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Hip injury forces Nancy Pelosi to cut short Luxembourg visit – Times of India

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Hip injury forces Nancy Pelosi to cut short Luxembourg visit – Times of India
US Rep Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the former Speaker of the House, addresses the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 84, is recovering in a Luxembourg hospital after sustaining a hip injury during an official engagement. Pelosi was attending a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation when the incident occurred.
According to her spokesman, Ian Krager, Pelosi is receiving “excellent treatment from doctors and medical professionals” but will be unable to participate in the remaining events of the trip. While details of the fall remain limited, sources familiar with the matter confirmed she tripped during an event and injured her hip.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who is also part of the delegation, expressed support for Pelosi, sharing a message on social media: “Praying for a speedy recovery. She’s strong, and I’m confident she’ll be back on her feet in no time.” McCaul noted Pelosi had been looking forward to honoring World War II veterans during the trip.
Pelosi’s injury follows a series of high-profile public engagements, including attending the Kennedy Center Honors and the swearing-in of former House colleagues. Despite stepping down from her leadership post two years ago, Pelosi has remained active in Congress, representing her San Francisco district.
The fall also comes two years after her husband, Paul Pelosi, was violently attacked in their home by an intruder, an incident that drew widespread condemnation.
Pelosi’s spokesman assured that she looks forward to returning to the U.S. soon. Her injury mirrors a recent fall by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, 82, who tripped earlier this week in the Senate, spraining his wrist and cutting his face.
Lawmakers and well-wishers continue to send support as Pelosi recovers from her injury.

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TikTok loses bid for emergency halt to looming US ‘divest or ban’ law

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TikTok loses bid for emergency halt to looming US ‘divest or ban’ law

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TikTok has lost an emergency bid to temporarily halt a fast-approaching deadline under a US “divest or ban” law, leaving the fate of the popular video app owned by China’s ByteDance in the country ever more uncertain.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday rejected the emergency motion filed by the platform and its Chinese parent company at the start of the week, requesting the law be stayed from taking effect next month while it asks the Supreme Court to take up a challenge. 

The law, signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year, orders TikTok to be banned in the country if the app fails to divest from its parent by January 19 2025 — the day before Donald Trump is inaugurated as the new president.

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Last week, the US appeals court upheld the law. TikTok subsequently requested a temporary injunction.

“The petitioners have not identified any case in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has enjoined the Act from going into effect while review is sought in the Supreme Court,” the appeals court wrote in a brief order on Friday.

The court added that TikTok’s petition had relied on claims of free speech violations, which the judges had already rejected in their original decision last week.

The ruling now places TikTok’s future in the hands of the Supreme Court, which will need to decide if it will hear the appeal. 

TikTok may also be hoping for assistance from Trump, who has promised to “save” the app, without making clear the mechanisms he would use to do so when he takes the White House.  

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The US Department of Justice has argued that TikTok poses a national security threat due to its Chinese connection and could be wielded for espionage or propaganda purposes. A US House of Representatives committee on Friday sent letters to Apple and Google, which operate popular app stores, reminding them that updates or downloads of the TikTok app would be prohibited after the deadline passes unless TikTok is divested.

TikTok has denied the accusations and deemed the law unconstitutional, while arguing that a spin-off would be technically “unfeasible” in the timeframe. Beijing has also said it opposes a sale. 

TikTok said in a statement on Friday: “As we have previously stated, we plan on taking this case to the Supreme Court, which has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech. The voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world will be silenced on January 19th, 2025 unless the TikTok ban is halted.”

Additional reporting by Stefania Palma in Washington

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Supreme Court to consider whether Catholic group is exempt from religious taxes

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Supreme Court to consider whether Catholic group is exempt from religious taxes

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether charities run by religious groups have to pay unemployment taxes that cover their employees.

Most, but not all, states generally exempt religious groups from having to pay into the state’s unemployment tax system. Federal law does exempt religious schools from having to participate in the federal-state program. But the court has never ruled on the question of participation by charitable organizations run by religious groups. Now the court has agreed to tackle the question in a case brought by Catholic Charities against the state of Wisconsin.

The Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese Superior, Wisconsin, a non-profit corporation, is the social ministry arm of the Catholic Church. Its mission is to “carry on the redeeming work of our Lord by reflecting gospel values and the moral teaching of the church,” and it carries out that mission by “providing services to the poor and disadvantaged” without making distinctions “by race, sex, or religion.” The organization hires staff without regard to religion, instructs that the charity should be exercised “in an impartial manner towards members of other religions,” and operates “dozens of programs in service to the elderly, the disabled, the poor, and those in need of disaster relief.” In addition, the charity avowedly does not proselytize.

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In light of all that, Catholic Charities applied to the state for an exemption from paying unemployment taxes for its employees. But the state labor commission refused the application, on grounds that the charitable group was engaging in activities that “are not religious, per se,” and thus are not entitled to be exempt from paying unemployment taxes.

In March, a closely divided state Supreme Court agreed, citing what it called objective criteria. The state court said that the charity’s activities were mostly secular, noting that the organization does not “attempt to imbue program participants with the Catholic faith, nor supply any religious materials.” The state court also observed that the charity “did not proselytize, did not conduct worship services, religious outreach, or religious education.” Therefore, the state court concluded, the charity is not qualified to be exempt from state unemployment taxes as a religious institution.

Catholic Charities promptly appealed to the Supreme Court, asserting that the Wisconsin decision violates the First Amendment guarantee to the free exercise of religion, as well as the separation between church and state.

The court will hear arguments in the case after the first of the year, with a decision expected by late June.

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François Bayrou appointed French prime minister

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François Bayrou appointed French prime minister

President Emmanuel Macron has selected long-time ally François Bayrou as prime minister in a bid to stabilise the political turmoil in France that has bogged down his second term.

The 73-year-old centrist’s appointment came after a tense, nearly two-hour meeting at the Élysée Palace, which sparked speculation that Macron had reconsidered other names at the last minute.

It followed a year of political instability in which Macron has now named three prime ministers — a crisis that deepened when the president called and lost early elections in July that left no party or alliance with a majority in the National Assembly.

Bayrou faces the task of building a government with sufficient cross-party support to survive a confidence vote, pass a budget and reassure financial markets and businesses rattled by the recent instability.

The crisis has undermined Macron on the international stage, just as neighbouring Germany is gearing up for early elections in February. With US president-elect Donald Trump due to take office next month, both leading EU powers are weakened by political uncertainty.

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“Everyone knows the difficulty of the task and everyone also knows that there is a path forward to be found that unites people instead of dividing them . . . There is a long road ahead,” Bayrou said on Friday afternoon shortly after his appointment.

Bayrou’s predecessor, Michel Barnier, the EU’s former Brexit negotiator, was toppled last week in a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly after just under three months in office. Barnier’s government was voted down over a deficit-cutting budget for next year, a hurdle that Bayrou will now have to surmount despite having no parliamentary majority.

A three-time presidential candidate himself, the new prime minister combines a market-oriented view of the economy with support for social justice measures such as taxing the wealthy.

He has also called for proportional voting to boost the culture of compromise in parliament and more power to be devolved from Paris to the rest of the country.

But his appointment was immediately met with criticism from Macron’s opponents, including from the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) of arch Macron opponent Marine Le Pen, which was instrumental in bringing down Barnier.

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“Macron is a president in a bunker, and his new prime minister must take into account the new political situation,” said Jordan Bardella, RN party chief. “He must accept that he does not have democratic legitimacy or a majority in the assembly, so must dialogue with all parties,” he added.

The moderate left, whose support is crucial to neutralising the RN, also made clear its dissatisfaction with Bayrou’s appointment.

Chloé Ridel, a Socialist party spokesperson, slammed Macron for picking an ally rather than a candidate from the left, which came first in July’s parliamentary elections.

“If Bayrou wants our support, he will have to take steps to take on parts of our agenda, such as on pensions or salaries,” she said.

A person close to Macron defended the choice, saying that Bayrou had “emerged in recent days as the most consensual figure . . . and [the one] best suited to form the government of national unity called for by the president”.

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The person added: “His mission will be to engage in dialogue with all political parties . . . to establish the conditions for stability and effective action.”

The uncertainty now afflicting French politics contrasts not just with Macron’s first term, when he had a commanding majority, but with much of the history of the 66-year-old Fifth Republic, during which most governments have proved relatively stable.

Investments and growth have slowed and unemployment has ticked up during the political crisis.

France is under pressure to narrow its deficit, which will stand at 6 per cent of national output by the end of the year — far above the EU limit of 3 per cent of GDP.

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Macron has sought to prepare the ground for the new government with a non-aggression pact with opposition party chiefs — excluding the far right and far left.

To cut out the RN, he and Bayrou will need to reach an agreement with the Socialists, who hold 66 seats, and perhaps the Greens with 38 and the Communists with 17, while not losing the rightwing.

Fabien Roussel, the communist party head, said the nomination of a loyalist as prime minister sent “a bad signal that is not what the public wants”, adding: “They want a change of political direction, and there is little chance of that now.”

However, in a more conciliatory tone, he added: “We will not censure this new government automatically, and will judge based on his actions.”

Much will depend on how substantially Bayrou deviates from Macron’s pro-business policies and tax cuts to chart his own course.

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His support was key to Macron first getting elected in 2017 and his MoDem party supports the president. But legal difficulties forced him to step aside as Macron’s first justice minister after only one month in office.

Bayrou and his party were accused of embezzling EU funds by using Brussels staffers for national political activities. He was acquitted this year, but prosecutors have appealed, raising the possibility of a retrial.

If another prime minister were to fall, pressure would intensify on Macron, whose presidential term still has two-and-a-half years left to run, to resign to break the political impasse. 

The president has insisted he will not step down, since he wants to push through more reforms and protect previous changes such as raising the retirement age and efforts to make France more attractive to investors. 

In a survey by pollster Elabe this week, only 6 per cent of respondents said they wanted a prime minister from Macron’s centrist camp, compared with 41 per cent who preferred a non-political choice.

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But a large majority of respondents — 76 per cent — said they wanted parties to find compromises to end instability, in a sign that it may be risky for the opposition to topple another government. 

Macron’s popularity has fallen to a record low since his election in 2017, with just 21 per cent of people having confidence that he can tackle France’s problems, according to a separate Elabe poll on Thursday. 

Among potential prime minister candidates, Bayrou got the backing of only 29 per cent of respondents in the same poll.

Data visualisation by Janina Conboye

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