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Four dead, multiple injured in high school shooting in Winder, Georgia.

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Netanyahu takes stand in corruption trial, lectures on relationships between media, politicians

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Netanyahu takes stand in corruption trial, lectures on relationships between media, politicians – CBS News


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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified in his corruption trial Tuesday, denying any wrongdoing. CBS News foreign correspondent Debora Patta has more.

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Feds collected records of dozens of congressional staff, multiple reporters in Trump-era leak probes, watchdog reveals

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The Justice Department failed to follow department policy and ignored some established protections when seeking records from members of Congress, dozens of congressional staffers and members of the media during the first Trump administration, an internal watchdog found.

A report by the department’s Office of Inspector General released on Tuesday focused on numerous leak investigations launched by the Justice Department and the FBI between 2017 and 2020 to determine how eight journalists from the Washington Post, the New York Times and CNN obtained classified information that appeared in reports. The data mostly included metadata about emails and phone calls, and did not contain the content of the communications. 

In 2017, FBI investigators honed in on members of Congress and their staff as possible sources of various news reports, eventually obtaining data from two Democratic lawmakers and 43 congressional staffers from both parties. Inspector General Michael Horowitz criticized the large number of congressional employees whose information was obtained, and urged the department to implement stronger policies to protect the data of members of Congress and their staff. 

“[D]ozens of congressional staffers became part of the subject pool in a federal criminal investigation for doing nothing more than performing constitutionally authorized oversight of the executive branch,” the report said. In a 2023 lawsuit against the Justice Department, Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to serve as FBI director in the upcoming administration, said he was one of those staffers while working for the House Intelligence Committee. Patel alleged the collection was “in complete contravention of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” 

The inspector general also revealed the two lawmakers were targeted because a Democratic staffer “identified them to investigators as potential leakers but without providing any evidentiary support for the claim.” 

CBS News reported in 2021 that Justice Department prosecutors had subpoenaed Apple for data from the accounts of Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell of California while investigating leaks of classified information related to contacts between aides to President-Elect Donald Trump and Russia in the early days of the Trump administration. Both men criticized the investigative steps at the time. Schiff was sworn in this week as the next senator from California, and Swalwell remains in the House.

There were four secret investigations in total, all of which were closed without criminal charges. The probes emerged into public view in 2021, when the Biden administration informed the three news organizations that their records had been swept up in the Trump-era probes. The Post, the Times and CNN each announced and condemned the revelations at the time.

Notably, the inspector general’s review said there was no evidence that the investigations were influenced by politics or other improper considerations. The report also said that certain processes and approvals that are now required were not in place at the time.

However, the report said the decision to go after the communications of congressional staffers and members “implicated the constitutional rights and authorities or a co-equal branch of government.” 

Such conduct, the report argued, “risks chilling Congress’ ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch.” The inspector general said there was no definitive department policy on the matter and much of the decision-making was left up to line prosecutors on the cases. As a result, the report called for further safeguards and policy changes, some of which have been implemented.

Unlike investigations into members of Congress, Justice Department policy stipulates that prosecutors must first prove to have “exhausted” other avenues before seeking to secretly obtain records from members of the media. But Horowitz found investigators in 2020 “did not fully adhere” to other policies when they turned their attention to the news media organizations that published the classified information. 

According to the report, then-Attorney General William Barr authorized the collection of the journalists’ communication data because policy required senior approval for investigations into journalists, but prosecutors working on the cases did not follow other procedures. Horowitz found that in all of the investigations, the Justice Department’s New Media Review Committee — a group of officials within the department tasked with reviewing such investigative steps — was not established. The report also said prosecutors failed to obtain necessary sign-off from the intelligence community before collecting communications data in at least one instance.

Unsealed court records showed the requests were made in the final weeks of Trump’s first term. Barr did not agree to be interviewed for the inspector general’s report. The former head of the Justice Department’s national security division told the inspector general Barr and his predecessor had “made it very clear leak investigations were a priority of the Department.” 

“In our judgment, the Department’s deviation from its own requirements indicates a troubling disparity between, on the one hand, the regard expressed in Department policy for the roles of the news media in American democracy and, on the other hand, the Department’s commitment to complying with the limits and requirements that it intended to safeguard that very role,” Horowitz wrote. 

Following the revelations that the reporters were subjects of the Trump-era Justice Department investigations, the Garland Justice Department changed department policies governing news media organizations. 



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What are the fastest ways to get rid of $5,000 in credit card debt?

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A credit card balance of $5,000 (or more) can be tough to tackle, but specific strategies can help expedite the payoff process.

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Credit card debt has reached unprecedented levels in the United States, with Americans owing a staggering $1.17 trillion on their credit cards as of the third quarter of 2024. That amounts to the average cardholder carrying about $8,000 in credit card debt at a time when credit card interest rates are surpassing 23%, on average. These trends, combined with increasing credit card payment delinquencies and more people maxing out their credit cards, paint a challenging financial picture right now. 

With today’s high interest rates, if you’re making just the minimum payments on your credit cards, it can take years to chip away at your balance. Carrying a balance for too long can significantly inflate the amount you owe due to compound interest, making it even harder to catch up. So, if you’re grappling with a significant amount of credit card debt — let’s say $5,000 (or more) — it’s important to act quickly to try and minimize interest costs and regain control of your finances.

Fortunately, there are strategies designed to tackle this kind of debt efficiently. By leveraging these techniques, you can stop your debt from growing and pay it off before the compound interest charges cause it to become a burden that’s too heavy to carry.

Find out what credit card debt relief options are available to you now.

What are the fastest ways to get rid of $5,000 in credit card debt?

If you’re facing this type of hefty credit card balance, explore these ways to get rid of what you owe quickly:

Execute a balance transfer strategy

One of the fastest ways to get ahead of credit card debt is through a balance transfer to a card offering a 0% introductory APR period. Many cards offer promotional periods ranging from 12 to 21 months, during which no interest accrues on transferred balances, allowing you to make payments directly toward the principal. For example, transferring $5,000 to a balance transfer card with a 0% APR and paying about $417 a month would eliminate the debt in a year (assuming no balance transfer fee).

To maximize this strategy, ensure you can pay off the full balance before the promotional period ends, as standard rates will kick in after. You should also note that many of these cards have balance transfer fees that range from 3% to 5% of the transferred amount, so it’s important to factor that into your calculations. That said, the savings on interest typically outweigh the transfer fees, especially with today’s high rates, so even if the balance transfer fee is on the higher end of the range, chances are that you’ll benefit from taking this route.

Get rid of your high-rate card debt today.

Pursue a debt consolidation loan 

Debt consolidation offers another way to streamline and accelerate repayment. With this option, you take out a new loan at a lower interest rate than your credit card’s rate — with rates on these types of loans typically ranging from 6% to 15% or more, depending on the type of loan you use and your credit score. You use the loan to pay off your $5,000 in credit card debt, replacing multiple high-interest payments with a single, more affordable one. This approach provides a clear path to debt freedom with a fixed end date and potentially saves hundreds in interest charges.

For example, if you secure a 3-year consolidation loan with an 8% interest rate, your monthly payment would be slightly over $156 per month, and you’d save hundreds in interest compared to paying 23% on your credit card. But even if your 3-year loan rate is higher at 12%, you would pay a little over $166 per month — which is still a significant reduction in the interest charges. 

Implement the debt avalanche method

For those who prefer a more traditional repayment approach, the debt avalanche method offers a mathematical strategy for rapid debt elimination. With this approach, you make minimum payments on all your credit card debts while directing any extra funds toward the highest-rate card first. 

With $5,000 spread across multiple cards, you initially focus on the card with the highest APR. For example, if you can allocate $500 monthly toward debt repayment and your highest-rate card charges 24.99% APR, directing most funds there while maintaining minimum payments on other cards maximizes interest savings and accelerates overall debt elimination.

Negotiate lower rates with creditors

Many credit card issuers are willing to lower interest rates for customers who are facing temporary hardships that impact their ability to stay current on payments. While the results can vary based on a range of factors, a successful negotiation could reduce your APR by several percentage points or even secure a temporary 0% rate. 

On a $5,000 balance, reducing your APR from 23% to 12% could save you hundreds in interest charges over a one-year payoff period. So, while this strategy requires persistence and may not always succeed, it’s typically worth pursuing as part of a comprehensive debt elimination plan.

The bottom line

Eliminating $5,000 in credit card debt quickly is an achievable goal — but it’s easier to do with the right strategy in place. By leveraging tools like balance transfer cards or debt consolidation loans, or by negotiating with your creditors, you can reduce the time and cost of repayment. Whatever route you take, though, remember that staying consistent and remaining committed to the strategy will help you get one step closer to financial freedom.



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