WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sunday he is looking forward to discussing with President Joe Biden a “reasonable and responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling ” when the two meet Wednesday for their first sit-down at the White House since McCarthy was elected to the post.

McCarthy, R-Calif., said he wants to address spending cuts along with raising the debt limit, even though the White House has ruled out linking those two issues together as the government tries to avoid a potentially devastating financial default.

The speaker pledged that cuts to Social Security and Medicare would be off the table.

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“I know the president said he didn’t want to have any discussion (on cuts), but I think it’s very important that our whole government is designed to find compromise,” McCarthy told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “I want to sit down together, work out an agreement that we can move forward to put us on a path to balance and at the same time not put any of our debt in jeopardy at the same time.”

Asked whether he would make a guarantee, McCarthy said, “There will not be a default,” though he suggested that declaration depended on the willingness of Biden and Democrats to negotiate.

After McCarthy disclosed the upcoming meeting during the television interview, the White House provided confirmation.

McCarthy was elected speaker on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot early on Jan. 7, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks and tensions that have tested the new GOP majority ability to govern.

Word of the long-awaited White House meeting comes at a time of divided government in Washington with a debt ceiling crisis brewing and House Republicans ready for confrontation.

McCarthy has been eager to push Biden to the negotiating table, hoping to make good on the promises the GOP leader made to holdouts during his campaign to become speaker to pare federal spending back to 2022 budget levels, which would be a sizable 8% budget cut.

The White House has made clear that Biden is not willing to entertain policy concessions in exchange for lifting the debt limit, which is the nation’s borrowing authority. The United States bumped up against that limit earlier this month, and the Treasury Department has deployed “extraordinary measures” to stave off a potential default for at least a few more months.

Biden himself has scoffed at the idea of negotiating spending cuts, telling Democratic congressional leaders last week that Republicans were “genuinely serious about cutting Social Security, cutting Medicare.”

On Sunday, when McCarthy was asked if he would push cuts to those programs, he said, “Let’s take those off the table.” Pressed on possible defense cuts that he may have promised to House conservatives, McCarthy responded: “I want to eliminate waste wherever it is. … I want to look at every single department.”

The coming debt limit showdown has a familiar precedent.

A little more than a decade ago, a new generation of tea party House Republicans swept to power, eager to confront the Obama administration to slash federal spending and curb the nation’s ballooning debt load. As vice president at the time, Biden was central to those negotiations. But House Republicans and the White House could never strike a deal, causing a fiscal crisis. This time, Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress are in no mood to broker deals with a new era of hard-line Republicans led by the Freedom Caucus.

McCarthy pointed to Biden’s previous experience in trying to negotiate spending cuts and said he’s hopeful the president will be open to listening again.

“I think the president is going to be willing to make an agreement together,” McCarthy said.

In an Associated Press interview last weekend, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she expected Congress would ultimately vote to raise the limit. But she said GOP demands for spending cuts in return for backing an increase were “a very irresponsible thing to do” and risk creating a “self-imposed calamity” for the global economy.

An alleged member of the ShinyHunters cybercrime gang has been extradited from Morocco to the United States.

Sebastien Raoult, a French national who is suspected of being a member of ShinyHunters cybercrime gang known as “Seyzo Kaizen,” has been extradited from Morocco to the United States.

The 22-year-old man was arrested in Morocco at Rabat international airport in Morocco on May 31, 2022, while trying to take a flight to Brussels.

Raoult and two other co-conspirators are charged with having hacked into protected computers of corporate entities and for the theft of stolen proprietary information. 

“According to the indictment, Raoult was a participant in a hacking group that dubbed itself the “ShinyHunters.”  The conspirators allegedly hacked into protected computers of corporate entities for the theft of proprietary and corporate information.  The group advertised sensitive stolen data for sale and sometimes threatened to leak or sell stolen sensitive files if the victim did not pay a ransom.” reads the press release published by DoJ. “Since early 2020, ShinyHunters Group has marketed and promoted data stolen from more than 60 companies in Washington State and elsewhere around the world.”

The group offered the stolen data for sale and sometimes threatened to leak it if the victim did not pay a ransom.

It has been estimated that since early 2020, the ShinyHunters group has targeted more than 60 companies worldwide (including Tokopedia, Homechef, Chatbooks.com, Microsoft, AT&T, and Minted).

The indictment also charges 23-year-old Gabriel Kimiaie-Asadi Bildstein aka “Kuroi” and “Gnostic Players,” of Tarbes, France, and 22-year-old Abdel-Hakim El Ahmadi aka “Zac” and “Jordan Keso” of Lyon, France.

If convicted, Raoult could face up to 116 years in prison. The defendant’s lawyer, Philip Ohayon has commented on the extradition to the US saying that “France has abandoned him.”

“The conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse charge is punishable by a maximum of ten years in prison.  The conspiracy to commit wire fraud count is punishable by a maximum of 27 years in prison.  Wire fraud is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.” concludes the Press Release. “Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory minimum two-year prison term to follow any other prison sentence imposed in the case.”

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, cybercrime)

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The post Alleged member of ShinyHunters group extradited to the US, could face 116 years in jail appeared first on Security Affairs.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates endorses retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly during the Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Kelly’s confirmation to be Secretary of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill on January 10, 2017.

AP Photo/Cliff Owen

• Putin sees Ukraine as part of his “destiny” to “recreate the Russian Empire,” said ex-Defense Secretary Gates.
• “He is obsessed with retaking Ukraine. He will hang in there,” Gates said on Sunday on NBC News.
• The US and other military allies are sending tanks to Ukraine to aid the country against Russia’s advances.

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes it’s his “destiny” to recreate the Russian Empire, according to former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

During a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Gates said that Putin had made it part of his vision to retake old territories to recreate Russia’s former geographic sphere of influence.

“Putin believes it’s his destiny to recreate the Russian Empire. And as my old mentor, Zbig Brzezinski, used to say, ‘Without Ukraine, there can be no Russian Empire,'” Gates said. “So he is obsessed with retaking Ukraine. He will hang in there.”

“I think that he does believe that time is on his side, that support in the US, support in Europe, and so on, will fray. And he’s doing what Russian armies have always done, and that is sending large numbers of relatively poorly equipped, poorly trained conscripts to the frontlines, in the belief that mass will overcome,” he added.

Ukraine will soon receive a set of critical tanks from military allies — including the United States and the United Kingdom — in the country’s continued efforts in warding off Russian forces.

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last February, and in the coming weeks, it will mark a full year since the beginning of the conflict.

Ashlyn DeLong, 28, and her fiancé Josh, 33, are set to tie the knot on February 4 at an event hall across the street from the trial of Alex Murdaugh.

Ashlyn DeLong/Facebook

• The Alex Murdaugh murder trial is underway at a South Carolina courthouse across the street from a wedding venue.
• Three events were set to take place during the trial, and another wedding was held on Thursday.
• One bride told The Daily Beast she’s stressed about her wedding being so close to the trial.

A South Carolina bride said she fears her wedding day will be interrupted by the swarm of journalists covering what some have called the trial of the century in the state.

Last January, 28-year-old Ashlyn DeLong and 33-year-old her fiancé Josh booked a space in the Walterboro Wildlife Center for their 205-person wedding. Last week, she discovered the Colleton County Courthouse — located across the street from the venue— would be holding the highly publicized double homicide trial of former lawyer Alex Murdaugh, The Daily Beast reported. 

“I did know about the courthouse being across the street but we have never had a trial like this before,” DeLong told The Daily Beast. “It’s been a mess trying to figure out what to do.”

DeLong said she later found out the venue for her upcoming romantic day is also being used by journalists from across country as a media center while covering the high-profile trial, per The Daily Beast. 

“It was one of my top choices. It was more convenient due to the weather and location in town,” she told The Daily Beast.

Murdaugh is accused of brutally murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul at their South Carolina residence in June 2021. Prosecutors have also charged the 54-year-old with 99 counts of fraud.

DeLong isn’t the only one who’s had her big day disrupted by the media frenzy. The trial kicked off Wednesday, and its coverage overlapped with another couple’s wedding at the event hall on Thursday. One reporter captured the moment the bride and groom walked into their makeshift media room.

—Avery G. Wilks (@AveryGWilks) January 26, 2023

City of Walterboro Tourism Director Scott Grooms told the The Daily Beast that the three events scheduled at the center during the trial wouldn’t be impacted by the press.

Grooms further added that “nobody attending any of these events should see reporters at all.” The journalists were reportedly moved to a separate part of the building with a different entrance than the event hall spaces.

According to a local photojournalist, the newlyweds gave the leftovers from their Thursday ceremony to reporters at the center.

DeLong told The Daily Beast she felt additional stress after seeing a Facebook post asking for food trucks for media and trial attendees to park outside the Colleton County Courthouse — the parking lot she expects her guests to use.

“I had been super excited and now I am pretty stressed out,” DeLong said, according to The Daily Beast. “Everything has been surprisingly smooth planning-wise until this. This has been my trying moment throughout the entire process.”

Grooms said the Colleton County Parks and Recreation Department should have the area clean prior to DeLong’s wedding rehearsal on February 3, noting there is no court on the day of her ceremony on February 4. 

“We are trying to make this as nice for her as possible under the bad situation that we are under,” Grooms told The Daily Beast.

 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File

• Speaker McCarthy said Medicare and Social Security cuts were “off the table” as it related to debt ceiling talks.
• During a Sunday interview on CBS News, McCarthy was optimistic about reaching an agreement with President Biden.
• The White House has rejected GOP-led efforts for spending cuts tied to increasing the debt limit.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday said that cuts to Medicare and Social Security were “off the table” ahead of upcoming talks with President Joe Biden over the debt ceiling.

During an appearance on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” the California Republican said that while the GOP wanted spending cuts as part of a deal to raise the debt limit, they did not want to target those two specific programs.

“Let’s take those off the table” he said. “If you read our Commitment to America, all we talk about is strengthening Medicare and Social Security. So — and I know the president says he doesn’t want to look at it, but we’ve got to make sure we strengthen those.”

When host Margaret Brennan asked McCarthy if “strengthen” meant that he wanted to raise the retirement age — which is generally between 66 and 67 — he disputed that notion.

“No, no, no. What I’m talking about — Social Security, Medicare, you keep that to the side,” he reaffirmed.

McCarthy during the interview said that he wanted to come to an agreement with Democratic leaders on a budget, and said that GOP leaders would be looking at everything in assessing spending levels — including defense-related programs.

“I want to make sure we’re protected in our defense spending, but I want to make sure it’s effective and efficient,” the speaker said. “I want to look at every single dollar we are spending, no matter where it is being spent. I want to eliminate waste wherever it is.”

The White House has repeatedly said that it would not negotiate spending cuts as it relates to the debt ceiling, but McCarthy appeared optimistic regarding a breakthrough.

“Now, I know his staff tries to say something different, but I think the President is going to be willing to make an agreement together,” he said.

The United States earlier this month hit its debt limit of roughly $31.4 trillion, but the Treasury Department is taking steps to fund the government’s financial obligations through June.

Australia, Western Australia, Kimberley, Great Northern Highway near Fitzroy Crossing

Manfred Gottschalk/Getty Images

• A mining company lost a piece of radioactive material along the country’s Great Northern Highway, the AP reported. 
• Authorities are reportedly scanning radiation levels across a stretch of 870 miles of road to find the device.
• Public health officials are warning drivers to check their tires because the capsule could be lodged in them, the AP said.

A mining company reportedly lost a piece of radioactive equipment in Western Australia that prompted a public health scare and has authorities combing a long stretch of road to retrieve it.

The device, a capsule, is believed to have fallen off of a truck while being transported from to Perth from a mine on January 10, according to The Associated Press. 

Western Australia’s chief health officer urged people to stay away from the capsule at a press conference on Friday, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The capsule could be anywhere between Perth and Newman, which are more than 1,400 kilometers — or roughly 870 miles — apart, according to the outlet.

Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson urged anyone who has driven on the Great Northern Highway between the two cities since January 10 to check their tires because the device could have become lodged in them, the outlet reported.

The Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services said the object “cannot be weaponized,” but is urging people to be cautious because its contact with the material could cause health problems, according to the ABC.

The device contains caesium-137, which is commonly used in radiation gauges and emits enough dangerous radiation to equal receiving 10 X-rays in one hour, according to the AP. The radiation can also cause skin burns and cancer after prolonged exposure, the outlet reported.

“It emits both beta rays and gamma rays so if you have it close to you, you could either end up with skin damage including skin burns,” Robertson said according to ABC. “And if you have it long enough near you, it could cause acute radiation sickness. Now, that will take a period of time but, obviously, we are recommending people not be close to it or hang on to it.”

Rio Tinto Iron Ore CEO, Simon Trott, said the company is taking the incident seriously and apologized for putting the public at risk, according to the AP.

“We recognize this is clearly very concerning and are sorry for the alarm it has caused in the Western Australian community,” Trott said, according to the outlet. “As well as fully supporting the relevant authorities, we have launched our own investigation to understand how the capsule was lost in transit.”

Rio Tinto did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment on Sunday.

Authorities for the Western Australia DEFS are continuing to search for the capsule along the Great Northern Highway by scanning roads used by the trucks that transported it for radiation levels, the AP reported.