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The White House indirectly criticized President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to fire the FBI director who had time left in his term and appoint a loyalist to replace him, saying, “The FBI director is appointed for a 10-year term.”

In an interview with ABC and other networks on the 1st, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, “I want to emphasize what the Biden administration has done in approaching the issue of the FBI director,” regarding President-elect Trump’s announcement that he would appoint former Acting Secretary of Defense Chief of Staff Kathy Patel as FBI director.

Regarding the10-year term of the FBI director, he said, “It means that it goes beyond the term of a president,” and “So we actually inherited FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was nominated by President Trump (during his first term).”Sullivan said of Director Wray, “He has served in that role for four years in the Biden administration, and he has served in that role completely separate from the politics of partisan favoritism toward the current president of the United States.” He went on to emphasize that “this is a wonderful and deeply bipartisan tradition that President Joe Biden has upheld.”

When asked by the host about former Chief of Staff Patel’s threats of retaliation against Democrats, including her labeling him a “corrupt actor,” Sullivan avoided giving a direct answer, saying, “I’m not going to talk about President-elect Trump’s nominees,” and only stated that she would focus on the transition until January 20, the inauguration of the new administration.

President-elect Trump announced the day before that he would appoint former Chief of Staff Patel to succeed Christopher Wray, whom he appointed as president in 2017.After taking office, Director Wray was criticized by then-President Trump for his congressional testimony regarding the threat of Russian election interference during Trump’s first term.P

resident-elect Trump’s eldest son, Trump Jr., also attacked Director Wray at the time, saying, “He is working with corrupt Democrats.”

For this reason, American media outlets have predicted that President-elect Trump will fire Director Wray if he is re-elected. Meanwhile, Sullivan said, “That is not under consideration,” regarding the recent New York Times report that some are discussing the idea of the Biden administration relocating former Soviet-era nuclear weapons to Ukraine before the end of its term to strengthen Ukraine’s defense.

Regarding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s suggestion that he might give up some of his country’s territory in connection with ceasefire negotiations, he repeated his basic answer, saying, “The point is that Ukraine’s fate is not something that is imposed by outside forces, including the United States, but is decided by the Ukrainian people.”

When asked whether President-elect Trump’s desire for a ceasefire in Gaza before his inauguration increases the likelihood of an actual ceasefire, Sullivan emphasized, “Hamas is the key entity that can make the ceasefire decision,” and “The key motivating them is not a change of government in the United States, but their decision as to whether it is appropriate to do so at this point, with Hezbollah abandoning them and their leader being killed.”

When asked about the prospects for ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, he likened the negotiations to an American football game, saying, “You can get to the one-yard line, but you never know if you’re going to cross the finish line,” and “You don’t know when it’s going to happen because it’s going to require an ultimate breakthrough to get a deal done.” He added, “There has been progress, and there’s a sense again that this is possible,” but added, “There have been times before when we thought we were close, but we didn’t get there.”

He continued, “We want to get a ceasefire and the release of the hostages, but we’re not there yet.”

The Times reported on the 30th that there are rumors circulating in British politics that billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk will donate a large sum of money to a pro-Trump politician in the UK. There is speculation that Musk, who has been in opposition to Keir Starmer, the current British Labor Party Prime Minister, could use his astronomical wealth to shake up British politics by pushing for a politician he supports as Prime Minister.

According to The Times, there is talk among British opposition Conservative Party officials and businesspeople that Musk is preparing to donate $100 million to Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Reform Party, a far-right politician. The Times reported that the political funding is expected to be made through the UK branch of Musk’s social media company X (formerly Twitter), bypassing the relevant UK laws.

A source close to Farage also said that it would not be surprising if such a donation were made. The source said, “Musk admires Farage and wants him to succeed him.”

Farage is a right-wing politician who is called the ‘British Trump’. After leaving the Conservative Party in 1992, he spread anti-EU sentiment and led the Brexit movement. It is widely known that he built a close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump during the recent US presidential election, including giving a speech in support of him.

Farage said he was unaware of the rumors of Musk’s large donation but said that he is in close contact with Musk. Farage told The Times, “I am in contact with Musk, and he is very supportive of my views,” adding, “We both have a good relationship with President-elect Trump.”

Musk has clashed with the Labor Party since he wrote a series of critical posts about the Labor government led by Prime Minister Starmer during the anti-immigrant violence in the UK this summer. Recently, he shared a social media post saying that a petition started by opponents of the ruling party calling for an early general election in the UK had been signed by over 200,000 people, and expressed sympathy by writing, “Wow.”

There have also been reports that Musk is on good terms with former prime ministers of the Conservative and Labor parties, Boris Johnson and Tony Blair. According to the Financial Times (FT), venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan, who helped Musk acquire Twitter (now X) in 2022, is said to have recently re-introduced former Prime Minister Johnson to Musk and connected them.

Former Prime Minister Blair, who praised Musk as an “extraordinary innovator” in his recent book, is also said to have recently met and talked to Musk in person. The FT reported that both former Prime Minister Blair and Musk are close friends with Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and that Blair’s non-profit foundation TBI is collaborating with Musk’s private satellite company Starlink on a project in Africa.

Meanwhile, there was advice that ruling party and government officials who have a strained relationship with Musk should hurry to improve their relationship with Musk, who has emerged as one of Trump’s closest aides.

The FT reported that former senator Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the Labor Party, recently advised British politicians to put aside their pride and contact Musk’s aides.

The Washington Korean Community Service Center (Director Jinah Kim) is providing individual services to Korean seniors in the community during the Medicare Part D (drug insurance) review and registration period.

The center has provided drug insurance review, change, and enrollment services to approximately 250 Koreans since the 15th of last month.

Choi Daehyun, the head of the social welfare team at the center, said, “Since the types of drugs subsidized by each plan, insurance premiums, and co-payments change every year, we recommend checking every year,” and “In particular, since the number of plans in most areas has decreased significantly next year compared to this year, when insurance companies automatically change plans, they often change to insurance with higher premiums. Therefore, it is important to check how your insurance has changed.”

He also added that current beneficiaries of benefits such as Extra Help need to check whether the benefits will be maintained next year and whether continuous benefits are possible.

The welfare center also provides explanations and guidance on the Medicare Savings Program and Medicare Prescription Drug Assistance Plan (Extra Help) that clients can sign up for depending on their circumstances, along with drug insurance checks and enrollment.

Medicare Part D plan checks and changes are possible between October 15 and December 7 each year, and the changed drug insurance will be applied from January 1 of the following year. Anyone who is 65 years of age or older or has a disability and has Medicare must sign up for drug insurance for prescription drug coverage, and drug insurance plans can be checked and changed during a designated period each year.

To receive services, you must bring your ID for identification, your current prescription medication bottles, your Medicare and Medicaid cards, and your drug insurance card.

For inquiries and reservations, call (703) 354-6345 VA Annandale Office, (240) 683-6663 MD Gaithersburg Office, (240) 847-7177 Silver Spring and Ellicott City Offices

New York City’s “City of Yes” project, which aims to provide a large amount of affordable housing by relaxing zoning regulations, passed a New York City Council subcommittee on the 21st with reduced content than originally planned.

The New York City Council’s Zoning and Franchising Committee and Land Use Committee voted today to reduce the project’s original goal of providing 108,000 affordable housing units over the next 15 years by 26%, to 80,000 units.

By excluding areas targeted for the supply of basements, attics, converted garage accessory dwelling units (ADUs), or so-called “backyard homes,” flood-prone areas, landmark areas, and the outskirts of the city such as Queens and Brooklyn, concerns of residents of Bayside, Queens who had opposed the implementation of the “City of Yes” have disappeared.

Last September, Bayside residents and politicians rallied at the LIRR Bayside station, demanding the plan be scrapped, arguing that “if the City of Yes is implemented, Bayside population density will double, creating severe parking problems and devastating impacts to residents’ lives.”

The City of Yes project would have allowed commercial buildings built before 1965 to be converted to residential use, or existing residential buildings to be converted into multi-family housing through additions.

Accordingly, in the target area, multi-family housing or apartment buildings of three to five stories in height would be built on street corners near major transit facilities (such as the LIRR train station), and 800-square-foot ADUs would be built in the backyards of houses, raising strong concerns about a decline in quality of life due to parking problems and other factors caused by the population increase.

Mayor Eric Adams said on the day, “This is a historic moment, as New York City can begin to supply affordable housing in certain areas that have not been touched since the 1960s,” and “If 80,000 affordable housing units are supplied over the next 15 years, it will surpass the total number of affordable housing units supplied through zoning adjustments by the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations.”

Mayor Adams expected that the implementation of the “City of Yes” project would be able to curb the rising rents in New York City. Meanwhile, the “City of Yes” project, which was passed with amendments on the day, will be put to a vote at the City Council plenary session on the 5th of next month.

New York City’s ‘News rack’ installation regulations are becoming more stringent.

On the 13^th of November, the New York City Council passed an ordinance (Int. 663) that strengthens the installation and maintenance regulations of newsstands. The ordinance is about giving the Department of Transportation (DOT) the authority to set standards for newsstands installed on sidewalks.

Accordingly, the city’s Department of Transportation will have the authority to establish standards for the size, shape, and materials of newsstands, and to restrict the installation of newsstands near certain sidewalk infrastructure, such as crosswalks.

In particular, newsstands cannot be installed within fifteen feet of a fire hydrant, within ten feet of a roadway, and within five feet of a bus stop or crosswalk. In addition, newsstand owners must post their address, phone number, and email address on the front or side of all newsstands. They must be able to be contacted immediately in the event of a complaint related to the newsstand, and PO boxes are not allowed.

In addition, newsstand owners must be notified of the strengthened newsstand installation regulations in English and the language of the newspaper or publication in question before the ordinance takes effect.

The 109th Precinct, which oversees Queens Flushing, will be establishing a new “Satellite Command” in College Point.

Mayor Eric Adams announced at the 109th Precinct Community Committee meeting on the 13th, “We are establishing the 109th Precinct, which will be dedicated to the areas of College Point, Whitestone, Bay Terrace, and beach Hurst in Queens,” adding, “This will improve emergency and 911 call response times, and we expect to further enhance public safety in the area.”

The 109th Precinct will be in the current NYPD Police Academy building (28-29 College Point Blvd). According to the NYPD, the 109th Precinct will be staffed with twelve officers and 54 police officers.

Regarding this, Assemblyman Ron Kim said, “The establishment of the 109th Precinct is expected to further strengthen public safety in the entire 109th Precinct area.”

Council woman Vicky Palladino also welcomed the establishment, saying, “With the rapid growth of the Flushing area, the workload of the 109th Precinct has increased significantly, and this new precinct will allow us to deploy additional police forces to the northeastern Queens area.”

New York City has decided to end its refugee debit card program, which has been under constant criticism.

On the 7th, New York City announced that it would not extend the refugee debit card program that had been in operation since March and would end it at the end of December. The program was set to expire at the end of January next year.

The refugee debit card was introduced in response to criticism that a lot of the food in the lunch boxes provided to refugees arriving in New York City was being thrown away and was given to refugee families with children on the condition that they only purchase groceries and baby supplies.

New York City announced that if you use a refugee debit card to purchase unauthorized items such as alcohol or cigarettes, you will be disqualified from receiving benefits. A refugee family of four with two children under the age of five has been provided with a debit card that has about $350 in savings each week.

According to New York City, about $3.2 million in assistance has been provided to about 2,600 refugee families so far. Regarding this measure, New York City stated, “The fact that the number of refugees arriving in New York City has decreased for 14 consecutive weeks is also a reason for considering ending the program.”

The Manhattan congestion tax, which was postponed with less than a month left until its implementation at the end of June this year, is being increasingly pressured by the New York State government to implement it within this year. This is because the implementation of the congestion tax has become uncertain since former President Donald Trump, who opposed the Manhattan congestion tax, won the presidential election and will be re-elected in January next year.

According to a Politico report on the 8th, the New York Governor’s Office recently asked the Department of Transportation whether another environmental impact assessment would be necessary if the congestion tax fare were lowered from the originally planned $15 to $9.

A director of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said, “Governor Hochul wants to lower the congestion tax from $15 to $9.” With just three weeks left until the original June 30th implementation date, Gov. Hochul abruptly announced a measure to indefinitely postpone the implementation date. At the time, Gov. Hochul’s decision was partly due to concerns that the opposition to the congestion tax in the suburbs of New York City would be strong and disadvantageous to the Democratic Party in the November election.

In the general election held on the 5th, the Democratic Party won 19 of the 26 seats in the New York State House of Representatives, three more than before. However, in the presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump won a landslide victory, making it unclear whether the congestion tax would be implemented. This is because Trump has pledged to repeal the Manhattan congestion tax as soon as he takes office if he is re-elected.

As a result, those in favor of the congestion tax are pressuring Gov. Hochul to implement the congestion tax before President-elect Trump takes office in January next year. The supporters of the congestion tax claim that “Governor Hochul must take immediate action. There is not much time left to implement the congestion tax.”

In relation to this, it appears that Governor Hochul is considering lowering the congestion tax rate to $9 and implementing it within the year. In 2023, the MTA submitted an environmental impact assessment report to the federal government, which specified a fare range of $9 to $23, and received approval. It is believed that Governor Hochul hopes that the Biden administration will allow it without further procedures, since lowering the toll to $9 will meet the proposed fare range in the already approved environmental impact assessment report.

On the 6th, Governor Hochul did not give specific details but stated that “I discussed the congestion tax with the White House” and “I will reveal a specific plan by the end of the year.” The supporters of the congestion tax claim that if Governor Hochul decides and implements it, it will be difficult for President-elect Trump to repeal it after he takes office. However, there is also a view that legal obstacles remain, as a lawsuit opposing the implementation of the congestion charge is still pending in the Federal Court for the District of New Jersey.

Wildfires in Tri-State Area On the rise A record-breaking fall drought has prompted a wildfire watch across New York. According to the National Weather Service, October was the driest month since drought records began more than 100 years ago in New York City.

Only 0.01 inches of rain fell in Central Park in Manhattan during the month of October. The fall drought in New York City began in September, and the National Weather Service analyzed that only 1.5 inches of rain fell in the two months until October, which was far below the average rainfall of 7-8 inches during the same period. The bigger problem is that wildfires are rapidly increasing in the New York Tri-State area due to the unprecedented fall drought.

In New Jersey in particular, 377 wildfires have occurred since September 15, burning 628 acres, compared to 26 wildfires and 7 acres during the same period last year. Connecticut has also had 84 wildfires since October 21. This is an increase of 5 from the same period last year. A wildfire that occurred 15 miles south of Hartford injured six people and killed one firefighter.

The National Weather Service said, “With the unprecedented fall drought and strong winds forecast, there are concerns about the spread of wildfires,” and “Cigarette butts carelessly thrown on mountain roads or fields while driving can cause wildfires. He also urged, “If you start a fire outdoors, you must extinguish it 100% with plenty of water.”

The New York State Attorney General (Director Letitia James) warned against relying on information provided by artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on the 1st, four days before the general election. The

AI chatbots are providing inaccurate or incorrect information in response to questions about when, how, and where to vote in the general election, and this could seriously infringe on voters’ precious voting rights. Attorney General James emphasized that “the State Attorney’s Office conducted sample tests and found that many AI chatbots were providing false or misleading information about voting,” and warned that “voters should not rely on the information provided by AI chatbots.”

According to the State Attorney’s Office, some AI chatbots incorrectly provided the deadline for new voter registration for the general election. If they had relied on this information, potential voters who had completed new voter registration before the deadline and were able to exercise their right to vote for the first time in their lives could have given up on voting altogether.

Incorrect information about polling places was also found. In response to questions about early voting in Brooklyn, New York City, some AI chatbots provided the information that “early voting is available at all polling places,” which is incorrect information because voters living in New York City can only vote early at the polling place assigned to them based on their residence.

The State Attorney’s Office urges voters to refer to the State Attorney’s Office, the New York State Board of Elections, each county and city board of elections website, and official promotional materials sent by each election commission for accurate information about voting. Meanwhile, the State Attorney’s Office will operate a ‘phone hotline (1-866-390-2992)’ related to voting until the 6th, the day after the election.

The phone hotline, where you can report fake news such as AI-based deepfake fake videos and various complaints such as false information related to voting, will operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. until the end of early voting on the 3rd, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day (the 5th), and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 4th and 6th, around Election Day. You can also file a written report to the State Attorney’s Office at any time through the online https://electionhotline.ag.ny.gov/.