U.S. to pay nearly $5 million to family of Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Starmer to raise Gaza ceasefire and UK steel tariffs in Trump meeting
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to raise the prospect of reviving ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas and the future of tariffs on British steel as he meets Donald Trump in Scotland. The Prime Minister will travel to Ayrshire, where the US president is staying at his Turnberry golf resort, for wide-ranging discussions on trade and the Middle East as international alarm grows over starvation in Gaza. The two leaders have built a rapport on the world stage despite their differing political backgrounds, with Mr Trump praising Sir Keir for doing a 'very good job' in office ahead of their talks on Monday. But humanitarian conditions in Gaza and uncertainty over US import taxes on key British goods in America threaten to complicate their bilateral meeting. Peace talks in the Middle East came to a standstill last week after Washington and Israel recalled negotiating teams from Qatar, with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff blaming Hamas for a 'lack of desire' to reach an agreement. Since then, Israel has promised military pauses in three populated areas of Gaza to allow designated UN convoys of aid to reach desperate Palestinians. But the UK, which is joining efforts to airdrop aid into the enclave and evacuate children in need of medical assistance, has said that access to supplies must be 'urgently' widened. In his talks with Mr Trump, Sir Keir will 'welcome the President's administration working with partners in Qatar and Egypt to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza', Number 10 said. 'He will discuss further with him what more can be done to secure the ceasefire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long.' The leaders will also talk 'one-on-one about advancing implementation of the landmark Economic Prosperity Deal so that Brits and Americans can benefit from boosted trade links between their two countries', it said. The agreement signed at the G7 summit last month slashed trade barriers on goods from both countries. But tariffs for the steel industry, which is of key economic importance to the UK, were left to stand at 25% rather than falling to zero as originally agreed. Concerns had previously been raised that the sector could face a levy of up to 50% – the US's global rate – unless a further agreement was made by July 9, when Mr Trump said he would start implementing import taxes on America's trading partners. But that deadline has been and gone without any concrete update on the status of UK steel. Downing Street said that both sides are working 'at pace' to 'go further to deliver benefits to working people on both sides of the Atlantic' and to give UK industry 'the security it needs'. The two leaders are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine, which Number 10 said would include 'applying pressure' on Vladimir Putin to end the invasion, before travelling on together for a private engagement in Aberdeen. It comes after Mr Trump announced he had agreed 'the biggest deal ever made' between the US and the European Union after meeting Ursula von der Leyen for high-stakes talks at Turnberry on Sunday. After a day playing golf, the US leader met the President of the EU Commission to hammer out the broad terms of an agreement that will subject the bloc to 15% tariffs on most of its goods entering America. This is lower than a 30% levy previously threatened by the US president. The agreement will include 'zero for zero' tariffs on a number of products including aircraft, some agricultural goods and certain chemicals, as well as EU purchases of US energy worth 750 billion dollars (£558 billion) over three years. Speaking to journalists on Sunday about his meeting with Sir Keir, Mr Trump said: 'We're meeting about a lot of things. We have our trade deal and it's been a great deal. 'It's good for us. It's good for them and good for us. I think the UK is very happy, they've been trying for 12 years to get it and they got it, and it's a great trade deal for both, works out very well. 'We'll be discussing that. I think we're going to be discussing a lot about Israel. 'They're very much involved in terms of wanting something to happen. 'He's doing a very good job, by the way.' Mr Trump's private trip to the UK comes ahead of a planned state visit in September.
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New Hampshire Secretary of State details answers to Trump voter registration inquiry
New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan on Friday released an eight-page letter with detailed responses to the Trump administration's 15 questions about the state's voter registration process, including why the state rejected the request to disclose the statewide voter list. 'New Hampshire law authorizes the Secretary of State to release the statewide voter registration list in limited circumstances not applicable here,' Scanlan wrote. The Trump administration is seeking millions of names from targeted states ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Scanlan explained that state law permits his office to, 'upon request, provide a political party, political committee, or candidate for county, state, or federal office, 'a list of the name, domicile address, mailing address, town or city, voter history, and party affiliation, if any, of every registered voter in the state.'' Scanlan told Trump administration officials they were free to go community by community to get voter lists from each clerk or supervisors of the checklist, and he shared a website link to city and town clerk contacts. Before answering the Trump administration's questions, Scanlan provided three paragraphs of 'prefatory remarks' as a primer on what information he could or couldn't share. 'Regardless of the fact that election systems and assets are critical infrastructure, divulging any cybersecurity information could harm the integrity of the systems. Therefore, our responses to questions regarding database infrastructure may be limited depending on the nature of the question,' Scanlan wrote. Scanlan's letter also included a sample voter registration form and Memorandum of Understanding for Help America Vote Act implementation and enhanced data exchange for database accuracy. Trump's inquiry Questions from the Trump administration ranged from basic information for how voter registration works in New Hampshire to specific ways in which the information is confirmed, shared and managed. Here are some examples of the questions: * Describe how the statewide voter registration list is coordinated with the databases of other state agencies. And provide the name of each state database used for coordination and describe the procedures used for the coordination as well as how often the databases are coordinated with the statewide voter registration list. * Describe the process by which registrants who are ineligible to vote due to non-citizenship are identified and removed from the statewide voter registration list. * Describe the state's requirement for an individual to vote if the individual registered to vote by mail and has not previously voted in an election for federal office in the state. * Describe the verification process that election officials perform to verify the required information supplied by the registrant. And describe what happens to the registration application if the information cannot be verified. * Describe the process by which deceased registrants are identified and removed from the statewide voter registration list. Other questions asked for how the state handles voters convicted of a felony, duplicate voter registrations, security measures and how the state removes registered voters who have moved to another state. Scanlan's answers The Secretary of State's Office outlined the step-by-step processes that are used in each aspect of voter registration, providing detail at the state level all the way down to how communities manage their checklists. In terms of New Hampshire's citizen requirement, he described the new law that went into effect this year. 'The statute lays out several types of acceptable documents to prove citizenship: 'the applicant's birth certificate, passport, naturalization papers if the applicant is a naturalized citizen, or any other reasonable documentation which indicates the applicant is a United States citizen,'' Scanlan wrote. For voters who have died, Scanlan described how the communities across the state remove voters from the rolls if they died here or elsewhere. The process involves comparing official death records and how municipal clerks receive official notice of a voter's death and then remove the names locally. Most of Scanlan's answers read like a textbook or quoted New Hampshire law directly. He provided each specific statute number, leaving it up to federal officials to read further on their own. He also provided contact information for the Division of Motor Vehicles and website links for further information. To read Scanlan's letter, visit dpierce@
Forbes
3 minutes ago
- Forbes
CISA Cannot Drift: Will Sean Plankey Be The Captain To Lock The Wheel?
UNITED STATES - JULY 24: Sean Plankey, nominee to be director of the Cybersecurity and ... More Infrastructure Security Agency, testifies during his Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Thursday, July 24, 2025. America's top cyber defense agency is flying without a captain and time is running out. On July 24 President Trump's nominee to lead the agency, Sean Plankey, appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in a well-received confirmation hearing. After months of delays, paperwork issues and a procedural hold by Sen. Ron Wyden the panel appears ready to advance his nomination to the full Senate. Plankey has in recent months been working as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's senior adviser overseeing the Coast Guard, where he also served for years including as a cyber leader. Plankey brought a steady hand and deep operational experience to the confirmation hearing. He cited the significant Coast Guard funding increase in the latest Congressional budget as proof of Noem's willingness to go to bat for cyber and infrastructure security. The Clock Is Ticking On CISA Leadership The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is the nation's digital sentry. It guards civilian federal networks, supports the defense industrial base and shares threat intelligence with private companies that operate essential systems. Yet the agency has been operating with significantly reduced senior leadership and dealing with budget pressures. Since the departure of former CISA Director Jen Easterly earlier this year the agency has lacked steady leadership. Easterly, nominated by President Biden, advanced his administration's agenda by adding misinformation and election security to the CISA mandate. Every week without a confirmed director represents opportunity for adversaries like China and Russia as well as criminal syndicates that constantly probe for vulnerabilities. House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Garbarino warned that every minute without CISA's top leadership benefits nation state actors like Salt Typhoon. In today's threat environment leadership vacuums translate directly into risk. Plankey Brings A Mission First Reset Sean Plankey has been serving as senior adviser for the U.S. Coast Guard to Homeland Security ... More Secretary Kristi Noem. A cyber veteran who served on the National Security Council and as the Department of Energy's most senior cybersecurity official in the first Trump administration, Plankey brings a rare combination of federal experience and operational credibility. Plankey told senators that he would refocus CISA on its congressional mandate which means defending federal systems critical infrastructure and supporting states. He drew a clear line on one of the most politically charged questions facing the agency: content moderation. 'CISA will not do any of that work,' Plankey said when asked about speech policing. His position reflects an effort to keep CISA grounded in its core mission rather than drifting into broader debates over online content. When pressed on election disputes Plankey stayed neutral. He stated simply that elections are run by the states and CISA's role is to provide support not to referee politics. He also signaled strong support for reauthorization of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, a foundational law that enables threat intelligence sharing between private companies and government. Why Narrowing The Mandate Matters Over the years CISA's mission has grown into areas like disinformation and pandemic messaging. That expansion diluted focus and triggered political backlash. Plankey and his supporters in Congress are signaling that it is time to strip away distractions and return to core tasks. This approach does not weaken cyber defense. It strengthens it. When agencies chase every new issue, specially politicized ones, they risk losing sight of the fundamentals. With CISA's responsibilities increasingly tied to civilian infrastructure from pipelines to hospitals clear priorities are essential. Plankey also highlighted two critical programs that expire on September 30. Plankey signaled he is prepared to fight for both programs and stated that he knows how to go to Secretary Noem to request more funding if needed. Congress will need to deliver as well. Civilian Infrastructure Is Now Mission Critical Much of the responsibility for cyber defense is shifting to the networks, utilities and companies that power daily life. The private sector now sits on the front lines and its actions will determine how resilient the nation is in the face of escalating cyber threats. Standards like the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework and modern supply chain security protocols are no longer optional checklists. They are becoming the foundation of national defense. Critical infrastructure operators and the defense industrial base must go beyond compliance and embed these standards into everyday operations. That means segmenting networks, conducting regular threat hunting, hardening endpoints and practicing incident response as rigorously as fire drills. If state and local systems are not hardened, if telecom carriers are not meeting baseline expectations, if airlines, airports, railways, shipping ports, financial institutions and hospitals are not securing critical systems then the entire security structure is at risk. Every weak link becomes an opening for adversaries. Every delay in upgrading defenses becomes a window for attackers. The nation's ability to defend itself now depends as much on the vigilance of power companies, water authorities, transportation hubs, manufacturers, defense suppliers, banks and healthcare networks as it does on any federal agency. This means investing in modern security architectures, implementing continuous monitoring and ensuring that every sector has clear response plans that are tested and updated. Without that collective effort, the country's cyber defense will always be one breach away from failure. CISA Cannot Remain Leaderless. The mission is too important. Sean Plankey brings the right pedigree, a Coast Guard foundation in operational security, a focused mission plan and the credibility to guide the agency forward. He has received broad bipartisan and cybersecurity endorsements. Now is the time to set aside political posturing and focus on the shared goal of securing the nation's digital front lines. The damage from delaying his confirmation is greater than the debate surrounding it. Other agencies can address the issues where consensus does not exist. The hope is that the Senate would move swiftly to confirm him. Every day without leadership at CISA is a day when adversaries gain ground, vulnerabilities deepen and the nation's critical systems face greater risk. The threats are real and accelerating. The country cannot afford hesitation when decisive action is required.
