(Bloomberg) —
Most Read from Bloomberg
‘Huge, Missing and Growing:’ $65 Trillion in Dollar Debt Sparks Concern
Stocks Hit by Fed-Hike Jitters as US Yields Surge: Markets Wrap
Ambitious Plans to Build Indonesia a Brand New Capital City Are Falling Apart
Elon Musk’s Impossible Electric Truck Is Getting the Last Laugh
Blasts Hit Russia Air Bases as Kremlin Renews Ukraine Strikes
Newly elected House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries defended past remarks calling Donald Trump’s 2016 election “illegitimate” against Republican criticism, noting that he voted to certify his presidency.
“I will never hesitate in criticizing the former president,” Jeffries said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “I think I’m in good company there across the world.”
Jeffries said Republicans “are going to have to work out their issues” with Trump after his comment Saturday on his Truth Social social-media site that his loss in 2020 should be overturned and that “rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution” should be terminated. Jeffries called it “a strange statement.”
“Suspending the Constitution is an extraordinary step, but we’re used to extraordinary statements being made by the former president,” Jeffries said of Trump, who is running for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.
For their part, Republicans have criticized Jeffries after Democrats selected him to succeed Speaker Nancy Pelosi, citing tweets in which he said that Russian interference made the 2016 presidential election “illegitimate” and questioned whether Trump was a “fake president.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called Jeffries an “election denier,” a term typically used to describe Trump and allies who refuse to accept his loss in 2020.
Jeffries said that he voted to certify Trump’s 2016 win, attended his inauguration and worked with his administration on issues like a treaty with Mexico and criminal justice reform.
“That track record speaks for itself,” he said.
The White House harshly criticized Trump’s latest claim of election fraud, calling the US constitution a “sacrosanct document.”
“Attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation, and should be universally condemned,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement. “You cannot only love America when you win.”
Former Trump adviser John Bolton, who has since become one of his harshest critics, said on Twitter that “all real conservatives” should oppose his 2024 campaign, citing that statement.
“No American conservative can agree with Donald Trump’s call to suspend the Constitution because of the results of the 2020 election,” he wrote.
Republican Representative David Joyce, who chairs the moderate Republican Governance Group, said on “This Week” that he wasn’t going to respond to Trump’s latest statement, even if it was a call for suspending the US constitution.
“He says a lot of things,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it’s ever going to happen.”
(Corrects Mitch McConnell’s title in seventh paragraph)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
The Club With a 60,000-Woman Waitlist
11 Hours With Sam Bankman-Fried: Inside the Bahamian Penthouse After FTX’s Fall
TikTok’s Viral Challenges Keep Luring Young Kids to Their Deaths
How to Cash Out of a Small Business Without Selling Out
Can Duolingo Actually Teach You Spanish?
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee plans to hold a hearing in December to investigate the collapse of FTX and expects to hear from the companies and individuals involved, including founder and CEO Bankman-Fried. Committee Chair Maxine Waters last week invited Bankman-Fried to participate in the panel's hearing on Dec. 13. "Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain," the founder and former FTX CEO wrote in a reply to Waters.
USA TODAY analyzed more than 2.8 million tweets posted by members of Congress. The language has become more divided and emotional.
"Well, here's the Republican playbook, facts don't matter, hypocrisy is not a constraint to their behavior," Jeffries told ABC News on Sunday.
Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary speaks with Yahoo Finance Live about the FTX collapse, his exposure to the meltdown, his stance on Sam Bankman-Fried, and whether he plans to continue to invest in crypto.
Brazil manager Tite joined in on the goal-scoring celebrations as he did the pigeon dance with Richarlison in the round of 16 game against South Korea on Monday.
Brazil got on the board early in the round of 16 against South Korea when Vinicius Junior, Neymar and Richarlison scored to take a decisive lead.
Ukraine worked to restore power on Tuesday after Russia's latest wave of missile strikes caused power disruptions across the country, right as winter frost builds and temperatures plunge. Out of the 70 missiles launched by Moscow, "most" were shot down, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, but the barrage still hit Ukraine's already battered infrastructure. Fresh power cuts were announced in all regions "due to the consequences of shelling," national electricity provider Ukrenergo said on Telegram. The head of Ukrenergo said he had "no doubt that Russian military consulted with Russian power engineers during this attack", judging by where the missiles landed. "The time that Russians chose for this attack was connected with their desire to inflict as much damage as possible," Volodymyr Kudrytskyi told a Ukrainian news programme, explaining the attacks were launched as the country enters a "peak frost" period. "Our repairmen will be working on the energy system restoration." Nearly half of Ukraine's energy system has already been damaged after months of strikes on power infrastructure, leaving people in the cold and dark for hours at a time as outdoor temperatures drop below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). As missiles rained down on Kyiv, UN rights chief Volker Turk — who arrived over the weekend on a four-day visit — had to move his meetings with activists into an underground shelter. Zelensky announced in his nightly address that four were killed in Russia's strikes. But "our people never give up," the president said in a video statement. Across the border in Russia's Kursk region on Tuesday, an airfield saw a "drone attack", said local governor Roman Starovoyt, without specifying where the drone originated. "As a result of a drone attack in the area of the Kursk airfield, an oil storage tank caught fire," he said on social media, adding that there were no casualties. Tuesday's incident comes a day after Moscow accused its neighbour of carrying out deadly drone strikes on two other airfields. Russia also confirmed a "massive attack on Ukrainian military command systems and related defence, communications, energy and military facilities". – Moscow vows to keep fighting – The latest violence comes just after Russia shrugged off a Western-imposed price cap on its oil exports, warning the move would not impact its military campaign in Ukraine. The $60-per-barrel cap agreed by the European Union, G7 and Australia aims to restrict Russia's revenue while making sure Moscow keeps supplying the global market. "Russia's economy has all the necessary potential to fully meet the needs and requirements of the special military operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, using Moscow's term for its Ukraine offensive. "These measures will not affect this," he said. Russia "will not recognise" the measures, which amounted to "a step towards destabilising the global energy markets", he added. The market price of a barrel of Russian Urals crude is currently around $65 dollars, just slightly higher than the $60 cap — suggesting the measure may have only a limited impact in the short term. The cap is the latest in a number of measures spearheaded by Western countries and introduced against Russia — the world's second-largest crude oil exporter — after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine over nine months ago. It comes on top of an EU embargo on seaborne deliveries of Russian crude oil that came into force on Monday. The embargo will prevent maritime shipments of Russian crude to the European Union, which account for two-thirds of the bloc's oil imports from Russia, potentially depriving Moscow of billions of euros. Kyiv had initially welcomed the price ceiling, but later said it would not do enough damage to Russia's economy. Meanwhile, Russian state media released footage of President Vladimir Putin driving a Mercedes car across the Crimea bridge — the closest the 70-year-old leader has come to the frontline in Ukraine. The bridge connects the annexed peninsula to the Russian mainland, and was damaged in a blast in October. – 'Impossible to prepare' – The G7 nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — along with Australia have said they are prepared to adjust the price ceiling of oil if necessary. In recent months, gas prices have skyrocketed since Moscow halted deliveries to the EU in suspected retaliation for Western sanctions and the bloc struggled to find alternative energy suppliers. In the Ukrainian town of Borodianka, outside Kyiv, where snow has already coated the ground, locals recently gathered around wood-fired stoves inside tents to keep warm and cook food during the blackouts. "We are totally dependent on electricity… One day we had no electricity for 16 hours," Irina, who had come to the tent with her child, told AFP. Volunteer Oleg said it was hard to say how Ukraine would manage in the coming winter months. "It is impossible to prepare for this winter because no one has lived in these conditions before," he said. bur-rox/ser/dhc
Gov. Brian Kemp's star is rising in GOP politics thanks to his easy reelection win and his ability to survive a barrage of attacks from Donald Trump.
The roommates of four Idaho college students found stabbed to death in their house in November have spoken out for the first time as the investigation continues. Arizona has certified its midterm election results, but only after a judge ordered Republican election officials in Cochise County to do so. And the House of Representatives is poised to take up and approve same sex marriage legislation today.
Sen.-elect John Fetterman's incoming chief of staff is a progressive activist who has openly supported eliminating the filibuster and expanding the Supreme Court.
The final report of the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack is expected to be released before Christmas with transcripts.
L.A. teachers union wants 20% raise over two years, but says it's also committed to a wide range of demands that represent union's social values, including solar panels, electric buses and low income housing for students' families.
Michael Johnson was surprised to see Marc Diakiese surprised at his split decision loss at UFC on ESPN 42 in Orlando, Fla.
"This is serious business," he said about his former boss’ efforts to be reinstalled as president after losing the 2020 election.
News channel Al Jazeera on Tuesday formally asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the fatal shooting of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh as she was reporting from a Palestinian refugee camp in May. Al Jazeera has accused the Israeli government of specifically targeting its journalists, calling Abu Akleh’s death a war crime. The news outlet wants ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to include the reporter's killing, as well as last year's Israeli airstrike on Al Jazeera’s offices in the Gaza Strip, in his ongoing investigation into allegations of war crimes in the West Bank and Gaza.
One theory has quickly taken hold on social media: The outages were intended to shut down a drag performance.
Al Jazeera on Tuesday said it has filed a lawsuit at the International Criminal Court against Israeli forces over the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot during an Israeli raid in the West Bank in May. The lawsuit following an investigation by the television news network's legal team, Al Jazeera said on Twitter. The ICC must identify the individuals who were directly involved Abu Akleh's killing, Al Jazeera lawyer Rodney Dixon KC told a news conference in The Hague on Tuesday.
A 21-year-old woman — lured from Arkansas — was rescued by Miami police after she sent her father a distressing text message on Thanksgiving. Days later, a South Florida man was arrested for trafficking her.
Singer said she took the binding measure until "there was nothing girl about me."
"For a Black man to be running around saying he loves Hitler, what happened to this guy?" Stern said during his radio show.