Newshour Trump moves nuclear submarines after Russian ex-president's comments
Also in the programme: The world's first legislation to control artificial intelligence starts coming into force in the EU today; and from Gaza, the sixteen-year-old with a dream to become a great violinist.
(Photo: Dmitry Medvedev was Russia's president in 2008-12. Credit: Reuters)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
a few seconds ago
- The Guardian
What does Texas redrawing its voting maps mean and why have Democrats left the state? Explained
At the insistence of Donald Trump, Republicans in Texas are pushing ahead with an effort to redraw their congressional map to pick up as many as five additional Republican seats. The decision has set off a cascading legal battle. State lawmakers have fled Texas as part of an effort to stop Republicans from passing the map. Democrats in other states have said they will retaliate, setting the stage for a nasty and prolonged redistricting tit-for-tat that could last for years. After a nationwide census every 10 years, all 50 US states are required to redraw their congressional districts to account for population shifts. The US constitution entrusts the power to draw congressional lines to the state legislatures in each state. Since the 18th century, politicians have tried to use this line drawing power to punish their political rivals. In the 19th century, the practice of manipulating district lines for political lines became known as gerrymandering. While states are required to redistrict every 10 years, the constitution contains no explicit ban on redrawing boundaries before the decade is up. Republicans currently hold an extremely slim 219-212 majority in the US House (there are four vacancies, three of which are seats previously held by Democrats). Republicans know they will probably lose seats in next year's mid-term elections, when all members of the US House will stand for re-election and the sitting president's party typically does not perform well. Republicans have complete control of state government in Texas, which has 38 US House seats (second only to California's 52 seats). Republicans currently hold 25 of those seats. Seeking to shore up the Republican advantage in the US House, Trump urged the Texas governor Greg Abbott to redraw the state's lines to add additional Republican-friendly districts. Abbott called a special session to draw the districts last month. Last week, Republicans unveiled a map in which they could pick up five additional seats, giving them a 30-8 advantage in the state's delegation. Texas also undertook a mid-decade redistricting in 2003. In 2006, the US supreme court said that nothing in the US constitution prohibited Texas from redrawing its district mid-decade. The US supreme court has also given states virtually unlimited leeway to gerrymander districts for partisan gain. In a 5-4 decision in 2019, it said that federal courts could not do anything to stop the drawing of districts for partisan advantage, no matter how severe. There are still legal protections that prohibit states from diluting the influence of minority voters when they draw districts or explicitly sorting them based on their race. But the supreme court has made those cases extremely difficult to win and they can take years to resolve in court. Democrats are in the minority in the Texas state legislature. But the body's bylaws require the presence of two-thirds of its lawmakers to conduct business. There are 150 members of the Texas house of representatives, 62 of whom are Democrats. More than 51 fled the state on Sunday to Illinois, Massachusetts and New York to deny that quorum, halting the legislature from moving forward on the maps. This isn't the first time Democrats have fled the state to break quorum to try to stop Republicans from passing legislation. In 2021, Democrats fled to Washington DC as Republicans were poised to pass sweeping new voting restrictions. That standoff lasted several weeks, but Democrats eventually returned to the state and the legislation passed. Democrats also fled the state in 2003 to try and stop mid-decade redistricting. The Texas house voted on Monday to authorize arrest warrants for the members who fled the state. Such warrants are unlikely to be enforced while the members are out of the state. Abbott and the Texas attorney general Ken Paxton have pledged to aggressively pursue the Democrats. Abbott has cited a 2021 non-binding opinion from Paxton's office to suggest that the lawmakers who broke quorum could be removed from office. But such an extraordinary action would need to go through the Texas courts and would likely be tied up in state court for some time. Rules enacted by the House in 2023 subject state lawmakers to a $500 daily fine for each day they are absent. Lawmakers are paid about $600 a month. While the rules prohibit lawmakers from using campaign funds to pay the fines, there are loopholes Democrats can use to have someone else cover them. The current special legislative session runs through 19 August but Abbott can continue to call more sessions, and it's unclear how long Democrats are willing to wait out returning. As Texas has moved ahead with its effort to implement a new map, Democrats have threatened to retaliate by redrawing districts in states where they have complete control. Most notably, California Governor Gavin Newsom is leading an effort to redraw California's 52 districts to drastically reduce the number of Republican seats (Democrats already hold 43 seats). Democratic governors in Illinois and New York have also pledged to retaliate. Democrats face significant legal obstacles to achieving this goal. In California, voters approved a referendum in 2010 that strips lawmakers of their redistricting power and instead hands it to a bipartisan and independent citizens commission. Newsom and California Democrats are reportedly moving ahead with a plan to have voters approve a new map through a referendum this fall. In New York, the state constitution bars mid-decade redistricting absent a court order, but Democrats are reportedly considering putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would allow them to redistrict later in the decade. 'I'm tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back,' Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said on Wednesday. Trump is reportedly urging Republicans in Missouri to redraw their congressional map to pick up an additional GOP seat. Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, has also suggested that his state, where Republicans hold 20 of 28 seats, should redraw districts, which would likely lead to additional GOP gains. Ohio, where Republicans hold 10 of 15 seats, is required to redraw its map this year because of a unique state law. That is likely to also lead to additional Republican seats.
Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
CFTC seeks to allow spot crypto trading on registered exchanges
Aug 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Monday it would launch an initiative to allow for trading of spot crypto asset contracts listed on a futures exchange registered with the agency. While not final, the move is another by the Trump administration to integrate digital assets more deeply into traditional finance, and could pave the way for wider adoption of crypto assets. The CFTC, which regulates U.S. derivatives markets, will enable immediate trading of digital assets at the federal level in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Project Crypto initiative, CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham said. The CFTC invited, opens new tab stakeholders to comment on how to list the spot crypto asset contracts in a designated market. This brings crypto one step closer to the structure and standards of traditional markets, said Saad Ahmed, head of Asia Pacific at Gemini, noting that it could drive broader use by institutions and sophisticated market participants globally. The digital assets industry has made advances this year under U.S. President Donald Trump, with bills like the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act designed to provide new, tailored rules it has long pushed for. The CFTC's latest move is another sign to crypto participants that regulators are intent on making infrastructure changes. Shortly after taking office in January, Trump ordered the creation of a crypto working group tasked with proposing new regulations, making good on his campaign promise to overhaul U.S. crypto policy. Last week, the Trump administration's working group released a landmark report in which the White House called on the U.S. securities regulator to create new rules specific to digital assets. The report also encouraged the CFTC to use its existing authority to "immediately enable the trading of digital assets at the federal level." Trump courted cash from the crypto sector on the campaign trail, calling himself the "crypto president." Industry executives spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting Trump and other Republican congressional candidates in last year's elections. SEC Chair Paul Atkins last week outlined several pro-crypto initiatives, including directing staff to develop guidelines to determine when a crypto token qualifies as a security, and proposals for various disclosures and exemptions. The two regulators' approach marks a significant victory for the crypto industry, which has long advocated for tailored regulations. It also may be seen as a win by exchanges. So far, crypto trading platforms have been major players in spot trading, taking advantage of the regulatory gray area. "The hope continues to be that a broader range of assets beyond bitcoin and ethereum entrench themselves on U.S. venues over the next 24 months, and moves like this ultimately help along that process," said Joseph Edwards, head of research at Enigma Securities. One key to the success of Trump's crypto initiatives will be the ability of the CFTC and SEC to resolve long-standing questions such as whether digital assets are commodities or securities, industry sources said. Neither the CFTC nor the SEC immediately responded to requests seeking further comment. Trump's embrace of digital assets is in stark contrast to former U.S. President Joe Biden's regulators, who cracked down on the industry to prevent fraud and money laundering. The Biden administration sued exchanges Coinbase (COIN.O), opens new tab, Binance and dozens more, alleging they were flouting U.S. laws. Trump's SEC has dropped those cases.
Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
Canada to give lumber industry up to C$1.2 billion in aid to cope with US duties
OTTAWA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Canada will provide up to C$1.2 billion ($870 million) to help softwood lumber producers deal with U.S. countervailing and anti-dumping duties, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday. Carney, speaking to reporters in the Pacific province of British Columbia, said Ottawa would make up to C$700 million available in loan guarantees and also provide C$500 million to help speed product development and market diversification. The United States, which has for decades accused Canada of dumping lumber on the domestic market, imposes both anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of timber used in house construction. Canada denies it is dumping wood. The dispute is an irritant in broader talks between the United States and Canada on a new economic and defense relationship. U.S. President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on some Canadian imports to 35% last week after negotiators failed to meet an August 1 deadline. Last month the U.S. Commerce Department said it was almost tripling anti-dumping duties on most Canadian softwood to 20.56%. Canadian officials say they expect that when these are added to higher countervailing charges due to be announced shortly, total duties will rise to 34.5% from 14.5%. ($1 = 1.3776 Canadian dollars)
