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FCC Report Offers No Definitive Conclusions About Wireless Competition
WASHINGTON
On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission released its annual report on the state of mobile wireless competition.
The 2011 report recognized once again that the wireless market is becoming increasingly consolidated, with a large and growing disparity between the top two companies, AT&T and Verizon, and all other providers. The report also illustrated that as consumers become more dependent on mobile broadband and smartphones, total prices for voice plans and data plans are not decreasing.
Despite these findings, the FCC made no definitive conclusions about the competitiveness of the market, and did not offer comprehensive recommendations to promote wireless competition. As it did last year, the Commission merely refused to find that the current level of competition is good enough, but went no further in its critique.
Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood made the following statement:
"We are disappointed that the FCC failed again to state clearly and conclusively that the wireless market is not effectively competitive, despite its own evidence. This conclusion should be glaringly obvious, and the Commission's willingness to stick its head in the sand is not going to make the problem go away. Refusing to bless the current level of competition is a step in the right direction, but it's not enough.
"Many barriers stand in the way of effective competition in the wireless market. Special access costs and disparities in spectrum holdings harm competitive providers and their customers, while exclusive deals for the most popular handsets and punitive early termination fees bind consumers to unsatisfactory service. All of these lead to higher profit margins for AT&T and Verizon, but a broken market for consumers.
"The simple fact is the wireless market is not competitive. Verizon and AT&T have leveraged their positions as legacy monopolists to dominate other providers. Together, they control nearly two-thirds of all subscribers, and an even higher level of the market's revenues. The trends are only getting worse for smartphones and data service. And if AT&T's takeover of T-Mobile is approved, all hope of real competition will be gone.
"Competition is on life support today. The FCC should treat the problem by promoting better competition policy, not pull the plug by approving the AT&T-T-Mobile merger."
Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities.
(202) 265-1490LATEST NEWS
Ocasio-Cortez Notes Schumer's Role in Democratic Failure That Got 'Nothing' in Shutdown Fight
“We are talking about a coordinated effort of eight senators, with the knowledge of Leader Schumer, voting to break with the entire Democratic Party," said the New York Democrat.
Nov 12, 2025
As the US House of Representatives prepared for a vote to reopen the federal government, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday called out members of her own Democratic Party in the Senate, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who capitulated to Republicans in the shutdown fight, for which they received "nothing" in return.
Shortly before the government shut down over Republicans' refusal to address a looming healthcare crisis, Axios reported that the New York congresswoman was preparing to run for president or Senate in 2028. In the lead-up to Wednesday's vote, she was asked at least twice on camera about how Schumer, also a New Yorker, handled the shutdown.
"I think it's important that we understand that this is not just about Sen. Schumer, but that this is about the Democratic Party," she told CNN's Manu Raju. "Sen. Schumer—there's no one vote that ended this shutdown. We are talking about a coordinated effort of eight senators, with the knowledge of Leader Schumer, voting to break with the entire Democratic Party in exchange for nothing."
New — Asked AOC about Chuck Schumer’s handling of shutdown. (He voted NO on bill)
“We are talking about a coordinated effort of eight senators with the knowledge of Leader Schumer, voting to break with the entire Democratic Party in exchange for nothing,” she told me pic.twitter.com/fzDkMGMfzy
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 12, 2025
Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, along with Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, joined Republicans for both the procedural and final votes.
Unlike the upper chamber, Republicans have enough members in the House to advance legislation without Democratic support. The GOP's continuing resolution neither reverses Medicaid cuts from the budget package that President Donald Trump signed in July nor extends expiring tax credits for people who buy health insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
"And now people's healthcare costs are going to be skyrocketing, and we want to make sure that we have a path to ending this moment, and finding relief for them right now," Ocasio-Cortez told CNN. "But I think that when we talk about this debate about the Democratic Party, that it is indeed about the party writ large, and our ability to fight or not."
While no senators in the caucus have demanded that Schumer step aside yet, The Hill on Wednesday compiled comments from the growing list of House Democrats who have called for new leadership: Reps. Glenn Ivey (Md.), Ro Khanna (Calif.), Mike Levin (Calif.), Seth Moulton (Mass.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), Shri Thanedar (Mich.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.).
In a video circulated by C-SPAN on Wednesday, a reporter directly asked Ocasio-Cortez whether Schumer should stay in his leadership role. The progressive congresswoman's response was similar to her remarks to CNN.
Q: "Should Schumer stay as minority leader?"
.@RepAOC @AOC: "This problem is bigger than one person. It actually is bigger than the minority leader in the Senate...A leader is a reflection of the party and Senate Democrats have selected their leadership to represent them." pic.twitter.com/5cPi5GQzov
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 12, 2025
"I think that what is so important for folks to understand is that this problem is bigger than one person, and it actually is bigger than the minority leader in the Senate," Ocasio-Cortez said. "You had eight Senate Democrats who coordinated... their own votes on this."
She also noted that two are retiring—Durbin and Shaheen—and the rest aren't up for reelection next year, thanks to the Senate's revolving cycles. Cortez Masto, Hassan, and Fetterman have until 2028, while Kaine, King, and Rosen have until 2030. She suggested that those who run for another term are hoping that "people are going to forget this moment."
"I think what's important is that we understand that... a leader is a reflection of a party. And Senate Democrats have selected their leadership to represent them," Ocasio-Cortez said. "And so, the question needs to be bigger than just one person. We have several Senate primaries this cycle."
"I know I'm being asked about New York. That is years from now. I have to remind my own constituents," she continued, directing attention to the 2026 races. "We actually do have Senate elections this year, and my hope is that people across this country actually participate in their primary elections in selecting their leadership."
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'Birds of a Feather': Trump Urges Israeli President to Pardon Netanyahu in Fraud Case
One critic said such a move—which would require an admission of guilt—risks giving a "green light" to corruption.
Nov 12, 2025
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Wednesday that he had received a request from US President Donald Trump to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently on trial in Israel for alleged bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
“I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister, and is now leading Israel into a time of peace," Trump wrote in a letter to Herzog.
While Trump said that he "absolutely respect[s] the independence of the Israeli Justice System,” he denounced the case against Netanyahu as “political, unjustified prosecution.”
"It is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all," Trump added, using Netanyahu's nickname.
U.S. President Donald Trump, also a criminal, has formally requested Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
[image or embed]
— Josep Goded (New Main Account) (@josepgoded2.bsky.social) November 12, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Herzog's office responded to Trump's letter with the following statement:
The president holds great respect for President Trump and repeatedly expresses his appreciation for Trump’s unwavering support of Israel and his tremendous contribution to the return of the hostages, the reshaping of the Middle East and Gaza, and the safeguarding of Israel’s security. Without detracting from the above, as the president has made clear on multiple occasions, anyone seeking a pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid noted in a social media post that "Israeli law stipulates that the first condition for receiving a pardon is an admission of guilt and an expression of remorse for those actions."
Amir Fuchs, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem-based think tank Israel Democracy Institute, told the Washington Post that “pardon is a word for forgiveness, a pardon without some kind of admission of guilt is very unusual and even illegal."
Fuchs added that any pardon based on Trump's request could be viewed as giving a "green light" to corruption and "undermining the rule of law."
Many social media users responded to Trump's letter with the same four words—"birds of a feather"—noting that the Republican president was convicted of 34 felony charges related to the falsification of business records regarding hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 presidential election.
In addition to his domestic trial, Netanyahu is also a fugitive from the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the Gaza genocide.
Herzog also faces criminal complaints filed in Switzerland alleging incitement to genocide over remarks including a suggestion that Palestinian civilians in Gaza were legitimate targets for Israeli strikes because "it is an entire nation out there that is responsible" for the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack.
Like former President Joe Biden before him, Trump has supported Israel with billions of dollars worth of US armed aid and diplomatic cover including vetoes of United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolutions.
In the first prosecution of a sitting Israeli prime minister, Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 for allegedly giving or offering lucrative official favors to media tycoons in exchange for positive news coverage or gifts valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars. The prime minister—who has also been accused of drawing out Israel's assault on Gaza to delay his case—denies any wrongdoing and, like Trump, has called his prosecution a "witch hunt."
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Economists Call BS on 'Crazy' Trump Tariff Dividend Promise
"If the goal is relief for Americans, just get rid of the tariffs," explained one economist.
Nov 12, 2025
As poll numbers on his handling of the US economy have continued to sink in recent weeks, President Donald Trump has floated sending Americans a $2,000 check that he has claimed will be funded with revenue collected from his tariffs on imported products.
However, economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) on Tuesday crunched some numbers and found that Trump's proposed tariff "dividend" simply doesn't add up.
In particular, Baker found that the revenue being generated by the tariffs is less than half of the total cost of sending nearly every US citizen a $2,000 check.
"At $2,000 a piece it would come to $600 billion, more than twice what Trump is collecting from us with his import taxes," Baker explained. "Since he's already $330 billion short, how can Trump think he has money to pay down the national debt?"
Baker declared Trump's tariff math "crazy," and then speculated that the president sincerely believes the false claims he's been making about securing $18 trillion in investments from foreign countries. What's more, Baker said that it appears that no one on the president's economic policy team wants to tell him that this belief is purely delusional.
"People like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent or National Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett may not be brilliant intellects, but they know that Trump does not have trillions of dollars from foreign countries to play with, and that we are still running deficits that would ordinarily be considered very large," he said. "But they are too scared of Donald Trump to explain this to him."
Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, said in an interview with CNN published on Tuesday that Trump could also reignite inflation by sending out $2,000 checks to everyone, as this would likely increase demand for goods and services without a corresponding increase in supply.
"All of this is exactly the wrong recipe if you want to get inflation under control and make things feel more affordable," she said.
York also said in a separate interview with the Associated Press that it makes little sense to cut Americans a check when one of the main reasons they're paying more for so many products has been the president's tariffs.
"If the goal is relief for Americans, just get rid of the tariffs," she said.
Michael Pearce, deputy chief US economist at Oxford Economics, echoed York's concern about the dividend checks worsening inflation, and he told CNN that the risk with Trump's plan is "if you add a stimulus check on top of a tax cut refund, you're going to overheat the economy."
University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers was even more blunt in his take on Trump's tariff dividend idea, which he labeled, "insane, unfair, pointless and dumb."
"If tariffs are making Americans poorer," Wolfers told CNN, "the simplest and fairest way to stop that is not to tariff."
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