Trump Says He's Ended Six Wars. What Are They?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tulsi Gabbard announces plans to cut intelligence staff by half
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has announced plans to cut the agency's staff by nearly 50% as she organises the office. Gabbard, announcing the cuts, said the agency had become "bloated and inefficient" over the last two decades. Its annual budget will also be reduced by $700m, she said. She said the "serious changes" would consolidate teams across the agency and ensure it was fulfilling its mission to "provide objective, unbiased, timely intelligence". The announcement came hours after Gabbard said the Trump administration would revoke the security clearances for 37 current and former US officials. In a memo posted on social media, Gabbard directed several national security agency heads to immediately strip the officials of their clearances, stating the move was ordered by the president. She accused them of politicising intelligence for partisan or personal gain. The officials include several national security aides who served under former Democratic presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Gabbard offered no evidence to support the accusations in the memo. Security clearances grant access to sensitive government information, and some former officials retain them to advise successors. Some private sector jobs such as those in defence and aerospace can require access to security clearances as a pre-condition for employment. It remains unclear whether all 37 individuals listed in the memo still held active clearances. Gabbard said Trump ordered the revocations because the officials had "abused the public trust by politicizing and manipulating intelligence, leaking classified intelligence without authorization, and or committing intentional egregious violations of tradecraft standards". "Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right," Gabbard wrote on X. "Those in the Intelligence Community who betray their oath to the Constitution and put their own interests ahead of the interests of the American people have broken the sacred trust they promised to uphold." The memo did not lay out charges against specific individuals. This is not the first time the Trump administration has revoked security clearances for intelligence officials. The administration has previously done the same for Biden, his Vice-President Kamala Harris, and former lawmakers involved in investigations of the US Capitol riot four years ago. In recent weeks, Gabbard has led the charge against Obama-era intelligence officials who concluded that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election, which Trump won. Trump and Gabbard have described the intelligence community's assessment as a "treasonous conspiracy" to undermine the president's electoral success. Democrats have dismissed the moves as a political distraction, and accused the White House of deflecting attention from unpopular policies and Trump's alleged ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction," a spokesman for Obama said last month. Gabbard says declassified report 'exposes' Obama administration Obama blasts 'bizarre' Trump claim of 2016 election 'treason'
CNBC
24 minutes ago
- CNBC
Dollar drifts as investors ponder Fed independence ahead of Powell speech
The U.S. dollar drifted on Thursday as investors fretted about the Federal Reserve's independence after yet another attack from President Donald Trump ahead of remarks from Chair Jerome Powell later this week that could influence the outlook for rates. Trump called on Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia, intensifying his effort to gain influence over the U.S. central bank. Cook said she had "no intention of being bullied to step down" from her position at the central bank. Trump has also told aides he is considering trying to fire Cook, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. "It has the potential to raise questions around the Fed's oversight and regulatory functions but it has little to no near-term monetary policy implications," said Prashant Newnaha, senior Asia-Pacific rates strategist at TD Securities. That explained the relatively muted reaction in the currency markets to the news as the dollar initially dipped on the news but was mostly calm into the Asian session. The Japanese yen held onto gains made in previous sessions and was little changed at 147.41 per dollar, while the euro was steady at $1.1642. Sterling last fetched $1.34535. That left the dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six other peers, steady at 98.301. Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for being too slow to cut rates, stoking investor worries about the central bank's independence and its credibility. Investors expect Trump will replace Powell with a more dovish appointment when his term ends in May. Trump earlier this month said he would nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the final few months of a vacant Fed seat after Adriana Kugler unexpectedly resigned. Kristina Clifton, a senior economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, said if Cook resigns it would create another opening for Trump to appoint a Fed Governor who will vote to lower interest rates. "Perceived political interference in the Federal Reserve can undermine its independence, steepening the yield curve and denting the USD's safe haven status." The main focus this week has been on whether Powell will push back against market expectations for a rate cut at the Fed's September 16-17 meeting when he speaks on Friday at the Jackson Hole meeting, following a weak jobs report for July. "Markets are adamant that recent labor market data necessitates some policy calibration and are expecting Chair Powell to tip his hat in that direction," TD's Newnaha said. Traders are pricing in an 82% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut next month, CME FedWatch tool showed. While the odds have lowered from last week after hotter than expected producer price inflation tempered expectations, investors are still pricing in over 50 bps of easing this year. Some analysts cautioned that markets could end up being disappointed by Powell's speech, noting that the impact of Trump's tariffs on inflation remains uncertain. "It is not clear that Powell will deliver strong guidance," said Benoit Anne, managing director in the investment solutions group at MFS Investment Management. If the dovish signals elude us, there will be significant pricing out of the odds for a September cut." In other currencies, the New Zealand dollar was nursing steep overnight losses at $0.58205 after diving 1.2% to its lowest level since April. New Zealand's central bank cut interest rates on Wednesday as expected but left the door wide open to yet more easing if needed. The Australian dollar eased 0.13% to $0.64245, hovering near a two-week low.
Chicago Tribune
25 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
A look at Gaza ceasefire talks after Hamas accepts a new proposal
CAIRO — Hamas says it has accepted a proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the 22-month war sparked by its Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel. Israel has not yet responded and says it is still committed to defeating the group. The latest proposal developed by Egypt and Qatar contains only slight modifications to an earlier one advanced by the United States and accepted by Israel, according to Egyptian and Hamas officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks. The deal would include a 60-day truce, the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, a flood of humanitarian aid into Gaza and talks on a lasting ceasefire. Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is disarmed. President Donald Trump gave support to those goals Monday in a social media post, saying Hamas must be 'confronted and destroyed' to ensure the return of the remaining hostages. The details of the latest proposal have not been made public, but the two Egyptian officials and two Hamas officials described the broad outlines to The Associated Press. There would be a 60-day ceasefire in which Israeli forces would pull back to a buffer zone extending 875 yards into Gaza. The officials said Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, had proposed 1,640 yards and Hamas countered with 656 yards before the talks stalled last month. Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases, in exchange for the release of around 1,700 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, including 200 serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks. Hamas-led fighters took 251 people hostage in the Oct. 7 attack and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. Fifty hostages are still in Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel would allow 600 trucks of humanitarian aid to enter each day, a major increase that could help arrest what experts have described as the territory's slide toward famine. Israel allowed a similar amount of aid to enter during a ceasefire earlier this year. During the temporary ceasefire, the sides would negotiate a lasting truce, the release of the remaining hostages and the further withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that while he will halt the fighting temporarily to facilitate the release of hostages, he will not end the war until Hamas has been defeated and disarmed. Even then, he says Israel will maintain security control over Gaza and facilitate the relocation of much of its population to other countries through what he describes as voluntary emigration. Palestinians and much of the international community view it as forcible expulsion. Earlier this month, Netanyahu announced plans to occupy Gaza City and other densely populated areas, which would likely result in even more casualties and further waves of mass displacement. Those threats were partly aimed at pressuring Hamas. Israel's offensive has already killed over 62,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up around half of those killed. Vast areas of Gaza have been completely destroyed. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and run by medical professionals. The U.N. and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes them but has not provided its own numbers. Hamas has suffered heavy losses through nearly two years of war. Most of its top leaders have been killed, its rocket supplies have been vastly depleted, and Israel has regularly announced the destruction of tunnel complexes and other military infrastructure. Iran and Hamas' other regional allies are in disarray after Israeli and U.S. strikes. The Israeli military says it now controls at least 75% of Gaza, with much of the population — and the remnants of Hamas' government and police force — largely confined to Gaza City, built-up refugee camps from the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation and Muwasi, a sprawling tent camp along the coast. The hostages are Hamas' last bargaining chip and its only hope of emerging from the war with something it can try to portray as a victory. The group has said it will only release the remaining captives in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal. Hamas says it is willing to hand over power to other Palestinians but will not lay down its arms as long as Israel occupies lands the Palestinians want for a future state. Israel says any arrangement that leaves Hamas intact and armed would allow it to eventually rebuild its forces and launch another Oct. 7-style attack. Israel has been tight-lipped about the talks, and it's unclear when it will respond. The Security Cabinet, which would need to approve any such deal, usually meets on Thursdays. In the meantime, all eyes are on Washington. Trump helped to get a previous ceasefire across the finish line in January after former President Joe Biden's administration and Arab mediators had spent months hammering it out. The U.S. then offered its full support when Israel ended that truce and resumed its air and ground war in March. Trump alone might be able to convince Israel to halt the war without trying to eradicate Hamas at the cost of countless more Palestinian lives and possibly the remaining hostages. He says he wants to return the hostages and end the war but has not publicly pressured Israel. In a post Monday on his Truth Social website, Trump appeared once again to express full support for Netanyahu's endgame. 'We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,' he wrote. 'Play to WIN, or don't play at all!'
