Posted Jun 17, 2025 at 6:54 PM EDT 0 Comments / 0 New
The Trump administration is apparently trying to shut down the board that investigates chemical explosions in the US. What could go wrong?
[Link: Trump quietly shutters the only federal agency that investigates industrial chemical explosions | https://grist.org/energy/trump-quietly-shutters-the-only-federal-agency-that-investigates-industrial-chemical-explosions/ | grist.org]
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Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'No Kings' organizers set next protest date. White House called June 14 'utter failure'
A coalition of organizations behind the nationwide "No Kings" protests announced another day of action under the name "Good Trouble Lives On." In a June 16 call, organizers debriefed on the events of June 14, where the American Civil Liberties Union says more than 5 million people turned out across about 2,100 communities in the U.S. The protests fell on Trump's 79th birthday and coincided with the Army's 250th anniversary parade in Washington. D.C. " 'Where do we go from here' is a famous line from a Dr. King speech," Barbara Arnwine with Transformative Justice Coalition said on the call. "And where we go from here is July the 17th... We're going to make good trouble because good trouble lives on and we will not stop until we win: no kings, no tyrants, no despots." "Good trouble" is a term coined by the late Congressman John Lewis, and July 17 will mark five years since his death, the movement's website states. A map of events shows there are more than 60 demonstrations planned for that day as of June 17. "Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of action to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration," the website states. "Together, we'll remind them that in America, the power lies with the people." Are people protesting more than usual? 'Jaw-dropping' number planned on Trump's birthday Trump did not post about the protests on his social media site Truth Social. But the White House did weigh in on the protests in a statement on X. "The so-called No Kings protests have been a complete and utter failure with minuscule attendance. It is sad Democrats and liberals would rather support criminals and illegals instead of celebrating the 250th anniversary of our great U.S. Army and Flag Day," communications director Steven Cheung wrote. "But many more Americans are commemorating our brave military men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice and who those continue to serve our country." The American Civil Liberties Union, one of the co-organizers of the protests, estimated that more than 5 million people participated in about 2,100 demonstrations across the U.S. '(Saturday's) protests are a resounding message that people across the nation will not be intimidated by President Trump's fear tactics. Americans are brave, democracy loving people and will not sit idly by as the Trump administration feeds our Constitution into the shredder — nor will the ACLU,' ACLU chief political and advocacy officer Deirdre Schifeling said in a press release on June 14. Ezra Levin, co-founder of one of the organizing groups, Indivisible, called it one of the largest protests in American history. "Blue states, red states, purple states, city centers, suburbs, rural have friends everywhere," he said on the June 16 call. USA TODAY reached out to organizers for this story. Contributing: James Powell, Sarah D. Wire, Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY Network Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No Kings protest date set for July: When is it, theme?
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ohio Republicans to introduce bill that would treat abortion as homicide and ban all procedures in the state
Ohio Republicans are introducing a bill to ban all abortions in the state by classifying the procedure as homicide. Representatives Levi Dean and Johnathan Newman are set to introduce the "Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act' on Wednesday, which would classify abortion as homicide. Austin Beigel, founder of End Abortion Ohio, told The Independent the bill will 'make a positive affirmation of the personhood of the pre-born.' In 2023, Ohio residents voted to enshrine abortion access in the state Constitution. Since then, judges have struck down legislation that seeks to limit or ban abortion access despite the amendment. The legislation will almost certainly face legal challenges if it passes. Beigel told The Independent the goal of the bill is to 'create an immediate conflict between our state's the U.S. Constitution, which declares that no state may deprive a person of life, liberty or property without due process of the law.' Beigel hopes legal challenges to the bill could rise as far as the Supreme Court. The bill could also end in vitro fertilization in the state and ban some forms of contraception, including IUDs, The Columbus Dispatch reports. Beigel said IVF clinics 'will not be able to operate the way they are right now' under the legislation, but noted the bill does not mention contraception. Several abortion rights advocates — and even some anti-abortion activists — have come out against the bill. Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said his organization doesn't support the bill. 'We have never supported criminalizing a woman for having an abortion, and we never will,' Gonidakis told the Dispatch. 'It's completely out of bounds and inappropriate.' "This isn't even a Hail Mary," he added. "It's a strategy that won't be successful at the legislative level and it's a strategy that won't be successful at the judicial level." Beigel said End Abortion Ohio doesn't align with Ohio Right to Life: 'We do not have the same goals, because Ohio Right to Life does not want to abolish abortion, they want to regulate abortion.' Kellie Copeland, executive director of the advocacy group Abortion Forward, called the bill's supporters 'out-of-touch anti-abortion extremists.' "This would strip Ohioans' ability to make decisions for our lives, health and well-being, including banning all abortion care, banning some types of birth control, and denying IVF treatment that helps people build their families,' Copeland told the Dispatch. The Supreme Court enshrined abortion access as a Constitutional right in the 1973 case Roe v Wade. But the nation's highest court overturned the ruling in 2022 with its 6-3 decision on Dobbs v Jackson. Since then, abortion has been banned in 12 states, while six states have instituted a gestational limit between six and 12 weeks. But most people don't know they're pregnant until their first missed period, which means many don't find out until after six weeks. Georgia is one of the states which bans abortion after six weeks. There, Atlanta resident Adriana Smith was kept alive on life support for months after doctors declared her brain dead so she could carry out her pregnancy. Her family says doctors kept her on life support due to the gestational limit law. The 30-year-old was two months pregnant when she was declared brain-dead in February. Her family said she gave birth via C-section on June 13 to a baby boy. The Independent has contacted End Abortion Ohio, Dean and Newman for comment.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dominant Chinese makers of bitcoin mining machines set up US production to beat tariffs
By Samuel Shen and Vidya Ranganathan SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The world's three best-selling makers of bitcoin mining machines - all of Chinese origin - are setting up manufacturing footholds in the United States as President Donald Trump's tariff war reshapes the cryptocurrency supply chain. Bitmain, Canaan and MicroBT build over 90% of global mining rigs - essentially computers dedicated to number-crunching that produces bitcoin. Establishing U.S. bases could shield them from tariffs but risks stoking security concerns the U.S. has with China in areas as varied as chip making and energy security. "The U.S.-China trade war is triggering structural, not superficial, changes in bitcoin's supply chains," said Guang Yang, chief technology officer at crypto tech provider Conflux Network. Moreover, for U.S. firms, "this goes beyond tariffs. It's a strategic pivot toward 'politically acceptable' hardware sources," Yang said. Bitmain, the biggest of the three by sales, started U.S. production of mining rigs in December in a "strategic move" following Trump's presidential electoral win a month earlier. Canaan started trial production in the U.S. with the aim of avoiding tariffs after Trump on April 2 announced his so-called Liberation Day levies, senior executive Leo Wang told Reuters. The initiative is exploratory as the volatile tariff situation precludes heavy investment, he said. Third-ranked MicroBT in a statement said it is "actively implementing a localisation strategy in the U.S." to "avoid the impact of tariffs". The trio dominate a sector analysts estimated to be worth $12 billion by 2028. It is the upstream of a business chain that extends through the energy-intensive process of mining bitcoin, the supporting IT infrastructure and the trading platforms. U.S. rival Auradine - backed by top bitcoin miner by market value, MARA Holdings - has been lobbying to restrict Chinese supplies to stimulate competition in hardware. "While over 30% of global bitcoin mining occurs in North America, more than 90% of mining hardware originates from China representing a major imbalance of geographic demand and supply," said Auradine's chief strategy officer, Sanjay Gupta. Consultancy Frost & Sullivan estimated the top three held 95.4% of the hardware market in terms of computing power sold as of December 2023. When it comes to Chinese mining rigs, "hundreds of thousands of them connected to the U.S. electrical grid" is a security risk, Gupta said. Canaan's Wang said mining rigs do not threaten security because "they are useless if not applied to bitcoin mining". Still, manufacturers could suffer "collateral damage" from U.S. restrictions on high-tech sales to Chinese firms, he said. Underscoring the risk, Bitmain's AI affiliate, Sophgo, has been blacklisted by the U.S. government on security grounds. Bitmain did not reply to a request for comment. FIRST-MOVER China once dominated the entire bitcoin value chain - from rig-making through mining to trading - until its government banned cryptocurrency activity on the Chinese mainland in 2021 citing risk to financial stability. Miners, traders and exchanges moved abroad. Shielded by their role as technology manufacturers, however, Bitmain, Canaan and MicroBT continued to dominate in hardware. They fended off Western rivals partly due to first-mover advantage in developing high-performance chips tailor-made for mining. Canaan has since moved its headquarters to Singapore from China - though it still has Chinese operations - and set up a pilot production line in the U.S., a market that contributed 40% of revenue last year. "The rationale is to try to reduce the cost for both us and our customers," said Wang, Canaan's vice president of corporate development and capital markets. The prospect of tariffs means "we have to explore all alternatives". The U.S. this year imposed a 10% baseline tariff on imports from many countries plus an extra 20% on imports from China. It has also said it could increase tariffs for Southeast Asian countries where Chinese rig makers have set up assembly plants. CHOKE POINT Trump has promised to be the "crypto president" who popularises cryptocurriencies' mainstream use in the United States. Son Eric Trump together with energy and technology firm Hut 8 launched miner American Bitcoin with the goal of building a strategic bitcoin reserve. The president's crypto-friendly policies, however, can only highlight China's outsized role in bitcoin infrastructure, potentially putting rig makers in the crosshairs. China's hardware dominance "creates a choke point for U.S. miners," said John Deaton, a U.S. crypto-law attorney. "If China restricts exports or manipulates supply ... it could disrupt bitcoin's network stability and affect U.S. users and investors," Deaton said. The biggest miners by market value - MARA, Core Scientific, CleanSpark and Riot Platforms - are all U.S.-based, so over-reliance on hardware of Chinese origin "is potentially problematic", said Ryan M. Yonk, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research. Chinese rig makers might be setting up shop in the U.S. but in the short term, U.S. miners will still buy rigs from China and be stung by higher import costs, said Kadan Stadlemann, chief technology officer at crypto platform Komodo. "But this isn't about hurting the industry. It's about forcing a long-overdue shift," he said.
