In the news today: President-elect Donald Trump holds a news conference in Florida; the U.S. Justice Department accuses six landlords of scheming to keep rents high; and a high-profile kidnapping in Venezuela. Also, smart bird feeders are transforming bird watching.
Correction: A headline for a story in Tuesday’s Morning Wire has been corrected to show the Guantanamo detainees were transferred to Oman, not Yemen. |
Donald Trump during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Takeaways from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago press conference
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Less than two weeks before taking office, President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday took some of his most audacious claims and promises of the transition period and amped them up to new levels. Read more. |
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Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump would not rule out using military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, citing national security interests.
Trump has also repeatedly talked about Canada joining the U.S. as its 51st state — rhetoric that at first sounded like trolling of outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but that has become increasingly serious. Trump told reporters he would not use military force to annex the country of more than 40 million people. Instead, he threatened “economic force” as he renewed talk of steep tariffs on both Canada and Mexico in response to their handling of the northern and southern borders.
- In escalated threats against Hamas, Trump warned that, “All hell will break out in the Middle East” if the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are not returned before he takes office.
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US Justice Department accuses six major landlords of scheming to keep rents high |
The U.S. Justice Department is suing several large landlords for allegedly coordinating to keep Americans’ rents high by using both an algorithm to help set rents and privately sharing sensitive information with their competitors to boost profits. Read more. |
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The department, along with 10 states including North Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado and California, is accusing six landlords that collectively operate more than 1.3 million units in 43 states and the District of Columbia of scheming to avoid lowering rents. While the housing crisis has been assigned several causes, including a slump in homes built over the last decade, the Justice Department’s lawsuit claims major landlords are playing a part.
The lawsuit accuses the landlords of sharing sensitive data on rents and occupancy with competing firms via email, phone calls or in groups. The landlord Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC, a defendant in the case, published a statement on its website that said "Greystar has and will conduct its business with the utmost integrity. At no time did Greystar engage in any anti-competitive practices."
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The lawsuit arrives as U.S. renters continue to struggle under a merciless housing market, with incomes failing to keep up with rent increases. The latest figures show that half of American renters spent more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities in 2022, an all-time high.
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Venezuelan opposition leader says his son-in-law has been kidnapped
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Self-exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, who claims to have defeated President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s presidential election, said his son-in-law was kidnapped Tuesday in Venezuela’s capital. Read more. |
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González, who was traveling in the United States, said Rafael Tudares was kidnapped while on his way to drop off González’s two grandchildren at school in Caracas. González is touring the Americas to rally support for his effort to get Maduro out of office by Friday. That’s when, by law, the South American country’s next presidential term begins.
González, who has been recognized by several governments including the U.S. as Venezuela’s president-elect, has not explained how he plans to return to the troubled country or wrest power from Maduro, whose ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela controls all aspects of government.
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A cardinal on a Birdbuddy bird feeder in Cumming, Georgia. (Mark Pilch via AP)
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Smart bird feeders gain popularity and spark interest in bird-watching
While North American bird populations decline dramatically, paradoxically, the number of people watching them has increased. While the coronavirus pandemic spurred many people to head outside in search of birds, for others, smart feeders that snap photos and videos of backyard visitors have brought the hobby inside. |
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
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