
Bitcoin tops $120,000 mark for first time in history
The US House of Representatives is set to begin discussions today, July 14, on a series of bills aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for the digital asset space, a key demand by companies and investors operating in the sector.
The move has resonated with President Donald Trump, who has described himself as the 'crypto president,' urging policymakers to modernize regulations in favor of the industry.
Bitcoin surged 29% year-to-date, sparking a broader rally across other digital assets in recent weeks, despite market uncertainty stemming from Trump's newly imposed tariffs, which caused some disruption.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency globally, also climbed to its highest level in over five months, reaching $3,048.23 earlier today before easing slightly to $3,036.24 in recent trade.
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Senate democrats say trump's policies are hurting america's ability to compete with china
President Donald Trump's foreign aid cuts, tariffs on allies, and restrictions on international students have deeply undermined America's ability to compete with China, Senate Democrats say. In a report released Monday, Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called for congressional action toward restoring the country's global reputation and influence to ensure the US will not be unseated by China as the world's leading power. America's retreat from the world will have real and lasting consequences for the American people, the report says. And a retreat from the system that we helped build following the Second World War – based on democracy, economic interdependence, and American values – means China is increasingly able to set the global agenda at the expense of US interests. The report comes about six months after Trump returned to the White House and began taking drastic measures that his administration says will improve government efficiency and protect US interests, triggering condemnation from Democrats that the moves could amount to ceding global influence to China. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the US is strong again under Trump and that his foreign policy is effective because of his willingness to look anyone in the eye to get better deals for the American people. His strategy is paying off as evidenced by the recent trade deal that created a path toward open market access for Americans and China's actions to control the spread of deadly fentanyl, she said. In the report, the Democrats criticized the Trump administration's gutting of the US Agency for International Development, which was a key way of distributing foreign assistance, and the US Agency for Global Media – both tools to extend US soft power and counter Beijing's influence. While Trump's cuts to USAGM, whose outlets deliver uncensored information to parts of the world under authoritarian rule and often without a free press of their own, has resulted in the loss of 54 frequencies by Radio Free Asia and millions of users, Chinese state-run media outlets have added 80 new radio frequencies and multiple languages to their programming, the report said. The administration's cuts to foreign aid programs also has allowed China to surpass the US as the largest bilateral assistance partner for more than 40 countries, according to the report. 'China is building influence, expanding relationships, and reshaping the global order to its advantage,' said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In a call with reporters, Shaheen said some Republicans, while unwilling to join the Democrats in the report, share the same concerns over the threat posed by Beijing. The office of committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, declined to comment. The report criticized Trump's tariffs on allies and partners including the European Union, Mexico, Canada, and Japan. 'Blanket tariffs are not just wrecking economic havoc at home, they are also eroding longstanding US alliances, including making it even more difficult to increase defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product,' the report said. That's the new goal agreed to by NATO allies. The administration's proposals to cut funding for scientific research and crack down on top US universities and foreign students could lead to a brain drain, the report warned, noting China is jumping at the opportunity to lure talent.


Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
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US officer pleads guilty to sharing classified info on Russia-Ukraine war on dating site
A retired Army officer who worked as a civilian for the Air Force has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit classified information about Russia's war with Ukraine on a foreign online dating platform. David Slater, 64, who had top secret clearance at his job at the US Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, pleaded guilty to a single count before a federal magistrate judge in Omaha on Thursday. In exchange for his guilty plea, two other counts were dropped. Slater remains free pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 8. Prosecutors and his lawyers agreed that he should serve between five years and 10 months and seven years and three months in prison, and the government will recommend a term at the low end of that range. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years behind bars. US District Judge Brian Buescher will ultimately decide whether to accept the plea agreement and will determine Slater's sentence. 'I conspired to willfully communicate national defense information to an unauthorized person,' Slater said in a handwritten note on his petition to change his plea. Slater had access to some of the country's most closely held secrets, John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement. 'Access to classified information comes with great responsibility,' said Lesley Woods, the US attorney for Nebraska, said in the same statement. 'David Slater failed in his duty to protect this information by willingly sharing National Defense Information with an unknown online personality despite having years of military experience that should have caused him to be suspicious of that person's motives.' Slater retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 2020 and worked in a classified space at the base from around August 2021 until around April 2022. He attended briefings about the Russia-Ukraine war that were classified up to top secret, court documents say. He was arrested in March of 2024. In his plea agreement, he acknowledged that he conspired to transmit classified information that he learned from those briefings via the foreign dating website's messaging platform to an unnamed coconspirator, who claimed to be a woman living in Ukraine. The information, classified as secret, pertained to military targets and Russian military capabilities, according to the plea agreement. 'Defendant knew and had reason to believe that such information could be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation,' the agreement states. According to the original indictment, the coconspirator regularly asked Slater for classified information. She called him, 'my secret informant love!' in one message. She closed another by saying, 'You are my secret agent. With love.' In another, she wrote, 'Dave, I hope tomorrow NATO will prepare a very pleasant 'surprise' for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin! Will you tell me?' Court documents don't identify the coconspirator, or say whether she was working for Ukraine or Russia. They also don't identify the dating platform. Amy Donato, a spokesperson for the US attorney's office in Omaha, said Monday that she couldn't provide that information. Slater's attorney, Stuart Dornan, didn't immediately return a call seeking further details.


Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
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New York governor wants Trump to take action on drone attack risks
New York Governor Kathy Hochul called on the White House to take action to address risks of drone attacks on the United States, citing a series of incidents last year and their use in international military operations. 'An attack against strategic military and critical infrastructure in New York poses an urgent danger to the United States,' Hochul said in a letter to President Donald Trump made public Monday. 'The reality is that the federal government is unprepared and poorly postured to detect and mitigate (drone) threats and states are hamstrung by a lack of legislative authority and action by the Federal Aviation Administration.'