US House panel considers commission to tackle nation's soaring debt

 Bipartisan legislation to create a commission charged with taming the $34 trillion U.S. national debt is set to advance this week in a House of Representatives panel, as lawmakers battle over federal spending.

The House Budget Committee on Tuesday said it will hold a work session at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) on Thursday to debate and potentially vote on the "Fiscal Commission Act of 2023," just weeks after Washington's total public debt breached the $34 trillion mark, putting it at more than 122% of GDP.

Congress last summer brought the nation to the brink of a globally destabilizing default in a showdown over the federal debt ceiling, and will confront a fresh debt deadline at the end of this year.

Backers of the bill hope it could help make the national debt a topic of greater discussion during the 2024 presidential campaign.

"While a debt commission is not a panacea to fix all our financial problems, it can offer a productive, de-politicized forum for educating the public and identifying consensus solutions for addressing our growing deficits and long-term unfunded liabilities," Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington said in a statement to Reuters.

The move follows Moody's decision in mid-November to lower its outlook on the U.S. credit rating to "negative" from "stable," citing "political polarization in Congress" over ways to address the debt and the costs of financing it.

Similar bipartisan legislation was introduced late last year by retiring Senators Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and Mitt Romney, a Republican.

While the House and Senate bills have some bipartisan support, there are significant pockets of resistance. Some liberal Democrats argue that such a commission would be a "back-door" way of cutting benefits in the popular Social Security and Medicare retirement and healthcare programs.

The panel would be charged with recommending spending and revenue proposals to grapple with a ballooning national debt that has been fueled by deficit spending and tax cuts over the past few decades. Even with a commission, Congress and the White House would have the final say. Republican Representative Bill Huizenga introduced the legislation in November with bipartisan support. He was joined by Democratic Representative Scott Peters, a member of the Budget Committee.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-house-panel-considers-commission-150000664.html

Turkey strikes Kurdish militants in Iraq, Syria

 Turkey overnight Monday conducted airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria, as Ankara continues to retaliate after more than a dozen of its troops were killed in recent weeks.

From about 10 p.m. Monday, Turkish war planes struck 23 targets in Metina, Gara, Hakurk and Qandil in northern Iraq and in unspecified regions of Syria.

Caves, shelters, tunnels and warehouses were among the targets, it said.

"In these operations, a large number of terrorists were neutralized by using domestic and national ammunition to the maximum extent," Ankara's ministry of defense said in a statement.

"The Turkish Armed Forces ... will continue the fight against terrorism for the survival and security of our country and our nation with determination and determination until the last terrorist is neutralized, as in the past."

Turkey has been unleashing airstrikes against the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, over recent attacks by the Kurdish militants on Turkish troops.

At least 15 Turkish soldiers have been killed in clashes with Kurdish militants attempting to infiltrate Ankara bases in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Six were killed on Dec. 23, and nine were killed on Friday.

Formed in the late 1970s, the Marxist-Leninist PKK seeks an independent Kurdistan and has been in conflict with Turkey since at least 1984, when it began its armed insurgency against Ankara, according to a U.S. Congressional Research Service report.

The PKK has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, Canada and other Western allies.

https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-strikes-kurdish-militants-iraq-084858237.html

Iran strike triggers dispute with Iraq as regional turmoil grows

 An Iranian missile strike on targets in northern Iraq set off an unusual dispute between the neighbouring allies on Tuesday, with Baghdad recalling its ambassador in protest and Tehran insisting the attack was intended to deter threats from Israeli spies.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards hit what they called an Israeli espionage centre in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Iranian media reported late on Monday, while the elite force said they also struck in Syria against the Islamic State.

The strike appeared likely to deepen worries about worsening instability across the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, with Iran's allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

There has also been concern that Iraq could again become a theatre for regional conflict after a series of U.S. strikes on Iran-linked militant groups that are also part of Iraq's formal security forces. Those strikes came in response to dozens of attacks on U.S. forces in the region carried out since Oct. 7.

The Guards said the late Monday attack, Iran's first direct military strike in the region linked to the Gaza war, was in response to Israeli 'atrocities" against several of its commanders and those of Iranian-allied forces around the Middle East since the conflict started.

Iraq National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji condemned the strike as an infringement of sovereignty.

"We are very astonished by what happened because the Iraqi government was not informed," he said.

In protest against the strike, Iraq recalled its envoy from Tehran and summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Baghdad, with the foreign ministry saying Baghdad would take all legal steps against what it called a violation of sovereignty.

The strike, on a residential area near the U.S. consulate in Kurdistan's capital Erbil, was described by Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani as a "crime against the Kurdish people" in which at least four civilians were killed and six injured.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/iran-strike-triggers-row-iraq-124353829.html

Lafarge can be charged with 'complicity in crimes against humanity' over Syria plant: French court

 France's highest court on Tuesday rejected a request from French cement maker Lafarge that it dismiss charges of complicity in crimes against humanity as part of an enquiry into how the group kept its factory running in Syria after war broke out in 2011.

The procedural ruling, which upheld an earlier decision by a lower court, is not a verdict on guilt.

But it means a multi-year investigation into the company's criminal liability on the grounds of alleged, highly symbolic crimes against humanity charges can continue.

It is unclear when the investigation will be completed and whether prosecutors will decide to send the case to court for a ruling on the substance of the accusations.

The company's court action was successful in part in that the court dropped charges of endangering the life of its staff.

Lafarge in a statement said the decision was a "legacy issue" that it was addressing "through the legal process in France". It did not provide further comment.

The company, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim in 2015, has been the subject of an investigation into its operations in Syria since 2016, one of the most extensive corporate criminal proceedings in recent French legal history.

ISLAMIST GROUPS

Anna Kiefer, a lawyer for French campaign group Sherpa, which had lodged a criminal complaint against Lafarge, said the court's decision was a "partial victory".

"The confirmation of the indictment for complicity in crimes against humanity is a key step towards Lafarge one day being tried for these acts," she said.

"However, the annulment of the indictment for endangering the lives of others is a major setback for the recognition of the risks that Lafarge posed to Syrian employees."

The cement maker, has admitted, following its own internal investigation, that its Syrian subsidiary paid armed groups to help protect staff at the plant in a country shaken by years of civil war.

U.S. prosecutors said Lafarge, through intermediaries, paid Islamic State and al Nusra Front the equivalent of approximately $5.92 million between 2013 and 2014 to allow employees, customers and suppliers to pass through checkpoints after civil war broke out in Syria.

But in a legal battle, involving dozens of lawyers and thousands of pages of documents, Lafarge has rejected some of the charges French prosecutors have considered, including that it was complicit in crimes against humanity committed by the Islamist groups.

The company said France was not the jurisdiction for the prosecution of charges of involvement in war crimes abroad, an argument the court rejected.

The company also denied it could be guilty of endangering the lives of its local staff by keeping employees in their jobs when the safety situation deteriorated.

The top court agreed agreed with the company's argument that it could not be prosecuted for endangering the lives of staff on the basis of French labour law, as that legislation did not apply to local staff.

https://news.yahoo.com/lafarge-charged-complicity-crimes-against-132904436.html

Epic Fail: SCOTUS Rejects Apple's Appeal In App Store Tyranny Case

 Amid copyright problems with its Watch, Apple faces more problems this morning as it's cash-cow App Store revenues could take a hit after The US Supreme Court refused to consider the tech giant's appeal in an anti-trust case with Epic Games.

The decision will allow an appeals court ruling to go into effect that lets developers direct iPhone users to cheaper purchasing options outside of Apple's system - a decision that will likely affect billions of dollars in revenue for the iPhone maker.

The company charges developers a commission of as much as 30% for digital goods and services sold through its App Store.

As a reminder, Epic lost its broader claim that Cupertino, California-based Apple was violating federal antitrust law, and the justices also rejected Epic's appeal Tuesday.

But, as Bloomberg reports, The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals found last year that Apple violated California’s Unfair Competition Law by limiting the ability of developers to communicate about alternative payment systems.

The decision would let developers circumvent those commissions by including links to process payments on the web instead of within the Apple system – though the appeals court put that on hold while the Supreme Court appeal was pending.

And now, that stay is over...

AAPL's share price is down 2.5% in early trading after this headline...

Last month, Epic won a jury trial against Google and its Play Store for apps on Android phones in a lawsuit mirroring its action against Apple. A federal judge still must determine what changes Google will have to make to its Play Store.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/epic-fail-scotus-rejects-apples-appeal-app-store-tyranny-case

Puma at B. Riley Securities 4th Annual Oncology Conference

 Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBYI), a biopharmaceutical company (the “Company”), announced that Alan H. Auerbach, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President and Founder of Puma, will provide an overview of the Company on January 18, 2024 at the virtual B. Riley Securities 4th Annual Oncology Conference: Tumor-ow’s Titans – Finding Value in (Near-) Commercial Oncology Companies.

For access to Mr. Auerbach’s live presentation at 2:00 p.m. ET on January 18, please contact your B. Riley representative. A replay of the presentation will be available on Puma’s website after 5:00 p.m. ET at https://www.pumabiotechnology.com.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240111330386/en/Puma-Biotechnology-to-Present-at-B.-Riley-Securities-4th-Annual-Oncology-Conference

ELEVAI Acquires Worldwide License Agreement for Proprietary Stem Cell Manufacturing Tech

 The licensed “EMx” technology is a proprietary manufacturing process that entails specific know-how designed to efficiently produce cGMP grade hucMSCs. The licensing agreement grants Elevai an exclusive license, to utilize “EMx” technology for the development and commercialization of licensed topical cosmetic applications. Elevai expects the “EMx” technology to provide the ability to manufacture cGMP grade hucMSCs for its future topical cosmetic product development and manufacturing needs, at a lower cost than purchasing them at market which Elevai believes enhances its competitive position for long-term success.

Global Rights: The agreement stipulates worldwide rights, emphasizing the global impact and potential of this license-based partnership.

Ethical and Quality Standards: The agreement requires all licensed topical cosmetic products to be manufactured in compliance with cGMP and ethical sourcing and screening of umbilical cords of healthy full-term newborns.

Consideration: Under the agreement, Elevai will make an initial deposit for the license in two installments over six months, and a final tech transfer fee within two years of executing the agreement. As further consideration under the agreement, Elevai will be required to pay a nominal royalty on the sale of licensed topical cosmetic products that are manufactured using the “EMx” technology.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/01/16/2809885/0/en/ELEVAI-Labs-Inc-Acquires-Worldwide-License-Agreement-for-Proprietary-Stem-Cell-Manufacturing-Technology.html