GOP tax bill would ease regulations on gun silencers and some rifles and shotguns
WASHINGTON — The massive tax and spending cuts package that President Donald Trump wants on his desk by July 4 would loosen regulations on gun silencers and certain types of rifles and shotguns, advancing a longtime priority of the gun industry as Republican leaders in the House and Senate try to win enough votes to pass the bill.
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San Francisco Chronicle
15 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
NATO leaders are set to agree a historic defense spending pledge, but the hike won't apply to all
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — NATO leaders are expected to agree this week that member countries should spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense, except the new and much vaunted investment pledge will not apply to all of them. Spain has reached a deal with NATO to be excluded from the 5% of GDP spending target, while President Donald Trump said the figure shouldn't apply to the United States, only its allies. In announcing Spain's decision Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the spending pledge language in NATO's final summit communique — a one-page text of perhaps half a dozen paragraphs — would no longer refer to 'all allies.' It raises questions about what demands could be insisted on from other members of the alliance like Belgium, Canada, France and Italy that also would struggle to hike security spending by billions of dollars. On Friday, Trump insisted the U.S. has carried its allies for years and now they must step up. 'I don't think we should, but I think they should,' he said. 'NATO is going to have to deal with Spain.' Trump also branded Canada 'a low payer.' NATO's new spending goals The 5% goal is made up of two parts. The allies would agree to hike pure defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, up from the current target of at least 2%, which 22 of the 32 countries have achieved. Money spent to arm Ukraine also would count. A further 1.5% would include upgrading roads, bridges, ports and airfields so armies can better deploy, establishing measures to counter cyber and hybrid attacks and preparing societies for future conflict. The second spending basket is easy for most nations, including Spain. Much can be included. But the 3.5% on core spending is a massive challenge. Last year, Spain spent 1.28% of GDP on its military budget, according to NATO estimates, making it the alliance's lowest spender. Sánchez said Spain would be able to respect its commitments to NATO by spending 2.1% of GDP on defense needs. Spain also is among Europe's smallest suppliers of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute, which tracks such support. It's estimated to have sent about 800,000 euros ($920,000) worth of military aid since Russia invaded in 2022. Beyond Spain's economic challenges, Sánchez has other problems. He relies on small parties to govern and corruption scandals have ensnared his inner circle and family members. He is under growing pressure to call an early election. Why the spending increase is needed There are solid reasons for ramping up spending. The Europeans believe Russia's war on Ukraine poses an existential threat to them. Moscow has been blamed for a major rise in sabotage, cyberattacks and GPS jamming incidents. European leaders are girding their citizens for the possibility of more. The alliance's plans for defending Europe and North America against a Russian attack require investments of at least 3%, NATO experts have said. All 32 allies have endorsed these. Each country has been assigned 'capability targets' to play its part. Spanish Foreign Minister José Albares said Monday that 'the debate must be not a raw percentage but around capabilities.' He said Spain 'can reach the capabilities that have been fixed by the organization with 2.1%.' Countries much closer to Russia, Belarus and Ukraine all have agreed to reach the target, as well as nearby Germany, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, which is hosting the two-day summit starting Tuesday. The Netherlands estimates NATO's defense plans would force it to dedicate at least 3.5% to core defense spending. That means finding an additional 16 billion to 19 billion euros ($18 billion to $22 billion). Setting a deadline It's not enough to agree to spend more money. Many allies haven't yet hit an earlier 2% target that they agreed in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. So an incentive is required. The date of 2032 has been floated as a deadline. That is far shorter than previous NATO targets, but military planners estimate Russian forces could be capable of launching an attack on an ally within five to 10 years. The U.S. insists it cannot be an open-ended pledge and a decade is too long. Still, Italy says it wants 10 years to hit the 5% target. The possibility of stretching that period to 2035 also has been on the table for debate among NATO envoys. An official review of progress could also be conducted in 2029, NATO diplomats have said. ___ Suman Naishadham in Madrid contributed to this report.
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Who can vote in Broome County primary election? When, where polls are open
Broome County Republicans will have the chance to vote to appoint five nominees for local government positions in late June. This year, only Republican primary elections will take place in Broome County, and only registered Republican voters in designated towns are eligible to vote, with no other parties holding primary elections within Broome County. Voters will have the chance to decide their party's nominee for Broome County clerk, Windsor town council member, Windsor town justice and two Johnson City trustees. The winners of each primary race will become the Republican nominees in the general election in November. Here is everything you need to know about how to vote on Primary Election Day. More: Here are the Broome County primary candidates on the ballot June 24 Voting will take place on Tuesday, June 24, when polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Primary election poll sites in Broome County include: Holy Spirit Byzantine Catholic Church Recreation Center, 358 Clinton St., Binghamton. Broome County Public Library Decker Room, 185 Court St., Binghamton. American Legion Post 1645, 177 Robinson St., Binghamton. St. Patrick's Parish Center Lobby, 58 Oak St., Binghamton. Unitarian Universalist Church of Binghamton, 183 Riverside Drive, Binghamton. St. John & St. Andrew Church Parish, 1263 Vestal Ave., Binghamton. Conklin Ave First Baptist Church, 91 Baldwin St., Binghamton. Barker Town Office Building, 151 Hyde St., Barker. Binghamton Town Hall, 279 Upper Park Ave, Binghamton. Chenango Fire Station #1, 86 Castle Creek Road, Chenango. Chenango Bridge First United Methodist, lower rear entrance, 740 River Road, Chenango. Colesville Town Hall, 780 Welton St., Colesville. Floyd Maines Community Center, 942 Conklin Road, Conklin. Cornell Cooperative Extension Taste NY Building, 840 Upper Front St., Dickinson. Fenton Town Hall, 44 Park St., Fenton. Kirkwood Town Hall, 70 Crescent Drive, Kirkwood. Lisle Fire Station #1, 9090 state Route 79, Lisle. Most Holy Rosary Church, 2596 Main St., Maine. Glen Aubrey Fire Company, 32 Octagon St., Nanticoke. Sanford Town Hall, 91 Second St., Sanford. Triangle Town Hall, 2612 Liberty St., Triangle. Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 594 Kent St., Windsor. George F. Johnson Memorial Library, 1001 Park St., Endicott. St. Anthony of Padua Church, 300 Odell Ave., Endicott. Calvary Community Wesleyan Church, 780 Harry L Drive, Johnson City. Sacred Heart Ukrainian Catholic Church, 230 Ukrainian Hill Road, Johnson City. Primitive Methodist Church, 4 Ackley Ave., Johnson City. West Corners Fire Station, 500 Day Hollow Road, Endicott. Union Center Fire Station #1, 1811 state Route 26, Union Center. Our Savior Lutheran Church, 731 Hooper Road, Endwell. Endwell United Methodist Church, 3301 Watson Blvd., Endwell. Endwell Fire Station #1, 3508 Country Club Road, Endwell. Vestal Town Hall, board room, 605 Vestal Parkway West, Vestal. Vestal Public Library, 320 Vestal Parkway East, Vestal. Vestal Fire Station #4, 118 S Jensen Road, Vestal. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 305 Murray Hill Road, Vestal. Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 801 Main St., Vestal. Vestal Fire Station #2, 2513 state Route 26 South, Vestal Center. Find your election district online at This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Broome County Primary Election voter guide: When, where to vote
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Should You Buy Gold After Its 60% Increase in Value? Here's What Warren Buffett Has to Say About It.
The value of gold has soared more than 60% since the start of 2024, outpacing the S&P 500. With a weakening dollar and shaky political environment, gold still looks appealing at this price. Buffett and Munger suggest an even better asset for capital preservation. 10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway › The value of gold has increased faster than both stocks and bonds since the start of 2024 as growing uncertainty has led investors to seek safe havens. Despite the strong performance of the asset, many still feel it could be a great investment today, considering the world's political environment looks just as shaky as ever. But if you ask Warren Buffett if you should invest in gold, the answer is a clear and resounding "No." Analysts at J.P. Morgan disagree. Despite gold climbing about 60% in the last 18 months, they see the precious metal rising another 25% in value through the end of 2026, reaching $4,250 per ounce. But over the long run, there are some very good reasons why the asset will likely underperform stocks. Here's what Buffett thinks about gold, and how long-term investors can easily outperform it. The investment case for gold is that it's a hedge against inflation. If the dollar declines in value (as it has in recent months) the value of gold will increase relative to the dollar. That's because gold is rare. While gold mining companies are constantly digging it out of the ground, the process isn't cheap or easy. Buffett suggests there are much better ways to maintain the value of your dollars. "Gold would be way down on my list as a store of value," he told investors at Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) 2005 annual shareholder meeting. "I would much prefer owning a hundred acres of land here in Nebraska, or an apartment house, or an index fund." Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway's longtime vice chairman and Buffett's friend, was much more blunt. "Gold is a dumb investment," he told the audience. Both of their points were that there are better opportunities, specifically assets that they would call "productive." That is, they have some level of utility beyond looking shiny, being highly conductive, and never corroding (which can be great for jewelry and electronics, but not much else). An ounce of gold will still be an ounce of gold in 100 years. An acre of farmland will still be an acre of land in 100 years. The difference, Buffett says, is that you got to use the land to grow crops and generate income during those 100 years while your ounce of gold probably just sat in a safe somewhere. A good business, like a farm, can protect against inflation because the value of what it produces won't change substantially. As such, in times of inflation, the price of its produce will increase, and the value of the asset will increase as well. Better yet, if you take the income from the asset and reinvest it in expanding (buying more farmland, adding another apartment, finding a new business to start or invest in), you can grow your wealth dramatically. Berkshire Hathaway itself may be the ultimate example. When Buffett took over Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, gold was worth about $35 per ounce. It's increased nearly 100-fold in the 60 years since. Berkshire Hathaway, on the other hand, is up about 58,664-fold. Buffett's advice for average investors is straightforward and simple. The best investment for the average individual is an index fund like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). While Buffett points out examples like farmland or apartments, those investments require management to be truly productive. He personally prefers to invest in individual companies. But those require attention as well, even if every publicly traded company has a board of directors and management in place already. If you want returns better than the market average, you'll have to do a lot of work. Even then, the best and brightest minds on Wall Street still struggle most of the time. So, for most people, a passive investment style where you simply buy and hold an index fund works best. A person who consistently adds money saved from their earnings to an index fund portfolio that produces average returns can end up with a level of wealth that's well above average. There's no need to diversify with other asset classes for long-term investors who can weather the ups and downs of the stock market. Even if you agree with J.P. Morgan's analysts that gold will continue to run higher through the end of next year, it's highly unlikely an unproductive asset outperforms a portfolio of productive assets over the long run. Those looking to tame the volatility of stocks may do better with government bonds. Buffett certainly thinks it's a better place to park cash than gold while he looks for Berkshire's next big stock purchase. Before you buy stock in Berkshire Hathaway, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Berkshire Hathaway wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $664,089!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $881,731!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Adam Levy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Should You Buy Gold After Its 60% Increase in Value? Here's What Warren Buffett Has to Say About It. was originally published by The Motley Fool
