I’m Already Planning a Purge of the Health Department
I’m Already Planning a Purge of the Health Department
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., hours after being confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, described the type of person he wants to remove from the department.
On Fox News‘ The Ingraham Angle, Kennedy was asked about rumors that up to 50 percent of staffers may be cut.
In recent weeks, HHS leaders—who are expecting layoffs—were told to rank staffers who are in probationary periods. Officials in the Centers for Disease Control, for instance, were instructed to list 40 percent of employees as “not mission-critical,” The Washington Post reported last week.
Kennedy said he didn’t know anything about the 50 percent number. “I would be surprised if there were 50 percent cuts,” he told Ingraham.
“I think the lower level employees at HHS, most of them are public spirited, good public servants, good American patriots and hardworking people,” Kennedy continued.
“What I’m interested in [is] moving away the people who have made really bad decisions, for example on the nutrition guidelines. There’s people at the National Institutes of Health that were involved in the amyloid plaque scandals that derailed Alzheimer’s treatment for 20 years,” Kennedy said, referring to allegations that some results of a study finding that amyloid plaque contributes to Alzheimer’s disease were falsified.
“It’s all corruption. Those kind of people need to be moved.”
Kennedy didn’t name any names, only saying he has a “generic list” in his head.
“If you have been involved in good science, you have nothing to worry about,” he told Ingraham. “If you care about public health, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If you’re in there working for the pharmaceutical industry, then I should say you should move out and work for the pharmaceutical industry.”
Earlier in the interview, Kennedy, who has spread misinformation about vaccines, pledged not to interfere with their availability.
“I’m not going to take away anyone’s vaccines,” he said—the type of assurance that helped him win over the support of Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician.
Last month, more than 15,000 doctors signed a letter opposing Kennedy’s confirmation.
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Trump administration begins mass layoffs across multiple federal agencies: Sources – ABC News
Trump administration begins mass layoffs across multiple federal agencies: Sources – ABC News
Trump administration begins mass layoffs across multiple federal agencies: Sources ABC NewsOPM advises agencies to fire probationary employees after ‘deferred resignation’ deadline Federal News NetworkTrump administration directs agency heads to fire most probationary staff The Washington PostTrump administration fires thousands of federal workers POLITICO
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Man stabs mum 15 times and calls himself ‘Lucifer’
Man stabs mum 15 times and calls himself ‘Lucifer’
The young man stabbed his mother with a paint scraper during a psychotic episode and later told police he was “Lucifer”.
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11 Hidden iOS 18.3 iPhone Features You Should Probably Know About
11 Hidden iOS 18.3 iPhone Features You Should Probably Know About
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Now that you’ve turned your sketches into highly detailed drawings, customized your iPhone’s home screen, created your own emoji and tried out all the new Apple Intelligence and Visual Intelligence features, what’s next to discover in iOS 18.3?
There’s so much. Plenty of new settings aren’t publicized, so they stay under the radar, but that doesn’t mean they’re not important.
We’ve chosen our favorite hidden iOS 18.3 features you should know about.
For more, here are eight iOS 18 settings you want to change right away, how to back up your iPhone the correct way and how to fix these three annoying iOS 18 settings.
Restart your iPhone from the new control center
You don’t have to press any physical buttons to restart your iPhone if you’re running iOS 18. The redesigned control center features all the classic controls you’re used to, like brightness, volume, orientation, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but there are several new controls, including one to restart your iPhone.
All you need to do is swipe down from the top-right of your iPhone and press and hold down on the new power button in the top-right of the control center. You can’t just tap it; you have to hold it down for a second or so, and then the slider to power off your iPhone will appear.
To turn your iPhone back on, you’ll still need to press and hold the physical side button.
On iOS 17 and earlier, the only way to restart your iPhone is to press and hold either volume button and the side button.
Use a QR code to share your Wi-Fi password
There are a few ways you can share a Wi-Fi network and password with people via your iPhone, and there’s a new way to do it on iOS 18. Using a QR code fills in a few gaps for ways to quickly share your Wi-Fi information:
Share with several people at once. Instead of individually sending out your Wi-Fi password, you can have everyone scan the QR code from your phone.
Share with someone not saved as your contact. Nearby share for Wi-Fi doesn’t work unless that person is in your contacts.
Share with someone who has Android. Nearby share and AirDrop don’t work with Android devices.
So if you meet any of those scenarios and you don’t want to text the Wi-Fi password to them, you can use the QR code. Go to the new Passwords app, go to the Wi-Fi section, tap on the network you want to share and then hit Show Network QR Code. If the other person scans the QR code with their camera, they’ll be connected to the Wi-Fi network.
This only works for Wi-Fi passwords, not regular passwords.
Adjust the beam width of your flashlight
The flashlight on the iPhone is getting a big upgrade. You’ve long been able to change the intensity of the flashlight, but on iOS 18 you can now also adjust the beam width of the light, as long as you have a compatible model. You can go wide, to cover more area with less light, or go narrow, to use more intense light over less area, and everywhere in between. It’s a fun feature to play around with for lighting people for photos.
To use the new feature, turn on your flashlight (use the lock screen or control center), and a new user interface will appear on the dynamic island. You can change the light intensity by swiping up and down, but to change the beam width, you’ll need to swipe left and right. If you tap anywhere in the dynamic island, you can turn the flashlight off and on.
A wide flashlight beam (left) and a narrow beam.
Note: This feature only works on iPhone models with the dynamic island, including the iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15 series and iPhone 16 series.
Quickly turn off AI notification summaries for certain apps from your lock screen
In iOS 18.1, Apple introduced notification summaries — Apple Intelligence-powered notifications that summarize your notifications from a single app. If you have multiple unread notifications from an app like Gmail or Amazon, you’ll see an italicized summary appear on your lock screen, condensing them all into a few sentences you can quickly digest.
Unfortunately, notification summaries don’t always work very well, especially for text messages and news apps. In fact, as of iOS 18.3, notification summaries are disabled for all news apps across your device, like the Apple News and CNET app. But if you want to disable the feature for other apps, you can easily do so without even unlocking your phone.
From your lock screen, find a notification summary for an app you want the feature disabled for and swipe left on the notification. Tap on Options and then hit “Turn Off “App Name” Summaries to stop notification summaries for that app. You’ll continue to receive notifications, they’ll just be individual, like you’re used to.
You can see that notification summaries are italicized on iOS 18.3
Share your AirTag with other people
An AirTag allows you to easily track your luggage when you’re traveling or your keys when they’re lost, but sometimes you might want other people to also be able to track your AirTag, especially if you’re on a family vacation or weekend getaway with your partner. With iOS 18, you can now share any AirTag you have with up to six people.
Don’t miss: 5 Clever Hiding Spots for Your Apple AirTags
To do this, go into the Find My app and find the AirTag you want to share. Go into the AirTag, hit Add Person under Share AirTag and choose a contact, or several. Finally tap Share in the top-right and that person will then have to accept your invitation. Once they do, they’ll be able to track your AirTag from their Apple device.
Anyone that is tracking the AirTag won’t be notified when it’s near them.
Transcribe Voice Memos and make them searchable
The Voice Memos app is incredibly convenient for capturing ideas or song snippets, but they’ve always been obfuscated. You can give them a descriptive title, but that doesn’t help when you want to find that one memo you recorded that contains the word “porcupine.” In iOS 18, the app can create transcriptions of your voice memos and search for words that were previously available only as audio waveforms.
In the Voice Memos app, tap one of your memos to reveal its controls and then tap the Edit Recording button, which looks like a waveform. Or, tap the three-dots button to the right of a memo and choose Edit Recording.
Next, tap the Transcribe button to create the transcription (or view the text if it’s already been transcribed). Tap Done.
Take an existing voice memo (left) and create a transcript of the recording (right).
Now, when you use the Search field, the app looks through the transcripts in addition to the titles for results. The text is also available throughout iOS. When you perform a search from the home screen, you’ll see Voice Memos as a category with the memos that include the search term (you may need to tap Show More Results to reveal it).
With transcripts made, voice memos are more easily searchable.
Hide app labels for a cleaner home screen
Is your home screen feeling a little too cluttered? If so, this new feature could help. Now with iOS 18, you can get rid of app labels or the names of the apps that you see underneath each app icon on your home screen. If you can recognize an app from just the icon, who needs the label?
On your home screen, press and hold down on any blank space, until you enter jiggle mode, and then hit Edit > Customize. A menu will appear at the bottom of the screen; choose the Large option, which will make your app icons slightly larger and remove the app labels.
This will also remove the app labels from the folders in the App Library.
Change an app to a widget without leaving the home screen
Not every iOS app has a widget for your home screen, but if it does, you don’t need to dig through the widget edit page to find it. If you’re running iOS 18, and there’s an app that you want to turn into a widget, you can do so very quickly right from your home screen.
On a supported app, press and hold down on the icon on your home screen to bring up the quick actions menu. If the app has a widget, you’ll see an app icon next to a variety of widget icons (up to three). Tap on any of the widget icons to change the app to a widget. If you want to go back from the widget to the app, go to the quick action menu and hit the app icon on the left.
This only works for apps that have widgets on iOS.
Secretly identify songs using the Action Button
No lie, it’s satisfying when someone asks, “What song is this?” to be able to activate Music Recognition on the iPhone and get an answer quickly. To get the answer means very noticeably asking Siri to run Shazam or activate Music Recognition in the control center. Wouldn’t it be fun to let your friends think you’ve been blessed with an encyclopedic knowledge of pop music?
In iOS 18, you can come close using the Action Button. Go to Settings > Action Button and swipe through the options until Recognize Music is selected.
Assign the Recognize Music feature to the Action Button and then identify songs by just holding the button.
To make it work, just press and hold the Action Button for a couple of seconds. Shazam appears on the dynamic island to listen to what’s playing and identify the song. If you’re sneaky about activating Shazam and peeking at your phone, no one needs to know you got some help from a supercomputer in the cloud.
Find images with handwriting and illustrations in the Photos app
A lot is changing in the Photos app in iOS 18, from the way things are organized to the ability to use generative AI to remove objects in images. Apple has also tucked a few surprises into the app to help you sort through your library.
Scroll down past the main library itself to view categories such as People and Pets and Memories until you reach Utilities. Tap it to view the full list — but note that a new feature of this interface is the ability to swipe left to view additional panels. Prior to iOS 18, Utilities included options to view hidden, recently deleted and duplicate photos.
Now, it includes many more options. Tap Handwriting to view images with handwriting in them. Looking for images that are illustrations and not photographs? Tap Illustrations (although in our testing this seems to grab a lot of screenshots too).
View images that contain handwriting in your Photos library in iOS 18.
Share a specific section of a podcast
Did the hosts of your favorite podcast say something especially funny or thoughtful that you want to share with someone? In the Podcasts app in iOS 18, you can send an episode to a friend with the playback advanced to that moment — but the capability isn’t easy to find.
Tap the Now Playing bar in the app at the bottom of the screen to view the playback controls and pause the episode. Use the progress bar to go back to the start of the section you want to share.
Next, tap the More (…) button and choose Share Episode. In the sharing options that appear, tap From Start below the episode title, and then select From [the current time]. Tap Done.
Start by sharing the episode itself.
Lastly, choose the method of sharing, such as via Messages or Mail. When the recipient receives the shared episode and opens it in the Podcasts app, they’ll see the option to Play from [the time].
Specify that the shared episode begins at the time you chose.
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Google Play restores TikTok to its US app store – CNN
Google Play restores TikTok to its US app store – CNN
Google Play restores TikTok to its US app store CNNTikTok returns on Apple, Google app stores as Trump delays ban The Indian ExpressApple, Google Restore TikTok App After Assurances From Trump BloombergGoogle and Apple return TikTok to their mobile app stores The Washington PostGoogle brings TikTok back to its app store Axios
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Labor claims by-election victory with slim margin
Labor claims by-election victory with slim margin
Labor has claimed a narrow Werribee by-election victory, with the party’s former stronghold now held on a slim margin.
At last count and after preferences, Labor’s candidate John Lister had received 50.71 per cent of the vote compared to Liberal Steve Murphy on 49.29 per cent.
That followed a 16.5 per cent slump in Labor’s primary vote.
The party has held Werribee, in Melbourne’s west, since 1979 most recently through former Treasurer Tim Pallas whose resignation forced the vote.
Labor claimed the win on social media on Friday, congratulating Mr Lister and describing him as the new Labor member.
“John has served Werribee as a teacher and a CFA volunteer – now, he’ll represent the community he loves in Victoria’s parliament,” Victorian Labor said on X, formerly Twitter.
The by-election was the first test for Premier Jacinta Allan after taking over the top job from Daniel Andrews.
Deputy Premier Ben Carroll said previously the party had heard voters “loud and clear” over the slump in support.
Commentators have speculated whether the result could translate to a shift to the right in Victoria at the next federal election, which must be held by May 17.
The vote in Werribee was held on the same day as a by-election in the inner eastern suburb of Prahran, where Liberal candidate Rachel Westaway won.
The seat had been held by the Greens since 2014 with the vote prompted by the resignation of Sam Hibbins after he revealed an affair with a staffer.
The Greens said they were hurt by lost preferences after Labor chose not to run a candidate and by absentee votes not being allowed.
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This River Is Filled With Human Bones but No One Knows Exactly Why
This River Is Filled With Human Bones but No One Knows Exactly Why
Why so many human remains from the Bronze and Iron Age have surfaced from the Thames remains unknown.
Researchers have dated a large number of the skeletons to those time periods, which possibly means something significant happened back then.
While the bodies could be the remnants of some sort of ritual, there is suspicion of ancient battles on the banks of the Thames, which is something the researchers will be investigating next.
“Promiscuous heaps of slain laid there,
Their life gore tinged the water clear,
Spreading around the ruddy stain,
Which marked the spot of strife and pain”
These bloody words were written by 19th-Century antiquarian H.S. Cuming in On the discovery of Celtic crania in the vicinity of London. It was the first ever published account of human remains being dredged from the River Thames during the construction of the Victoria Bridge.
An unusual amount of skulls were found among bronze and iron weapons, and Cuming imagined they were the grisly remains of an Iron Age battle. Was he onto something?
Since Cuming’s time, hundreds of human bones have surfaced from the Thames, most of them dating back to the Bronze and Iron Age. How they ended up there is a question that has been haunting Londoners for years. Nichola Arthur, a curator at the Natural History Museum in London, and her team of researchers have now further investigated why these nameless corpses went to their watery grave by analyzing radiocarbon dates from 30 skeletons.
“[There is] a predominance of Bronze and Iron Age dates [which] emphasizes the need to explore the Thames assemblage in the broader context of watery deposition practices of later prehistoric north-west Europe,” Arthur said in a study recently published in the journal Antiquity.
This isn’t the first time Arthur has encountered ancient bones in the river. In an earlier study, she takes Cuming’s assumptions into account while delving into the history of the Thames bodies, which were nearly forgotten until the late 1980s when archaeologists Richard Bradley and Ken Gordon took an interest in them. Bradley and Gordon’s observations of metalwork that was also found in Bronze Age graves would back up later radiocarbon dating of the bones to confirm when these people lived.
Arthur and her team compared their new radiocarbon dates with 31 previous findings and were able to place the bodies, found mostly upstream, in the Bronze and Iron Age. They were anywhere from about 4,000 to slightly under 2,000 years old. But why this time *******?
Something of historical significance must have happened then. Arthur, who has focused much of her studies on the cultural significance of water burials, thinks it may have been part of some sort of ritual in which skulls and other significant skeletal remains were deposited in the river.
Other archaeologists think Cuming’s theory about a violent clash of armies might have been more than an assumption. For millennia, the Thames supplied water and food to London in addition to being an important trade route, which archaeologist Christopher Knüsel sees as something worth fighting for.
Knüsel’s own research on the Thames corpses argues that the skulls and weapons being found so close together is no coincidence. While he acknowledges that this could have been a funerary practice in an initial study of the bones, a later study on warfare and violence in ancient Europe suggests that battles could have raged over control of the Thames, and the river claimed the victims.
Evidence of skeletal trauma on the remains also convinces Knüsel that something more than just mortuary rituals was going on. Arthur will now focus on analyzing the injuries for a future study, which may finally demystify why so many corpses sank to the bottom of the Thames. It might even prove Cuming right.
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What to expect under Lawrence Wong
What to expect under Lawrence Wong
Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s then deputy prime minister and finance minister, speaking during the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore, on Sept. 13, 2023. Wong, now the country’s prime minister, is due to deliver the budget on Feb. 18.
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Singapore is gearing up for its first budget under Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and analysts are expecting more support for both households and businesses.
Wong, who took the helm from Lee Hsien Loong in May last year, will deliver the budget on Feb. 18. The country is due for a general election by November.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, Wong said this year’s Budget will “tackle immediate concerns that all of you have raised about cost pressures, and also tackle longer-term challenges to ensure that Singapore can move forward and stay ahead in this troubled world.”
In a Feb. 4 note, analysts from Maybank noted that as Singapore’s celebrates its 60th year of independence, the government is likely to roll out a generous “SG60 budget.”
Household and business support
The Maybank analysts said such a budget will likely include a package of support measures for households to defray living costs, such as cash, consumption vouchers and rebates on utility bills, as well as more opportunities for workers to improve their skills through courses.
Bank of America analysts predict the upcoming budget will be a “feel-good” one, saying they expect measures “aimed at alleviating the cost of living pressures to form the centrepiece of Budget 2025. A new ‘Package’ to support middle-aged and middle-income groups may be possible, given signals in the New Year Day Message.”
In his New Year’s Day message, Wong said, “We will provide more targeted help to those who find it harder to cope, especially older people and lower-income groups. But we will not neglect other segments, including the middle-income and middle-aged, who are caring for both elderly parents and young children.”
On the business front, Maybank wrote, there could be more rebates for corporate tax, as well as rebates on property tax for commercial properties.
More enhancements to existing schemes to help companies may also be on the table, such as grants to relieve manpower costs.
The Maybank analysts also noted that they do not expect any more property cooling measures or wealth taxes, noting that “significant hikes” to property and income taxes were implemented in 2022 and 2023.
“The government will probably wait to see whether the increase in housing supply in the coming years will cool prices,” Maybank said.
Macroeconomic outlook
On the macroeconomic front, the BofA analysts said the budget is expected to be a “pro-growth” budget, given the “low and stable” inflation and uncertain global outlook.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore lowered its 2025 core inflation forecast range to 1%-2% from 1.5-2.5% after the sharp decline to 1.9% in the fourth quarter (from 2.7% in the third quarter), citing a return to low and stable underlying price pressures.
Nomura analysts said in an outlook note that “With inflation pressures now well contained, we think MAS is shifting its focus towards the growth outlook, which it sees as facing rising downside risks due to escalating trade policy frictions.”
Nomura forecasts a 2025 gross domestic product growth of 2.8% year on year, lower than the 4% seen in 2024, but near the top end of the government’s forecast of 1%-3%.
They attributed the expected decline to weaker external demand under Trump’s second term, despite Singapore’s free trade agreement with the United States.
“That said, we think growth will remain resilient and above potential, as strong local wage and employment growth provide some cushion against shocks from increased trade protectionism,” the analysts wrote.
Singapore’s GDP expanded by 4.4% in 2024, marking its fastest full-year growth since 2021, according to the ministry of trade and industry.
Balanced budget rule
BofA noted that Singapore has “fiscal flexibility” from accumulated surpluses from 2021 to 2024, creating room for supplementary spending.
Maybank expects the 2025 budget to register a deficit of 6 billion Singapore dollars, or about 0.8% of GDP, “as the government draws down most of its accumulated SG$6.7 billion surplus over the electoral term.” The SG$6.7 billion figure is according to Maybank estimates.
Under the Singapore Constitution, a government must maintain a balanced budget in each term of government, and can tap past reserves only with presidential approval. The government is not allowed to borrow to fund its operating expenses.
Since independence, Singapore has tapped its past reserves only twice: during the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The budget will also be the last for the current government before elections must be called by November.
Last month, Singapore announced the formation of its Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, a key step in the lead-up to a general election in the city-state.
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Mitch McConnell takes his revenge on Trump – Axios
Mitch McConnell takes his revenge on Trump – Axios
Mitch McConnell takes his revenge on Trump AxiosNewly sworn-in HHS Secretary RFK Jr. vows to tackle physical, as well as spiritual ‘crisis’ in the country Fox NewsOpinion | I Shudder to Imagine Kennedy Running Our Health Agencies. The New York TimesVaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is sworn in as Trump’s health chief after a close Senate vote The Associated Press
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More than a dozen state attorneys general file lawsuit challenging Musk and DOGE’s authority
More than a dozen state attorneys general file lawsuit challenging Musk and DOGE’s authority
MINNEAPOLIS — A lawsuit filed on Thursday by attorneys general from 14 states challenges the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to access sensitive government data and exercise “virtually unchecked power.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., argues President Trump violated the appointments clause of the Constitution by creating a federal department without congressional approval.
DOGE, which isn’t an official government agency, was tasked by Mr. Trump to produce recommendations on trimming federal outlays, with billionaires Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, before he departed, saying they aimed to cut about $500 billion in annual expenditures.
Musk’s team has roamed from agency to agency, tapping into computer systems, digging into budgets and searching for what he calls waste, fraud and abuse, while lawsuits pile up claiming Mr. Trump and DOGE are violating the law.
The latest lawsuit details how, according to the state attorneys general, Musk has “unraveled federal agencies, accessed sensitive data, and caused widespread disruption for state and local governments, federal employees, and the American people.” It goes on to say DOGE “endangers cybersecurity and erodes public trust.”
The New Mexico Department of Justice is leading the lawsuit with Arizona and Michigan as co-leads. Attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington also joined the lawsuit.
They asked the court to order Musk to identify ways that “any data obtained through unlawful agency access was used,” destroy “such unauthorized access in his or DOGE’s possession” and bar Musk and DOGE from ordering changes in the disbursement of public funds, canceling government contracts, taking steps to dismantle agencies and more.
On Thursday, Musk called for the U.S. to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of his push to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.
Democratic attorneys general say Musk’s approach is generating profound concerns among their constituents about the secure handling of sensitive information at agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the IRS.
“Donald Trump seems to think a narrow electoral victory makes him into a king. He could not be more wrong,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. “Worse still, Trump installed Elon Musk at the head of that agency without vetting and Senate confirmation, and Musk has proceeded to use that unconstitutional appointment to try to cut the federal government to the bone.”
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Mr. Trump is demonstrating “weakness” in deploying Musk rather than advancing his agenda through a Republican-controlled Congress.
“Move fast and breaking things may work in Silicon Valley for a tech company,” Torrez said. “It’s not good governance and it’s unconstitutional.”
The lawsuit seeks a court ruling declaring Musk’s actions unconstitutional and wants his previous actions invalidated.
Last week, a federal judge in New York temporarily blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the preliminary injunction after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued Mr. Trump.
Last month, a lawsuit from a public interest law firm called National Security Counselors accused DOGE of operating as a federal advisory committee, putting it in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, or FACA, which regulates the functions and transparency of federal advisory committees, according to the group.
A coalition representing veterans, public health professionals, teachers and other groups also filed a suit against DOGE, citing FACA and asking a court to block DOGE’s activities until it complies with the law.
Ed O’Keefe and
Aimee Picchi
contributed to this report.
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Aston Martin CEO sets tight deadline for history-making goal
Aston Martin CEO sets tight deadline for history-making goal
British luxury car marque Aston Martin is undergoing a ******* of change, and its recently appointed CEO isn’t giving himself much time to achieve a milestone the company has never achieved before.
Speaking to Automotive News, Adrian Hallmark – who was poached in 2024 from Bentley after 15 years and became Aston Martin’s fourth CEO in a five-year ******* – says he wants to be at the helm when the brand becomes sustainably profitable.
In its 112-year history, Aston Martin has never been sustainably profitable, but Mr Hallmark wants to make it so within 18 months, something he says was a key reason behind leaving Bentley
“To be the first guy in 112 years to make Aston Martin sustainably profitable – when I believe there is a way to do so – was irresistible,” Mr Hallmark told Automotive News.
“If it doesn’t work, nothing lost. If it does, we’ve done it.”
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Camera IconAdrian Hallmark Credit: CarExpert
When asked how long he’s given himself to turn around Aston Martin, Mr Hallmark replied: “It’s got to be 12 to 18 months, by then it has to be fixed.
“I’m not saying we will be delivering Ferrari-level financial performance by then but fixed in terms of going in the right direction to where it’s going to work, properly.”
Mr Hallmark believes Aston Martin’s aggressive product strategy has held it back from sustainable profitability in recent years.
“In the past four years Aston Martin has gone through a frenzy of product development,” Mr Hallmark said.
Camera IconSupplied Credit: CarExpert
“I’ve never seen so much ambition: four cars in 18 months. In 25 years, none of the brands that I was directly or indirectly associated with ever tried that. It almost worked, but not every car was perfect on day one and there have been several delays.
“The difficulties were not because of a lack of money. At Bentley, we were spending at a similar rate five-plus years ago and Aston Martin is less than half the size of Bentley.
“So, this is a genuine endeavor. From the Vantage, DB12, Vanquish, Valhalla and Valkyrie, we’ve never had a portfolio like it.”
It appears Mr Hallmark is prioritising Aston Martin’s current product portfolio over future models, having delayed its inaugural EV again.
Now due before 2030 – though without a specific date – the EV was initially scheduled for a 2025 launch which last March was pushed back to 2026, and more recently revised for 2027.
Camera IconSupplied Credit: CarExpert
It’s still unknown whether the first Aston Martin EV will be a sports car or a more practical model like an SUV, and what nameplate it’ll use.
“You either replace an existing nameplate and take the brave pill or create a new incremental model. The original plan was to go with an incremental model, but we’re looking at other options,” said Mr Hallmark.
The EV has previously been confirmed to use a front electric motor developed by the brand and a rear motor produced by US EV manufacturer Lucid.
While Aston Martin only launched its first hybrid last year – the Valhalla PHEV supercar – it aims to soon launch more fuel-saving models, which will help combustion engines continue to account for a majority of its sales by 2030.
Like the Valhalla, future Aston Martin PHEVs are expected to use powertrains developed by Mercedes-AMG, which currently has electrified versions of four- and eight-cylinder models.
The executive also said Aston Martin is planning to become “full electric some time between 2035 and 2040”, likely after the impending 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars in Europe.
MORE: Aston Martin delays EV again, plans more hybrids
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More than a dozen state attorneys general file lawsuit challenging Musk and DOGE’s authority
More than a dozen state attorneys general file lawsuit challenging Musk and DOGE’s authority
Elon Musk defends major federal cuts
Elon Musk defends federal cuts, insists he has no conflict of interest
02:58
MINNEAPOLIS — A lawsuit filed on Thursday by attorneys general from 14 states challenges the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to access sensitive government data and exercise “virtually unchecked power.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., argues President Trump violated the appointments clause of the Constitution by creating a federal department without congressional approval.
DOGE, which isn’t an official government agency, was tasked by Mr. Trump to produce recommendations on trimming federal outlays, with billionaires Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, before he departed, saying they aimed to cut about $500 billion in annual expenditures.
Musk’s team has roamed from agency to agency, tapping into computer systems, digging into budgets and searching for what he calls waste, fraud and abuse, while lawsuits pile up claiming Mr. Trump and DOGE are violating the law.
The latest lawsuit details how, according to the state attorneys general, Musk has “unraveled federal agencies, accessed sensitive data, and caused widespread disruption for state and local governments, federal employees, and the American people.” It goes on to say DOGE “endangers cybersecurity and erodes public trust.”
The New Mexico Department of Justice is leading the lawsuit with Arizona and Michigan as co-leads. Attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington also joined the lawsuit.
They asked the court to order Musk to identify ways that “any data obtained through unlawful agency access was used,” destroy “such unauthorized access in his or DOGE’s possession” and bar Musk and DOGE from ordering changes in the disbursement of public funds, canceling government contracts, taking steps to dismantle agencies and more.
On Thursday, Musk called for the U.S. to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of his push to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.
Democratic attorneys general say Musk’s approach is generating profound concerns among their constituents about the secure handling of sensitive information at agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the IRS.
“Donald Trump seems to think a narrow electoral victory makes him into a king. He could not be more wrong,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. “Worse still, Trump installed Elon Musk at the head of that agency without vetting and Senate confirmation, and Musk has proceeded to use that unconstitutional appointment to try to cut the federal government to the bone.”
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Mr. Trump is demonstrating “weakness” in deploying Musk rather than advancing his agenda through a Republican-controlled Congress.
“Move fast and breaking things may work in Silicon Valley for a tech company,” Torrez said. “It’s not good governance and it’s unconstitutional.”
The lawsuit seeks a court ruling declaring Musk’s actions unconstitutional and wants his previous actions invalidated.
Last week, a federal judge in New York temporarily blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the preliminary injunction after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued Mr. Trump.
Last month, a lawsuit from a public interest law firm called National Security Counselors accused DOGE of operating as a federal advisory committee, putting it in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, or FACA, which regulates the functions and transparency of federal advisory committees, according to the group.
A coalition representing veterans, public health professionals, teachers and other groups also filed a suit against DOGE, citing FACA and asking a court to block DOGE’s activities until it complies with the law.
Ed O’Keefe and
Aimee Picchi
contributed to this report.
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Jury hands Megan Boswell life sentence after guilty verdict
Jury hands Megan Boswell life sentence after guilty verdict
SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Jurors have returned a guilty verdict against Megan Boswell and sentenced her to life in prison with the possibility for parole after a week-long trial.
Guilty on All Charges
The jury found Boswell guilty on all three first-degree ******* charges she faced in the death of her daughter Evelyn. She was also found guilty on all her other charges, including aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect.
The verdict was delivered to a packed courtroom. Boswell herself began crying around the time the jury foreperson said she was found guilty on her second first-degree ******* charge.
Both sides rest in Megan Boswell Trial
Boswell faced 19 charges in Evelyn’s death. Those charges included:
First-degree premeditated ******* – GUILTY
First-degree ******* in the perpetration of aggravated child abuse – GUILTY
First-degree ******* in the perpetration of aggravated child neglect – GUILTY
Aggravated child abuse – GUILTY
Aggravated child neglect – GUILTY
Tampering with evidence – GUILTY
11 counts of false report – GUILTY
Abuse of a corpse – GUILTY
Failure to report a death under suspicious, unusual or unnatural circumstances – GUILTY
She had initially faced 12 counts of false report, but the state dismissed one of those counts at the start of the trial.
The jury began deliberating on Wednesday afternoon. After closing arguments wrapped up, the jury spent about four and a half hours deliberating between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.
Judge Jim Goodwin sent the jury back for a brief recess before they immediately moved into a sentencing trial. Based on her first-degree ******* convictions, the jury was tasked with determining if Boswell would face life in prison with or without the possibility of parole.
Sentencing Trial Begins
When the sentencing trial began, Boswell’s attorney, Gene Scott, told the jury that while he did not like the verdict, he respected it.
Scott told the jury that Boswell had been in jail since she was 18 years old. Scott said if she was given life in prison, she would potentially be released from jail when she is in her 60s. Should they sentence her to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Boswell will never be released from prison.
Scott said witnesses in the sentencing trial would shine a light on Boswell’s home life before Evelyn’s death that would inform their decision.
Mother of Megan Boswell Testifies
The first witness called was Angela Boswell, Megan Boswell’s mother. Angela was at one time sought by police during the search for Evelyn because her daughter claimed she had taken the child.
Angela was visibly emotional on the stand and told Scott that she was a teenager when she gave birth to Boswell’s brother.
She told Scott that Boswell frequently witnessed her parents’ drug use, primarily opioids, while growing up. Angela said their behavior also led to frequent fights and Tommy Boswell’s, Megan Boswell’s father, arrest.
According to Angela, her daughter was primarily raised by her grandparents. She also claimed much responsibility for Boswell’s troubled upbringing and recalled taking her daughter to AA meetings.
“These problems, do you feel that is partly your fault, the problems Megan’s experienced?” Scott asked Angela.
“Absolutely, yes,” Angela said.
Angela became upset and said she knew Boswell did not have a good role model in her as a mother. Boswell could also be seen crying at the defense table.
Angela said she had been attempting to better herself but realized that did not help her daughter.
“I pray every day, and just, you know, to do my best and try,” a teary Angela said. “I’ve learned the importance of a mother’s role. But not for Megan, I didn’t. I failed her on that miserably.”
Angela asked the jury not to sentence Boswell to life without parole and continued to shoulder part of the entire ordeal.
“At her core, she is a generous, kindhearted person,” Angela said. All Maggie has went through, Maggie still has potential. She was trying so hard, she didn’t repeat my mistakes. Maggie learned from my mistakes. She was trying to do better with Evelyn. You know, she wasn’t repeating it. I think she got saddled with, um, you know, just because my mistakes that that she did those, and that was not it. That was not the case with Evelyn.”
Prosecutors had no questions for Angela.
Foster Mother Testifies
The defense then called Gail Kyte to the stand. Kyte was Boswell’s foster mother at the time Evelyn was born. She also testified in the trial to determine Boswell’s guilt in Evelyn’s death.
Kyte said she has been working in foster care for 15 years and recalled that Boswell “was in bad shape” when she came to live with Kyte. According to Kyte, Boswell was malnourished and very underweight at the time, and her hair was thick with lice to the point that a comb could not be run through it.
Ridding Boswell of her lice took weeks, a haircut and multiple treatments of medicine and special combing.
“It was a rough time for her, very rough,” Kyte said.
Kyte told the court that Boswell’s case file included trauma, abuse and *****. When Boswell came to her, Kyte said she was 17 years old, scared and pregnant.
Boswell stayed with Kyte for four months. She told the court Boswell never caused her any problems disciplinary-wise or with her online schooling. Kyte said Boswell appeared to thrive in a structured environment, and she formed a bond with the teenager.
Kyte said Boswell was “very excited” about becoming a mother. According to her, Boswell practically raised her younger siblings and was experienced in caring for children.
Kyte said she and her husband never woke up to take care of a crying Evelyn because Boswell always took care of her. Kyte also attended numerous doctor appointments with Boswell.
Eventually, Boswell was placed back in her family’s custody and returned to Tommy Boswell’s home. Kyte and Boswell stayed in regular contact, and Kyte began to see signs that Boswell needed help again.
Kyte recalled an instance in which Angela left Boswell and Evelyn at a church and took the baby’s diaper bag. Kyte picked the mother and child up and cared for them that night.
Kyte told the court that she never met Angela but did meet Tommy a few times. According to Kyte, Boswell never knew what it was like to live in a typical family but craved it.
Kyte said she did not think Boswell was “irredeemable” and deserved a chance for parole to live a life after prison.
Again, the state had no questions.
Boswell’s Grandmother Testifies
The defense then called Boswell’s grandmother, Mary Boswell, to the stand. By her family, she is typically referred to as “O’Mommy.”
Mary said she has known Boswell her entire life and kept her often. She said she did not know any of the particulars about any difficulties Boswell faced from her parents, but Boswell frequently stayed at their home.
Mary asked the jury for leniency and said she loved Boswell like her own.
The state also had no questions for Mary.
Boswell Chooses Not to Testify Again
As she did on Wednesday, Boswell informed the court that she did not want to testify.
Scott asked her to repeat that she did not want to testify again, and she did.
After Boswell chose not to testify, the defense rested.
Prosecution’s Closing Argument
Assistant District Attorney Amber Massengill gave the state’s closing argument for the sentencing trial. She said the state’s submission of Evelyn’s birth certificate proved the aggravating factors: Boswell and Evelyn’s ages.
Massengill told the jury that while the defense did show Boswell came from a hard life, lots of people have difficult childhoods and have children young but do not kill their children.
“She doesn’t deserve that chance,” Massengill said. “Does Evelyn get the chance when she’s 69 years old to start her life again?”
Massengill said it is the state’s opinion that Boswell deserves life in prison without parole.
According to Massengill, all the state had to prove was that Evelyn was younger than 12 and Boswell was at least 18 in order for the jury to sentence her to life without parole.
Defense’s Closing Argument
Defense attorney Tim Horne asked the jury to end the entire Megan Boswell trial on the right note by showing her “grace and love.”
Horne said those things have been missing for the last five years, and by showing Boswell compassion, the community could begin to heal.
Horne told the jury that he and Scott have never known hardship and their parents have loved them their whole lives. He argued that Boswell did not know that love, and the jury had a chance to show her that they did not think she was irredeemable.
He asked the jury to let Boswell have a chance by giving her life with the possibility of parol.
Harper’s Closing Argument
Deputy District Attorney William Harper said that he agreed with Horne: the trial should end on the right note.
However, Harper’s definition of the right note differed quite a bit from Horne’s.
“You should show Megan Boswell the same compassion and grace that she showed Evelyn,” Harper said.
He again asked the jury to return a verdict sentencing Boswell to life without the possibility of parole.
Goodwin Instructs the Jury
Judge Jim Goodwin charged the jury with reaching a verdict as to Boswell’s sentencing. Tennessee law states that anyone convicted of first-degree ******* must serve life in prison or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
If Boswell were sentenced to life in prison, she would be required to serve 51 years. If she were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Boswell would never leave prison.
The defense filed 11 factors for the jury to consider when rendering the sentencing verdict. The defense asked the jury to consider Boswell’s age, upbringing and difficult upbringing in making the decision.
The jury was sent to deliberate on Boswell’s sentencing, and the court entered recess until jurors reached a verdict.
Jury Reaches Sentencing Verdict
The jury reached its verdict and revealed it to the court shortly after 2:20 p.m.
On all three of Boswell’s first-degree ******* convictions, the jury decided on a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. The verdict means Boswell will serve 51 years before she is eligible for parole.
The jurors were thanked for their service and released from the court.
Sentencing for Boswell on her other charges will be decided at a hearing on May 22 at 1:30 p.m. At that hearing, the court will discuss the merging of some charges and the way in which her sentence is carried out.
Horne asked to be released as co-counsel from the case, which Goodwin granted.
Boswell’s trial saw more than 30 witnesses called to the stand by the state and none by Boswell’s defense. Testimonies were given by members of law enforcement, forensic scientists, Evelyn’s pediatrician, medical examiners, members of the media and friends, family and acquaintances of Boswell.
Complete Coverage of the Megan Boswell Trial
The jury was shown numerous photos of Evelyn’s body and the circumstances of her recovery on March 6, 2020. Evelyn’s body was found in a trash can inside a playhouse on a family member’s property.
Additionally, the jury watched hours of interviews with Boswell conducted by law enforcement.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Justin Allgaier qualifies Dale Earnhardt Jr. owned car for Daytona 500 – Tennessean
Justin Allgaier qualifies Dale Earnhardt Jr. owned car for Daytona 500 – Tennessean
Justin Allgaier qualifies Dale Earnhardt Jr. owned car for Daytona 500 TennesseanDaytona 500: Qualifying duels on after brief weather delay Yahoo SportsDaytona 500: Lineups for Duel races on Thursday night; lineups set after pole qualifying Daytona Beach News-Journal
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BMW M5 facelift spied just months after model debut
BMW M5 facelift spied just months after model debut
BMW is already preparing to facelift its M5 super sedan, with a restyled example spotted testing in camouflage.
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‘I don’t care how many people sign that petition’
‘I don’t care how many people sign that petition’
JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon said during a Wednesday town hall he didn’t care how many employees signed a petition to bring back hybrid work. The company in mid-January announced a 100% return-to-office mandate, which angered many employees, who argue the move “disproportionately” pushed out women, caregivers, senior employees, and employees with disabilities.
The return-to-office battle between employees and executives has turned heated at times, and some companies have blundered in their push to get workers back in person.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorganChase, has made his stance on working five days in the office clear: Employees shouldn’t mess around with trying to get him to change his mind that working full-time in-person is best. But more than 1,200 JPMorgan employees have signed a petition against the company’s five-day-a-week, in-office mandate.
“Don’t waste time on it,” Dimon said during a company town hall on Wednesday, Reuters reported. “I don’t care how many people sign that f—ing petition.”
JPMorgan didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Dimon had announced the full-RTO mandate in mid-January, and the move immediately caught backlash from employees. Many argued the move “disproportionately” pushed out women, caregivers, senior employees, and employees with disabilities, according to the petition.
“I’m really against the full RTO out of empathy for a lot of colleagues whose personal lives will be upended,” a JPMorgan employee told Fortune’s Luisa Beltran on the condition of anonymity. “A lot of us have arranged our lives and [made] huge life decisions around being able to be remote a couple days a week or 40% of the time.”
But Dimon doesn’t have much sympathy for employees wanting to work from home.
“I’ve had it with this stuff,” Dimon said during the town hall, according to Barron’s. “I’ve been working seven days a ******** week since COVID, and I come in, and—where is everybody else?”
Barron’s also first reported the news JPMorgan has a series of layoffs planned for 2025, which began earlier this month. Yet, Dimon said, the company is investing in hiring new professionals, and JPMorgan has 14,000 open positions.
JPMorgan employees who signed the petition argue the company’s move to 100% in-office work is “a great leap backward,” arguing hybrid work “reduces costs, enhances morale, and strengthens employee retention.”
Both inside and outside of JPMorgan, employees also see RTO mandates as a way for leadership to have more oversight and control of the work they’re doing. Nearly 80% of workers said they think employers are pressuring their workforce to work in the office to see how they’re actually spending their time during the workday, according to a survey of 4,200 workers.
Story Continues
Experts have also expressed the pros of hybrid work, like higher efficiency and more collaboration.
In-person work “fosters a clear boundary between work and personal life, enhancing productivity and mental well-being,” Aytekin Tank, founder of Jotform, wrote in a July 2024 commentary article for Fortune. “It boosts learning and knowledge sharing, particularly benefiting new hires who thrive on direct interaction and mentorship.”
Still, workers want the flexibility they’d grown accustomed to during the past five years. At JPMorgan, there was some precedence in managers establishing hybrid work schedules with their direct reports, but Dimon also shut down that arrangement.
“There is no chance that I will leave it up to managers,” he said during the town hall. “Zero chance. The abuse that took place is extraordinary.”
Dimon also cited workers abusing remote work, particularly on Fridays, a popular work-from-home day.
“Don’t give me this s–t that work-from-home Friday works,” he said. “I call a lot of people on Fridays, and there’s not a ******** person you can get a hold of.”
It appears unlikely JPMorgan will budge on its 100% RTO mandate, considering Dimon’s feelings on the matter. And at the end of the day, Dimon stressed, employees have a choice in whether to work for JPMorgan at all.
“It’s a free world,” Dimon said.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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Every 'Bridget Jones' movie, definitively ranked (even 'Mad About the Boy') – USA TODAY
Every 'Bridget Jones' movie, definitively ranked (even 'Mad About the Boy') – USA TODAY
Every ‘Bridget Jones’ movie, definitively ranked (even ‘Mad About the Boy’) USA TODAYRomance Books Like ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’ by Helen Fielding The New York TimesDressing Bridget Jones in her 50s: The ‘Frazzled Englishwoman’ grows up CNNBridget Jones Is Back—And So Are Her Most Iconic Outfits InStyleBridget Jones: Mad About the Boy review – giant laughs for Hugh Grant but weepie sequel is strangely dazed The Guardian
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Reel Talk: Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy review
Reel Talk: Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy review
There’s warmth, gentle humour and genuine emotion, but Mad About The Boy highlights the true superpower of Bridget Jones — relatability.
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Ocasio-Cortez says Adams ‘must be removed’ – The Hill
Ocasio-Cortez says Adams ‘must be removed’ – The Hill
Ocasio-Cortez says Adams ‘must be removed’ The HillRead The Letter From Emil Bove Accepting Danielle Sassoon’s Resignation, Annotated The New York TimesProsecutor resigns after being told to drop case against NYC mayor Eric Adams BBC.com
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Nissan to close factories, cut thousands of jobs as financial woes worsen
Nissan to close factories, cut thousands of jobs as financial woes worsen
Japanese carmaker Nissan has announced a raft of drastic cost-saving measures to try and turn around its recent financial woes, with at least three factories to be shuttered.
Overnight, Nissan announced its quarterly financial results, which included official confirmation that its proposed merger with fellow Japanese brand Honda was dead – a move which many thought could have aided Nissan.
According to Nissan, its planned cost-saving measures are expected to bring savings of approximately 400 billion Yen ($4.14 billion) by the 2026 Japanese fiscal year.
For context, its operating profit slid from 478.4 billion Yen ($4.69 billion) in April to December 2023 to 64 billion Yen ($663 million) across the same ******* in 2024. Its net income also dropped by 320.2 billion Yen ($3.3 billion) to 5.1 billion Yen ($52.8 million).
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Camera IconNissan CEO Makoto Uchida Credit: CarExpert
To achieve this, 2500 “indirect” employees will be laid off globally, while Nissan projects “100 billion yen in savings by consolidating production lines, adjusting shift patterns, and transferring jobs, starting with three plants in Q1 FY25 (April-June)”.
According to Nissan, that includes two factories in the US (Canton and Smyrna) and one of its two Thailand production lines.
Automotive News reports Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida announced the Thailand factory is the only one of the three confirmed to be closed. Two additional factories will also be shut, though it’s unconfirmed as to which these will be.
While Nissan only has one factory location in Thailand, it technically counts two production lines as separate plants.
Camera IconSupplied Credit: CarExpert
One of the two lines produces the ***********-delivered Nissan Navara, as well as the related Terra SUV. A new-generation Nissan Navara is on the horizon, and is set to be twinned with the latest Mitsubishi Triton in a bid to reduce development costs.
Nissan Australia has confirmed to CarExpert the Navara production line (known as Plant 2) won’t be axed, however production of the Almera and Kicks (Plant 1) will be consolidated with the Navara and Terra.
Automotive News added the two US factories will see a reduction in shift changes. No Nissan models sold in Australia come from the Canton plant, however our Pathfinders come from the Smyrna factory.
Last week, Nissan Oceania managing director Andrew Humberstone cast doubt over the future of the Pathfinder in Australia, due to low sales.
The reduction in shifts and reduced output at the factory where it’s built could expedite the Pathfinder’s local demise.
Nissan previously announced it’d reduce its global headcount by 9000 jobs, 6500 of which are now confirmed to come from manufacturing operations.
Camera IconNissan Thailand’s Plant 2 Credit: CarExpert
The carmaker repeated it expects to cut global production capacity by 20 per cent from five million vehicles to four million by April 2026.
It’s not just those towards the bottom of the company tree who’ll be impacted, with 20 per cent of Nissan’s management to be cut.
While Automotive News reports some industry experts believe Nissan isn’t doing enough to get itself out of financial dire straits, Uchida-san said further cuts aren’t off the table.
“Can we continue to survive as a standalone company?” Mr Uchida told reporters.
“We’ve been discussing that for some time now. This is a big subject matter. Without taboo, we have to explore all options.”
Despite Nissan’s global struggles, it delivered more cars in Australia during January 2025 than the same month last year.
MORE: Honda and Nissan officially call off mergerMORE: Nissan Pathfinder faces uncertain future in Australia
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CBP officer arrested for human smuggling was allegedly in ******** drug cartel
CBP officer arrested for human smuggling was allegedly in ******** drug cartel
EL PASO, Texas − A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer allegedly involved in migrant smuggling on the El Paso border was allegedly a member of a ******** drug cartel, a federal agent testified.
A federal magistrate judge ordered CBP Officer Manuel Perez Jr., 32, of El Paso, to remain jailed without bond at a detention hearing Thursday, Feb. 13, in federal court in Downtown El Paso. Perez is allegedly a member of the La Linea drug cartel.
Perez was fired from CBP after his arrest on federal human and drug smuggling charges on Feb. 8 by the FBI El Paso West Texas Border Corruption Task Force following a multi-agency investigation, court officials said. If convicted, he could face 10 years up to life in prison.
“Multiple witnesses said he belonged to La Linea cartel in Mexico,” a special agent with the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility testified at the hearing.
More: ******** cartels offering pricey VIP package for migrants trying to get into US
Perez allegedly told investigators that he was being paid $2,500 for each undocumented person he allowed to pass at his inspection lane at the Paso Del Norte international bridge in downtown El Paso, the special agent testified.
The exact number of smuggled persons Perez waved through his border inspection point was unclear.
The prosecution said that Perez may have been paid as much as $400,000 in a border migrant smuggling scheme dating to December 2023. A ******** distribution conspiracy case dates from Feb. 5 going back to November 2019, according to the indictment.
More: ******** troops arrive at US border to disarm Trump tariff threats
Smugglers in intercepted phone calls spoke of “100% guaranteed” crossings because they had “the officer in their pocket,” the agent testified. The names of others involved in smuggling have not been disclosed.
Perez’s attorney Ruben Ortiz suggested at the hearing that the co-conspirators involved in the border smuggling could be lying about his client.
“The cooperating witnesses are telling them (federal investigators) whatever they want to hear for now,” Ortiz said, adding that informers are “pointing fingers, perhaps to gain favor from the government in their own cases.”
Feds: CBP officer lived in Mexico, cartel affiliated
Last week, Perez was in his CBP uniform when he was arrested. On Thursday, Perez was shackled and wearing a blue jail jumpsuit in court. The portly man — El Paso County Jail records list him as 5 feet, 1 inch tall and 281 pounds — appeared calm as he sat next to to his attorney.
Perez is a U.S. citizen born in California, his attorney said. He has no past criminal history and no issues with drugs or alcohol. Perez has an apartment in El Paso and was also renting a home in Juárez.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Johnston painted an image of a U.S. federal agent affiliated with La Linea, a regional crime organization more commonly known as the Juárez drug cartel.
More: Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael Zambada kidnapped, flown to the US, lawyer says
The special agent with the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility testified that witnesses told investigators that Perez was always armed with a firearm in bars and nightclubs in Mexico and even when he was sleeping.
Witnesses claimed Perez had an armed security detail with him at all times in Mexico. The claim was corroborated by photos, the agent said.
More: Steve Bannon pleads guilty to defrauding donors over border wall construction
A witness told investigators that Perez had stated that if he were ever to be arrested that he would prefer to be arrested in Mexico so that he could continue his criminal activity in jail, the special agent said.
The special agent said that CBP investigators used a database of recorded border crossings to determine that Perez spent more than 80% of his time in Mexico while he was not at work in El Paso. Ortiz countered his client spent a lot of time in Juárez because he used to have a girlfriend there.
More: Kristi Noem asks the IRS to help with Trump immigration crackdown
As part of the investigation, U.S. federal agents contacted ******** agents, who found $18,000 in cash after serving a search warrant at Perez’s home in Juárez, the special agent testified.
“By all measures, he lives in Mexico,” Johnston said of Perez, mentioning that the rest of the suspected corrupt officer’s smuggling profits are unaccounted for.
CBP officer allegedly helped smugglers
The indictment stated Perez was allegedly involved in a migrant smuggling scheme at his post at the Paso Del Norte Bridge going back to early December 2023.
The indictment stated that an undocumented migrant paid $16,000 to be brought across at the port of entry. The investigation allegedly found Perez allowed a gray Nissan Pathfinder to cross the border with undocumented migrants several times.
Perez allegedly entered information from 25 visas belonging to legal border-crossers in the place of the smuggled migrants into TECS (formerly known as the Treasury Enforcement Communications System) the computer system used by CBP at the U.S.-Mexico border to assist with screenings and admissions, the indictment stated. TECS keeps track of people entering and exiting the country and those involved or suspected to be involved in crimes.
The investigation found that the persons that Perez allegedly allowed to cross the border did not match the people in the documents, the agent said.
The Nissan Pathfinder would take the smuggled migrants — including children — to a meet-up spot outside a restaurant on a Ranchland Village retail strip. The migrants would then be transported to other cities in other vehicles, the agent said.
The indictment makes a brief mention of a “proof of life video” taken of an undocumented person by a member of the smuggling group to provide proof of a successful smuggle into the United States. The video was not mentioned at the hearing.
Alleged ******** smuggling
The investigation found Perez and a co-conspirator in October 2023 arranged to take eight kilos of ******** from El Paso to Louisiana and North Carolina, authorities said.
The co-conspirator’s information was corroborated with records from license-plate readers “placed strategically across the United States” that showed the vehicle’s travel across Texas to Louisiana to Alabama and to North Carolina, the CBP special agent said. Hotel records were also found.
After his arrest, Perez allegedly told investigators that the smuggler had already paid him $20,000 for what Perez said were seven kilos of ******** and that the smuggler had a drug debt with him for the rest of the money, the agent said.
A ‘glorified mule’
“I kind of see him as a glorified mule,” who allegedly waved undocumented persons through the border checkpoint, instead of a some type of “mastermind,” Ortiz told the judge. A “mule” is a term normally used to refer to a person utilized to carry drugs across the border.
Ortiz argued to have Perez be released on bond saying that he doesn’t pose a danger to the public. Perez could stay under house arrest with a GPS monitor with his mother in El Paso, his attorney suggested.
Migrants with CBP One appointments are processed at the Paso del Norte International Bridge in El Paso, Texas on Jan. 20, 2025, by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
Ortiz added that the county jail was not a safe place for his client and that Perez waived his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and voluntarily spoke to investigators when he was arrested. Ortiz mentioned Perez “has a lot of debt,” but didn’t go into detail.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Miguel Torres ordered Perez remain jailed explaining that there was “no question” that Perez posed a flight risk due to the amount of time he spent in Mexico in addition to his alleged association with a ******** cartel.
Daniel Borunda is a reporter at the El Paso Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at *****@*****.tld and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CBP officer allegedly part of ******** drug cartel
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Apple, Google Restore TikTok App After Assurances From Trump – Bloomberg
Apple, Google Restore TikTok App After Assurances From Trump – Bloomberg
Apple, Google Restore TikTok App After Assurances From Trump BloombergTikTok returns to Apple, Google app stores CNBCGoogle Play restores TikTok to its US app store CNNApple to restore TikTok on US app store after Attorney General’s letter, Bloomberg News reports Reuters
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Bar & Bites: Macaron maestro Adriano Zumbo transforms QT Perth into Parisian patisserie to launch new high tea
Bar & Bites: Macaron maestro Adriano Zumbo transforms QT Perth into Parisian patisserie to launch new high tea
Sydney patissier and reality TV regular Adriano Zumbo to transform hotel rooftop into a Parisian cafe to launch new G&T QTea
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Florida state Sen. Geraldine Thompson dies at 76 after complications from knee replacement surgery
Florida state Sen. Geraldine Thompson dies at 76 after complications from knee replacement surgery
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida state Sen. Geraldine Thompson died Thursday following complications from knee replacement surgery, her family said. She was 76.
The Orlando-area Democrat had served in the Florida Legislature since 2006. Her most recent time in the Florida Senate began in 2022. She had previously served as a member of the Florida Senate from 2012 to 2016. She also served in the Florida House from 2006 to 2012 and again from 2018 to 2022.
“Her tireless work in education, healthcare, and civil rights, including her leadership to establish the Wells’Built Museum of African American History and Culture in Orlando, reflected her unwavering commitment to creating a better world for future generations,” Thompson’s family said in a statement.
Thompson served as vice chair on the Appropriations Committee on Pre-K-12 Education. She also served on the Education Postsecondary; Education Pre-K-12; Fiscal Policy; Judiciary, Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security; and Rules committees.
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