How the House Voted on Foreign Aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan The New York Times
Democrats put up a big vote — 174 — in favor of this bill, which was intended to sweeten the overall package for conservatives. Echoing one of the many grievances shared by hard-right Republicans who opposed all of the aid measures, Mr. Good said his support for “Israel’s right to defend itself remains unshakeable” but that he disagreed with a measure that would add to the nation’s debt. The bill, which would force TikTok’s Chinese parent to sell the popular social media app, faces a difficult path in the Senate. An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the political party of a group of representatives who notably voted “no” on new aid for Israel.
What to Know About the TikTok Bill That the House Passed
Many are worried that the Chinese government could demand the personal data of Americans from ByteDance and that, under Chinese law, ByteDance would have to comply. In a recent op-ed in The New York Times, contributing opinion writer Christopher Caldwell argued that it’s a “terrible idea” to confiscate the Russian funds because other countries might stop investing in the U.S., which could negatively affect the economy in the long run. The idea to confiscate the Russian assets, which emerged last year, has been hotly contested by economists and foreign policy experts. "The bill buys time to figure out a real solution, while putting space between passage and the election."
Technology
It's not known exactly how much TikTok is worth, but analysts peg its privately-owned parent company, ByteDance, at around $225 billion. "The Chinese said very firmly this month at senior levels that they won't let the algorithm be sold and without it, it's an empty deal," Lewis told NPR. "It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans," said TikTok spokesman Alex Haurek. That means TikTok being forced to sell, or face a possible ban, is on the fast-track to becoming law.
U.S. TikTok Bill
The two-bed, two-bath home sits on a quarter-acre lot, and Putman boasted the gardens and terraces as a draw for potential buyers. Plus, it has a great view of the city, she said, making it the ultimate LA outdoor space. "I think (it's) really cool that every owner since has just kind of preserved her memory for the space," Putman said. "This is definitely the exact kind of house where you would dream," Gambino said in an interview with USA TODAY.
Congress passes bill that could unlock billions in frozen Russian assets for Ukraine
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, has not yet committed to bringing it up for a vote. Matt Bradley is a London-based foreign correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. “Other G7 countries will only act to confiscate Russian assets if the U.S. leads,” he Epshtein. “Your leadership through legislative action will increase the likelihood that the administration does what is necessary to confiscate Putin’s billions,” wrote Chairman Garry Kasparov and CEO Uriel Epshtein.
Pending Home Sales Ascended 3.4% in March - National Association of REALTORS®
Pending Home Sales Ascended 3.4% in March.
Posted: Thu, 25 Apr 2024 13:26:18 GMT [source]
Fears over propaganda, spying, fuel TikTok crackdown
James Lewis, director of the technology and public-policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that is a non-starter for Beijing. TikTok is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, yet there is no publicly available evidence that government officials have ever influenced what Americans see on the app, nor any proof that officials in China have spied on U.S. citizens through TikTok. National security officials in Washington have feared that the Chinese government could use TikTok to promote propaganda aimed at interfering in U.S. elections, or surveil some of the 170 million Americans who use the app every month. Creditors to Adler Group SA are set to take control of the company after the embattled landlord struggled to sell assets and repay debts against the backdrop of plunging prices.
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Step downs to the family and recreation rooms may be inconvenient for some. The house is in move-in condition, with rooms that benefit from sunlight and outdoor views. The house won a Society of American Registered Architects’ design award. The tiled floors have radiant heat, and two secondary bedroom suites have balconies. This week’s properties are a five-bedroom in New Canaan, Conn., and a four-bedroom in Chappaqua, N.Y.
"It's a very special house where people immediately get, you know, emotionally connected when they're there." The home at 2538 Sundown Drive is for sale at $2.3 million, listed by Compass agents Carl Gambino and Ariel Putman, and was recently shared on real estate fan account Zillow Gone Wild.
Gambino said the Glassell Park area where the home is located is popular among artists, musicians and actors. Many people who fit the bill have come to see the house, but it has also attracted a wider range of potential buyers like a chef who would use it entertain, and other business people who are interested in the home as a piece of art. The company has reached an agreement in principle with some bondholders on another overhaul of its debt load that will hand them majority voting control, according to a statement Thursday. The announcement came ahead of the company’s full year results, revealing a 12.8% writedown in the value of its German apartments which, together with asset sales, shrank its total portfolio value by €1 billion ($1.1 billion). Lawmakers including Representative Mike Gallagher, the Wisconsin Republican who co-led the bill, and Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, also say China could use TikTok’s powerful algorithm to feed its users political propaganda. Christopher A. Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, have flagged the concerns in the last year.
Captain Tom Moore’s Bedfordshire house on sale for £2.25m - The Guardian
Captain Tom Moore’s Bedfordshire house on sale for £2.25m.
Posted: Thu, 25 Apr 2024 13:06:00 GMT [source]
The House passed a long-stalled foreign aid package on Saturday that gives funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, with a majority of lawmakers backing money for American allies across the globe. The package, which now goes to the Senate, is almost certain to become law. Still, 37 “no” votes, while a break from Washington’s ironclad support for the Jewish state, fell short of the opposition bloc progressives had hoped to muster. Thirty-nine Democrats had voted “no” on Friday on the rule to allow the foreign aid package to come to the House floor, a target that progressives just missed on Saturday on the Israel bill. Fourteen of those Democrats voted on Saturday in favor of aid to Israel, while 12 Democrats who voted to allow the package on the floor on Friday then cast votes against the funding itself. The REPO Act, which would authorize Biden to confiscate the frozen Russian assets in U.S. banks and transfer them to a special fund for Ukraine, is part of the foreign aid package that was stalled for months in the House.
Given that TikTok is one of the largest and most popular social media platforms in the world, its value would put it out of reach for all but the largest tech companies. Under the bill just passed by the House, TikTok would be given up to a year to find a company, or group of investors, to acquire it. That extends the timeline from the six-month window the app was given in the original bill the House passed last month, which some Senators said was too short. It would mark the first time ever the U.S. government has passed a law that could shut down an entire social media platform, setting the stage for what is expected to be a protracted legal battle. The House on Saturday passed legislation that could trigger a nationwide ban of TikTok if its Chinese owner does not sell the video app. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government invested heavily in the euro and the dollar over the years to keep the ruble stable, planting $300 billion worth of foreign currency reserves.
The Renew Democracy Initiative, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit organization promoting democracy and American interest overseas, sent a letter Friday urging Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to work together to get the REPO Act passed. “This could weaken the dollar’s status as the main global reserve currency. The dollar is probably the most valuable strategic asset the United States has,” Caldwell argued.
More than $6 billion of the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets are sitting in U.S. banks. The House passed a foreign aid package Saturday as well as what's called the REPO Act, which would allow the Biden administration to confiscate billions of dollars’ worth of Russian assets sitting in U.S. banks and transfer them to Ukraine for reconstruction. The vote was the latest development in a yearslong cold war between the United States and China over who controls valuable technology from computer chips to artificial intelligence. Lawmakers and the White House have expressed concerns that TikTok’s Chinese ownership poses a national security risk because Beijing could use the app to gain access to Americans’ data or run a disinformation campaign. House lawmakers on Wednesday approved legislation meant to force ByteDance, the Chinese internet company, to sell its wildly popular social media app TikTok.
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