President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his support for H-1B work visas on Saturday, appearing to align himself with Elon Musk amid heated debate over the program. |
- President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his support for H-1B work visas on Saturday, appearing to align himself with Elon Musk amid heated debate over the program.
- A Jeju Air flight carrying 175 passengers and six flight attendants crashed into a runway fence and exploded at South Korea's Muan International Airport. The local fire department said they fear all but two crew members have died in the crash.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized for the fact that an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed after entering Russian airspace, but did not say whether Russia was responsible for the incident.
- The Mexican organized crime group accused of fueling America's fentanyl crisis is now making the deadly drug in Africa.
- Find our recommendations for the best five history books of 2024 after the news.
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☀️ It's Sunday. Thank you for reading Morning Brief. |
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Elon Musk speaks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) |
President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his support for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers on Saturday, appearing to align himself with Elon Musk amid heated debate over the program. "I've always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That's why we have them," Trump told the outlet in a telephone interview. "I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It's a great program." Trump had opposed H-1B visas while on the campaign trail in 2016 but his view on the program shifted over time. By 2019, he openly supported it, including a potential pathway to citizenship. The employer sponsorship visa program allows up to 65,000 highly skilled foreign workers annually, plus 20,000 foreigners who obtained an advanced degree from a U.S. institution, to fill specialized roles in the U.S. workforce. Musk, a former foreign student, initially gained U.S. work status through an H-1B visa and recently defended the program for helping drive innovation and economic growth in the United States. Critics have argued the program undermines domestic job opportunities and lowers wages. In his first term, Trump implemented restrictions on foreign worker visas and expressed criticism of the program. However, his 2024 campaign hinted at a potential shift, indicating openness to granting H-1B visas, or even green cards, to exceptional foreign-born graduates of U.S. universities.
Trump's remarks were made a day after Musk vowed to go to "war" in defense of the H-1B visa program in response to critics calling for the visas for specialty occupations to be eliminated. (More)
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- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the United States will hit its statutory debt ceiling around the middle of January, a development she said will prompt the Treasury to resort to "extraordinary measures" to prevent the government from defaulting on its obligations.
- Student debt relief and diversity-equity-inclusion initiatives dominated the agenda of the federal Education Department under President Joe Biden.
- Republicans are set to begin the year with at least a temporary majority in the Minnesota House after a newly-elected Democrat resigned over his failure to meet the state's residency requirements.
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Big Lots finalized a deal that preserves its brand name and prevents the discount retail chain from entirely going under. The Ohio-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, citing economic pressures. The company tried to sell its business to Nexus Capital Management but failed to strike a deal. On Dec. 27, Big Lots announced a sales transaction with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners. As part of the agreement, North Carolina-based Variety Wholesalers will acquire around 200 to 400 Big Lots stores "which it plans to operate under the Big Lots brand." Variety, which owns more than 400 retail stores in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic United States, may also "employ Big Lots associates at the acquired stores and distribution centers, as well as certain corporate associates." Bruce Thorn, chief executive officer of Big Lots, said the sale to Gordon Brothers and transfer to Variety is a "favorable and significant achievement."
"This sale agreement and transfer present the strongest opportunity to preserve jobs, maximize value for the estate, and ensure continuity of the Big Lots brand," he said. (More)
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Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Shutterstock |
The Mexican organized crime group accused of fueling America's fentanyl crisis is now making the deadly drug in Africa, according to local and international law enforcement agencies. The Sinaloa cartel has chosen South Africa as a major operational base, they say, largely because of its strong trade links to China, which produces the chemicals used to make the synthetic opioid. "At this stage, there isn't a big market for fentanyl in Africa, so much of this drug that's being made in underground labs on the continent is being smuggled into the United States, the biggest fentanyl market in the world," said Lt. Gen. Godfrey Lebeya, chief of The Hawks, South Africa's top police investigative unit. Drug overdoses have killed an estimated 400,000 Americans since 2021, with the majority linked to fentanyl, according to statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In its legal prescription form, fentanyl is a highly effective painkiller. Criminals, however, copy its chemical makeup in labs, from where it's sold illegally as a powder, dropped onto blotter paper, put in eye droppers and nasal sprays, or made into pills that look like legitimate prescription opioids. A few grams of fentanyl can kill, as it is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Lebeya told The Epoch Times that South African "drug traffickers and gangs linked to the Sinaloa cartel" are testing local narcotics markets.
"Fentanyl has definitely entered our trafficking conveyor belts; we know that because we're arresting suspects who are in possession of it and they tell us, 'We want to see if South Africans get a taste for fentanyl,'" he said. (More)
More World News: |
- Elon Musk has strengthened his endorsement of German right-wing political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), defending it against accusations of extremism and championing its policies as the nation's best path forward during challenging times.
- Russian authorities have said they've stopped a plot to assassinate a high-ranking Russian military officer and kill a military blogger who has been covering Russia's war with Ukraine.
- Mexico is developing a new cellphone app for its citizens who are in the United States illegally so they can notify their family members and the nearest Mexican consulate if they are facing deportation.
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Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva/AFP |
Discover the best history books of 2024. (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock) |
These top five books have made the list because they were the best-written, most thoroughly researched, and most memorable from 2024. 'The Pirate Menace: Uncovering the Golden Age of Piracy' by Angus Konstam Konstam presents history's most famous pirates, such as Blackbeard and Black Bart, a wealth of 18th-century maritime history, and some of the most fun reading you'll come across. 'A World Safe for Commerce: American Foreign Policy from the Revolution to the Rise of China' by Dale C. Copeland Copeland's scholarly work helps explain not only how America works but the world in general. We live and die by trade and commerce, and the sooner we understand this truth, the faster we will better understand the world. 'The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq' by Steve Coll What makes "The Achilles Trap" thrilling—and tragic at the same time—is that it is all too true. This book is absolutely necessary for anyone trying to gain an understanding of why the United States went to war in Iraq. 'The House of War: The Struggle between Christendom and the Caliphate' by Simon Mayall Mayall's book is a brisk read, chock-full of important historic places and people. The author writes with grace and an appreciation for those who fought and often died for their dearest-held beliefs. One of the most engrossing reads you will encounter. 'Alexandria: The City That Changed the World' by Islam Issa Alexandria proves to be a city with so many fascinating stories to tell, and Issa incontrovertibly does the grand city justice with his research and elegant writing style. But the book is more than that. It is a conduit for telling the history of the world over the past two millennia.
Read the full story by our colleague Dustin Bass here.
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