Washington
Washington lawmakers hold on to crypto holdings despite calls for new laws in wake of FTX collapse
The collapse of cryptocurrency change FTX has pulled a bunch of different firms down with it and threatens the steadiness of the digital coin market, however some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are holding on to their crypto investments — whilst they name for tighter laws.
At the least 9 lawmakers in Washington throughout each the Home and Senate have traded over a dozen completely different crypto shares since final 12 months, in accordance with Capitol Trades, a web site that tracks inventory trades by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
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One other lawmaker, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, disclosed at a Senate Agriculture Committee listening to about FTX on Thursday that he, too, holds some crypto property. Tuberville’s most up-to-date disclosure studies from this 12 months reviewed by CNBC don’t present any crypto inventory purchases.
Out of all ten places of work contacted, just one stated they bought their crypto inventory holdings after FTX imploded. Rep. Marie Newman, D-In poor health., who misplaced her bid for reelection owned crypto fill up till final week, lately bought her digital token shares because the trade took a success.
“Congresswoman Newman’s husband bought their coin-based inventory final week as a result of unstable nature of the sector,” Marcus Garza, a spokesman for Newman, instructed CNBC in an electronic mail.
Congressional data present Garza and her husband beforehand held positions in a number of crypto associated shares, together with in Coinbase International, a cryptocurrency buying and selling platform. Newman and her husband lately disclosed a January joint buy of Coinbase inventory value between $1,001 and $15,000. The disclosure studies for all lawmakers solely present a spread of how a lot their inventory purchases are value.
Coinbase’s inventory value, as of Thursday morning, is down by over half a proportion level.
Kedric Payne, an ethics lawyer on the Marketing campaign Authorized Heart, stated lawmakers who personal crypto property have a battle of curiosity in attempting to jot down legal guidelines to rein within the trade following the collapse of FTX.
“That is one other instance of how even well-intentioned lawmakers cannot escape the notion of corruption after they personal particular person shares or crypto,” Payne stated in an electronic mail. “Voters will not doubtless belief that lawmakers who personal crypto will regulate it to their detriment. Reform is inevitable as a result of these conflicts of pursuits usually are not going away.”
He famous that these conflicts will be averted if Congress handed legal guidelines that put “a ban on members and spouses buying and selling particular person shares except there in a blind belief.”
Walter Shaub, who was the director of the US Workplace of Authorities Ethics underneath former Presidents Barack Obama and, for a brief stint, Donald Trump, stated lawmakers should not maintain crypto property when they’re taking a look at writing new legal guidelines to tighten oversight of the trade within the wake of the FTX scandal.
“It’s outrageous that members of Congress can be invested in cryptocurrency and associated firms at a time when the FTX scandal has necessitated congressional oversight and potential reform,” Shaub stated. “That is exactly why Congress must ban its members from buying and selling or proudly owning conflicting investments.”
The dearth of inner controls and quite a lot of questionable choices by former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried are shining a shiny gentle on the scant oversight of the trade. Among the lawmakers who maintain crypto inventory have criticized the failure of Congress to move legal guidelines that may give monetary regulators just like the Securities and Alternate Fee extra authority to police the trade.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., who can be the rating member of the Senate Banking Committee, tweeted final month after the FTX collapse that “The affect to Individuals from right now’s chapter submitting by @FTX_Official may need been mitigated if there have been a smart, legislatively licensed, American regulatory framework for digital property.” Toomey is retiring from Congress and is being changed by Democrat John Fetterman.
Regardless of the requires clearer laws, Toomey signaled to CNBC he has no plans to promote his cryptocurrency investments. He and his spouse owned between $2,000 and $30,000, mixed, between Grayscale Ethereum Belief and Grayscale Bitcoin Belief as of the top of final 12 months, in accordance with Toomey’s newest annual monetary disclosure reviewed by CNBC.
Grayscale Ethereum Belief represents an funding automobile that is meant to carry Ethereum property, a cryptocurrency. Grayscale Bitcoin Belief is an funding automobile, with the aim of holding Bitcoins.
Toomey instructed CNBC “HODL” when requested about whether or not he plans to promote his crypto inventory following FTX’s collapse. HODL is an abbreviation for “maintain on for expensive life,” a standard phrase utilized by crypto buyers after they haven’t any plans to promote their trade inventory, even when costs are falling. The value of Grayscale Ethereum Belief is down virtually 5 p.c. The value of Grayscale Bitcoin Belief is down virtually two p.c.
Representatives for nearly all the opposite lawmakers who’ve bought inventory in cryptocurrency didn’t reply when requested whether or not their bosses plan to unload their digital token property following the FTX collapse.
Ryann DuRant, a spokeswoman for Tuberville, instructed CNBC in an electronic mail that the Alabama lawmaker will proceed to reveal “all qualifying transactions” however didn’t reply particular questions on his crypto inventory holdings. “Senators are required to file periodic studies for sure monetary securities transactions of $1,000 or extra. The Senator has, and continues to, report on all qualifying transactions,” DuRant stated in response to an inventory of questions.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., owns between $100,001 and $250,000 in Bitcoin, in accordance with her newest monetary disclosure report. The report, which reveals Lummis’ property by means of final 12 months, says a “Certified Blind Belief (QBT) is at the moment pending approval from the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee.”
Lummis is a member of the Senate Banking Committee and has cosponsored laws with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., that would classify digital property as commodities like wheat or oil and empower the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee to rein within the nascent trade. Because the collapse of FTX, Lummis has stated “it is simply time to manage this house.”
After pushing to permit cryptocurrencies into retirement plans, Tuberville, who was a university soccer coach earlier than heading to Washington, in contrast the autumn of FTX to shedding a soccer recreation on the Thursday listening to that includes Rostin Behnam, chair of the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee. He additionally stated there must be extra guidelines surrounding crypto.
“Sort of remind me of sitting in a chair after I bought the heck beat out of me within the soccer recreation and understanding the opposite group did not go by the foundations,” Tuberville stated. “We have screwed this up. You bought to have guidelines.”
Washington
Lawmakers again trying to lower legal alcohol limit for drivers in Washington • Washington State Standard
A measure to lower the legal limit for drunk driving in Washington cleared its first legislative hurdle Thursday.
If passed, Washington would join Utah as the only state with a 0.05% blood alcohol concentration limit. Other states have considered similar legislation, but haven’t passed it.
Utah made the move in 2018. The state was also the first to lower the limit from 0.1% to 0.08% in the 1980s.
After the switch from 0.08% to 0.05%, Utah saw a 20% drop in fatal crashes, but that figure crept back up during the COVID-19 pandemic, in line with national trends.
The bill in Washington is sponsored by Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek. Lovick was a longtime Washington State Patrol trooper before serving as Snohomish County sheriff.
“I see driving behavior beyond anything I could have imagined when I started as a state trooper,” Lovick told the Senate Law & Justice Committee this week. “Drivers are speeding, following too close, passing on the shoulders, running red lights, driving aggressively. Drunk drivers have made our communities unsafe.”
Opponents argue the legislation, Senate Bill 5067, would elevate the liability risk for bars and other establishments that sell alcohol.
Traffic deaths have risen rapidly in recent years, from 538 in 2019 to 809 in 2023, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. The 2023 figure was the most deaths on Washington roads since 1990.
Of those 809 deaths, impaired drivers were involved in about half.
Compared to those driving sober, drivers with a blood alcohol concentration over 0.05% are twice as likely to crash, said Mark McKechnie, the director of external relations for the traffic safety commission. When that rises to 0.07%, the risk triples.
Early estimates for the first half of 2024 showed a marked decline in deaths on Washington roads, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The lower legal limit would take effect July 1, 2026.
As part of the legislation, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission would run a campaign to inform the public of the new legal limit. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy would have to evaluate the impacts of the new law in a report submitted to the Legislature.
By way of background
Lovick and others have tried repeatedly in recent years to lower the legal limit. The measure has never reached the Senate floor.
Last year, one of the proposal’s chief backers, Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, expressed frustration after the Senate passed over his drunk driving bill and instead took up legislation to solidify “The Evergreen State” as Washington’s official nickname.
Experts have said consuming a beer or a glass of wine with dinner wouldn’t land drivers above the lowered legal limit.
Two hours after his first drink, a 180-pound man would reach 0.05% after drinking three beers or three glasses of wine. The same is true after two hours for a 140-pound woman, after two beers or glasses of wine.
Worldwide, more than 100 countries have legal limits of 0.05% or lower.
The concerns
As in years past, hospitality industry groups oppose the legislation. They have argued the proposal could hurt bars and other establishments that rely on alcohol sales to stay afloat.
Julia Gorton, a lobbyist for the Washington Hospitality Association, noted it’s already illegal to drive with a 0.05% blood alcohol concentration if officers see clear signs of impairment.
This legislation “will impact those who decide to stop drinking before they are impaired,” she said. “These are individuals choosing to behave responsibly, who will now be subject to the strongest and strictest DUI penalties in the country.”
The Washington Wine Institute’s Executive Director Josh McDonald said it would be hard for servers to identify impairment at the lower legal limit so they could cut off service.
Jason Lantz, of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, noted Colorado and New York also have 0.05% limits, but violations at that level come with lower penalties.
He recommended a similar two-tier system, with the 0.05% limit considered “driving after consumption” instead of driving under the influence.
Amy Freedheim, the chair of the Felony Traffic Unit in the King County prosecutor’s office, tried to assuage concerns. She argued the lower limit wouldn’t lead to more arrests or lawsuits against bars held liable for crashes caused by impaired drivers.
On Thursday, Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, offered an amendment to Lovick’s bill, lowering a blood alcohol concentration limit already in state law that brings stiffer penalties. The amendment would have dropped the limit from 0.15% to 0.12%.
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Penalties for first-time offenders at the higher threshold include a minimum $500 fine and at least two days in jail, 30 days of electronic home monitoring or a 120-day 24/7 sobriety program.
Below the 0.15% level, drunk driving penalties drop to a minimum fine of $350 and at least one day in jail, 15 days of electronic home monitoring or a 90-day sobriety program.
“Right now you go from .08 to .15. There’s nothing in the middle,” Fortunato said.
Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, said she didn’t disagree with Fortunato’s change, but recognized the political reality for the proposal.
“I think it has been very challenging to get this bill out of the Senate with even the decrease to .05,” she said. “Let’s try to focus on getting the limit to .05, and then let’s continue working toward making sure that we are addressing the penalties.”
The committee approved Lovick’s proposal without Fortunato’s amendment.
The House version of the bill is set for a committee hearing Tuesday.
ASHBURN, Va. — Hope is a powerful thing, but belief is even stronger, and that’s what the Washington Commanders have plenty of after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 in the Wild Card Round.
That belief didn’t just show up in Florida, however, it has been growing ever since the Commanders first got together for OTAs and into rookie minicamp, and so on. Every step this team has taken, the belief it has in itself has grown.
Because of it, while most are going to predict Washington will lose to the Detroit Lions this weekend, the coaches and players believe in themselves. And they believe that if they have the ball last with a chance to win they’re going to, because that is exactly what defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. believed last weekend – and it came true.
“We’re going to win,” is what Whitt says he felt after his defense stopped the Buccaneers’ last possession of the game. “This game here, so it was a second-and-one. We got the stop. And then third-and-one, they sort of bobbled it, we get the stop. Now, they punted to us, I think it was four minutes or something else. Alright, ‘We’re going to go down and win it,’ That’s winning time. We got the stop that we needed, the special teams secured the ball, and we went down there and kicked the field goal. So, that’s what complementary football was all about, playing as a team.”
Sunday night, the Commanders put together one of the cleanest performances they have had as a team in over a month. Penalties were low–though we’re sure the coaches would say any penalty is too many–mistakes weren’t critical, and like Whitt said, the football was complimentary.
Head coach Dan Quinn knows that’s exactly what his team will need again to keep their season going for at least one more weekend.
“Much like last game, I told you we’ll play our best complimentary game all year, offensively, defensively, and special teams,” said Quinn. “And Detroit in this game calls for that again. And so, we’re working hard on all those things from our field position stuff, our winning time moments, just all of it.”
Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.
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Purdue vs. Washington player grades: Boilers wake up in second half
Team GPA: 3.4
Sparse-shooting big man Great Osobor made more 3s than Purdue, but the Boilers won in the paint.
No. 17 Purdue (14-4, 6-1 Big Ten) had initial trouble dispelling Washington (10-8, 1-6), in a similar result on the scoreboard to the Boilers’ win against Minnesota. But, as in that game, Purdue climbed out of a halftime hole to show its superiority away from home in the second half. The main difference Wednesday was that the Boilers created open 3s for themselves and struggled mightily to make them, second period included.
Instead, Purdue found its inside presence via junior point guard Braden Smith’s offensive orchestration and racked up a free throw margin the Huskies couldn’t compete with.
Player stats below, with ratings to follow:
Braden Smith: A-
He played sped up all night, increasingly as the game wore on to its final minutes. The result was more turnovers than usual for the junior guard, but also a great deal of credit for the Boilers’ win.
Smith’s attacking and probing opened things up for Trey Kaufman-Renn (19) and Caleb Furst (15), even if the jumpers never fell in their usual quantity.
Without Smith’s 3 in the mid-second half, it could have been a different ballgame. Instead, he knocked it down, mean-mugged the crowd, and a, “Let’s go Boilers,” chant was clearly audible from my TV speakers in the mid-second half.
Smith’s motor also propelled him to five steals, and Purdue scored 18 points off turnovers.
Fletcher Loyer: B+
Loyer’s first field goal dropped through the net at the nine-minute mark of the second half. Then the rest came. The junior scored 12 points in the final 20 minutes as Washington had too many things to worry about to contain him.
He was uneasy handling the ball and passing in the first half, perhaps due to the bizarre slickness of the court caused apparently by a film on the hardwood or lack of an adequate sticky pad by the scorer’s table, per referee chatter picked up by the broadcast.
Plus, often underrated, Loyer is phenomenal at drawing fouls on defense. He got a big one with less than two minutes to go, and hit a 3 on the other end to stymie the slim chance Washington was clinging to.
Trey Kaufman-Renn: B+
Kaufman-Renn came alive in the second half after an awkward opening period with four turnovers. Once he and Smith found their pick and roll magic, and a few baseline dump-offs here and there, it was all Purdue.
C.J. Cox: B-
Quiet night from the field, but made good decisions and dribbled dangerously enough to shift Washington’s defense.
Caleb Furst: A-
It was an up-and-down game on the defensive side of the ball for Furst: He forced Wildcat star Great Osobor into a big man air ball – all backboard – early in the first half, but got spun around off-ball in the mid-second for an Osobor bucket.
But offensively, he was exactly what Purdue needed. Fifteen points on a perfect night from the field and excellent at the line. Three offensive boards, too.
Myles Colvin: B-
Had his moments as an off-ball weapon on offense, but otherwise quiet as part of a poor shooting night all around for Purdue.
Camden Heide: B
Out-athleted the Huskies with three rebounds (one offensive) and an authoritative swat in the late second half.
Gicarri Harris: B-
Provided good defensive minutes, matching up well with Washington’s athletic guards.
Raleigh Burgess: NA
Played his three minutes, ran like crazy in them, took a seat.
How I do these
A lot is anchored to Game Score, a metric invented by John Hollinger which (quite imperfectly) estimates a player’s box score contributions. It’s just a starting point for the grades, and it’s readily available. During the game, I focus most of my attention on watching defensive reps, box-outs, offensive movement/involvement, and non-assist passing. I’ll add all the off-ball value to these grades that my eyes can catch.
Further, these are role dependent – my grades answer a question that goes something like, “How well did a player take advantage of the opportunities they were given?”
Late game heroics earn bonus points, and the opposite is true for important errors. Oh, and I hate missed free throws.
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