CIA chief told lawmakers Iran nuclear program set back years with strikes on metal conversion site
WASHINGTON — CIA Director John Ratcliffe told skeptical U.S. lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran's lone metal conversion facility and in the process delivered a monumental setback to Tehran's nuclear program that would take years to overcome, a U.S. official said Sunday.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence, said Ratcliffe laid out the importance of the strikes on the metal conversion facility during a classified hearing for U.S. lawmakers last week.
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22 minutes ago
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Senate GOP tax bill includes largest cut to U.S. safety net in decades
The Senate Republican tax bill speeding to passage includes the biggest reduction of funding for the federal safety net since at least the 1990s, targeting more than $1 trillion in social spending. Although the legislation is still estimated to cost more than $3 trillion over the next decade, the Senate GOP tax bill partially pays for its large price tag by slashing spending on Medicaid and food stamps, which congressional Republicans maintain are rife with fraud. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. The tax bill centers on making permanent large tax cuts for individual taxpayers, extending the cuts that Republicans first enacted under President Donald Trump's first term. The bill includes an increase to the standard deduction claimed by most taxpayers, rate reductions for most U.S. households, and a partial version of Trump's plan to end taxes on tipped wages, among many other provisions. But it offsets these expensive tax cuts in part through what several experts said may prove to be the most dramatic reductions in safety net spending in modern U.S. history. While last-minute changes to the bill text makes precise estimates impossible, the legislation appears on track to cut Medicaid by about 18 percent and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by roughly 20 percent, according to estimates based on projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Previously, the biggest recent cut to food stamps was a roughly 14 percent cut approved by Congress during President Bill Clinton's administration in the 1990s, according to Bobby Kogan, a senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, a center-left think tank. (Food stamp benefits also sharply increased, and then fell, after the expiration of covid benefits.) The biggest prior cut to Medicaid was during President Ronald Reagan's term in the 1980s, when Congress and the White House approved a roughly 5 percent reduction to the federal health insurance program that primarily benefits low-income households during his first two years in office, Kogan said. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the Senate tax bill will lead to roughly 12 million fewer people receiving Medicaid and more than 2 million fewer people receiving food stamps. 'This is not only the biggest ever - it's by a mile the biggest ever,' Kogan said. 'You can very safely say this is the biggest cut to programs for low-income Americans ever.' The legislation achieves these steep reductions by imposing a slew of new requirements and restrictions on low-income Americans who rely on government assistance, although it includes some revisions sought by nonpartisan experts as well. On Medicaid, the bill institutes new federal work reporting requirements for the first time in the program's history - forcing millions of people to regularly prove they are working at least 80 hours a month to keep their health insurance. The bill provides exemptions for certain groups of people, including those who are pregnant, some caretakers and those with disabilities. But it also imposes burdensome paperwork requirements that experts say states are ill-equipped to take on, and they warn that both those who are meeting the requirements and who qualify for exemptions could lose coverage because they will struggle to submit proper documentation. The bill also mandates that people just above the federal poverty line begin paying out of pocket for Medicaid services, such as some doctor's visits or lab tests. States would be allowed to charge these enrollees up to 5 percent of their income in cost-sharing - a fee that could amount to hundreds of dollars annually. While Democratic-led states might opt for modest co-pays, Republican-led states could impose substantially higher fees, potentially pricing out many low-income residents, experts said. Although it's unclear if this measure will survive final passage, the legislation has also sought to crack down on loopholes that raise what the federal government is reimbursing hospitals for Medicaid services, said Marc Goldwein, senior vice president at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group. The changes to Medicaid could also force already struggling rural hospitals to close or significantly pare back their services, hospital groups have said. Between a rise in uncompensated care and smaller federal reimbursements through states because of changes to what is called the provider tax, hospitals are expected to take a significant hit. 'No question - this is definitely the biggest cut. It's the biggest rollback in federal support for health care ever,' said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF. On food stamps, the bill rolls back decades of long-standing policy by tightening work requirements. Parents of children have generally been exempt from work rules, but under the new proposal, single mothers of teenagers as young as 14 would be required to work or lose benefits. The bill also raises the upper age for able-bodied adults without dependents who are subject to work requirements from 49 to 64, sweeping in millions of older Americans previously shielded from the rules. Additionally, it would make it harder for states to waive work requirements during times of high unemployment, effectively limiting assistance unless a generationally severe recession hits. The legislation also changes how poverty and household budgets are calculated for the purposes of food stamp eligibility, potentially reducing benefits for millions. Under President Joe Biden, internet access was recognized as a basic necessity for modern life and factored into cost-of-living calculations that help determine eligibility and benefit levels. The new bill reverses that. Conservatives and Republicans have defended these changes as necessary to arrest the rising cost of safety net programs. Robert Rector, research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, said U.S. food stamps are rife with fraud, saying the federal government's spending on welfare programs has risen from about $1 trillion per year before the covid pandemic to $1.69 trillion now. Rector said stricter limits in particular made sense for the food stamps program. 'Welfare spending is out of control. Fraud is out of control,' Rector said. 'There's extensive massive fraud. There's massive fraud in food stamps in particular.' Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) on Sunday argued on 'Meet the Press' that the legislation was only 'getting out the ones that should never be' on Medicaid and was focused on 'able-bodied' individuals. 'We don't pay people in this country to be lazy. We want to give them an opportunity, and when they're going through a hard time, we want to give them a helping hand,' Mullin said. 'That's what Medicaid was designed for, and it's unfortunately, it's been abused.' But Republicans may face political blowback if the changes to the safety net programs result in significant reductions in benefits. The cuts also fly in the face of prior promises made by party leaders: Vice President JD Vance has long been critical of cuts to Medicaid, and Trump has repeatedly promised not to reduce benefits in the program. Even as the bill moves toward passage, some congressional Republicans from rural states have also expressed concern about the political impacts of cuts to Medicaid. 'Let's watch and be careful that we don't cut into bone, don't hurt our rural hospitals,' Sen. Jim Justice (R-West Virginia) said late last week. 'If we do that, it's going to be a bad day.' Others had hoped large spending cuts would at least be used to reduce the nation's $36 trillion federal debt. Goldwein, of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said it is a shame that Republicans are using funding from spending cuts only to partially mitigate the more than $3 trillion cost of their tax bill. 'What bothers me is there are really hard savings to find in here. But all the money is being used not for deficit reduction, not to fully pay for tax cuts, but to reduce the amount of money we're borrowing,' Goldwein said. 'We're going in the wrong direction.' - - - Yasmeen Abutaleb and Jacob Bogage contributed to this report. Related Content Lights! Camera! But not enough action in a fading, worried Hollywood. 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Iranian hackers 'may still conduct malicious cyber activity,' US agencies warn
Iranian-affiliated cyber actors and hacktivist groups "may still conduct malicious cyber activity," according to a joint bulletin from U.S. law enforcement agencies. "Based on the current geopolitical environment, Iranian-affiliated cyber actors may target U.S. devices and networks for near-term cyber operations," the bulletin from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), FBI, NSA and Defense Department says. "Defense Industrial Base (DIB) companies, particularly those possessing holdings or relationships with Israeli research and defense firms, are at increased risk. Hacktivists and Iranian-government-affiliated actors routinely target poorly secured U.S. networks and internet-connected devices for disruptive cyberattacks," according to the bulletin. MORE: With July 4 just days away, US law enforcement on high alert for Iran retaliation All of this comes after Israel and Iran "declared ceasefire and ongoing negotiations towards a permanent solution," according to the alert. "Over the past several months, Iranian-aligned hacktivists have increasingly conducted website defacements and leaks of sensitive information exfiltrated from victims," the alert says. "These hacktivists are likely to significantly increase distributed denial of service (DDoS) campaigns against U.S. and Israeli websites due to recent events." The alert says that it hasn't just been over the past few months that Iranian cyber actors have been active. The agencies point to numerous instances in 2023 and 2024 when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compromised Israeli-backed technology, and after the start of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, IRGC-backed actors carried out cyber attacks as a form of protest. MORE: Trump blurts out expletive as he lashes out at Israel and Iran over ceasefire "Activities like website defacements, leakage of sensitive information, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) campaigns against U.S. websites have been common attack methods in the past," the alert says. In a statement, the agencies say they haven't seen any malicious activity, but are issuing the warning for critical infrastructure organizations to be on alert. "We strongly urge organizations to review our joint fact sheet and implement recommended actions to strengthen our collective defense against this potential cyber activity," the statement says.
Fox News
37 minutes ago
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Interior cancels $14M annual fishing grant cited in Fox report after DOGE highlights Disney ads, salaries
Print Close By Charles Creitz Published June 30, 2025 EXCLUSIVE: A multi-year grant to a Washington-area nonprofit focused on promoting fishing, boating and outdoor activities was canceled by the Interior Department after Senate DOGE leadership flagged the original Fox News Digital report to the Cabinet agency. More than $26 million has already been paid out – on top of $164 million since 2012 – to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF), based in Alexandria, Virginia. From the government website USA Spending, the grant's purpose highlights RBFF's "Take Me Fishing" consumer campaign that includes a social and digital media component, as well as ads on Walt Disney Company-branded streaming services and "mobile fishing units" that cater to urban communities and "underserved audiences." At least $40.5 million will be saved in the near-term, the Senate DOGE Caucus told Fox News Digital, citing Interior's response. DOGE SENATOR TELLS OUTDOORS GROUP TO 'GO FISH' AFTER DISCOVERING MASSIVE GRANT TIED TO HIGH SALARIES "Today's catch of the day is Washington waste," said Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. "I am proud to have exposed bloated overhead costs and worked with Secretary Burgum to ensure tax dollars collected to boost fishing are not siphoned into the pockets of slick D.C.-based consultants." "There's more pork in the sea, and I am going to keep fishing for it!" Burgum's office struck a similar tone, saying the agency is committed to fiscal responsibility, efficiency and accountability – while still fully supporting the recreational boating, fishing and outdoors industries. A spokeswoman for the agency, which oversees the National Park Service that provides outlets for all of the above, said that "under President Donald J. Trump's leadership, we are ensuring that every taxpayer dollar serves a clear purpose and aligns with our core mission." "Following a review of discretionary spending, the Department determined that the use of this particular [RBFF] grant had not demonstrated sufficient alignment with program goals or responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources," Charlotte Taylor said. The grant, largely funded by excise taxes on fishing poles, came under DOGE scrutiny when Ernst discovered an RBFF contract with Disney worth $1.99 million plus hundreds of thousands in "SEO consulting," and $5 million to a Minnesota creative media development agency. Several RBFF executives are paid from the mid-$100,000s on up. DOGE CAUCUS SENATOR PUSHES FOR END TO SLUSH FUND FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES In part of a lengthy response to the grant's cancellation, RBFF officials told Fox News Digital the organization has "devised a plan we believe would meet the goals and priorities of the administration, which includes adjusted employee compensation, reduced headcount and updated investment priorities." But the group claimed it has not been able to connect directly with DOGE or Interior during the grant review process "despite repeated outreach attempts during the past three months." A source familiar with the situation indicated the group had met with Ernst's office, and Taylor said Burgum's office did meet with RBFF in Washington earlier this month and has been in contact "multiple" times: "Anything to say otherwise is inaccurate." "Since 1998, [RBFF] has helped build what has become a $230.5 billion industry that supports 1.1 million American jobs, generates $263 million in tax revenue, and contributes $2 billion annually to fisheries and conservation efforts in all 50 states," RBFF's statement continued. "Alarmingly, in just the past two months since RBFF's funding has been paused, fishing license sales are down 8.6% across 16 states, representing the loss of over $590 million in angler spending and 5,600 jobs." Several other groups came to RBFF's defense. Matt Gruhn, president of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, told Fox News Digital he was disappointed in Interior's decision to terminate the grant. "[RBFF's] work was pivotal to enhancing the recreational boating and fishing industry's recruitment, retention and reactivation efforts. Their training and resources vastly improved state agency processes and marketing and has made boating and fishing licensing and registration far easier for Americans," Gruhn said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "RBFF has been a responsible steward of these taxpayer dollars from the very beginning, with oversight from the very stakeholders that paid into the fund that RBFF's grant originates from, as well as passing every audit with flying colors." Additionally, the head of the American Sportfishing Association warned of the "severe impact" the loss of grant money will have on the outdoors industry. CEO Glenn Hughes said his organization's members agreed in 1950 to self-impose a tax on fishing rods to reinvest back into the industry and bolster license sales, habitat conservation and more. The RBFF's "Take Me Fishing" campaign began in 1998 with congressional funding from the tackle tax. Hughes claimed the effort has generated a total of $230.5 billion in economic impact since. "Without consultation and coordination with the recreational fishing industry, the Department of the Interior decided to withhold critical funding from RBFF, ultimately ending a 27-year history of increasing fishing participation and efforts to bolster the economic impact of the fishing industry." Print Close URL
