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UPI
5 days ago
- Business
- UPI
Stablecoin bill creates protections for crypto users, critics say it's not enough
1 of 3 | Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., sponsored the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act in the U.S. Senate. Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo June 25 (UPI) -- After passing the Senate via cloture, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act faces a vote in the U.S. House in the coming weeks. Proponents of the bill establishing regulations for payments with stablecoins say it is the first step in establishing protections for businesses and consumers while opponents say it lacks important guardrails. Stablecoin, a form of cryptocurrency that is backed by a more stable asset, such as a currency like the U.S. dollar or a commodity like gold, is designed to maintain a stable value. The GENIUS Act creates legal guidelines for licensing stablecoin issuers and oversight mechanisms to regulate banks and other financial institutions dealing in stablecoins. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., sponsored the bill in the Senate. He said on the Senate floor that passing the act will improve the speed and efficiency of payment with stablecoins around the globe while creating safeguards to deter illicit activity. "Stablecoins also advance a vital national interest by driving demand for U.S. Treasuries. A recent report forecasts that with a well-crafted U.S. regulatory framework, stablecoin issuers could become one of the top holders of U.S. Treasuries by the end of this decade -- if not sooner," Hagerty said. "This would strengthen our fiscal position and cement the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency. If we fail to act now, not only will these benefits slip away. Without a regulatory framework, stablecoin innovation will proliferate overseas -- not in America." Christian Catalini, founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Cryptoeconomics Lab, told UPI that the GENIUS Act will lower the cost of making payments with stablecoin internationally. "It is much needed legislation that will unlock a safer and more scalable stablecoin ecosystem," Catalini said. "It will lead to entry by many more issues, increasing competition among stablecoins." Beginning three years after the GENIUS Act is enacted, it will be illegal to offer or sell a payment stablecoin to anyone in the United States without a permit. It will also be illegal for foreign service providers to issue or make a stablecoin available in the United States without complying with U.S. guidelines. This includes demonstrating compliant technological capabilities. Those who violate the GENIUS Act would be subject to fines of up to $1 million and five years in prison for each violation. The bill dictates the requirements for becoming a stablecoin issuer. Among these requirements, the issuer must have the capital to support the stablecoins they are issuing. Issuers will be required to submit reports upon request detailing their financial condition, their system for monitoring and controlling financial and operating risks and compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and other laws and sanctions implemented by the Secretary of the Treasury. Nonbank entities, such as fintech companies, will be able to apply for licensing to issue stablecoins. Fifty Republicans and 18 Democrats voted to end debate over the bill in the Senate, allowing it to advance. Catalini said it garnered some bipartisan support due to the significance of stablecoin. "The technology is likely to be ultimately as impactful as the Internet," he said. "Countries that will create the best environment for it will lead for decades to come." Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., voted against ending debate, arguing that the bill does not do enough to stop government officials, such as President Donald Trump, from engaging in corruption with the use of cryptocurrency. Trump and first lady Melania Trump each launched new meme coins hours before Inauguration Day. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., was among the Democrats to support the bill. In a statement, he said concerns remain about how Trump and his family have used crypto technologies to "evade scrutiny." However, he does not believe this should deter from passing the regulations in the GENIUS Act. "We must remain vigilant in exposing and stopping these abuses," Warner said. "But our outrage over that corruption cannot prevent us from building a foundation for responsible innovation in this space. If we don't lead, others will, and not in ways that reflect our interests or democratic values." Independent Community Bankers of America expressed concerns with the GENIUS Act in a letter to the Senate last month. Chief among those concerns was language that it believed would allow non-bank issuers to obtain Federal Reserve Master Accounts. The current version of the bill has addressed that language, according to the ICBA. "On behalf of the nation's community bankers, ICBA appreciates the work by the Senate to address concerns raised by ICBA with the GENIUS Act throughout the legislative process in order to provide regulatory clarity while protecting against the negative economic consequences that would result from community bank disintermediation," Rebeca Romero Rainey, ICBA president and CEO, said in a statement. Catalini said that he expects more regulations to follow due to Trump's support of cryptocurrency. "We need new rules for market infrastructure, tax treatment and more," he said. "No bill is perfect but the GENIUS Act is an important first step in ensuring consumers and businesses are appropriately protected when paying for holding a balance in stablecoin." Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against ending debate on the bill. They did not respond to requests for comment.
UPI
6 days ago
- UPI
Judge rules Anthropic's use of books to train AI model is fair use
A judge ruled that Anthropic did not violate copyright laws by using copyrighted books to train its AI. Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI.. | License Photo June 24 (UPI) -- A judge ruled the Anthropic artificial intelligence company didn't violate copyright laws when it used millions of copyrighted books to train its AI. According to his ruling, U.S. District Judge William Alsup concluded Monday "that the training use was a fair use." However, that doesn't mean Anthropic is out of the woods legally, as it's still potentially on the hook for allegedly having pirated books. Alsup wrote in his conclusion that although it was not legally wrong for Anthropic to train its AI with the unlawfully downloaded materials. "We will have a trial on the pirated copies used to create Anthropic's central library and the resulting damages, actual or statutory," he said. The owners of Anthropic claimed that they eventually started paying for downloaded books. "That Anthropic later bought a copy of a book it earlier stole off the internet will not absolve it of liability for the theft but it may affect the extent of statutory damages," Alsup wrote. The case document states that Anthropic offers an AI software service called "Claude," which is able to simulate human writing and reading because it was trained with books and other texts that were taken from a central library of materials gathered by the parent company. Authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson are the plaintiffs in the case, as they wrote books that Anthropic allegedly "copied from pirated and purchased sources." None of the usage was authorized by the authors. The case further purports that the owners of Anthropic knowingly downloaded at least seven million books, which they knew were pirated copies. It is unclear when a new trial in regard to the purported purposely downloading of pirated books will take place or if it has yet to be set.
UPI
23-06-2025
- Health
- UPI
Study: Abortions rose in states with, without bans after Dobbs decision
Protesters argue over abortion rights in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. in June of 2023. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo June 23 (UPI) -- Abortions in the United States increased despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, according to a report released Monday by the Society of Family Planning. The international nonprofits #WeCount study found that around 1.1 million abortions were performed by licensed clinicians in 2024, up from 1.06 million in 2023. Of the procedures performed in 2024, 25% were completed via Telehealth, which has risen from just 5% in the second quarter of 2022. The other abortions took place in brick-and-mortar clinics. Co-Chair and professor at Ohio State University's College of Public Health and co-principal investigator of the Ohio Policy Evaluation Network Dr. Alison Norris said the findings "make clear that abortion bans haven't stopped people from seeking care." "As care shifts across state lines and into telehealth care," she said. "What's emerging is a deeply fragmented system where access depends on where you live, how much money you have, and whether you can overcome barriers to care." According to the Society's findings, shield laws, which provide legal protection to clinicians who provide abortion care via telehealth to people in states with bans on abortion or telehealth "continue to facilitate abortion access, especially in states where abortion is banned." There are eight states that feature such shield laws, and in those states, an average of 12,330 abortions per month were conducted in the final quarter of 2024, an increase of 8,747 over the first quarter of 2024. However, abortion care has also increased in states where it is banned. Under shield protections, Texas has seen the highest number of medication abortions via telehealth, with an average of 3,427 monthly at the end of 2024. The Society of Family Planning further found Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Texas saw more monthly abortions by the end of 2024 than in the months before the Dobbs Supreme Court decision in 2022. It was the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe vs. Wade, which ruled in 1973 that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an abortion. "Millions of people live in states where abortion is banned or restricted, and traveling for care isn't an option for everyone," said Co-Founder of the Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project Dr. Angel Foster in the release. "By providing safe, affordable medication abortion via telemedicine, we make sure people can get the care they need, no matter where they live or what they can afford."
UPI
21-06-2025
- Health
- UPI
NIH office to phase out HIV guidelines by next year
The National Institutes of Health office responsible for issuing federal guidelines related to treatment of HIV and AIDS patients in the United States is making major changes. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo June 21 (UPI) -- The National Institutes of Health office responsible for issuing federal guidelines related to treatment of HIV and AIDS patients in the United States is making major changes. The NIH Office of AIDS Research or OAR told its employees this week it intends to phase out the guidelines by next June, the Washington Post reported, citing an internal staff email. According to the office, OAR "coordinates HIV/AIDS research across the National Institutes of Health and provides the largest public investment in HIV/AIDS research globally." "In the climate of budget decreases and revised priorities, OAR is beginning to explore options to transfer management of the guidelines to another agency within" the letter obtained by The Post reads. The OAR guidelines contain guidelines related to diagnosis and treatments of HIV and AIDS. There are currently more than 1 million people living with HIV in the United States. It was not immediately clear what the other agency referred to in the letter was or how such a move may affect the guideline, the Post reported. The news comes as President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio move to cut over $8 billion from the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID and merge it into the State Department. State Department officials say the move comes with the expectation that other countries will increase their roles in delivering aid around the world. An April report published in the Lancet medical journal found around half a million children globally could die from AIDS by 2030 if the United States cuts its global relief funding. Earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of the HIV drug lenacapavir, which is produced by California-based biopharma firm Gilead Sciences under the name Yeztugo. "Yeztugo is one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of our time and offers a very real opportunity to help end the HIV epidemic," Gilead Science Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel O'Day said in a statement on the company's website
UPI
20-06-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Judge stops Trump from tying DOT funds to immigration enforcement
Secretary of U.S. Department of Transportation Sean Duffy testifies at a House committee on May 14, 2025. On Thursday, a judge issued a preliminary injunction against his directive tying department grants to states' compliance with federal immigration enforcement policies. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo June 20 (UPI) -- A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to make federal transportation funding contingent on state compliance with his immigration policies. In his ruling Thursday, Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell of Providence, R.I., said not only does the Department of Transportation lack the authority to tie grant funding to immigration enforcement, but the directive also usurps Congress' power of the purse while being "arbitrary and capricious." "Congress did not authorize or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes," the President Barack Obama appointee said in his brief ruling. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by 20 state attorneys general challenging an April 24 directive sent to all Department of Transportation funding receipts, stating they must comply with an Immigration Enforcement Condition when applying for future grants. The letter specifies that as recipients, they have "entered into legally enforceable agreements with the United States Government and are obligated to comply fully with all applicable Federal laws and regulations," particularly those relating to immigration enforcement and diversity, equity and inclusion policies. "Adherence to your legal obligations is a prerequisite for receipt of DOT financial assistance," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's letter states. "Noncompliance with applicable Federal laws, or failure to cooperate generally with Federal authorities in the enforcement of Federal law, will jeopardize your continued receipt of Federal financial assistance from DOT and could lead to a loss of Federal funding from DOT." The 20 Democrat-led states filed their lawsuit against the directive in May, arguing the Department of Transportation has no authority to tie grants to federal civil immigration enforcement, as the two are unrelated. In his ruling, McConnell agreed with the plaintiffs. "The IEC, backed by the Duffy Directive, is arbitrary and capricious in its scope and lacks specificity in how the States are to cooperate on immigration enforcement in exchange for Congressionally appropriated transportation dollars -- grant money that the States rely on to keep their residents safely and efficiently on the road, in the sky and on the rails," he said. "[T]he IEC is not at all reasonably related to the transportation funding program grants." California Attorney General Rob Bonta applauded the ruling while chastising Trump for "threatening to withhold critical transportation funds unless states agree to carry out his inhumane and illogical immigration agenda. "It's immoral -- and more importantly, illegal," the Democrat said. "I'm glad the District Court agrees, blocking the President's latest attempt to circumvent the Constitution and coerce state and local governments into doing his bidding while we continue to make our case in court." Since returning to the White House, Trump has led a crackdown on immigration, with many of his policies being challenged in court. Late Thursday, an appeals court handed Trump a victory in the battle, permitting California National Guard troops to remain deployed on Los Angeles streets amid protests against his immigration policies. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vowed to continue to fight what he called "President Trump's authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers."
