Ramaswamy says DOGE will scrutinize Rivian loan and CHIPS Act awards
Department of Government Efficiency co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy is going to put President Joe Biden’s “last-minute spending spree” under a microscope. He claims the funding awarded months before a power transition is inappropriate and will receive special scrutiny.
“Anybody who’s offering recommendations, you should always have a skeptical lens to look at what are their motivations for making that recommendation,” Ramaswamy said about conflicts of interest during CNBC’s CFO Council Summit Wednesday, Dec. 4. “I say that’s the best advice I’d give the public: Always be skeptical when somebody’s making a recommendation.”
During a Q&A at the event, Ramaswamy said he doesn’t believe the loan to Rivian will be paid back.
The loan in question will be used to build a factory in Georgia. It won’t be finalized until both the Energy Department and Rivian sign off on the contract. The New York Times reported it is expected to happen before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The DOE said its “Loan Programs Office provides attractive debt financing for high-impact, large-scale energy infrastructure projects in the United States.”
Ramaswamy says no program will escape DOGE, including “last minute [Inflation Reduction Act], CHIPS Act, and countless other federal spending sprees authorized under Biden.”
Those pieces of legislation are two of the biggest passed during the Biden administration. After Trump won the presidential election, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo spoke on the administration’s race against the clock.
“I’d like to have, really, almost all the money obligated by the time we leave,” Raimondo told Politico at the time. “That’s the goal. And I certainly want to have all the major announcements done as it relates to the big, leading-edge companies, and that’s our goal, and we’re working as hard as we can to make it happen.”
Ramaswamy took issue with the commerce secretary’s plan.
Biden’s Commerce Secretary @SecRaimondo says Jan 20 is “a clear deadline” for pushing $$ out the door: “I’d like to have really almost all of the money obligated by the time we leave.” This is highly inappropriate: they’re accelerating spending ahead of the transition of power. https://t.co/K3igDStJXS
“This is highly inappropriate,” he posted on X. “They’re accelerating spending ahead of the transition of power.”
In most cases, the funding has already been appropriated as part of large legislation or in funding to agencies that disperse the money. Only Congress has the authority to change appropriations. It remains unclear what authority DOGE would have to claw back those funds. On Thursday, Dec. 5, Ramaswamy and Musk pitched DOGE to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
On Wednesday, Ramaswamy compared Biden’s spending to a company firing an executive, who in their final days, approved budgetary items that hadn’t been doled out.
President Joe Biden announced the award in Arizona in March as he addressed the impact of the CHIPS Act.
“We will enable advanced semiconductor manufacturing to make a comeback here in America after 40 years, it’s going to transform the semiconductor industry and create entirely new ecosystems,” Biden said.
Intel’s award was reduced by more than $600 million after it secured a $3 billion defense contract to make semiconductors for the military, according to the Commerce Department.
But Intel’s recent stumbles could further impact the deal. The once-great chipmaker’s stock has plummeted nearly 50% since the start of the year.
The contentious year was made worse after Intel reported a $16.6 billion loss in the third quarter, the largest in the company’s history. Intel has been trending downward for decades. Its valuation went from $500 billion in 2000 to just over $100 billion today.
The Commerce Department said the company extended its timelines beyond the government’s 2030 deadline. Intel plans to invest $90 billion in the U.S. before the end of the decade after previously promising to spend $100 billion in less time than that. It also reduced the estimated number of jobs it would create in Ohio by 3,500.
The government has finalized deals with six companies to invest more than $19 billion of the $39 billion in CHIPS funding. With less than two months left in Biden’s term, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said more awards will be announced in the coming weeks.
President-elect Donald Trump criticized the legislation while campaigning for office.
“We put up billions of dollars for rich companies to come in and borrow the money and build chip companies here, and they’re not going to give us the good companies anyway,” Trump told podcaster Joe Rogan prior to the election. “All you had to do was charge them tariffs.”
US may effectively ban Chinese-made vehicles over national security concerns
The U.S. government may soon effectively prohibit the entry of Chinese-made vehicles as part of a new proposal aimed at addressing national security concerns. On Monday, Sept. 23, the Biden administration announced that it is considering new regulations that would restrict the use of certain Chinese technology in vehicles operating on American roads.
“Chinese automakers are seeking to dominate connected vehicle technologies in the United States and globally, posing new threats to our national security, including through our supply chains,” the White House said in a statement regarding the move. “The Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring that our automotive supply chains are resilient and secure from foreign threats.”
This proposal by the U.S. Commerce Department focuses on banning the use of key Chinese software and hardware in “connected” vehicles. Connected vehicles are those equipped with network hardware enabling internet access as well as data-sharing capabilities with devices both inside and outside the car. The new rule would extend to similar technology from other foreign adversaries, including Russia. Officials cited the potential for foreign countries to use these systems for espionage or sabotage.
“When foreign adversaries build software to make a vehicle that means it can be used for surveillance, can be remotely controlled, which threatens the privacy and safety of Americans on the road,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. “In an extreme situation, a foreign adversary could shut down or take control of all their vehicles operating in the United States all at the same time.”
According to the government, this connected technology could allow foreign entities to monitor U.S. drivers or disrupt vehicle systems, potentially leading to accidents or the blocking of roadways. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that the more vehicles utilizing these technologies are deployed in the U.S., the higher the risk of malicious interference.
“Connected vehicles and the technology they use bring new vulnerabilities and threats, especially in the case of vehicles or components developed in the P.R.C. and other countries of concern,” Sullivan said. “With potentially millions of vehicles on the road, each with 10- to 15-year lifespans the risk of disruption and sabotage increases dramatically.”
The proposed ban would require automakers to phase out the use of these technologies in the coming years. For software-related components, the restrictions would take effect beginning with vehicles from the 2027 model year, while hardware bans would apply starting in 2029. The Commerce Department is offering a 30-day public comment period on the proposed rule before the Commerce Department plans to finalize the regulation by January 20th, 2025.
Korea semiconductor company SK Hynix gets $450 million in CHIPS Act grant
The U.S. will officially host five of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers after dolling out tens of billions of dollars in grant money. The Biden administration announced Tuesday, Aug. 6, it’s awarding hundreds of millions in grants to South Korea’s SK Hynix for its new facility in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“These are the only companies in the world capable of producing leading-edge chips at scale,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimonda said of the five companies establishing production on U.S. soil.
The Commerce Department now says it has dished out more than $30 billion of the $39 billion set aside as part of the bipartisan CHIPS Act.
Meanwhile, defense contractor BAE Systems received the first CHIPS Act grant totaling $35 million to quadruple the manufacturing of chips used in F-15 and F-35 fighter jets.
The bottom line
Semiconductors are crucial to the artificial intelligence boom the tech sector is facing today, and only about 10% of chips are made in the United States. That’s down from roughly 37% in 1990.
The Semiconductor Industry Association said the increased investment from the government and private sector will triple U.S. capacity by 2032. However, that will still only account for 14% of global manufacturing.
Supreme Court strips federal agencies of widely used power, kicks it to courts
The Supreme Court overturned 40 years of legal precedent, nullifying the most cited Supreme Court administrative law decision of all time. The Chevron doctrine has been in place since 1984, and this week’s ruling confirms critics’ view that Chevron gave government agencies too much power in interpreting laws passed by Congress.
The Chevron doctrine said that when a law is open to interpretation; when the intent of Congress in passing that law is unclear; when the statute is ambiguous; courts should defer to the agency’s interpretation of that law, as long as it’s sensible.
“Chevron’s presumption is misguided because agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote on overruling Chevron. “Courts do.”
The case that led the Supreme Court to overturn Chevron is Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo — as in Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo. Loper Bright Enterprises is a commercial fishing company.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act of 1976 says the National Marine Fisheries Service can require fishing companies to allow federal agents on board as observers. But the agency also interpreted that statute to mean it could require the fishing companies to pay for the salaries of those federal observers. Loper fought that assumption all the way to the Supreme Court.
Today, the Court places a tombstone on Chevron no one can miss.
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch
In a concurring opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, “Today, the Court places a tombstone on Chevron no one can miss.”
In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote, “Given Chevron’s pervasiveness, the decision to do so is likely to produce large-scale disruption. All that backs today’s decision is the majority’s belief that Chevron was wrong — that it gave agencies too much power and courts not enough.”
Chief Justice Roberts said the decision does not affect any previous rulings decided under the Chevron deference. However, it will have significant impact on future statutory interpretations.
Immediately following the ruling, Straight Arrow News Business Correspondent Simone Del Rosario interviewed Caroline Cecot, an associate professor of law at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
The following has been edited for clarity. You can watch the interview in the video at the top of this page.
Simone Del Rosario: What is your initial reaction to the impact of this decision?
Caroline Cecot: My first reaction was, ‘Wow, they actually did this.’ This could turn out to be a big deal, especially in its practical implementation. Another small reaction I had is how little the majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice Roberts, really thought about the practical implications of this or seemed to downplay them.
Simone Del Rosario: What do you mean by that?
Caroline Cecot: One thing that I do a lot of research in is in the environmental space and in the energy space. And a lot of those statutes are very complex. They deal with a lot of issues of expertise, issues of trade-offs between competing interests.
When we look in those cases, you look at these statutory interpretation questions, they’re really fraught with intersecting expertise and political policy preferences that can change in different administrations, et cetera.
The Chevron case is a perfect example of this, actually. In the Chevron case, this was the EPA under President Reagan adopting a more flexible interpretation of when a source would trigger more stringent standards. And the court had to sort out whether this interpretation was authorized by the statute.
But the statute just wasn’t clear about how to answer that question. It talked broadly, obviously, about the importance of environmental protection, pollution reduction, but then it also talked about economic growth and how it’s important to think about those issues.
So how should the court figure this out? Its options basically were: Make some decision on the question despite not having any expertise on the subject matter, the statute, or the appropriate balancing of these competing interests or any political accountability for its decision; or allow the agency to make this choice as long as it’s within these reasonable bounds. And the court went with option two, and that’s essentially the Chevron decision on what to do in these kinds of cases.
Meanwhile, in the Loper Bright case, Chief Justice Roberts talked about statutory interpretation much more abstractly or simplistically and didn’t really grapple with these kinds of issues. The dissent, which was authored by Justice Kagan, offers numerous examples about how statutes implicate these kinds of expertise and policy choices.
Simone Del Rosario: The majority explicitly stated that any interpretations made to this point under Chevron stand. So we’re not going to see this huge 40-year unraveling of law. But what do you envision happens next when agencies and businesses are navigating through largely vague statutes that they operate under?
Caroline Cecot: So the majority’s answer, essentially, is that without Chevron, we go back to a time where the background rule on how a court deals with this is something referred to as Skidmore, the Skidmore deference or Skidmore respect. The Skidmore deference basically says that you kind of give the agency’s interpretation the respect it deserves based on how thoroughly reasoned it was.
This is a very difficult concept to wrap one’s mind around. I teach administrative law and this is something we talk a lot about, our students and I. What are the differences? How would this be decided under Skidmore?
Just a few years ago, when the court was deciding a case, Kisor v. Wilkie, which was about a related concept about whether to defer to an agency’s interpretation of its own regulation, so different, not a statute.
At oral argument, the Chief Justice had this funny remark that I actually play for students, which is, ‘Counsel, to get back to the stare decisis questions. I think the issue depends, at least in part, on how much of a change you’re asking. And one of the things I have trouble getting my arms around is if you start with Auer and recognizing the limitations on Auer that have accumulated over the years and you’re changing that to Skidmore, which I find hard to get my hands around too. I think I know more about what a moiety is than I know what Skidmore deference is.’
And so if the Chief Justice made this joke during oral arguments about how difficult it would be to apply Skidmore, I’m glad we’re not looking back, but looking at the future, I think this is going to lead to a lot of inconsistency and a lot of litigation.
And probably, and I hate to say this, but this is based on some research by Ken Barnett, Christopher Walker and Christina Boyd, we’re going to see more decisions that are influenced by the makeup of the panel, whether it’s a more liberal panel or more conservative panel.
Simone Del Rosario: How much of this is on Congress for writing these ambiguous laws to begin with? Do you think that Chevron has allowed them to put too much legislative authority on agencies?
Caroline Cecot: Some research has shown that Congress is aware of Chevron. So it is possible that in some ways they leave some ambiguities purposely because they want agencies to fill in these gaps using their expertise, which I would find perfectly appropriate within the bounds of constitutionally-correct delegations.
That said, now that there is no Chevron and Congress has to write statutes. I guess I’m in the camp where — and I don’t say this to degrade Congress in any way — I think it’s just impossible to write a perfect statute that includes everything at the outset. I think there’s something that happens with experience under a statute where agencies realize that something’s not working or the facts on the ground change. That’s something I care a lot about. And the agency has to respond to these changing facts on the ground.
The whole scheme of administrative implementation of statutes is partly because we get some efficiency benefits from this. If we revert back to Congress having to do everything at the outset, we’re gonna see a lot of increases in inefficient regulatory actions across the board.
Simone Del Rosario: But in the same vein, critics of Chevron have said that this precedent, to this point, has allowed these agencies far too much authority and deference to say, ‘This is how they interpret it so that must be the way that it is.’ It takes the issue away from courts and away from Congress when the majority opinion in Loper clearly believes that that subject does belong in the courts.
Caroline Cecot: It doesn’t take the issue away from the people, though, because at least as compared to courts, agencies are more politically responsible and we see changing presidential administrations all the time.
I say this because the doctrine of Chevron itself to give deference to agency interpretations, it’s neutral. And then the Chevron case itself, as I recounted, this was an agency that wanted to take a deregulatory action. But of course, Chevron could also allow an agency to take more aggressive agency action.
Over time, the doctrine became associated with judicial acquiescence to these ever-increasing grabs of power by the agency, or that’s how it’s sort of thought about, which started this anti-Chevron movement that even led to this question of whether to overrule it.
But I think at its core, Chevron is just saying, look, here we have a statute that the agency has that Congress wants the agency to implement given what’s happening on the ground. And here’s the way that the agency has decided to do this. Is it reasonable? If it’s not, then no.
And obviously, I almost forgot the first step. If it goes against Congress’s language, that’s out. Congress is supreme. The agency has to do what Congress allows it to. But at the point that there’s not a clear answer and it’s a reasonable interpretation, I think it should go to the agency. And if the people disagree with this, you have an election, you have a new presidency, you have a new administration and then you have new ways of interpreting the statute.
I don’t mean to also defend this process too much because I think it’s important to have predictability. So I say this as someone who knows that there’s another backstop, which is this other doctrine, State Farm, which ensures that agency decision-making is fact-based, that there’s logical connections.
Even though there might be some policy reversals in the presidencies, it always requires some explanation. To me, to this point, this felt like a nice balance, making sure that courts aren’t making decisions that are actually politically motivated but unaccountable, that leave Congress in an impossible position and leave us in an inefficiency spiral, but also cabined because of this reasonableness inquiry.
Simone Del Rosario: Do you think that the National Marine Fisheries Service overstepped its bounds by saying that fishing companies had to pay for these federal observers?
Caroline Cecot: You know, that’s a tough one for me to answer because I think most folks that I’ve talked to seem to think that even if there were not a world of Chevron, that the answer is that the Marine Fisheries overstepped in some way.
When I looked at the history behind the statute itself, this is the Magnuson-Stevens Act, that amendment that created this situation where these councils are allowed to require observers on domestic vessels. But then also there’s a separate provision for one of the Pacific fisheries to be able to spread some of these costs in specific ways with some limits.
That amendment happened because that council was the first pre-amendment to want to impose these costs. During the deliberations on this, the industry protested bearing the costs and wanted taxpayers to bear the costs. And the council had said, ‘Go to Congress with that, beg them for it, but we’re going to impose this on you because we need to save the fishery.’
So to me, the more clear answer here is that the default is that the industry pays and if they don’t want to pay, they can lobby Congress and get their own provision, which is what happened with the Pacific fisheries where they got a provision that talked a little bit more about capping these fees.
Simone Del Rosario: As Gorsuch said, the court today placed a tombstone on Chevron. So regardless of how helpful you found it to be as far as keeping things more stable in this system between agencies and courts and businesses, it’s effectively gone. Who’s the big winner today?
Caroline Cecot: The big winner is definitely lawyers. What I said about Skidmore deference being hard to wrap yourself around, I think this is going to trigger more litigation over agency action now, on robust litigation, on both the fact-based front with State Farm and the legal interpretation front with the Skidmore deference.
Other than that, because I have a different view of Chevron, I didn’t see it as anti-regulatory or pro-regulatory, I think a loser in this in some ways is each presidential term. They’re going to have to grapple with a lot less flexibility in their statutes and a lot less ability to respond to emerging issues on the ground without having to go to Congress.
And then Congress is going to have to change some things because as pessimistic as I was in my first recount, they do have to step up at this point in some ways. And at least, responding to big emergencies that come up, they will need to.
And that’s already been true in some ways with the major questions doctrine, but they will need to do a lot more and schedule a lot more time for legislation.
Tropical Storm Idalia heads for Florida: The Morning Rundown Aug. 28, 2023
Florida residents braced for Tropical Storm Idalia as it develops into a potential hurricane, and paper straws may not be the better option over plastic after all. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Monday, Aug. 28.
Tropical Storm Idalia expected to hit Florida as hurricane
Florida residents have begun bracing for impact as Tropical Storm Idalia barrels its way toward the Gulf Coast. The storm is projected to make landfall as a hurricane anywhere between Tampa and Panama City Tuesday night, Aug. 29 into Wednesday morning, Aug. 30.
“The Gulf is very, very warm. And so that will provide some fuel for this thing to pick up some more speed,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said Sunday, Aug. 27. “In terms of resources, we have mobilized 1,100 National Guardsmen and they have at their disposal 2,400 high water vehicles, as well as 12 aircraft that can be used for rescue and recovery efforts.”
Forecasters projected that because of the record-warm Gulf of Mexico, the storm system has the potential to upgrade into a Category 2 hurricane. Gov. Desantis warned flooding and loss of electricity are two major threats to residents in the storm’s pathway.
Residents in Florida have begun tying down large objects in their yards, filling up sandbags, and stocking up water and food.
Storms given names that begin with the letter “I,” like Idalia, often coincide with the peak of hurricane season. Parts of Florida are still recovering from 2022’s Hurricane Ian.
Vigil held for Jacksonville mass shooting victims
A vigil was held Sunday, Aug. 27, to remember three victims who were killed at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville the day before.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said the shooting was racially motivated. All three victims were Black, and the shooter was a 21-year-old white male.
According to authorities, the suspect, Ryan Christopher Palmeter, shot himself when cornered by law enforcement. They say he left behind several manifestos detailing his hatred for Black people.
“One to his parents, one to the media, one to federal agents,” Waters said. “Portions of these manifestos detail the shooter’s disgusting ideology of hate. Plainly put, this shooting was racially motivated and he hated Black people.”
Officials said Palmeter had tried to enter nearby Edwards Waters University, a historically Black college, but was turned away by a security guard. The suspect had purchased his guns legally and had no criminal history.
According to authorities, Palmeter was involuntarily committed for a 72-hour mental health examination in 2017. The Justice Department said it is investigating the shooting as a hate crime.
Marines killed in helicopter crash during training exercise
Three U.S. Marines died in a military helicopter training exercise in Australia on Aug. 27. Five others remain in serious condition after the Osprey aircraft carrying 23 Marines went down.
According to officials on the ground, the pilot had radioed in an emergency just moments before the helicopter crashed on a remote island in northern Australia Sunday morning. The Osprey was one of two taking part in a 12-day international exercise involving troops from five countries.
Investigators say the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
In 2022, nine Marines died in two separate crashes involving the same style of Osprey aircraft. Another military aircraft crashed near San Diego last week, killing the pilot on board.
Commerce secretary begins 4-day trip to China
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is in China, where she is meeting with government and business leaders in Beijing and Shanghai over a 4-day trip. Speaking with the Chinese Commerce Minister on Aug. 28, Raimondo said it is important the two countries have a stable economic relationship.
Raimondo said her goals include boosting post-pandemic travel between the two countries and strengthening their commercial relations. Those relations have been strained recently by U.S. restrictions over Chinese technology, including export controls over Chinese semiconductors.
Raimondo told her Chinese counterpart she would not compromise or negotiate on any matters related to national security. This is the first time a U.S. commerce secretary has traveled to China in seven years. It’s also one of several recent high-profile visits between U.S. and Chinese leaders.
Study: Paper straws contain forever chemicals
Paper straws are often used in place of plastic ones in the name of being eco-friendly. But according to a new study, that may not be the case.
According to the authors of the European study, paper straws may contain what are called forever chemicals, or PFAS, that can be harmful to both humans and the environment. Ninety-percent of paper straws examined by researchers contained the dangerous chemicals.
That’s higher than the 75% of plastic straws tested which also came up contaminated. Straws made up of steel were the only type found without the chemicals present.
Animal rights group pays tribute to Bob Barker
Fans of the game show “The Price is Right” began the week remembering its longtime host Bob Barker, who passed away on Saturday, Aug. 26 at the age of 99. Animal rights advocates paid tribute, with Barker known for speaking up for the cause.
He famously told viewers at the end of each episode to “help control the pet population – have your pet spayed or neutered.” The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which Barker had donated $5 million to over a decade ago, sounded a ship’s horn over the weekend in his honor.
Sea Shepherd used Barker’s money to purchase a ship in 2009 as part of its anti-whaling campaign. They named the ship The Bob Barker.
First 2024 Republican debate field set: The Morning Rundown Aug. 23, 2023
The field is set for the first 2024 Republican primary debate, and rescuers rushed to help a group of children dangling from a cable car. These stories and more highlight the Morning Rundown for Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023.
First 2024 Republican primary debate set for Wednesday night
Eight Republican candidates vying to become the next president of the United States are set to take part in the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 cycle Wednesday night. Those confirmed by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to be on the stage in Milwaukee include:
Gov. Ron Desantis (R-FL)
Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND)
Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)
Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR)
The candidates all met the RNC’s polling and donor requirements to qualify for the debate. They all received at least 1% in three national polls, or a mix of national and early state polls. They also accrued a minimum of 40,000 donors, with 200 in 20 or more states.
Upon verification of those requirements, each candidate had to sign the GOP loyalty pledge expressing their commitment to the eventual Republican nominee. Four candidates were disqualified from participating based on these requirements, including:
Michigan businessman Perry Johnson
Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
Former Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX)
Each of these candidates have voiced their disagreement with the RNC’s decision, with Johnson posting to X “the debate process has been corrupted, plain and simple.” Johnson and Elder have said they plan to sue the RNC over being left off the stage.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, chose to sit out the debate. He has reportedly recorded a sit-down interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The interview was set to air as counterprogramming, with the debate being broadcast on Carlson’s former network.
Another top U.S. official is headed to China to discuss the two countries’ commercial relationship. Both countries confirmed Tuesday, Aug. 22 that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will visit China from Aug. 27-30. While China said the trip was at the invitation of the Chinese minister of commerce, the U.S. has not confirmed if that was the case.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Raimondo’s trip will be an opportunity for the U.S. to explain President Joe Biden’s recent executive order putting investment restrictions on some Chinese tech industries. Other U.S. officials who have traveled to China in the summer of 2023 include Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
The tentative deal avoided a significant strike. It includes significant pay increases over the lifetime of the contract, with a 48% increase for its part-time employees and a push to add more full-time workers.
Passengers rescued from suspended cable car in Pakistan
Cameras caught the terrifying moments as eight people, including six children, were left dangling inside a cable car nearly 1,000 feet above a river after one of its cables snapped. Rescuers were able to save all of those on board, despite a helicopter above producing high winds that threatened the rescue mission.
One child was airlifted to safety before officials suspended use of the helicopter. Hours later, officials were able to deploy a zipline to the car and pull everyone to safety.
These makeshift cable cars are meant to make transportation easier, especially for students heading to school. However, the cars are often made from scrap metal and can lack proper maintenance.
Study: Daily aspirin prevents second heart attack
Research shows taking a daily aspirin can prevent a heart attack in adults who have survived an earlier heart attack or stroke. But a new study suggests only about 40% of people worldwide who have previously suffered a heart attack are taking aspirin.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Because of this, the study recommends people with a history of problems to take aspirin as “secondary prevention” – reducing the risk of an additional heart attack or stroke.
Available research has showed the benefits far outweigh the risks, according to the study’s authors. Some countries have far less access, with only 16 percent of people with prior heart attacks taking aspirin in low-income countries. In the U.S., the percentage is closer to 65%, meeting the goal of the World Health Organization.
StubHub: College football ticket sales through the roof
Ticket exchange company StubHub has released its college football preview, with a list of the most in-demand teams and games for the 2023 season. Alabama, Michigan and Notre Dame round out the top three in-demand teams. The most in-demand game is a Sept. 23 meeting between Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Nationally, college football ticket sales are up over 50% compared to 2022. Penn State football ticket sales are up 150% compared to 2022.
US lawmaker hacked by Chinese points to his criticism of CCP, support for Taiwan
Chinese hackers gained access to the email accounts of Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and senior officials at the departments of State and Commerce from May 15 to June 16. Bacon told Straight Arrow News that the FBI Cyber Division informed him hackers obtained all incoming and outgoing emails by exploiting a weakness in Microsoft’s system.
“Because I explicitly asked, ‘Did I push on something that I shouldn’t have pushed, or did I not have my system, you know, defended well enough, or did I do something that wasn’t right?’ And he goes ‘No, it had nothing to do with you. It was a vulnerability in the system,’” Bacon said.
To the best of Bacon’s knowledge, he is the only congressman who was hacked in this attack. In an exclusive interview with Straight Arrow News’ Ryan Robertson, he explained why he thinks he was targeted out of 535 members of Congress.
“Well, I’ve been very vocal about communist China, the government. I love the Chinese people and I love the Chinese Americans. But the communist government, you know, they’re threatening Taiwan, they are committing crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs, a million people in slave labor,” Bacon said as he listed human rights violations committed at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party.
Bacon said the U.S. should stand with Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression. The retired Air Force general is calling on defense companies and the government to fulfill $19 billion in military sales to the island nation that have been delayed due to supply chain issues and limited production capacity.
Bacon said it’s likely the hackers were “fishing” for something they could leak.
“I think the Chinese government sees me as an adversary. And they were probably trying to find embarrassing emails that maybe I sent or received or whatever they could find that they thought they could undermine me,” Bacon said. “And thankfully, I’ve been married 40 years, loyal to my wife, crime free and I don’t think there’s anything there that could even come close to being embarrassing on my emails.”
While Bacon believes hackers wanted to embarrass him, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns were also hacked in a cyber-espionage attack. The Wall Street Journal reported that the unclassified messages could have given hackers insights into internal policy discussions and planning for visits by senior administration officials.
Chinese hackers target government officials: July 13 rundown
Chinese hackers breached the email accounts belonging to top government officials, and Hollywood actors could join writers in striking. These stories and more highlight the rundown for Thursday, July 13, 2023.
Chinese hackers breach U.S. government email accounts
Microsoft email accounts belonging to top government officials and agencies have been breached by Chinese hackers, according to statements from Microsoft and the White House. Affected agencies include the State Department and the Commerce Department.
According to The Washington Post, hackers accessed the email account of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Sources familiar with the investigation said the Chinese hackers also targeted a handful of other government officials.
The FBI had previously said Beijing has a larger hacking program than all other governments combined. The latest breach could escalate cybersecurity concerns regarding China.
“We always look at incidents such as this and seek to learn how to better protect our systems,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday, July 12. “And of course, we engage in conversation with the third-party providers about how they can better protect the systems that they provide to us.”
Russian general dismissed over criticism of leadership
A Russian general said he was dismissed after telling military leadership about the dire situation on the front lines of the war with Ukraine. Major General Ivan Popov said Russian soldiers had been stabbed in the back by the failings of military leadership.
Popov also said the Russian army lacked proper reconnaissance of enemy artillery and counter artillery systems. His criticism and subsequent dismissal comes less than three weeks after the Wagner group staged a brief but significant revolt against Russia, further demonstrating discontent within Russian fighters as the country continues the biggest land war in Europe since World War 2.
“Putin still wrongly believes that he can outlast Ukraine. He can’t believe it’s their land, their country and their future. And even after all this time, Putin still doubts our staying power,” President Joe Biden said Wednesday in his closing remarks at this week’s NATO summit. “He’s still making a bad bet that the conviction and the unity among the United States and our allies and partners will break down.”
Tornado spotted near Chicago’s O’Hare airport
A tornado was spotted near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Wednesday night. Just behind planes on the tarmac, a funnel and dark clouds hovered in the skies, grounding nearly 700 flights as pilots waited for the powerful storm to pass through.
Homes were lost and trees and powerlines were toppled in the suburbs. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage at the airport.
Ray Epps sues Fox News over Jan. 6 charges
Among the thousands of people participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, Ray Epps became the center of a conspiracy theory accusing him of being an FBI informant, at the Capitol to incite the crowd. Several Fox News hosts ran with the story, with former primetime host Tucker Carlson often questioning why Epps hadn’t been arrested when hundreds of others had.
Epps has now sued Fox News for defamation. According to the suit, Epps was informed in May of 2023 that he faces criminal charges for his actions on Jan. 6. Epps blames the charges on “the relentless attacks by Fox and Tucker Carlson and the resulting political pressure.”
The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of Delaware, the same court where Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election. Before trial was set to begin, Fox agreed to settle that lawsuit for $787 million. Soon after, Carlson was ousted.
Hollywood actors strike looms
Hollywood actors may soon join screenwriters on the picket lines. A deadline for the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) to reach a deal with studios and streaming services passed at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
The SAG-AFTRA Negotiating Committee then voted unanimously to recommend a strike, which would halt Hollywood productions. Issues in the negotiations include better residuals with streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon, as well as the use of AI technology.
“There are certain streamers that have really kind of changed the way we work and the way we have work,” actress Jessica Chastain said Wednesday. “And the contracts really haven’t caught up to the innovation that’s happened.”
The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since early May of 2023. If the actors go on strike, it would be the first time since 1960 that the two guilds would be on strike at the same time.
Elon Musk creates new company “xAI”
Elon Musk has begun his next business venture. This time, he’s entering the space of artificial intelligence.
Musk said he built “xAI” with a goal to “understand reality and the true nature of the universe.” He hired researchers from Google, OpenAI and other top tech firms to be part of his initial xAI team.
According to Musk, xAI will be its own entity, separate from his other businesses like Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX. However, Musk also said the companies will work closely together.
Wireless providers struggle to remove Chinese technology from cell towers
Cell towers across the United States have Chinese technology built into them that the U.S. government determined is a national security threat. But a multi-billion dollar funding shortfall is slowing down and even halting some companies from removing and replacing the equipment.
In 2020, the Federal Communications Commission banned new equipment from two Chinese companies, Huawei and ZTE. Congress appropriated $1.9 billion to help smaller wireless providers take out what had already been installed and replace it. But the job isn’t done yet because they need $3.1 billion more.
There are still an estimated 24,000 pieces of Chinese-made equipment in 8,300 locations.
“This is just one example of the pervasive threat Chinese-made equipment in our communications networks poses to our national security. We know that the Chinese Communist Party intends to exploit these vulnerabilities for all kinds of activities, including espionage,” Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said.
Fischer and her colleague Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., introduced a bill to transfer leftover COVID money from bills like the CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program to the FCC’s “Rip and Replace” fund. In September 2022, 30 Republicans and Democrats wrote a letter to Senate leaders saying they need to fully support the projects.
“A funding shortfall requires the FCC issue a pro-rated reimbursement to eligible telecommunications providers—resulting in only 39.5% of funding for approved costs allocated for reimbursement,” the letter stated.
The Biden administration is also on board.
“I certainly believe it poses national security risks. Huawei remains in American networks, including near military bases, and I think that Congress should fully fund the FCC’s Rip and Replace program,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at a recent hearing.
The issue hits rural communities with smaller service providers the hardest. Fischer said company executives have told her that if they don’t get the funding they have two options: go out of business or rip out the technology without replacing it, which reduces or eliminates coverage in certain areas.
“If these carriers go out of business or reduce coverage, that will leave thousands of residents without wireless services — services that are essential for work, emergencies, and life in the 21st century. People traveling through these areas often won’t have service either,” Fischer said.
Fischer contends the wireless providers are in a tough position after being mandated by the federal government to remove the equipment. But getting this bill approved won’t be easy. Similar bills have failed twice in the last year.