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3 years ago

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NY healthcare workers protest proposed state budget

Nurses across New York have staged a walkout in protest of Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget, saying it does not adequately address the state’s healthcare needs. FOX 5 NY’s Jessica Formoso breaks down what the healthcare workers want to see changed.

“The issue with the budget is that she’s making cuts into Medicaid and Medicare which pretty much funds a lot of the hospital” Nurse Kimberly Garcia, New York Presbyterian.

NEW YORK – Thousands of healthcare workers across New York state staged a walk out rally Wednesday afternoon to protest Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposed budget.

Outside New York Presbyterian in Washington Heights, about two dozen healthcare workers banged on pots and pans demanding the Governor not make cuts to healthcare.

Most of the state is already facing budget cuts, with NYC set to make its third round of reductions Mayor Eric Adams has ordered his commissioners to carry out.

Healthcare workers are asking the governor to invest $2.5 billion more into the 2024 healthcare budget.

According to their union 1199SEIU, the budget right now includes cuts of $700 million from safety net hospitals and reverses course on a major victory last year raising the pay of home care workers to $3 above the minimum wage.

They claim the increases that are included in the governors proposed budget are offset by cuts.

RELATED: Thousands of nurses at 2 NYC hospitals on strike

Nurses walk the picket line outside Mount Sinai Hospital at Madison Ave. and 99th St. in the Upper East Side of Manhattan on Jan. 9, 2023. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

"The issue with the budget is that she's making cuts into Medicaid and Medicare which pretty much funds a lot of the hospitals that is needed for us to do quality care for our patients, right? So when you make those cuts it pretty much impacts the way we care for our patients which is diagnostic testing or testing at all, so what we need her to do is invest 10% into the hospitals and also 20% into the nursing homes to secure our budgeting to take care of our patients," said Kimberly Garcia, a nurse at New York Presbyterian.

Fox 5 reached out to the governor’s office but as of now we have not heard back.

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Philippines blocks Coinbase, Gemini amid wider crackdown on unlicensed VASPs

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4 hours ago

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December 24, 2025

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Philippines blocks Coinbase, Gemini amid wider crackdown on unlicensed VASPs

Internet service providers (ISPs) in the Philippines began blocking major crypto trading platforms as regulators moved to enforce local licensing rules on crypto service providers. 

Users reported that as of Tuesday, access to global cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Gemini was unavailable in the Philippines. Cointelegraph independently confirmed that both platforms were inaccessible across multiple local ISPs. 

A report by the Manila Bulletin said the ISP blocks followed an order from the National Telecommunications Commission, which directed providers to restrict access to 50 online trading platforms flagged by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank, as operating without authorization.

The central bank did not publish a full list of the platforms hit by the order. However, the change signals an ongoing shift by local regulators from informal tolerance to enforcement, making local licensing the deciding factor for crypto market access in the Philippines.

Crypto exchange Coinbase is now inaccessible in the Philippines. Source: Cointelegraph

Coinbase, Gemini join Binance in Philippines access block

While the Philippines has only recently blocked Coinbase and Gemini, the country has made enforcement moves against unlicensed crypto exchanges in the past. 

In December 2023, the country started a 90-day countdown, giving Binance time to comply with local regulations before enforcing a ban on the crypto trading platform.

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the period was meant to allow Filipinos to remove their funds from the exchange. 

On March 25, 2024, the NTC ordered local ISPs to block Binance. Nearly a month later, the SEC ordered Apple and Google to block the exchange’s application from their stores.

After the ban was enforced, the Philippines SEC said it could not endorse ways for Filipinos to retrieve their funds.

More recently, the SEC identified 10 exchanges, including OKX, Bybit and KuCoin, operating without licenses.

Related: Grab deepens stablecoin push with StraitsX Web3 wallet and settlements

Regulated players roll out crypto products

While the country cracks down on unregulated platforms, compliant companies have been rolling out crypto-related infrastructure in the country. 

On Nov. 19, regulated crypto exchange PDAX partnered with payroll provider Toku to let remote workers receive their salaries in stablecoins. This allows workers to convert earnings to pesos without wire fees or delays. 

On Dec. 8, digital bank GoTyme rolled out crypto services in the Philippines following a partnership with US fintech firm Alpaca. With the rollout, 11 crypto assets can be bought and stored through the platform’s banking application.