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Senate Republicans will test the popularity of Department of Government Efficiency spending cuts this week by aiming to pass President Donald Trump’s request to claw back $9.4 billion in public media and foreign aid spending.Senate Democrats are trying to kill the measure but need a few Republicans uncomfortable with the president’s effort to join them.Trump’s Republican administration is employing a rarely used tool that allows the president to transmit a request to cancel previously approved funding authority. The request triggers a 45-day clock under which the funds are frozen. If Congress fails to act within that period, then the spending stands. That clock expires Friday.The House has already approved Trump’s request on a mostly party line 214-212 vote. The Senate has little time to spare to beat the deadline for the president’s signature. Another House vote will be needed if senators amend the legislation, adding more uncertainty to the outcome.Here’s a closer look at this week’s debate. Public media on the chopping block Trump has asked lawmakers to rescind nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it’s due to receive during the next two budget years.The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense.The corporation distributes more than two-thirds of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System to support national programming.The potential fallout from the cuts for local pubic media stations has generated concerns on both sides of the political aisle.Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he’s worried about how the rescissions will hit radio stations that broadcast to Native Americans in his state. He said the vast majority of their funding comes from the federal government.“They’re not political in nature,” Rounds said of the stations. “It’s the only way of really communicating in the very rural areas of our state, and a lot of other states as well.”Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ala., said that for the tribal radio stations in her state, “almost to a number, they’re saying that they will go under if public broadcasting funds are no longer available to them.”To justify the spending cuts, the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have cited certain activities they disagree with to portray a wide range of a program’s funding as wasteful. In recent testimony, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought criticized programming aimed at fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. He said NPR aired a 2022 program entitled “What ‘Queer Ducks’ can teach teenagers about sexuality in the animal kingdom.” He also cited a special town hall that CNN held in 2020 with “Sesame Street” about combatting racism. Targeting humanitarian aid As part of the package, Trump has asked lawmakers to rescind about $8.3 billion in foreign aid programs that aim to fight famine and disease and promote global stability.Among the targets: $900 million to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases and strengthen detections systems to prevent wider epidemics. $800 million for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and sanitation and family reunification for those forced to flee their own country. $4.15 billion for two programs designed to boost the economies and democratic institutions in developing and strategically important countries. $496 million to provide humanitarian assistance such as food, water and health care for countries hit by natural disasters and conflicts.Some of the health cuts are aimed at a program known as PEPFAR, which President George W. Bush, a Republican, began to combat HIV/AIDS in developing countries. The program is credited with saving 26 million lives and has broad bipartisan support.On PEPFAR, Vought told senators “these cuts are surgical and specifically preserve life-saving assistance.” But many lawmakers are wary, saying they’ve seen no details about where specifically the administration will cut.The administration also said some cuts, such as eliminating funding for UNICEF, would encourage international organizations to be more efficient and seek contributions from other nations, “putting American taxpayers first.”U.S. leaders have often argued that aiding other nations through “soft power” is not just the right thing to do but also the smart thing.Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told Vought there is “plenty of absolute nonsense masquerading as American aid that shouldn’t receive another bit of taxpayer funding,” but he called the administration’s attempt to root it out “unnecessarily chaotic.”“In critical corners of the globe, instead of creating efficiencies, you’ve created vacuums for adversaries like China to fill,” McConnell told Vought. Trump weighs in The president has issued a warning on his social media site directly aimed at individual Senate Republicans who may be considering voting against the cuts.He said it was important that all Republicans adhere to the bill and in particular defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.“Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement,” he said.For individual Republicans seeking reelection, the prospect of Trump working to defeat them is reason for pause and could be a sign the package is teetering.Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., opted to announce he would not seek reelection recently after the president called for a primary challenger to the senator when he voted not to advance Trump’s massive tax and spending cut bill. Getting around a filibuster Spending bills before the 100-member Senate almost always need some bipartisan buy-in to pass. That’s because the bills need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and advance. But this week’s effort is different.Congress set up a process back when Republican Richard Nixon was president for speedily considering a request to claw back previously approved spending authority. Under those procedures, it takes only a simple Senate majority to advance the president’s request to a final vote.It’s a rarely employed maneuver. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, had some success with his rescissions request, though the final bill included some cuts requested by the president and many that were not. Trump proposed 38 rescissions in 2018, but the package stalled in the Senate.If senators vote to take up the bill, it sets up the potential for 10 hours of debate plus votes on scores of potentially thorny amendments in what is known as a vote-a-rama.Democrats see the president’s request as an effort to erode the Senate filibuster. They warn it’s absurd to expect them to work with GOP lawmakers on bipartisan spending measures if Republicans turn around a few months later and use their majority o cut the parts they don’t like.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer offered a stern warning in a letter to colleagues: “How Republicans answer this question on rescissions and other forthcoming issues will have grave implications for the Congress, the very role of the legislative branch, and, more importantly, our country,” Schumer said.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., took note of the warning.“I was disappointed to see the Democrat leader in his recent Dear Colleague letter implicitly threaten to shut down the government,” Thune said.The Trump administration is likening the first rescissions package to a test case and says more could be on the way if Congress goes along. Kevin Freking, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published two recent mushroom-related recall notices due to potential Listeria illness concerns. Several mushroom products distributed in New York, Michigan, and Ohio have been recalled after routine testing found the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can spread to and from food and can cause serious and fatal infections. While Listeria infections are rare, pregnant individuals, newborns, adults 65 and above, and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk. Consumers who have purchased these products should return them for a refund. Here’s more information on the recalled products: Multiple mushroom products recalled by Wiet Peeters Farm Products Limited On July 10, Canadian company Wiet Peeters Farm Products Limited, which is based in Charing Cross, Ontario, issued a recall for the following products due to their potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes: Aunt Mid’s Fresh Sliced Mushrooms (227g flat blue packaging with UPC 0 33383 676005 and best before date of 25JL04) Peeters Mushroom Farm Cremini Sliced (flat black plastic packaging with UPC 0 68414 96960 3 and best before date of 25JL04) Peeters Mushroom Farm Thick Slice Mushrooms (10 lb. cardboard box) The products were distributed in Ohio and Michigan. Testing done by the Canadian Food Inspection revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in 227g packages of Fresh Sliced Mushrooms. The other mushrooms were manufactured on the same line. The FDA published the recall information on July 11. If you have purchased any of the above products, you should return them to the retailer for a full refund. If you have any questions, you can contact Wiet Peeters Farm Products Limited by calling 1-519-351-1945 or 1-800-364-1305. LLK Trading issues recall for ‘needle nushrooms’ On July 11, LLK Trading Inc., based in Linden, New Jersey, recalled its 200g packages of “needle mushrooms” due to their potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The mushrooms come in a 200g blue package with a clear plastic top. The products were distributed to Bally Produce Corp in Maspeth, New York, and were sold to DA TANG Supermarket in Middletown, New York. Routine testing done by the FDA found the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. If you have purchased this product, you should return it to the retailer for a full refund. If you have any questions, you can contact LLK Trading Inc. by calling 908-290-3061. As of this date, no illnesses have been reported for either of these recalls.
Category:
E-Commerce
A preliminary finding into last month’s Air India plane crash has suggested the aircraft’s fuel control switches were turned off, starving the engines of fuel and causing a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff.The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday, also found that one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel in the flight’s final moment. The other pilot replied he did not do so.The Air India flighta Boeing 787-8 Dreamlinercrashed on June 12 and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived the crash, which is one of India’s worst aviation disasters.The report based its finding on the data recovered from the plane’s black boxescombined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders.Here is an explanation of what black boxes are and what they can do: What are black boxes? The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder are tools that help investigators reconstruct the events that lead up to a plane crash.They’re orange in color to make them easier to find in wreckage, sometimes at great ocean depths. They’re usually installed a plane’s tail section, which is considered the most survivable part of the aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s website. What does the cockpit voice recorder do? The cockpit voice recorder collects radio transmissions and sounds such as the pilot’s voices and engine noises, according to the NTSB’s website.Depending on what happened, investigators may pay close attention to the engine noise, stall warnings and other clicks and pops, the NTSB said. And from those sounds, investigators can often determine engine speed and the failure of some systems.Investigators can also listen to conversations between the pilots and crew and communications with air traffic control. Experts make a meticulous transcript of the voice recording, which can take up to a week. What does the flight data recorder do? The flight data recorder monitors a plane’s altitude, airspeed and heading, according to the NTSB. Those factors are among at least 88 parameters that newly built planes must monitor.Some can collect the status of more than 1,000 other characteristics, from a wing’s flap position to the smoke alarms. The NTSB said it can generate a computer animated video reconstruction of the flight from the information collected. What are the origins of the black box? At least two people have been credited with creating devices that record what happens on an airplane.One is French aviation engineer François Hussenot. In the 1930s, he found a way to record a plane’s speed, altitude and other parameters onto photographic film, according to the website for European plane-maker Airbus.In the 1950s, Australian scientist David Warren came up with the idea for the cockpit voice recorder, according to his 2010 AP obituary.Warren had been investigating the crash of the world’s first commercial jet airliner, the Comet, in 1953, and thought it would be helpful for airline accident investigators to have a recording of voices in the cockpit, the Australian Department of Defence said in a statement after his death.Warren designed and constructed a prototype in 1956. But it took several years before officials understood just how valuable the device could be and began installing them in commercial airlines worldwide. Why the name “black box”? Some have suggested that it stems from Hussenot’s device because it used film and “ran continuously in a light-tight box, hence the name ‘black box,'” according to Airbus, which noted that orange was the box’s chosen color from the beginning to make it easy to find.Other theories include the boxes turning black when they get charred in a crash, the Smithsonian Magazine wrote in 2019.The media continues to use the term, the magazine wrote, “because of the sense of mystery it conveys in the aftermath of an air disaster.” Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Inside a cavernous 1930s-era warehouse on the northern edge of Brooklyn, the ancient and all-but-extinct art of stone carving is having a 21st century rebirth. This is the new headquarters of Monumental Labs, a quirky but audacious startup that is combining the meticulous chisel-and-hammer craft of stone carving with the prowess, speed, and efficiency of robotics and artificial intelligence. Using an $8 million round of venture capital funding, the 2-year-old company is turning this aging warehouse into a modern stonecutting factory capable of quickly producing highly detailed decorative facades, museum-grade marble sculptures, and towering stone monuments. And if founder Micah Springut gets his way, the company will soon be trying its robotic arms at an even grander project: reinventing the way buildings get built. [Photo: Monumental Labs] Walking through the warehouse on a recent day, Springut shows off the 30-foot-high ceilings of the main fabrication floor, where more than a dozen seven-axis robotic carving arms will soon be chipping away at massive blocks of granite, limestone, and marble, turning them into towering sculptures and statues. When the 37,000-square-foot facility comes online in the fall, Monumental Labs will begin fine-tuning its stone carving process to quickly and affordably produce structural stone that can be used to build everything from private homes to multi-level apartment complexes. [Photo: Monumental Labs] It will be a big step up from the space Monumental Labs currently leases outside of New York City. That’s where the company produced its first significant projects, including restorations of decorative stone adorning Carnegie Hall and the Frick Museum, which are mostly cut by robots and then hand-finished by trained stone carvers. It’s a process that can cut delivery times for sculptures and decorative facade treatments from months to weeks. But in its current location, Monumental Labs has only been able to deploy two robots, and its monument carving capacity tops out at 12 feet. [Photo: Monumental Labs] “We can’t do an entire facade, we can’t do an entire building, we can’t do a monumental arch,” Springut says of the existing workshop. Behind him in the new factory, SUV-sized slabs of marble sit idly by, waiting for the robotic arms to be installed and activated. “All of that kind of stuff, large-scale works, both public and private, could be done here now,” he says. The new factory space and capacity is made possible by the $8 million funding round, which was led by Seven Seven Six, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital fund. Founding partner Katelin Holloway, who led the deal with Monumental Labs, says the company offers a perfect blend of technology and humanity. “They’re bringing craftsmanship back to architecture,” she says. “This technology has massive potential to transform how we build cities, bringing back that artistic magic we almost lost.” [Photo: Monumental Labs] Springut says the new space will help the company keep up with growing demand. It’s currently working on several large-scale sculpture projects for private clients, decorative stone facades, and a set of gargoyles that will be added to a new building at an undisclosed university in the South. The big goal, though, is getting into structural stone. These are giant, Lego-like blocks of stone that are precisely cut to form thick and strong building bases and walls. With a lower embodied carbon footprint and a much longer lifespan than concrete, structural stone is seen as an environmentally friendly alternative construction method. It’s also one humans have relied on for millennia. “We basically built with stone for all of history until about 110 years ago when industrialization came and changed what became efficient to build with,” says Springut. “The cost of fabricating stone, cutting it, and shaping it into the form you want became far, far more expensive than doing that with concrete.” Robotics and automation, he says, will dramatically lower that down to as little as 25% of the cost of building with concrete. [Photo: Monumental Labs] The future of structural stone Andrew Lane can’t wait. He’s an attorney and prospective developer based in Austin who has become obsessed with the idea of using structural stone to develop new buildingspartly out of frustration with the aesthetics of modern buildings and partly because stone buildings have such longevity. Standing on his balcony in downtown Austin, he pans his phone’s camera from the Renaissance revival-style Texas Capitol Building to the new glass-and-steel office and residential towers a few blocks south. “America could rise, America could fall, that capitol building ain’t going anywhere. That office building right there, that glass, that’s gone in 70 years, max,” he says. “I just don’t understand why we want to build cities like that.” He’s hoping to change course by building townhouses or apartments in Austin using stone carved by Monumental Labs, but is waiting to learn more about exactly how much it will cost. Springut says that’s still an open question. Monumental Labs has other developer clients who are eager to get started, but everyone first wants to see what the company can produce with its new fabrication space. That’s why one of the first projects Monumental Labs will work on once its new facility is up and running is a 30-foot-tall observation tower built out of structural stone and constructed right in the corner of its main fabrication hall. Springut says that should be enough to get some of these developer clients to commit to building. “We’ve got a number of clients who are just ready for us to be ready,” he says. There’s still plenty that’s needed before Monumental Labs is actually ready, though. The biggest hurdle is refining the technology behind its stone cutting ambitions, and training its own AI systems to handle the now largely manual process of understanding the cutting paths and the tool heads needed to turn a multiton chunk of limestone into the building blocks of a townhome. [Photo: Monumental Labs] “We’ll be using reinforcement learning to effectively come up with the optimal toolpaths to see a 3D model, and based on the curvature and the geometric forms, to choose what are the right tools, or what are the right angles of attack,” Springut says. “And when we do that, that’s what’s going to bring the cost of fabricating stone down by 80% to 90%.” The company’s proprietary software, he says, will learn from every carving project its robots undertake, getting better over time. This new facility will be part of building that institutional knowledge, using its new fleet of robots to crank out up to 100 life-sized sculptures per year, and possibly a few full-sized buildings. But that will have to wait until the robots can actually move into the building. First, Springut says, the 1930s-era complex needs some upgrades, including a reinforced foundation capable of handling the weight of the stones to be carved. Before Monumental Labs can revolutionize the world of building, it’ll have to bring its own headquarters into the 21st century.
Category:
E-Commerce
Earlier today, the price of Bitcoin passed the $120,000 milestone for the first time, marking a dramatic rise for the world’s most popular cryptocurrency over the last three months. But it’s not just mainstream tokens that are enjoying a rally this week. So-called meme coins, including Shiba Inu, Elon Musk favorite Dogecoin, and President Trump’s own Trump Coin, have also seen their value increase in recent days. Here are some of the latest figures from crypto price tracker CoinMarketCap: Pepecoin (PEP) Up 24.31 in 7 days Dogecoin (DOGE): Up 20.73% in 7 days Shiba Inu (SHIB): Up 17.19% in 7 days Official Trump (TRUMP) Up 12.52% in 7 days This is in addition to stock price increases for companies that are crypto adjacent, such as Coinbase, whose shares are up 47.98% over the last month. Why are crypto prices rising? Cryptocurrencies can be highly volatile and tend to fluctuate with broader market conditions, so it’s not always easy to tell what is driving any particular rally. However, one clear reason why crypto tokens may be up this week is that Congress is set to debate and possibly vote on a various key pieces of legislation that are seen as advancing Trump’s crypto-friendly agenda. As Bloomberg reports, the actions are being dubbed “Crypto Week.” The legislation includes the Senate’s GENIUS Act, which would create a regulatory framework for a dollar-pegged stablecoin. It also includes the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025aka the Clarity Actwhich aims to create a framework for digital assets more broadly. Potential crypto-related movement on Capitol Hill comes in addition to growing institutional demand for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as Fast Company reported last week. Add it all up and you have a lot of enthusiasm at the moment for Bitcoin and its fellow cryptocurrencies all the way down the chain. At the same time, it’s important to keep in mind that we’ve been here before. In late 2021, Bitcoin was riding high on what was then a record price, somewhere just north of $64,000. It came crashing down in the wake of numerous crypto scandals and the ensuing “Crypto Winter” of 2022. It took more than two years to recover.
Category:
E-Commerce
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