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Former CIA Director William Burns has a book deal for the memoir 'Diplomat Spy'

Former CIA Director William Burns has a book deal for the memoir 'Diplomat Spy'

Washington Post03-06-2025

NEW YORK — Former CIA director and Biden cabinet official William J. Burns is working on a book about his years leading the intelligence agency .
Random House announced Tuesday that it would publish Burns' 'Diplomat Spy: A Memoir of Espionage in Revolutionary Times.' The release date is still to be determined.

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An Aggressive Social Security Garnishment Is Underway for Over 1,000,000 Beneficiaries -- Here's How You Can Legally Avoid It
An Aggressive Social Security Garnishment Is Underway for Over 1,000,000 Beneficiaries -- Here's How You Can Legally Avoid It

Yahoo

time21 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

An Aggressive Social Security Garnishment Is Underway for Over 1,000,000 Beneficiaries -- Here's How You Can Legally Avoid It

Between 80% and 90% of retirees count on their Social Security income, in some capacity, to cover their expenses. The Trump administration has ended the Joe Biden-era overpayment and recovery rate of 10% and implemented a monthly clawback rate of 50% on Social Security overpayments. Beneficiaries who've received an overpayment letter from the Social Security Administration have multiple options available that can waive or reduce the amount they'll need to repay. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › In May, nearly 53 million retired workers brought home a Social Security check, with the average payout making history by cresting $2,000 for the first time ever. Though this is a relatively modest amount of monthly income, it's imperative to the financial well-being of most aging Americans. For more than 20 years, national survey-taker Gallup has polled retirees annually to gauge their reliance on Social Security income. Without fail, 80% to 90% of retirees have consistently responded that their monthly check was a necessity, in some capacity, to make ends meet. For beneficiaries, nothing is more important than knowing how much they're going to receive each month and having their payout keep pace with the inflationary pressures they're contending with on a year-to-year basis. But based on a new policy recently implemented under President Donald Trump, more than 1 million beneficiaries can expect their Social Security checks to shrink by up to 50%. With so many beneficiaries reliant on Social Security income to cover their expenses, this is income some can't afford to lose. Since Trump took office for his nonconsecutive second term, he's overseen a number of critical changes to America's leading retirement program. This includes beefing up personal identification methods, signing an executive order to eliminate paper Social Security checks, and creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which encouraged the Social Security Administration (SSA) to slash 7,000 jobs and shutter some of its locations to reduce its administrative expenses. But what's making headlines above all else are the two Social Security garnishments that the Trump administration has improved. For instance, by "sometime this summer," a 15% monthly garnishment is expected to be reinstated for the roughly 452,000 delinquent federal student loan borrowers who are currently receiving a Social Security benefit. Federal student loan payments ceased in March 2020 during the height of the pandemic and haven't recommenced. Between 2017 and 2023, the number of federal student loan borrowers aged 62 and above surged by 59% to roughly 2.7 million, based on data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But a 15% monthly garnishment is peanuts compared to the 50% garnishment rate that's currently underway for beneficiaries who were overpaid. Keep in mind that "beneficiaries" encompass retired workers, survivors of deceased workers, and workers with disabilities. Under the Joe Biden administration, Social Security clawbacks for overpayments were reduced to 10% per check, which is down from the 100% clawback rate that existed when President Barack Obama was in office, as well as during Donald Trump's first term. Based on statements from then-acting SSA Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi in 2023, the agency overpaid more than 1 million beneficiaries in fiscal 2022 (the federal government's fiscal year ends on Sept. 30) and over 980,000 recipients in fiscal 2023. With the garnishment rate slashed to just 10% under President Biden and having no new overpayment data published since fiscal 2023, it's likely safe to assume that more than 1,000,000 beneficiaries are still making good on their overpayments. Social Security overpayments can occur for a number of reasons. Sometimes, these errors are entirely the fault of the SSA and result in beneficiaries receiving too much per month. But they can also be caused by a recipient not updating their income. For example, non-blind workers with disabilities can earn up to $1,620 per month in wages and salary without having their long-term Social Security disability benefit stopped in 2025. If a worker with disabilities began collecting $3,000 in monthly income and didn't report this income change to the SSA, their federal tax filing would show they received Social Security disability benefits they weren't due, thusly resulting in an eventual clawback from the SSA. For the more than 1,000,000 beneficiaries who've received a letter from the SSA informing them they've been overpaid, there are options. The most desirable of these options is to request and be approved for an overpayment waiver (Form SSA-632BK, "Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery"). If the overpayment wasn't your fault and repaying the added benefits you received would lead to financial hardship -- you'll often need to supply documentation of your income and qualified expenses -- there's the possibility that the SSA will grant your request and waive your need to refund the overpayment. Along these same lines, beneficiaries can also file Form SSA-561, which is officially known as a "Request for Reconsideration." This route is taken by beneficiaries who don't agree with the SSA's decision that they've been overpaid and essentially want to appeal, as well as those who admit they've been overpaid but don't agree with the amount presented by the SSA. If your appeal is granted, you won't have to refund a dime to America's leading retirement program. Your appeal may also reduce how much you'll have to repay. The third option available to beneficiaries who've received a notice informing them of eventual clawbacks due to overpayment is to negotiate a different payment rate. Going this route is an admission that you've been overpaid but that removing 50% from your check on a monthly basis would create a financial hardship. Filing Form SSA-634 ("Request for Change in Overpayment Recovery Rate") with the SSA requires you to explain your financial situation, which includes documentation of your income and qualified expenses. Though the SSA typically aims to recover an overpayment within 12 months, some payment plans extend payments up to 60 months (five years) out. If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. One easy trick could pay you as much as $23,760 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Join Stock Advisor to learn more about these Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. An Aggressive Social Security Garnishment Is Underway for Over 1,000,000 Beneficiaries -- Here's How You Can Legally Avoid It was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

China Revoked My Visa, and Came to Regret It
China Revoked My Visa, and Came to Regret It

New York Times

time4 hours ago

  • New York Times

China Revoked My Visa, and Came to Regret It

President Trump's first term gave us the 'China Initiative,' a government program intended to root out Chinese espionage. The result was ethnic profiling of Chinese and Asian American researchers, flimsy cases that were eventually dropped and no prosecutions of scholars for spying or theft of secrets. President Joe Biden wisely eliminated it. Mr. Trump's current administration is back at it, however, demonizing Chinese citizens once again with Secretary of State Marco Rubio's announcement on May 28 that the United States would 'aggressively revoke' the visas of Chinese students. While it appears that Mr. Trump's team may have backed off on that measure for now after trade negotiations last week, the threat lingers and damage may have been done already. Targeting Chinese students, researchers and academics was a horrible idea the first time around and still is. It would harm America academically, economically and strategically. It will leave us more ignorant about our biggest rival and fuel paranoia while doing little to safeguard sensitive information. We should of course be concerned about China's wide-ranging espionage efforts. Much of this is focused on the U.S. government or corporations. But universities are targets too. Chinese government tactics are known to include pressuring students from China to gather information on American know-how and innovation from their U.S. colleges, coupled with threats against their families in China if they don't comply. Innocent students like these are China's victims, too. We should be devising ways to protect their academic freedom and safety while on U.S. soil. Excluding them en masse blames the victim and throws the baby out with the bath water. Very little of the research that happens on American campuses is classified, anyway. Many universities forbid it under the principle that academic research should be openly available. Some areas of study are more sensitive than others, but U.S. restrictions and screening procedures already block or restrict visas for Chinese researchers in certain fields. A 2020 Trump executive order, for example, limits entry by graduate students with past or present links to Chinese entities that the United States determines are involved with technologies that have potential military use. Mr. Rubio's announcement added worryingly vague new criteria to these already robust standards. He singled out students 'with connections to the Chinese Communist Party,' which is almost meaningless for a country where the party runs everything. Just as every American is connected to the U.S. government in some way — getting a driver's license, paying taxes, going to public schools — dealing with the Communist Party is a fact of life for Chinese citizens, not an ideological commitment. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Trump alleges Biden autopen misuse: whoever 'used it was the president'
Trump alleges Biden autopen misuse: whoever 'used it was the president'

Yahoo

time11 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Trump alleges Biden autopen misuse: whoever 'used it was the president'

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has long focused on his predecessor's use of the autopen during his presidency to sign official documents. Now he has called for an investigation into former President Joe Biden's reliance on the mechanical device. Presidential use of the autopen has not been outlawed or ruled unconstitutional. And Trump himself has acknowledged allowing his staff to use it to sign letters on his behalf. Yet the president has come down repeatedly on Biden for using an autopen amid fresh allegations that the ex-president's health was in decline while he was in office. He has accused former White House aides, without evidence, of signing documents, including presidential pardons, without Biden's knowledge. "Whoever used the autopen was the president," he told reporters on June 5, implying aides were assuming the role of commander-in-chief. "And that is wrong, it's illegal, it's so bad." Presidents are thought to have employed the autopen for more than 200 years, since the time of Thomas Jefferson, who obtained one of the machines after it came under patent in 1803, according to the Shapell Manuscript Foundation. Gerald Ford, Lyndon B. Johnson, George W. Bush and Barack Obama are all known to have made use of the device. Obama became the first president to rely on an autopen to sign a piece of legislation in 2011, in order to push through a bill extending the Patriot Act that arrived on his desk while he was on a trip to France. Trump orders investigation of Joe Biden's alleged 'cognitive decline' and use of autopen The dispute with Biden goes further: Trump and his aides have accused Biden's staff of illegal activity. "It's whether or not the president of the United States knew it was being used, and if not, who was using it in his name, which is clearly illegal behavior," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a June 3 briefing. The former president knocked down the allegations, calling them a "distraction," in a June 4 statement in response to Trump's latest assault on him. Biden said he "made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations" during his presidency. The Justice Department in 2005 determined that use of the autopen was legal. "We find that, pursuant to this understanding, a person may sign a document by directing that his signature be affixed to it by another," a DOJ memo said. Legal scholars have further argued that nothing in the Constitution requires presidents to sign pardons, even if Biden did use an autopen. Elaborating on his views, Trump said on June 5 that he believes it's "inappropriate" to use the autopen for documents, even for relatively minor directives such as ambassador appointments. "I think it's very disrespectful to people when they get an autopen signature," he said. Trump admitted in his remarks to reporters that he uses the autopen, too. But he suggested he does not use the device that mimics his signature when he signs important documents. "Autopens, to me, are used when thousands of letters come in from young people all over the country," Trump said. He said the president of the United States receives thousands of letters a week, and it's not possible for him to respond to each one individually. "To me, that's where autopens start and stop," he said. "I'm not a big autopen person," Trump declared. "It's an easy way out." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump accuses Biden of misusing presidential autopen

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