Cryptocurrency investors and industry executives calling on Vice President Kamala Harris to pursue a softer regulatory stance on the industry are planning to raise at least $100,000 for the Democratic nominee at a Sept. 13 Washington fundraiser.
The grassroots event is scheduled to take place between the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus conferences, and aims to bring together a diverse group of donors, the organizers told Reuters. Tickets to the fundraiser range from $500 to $5,000, said Cleve Mesidor, executive director of the Blockchain Foundation and one of the organizers.
The event’s fundraising goal is small compared to the hundreds of millions Harris has raked in since becoming the Democratic presidential candidate in July when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. But it is the latest sign that at least some in the industry are rallying behind her rather than Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has courted big crypto donors with friendly policy pledges.
Reuters was first to report the fundraiser.
The organizers include Tiffany Smith, co-chair of the Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Working Group at law firm WilmerHale and Rahilla Zafar, a crypto founder who has also worked in artificial intelligence. They are hoping that if elected, Harris will ease up on crypto after the Securities and Exchange Commission under Biden cracked down on the sector.
The agency says crypto firms are flouting securities laws, although the industry disputes that those laws apply to them.
“Why not seize on the first fundraiser — which there will be many others — to actually make a statement about what crypto is for Democrats as a potentially new administration contemplates how do they look at this?” said Mesidor.
She said she hopes the event will facilitate conversations about how a potential Harris administration might encourage crypto innovation and provide more people of color with access to capital. “We wanted to make sure that with the change in the presidential nominee for the Democrats, that we were supportive and we came together to help her understand the importance of this industry,” said WilmerHale’s Smith.
The group is not affiliated with the Harris campaign, which did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
A separate group called Crypto4Harris also emerged this month and plans to throw fundraisers for Harris. The group held a town hall during which billionaire Mark Cuban and Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci spoke in favor of Harris.
Although Harris has yet to publicly take a stance on crypto, her campaign staff have met with prominent crypto firms including Coinbase and Ripple, Reuters previously reported.
Those and other big crypto companies are donating to pro-crypto candidates in congressional races in both parties via super political action committees, campaign finance records show, rather than aligning themselves with either presidential candidate.
Brian Nelson, a senior adviser for the Harris campaign, said at an event at the Democratic National Convention this month that Harris would support the growth of emerging technologies, which many in the crypto industry saw as a positive sign.
“(Kamala Harris) has this golden opportunity to really lay out a plan to sway a lot of these voters from the crypto industry,” said Zafar.
US crypto executives to throw Washington fundraiser for Kamala Harris
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US crypto executives to throw Washington fundraiser for Kamala Harris
- It is the latest sign that some in the industry are rallying behind Harris rather than Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has courted big crypto donors with friendly policy pledges
- Although Harris has yet to publicly take a stance on crypto, her campaign staff have met with prominent crypto firms including Coinbase and Ripple
Minnesota police, FBI hunt suspect in deadly shooting of Democratic state lawmakers
- Couple Mark and Melissa Hortman were killed by a gunman posed as police officer
- The suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, was eported to have links to evangelical ministries
MINNEAPOLIS/WASHINGTON: A gunman posing as a police officer killed a senior Democratic state assemblywoman and her husband on Saturday in an apparent “politically motivated assassination,” and wounded a second lawmaker and his spouse, said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and law enforcement officials. A major search backed by the FBI was underway for the suspect, who fled on foot after firing at police and abandoning a vehicle in which officers found a “manifesto” and a list of other legislators and officials, law enforcement officials said. The suspect was identified as 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans told a news briefing.
Boelter should be considered “armed and dangerous” and is believed to still be in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Evans said, adding that it was too soon to determine a motive.
The suspect had links to evangelical ministries and claimed to be a security expert with experience in the Gaza Strip and Africa, according to his online postings and public records reviewed by Reuters. Boelter also described himself online as a former employee of food service companies.
Evans said investigators were aware of similar reports of his connections and would be exploring them.
The list found in the abandoned vehicle that looked similar to a police SUV contained about 70 names, including abortion providers, and lawmakers in Minnesota and other states, CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources.
ABC News, also citing law enforcement officials, said the list included dozens of Minnesota Democrats including Walz, US Representative Ilhan Omar, Senator Tina Smith and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
The killings of Melissa Hortman, a former assembly speaker and her husband, Mark, prompted reactions of shock and horror from Republican and Democratic politicians across the country and calls for dialing back increasingly divisive political rhetoric.
The shootings come on the heels of a heated hearing in Congress on Thursday in which Walz and two other Democratic governors defended their states’ policies to maintain sanctuary for undocumented immigrants, drawing attacks from Republicans who support Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
Minnesota State Patrol chief Col. Christina Bogojevic said that police found flyers in the suspect’s vehicle with “No Kings” printed on them, but he had no direct links to the thousands of nationwide “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump’s policies taking place on Saturday.
The protests were timed to counter Trump’s long-sought military parade in Washington. The organizing No Kings Coalition canceled all protests in Minnesota, citing a shelter-in-place order and the suspect’s at-large status.
Trump said he was briefed on the “terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota, which appears to be a targeted attack against State Lawmakers.”
“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!” Trump said in a statement.
Police impersonator
Hortman and her husband were shot dead in their home in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park, Walz said. The Minneapolis suburb is located in the northern part of Hennepin County, a Democratic stronghold in a state where Republicans have made gains in recent years. Prior to Hortman’s killing, the Minnesota House of Representatives she served in was evenly split 67-67 between Democrats and Republicans.
Hortman’s official website says she and her husband have two children.
Walz said that the gunman went to the Hortmans’ residence after shooting Senator John Hoffman and his wife multiple times in their home in the nearby town of Champlin.
They underwent surgery, Walz said, adding that he was “cautiously optimistic” that they would survive “this assassination attempt.”
“This was an act of targeted political violence,” he said. “Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.”
Law enforcement officials said the gunman attacked the Hoffmans at around 2 a.m. CDT (0700 GMT) and then drove about five miles to the Hortmans’ residence.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said that a “very intuitive” police sergeant who responded to the Hoffman attack asked colleagues to “proactively” check the Hortmans’ residence.
The two officers arriving at the Hortmans’ home saw what appeared to be a police vehicle parked in the driveway with its emergency lights on and an individual dressed and equipped as a police officer leaving the home, he said.
The suspect “immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire and the suspect retreated back into the home,” Bruley continued.
The suspect wore a vest with a taser, other police equipment and a badge when he fled the home. The Hortmans and Hoffmans were on the list of names found in the suspect’s car, officials said.
The FBI called the shooting a “deliberate and violent attack on public servants and their families.” It offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the suspect’s arrest.
Political violence surge
The pre-dawn Minnesota killings come amid a surge in US political attacks in recent years, underscoring the dark side of the nation’s deepening political divisions.
These include the attempted 2020 kidnapping of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and a man who broke into Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence in April and set it on fire.
In July last year, then-candidate Trump escaped an assassination attempt by a gunman while speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said it arrested a person in connection with a threat against state lawmakers who had planned to attend a protest at the state capitol in Austin, which it evacuated. There was no indication of a direct link to the Minnesota killings.
Trump has faced criticism from some opponents over his handling of incidents involving political violence.
In one of his first moves in office earlier this year, Trump pardoned nearly everyone criminally charged with participating in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Putin tells Trump Russia is ready for next round of Ukraine talks
- Putin and Trump held a call for the fifth time since the Republican took office and sought to reset relations with Moscow
- Zelensky urges the US to “shift tone” in its dialogue with Russia, saying it was “too warm” and would not help to end the fighting
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump Saturday that Moscow was ready to hold a fresh round of peace talks with Kyiv after June 22, once the sides complete exchanging prisoners and soldiers’ bodies.
Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile did not mention whether Ukraine would agree to the next round of talks, only saying that “the exchanges will be completed and the parties will discuss the next step.”
Putin and Trump held a call for the fifth time since the Republican took office and sought to reset relations with Moscow, in a stark pivot from the approach of his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration.
Trump’s approach has stunned Washington’s allies, raising doubts about the future of US aid to Kyiv and leaving Europe scrambling to work out how it can fill any gap in supplies if Trump decides to pull US military, financial and intelligence support.
“Both leaders expressed satisfaction with their personal relations” during the call, in which they also discussed the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, the Kremlin said.
It added that the presidents “communicate in a businesslike manner and seek solutions to pressing issues on the bilateral and international agenda, no matter how complex these issues may be.”
Trump posted on Truth Social to say Putin had called “to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday” on the day he turned 79, but that “more importantly” the two discussed the Iran-Israel crisis.
“He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end,” Trump said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Zelensky urged the United States to “shift tone” in its dialogue with Russia, saying it was “too warm” and would not help to end the fighting.
“Any signals of reduced aid, or of treating Ukraine and Russia as equals, are deeply unfair. Russia is the aggressor. They started this war. They do not want to end it,” the Ukrainian President said on X.
The recent escalation sparked fears Washington might relocate resources at its expense, to beef up the defense of its close ally Israel which unleashed a large-scale attack on Iran Friday.
“We would like to see aid to Ukraine not decrease because of this,” he said. “Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.”
Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine and Russia swapped prisoners in the fourth such exchange this week, part of a large-scale plan to bring back 1,000 wounded prisoners from each side and return bodies of killed soldiers.
The prisoner agreement was the only visible result of two recent rounds of talks in Istanbul.
Photos published by Zelensky on Telegram showed men of various ages, mostly with shaved heads, wearing camouflage and draped in Ukrainian flags.
Some were injured, others disembarked from buses and hugged those welcoming them, or were seen calling someone by phone, sometimes covering their faces or smiling.
Moscow’s defense ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting “Glory to Russia” and “hooray,” some raising their fists in the air.
As part of the Istanbul agreements, Kyiv also said it had received another 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia.
It said Moscow had said they were those of “Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel.” Ukraine did not say whether it returned any bodies to Russia.
Russia has rejected calls to halt its three-year offensive. It has demanded Ukraine cede territory and renounce Western military support if it wants peace.
Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the assault has forced millions of people to flee their homes as towns and cities across eastern Ukraine have been flattened by heavy bombardments.
Meanwhile, Russia intensified its advances along the front line, especially on the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy, where it seeks to establish a “buffer zone.”
By doing it, Moscow seeks to protect its bordering region of Kursk, previously partly occupied by Ukraine.
Zelensky said Russia’s advance on Sumy was stopped and that Kyiv’s forces had managed to retake one village.
He also denied Moscow’s earlier claims that its troops entered the Dnipropetrovsk region.
He said 53,000 Russian soldiers were involved in the Sumy operation.
After day of nationwide protests, Trump’s military parade rolls through US capital
- Largest outpouring of protests against Trump since his return to power
- Military parade brings tanks, troops to streets of Washington
WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO: President Donald Trump’s long-sought military parade rolled though the streets of downtown Washington on Saturday, but the celebration of the US Army’s 250th anniversary was marred by a day of violence and discord.
In the hours before the parade began, hundreds of thousands of Americans marched and rallied in streets in cities from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles, protesting Trump’s actions while in office, in the largest such actions since his return to power in January.
Earlier in the day, a gunman assassinated a Democratic lawmaker and wounded another in Minnesota and remained at large.
Meanwhile, Israel on Saturday pounded Iran with a second barrage of strikes in a bid to destroy its nuclear program after Iran retaliated with strikes the evening before, stoking fears of a mushrooming conflict between the two nations.
All of it followed a week of tension in Los Angeles, where protests over federal immigration raids resulted in Trump calling in National Guard troops and US Marines to help keep the peace, over the objections of the state’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
The parade, which falls on Trump’s 79th birthday, kicked off earlier than expected with thunderstorms forecast in the Washington area.
Tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery rumbled down the parade route along storied Constitution Avenue, an unusual sight in the US where such displays of military are rare.
“Every other country celebrates their victories, it’s about time America did too,” Trump told the crowd following the parade.
Thousands of spectators lined up along the route. Trump watched the proceedings from an elevated viewing stand behind bulletproof glass.
Some of the president’s opponents also managed to find a spot along the parade route, holding signs in protest. Other demonstrators were kept separate from the parade crowd by local police.
The US Army has brought nearly 7,000 troops into Washington, along with 150 vehicles, including more than 25 M1 Abrams tanks, 28 Stryker armored vehicles, four Paladin self-propelled artillery vehicles, and artillery pieces including the M777 and M119.
Army's history
The parade traced the history of the Army from its founding during the Revolutionary War through modern day. Trump frequently stood and saluted troops as they marched by.
Members of Trump’s cabinet including Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio looked on.
Trump had first expressed interest in a military parade in Washington early in his first 2017-2021 term in office.
In 1991, tanks and thousands of troops paraded through Washington to celebrate the ousting of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait in the Gulf War.
The celebrations were expected to cost the US Army between $25 million and $45 million, US officials have told Reuters. That includes the parade itself as well as the cost of moving equipment and housing and feeding the troops.
Critics have called the parade an authoritarian display of power that is wasteful, especially given Trump has said he wants to slash costs throughout the federal government.
Bryan Henrie, a Trump supporter, flew in from Texas to celebrate the Army’s anniversary and did not see any issues with tanks rolling down the streets of Washington.
“I don’t see a controversy. I will celebrate safety and stability any day over anarchy,” 61-year-old Henrie said.
‘Shame! shame!’
Earlier in the day, thousands marched in Washington and in other cities in protest of Trump’s policies. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, and marked the largest outpouring of opposition to Trump’s presidency since he returned to power in January.
In Los Angeles, however, police, some on horseback, used flash-bang grenades and tear gas to push back a crowd of protesters around the federal building that has been a focus of much of the demonstrations.
Earlier, the crowd had yelled at the Marines guarding the facility, “Shame! Shame!” and “Marines, get out of LA!”
Anti-Trump groups planned nearly 2,000 demonstrations across the country to coincide with the parade. Many took place under the theme “No Kings,” asserting that no individual is above the law.
Thousands of people of all ages turned out in and around Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, many carrying homemade signs that played off the “No Kings” theme. “No crown for a clown,” said one. Actor Mark Ruffalo was among the demonstrators, wearing a hat that read “immigrant.”
“We’re seeing dehumanizing language toward LGBT people, toward people with autism, toward people with other disabilities, racial minorities, undocumented people,” said Cooper Smith, 20, from upstate New York. “Somebody’s got to show that most Americans are against this.”
Protesters in downtown Chicago stood off against police on Saturday, with some waving upside-down American flags and chanting: “Who do you protect? Who do you serve?” and “No justice, no peace.”
Members of the far-right Proud Boys, ardent Trump supporters, appeared at an Atlanta “No Kings” protest, wearing the group’s distinctive black and yellow colors.
About 400 protesters, organized by a group called RefuseFascism.org, marched through Washington and gathered for a rally in a park opposite the White House. Trump had warned people against protesting at the parade itself, saying that “they’re going to be met with very big force.”
Sunsara Taylor, a founder of RefuseFascism, told the crowd, “Today we refuse to accept Donald Trump unleashing the military against the people of this country and in the streets of this country. We say, ‘hell no.’”
Ancient Malian city celebrates annual replastering of mosque
- The annual replastering with “banco” — a mix of earth and water — shields the mosque from harsh weather
DJÉNNÉ, Mali: Thousands of Malians have replastered the iconic earthen mosque in the historic city of Djenne during an annual ceremony that helps preserve the World Heritage site.
To the sound of drums and festive music, townsmen on Thursday coated the towering three-minaret mosque with fresh mud plaster.
The annual replastering with “banco” — a mix of earth and water — shields the mosque from harsh weather ahead of the Sahel region’s often violent rainy season.
“This mosque belongs to the whole world,” said Aboubacar Sidiki Djiteye, his face streaked with mud as he joined the “unifying” ritual.
“There’s no bigger event in Djenne than this,” he told AFP.
“Replastering the mosque is a tradition handed down from generation to generation,” said Bayini Yaro, one of the women tasked with carrying water for the plaster mix.
Locals prepared the mix themselves, combining water, earth, rice bran, shea butter and baobab powder — a hallmark of Sahel-Sudanese architecture.
Chief mason Mafoune Djenepo inspected the fresh coating.
“The importance of this mosque is immense. It’s the image on all Malian stamps,” he said.
A blessing ceremony followed the replastering, with Qur’anic verses recited in the mosque courtyard. Participants then shared dates and sweets.
First erected in the 13th century and rebuilt in 1907, the mosque is considered the world’s largest earthen structure, according to the United Nations’ cultural body, UNESCO.
Djenne, home to around 40,000 residents and known for preserving its traditional banco houses, has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage list since 1988.
The site was added to the endangered heritage list in 2016 due to its location in central Mali, where jihadist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group, as well as ethnic militias and criminal gangs, have waged a violent insurgency since 2012.
Regulator orders inspection of Boeing 787s
- The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Britain’s Gatwick Airport began losing height seconds after take-off on Thursday and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world’s worst aviation disaster in a
AHMEDABAD: India’s aviation regulator has ordered all Boeing 787s being operated by local carriers to be inspected after an Air India crash killed 270 people this week, the aviation minister said on Saturday, adding the authorities were investigating all possible causes.
The aviation regulator on Friday ordered Air India to conduct additional maintenance checks on its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines, including assessments of certain take-off parameters, electronic engine control tests, and engine fuel-related checks.
“We have also given the order to do the extended surveillance of the 787 planes. There are 34 in our Indian fleet,” Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told a media briefing in New Delhi.
“Eight have already been inspected, and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done.”
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Britain’s Gatwick Airport began losing height seconds after take-off on Thursday and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
Air India operates 33 Boeing 787s, while rival airline IndiGo has one, according to data from Flightradar24.
In a statement, Air India said it is currently completing the one-time safety checks directed by the Indian regulator, adding that “some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes.”
The planes, however, have not been grounded, but a source on Friday said the Indian government was considering that as an option.
Naidu also said the government will look at all possible theories of what led to the crash.
Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash, including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down, Reuters has reported.
At least 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash, said Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors Association at B.J. Medical College.
Only one of the 242 passengers and crew on board survived, while others were killed as the plane struck the medical college’s hostel as it came down.
The crisis has cast a shadow on Air India, which has for years struggled to rebuild its reputation and revamp its fleet after the Tata Group took over the airline from the Indian government in 2022. Tata’s chairman said on Friday the group wants to understand what happened, but “we don’t know right now.”
Naidu said a government panel was investigating the crash and will issue a report within three months.
“We are going to improve every necessary thing that is going to come our way, to improve the safety,” he said at the briefing, declining questions from journalists.
Dozens of anxious family members have been waiting outside an Ahmedabad hospital to collect the bodies of loved ones killed in the crash, as doctors were working overtime to gather dental samples from the deceased to run identification checks and DNA profiling.
Rafiq Abdul Hafiz Memon, who lost four relatives in the incident, said he was not getting any answers from authorities and was “very hassled.”
“We have lost our children ... we are not understanding anything. Please help us get information about our children. Tell us when they are going to release their bodies,” Memon said.
Another father was upset about not being able to get the body of his son, Harshad Patel, saying he was told by authorities it would take 72 hours for DNA profiling.
“The authorities are trying to help, but our patience is running out,” he said.
Most bodies in the crash were badly charred, and authorities are using dental samples to run identification checks.
Jaishankar Pillai, a forensic dentist, told reporters on Friday that they had the dental records of 135 charred victims, which can then be matched through reference to victims’ prior dental charts, radiographs, or other records.
Even for doctors, things are getting difficult, as the plane struck a hostel building of the B.J. Medical College, where many of the dead are undergoing identification checks.
“Most of us are struggling with our emotions and are mentally disturbed because of the loss of friends and colleagues,” said one doctor who did not wish to be named.
“The loss of so many colleagues and friends in this incident is difficult.”
