deployment, according to a readout issued by the Pentagon.
Austin and Gallant also discussed Israel’s operations in Gaza, progress toward securing a cease-fire deal with Hamas along with the release of all hostages, and their efforts to deter the Iranian regime’s aggression.
You should know that the United States has been concerned about a possible escalation following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a political leader of the Hamas terrorist organization. Iran has blamed Israel for his killing although Israel has not claimed responsibility.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department said that Washington has been urging Tehran through diplomatic channels not to escalate tensions in the Middle East, warning that would be going against the interests of Iran or anyone else in the region.
You should know that the United States and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980, following the Iranian takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.
TikTok Algorithms Actively Suppress Criticism of Chinese Regime, Study Finds
According to a new study, China-owned TikTok is using its algorithms to suppress content exposing China’s human rights violations, in order to shape the views of its targeted users.Researchers from Rutgers University and the school’s Network Contagion Research Institute found that TikTok’s algorithms “actively suppress content critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while simultaneously boosting pro-China propaganda and promoting distracting, irrelevant content.”
To conduct the study, researchers created 24 accounts across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, mimicking 16-year-old users in the United States.
The accounts were used to test three social media platforms’ algorithms when inputting four different search keywords: “Uyghur,” “Xinjiang,” “Tibet,” and “Tiananmen.”
The study said the video-sharing platform systematically “shouts down” sensitive discussions about issues such as ethnic genocide and human rights abuses using travel influencers, frontier lifestyle accounts, and other CCP-linked content creators.
Interesting to note that the report also found that TikTok had carried out “successful indoctrination” of its heavy users, given the changes in their attitudes toward China, which was based on the results of a psychological survey. It showed a 49 percent increase in positivity toward the CCP’s human rights records, relative to non-users.
TikTok has been facing scrutiny and accusations of being a threat to U.S. national security, and its China-based parent company, Bytedance, could be forced by the CCP to hand over data on U.S. users.
You should also know that the U.S. National Security Agency has previously called the app the CCP’s ”trojan horse” that threatens America’s long-term security.
By the way, as a result of this study, researchers recommend the creation of a Civic Trust funded by social media platforms and the public to help identify platforms that are manipulating user perceptions.
Before we go, a timely reminder. With each passing day this summer, more and more young folks are heading back to school, so when you’re out and about, please be extra cautious when you’re driving in and around school zones. Let’s make sure that our students make it to and from their campus as safely as possible.
And now, looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Tuesday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
Thanks for sharing some time with us today, and please tell your friends, family, and co-workers to join the News Brief family as well. Everybody is welcome in our little family.
Dan was kind enough to check in—Mike B. too—and we also heard from Angela, who said she enjoys the News Brief: no bias and no drama!
*(Don’t forget the News Brief Motto): We’re portable, affordable, and always on-demand.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote, and this one comes to us from Spencer Johnson, who said: “In one minute, you can change your attitude, and in that minute, you can change your entire day.”
Today is National Filet Mignon Day. Filet mignon is French for “cute filet” or “dainty filet.” Best when served medium rare with grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms, and cherry Coke.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.
Enjoy the remainder of your Tuesday, and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. Let’s all continue to watch out for one another, have a superb day today, and bye for now.
