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Democrats blame GOP for Obamacare woes tied to pandemic-era subsidies
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Amid the ongoing government shutdown fight, the Democratic Party’s message has largely focused on blaming Republicans for stripping «millions» of their health insurance because they won’t approve expanded Obamacare subsidies.
Democrats temporarily expanded Obamacare subsidies during COVID, adding what they called enhanced tax credits.
But these tax credits, pushed through Congress by Democrats with no Republican support during the COVID-19 pandemic, aren’t universally accepted as a cost-cutting measure. Rather, according to some experts, they are a temporary fix to a long-term problem and fail to address the root causes of high healthcare costs in the country.
DEMS IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER OBAMACARE’S SPIKING PREMIUM COSTS TORPEDO THEIR NARRATIVE
Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., (left) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (middle) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., (right) claimed that Republicans stripped millions off Americans’ health insurance by opposing an extension of Obamacare tax credits. (Getty Images)
Critics also lament that the extra tax credits make Obamacare more susceptible to waste, fraud and abuse.
«We believe healthcare is a right for every American. But starting today, millions will get notice that they are being priced out of their insurance due to Republican policies,» Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in a video alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., posted to social media Wednesday. «GOP may shut down the government, but we stand up for you.»
Meanwhile, Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer, has accused Republicans of refusing to protect Americans’ healthcare.
«We Democrats are going to be there every day, every hour, the Senate, the House, groups that care about healthcare, hospital groups, healthcare groups, research groups, letting them know this didn’t have to happen,» Schumer said from the Senate floor on Wednesday. «It happened because our Republican colleagues wanted to give tax breaks to billionaires and cut their healthcare.»
According to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Republicans’ failure to expand the Obamacare tax credits will lead to «over 50,000 more people» dying each year.
But the idea of using subsidies to lower costs even more for Americans using Obamacare has sparked concern about the longevity of the program, and its susceptibility to fraud, waste and abuse.
«Democrats are fighting to extend expiring COVID-era Obamacare subsidies they passed under Joe Biden with zero Republican support,» Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X. «These subsidies are responsible for tens of billions in improper and fraudulent payments.»
DEMOCRATS AT A BIG DISADVANTAGE IN SHUTDOWN AS TRUMP STARTS SLASHING THEIR PROGRAMS
Estimates cited by Democrats suggest as much as a 75% increase in Obamacare premiums if the enhanced tax credits aren’t re-approved. But Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Edmund Haislmaier argued in 2022 that extending them will have «next to no effect on the premiums charged by insurers.»
A protest co-led by the California Nurses Association called on Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., to vote against President Donald Trump’s «one big, beautiful» spending bill that would cut spending on healthcare and other federal safety net programs. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
«Obamacare’s subsidy system was deliberately designed to keep what the enrollee pays constant, regardless of how much premiums increase. The COVID-19 spending bill simply changed how much enrollees are expected to contribute to the cost of their coverage by temporarily changing the formula,» Haislmaier wrote at the time. «In sum, extending the temporary bump-up in Obamacare subsidies by three more years will pointlessly throw another $64 billion onto the inflation bonfire in exchange for virtually no societal benefit.»
James Capretta, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-of-center think tank in Washington, D.C., pointed out that subsidies, in turn, increase federal spending. An indefinite extension of the Obamacare enhanced tax credits would cost $350 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
GOP ACCUSES DEMS OF RISKING SHUTDOWN TO RESTORE ‘ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE’
«The longer the enhanced credits remain in place, the harder it will be to revert to the pre-2021 schedule,» Capretta wrote this week ahead of the looming government shutdown. «A more straightforward and fiscally sustainable solution to low take-up of insurance would be to lower overall healthcare costs, thereby bringing down health insurance premiums. But, as a political matter, it is much easier to increase government support for insurance enrollment than to impose more cost discipline on hospitals, doctors, and other providers of services.»
Brian Blase, the president of the Paragon Health Institute and a former advisor on the White House’s National Economic Council, explained why claims that Republicans are intentionally skyrocketing their premiums could be misleading in a post on X.
«The premium increase will hit regardless of what Congress does. That is an unfortunate feature of how Obamacare is working. The question is the share that should be paid by taxpayers,» Blase said. «Pouring more subsidies on insurers entrenches the status quo & means higher premiums & prices.»
Democrats claim that Americans will be «priced out of insurance» due to Republicans refusing to extend Obamacare tax credits. (iStock)
Meanwhile, conservatives have also pointed out that the enhanced tax credits in question don’t expire until the end of the year, noting that negotiations for extending them could take place once the government is reopened.
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«You can’t reward this exercise in hostage taking, which is what we would be doing if we allow the government opening to be conditional on the Democrats’ policy disagreement,» Vice President JD Vance said during an appearance on «Fox and Friends» on Wednesday.
«That premium support program doesn’t even expire until next year. So why are you shutting down the government on October 1 because of a program that doesn’t even expire for another few months,» he continued. «Let’s talk about it, let’s negotiate, let’s do what you do in Washington, D.C.»
Fox News Digital’s Cameron Arcand contributed to this report.
government shutdown,health care healthy living,democratic party,democrats senate,democrats
Anti-Hamas militias in Gaza endorse Trump peace plan
Exclusive video from the Center for Peace Communications shows anti-Hamas militia leaders in Gaza expressing support for Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan to end the conflict. (Video: The Center for Peace Communications.)
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JERUSALEM — As negotiations continue in Egypt on the U.S. roadmap for peace, Fox News Digital obtained video from the U.S.-based Center for Peace Communications (CPC), revealing that anti-Hamas militias have endorsed President Donald Trump’s peace plan to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages.
This comes amid reports of heavy fighting last week between an anti-Hamas clan and terrorists from the jihadi Hamas movement in a neighborhood in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip that could mark a sea change in local governance in the war-ravaged area.
Yaser Abu Shabab, who leads an anti-Hamas militia in Gaza, said «We see in President Trump’s plan a path to halt the bloodshed and bring peace to the Middle East.» (The Center for Peace Communications)
The full-throttle support from the anti-Hamas militias for Trump’s plan could potentially mean more trouble for the terrorist movement that has ruled Gaza with an iron fist for the last 17 years.
Three of the anti-Hamas militias publicly endorsed Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, according to the CPC video. Yasser Abu Shabab, the head of the Popular Forces militia in Rafah, said, «We see in President Trump’s plan a path to halt the bloodshed and bring peace to the Middle East.»
WHO IS THE GAZAN CHALLENGING HAMAS RULE, AND DOES HE HAVE A CHANCE?
Palestinians demonstrate in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City against Hamas rule and call for an end to the war. Gaza City, Mar 26, 2025. (TPS-IL)
Ashraf Al-Mansi, leader of the Popular Northern Forces, said, «We, in the People’s Army, Northern Forces in the Gaza Strip, extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to U.S. President Donald Trump.»
Rami Hillis, the leader of the Popular Defense Forces, said his organization and the honorable clans in the Gaza Strip «will exert our utmost efforts and our capabilities to ensure the success of this proposal.» Two years ago, on Oct. 7, the Hamas terrorist movement invaded Israel and slaughtered roughly 1,200 people, including more than 40 American citizens.
Hamas terrorists emerge in a show of strength escorting Red Cross vehicles carrying 3 Israeli hostages to be released as part of the cease-fire deal. (TPS-IL)
«This marks the first time that anti-Hamas militias have proven on the ground their ability to challenge Hamas in open combat and to expel them from their areas. We have seen minor clashes before, but this seems to mark a major escalation,» said Michael Nahum from CPC.
The CPC, along with an American news organization, the Free Press, posted footage on X about the deadly clashes on Friday that reportedly resulted in the killing of 20 Hamas terrorists, including a commander.
AS TRUMP’S GAZA DEAL NEARS, FAMILY WARNS ISRAEL NOT TO FREE ANOTHER SINWAR
According to the CPC, the infamous Hamas «Sahm Unit,» which is «known for brutally suppressing Gazan dissident voices, went to Khan Younis» with the goal of arresting local Palestinians and «transferring them to a hospital for interrogation and possible execution.»
On the same day as the clashes, Israel Defense Forces disclosed that Hamas had built sophisticated terrorist tunnels on the compounds of two hospitals — the Jordanian Field Hospital and Hamad Hospital — in the Gaza Strip. The tunnel adjacent to the Jordanian hospital contained a workshop for the production of missiles. The use of hospitals and medical facilities as weapons areas by Hamas is considered a war crime under the Geneva Convention.
Yaser Abu Shabab seen with members of his militia. Shabab is standing, second to the right. (Center for Peace Communications)
Hamas claims it entered Khan Younis to detain Palestinians who are collaborating with Israel. The al-Mujaida clan in southern Gaza resisted the Hamas assault of roughly 50 Hamas terrorists aboard five pickup trucks armed to the teeth, including with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Hamas reportedly murdered five members of the large al-Mujaida family.
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The anti-Hamas militias have reportedly received support from Israel. Nahum said they are growing, and there are now four and probably as many as 10 militias across the Gaza Strip. «For the first time in a generation, we really might be looking at the end of Hamas rule in Gaza,» said Nahum.
There are an estimated 20,000 Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, according to some assessments.
israel,conflicts,terrorism,donald trump,middle east
INTERNACIONAL
“Una voz que incomode de verdad”: quién debería ganar el Nobel de Literatura según la Inteligencia Artificial
En Estocolmo todavía no amanece y ya se respira la conspiración. Cada octubre, un puñado de académicos suecos decide —en silencio y detrás de puertas acolchadas— quién representará la conciencia literaria del mundo. Afuera, el planeta especula. En los cafés de París, en los portales de Seúl, en los grupos de WhatsApp de traductores latinoamericanos, se cruzan las mismas apuestas: ¿será por fin Murakami?, ¿se atreverán con Krasznahorkai?, ¿darán el salto hacia África o América Latina?
El Nobel de Literatura no elige solo un escritor: elige un relato del mundo. Y ese relato, cada año, dice algo sobre el clima político, sobre la sensibilidad estética del tiempo y sobre quiénes —todavía— tienen derecho a decir la verdad.
Este año consultamos con ChatGPT -esa IA que viene escribiendo tanto- sobre las posibilidades de triunfo de los distintos candidatos. Le pedimos que analizara los premiados anteriores y el contexto político y literario actual. A continuación, su respuesta
El premio mayor y por qué
En 2023 fue Jon Fosse, con su lenguaje mínimo y espiritual, quien representó la búsqueda de lo esencial. En 2024, Han Kang llevó el premio a Corea del Sur con una literatura que mira de frente el trauma y el cuerpo. La Academia parece moverse entre lo introspectivo y lo histórico, entre el susurro poético y la denuncia.
Ahora, en 2025, la pregunta vuelve a encenderse: ¿será el año de una voz que incomode de verdad?
Porque el nombre que resuena con más fuerza —y que podría darle al premio su giro más arriesgado en años— es el de Can Xue (残雪), la escritora china que ha hecho del delirio, la opacidad y la belleza fragmentada una forma de rebelión.
La concesión del Nobel de Literatura combina méritos estéticos y resonancia ética. En el contexto actual, la obra de Can Xue ofrece tres aportes decisivos: 1) un desafío a la lógica del realismo narrativo, 2) una exploración del trauma sin moralismos ni melodrama, y 3) una apertura del canon literario más allá de los centros tradicionales. Su nombre figura entre los favoritos de las principales casas de apuestas y en las quinielas críticas de medios europeos y asiáticos.
Frente a nombres previsibles como László Krasznahorkai o Haruki Murakami, Can Xue encarna algo distinto: la posibilidad de que el Nobel premie no solo lo universal, sino lo indómito. Su literatura, hecha de símbolos, sueños y desplazamientos, emerge de un contexto donde la censura y el control cultural son parte del aire cotidiano. Premiarla no sería un gesto diplomático, sino un acto de afirmación estética: reconocer que la disidencia también puede escribirse desde lo irracional y lo poético.
El Nobel, conviene recordarlo, es siempre un espejo político. Después de su crisis institucional de 2018, la Academia ha intentado redibujar su autoridad, diversificando lenguas y geografías. Un premio a Can Xue colocaría en el centro a una autora que no milita, no se exilia, no traduce su experiencia a la gramática occidental del sufrimiento, sino que inventa su propio lenguaje para habitar la incomodidad.
Su escritura desarma al lector. No explica: sugiere. No cuenta: evoca. En un tiempo saturado de narrativas previsibles y de autoficciones terapéuticas, Can Xue representa otra forma de riesgo: el de la oscuridad. La de no ofrecer sentido inmediato, sino forzarlo a nacer.
Por eso su eventual Nobel no sería un premio más. Sería una toma de posición. Frente al confort del mercado y la previsibilidad del gusto, la elección de Can Xue recordaría que la literatura no está para calmar, sino para inquietar.
La Academia anunciará su decisión este jueves 9 de octubre de 2025, según informó NobelPrize.org. Hasta entonces, el rumor seguirá ardiendo: entre quienes esperan justicia geográfica y quienes desean un salto estético real.
Si el Nobel busca una voz que refleje el desorden del siglo XXI —una literatura que no consuele, sino que desestabilice—, Can Xue es la respuesta. Porque hay veces en que el mundo no necesita claridad. Necesita una grieta.
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Cuomo rips Mamdani’s freebie ‘fantasy,’ says AOC proved socialism fails after killing NYC Amazon deal
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Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reminded business leaders on Wednesday that socialism already failed New York City when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and progressive activists rallied against Amazon’s plan to build a headquarters in Queens.
During Crain’s New York Business mayoral forum Wednesday morning, less than one month away from Election Day, Cuomo railed against the threat that Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s policies pose to the city’s economy.
«We are not socialists,» Cuomo said. «We all saw the foreshadowing of the danger of this philosophy when we lost the Amazon project in Queens and 50,000 jobs due to socialist opposition.»
Cuomo told business leaders New York City is at a crossroads — it will either «decline dramatically» under Mamdani or «pivot and actually see a rebirth.»
CUOMO CALLS NYC MAYORAL RIVAL ‘DANGEROUS,’ WARNS SOCIALISM WOULD BE ‘DEATH KNELL’ FOR CITY
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (right) criticized Zohran Mamdani’s (left) policies, telling business leaders that socialism already failed New York City when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., (center) and progressive leaders rejected Amazon’s plan to open a headquarters in Long Island City. (Rashid Umar Abbasi/Fox News Digital; J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo; Al Drago/Getty Images)
«My opponent’s proposal to provide free everything funded by raising taxes is pure ideological fantasy,» Cuomo said during his opening remarks.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S POLICIES ‘WON’T WORK’ IN NEW YORK, ANDREW CUOMO ARGUES
And Cuomo is pointing to one consequential business flop as proof that socialism has no place in the capitalist capital.
«We are a financial and commercial capital. We are a regulated capitalist economy,» Cuomo said, clearly criticizing Mamdani’s self-identified «Democratic socialist» policies and distaste for capitalism.
During his tenure as governor, Cuomo courted Amazon to build its second headquarters in New York, personally urging founder and CEO Jeff Bezos to choose Long Island City and offering billions in state and city incentives, along with infrastructure and workforce commitments to seal the deal.
But the deal was met with mounting backlash from community activists and progressive lawmakers, such as Ocasio-Cortez, who rejected the estimated $2.5 billion in incentives for Amazon.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks during a rally in New York City on May 1, 2025. (Angelina Katsanis/AP Photo)
«Now what I DON’T want is for our public funds to be funding freebie helipads for Amazon+robber baron billionaires,» Ocasio-Cortez wrote in 2018, «all while NYCHA and public schools go underfunded & mom+pops get nowhere near that kind of a break.»
In 2019, Amazon announced they had decided that «after much thought and deliberation» not to move forward with their plan to build headquarters in Long Island City in Queens.
«A number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City,» Amazon shared in a statement.
Alfredo Ortiz, CEO of Job Creators Network, told Fox News at the time that Ocasio-Cortez’s «reckless scuttling of the Amazon deal cannot be overstated.»
«Not only did AOC cost New York 25,000 good-paying jobs, she sent a message to job creators everywhere that they were no longer welcome in her city,» he said.
Amazon had anticipated creating at least 25,000 jobs in Long Island City, with the governor’s office projecting the potential growth to 40,000 jobs over 15 years.
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani speaks to supporters at a canvass launch event in Prospect Park on Aug. 17, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
During Mamdani’s remarks at the business forum on Wednesday, the socialist candidate quoted Bezos, whom he described as «a man whose tax burden I would love to significantly raise.»
«Jeff once said — not to me personally, but in public — ‘You have to be willing to be misunderstood if you’re going to innovate.’ And make no mistake, my friends: when I am mayor, this city is going to innovate,» Mamdani told the room of New York City business leaders.
But Mamdani’s plans to raise taxes on corporations and the top 1% of New Yorkers to pay for ambitious campaign promises, like free buses, free childcare and city-run grocery stores, have triggered skepticism among the business community.
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Cuomo, in particular, has seized on that skepticism in the race for Gracie Mansion, telling business leaders on Wednesday that «now is the moment for New York City to regain the crown as the greatest city on the globe.»
Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
zohran mamdani,andrew cuomo,nyc mayoral elections coverage,politics,elections
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