By Luciana Lopez, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Friday called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates of 10%, saying the American public is being “ripped off” in a Truth Social post.

Trump called for the cap to come into effect on January 20, the one-year anniversary of his return to the White House. But he did not specify how a cap might happen, including whether he was calling for voluntary participation from credit card companies or looking for government mechanisms to enforce his proposal.

In his post, Trump cited “AFFORDABILITY!” The issue has become a source of frustration for many Americans, as years of accumulated inflation have heaped on price pressures. While many wealthier Americans have enjoyed years of double-digit stock market gains, advancing home prices and rising wages, those earning less have been squeezed by the combination of higher prices, debt and a slowing job market.

Trump has turned to populist economic announcements on social media to try to convince Americans that he’s making headway on the issue. On Thursday, for example, he posted about ordering “my representatives” to buy mortgage bonds to try to lower home costs; on Wednesday, he wrote about banning institutional investors from snapping up single-family homes.

So far, though, Americans don’t seem persuaded. In CNN’s most recent poll on the economy, 61% of Americans said Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions in this country.”

In his Friday post, Trump also blamed his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for high credit card interest rates. Biden approached credit cards from a different angle: He sought to cap most credit card late fees at $8.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at the time estimated that would save families more than $10 billion a year by cutting fees from an average of $32.

But a federal judge blocked that effort, and the Trump administration has worked to dismantle the CFPB. The watchdog agency, which conducts oversight over the financial services industries and responds to consumer complaints, has been a target of conservatives, including Trump, for years.

CNN has reached out to the White House and the American Bankers Association for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN’s Matt Egan also contributed reporting.

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Por Silvia Marchetti, CNN

Cuando Lynnette Elser, de Crossville, Tennessee, llegó por primera vez al pueblo italiano de Latronico con su hijo adoptivo Kenny, de 5 años, que es autista, no tenía la intención de convertirlo en su nuevo hogar.

Pero esa primera noche, Kenny, que tiene graves problemas respiratorios, pareció poder respirar sin dificultad por lo que, según Elser, una científica retirada del Gobierno federal de EE.UU., fue la primera vez en su vida.

Normalmente, ella revisaba durante la noche su nivel de oxígeno en sangre con un oxímetro de pulso cuando lo escuchaba luchar por respirar, pero en Latronico algo era distinto.

“Honestamente, pensé que el oxímetro estaba roto y no estaba midiendo bien”, dice Elser. “Cambié de aparato y seguía marcando bien. Esa noche, mientras su respiración se mantenía estable, me quedé asombrada viéndolo respirar sin tratar de levantar la cabeza con las almohadas”.

Mientras Elser permanecía en vela, el nivel de oxígeno en sangre de Kenny se mantuvo estable por encima del 95 %. Su ritmo cardíaco era normal.

“Es horrible ver a un niño que no puede respirar, luchando por cada respiración, con el nivel de oxígeno en sangre sin subir y con el corazón latiendo a más de 250 latidos por minuto”, cuenta. “Cuando estábamos en Latronico, no tuvo dificultad para respirar”.

Al ver la mejora en la salud de su hijo, Elser comprendió que Latronico, un pequeño pueblo de colina de unos 4.500 habitantes en la región sureña italiana de Basilicata, debía convertirse en su hogar permanente.

Elser se sintió atraída inicialmente por el pueblo tras leer un artículo de CNN sobre el programa de viviendas asequibles del pueblo, creado para atraer nuevos compradores y revertir la tendencia de despoblación causada por décadas de éxodo de la zona en busca de empleo. Latronico es uno de los numerosos lugares rurales de Italia que han puesto a la venta viviendas a precios económicos.

En septiembre de 2024, Elser compró una casa antigua renovada de 100 metros cuadrados en Latronico, sin verla, en la plataforma en línea de la localidad por 50.000 euros, unos US$ 59.000.

Tenía pensado utilizar la planta superior simplemente como casa de vacaciones y disfrutar de un lugar tranquilo, alejado del turismo, cerca del mar y las montañas, rodeado de naturaleza.

Pero cuando ella y Kenny viajaron para ver finalmente lo que había comprado en el centro histórico, todo cambió.

En esa misma visita, Elser terminó adquiriendo la propiedad vacía de abajo para ampliar la vivienda y convertirla en una casa de cuatro plantas. Actualmente está finalizando las renovaciones.

Kenny había sido hospitalizado varias veces en EE.UU. por problemas respiratorios y tiene múltiples necesidades especiales. Es autista, no verbal, con retrasos severos en el desarrollo, alergias y antecedentes de niveles bajos de oxígeno en sangre que con frecuencia caen por debajo del 90 %, una situación que normalmente requiere intervención médica.

Elser cree que la ubicación “sanadora” de Latronico es lo que ahora ayuda a Kenny a respirar por las noches. El pueblo se encuentra lo suficientemente alto como para estar por encima de los bosques y el polen de los árboles, con aire fresco, pocos automóviles y sin smog, condiciones que suelen representar un entorno de menor riesgo para personas con afecciones respiratorias.

Rosalia Loresco, médica pediatra en Latronico, afirma haber visto a otras personas con problemas respiratorios beneficiarse del aire limpio de la región.

“Muchos pacientes con asma y afecciones respiratorias reportan una mejora en la comodidad al respirar y en su bienestar general durante su estancia aquí”, señala.

Mientras se concretaba la compra, Elser no dejaba de

By Adam Cancryn, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Friday tried to sell Big Oil executives on the promise of an expansive new drilling campaign in Venezuela.

But at least for now, the industry isn’t buying it.

Trump and his top aides emerged from a lengthy White House meeting without any major commitments from companies to invest billions of dollars in the nation, after running into deep skepticism over the administration’s plan for ensuring Venezuela’s long-term stability.

“It’s uninvestible,” ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told officials in a blunt evaluation of the obstacles to doing business in the nation. “There are a number of legal and commercial frameworks that would have to be established to even understand what kind of returns we would get on the investment.”

Several other executives at the meeting expressed similar reluctance, warning that the industry would first need to secure extensive security and financial guarantees before beginning a yearslong effort to ramp up oil production.

Even oil investor Harold Hamm, a prominent wildcatter and major Trump donor, signaled he would need far more assurances before backing the administration’s reinvestment scheme.

“It’s got its challenges,” he said of Venezuela. “There’s a huge investment that needs to be done, we’ve all agreed on that, and certainly we need time to see that through.”

The tepid reception from the industry threatens to further complicate Trump’s unprecedented intervention in Venezuela, which he envisions as a yearslong entanglement aimed at remaking both its political leadership and its oil-centric economy.

Trump, who authorized the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro but has left the rest of the current Venezuelan regime intact, insisted on Friday that interim leader Delcy Rodríguez would aid his efforts to bring US firms back into the country.

“They seem to be an ally, and I think it’ll continue to be an ally,” he said.

Venezuela would soon be stable enough for companies to make long-term investments, he predicted, talking up the nation’s massive oil reserves and urging companies to jump on the opportunity.

“If you don’t want to go in, just let me know, because I’ve got 25 people that aren’t here today that are willing to take your place,” he told the executives at one point.

Executives seek security guarantees

Yet while energy companies have expressed interest in recent days in being involved in the US’ efforts to rebuild Venezuela, they’ve cautioned repeatedly that any fresh investment is likely years away from making financial sense — and heavily dependent on how the administration navigates the uncertainty of the next several months.

Multiple executives at the White House meeting alluded to the need for security guarantees, amid concerns over Venezuela’s political trajectory and the safety of any future employees and equipment in the country. That push also reflected private concerns throughout the industry over whether Trump could guarantee that any deals he strikes with companies will remain in force beyond his presidency — or even following a changeover in power in Venezuela.

Trump sought to reassure the group that they would have “total safety, total security,” but offered no specifics and declined to commit any major federal resources to the issue.

Pressed on the matter after the meeting, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters only that the administration’s initial plan was to “change the behavior of the government in Venezuela.”

Trump’s $100 b