Biden Commutes Sentences of 37 out of 40 on Death Row
As President-elect Trump plans to resume federal executions, President Biden has now commuted sentences for most of those on federal death row. These prisoners will remain in prison for life, without the possibility of parole.
“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden said in a statement. “But guided by my conscience and my experience, ... I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.”
After campaigning in 2020 on ending the federal death penalty, President Biden directed the DOJ to put a moratorium on federal executions.
Guatemalan Migrant Burns Woman Alive on NYC Subway
In perhaps the most gruesome metro murder to date, video footage shows that just past 7:30 A.M. on December 22, a suspect walked into an idling F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station and lit a sleeping woman on fire.
The Guatemalan migrant then sat on a bench outside the subway car and watched as the woman he had set on fire burned to her death.
In a move that critics called tone-deaf and out-of-touch, about eight hours later New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted photos of herself on the New York subway saying, “In March, I took action to make our subways safer for the millions of people who take the trains each day. Since deploying the @NationalGuardNY to support @NYPDnews and @MTA safety efforts and adding cameras to all subway cars, crime is going down, and ridership is going up.”
H-1B Dispute Between MAGA and Tech Right
President-elect Trump nominated Sriram Krishnan to advise on AI policy. This move was seen as an endorsement of high-skilled immigration, particularly benefiting Indian Americans who are prominent in the tech industry. Krishnan has recently advocated for removing country-specific caps on green cards, which would address backlogs faced by applicants from countries like India, and his nomination set off a firestorm online regarding H-1B visas. The H-1B visa program allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations, particularly in the tech industry.
Far-right provocateur Laura Loomer criticized the Krishnan pick, calling the appointment “deeply disturbing.” This criticism prompted Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to defend the visa program more vocally, prompting an online battle between the business leaders who say the work visas are essential to employing high-qualified foreign workers, and MAGA loyalists who argue that the program is a way for business leaders to obtain cheaper, indentured foreign labor rather than provide job opportunities for Americans.
“The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” Musk wrote on X, saying that the H-1B visa cap should be “doubled.” “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent. It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Ramaswamy posted, “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.”
Conservatives like Mike Cernovich showed that the H-1B visa program is importing entry-level positions—from professors to accountants to 7-Eleven cashiers. This led to a cut in hyperbole followed by a more nuanced question: “Should H-1B visas be used for low-skill or high-skill jobs?”
Musk clarified that H-1B visas should only be used to bring in the top 0.1% for specialized jobs that aren’t able to be filled domestically, and that the program needs reform. “There is some degree of fraud and considerable incompetence in every government program and H1-B is no exception.” He also estimated that the number of highly-skilled engineers needed is 15,000 per year, or about the number of CBP border encounters of illegal migrants per day.
Read more here.
Other News
TikTok in the balance: In less than a month, TikTok could be banned in the U.S. The U.S. Congress voted in April to ban TikTok unless its Chinese owner sells the app by January 19, the day before President Trump takes office. President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to pause the law, giving his administration a chance to solve the political objections to the app. President Trump's support for TikTok is a reversal from when his previous administration tried to block the app in the United States because of its Chinese ownership. Proponents of the ban cite concerns over Americans’ data privacy, while opponents raise the issue of free speech and the internet censorship policies of authoritarian regimes such as China itself, where nearly all American-based search engines, social media and news sources are blocked and banned.
Russia attacks Ukrainian infrastructure on Christmas Day: On Christmas morning, Russia sent a barrage of missiles and drones targeting Ukrainian fuel and energy sources. The Biden administration has responded, vowing to send $1.25 billion more aid to Ukraine before the President leaves office.
House Ethics report on Matt Gaetz released: Two Republicans on the committee voted with Democrats to release the House Ethics report on Matt Gaetz. The report accused Gaetz of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and obstruction. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing, while admitting that he partied hard. “My 30’s were an era of working very hard - and playing hard too. It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” he said in a post on X. After three years of investigation, the Biden DOJ declined to prosecute Gaetz. Multiple substantial errors have been noted in the House Ethics report, and Trump, Elon Musk and other allies of Gaetz have called the report a political witch-hunt and have underlined the unfairness of trial by media without the due process afforded by a legal process.
Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan formally announced the beginning of merger talks: With forces joined, they believe they would be better able to share the financial burden of next-generation vehicle development. Other car companies are doing the same, seeking to compete with the likes of Tesla and Chinese car companies.
