3 Chinese nationals charged with smuggling Nvidia, HP chips to China
A sign is displayed outside of the Robert F. Kennedy U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) building on June, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Three Chinese nationals were charged with smuggling Nvidia and HP products to China, according to charges unsealed by the Justice Department on Thursday.
Starting in September of 2023, Hon Ning Ho, Brian Raymond, Cham Li and Jing Chen allegedly exported chips to China.
The Justice Department alleges that the three Chinese nationals and one American were involved in a scheme to ship these chips to third party countries — Thailand and Malaysia — that would then be shipped to China. The men allegedly set up a shell company to purchase these products.
The Commerce Department has banned China from acquiring these chips.
The Justice Department also alleges that the men discussed ways to “evade United States export laws and regulations.”
In exchange for these chips, the men received “kickbacks” for their alleged work.
In total, the men allegedly smuggled hundreds chips to China.
Soldiers of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, arrive at Nuuk Airport, January 16, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Friday said he is considering imposing tariffs on countries that don’t support his efforts to acquire Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at an unrelated event on rural health care at the White House.
His comments leave many questions about what it would mean with recent U.S. trade agreements struck with European allies, particularly those with the United Kingdom and European Union.
Trump’s tariff threat comes after European nations have voiced objections to Trump’s repeated messaging about taking over Greenland, either by buying the island territory or by using military force.
In a show of support for Greenland, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that a group of French troops were on the ground there to take part in military exercises with Danish forces and those from other NATO countries, including Germany, Norway, and Sweden.
Macron’s announcement came a day after top officials from Greenland and Denmark, following meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House, said “fundamental disagreements” remained with the Trump administration on the issue.
“It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting. Rasmussen called that outcome “totally unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of House members and senators on Friday touted “constructive” conversations with members of Denmark’s parliament during a delegation trip to Copenhagen.
The group — which included Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, Democratic Sen. Peter Welch, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, Democratic Rep. Sarah Jacobs, Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer and others — said the visit was to nurture the relationship between Denmark, Greenland and the United States and to reassure NATO partners that many members of Congress do not support any effort by the United States to acquire Greenland.
“I think it’s important that it be recognized that when it comes to matters of relationships with our friends, with our allies, as we have here in Denmark, as we have in Greenland, that it is — it is not a subject of Republicans versus Democrats. It is a recognition, again, of a strong and continuing relationship over decades,” Murkowski said.
Coons, who led the delegation, said the trip was designed for members of Congress to “listen respectfully” to NATO allies and to return to the United States “share those perspectives so that we can lower the temperature”.
“There’s a lot of rhetoric, but there’s not a lot of reality in the current discussion in Washington,” Coons said.
Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, one of Greenland’s representatives in the Danish parliament, said the group also discussed pressure that people in Greenland feel in light of President Trump’s recent rhetoric.
“We have also talked about the human dimension, the pressure that people are feeling back home in Greenland. I think it was well received, and of course, they understand the concerns that we have in Greenland,” Larsen said.
Rep. Bennie Thompson speaks during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Feb. 10, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A top Democrat said Tuesday’s House committee hearing on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement is the beginning of “accountability” for Department of Homeland Security officials, including Secretary Kristi Noem.
“This hearing is just the start of a reckoning for the Trump administration and its weaponization of DHS against American citizens, and the principle our country stands for. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must be held accountable for this lawlessness immigration operation,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Customs and Border Protection (CPB) Commissioner Rodney Scott, and Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, are appearing in the first of two hearings on oversight of the two agencies.
Scott highlighted the low border crossing numbers and the work of the men and women of CBP.
“We have now implemented effective policies, established unified priorities and objectives across all federal departments, and empowered our workforce to do their jobs by simply enforcing the laws that already exist,” Scott said.
Lyons pushed back on those who label ICE officers “Gestapo or secret police.”
“I know this first hit firsthand because my own family was targeted, but let me send a message to anyone who thinks they can intimidate us: You will fail,” Lyons said. “Despite these perils, our officers continue to execute their mission with unwavering resolve. We are only getting started. ICE remains committed to the fundamental principles that those who illegally enter our country must be held accountable.”
Lyons said that since the beginning of the second Trump administration, ICE has achieved “historic results.”
“ICE has conducted nearly 379,000 arrests, among those arrests were for more than 7,000 suspected gang members and over 1,400 known or suspected terrorists,” he said.
Lyons declined to apologize to the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were shot by federal agents in Minneapolis last month, when asked by Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., to respond to remarks by administration officials calling them domestic terrorists. He instead offered to meet with their families in private.
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the family in private. But I’m not going to comment on any active investigation.”
Lyons said he wants to release the body-worn camera footage from Minnesota, now that ICE agents are equipped with them.
“That’s one thing that I’m committed to is full transparency,” Lyons said.
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks at a Hanukkah reception at the U.S. Capitol Building on December 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. T. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — As House Speaker Mike Johnson eyes a vote next week on a to-be-announced health care package, a growing number of House Republicans are revolting against leadership by trying to force a vote on extending the expiring Affordable Care Act enhanced subsidies.
Nearly a dozen Republicans — many from swing districts — have signed onto dueling bipartisan discharge petitions to extend and reform the subsidies in the hopes of bypassing leadership and triggering a vote on the House floor.
This move comes as the subsidies are set to expire at the end of the month, which will prompt health premiums for more than 20 million Americans to soar.
While Johnson has not yet unveiled the specifics of his plan, an extension of the ACA subsidies is currently not expected to be included in the package. Johnson said the bill will “probably” be unveiled over the weekend ahead of next week’s anticipated vote.
The speaker and GOP leaders, during a closed door meeting this week, provided Republicans a list of several options to address health care costs, according to multiple sources. Some of those options, sources said, include Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), cost-sharing reductions and making changes to pharmacy benefit managers.
Lawmakers told ABC News they left that meeting with no clear consensus on how to address health care.
“You’re going to see a package come together that will be on the floor next week that will actually reduce premiums for 100% of Americans who are on health insurance,” Johnson said at his weekly news conference. “The overall system is broken, and we’re the ones that are going to fix it.”
A group of mainly moderate Republicans, though, want to see the subsidies addressed by Congress before the expiration date.
The discharge petitions would need 218 signatures for a vote to occur in the House, and it’s unclear if enough Democrats will provide their support to reach that threshold.
Most House Democrats have signed onto another petition led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to extend the subsidies for three years.
Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania filed a discharge petition that would extend the subsidies for two years, establish income caps for enrollees and regulate pharmacy benefit managers.
New Jersey Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer filed a separate but similar bipartisan discharge petition to extend the subsidies with reforms.
As of Thursday, 11 Republicans had signed on to both discharge petitions.
Johnson threw cold water on the efforts by vulnerable Republicans hoping to hold a vote on the subsidies.
“We’re working on a package of legislation that will reduce premiums for all Americans, not just 7% of them,” he said.
Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who supports both discharge petitions, warned about the impacts not extending the subsidies will have on the midterm election for Republicans.
“I think it will be used like a sledgehammer a year from now. The reality will be bad,” he said.
Bacon said if Congress fails to act, “all our constituents are going to be paying a lot more for their premiums and that’s unacceptable.”
In the Senate, meanwhile, two competing health care proposals aimed at addressing the expected premium spikes — one championed by Democrats and the other by Republicans — failed to advance on Thursday, leaving the Senate back at square one.
