By KEVIN FREKING WASHINGTON (AP) — National defense would see a 1% increase in spending this fiscal year under a Pentagon policy bill that also gives a double-digit pay raise to about half of the enlisted service members in the military. The measure is traditionally strongly bipartisan, but not this year as some Democratic lawmakers protest the inclusion of a ban on transgender medical treatments for children of military members if such treatment could result in sterilization. The bill is expected to pass the House Wednesday and then move to the Senate, where lawmakers had sought a bigger boost in defense spending than the $895.2 billion authorized in the compromise measure before them. Lawmakers are touting the bill’s 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others as key to improving the quality of life for those serving in the U.S. military. Those serving as junior enlisted personnel are in pay grades that generally track with their first enlistment term. Lawmakers said their pay has failed to remain competitive with the private sector, forcing many military families to rely on food banks and government assistance programs to put food on the table. The bill also provides significant new resources for child care and housing. “No service member should have to live in squalid conditions and no military family should have to rely on food stamps to feed their children, but that’s exactly what many of our service members are experiencing, especially the junior enlisted,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. “This bill goes a long way to fixing that.” The bill sets key Pentagon policy that lawmakers will attempt to fund through a follow-up appropriations bill. The overall spending tracks the numbers established in a 2023 agreement that then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached with President Joe Biden to increase the nation’s borrowing authority and avoid a federal default in exchange for spending restraints. Many senators had wanted to increase defense spending some $25 billion above what was called for in that agreement, but those efforts failed. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who is expected to serve as the next chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the overall spending level was a “tremendous loss for our national defense,” though he agreed with many provisions within the bill. “We need to make a generational investment to deter the Axis of Aggressors. I will not cease work with my congressional colleagues, the Trump administration, and others until we achieve it,” Wicker said. House Republicans don’t want to go above the McCarthy-Biden agreement for defense spending and are looking to go way below it for many non-defense programs. They are also focused on cultural issues. The bill prohibits funding for teaching critical race theory in the military and prohibits TRICARE health plans from covering gender dysphoria treatment for children under 18 that could result in sterilization. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the ranking Democratic member of the House Armed Services Committee, said minors dealing with gender dysphoria is a “very real problem.” He said the treatments available, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, have proven effective at helping young people dealing with suicidal thoughts, anxiety and depression. “These treatments changed their lives and in many cases saved their lives,” Smith said. “And in this bill, we decided we’re going to bar servicemembers’ children from having access to that.” Smith said the number of minors in service member families receiving transgender medical care is in the thousands. He said he could have supported a study asking medical experts to determine whether such treatments are too often used, but a ban on health insurance coverage went too far. He said Speaker Mike Johnson’s office insisted upon the ban. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, called the ban a step in the right direction, saying “I think these questions need to be pulled out of the debate of defense, so we can get back to the business of defending the United States of America without having to deal with social engineering debates.” Smith said he agrees with Roy that lawmakers should be focused on the military and not on cultural conflicts, “and yet, here it is in this bill.” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, said his team was not telling Democrat how to vote on the bill. He said he was still evaluating the legislation as of Wednesday morning. “There’s a lot of positive things in the National Defense Authorization Act that were negotiated in a bipartisan way, and there are some troubling provisions in a few areas as well,” Jeffries said. The defense policy bill also looks to strengthen deterrence against China. It calls for investing $15.6 billion to build military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. The Biden administration had requested about $10 billion. On Israel, the bill, among other things, includes an expansion of U.S. joint military exercises with Israel and a prohibition on the Pentagon citing casualty data from Hamas. The defense policy bill is one of the final measures that lawmakers view as a must-pass before making way for a new Congress in January. The Senate is expected to take up the legislation next week. It then would move to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
US to send $1.25 billion in weapons to Ukraine, pushing to get aid out before Biden leaves office
Part three of the children’s book, The Plot Against the King, written by Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), talks about the “MAGA king” and his quest to “take down Comma-la-la-la and reclaim his throne”. One can safely assume that the ‘king’ here is Mr. Trump and ‘Comma-la-la-la’, the incumbent U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris. This also gives us an idea of what Mr. Patel, who owns a charitable foundation called Fight with Kash which among other things funds defamation lawsuits, and a clothing line which sells a variety of merchandise with his logo ‘K$H’, stands for — unabashedly brazen and unapologetically loyal to the incoming U.S. President. Mr. Patel, who was born in 1980 to Indian immigrant parents (who first moved to Canada from East Africa in the 1970s and then to the U.S.) started his career as a public defender in the State of Florida, following which he joined the U.S. Justice Department as a counter-terrorism prosecutor. A member of the Republican party, he was then appointed to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) in 2017. He worked as senior aide to Devin Nunes, the chair of the HPSCI and a staunch Trump supporter. Mr. Patel rose up the ranks within Mr. Trump’s inner circle when he scathingly criticised the FBI’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. He, along with Mr. Nunes, authored the ‘Nunes memo’ which accused the FBI of being politically motivated in its investigation. The release of the memo was vehemently criticised by the Justice Department as exposing intelligence secrets. From then on, Mr. Patel rose swiftly through administrative ranks. In 2019, he became a member of the National Security Council and was later appointed Chief of Staff to the interim Defence Secretary. President Trump in his last months in office wanted to promote Mr. Patel to deputy FBI director but then Attorney-General William Barr opposed it, writing in his memoir that he told the then White House Chief of Staff that such an appointment would be ‘over my dead body’. After Mr. Trump’s first presidential term, Mr. Patel continued being a Trump loyalist as well as a decrier of intelligence bureaucracies. His experience within the Justice Department had made him deeply suspicious of the FBI and other intelligence agencies. He has repeatedly stated that these agencies are controlled by the ‘deep state’ — a term used to refer to allegations that actors within bureaucracy control and run the government. He authored a book called Government Gangsters, which is part memoir and part tirade against the ‘deep state’, and lists out individuals who are enablers of the system such as President Joe Biden, William Barr, Hilary Clinton etc. Massive upheaval He has stated in his book that top officials of the FBI need to be fired and the organisation be given a massive upheaval and reorganisation. He has been a vocal proponent for reform within the FBI stating that the organisation’s footprint has gotten too big. “I’d shut down the FBI. Hoover Building on Day 1 and reopen it the next day as a museum of the ‘deep state,’” Mr. Patel said in an interview. “And I’d take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals.” He has vowed to go after journalists who leaked intelligence reports and the officials who facilitated such leaks. In an interview with Steve Bannon last year, he stated “We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We’re going to come after you...we’re putting you all on notice.” Mr. Trump has repeatedly vowed to go after his political enemies and institutions which conducted investigations on him after his Presidential term in 2020. Having Mr. Patel — a man who has appeared with him for hearings, testified for him and is also now serving on the board of the parent company of Truth Social, Mr. Trump’s social network — at the helm of the FBI could give the President-elect access to potential and ongoing investigations. Published - December 08, 2024 01:32 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit The Hindu Explains / The Hindu Profiles / USAOmo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, Oba of Benin has reenacted the Igue traditional wrestling competition after eight years on the throne of his forebears. The wrestling competition that began Centuries ago, was last celebrated during the reign of his father, Oba Erediauwa. Oba Ewuare II rewarded winners and contestants in the competition, held sandy ringside in Oba Palace in Benin City on Boxing Day, December 26th 2024. Fans and sports enthusiasts cheered the muscular show of strength which has cash rewards for winners and participants. Bright Irobeghian (Ikpoba-Okha LGA) and Ovbokhan Idele (Oredo LGA), set new records as overall winners in both senior and junior categories in the competition. Under the senior category, Mathias Iguma and Friday Eribo, took second and third positions, while Famous Ilekhuoba (Orhionmwon LGA) and Sunday Amuji (Egor LGA), won the second and third positions in the junior category. Oba Ewuare II directed that prizes be awarded to deserving winners in the 2024 edition of the competition where traditional wrestlers meet up to wrestle. Prince Aghatise Erediauwa presented a cash gift and trophy to the overall winner in the senior category, Bright Orobeghian. Prince Ehioze Erediauwa and Prince Ikponmwosa Ewuare presented prices to Friday Eribo, the second-place winner and Mathias Iguma, the overall third-place winner in the senior category respectively. Earlier, Princess Oghogho Ewuare was awarded the overall prize for the overall winner in the junior category, Ovbokhan Idele. Prince Igbinosa and Princess Amenaghawon presented cash gifts to the second and third-place winners in the junior category respectively. Royal scepter bearers known as Emuada, also wrestled and tested their strength with one another and won cash prizes during the competition. Members of the Benin Royal family, including Oba Ewuare’s Queens, watched the outdoor celebration of the rich cultural heritage of the Edo people. Giving insight into the show of strength in the traditional form of wrestling that holds deep cultural and social significance, Chief Osemwegie Ero, the Edobayokhae said the traditional wrestling began Centuries ago in the ancient City of Benin. “Wrestlers are trained and the game is enjoyed by everyone and it’s a physical exercise. It has also been with the Benin people since ancient times when villagers usually come to Benin City, especially during the Igue festival to watch wrestling competitions. It’s a fine competition for every individual and Community”. The nonagenarian also said, “Wrestling is an instrument of physical fitness, we always enjoy it. We are happy today that the Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo has reintroduced traditional wrestling competition during our Igue festival”.
Top five small SUVs of 2024Man arrested after deadly shooting near 19th and Glendale avenues
Daltonganj: A 50-year-old security guard, Bal Gobind Prasad , who is also a ward member of the Kulgara village, was killed by suspected members of the banned Naxal splinter group, JJMP, at a construction site in Kulgara, Latehar, on Thursday night. Latehar SP Kumar Gaurav confirmed that the victim was attacked with a ‘Tangi’ (axe), and said no firearms were used in the crime. The attack occurred while Prasad was on duty at a small bridge (pulya) construction site. Police reports said approximately half a dozen assailants arrived at the site and separated Prasad and a ‘munshi’ from the other workers. While the munshi was spared, the attackers fatally struck Prasad on his neck. Police recovered a leaflet from the crime scene saying that the killing was linked to the bridge contractor’s faults. However, local sources indicated that the murder might be connected to disputes over extortion. The construction project had been stalled for approximately 18 months and the SP said work had resumed some weeks ago. When questioned about potential threats, the SP said contractor had not reported any recent extortion or threat calls. Sources said local village disputes might have played a role in the murder, given Prasad’s position as a ward member. We also published the following articles recently JJMP kills ward member-cum-guard at bridge construction site in Latehar Bal Gobind Prasad, a 50-year-old security guard and ward member, was killed by suspected members of the banned Naxal splinter group JJMP in Latehar. The assailants used an axe and left a leaflet linking the killing to the bridge contractors faults. Police are investigating possible extortion, local disputes, and Naxal activities. Bengal worker dies after accident at bridge construction site in Majuli A construction worker, Ashok Singh, tragically died when a steel structure collapsed at the Selek-Dhunaguri bridge site in Majuli, despite wearing all mandatory safety gear. This is the second fatal incident at the project site within eight months, prompting concerns about worker safety. The bridge, part of the Asom Mala initiative, is expected to be completed by December 2025. Latehar man loses Rs 51k in cyber scam Sadakat Ansari, a 29-year-old student from Latehar district, lost Rs 51,686 to cyber criminals in a 5G upgrade scam. The fraudsters convinced him his 4G phone needed upgrading and obtained his OTP, leading to unauthorized transactions from his bank account. His complaint was forwarded to the cyber crime police for further investigation. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword .