Feds ask Musk’s car company how its driverless taxis will avoid causing accidents in Texas rollout
Feds ask Musk’s car company how its driverless taxis will avoid causing accidents in Texas rollout
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal safety regulators have asked Elon Musk‘s car company to explain how its driverless taxis will avoid causing accidents when they hit the road in Texas next month before a national “robotaxi” launch that is key to keeping its stock price aloft.
Tesla has been told to provide information on how its taxis will operate safely in Austin, Texas, when there is fog, sun glare, rain and other low-visibility conditions that have been tied to accidents involving the company’s driver-assistance software. Those accidents, including one that killed a pedestrian, triggered the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to launch an investigation in October of 2.4 million of Musk’s vehicles.
The billionaire reassured investors on an earnings call last month that the robotaxi service would launch in Austin as planned and would quickly lead to millions of robotaxis and other autonomous self-driving Teslas operating around the country by the end of the year.
“We expect a green light after Tesla’s response but the big focus is on more widespread launches in the U.S. after the Austin pilot kicks off,” said Wedbush Securities stock analyst Dan Ives. “It’s a pivotal time for Musk.”
On that same call, Musk said he was stepping back from his work as President Donald Trump’s government cost-cutting czar. Tesla’s shares have risen 45% since but they’re still down about 17% year to date.
Regulators routinely request safety information from automakers and NHTSA’s order itself is not alarming, though it could lead to delays of the Austin launch if Tesla‘s answers to the nine-page letter made public by the agency on Monday are not satisfactory. The agency gave Tesla until June 19 to provide a response.
Federal regulators have limited powers over new Tesla taxis that operate without a steering wheel or brake pedals because there are no national regulations on self-driving technology. One fall back is that the vehicles themselves still must past longstanding safety checks.
“NHTSA can force a recall, either ‘voluntarily,’ by Tesla, or by ordering a recall,” said Ann Carlson, the former acting NHTSA chief. “The agency cannot, however, require some sort of pre-approval before Tesla can launch.”
In the letter, regulators posed several questions to Tesla in addition to those about low-visibility conditions. They asked for the number and models of the taxis, when and where the taxis will be deployed in the next several months, how they will be monitored remotely by Tesla in real time, the cameras and other sensors being used to guide the vehicles, the specific measures used to judge whether they are navigating the streets in a safe way, and the names of people at Tesla making those evaluations.
Story Continues
In his investor conference call last month, Musk spoke of an effortless driving future coming within months.
“Can you go to sleep in our cars and wake up at your destination?” the billionaire asked, then answered, “I’m confident that will be available in many cities in the U.S. by the end of this year.”
If such a future doesn’t come soon, the company could struggle to justify the stock’s still-high price.
Tesla reported a 71% drop in profits in the first quarter as it faced angry protests over Musk’s embrace of extreme right-wing politicians in Europe and his role in cutting government jobs that has divided the country.
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Battlefield 6’s Campaign Is Inspired By This Movie And TV Show
Battlefield 6’s Campaign Is Inspired By This Movie And TV Show
Battlefield 6, or whatever the new game is called, is getting its full reveal later this summer, but for now, some of the developers working on the game’s campaign have teased what to expect in terms of the story.
Creative director Roman Campos-Oriola of EA Motive told Inverse that the game’s campaign was inspired in part by the Taylor Sheridan TV show Lioness. The show stars Marvel’s Zoe Saldana as a CIA officer who heads up the “Lioness” program of female operators.
Senior producer Philippe Ducharme, meanwhile, said he was a big fan of Oscar-nominated director Alex Garland’s 2023 war movie, Civil War, which followed a team of journalists covering a new American civil war. “Some of the things that we’re pushing [in this game], the film is actually a good reference,” Ducharme said.
Campos-Oriola said a guiding theme for the Battlefield 6 campaign is exploring the concept of “talented but ordinary people put in extraordinary situations.”
“That creates a very interesting dynamic in terms of relationships with other people. These are elements we’re looking to capture in the single player,” the developer said.
EA Motive previously developed the 2023 Dead Space remake, and Ducharme said that game is “obviously very different” from Battlefield. However, the Ducharme said the idea was to explore the “curve of tension” of the “highs and the lows to keep players hooked.”
In addition to the campaign, Battlefield 6 will of course have a substantial multiplayer element, and DICE is returning to develop it. It’s also rumored that the Portal mode from Battlefield 2042 might come back.
EA is currently conducting early testing for the game as part of the Battlefield Labs program, and it’s spawned numerous leaks with players sharing footage publicly even though EA forbids this.
Battlefield 6 has no release date, but some believe it might release as soon as this fall. Officially, EA has confirmed that it’s on track for release by the end of March 2026. Now that GTA 6 is delayed to 2026, EA recently teased that Battlefield 6’s release window is clearer than before following GTA 6’s delay.
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C.I.A. Rejects Diversity Efforts Once Deemed as Essential to Its Mission
C.I.A. Rejects Diversity Efforts Once Deemed as Essential to Its Mission
After the Cold War ended, and again after the Sept. 11 attacks, a string of C.I.A. directors and congressional overseers pushed the agency to diversify its ranks.
The drive had little to do with any sense of racial justice, civil rights or equity. It was, rather, a hard-nosed national security decision.
The agency’s leaders had come to believe that having analysts from an array of backgrounds would lead to better conclusions. Officers with cultural knowledge would see things others might miss. Case officers who reflected America’s diversity would move about foreign cities more easily without being detected.
“If there is one place that there is a clear business case for diversity it is at the C.I.A. and intelligence agencies,” said Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is a longtime senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “You have to have spies around the world in all countries. They can’t all be white men, or our intelligence collection will suffer.”
But what was once a bipartisan emphasis on the importance of diversity at the agency is facing new pressure. Under the Trump administration, the C.I.A. has moved to dismantle its recruitment programs, especially those that have sought to bring racial and ethnic minorities into the organization, which is mostly white.
John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, says those steps are about making a colorblind organization solely focused on hiring and promoting people based on merit.
Defenders of diversity recruitment say the battle to integrate the agency is being abandoned when it is only partially complete. In the 1980s, white men filled 90 percent of top leadership positions. Those numbers began to fall a decade later as the agency recruited, and promoted, more women and minorities.
The recruitment helped, though it did not result in a spy agency that looked precisely like America. Ten years ago, the last time the agency released detailed numbers, more women had ascended to top jobs. But people with racial or ethnic ********* backgrounds made up only a quarter of the agency and representation in leadership roles lagged much further back.
Critics of the Trump administration’s moves fear that without aggressive recruiting of minorities, the C.I.A. will be less able to carry out its mission of working covertly in any country in the world and stealing secrets for the United States.
Mr. Ratcliffe not only shut down the diversity recruiting efforts but also started firing the officers assigned to them. Other high-ranking C.I.A. officials argued that the officers be allowed to transferred to other jobs at the agency, but they were overruled by Mr. Ratcliffe, who cited President Trump’s orders to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Suddenly, C.I.A. officers who had been assigned to help find the next generation of spy handlers — even those who had worked at recruiting at primarily white universities — were on the chopping block.
Liz Lyons, a C.I.A. spokeswoman, defended that decision.
“C.I.A. will be the ultimate meritocracy that employs, develops, empowers and retains officers who are steadfastly focused on our mission to recruit spies and collect foreign intelligence better than any other intelligence organization in the world,” she said.
A federal judge has halted the firings, putting in place a temporary injunction and then ordering the agency to hear appeals and consider the officers for other positions. Last week, the government appealed the judge’s order.
Defenders of the fired officers argue that there was no reason to let them go. They were not experts in human resources or diversity hiring. They were spies chosen for an initiative that was important to previous administrations.
“There are no D.E.I. officers, there are only intelligence officers at C.I.A.,” said Darrell Blocker, a former senior C.I.A. officer who led the agency’s training efforts and is ******.
The first Trump administration was not as hostile to efforts to diversify the agency. Under Gina Haspel, who, as the first woman to lead the agency, served as director for much of Mr. Trump’s first term, the C.I.A. continued recruiting diverse candidates.
In 2020, the agency created its first television streaming advertisement, to demonstrate to women and minorities that the agency valued inclusivity, according to one official at the time.
The one-minute ad shows a group of officers — people of color, women and white men — being brought into the agency. A veteran employee who lectures to the recruits is ******. A language expert is of South Asian descent. The senior officers who order an overseas operation are women. And a case officer who executes a brush pass with a source in the field is a ****** woman.
Now, the C.I.A. has created a new recruiting video. It focuses on technology and showcases a whiter group of officers, according to people who have seen it.
It is not the first retreat from diversity in the history of American intelligence. The spy organization that preceded the C.I.A. prized diversity in a way that its successor did not in its early years.
Maj. Gen. William J. Donovan, the director of the agency’s predecessor, the Office of Strategic Services, recruited women and ****** Americans to be among his “glorious amateurs” conducting covert operations during World War II.
In a speech after the O.S.S. was shuttered — and before the C.I.A. took its place — General Donovan highlighted the diversity of the group he had assembled.
“We have come to the end of an unusual experiment,” he said. “This experiment was to determine whether a group of Americans constituting a cross-section of racial origins, of abilities, temperaments and talents, could risk an encounter with the long-established and well-trained enemy organizations.”
While the Pentagon has begun purging material that celebrates the diversity of the armed services, the C.I.A. has not started editing its history. The agency’s website still has a page highlighting General Donovan’s quote and the contributions of ******, Japanese American, Hispanic and female O.S.S. officers.
“Bill Donovan recognized that diversity was our strength,” Mr. Blocker said.
But General Donovan’s commitment to a diverse force did not carry over when the C.I.A. was established in 1947.
“Despite Donovan’s best measures, it was basically: ‘OK little ladies, go back to the kitchen,’” Mr. Blocker said.
It was only after the fall of the Berlin Wall that change began on a larger scale.
John McLaughlin, a former deputy director of the agency, said perceptions about the agency’s needs began to shift.
“From that point on, it was commonly understood that diversity was not simply something nice to have, it was a business requirement,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “You really needed people who could blend in, in different parts of the world, and who didn’t look like me. I blend in in Ireland and that’s not useful to anyone.”
The push for a more diverse work force intensified after the Sept. 11 attacks, as the Middle East and terrorism became top priorities. Members of Congress criticized the agency for not having enough Arabic, Dari and Pashto speakers, and too few officers focused on the Middle East and Central Asia.
Mr. McLaughlin said the C.I.A. brought in analysts who had family ties and cultural knowledge of the countries and societies they studied, in addition to deep academic knowledge.
Teams of officers that include a range of experiences and backgrounds can be more adept at reading between the lines of pronouncements from authoritarian governments, and more aware of cultural differences in the way others express themselves.
“The point is, if someone has grown up in another culture or at least experienced it, they’re going to have a different perspective,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “And you want a variety of perspectives in the room.”
Not everyone buys the argument that ******** Americans make better case officers in Beijing than anyone else.
When he was running the C.I.A.’s Near East Division, Daniel Hoffman, a retired senior clandestine services officer, said he worked hard to eliminate any bias in promotions and potential discrimination, and to ensure that promotions were based on merit.
That, he said, made for a stronger and more diverse agency.
But recruiting spies and stealing secrets overseas is all about good tradecraft and language ability, Mr. Hoffman said.
Mr. Hoffman, who developed fluency in four languages while serving at the C.I.A., said the agency had an impressive record of training non-******** American officers to master Mandarin.
For Mr. Hoffman, promoting people solely because they were female or from a ********* background was counterproductive, but he said ensuring that no one was held back because of their sex, ethnicity or gender reflected the nation’s core values and made the C.I.A. stronger.
“We just need the best people at the agency,” Mr. Hoffman said. “We need to hire and promote the best people without any predisposed bias.”
Mr. Blocker said he did not disagree with the idea that any talented officer could be trained in good tradecraft and language skills. But he said the most effective stations he served in had a diverse group of officers.
He grew up on Okinawa and served in South Korea during a stint in the Air Force. When he came to the C.I.A. in 1990, he knew he wanted to work on Asian issues. He spent his first months as a Soviet weapons and tactics analyst specializing in North Korea.
He intended to make his career as an Asia specialist, until he met William Mosebey Jr.
“This guy knew more about Africa than anyone I’d have ever met,” Mr. Blocker said. Mr. Mosebey could get any African leader on the phone, hired a diverse bench of officers and taught them how to recruit any kind of source.
“As much as I didn’t want to be a ****** dude going to Africa, after meeting Bill Mosebey, it changed my life,” Mr. Blocker said.
Mr. Mosebey, who was white, believed in the importance of having people of many perspectives in his stations, and persuaded Mr. Blocker to join his team.
“****** officers in the Africa division could blend in more easily than white officers of the past, but we always had, and needed, a good blend of people: ******, white, male, female,” Mr. Blocker said. “I have served in a number of stations. I have never served where they didn’t have another ****** officer.”
Former officials said that, in essence, was why the C.I.A. tried to pursue diversity: to lean into the competitive advantage that American society offers.
“This is not kumbaya,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “The whole idea of wokeism is silly in this context. Diversity is not a nice to have, it is a business requirement.”
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Dow Jones Today: Stocks Rise to Extend Rally After Encouraging Inflation Data; S&P 500 Goes Positive for 2025 as Nvidia, Palantir Lead Tech Surge – Investopedia
Dow Jones Today: Stocks Rise to Extend Rally After Encouraging Inflation Data; S&P 500 Goes Positive for 2025 as Nvidia, Palantir Lead Tech Surge – Investopedia
Dow Jones Today: Stocks Rise to Extend Rally After Encouraging Inflation Data; S&P 500 Goes Positive for 2025 as Nvidia, Palantir Lead Tech Surge InvestopediaStock market today: S&P 500 wipes out 2025 losses as Nvidia powers tech rally Yahoo FinanceStock Market News Today: Dow Slips After CPI Shows Inflation Slowed to 2.3% — Live Updates WSJ10-year Treasury rises even after light CPI report CNBCDollar falls as global stocks gain after US inflation data Reuters
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Sinner wins but de Minaur made to wait by rain in Rome
Sinner wins but de Minaur made to wait by rain in Rome
After an afternoon spent soaked and shivering Italian tennis fans were able to enjoy their returning hero Jannik Sinner securing an increasingly authoritative progress to the quarter-finals of the Italian Open in Rome.
Unseasonal heavy rain, topped by a hailstorm, delayed the world No.1’s arrival on Campo Centrale to play Francisco Cerundolo. He initially made heavy weather of the tie, the Argentine being in good form on clay this season.
But having taken the first set on a tiebreak the world No.1 eased to victory in what was his third match back since a three-month ban for a doping offence.
While Sinner was winning 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 in two hours, 17 minutes Australia’s No.1 was kicking his heels. Scheduled on last on the Grand Stand Arena Alex de Minaur spent a long afternoon and evening waiting to play his last-16 tie against American Tommy Paul.
Should de Minaur win he will face Hubert Hurkacz who beat Jakub Mensik, seeded ten places higher at 20, 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-5). De Minaur leads their meetings 2-1, but the Pole won the only encounter on clay, in Madrid six years ago.
Sinner’s initial struggles may have given hope to de Minaur, who is seeded to meet him in the quarter-finals. The Italian has won all ten of their meetings and de Minaur will need to take advantage of any rustiness.
De Minaur followed on court defending champion Alexander Zverev, who beat Arthur Fils 7-6 (7-3) 6-1.
Zverev now plays Lorenzo Musetti who had match point against Daniil Medvedev just as the rain arrived. Nearly three hours later the pair came back on court and Musetti closed out with an inside-out forehand winner on the first point of the resumption.
Musetti, a new entrant in the top 10 of the rankings at No. 9, won 7-5, 6-4.
Before the rains came Carlos Alcaraz moved into the last eight, and a rematch with Jack Draper who defeated him in the semi-finals at Indian Wells in March.
Alcaraz was made to work for a 6-3 3-6 7-5 victory over Karen Khachanov, is fifth in five matches against the Russian.
“Physically I was struggling a little bit,” Alcaraz said. “Not any pain in any part of the body. I was just tired. I had to run a lot. I was really proud the way I fought (for) every ball.”
The third-ranked Alcaraz wore a long ****** brace that covered the upper portion of his right leg and stretched down to just below his knee.
Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open last month due to an upper right leg ailment that bothered him during the Barcelona Open final. He also had a left leg injury.
Alcaraz, who won the Monte Carlo Masters in April, is now 12-1 on clay this season. The four-time grand slam champion will next face No.5 Draper, who rallied past Corentin Moutet 1-6 6-4 6-3 on the red clay courts of the Foro Italico.
Rome is the last big warm-up tournament before the French Open starts May 25.
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At Trump’s Justice Dept., Bondi Embraces Role of TV Messenger
At Trump’s Justice Dept., Bondi Embraces Role of TV Messenger
Pam Bondi, the attorney general of the United States, circled the Roosevelt Room in late February, handing out bulky white binders labeled “Epstein Files: Phase 1” to a conclave of Trump-allied influencers summoned to the White House for their first visit.
That Ms. Bondi, the nation’s top law enforcement official, would prioritize a case of importance primarily to conspiracy theorists was telling. Anxious to appease the restive MAGA base, she hyped the disclosure as “breaking news” on Fox the night before, part of an effort to fulfill President Trump’s campaign promise to reveal new details on the financier Jeffrey Epstein’s misdeeds and death.
It was a dud. There were “no bombshells,” she said, according to one of those invited.
Later, activists on the right lashed out at Ms. Bondi. She responded by blaming others, and then dispatched F.B.I. agents and prosecutors from the Justice Department’s national security division to scour the archives, officials familiar with the situation said. They found little. No one knows when Phase 2 is coming. But it is not likely to amount to much, those people said.
Ms. Bondi earned a reputation as a hard-charging prosecutor known for combating opioids and street crime during two terms as Florida attorney general. Since taking office as U.S. attorney general in early February, she has adopted a conspicuously performative approach to survive inside a Trump cabinet that rewards self-promotion, ritualized public flattery and, above all, a willingness to execute White House directives with little fuss.
Over the last few days, Ms. Bondi signed off on Mr. Trump’s acceptance of a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane upgraded to serve as Air Force One donated by the Qatari royal family, which raised a host of ethical and legal questions. As a lobbyist, Ms. Bondi herself received six-figure consulting fees from Qatar.
The path taken by Ms. Bondi, 59, is common enough in the Trump court — few cabinet members have autonomy to chart their own course. But her approach represents a noticeable departure from that of her predecessors at the Justice Department who saw themselves, to varying degrees, as guardians of institutional independence, attentive but not beholden to the presidency.
Ms. Bondi is still finding her footing, as evidenced by her setback with the Epstein files. But she sees her role as that of a surrogate, a faithful executor and high-volume messenger, compelled to cede ground to empowered players in the West Wing, and in her own building, who exercise significant authority that rivals her own, according to interviews with 20 current and former officials.
“The decisions are being made at the White House, and then they’re being pushed down to the Department of Justice, which is very, very atypical,” said Elizabeth Oyer, the department’s former top pardon lawyer who was fired after refusing to grant gun ownership rights to the actor Mel Gibson.
“It feels like she is just performing a part,” Ms. Oyer said of Ms. Bondi. “She is like an actor, in a way.”
If there is a script, it has come in the form of prescriptive executive orders and memos from the White House. The agenda has largely been set by Mr. Trump, his adviser Stephen Miller and other officials — hashing out details with two former criminal defense lawyers for Mr. Trump who run day-to-day operations in the department, along with the attorney general.
Ms. Bondi has said she is returning the department to its core law-and-order mission. Under Ms. Bondi, the department “has arrested terrorists, cartel kingpins and gang leaders, helped secure the border, gotten drugs off the street at a historic rate and assisted in the removal of thousands of criminal aliens,” said Emil Bove III, a top department official who has overseen dozens of forced transfers and firings.
Chad Mizelle, the attorney general’s chief of staff, said close coordination with the West Wing was essential to fight a “liberal” department work force. President Biden, he argued, did not need to exert such control because most career staff members were already “willing to blindly implement” his agenda.
They are presiding over a ******* of profound disruption. Mr. Trump’s team appears to be redefining criminality — erasing convictions of rioters and allies, shifting civil rights investigations from fighting race-based discrimination to pursuing a culture-war agenda, de-emphasizing prosecutions of white-collar crime and public corruption, pushing for mass deportations — often defying and publicly trashing judges along the way.
Ms. Bondi has repeatedly rejected calls to investigate the use of Signal to discuss sensitive military information among top administration officials, even though the department and the F.B.I. routinely opened investigations into such breaches in the past.
She has flattered Mr. Trump lavishly, if not always factually. “You were overwhelmingly elected by the biggest majority — the U.S., Americans want you to be president,” she said at a cabinet meeting in April.
That approach has earned Ms. Bondi scorn on the left. But Mr. Trump likes her, takes her calls and seems generally satisfied with her performance, aides said.
Mr. Trump’s base, not so much. Some on the right believe that the Epstein debacle was the symptom of a larger problem — her unwillingness to go harder at Mr. Trump’s perceived enemies.
“She’s not getting much credit every time she shows up on social media because it’s an exhibit for her critics who want to see her doing more,” said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, which sued Ms. Bondi to obtain all the Epstein documents reviewed by her team.
No critic has been harsher than the far-right influencer Laura Loomer, who has targeted Ms. Bondi over the Epstein files and ridiculed her frequent appearances on Fox News.
“Pam Blondie is a liar, and we can’t trust Pam Blondie anymore,” Ms. Loomer said on a recent podcast. “She’s on Fox News more than she does her job,” she added.
Limited Power, by Design
In late November, Mr. Trump’s first pick for attorney general, former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, was forced to withdraw amid a sex scandal.
The nearly two decades Ms. Bondi spent as a prosecutor in the Tampa area made her an obvious successor, as did her friendship with a fellow Florida Republican, Susie Wiles, the incoming chief of staff.
Over the years, Ms. Bondi has displayed conspicuous loyalty to Mr. Trump. Critics, including Senate Democrats who opposed her confirmation, have cited one episode in particular to cast that relationship as unsavory: Her acceptance of a $25,000 campaign contribution from Mr. Trump made around the time she declined to join other states in investigating complaints against Trump University.
She would go on to serve as a member of the legal team that fought his first impeachment, and would later realize a $3 million profit from a merger involving his social media company.
After being picked in early December, Ms. Bondi made a midsize request: Would Mr. Trump nominate her ally, Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County, Fla., to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration?
He said yes — and regretted it. Sheriff Chronister was forced to withdraw over the arrest of a pastor who had violated pandemic lockdown regulations by holding a church service. Mr. Miller was critical of Ms. Bondi’s choice, and let her know it — and a miffed Mr. Trump asked those around him why she would have recommended Sheriff Chronister, people with knowledge of the situation said.
Ms. Bondi also urged people around the president to limit clemency for Jan. 6 rioters to those not accused of acting violently. She was blindsided when Mr. Trump extended pardons to even violent offenders on Day 1.
It was clear from the start that Mr. Miller, who is not a lawyer, would exercise control inside the department, current and former Trump aides said.
“I can’t recall an attorney general who seemed willing to be subordinate to White House staffers,” said Edward Whelan, a conservative former Justice Department official.
Even before Ms. Bondi was selected, Mr. Trump had enlisted two of his personal lawyers, Todd Blanche and Mr. Bove, as the top two subordinates to the attorney general. Mr. Blanche, who led a stall-and-brawl legal defense in the two federal prosecutions of Mr. Trump, had a strong relationship with him and had been initially considered for the top job.
Ms. Bondi was deeply displeased by the arrangement, and told friends it undermined control over her own organization. It made no difference.
She has tried to adapt and has become close to Mr. Bove, a stoic enforcer who she refers to as “Sweet Emil,” according to several officials.
She was, however, given more say over subsequent personnel actions and signed off over the person selected to be her top aide, Mr. Mizelle, a former official in the Homeland Security Department.
Mr. Mizelle, a lawyer from Florida who also served in the first-term Justice Department, began meeting at Ms. Bondi’s house, presenting her with drafts of 14 memos to be issued on her first day in office — scotching diversity and inclusion programs, establishing a task force to examine “weaponization” of the department and slashing investigations of foreign meddling in U.S. politics and business. She toughened the language in a memo reviving the federal death penalty and rejected two other proposed memos.
One of Ms. Bondi’s favorites: a memo commanding staff to zealously follow orders.
Pursuing the President’s Priorities
Ms. Bondi has been consulted on key decisions, including how to respond to a federal judge’s order to return immigrants deported to El Salvador with no due process. She does not appear to have played a major role in creating overall strategies, focusing on aligning her department with the game plan and framing attacks on opponents, current and former officials said.
By contrast, her two longest-tenured predecessors, William P. Barr and Merrick B. Garland, played more central roles. Mr. Barr, while supportive of Mr. Trump’s agenda, notably refused to comply with his demand to support lies about the election.
Ms. Bondi has pushed back on personnel and budget issues, and was infuriated when the White House proposed slashing funding for domestic violence and victims’ assistance programs, according to an official with knowledge of her actions.
But she is in ideological lock step with Mr. Trump, aides said, and considers many in his orbit to be personal friends. One of them is Elon Musk, and she has rushed to assist and defend him, ordering prosecutors to seek maximum penalties against Tesla vandals and recording a passionate direct-to-camera video on the subject.
She has welcomed those working for Mr. Musk’s cost-cutting operation, granting the initiative, the Department of Government Efficiency, access to department databases. She has also instructed staff to pursue investigative leads sent by DOGE. Only a few have panned out.
Ms. Bondi has been equally open to initiatives pushed by Mr. Miller and his team. May Mailman, an aide to Mr. Miller, has pressed to prosecute doctors who perform gender surgeries using a law intended to punish ******** mutilation, according to people familiar with the situation. Ms. Bondi signed a memo instructing prosecutors to consider such cases.
She has been less welcoming to the department’s career work force.
A few days after taking office, she was escorted through the locked doors of the department’s national security division where she spied photos of Mr. Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Mr. Garland peering from the drab walls of the elite unit.
“Don’t you people realize who won the election?” asked Ms. Bondi, according to people briefed on the interaction. Down the pictures came. Off she went.
Hours later, Ms. Bondi ordered Mr. Bove to demote Devin DeBacker, a respected prosecutor serving as the unit’s interim director, for insubordination, according to several officials with knowledge of the situation.
In April, she told Mr. Bove to dismiss Erez Reuveni, a career immigration lawyer who had acknowledged that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, an immigrant living in Maryland, had been wrongfully deported to El Salvador.
The move further stressed an already understaffed and demoralized immigration unit sagging under the weight of litigation and retirements.
Joseph A. Darrow, a 10-year veteran of the unit, said he could not “with clean conscience” defend the department’s actions under Ms. Bondi, claiming they ran counter to the law, Constitution and “basic principles of fairness and humanity,” he wrote in a resignation email obtained by The New York Times.
Making the Rounds of Fox News
Ms. Bondi has always been attentive to her public image. As attorney general, she has organized public appearances down to the most minute detail — with a preference for tightly controlled news conferences featuring visual props (fake fentanyl pills), dramatic backdrops (a Coast Guard ship used in drug busts), uniformed federal agents and conservative influencers.
But it is Ms. Bondi’s remarkable run of near-exclusive appearances on Fox News shows, at least three dozen to date, that has provided her most conspicuous public platform. In them, she exhibits attributes that earned her the job, alternating between cheerful chat and political attacks — often signaled by an abrupt spike in vocal volume.
She has been particularly fierce in defending immigration actions, describing antagonistic judges as “deranged” and assailing Mr. Abrego Garcia’s character by saying that his wife, who is campaigning for his return, is safer without him.
While unsparing in accusing the Biden administration of weaponizing her department for political gain, Ms. Bondi has, curiously, not spoken much publicly about Mr. Garland.
In private she has been more critical, as much about style as about substance, telling one associate that Mr. Garland, a camera-shy former judge, failed to maximize the office’s immense power to control narrative and image.
Devlin Barrett and Adam Goldman contributed reporting from Washington, and Maggie Haberman from New York. Kitty Bennett contributed research.
Audio produced by Jack D’Isidoro.
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Here’s the latest. – The New York Times
Here’s the latest. – The New York Times
President Trump announced on Tuesday that he would end sanctions on Syria, saying at the start of his four-day tour of the Middle East that he had decided to do so after consulting with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and the president of Turkey. The announcement drew rousing applause at an investment forum in Riyadh attended by some of the world’s business elite and members of the Saudi royal family.
“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace,” he said, referring to the alliance that ousted the dictator Bashar al-Assad in December after a devastating 13-year civil war. According to a White House official and a regional official with knowledge of Mr. Trump’s plans, he intends to meet with Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Shara, on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.
The sanctions decision, which Mr. Trump said he reached after talking with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, was a surprise start to the first major international trip of his second term. Mr. Trump’s tour of the Gulf is expected to focus mostly on securing business deals with some of the region’s wealthiest economies.
The White House on Tuesday said that Mr. Trump, while in Riyadh, had secured $600 billion in deals with the Saudi government and firms. But the details the White House provided about the agreements were vague and totaled less than half that number. And a closer look at the projects the administration described shows several were already in the works before Mr. Trump returned to the White House in January.
In his remarks at the Saudi conference, Mr. Trump talked up his own economic policies, calling the United States “the hottest country, with the exception of your country” in remarks that name-checked the crown prince several times.
Here’s what else to know:
A warm welcome: Mr. Trump landed in Riyadh to a lavish welcome by the Saudi kingdom, which rolled out an honor guard, a team of Arabian horses and a delegation of royals and business leaders. Prince Mohammed greeted him on a lavender carpet. It marked a significant shift from the tenor of the relationship under former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who once vowed to make the kingdom a “pariah” before realizing he needed its help to lower oil prices. In 2022, Mr. Biden confronted the crown prince over the ******* of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and the kingdom has grown increasingly autocratic as Prince Mohammed consolidated power with the arrests of hundreds of people.
Seeking investment: Mr. Trump has told advisers he wants to secure business agreements worth more than $1 trillion on his Gulf tour, a number that economists and experts said was unrealistic. Deals are expected to include Saudi investments in artificial intelligence companies and energy production, as well as multibillion-dollar arms purchases from U.S. weapons manufacturers. Some of America’s biggest business leaders were on hand to attend the investment forum, including Elon Musk and the chief executives of IBM, BlackRock, Citigroup, Palantir and Nvidia.
Diplomatic relations: Mr. Trump went after Iran in his remarks at the conference, calling it “the biggest and most destructive” force threatening the stability and prosperity of the Middle East, and vowing it would never have a nuclear weapon. But there was silence in the crowd after he said it was his “fervent wish” that Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords, a 2020 deal in which two of its neighbors established diplomatic relations with Israel. The normalization of relations with the Israeli government is deeply unpopular among Saudis, according to polling, and officials say doing so hinges on the creation of a ************ state.
Family interests: The president’s trip neatly tracks with the financial interests of him and his family, which has pending deals with a majority-Saudi-owned real estate firm, a cryptocurrency deal with an affiliate of the government of the United Arab Emirates, and a new golf and luxury villa project backed by the government of Qatar.
Qatari gift: The Trump administration is also poised to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane as a donation from Qatar’s royal family in what could be the biggest foreign gift ever received by the U.S. government. Senator Chuck Schumer, the ********* leader, is expected to announce on Tuesday that he intends to put a hold on Mr. Trump’s appointees to the Justice Department until he gets more information about the president’s plans to accept the jet.
Ukraine talks: Mr. Trump has said that he would consider joining a potential meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia this week in Turkey to discuss a peace deal. His presence would raise the stakes as Moscow defies European leaders’ calls for a cease-fire.
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U.S. Says Tourists Visiting This Close Ally Will Need to ‘Exercise Increased Caution’ — Here’s Why
U.S. Says Tourists Visiting This Close Ally Will Need to ‘Exercise Increased Caution’ — Here’s Why
On May 8, the U.S. Department of State released an updated travel advisory for the United Kingdom
Due to terrorist threats within the U.K., a Level 2 advisory was reissued to warn travelers to exercise increased caution during their visit
The advisory notes “risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks,” in the U.K.
Tourists visiting the United Kingdom will need to be extra alert during their travels this summer.
On Thursday, May 8, the U.S. Department of State reissued a travel advisory for the U.K. due to a “risk of terrorist violence,” per the advisory. As the U.K. continues to experience increased terrorist threats, the advisory warns popular tourist locations could be unsafe for visitors.
The advisory states that terrorist groups could “attack with little or no warning” in areas like transportation hubs, shopping areas, local government buildings, hotels, restaurants and churches among other common public locations.
Andy Soloman/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty
*** travel Level 2 advisory
The Level 2 advisory was reissued after the department’s “periodic review” in order to urge travelers to “exercise increased caution” while visiting the popular destination.
There are four travel advisory levels. Level 1 advises travelers to “Exercise normal precautions,” per the State Department’s website. The Level 4 travel advisory is labeled as “Do not travel” and warns travelers to avoid making any trips to a certain location.
In the U.K,, “There is also risk of isolated violence by dissident groups in Northern Ireland, focused primarily on police and military targets,” the advisory continues.
The U.S. Department of State’s 2023 Counterterrorism Report gave an overview of terrorism in the U.K. and noted an increased threat level within Northern Ireland. At the time, the report indicated that terrorism was the “third-highest rating,” meaning that “officials believed an attack was ‘likely.’”
The terrorist threat level within Northern Ireland, which is monitored separately from the rest of the the U.K., was increased from “substantial” to “severe,” per the report. The increase in threat level meant a terrorist attack was no longer just “likely” but “highly likely.”
There were also two terrorist attacks reported in the U.K. for 2023, one of which took place in Northern Ireland.
Maja Smiejkowska/PA Images via Getty
*** travel
The remainder of the advisory encourages tourists traveling to the U.K. to stay alert and be mindful of their surroundings while in public spaces, especially in crowds. Travelers should also make sure to monitor any breaking news in case they need to adjust travel plans.
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Those traveling to the U.K. are encouraged to sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, also known as STEP, the advisory recommends. The program allows for U.S. citizens to log their travel plans and receive alerts from the Department of State in case an emergency within the country takes place.
Travelers are urged to check the U.K.’s Country Security Report, which provides helpful information like the location of the U.K.’s embassy and consulates. The Traveler’s Checklist can also be useful when creating a contingency plan while abroad, as well as staying up to date on the CDC’s latest Travel Health Information page.
In addition to the U.K.’s advisory, updated travel advisories were recently released for Turks and Caicos in early March, as well as the Bahamas on March 31. Both locations were also issued a Level 2 advisory.
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Carvana, a Used Car Retailer, Thinks Trump’s Tariffs Could be Good for Business
Carvana, a Used Car Retailer, Thinks Trump’s Tariffs Could be Good for Business
Automakers are worried that President Trump’s tariffs on imported cars and auto parts will soon increase their costs and start eating into profits.
But at least one business in the auto industry thinks the tariffs could give it a lift. That company is Carvana, an online retailer of used cars that has gained fame for storing vehicles in distinctive “vending machine” towers.
The Trump tariffs, which include levies of 25 percent on vehicles made in Mexico, Canada, Germany and many other nations, are widely expected to raise the prices new cars and trucks, forcing more car shoppers to opt for a used vehicle. An agreement to lower tariffs on ******** imports that the administration announced on Monday will not change the tariffs on cars and auto parts.
“To the extent that car prices go up, Carvana is probably positioned to be relatively advantaged as consumers look for high-quality cars at a lower price,” the company’s founder and chief executive, Ernie Garcia, said in an interview last week. “We think that will cause them to shift into used vehicles and into the savings that are available via online buying.”
Mr. Trump has said he imposed tariffs in hopes of forcing manufacturers to make more goods and create more factory jobs in the United States, although he has also claimed that tariffs would help achieve other goals like reducing unauthorized immigration and drug smuggling.
Automakers are bracing for the impact.
In the past several days, General Motors said the tariffs would increase its costs by $2.8 billion to $3.5 billion this year, even accounting for measures the company is taking to adapt. Ford Motor, which makes more vehicles domestically than G.M., estimated the tariffs would cost it $1.5 billion on a net basis. Toyota Motor, which imports many vehicles from its home country of Japan, said the tariffs would cost it $1.3 billion in March and April alone.
Analysts have predicted that the prices of some imported vehicles could rise by up to $10,000, and that sales of new vehicles could slow sharply this year.
Alan Haig, whose consulting firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., advises car dealers, said Mr. Garcia was on the right track about how consumers were likely to react.
“I think you’re going to see an increase in used car sales because of the tariffs, and I do think there will be more customers visiting Carvana websites because that’s essentially their sole focus,” he said.
But there could also be a downside. If the tariffs cause a recession, or vehicle prices rise too much, sales of both used and new automobiles could decline. Already, used cars sell for about $1,000 more in auctions, on average, than just two months ago.
Mr. Haig said it would take some time for the full impact to be felt. The prices of most vehicles on dealer lots haven’t increased significantly, yet. The first batches of imported models affected by the tariff on vehicles, which went into effect in early April, are just starting to arrive. Tariffs on imported engines, transmissions and other components went into effect on May 3.
Whatever happens next, Carvana is on much sounder financial footing than it was just a couple of years ago.
When the Covid pandemic set off a ***** in used car sales and online buying, Carvana became a favorite of investors, and its stock soared. But as demand softened, the company was left holding a large inventory of vehicles purchased at relatively high prices, and it began losing a lot of money.
At the same time, interest rates rose after Carvana had taken on billions of dollars in debt to buy Adesa, a used car auction company. Because of the heavy debt load and mounting losses, some analysts feared Carvana might not survive. By February 2023, its stock had crashed.
But Mr. Garcia was able to renegotiate its debt, reduce costs and streamline Carvana’s operations. Over many months, the company cut jobs, sold off cars and turned Adesa into a supplier of affordable cars and trucks for Carvana to sell to customers. More recently it has built up facilities at 11 Adesa locations to repair and recondition used vehicles.
The work is now paying off. Last week, Carvana reported record results for the first three months of the year, with profits of $373 million, up from $49 million a year earlier. It sold 133,898 used vehicles, 46 percent more than in the first quarter of 2024. Average gross profit on each vehicle was just under $7,000.
The company accomplished this while keeping fewer cars in its inventory, spending less on advertising and employing about 4,000 fewer people than it did three years ago. Its stock has recovered much of the ground it lost.
“From 2017 to 2021, the company focused on growth,” Mr. Garcia said. “We spent the last two years unlocking efficiencies. I think that is what has driven the dramatic improvement in our performance.”
Mr. Garcia is now aiming, within five to 10 years, for Carvana to sell three million cars and trucks annually, from about 500,000 now.
Many Wall Street analysts are again confident about the company’s prospects, but see at least one hurdle. Auto mechanics are very hard to find, and Carvana needs hundreds more to reach its goal of fixing up used cars for *****.
“Labor is the key bottleneck,” Ronald Josey, a Citi analyst, wrote in a recent report.
Mr. Garcia said he was confident about Carvana’s business now that it had restructured its operations, and he thinks it can do well regardless of how U.S. trade policy changes.
“I think it’s now proven that, yes, customers have shown they are willing to buy cars online, and an online business model can deliver value,” he said.
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In Private, Some Israeli Officers Admit That Gaza Is on the Brink of Starvation – The New York Times
In Private, Some Israeli Officers Admit That Gaza Is on the Brink of Starvation – The New York Times
In Private, Some Israeli Officers Admit That Gaza Is on the Brink of Starvation The New York TimesFood security NGO warns of ‘critical’ famine risk in Gaza; Israel says study ‘flawed’ The Times of IsraelWHO warns of permanent impact of hunger on a generation of Gazans ReutersOne in five people in Gaza face starvation, report warns, as Israel’s months-long blockade continues CNNMedical professionals must speak out and act on Gaza now Al Jazeera
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Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm Made $198 Million Selling Stock as Profit Fell
Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm Made $198 Million Selling Stock as Profit Fell
In March, after a steep decline in Tesla’s share price, Elon Musk told employees, “Hang on to your stock.”
The chair of Tesla’s board, Robyn Denholm, has not heeded his advice. Ms. Denholm has made $198 million in the past six months selling Tesla stock that she earned for serving on the board, according to a New York Times analysis of securities filings.
That brings her total profit on the ***** of Tesla stock to more than $530 million since becoming the board’s leader in late 2018, far more than her peers have made at the most valuable U.S. companies during that time, the analysis shows.
The share sales raise questions about Ms. Denholm’s confidence in Tesla’s prospects. Her most recent sales, executed under a prearranged trading plan filed last summer, came as Mr. Musk, the company’s chief executive, took a time-consuming role in the Trump administration. Tesla’s car sales have plunged partly because Mr. Musk’s political activities have turned off some car buyers. The company’s quarterly profit fell in the first three months of 2025 to its lowest level in four years.
Ms. Denholm earned the right to buy those shares, known as stock options, for serving on the board, a part-time position. Tesla granted the options between 2014 and 2020, and its share price has soared since then, giving Ms. Denholm the right to buy shares for a lot less than their current price. Last week, for example, she bought more than 112,000 shares for $24.73 apiece and sold them the same day for more than $270.
“To dump her stock, it doesn’t send a message that this is a board chair who is invested in the future of the company,” said the New York City comptroller, Brad Lander, who oversees the city’s five public pension funds. As of March, those funds held more than three million Tesla shares, valued at the time at roughly $817 million.
A spokesman for Ms. Denholm said Tesla paid board members in a manner that was “completely aligned with shareholder interests.”
“The reason the value of the Tesla directors’ options has increased is because Tesla has outperformed its industry peers and created outsized returns for the owners of the company, the shareholders,” he said in a statement.
Stock options, which for years made up the bulk of Tesla directors’ compensation, are valuable only if the company’s share price rises, as Tesla’s did. Those who exercise their options to buy company stock can sell or hold on to their new shares.
Ms. Denholm has sold more than 1.4 million Tesla shares and continues to hold 85,000 of them and roughly 49,000 stock options, according to the Times analysis. Equilar, a compensation research firm, reviewed the methodology. Her latest wave of stock sales were carried out under the plan she set into motion in July, soon after Mr. Musk endorsed Donald J. Trump for president.
Under securities regulations, executives and other insiders can use such plans to trade shares in their companies. They are not required to disclose many details of their plans, including the reason for them or the conditions under which shares will be sold. They also have a lot of leeway to cancel the plans.
A native of Australia and veteran technology executive, Ms. Denholm has maintained a low profile and rarely speaks publicly about Tesla or Mr. Musk. She was recruited to the Tesla board in 2014 and appointed chair in 2018 after Mr. Musk agreed to step down from the position under a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
She and other board members have been criticized by some investors, activists and a Delaware judge for not serving as counterweights to Mr. Musk, who is widely seen as brash and impulsive. Tesla directors have also been faulted for failing to ensure that he remains focused on Tesla.
“Musk operates as if free of board oversight,” Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery wrote last year when she ruled in favor of a shareholder who had challenged Mr. Musk’s 2018 pay package, valued at around $56 billion. Judge McCormick, in that ruling, described Ms. Denholm’s style of overseeing Mr. Musk as “lackadaisical.”
Tesla has appealed the decision, which voided Mr. Musk’s pay package, and Ms. Denholm has pushed back on Judge McCormick’s critique.
“Anybody who knows me, knows that I am not lackadaisical, now that I know what that word means,” Ms. Denholm told The Financial Times last year. “It is probably the furthest from the truth. I am really intense and very diligent in what I do.”
During the trial over Mr. Musk’s pay, Ms. Denholm described the money she had made from her Tesla board service as “life-changing.” Director pay at Tesla was subject to a separate lawsuit that Ms. Denholm and other board members settled in 2023.
Mr. Musk, who has long been a part-time chief executive of Tesla, has taken on even more responsibilities over the years. He has become a regular presence in Washington, leading President Trump’s efforts to slash government spending and dismiss federal government employees.
Mr. Musk said recently he would cut back his time in Washington to one or two days a week. His attention is likely to remain divided, however, because he also leads several other businesses, including SpaceX and X, the social media site he owns.
Ms. Denholm’s first sales under her recent trading plan took place in November, the week after the presidential election, as Tesla’s share price was climbing. The stock reached a new high a few weeks later, in December. She continued to sell through early May, as the company faced consumer backlash over Mr. Musk’s political activities and the stock price fell.
The stock is now down around 34 percent from its peak after recovering some of its losses over the last few weeks.
Mr. Musk acknowledged Tesla’s difficulties during a meeting with company employees in March. “If you read the news it feels like, you know, Armageddon,” he said half-jokingly.
He went on to advise workers not to sell their stock, saying Tesla would become the most valuable company in the world as it perfected self-driving taxis and robots that resembled and moved like humans. “The future is incredibly bright,” he said.
Ms. Denholm’s sales have far outstripped those by other Tesla directors, with the exception of Mr. Musk, who remained on the board after stepping down as chair.
She and other current and former Tesla board members agreed to settle a shareholder lawsuit over their pay in 2023, collectively agreeing to return compensation valued at $735 million. They denied wrongdoing. Stock options valued at more than $130 million were canceled on May 1 to satisfy Ms. Denholm’s obligations under that settlement, securities filings show.
Board members agreed in June 2021, after that lawsuit was filed, to forgo new equity grants.
Ms. Denholm also made more money selling her company’s stock than the leaders of other corporate boards during the same *******. The Times reviewed stock sales by board chairs at the most valuable U.S. companies who, like Ms. Denholm, are not executives at those companies.
The nonexecutive chair with the next-highest profit from selling shares in the company he oversees was Stephen Hemsley of UnitedHealth Group. Mr. Hemsley has earned more than $100 million from the ***** of UnitedHealth shares since November 2018, though he received all of that stock while he was chief executive of the health care company.
UnitedHealth Group confirmed the findings, but declined to comment. On Tuesday, the company announced that Mr. Hemsley would retake the chief executive job in addition to serving as chairman.
Share sales by executives and directors often predict poor performance by the companies they lead, some academic research has found.
Leaders like Ms. Denholm have access to nonpublic information and a deep understanding of how broader economic forces may affect company performance. That can make their trades especially profitable, according to Nejat Seyhun, a professor of finance at the University of Michigan.
Insiders “set up plans when they have information,” Professor Seyhun said. If conditions change, “they can cancel those plans.”
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Nodule found in ex US president Joe Biden’s prostate
Nodule found in ex US president Joe Biden’s prostate
A small nodule was found in the prostate of former President Joe Biden during a routine physical exam, a spokesperson said.
A short statement on Tuesday said the finding “necessitated further evaluation,” but it was not clear whether that had already taken place or the outcome of the examination.
The detection of nodules in the prostate generally requires a further exam by a urologist to rule out prostate *******. These kinds of abnormal growths can be caused by ******* or by less serious conditions, including inflammation or an enlarged prostate.
Biden is 82. His age and concerns about his health were cited by Democratic leaders who pressed him to abandon his re-election bid in 2024 following a disastrous debate performance last June.
But as recently as last week, Biden rejected concerns about his age, saying the broader party didn’t buy into that, and instead blaming the Democratic leadership and “significant contributors.”
President Donald Trump repeatedly raised questions about Biden’s physical and mental capacity during the campaign.
In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin *******. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion.
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Ex-model testifying that Harvey Weinstein ********* assaulted her questioned about private journal
Ex-model testifying that Harvey Weinstein ********* assaulted her questioned about private journal
NEW YORK (AP) — A former teen fashion model testifying in Harvey Weinstein ’s retrial on ******* assault charges was confronted on the stand Tuesday with a private journal where defense attorneys say she wrote about people who ********* abused her.
As one of Weinstein’s lawyers began to question her about the handwritten journal, Kaja Sokola protested that it shouldn’t be discussed in open court as she’d written it as part of a substance abuse treatment program years ago.
“This is very inappropriate,” she pleaded as the attorney began to cite portions of the text, which they say was originally written in Polish in 2015. “Please don’t read that. This is my personal things. I’m not on trial here.”
Judge Curtis Farber dismissed the jury for a lunch break as Sokola began to get emotional.
He assured her later that he would allow the jury to hear limited questioning around the document. The judge also said he had concerns about the journal’s completeness and authenticity, wondering how defense lawyers had obtained what appears to be private medical records.
“This might backfire tremendously” for the defense, Farber said at one point, as prosecutors also strongly opposed inclusion of the journal as evidence in the trial. “That’s the risk they’re willing to take.”
Sokola, who is now a 39-year-old psychotherapist, continued to push back. Her testimony was expected to resume Tuesday afternoon after a lunch break.
“This is unethical,” she insisted to the judge. “I would never do this to my patient, and I would never do this to myself.”
Michael Cibella, one of Weinstein’s lawyers, told Farber that the defense team intends to question Sokola on a part of the journal where she describes at least five ******* assaults she’s suffered over her life.
Weinstein, they say, is not among those she named, though he does appear elsewhere in the journal. They say she references her frustration and disappointment after a “Harvey W” had led her along, “promising me help” but “nothing came out of it.”
Sokola testified last week that Weinstein exploited her dreams of an acting career to subject her to unwanted ******* advances, starting days after they met in 2002, while she was a 16-year-old on a modeling trip to New York.
Some of those allegations are beyond the legal time limit for criminal charges, but Weinstein faces a criminal sex act charge over Sokola’s claim that he forced ********* on her in 2006.
Prosecutors added the charge to the landmark #MeToo case last year, after an appeals court overturned Weinstein’s 2020 conviction. The guilty verdict pertained to allegations from two other women, who also have testified or are expected to testify at the retrial.
Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not guilty and denies ever ********* assaulting anyone.
His lawyers, in their cross-examination of Sokola that began Friday, have sought to raise doubts about her allegations, portraying her as a wannabe actor who tried to leverage her consensual relations with the former studio boss.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who allege they have been ********* assaulted, but Sokola has given her permission to be identified.
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Social Security COLA for 2026 projected to be lowest in recent years
Social Security COLA for 2026 projected to be lowest in recent years
Customers shop for produce at an H-E-B grocery store on Feb. 12, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 is on pace to be the lowest annual benefit increase in five years, according to new estimates.
But that may change depending on the pace of inflation in the coming months.
The COLA may be 2.4% in 2026, according to new projections from both Mary Johnson, an independent Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, and The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group.
If that increase goes into effect next year, it would be lower than the 2.5% boost to benefits Social Security beneficiaries saw in 2025. It would also be the lowest cost-of-living adjustment since 2021, when a 1.3% increase went into effect.
More from Personal Finance:Here’s the inflation breakdown for April 2025 — in one chartWays to save on groceries amid food price inflation How to land a new job in a ‘low firing, low hiring’ market
The Social Security COLA provides an annual inflation adjustment to all of the program’s beneficiaries, including retirees, disabled individuals and family members.
The annual adjustment for the next year is calculated by comparing third-quarter inflation data for the current year to the previous year. The year-over-year difference determines the annual increase. However, if there is no rise in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, from year to year, the COLA may be zero.
The CPI-W, used to calculate Social Security’s COLA, increased by 2.1% over the past 12 months, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In the months ahead, two factors may affect retirees’ cost of living, experts say.
Tariffs may push inflation higher
Inflation, as measured by the broader consumer price index, sank to its lowest 12-month rate at 2.3% in April since 2021.
Yet tariffs may push the inflation rate higher in the months ahead, if those taxes imposed on imported goods go into effect.
Tariffs would prompt higher consumer prices and inflation. If that happens in the months ahead, the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment estimate for 2026 may move higher.
“This year will be a closer year to watch because of the tariffs,” Johnson said of the 2026 COLA estimate, which is recalculated every month with new inflation data.
The official COLA for the following year is typically announced by the Social Security Administration in October.
Prescription drug costs
President Donald Trump on Monday issued an executive order taking aim at high prescription drug costs in the U.S. The White House hopes to bring those prices in line with other countries.
The policy would apply to Medicare and Medicaid, in addition to the commercial market, according to the White House.
Changing drug prices would be unlikely to impact the COLA estimate, according to Johnson. But retirees would see an impact to their personal budgets if drug prices came down, she said.
Many details of the executive order still need to be fleshed out, noted Leigh Purvis, prescription drug policy principal at the AARP Public Policy Institute. Yet the nonprofit organization, which represents Americans ages 50 and up, praised the Trump administration’s efforts to curb big drug companies’ ability to charge retirees high prices for necessary prescriptions.
“A lot of people are aware that prescription drug prices are too high, and I think a lot of people are aware that we’re paying a lot more than other countries,” Purvis said.
“So any efforts moving us in the direction of paying less and paying something that’s more comparable to the rest of the world, I think is something that people could probably get behind,” she said.
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DOGE continues to publish misleading or inaccurate claims on its “Wall of Receipts”
DOGE continues to publish misleading or inaccurate claims on its “Wall of Receipts”
The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has added a new batch of entries to what it calls its “Wall of Receipts,” touting purported savings in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet many of these claimed cuts appear to be misleading, and the potential for actual savings continues to be uncertain.
According to the running tally on its website, DOGE claims it has saved American taxpayers a total of $170 billion. However, only $70.9 billion is itemized, and many of those entries continue to raise serious doubts about their accuracy.
Some have expressed skepticism, including Nat Malkus, a senior fellow at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. Malkus, who has been tracking DOGE’s work, said his review indicates the savings is more likely to be around $80 billion.
“[They are] over estimating contracts by a factor of two,” Malkus said.
Other costs and expenses associated with staffing reductions could end up costing the government even more than those purported savings.
Since it was created by President Trump via an executive order on his first day in office, the Elon Musk-helmed DOGE started posting purported savings for cancellations to contracts, grants and leases. News organizations including CBS News have identified a multitude of mistakes including triple and even quadruple counting of contracts. Many of those have been corrected after being highlighted but DOGE’s figure for total savings has not.
On Monday, DOGE updated its “Wall of Receipts” to include at least 848 additional contracts. Those totaled $639 million, with claimed savings of $278.5 million. But 553 were noted as $0 savings.
In this new release, CBS News has identified one major error involving a $38.7 million contract for wastewater monitoring for COVID. DOGE claimed $38 million in savings from canceling it. This is the second largest saving itemized in the most recent release. CBS News contacted the company, Verily Life Sciences, who disputed its cancellation and said that the contract was still active.
A CDC spokesperson confirmed this and clarified that the contract was merely modified, not canceled. “This was an expired scope of work that has been superseded by a new working contract,” the spokesperson explained. The new contract, listed in government databases, is valued at $41 million and extends through August 6, 2026.
“It’s very odd. It’s disingenuous to say they saved all this money,” Malkus told CBS News.
A spokesperson for the White House and DOGE has not responded to questions from CBS News.
DOGE is also now claiming savings in the tens of millions for canceling at least one federal contract—just signed by the Trump administration.
The largest new contract cancellation posted to the Wall of Receipts is for a $72 million administrative support contract recently awarded to Universal Strategic Advisors LLC to assist ICE with expanded immigration enforcement, part of the Trump administration’s move to begin mass deportations. DOGE claimed $66 million in savings, yet the contract had only been awarded a few weeks earlier. A company representative confirmed it was “terminated for convenience,” with no explanation provided by the government. The representative also noted that ICE’s operational needs for such services likely still exist, as the agency continues to expand. The Department of Homeland Security has not yet responded to a CBS News query.
Claimed savings also include $5.6 million from cuts to a program monitoring youth tobacco use, $3.9 million from the cancellation of a national concussion surveillance system, and $1.9 million from terminating a National Firefighter Registry.
According to Malkus “They have this funny math definition of savings that doesn’t accurately capture what the typical person would ever view as a savings amount.”
DOGE also appears to have deleted 96 contracts posted before May 4 totaling $124.7 million in purported savings.
Despite these inconsistencies, DOGE maintains that the “Wall of Receipts” is a model of transparency.
Elon Musk has repeatedly defended the platform — and DOGE’s cost cutting regime — including citing a nearly $1 billion government survey that, he claimed, should have cost just $10,000. Requests to the White House for details on that claim have gone unanswered.
Although the Trump administration insisted Musk was never formally the DOGE administrator, he was DOGE’s public face. Musk recently announced that he’d be stepping back from DOGE to focus on Tesla and his other companies.
Many of these contracts also fall under the “termination for convenience” rule that allows contractors to make claims to the federal government for expenses they’ve incurred like staffing expenses, office space and lost profits. Denials can be appealed to federal courts and may take years to be resolved.
“We know these termination settlements are going in, but is anyone paying attention? I just wonder who is keeping their eyes on that spending,” Malkus says.
Ultimately whether or any of these cuts add up to savings for taxpayers will be determined by Congress, when and if the Trump administration submits a rescission request, a process in which the President formally requests Congress take back funds allocated to specific programs.
A CBS News analysis of government spending revealed that the federal government has spent $200 billion more in its first 100 days than last year— a trend that is projected to continue.
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Jayson Tatum’s injury leaves the Celtics shell-shocked against the Knicks – The Washington Post
Jayson Tatum’s injury leaves the Celtics shell-shocked against the Knicks – The Washington Post
Jayson Tatum’s injury leaves the Celtics shell-shocked against the Knicks The Washington PostTatum carried off in Celtics’ Game 4 loss; MRI next ESPNGreatness doesn’t rupture CelticsBlogJayson Tatum’s injury involves Achilles tendon, NBA source says WCVBJayson Tatum injury ‘could go down as one of the darker Celtic days’ — Bill Simmons makes grim prediction New York Post
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Gary Lineker deletes ‘Zionism’ post amid criticism
Gary Lineker deletes ‘Zionism’ post amid criticism
Helen Bushby
Culture reporter
PA Media
Gary Lineker has deleted an Instagram story post he shared from the group Palestine Lobby, which said: “Zionism explained in two minutes” and featured an illustration of a rat.
A rat has historically been used as an antisemitic insult, referring to language used by Nazi Germany to characterise Jews.
Lineker’s agent told the BBC the presenter immediately deleted the post when he learned about the image’s symbolism.
The charity Campaign Against Antisemitism said it was submitting a complaint to the BBC.
Lineker’s agent said: “Whilst viewing and reposting a video, Gary did not notice a rodent emoticon added by the author of the post. Although if he had, he would not have made any connection. The repost has been removed.”
In response to Lineker’s post, Campaign Against Antisemitism posted on X: “Nothing to see here. Just Gary Lineker’s Instagram account sharing an anti-Israel video misrepresenting Zionism, complete with a rat emoji.”
The group added that his “continued association with the BBC is untenable. He must go”.
The BBC, when asked if it had any comment on Lineker’s now-removed post, responded by referring to its guidance on personal use of social media.
Zionism refers to the movement to create a Jewish state in the Middle East, roughly corresponding to the historical land of Israel, and thus support for the modern state of Israel.
A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said they felt “the BBC should ask him to leave now rather than allowing him to dictate his own terms”, according to the Daily Mail.
“He has caused great offence with this video – particularly with his egregious use of a rat emoji to illustrate Zionists.”
BBC News has asked the body about its comments and if it has anything further to add.
Barrister Simon Myerson KC, who chairs the Leeds Jewish Representative Council, posted a message to the outgoing Match of the Day presenter, which said: “Posting racism – bad. Deleting racist post – good. Not acknowledging error when paid enormous amount of public money pa by BBC – pathetic.”
‘I know where I stand’
Last month, Lineker spoke to BBC presenter Amol Rajan about his views on the Middle East.
The sports presenter said: “I know where I stand on this… What’s going on there [Gaza], the mass ******* of thousands of children is probably something we should have a little opinion on.”
The war in Gaza was triggered by the ****** attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.
Israel launched a mass military offensive on Gaza in response which has killed 52,908 Palestinians, according to the ******-run health ministry.
Rajan responded to Lineker’s comment that the BBC “as a whole needs to be impartial about it”, to which Lineker replied: “Why? It needs to be factual.”
The journalist said the BBC, as a public broadcaster, needs to be “impartial about conflict”, to which Lineker replied: “It wasn’t impartial about Ukraine and Russia… I think facts are the most important thing.”
Lineker hitting headlines
Lineker was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the then-government’s new asylum policy.
Reflecting on his tweets in the interview with Rajan, Lineker said he did not regret taking the position he did, but that he would not do it again because of the “damage” it did to the BBC.
In February, Lineker made headlines when he was among 500 other high-profile figures who signed an open letter urging the BBC to reinstate a documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, to BBC iPlayer.
The documentary was pulled from the streaming service in February after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a ****** official.
After concerns were raised, the BBC took down the film while it carried out further due diligence. The corporation has apologised and admitted “serious flaws” in the making of the film and the matter is still subject to an internal investigation.
Lineker and the BBC jointly announced in November that he would be stepping down from the flagship football programme, although he will still host World Cup and FA Cup coverage.
On top of his presenting roles, Lineker is also the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, which make the successful The Rest is History series and its spin-offs about Politics, Football, Entertainment and Money.
The Rest is Football podcast, featuring Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, is also on BBC Sounds.
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Google is testing AI search on its homepage
Google is testing AI search on its homepage
Visual China Group | Getty Images
Google‘s stalwart search button has a new neighbor: AI Mode.
The artificial intelligence feature is being tested directly beneath the Google search bar beside a “Google Search” button, replacing the “I’m Feeling Lucky” widget. The new feature, though not widely available yet, is being tested in a location where Google rarely makes changes.
A company spokesperson confirmed the feature began rolling out to some users over the last week.
The spokesperson said the company tests many experiments with its users of “Labs,” Google’s experimental unit that tests new features for those who opt-in. They added that tested products don’t always go on to launch broadly.
The latest feature test shows Google is considering using its most valuable real estate to expose users to its AI technology as it continues to be under pressure to compete in generative AI-driven search.
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, Alphabet investors have been concerned that OpenAI could take market share from Google in search by giving consumers new ways to seek information online.
In October, OpenAI pushed further and launched “ChatGPT search,” positioning the company to better compete with search engines like Google, Microsoft‘s Bing and Perplexity. Microsoft has invested close to $14 billion in OpenAI, yet OpenAI’s products directly compete with Microsoft’s AI and search tools, such as Copilot and Bing.
Though the company’s flagship AI product Gemini has shown equal or better performance than top competition, it has been trying to grow its user base to compete with ChatGPT.
Google’s Gemini AI product has 35 million daily active users, according to a recent Google analysis revealed during an antitrust court session in April. That was compared to ChatGPT’s estimated 160 million daily active users, the analysis stated.
Google is testing using “AI Mode” on its most valuable real estate: It’s home webpage.
The Alphabet-owned company began testing home page designs internally in 2023, CNBC first reported. At the time, one potential design showed the home search page offering five different prompts for potential questions placed beneath the main search bar, replacing the current “I’m feeling lucky” bar. It also tested a small chat logo inside the far right end of the search bar.
Google in March announced it would be testing “AI Mode” for select users, however the description showed it would be testing the widget on Google’s results page — not its home page. In its March announcement, the company billed it as an early experiment in Labs to do “more advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities so you can get help with even your toughest questions.”
The company this week launched an investment fund called “AI Futures Fund,” aimed at investing in AI startups. The company said eligible startups would have early access to its AI models.
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Young creatives empowered by art program in Warren Blackwood region
Young creatives empowered by art program in Warren Blackwood region
Young artists in the Warren Blackwood region can now show off their talents and grow a creative business and connect with industry mentors, all while keeping roots within their hometown.
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Porzingis shares more details on recovery from mysterious illness
Porzingis shares more details on recovery from mysterious illness
Jayson Tatum injury reaction from Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Kristaps PorzingisJayson Tatum’s Boston Celtics teammates Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis react to the star’s injury that resulted in his fourth quarter departure during the team’s Game 4 loss to the Knicks.
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Another NY Republican unleashes harsh criticism of top tax writer over contested deduction – Politico
Another NY Republican unleashes harsh criticism of top tax writer over contested deduction – Politico
Another NY Republican unleashes harsh criticism of top tax writer over contested deduction PoliticoSALT Cap Hike Risks Denting Muni Appeal in New York, California BloombergHouse Republicans unveil sweeping tax plan but have yet to resolve key fight over SALT nbcnews.comHouse GOP tax bill calls for ‘SALT’ deduction cap of $30,000 for most taxpayers. Here’s who could benefit CNBCSALT Republicans try to maximize their ‘wiggle room’ Politico
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New Helldivers 2 Weapons Feature Is Too Crazy Even for Democracy
New Helldivers 2 Weapons Feature Is Too Crazy Even for Democracy
Recently, Super Earth managed to save its citizens by stopping the Meridian Singularity using the Repulsive Gravity Field Generator in Helldivers 2. The plan worked out, but it was strange that the Illuminate threat just disappeared with it. Now, it has been revealed what the faction has been plotting all this time as it has launched its latest attack on Super Earth, and this time, the Illuminate is not holding back.
Arrowhead Game Studios added more than just enemies to the game, as it introduced weapon customization, something that fans have been eagerly waiting for. This will allow players to create some unique loadouts that they can use to wipe out the new Illuminate enemies, which are much stronger as compared to the Illuminate Vanguard Fleet.
Arrowhead Game Studios has finally added weapon customization to Helldivers 2
The Illuminate has “unexpectedly” launched a new attack on Super Earth, but don’t worry, Super Earth’s R&D department has made sure that even Helldivers get some new equipment to compete with the new terrifying units. Players must head to the armory in their Super Destroyers to customise their weapons by adding any attachment or pattern.
It is to be noted that all the attachments must be unlocked, and it has the same system as Call of Duty games. Weapons must reach a certain level, and then only players can access certain attachments. Sooner or later, weapon attachments were going to be a part of Helldivers 2, as the first game had this feature.
The next crucial change was made to the shop, as items will no longer come into rotation, and will be available in the shop always. More information about the changes in the game can be found in an official blog post on PlayStation Blog.
The Illuminate is back, and this time, it might reach Super Earth
New and stronger Illuminate enemies have finally joined the battlefield (Image via Arrowhead Game Studios)
We all expected the return of the Illuminate; however, no one expected the scale of the attack to be this big. As per the game’s ongoing lore, a new Illuminate Fleet was hiding in the Meridian Singularity. The faction was just waiting for the right time to hit Super Earth when it was vulnerable. Since the Singularity moved so close to Super Earth, the Illuminate Fleet now has a massive advantage. There are only three planets between Super Earth and the new Illuminate Fleet.
The Illuminate Fleet is moving at a very high pace. The faction plans to take over Widow’s Harbor, Pilen V, and New Haven, as control of these planets will give the faction a direct ticket to Super Earth. Many divers are optimistic that the community will be able to take the Fleet down before it reaches Super Earth, but it seems very difficult.
In fact, an in-game message has confirmed that cross-ministry defense projections state that it’s impossible to stop the Illuminate from reaching Super Earth. All players can do right now is inflict as much damage as they can before the Fleet reaches Super Earth.
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Trump touts $142bn arms deal on Saudi visit, lifts sanctions on Syria
Trump touts $142bn arms deal on Saudi visit, lifts sanctions on Syria
US President Donald Trump has said the US has “no stronger partner” than Saudi Arabia during his first major foreign trip – a whirlwind visit of Gulf countries mainly focused on shoring up investment.
Day one of the trip saw the two sides announce a $142bn (£107bn) arms deal, as well as a raft of other investments that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said could eventually be worth $1tn.
Trump also made Saudi Arabia the first foreign stop during his first term, in 2017. The rest of his gulf tour will include stops in Qatar and the UAE.
Speaking for nearly an hour in Riyadh, Trump also announced that the US would be lifting sanctions on Syria in order to give the country “a chance at greatness”.
In his remarks at a US-Saudi investment forum, Trump lauded the US-Saudi relationship as “more powerful than ever before” and praised his domestic agenda – particularly as it pertains to the economy and foreign investment.
“From the moment we started we’ve seen wealth that has poured – and is pouring – into America,” he said.
The visit comes as Trump continues to try woo foreign investors to the US to boost the US economy, a key focus of his administration in the nearly four months of his second term.
“I like him too much,” Trump said of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de-facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. “That’s why we give so much.”
Underscoring his commitment to deal-making, Trump was joined by billionaire ally Elon Musk and other business leaders at a lavish lunch.
During his address, Trump announced he was lifting sanctions on Syria to “give them a chance at greatness” and said it was his “dream” to have Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords, a deal brokered in his first administration that saw relations between Israel and some Gulf countries normalised for the first time.
As for other regional issues – Trump only briefly addressed the ongoing conflict between Israel and ******. He told those in attendance that people in Gaza deserved a “better future” which had been held back by ****** choosing “to kidnap, torture and target” for “political ends” – a reference to the 7 October attack on Israel.
The friendly tone of the visit stands in stark contrast to the often-tense relationship between the Saudis and Biden, who in 2023 called on the US to “reassess” its relationship with the kingdom.
As a candidate successfully campaigning against Trump in 2020, Biden had also vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” in response to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a US-based journalist killed in Istanbul in 2018.
In 2021, he also stopped sending US offensive weapons to the Saudis, although they resumed last year.
At the time, Biden also said that there was “very little redeeming value” in the Saudi government – although the following year he visited the kingdom on a state visit.
From Saudi Arabia, Trump will head to both Qatar and the UAE, which has already committed to investing $1.4tn in the US over the next decade.
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