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'Squad' Dems demand end to US investigation into anti-Israel weapons embargo

A trio of House Democrats in the progressive "Squad" is demanding an end to the U.S.-led investigation into a key ally's anti-Israel arms embargo.

Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Summer Lee, D-Pa., wrote to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), an independent agency that oversees maritime trade affecting the U.S., regarding Spain's "decision to deny port entry to ships carrying weapons bound for the Israeli government and its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza."

"This investigation is a reckless insult to our allies in Spain, which has only sought to enforce in good faith its sovereign national policies and uphold international law, including its treaty obligations to prevent genocide," the hardline-left lawmakers wrote.

"It is bad enough that the United States is violating these same obligations and its own domestic laws by sending these weapons. We urge you to immediately suspend this obstruction of justice and withdraw this misguided investigation."

NETANYAHU WARNS HOUTHIS AMID CALLS FOR ISRAEL TO WIPE OUT TERROR LEADERSHIP AS IT DID WITH NASRALLAH, SINWAR

Spain, a longstanding U.S. ally and fellow member of NATO, said it would stop selling weapons to Israel when its war with Hamas broke out in October 2023.

Since then, the Spanish government has been accused in three separate instances of refusing ships from docking in its ports over allegations those ships were carrying weapons meant for Israel.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told state TV channel RTVE of one of the incidents in May, according to the Associated Press. "The Middle East needs peace. That is why this first denial of authorization will start a policy for any boat carrying arms to Israel that wants to dock at a Spanish port."

The FMC opened its probe earlier this month after receiving information that "indicates Spain has refused entry to certain vessels on at least three separate occasions this year," a press release read. "The two most recent instances involved U.S.-flagged vessels."

The agency will now "investigate whether regulations or practices of foreign governments result in conditions unfavorable to shipping in the foreign trade of the United States."

But the House Democrats wrote: "Spain's decisions to bar the Maersk Denver and the Maersk Seletar from stopping in transit at its port in Algeciras in early November, as well as its decision to deny port of call to the Marianne Danica at the port of Cartegena in May of this year, are legitimate actions taken by a sovereign state to ensure that it is in compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law."

Tlaib, Bush and Lee have been three of Congress' loudest critics of the Israeli government since it launched its invasion in Gaza.

The campaign was launched in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack in southern Israel. Terrorists crossed the border and killed more than 1,200 Israelis who were in their homes, attending a music festival, and other areas.

The responding operation to eradicate Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT BLASTS IRELAND, SPAIN, NORWAY RECOGNITION OF PALESTINIAN STATE AS 'GIFT TO HAMAS'

The trio of House Democrats has frequently accused the Biden administration of improperly acquiescing to Israel, the U.S.'s closest ally in the Middle East.

They also argued the U.S. has no standing to investigate Spain's decision, claiming "these actions do nothing to threaten the reliable international ocean transportation supply system that the FMC is tasked with safeguarding."

"No agency of the United States should be in the business of punishing or sanctioning our allies for enforcing the international law that our government has refused to uphold," they wrote.

Spain, along with Ireland and Norway, made the decision to formally recognize Palestinian statehood earlier this year.

Fox News Digital reached out to the FMC for comment.

Ousted Rep Cori Bush thinks she'll seek office again: 'I will always be Squad'

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., a member of the progressive cadre of lawmakers known as the "Squad," thinks she will eventually run for political office again.

The outgoing congresswoman took office in 2021 and won re-election in 2022 but lost the Democratic primary in Missouri's 1st Congressional District this year.

"Running for office again is not off the table at all. I did not expect to only be in Congress for four years, and so I do believe at some point I will run again, whether it’s for Congress or something else, I don’t know. I don’t have any plans right now, but it’s not off the table," she said, according to Politico.

"The Squad will keep fighting," she declared. "The numbers will be lower for the 119th Congress, but they will keep fighting for people who have the greatest need. They’re not going to change their priorities and what they believe. The number of people in Congress on the team will just be smaller. But they’ve never been silent. Anyone who underestimates our power is severely mistaken, because we aren’t going anywhere, and I will always be Squad. I’m not going far."

β€˜SQUAD’ REP CORI BUSH'S LOSS CHEERED BY RIGHT, LEFT SOUNDS OFF ON AIPAC SPENDING

Like Bush, outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., another Squad member who took office in 2021, is departing Congress after losing a Democratic primary this year.

Bowman has indicated that he may seek office again.

β€˜SQUAD’ DEM APPLAUDS BIDEN FOR SPARING MURDERERS FROM β€˜RACIST’ DEATH PENALTY IN 11TH-HOUR CLEMENCY MOVE

"The liberating aspect of no longer being in Congress formally is now I have an opportunity to be helpful and support my community in a variety of ways. There's many ways to teach and be an educator and lead as it relates to education. There's many ways to impact electoral politics. I plan to be a part of that from a community organizing perspective and a fundraising perspective. And yes, there is a good chance I will run for office again, at some point, depending on the right situation and where that goes," Bowman said, according to City & State.

"I'm going to be hyperlocal initially in my engagement," he noted. "It's time to build that power in places like Yonkers in the Bronx, across the city and state and across the country."

OUTGOING REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN ISSUES β€˜DEAR WHITE PEOPLE’ THREAD FOLLOWING DANIEL PENNY ACQUITTAL

Fox News Digital reached out to the Bush and Bowman offices for comment, but they did not immediately respond.Β 

Internal document: AWS has planned lower spending on ZT Systems, a data center gear maker being acquired by AMD

AWS CEO Matt Garman
AWS CEO Matt Garman

Amazon

  • AWS plans to reduce spending on ZT Systems as it designs more data center gear in-house.
  • AWS has been designing more data center components itself to improve efficiency.
  • AWS remains the largest cloud provider, with significant capital expenditures planned for 2025.

Amazon Web Services plans to cut back on one key supplier as it designs more data center components in-house.

AWS is scaling down its spending with ZT Systems, an AI infrastructure company that AMD agreed to acquire for $4.9 billion earlier this year, Business Insider has learned.

AWS spent almost $2 billion last year on ZT Systems, which designs and manufactures server and networking products, according to one internal estimate in a confidential Amazon document from late last year, obtained by BI.

The document said some of AWS's "server and networking racks" were "transitioning" to a custom hardware approach where it designs this equipment itself. This change has the "potential to impact spend" with ZT Systems, the document explained.

Two current AWS employees familiar with the relationship also told BI recently that AWS is reducing spending on ZT Systems. One of the people said the cutback could happen in phases over a long period because ZT Systems is tightly integrated with AWS servers. They asked not to be identified due to confidential agreements.

An AWS spokesperson told BI that the company continues to have a business relationship with ZT Systems.

"Across AWS, we are relentless in our pursuit of lower costs and improved performance for customers, and our approach to our infrastructure is no different," the spokesperson told BI in an email statement. Spokespeople for AMD and ZT Systems didn't respond to requests for comment.

AWS has been using more homegrown data center components in recent years, where it sees the opportunity to save costs and improve efficiency. This helps AWS because it doesn't have to buy as much from outside suppliers that mark up their offerings to make a profit. In turn, AWS is able to reduce prices for cloud customers. AWS now uses various custom data center components, including routers and chips.

AWS is the world's largest cloud computing provider, so any change in its spending behavior is closely followed by the tech industry. AWS's spending on individual suppliers can fluctuate over time, and any one change doesn't mean AWS is pulling back on its data center investments. In fact, Amazon is expected to spend $75 billion in capex this year, and even more in 2025, mostly on AWS data centers.

AMD agreed to acquire ZT Systems in August for $4.9 billion. The company is best-known for designing and manufacturing server racks and other gear that help run data centers.

AWS could still send in-house designs to ZT to be manufactured. AMD previously said it plans to sell ZT Systems's manufacturing business after the acquisition closes.

In recent months, some AWS employees have discussed concerns about working too closely with ZT Systems since AWS and AMD offer similar products in the AI chips space, one of the people said.

For years, AWS has been a close partner of AMD. The cloud giant sells cloud access to AMD CPUs but hasn't made AMD's new AI chips available on its cloud servers yet, partly due to low demand, according to one AWS executive who spoke with BI recently.

It's relatively common these days for big tech companies to design custom hardware. Nvidia, for example, acquired Mellanox for $6.9 billion in 2019 to offer its own data center networking infrastructure. Other cloud giants, including Google, also design their own chips and networking gear.

AMD said in August that ZT Systems will help "deliver end-to-end data center AI infrastructure at scale."

"AWS and AMD work together closely, as we continue to make AWS the best place to run AMD silicon," AWS's spokesperson told BI.

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