Hard Pass

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/29434754

A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked many of Trump’s efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.

Casper rejected the administration’s argument that the lawsuit to block the changes brought by Democratic state attorneys general was premature because the rules had yet to be implemented. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections, and that Trump’s requirements violated the separation of powers.

The Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” she wrote.

Among other proposed changes, Trump’s order would have required people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, prevented mail ballots from being counted if they arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by then, and punished states that failed to comply by withholding certain federal money.

It was the latest in a string of rulings against the elections executive order Trump signed just months after taking office for his second term. He has since signed another executive order on elections, seeking to create a national voter list and limit mail balloting. That directive also faces multiple legal challenges.

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Allies of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani swept the region’s Democratic House primaries Tuesday evening, the latest example of liberal-minded voters shifting their preferences.

And after Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Claire Valdez won—all of whom have been vocal critics of Israel’s genocide in Gaza—the biggest loser seemed to be MAGA world, which was left befuddled and irate that voters had turned away from candidates espousing the historically pro-Israel party line.

Appearing on Fox News, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller complained that the “Democrat Party has abandoned [centrism] and instead adopted this radical, revolutionary, and in many cases, violent ideology that wants to tear America down, and destroy everything that we know and love, from top to bottom.”

Ceci n'est pas une image

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/48563518

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani flexed his political muscle Tuesday, getting a clean sweep as his three endorsed congressional candidates advanced to November’s general election, ousting two incumbent Democratic congressmen.

President Donald Trump abruptly called off a planned signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing bill ahead of a meeting with Senate Republicans in the Capitol on Wednesday, making clear that he’s in no mood to compromise as he pressures them to pass his voting legislation.

Republicans had been hoping to use the housing bill, which aims to lower costs and increase supply, as a selling point to voters ahead of critical November midterm elections. And GOP senators were eager for a conciliatory luncheon with the president after escalating tensions in recent weeks. But the president upended their plans when he declared on social media that he won’t sign the legislation until they send him his bill to require proof of citizenship for all voters.

“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” Trump posted.

Trump has pressed Republicans for months to kill the Senate filibuster and focus on his proof-of-citizenship voting bill even though Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has repeatedly told him that neither has the votes to pass. The bill would require proof of citizenship for all voters and force states to require voter identification.

Asked about Trump’s post on the housing bill, Thune told reporters, “that was his call to make.”

When Varun Venkatesh cast his ballot in New York’s primary this week, he thought about “a good litmus test for me as a voter.” He wanted to know what the candidates are doing for the Palestinian cause.

The 27-year-old Brooklyn resident decided to support Claire Valdez, who was backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, over Antonio Reynoso, another progressive who was the choice of the Democratic establishment, because she had “a clear and more consistent stance.”

Valdez triumphed in her congressional primary, as did two other insurgent candidates endorsed by Mamdani, and Israel was a key issue in each of the races. Now the question for Democrats is how many more voters like Venkatesh are out there as the party charts its path toward the November midterms and the next presidential election.

The war in Gaza began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which responded with a yearslong counterattack that left more than 73,000 dead. About 1,000 have died since a ceasefire was reached in October, according to the Hamas-run health ministry that does not differentiate between civilian and combatant casualties.

Human rights groups and a United Nations commission have described Israel’s actions as a genocide, a charge that’s been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Democrats on the left — and even some conservatives — have ratcheted up pressure to suspend U.S. aid to Israel, a shift that’s been shadowed by a rise in antisemitism across the political spectrum.

Archive link: https://archive.ph/NaK7K

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1217420/wikipedia-cofounder-larry-sanger-has-been-banned-from-editing-wikipedia

cross-posted from: https://piefed.blahaj.zone/c/news/p/832430/ai-stock-slump-raises-the-question-if-investors-are-just-taking-profits-or-getting

Technology companies are spending big to incorporate artificial intelligence into their businesses and to build huge data centers. Investors who had jumped on the bandwagon appear to be having second thoughts.

Proponents of artificial intelligence see it as the next great revolution for the global economy. The revolution won’t come cheap. Just four companies — Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft — plan to spend up to $720 billion this year, primarily on AI data centers.

This week, investors are looking at the huge sums being spent and questioning whether AI can produce the profits and productivity necessary to make all the investment worth it. Critics have been talking about the possibility of a bubble in AI investment. On Monday, Amazon and Alphabet fell about 5%.

On Tuesday, several companies that make the chips needed for the data center buildup — Nvidia, Micron Technology, Broadcom and Lam Research — led the market lower.

At first, Microsoft, Alphabet and other so-called hyperscalers turned to cash on hand to fund the AI expansion. But they’re increasingly relying on the markets to raise cash.

AI buildout needs cash

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, said earlier this month that it’s raising $80 billion in cash to help pay for its investments by selling shares of its stock. Overall, Alphabet is planning to spend as much as $190 billion this year — more than all the stock of The Walt Disney Co. is worth, and Alphabet is forecasting its spending on investments next year will “significantly increase.”

In March, Amazon sold $54 billion of bonds in the U.S. and Europe as it plans to spend around $200 billion this year on AI investments.

Elon Musk’s rocket maker SpaceX was on a three-day skid heading into Tuesday. It regained some lost ground, but ended trading slightly below the closing price on its first day of trading on June 12. Musk acknowledges that SpaceX will have to spend heavily to fulfill its plans of sending AI data centers into space, and the company has announced that part of an upcoming bond offering will fund its AI buildout.

High-priced chip companies

Chip companies have benefitted as the demand for memory chips and processing power for AI data centers and other projects has led to a supply shortage and a surge in prices. Investors have bid up the share prices of these companies now in anticipation of big profits down the road. By one measure, which compares a company’s stock price to its earnings per share, these companies might look expensive.

Marvell Technologies lost money for five straight years before turning a profit of $2.7 billion in the fiscal year ended in January, thanks to gains in its data center business. The stock has more than tripled so far this year and its price-to-earnings ratio has gone from about 30 at the start of 2026 to near 100.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.online/c/mildlyinfuriating/p/1784290/interesting

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/71026243