By Tami Luhby, CNN

(CNN) — With affordability at the top of his domestic agenda for 2026, President Donald Trump unveiled in rapid succession last week a series of proposals aimed at making Americans’ cost of living less, well, costly. He focused on two major burdens — housing and credit card debt.

Trump has been on a tear lately, also throwing out vague ideas on reducing health care premiums by giving federal subsidies directly to consumers, instead of insurers, and on lowering utility costs by requiring that big tech companies, including Microsoft, pick up the tab for their data centers’ energy consumption, among other measures. Last month, he signed “Most Favored Nation” agreements with nine drugmakers aimed at reducing the price of medicine in the US and secured another two deals in recent days.

And, of course, he’s floated using some of the increase in tariff revenue to issue $2,000 rebate checks to Americans.

More proposals are coming, Trump teased in a speech Tuesday in Detroit that was billed as being focused on the economy. Later this week, he said, he will announce a health care affordability framework that will hold insurers accountable, lower drug prices and make prices more transparent. And he promised to “provide much more detail” about his housing proposals at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week “so that every American who wants to own a home will be able to afford one.”

It’s questionable whether Trump has the authority to enact many of these proposals on his own, despite his pronouncements on Truth Social. Several experts say he needs Congress’ buy-in for at least some of the measures, which would not be easy to obtain.

Notably, several of the ideas are contrary to Republican orthodoxy and have been pushed by lawmakers he often accuses of being from the “radical left,” including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Even more importantly, experts have questioned whether his latest batch of ideas would really put a dent in the nation’s affordability crisis and help ease Americans’ struggles.

“Despite some real prioritization from the White House, it’s going to be a challenge to get enough traction on affordability that it really changes voters’ mindset,” said Tobin Marcus, head of US policy and politics at Wolfe Research who served in the Obama administration.

Here are some of Trump’s main proposals:

Cap credit card interest rates at 10%

Trump on Friday called for a 10% limit on credit card rates for one year, echoing a campaign promise he made in 2024. The cap would go into effect on January 20th, and companies that don’t comply would be “in violation of the law,” he told reporters on Sunday.

“They’ve really abused the public,” he said of the credit card companies. “I’m not going to let it happen.”

Such a limit, however, would likely make it much harder for Americans with lower credit scores to obtain credit cards, said Andy Laperriere, head of US policy research at Piper Sandler and economic policy adviser for former GOP House Majority Leader Dick Armey. Banks might also lower their limits or raise their annual fees.

“The

By Alexandra Banner, CNN

As excitement builds for next month’s Winter Olympics in Milan, organizers are already looking ahead to the 2028 Summer Games. Starting today, fans can register to enter a random draw for the chance to buy affordable tickets to the Los Angeles Olympics.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ ICE lawsuits

A hearing is expected today in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the Twin Cities, challenging the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in the state, which the complaint calls a “federal invasion.” The hearing follows the resignation of several federal prosecutors in Minnesota amid pressure from the Trump administration on how to conduct the investigation into the deadly shooting of a mother of three by an ICE agent last week. Illinois is also separately suing the administration over immigration enforcement actions it calls unlawful and unconstitutional, though some analysts say both cases may have a tough road ahead of them in court.

2⃣ Iran protests

An Iranian protester detained Thursday may be executed today, according to the US State Department and a family member, in a move that would draw further global outrage over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on government dissent. President Donald Trump cautioned Iran against executing protesters, saying the US would take “strong action” in response. He also encouraged protesters to keep demonstrating and said that “help is on its way.” More than 2,400 protesters have been killed and at least 18,000 people have been arrested since the large-scale anti-regime demonstrations began last month, according to a US-based rights group.

3⃣ Epstein probe

Bill and Hillary Clinton refused to testify on Capitol Hill Tuesday in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe despite lawmakers’ threat to hold them in contempt. In a letter to Republican Chairman James Comer, the Clintons’ attorneys claim that the subpoenas are invalid and meant to embarrass and harass the former president and secretary of state. In recent weeks, the Department of Justice has released thousands of Epstein-related documents, including previously unseen photos of Bill Clinton with the late convicted sex offender. A spokesperson for Clinton has repeatedly said the former president cut ties with Epstein before his arrest on federal charges in 2019 and was unaware of his crimes.

4⃣ Ukraine

Hundreds of thousands of households in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, are without power after Russia launched Read more

CNN

By Alexandra Banner, CNN

As excitement builds for next month’s Winter Olympics in Milan, organizers are already looking ahead to the 2028 Summer Games. Starting today, fans can register to enter a random draw for the chance to buy affordable tickets to the Los Angeles Olympics.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ ICE lawsuits

A hearing is expected today in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the Twin Cities, challenging the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in the state, which the complaint calls a “federal invasion.” The hearing follows the resignation of several federal prosecutors in Minnesota amid pressure from the Trump administration on how to conduct the investigation into the deadly shooting of a mother of three by an ICE agent last week. Illinois is also separately suing the administration over immigration enforcement actions it calls unlawful and unconstitutional, though some analysts say both cases may have a tough road ahead of them in court.

2⃣ Iran protests

An Iranian protester detained Thursday may be executed today, according to the US State Department and a family member, in a move that would draw further global outrage over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on government dissent. President Donald Trump cautioned Iran against executing protesters, saying the US would take “strong action” in response. He also encouraged protesters to keep demonstrating and said that “help is on its way.” More than 2,400 protesters have been killed and at least 18,000 people have been arrested since the large-scale anti-regime demonstrations began last month, according to a US-based rights group.

3⃣ Epstein probe

Bill and Hillary Clinton refused to testify on Capitol Hill Tuesday in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe despite lawmakers’ threat to hold them in contempt. In a letter to Republican Chairman James Comer, the Clintons’ attorneys claim that the subpoenas are invalid and meant to embarrass and harass the former president and secretary of state. In recent weeks, the Department of Justice has released thousands of Epstein-related documents, including previously unseen photos of Bill Clinton with the late convicted sex offender. A spokesperson for Clinton has repeatedly said the former president

By Kara Fox, CNN

London, UK (CNN) — Heba Muraisi knows exactly what is happening to her body.

“My organs are slowly but surely shutting down,” she said late Monday via phone call from HMP New Hall, a prison in northern England.

The 31-year-old Londoner and pro-Palestinian activist is refusing food as part of a coordinated hunger strike – the longest the United Kingdom has seen in decades.

“I’m pushing through each day, consciously aware of each minute that goes by,” said Muraisi, now on day 73 of her hunger strike. CNN was not able to speak with her directly by phone in prison. Instead, a member of the campaign group Prisoners for Palestine relayed CNN’s questions to her and then shared her answers.

Muraisi and Kamran Ahmed, 28, who is on day 66, began their hunger strike late last year, as part of a group of eight imprisoned pro-Palestinian activists protesting their lengthy pre-trial detention and what they see as a crackdown on political dissent related to the war in Gaza.

Both Muraisi and Ahmed were arrested in November 2024 as part of the so-called “Filton 24,” a group of Palestine Action-linked activists accused of breaking into and vandalizing a UK research and development site near Filton, west of London, belonging to Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer. The activist group aims to disrupt the operations of weapons manufacturers connected to the Israeli government.

Prosecutors allege the Filton incident caused an estimated £1 million ($1.3 million) in damage. Muraisi and Ahmed have been charged with burglary, criminal damage, and conspiracy. They deny the charges and are awaiting trial.

Although neither have been charged under terrorism legislation, they, along with others from the Filton group, were initially held and interrogated under counterterrorism powers. Human rights groups decried the use of such legislation, saying that it has shaped the activists’ treatment in custody and paved the way for the government’s later move to ban the group, proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organization last summer.

The Palestine Action ban – which put the group on the same legal footing as Hamas, ISIS and al Qaeda – sparked a fierce debate in Britain about the government’s use of counterterrorism laws and the limits of freedom of expression. Then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper framed the move as necessary to safeguard national security, saying the group was “not a non-violent organization” and had a history of “unacceptable criminal damage.” Rights groups and civil liberties campaigners accuse the government of a grave overreach to clamp down on legitimate protest in the country.

Hunger strikers’ demands

Muraisi and Ahmed began their hunger strike alongside six other detained activists after letters from their lawyers to the Home Office, raising concerns about their prolonged pre-trial detention, went unanswered. Twenty-two-year-old Lewie Chiaramello continues to fast on alternate days because of diabetes while Umar Khalid, also 22, restarted his hunger strike over the weekend after a short pause.

The activists have been held on remand – detained without trial or conviction – since their arrests, exceeding the six-month pre-trial custody limit set out by the Crown Prosecution Service for England and Wales. Muraisi and Ahmed are not due to stand trial until June 2026, by which time they will have been in custody for 20 months.

The hunger strikers are demanding to be released on bail immediately, an end to what they say are restrictions on their communications, the reversal of the governme

Por Danya Gainor, CNN

En los últimos meses, Chicago, Minneapolis y St. Paul han visto una dramática escalada en la aplicación de las leyes federales de inmigración a lo largo de sus frías calles, con agentes arrestando a miles de personas, incluidos algunos ciudadanos estadounidenses, en vecindarios, centros comerciales, escuelas y protestas.

El aumento es el resultado del compromiso de la administración Trump de tomar medidas enérgicas contra la inmigración, concentradas en ciudades lideradas por los demócratas, y sigue a semanas de crecientes tensiones entre el Gobierno federal y los funcionarios locales del Medio Oeste que han implorado durante mucho tiempo el fin de las operaciones.

Illinois y Minnesota, junto con los gobiernos de varias ciudades, ahora están emprendiendo por separado acciones legales contra la administración, a través de una serie de demandas presentadas el lunes en tribunales federales por la aplicación de leyes inmigratorias que consideran ilegales e inconstitucionales.

Se ha programado una conferencia sobre el estado de la demanda de Minnesota para el miércoles por la mañana ante la jueza federal de distrito Katherine M. Menéndez. Aún no se ha programado una audiencia en Illinois.

Pero el camino por delante para ambas demandas parece sombrío y sus probabilidades de éxito son pequeñas, opina un experto.

Elie Honig, exfiscal federal y estatal, y analista legal sénior de CNN, ha seguido de cerca la crisis en Chicago y las Ciudades Gemelas. Aquí, analiza las demandas, sus fundamentos y los próximos pasos en los tribunales.

Algunas de las respuestas han sido editadas para mayor brevedad y claridad.

CNN: ¿Qué piden Illinois y Minnesota a los jueces en sus demandas?

Honig: Fundamentalmente, ambos estados solicitan a los jueces federales que impidan que el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés) aplique la ley inmigratoria en sus estados y ciudades. Existen variaciones entre ellos, pero esa es la petición principal. Como alternativa, ambos estados solicitan a los tribunales algún tipo de fallo o declaración que declare la inconstitucionalidad de algunas de las tácticas que utiliza ICE.

CNN: ¿Cuáles son las diferencias claves entre las demandas?

Honig: La principal diferencia es que Illinois solicita bloquear toda actividad de ICE en el estado, mientras que Minnesota formula su solicitud como si buscara detener este aumento repentino de agentes. Sin embargo, mencionar este aumento es legalmente irrelevante, ya sea que se trate de un grupo de agentes de ICE que ya están allí o que se incorporaron posteriormente, la solicitud fundamental sigue siendo la misma. Se le sigue pidiendo a un juez que impida que ICE haga su trabajo como considere oportuno en su estado.

CNN: ¿Cuál es el precedente legal para una petición como esa?

Honig: Ninguno. No hay ningún ejemplo, ni ninguno de los estados cita u