Beltway Insider: Biden/Student Loan, Abortion Rights, Israel Attacked, Gaza Aid Workers, Crumbley Parents, Trump

Details: Category: Beltway Insider; Published on Sunday, 14 April 2024 12:25; Written by Janet Walker

President Biden has unequivocally condemned the unprecedented attack by Iran on Israel, while simultaneously clarifying to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu U.S. policy will change unless he begins allowing aid relief to the millions of displaced Gazans.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending April 14, 2024, increased by 0.02% to 39.3% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness increased by 0.06% to 55.9% of those polled who disapprove of his effectiveness. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

Beltway Insider: Biden/Fairer Tax Codes, Bankman-Fried Sentenced, Baltimore Bridge, Joe Liberman, Trump Legal Drama

Biden Pushes to Fulfil Student Loan Forgiveness Promise

President Biden has announced 277,000 additional student loan borrowers will receive student loan debt forgiveness. This latest round of debt cancellation comes on the heels of President Biden announcing new plans that, if implemented, would cancel student debt for over 30 million Americans when combined with actions the Administration has taken over the last three years.

Since President Biden took office, his Administration has approved over $54 billion in debt cancellation for 1.4 million borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans, including the new SAVE Plan.

Any person receiving Student Loan forgiveness will gain a second round of relief, as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, "made forgiven student loans exempt from federal income taxes, but it only applies to loans that are discharged between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2025," reported Yahoo!Finance.com. Some states do require any amount forgiven to be assessed on the state level, meaning state taxes would be assessed on the forgiven amount.

Abortion Rights Heat Up Presidential Race

The Arizona Supreme Court set its state back 160 years, back to the days when women were chattel to be bought, sold, and controlled by society, by resurrecting an archaic law from 1864 that totally bans abortions rights, except to save the mother's life and punishes abortion providers with prison.

Since the United States Supreme Court revoked the 1973 landmarked decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy which at one time was considered a right guaranteed by "substantive due process" an unwritten rule of law that protects certain unwritten but generally adopted rights, through the decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, women across the nation have been pushing back against government control over their bodies, and medical decisions.

In August 2023, one year after the Supreme Court which includes five conservative justices, anti-abortion advocates believed they could present sweeping legislation across the nation and systemically dismantle all abortion protections.

"Abortion has been on the ballot in seven states since that landmark court decision one year ago and in each instance, in red states and blue states, anti-abortion advocates have lost. In some instances, voters have approved state constitutional amendments protecting abortion rights. In others, they've rejected measures that would weaken protections or make explicit in the state constitution that abortion rights are not protected," NBCnews.com reported.

By presenting shock marketing campaigns, Anti-abortion advocates utilize the public's sympathies to redirect the thought process. Pro-choice, a women's right to choose is allows women to have autonomy over their own personal medical and lifestyle choices.

By denying women this right, elected officials and others in power are explaining to the 70 percent of 168.6 million women registered to vote in the United States, that you do not have the intelligence to make wise, sound, personal choices.

World News: The French Government Targets Healthcare Fraud

Sydney Mall Murders

An off duty female inspector, Amy Scott, shot and killed a knife wielding murderer who terrorized shoppers, leaving seven dead, and 12 wounded including a nine-month-old, who is still fighting for her life after emergency surgery.

The attack, which began in the afternoon, at the Westfield Mall in Sydney, Australia, near the world-famous Bondi Beach, was filled with people when Joel Cauchi, 40, appeared according to authorities to be targeting women, began his rampage.

"The man who fatally stabbed six people in Sydney had mental health issues in the past and there is no indication ideology was a motive in the attack in one of the city's busiest shopping centres, police said on Sunday," Reuters reported.

While authorities have yet to provide any further details on the victims, names of those murdered are being released and include Dawn Singleton, 25, daughter of Advertising Executive John Singleton, and Ashlee Goode, 38, mother of the infant in critical condition, Pikria Darchia, 55, and Jade Young, 47, an architect and mother of two was also murdered, and security guard, Faraz Tahir, 30, a Pakistani refugee fleeing violence, was murdered as he attempted to intervene.

Mass violence is rare in Australia. After a 1996 mass shooting in Tasmania, when a gunman killed 35, and wounded 23, the nation enacted the world's strictest gun laws.

Israel Attacked

Iran launched a series of unprovoked drone strikes against Israel, through launch sites located in supporting nations of Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, in an attack that many believed was imminent after the October 7, 2023, coordinated attack financed by the Iranian government.

The nighttime attacked unleashed 300 missiles that were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile defense system and through assistance by the United States.

"At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week. Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles," President Biden said in a released statement.

President Biden also stated the United States remains committed to protecting the sovereignty and security of Israel. Israel now has a two-fold identity crisis, both as victim and perpetrator.

World News: European Elections Become a French Duel

Ten days ago, President Biden spoke on "a tense 30-minute call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Mr. Biden for the first-time leveraged U.S. aid to influence the conduct of the war against Hamas that has inflamed many Americans and others around the world," The New York Times reported. Hours later Netanyahu announced additional aid routes were opened.

The volatile and instability of the region, and murder of aid workers, which even though an investigation was launched the truism of "it's easier to apologize than ask permission" remains the intent of some of the IDF who would prefer to apologize for the deaths of aid workers than allow food to reach Gaza.

Ending the six-month war, and initiating a rebuilding process, remains an active and important component of the Biden administration's efforts to secure a cease fire in Gaza and more importantly to provide safe and unfettered humanitarian aid to the 1.7million displaced Gazans.

School Shooter Parents Sentenced

James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents, of an Oxford, Michigan school shooter, who were held accountable under the law for their failures to comprehend the ramifications of their actions in aiding their son's access to weapons that ultimately resulted in the murders of four students during a mass school shooting, were sentenced this week to up to 15 years in prison each.

The Crumbley's were tried, in separate trials, for involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of the students, as prosecutors set out to prove their actions made them culpable for the crimes committed by their son, who pled guilty and was sentenced to life without parole.

"Throughout the two trials, the prosecution's overarching argument against the parents was that they bought a gun for a teenager who was clearly troubled, they failed to secure it, and they failed to take steps before the shooting, including on the morning of, that could have prevented the tragedy," reported The Washington Post.

This trial may be the first of its kind and for many Americans wary of gun violence, it is long overdue, and opens the door to judicial prosecution for others, including employers who fail to address known issues of sociopathy or psychological impairment, such as images, words, and description of violent acts, and fail to take measures to protect employee directed violence.

Coronavirus Totals

According to the World Health Organization the increase in cases resulting from the variant JN.1 have migrated in a similar pattern as the original Covid-19 virus. The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens, should receive at least one shot of an updated covid vaccine. Vaccines and boosters are still considered the most effective agents against contracting the Coronavirus.

For the 14-day period ending April 14, 2024, the total of confirmed coronavirus cases reported by The World Health Organization remained at 775,251,779 confirmed cases, increasing by 297,386 confirmed cases. The total worldwide death toll increased by 3,396 to 7,043,660 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated March 31, 2024, from The World Health Organization).

COVID U.S. Totals

As hospitalizations and infection rates continue to rise in the United States, some jurisdictions are suggesting new mask mandates. For the 14-day period ending April 14, 2024, new Covid hospitalizations in the U.S. increased by 16,234 to 6,917,410. The coronavirus has claimed 1,188,278 total U.S. deaths, adding 1,607 deaths, over the past 14 days. (Data updated April 6, 2024, posted April 12, 2024, from the CDC).

Road to the White House – Trump's Legal Troubles Continue

Trump Hush Money Trail Begins

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg takes center stage this week as he begins the prosecution of former president Donald J. Trump over his alleged payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, during the 2016 Presidential election, facilitated through an associate to stop her from talking about their encounter.

"The case of People v. Trump itself is a mixed bag, with the lowest stakes of the four prosecutions he faces. Trump would have no mandatory prison term if convicted. Despite the salacious back story, the case at its core is about documents: whether Trump falsified the business and financial records that accounted for the hush money," The Wall Street Journal reported.

As Trump is the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee, a conviction would derail his chances to secure the nomination and may or may not, if convicted, result in prison time. Trump's inability in New York courts to hoodwink or dazzle the jury may already be weighing on republicans, nationwide, as polls have indicated a conviction would make them "less likely" to vote for him.

Jury selection begins tomorrow, Monday, April 15, 2024.

Hollywood Week: Disgraced Gridiron Great O.J. Simpson Dies

O.J. Simpson Dead at 76

Disgraced gridiron great O.J. Simpson died this week. He was 76. The cause was brain cancer.

After what began as a bright career, filled with awards, accolades, and achievement, Simpson would become known for escaping justice in the double murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, a good Samaritan who returned items she had inadvertently left at a restaurant earlier in the evening, and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Simpson would spend the next thirty years, from 1994, a pariah, and scam artist that would land him in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery. The glory days as a pro baller, Heisman trophy winner, NFL running back, movie star, and one of the most recognizable pitchmen in advertising, were long gone.

For more information on President Joe Biden www.whitehouse.gov.