Elon Musk renews his criticism of Trump's big bill as it faces a key Senate vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk on Saturday doubled down on his distaste for President Donald Trump's sprawling tax and spending cuts bill, arguing the legislation that Republican senators are scrambling to pass would kill jobs and bog down burgeoning industries.
'The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,' Musk wrote on X on Saturday as the Senate was scheduled to call a vote to open debate on the nearly 1,000-page bill. 'It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.'
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, whose birthday is also Saturday, later posted that the bill would be 'political suicide for the Republican Party.'
The criticisms reopen a recent fiery conflict between the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency and the administration he recently left. They also represent yet another headache for Republican Senate leaders who have spent the weekend working overtime to get the legislation through their chamber so it can pass by Trump's Fourth of July deadline.
Musk has previously made his opinions about Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' clear. Days after he left the federal government last month with a laudatory celebration in the Oval Office, he blasted the bill as 'pork-filled' and a 'disgusting abomination.'
'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,' he wrote on X earlier this month. In another post, the wealthy GOP donor who had recently forecasted that he'd step back from political donations threatened to fire lawmakers who 'betrayed the American people.'
When Trump clapped back to say he was disappointed with Musk, back-and-forth fighting erupted and quickly escalated. Musk suggested without evidence that Trump, who spent the first part of the year as one of his closest allies, was mentioned in files related to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
Musk ultimately tried to make nice with the administration, saying he regretted some of his posts that 'went too far.' Trump responded in kind in an interview with The New York Post, saying, 'Things like that happen. I don't blame him for anything.'
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It's unclear how Musk's latest broadsides will influence the fragile peace he and the president had enjoyed in recent weeks. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk has spent recent weeks focused on his businesses, and his political influence has waned since he left the administration. Still, the wealthy businessman poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump's campaign in 2024, demonstrating the impact his money can have if he's passionate enough about an issue or candidate to restart his political spending.
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Japan Forward
10 minutes ago
- Japan Forward
JINF Report: China and Russia's Strategic Merger
As geopolitical tensions escalate in multiple theaters, China and Russia continue to strengthen their partnership in ways that contest the existing international norm. A seminar hosted on June 27 by the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals (JINF) shed light on how the two authoritarian powers are tightening their strategic alignment, both in cyberspace and in conventional military measures. Jun Osawa, a senior fellow at the Nakasone Peace Institute (NPI), spoke on the evolving sophistication of China's cognitive warfare capabilities. "Whereas Beijing's central propaganda machine once fed specific narratives that spread through state media and were later amplified by bloggers and influencers on social media, the method is now becoming more Russian-like," Osawa said. One example is the spread of conspiracy theories surrounding the August 2023 wildfires in Hawaii. A Chinese disinformation operation known as Storm-1376 falsely claimed, using AI-generated images, that the United States government had started the fires using an energy weapon. A May 2023 video of a transformer explosion in Chile was falsely repurposed to depict an explosion preceding the wildfires in Maui. Unlike earlier top-down propaganda efforts, this campaign was decentralized. Osawa likened it to Russia's favorite playbook: exploiting societal fault lines with misinformation and synthetic media to stir social unrest. Storm-1376, reportedly linked to China's Ministry of Public Security, has for years promoted content aimed at discrediting the American democracy and political system. In April 2023, the US Department of Justice filed charges against 34 Chinese officials implicated in related influence campaigns. Beijing's growing cyber infiltration activities are also targeting Japan. Citing a February 2024 report by Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, Osawa described a China-based network of at least 123 fake news websites posing as local outlets in 30 countries. These sites blend genuine news from other platforms and fabricated articles to distort information ecosystems and advance specific agendas. Homepage of a news site flagged by Citizen Lab as likely operated by Chinese bots and designed to mimic a legitimate local news outlet. In Japan, domains like masquerade as local news outlets, reprinting authentic content while slipping in pro-Beijing fake stories. Since April 2024, websites imitating major Japanese news brands such as Sankei Weekly and Yomiuri Daily have appeared to enhance their credibility. "While the viewership of these sites is still low, like Russia, the purpose is to spread the news on social media as if it's from a neutral and credible source," Osawa said. There are also signs of disinformation being used as a geopolitical lever. On June 1, a prominent Chinese military blogger shared an article that falsely attributed a provocative quote to a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Commander. In the article, Commander Hiroshi Ito is falsely cited as saying, "If necessary, we will cooperate with Ukraine to launch attacks from both sea and land and recapture the four islands." The Four Islands refer to the Northern Territories, a chain located just off the northeast coast of Hokkaido, which have long been in dispute between Japan and Russia. The four disputed islands in the Northern Territories are Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai. (©Public Domain) The post, which garnered a whopping 168 million views, appeared just one day after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's widow, Akie Abe, met with Vladimir Putin. "Given that a photo of Putin and Akie was placed at the bottom of the news site, it was clearly intended to drive a wedge between Japan and Russia," the NPI researcher said. 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Turning from cyber to military cooperation, JINF researcher Maki Nakagawa pointed out that since launching joint military exercises in 2012, the scope and intensity of Sino-Russian drills have significantly expanded. In July 2024, for instance, four Chinese naval vessels transited Japan's Soya and Tsugaru Straits en route to the Bering Sea, waters within the US Exclusive Economic Zone. China's navy presence in US territorial waters dates back to 2015, when its vessels entered for the first time following a joint exercise with Russia. US and Canadian fighter jets intercept Chinese H-6 bombers near Alaska on July 24, 2024. (©NORAD) Joint air patrols are also broadening their scope. In that same month, China's H-6K bomber flew alongside a Russian bomber into Alaska's Air Defense Identification Zone. Before the flight, Nakagawa noted that the Chinese aircraft stopped at Anadyr airport in Russia's Far East, reflecting growing logistical interoperability. 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(©Japan Coast Guard) Compounding these complexities is "China's enhanced nuclear deterrent, backed by its advancing triad capabilities and ballistic missile early warning system," the JINF researcher added. The implication for Taiwan is also significant. While Beijing is unlikely to seek direct Russian military intervention, Nakagawa said it would expect intelligence sharing, anti-access and area denial A2/AD support, nuclear deterrence, and weapons transfers in the event of a potential Cross-Strait conflict. By observing the real-world use of drones and advanced weaponry in the war in Ukraine, China is seeking to draw lessons from its authoritarian ally across a broad spectrum of domains, extending beyond cyber operations. Author: Kenji Yoshida
Canada News.Net
39 minutes ago
- Canada News.Net
International Year of Glaciers' Preservation: save the glaciers!
The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation to highlight the importance of glaciers and ensure that those relying on them, and those affected by cryospheric (1) processes, receive the necessary hydrological, meteorological, and climate services. Glaciers are crucial for regulating the global climate and providing freshwater, essential for billions of people. However, due to climate change, driven mainly by human activities since the 1800s, these vital resources are rapidly melting. The resolution calls on the international community to resolve conflicts through inclusive dialogue and negotiation in order to ensure the strengthening of peace and trust in relations between UN member states as a value that promotes sustainable development, peace and security, and human rights. 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Glaciers are a source of life, providing freshwater to people, animals and plants alike. Okjkull (Icelandic pronunciation: [kjktl], Ok glacier) was a glacier in western Iceland on top of the shield volcano Ok.[2] Ok is located north-east of Reykjavik. The glacier was declared dead in 2014 by glaciologist Oddur Sigursson due to its loss of thickness. The plaque was installed on August 18, 2019,[5] with an inscription written by Andri Snr Magnason, titled A letter to the future, in Icelandic and English. The English version reads: Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it. Impact Glaciers and ice caps are critical for sustaining ecosystems and human livelihoods. They provide essential meltwater runoff during dry seasons, supporting drinking water, agriculture, industry, and clean energy production, making these frozen reservoirs vital for global water resources. Climate and cryosphere changes, however, are disrupting the water cycle, altering the amount and timing of glacier melt, causing knock-on impacts on water resource availability while also contributing to sea-level rise. As glaciers continue to shrink and snow cover diminishes, less water will be available for communities, particularly in seasonally dry regions. Increased competition for water resources is expected, with regions like China, India, and the Andes among the most vulnerable. Glaciers that have surpassed their "Peak Water" point-the stage at which meltwater runoff reaches its maximum-will gradually provide decreasing contributions to downstream water supplies, intensifying challenges for water security. Over the past century, despite representing only 0.5% of global land surface area, glaciers have contributed more to sea-level rise than the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Between 2000 and 2023, glaciers are estimated to have lost an average mass of approximately 273 billion tonnes per year, which is equivalent to approximately 0.75 mm per year of global sea-level rise (The GlaMBIE Team, 2025). The continuous retreat of glaciers signals the growing impacts of global warming and creates new hazards while intensifying existing ones. For example, melting glaciers are increasing the risk of hazards such as glacier lake outburst floods, ice avalanches and glacial debris flows, posing dangers to local and downstream communities. However, risk assessments are often not possible due to an absence of data (IPCC, 2019). Therefore, increased observation of the cryosphere is critical for effectively forecasting the impacts of cryosphere-related hazards. ___________________________________________ (1) Cryospheric: The cryosphere is an umbrella term for those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form. This includes sea ice, ice on lakes or rivers, snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost).
Canada Standard
an hour ago
- Canada Standard
International Year of Glaciers' Preservation: save the glaciers!
The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation to highlight the importance of glaciers and ensure that those relying on them, and those affected by cryospheric (1) processes, receive the necessary hydrological, meteorological, and climate services. Glaciers are crucial for regulating the global climate and providing freshwater, essential for billions of people. However, due to climate change, driven mainly by human activities since the 1800s, these vital resources are rapidly melting. The resolution calls on the international community to resolve conflicts through inclusive dialogue and negotiation in order to ensure the strengthening of peace and trust in relations between UN member states as a value that promotes sustainable development, peace and security, and human rights. Contrary to calls on the international community to resolve conflicts through inclusive dialogue and negotiation, Canada has decided to militarize the Arctic, citing the war in Ukraine as a major factor. In fact, much of the Arctic Circle is located in Russia, Canada, and Greenland. Last year the Canadian government affirmed that NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) will ensure Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic. However, NORAD, which is led by the United States and headquartered in Colorado Springs, is in power, while NATO is headquartered in Brussels. This decision by the federal government gives disproportionate control over the Canadian Arctic and threatens Inuit sovereignty and the balance of the already fragile Arctic ecosystem. The proposed militarization of the Canadian Arctic threatens to further weaken the ecosystem, which is being hit hard by climate change and melting ice. Dramatic changes in the Arctic, including an increase in wildfires, the greening of the Tundra and an increase in winter precipitation, are documented in the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2024 Arctic Report Card. The report notes a growing scientific consensus that melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, among other factors, may be slowing important ocean currents at both poles, with potentially dire consequences for a much colder northern Europe) and greater sea-level rise along the U.S. East Coast. Unfortunately, the Trump administration's plan to dismantle the nation's atmospheric research programs and could set U.S. forecasting back to dark age, warns hurricane, weather and ocean scientists. We cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice, is one of the bottom lines of the report from the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, which includes scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and WMO's Global Cryosphere Watch network. These new findings corroborate recent WMO State of the Global Climate and State of Global Water Resources reports which also have also highlighted the alarming melting affecting the cryosphere. A glacier is a large accumulation of mainly ice and snow, that originates on land and flows slowly through the influence of its own weight. Glaciers are found on every continent. They exist in many mountain regions and around the edges of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. There are more than 200 000 glaciers in the world, covering an area of around 700 000 km2 (RGI, 2023). Glaciers are considered as important water towers, storing about 158 000 km3 of freshwater (Farinotti et al., 2019). Glaciers are a source of life, providing freshwater to people, animals and plants alike. Okjkull (Icelandic pronunciation: [kjktl], Ok glacier) was a glacier in western Iceland on top of the shield volcano Ok.[2] Ok is located north-east of Reykjavik. The glacier was declared dead in 2014 by glaciologist Oddur Sigursson due to its loss of thickness. The plaque was installed on August 18, 2019,[5] with an inscription written by Andri Snr Magnason, titled A letter to the future , in Icelandic and English. The English version reads: Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it. Impact Glaciers and ice caps are critical for sustaining ecosystems and human livelihoods. They provide essential meltwater runoff during dry seasons, supporting drinking water, agriculture, industry, and clean energy production, making these frozen reservoirs vital for global water resources. Climate and cryosphere changes, however, are disrupting the water cycle, altering the amount and timing of glacier melt, causing knock-on impacts on water resource availability while also contributing to sea-level rise. As glaciers continue to shrink and snow cover diminishes, less water will be available for communities, particularly in seasonally dry regions. Increased competition for water resources is expected, with regions like China, India, and the Andes among the most vulnerable. Glaciers that have surpassed their "Peak Water" point-the stage at which meltwater runoff reaches its maximum-will gradually provide decreasing contributions to downstream water supplies, intensifying challenges for water security. Over the past century, despite representing only 0.5% of global land surface area, glaciers have contributed more to sea-level rise than the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Between 2000 and 2023, glaciers are estimated to have lost an average mass of approximately 273 billion tonnes per year, which is equivalent to approximately 0.75 mm per year of global sea-level rise (The GlaMBIE Team, 2025). The continuous retreat of glaciers signals the growing impacts of global warming and creates new hazards while intensifying existing ones. For example, melting glaciers are increasing the risk of hazards such as glacier lake outburst floods, ice avalanches and glacial debris flows, posing dangers to local and downstream communities. However, risk assessments are often not possible due to an absence of data (IPCC, 2019). Therefore, increased observation of the cryosphere is critical for effectively forecasting the impacts of cryosphere-related hazards. ___________________________________________ Source: (1) Cryospheric : The cryosphere is an umbrella term for those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form. This includes sea ice, ice on lakes or rivers, snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). Source: Pressenza
