Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Wednesday, June 26, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we have a variety of compelling stories to share with you today, and here’s what’s going on.
Federal judges are blocking key sections of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, a New York judge is partially lifting his gag order against former President Donald Trump, and the House just passed a bill that targets China’s forced organ harvesting practices. Also, Oakland’s mayor is finally speaking out following the FBI raid on her home, and the fallout continues over a year after a devastating train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Federal Judges Block Parts of Student Loan Repayment Plan
Federal judges in Missouri and Kansas have issued separate rulings blocking key sections of the Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) program. The SAVE plan, which is a revision of a previous plan, cuts the required payment on student loans from 10 percent to 5 percent of discretionary income and it shortens the repayment period for those with lower initial loan balances. This means that borrowers with smaller loan balances could have their loans forgiven in just 10 years instead of 20.The district judge in Kansas said the Biden administration’s interpretation of the Higher Education Act, which is a law used to authorize the SAVE Plan, fell short of clear congressional approval. The judge for the Eastern District of Missouri agreed, and also blocked the administration from forgiving any other loans under the SAVE program until he decides the full case. He also suggested that the state of Missouri would likely be harmed by the program.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who led his state’s legal challenge, celebrated the ruling as a victory, and the Kansas challenge was supported by 11 other Republican states. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey also praised the ruling, calling it a huge win for the rule of law and for Americans who would have been forced to pay off someone else’s debt.
President Biden created the SAVE program after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his plan to forgive broader college debts. Interesting to note—the Biden administration says that just since April, it has provided close to $146 billion in student debt relief through two dozen executive actions.
NY Judge Partially Lifts Trump Gag Order, Sets Timeline for Expiration
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan is ending parts of former President Trump’s gag order for now, and says the entire gag order will be terminated once the former president is sentenced next month.The justice broke the original gag order down into three categories: statements about witnesses; statements about court staff and counsel, and later extended it to include statements about family members of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Justice Merchan, along with statements about jurors.
Former President Trump had made several statements about those involved in the case leading up to and through the first week of the trial, resulting in the justice fining him a total of $10,000 for 10 gag order violations.
The statements he was fined for included comments about some of the witnesses and also for repeating a claim by a Fox News host that some of the jurors were undercover liberal activists.
The president’s legal team appealed the gag order twice, but it was upheld by the state’s top court.
Justice Merchan now says that since the trial portion of the criminal case is over, the gag order is no longer necessary when it comes to the witnesses and jurors, but it will still apply to court staff and counsel until the former president is formally sentenced on July 11.
House Passes Bill to Counter Beijing’s Forced Organ Harvesting From Falun Gong Practitioners
The bipartisan bill, called the Falun Gong Protection Act, requires that the U.S. government impose sanctions on those involved in Beijing’s state-sponsored forced organ harvesting in China.The bill, which passed in the House and still needs Senate approval, would require the United States to shun cooperation with China in the organ transplantation field and deploy targeted sanctions and visa restrictions to address the persecution of Falun Gong on the international stage.
In recent years, forced organ harvesting in China has caused major international concerns. An independent tribunal’s investigation in 2019 found that practitioners of Falun Gong made up the majority of the victims. So you know, Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline consisting of meditation exercises and teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
It is the first legislative bill that addresses Beijing’s brutal suppression of the faith to advance through the chamber. The bill also mandates sanctions on Chinese officials, military leaders, or others who are “knowingly responsible for or complicit in, or have directly or indirectly engaged in, the involuntary harvesting of organs” in China.
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), who co-sponsored the bill, agrees and says the legislation is a huge step forward in holding organ traffickers accountable for their unspeakable crimes.
Oakland Mayor Speaks Out 4 Days After FBI Raid, Attorney Resigns
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s attorney, Tony Brass, has resigned. His resignation follows Ms. Thao’s public statements made four days after her home was raided by FBI agents last week.Ms. Thao said in a press conference that she did nothing wrong and that the investigation is not about her. She went on to say that she’s confident she won’t be charged with a crime because she’s innocent.
The reason for the raid remains unclear, but local media footage showed federal agents removing boxes, trash bags, and plastic bins from the mayor’s home.
Mr. Brass said he was unaware of the mayor’s public statement and only found out about it through the news. Ms. Thao said she was not given a heads-up about the raid and wants answers from the U.S. attorney about why she “wasn’t offered the opportunity to cooperate voluntarily.”
Related to the raid on the mayor’s home, federal agents also raided two other homes, including the home of Andy Duong, the director of the city’s garbage vendor California Waste Solutions, and his father David Duong, who’s president of the company.
The June 20 raid took place two days after the Alameda County Registrar of Voters confirmed that the recall effort against Ms. Thao received enough signatures to be placed on the November ballot.
The mayor has linked the FBI raid to the recall effort, claiming that it’s an attempt by wealthy political opponents to remove her from office. The group, Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao, says that the recall stems from the mayor’s handling of the city’s budget and public safety issues, including the failure to secure state grant money to combat retail theft.
Ms. Thao began her term as mayor in January 2023.
NTSB Reveals Results of Investigation Into Toxic Ohio Train Derailment
In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern Railway freight train derailed, spilling hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, onto the ground and into the air.As a result of the derailment, a fire started and to avoid an explosion that officials said would send shrapnel flying through the air, the decision was made to release and burn the vinyl chloride inside the cars.
It’s called a vent and burn, and it sent a massive cloud of black smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles. While there were no reported fatalities, the locals are still reporting headaches, vomiting, burning eyes, rashes, and other ailments.
NTSB officials tell us when the accident happened, firefighters were not told what the train was carrying for more than an hour after the derailment.
The NTSB says it will recommend that the Federal Railroad Administration create rules that outline how railroads should respond in the event of bearing failure alarms.
The NTSB also says the toxic vent and burn following the derailment wasn’t necessary and Norfolk Southern and its contractors withheld accurate information from the company that made the vinyl chloride.
The railroad, Norfolk Southern, says it plans to lead an industrywide initiative to improve how vent-and-burn decisions are made. Its announcement was released as part of the company’s $310 million settlement with the federal government.
For our friends in East Palestine, we’re thinking good thoughts for you, your family, and your friends.
Looks like our time is just about up for today, so let’s call it a wrap for the Wednesday edition (the midweek edition) of The Epoch Times News Brief.
And if you have just a skosh of free time today, we hope you’ll tell some folks you know about our program, as we’re always trying to grow the ever-expanding News Brief family. Thanks a bunch for being one of our family members.
We heard from Sharon Jones, who says, “Thank you for giving us the news without all the drama.”
Deb Storlie also sent over a thoughtful email.
And from Mary Toma: “Great, to the point! Like news brief!”
*(Don’t forget the News Brief Motto): We’re portable, affordable, and we’re always on-demand.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap things up with a very “notable” quote:
It was Sigmund Freud who said: “Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.”
That’s my kind of exercise. No sit-ups, jogging, or lifting weights.
Freud, by the way, was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas, and thanks a million for spending even a small portion of your Wednesday with us. Enjoy the rest of your day, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for the Thursday edition of the Epoch Times News Brief! Have a splendid day today, and bye for now.
