Hearings: Several of Donald Trump’s choices for important positions in his administration were scheduled for confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill today. They included Sen. Marco Rubio, who was nominated for Secretary of State and Pam Bondi, who was nominated for attorney general. After yesterday’s confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for Secretary of Defense, Republican Sen. Jodi Ernst announced she was changing her position and would vote to confirm him. Â
Yoon: South Korea’s President Yoon has been arrested. Police said he was taken into custody for questioning about various corruption allegations. He also was under investigation for having declared martial law, which his opponents said was an attempt to overthrow the government. After being arrested, Yoon released a video in which he charged that his arrest was illegal and he has been trying to protect the constitution of South Korea.
Banking: The federal government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sued Capital One Bank, alleging that the bank cheated consumers out of about $2 billion in interest payments. The bureau alleges that the bank worked to keep depositors who had “360 Savings” accounts from finding out that the bank had created a new type of account called “360 Performance Savings” that offered higher interest rates. The bureau also alleges that the bank kept interest rates low for several years.
Tariffs: After having promised during his campaign to shrink the size of government, Donald Trump has announced that he wants to expand the size of government and create a new agency similar to the Internal Revenue Service. Trump would call it the External Revenue Service. It would be charged with collecting tariffs that Trump would impose on goods imported from overseas. Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, who is the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said that rebranding tariffs as external revenue doesn’t change the fact that they amount to new taxes on American consumers.
Fires: The known death toll in the Los Angeles wildfires has risen to 25, with more than 30 people listed as missing. Strong Santa Ana winds were expected to continue until at least tonight, continuing the threat of the fires spreading. Los Angeles County residents are being advised to stay inside if possible with windows closed and air conditioners running to filter out smoke in the air and to wear masks if they go outside because of the poor air quality.
Musk: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk alleging that he violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by failing to timely disclose that he had acquired beneficial ownership of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of Twitter, Inc. common stock. According to the SEC’s complaint, Musk saved at least $150 million at the expense of Twitter shareholders by failing to timely file the beneficial ownership report. The SEC complaint says Musk tried to cover up his purchase of $500 million worth of Twitter stock in order to keep the price artificially low and prevent the unsuspecting public from finding out about his interest in Twitter. The SEC is asking a federal court to force Musk to disgorge his ill-gotten gains plus pay interest and civil penalties.
