Millionaires Have a Senate Majority
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) saw his net worth increase 550 percent last year, according to a Roll Call analysis of senators’ financial data, making him one of the poorest senators in the legislature. The survey found that the upper chamber holds at least 54 millionaires, along with another four who barely missed the mark. The most affluent senator is John Kerry (D – Massachusetts), who is worth an estimated $188.37 million, while the senator reported as closest to the poorhouse, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) is actually one of its richest. Under the arcane accounting rules of the Senate, Kohl cannot count the full worth of the NBA team he owns, the Milwaukee Bucks.
North Korean Troops Fire Into South Korean Territory
Reports from Korea note what may be the first cross-border shooting on land between the two countries since 2006; North and South Korean troops exchanged fire across the border, according to South Korean officials. The BBC reported that North Korea fired two rounds toward a frontline unit in Hwacheon, about 56 miles northeast of Seoul, and South Korean soldiers responded with fire three times. South Korea’s military is currently on its highest state of alert as the capital prepares to host a G20 meeting near one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world.
US Can’t Account for $17.7 Billion in Afghan Spending
The special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction says the government cannot account for nearly $1.8 billion earmarked for the Afghan war effort, and beholden to over 7,000 contractors, reported Democracy Now!.
EU Approves Plan to Tighten Euro Rules
The European Union approved plans to seek new sanctions against Eurozone states that fail to keep deficits and debt in check and earlier warnings about asset bubbles and declining competitiveness, reported The New York Times. The union will also consider ways to amend its governing treaty to set up a permanent fund to help Eurozone nations in times of crisis.
US Life Expectancy Falls to 49th
Life expectancy in the United States has dropped significantly in the past decade – according to Health Affairs, the US now ranks 49th, down from 24th place in 1999. The study cited the US’ “uniquely inefficient” health care system as the main factor in the drop in life expectancy.
Judge: Four-year-olds Can Be Sued for Negligence
A State Supreme Court judge has rules that a young girl and boy accused of running down an elderly woman while they were on bicycles with training wheels two years ago are liable to be sued for negligence. The ruling by the judge in Manhattan permitted a lawsuit against the children and their parents to move forward. According to the suit, reported The New York Times, the boy and girl, both four at the time, were racing their bicycles down a Manhattan street when they crashed into an 87-year-old women, who suffered a hip fracture that required surgery, and then died three weeks later.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.