Latest news with #GusBilirakis
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Republicans Dodge Even Basic Questions On Medicaid Cut Plans: ‘Decisions Haven't Been Made'
House Republicans' work of making sweeping cuts to Medicaid — the social safety net program that provides health care coverage for 72 million low-income and disabled Americans — while publicly pretending they are not doing so continues this week. House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans met on Tuesday morning to try and work through their internal fight over how exactly they want to enact cuts to Medicaid. They also held firm in their commitment to publicly obscure how bad slashing the program will be for those who rely on it for health insurance. As we've reported, the committee is tasked with finding $880 billion in cuts to programs in their jurisdiction — a huge chunk of which is not just expected but almost certainly will have to come from Medicaid. Several options on how to get to Republicans' self-imposed targeted reductions in federal spending are being discussed during these meetings, but the GOP conference is seemingly at an impasse as many vulnerable Republicans oppose deep cuts to Medicaid. Most of the committee members walked out of Tuesday's closed-door meeting without saying a word. The Energy and Commerce Committee's chair, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), was never even seen exiting the meeting, at least not through the main door, where reporters were waiting. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), a member of the committee, described the nearly two-hours long meeting as 'productive.' 'No sticking point,' he told the reporters staked out outside the room. 'Decisions haven't been made.' Energy & Commerce Republicans are expected to meet again tomorrow morning to continue discussions. Meanwhile, Democrats on the committee and staffers say they're skeptical Republicans will be able to meet their self-imposed deadline as they internally battle over the cuts to the popular program. 'I have not seen a single word of legislation,' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told TPM as she walked out of a floor vote on Tuesday. 'From the beginning, Republicans have tried to have their cake and eat it too, which is: pass a reconciliation bill that gives massive tax breaks to the richest people in this country, not blow up the deficit, and a segment of them not wanting to cut Medicaid. And that's just math. You cannot accomplish all three of those things in one bill,' Ocasio-Cortez told TPM. 'There's no way they're going to be able to do the things they want to do without cutting Medicaid. Just point, blank, period,' she added. 'And so it does put them in a bind. I think that's why we've seen the markups on Medicaid … get bumped this week because I think they're realizing that all these promises that they've made to different parts of their caucus are not reconcilable. They're just not and they're going to have to make some hard decisions that they've been avoiding this entire time.' When asked about the timeline, the New York Democrat said that even if the Republicans were able to provide the text of the legislation on time, 'I don't know how they're going to scrape together the votes, to be honest.' Thune Acknowledges Ed Martin May Be Toast Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) acknowledged what journalists have been speculating for a few weeks: that Ed Martin, Trump's nominee to serve as the head of the D.C. U.S. Attorney's office, 'probably' doesn't have the votes to get his nomination moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. That comes after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told reporters this week that he had communicated to the White House that he was a 'no' on Martin. Tillis has been saying as much for months, primarily due to Martin's beliefs about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. 'I think that would suggest that he's probably not going to get out of committee,' Thune said today, referencing Tillis' 'no.' Senate Republicans hold a 12-10 majority on the panel, so Tillis voting against the nominee would leave it deadlocked 11-11 in the committee. Tillis met with Martin earlier this week to try to work out their differences — as the clock on Martin's ability to serve in an interim capacity runs out and as Democrats on the panel indicate their interest in attempting to push for a public confirmation hearing for Martin. Since taking office in an acting capacity, Martin has used his post to threaten investigations into Trump's perceived political enemies, including Democratic members of Congress. Tillis' remarks to CNN after his meeting with Martin on Monday night: Who Among Us Today on the Trump Administration Officials Are Bad At Technology beat, from Wired: Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, used the same easily cracked password for different online accounts over a period of years, according to leaked records reviewed by WIRED. LMAO Politico: Trump picks Rudy Giuliani's son for key World Cup post Andrew Giuliani, who used to assist Trump with golf, had served as a special assistant to the President and associate director of the Office of Public Liaison during Trump's first term. Perhaps this seeming demotion had something to do with his laughably unsuccessful bid for New York governor in 2021 — during which he campaigned as an outsider, citing his father's law license suspension in the state. The suspension, of course, was due to his role in trying to steal the 2020 election for Trump. Or maybe the demotion was due to how dumb this campaign video looked. He seemingly recorded in a parking lot, with the camera propped up on the back of a car. In Case You Missed It Another Judge Finds Trump Did Not Validly Invoke Alien Enemies Act Against Alleged Gang While His Admin Delights In The Culture Wars, Trump Tiptoes Around Abortion. At Least For Now. NEW this morning, from Hunter Walker: President Trump's Media Company Is Offering Movies About 'Lizard People' And Other Wild Conspiracy Theories No One Is On The Same Page On Medicaid Cuts—Including Guy Running Medicaid Agency Yesterday's Most Read Story Trump Allies Sue John Roberts To Give White House Control Of Court System What We Are Reading ICE Agents Are Targeting DC Restaurants The Company Behind the Signal Clone Mike Waltz Used Has Direct Access to User Chats
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's AI DeepSeek faces House probe over US data harvesting, CCP propaganda
FIRST ON FOX: A powerful House Committee is demanding information from DeepSeek on what U.S. data it used to train the AI model as members accuse the company of being in the pocket of the Chinese government. In announcing a new probe into DeepSeek, House Energy and Commerce committee members penned a letter expressing concern that companies like it "harvest Americans' personal and proprietary information and introduce new data security vulnerabilities into the U.S. economy." "DeepSeek admits to sending Americans' personal information to servers in China, where it is undoubtedly accessed by officials connected to the Chinese Communist Party," Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., said in a statement. "We are concerned that this close relationship with agents having close connections to our primary adversary jeopardizes our data and our national security." The company's privacy policy states that it collects user data and stores it "in secure servers located in the People's Republic of China." That data entails all questions or chats sent to DeepSeek's AI model and the answers provided. Deepseek Fallout: Gop Sen Josh Hawley Seeks To Cut Off All Us-china Collaboration On Ai Development A growing number of states – New York, Texas and Virginia – have banned DeepSeek from government devices. Read On The Fox News App It's reminiscent of the arc of TikTok, where Chinese-owned ByteDance's video-sharing platform became widely popular in the U.S. before growing skepticism of its data-sharing with the CCP. Now, the app is banned on government devices and may soon be banned entirely in the U.S. Several countries, including Canada, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and Italy, have already blocked DeepSeek due to security risks. South Korea in February accused DeepSeek of sharing user data with ByteDance. The letter expressed concern about how Chinese companies access U.S. technology to advance AI development. Reports have suggested that DeepSeek trained its R1 model by "distilling" outputs from American competitors. China's Deepseek Ai Startup Releases New Model In Rivalry With Openai Guthrie requested DeepSeek offer the committee a description of the types and sources of data used to train its AI models, including any U.S. proprietary or personal information, and confirm whether data collected by DeepSeek is shared with any Chinese state entity. The letter also requests details on how the AI system is trained and whether any steps are taken to influence the system output to align with the CCP's political goals. The letter requests a response by May 8. DeepSeek sent shockwaves across Silicon Valley and the rest of the U.S. as the company appears to be nearly matching the capabilities of chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, but at a fraction of the development cost. The Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over AI and data privacy. Last year's legislation that forced TikTok to divest from ByteDance, or face a ban in the U.S., originated with the committee. Trump has extended TikTok's deadline twice, buying more time to work out a deal to keep the app operating in the U.S. In April, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a report finding that DeepSeek both funneled American data to China and manipulated the results it offers to align with CCP article source: China's AI DeepSeek faces House probe over US data harvesting, CCP propaganda
Fox News
24-04-2025
- Business
- Fox News
China's AI DeepSeek faces House probe over US data harvesting, CCP propaganda
FIRST ON FOX: A powerful House Committee is demanding information from DeepSeek on what U.S. data it used to train the AI model as members accuse the company of being in the pocket of the Chinese government. In announcing a new probe into DeepSeek, House Energy and Commerce committee members penned a letter expressing concern that companies like it "harvest Americans' personal and proprietary information and introduce new data security vulnerabilities into the U.S. economy." "DeepSeek admits to sending Americans' personal information to servers in China, where it is undoubtedly accessed by officials connected to the Chinese Communist Party," Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., said in a statement. "We are concerned that this close relationship with agents having close connections to our primary adversary jeopardizes our data and our national security." The company's privacy policy states that it collects user data and stores it "in secure servers located in the People's Republic of China." That data entails all questions or chats sent to DeepSeek's AI model and the answers provided. A growing number of states – New York, Texas and Virginia – have banned DeepSeek from government devices. It's reminiscent of the arc of TikTok, where Chinese-owned ByteDance's video-sharing platform became widely popular in the U.S. before growing skepticism of its data-sharing with the CCP. Now, the app is banned on government devices and may soon be banned entirely in the U.S. Several countries, including Canada, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and Italy, have already blocked DeepSeek due to security risks. South Korea in February accused DeepSeek of sharing user data with ByteDance. The letter expressed concern about how Chinese companies access U.S. technology to advance AI development. Reports have suggested that DeepSeek trained its R1 model by "distilling" outputs from American competitors. Guthrie requested DeepSeek offer the committee a description of the types and sources of data used to train its AI models, including any U.S. proprietary or personal information, and confirm whether data collected by DeepSeek is shared with any Chinese state entity. The letter also requests details on how the AI system is trained and whether any steps are taken to influence the system output to align with the CCP's political goals. The letter requests a response by May 8. DeepSeek sent shockwaves across Silicon Valley and the rest of the U.S. as the company appears to be nearly matching the capabilities of chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, but at a fraction of the development cost. The Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over AI and data privacy. Last year's legislation that forced TikTok to divest from ByteDance, or face a ban in the U.S., originated with the committee. Trump has extended TikTok's deadline twice, buying more time to work out a deal to keep the app operating in the U.S. In April, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a report finding that DeepSeek both funneled American data to China and manipulated the results it offers to align with CCP propaganda.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Congress has questions about 23andMe bankruptcy
3The leaders of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce said they are investigating how 23andMe's bankruptcy might affect customers' data. Representatives Brett Guthrie, Gus Bilirakis, and Gary Palmer (all Republicans) sent a letter Thursday to the genetic testing company's interim CEO Joe Selsavage asking a number of questions about how 23andMe will handle customer data if the company is sold. The letter also says that some customers have reported problems deleting their data from the 23andMe website, and it notes that direct-to-consumer companies like 23andMe are generally not covered by the protections of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). 'Given the lack of HIPAA protections, the patchwork of state laws covering genetic privacy, and the uncertainty surrounding what happens to customer information should a sale of a company or customer data and information transpire, we are concerned that this trove of sensitive information is at risk of being comprised,' the representatives write. 23andMe, which settled a data breach lawsuit for $30 million last year, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, with co-founder and CEO Anne Wojciki saying she was resigning to become a private bidder for the company. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Congressmen sound alarm over data privacy following 23andMe bankruptcy
Three congressmen from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce are raising concerns over data privacy weeks after the genetic testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy, putting millions of customers' personal information up for sale. The Republican representatives — Brett Guthrie from Kentucky, Gus Bilirakis from Florida and Gary Palmer from Alaska — sent a letter to 23andMe interim Chief Executive Joe Selsavage on Thursday requesting answers to several questions by May 1. The questions revolve around the fate of 23andMe's genetic database, which includes DNA information from more than 15 million people. The congressmen asked the company how it would protect the data in an event of a sale and how it would vet potential buyers. Read more: 'People should be worried': 23andMe bankruptcy could expose customers' genetic data The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 23andMe declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March and received authorization from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to sell substantially all its assets. The company, founded in 2006 and once valued at $6 billion, popularized at-home DNA test kits and spurred a trend of ancestry hunting and amateur criminal investigations. But the venture failed to establish a sustainable business model, and as it struggles to stay afloat, experts, customers and government officials are worried genetic information could fall into the wrong hands. 'Given the lack of HIPAA protections, the patchwork of state laws covering genetic privacy, and the uncertainty surrounding what happens to customer information should a sale of the company or customer data and information transpire, we are concerned that this trove of sensitive information is at risk of being compromised,' the Energy and Commerce letter said. Though any buyer of 23andMe must agree to comply with the company's privacy policy, that policy can be unilaterally changed at any time, according to Sara Geoghegan, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. 'I would be very concerned if I had given a swab to 23andMe,' Geoghegan said. 'There is little we can do to control what happens to it.' Read more: 23andMe shares tumble after bankruptcy filing and California attorney general's privacy warning The bankruptcy filing prompted California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to issue a consumer alert urging customers to delete the data they had provided to the company. 'Given 23andMe's reported financial distress, I remind Californians to consider invoking their rights and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company,' Bonta wrote. The 23andMe website crashed following the warning as customers rushed to log in, the Wall Street Journal reported. Thursday's letter raised the issue, noting that 'customers are experiencing issues accessing and deleting their data.' Guthrie, Bilirakis and Palmer are the latest government officials to voice concern over the situation. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Federal Trade Commission have also sent letters to 23andMe recently inquiring about data protection. 23andMe issued an open letter to customers in late March assuring them that their data would remain protected in the event of a sale. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
