Save On Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 Preorders For PC & Mac – Early Access Starts February 6
Save On Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 Preorders For PC & Mac – Early Access Starts February 6
If you haven’t preordered a copy of Sid Meier’s Civilization 7, there’s still time to take advantage of preorder offers ahead of the game’s official launch date of February 11. You can also start playing the new 4X strategy game as early as tomorrow, February 6, by purchasing the Deluxe or Founders Edition. For the first time in series history, Civilization 7 is launching simultaneously on PC, Mac, Xbox, PS5, and Nintendo Switch. On console, there are three physical editions to choose from: standard, Deluxe, and a Collector’s Edition.
Civilization, and 4X strategy games in general, feel most at home on PC. If you’re planning to play on PC or Mac, make sure to check out the Steam key deals at Fanatical (a GameSpot sister site). Civilization 7’s standard edition is available to preorder for $61.59 at Fanatical. If you want to play five days early on February 6, you can grab the Deluxe or Founders Edition for a nice discount, too:
Civilization 7 PC & Mac Preorder Deals:
To read more about the first mainline entry in the 4X strategy series since 2016, check out our 8/10 Civilization 7 review. And if you want to learn more about Sid Meier himself, check out Sid Meier’s Memoir: A Life in Computer Games. Published in 2020, this superb book takes you inside the mind of one of the most influential game developers. You can purchase a hardcover copy for $24 (was $28) or paperback for $17.
Civilization 7 Preorder Bonuses
If you preorder Civilization 7 standard edition, you’ll get the Tecumseh and Shawnee Pack, which is otherwise limited to the Deluxe and Founders Editions.
$60-$70
This version of Civilization 7 gets you the base game and preorder bonuses outlined above. The game is listed for $60 on Switch, while it’s $70 on PS5, Xbox, and PC. The digital edition is cross-gen for PS5 and PS4 or Series X|S and Xbox One. Like many other physical games, the Xbox disc grants dual entitlement for both console generations, whereas the physical PlayStation edition is only available for PlayStation 5.
PC and Mac players can pay $61.59 for a Steam key through Fanatical.
$90-$100 for consoles | $88 (was $100) for PC
Civilization 7’s Deluxe Edition releases February 6–five days before the standard–and comes with the following in-game content.
gets you the base game and five-day early access starting February 6. You’ll also get the following in-game content.
Crossroads of the World Collection:
2 new leaders
4 new civilizations
4 new wonders
Special cosmetic bonus
More TBA DLC
Deluxe Content Pack:
2 leader personas
4 profile customizations
1 alternate scout skin
Tecumseh and Shawnee Pack (preorder bonus)
The Deluxe Edition costs $90 on Switch and $100 on PS5, Xbox, and PC.
PC and Mac players can get a Steam key for $88 at Fanatical.
$114.39 (was $130) for PC and Mac
For even more in-game content, check out the Founders Edition, a $120-$130 digital-only version that’s available to purchase until February 28. It’s $120 on Switch and $130 on PS5, Xbox, and PC–but PC and Mac players can get a Steam key for $114.39 at Fanatical.
The Founders Edition includes all of the Deluxe Edition content as well as six post-launch DLC packs and the Founders Content pack launch bundle:
Tecumseh and Shawnee Pack
Crossroads of the World Collection
Deluxe Content Pack
Right to Rule Collection (Includes six DLC packs that will arrive by September 2025)
Founders Content Pack
2 leader personas
4 profile customizations
1 fog of war tile set
1 Founders palace skin
Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom.
Civilization 7 Collector’s Edition
$280 (Sold out) | Collector’s Bundle (no game) is $150 (in stock)
Civilization 7 Collector’s Edition
Civilization 7’s Collector’s Edition is exclusive to Final Boss Bundle and loaded with physical collectibles that are “fit for history’s greatest leaders.” This version comes bundled with Civilization 7 Founders Edition on PC, along with these physical collectibles:
“The Passage of Time” Decorative Clock: Based on artwork of Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 Founders Edition
Scout Figure: A small figurine constructed from pewter-like metal
Logo Pin: A hexagonal, metal pin commemorating Civilization 7
Challenge Coin: A premium coin with icons depicting the four victory types in the game
Civilization Postcards: A stack of postcards showing various civilizations from Civilization 7
High-Quality Art Print: An 8.25-inch x 11.7-inch print featuring artwork for the game
Yield Icon Patch Set: A set of hexagonal patches depicting in-game yields (Culture, Gold, Science, Production, Food, Happiness)
The Collector’s Edition is technically sold out, but Final Boss Bundle is taking preorders for the Collector’s Edition without the game for $150. You can then purchase the Founders Edition separately, which would bring your total to $280 (or less, if you buy the game for Switch or PC).
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Will Zepbound’s growth live up to the hype?
Will Zepbound’s growth live up to the hype?
Investors are hoping to hit the reset button with Eli Lilly ‘s earnings report on Thursday morning. In mid-January, the maker of obesity medication Zepbound lowered its fourth-quarter revenue forecast as sales of the GLP-1 drug ramped up slower than anticipated. The warning followed disappointing third-quarter results in October, which led to months of choppy stock performance. Shares are trying to regain momentum, with a 9% advance since the year began. However, the stock closed Tuesday 15% below the 52-week high of $972.53 that was reached in late August, when many thought the company was on a runway to hit a $1 trillion valuation. Reliability will be key to turning around the stock’s performance. Analysts surveyed by LSEG predict Lilly will earn $4.95 per share on $13.59 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter. And they are projecting earnings will rise to $22.86 per share on sales of $59.21 billion in 2025. To be sure, it has been a challenge for Lilly to live up to the hype around weight loss drugs, but it also must hit the targets it sets for itself, analysts say. ‘Derisked’ “Lilly has already endured the pain of its full year 2024 earnings, having released approximate topline revenue numbers, and Zepbound and Mounjaro revenue figures too,” Bernstein analyst Courtney Breen wrote in a note to clients. “Revenue for the year was a $400m miss vs the bottom end of company guidance and incretin revenues too missed vs consensus.” Breen said the results are “derisked,” but investors will still be keyed into tirzepatide’s outlook, especially given the expansion of its label to include treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. And investors also want to hear more about Lilly’s pipeline, including an update on orforglipron , an experimental pill for obesity. Zepbound and rival Wegovy are both administered via an injection. An oral option would be easier to manufacture and would likely be preferred by some patients. According to FactSet, on average analysts predict Zepbound sales will more than double in 2025 to $10.39 billion from the prior year, while Mounjaro sales are expected to rise from an estimated $11.63 billion in 2024 to $18.17 billion in 2025. Heading into the quarterly results, Wall Street’s confidence has been shaky. Several analysts have lowered price targets for the stock, with the average now at $982.25, per LSEG. That’s about 16% above where it is currently trading. LLY 1Y mountain Eli Lilly shares over the past year. Both Lilly and its competitor Novo Nordisk have invested billions to boost manufacturing capacity of their game-changing obesity treatments. GLP-1 drugs, which also treat diabetes, mimic stomach hormones in the body to regulate blood sugar, slow down how quickly the stomach empties and suppress appetite. Wall Street has made eye-popping predictions about how large the market could grow for Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s competing drug Wegovy given the large number of Americans who are struggling with obesity and overweight. Some analysts expect these drugs to become as common as blood pressure medications over time. A turf war Demand already has been strong enough to cause periodic shortages of the drugs, a situation that allowed compounding pharmacies to step in and offer their own legal versions of GLP-1. The window for these copycats is closing for Zepbound, which is no longer in shortage , according to the Food and Drug Administration. Wegovy and Ozempic hope to come off the list shortly, according to Novo Nordisk. Both sides are fighting to protect their turf , and challenges to the agency’s decisions are ongoing. While GLP-1 drugs are the fastest-growing part of Lilly’s portfolio, there are other drugs investors will be looking to hear about, including Verzenio, which is becoming the standard of care for a specific type of breast *******; Omvoh, a treatment for ulcerative colitis; and Kisunla, its Alzheimer’s treatment. Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal said he expects there is strength across Lilly’s diversified portfolio. Still, he was among the analysts who revised his price target lower for Lilly shares. Bansal expects the company will forecast 2025 earnings in the range of $23 to $24.50 per share. “While we still do not view LLY as facing a demand issue, we think the total diabetes/obesity opportunity is becoming somewhat of a show-me story with investors needing to closely track script trends to see if supply, access efforts, and demand generation are paying off,” he said. The bounce in Novo Nordisk’s shares on Wednesday was encouraging. Novo’s NYSE-listed shares were up more than 4% on the back of earnings that topped expectations. Lilly shares rose more than 2% as well. Novo Nordisk was upbeat about the outlook for obesity treatments, with CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen telling CNBC that the company expects to bring a weight loss pill to the U.S. market before Eli Lilly. One development that might excite investors would be a decision to split Eli Lilly stock. Bank of America included it on a list of companies that the firm believes might consider a stock split based on the shares’ lofty price and the company’s recent strength.
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BBC Verify: Can Trump really take ownership of Gaza?
BBC Verify: Can Trump really take ownership of Gaza?
BBC Verify examines international law to understand if the US has the authority to “take over” the Gaza Strip.
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Iron Galaxy Studios Lets Go Of 66 Employees In “Last Resort”
Iron Galaxy Studios Lets Go Of 66 Employees In “Last Resort”
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February 5, 2025
Iron Galaxy Studios—known for Rumbleverse and bringing The Last of Us to PC—has let go of 66 employees in what the company has called a “last resort”.
In a post on LinkedIn, the studio says that it has been “making sacrifices” in order to keep its team together. Unfortunately, those efforts haven’t been able to keep things sustainable leading to the moves being made.
“It has been our hope that we could emerge from this long winter alongside all the teammates who have come to work with us over the years,” they said. “Today, we’re making the unfortunate announcement that we have run out of room to maneuver amidst this slow recovery.
“Today, Iron Galaxy is parting ways with some of our developers and support staff. In total, we have reduced our employee base by 66 people. This was a means of last resort for us. It’s a measure we do not take lightly to enable our long-term survival.”
The studio says it’s still “committed to serving” its partners in game development. They are also going to look for “new ways to support” the industry.
“At this moment, our focus is on our teammates who have begun a journey toward their next role,” they added. “We thank them for working with us. We’ll be doing everything we can to support them in the search for the next phase of their careers.:
What do you think of Iron Galaxy Studios letting go of 66 people to try and keep the company moving forward? Let us know down below, and join more discussions in the official Insider Gaming forums.
For more Insider Gaming, check out the official start time for the Nintendo Switch 2 direct and read about the current plans for Apex Legends from EA. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter.
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'Incredible', 'boring' or both? Why Burnley's defensive amazing record has split fans
'Incredible', 'boring' or both? Why Burnley's defensive amazing record has split fans
Burnley are on track to become one of the best defensive teams in the recent history of English football – BBC Sport looks at the stats and speaks to fans.
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31st Union president Michael Condrey has reportedly been fired by 2K
31st Union president Michael Condrey has reportedly been fired by 2K
2K Games has reportedly fired Michael Condrey, the founder and president of internal studio 31st Union.
According to Kotaku’s sources, Condrey was dismissed this week following a muted reception to the studio’s debut game, Project Ethos, which was revealed last October.
2K said Condrey is now serving as an advisor on the free-to-play, third-person roguelike hero shooter, to which it remains “very committed”.
Having previously co-founded Call of Duty studio Sledgehammer Games for Activision, and served as chief operating officer at EA‘s original Dead Space studio, Visceral Games, Condrey had led 31st Union from its establishment in February 2019.
California-based 31st Union also opened a Spanish studio in Valencia in 2020, and both have been working together on Project Ethos.
“We are grateful to Michael Condrey for the dedication, passion and work ethic it took to build an incredible team and shape the vision of 31st Union,” a 2K spokesperson told Kotaku.
“Michael will be transitioning his role in the short term to focus on advising on the future of Project Ethos. We remain very committed to the forward path for Project Ethos and the people and culture of the 31st Union studio.”
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Pro-Girls Ad Goes Viral as Trump Signing Order to Protect Women’s Sports
Pro-Girls Ad Goes Viral as Trump Signing Order to Protect Women’s Sports
President Donald Trump is signing an executive order Wednesday designed to prevent trans men from participating in women’s sports. The move follows Trump’s day-one order that called for the federal government to define sex as only male or female.
The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” will immediately require schools, colleges, and athletic associations that “deny women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms” to stop the practice and it directs state attorneys general to identify best practices for enforcing the mandate, ABC News reports.
The move is a major shift in the way the federal government deals with transgender people. It’s an about-face from Biden-era policies that attempted to change the meaning of “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity.”
President Trump is signing the order Wednesday afternoon on National Girls & Women in Sports Day. Athletes, coaches, and women’s advocates who have fought to protect girls and women in sports will be in attendance.
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who was forced to compete against Lia Thomas, formerly Will Thomas, at the 2022 NCAA women’s championship, has been a leader on this front and was invited to join the president.
“Despite tying down to the hundredth with Thomas in the women’s freestyle, I was denied the trophy because the NCAA claimed it was necessary for Thomas to hold the trophy when photos were being taken,” Gaines said testifying before Congress in January. “It was clear to me, my teammates, and my competitors that they had reduced everything we had worked our entire lives for down to a photo-op to validate the feelings and the identity of a male.”
“We also had to share a locker room and change in front of this six-foot-four, fully intact male,” she detailed. “We were not forewarned of this arrangement, we were not asked for our consent, and we did not give our consent to this exposure and to be exploited.”
It is a fight that many prominent voices have gotten behind including J.K. Rowling, former ESPN Sportscenter co-host Sage Steele, and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly.
Powerful New Ad Showcases Real Female Athletes
These women have also promoted a powerful new video on X that is celebrating female athletes for their bravery in speaking out against biological men infiltrating women’s sports, locker rooms, and bathrooms.
XX-XY Athletics, the only athletic brand to support women athletes and their sports, is dominating feeds online with a viral ad presenting the message that female athletes deserve respect.
The almost two-minute ad features Gaines, Gaines’ gymnast sister, and Sia Li’iLi’i, a graduating senior from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the team captain of the women’s volleyball team who led a boycott of San Jose State University over trans player Blaire Fleming.
As CBN News reported, Fleming, born Brayden, previously played for Coastal Carolina University but transferred to San Jose State following the implementation of South Carolina’s Women’s Sports Bill that prohibited males from competing in women’s sports.
Li’iLi’i told Fox News it takes courage to stand up for women in women’s sports and the new ad successfully highlights that.
“Putting in all the work to be a collegiate athlete, and then on top of that receiving the hate for standing up for truth and being firm in values that should be common sense, but it seems that to many it isn’t. It’s just sad that people go to such hateful rhetoric to tear down a powerful message,” she said.
The ad depicts Li’Li’i being called a transphobe and being told to “just die.”
“People don’t know that words really do hold weight, but I am grateful to have a great support system to fight back,” she added.
And the ad’s popularity shows that there are millions in her corner, of the same thought, and who support protecting women in sports.
The ad has received more than 10 million views and is igniting conversations online.
XX-XY Athletics Founder & CEO Jennifer Sey is looking to spread the message even further and is advocating for the spot to be aired as an ad during the upcoming Super Bowl.
“This isn’t just an ad—it’s a reckoning. The overwhelming response shows that people are hungry for the truth about women in sports. And no dollar amount can compete with that,” she said in a press statement.
“With over 10M views in just two days with 90% positive sentiment, this film is blowing up. While trending on X, there were over 40,000 posts about the film. These are highly engaged views, people who take the time to go online and share the ad,” Sey continued.
She added, “This is exactly what a brand strives for to grow awareness and, in our case, move the cultural conversation. We are normalizing standing up for women and girls. This is the mainstream view. And we make it ok to say it out loud.”
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Most Souls Fans May Not Like the Elden Ring Nightreign’s “Game balancing decision” To Ditch 1 Feature
Most Souls Fans May Not Like the Elden Ring Nightreign’s “Game balancing decision” To Ditch 1 Feature
Everybody is excited about FromSoftware’s upcoming unorthodoxical take on the massively popular Elden Ring. The title, called Elden Ring Nightreign, will be a co-op game that the player can venture into solo or with a group of two more friends, and nothing in between.
Main Cover for Elden Ring Nightreign | Image Credit FromSoftware
It’s clear at first glance that the studio has taken a lot of creative liberty while coming up with this project. However, if that would sit right with the fans of the Souls genre is a mystery that will only be solved once the game is finally out.
Elden Ring Nightreign to have exclusive three-player co-op
Elden Ring Nightreign will have the co-op locked at three players | FromSoftware
Not only is Nightreign shifting away from the traditional two-player co-op formula set in the industry, opting instead for a three-player multiplayer system, but it also plays with the feeling of many Souls fans who might have a habit of playing with a single summon or a friend. In the end, you can either face the horrors of the Lands Between alone or as part of a three-person team, with no in-between.
Talking about why this was a big decision for the studio to make, the director of the game, Junya Ishizaki, revealed the following in an interview via IGN.
This was largely a game balancing decision, rather than a game design decision.- You know, we found that while we wanted each player to have that sense of accomplishment, that sense of rewarding co-op gameplay, this was like a sweet spot with three players in order for it not to feel too overwhelming or too busy. It allowed each player to go off on their own potentially and cover a bit of the map but also to you know that final experience coming together, that was three players felt like the sweet spot eventually.
Ishizaki goes deeper into explaining how having three players together exploring a different version of The Lands Between was essentially ‘a sweet spot’ for everyone involved.
The Souls games have forever focused on giving the player a sense of achievement after overcoming a tough part of the game. Unfortunately, this might become too messy or too ‘overwhelming’ according to the director if there were too many players, hence the allowed player count of three in the game.
What’s more to expect in Elden Ring Nightreign
Elden Ring Nightreign is possibly goign to offer more than we expect | FromSoftware
Apart from the controversial co-op design, the upcoming title has a lot to offer the players. Built on the same foundation as Elden Ring, the game prompts the player to survive in a unique version of The Lands Between for a total of three days.
Furthermore, there are going to be eight different pre-defined characters that the players will get to choose from. We already know that one of these will be focusing on using the Spirit Ashes as its main arsenal to combat the different enemies throughout the map.
While there is no fixed release date, the game has already gone on network testing and will be released later this year. It remains a question if it will be here on time to release the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, but if not, many believe it will dominate on another popular handheld console instead.
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No longer the NextGen hope, now the teens target ******
No longer the NextGen hope, now the teens target ******
Maybe it’s those eternally boyish looks that makes it easy to forget, but Alex de Minaur is no longer in that bracket of youthful tennis wannabes, the ‘NextGen’ brigade.
Instead, they’re looking across the net at him.
On Thursday, de Minaur, now in his 10th full year as a hardened old stager on the ATP tour and very possibly in his prime at 25, will face arguably the best of the new teenage battalion when he tackles Jakub Mensik, in the last-16 of the Rotterdam Open.
Mensik, a 19-year-old Czech, is the only teenager in the world’s top-50 and going places quickly, a clean-hitting 193cm powerhouse with a monster serve and a spectacular forehand.
He’s been on an upward trajectory since he reached the third round of the US Open 18 months ago, getting to his first final in Doha last year and being recognised as the 2024 ATP Newcomer of the Year.
He started this year just as well by beating three-time grand slam finalist Casper Ruud in the *********** Open, one of five top-10 victims he’s already toppled in his nascent career.
Tomorrow, he’ll aim to make it six, and world No.8 de Minaur will know how difficult Mensik is to tame after having quite a job to subdue him in three sets in Vienna last October. The man from Prostejov appears to have improved since then too.
Third seed De Minaur has started the season really well, with eight wins and his only loss being that sobering lesson from Jannik Sinner in the *********** Open. He wasn’t, of course, the only player to suffer being dismantled by the brilliant Italian there.
‘******’ hopes to go one better than reaching the Rotterdam final as he did last year (losing to Sinner) as the tournament reaches its business end.
The winner of their match will go on to face the victor between another young star, Frenchman Arthur Fils and ******* lucky loser Daniel Altmaier, in the quarter-finals.
The 20-year-old Fils, who was de Minaur’s opponent at Wimbledon when he suffered the hip injury that prevented him playing his quarter-final with Novak Djokovic, progressed on Wednesday with a win over compatriot Constant Lestienne 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-1.
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Judge blocks Sandy Hook families’ settlement in Alex Jones’ bankruptcy
Judge blocks Sandy Hook families’ settlement in Alex Jones’ bankruptcy
By Dietrich Knauth
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Wednesday blocked a settlement between families who have sued Alex Jones over his false claims about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, saying their attempt to divide the bankrupt conspiracy theorist’s assets exceeded his court’s authority.
The decision complicates a proposed ***** of Jones’ Infowars platform, and could spur divisions between families who sued Jones and won nearly $1.3 billion in Connecticut court cases and those who won $50 million in Texas courts. The two groups of families had proposed a settlement that would guarantee the Texas families a 25% share of Jones’ future payments made to the Sandy Hook families, with the Connecticut families taking 75%.
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U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez rejected the settlement at a hearing in Houston, saying the families were asking him to also divide up the assets of Infowars’ parent company Free Speech Systems, despite the fact that the company had been dismissed from bankruptcy last year.
“I can’t do that,” Lopez said. “That case is closed.”
Courts in Connecticut and Texas, where some of the families filed their lawsuits, have ruled Jones defamed the families by making repeated false claims that the school shooting, which killed 20 students and six staff members in Newton, Connecticut, was staged as part of a government plot to take guns away from Americans.
The legal judgments drove Jones and Free Speech Systems into bankruptcy in 2022, and Lopez has appointed a bankruptcy trustee to sell Jones’ assets.
Lopez has allowed Free Speech Systems and Infowars to be sold in Jones’ ongoing personal bankruptcy. But he said he preferred a “pure *****” of the company’s equity, which is owned by Jones, rather than allowing Infowars’ assets to be broken up and sold separately.
The bankruptcy trustee, Christopher Murray, had previously sought to sell Infowars to the parody news site the Onion, through a bid that was backed by the Connecticut families. Lopez shot down that ***** in January, saying that Murray “left money on the table” in order to win the Sandy Hook families’ support.
“We’re not doing that anymore, I don’t trust the process,” Lopez said. “Go sell the equity.”
The families’ attorneys had said the agreement would smooth the way for a ***** of Jones’ assets, including Infowars, after their previous disagreements over how to pursue Jones’ assets. In the past, the Texas-based families focused on taking more cash from Jones, while the Connecticut-based families prioritized the shutdown of Jones’ Infowars company.
Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Connecticut families, said they remain determined to “enforce every penny of judgments against Alex Jones.”
(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Editing by Rod Nickel)
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Trump’s real-estate instincts clash with his America First worldview
Trump’s real-estate instincts clash with his America First worldview
When a real-estate developer becomes the US president, don’t be surprised if American foreign policy includes a heavy helping of real-estate development.
That’s probably the biggest conclusion to draw from Donald Trump’s stunning proposal for the US to take over Gaza and turn it into a resort for all the people of the world to enjoy – a “Riviera of the Middle East”, in his words.
It also presents the latest iteration of a question that has persisted as long as Trump has been involved at the highest level of American politics.
Should Trump’s Gaza development plan, which includes the resettlement of more than two million Palestinians and US “ownership” of the contested lands be taken literally or seriously? Both, or neither?
Trump’s proposal flies in the face of the deeply held wishes of the ************ people and has been summarily rejected by the Arab nations that would have to play an integral part in resettling those displaced from war-torn Gaza.
It has also triggered howls of protest from the international community, as well as the president’s domestic critics in the Democratic Party.
“Developing war-torn land like a Trump golf resort isn’t a peace plan, it’s an insult,” said Democratic Congressman Troy Carter of Louisiana. “Serious leaders pursue real solutions, not real estate deals.”
Even some of Trump’s most steadfast Republican allies have seemed wary of the president’s suggestion that US forces could occupy Gaza, clearing rubble and removing unexploded Israeli ordinance.
“I think most South Carolinians would probably not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza,” Lindsey Graham, who represents South Carolina in the US Senate, said on Wednesday. “I think that might be problematic, but I’ll keep an open mind.”
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was even more blunt.
“I thought we voted for America First,” he wrote on X. “We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers’ blood.”
Paul highlights what has been an apparent contradiction in the early weeks of Trump’s presidency. While Trump has culled US foreign aid and pledged to focus on American domestic concerns, he has also leavened his remarks with talk of American expansionism.
His interest in acquiring Greenland is persistent and, according to administration officials, deadly serious. His talk of making Canada the “51st state” and retaking the Panama Canal is no longer being treated like a joke.
And now Trump, one of the most vocal right-wing critics of the US invasion and reconstruction of Iraq, is suggesting a new Middle East nation-building project.
Watch: ‘We will not abandon our land’ – Palestinians react to Trump’s Gaza comments
As for the specific ideas behind Trump’s latest proposal, they may be shocking for some but they shouldn’t be too much of a shock.
The president spoke of “cleaning out” Gaza and resettling Palestinians in remarks to reporters on Air Force One just days after his inauguration.
During the presidential campaign, he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that Gaza could be “better than Monaco”, but that the Palestinians “never took advantage” of their “best location in the Middle East”.
This also isn’t the first time Trump has viewed a seemingly intractable foreign policy situation as an exciting business opportunity.
During meetings with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in 2018, President Trump marvelled at the hermit nation’s “great beaches”, which could someday have the “best hotels”.
Those ambitious dreams have been shelved – and Trump’s Gaza vision, which would require a significant commitment of American blood and fortune at a time when it’s paring back its foreign involvements, will almost certainly meet the same fate.
But Trump’s Gaza proposal does represent a marked shift in America’s commitment to a two-state solution to the ************ situation.
A generous interpretation of the American strategy is that it is designed to shake up the Middle East powers and force them to commit more of their own resources, and political will, to finding a long-term solution to the situation in Gaza.
But such a strategy would come with risks.
The multi-step Israeli-****** ceasefire hangs in the balance. The Palestinians could view Trump’s comments as a sign that the US is not interested in a lasting peace, while Israeli hard-liners who are a key part of Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition may celebrate it as Trump’s green light for further expanding Israeli settlements.
Arab nations – some of whom worked with the first Trump administration to produce normalised relations with Israel in the Abraham Accords – may doubt whether Trump in his second term can be a reliable negotiating partner.
There are now years of evidence that Trump’s focus can shift on a moment’s notice. In the end, he could abandon all attempts at brokering a durable Middle East peace, blaming the Palestinians and their Arab allies for what he might view as their decision to reject the prospect of a better life removed from past conflicts.
Then it’s back to trade wars with Canada, condominiums in North Korea, mining sites in Greenland or some other challenge that does not divide his own party or require solving centuries of animosity with seemingly intractable ancestral concerns.
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How To Find the Lion’s Crest DLC Armor in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
How To Find the Lion’s Crest DLC Armor in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
alexmarx2h ago
The game feels like a worthy sequel—it’s more beautiful, refined, cinematic, and user-friendly than the first part. But at its core, it’s still the same Kingdom Come: Deliverance. If you enjoyed the first game despite its flaws, challenging combat, and sometimes tedious quests, the sequel will have you thrilled—at least for the first few hours, as you experience the “old” mechanics in a “new” form.
That said, $60 still feels like a bit much, but fortunately, account access can be purchased on websites like SteamRent.
By the way, if you haven’t played the first game, you probably won’t appreciate the sequel as much. You’ll need to experience KCD for yourself and suffer just like the “pioneers” did—because, at its heart, this is still Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
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'Where's my refund?' How to check the status of your federal tax refund
'Where's my refund?' How to check the status of your federal tax refund
If you’ve filed your tax return and you’re eager for your refund, here’s how to check the status of your payment. Find out when to expect your refund.
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Trump to sign order banning transgender women from female sports
Trump to sign order banning transgender women from female sports
US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order that prevents transgender women from competing in female categories of sports, according to White House officials.
The order will provide guidance, regulations and legal interpretations, and it will enlist the Department of Education to investigate high schools thought to be non-compliant.
Republicans say it restores fairness to sports but LGBT advocacy and human rights organisations have described the move as discriminatory.
The order, expected to be signed on Wednesday, will largely cover high school, universities and grassroots sports.
A number of sporting governing bodies, including swimming, athletics and golf, have banned transgender women from competing in the female category at elite level if they have gone through male puberty.
According to White House officials who briefed reporters on Wednesday morning, this latest order will empower the Department of Education to investigate how schools implement Title IX, a US law that bans sex discrimination in federally funded education programmes.
An administration official said that the executive order will reverse the position of the Biden administration which in April last year said that LGBT students would be protected by federal law, although it did not give specific guidance on transgender athletes.
Additionally, the White House plans to bring in sporting bodies – such as the National Collegiate Athletics Association, or NCAA – to come to the White House to meet female athletes and their parents to discuss concerns.
The official said the US would do all it can to prevent transgender athletes from competing against females in International Olympic Committee competitions that take place on US soil.
The White House officials described the policies as being broadly popular with Americans and critical to ensuring “fairness” for women in sports, as well as a safety issue.
In a statement, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said that the order “exposes young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look”.
“For so many students, sports are about finding somewhere to belong,” Ms Robinson added. “Not partisan policies that make life harder for them.”
Less than 1% of the population over the age of 13 in the US are transgender, according to a study by the UCLA Williams Institute, and the number playing sport is smaller.
On Trump’s first day in office on 20 January, he signed a separate order calling for the federal government to officially define sex as either being male or female.
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Kerr recalls racism, denies 'kicking off' in taxi
Kerr recalls racism, denies 'kicking off' in taxi
Matildas captain Sam Kerr has claimed a London cop treated her differently because of the colour of her skin and recalled experiencing racism in Australia.
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Airbus A321 Airliners To Be Modified Into “Flying Frigate” Patrol Jets By France
Airbus A321 Airliners To Be Modified Into “Flying Frigate” Patrol Jets By France
Airbus Defense and Space has begun a risk-assessment study for France’s future maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), to be based on an Airbus A321 airliner platform. Billed as a “flying frigate” by the company, the new MPA is intended to replace the French Navy’s Dassault Atlantique 2 fleet but emerges at a time when NATO nations are increasingly adopting the in-production Boeing P-8 Poseidon for their maritime patrol requirements.
Airbus yesterday announced a contract for further risk-reduction studies of the new maritime patrol aircraft. The contract was awarded by the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), France’s defense procurement agency, with Airbus Defense and Space as prime contractor, in partnership with European defense corporation Thales. The contract runs for two years and follows a previous architecture and feasibility study launched at the end of 2022.
The new A321 MPA will be based on the long-range A321XLR version of the airliner. The prototype is seen here in Hamburg, Germany. MarcelX42/Wikimedia Commons
The latest contract is intended to prepare for the full-scale development of a new MPA that could start at the end of 2026, followed by the production launch. It will involve the first wind tunnel tests as well as work out technical specifications, so the various onboard systems can be chosen. It will also look at the economic and industrial conditions involved in the program.
Significantly, the latest study specifies a maritime patrol variant of the A321XLR airliner, known as the A321 MPA. The earlier study had looked at building an MPA version of either an unspecified version of the A320 family or the Dassault Falcon 10X business jet
An earlier Airbus concept for a multi-mission A320neo family, including an AEW&C version with conformal radar arrays, a SIGINT platform, and a VIP jet. Airbus
While Airbus had considered the shorter A320neo as a potential platform for a new MPA, the longer fuselage of the A321 means that it can accommodate additional fuel and a larger payload bay, as well as having an increased capacity for sensors and other mission systems. The basic A321XLR airliner has a range of 4,700 nautical miles (around 5,400 miles).
“The A321 MPA has all the assets to become a true flying frigate capable of responding to the wide range of missions entrusted to the French maritime patrol,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Executive Vice President, Head of Air Power at Airbus Defense and Space, in a company statement. “Airbus offers a sovereign solution that provides the autonomy, availability, and reliability required to contribute to the oceanic component of the nuclear deterrence.”
Interestingly, Dumont referred specifically to one of the current Atlantique 2’s missions, namely protecting the French Navy’s nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) fleet as it heads out on patrol, or returns to its base, as a cornerstone of France’s strategic deterrent.
The French Navy SSBN Le Terrible heads out on a patrol. Wmeinhart/Wikimedia Commons
Other missions outlined for the A321 MPA at this stage include anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, “from low to high intensity,” as well as intelligence gathering.
The turboprop-powered Atlantique 2 in service today was originally developed with anti-submarine warfare as its primary mission, but subsequently increasingly took on an anti-surface warfare role against enemy warships.
More recently, it’s been mainly used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and even strike missions overland. Indeed, embracing operations overland, including taking part in counter-insurgency campaigns in the Middle East and in West Africa, has been the most remarkable change in the Atlantique 2’s mission profile.
A French Navy Atlantique 2 MPA. Dassault Aviation
At this stage, however, the A321 MPA is being developed primarily for the overwater role, reflecting the return to prominence of anti-submarine warfare, as well as maritime patrol more generally, especially to counter Russian activities, conventional or otherwise.
The mission equipment for the A321 MPA will be provided, to a significant degree, by Thales, and will include an active electronically scanned array (AESA) search radar and acoustic systems, including passive and active sonobuoys, for anti-submarine warfare. Like the Atlantique 2, it will also have a magnetic anomaly detector for acquiring submerged submarines. It will be fitted with self-protection equipment and satellite communications and will almost certainly also feature electronic support measures (ESM) to intercept radio-frequency transmissions. Triangular-shaped fairings scabbed on the side of the A321 MPA in the artist’s rendering at the top of this story may well contain ESM.
The same rendering of the A321 MPA also shows a sensor turret below the forward fuselage. After various upgrades, the Atlantique 2 has two separate sensor turrets: a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera under the nose and an MX-20 turret that contains four different cameras and is primarily employed during overland missions, including for ISR.
The MX-20 sensor turret under the rear fuselage of an Atlantique 2. Dassault Aviation
“The aircraft’s large cargo bay and the open architecture of its mission system give it a great capacity to evolve throughout its lifecycle to meet the emergence of new threats,” Airbus says of the A321 MPA.
The weapons for the A321 MPA will include anti-submarine torpedoes as well as anti-ship missiles, some of which will be carried in the bay behind the wing, although wing pylons will likely also be provided.
In particular, the aircraft is expected to be armed with the new anti-ship missile that’s being developed under the Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW) program that is run jointly by France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. FC/ASW plans to field two different missiles: a low-observable cruise missile and a highly maneuverable supersonic missile. While the former will replace the Storm Shadow/SCALP air-launched cruise missiles, the latter will be the successor to the Exocet and Harpoon anti-ship missiles and will arm the A321 MPA.
An artist’s concept of the two missiles in the FC/ASW program: a low-observable cruise missile below, and the highly maneuverable supersonic anti-ship missile above. MBDA
The Anti-Ship Weapon component of FC/ASW is expected to be a ramjet-powered missile, which will be much faster and more agile than previous-generation Western air-launched anti-ship missiles. Although being optimized to engage heavily defended naval targets, it’s also expected to have a secondary defense-suppression capability and there have even been indications it could have an air-to-air role for use against high-value airborne assets (HVAAs) at long ranges.
At the same time, there may be potential for the A321 MPA to be armed with the new land-attack missile, too. The potential of aircraft in this class to provide useful additional long-range strike capacity, especially in the context of adversaries’ anti-access capabilities, is something TWZ has considered in the past.
Notably, Airbus also points to the A321 MPA having a “high-maneuverability capability, including at low altitude.” This seems to point to traditional concerns around using jet-powered aircraft for the MPA mission, rather than their slower- and lower-flying turboprop brethren, which are more efficient in this regime. The same issue applies to the P-8, which was also planned to prosecute underwater targets from high altitude. Previously, the P-8 had to drop down to release a standard Mk 54 torpedo, but it has now added the High-Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapon Capability (HAAWC) folding-wing kit to the same weapon, meaning it can also launch them from higher levels. It’s not clear if a similar solution will be developed for the A321 MPA.
An artist’s conception of a HAAWC-equipped Mk 54 torpedo. Boeing
Current plans call for the MPA to replace the French Navy’s fleet of aging Atlantique 2s sometime in the 2030s or 2040s. Currently, the French Navy has 18 Atlantique 2s upgraded to the latest Standard 6 configuration and, in the past, the service has said it will retain these until 2035. They are stationed at Lann-Bihoué naval air base in northern France.
As for the A321, this has, so far, seen limited uptake for special-mission military applications.
At one time, the A321 was envisaged as the platform for NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system, which provides the alliance with reconnaissance capabilities, including synthetic aperture radar. However, this capability was eventually fielded on NATO’s fleet of five RQ-4D Phoenix uncrewed aerial vehicles, specialized versions of the Global Hawk.
Early concept artwork showing an A321 equipped with NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system. NATO
Since then, India has selected the A321 as the platform for its future airborne early warning and control aircraft, the Netra Mk 2. Originally, it appeared that A320s would be chosen for this program, as you can read about here, but New Delhi eventually settled on the stretched fuselage, longer-range A321, buying six former Air India airframes for conversion.
Returning to the MPA mission, the A321 MPA continues the French tradition of locally developing aircraft to meet this requirement. Ultimately, France pursued the Atlantique 2 alone and the aircraft failed to secure any export orders.
Should full-scale development and production of the A321 MPA follow as planned, the aircraft will enter a very competitive marketplace in which the U.S.-made P-8 Poseidon appears to have already secured most of the obvious orders.
In terms of NATO forces alone, the P-8 has been ordered by Canada, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and close ally Australia has been operating the Poseidon for years now. The fact that the ******* Navy opted for the U.S. product is a particular blow for France, which had previously been working with Germany on a joint program to develop a new MPA — the Maritime Airborne Warfare System (MAWS). Only yesterday, the ******* Ministry of Defense published photos of its first P-8 taking shape with Boeing in Seattle.
The first P-8A for the ******* Navy. Boeing
The P-8 has also been ordered by India, New Zealand, and South Korea further reducing the potential MPA market share for the A321 MPA, which looks like it will offer a very similar set of capabilities.
Perhaps France might have better luck offering the A321 MPA to potential customers in the Middle East where it has traditionally had a strong footprint. Meanwhile, there is a growing demand for maritime surveillance in the Asia Pacific region, particularly around the South China Sea. This strategically important waterway links the Indian and Pacific Oceans and China claims large swathes of it, leading to frequent tensions and standoffs. Here, ******** submarine activity is a particular concern, as you can read about here.
While the A320 family has been an undoubted success as an airliner, it remains to be seen whether the A321 MPA will achieve positive results. However, unless France also decides to buy the P-8 — which seems politically highly unlikely — there are few other obvious options to replace its hard-worked Atlantique 2 fleet.
Contact the author: *****@*****.tld
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Stocks that split double the market’s return. Bank of America names who’s next
Stocks that split double the market’s return. Bank of America names who’s next
A handful of companies are prime candidates to split their stock in the near future, according to Bank of America, which could allow shares to double the average market return, if history is any guide. Jared Woodard of Bank of America Securities pointed out that companies are splitting their stock at a pace that hasn’t been seen in more than ten years in recent months. And he notes there could be more ahead as S & P 500 stocks with lofty share prices above $500 equates to 14% of the broad market index. To be sure, stock splits do not fundamentally change anything about a company. A stock split cuts the share price (typically in half) and increases the total amount of outstanding shares without altering shareholder equity. However, splitting a stock is typically a signal of future outperformance, Woodard’s research shows, and he cited BofA research that implies a return for the shares between 20% and 25% in the next twelve months. That outpaces the average 12% return over the same time ******* for the broader market, Woodard noted. “I think stock splits in some ways are kind of a triumph for democracy, because they make a successful company available to a broader base of shareholders,” Woodard told CNBC’s ” The Exchange ” on Tuesday . “Whatever the short-term noise might be, historically stock splits are a sign of strength for a company.” Here’s a look at some of the stocks BofA pegged as split candidates, which the firm identified through the following criteria: Share price is above $500 Shares have notched a higher historical average return over a one-year to five-year timeframe compared to stocks that split in that same *******. The firm reasons that strong recent returns makes it more likely for the stock to split. Streaming giant Netflix made the list. The stock closed at $994.87, which puts it well above BofA’s $500 per share criteria. Shares have advanced 77% over the past year. The company hasn’t had any issue flexing its muscles and showing off its fundamental strength. Netflix’s most recent quarterly results saw the firm notch another beat on the top and bottom line, while boasting 300 million paid memberships. Netflix also raised its full-year revenue outlook. NFLX 1Y mountain Netflix stock. Average analyst price targets compiled by FactSet calls for about 8% upside moving forward. Meta Platforms also made the list. Stock in the Facebook-parent company has surged about 53% over the past year, and closed at $700.49 on Tuesday. The company is coming off of a fourth-quarter beat on the top and bottom line, where Meta boasted a 21% jump in sales year-over-year. Meta also noted more than 700 million monthly active users for its MetaAI chatbot. META 1Y mountain Meta Platforms stock. Price targets from analysts polled by FactSet signal about 7% upside ahead for Meta stock. Another notable name on the list includes Eli Lilly, maker of the Zepbound weight loss drug.
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Driver Who Fatally Hit Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau Claims Brothers Were Also Drunk at Time of ****** – PEOPLE
Driver Who Fatally Hit Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau Claims Brothers Were Also Drunk at Time of ****** – PEOPLE
Driver Who Fatally Hit Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau Claims Brothers Were Also Drunk at Time of ****** PEOPLEDriver who fatally struck NHL’s Johnny Gaudreau and his brother says they were drunker than him at the time New York Post Driver accused of killing Gaudreau brothers got a lousy plea deal offer due to their fame, lawyers claim NJ.comMan Charged With Hitting And Killing Johnny Gaudreau Plans To File Motion To Dismiss Indictment Outkick
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Inside Musk’s War on the Federal Work Force
Inside Musk’s War on the Federal Work Force
Elon Musk is creating extraordinary upheaval as his lieutenants sweep through federal agencies, even gaining access to the federal government’s payment system. Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times, describes the tactics being used by Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, and the pushback he’s started to receive.
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Russia Confirms Discussions With Trump Administration About Ukraine War Are Underway
Russia Confirms Discussions With Trump Administration About Ukraine War Are Underway
The Kremlin confirmed on Wednesday it has established contact with the Trump administration, as discussions begin about the possibility of holding peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.
“There are indeed contacts between individual departments, and they have intensified recently, but I cannot tell you any other details,” Dmitri S. Peskov, the spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin, said during a call with reporters.
Mr. Peskov had been asked about the status of negotiations after President Trump, during a joint news conference Tuesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, said his administration was already having “very constructive talks on Ukraine.”
“And we are talking to the Russians. We are talking to the Ukrainians,” said Mr. Trump, who campaigned on bringing a quick end to the war that has lasted for nearly three years.
Mr. Putin’s forces reeled on the battlefield in the year after his invasion, but Russia has since recovered and put Ukraine on the back foot, taking hundreds of miles of Ukrainian territory last year, albeit at great cost. Ukraine, with a population significantly smaller than that of Russia, has struggled to put sufficient personnel on the battlefield.
In recent weeks, Mr. Putin has stepped up his attempts to undermine President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, repeating his argument that the Ukrainian leader is no longer legitimate, a contention Kyiv rejects. Mr. Zelensky’s presidential term expired last year, but Ukrainian law prohibits elections from being held during times of martial law.
Mr. Peskov said Wednesday that, nevertheless, Russia “remains open to negotiations.”
The last time Russia and Ukraine held peace talks to end the war, in 2022, they fell apart over key disagreements. Russia has long sought to negotiate directly with the United States and cut out Ukraine, and its questioning of Mr. Zelensky’s legitimacy could be designed to undercut the Ukrainian leader’s authority in the eyes of the new U.S. administration and strike a deal without him.
Mr. Trump, who has long been critical of U.S. aid to Ukraine, said this week that he wanted Ukraine to supply the United States with rare earth minerals in exchange for supporting Kyiv’s war effort.
Mr. Peskov seized upon those comments to paint Ukraine’s support from the United States as flimsy, saying such a deal would be “a proposal to buy help.”
As the possibility of peace talks increases, Mr. Putin has been flattering Mr. Trump, agreeing publicly with the president that he would not have invaded Ukraine had Mr. Trump won a second term in the 2020 election.
The Russian leader has also said that Mr. Trump will “restore order” in Europe and praised him for his persistence and character as the American president threatened European allies, as well as Mexico and Canada, with punishing tariffs.
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US Open becomes first major to give LIV golfers exemption for tournament
US Open becomes first major to give LIV golfers exemption for tournament
The US Open will become the first major to provide players on the LIV Golf tour with an exemption for the tournament based on rankings.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) said the top player from the Saudi Arabia-backed tour, who is not otherwise exempt, will directly earn a place in the field for the US Open.
Additionally, the top 10 players in the LIV Golf standings on 7 April will also be exempt from local qualifying and instead go straight into the final 36-hole qualifying.
The 2025 US Open will be held at the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania from 12-15 June.
LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil said: “Every golf fan in the world longs to see the greatest players in the world competing on golf’s biggest stages at the majors.
“LIV Golf is committed to working hand in hand with golf’s governing bodies to elevate the sport in all corners of the world.”
USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer added: “Consistent with our historical approach, we continuously evaluate talent levels on professional tours and in amateur events, which has led us to add a new exemption category.”
To date, none of the other majors have offered a direct exemption tied to the LIV Golf points system.
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Call for action to stop dementia cases doubling
Call for action to stop dementia cases doubling
Dementia is not a normal part of ageing and is the nation’s most pressing public health issue but rates will double without urgent action, advocates say.
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Mike Johnson Has Truly Wild Defense for Letting Elon Musk Run Rampant
Mike Johnson Has Truly Wild Defense for Letting Elon Musk Run Rampant
Elon Musk’s overnight ascendency to the Executive Branch doesn’t seem to bother his Republican allies who were actually elected.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared nonplussed by the incredible grip that the world’s richest man-turned-bureaucrat has over federal agencies.
“Is there an inconsistency by Republicans on one hand where we for years have not wanted ‘unelected bureaucrats’ downtown and yet ceding Article One powers to the executive branch under Elon Musk?” asked Fox News’s Chad Pergram.
“No, look, I’ve got to challenge the premise of the question, and you know me, I’m a fierce advocate and defender of Article One,” Johnson responded, referring to the Constitutional article that established Congress. “We’re going to vigorously defend that.”
“But I think there’s a gross overreaction in the media to what’s happening,” Johnson continued. “The executive branch of government in our system has the right to evaluate how executive branch agencies are operating and to ensure that not only the intent of Congress in funding mechanisms, but also the stewardship of precious American taxpayer dollars is being handled well. That’s what they’re doing by putting a pause on some of these agencies and by evaluating them, by doing these internal audits.”
The Trump administration’s decision to freeze the distribution of trillions of dollars in congressionally appropriated funds was blocked on Monday by a federal judge who deemed the effort grossly unconstitutional.
Johnson described the freeze and Musk’s other attempts to get government agencies as a “long overdue, much welcome development.” He insisted that the effort is “not a power grab” while claiming that the halted taxpayer funds were being used to fund drag shows in Colombia and atheism camps in Nepal.
“We see this as an active, engaged, committed executive branch authority doing what the executive branch should do,” Johnson said.
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C.I.A. Sends White House an Unclassified Email With Names of Some Employees
C.I.A. Sends White House an Unclassified Email With Names of Some Employees
The C.I.A. sent the White House an unclassified email listing all employees hired by the spy agency over the last two years to comply with an executive order to shrink the federal work force, in a move that former officials say risked the list leaking to adversaries.
The list included first names and the first initial of the last name of the new hires, who are still on probation — and thus easy to dismiss. It included a large crop of young analysts and operatives who were hired specifically to focus on China, and whose identities are usually closely guarded because ******** hackers are constantly seeking to identify them.
The agency normally would prefer not to put these names in an unclassified system. Some former officials said they worried that the list could be passed on to a team of newly hired young software experts working with Elon Musk and his government efficiency team. If that happened, the names of the employees might be more easily targeted by China, Russia or other foreign intelligence services.
One former agency officer called the reporting of the names in an unclassified email a “counterintelligence disaster.”
Current officials confirmed that the C.I.A. had sent the names of employees to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, complying with an executive order signed by President Trump. But the officials downplayed security concerns. By sending just the first names and initials of the probationary employees, one U.S. official said, they hoped the information would be protected.
But former officials scoffed at the explanation, saying that the names and initials could be combined with other information — from driver’s license and car registration systems, social media accounts and publicly available data from universities that the agency uses as recruiting grounds — to piece together a more complete list.
The number of officers involved remains classified, but it could be significant. In 2024, the C.I.A. had its best recruiting drive since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. C.I.A. officers, because of their intense training, have a long probationary *******, up to four years. However, the White House required only the names of people who had served two years or fewer.
Under William J. Burns, the former C.I.A. director, the agency put a new emphasis on trying to recruit a diverse group of officers, arguing that overseas spying operations required people with an array of language skills and cultural knowledge. He focused particularly on expanding the agency’s coverage of China, creating a China center at the headquarters that included analysts, operatives and others. When Mr. Burns arrived at the agency in 2021, about 9 percent of the agency’s budget was devoted to China-related analysis and espionage; today it is closer to 20 percent.
So any large-scale culling of more recent hires could have a disparate impact on Mandarin speakers and technology experts, along with the agency’s ********* work force. But current officials said the C.I.A.’s new director, John Ratcliffe, was prioritizing China and did not want to see any mass exodus of people with expertise in that area.
The Trump administration has made quick work of diversity programs, ordering them shut down and scrubbed from websites.
The White House review of probationary hires comes as Mr. Ratcliffe has begun an effort to push long-tenured agency officers to retire early. Mr. Ratcliffe, officials said, hopes to clear a path to leadership jobs for midcareer officers.
The C.I.A. is offering its employees what it is calling “deferred resignation,” an option to quit but continue to be paid through September, as part of the efforts led by Mr. Musk to shrink the size of the federal work force, officials said.
National-security-related agencies had originally been exempted, at least partially, from the governmentwide “fork in the road” offer to leave their jobs that was extended last week. But Mr. Ratcliffe pushed to have a version of the offer extended to his work force.
Under the C.I.A.’s program, the agency will retain some say over the timing of when anyone leaves to ensure that critical areas have enough officers.
Otherwise, however, the offer is structured in much the same way as what Mr. Musk’s team pushed out across the federal government.
In an email sent on Tuesday, agency officers were extended an offer to leave the agency effective Sept. 30 but continue to be paid. An aide to Mr. Ratcliffe said it was “effectively giving them a buyout and a runway to the private sector.”
The offer was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.
The aide to Mr. Ratcliffe, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under agency protocol, said the effort was meant to encourage some of the large group of officers who joined after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to retire early.
“These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the agency with renewed energy, provide opportunities for rising leaders to emerge and better position the C.I.A. to deliver on its mission,” according to a statement released by a C.I.A. spokeswoman.
The spokeswoman said the offer would ensure that the agency’s work force was responsive to the Trump administration’s “national security priorities.”
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