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Boulder terror attack live updates: Suspect used flamethrower

Boulder terror attack live updates: Suspect used flamethrower

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday expressed solidarity with the victims who were attacked "simply because they were Jews. " He said he was confident U.S. authorities would prosecute "the cold blood perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law."
"The antisemitic attacks around the world are a direct result of blood libels against the Jewish state and people, and this must be stopped," Netanyahu said in a statement.
The victims, ages 67 to 88, were transported to local hospitals with injuries ranging from serious to minor, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said. At least two of the wounded were airlifted to a hospital in the Denver area, he said.
Sunday's attack fell on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and came less than two weeks after two Israeli Embassy aides were fatally shot outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. The Boulder attack occurred at a "regularly scheduled, weekly peaceful event," Mark Michalek, special agent in charge at the FBI's Denver field office, said during a briefing.
8 injured in Boulder: Group had gathered to support Israeli hostages
Earlier Sunday, Boulder dispatch received several calls to the county courthouse at around 1:26 p.m. local time, Redfearn said. Initial reports indicated that there was a man with a weapon, and people were being set on fire at the scene.
Responding officers encountered multiple victims who were injured with wounds consistent with burns and other injuries, Redfearn said.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen and Michael Collins, USA TODAY; Reuters
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Exclusive: US embeds trackers in AI chip shipments to catch diversions to China, sources say
Exclusive: US embeds trackers in AI chip shipments to catch diversions to China, sources say

Reuters

time10 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Exclusive: US embeds trackers in AI chip shipments to catch diversions to China, sources say

SINGAPORE/NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities have secretly placed location tracking devices in targeted shipments of advanced chips they see as being at high risk of illegal diversion to China, according to two people with direct knowledge of the previously unreported law enforcement tactic. The measures aim to detect AI chips being diverted to destinations which are under U.S. export restrictions, and apply only to select shipments under investigation, the people said. They show the lengths to which the U.S. has gone to enforce its chip export restrictions on China, even as the Trump administration has sought to relax some curbs on Chinese access to advanced American semiconductors. The trackers can help build cases against people and companies who profit from violating U.S. export controls, said the people who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. Location trackers are a decades-old investigative tool used by U.S. law enforcement agencies to track products subject to export restrictions, such as airplane parts. They have been used to combat the illegal diversion of semiconductors in recent years, one source said. Five other people actively involved in the AI server supply chain say they are aware of the use of the trackers in shipments of servers from manufacturers such as Dell (DELL.N), opens new tab and Super Micro (SMCI.O), opens new tab, which include chips from Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab. Those people said the trackers are typically hidden in the packaging of the server shipments. They did not know which parties were involved in installing them and where along the shipping route they were put in. Reuters was not able to determine how often the trackers have been used in chip related investigations or when U.S. authorities started using them to investigate chip smuggling. The U.S. started restricting the sale of advanced chips by Nvidia, AMD and other manufacturers to China in 2022. In one 2024 case described by two of the people involved in the server supply chain, a shipment of Dell servers with Nvidia chips included both large trackers on the shipping boxes and smaller, more discreet devices hidden inside the packaging — and even within the servers themselves. A third person said they had seen images and videos of trackers being removed by other chip resellers from Dell and Super Micro servers. The person said some of the larger trackers were roughly the size of a smartphone. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees export controls and enforcement, is typically involved, and Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, may take part too, said the sources. The HSI and FBI both declined to comment. The Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment. The Chinese foreign ministry did not have immediate comment. Super Micro said in a statement that it does not disclose its 'security practices and policies in place to protect our worldwide operations, partners, and customers.' It declined to comment on any tracking actions by U.S. authorities. Dell said it is 'not aware of a U.S. Government initiative to place trackers in its product shipments.' Nvidia declined to comment, while AMD did not answer a request for comment. The United States, which dominates the global AI chip supply chain, has sought to limit exports of chips and other technology to China in recent years to restrain its military modernization. It has also put restrictions on the sale of chips to Russia to undercut war efforts against Ukraine. The White House and both houses of Congress have proposed requiring U.S. chip firms to include location verification technology with their chips to prevent them from being diverted to countries where U.S. export regulations restrict sales. China has slammed the U.S. exports curbs as part of a campaign to suppress its rise and criticized the location tracking proposal. Last month, the country's powerful cyberspace regulator summoned Nvidia to a meeting to express its concerns over the risks of its chips containing "backdoors" that would allow remote access or control, which the company has strongly denied. In January, Reuters reported the U.S. had traced organized AI chip smuggling to China via countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and the UAE — but it is unclear if tracking devices were involved. The use of trackers by U.S. law enforcement goes back decades. In 1985, Hughes Aircraft shipped equipment subject to U.S. export controls, according to a court decision reviewed by Reuters. Executing a search warrant, the U.S. Customs Service intercepted the crate at a Houston airport and installed a tracking device, the decision noted. U.S. export enforcement agents sometimes install trackers after getting administrative approval. Other times they get a judge to issue a warrant authorizing use of the device, one source said. With a warrant, it is easier to use the information as evidence in a criminal case. A company may be told about the tracker, if they are not a subject of the investigation, and may consent to the government's installation of the trackers, the source added. But the devices can also be installed without their knowledge. People involved in diverting export-controlled chip and server shipments to China said they were aware of the devices. Two of the supply chain sources, who are China-based resellers of export-controlled chips, said they regularly took care to inspect diverted shipments of AI chip servers for the trackers due to the risks of the devices being embedded. An affidavit filed with a U.S Department of Justice complaint regarding the arrests of two Chinese nationals charged with illegally shipping tens of millions of dollars' worth of AI chips to China earlier this month describes one co-conspirator instructing another to check for trackers on Quanta H200 servers, which contain Nvidia chips. It said the English language text was sent by a co-conspirator, whose name was redacted, to one of the defendants, Yang Shiwei. 'Pay attention to see if there is a tracker on it, you must look for it carefully," said the person, who went on to call the Trump administration by an obscenity. "Who knows what they will do."

New Zealand PM says Netanyahu has ‘lost the plot' after Palestine recognition debate sees MP ejected
New Zealand PM says Netanyahu has ‘lost the plot' after Palestine recognition debate sees MP ejected

The Guardian

timean hour ago

  • The Guardian

New Zealand PM says Netanyahu has ‘lost the plot' after Palestine recognition debate sees MP ejected

As more of its allies make moves to recognise Palestinian statehood, the issue is dominating New Zealand's politics, with a prominent MP ejected from parliament on Tuesday and the prime minister describing his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu as having 'lost the plot'. Speaking to local media on Wednesday, Christopher Luxon said what was happening in Gaza was 'utterly, utterly appalling'. 'I think Netanyahu has gone way too far, I think he has lost the plot and I think what we are seeing overnight, with the attack on Gaza City is utterly, utterly unacceptable.' Luxon said the Israeli prime minister was 'not listening to the international community'. The prime minister's comments are among the strongest words of condemnation he has used against Netanyahu but that will be cold comfort for opposition parties who say the government is lagging behind on recognising Palestinian statehood. On Tuesday, MP Chlöe Swarbrick was ordered to leave parliament during a heated debate, that was called after the centre-right government said it was weighing up its position on whether to recognise a Palestinian state. Close ally Australia on Monday joined Canada, the UK and France in announcing it would recognise a Palestinian state at a UN conference in September. Swarbrick, who is co-leader of the Green party, said New Zealand was a 'laggard' and an 'outlier' and the lack of decision was appalling, before calling on some government members to support a bill to 'sanction Israel for its war crimes'. The bill was proposed by her party in March and is supported by all opposition parties. 'If we find six of 68 government MPs with a spine, we can stand on the right side of history,' said Swarbrick. Speaker Gerry Brownlee said that statement was 'completely unacceptable' and that she had to withdraw it and apologise. When she refused, Swarbrick was ordered to leave parliament. Brownlee later clarified Swarbrick could return on Wednesday but if she still refused to apologise she would again be removed from parliament. Luxon's government has said it would make a decision in September about whether it would recognise Palestine as a state. Netanyahu has been strongly critical of growing international moves to recognise a Palestinian state. 'To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that, fall right into it,' he said earlier this week. 'This canard is disappointing, and I think it's actually shameful. But it's not going to change our position.' Netanyahu went on to claim Israel was 'actually applying force judiciously, and they know it'. Foreign minister Winston Peters told parliament that over the next month the government would gather information and talk to partners, which would inform cabinet's decision. 'We'll be weighing this decision carefully rather than rushing to judgment,' Peters said. Along with the Green party, opposition parties Labour and Te Pati Māori support recognition of a Palestinian state. Labour parliamentarian Peeni Henare said New Zealand had a history of standing strong on its principles and values and in this case 'was being left behind'.

Stablecoins fuel liquidity, not yet money
Stablecoins fuel liquidity, not yet money

Reuters

time2 hours ago

  • Reuters

Stablecoins fuel liquidity, not yet money

LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Treasury market bulwark or catalyst for a liquidity bubble? No one's sure whether the now government-blessed "stablecoin" explosion will juice or destabilise the economy. When Congress passed the so-called "Genius Act" on stablecoin legislation last month with bipartisan support, it triggered another wave of speculation about just how much havoc these dollar-pegged crypto tokens might wreak, including fears of fraud, tax evasion and instability. Those pushing back on the crypto-Cassandras have put forward much more benign forecasts, arguing that stablecoins, given their limited retail use, will remain firmly encased in the esoteric financial world, muffling any potential negative impact on the wider economy. But these instruments are connected with arguably the most important part of the financial system: the U.S. Treasury market. Key to the new legislation is a requirement that stablecoins - so far mostly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens - are fully backed by liquid assets such as cash or short-term Treasury bills. Issuers are also required to disclose the composition of those reserves monthly. And with a market cap in excess of $250 billion that could explode to some $2 trillion within three years based on some estimates, stablecoins have the potential to pack a serious systemic punch. Perhaps ironically, the link to Treasuries actually offers one of the more positive takes on the stablecoin phenomenon. Some of its proponents argue that it will generate commensurate demand for U.S. Treasury bills as stablecoins expand and allow the U.S. government to more easily front-load its rising new debt issuance, shortening the maturity profile of its debt. In doing so, it could leave long-term debt yields relatively undisturbed even as U.S. deficits expand. That seems like a neat twist. As it stands, the amount of bills outstanding totals about $6 trillion, just over a fifth of outstanding Treasury debt and still below historic averages as a share of the overall market. All else equal, if both stablecoin demand and bill issuance were to expand by $1 trillion over the next three years, then the bill share of the Treasury market would only rise back to where it was about 20 years ago - an outcome that seems fairly unexceptional. There's a catch though. A large chunk of the cash going to stablecoins is merely redirected from elsewhere, such as bank deposits or money market funds already directly or indirectly underpinning Treasury debt. Stablecoins' effect on the Treasury market, therefore, may be far more limited than first thought. Harder to parse is the degree to which mushrooming stablecoins might impact liquidity in the broader financial system. As analysts at Cross Border Capital point out, creating a token that can be spent instantly like a banknote but is backed by securities with average maturities of several months or more could, theoretically, have a significant impact on market liquidity. In effect, the stablecoin transforms a basket of Treasury bills and notes into an instantaneous asset with zero duration. Two big offsetting features apply, however. The lack of retail use for them means the impact on real-world liquidity or consumer prices may be limited and the fast-money liquidity boost is left within the financial world - most clearly in crypto markets themselves and wider asset prices at the margins. Dangerous bubbles can blow here of course, but at least participants are there at their own risk. The second point is that even though stablecoins might add liquidity, they, unlike banks, don't actually expand the money supply via lending and credit creation. And if the money flowing to them is merely coming from bank deposits anyway, then there's a risk that the expansion of stablecoins could actually reduce credit expansion at banks and weigh on the velocity of money in the economy at large. "The GENIUS Act is unlikely to unleash a 1970s-style credit boom, but it does signal a shift in who controls the supply of money from banks to a more explicit public-private hybrid system," the Cross Border report concluded. "Most action will be in financial markets, not in the high street." Ardent critics of stablecoins fear this risks turning into a government-sanctioned return to privately issued money that could be as prone to corruption, fraud, panics and instability as when it was last in vogue in the 19th century. And crucially, disintermediation of the regular banking system could in time undermine the Federal Reserve's ability to regulate liquidity and money in the wider economy. But as long as this phenomenon remains largely the preserve of the esoteric financial world, those thornier issues remain largely theoretical. The size and growth of this universe is less the concern than its integration with the real world. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters -- Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn. Plus, sign up for my weekday newsletter, Morning Bid U.S.

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