Routers are boxes that connect computers, phones, and smart devices to the internet, and lawmakers have raised security concerns about Chinese-made routers. The FCC order does not impact imports or use of existing models, but will ban new ones.
Gilead Sciences Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire Ouro Medicines, a closely held company testing novel antibody drugs against autoimmune diseases, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
The person declined to comment on a potential price. The Financial Times, which reported the talks earlier today, said Foster City, California-based Gilead could pay as much as $2 billion under terms currently being discussed.
Raiding $1.2 billion next year and $2.6 billion over the next two years as the Mamdani administration plans would leave the city flatfooted if the economy goes south.
“It’s going to leave us more vulnerable next year … This is not a year to be draining our reserves,” Levine said.
He said the unknown impact of the Iran war also has to be taken into account.
Emergency funds should be used as a last resort during a real financial crisis such as a recession, a pandemic or another catastrophe, he said.
Levine also said the bond credit rating agencies issuing a “negative outlook” on the city’s finances — partly citing concerns about tapping into emergency reserves — is a warning sign that the mayor and City Council need to get the budget under control.
Mamdani’s preliminary $127 billion spending plan projects a $5.4 billion deficit that must be closed. He has proposed closing most of it through tax hikes, not spending cuts.
Levine projects the deficit at $6.5 billion — and he said part of the solution should be spending less.
“We’re spending more than we’re taking in … We’re going to have to find more efficiencies throughout the agencies of city government,” he said.
As he testified during his recent budget testimony before the City Council, Levine said spending on the city’s rental assistance or housing voucher program has exploded and is expected to cost $2.6 billion next year.
“It’s growing by 4% a month,” Levine said.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin also said she opposes dipping into reserve funds to balance the budget, claiming it’s unnecessary.
Meanwhile, Democratic former Gov. David Paterson admitted Sunday that Florida’s elected officials have been more prudent in managing taxpayers’ dollars than New York’s.
“Florida, in spite of its size and population, has been far more careful with how they manage their finances than New York,” Paterson said on 77 WABC radio’s “Cats Roundtable” program.
The city budget is $127 billion, more than Florida’s $115 billion state budget, despite the Sunshine State having nearly three times the population.
New York state’s $260 billion budget is more than double Florida’s, despite having 5 million fewer residents.
Paterson said counties in New York fight for more funding from Albany and “it puts an inordinate strain on the tax base … [New York] is now starting to feel the whole thing coming apart.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi assured on Monday that commercial shipping can continue through the Strait of Hormuz under specific conditions. In a telephone conversation with his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun, Araghchi addressed regional tensions following recent US and Israeli military actions against Iran.
"The Strait of Hormuz is blocked for the passage of ships of the aggressor parties and their supporters and supporters," Araghchi insisted, "and the vessels of other countries have no problem crossing the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the Iranian side."
The Iranian diplomat emphasized that current regional insecurity stems directly from "illegal attacks" against his country. The ministers also discussed bilateral relations and consular issues.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Iran-assures-Hormuz-access-for-non-aggressor-vessels/65931722
Thousands of US Marines are due to enter the US Central Command on Friday, the same day as President Donald Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing two US officials.
The report said the Japan-based USS Tripoli, the USS New Orleans, and roughly 2,200 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to cross into CENTCOM on Friday. It would then take several more days for the force to reach the Strait of Hormuz.
The Pentagon has also ordered the California-based 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, aboard the USS Boxer amphibious ready group, to head to CENTCOM, though that deployment will take longer. The report comes just hours after a New York Times article, which states that the Pentagon is contemplating deploying the 82nd Airborne Division and parts of its headquarters to assist in its campaign against Iran.
The United States intelligence assessments claim that at least a dozen underwater mines have been placed in the Strait of Hormuz, CBS reported on Monday, citing US officials.
According to the report, the mines that were placed in the critical Middle Eastern waterway are the Iranian-made Maham 3 and Maham 7 Limpet Mine, with the former being a naval mine that has an approximately 10-foot range, and the latter being a compact high-explosive limpet mine that targets medium-sized vessels, landing craft, and smaller submarines. The report added that Iran is using smaller vessels that can carry two or three mines to place them in the strait.
Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said earlier today that there is "no need" to place any mines in the Persian Gulf, seeing as Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz with "full authority."
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/At-least-dozen-mines-said-to-be-placed-in-Hormuz/65931587
