USA – Page 4 – Prologue Journal

How Wildfires Came for Southern California

New York Times Many Californians thought wildfires couldn’t reach deep into their cities. But the Los Angeles fires showed how older homes became fuel that fed the fires. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/us/los-angeles-wildfires-homes.html

Biden’s last-minute constitutional change slammed by legal experts: ‘Cynical and irrelevant’

Fox News Legal experts slammed President Biden’s announcement declaring the 28th Amendment law as “cynical and irrelevant.” Biden on Friday released a statement saying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) should be considered ratified and a new addition to the U.S. Constitution. “It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In…

C.I.A. Analyst Pleads Guilty to Leaking Classified Documents About Israel

New York Times The analyst was charged with two counts of violating the Espionage Act and faces up to a decade in prison for disclosing sensitive information about Israel’s response to an Iranian attack. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/us/politics/cia-analyst-guilty-plea-classified-israel.html

What Biden’s Move on the Equal Rights Amendment Could Actually Do

New York Times Presidents have no direct role in approving constitutional amendments. So what could President Biden’s pronouncement recognizing a new one actually do? https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/us/politics/biden-equal-rights-amendment-explained.html

Freed Cuban Dissident: The Church and Biden Got Duped

New York Times Hundreds more Cuban dissidents are expected to be released in the coming days in a deal with President Biden, but even a top beneficiary is balking. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/us/biden-cuban-prisoners-church.html

Judge Cannon Mulls Release of Trump Documents Report to Congress

New York Times The decision by Judge Aileen M. Cannon not to issue an immediate ruling raised the possibility that President-elect Donald J. Trump would take office in the meantime and have power over the report’s release. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/us/politics/trump-report-release-judge-cannon.html

U.S. to Deploy ‘Extraordinary Measures’ to Avoid Default on Jan. 21

New York Times Janet L. Yellen, the outgoing Treasury secretary, urged lawmakers to raise the debt limit and protect the full faith and credit of the United States. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/us/politics/debt-default-jan-21-yellen-treasury.html

DOJ ‘politicized’ under Biden, Ted Cruz confident Pam Bondi will reverse it

Fox News As Senate confirmation hearings for several of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks get underway, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is particularly eager to see former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement official. “Pam Bondi did a terrific job at her confirmation hearing,” Cruz told Fox News Digital in…

Treasury Department recoups $31 million in improper government payments to dead people

Fox News The Treasury Department announced this week that it had recouped more than $31 million in fraud and improper payments to dead people during just five short months of having access to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) federal death database. The Treasury Department issues billions of payments every year, including benefit payments, federally funded…

Inside the Gaza Deal: How a New York Real Estate Developer Took on Netanyahu and Hamas

Wall Street Journal Envoy Steve Witkoff, carrying a message from Donald Trump, broke through the impasse in long-futile cease-fire talks. https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-the-gaza-deal-how-a-new-york-real-estate-developer-took-on-netanyahu-and-hamas-9a8d7219