INTERNACIONAL
Democrats blame GOP for Obamacare woes tied to pandemic-era subsidies
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
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.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
«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
La policía federal alemana pronto podrá derribar vehículos aéreos no tripulados, dijo el miércoles el ministro del Interior, Alexander Dobrindt, después de una serie de avistamientos de drones que se cree son intentos rusos de espiar e intimidar.
Al presentar un proyecto de ley, Dobrindt dijo que la policía estaría autorizada “a tomar medidas técnicas de última generación contra las amenazas de los drones, por ejemplo con pulsos electromagnéticos, interferencias, interferencias del GPS, pero también con medios físicos”.
“Esto significa que la interceptación y el derribo de drones estarán regulados y serán posibles para la Policía Federal en el futuro”.
Alemania estaba aprendiendo sobre las modernas defensas con vehículos aéreos no tripulados de sus aliados Israel y Ucrania, dijo, y agregó que también establecería un centro conjunto de defensa con drones para que la policía estatal y federal desarrolle informes de situación “y tome contramedidas conjuntas”.
Alemania, un importante aliado de la OTAN para Ucrania en su lucha contra Rusia, ha informado de múltiples avistamientos de drones este año sobre bases militares, sitios industriales y otras infraestructuras críticas.
El fin de semana pasado, drones avistados sobre la ciudad sureña de Múnich cerraron dos veces el aeropuerto de la ciudad, dejando en tierra a miles de pasajeros después de que sus vuelos fueran cancelados o redireccionados, haciéndose eco de incidentes similares en Dinamarca y Noruega.
“Nuestra sospecha es que Rusia está detrás de la mayoría de estos vuelos con drones”, dijo el canciller Friedrich Merz a la emisora pública ARD en una entrevista el domingo.
Al día siguiente, hablando en el canal de noticias NTV, Merz destacó los recientes comentarios del presidente ruso Vladimir Putin y dijo que “es bastante obvio que incluso admite que viene de Rusia”.
“Quiere intimidarnos, quiere asustarnos. No nos dejaremos intimidar y nos defenderemos eficazmente de esta amenaza”.
Se ha producido una serie de avistamientos misteriosos de vehículos aéreos no tripulados sobre instalaciones militares, puertos, centrales eléctricas, sitios industriales e instalaciones de almacenamiento de gas alemanas.
Sin embargo, los drones generalmente desaparecen antes de que las autoridades puedan averiguar de dónde provienen.
Se cree que los drones avistados sobre el estado costero norteño de Schleswig-Holstein fueron lanzados desde buques de la “flota sombra” rusa.
Las fuerzas armadas alemanas ya cuentan con capacidades técnicas para contrarrestar los drones , pero la ley básica alemana sólo dispone de poderes muy limitados para operar a nivel nacional.
Los métodos incluyen el uso de bloqueadores de GPS montados en el hombro que pueden cortar la conexión entre un dron y su piloto y provocar que el dispositivo se estrelle.
Los drones también pueden ser derribados del cielo, pero con el riesgo de causar lesiones y daños por la caída de escombros.
Otra defensa es el uso de drones interceptores que se estrellan contra los vehículos aéreos no tripulados o lanzan redes sobre ellos en el aire.
La policía estatal y federal ahora puede solicitar la ayuda del ejército alemán para detectar drones, en circunstancias especiales, como fue el caso en el aeropuerto de Múnich.
Dobrindt dijo que como la policía federal ahora tomará el liderazgo en asegurar los cielos contra los drones, se creará una nueva unidad para el desarrollo y la investigación de la defensa contra los drones.
“Ya mantenemos intercambios con países con mucha más experiencia”, declaró en una rueda de prensa en Berlín. “Mantenemos un intercambio intensivo con Israel y también con Ucrania”.
(con información de AFP)
crime,police
INTERNACIONAL
Kushner joins Witkoff for Gaza ceasefire talks as Trump pushes peace plan: ‘cautiously optimistic’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has once again stepped into the geopolitical arena, landing in Egypt alongside White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
The presence of Kushner — who has largely stayed out of Trump’s White House during the president’s second term and holds no official role in the administration after previously serving as a senior advisor to Trump — signifies that the U.S. is «serious» about securing a deal between Hamas and Israel, bringing an end to the two-year-long war and returning all 48 hostages.
A White House official told Fox News Digital that Kushner, a «major architect of the Abraham Accords,» is an «extremely trusted voice on Middle East policy» and has been in contact with Witkoff throughout the Israel-Hamas negotiations over the last year.
The official said the White House is «grateful» for his expertise as it attempts to secure a deal and end the war this week, and remains «cautiously optimistic» that an agreement will be reached.
ISRAEL, HAMAS MEET IN EGYPT TO REVIVE TRUMP PEACE PLAN AHEAD OF OCT 7 ANNIVERSARY
US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (R) and Jared Kushner await the arrival of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, on July 13, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
«To bring him in now, I think, indicates that, one: the Trump administration is really determined to get some progress here. Two: they’re bringing some pretty serious firepower to make some deals,» senior fellow and Director of the Hudson Institute’s Keystone Defense Initiative, Rebeccah Heinrichs, told Fox and Friends Wednesday morning.
«It’s promising that Jared is there,» Heinrichs added, noting his prominent role in securing the Abraham Accords during the first Trump administration.
Reports on Wednesday suggested that the pair intend to remain in Egypt alongside other mediating nations, including Qatar, for as long as it takes to secure a deal.
Their arrival marked the third day of serious negotiations after Israeli and Hamas officials convened on Monday in the Egyptian coastal resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, located at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
The negotiations began after Trump late last month revealed a 20-point peace plan to end the war and return the hostages within a 72-hour window of an agreement being finalized.
TRUMP’S PEACE DEAL COULD END THE WAR IN GAZA OR NETANYAHU’S CAREER
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin talks to U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Shortly after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the terms before Trump began pushing Hamas to respond.
Hamas appeared to accept the majority of the proposal over the weekend, though it flagged issues with certain elements of the 20-point blueprint, including the swift return of all the hostages, particularly the deceased hostages, some of whom it says are buried under rubble and, therefore, cannot be quickly retrieved.
Reports also suggested Hamas took issue with the call for it to completely disarm and flagged distrust that Israel would hold up its end of the bargain by ending its military ambitions in the Gaza Strip once all the hostages are returned.
Security experts have told Fox News Digital that Trump, after months of backing Israel’s aggressive military strategy in the Gaza Strip, is in a unique position to squeeze Netanyahu and force both sides to the negotiating table.
Smoke rises from Gaza City seen from Deir al Balah, following intense Israeli military attacks on northern Gaza, on Oct. 5, 2025. (Khames Alrefi/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
«It’s absolutely imperative for Israel’s long-term security and, frankly, for Netanyahu’s political future to keep the U.S. and Trump on side,» security expert and Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, John Hannah, told Fox News Digital. «A flat-out rejection and confrontation with the United States would have been disastrous for Netanyahu as well as for Israel.»
Netanyahu is facing a precarious political front at home with immense frustration by the public over his failure to return the hostages, but also within his own coalition, who see his negotiating with Hamas as a concession and collapse of his previous stated security aims.
donald trump,white house,israel,benjamin netanyahu,middle east,world
INTERNACIONAL
Comey pleads not guilty in court after indictment on alleged false statements, obstruction
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to charges of allegedly making false statements and obstruction of a congressional hearing during his first court appearance in Virginia on Wednesday.
The former FBI director appeared at 10 a.m. ET in the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in Alexandria, Va. Comey’s wife, Patrice, and daughter, Maureen, were spotted waiting in line outside the courthouse Wednesday morning.
District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, presided over the hearing. Comey’s lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, told Nachmanoff that representing Comey «is the honor of my life» and that his team would be filing motions alleging a vindictive and retaliatory prosecution as well as outrageous government conduct.
Nachmanoff set oral argument dates for Nov. 19 and Dec. 9 and a jury trial to begin on Jan. 5, 2026.
COMEY INDICTED FOR ALLEGED FALSE STATEMENTS, OBSTRUCTION OF CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDING
Patrice Failor (L), wife of former FBI director James Comey, is embraced by her daughter Maurene Comey as they arrive at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Bryan Courthouse on October 08, 2025 in Alexandria, Virginia. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The only time Comey spoke during the hearing was when the judge asked if he understood the charges against him.
«I do your honor,» Comey said. «Thank you very much.»
Comey was indicted in September by a federal grand jury on two counts: alleged false statements within jurisdiction of the legislative branch and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.
The indictment alleges that Comey obstructed a congressional investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information in violation of 18 USC 1505.
The indictment also alleges Comey made a false statement when he stated he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment, that statement was false.
Fox News Digital exclusively reported in July that Comey was under criminal investigation by the FBI. The probe into Comey centered on whether he lied to Congress during his Sept. 30, 2020, testimony about his handling of the original Trump–Russia probe at the FBI, known inside the bureau as «Crossfire Hurricane.»
«No one is above the law,» Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X after the indictment, adding that it «reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.»
Former FBI Director James Comey is seen at a hearing on Capitol Hill in 2017. (Associated Press)
COMEY DENIES CHARGES, DECLARES ‘I AM NOT AFRAID’
FBI Director Kash Patel said «previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust.»
«Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on,» Patel said. «Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose.»
He added: «Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch.»
Comey, after being indicted, posted an Instagram video, denying the allegations.
«My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,» he said. «We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she’s right.»
«But I’m not afraid,» Comey added.
«My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial and keep the faith,» Comey said.
Fox News Digital also exclusively reported that former CIA Director John Brennan is under criminal investigation related to the Trump–Russia probe.
Under federal law, prosecutors have five years to bring a charge, with the five-year mark occurring Tuesday.
TRUMP SAYS COMEY ‘PLACED A CLOUD OVER THE ENTIRE NATION’ WITH CROSSFIRE HURRICANE, REACTS TO INDICTMENT
The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The FBI opened its Trump-Russia probe in July 2016, known inside the bureau as «Crossfire Hurricane.»
Robert Mueller, former special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice. (AP newsroom; Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Mike Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times)
President Donald Trump, during his first term, fired Comey in May 2017.
Days later, Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel to take over the FBI’s original «Crossfire Hurricane» investigation.
After nearly two years, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which concluded in March 2019, yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election.
Shortly after, John Durham was appointed as special counsel to investigate the origins of the «Crossfire Hurricane» probe.
EXCLUSIVE: FBI LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS OF JOHN BRENNAN, JAMES COMEY: DOJ SOURCES
Durham found that the FBI «failed to act» on a «clear warning sign» that the bureau was the «target» of a Clinton-led effort to «manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes» ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Fox News Digital broke a series of stories related to Special Counsel John Durham’s findings. (Julia Nikhinson/Reuters)
«The aforementioned facts reflect a rather startling and inexplicable failure to adequately consider and incorporate the Clinton Plan intelligence into the FBI’s investigative decision-making in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation,» Durham’s report states.
«Indeed, had the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation as an assessment and, in turn, gathered and analyzed data in concert with the information from the Clinton Plan intelligence, it is likely that the information received would have been examined, at a minimum, with a more critical eye,» the report continued.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Durham, in his report, said the FBI «failed to act on what should have been — when combined with other incontrovertible facts — a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election.»
Fox News’ Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago contributed to this report.
james comey,fbi,justice department,russia investigation
La anécdota de Javier Aguirre con Gilberto Mora y el Bacardí
Elecciones en Argentina 2025, en vivo: las últimas noticias sobre los comicios hoy
José Luis Espert pidió licencia hasta el final de su mandato como diputado
Escándalo en TN con el meteorólogo Matías Bertolotti por sus ofensas a la peregrinación a la Virgen de Luján
Alemania alista una norma para permitir que la Policía derribe drones sospechosos
Créditos personales y comerciales retroceden ante tasas elevadas y presión fiscal
La inesperada reacción de Soledad Pastorutti sobre su marido Jeremías Audoglio: «No le gustaba que…»
Mica Viciconte confesó por qué no fue a conocer a su primer sobrino: “Me cuesta, no me hallo”
Atacada por ser judía: el aterrador relato de una mujer en Buenos Aires
Tras la renuncia de Espert a su candidatura, el PJ busca capitalizar la crisis libertaria y fortalecerse en las urnas
CHIMENTOS2 días agoMica Viciconte confesó por qué no fue a conocer a su primer sobrino: “Me cuesta, no me hallo”
- POLITICA3 días ago
Tras la renuncia de Espert a su candidatura, el PJ busca capitalizar la crisis libertaria y fortalecerse en las urnas
- POLITICA2 días ago
En la antesala de la elección de la CGT, los gremios del transporte refuerzan su conducción y su perfil opositor a Milei
