On Thursday, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders revealed his $16.3 trillion plan to combat climate change. He's calling his new proposal the Green New Deal, borrowing the title of the legislation that's been championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
Sanders' proposal comes a day after Gov. Jay Inslee — who had centered his presidential campaign on the climate crisis — announced that he would be dropping out of the race.
Sanders' plan calls for moving the transportation and electricity sectors to renewable energy sources by 2030, and complete decarbonization by 2050, "at the latest." He claims the proposal will create 20 million jobs.
"This plan will pay for itself over 15 years," the new section of his campaign website reads. Its propositions cover vast swaths of the American economy, outlining initiatives such as a vehicle trade-in program to encourage the adoption of electric cars, a grant program to "weatherize" American homes, and assistance packages to promote publicly-owned broadband infrastructure.
"It is now the most expensive plan out of all the ones that the contenders have put out," Vox staff writer Umair Irfan told Cheddar. "$16.3 trillion is the highest dollar amount so far out of any of the candidates. What's kind of unique about that is that Bernie is counting this exclusively from government spending."
"He's naming the fossil fuel industry as the adversary. He says that he wants to start litigation and even criminal prosecution of fossil fuel companies," Irfan added. "From more neutral observers, people are a little bit skeptical about the pace that he wants for this transition. And also, the top line dollar amount — $16.3 trillion — that sounds like a tall order and it seems unlikely that you would be able to get that through a Congress, which may be divided."
However, the plan was heralded by environmental groups fighting to prevent climate change.
Greenpeace USA has raised Sanders' climate plan score from a B+ to an A-, tying with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Only Governor Inslee scored better, with a solid A, before he dropped out.
"If fossil fuel executives and lobbyists reading Sanders' plan are scared, they should be. They've spent millions of dollars to convince the American people that we can't thrive without oil, gas, and coal, when the exact opposite is true. It's time we have a president who calls out their dangerous lies, not one who repeats them," said Jack Shapiro, a senior climate campaigner with Greenpeace.
The plan also won support from the Sunrise Movement, the organization that heralded Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's version of the Green New Deal.
"The Bernie Sanders Green New Deal is not only ambitious in its goals, but it also harkens back to the vision of how the original New Deal was won — through a federal government-led mobilization of all sectors of society," the organization said in a statement.
Representatives for Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
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