Industry groups sue over Biden ban on medical debt from credit reports

 Two groups representing the credit reporting and credit union industries have filed a lawsuit challenging a new rule adopted by U.S. President Joe Biden's outgoing administration banning the inclusion of medical debt in American consumers' credit reports.

The Consumer Data Industry Association and Cornerstone Credit Union League filed the lawsuit in federal court in Sherman, Texas, on Tuesday, shortly after the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized the regulation.

The agency said the rule would remove $49 billion in medical debts from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans. It was adopted despite demands from Republicans in Congress that Biden's financial regulators stop issuing new rules as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20.

The trade groups say the rule violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which expressly permits consumer reporting agencies to report information about medical debt and authorizes creditors to consider that information.

"It is black letter law that an agency cannot prohibit through regulations what Congress has expressly permitted by statute," the lawsuit said. "Because the final rule contravenes the statute, it should be vacated."

The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan, a Trump appointee. The CFPB declined to comment.

According to the CFPB, medical debt provides little indication of whether a borrower is likely to repay a loan and the change should result in rising credit scores and could lead to an additional 22,000 low-cost mortgages per year being issued.

The new rule will also prohibit lenders from considering certain medical information in making lending decisions and help prevent debt collectors from seeking to coerce consumers into paying erroneous medical debts they do not actually owe, the agency said.

Banking and credit bureau industry groups argued that the ban could leave them blind to important information about the risk financial institutions face from borrowers, resulting in banks offering fewer loans.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/industry-groups-sue-over-biden-173745320.html

'US, French troops could secure Syria's northern border, Syrian Kurdish official says'

 Talks are taking place on whether U.S. and French troops could secure a border zone in northern Syria as part of efforts to defuse conflict between Turkey and Western-backed Kurdish Syrian forces, a senior Syrian Kurdish official said.

Ankara has warned that it will carry out a cross-border offensive into northeastern Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia if the group does not meet Turkish demands.

Turkey regards the YPG, which spearheads the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a terrorist group linked to Kurdish PKK militants who for 40 years have waged an insurgency against the Turkish state.

The SDF played an important role in defeating Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria in 2014-17. The group still guards IS fighters in prison camps there, but has been on the back foot since rebels ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8.

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that Paris would not abandon the SDF, which was one among a myriad of opposition forces during Syria's 13-year-long civil war.

"The United States and France could indeed secure the entire border. We are ready for this military coalition to assume this responsibility," Ilham Ahmed, co-chair of foreign affairs for the Kurdish administration in northern territory outside central Syrian government control, was quoted as saying by TV5 Monde.

"We ask the French to send troops to this border to secure the demilitarised zone, to help us protect the region and establish good relations with Turkey."

Neither France nor Turkey's foreign ministries immediately responded to requests for comment. The U.S. State Department was not immediately available for comment.

It is unclear how receptive Turkey would be to such an initiative, given Ankara has worked for years to secure its border against threats coming from Syria, and has vowed to destroy the YPG.

"As soon as France has convinced Turkey to accept its presence on the border, then we can start the peace process," Ahmed said. "We hope that everything will be settled in the coming weeks."

A source familiar with the matter said such talks were going on, but declined to say how advanced or realistic they were.

CEASEFIRE EFFORTS

Washington has been brokering ceasefire efforts between Turkish-backed groups and the SDF after fighting that broke out as rebel groups advanced on Damascus and overthrew Assad.

Addressing a news conference in Paris alongside outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot hinted that there were talks on the issue.

"The Syrian Kurds must find their place in this political transition. We owe it to them because they were our brothers in arms against Islamic State," Barrot said.

"We will continue our efforts ... to ensure that Turkey's legitimate security concerns can be guaranteed, but also the security interests of (Syria's) Kurds and their full rights to take part in the construction in the future of their country."

Blinken said it was vital to ensure that the SDF forces continued the job of guarding more than 10,000 detained IS militants as this was a legitimate security interest for both the U.S. and Turkey.

"We have been working very closely with our ally ... Turkey to navigate this transition ... It's a process that will take some time," Blinken said.

The U.S. has about 2,000 troops in Syria who have been working with the SDF to prevent a resurgence of IS.

A French official said France still has dozens of special forces on the ground dating from its earlier support of the SDF, when Paris provided weapons and training.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/us-french-troops-could-secure-syria-s-northern-border-syrian-kurdish-official-says/ar-AA1xbVH8

Lebanese army chief edges towards presidency, Lebanese sources say

 Lebanon's parliament looks set to elect army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, three senior political sources said, ending a presidential vacuum which has persisted since 2022 and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The election marks the first test of Lebanon's power balance since Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah emerged badly pummelled from last year's war with Israel, and since its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power in December.

The post, reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022. None of the groups in the 128-seat parliament have enough seats to impose their choice, and they have so far been unable to agree on a consensus candidate.

Momentum built behind Joseph Aoun's candidacy on Wednesday, as Hezbollah's preferred candidate - Suleiman Frangieh - withdrew his candidacy and declared his support for the military commander, along with a growing number of other lawmakers.

While Hezbollah and its Shi'ite ally the Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had long expressed reservations about Aoun's candidacy as they stuck by Frangieh, the three sources said enough Shi'ite lawmakers would elect him in order to secure the 86 votes he needs to win.

One of the Lebanese politicians said Western and Arab contacts with Lebanese factions had intensified on Wednesday with the aim of securing the election of Aoun, who Lebanese political sources say enjoys U.S. approval.

French and Saudi envoys met Lebanese politicians in Beirut on Wednesday. Four Lebanese political sources who met the Saudi envoy, Prince Yazid bin Farhan, last week said he spelt out preferred qualifications which signal Saudi support for Aoun.

Saudi Arabia was once a big player in Lebanon, vying with Tehran for influence, before seeing its role eclipsed by Iran and the heavily armed Hezbollah, which is listed as a terrorist group by Washington and its Gulf Arab allies.

Aoun, 60, has been commander of the U.S.-backed Lebanese army since 2017. On his watch, U.S. aid continued to flow to the army, part of a long-standing U.S. policy focused on supporting state institutions to curb Hezbollah's influence.

A candidate requires 86 votes to win in a first-round vote, or 65 in a second round. But Berri has said that Aoun, as a still-serving state employee, would still need 86 votes because his election requires a constitutional amendment.

George Adwan, a member of the Lebanese Forces party, a Christian faction which staunchly opposes Hezbollah and decided to vote for Aoun, said his election would "open the door to a new phase".

MAJOR SHIFT

Aoun has a key role in shoring up the ceasefire brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.  

Still reeling from a financial collapse in 2019, Lebanon desperately needs foreign aid to rebuild from the war.

Much of the damage is in Shi'ite majority areas.

Hezbollah, its supply line to Iran severed by Assad's ousting, has urged Arab and international support for Lebanon.

The vote takes place against a backdrop of historic change in the wider Middle East, where the Assad-led Syrian state exercised sway over Lebanon for decades, both directly and through allies such as Hezbollah. 

Hezbollah's support was vital to propelling Michel Aoun to the presidency in 2016, as the group and factions which supported its possession of a powerful arsenal were in the ascendant.

A State Department spokesperson said it was "up to Lebanon to choose its next president, not the United States or any external actor". 

"We have been consistent in our efforts to press Lebanon to elect a new president, which we see as important to strengthening Lebanon’s political institutions," the spokesperson said.    

Saudi Minister Faisal bin Farhan said last October that Riyadh had never fully disengaged from Lebanon and that outside countries should not tell Lebanese what to do.    

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed hope in comments to France Inter radio, saying the election was "a prerequisite for the continuation of this dynamic of peace" and also for Lebanon's economic and social recovery.

Other candidates in focus include Jihad Azour, a senior International Monetary Fund official who formerly served as finance minister, and Major-General Elias al-Baysari - head of General Security, a state security agency.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-01-08/with-hezbollah-weakened-lebanon-to-hold-presidential-vote

Quantum computing stocks take a hit as Nvidia CEO predicts long road ahead

 Quantum computing stocks sank on Wednesday, pausing a year-long rally, after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the technology's practical use was likely two decades away.

The long wait outlined by Huang for "very useful quantum computers" throws cold water on a sector that was already expected to spend millions more on the technology, which can only perform niche calculations so far.

"If you kind of said 15 years... that'd probably be on the early side. If you said 30, it's probably on the late side. But if you picked 20, I think a whole bunch of us would believe it," he said on Tuesday.

Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum, Quantum Computing and IonQ all fell more than 40%.

The companies, in total, were set to lose more than $8 billion in market value.

"The 15 to 20-year timeline seems very realistic," said Ivana Delevska, investment chief of Spear Invest, which holds Rigetti and IonQ shares in an actively managed ETF.

"That is roughly what it took Nvidia to develop accelerated computing."

The four quantum computing stocks rose at least threefold last year and outperformed a more than twofold rise in Nvidia shares, thanks to a high-profile breakthrough in the technology at Google in December.

The technology is seen as a key national security undertaking, with countries counting on it to drive decryption for military purposes.

Still, the revenue of these companies remains small.

IonQ, valued at more than $10 billion as of Tuesday, is expected to generate revenue of $41.6 million for fiscal 2024, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Rigetti, which had a market cap of about $4.4 billion based on Tuesday's close, is likely to bring in annual revenue of $11 million for 2024.

"There will be considerable government-related revenues in the next few years," Craig-Hallum analyst Richard Shannon said.

"If investors are worried about minimal revenues that will require dilution, they are missing a key part of the equation."

Quantum computing "will be disruptive to parts of the classical compute business, of which Nvidia is a chief beneficiary," Shannon said.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/quantum-computing-stocks-hit-nvidia-125613613.html

Greenland greets Trump interest with MAGA caps but mixed feelings

 The renewed interest by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Greenland has been greeted enthusiastically by some Greenlanders, although others say the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark is not for sale.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said on Monday that U.S. control of the strategically important Arctic island was an "absolute necessity" and at a press conference on Tuesday did not rule out using military or economic action to make it happen.

FILE PHOTO: Donald Trump Jr. visits Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Donald Trump Jr. is on a private visit to Greenland. Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS/File Photo© Thomson Reuters

The same day, Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., made a private visit to the country.

Mikael Ludvidsen, a resident of capital Nuuk, was skeptical about the president-elect's intentions, telling Reuters: "I think he's talking too loudly. I don't think you can take him seriously when he says he's going to take us over by force."

FILE PHOTO: Donald Trump Jr. visits Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Donald Trump Jr. is on a private visit to Greenland. Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS/File Photo© Thomson Reuters

"I think it's too much," said local Niels Nielsen. Greenland "can't be bought," he added.

But others said aligning with a superpower might be helpful for Greenland, which has a population of just 57,000 people.

Resident Jens Ostermann, carrying a small child bundled up against the winter cold, said: "We should partner with a great power because Greenland is a rich country, we have everything here."

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede has urged residents to remain calm and united. But he has also emphasized his desire for Greenland to become fully independent from Denmark, its former colonial ruler.

Donald Trump Jr. visits Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Donald Trump Jr. is on a private visit to Greenland. Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS© Thomson Reuters

Some locals sported Make America Great Again caps to greet Trump Jr., with Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq headlining its report: "Warm but reserved welcome for Donald Trump Jr."

Donald Trump Jr. visits Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Donald Trump Jr. is on a private visit to Greenland. Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS© Thomson Reuters

Opinions among Greenlanders about the future of their country are divided, according to Aki-Matilda Hoegh-Dam, a member of Greenland's social-democratic Siumut party in the Danish parliament.

"Trump's reaction is a statement of how important Greenland is in the geopolitical area at this moment," she said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/greenland-greets-trump-interest-with-maga-caps-but-mixed-feelings/ar-BB1r7kEf

In Los Angeles, water runs short as wildfires burn out of control

 Crews battling multiple wildfires that raged across Los Angeles on Wednesday were up against a near-perfect storm: intense wind, low humidity and, most troubling for residents, inadequate supplies of water to contain the blazes.

Los Angeles authorities said their municipal water systems were working effectively but they were designed for an urban environment, not for tackling wildfires.

On Wednesday, at least three major blazes burned in LA County communities simultaneously, including a fire in the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood, an area west of downtown LA dotted with multimillion-dollar celebrity homes built along steep canyons.

Jay Lund, a professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University of California Davis, said city water tanks are typically designed to be able to put out localized fires, not widespread fires like the ones blazing in Los Angeles.

"It's not a matter of there's not enough water in Southern California, it's a matter of there's not enough water in that particular area of Southern California just for those few hours that you need it to fight the fires," Lund added.

Across the county, more than 70,000 people were ordered to evacuate and at least five were left dead as fierce winds fueled the fires, which have burned unimpeded since Tuesday. The fires have destroyed hundreds of buildings.

"A firefight with multiple fire hydrants drawing water from the system for several hours is unsustainable," said Mark Pestrella, director of Los Angeles County Public Works.

Janisse Quinones, CEO and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said the demand for water to fight fires at lower elevations was hampering the city's ability to refill water tanks at higher elevations.

The lack of water hampered efforts particularly in Pacific Palisades, an upscale coastal enclave where a wildfire has consumed nearly 12,000 acres (4,856 hectares).

TANKS FILLED IN ADVANCE

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said that in advance of the windstorm, it had filled all available water tanks in the city, including three 1-million-gallon (3.8-million-litre) tanks in the Palisades area.

The area had exhausted the three water storage tanks by early Wednesday, Quinones said in a press briefing.

"We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging," she added, noting that Pacific Palisades experienced four times the normal water demand for 15 hours as firefighters battled the blaze.

The department urged Angelenos to conserve water, and said it had deployed 18 water trucks of 2,000 to 4,000 gallons since Tuesday to help firefighters.

Lund said the nature of the fires was such that it was nearly impossible to arrange enough water in advance.

"If everything catches fire at once, there's not going to be enough water for everybody," he said.

"There's just no way that you could fit the pipes to work to move that much water across that area in a short period of time."

Gregory Pierce, director of the UCLA Water Resources Group and an adjunct professor at the Department of Urban Planning, said the fires were unusually intense even by Southern California standards. His brother's house burned down, he said.

He said the problem was not a lack of water so much as the difficulties in rapidly getting large amounts of water to a specific point where it was needed, which would entail major investments in power and infrastructure.

Sanah Chung, a Pacific Palisades resident who spoke to a reporter while hosing down hedges and trees in his front yard, said governments at all levels should have been more proactive in preparing for the fires.

"There must be some things we can do to try to mitigate this. Please. Fire hydrants are empty. Firefighters are doing everything they can, but we need to do things more proactively before," Chung, 57, told Reuters.

https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2025-01-08/in-los-angeles-water-runs-short-as-wildfires-burn-out-of-control

'Cybertruck tracking in Las Vegas case raises privacy concerns'

 Tesla’s response to a Cybertruck explosion outside President-elect Trump’s Las Vegas hotel on New Year’s Day has raised serious concerns about vehicle data and privacy.

Investigators say 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger killed himself moments before the rented Cybertruck exploded. Investigators are still sifting through evidence, but Tesla has already made statements that show how much data the company was collecting.

Some of the first answers in the case came from Tesla founder Elon Musk, who wrote on social platform X that “we have [now] confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cyber truck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”

That indicates the Cybertruck was transmitting data up until the explosion. Las Vegas Metro Police and the FBI have been using that data to help piece together the case.

“I have to thank Elon Musk specifically for being able to capture all of the video from the Tesla charging stations across the country,” one official said. “He sent that directly to us. We tracked his movements through the Tesla charging station to Monument. Colorado, on December 30. On the 31st of December, the truck was charged in Trinidad, Colorado; Las Vegas, New Mexico; and Albuquerque and Gallup, New Mexico.”

Authorities confirmed that the Cybertruck was not in full self-driving mode at any point during the incident.

Investigators have also recovered a microchip from the vehicle. They have not shared any video from inside the truck, which could yield even more information, but this is still the most high-profile example of how modern cars collect information on their drivers and those around them.

Tesla is not the only brand to collect this data, with most automobile companies engaging in similar activities.

A 2023 study from the Mozilla Foundation found that 75 percent of car brands said they can share or sell driver data, and 84 percent of car brands said they can share driver’s personal data, with 76 percent saying they can sell your personal data.

That has privacy experts warning that people’s own cars are the most heavily surveilled part of their day-to-day lives.

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5070284-cybertruck-tracking-las-vegas-explosion-privacy-concerns/