Latest news with #Trump-backed
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Live updates: Trump allies seek to quiet Epstein furor; Russia faces tariff threat over Ukraine ceasefire
President Trump's allies are seeking to calm the furor that has engulfed the last week involving the Jeffrey Epstein case and the administration. On Monday, Charlie Kirk was one voice to encourage trust in how Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department are handling the fallout from an FBI memo last week that said there was no Epstein 'client list' to release nor reason to believe he died any way other than suicide. 'I'm going to trust my friends in the administration, I'm going to trust my friends in the government to do what needs to be done, solve it, ball's in their hands,' Kirk said. The situation has put some in the MAGA camp aligned with some Democrats, like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who on Monday urged the release of all Epstein documents. At the White House on Monday, Trump said the U.S. would impose 100 percent secondary economic sanctions on countries that trade with Russia if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine in the next 50 days. 'We're very, very unhappy with them, and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in about 50 days,' Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office. The announcement comes a day after Trump said the U.S. would sell Patriot missiles to Europe for use in Ukraine. Both the Senate and House are back in session this week. As the House works on appropriations bills, the Senate is headed toward a Friday deadline to pass a rescissions package from the White House. Catch up here: GOP leaders face showdown with Republicans on Trump-backed funding cuts Democrats find reasons for hope and fear 6 months into Trump 2.0 What to know about the US-NATO weapons deal for Ukraine Follow along for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
That's it, Big Bird — time for you, and PBS, to get off the Washington gravy train
Big Bird deserves to lose this time. In the past, whenever Republicans have tried to cut federal funding for public broadcasting, the eight-foot-two-inch-tall yellow bird has been trotted out as an exemplar of all that is good and necessary about PBS, and the federal dollars have been preserved. Perhaps our Jim Henson-created feathered friend will continue his undefeated streak, but a Trump-backed recissions bill represents the best chance to defund public broadcasting in decades, if not ever. The bill, clawing back previously appropriated funding, has already passed the House and is now being considered in the Senate, where the filibuster doesn't apply. The measure targets $9.4 billion in federal spending, including funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB gets about $500 million a year from the federal government, and parcels it out to NPR, PBS and local public radio and TV stations. NPR maintains that it only gets about 2% of its funding from the federal government, with more coming indirectly via member stations. PBS gets about 15% of its funding from the feds. If NPR and PBS programming is as compelling and vital as its defenders say, it shouldn't be a heavy lift to get foundations, philanthropists and devoted listeners and viewers to fill any funding gap. The organizations have already given out a lot of tote bags during fundraising drives. Surely, they can give out some more. Decades ago, with the rise of cable TV and a proliferation of sources of news and entertainment, it seemed absurd for the government to have to prop up a few select media sources. How much more ridiculous it is now, in the age of YouTube, social media, satellite radio, Substack, streaming services and podcast platforms. Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act creating the CPB in 1967, and like many other Great Society programs, public broadcasting is an anachronism that won't go away. Big Bird himself is approaching the age when he'll soon begin to be eligible for senior-citizen discounts. Supporters of public broadcasting extol the virtues of 'All Things Considered,' the 'PBS NewsHour,' and 'Frontline' — and yes (political bias aside), journalists do some good work for these programs. They also (again, political bias aside) do some good work at the New York Times and CBS News, yet neither of these of these outlets depend on federal tax dollars. Oh, defenders also ask, how can we possibly do without the wonder of educational programming like 'Sesame Street' and 'Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'? 'Sesame Street' is, indeed, an American institution. But even if PBS collapsed tomorrow, the show would certainly go on. For about a decade now, new episodes have been featured on HBO or Netflix, demonstrating how a venerable 50-year-old project can adapt to the times. It's simply not true, by the way, that we depend on PBS for good shows for kids. There's been educational programming developed by Nickelodeon ('Blue's Clues & You!'), Scholastic Entertainment ('The Magic School Bus'), and Netflix ('Ask the StoryBots' and 'Ada Twist, Scientist'). And somehow such iconic children's programming as 'Dora the Explorer,' 'Peppa Pig' and 'Bluey' were created without the involvement of PBS. Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Then, there's the argument that a cut-off of federal funding will be devastating to local public-radio stations in rural communities. It's true that small stations could go out of business, but as anyone who has been paying attention has noticed, we live in an era of great media churn. Private media entities are going out of business — and being created — all the time. The government shouldn't extend its favor to a few select outlets. Especially not when these outlets are so blatantly and pervasively biased. NPR and PBS provide left-of-center content for left-of-center audiences under the guise of objectivity. As many legacy media organizations have long demonstrated, there is a business model there, but it's not one that deserves or needs taxpayer support. Big Bird should, finally, make his own way in the world. Twitter: @RichLowry
2 days ago
- Business
Why is the price of bitcoin hitting a record high? Experts explain.
Bitcoin vaulted to a record high on Monday, climbing more than 1% in early trading and hurtling past $120,000 for the first time. The surge comes as the U.S. House of Representatives stands poised for 'crypto week,' a series of debates over the coming days on legislation that could ease regulatory complexity long viewed as an impediment for the industry. The price of bitcoin clocked in at $120,290, amounting to a nearly 15% surge over the past month as crypto-friendly legislation made its way through Congress and investors displayed growing adoption of a new tool for investment in bitcoin. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also climbed 1% on Monday. Solana, another popular cryptocurrency, climbed 2%. Analysts who spoke with ABC News attributed the surge to signals of a continued government posture friendly toward crypto as well as the growing adoption of a new tool for investment in bitcoin. The rise in price also owes to a steadily approaching limit in the supply of bitcoin, which means heightened demand has outpaced the release of new bitcoins, some analysts previously told ABC News. Some observers question the role of bitcoin's limited supply, since they believe the long-known feature of bitcoin's architecture has already been factored into the asset's price. The House is set to take up the GENIUS Act, an industry-backed measure establishing rules targeting stablecoins, which are a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the value of another asset, often the U.S. dollar. Supporters of the GENIUS Act applaud the measure as a first-of-its-kind effort to formalize a key segment of the cryptocurrency industry, offering safeguards for consumers, allowing entry for conventional financial firms and growing the digital currency market. Critics of the measure, however, say it amounts to an industry-friendly set of weak regulations that fail to adequately protect consumers and police illicit trading of stablecoins. Members of the House will also debate a measure that could clarify the federal government's regulatory posture toward crypto, as well as another bill that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing its own digital asset. Bryan Armour, the director of passive strategies research at financial firm Morningstar, said the policy blitz in the House marks the latest in a string of positive developments for crypto in Washington, D.C., since President Donald Trump's election victory in November. Since the presidential election, the price of bitcoin has soared nearly 80%. 'Crypto week,' Armour said, foretells the 'continuation of broader crypto policy' under the Trump administration. Trump's business dealings in cryptocurrency have raised concerns among some observers about a potential conflict of interest. In March, Trump-backed crypto firm World Liberty Financial issued a stablecoin USD1. An Abu Dahbi-based investment firm last month used the stablecoin to make a $2 billion investment in crypto exchange Binance, putting Trump's company in a position to profit from the deal. Trump has denied any wrongdoing. Trump has yet to release his financial disclosures as president, so it's unclear what arrangements he has made to ensure a firewall between his personal businesses and his presidency. A White House spokesperson told Reuters in April that "President Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest." Crypto gains over recent months have also been propelled in part by U.S. approval last year of Bitcoin ETFs, or Exchange-Traded Funds. Bitcoin ETFs allow investors to buy into an asset that tracks the price movement of bitcoin, while avoiding the inconvenience and risk of purchasing the crypto coin itself. Top investment firms like Fidelity and Franklin Templeton offer bitcoin ETFs, making it easier for investors to pour funds into the world's largest cryptocurrency. As demand has grown, analysts said, the price of bitcoin has climbed. A rush of investment into Bitcoin ETFs in recent days sent the combined asset value of such investment vehicles to a record high of more than $158 billion, according to The Block, an outlet that covers digital assets. Investors placed more than a billion dollars into Bitcoin ETFs on consecutive days last week, The Block found. 'Since the U.S. approval of bitcoin ETFs, we've seen institutional adoption of bitcoin,' Nikhil Bhatia, a professor of finance and business economics at the University of Southern California who studies cryptocurrency, told ABC News. The run-up to bitcoin ETF approval in fall 2023, Bhatia added, was when bitcoin 'got back into bull market mode.' While policy conditions and new investment tools bode well for bitcoin, the precise reasons for the recent surge remain difficult to pin down, some analysts told ABC News. Digital currencies lack an underlying value beyond the price set by the ebb and flow of investor demand, contrasting the assets with stock prices determined in part by expectations of future profits, Bryan Routledge, a professor of finance at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business, told ABC News. 'Bitcoin prices have always been puzzling in a sense,' Routledge added. 'It begs the question: 'Why now?' I don't know what the new information is.'
Axios
3 days ago
- Business
- Axios
SNAP, Medicaid and tax deductions on the line in Senate bill
A Trump-backed spending plan could end health insurance coverage for millions of Americans and drastically cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. Why it matters: President Trump has called the legislation a " big, beautiful bill" but Feeding Texas, which represents 20 food banks in the state, says the bill would enact the "most sweeping rollback" of SNAP in U.S. history. The big picture: The latest version of the bill, which narrowly passed the Senate this week, would slash food and health benefits for the poorest Americans, while giving tax cuts to higher earners. "It's a great bill. There is something for everyone," Trump said Tuesday. The upshot: The bill would temporarily increase the cap on state and local tax deductions for federal tax returns to roughly $40,000 annually. Around 12% of Texas properties are taxed over $10,000, the current deduction limit. Yes, but: The bill would also reduce nutrition funding, which includes SNAP, by $186 billion between 2025 and 2034. Nearly 12 million people are projected to lose health insurance under the bill's proposed Medicaid changes. The bill would also cut funding for energy and natural resources while allocating $175 billion for border security and $150 billion for defense. Zoom in: Texas may have to pay an additional $806 million annually on administrative costs and food benefits if the cuts are enacted, per Feeding Texas. "The consequences would be profound and devastating," Feeding Texas CEO Celia Cole said in a statement. Friction point: The bill has received intense opposition across party lines. What's next: The House and the Senate will need to agree on a unified bill to send to the president.
Int'l Business Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Border Czar Declares 'Physical Appearance' Is Enough for ICE to Detain and Question: 'They Don't Need Probable Cause'
The Trump administration border czar has denied that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents need probable cause to detain individuals, stating that physical appearance provides enough impetus for officials to make arrests. Border czar Tom Homan appeared on Fox News on Friday, stating that ICE agents had the right to detain individuals based off of their physical appearances. "I've got to get your reaction to this Biden-appointed federal judge out in Los Angeles apparently expected today to issue a temporary restraining order halting your lawful operations. She says, 'I think it's important for the court not to burden otherwise lawful law enforcement activities.' Your reaction there?" asked the host. "People need to understand, ICE officers and Border Patrol, they don't need probable cause to walk up to somebody, briefly detain them, and question them," Homan said. "They just need to tally the circumstances. They just go through the observations, get articulable facts, based on their location, their occupation, their physical appearance, their actions." Homan's remarks come amid ongoing ICE raids in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, including in parks, farms and Home Depot stores. "If they have all these facts plus the person walks away or runs away. Agents are trained. What they need to detain somebody temporarily and question them is not probably cause, it's reasonable suspicion. We're trained on that. Every agent every six months gets Fourth Amendment training over and over, again, these officers are really good at what they do," he continued. Social media users reacted in shock and horror to Homan's statements, calling it "the definition of racial profiling." "If regular cops did that it would be called 'profiling' and is illegal. Why is ICE different?" said another. "yeah, ya do. otherwise, it is just racial profiling. can't believe he said that out loud...." concurred a third. "What?? So how many Russians will be racially profiled? Or is it just brown folks? And what happened to The 4th Amendment?" a fourth added. Meanwhile, Homan continues to push the Trump-backed statistic that border crossings have significantly declined under the new administration. He tweeted earlier this month, "Total Border Patrol encounters for the entire month of June 2025 was 6,070. That is less than a single day under Biden. As a matter of fact, the total number of encounters is less than half of a single day under Biden." Originally published on Latin Times
