Latest news with #D-OR
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GameStop bought $500 million of Bitcoin
GameStop announced on Wednesday that it bought 4,710 Bitcoin, which is worth over $500 million at the time of the purchase. The video game retail chain has struggled to stay relevant in a time when digital gaming purchases are increasingly popular -- plus, the company took on a new kind of notoriety when it unwittingly became the center of a short squeeze in 2021. GameStop stock remains a bit inflated from where it was before the meddling of Reddit community r/WallStreetBets, but years out from its unpredictable moment in the spotlight, GameStop is still reporting annual declines in net sales. To support its financials, GameStop announced to investors in March that it would update its investment policy to add Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, and today's news represents GameStop's follow-through on that promise. GameStop stock stumbled after each crypto-related announcement, likely due to investors' concerns around the historic volatility of crypto. GameStop's recent interest in Bitcoin isn't as random as it may seem. Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. government was cracking down on the crypto industry due to its connection to fraud and corruption. Now, the Trump administration has flipped the script and is establishing a Bitcoin reserve. Trump's media company also has plans to raise $2.5 billion to buy Bitcoin. Trump even invited the top holders of his memecoin -- a volatile cryptocurrency that is not pegged to any real determinant of value, but rather, the trollish whims of certain online communities -- to a private dinner at the White House. As Trump and his family become more entwined with crypto, his opponents have raised concerns around Trump's ability to manipulate the crypto market for his own financial gain. Co-sponsored by 17 other Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) responded to Trump's increasing investment in crypto with the "End Crypto Corruption Act." 'Currently, people who wish to cultivate influence with the president can enrich him personally by buying cryptocurrency he owns or controls,' Senator Merkley said in a press release. 'This is a profoundly corrupt scheme. It endangers our national security and erodes public trust in government." But without support across the aisle, these efforts to mitigate Trump's ethically suspicious crypto investment are unlikely to gain momentum. With the U.S. government on its side, Bitcoin's price has jumped to all-time highs in May, breaking the $110,000 mark after falling to around $75,000 in April. Companies like Tesla, Coinbase, and Block have already made large Bitcoin purchases as a way of growing the company's assets, with each holding over one billion dollars worth of Bitcoin. Now, with its massive Bitcoin purchase, GameStop follows in these companies' footsteps. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Common cents': Oregon senator leads effort to end penny production
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced a bipartisan bill alongside Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) on Thursday that would end penny production in the United States in an effort to slash spending. The Make Sense Not Cents Act comes as penny production has become increasingly spendy, costing nearly four cents to make — a number which has risen 20% year-over-year because of rising costs of materials, the lawmakers said noting ending penny production could save the United States over $85 million annually.'It's the opposite of 'common cents' for taxpayers' dollars to fund wasteful spending like producing pennies,' Sen. Merkley said. 'The Make Sense Not Cents Act will save taxpayers millions—and that is something that both Democrats and Republicans support to seriously take on government waste.' 'Minting pennies costs the American taxpayer millions every year – nearly four times more than the pennies are worth,' Sen. Lee added. 'No private business would produce something at a 4x loss. It's time to stop wasting Americans' hard-earned tax dollars making overpriced pennies.' Almost two-thirds of pennies made in the U.S. do not ever recirculate, 'meaning billions of pennies are buried in couch cushions, or simply lost, never to be used in transactions again,' the senators said in a press release, noting only 16% of transactions are made with cash because of online or digital banking. The idea to end penny production has been floated across the aisle, from former President Obama to President Trump, who ordered the Treasury to cease penny production in February, as reported by the Associated Press. AP notes that Congress dictates currency specifications such as the size and metal content of coins and could make Trump's order permanent through law. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wyden, Merkley urge Trump to rescind ‘anti-voter' election executive order
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After President Trump signed an executive order earlier in March to reshape elections across the United States, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley are calling on the president to rescind the 'anti-voter' executive order. The executive order has several provisions, including requirements for voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship before they can register for federal elections and would only count mail-in or absentee ballots that are received by Election Day – while Oregon accepts ballots up to one week after Election Day as long as ballots are postmarked by Election Day. In response, Oregon's senators joined a handful of their Democratic colleagues in a March 27 , claiming the order would disenfranchise millions of Americans. DON'T MISS: Trump executive order will make Oregon elections 'less safe,' Secretary of State says 'This unlawful directive exceeds your authority over an independent agency and would likely disenfranchise millions of eligible American voters by creating barriers to voting, while also inviting chaos into state voter registration processes – including by inappropriately sharing Americans' data with the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),' the lawmakers wrote. 'Under the Constitution and existing law, this Executive Order cannot be implemented. Sadly, we are not surprised at your continued efforts to undermine our free and fair elections. From welcoming foreign election interference in our elections, to supporting the January 6 insurrection, to promoting baseless election conspiracy theories, your dangerous rhetoric has undermined public confidence in our election system.' According to lawmakers, the proof of citizenship requirements in the executive order would be restrictive for millions of Americans who do not have easy access to documents proving their citizenship. For example, nearly half of Americans do not have valid passports, the lawmakers said, adding millions of other Americans have a legal name that differs from other government-issued documents – including up to 69 million married women whose birth certificates no longer match their legal name. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now The lawmakers argued that the order also goes against the Constitution's foundation requiring elections to be primarily run by states and sounded the alarm over the order's attempt to allow DOGE and the Department of Homeland Security to review state voter registration lists, and other state and federal records with the power of subpoena. 'One of the most disturbing aspects of this illegal order is Sec. 2(b)(iii), which attempts toempower DHS and the DOGE Administrator to review state voter registration lists, other staterecords and various federal databases, with the power of subpoena. Voting by noncitizens isalready a federal crime and, despite unsubstantiated claims to the contrary, is extremely rare. Byinterjecting DOGE into the process, this order would interfere with states' maintenance of voterregistration lists, compromising voters' personal information,' the lawmakers wrote. The letter was led by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and joined by a handful of senators including, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Patty Murray (D-WA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn). Officials seize 2,500 pounds of fish caught illegally on Sandy River While signing the executive order, Trump — who falsely claims he won the 2020 presidential election — said, 'There are other steps that we will be taking in the coming weeks, and we think we'll be able to end up getting fair elections,' as reported by The New York Times. President Trump added, 'This country is so sick because of the election, the fake elections and the bad elections, and we're going to straighten it out one way or the other.' While Trump has amplified claims of voter fraud, an investigation by The Associated Press into potential voter fraud in six battleground states disputed by Trump in the 2020 election, found there were fewer than 475 cases out of millions of votes cast, which was not enough to change the outcome of the election as Joe Biden won the six states with more than 311,000 votes across the six states. Former election officials have also told AP that it's even more common to see suspected cases of voter fraud turn out to be a clerical error or misunderstanding. Trump says he's considering ways to serve a third term as president The senators are not alone in their stance against the executive order. In an on March 27, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said Trump's order will make voting 'less safe' in Oregon, explaining, 'The bottom line is that this is an executive order that will have the effect of making it harder for Oregon citizens to vote and make our elections less secure and less safe. It's the fundamental right of every American to hold their politicians accountable at the ballot box and this is an executive order that moves us away from that. I also don't think it's legal.' Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield has also hinted at potential legal challenges against the order, saying, 'We all want fair and accessible elections, and Oregon has been leading in this area for decades. If President Trump or anyone else takes action that threatens the integrity of how we vote in Oregon, we will use all the legal tools we have to defend our state's values and elections.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oregon Sen. Wyden calls for resignations over ‘reckless' Signal group chat
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is calling for an investigation and resignations after reporting found national security officials used the Signal messaging app to share potentially classified war plans in a group chat that mistakenly included a journalist. The incident was reported by on Monday, who was added to a Signal group chat with top national security officials sharing plans about an airstrike against Houthi rebels in Yemen. According to Goldberg, the group chat included national security leaders such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, with messages describing 'precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing.' What is Signal, the chat app used by US officials to share attack plans? Amid concerns that the potentially classified information was shared on devices that might not have been cleared for sharing the information, and mistakenly adding a journalist into the discussion, Sen. Wyden called for Hegseth and Waltz to step down during the annual Worldwide Threats hearing held by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. During the hearing, committee members had the opportunity to question national security leaders — including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel. 'Obviously, my colleagues and I feel very strongly about the war planning meeting over unclassified phones. Obviously reckless, obviously dangerous both the mishandling of classified information and the deliberate destruction of federal records – potential crimes that ought to be investigated immediately,' Wyden said during the hearing. 'I want to make clear that I am of the view that there ought to be resignations starting with the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of Defense,' Wyden said. Kotek: Feds holding up disaster money 'despite court orders' While being questioned by Wyden, Gabbard and Ratcliffe claimed they were not part of any group chats on Signal or similar messaging apps, that shared classified information — prompting Wyden to call for an audit to verify their claims. During the hearing, Wyden was joined by Committee Vice Chairman Mike Warner (D-VA), who shared security concerns over the group chat, stating, 'classified information should never be discussed over an unclassified system. It's also just mind boggling to me that all of these senior folks that were on this line and nobody even bothered to check. Security hygiene 101: who are all the names? Who are they? Well, it apparently included journalists.' Warner added that if this were a case involving a rank-and-file military officer, they would have been fired. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now While Gabbard declined to discuss the group chat during the hearing — citing an investigation by the National Security Council — Ratcliffe said Signal use is permitted as long as discussions are formally recorded. 'One of the first things that happened when I was confirmed as CIA director, was Signal was downloaded on my computer at the CIA, as it is for most CIA officers. One of the things I was briefed on very early, senator, was by the CIA director's management folks about the use of Signal as a permissible work use — it is. That is a practice that preceded the current administration to the Biden administration,' Ratcliffe claimed while questioned by Vice Chairman Warner. The committee hearing comes after Secretary Hegseth defended the administration on Monday saying, 'nobody was texting war plans.' 'Just sucks': Columbia River Mental Health out of cash The defense secretary also sought to discredit Goldberg's reporting, claiming, 'You're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again.' While Sen. Wyden is calling for an investigation into the incident, it is not clear if the Senate Intelligence Committee will investigate. KOIN 6 News has reached out to Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-AR). This story will be updated if we receive a response. A spokesperson for Sen. Wyden told KOIN 6 News 'Senator Wyden will be asking one or more independent federal watchdogs to launch an independent investigation of this appalling security breach.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Rep. Bonamici puts future of Medicaid front and center at Beaverton event
PORTLAND, Ore. () — U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) joined representatives from federally qualified health centers across the Portland metro during an event in Beaverton on Tuesday. Democratic lawmakers say a sets the stage for cutting Medicaid, along with Medicare and Social Security. 'Right now, they are terrified,' said Iris Martin, co-interim director of Outside In. Oregon DOJ acknowledges Frank Gable is innocent Leaders say the bill would limit the ability of patients to receive care. 'Every day I hear from Oregonians about the fears and worries and, frankly, outrage, about the cuts that are happening at the federal level and what the administration is doing,' said Bonamici. According to Nehalem Bay Health Center. The CFO Carl Rasmussen, cuts to Medicaid could be devastating to facilities in rural communities. 'If we completely cut Medicaid, we'll last about five months,' Rasmussen said. 'There will be premature deaths. Oh, yeah. Across the board.' 'That makes it extremely hard for people. They have to drive to Portland or up to Seaside. But then if they're — what they're driving in Portland or Seaside and their funding that as well, we're just going to see a massive reduction,' said Bonamici. Cheryl Bickle gives homeless students 'school family' Republicans said they're doing their best not to reduce benefits from the program. Earlier this month and before the funding bill passed, KOIN 6 News spoke with Oregon's only Republican Congressperson, about those cuts. 'The White House has made it very, very clear they do not want to touch Social Security or Medicare, Medicaid. Likewise, we're doing our very, very best not to reduce the benefits under that program,' said Bentz. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
