Latest news with #JoshHawley
Axios
32 minutes ago
- Business
- Axios
Trump's budget bill faces "nightmare scenario," Hawley warns
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is warning that the Senate's version of " one, big beautiful bill" can't pass the House with the Medicaid changes it unveiled this week — urging leadership to change it fast and not to let the fight drag on. Why it matters: Hawley has been the loudest GOP voice fighting against Medicaid cuts. He was shocked and angered by the Senate going even further than the House to find Medicaid savings. House leadership's concerns could help his case. "It seems to me that now we're in a place where this provision is threatening the entire bill, and we just don't have time for that," Hawley told Axios in a phone interview. President Trump wants the bill on his desk on July 4, which White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles reiterated to senators this week. "I just think the idea of having now to go to a conference committee with the House because they say, well, we can't pass this... I mean, good lord, that's just a nightmare scenario," Hawley said. Zoom in: Reports have been surfacing that House leaders and Republican moderates do not think they can pass the Senate bill as-is. The changes to Medicaid and the state and local tax deduction (SALT) cap are the two biggest issues. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)'s team has told people he has not been consulted on the changes, as Punchbowl reported. Hawley is willing to support the House version of the Medicaid provider tax, which froze it at 6%. What to watch: Earlier this week, Hawley told reporters he had been pitching solutions to leadership to help rural hospitals, which he and other Republicans worry would be hit hard by the even lower provider tax in the Senate bill. He still likes the idea of a rural hospital fund, but also wants to scrap the Senate's slow decrease of provider taxes to 3.5% for states that expanded Medicaid. "We could do both," Hawley said. "I mean, they're not mutually exclusive" Zoom out: Hawley has been clearly frustrated by the changes in the bill, but said he still supports Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). "This is tough job," Hawley said. "I think he's doing a great job, and it's just... this is a hard job." The bottom line:"I'm 100% confident it will not get to the floor the way they introduced it on Monday," Hawley said. "They will have to change it."
Business Insider
11 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Google (GOOGL) Is Training AI on YouTube Videos, and Creators Didn't Even Know
Tech giant Google (GOOGL) is using part of its huge library of YouTube videos (around 20 billion in total) to train AI models like Gemini and Veo 3, according to CNBC. Although the company says it only uses a portion of the videos and follows agreements with creators and media companies, this still means that billions of minutes of content are used for training. Unsurprisingly, YouTube says that it has always used content to improve its products and now has protections to help creators control how their image is used in the age of AI. However, creators can't stop Google from using their videos for its own AI models, and many weren't aware this was happening. Confident Investing Starts Here: As a result, some experts and creators are worried. Indeed, tools like Trace ID from a company called Vermillio, which is used to detect overlaps between AI-generated videos and original ones, have found that Veo 3 has created videos very similar to existing YouTube content. One example showed a Veo 3 video closely matched a video from creator Brodie Moss, with a score of 71 for the video and over 90 for just the audio. While some creators welcome the competition, others feel their work is being used unfairly, without credit, consent, or payment. This news comes at a time when the entertainment world is pushing back, as Disney (DIS) and Universal (CMCSA) recently filed a lawsuit against AI company Midjourney for copyright issues. Google, meanwhile, says it will take legal responsibility if users face copyright complaints over content created with Veo 3. YouTube has also partnered with the Creative Artists Agency to help top talent manage how their image is used in AI. But some say YouTube's tools aren't reliable. In fact, U.S. lawmakers, like Senator Josh Hawley, argue that stronger rights are needed to protect people's images and creations as AI advances. Is Google Stock a Good Buy? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on GOOGL stock based on 29 Buys and nine Holds assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average GOOGL price target of $199.11 per share implies 14.88% upside potential from current levels.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Who was the real Prez?': Hawley blasts Dems over Biden's cognitive decline, demands autopen records
At a fiery Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) accused Democrats of orchestrating a massive cover-up surrounding the former president's cognitive health. Hawley slammed top officials for allegedly misleading the American public for years, demanding transparency and the release of autopen consent records to determine who was truly making presidential decisions. Show more Show less
Business Journals
2 days ago
- Health
- Business Journals
The real cost of the Big Beautiful Bill: Hunger and health
The Big Beautiful Bill, currently being considered by the United States Senate, is anything but beautiful. The proposed harms to people are many — jeopardizing millions of Americans' access to Medicaid, food assistance, higher education grants and infringing on the rights of lawful immigrants to pursue the American dream — all to make permanent tax cuts benefiting only the top 1% of earners. But what about the rest of us? The widespread harms of the bill have garnered bipartisan opposition at a time when polarization is the norm. Kansas Senator Jerry Moran spoke about the negative impacts of the bill on the Senate floor. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has long been outspoken in opposition to the bill, calling it 'morally wrong.' Other legislators across the political spectrum have also raised grave concerns about this massive bill that will, even after cuts to essential programs, add $3.3 trillion to our national deficit. The fallacies of this bill show in how the legislature has moved to adopt it. Middle of the night debates and votes, and accelerated processes to move the bill through the House, are contrary to the transparency and sound decision necessary in a true representative democracy. Only through such tactics could legislation that would cut $700 billion from Medicaid and cause an estimated 15 million people to lose their health insurance coverage make it this far in the process. We as Americans must stand up for ourselves and say no. Impact of work requirements The addition of work requirements on top of federal spending cuts compound and confuse the issues of Medicaid program efficacy and efficiency. The vast majority of Kansans and Missourians covered through Medicaid are already working. Where states have enforced work requirements, it has resulted in many working Americans losing their coverage, not because they do not qualify, but because of administrative burden and error. For example, Arkansas removed 18,000 working people from Medicaid shortly after implementing work requirements a few years ago due to overly complicated online filing requirements, lack of awareness and lack of internet access. In Missouri, where Medicaid was expanded in 2020 by constitutional amendment, it is estimated that work requirements would cut off nearly 80,000 people from health insurance for similar reasons. This is an unjust consequence for people working in our communities and positively contributing to our economy. Cuts to food assistance and job losses Another cruel element of the bill is its sweeping, unprecedented cuts to food assistance (known as SNAP), totaling nearly $300 billion and projected to cut nutritional support for 28 million children, older adults, and people living with disabilities, impacting Congressional districts across Kansas and Missouri. In the bi-state Kansas City region, well over 30,000 working Missourians with children in school and 15,000 in Kansas would lose life-saving access to food. Research and history show that reducing or losing SNAP benefits altogether increases hunger and makes for worse health outcomes in working families with children. There is no discernible economic gain to these moves that would justify leaving families sick and hungry. Economists project that the 550,000 in job losses from the Medicaid cuts alone will put us at the brink of a recession. Cuts to SNAP are no better, leading to a loss of 143,000 jobs directly and indirectly associated with our food systems and reduced economic activity of $30 billion. Many of these workers who face lost opportunities and jobs would simultaneously be unable to access safety net benefits like SNAP because of the cuts. Harming our rural communities This bill is disastrous for rural communities — where good paying jobs, access to health care and healthy food are extraordinarily hard to come by. Cuts to Medicaid are projected to result in rural hospital closures, as they rely on Medicaid for revenue. Rural health care jobs would be cut by direct extension. An analysis by the National Rural Health Association shows that each rural hospital employee is associated with roughly $200,000 per year in economic activity. While many rural residents are reliant on the Medicaid program for coverage and SNAP for food assistance, even those who are not on Medicaid and Medicare will suffer when the hospital nearest to them closes or other services are cut because of lack of funding. Impact on workforce development The bill also changes the eligibility for Pell grants for students in households earning low incomes. Given the physician workforce shortage (and shortages in other health science professions) and that at least 5 percent of students in medical schools would have qualified for these grants, reduced access to funding for higher education will exacerbate work force shortages in rural and other parts of our country. Infringements on immigration Legal immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers are also impacted. People who arrived legally in America would be denied access to Medicaid and Medicare even if they qualify or have satisfied the requirements to utilize these programs. There is too much at stake for too many people, as this budget bill sacrifices the quality of life for most Americans for the benefit of a small few. We cannot afford to gamble on hypothetical trickle-down economics when the economic benefits of these programs and the positive impact on people's life circumstances are proven. Senators must heed what is best for the American people with whom they are responsible for representing and vote this bill down. Health Forward Foundation is supporting and building inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities by prioritizing people who experience the greatest injustices in health outcomes. Through leadership, advocacy, and resources, we are championing an equitable future that will serve us all. Since we began grantmaking in 2005, Health Forward has awarded approximately $364 million to nonprofit organizations addressing community health needs.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
US senate Democrats cross the aisle to help Republicans pass crypto bill
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, the first of what the industry hopes will be a wave of bills to bolster its legitimacy and reassure consumers. The fast-moving legislation, which passed by a 68-30 vote and will be sent to the House for potential revisions, comes on the heels of a 2024 campaign cycle in which the crypto industry ranked among the top political spenders in the country, underscoring its growing influence in Washington and beyond. The bill leaves unresolved concerns over presidential conflicts of interest – an issue that remains a source of tension within the Democratic caucus. Eighteen Democratic senators crossed the aisle to vote for the legislation on Tuesday, siding with the Republican majority in the 53-47 Senate. Republican senators Josh Hawley and Rand Paul were the only members of their party to oppose the measure. Known as the GENIUS Act, the bill would establish guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar. The acronym stands for 'Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins' The bill only needed a simple majority vote to pass Tuesday, after it had already cleared its biggest procedural hurdle last week in a 68-30 vote, with 18 Democrats siding with Republicans. But the bill has faced more resistance than initially expected. It was the second major bipartisan bill to advance through the Senate this year, following the Laken Riley Act on immigration enforcement in January. Still, most Democrats opposed the bill. They raised concerns that the measure does little to address Donald Trump's personal financial interests in the crypto space. 'We weren't able to include certainly everything we would have wanted, but it was a good bipartisan effort,' said Angela Alsobrooks, a Democratic senator from Maryland, on Monday. Alsobrooks, a co-sponsor of the bill, added, 'This is an unregulated area that will now be regulated.' The stablecoin legislation still faces several hurdles before reaching the president's desk. It must clear the narrowly held Republican majority in the House, where lawmakers may try to attach a broader market structure bill – sweeping legislation that could make a second passage through the Senate more difficult. Trump has said he wants stablecoin legislation on his desk before Congress breaks for its August recess, now just under 50 days away. Bill Hagerty, the bill's sponsor and a Republican senator from Tennessee, said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote: 'With this bill, the United States is a step closer to being a global leader in crypto.' A provision in the bill bans members of Congress and their families from profiting off stablecoins. That prohibition does not extend to the president and his family, even as Trump builds a crypto empire from the White House. 'Passing the GENIUS Act without strong anti-corruption measures stamps a congressional seal of approval on President Trump selling access to the government for personal profit,' said Jeff Merkley, a Democratic senator from Oregon, in a statement after the bill's passage. Sign up to TechScape A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives after newsletter promotion Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, has been among the most outspoken as the ranking member on the Senate banking committee, warning that the bill creates a 'super highway' for Trump corruption. She has also warned that the bill would allow major technology companies, such as Amazon and Meta, to launch their own stablecoins. Last month, the Republican president hosted a private dinner at his golf club in Virginia with top investors in a Trump-branded meme coin. His family holds a significant stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that launched its own stablecoin, USD1. Trump reported earning $57.35m from token sales at World Liberty Financial in 2024, according to a public financial disclosure released Friday. A meme coin linked to him has generated an estimated $320m in fees, though the earnings are split among multiple investors. Among the Democrats who backed the bill was Elissa Slotkin, a first-term senator who received $10m in support from a crypto political action committee during her Michigan race last year. Slotkin acknowledged the bill 'wasn't perfect' but called it a 'good-faith, bipartisan start' to regulating stablecoins. The administration is broadly supportive of crypto's growth and its integration into the economy. Ahead of Tuesday's vote, Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, urged the Senate to pass the bill, saying it could help stablecoins 'grow into a $3.7tn market by the end of the decade'.
