Latest news with #AngusKing
The National
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' is a boon to Democrats, but don't expect them to seize the moment
The US has never been short of hideous or harebrained legislation from both liberals and conservatives. But President Donald Trump's "big beautiful budget bill,' passed on Thursday by Congress, outdoes anything in living memory. In one gigantic sweep, it enacts at least four major national initiatives, each of which would alone qualify as among the most appalling legislative acts in modern American history. It will constitute one of the largest transfers of wealth from poor and working Americans to the rich, involving major tax cuts targeted squarely at the wealthiest segment of society. It eliminates health care for anywhere between 12-17 million Americans currently reliant on the Medicaid programme. It massively increases funding for the military and, more importantly, the apparatus of apprehending and detaining in giant prison camps undocumented migrants and asylum seekers. And, in this process of slashing taxation while splurging on spending, it will supercharge an already alarming national debt. Perhaps the best summary of this legislation, likely to be the signature legislative accomplishment of Mr Trump's second term, came from independent Senator Angus King of Maine: 'This bill isn't just irresponsible, it's cruel. It is literally taking food and health care away from lower income and middle income people to give a tax break to millionaires.' That qualifies as an objective fact. Even many, if not most, of the bill's supporters are well aware that it's the height of irresponsibility. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski confessed, 'Let's not kid ourselves', it's 'not good enough', resulting from 'an awful process – a frantic rush to meet an artificial deadline'. That was her assessment mere minutes after she cast the decisive vote allowing its passage in the Senate. Not good enough? Sign us up! The creation of a hard-core immigration police state will be another major step towards American authoritarianism and the bolstering of a "power ministry" closely aligned with the President. The administration hopes to arrest and detain thousands of migrants, most of whom will not have been convicted of crimes, every day in the coming years. Even if that is unlikely to happen, the swarming of masked and armed immigration officials swooping down on everything from school pick up zones, shopping centres, bus stops and houses of worship will certainly metastasise. Republicans are ignoring all other aspects of the legislation, particularly the dire healthcare impact, and emphasising the new anti-immigrant police state apparatus. This is so central to the Trumpian agenda that it virtually defines what it means to "make America great again". Mr Trump has expressed the need for scores of new prison camps for migrants, hoping that they will "morph into a system where you're going to keep it for a long time'. He has also floated the idea of deporting some naturalised US citizens. A similar logic applies to health care. North Carolina Senator Tom Tillis said he couldn't support the bill and won't stay in the Senate (knowing he can't, without Mr Trump's backing) because Republicans are lying to Americans that there will not be massive healthcare loss. He asked what he's supposed to say to the 600,000 North Carolinians likely to suddenly find themselves without any health care after repeated promises that no such thing would ever take place, and warns of a political disaster. Even many, if not most, of the bill's supporters are well aware that it's the height of irresponsibility In effect, Republicans are performing a partial repeal of Obamacare, which they always hated but had been unable to find a workable alternative to and therefore have not been able to repeal. Gutting Medicaid gets them as close as they can under current circumstances. The main beneficiaries are the richest 1 per cent of Americans, who have seen their wealth steadily rise in recent decades as the rest of the country stagnates or declines. The national debt is so huge that servicing it is a greater expense than the vast US military. But making that problem worse – adding up to a staggering $3.4 trillion over the next decade – is apparently a small price to pay to secure additional benefits to those who need it the least. When it's defended at all, this largess is cast as economic stimulus. When the real pain – particularly the cuts to Medicaid – hits Main Street, the Democrats will receive an enormous opening for attacking Mr Trump, his agenda and his Republican allies. But it's unclear they'll be able to seize the opportunity. The immigration measures are likely to be relatively popular, and most Americans cannot be galvanised, at least at this stage, by appeals to preserve democracy and the rule of law. Rather, they are more concerned with their own daily struggles. To strike back at the Republicans effectively, Democrats will have to unite around kitchen-table issues, including health, taxation and the grotesque inequality of wealth that is being gratuitously exacerbated by a Republican party that falsely claims to be labouring in the interests of blue-collar, working-class Americans. Can they do it? I wouldn't bet on it. Republicans are much more unified, especially with Mr Trump ruthlessly enforcing a strict party line. Democrats are going to have to get over their structural problem of essentially being a coalition of diverse interest groups that tend to insist their specific issue is overriding and instead develop a message about Republican hypocrisy and unfairness that speaks to Americans as a unified national constituency. Rather than simply calling Mr Trump a would-be tyrant, they will have to argue he has reneged on key promises or failed to fulfil them. Going to political war on behalf of immigrants, the constitution or rule of law is likely to fail, whereas championing working Americans against a rapacious, grasping and obscenely indulged economic elite could be a tremendous political game changer. They will also need an effective national leader. At present, there's no sign of one. This ghastly bill ought to provide huge opportunities for a Democratic resurgence. But don't hold your breath.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bipartisan BOOTs Act, Introduced in Senate, Aims to Boost US Footwear Production
A bipartisan coalition of Congressional leaders has brought forth legislation aimed at boosting onshore footwear production for the armed services. On Wednesday, Representatives Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Mike Bost (R-Ill.) and Jarden Golden (D-Me.), along with Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Angus King (I-Me.) and Susan Collins (R-Me.) reintroduced the Better Outfitting Our Troops (BOOTs) Act, which proposes that all shoes worn by military personnel should be made in the United States. More from Sourcing Journal Trump Administration Unveils Trucking Reforms Targeting Parking, Red Tape and Cargo Theft EU's Supply Chain Rules Receive 'Another Blow' as Member States Propose Deeper Cuts DHL Express Canada Seeks 'Anti-Scab' Law Exemption, Citing 'Essential' Services According to the lawmakers, a better known piece of legislation—the Berry Amendment—requires the military to prioritize the procurement of American-made goods, but the market for Army footwear has nonetheless been usurped by foreign products that they say skirt standards for safety and quality. The BOOTs Act would address those concerns, mandating that all optional combat boots worn by servicemembers are compliant with the Berry Amendment and made completely in the U.S. from domestically sourced inputs. The legislators believe there are multiple benefits from tightening up the loopholes inherent in the Berry Amendment with this new bill, from bolstering U.S. production and supporting American manufacturers to ensuring the safety and reliability of the gear soldiers wear every day. 'We shouldn't be outsourcing the production of critical military equipment to countries like China—we should be making things here in the United States,' Rep. Budzinski said in a statement. 'Today, I'm introducing the BOOTs Act to ensure that our men and women in uniform have high-quality, American-made footwear that supports the demands of training and deployment.' Budzinski pointed to a business in her own district, the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company, as a potential provider of required military footwear and a benefactor of potential new business. The bill would both 'ensure the safety of our military personnel and support good-paying manufacturing jobs here at home,' she added. In an open letter to the bill's authors, U.S. Footwear Manufacturing Association (USFMA) executive director Bill McCann wrote that the BOOTs Act is 'a vital step toward strengthening our national security, safeguarding the health and safety of our warfighters, and preserving American jobs and manufacturing capacity that form the backbone of our defense industrial base.' 'This commonsense change will improve uniform consistency, reduce confusion forservicemembers, and send a strong demand signal' to domestic footwear producers and their onshore suppliers, which manufacture the components that make up performance and combat footwear. 'At a time when many manufacturers are reinvesting and rebuilding domestic capacity, this legislation ensures that the federal government is a reliable and supportive partner,' he added. USFMA is one of more than a dozen members of the American Combat Boot Alliance (ACBA), which lent its support to the bill in a letter signed by the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA), the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), Unifi, Rubberlite, Signet Mills, Meramec, New Balance, YKK, Milliken and more. The collective wrote that it represents 'some of the last remaining companies in the United States that can produce the components and combat footwear required by the armed forces'—a goal they remain committed to, as they believe the country is 'dangerously close to losing the most basic capability needed by those who train and fight—the ability to build domestic combat boots that withstand the rigors of austere environments.' According to the ACBA, current uniform regulations for the Army and Air Force don't preclude personnel from purchasing non-compliant products from overseas that only meet appearance standards. Not only are these shoes deficient from a quality and performance perspective, the loss of business from the armed forces has eroded the domestic footwear supply chain, the collective wrote. In fact, 750,000 pairs of foreign-made combat boots are bought by the military each year, representing what ACBA believes is a direct loss for U.S. businesses. These products are also subject to the Trump administration's new tariff regime, which may make them more expensive for servicemembers than American-made products. What's more, personnel pay for these products using an annual Congressionally appropriated funding. 'The BOOTs Act will ensure that servicemembers can effectively use their taxpayer-funded uniform allowance to purchase American-made combat footwear,' ACBA wrote. 'At a time while Congress is focused on both domestic manufacturing and acquisition reform provisions, the BOOTs Act is a strong step forward.' The BOOTs Act was introduced in the Senate on Thursday and was referred to the Senate Committee on Armed Services, where it will be reviewed and considered before it has a chance to move to the Senate floor for a vote.
NBC News
19-06-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Pro-Israel hackers attack Iran's largest crypto exchange, destroying $90 million
An anti-Iranian hacking group with possible ties to Israel announced an attack on one of Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchanges on Wednesday, destroying nearly $90 million and threatening to expose the platform's source code. A group known as Gonjeshke Darande, or 'Predatory Sparrow,' claimed the attack, making it the group's second operation in two days. On Tuesday the group claimed to have destroyed data at Iran's state-owned Bank Sepah amid the increasing hostilities and missile attacks between Israel and Iran. Wednesday's attack targeted Nobitex, one of Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The platform allegedly helps the Iranian government avoid sanctions and finance illicit operations around the world, the hackers claimed in a message posted to its social media channels early Wednesday. Nobitex's website was unavailable Wednesday. Messages sent to the company's support channel on Telegram were not returned. Gonjeshke Darande did not respond to requests for comment. Nobitex said in a post on X that it had pulled its website and app offline as it reviewed 'unauthorized access' to its systems. Gonjeshke Darande is an established hacking group with a history of sophisticated cyberattacks targeting Iran. A 2021 operation claimed by the group caused widespread gas station outages, while a 2022 attack targeting an Iranian steel mill caused a large fire and tangible, offline damage. Israel has never formally acknowledged that it is behind the group, although Israeli media has widely reported Gonjeshke Darande as 'Israel-linked.' Wednesday's attack started in the early hours of the morning when funds were moved to hacker-controlled wallets denouncing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs, which pegged the total theft at about $90 million across multiple types of cryptocurrencies. The way the hacker-controlled wallets were created suggests the hackers would not be able to access the stolen money, meaning that the hackers 'effectively burned the funds in order to send Nobitex a political message,' blockchain analysis firm Elliptic said in a blog post. Elliptic's post shared evidence that Nobitex had sent and received funds to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by groups hostile to Israel, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Yemen's Houthis. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King had raised concerns about Nobitex's role in enabling Iranian sanctions evasion in a May 2024 letter to top Biden administration officials, citing Reuters reporting from 2022. Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence with Chainalysis, confirmed in an email to Reuters that the value of the attack was roughly $90 million and that it was most likely geopolitically motivated, given that the money was burned. Chainalysis has 'previously seen IRGC-affiliated ransomware actors leveraging Nobitex to cash out proceeds, and other IRGC proxy groups leveraging the platform,' Fierman said.
NDTV
18-06-2025
- Business
- NDTV
Iran Crypto Exchange Hit By Hackers, $90 Million Destroyed
An anti-Iranian hacking group with possible ties to Israel announced an attack on one of Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchanges on Wednesday, destroying nearly $90 million and threatening to expose the platform's source code. A group known as Gonjeshke Darande, or "Predatory Sparrow," claimed the attack, making it the group's second operation in two days. On Tuesday the group claimed to have destroyed data at Iran's state-owned Bank Sepah amid the increasing hostilities and missile attacks between Israel and Iran. Wednesday's attack targeted Nobitex, one of Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The platform allegedly helps the Iranian government avoid sanctions and finance illicit operations around the world, the hackers claimed in a message posted to its social media channels early Wednesday. Nobitex's website was unavailable Wednesday. Messages sent to the company's support channel on Telegram were not returned. Gonjeshke Darande did not respond to requests for comment. Nobitex said in a post on X that it had pulled its website and app offline as it reviewed "unauthorized access" to its systems. Gonjeshke Darande is an established hacking group with a history of sophisticated cyberattacks targeting Iran. A 2021 operation claimed by the group caused widespread gas station outages, while a 2022 attack targeting an Iranian steel mill caused a large fire and tangible, offline damage. Israel has never formally acknowledged that it is behind the group, although Israeli media has widely reported Gonjeshke Darande as "Israel-linked." Wednesday's attack started in the early hours of the morning when funds were moved to hacker-controlled wallets denouncing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs, which pegged the total theft at about $90 million across multiple types of cryptocurrencies. The way the hacker-controlled wallets were created suggests the hackers would not be able to access the stolen money, meaning that the hackers "effectively burned the funds in order to send Nobitex a political message," blockchain analysis firm Elliptic said in a blog post. Elliptic's post shared evidence that Nobitex had sent and received funds to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by groups hostile to Israel, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Yemen's Houthis. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King had raised concerns about Nobitex's role in enabling Iranian sanctions evasion in a May 2024 letter to top Biden administration officials, citing Reuters' reporting from 2022. Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence with Chainalysis, confirmed in an email to Reuters that the value of the attack was roughly $90 million and that it was likely geopolitically motivated, given that the money was burned. Chainalysis has "previously seen IRGC-affiliated ransomware actors leveraging Nobitex to cash out proceeds, and other IRGC proxy groups leveraging the platform," Fierman said.
Straits Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Iran crypto exchange hit by hackers, over $100m destroyed
TEHRAN - An anti-Iranian hacking group with possible ties to Israel announced an attack on one of Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchanges on June 18, destroying nearly US$90 million (S$115 million) and threatening to expose the platform's source code. A group known as Gonjeshke Darande, or 'Predatory Sparrow,' claimed the attack, making it the group's second operation in two days. On June 17, the group claimed to have destroyed data at Iran's state-owned Bank Sepah, amid the increasing hostilities and missile attacks between Israel and Iran. The June 18 attack targeted Nobitex, one of Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The platform allegedly helps the Iranian government avoid sanctions and finance illicit operations around the world, the hackers claimed in a message posted to its social media channels early on June 18. Nobitex's website was unavailable on June 18. Messages sent to the company's support channel on Telegram were not returned. The Gonjeshke Darande group did not respond to requests for comment. Nobitex said in a post on X that it had pulled its website and app offline as it reviewed 'unauthorised access' to its systems. Gonjeshke Darande is an established hacking group with a history of sophisticated cyberattacks targeting Iran. A 2021 operation claimed by the group caused widespread gas station outages, while a 2022 attack targeting an Iranian steel mill caused a large fire and tangible, offline damage. Israel has never formally acknowledged that it is behind the group, although Israeli media has widely reported Gonjeshke Darande as 'Israel-linked'. The June 18 attack started in the early hours of the morning when funds were moved to hacker-controlled wallets denouncing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs, which pegged the total theft at about US$90 million across multiple types of cryptocurrencies. The way the hacker-controlled wallets were created suggests the hackers would not be able to access the stolen money, meaning that the hackers 'effectively burned the funds in order to send Nobitex a political message,' blockchain analysis firm Elliptic said in a blog post. Elliptic's post shared evidence that Nobitex had sent and received funds to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by groups hostile to Israel, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Yemen's Houthis. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King had raised concerns about Nobitex's role in enabling Iranian sanctions evasion in a May 2024 letter to top Biden administration officials, citing Reuters' reporting from 2022. Mr Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence with Chainalysis, confirmed in an email to Reuters that the value of the attack was roughly US$90 million and that it was likely geopolitically motivated, given that the money was burned. Chainalysis has 'previously seen IRGC-affiliated ransomware actors leveraging Nobitex to cash out proceeds, and other IRGC proxy groups leveraging the platform,' Mr Fierman said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
