Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00994-4Researchers jubilant over swift ministerial response to rule they say would hamper international recruitment.

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01040-zEurope needs to step up on epidemic preparedness

With playoff seeding up for grabs, here are the key matchups. Plus, updated projections, enhanced standings.

Container ship is docked at Kwai Chung Container terminal in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Apr. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)2025-04-08T09:13:19Z BANGKOK (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump and China sparred over tariff hikes and other retaliatory moves on Tuesday, as governments elsewhere were brainstorming strategies to cope with the trade war between the global economic giants. China said it will fight to the end and take countermeasures against the United States to safeguard its own interests after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports in retaliation for Beijings backlash against the 34% tariffs he ordered on his April 2 Liberation Day. The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake and once again exposes the blackmailing nature of the US. China will never accept this, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement read on state-run broadcaster CCTV. When asked about the possibility of talks between Washington and Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said I think what the US has done doesnt reflect a willingness for sincere dialogue. If the US really wants to engage in dialogue, it should adopt an attitude of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit. Meanwhile, Chinese state-run companies were told to help support the countrys financial markets after they were hit by massive saves of selling on Monday. While world markets calmed somewhat after frenzied selling over two trading sessions that wiped out trillions of dollars worth of wealth, leaders in Asia shifted into damage control mode. Help for Japans automakers and steel millsJapanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke with Trump late Monday and then convened a task force Tuesday to mitigate damage from the 24% U.S. tariffs imposed on Washingtons biggest ally in Asia. Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa was appointed lead trade negotiator and senior officials were dispatched to Washington to follow up on the Ishibas talk with Trump. Ishiba told his ministers to do their utmost to get Trump to reconsider and also to mitigate the impact from the U.S. reciprocal tariffs, which he said would be a blow to all industries, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. India wants a dealIndias Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar spoke with his U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio late Monday, pitching for an early conclusion of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. India, which faces a 26% tariff on its exports to the U.S., is hoping for concessions as part of the trade deal. A first tranche of the agreement is expected by this fall. Washington wants India to allow more open market access for U.S. dairy and other farm products, but New Delhi has balked at that since farming employs the bulk of Indias workforce. Indias Trade Minister Piyush Goyal planned to meet with exporters Wednesday to gauge the potential impact and cushion the economy from the tariffs.A State Department statement said Rubio and Jaishankar discussed ways to deepen collaboration, the tariffs and how to make progress toward a fair and balanced trade relationship. Malaysia promises soft diplomacy responseMalaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his government and other Southeast Asian countries would send officials to Washington to discuss the tariffs and it was working to build a consensus on a unified response among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as they convened an investment conference in Kuala Lumpur. We do not believe in megaphone diplomacy, Anwar said, As part of our soft diplomacy of quiet engagement, we will be dispatching together with our colleagues in ASEAN our officials in Washington to begin the process of dialogue.Still, he chided the U.S., saying Malaysias trade with the U.S. had long been a model of mutual gain, with its exports supporting Malaysias growth as well as high-quality jobs for Americans. The 24% tariff recently imposed on Malaysian imports was harming all and might have negative impact on both economies, he said.Anwar said Malaysia would stick to a policy of diversifying its trade at a time of uncertainty over globalization and changing supply chains. Hong Kong vows more, not less, open tradeIn Hong Kong, which has a free-trade policy and operates as a free port with few trade barriers, Chief Executive John Lee echoed Beijing in blasting Trumps tariffs as bullying and ruthless behavior he said had damaged trade and raised global uncertainty. Lee said the former British colony, which came under Beijings control in 1997 but has limited autonomy, would draw closer to the Chinese mainland, sign more free trade agreements and strive to attract more foreign investment to help blunt the impact of the higher U.S. duties. ___Niniek Karmini and Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Rajesh Roy in New Delhi, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed. ELAINE KURTENBACH Based in Bangkok, Kurtenbach is the APs business editor for Asia, helping to improve and expand our coverage of regional economies, climate change and the transition toward carbon-free energy. She has been covering economic, social, environmental and political trends in China, Japan and Southeast Asia throughout her career. twitter mailto

This combo of pictures show President Donald Trump, left, addressing a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025, and a handout of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attending a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis - Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)2025-04-08T10:31:01Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran s foreign minister said Tuesday hell meet with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman for the first negotiations under the Trump administration seeking to halt Tehrans rapidly advancing nuclear program as tensions remain high in the Middle East. Speaking to Iranian state television from Algeria, Abbas Araghchi maintained the talks would be indirect, likely with Omani mediators shuttling between the two parties. U.S. President Donald Trump, in announcing the negotiations on Monday, described them as being direct talks. Years of indirect talks under the Biden administration failed to reach any success, as Tehran now enriches uranium up to 60% purity a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Both the U.S. and Israel have threatened Iran with military attack over the program, while officials in Tehran increasingly warn they could potentially pursue a nuclear bomb. Our main goal in the talks, is naturally restoring rights of people as well as lifting sanctions and if the other side has a real will, this is achievable, and it has no relation to the method, either direct or indirect, Araghchi said. For the time being, indirect is our preference. And we have no plan to alter it to direct. Araghchis comments left space for Iran to potentially hold direct talks eventually with the Americans. Such talks arent known to have been held since the Obama administration. There was no immediate acknowledgement from the U.S. that Witkoff would lead the American delegation. News of talks boosts Irans ailing economyAfter Trumps comments on the talks went public, Irans ailing economy suddenly showed new signs of life. Its rial currency, which hit a record low of over 1 million rials to the dollar, rebounded Tuesday to 990,000 rials. The Tehran Stock Exchange separately rose some 2% on the news. Irans economy has been severely affected by international sanctions, particularly after Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. At the time of the 2015 deal, which saw Iran drastically limit its enrichment and stockpiling of uranium in exchange for lifting of international sanctions, the rial traded at 32,000 to the dollar.Economic upheavals have evaporated the publics savings, pushing average Iranians into holding onto hard currencies, gold, cars and other tangible wealth. Others pursue cryptocurrencies or fall into get-rich-quick schemes. Trump letter sparked talksThe negotiations Saturday come after Trump wrote to Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, trying to jumpstart direct talks between Tehran and Washington. Khamenei came down hard on Trump in February and warned talks are not intelligent, wise or honorable with his administration.Meanwhile, Trump is continuing an intense airstrike campaign targeting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, the last force in Tehrans self-described Axis of Resistance able to attack Israel after other militant groups were mauled by Israel during its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Asked about Trumps mention of planned direct talks between the U.S. and Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow welcomes them, adding that we support settling the issue of the Iranian nuclear dossier by political and diplomatic means. We are aware that certain contacts, both direct and indirect, are planned in Oman and we can only welcome them as they could lead to the de-escalation of tensions around Iran, Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. His remarks come as Trump is trying to negotiate a separate peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, talks that also have happened in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia. ___Vahdat reported from Tehran, Iran. JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01062-7Lessons from environmental and other social movements can help researchers to protect scientific integrity from attack.

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01064-5Researchers are studying why the energy factories are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases.

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2025-04-08T11:55:36Z SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) At least 13 people died and more than 70 were injured after a roof fell at a discotheque in the capital of the Dominican Republic early Tuesday, authorities said.Crews were searching for potential survivors in the rubble at Jet Set in Santo Domingo, said Juan Manuel Mndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations.We presume that many of them are still alive, and that is why the authorities here will not give up until not a single person remains under that rubble, he said.Among the injured is merengue singer Rubby Prez, who was performing when the roof collapsed, officials said.President Luis Abinader wrote on X that all rescue agencies are working tirelessly to help those affected.We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub. We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred, he wrote.At one hospital where the injured were taken, an official stood outside reading aloud the names of survivors as a crowd gathered around her and yelled out the names of their loved ones.It wasnt immediately clear what caused the roof to collapse. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

South Korean army soldiers patrol along the barbed-wire fence in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)2025-04-08T09:29:28Z SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Koreas military fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers crossed the rivals tense border on Tuesday, South Korean officials said.South Koreas military said in a statement that about 10 North Korean soldiers returned to the North after South Korea made warning broadcasts and fired warning shots. It said the North Korean soldiers violated the military demarcation line at the eastern section of the border at 5 p.m.South Koreas military said it is closely monitoring North Korean activities.Bloodshed and violent confrontations have occasionally occurred at the Koreas heavily fortified border, called the Demilitarized Zone. But when North Korean troops briefly violated the border in June last year and prompted South Korea to fire warning shots, it didnt escalate into a major source of tensions. South Korean officials assessed that the soldiers didnt deliberately commit the border intrusion and the site was a wooded area and military demarcation line signs there werent clearly visible. South Korea said the North Koreans were carrying construction tools. The motive for Tuesdays border crossing by North Korean soldiers wasnt immediately clear. The 248-kilometer (155-mile) -long, 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) -wide DMZ is the worlds most heavily armed border. An estimated 2 million mines are peppered inside and near the border, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides. Its a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Animosities between the Koreas are running high now as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to flaunt his military nuclear capabilities and align with Russia over President Vladimir Putins war on Ukraine. Kim is also ignoring calls by Seoul and Washington to resume denuclearization negotiations. Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he would reach out to Kim again to revive diplomacy. North Korea has not responded to Trumps remarks and says U.S. hostilities against it have deepened since Trumps inauguration.South Korea, meanwhile, is experiencing a leadership vacuum after the ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol last week over his ill-fated imposition of martial law. __Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report. HYUNG-JIN KIM Hyung-jin is an Associated Press reporter in Seoul, South Korea. He reports on security, political and other general news on the Korean Peninsula. twitter mailto

The shed-sized post office opposite a Baptist Church 40 miles outside of Louisville, Kentucky, was an unlikely starting point for one of the most significant undercover FBI operations in recent years. Inside that post office on September 17, 2021, sat a package that had arrived a few days earlier. On the face of it that package and others like it shipped over the coming months were not suspicious. They often contained childrens books. Nestled in those, though, was an envelope. Then another envelope inside that. And inside that, thousands of dollars of cash.This money came from ElonmuskWHM, one of the biggest online money launderers and who advertised on the dark web site White House Market (WHM). For nearly a year by that point, ElonmuskWHM had been a crucial cog in the underground economy. Criminals came to ElonmuskWHM when they needed to cash out their ill-gotten cryptocurrency, bypassing the legitimate banking system that ordinarily kept tabs on their customers and gave information to law enforcement. So the FBI wanted to shut ElonmuskWHM down.The FBI eventually identified ElonmuskWHM as Anurag Pramod Murarka, a 30 year-old Indian national who authorities arrested after luring him to the country by approving his travel visa application. More extraordinarily, the FBI then took over ElonmuskWHMs money laundering operation and ran it themselves for nearly a year, Gabrielle Dudgeon, public affairs specialist at the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky, which prosecuted the case,told 404 Media. With criminals believing they were interacting with the real ElonmuskWHM, the FBI then investigated the launderers customers, including drug traffickers and hackers.Do you know anything else about this case? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404. Otherwise, send me an email at joseph@404media.co.As part of the investigation into ElonmuskWHM, both before and after the account takeover, investigators linked the money launderer to drug traffickers in Miami; a robbery at knife point in San Francisco, and numerous multi-million dollar hacking cases. During this window of time, the FBI investigated an alleged member of the notorious Scattered Spider hacking collective, which was responsible for the MGM Resorts hack and has caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage. In this operation, rather than following the money, the FBI would become the money, potentially giving criminals tens of thousands of dollars in an effort to learn their real identities.A 404 Media review of hundreds of pages of court documents, ElonmuskWHMs online posts, and other research reveals the contours of that FBI operation for the first time. It solidifies the idea that the FBI is willing to provide criminals with the infrastructure needed for their schemes, sometimes for extended periods of time, if it provides an avenue to investigate them. The FBI previously secretly ran an encrypted phone company for drug traffickers and inserted a backdoor into it; started its own cryptocurrency to catch financial scammers; and ran a dark web child abuse site for around two weeks to deliver malware to its visitors. Running one of the largest money launderering services available on the open criminal market was just one of the latest examples.ElonmuskWHMs trail gave investigators a window into a part of the criminal world that is ordinarily completely invisible, with cryptocurrency now married to a centuries old underground banking system, making it easier than ever for criminals to move and access their funds globally. The FBI also went to extreme, and likely unconstitutional, steps to unmask ElonmuskWHM, including demanding Google turn over identifying information about everyone who watched a certain YouTube video over an eight day period.NOOB BITCHElonmuskWHMs business started in around October 2020, according to a 404 Media review of his posts on the dark web forum Dread, where customers of drug marketplaces would gather and coordinate.Cash BY Mail with 100% escrow and anonymity, ElonmuskWHM wrote. The service was simple enough: send your cryptocurrency to ElonmuskWHM via a dark web marketplace (with his fee), and ElonmuskWHM would then send you cash in the mail. For dirty fundscryptocurrency sourced from criminal activityElonmuskWHM charged a 20 percent fee.Initially, Dread users accused him of being a fed or a scammer. He got into constant fights with other members, and called one a noob BITCH.Despite the scepticism, some people clearly needed that service enough to send cryptocurrency to ElonmuskWHM. The following month, they wrote they had $30,000 worth of orders. By January, he was up to 200 sales, then 450, and eventually was calling himself the biggest cash by mail provider on White House Market, one of the sites he advertised on.A photo posted to Instagram and ElonmuskWHM's profile picture on Telegram.This services utility in the criminal underworld cannot be overstated. Companies who allow the trading of cryptocurrency for fiat in the United States have to be registered with the government as a money transmitting business. Those companies, in turn, are legally required to collect identifying information about their users, much in the same way as an ordinary bank. This is an issue for criminals because if they sign up to more legitimate exchanges such as Binance or Coinbase, they will need to provide their ID. And those exchanges will hand over that information to the authorities if presented with a court order.ElonmuskWHM offered an anonymous alternative, no ID needed. Perfect for hackers who have built a stockpile of cryptocurrency but have no way to actually cash it out. Hardly any business accepts Bitcoin or its more anonymous cousin Monero. These people need cash.Soon ElonmuskWHM crossed 500 sales. Later, he said he had moved millions; doing multiple continents. He offered to move cash to any country in Europe, and said he could move $100,000 overnight in the U.S. if needed.One of his messages on Dread said: Fuck LE, fuck the LAW.In April 2021, an FBI employee discovered ElonmuskWHMs adverts on various sites, according to court records. In August, the FBI roped in the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the two agencies met about investigating ElonmuskWHM. Joshua Smith, a U.S. Postal Inspector, then arranged for the P.O. Box in Waddy, Kentucky, to receive cash mailed by ElonmuskWHM. If the authorities ordered cash from ElonmuskWHM, the packages and undercover conversations with the launderer might provide clues on his identity. These purchases were relatively small, $1,800 here, $2,000 there, with the cash sometimes arriving inside the torn pages of a book with those pages then taped together at the edges, and those placed inside multiple sealed envelopes, according to court records.While posing as a drug trafficker, the FBI performed so many undercover buys over so many months that the digital underground started to shift around the agency and money launderer. First White House Market went down in November 2021, after the owners decided to close up shop. Then Dark0de Reborn, a cybercrime forum ElonmuskWHM was on, closed the following February. The FBI moved to communicating with ElonmuskWHM more directly; he had accounts on Telegram and the encrypted messaging app Wickr. On Telegram, the launderers profile picture was of a Batman phone case.One of the undercover buy drop-off locations via Google Street View.In those chats, ElonmuskWHM said drugs were how most of his clients made their money, and let slip that his richest clients are hackers. Some of those hackers, the FBI learned, were involved in cryptocurrency thefts and computer intrusions. By analyzing the blockchain, investigators found that nearly $90 million worth of cryptocurrency moved through ElonmuskWHMs network, according to court records. He eventually boasted he had made approximately $30 million over just a few years, and said he could move up to $1 million a week. He owned a Mercedes.ElonmuskWHM started to let more personal details out too. The undercover FBI employee and ElonmuskWHM started discussing geographic information systems (GIS), basically a wide-ranging discipline of how computers can analyze or visualize geographic data. Think drones, construction, building interiors. The launderer revealed he had a history of working in the field, including with aerial drones, and that he once had been the CEO of a GIS company before selling that business to someone else around three years earlier.ElonmuskWHM sent the undercover FBI employee a YouTube video called Indoor AR navigation for malls, airports and retail stores. Keeping the conversation going, the FBI responded with a couple more videos. Ep. 01: ArcGIS Indoors was a five minute demo of a GIS tool. Drone mapping simplified with Site Scan for ArcGIS, another. Around that time, each video the FBI sent to ElonmuskWHM had been viewed around 2,000 and 1,400 times respectively.Screenshots of the YouTube videos the FBI sent to ElonMuskWHM.Knowing that ElonmuskWHM probably clicked on those links, U.S. authorities secretly made an audacious demand to Google: tell us what IP addresses were used to access these videos over a week-long period. Then if any of those IP addresses were linked to a Google account, in turn hand over that users name, address, payment information, message logs, and information about any other related accounts too. That legal demand was later reported by Forbes, and multiple experts said the order was unconstitutional because it had the potential to turn ordinary YouTube viewers into suspects because they watched a particular video.It is not clear if Google returned the requested data. Google acknowledged a request for comment but then stopped replying to emails asking if the tech giant provided the authorities with the information.THE MULESWith all of the undercover buys the FBI started to get an idea of where this money was coming from, and by extension, who in ElonmuskWHMs organization might be shipping it. One came from Tarrytown, New York. The third was sent from Elmsford, New York, again. Then another from Tarrytown. Others from White Plains and Irvington, also in New York. A pattern emerged. Whoever was shipping this money in some cases used the same locations again and again.They traced the likely shipment to a man in his early-twenties in Westchester County, New York, the county where many of the earlier packages had been shipped from. 404 Media has learned the real name of this person but is not naming them for their safety because they became a confidential human source and cooperated with law enforcement, and will instead refer to them as Eric.The FBI watched as Eric stepped out of his home and then delivered two parcels to a U.S. Post Office. Investigators determined those packages were supposed to ship to the USPIS post box in Kentucky the authorities had been using for the undercover buys. This time, the controlled buy was for $70,000, according to court records.A month later, authorities arrested Eric at his home where he lived with at least one parent. While clearing out the apartment, law enforcement asked the mans father where the suspect was. Once the officials called out his name, Eric emerged from his bedroom. Investigators found around $600,000 inside. While the FBI had been ordering mostly a couple thousand dollars at a time, it was clear that ElonmuskWHMs team was moving much higher amounts.Eric explained he met people around three times a week and received between $100,000 to $300,000 to move each time. Much of the money in New York came from people who owned lawful businesses, like convenience stores, and who wanted to send money back to India.Screenshots of images included in the court records.This underground banking system is known generally by the Arabic name hawala. Its Chinese equivalent is called Fei-Chien. Indian versions are known as Hundi or Angadia. People have moved money like this for hundreds and hundreds of years, before banks existed and still use it today. In the United States if members of such a system dont follow the countrys strict regulations on money transmitting services, they are most likely breaking the law. Many hawala customers are not hackers or drug traffickers. But ElonmuskWHMs business intersected with that system and brought criminals cash in. ElonmuskWHM essentially stuck cryptocurrency onto that existing, centuries old process. Rather than moving cash from one place to another, it became about exchanging cryptocurrency for cash instead.Rather than prosecute Eric immediately, the U.S. authorities decided to use him as a way in. He flipped, hoping for a lower sentence, and agreed to continue engaging in cash pickups and drops so the FBI could get a better understanding of how exactly this launderering worked and identify other people in the ring.Wearing a hidden camera, Eric performed around another 80 cash pickups, moving a total of more than $15 million from February to September, according to court records. Across Queens and the Bronx, convenience stores, bodegas, gas stations, and grocery parking lots, the FBI saw men of Indian descent with shopping bags full of cash moving around the city. Sometimes these men were asked by others if they needed to move money back to India, then fell into moving cash for the network, according to court records. The FBI then used cellphone data to see that some of these men were going out of state to New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. ElonmuskWHMs mules were all over the country.The New York money launderering ring court documents do not mention ElonmuskWHM. But it is clear these people are ElonmuskWHMs money mules: the records say the investigation started in April 2021 when the FBI identified a cash-in-the-mail vendor on the dark web (the same time as the FBI found ElonmuskWHM); the records say the vendor told an undercover officer in an online chat that their businesss customers included drug dealers and hackers (as ElonmuskWHM had done); and a partial WhatsApp number in the New York documents is the same as one in documents in ElonmuskWHMs case, 404 Media found. The Southern District of New York declined to comment.That number was one part of the puzzle that pinpointed who ElonmuskWHM really was. Through a flurry of pen traps and court orders; search warrants with Apple, Binance, and Uber; and a review of U.S. visa applications, investigators learned that ElonmuskWHMs real identity was Anurag Pramod Murarka, a man at the time in his late twenties with a one-third ownership stake in a land surveying company in India.Up until then, Murarkas previous visa applications to come to the United States had been denied. Now, the State Department approved it because the agency knew Murarka would be arrested after arriving in the country., court records say. Murarkas lawyer later said his client came to the United States in part to seek medical treatment for a rare medical condition after getting treatment in Egypt and Europe, according to court records.BECOME THE MONEYAfter arresting Murarka on September 30, 2023, the FBI made the decision to run ElonmuskWHMs operation themselves. A post from ElonmuskWHMs account on Dread, written nearly a month after the arrest, defends himself as not being a fed:Day one I start on whm , I hear same shit as todayNow I m infact tired of defending itGo to my first post 3 years back and same shitI m fed blah-blah-blah[]3 years + multiple markets + 1000s of trades + 100% positive feedbackand I m still here working my ass off and still have clients who love me and happy with my serviceDudgeon from the U.S. Attorneys Office told 404 Media that the FBI controlled the ElonmuskWHM persona for approximately eleven months. She said that the FBI investigated any criminal actor that used the criminal money laundering services of the ElonmuskWHM persona, including narcotics traffickers, hackers, and actors engaged in other criminal activity.Court documents say authorities linked ElonmuskWHMs services to drug trafficking prosecutions including one in Miami, Florida, a robbery at knife point investigation in San Francisco, California, and numerous computer hacking investigations, including some that derived multiple millions of dollars in criminal proceeds. Dudgeon told 404 Media that connections to customers were made both prior to and after the account takeover.One case in which a hacker used the services of an online money launderering service secretly run by the FBI was Remington remi Ogletrees. Authorities identified Ogletree after investigating Scattered Spider, a loose-knit collection of hackers notorious for their prolific social engineering skills and aggressive tactics. Scattered Spider emerged from the nebulous online community known as the Com, where around a thousand people coalesce on Telegram and Discord and often engage in physical violence against one another or members of the public. The FBI has designated Scattered Spider as a top three cyber threat, behind only China and Russia. Ogletree allegedly took part in compromises targeting telecom and financial businesses, according to court records.Two days after the FBI searched Ogletrees residence as part of that investigation on February 23, 2024, Ogletree contacted a money launderering service on Telegram, the court records say. At the time, Ogletree was apparently unaware that the Cash Service was part of an undercover FBI operation, the records add. Ogletree first told the launderer he needed $50,000 in cash, then upped the request to $75,000, according to the records. Ogletree sent cryptocurrency to the launderer, along with a physical address to deliver the money to.The Cash Service provided a USPS tracking number and mailed $75,000 (the value of any cryptocurrency Ogletree sent minus a fee) to Ogletrees Fort Worth Residence, the documents read. In other words, this undercover FBI operation provided tens of thousands of dollars to a suspect linked to a known-violent community of hackers, with him only being arrested nearly a year later in November 2024. Later, authorities said in court records that ElonmuskWHM, by providing money laundering services, enhanced the motivation [of criminals] to commit crimes, eased the path to success for these crimes, and facilitated the victimization of more people and businesses. For a year, the FBI arguably did much the same.The FBI also found that Ogletree had previously used the money launderering service multiple times in 2023, with Ogletree allegedly saying he had moved around $80,000 through the service, according to the court records. At one point, Ogletree flashed a large bundle of cash on Snapchat, according to a photo included in the records.Screenshot of a Ogletree court record.Ogletrees court records do not mention ElonmuskWHM specifically. 404 Media obtained screenshots in which people in the Com discussed ElonmuskWHM. Another message said one person used a laundering service and suggested they were caught shortly after.Dudgeon declined to comment on the Ogletree case, saying we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation. She also declined to point to any other prosecutions that have come about from the undercover running of ElonmuskWHM, saying the United States cannot comment on ongoing investigations.Murarka was sentenced in January to 121 months in prison, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutor Kathryn Dieruf said Murarka was the founder and leader of a vast conspiracy that spanned the United States and emanated from India, which was designed to operate as a bank for the criminal underworld operating on the dark net. In so doing, the Defendant ran one of the largest and most successful darknet crypto-for-cash operations, laundering more than $24 million in cryptocurrency [in] just under two years.The USPIS, FBI, and lawyers representing Murarka and Ogletree did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Ogletree did not respond either.Using the internet, the defendant provided his assistance to countless other criminals as they tried to conceal their stolen money and illegal drug proceeds, Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, said in that announcement. This case highlights the global scope of cybercrime, as well as the demand for diligence and collaboration in fighting money launderinga devastating second layer of criminal conduct. The dedicated work of our law enforcement partners has now held him accountable; and we remain committed in our collaborative efforts to combat this destructive criminal activity.Michael E. Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office, said in the announcement: the FBI will leverage every advantage against criminal networks that cause damage to our communities, to apprehend these malicious actors, seize the proceeds of their crimes, and expose their network of co-conspirators.Even if that means launderering money for hackers.

Here's a look at every weight class to determine the best of the best in UFC, Bellator, PFL and beyond.

A man has been charged after an alleged assault of Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced Monday that the General Services Administration converted 14,000 magnetic to digital records, and claimed the process saved a million dollars a year.The problem is, magnetic tapes are regarded by storage and archivist professionals as being a stable, reliable, and safe medium for long-term data storage. Just because its a 70 year old medium doesnt mean those records needed a massive overhaul to digital, that it will save any money in the long term, or that the new storage method is better.Casual storage enjoyers might hear tape and think fragile spools of plastic that can rot or wear out. But digital storage is not necessarily a better option if youre trying to keep information for years; digital storage rot, or bit rot, can affect a hard drive over years of storage, making the data corrupt or inaccessible. This happens when the electrical charge inside a solid-state storage devicelike the kind of digital drive we can assume DOGE is talking aboutleaks and causes the drive to lose performance.Magnetic tapes are also a more cost and space efficient option at the scale the government would require to back up data. Tape requires someone who knows how to operate it, and the machines to read it, but as a storage medium its more compact and cheaper than comparably-sized digital drives would be. Modern tape cartridges can hold as much as 15 terabytes of data.But perhaps most importantly, tape is a lot more secure than digital storage. Hackers cant access whats on a magnetic tape unless they have it physically in hand; digital storage, however, can be broken into remotely or accessed if it touches cloud storage at all.Research also shows that tape media generates three percent of the carbon dioxide that hard disks do. Moving from tape to digital isnt just more expensive, less efficient, and less secure, but also bad for the environment. When were talking about long-term storage, ideally youre storing for a future that actually exists.Considering DOGEs track record of insecure and sloppy programming, habit of wasting public servants time with absurd busywork, and almost impressive ability to make most things it touches more expensive and inefficient, its not surprising that the department led by Elon Musk is proud to announce this unnecessary and wasteful flip to digital. But the irony of it making an otherwise perfectly stable archive suddenly unstable, while pulling what seems like a random million-dollar figure out of nowhere for the sake of a tweetall while gutting important archives and forcing volunteers to save what they canis almost too on the nose.GSA did not respond to a request for comment.

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01042-xEurope must grasp chance to become a scientific powerhouse

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00990-8Researchers solve the mystery of a disease outbreak through long-term surveillance of wildlife in Africa.

It will be a long time before another figure spends half a century working for a program the way that Slocum did at Texas A&M.

BYU freshman guard Egor Demin, a projected lottery pick, will enter the 2025 NBA draft, a source told ESPN on Tuesday.

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01009-yThe 50th anniversary of a landmark biosafety conference is an opportunity to ensure its spirit lives on in todays scientists.

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00916-4Research on cannabis was hotting up 50 years ago, and accessible lectures on the physics of matter from Nobel laureate William Bragg, in this weeks dip into Natures archive.

Bookmakers believe Houston will be in contention for a men's college basketball national title again in 2026, behind only Duke as the early betting favorite.

Rory McIlroy said Tuesday that he's trying to block out noise and that this week might be his best chance to capture an elusive green jacket at the Masters.

President Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves the West Wing of the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-04-08T15:23:27Z WASHINGTON (AP) Less than one hour before the stock market closed on Monday, journalists gathered in the Oval Office for their only chance of the day to ask President Donald Trump about the turmoil caused by his tariff plans. Are the new tariffs, scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, a bargaining chip to reach better trade deals? Or are they etched in stone in a mission to revamp the global economy?Investors around the world were hanging on Trumps every word, but he did little to clear up the situation.It can both be true, he said. There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations.The markets skidded to a close. At a time when foreign leaders and business executives are desperate for clarity, the White House is sending mixed messages as it pursues conflicting goals.Advisers have tried with some success to tamp down a days-long stock selloff by talking up tariffs as a starting point for negotiations, which could mollify Wall Street and jittery Republicans in Congress. The S&P 500 stock index opened up 3.4% on Tuesday. But the president continues to insist that he can raise hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue with his new taxes on foreign imports, and hes shown no willingness to back down from an agenda that hes advocated for decades, even before entering politics. The ongoing paradox could erode confidence in Trumps leadership at home and abroad after he promised a booming economy and tax cuts, not depleted retirement accounts and fears of a recession. For now, as the tariffs are set to kick in, theres no clear resolution for what could be the most significant overhaul of international trade in a generation. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, urged the White House to settle the situation. He said the perception as to whether or not theres an end game is very important. Tillis said he is giving the administration the benefit of the doubt for now. But he added: Youve got to get it done as quickly as you can get it done. The administration has yet to articulate its goals for any talks with trading partners, other than to suggest that negotiations could take several months and that nations might also need to dramatically overhaul their tax systems and regulations to satisfy Trumps demands. Canadian and European officials are uncertain about how to proceed even as Trump administrations officials insist that as many as 70 nations are looking to start negotiations.Trump insists that he wants to erase trade deficits that have developed as the U.S. buys more products from other countries than it sells. On Tuesday morning, Trump posted on Truth Social that he spoke with South Koreas acting president, Han Duck-soo, about their tremendous and unsustainable surplus. We have the confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries, he wrote. Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good.But on Monday, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would eliminate the trade deficit with the United States, Trump appeared unmoved. Asked if he would hold off on new tariffs on Israel, the president said maybe not. Dont forget, we help Israel a lot, he said, citing billions of dollars in military assistance to the country. Trump has long advocated for tariffs as the solution to economic challenges, and his insistence that other countries are ripping off the United States is one of his most consistently expressed beliefs over the years.Last Thursday, while flying to Florida aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters that the tariffs give us great power to negotiate.On the flight back to Washington on Sunday, Trump described the tariffs as a necessity and said he was undeterred by the cratering stock market, adding that sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.Peter Navarro, a leading trade adviser, has also taken a hard line.This is not a negotiation, Navarro wrote in the Financial Times. For the U.S., it is a national emergency triggered by trade deficits caused by a rigged system. But other officials like Kevin Hassett, the top White House economic adviser, and Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, said scores of countries are lining up to negotiate with Trump over tariffs.Its going to be a busy April, May, maybe into June, Bessent told Fox News. He said Trump gave himself maximum negotiating leverage, and just when he achieved the maximum leverage, hes willing to start talking.Speaking Monday at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, Stephen Miran, chairman of Trumps Council of Economic Advisers, said the mixed messages over the purpose of the tariffs reflected a healthy internal debate.There are conflicting narratives because everybody has got an opinion, he said. And thats fine. Disagreement is how you can enhance your arguments and avoid groupthink, and I think thats very healthy. As for whether any deals could be reached before the tariffs take effect, Miran said, that choice will ultimately remain with the president.Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said some of Trumps aides just like to talk.Theres some uncertainty about what the presidents objective is and I think thats a product of some of his aides, who gave conflicting reports on TV this weekend, he said.Kennedy said he supports Trumps trade goals. But hes also getting calls from businesses in his state, and hes had no answers for them on what to expect.Trump is constitutionally barred from running for president again, despite his talk about serving a third term. However, Republicans face elections next year that could reshape control of Congress, and theyve been more nervous about the presidents plans. Bessent visited with lawmakers on Friday, the day after the tariff announcement. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming said Bessent told them that the tariffs were a high level mark with the ultimate goal of getting them reduced unless other countries retaliated.The president is a dealmaker if nothing else, and hes going to continue to deal country by country with each of them, Barrasso said afterward.But China already retaliated with plans for its own 34% tariffs, prompting Trump on Monday to threaten additional 50% tariffs against the country.The U.S. president had a positive enough conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that the Nikkei stock index jumped 6% on Tuesday, yet it was still unclear how a deal would work. Trump placed a 24% tariff on Japan and a separate 25% tariff on auto imports, much higher than the 1.9% average tariff rate charged by Japan, according to World Trade Organization data. Trump has called the auto tariffs permanent and also installed a permanent 10% baseline tariff on most countries, suggesting a limit as to how much rates could fall through negotiations.But Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota made it clear he hopes the tariffs are part of a flexible strategy that leads to the reciprocal dropping of tariffs.I think most people here, like most Americans, are watching and waiting to see what the ultimate policy implementation will be, he said Monday.On the other side of the Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana emphasized his trust in the president.Johnson argued the country had a $1.2 trillion trade deficit last year and Americans understand Trump is trying to address that.We are going to give him the space necessary to do it, he said Monday. CHRIS MEGERIAN Megerian covers the White House for The Associated Press. He previously wrote about the Russia investigation, climate change, law enforcement and politics in California and New Jersey. twitter mailto JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto STEPHEN GROVES Groves covers Congress for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a press conference about Utah's new fluoride ban, food additives and SNAP funds legislation, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)2025-04-08T15:48:08Z NEW YORK (AP) U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he wants communities to stop fluoridating water, and he is setting the gears of government in motion to help make that happen.Kennedy this week said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. And he said hes assembling a task force of health experts to study the issue and make new recommendations.At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it would review new scientific information on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The EPA sets the maximum level allowed in public water systems. Heres a look at how reversing fluoride policy has become an action item under President Donald Trumps administration. The benefits of fluorideFluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the CDC. In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and in 1962 set guidelines for how much should be added to water.Fluoride can come from a number of sources, but drinking water is the main one for Americans, researchers say. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population gets fluoridated drinking water, according to CDC data. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water was long considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century. The American Dental Association credits it with reducing tooth decay by more than 25% in children and adults.About one-third of community water systems 17,000 out of 51,000 across the U.S. serving more than 60% of the population fluoridated their water, according to a 2022 CDC analysis. The potential problems of too much fluorideThe CDC currently recommends 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water. Over time, studies have documented potential problems when people get much more than that. Excess fluoride intake has been associated with streaking or spots on teeth. And studies also have traced a link between excess fluoride and brain development. A report last year by the federal governments National Toxicology Program, which summarized studies conducted in Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico, concluded that drinking water with more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter more than twice the CDCs recommended level was associated with lower IQs in kids.Meanwhile, last year, a federal judge ordered the EPA to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that its not certain fluoride is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that research pointed to an unreasonable risk that it could be.Kennedy has railed against fluorideKennedy, a former environmental lawyer, has called fluoride a dangerous neurotoxin and an industrial waste tied to a range of health dangers. He has said its been associated with arthritis, bone breaks, and thyroid disease. Some studies have suggested such links might exist, usually at higher-than-recommended fluoride levels, though some reviewers have questioned the quality of available evidence and said no definitive conclusions can be drawn. How fluoride recommendations can be changedThe CDCs recommendations are widely followed but not mandatory.State and local governments decide whether to add fluoride to water and, if so, how much as long as it doesnt exceed the EPAs limit of 4 milligrams per liter.So Kennedy cant order communities to stop fluoridation, but he can tell the CDC to stop recommending it.It would be customary to convene a panel of experts to comb through the research and assess the evidence that speak to the pros and cons of water fluoridation. But Kennedy has the power to stop or change a CDC recommendation without that.The power lies with the secretary, but public trust would erode if recommendations are changed without a clear scientific basis, said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University.If youre really serious about this, you dont just come in and change it, he said. You ask somebody like the National Academy of Sciences to do a study and then you follow their recommendations. On Monday, Kennedy said he was forming a task force to focus on fluoride, while at the same time saying he would order the CDC to stop recommending it. HHS officials did not answer immediately questions seeking more information about what the task force would be doing.Some places are already pulling back on fluoridationUtah recently became the first state to ban fluoride in drinking water, and legislators elsewhere are looking at the issue.An Associated Press analysis of CDC data for 36 states shows that many communities have halted fluoridation in recent years. Over the last six years, at least 734 water systems that consistently reported their data in those states have stopped fluoridating water, according to the APs analysis. Mississippi alone accounted for more than 1 in 5 of those water systems that stopped. Most water systems that discontinued fluoridation mainly did so to save money, said Melissa Parker, the Mississippi state health departments assistant senior deputy. During the pandemic, Mississippis health department allowed local water systems to temporarily cease fluoridating because they could not purchase sodium fluoride in the midst of global supply chain issues. Many never restarted, Parker said. CDC funding for fluoride is typically a small factorSince 2003, CDC has funded a limited number of state oral health programs through cooperative agreements. The agreements run in cycles, and at the beginning of this year 15 states were each receiving $380,000 over three years. The money can be used on a number of things, including collecting data on people with dental problems, dental care and technical assistance for community water fluoridation activities.The current oral health funding is going to Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin. The states are told not to use the money for chemicals, because the funding is intended to help set up fluoridation, not for everyday expenses, federal officials have said. South Carolina, for example, sets aside up to $50,000 to help communities in that state fluoridate. Iowa spends about $65,000 to promote community water fluoridation.Earlier this year, CDC officials declined to answer questions about how much of the total oral health money has been going toward fluoridation. Now, there is no one to ask: Last week, the CDCs entire 20-person Division of Oral Health was eliminated as part of widespread government staffing cuts.Congress appropriated money to CDC specifically to support oral health programs, and some congressional staffers say the agency must distribute those funds no matter who is running the HHS or CDC. But Trump-driven budget cuts have struck at a number of programs that Congress had called for, and its not clear what will happen to the CDC oral health funding.Fluoridation is relatively cheap compared with other water department expenses, and most communities simply incorporate the cost into the water rates charged to customers, according to the American Water Works Association. In Erie, Pennsylvania, for example, fluoridating water for 220,000 people costs about $35,000 to $45,000 a year and is entirely funded by water rates, said Craig Palmer, the chief executive of the Erie Water Authority.So cutting off the CDC money would not have much impact on most communities, some experts said, although it could be more impactful for some smaller, rural communities. ___Pananjady reported from Philadelphia.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This weekend, U.S. secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick went on CBSs Face the Nation and pitched a fantasy world where iPhones are manufactured in the United States: The army of millions and millions of people screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones, that kind of thing is going to come to America, its going to be automated, and the tradecraft of America is going to fix them, is going to work on them, theres going to be mechanics, HVAC specialists, electricians, Lutnick said. The tradecraft of America, the high school educated Americans, the core to our workforce is going to have the greatest resurgence of jobs in the history of America to work on these high tech factories which are all coming to America."The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones, that kind of thing is going to come to America." - LutnickWell. Enjoy your sweatshop jobs everybody. pic.twitter.com/h9k83SHZXd Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) April 6, 2025The idea of a Made-in-the-USA iPhone has been an obsession for politicians for years, a kind of shorthand goalpost that would signal American manufacturing is back that is nonetheless nowhere close to being a reality and would require a nearly impossible-to-fathom restructuring of the global supply chains that make the iPhone possible in the first place. Over the years, economists and manufacturing experts have attempted to calculate how much an American-made iPhone would cost. In recent days a Quora answer from 2018 that suggests an American iPhone would cost $30,000 has gone repeatedly viral. A Reuters story that claims a tariffed iPhone would cost $2,300 has also gone viral.These articles are good exercises but they are also total fantasy. There is no universe in which Apple snaps its fingers and begins making the iPhone in the United States overnight. It could theoretically begin assembling them here, but even that is a years-long process made infinitely harder by the fact that, in Trumps ideal world, every company would be reshoring American manufacturing at the same time, leading to supply chain issues, factory building issues, and exacerbating the already lacking American talent pool for high-tech manufacturing. In the long term, we could and probably will see more tech manufacturing get reshored to the United States for strategic and national security reasons, but in the interim with massive tariffs, there will likely be unfathomable pain that is likely to last years, not weeks or months.The truth is that, assembled in the U.S. or not, the iPhone is a truly international device that is full of components manufactured all over the world and materials mined from dozens of different countries. Apple has what is among the most complex supply chains that has ever been designed in human history, and it is not going to be able to completely change that supply chain anytime soon.We can see how the iPhone is made today by looking at numerous reports that Apple puts out every year, which outlines its current supply chain and workforce requirements. So lets start there. The home page of Apples supply chain website states Designed by Apple in California. Made by people everywhere.A Global Supply ChainEven production of the much-touted American assembled Mac Pro was partially moved back to China and, in some cases, Thailand. Mac Pros that are assembled in the United States are done so with materials that are mined all over the world and are turned into components that are manufactured all over the world. 0:00 /0:45 1 Apples conflict minerals report filed with the SEC details where it sources tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, which are four metals it uses in manufacturing and which companies are required to report the country of origin to the government because they are often sourced from war-torn nations. In 2023, the last year that data is available, it sourced those four metals from 79 different countries, from roughly 200 different refineries and smelters. Just 20 of those smelters are in the United States. Apples longer supplier list shows where different components are manufactured, and is full of companies who do their manufacturing in Singapore, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, India, and elsewhere. There are some U.S. manufacturers on this list, but the overwhelming majority of them are in Asia.Countries where Apple suppliers source just four different mineralsIf Trumps tariffs stick, it is possible, maybe even likely, that Apple begins to source more materials and components from U.S. manufacturers. But Apples supply chain is one of the most complex in the world, with components and minerals coming from every continent. This supply chain has been honed over the course of decades and is not something that can be remade in a year or two.Millions of WorkersApples supply chain documents say that its manufacturing partners currently employ at least 1.4 million people, and that it has more than 320 suppliers overall. Lutnick suggested that Apple will automate this army of people in the United States, and that Americans with high school diplomas will take the ancillary jobs. More automation is coming to Apple manufacturing lines. But that work is slow going, many of Apples products are still assembled largely by hand, and it is not clear who will build the theoretical machines and factories that would automate iPhone manufacturing. This is a point that Ryan Petersen, the CEO of logistics company Flexport, brought up on Bloombergs Odd Lots podcast Monday.I talked to two different people who had to pause their factory buildouts [in the U.S.] because of the tariffs, because the machines they were going to buy are too expensive now, Petersen said. Factories require machinery and components from other countries, so if machinery gets really expensive youre going to have less manufacturing, not more. So I think this is very unlikely to yield the results that they want.Apple set a goal to reduce the number of people working on iPhone assembly by up to 50 percent by 2030, The Information reported last year. But automating production of the iPhone has been a goal for a very long time, and there are still millions of people working on it. Apple has also made strides in creating robots that can disassemble an iPhone, but even these robots only deal with a fraction of the total number of iPhones that are disassembled and recycled around the world. Human beings remove the batteries from the vast majority of iPhones that are recycled to prevent fires; the rest of the device is usually run through a shredder and individual metals are sorted out, melted down, and downcycled.Chinese memes on American re-industrialization rolling in. lol the music. pic.twitter.com/GZE2jHDgWZ Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) April 7, 2025This is to say nothing of training a workforce to assemble iPhones in the United States, and whether people would even want these jobs. Trumps tariffs and Lutnicks comments instantly spawned viral AI slop videos of stressed out, upset, and overworked Americans working in dank factories. These videos are rude but are not totally wrong. The Reshoring Institute put out a paper that said American machine operators made an average of $43,000 annually in 2022; Vietnamese machine operators made less than $5,000 annually.A large technology manufacturing workforce exists in China, Vietnam, India, Cambodia, Taiwan, and other countries where Apple does lots of its manufacturing. Roughly half of all workers at the Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMCs much-hyped U.S. factory in Arizona are Taiwanese, and the company claimed in 2023 that in the United States, There [was] an insufficient amount of skilled workers to actually build the factory, and that immigrants from Taiwan on special visas had to do much of the factory construction. Now consider that, for Trumps imagined economic transformation to occur without immense economic pain, product shortages, and product delays, the U.S. would need to build a huge number of high tech factories all at once. It is also worth considering that Foxconn, which manufactures iPhones and other devices, got billions of dollars of funding to build a factory in Wisconsin, failed to do so, and totally abandoned the site. Foxconn failed in Wisconsin for many reasons (chief among them, it did not ever actually build a factory, which was covered best by The Verge), but an executive there explained that it was not feasible for the company to find workers only from the local communities: It is not feasible to tap into just Mount Pleasant or Milwaukee alone to really build up the talent pool, Alan Yeung, who helped lead the Foxconn project, told The Verge.Boston Engineering, a firm that helps tech companies reshore manufacturing to the United States, published a paper last year that said hurdles to reshoring jobs include higher American wages, a need to build automation technology that may not exist yet, and a lack of skilled American workers: Reshoring is more than just moving production locationsit often requires a redesign of products and manufacturing processes. Many products originally designed for low-cost, manual labor overseas must be re-engineered for automation to suit the higher-wage U.S. workforce. Additionally, companies must rebuild domestic supply chains With an aging population and fewer skilled workers available [in the US], manufacturers need to invest in upskilling their workforce or adopt technologies that reduce reliance on manual labor.If you walk the streets of Shenzhen, you will find random repair people doing board-level iPhone repairs, which require the use of a microscope and a microsoldering iron. Some of Americas best iPhone repair professionals know how to microsolder, and its not that hard to learn, but its still a specialized skill set that few people in the United States know how to do and which only a few repair professionals are even teaching. Foxconn iPhone factory workers, meanwhile, have a long history of working long hours under grueling conditions, mental health disorders, and mistreatment. Apple has made some strides on this in recent years, but, notoriously, there have been numerous suicides at iPhone factories over the last decade, and, as recently as 2022, there were mass worker protests for over working conditions and pay.Reshoring manufacturing jobs is not just a goal of the Trump administration. A huge goal of Bidens CHIPS Act was to bring manufacturing jobs back to America. The idea of reshoring jobs is a good one, and targeted tariffs in Trumps first term and during Bidens administration, as well as the CHIPS Act, have been effective in pushing companies that way. But across the board, punitive tariffs that blow up the global supply chain and the global trade order overnight is going to put people around the world through economic pain with no guarantee that its going to be OK on the other side.

Filmmaker Roshan Sethi debuted his comedyA Nice Indian Boystarring his real-life partner Karan Soni as well as Zarna Garg and Sunita Mani at SXSW in Austin in 2024. The rom-com follows the relationship of Naveen (Soni) and Jay (Jonathan Groff), a white man adopted by two Indian parents. More than that, it unpacks the awkward [...]The post WATCH: A Nice Indian Boy Director and Cast Talk Debuting Queer AAPI Comedy Full of Promise and Hope in Divisive Times first appeared on GLAAD.

I had no idea when I entered the Blazing Saddle in Des Moines, Iowa, on a Friday night in 1997 that I was not just entering my first gay bar. I was discovering the fraught history of gay bars at a relatively safe time.I had many worries as I entered the door and saw a narrow room packed with men. But I did not have to fear a squad of police would rush into the bar to push any man who appeared femme or who dared to touch another man up against the wall, pulling their hands behind their backs and snapping on handcuffs.In the years since I stepped into my first gay bar, queer acceptance has dramatically increased, and more recent generations of queer people are welcomed and comfortable in a variety of public spaces. This increased acceptance raises questions of the role and importance of gay bars (and other queer spaces).Do gay bars still matter?Sign up for the PRIDE.com Newsletter to get a candid take on whats fresh and fun in LGBTQ+ culture this week!A Haven for New GenerationsI am ringing in 2025 at my favorite West Hollywood gay bar near Santa Monica Boulevard and Robertson, just around the corner from The Abbey. Soon, I chatted with a group of young people who told me they had driven down from Bakersfield because "we had to; there's nothing up there."One of the young men in the group proudly shows me his ID. "He just turned 21," says his gal pal, "It's his first time in a club." I hug the boy, congratulate him, and then watch his jaw drop as a hot go-go dancer jumps onto a speaker. I give him money to tip the dancer. He smiles broadly, walking shyly up to the handsome clad in the bare minimum. A few minutes later, they asked me where they should go next. I tell them to cross Santa Monica and walk down until they find a place they like.I hug them all as they leave and find myself reminded that despite the increased gender and sexual identity fluidity of recent generations, someone new is always coming out.A Historical Perspective of Queer SpacesIn Gay Bar: Why We Went Out, an insightful history of gay bars, Jeremy Atherton Lin describes both the essential function of gay bars and the means that Western societies have used to keep them and their occupants closeted. The most literal form of closeting was to keep gay bars out of sight with no signage, entrances in back alleys, and no windows. The latter was necessary because many municipalities had laws against serving alcohol to homosexuals. Bars with no windows made it harder for police to see, arrest men who appeared femme or women who touched other women, and in different ways deemed queer.Indeed, the first documented public queer demonstration occurred in Los Angeles on February 11, 1967, more than two years before the Stonewall riots, when a group of queer people protested the arrest of fourteen men by undercover police officers who waited until midnight on New Year's Eve when men kissed at the Black Cat Tavern in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. In addition to the arrests, the officers severely beat two bartenders and a woman who owned another gay bar in the area. Beyond the impact of the queer bar scene, the raid would later go on to inspire action within our community.Not to mention the creation of what would become The Advocate, the nation's oldest-running LGBTQ+ publication.Lin's recounting of the problematic history of gay bars is a clear reminder that queer history (particularly in the Western tradition) is rife with violence, prejudice, discrimination, and condemnation.Preserving Our Sanctuary: The Ongoing Need for Protection Minutes after my 1997 entry into the fraught history of gay bars, my friend handed me a drink and said, "I'm going to leave you now and go to the bathroom.""No!" I grabbed his arm, "don't leave me!"He smiled, trying not to laugh at my panic. "If I don't leave you, no one will hit on you."Thirty seconds after my friend melted into the crowd, a man had his hand on my arm. "I like your shirt.""Um, thank you," I managed as I leaned back slightly to break contact.I could no longer remember his name, and I could not hear his friend's name over the buzz of the men packed into a space that would have given the fire marshal a coronary. I slid away as soon as I could, not sure if the guy who liked my shirt was cute or not, but for the first time in my life, I was in a place where it was safe for a man to hit on me, and I liked it.Bridging Tradition and Modernity: The Complex IntersectionI sit on a stool in my favorite West Hollywood happy hour bar and start singing along to "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," playing over the bar's speakers. The handsome straight bartender who has always been sweet to me leans toward me over the bar and asks, "Who sings this?" I am speechless, my jaw hanging open. The cute gay barback sees my shock and asks, "What's wrong?""He just asked me who sings this," I manage, and the barback instantly shares my shock. We tease the bartender that he is going to have to up his gay game if he wants to work at a gay bar.It is a strangely lovely moment, admittedly made more delightful by my second glass of Sauvignon Blanc. But the absolute pleasure is being in the majority: having the straight man being the odd man out because he did not recognize a gay icon.We need gay bars (and other queer spaces) because, despite strides in queer acceptance that have occurred in my lifetime, heteronormativity is alive and well. We need places for queer joy, places where our aesthetics and desires are not only normal but celebrated.Sadly, the increased acceptance of gay people and cultures is not all good, even in the relative sanctuary of gay bars. I have sworn off The Abbey on Friday and Saturday nights. I'm tired of drunken bachelorette parties monopolizing the hottest go-go, tipping poorly, and shrieking at each other above the thump of the music. The popularity of RuPaul's Drag Race fills gay bars with mixed crowds at 8 pm on Friday nights. It's not uncommon to see the "invasion" of mostly straight women appropriating queer culture and basking in the liberation of not having to deal with annoying straight men. Gushing over sparkles and spangles some of us wear, sloshing their drinks on our best shoes, and crashing the men's room.Lin calls this invasion of gay bars and queer culture "secondary gayness" and notes that such appropriation is cheap for the invaders. Ironically, this new visibility and popularity of queer culture and bars also create a new kind of closetingone that too often makes generations of danger and abuses invisible to newcomers.We still need gay bars as safe spaces for the newly out, as reminders of more troubled times in our history, and as oases from the daily press of heteronormativity. And as more and more gay bars gentrify and become attractive to straight people, we also need to protect our spaces and our culture.David Wallace is a professor of English at Long Beach State University, and he has published a number of articles about the effects of closeting on queer people. He lives in West Hollywood, CA, where he spends as much time as possible swimming laps, hiking, running, cooking good food, reading mystery novels, and joining friends for happy hour.Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit out.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists and editors, and do not directly represent the views of Out or our parent company, equalpride.

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08961-9A Nd@C82-polymer interface for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01041-yThe US is against the world on sustainable development

Supporters will get a new live experience at the Club World Cup with footage from the referee's body camera available to broadcasters during matches.

Real Betis chief executive Ramon Alarcon has said he is "cautiously optimistic" that Antony will continue at the club beyond this summer.

Sotheby's Deputy Chairman, Middle East & Head of Sotheby's UAE, Katia Noun Boueiz wears the Mediterranean Blue diamond during its worldwide debut in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)2025-04-08T15:17:44Z ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) A rare blue diamond was on display Tuesday at an exhibition of $100 million worth of the worlds rarest diamonds in the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi.The eight diamonds on display at the Sothebys exhibition have a total weight of over 700 carats.Visitors focused on the 10-karat blue diamond from South Africa, considered one of the most important blue diamonds ever discovered. Sothebys expects it to be auctioned off at $20 million in May. Quig Bruning, the companys head of jewels in North America, Europe and the Middle East, said they chose Abu Dhabi for the current exhibition because of the Gulf nations high interest in diamonds.We have great optimism about the region, he said. We feel very strongly that this is the kind of place where you have both traders and collectors of diamonds of this importance and of this rarity.

A vial of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is on display at the Lubbock Health Department Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon, File)2025-04-08T14:51:17Z A day care facility in a Texas county thats part of the measles outbreak has multiple cases, including children too young to be fully vaccinated, public health officials say.West Texas is in the middle of a still-growing measles outbreak with 481 cases Friday. The state expanded the number of counties in the outbreak area this week to 10. The highly contagious virus began to spread in late January and health officials say it has spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mexico. Three people who were unvaccinated have died from measles-related illnesses this year, including two elementary school-aged children in Texas. The second child died Thursday at a Lubbock hospital, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended the funeral in Seminole, the epicenter of the outbreak.As of Friday, there were seven cases at a day care where one young child who was infectious gave it to two other children before it spread to other classrooms, Lubbock Public Health director Katherine Wells said. Measles is so contagious I wont be surprised if it enters other facilities, Wells said.There are more than 200 children at the day care, Wells said, and most have had least one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, which is first recommended between 12 and 15 months old and a second shot between 4 and 6 years old. We do have some children that have only received one dose that are now infected, she said. The public health department is recommending that any child with only one vaccine get their second dose early, and changed its recommendation for kids in Lubbock County to get the first vaccine dose at 6 months old instead of 1. A child who is unvaccinated and attends the day care must stay home for 21 days since their last exposure, Wells said. Case count and hospitalization numbers in Texas have climbed steadily since the outbreak began, and spiked by 81 cases from March 28 to April 4, with 16 more people hospitalized in that time. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention met with Texas officials Monday to determine how many people it would send to West Texas to assist with the outbreak response, spokesman Jason McDonald said Monday. He expected a small team to arrive later this week, followed by a bigger group on the ground next week. The CDC said its first team was in the region from early March to April 1, withdrawing on-the-ground support days before a second child died in the outbreak.___AP reporter Amanda Seitz in Washington contributed to this report.

Last night, longtime ally John Oliver dedicated an entire episode of HBOs Last Week Tonight to calling out the right wings absolute fixation on transgender athletes. He started the show noting that, Even as the market crashed in the wake of Trumps tariffs, Fox News spent a lot of time on this He then cut [...]The post John Oliver Calls Out the Right Wings Absolute Fixation with Trans Athletes on Last Week Tonight first appeared on GLAAD.

White Lotus has been on the tip of everyones tongues for weeks now, with incest plot lines, nude Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Parker Poseys memeable dialogue taking over social media. But now that the season 3 finale has aired, showrunner Mike White is opening up about the show that is popular among the gays with some cheeky sexual innuendo for fans. Despite the third season of the popular dramedy drawing 6.2 million viewers a 30% bump from the shows previous record some fans have criticized the new season for getting off to a slow start.White disagrees and says they should get on board with the vibe of the show and enjoy the way he edges the audience, or they should get out of my bed.The pacing and the vibe it definitely gets under their skin, he said per Variety on the newest episode of the official White Lotus podcast on April 7.There was complaining about how theres no plot. That part I find weird. It never did part of me is just like bro, this is the vibe. Im world-building. If you dont want to go to bed with me then get out of my bed. Im edging you! Enjoy the edging, White said, defending his creative choices.He continued, If you dont want to be edged, then get out of my bed. Do you know what I mean? Dont be a bossy bottom. Get the f*ck out of my bed. Dont come home with me. Dont get naked in my bed. Get the f*ck out of my bed. Obviously something is going to happen.White isnt the only one talking openly about the show post-finale; Schwarzenegger admitted that he knew about the brotherly love scenes before joining the show, but never talked to White about his characters sexual orientation. "One of my audition scenes was the scene by the pool, when the two girls are interrogating me, saying they didn't force me to kiss my brother," Schwarzenegger told Variety. "I'm like, 'Yeah, you did,' And then they say, 'Well, we didn't make him jerk you off.' At the time, I didn't know if that was them messing with me, or if it had actually happened, until I booked the role. We didn't necessarily have conversations before that."For those who are already chomping at the bit for season 4, youre in luck because another season has already been greenly and will be set somewhere in Europe this time around. Plus, White, Schwarzenegger, and HBO CEO Casey Bloys have teased a potential all-stars season. For the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the crashing waves of rocks vernacular, but theres always more room for more murders at the White Lotus hotels, White said.

Madonna and Elton John shared a new photo of them together to declare that they've officially ended their infamous feud of several decades.On Monday, April 7, Madonna shared a new Instagram post that read:"We Finally Buried the Hatchet!!!I went to see Elton John perform on SNL this weekend!! WOW.I remembered when I was in high school I snuck out of the house one night to see Elton perform live in Detroit! It was an unforgettable performance that helped me understand the transformative power of music.Seeing him perform when I was in high school changed the course of my life. I had always felt like an outsider growing up and watching him on stage helped me to understand that it was OK to be different to stand out to take the road less traveled by. In fact, it was essential.Over the decades it hurt me to know that someone I admired so much shared his dislike of me publicly as an artist. I didn't understand it. I was told Elton John was the musical guest on SNL and I decided to go.I needed to go backstage and confront him. When I met him, the first thing out of his mouth was, "Forgive Me" and the wall between us fell down.Forgiveness is a powerful tool. Within minutes. We were hugging.Then he told me had written a song for me and he wanted to collaborate. It was like everything came full circle!!And you can tell everybody, This is Your Song [heart emojis]"See on InstagramThis peace treaty between John and Madge wasn't in anyone's bingo card for 2025, but pop music fans couldn't be happier about this update!This story is still developing

Mike White, creator, writer, and director of The White Lotus, has responded to critics of the shows season 3 pacing, addressing backlash from fans who complained about the seasons slower tempo. Although The White Lotus continues to be a fan favorite and a critical success, some viewers have voiced their frustration over what they deem horrible pacing and too slow storytelling in the thirdSource

Nature, Published online: 07 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01093-0Meet Aaron Leanhardt, a physicist-turned-hitting coordinator for the New York Yankees. Plus, the top US vaccine regulator was pressured to provide conspiracy-confirming data and the winners of this years Breakthrough Prizes.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam admitted for the first time last week that the 2022 trade for Watson was a failure. What's next for Cleveland and its QB?

Manchester United's post-season tour of Asia is needed to "drive revenue", according to chief executive Omar Berrada, after the club announced two extra fixtures at the end of the 2024-25 season.

President Donald Trump, left, greets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-04-08T17:23:57Z TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington this week for a hastily organized White House visit bringing a long list of concerns: Irans nuclear program. President Donald Trumps tariffs. The surging influence of rival Turkey in Syria. And the 18-month war in Gaza.Netanyahu appeared to leave Mondays meeting largely empty-handed a stark contrast with his triumphant visit two months ago. During an hourlong Oval Office appearance, Trump appeared to slap down, contradict or complicate each of Netanyahus policy prerogatives.On Tuesday, Netanyahu declared the meeting a success, calling it a very good visit and claiming successes on all fronts. But privately, the Israeli delegation felt it was a tough meeting, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Netanyahu didnt hear exactly what he wanted to hear, so he returns back home with very little, said Nadav Eyal, a commentator with the Yediot Ahronot daily, who added that the visit was still friendly, despite the disagreements. Netanyahus second pilgrimage to Washington under Trumps second term was organized at short notice and billed as an attempt to address the new U.S. tariff regime. But it came at a pivotal time in Middle East geopolitics. Israel restarted the war in Gaza last month, ending a Trump-endorsed ceasefire, and tensions with Iran are rising over its nuclear program. Netanyahu and his allies were thrilled with Trumps return to office given his strong support for Israel during his first term. This time around, Trump has not only nominated pro-Israel figures for key administration positions, he has abandoned the Biden administrations criticism of Israels conduct in Gaza and the West Bank, and of Netanyahus steps to weaken Israeli courts.Mondays meeting showed that while Trump remains sympathetic to Israel, Netanyahus relationship with the president during his second term is more complicated and unpredictable than he may have expected.Here is a look at where Trump and Netanyahu appear to have diverged. Netanyahu has long pushed for military pressure against IranWith Netanyahus strong encouragement, Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program. That deal, negotiated by the Obama administration, put curbs on Irans nuclear program. It was denigrated by Netanyahu because he said it did not go far enough to contain Iran or address Irans support for regional militant groups.Netanyahu has long maintained that military pressure was the best way to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Israel struck Iran last year in the countries first direct conflict ever. But it did not target Irans nuclear facilities, something Israel would likely need U.S. military assistance to do in order to strike targets buried deep underground.Trump has suggested, including on Monday, that the U.S. could take military action if Iran doesnt agree to negotiate. But his announcement Monday that talks would take place between the U.S. and Iran this weekend flew in the face of Netanyahus hawkish views. Netanyahu gave a tepid endorsement, noting that both leaders agree that Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. He said he would would favor a diplomatic agreement similar to Libyas deal in 2003 to destroy its nuclear facilities and allow inspectors unfettered access. However, it is not clear if Trump will set such strict conditions.Eyal said the announcement with Netanyahu by Trumps side was meant to show the transparency between the countries leadership. Netanyahu hoped for tariff relief and appeared to be rebuffedA day before Trumps so-called Liberation Day unleashed global tariffs on the world last week, Israel preemptively announced that it would eliminate all levies on U.S. goods. But that didnt spare Israeli products from being slapped with a 17% tariff by its largest trading partner.Netanyahu was summoned to Washington ostensibly to make Israels case against the levy. He was the first international leader to do so, in an encounter that may have set the stage for how other world leaders approach the tariffs. While Trump repeatedly praised the Israeli leader, he did not appear to budge on Israels share of the burden. Asked if he might change his mind, he said maybe not. He cited the billions of dollars the U.S. gives Israel in military assistance each year money that is seen as the bedrock of the U.S.-Israel relationship and an insurance policy for U.S. interests in the region. We give Israel $4 billion a year. Thats a lot, he said, as though to suggest Israel was already getting enough from the U.S., and congratulated Netanyahu on that achievement. Netanyahu was told to be reasonable on TurkeySince the fall of the Assad dynasty in Syria late last year, Israel and Turkey have been competing in the country over their separate interests there. Israel fears that Syrias new leadership, which has an Islamist past, will pose a new threat along its border. It has since taken over a buffer zone in Syrian territory and said it will remain there indefinitely until new security arrangements are made.Turkey has emerged as a key player in Syria, prompting concerns in Israel over the possibility of Turkey expanding its military presence inside the country. Netanyahu said Tuesday that Turkish bases in Syria would be a danger to Israel.Once strong regional partners, ties between Israel and Turkey have long been frosty and deteriorated further over the war in Gaza. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been an outspoken critic of the war, prompting angry reactions from Israeli officials.Netanyahu sought to hear support from his stalwart ally Trump on a country Israel perceives as increasingly hostile. Instead, Trump lavished praise on Erdogan for taking over Syria, positioned himself as a possible mediator between the countries and urged Netanyahu to be reasonable in his dealings with the country.Israel is not provided with a blank check here, said Udi Sommer, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations at Tel Aviv University. Theres no unconditional love here. It is contingent. It is contingent on Israel behaving a certain way.Trump wants the war in Gaza to endWhile both addressed the ongoing war in Gaza and the Israeli hostages who remain held there, the topic appeared to take a backseat to other issues.Netanyahu spoke of the hostages plight and an emerging deal to free them, as well as the need to end the evil tyranny of Hamas. Trump sympathized with the hostages and made another pitch for his plan to own Gaza and remove its Palestinian population, a once fringe idea in Israeli discourse that has now found acceptance among mainstream politicians, including Netanyahu.However, there were signs of differences on the horizon.Netanyahu broke the ceasefire last month and has been under major pressure from his governing allies to keep up the fighting until Hamas is crushed. He has appeared to be in no rush to end the war or bring home the remaining hostages.Trump, however, made it clear that hed like to see the hostages freed and for the war to end. And I think the war will stop at some point that wont be in the too distant future, he said. TIA GOLDENBERG Goldenberg is an Associated Press reporter and producer covering Israel and the Palestinian territories. She previously reported on East and West Africa from Nairobi. twitter mailto

The Supreme Court at sunset in Washington, Feb. 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)2025-04-08T16:13:03Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his administration WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked an order for the Trump administration to return to work thousands of federal employees who were let go in mass firings aimed at dramatically downsizing the federal government.The justices acted in the administrations emergency appeal of a ruling by a federal judge in California ordering that 16,000 probationary employees be reinstated while a lawsuit plays out because their firings didnt follow federal law.The effect of the high courts order will keep employees in six federal agencies on paid administrative leave for now. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson said they would have kept the judges order in place.Its the third time in less than a week that the justices have sided with the administration in its fight against federal judges whose orders have slowed President Donald Trumps agenda. The court also paused an order restoring grants for teacher training and lifted an order that froze deportations under an 18th century wartime law. But as with the earlier orders, the reach of Tuesdays order may be limited. A second lawsuit, filed in Maryland, also resulted in an order blocking the firings at those same six agencies, plus roughly a dozen more. But that order only applies in the 19 states and the District of Columbia that sued the administration. The Justice Department is separately appealing the Maryland order. At least 24,000 probationary employees have been terminated since Trump took office, the lawsuits claim, though the government has not confirmed that number. U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ruled that the terminations were improperly directed by the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director. He ordered rehiring at the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and the Treasury. His order came in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions and nonprofit organizations that argued theyd be affected by the reduced manpower.Alsup, who was nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton, expressed frustration with what he called the governments attempt to sidestep laws and regulations by firing probationary workers with fewer legal protections.He said he was appalled that employees were told they were being fired for poor performance despite receiving glowing evaluations just months earlier.The administration has insisted that the agencies themselves directed the firings and they have since decided to stand by those terminations, Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court.

As if we didnt already love Jenna Ortega enough, the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star is opening up about her late grandfathers fabulous past as a drag queen.In a recent interview with The Cut, Ortega spoke candidly about her career and the things in life that have inspired her and led her down the path to Hollywood. One of those influences, she believes, may have been a grandfather she never had the opportunity to meet."I kind of have the same instincts that he does," she said, referencing his love for performing.Her grandfather her mothers father was a drag performer who used the stage name "Daddy Warbucks." According to The Cut, he didnt come out until later in life, and used drag as a way to help support his family financially.This isnt the first time Ortega has spoken about him, although theres often more of a somber tone to the stories. After all, her grandfather died of complications from AIDS before she was even born."I never got the opportunity to meet him. And I dont want anybody else to have to go through that," she told Grumpy Magazine in 2018, per FandomWire.His legacy inspired the Wednesday star to become an ambassador for UNAIDS, a United Nations effort to fight against the AIDS epidemic through advocacy, prevention, and providing access to treatment."My mom has always told us how amazing you were," Ortega wrote on social media in 2017, addressing her grandfather. "Im sad we never got to you. You were very expressive, and loved to entertain, so I feel like I have a bit of you in me."

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01027-wTiger numbers in India are starting to rebound after decades of being perilously low. This recovery offers lessons for conserving other rare animals.

Nature, Published online: 08 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01055-6Funding for the National Science Foundation, which finances research at US bases on the icy continent, has already been reduced, and the agency faces steeper cuts soon.

Ten years ago, Jordan Spieth rushed through his lone coronation at the Masters. He still believes he can get another shot.

The Nuggets, in fourth place in the West, fired coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth on Tuesday.

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone gestures during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors, Friday, April 4, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vsquez)2025-04-08T17:48:54Z Michael Malone, who coached the Denver Nuggets to the NBA title in 2023 and has led the team to eight consecutive winning seasons, was fired Tuesday in a stunning move that comes with less than a week in the regular season.Also out: general manager Calvin Booth, whose contract will not be renewed. The Nuggets said David Adelman will become the coach for the remainder of the season.Josh Kroenke, the vice chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, said it is with no pleasure that the Nuggets made the change at coach.This decision was not made lightly and was evaluated very carefully, and we do it only with the intention of giving our group the best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA Championship and delivering another title to Denver and our fans everywhere, Kroenke said.The Nuggets are 47-32 this season with three games left but have dropped four consecutive games and are in a logjam of teams fighting for home-court advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs. Denver won the title in 2023 and lost a Game 7 at home in the Western Conference semifinals a year ago to Minnesota. The four-game slide comes despite Nuggets star Nikola Jokic a winner of three of the last four NBA MVP awards having a historic season, averaging 30 points, 12.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game. But even that wasnt good enough for Denver to enter the final week of the season certain of even having home court in Round 1. After the most recent loss, a 125-120 defeat to Indiana on Sunday, Jokic was asked his biggest concern with the team right now. I dont know. Maybe we just, maybe we just ... I dont know, actually, Jokic said.The Nuggets are hoping a shakeup might provide the answer.Malone had the fourth-longest tenure of any active NBA coach, behind San Antonios Gregg Popovich, Miamis Erik Spoelstra and Golden States Steve Kerr.Malone won 471 regular-season games in Denver, 39 more than Doug Moe for the franchises all-time coaching lead. While the timing of this decision is unfortunate, as Coach Malone helped build the foundation of our now championship level program, it is a necessary step to allow us to compete at the highest level right now. Championship level standards and expectations remain in place for the current season, and as we look to the future, we look forward to building on the foundations laid by Coach Malone over his record-breaking 10-year career in Denver, Kroenke said.Malone had consistent success in Denver. The Nuggets finished with losing records in his first two seasons and posted winning records in his next eight years with the club.This seasons postseason appearance will be the teams seventh in a row; it has not clinched a playoff berth yet this season but is assured of finishing no worse than in the play-in tournament.Starting with the first playoff appearance under Malone in 2019, the Nuggets got out of the first round six times in seven chances. They made the Western Conference finals in the Walt Disney World bubble in 2020 and then rolled to the championship by winning 16 of 20 playoff games in 2023. It is the second time a postseason-bound team has fired a coach in the last two weeks. Memphis parted ways with Taylor Jenkins late last month, replacing him with Tuomas Iisalo on an interim basis.Booth came to the Nuggets in 2017 as an assistant general manager and was promoted to GM in July 2020. He signed his most recent contract with the club in 2022.Kroenke credited Booth for helping put the final pieces in place for the roster that delivered Denver and our fans their first NBA championship.Calvins knowledge of the game, his passion for scouting, and his long history as a player and executive in the NBA helped lift our organization to new heights which we will continue moving forward, Kroenke said.The Nuggets play Wednesday at Sacramento.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba TIM REYNOLDS Reynolds is an Associated Press sports writer, based in South Florida. twitter mailto

Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrive at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)2025-04-08T18:10:34Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration is touting a Supreme Court ruling allowing it to resume deportations under the Alien Enemies Act as a major victory, but the immigration fight is far from over.The divided court found that President Donald Trump can use the 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador, a finding Trump called a GREAT DAY FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA! in a social media post. But the justices also decided people accused of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang have to get a chance to challenge their removals a finding their lawyers called an important victory. The legal landscape could be more challenging, though, since it appears the people being held will have to file individually and in the district where they are detained. For many, thats in Texas. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is also weighing another case against a Maryland man deported by mistake that could shed light on the fate of more than 100 men accused of being gang members who have already been sent to prison in El Salvador. Heres a look at whats next: The ruling doesnt let the deportations under the law resume right away The Supreme Courts ruling lifted a restraining order from a judge in the nations capital that had blocked the Trump administration from deporting people under the law. But it doesnt allow those deportations to start right away. The court said that the accused have to be given notice and reasonable time to try and convince a judge that they shouldnt be deported. The families of multiple people who have already been deported under the Alien Enemies Act say they are not gang members, and should not have been deported under the law. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Fox News that she expected future hearings to be held in Texas, and for judges to deal with each case individually rather than issue orders about the group as a whole. It will be a much smoother, simpler hearing, she said. Texas may not be the only venue, though. The American Civil Liberties Union sued Tuesday on behalf of two immigrants who are currently held in New York and say they have been wrongly labeled as Tren de Aragua gang members, putting them at risk of deportation to the prison. Many questions about Trumps use of the act remain unresolvedThe Supreme Courts ruling did not address the constitutionality of the act or the migrants claim that they dont fall within the category of people who can be deported under the law.Its also not clear how this ruling affects the more than 100 people who have already been sent to the El Salvador prison under the Alien Enemies Act without being given an opportunity to challenge their removals before the flights, which the court now says is necessary. The ruling didnt address what kind of recourse, if any, those migrants may be entitled to. In another case involving a man mistakenly deported to the El Salvador prison, the administration has said it has no way to get him back. That man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was not deported under the Alien Enemies Act, but the administration has conceded that he shouldnt have been sent to El Salvador because an immigration judge found he likely would face persecution by local gangs.Chief Justice John Roberts agreed Monday to pause a deadline for the Trump administration to bring Garcia back to the U.S. The case has become a flashpoint in Trumps fight with the courtsEven before the Supreme Courts ruling, the case had become one of the most contentious legal battles waged by the administration over Trumps sweeping executive actions. Trump has called for the judges impeachment, prompting a rare statement from Roberts to say that such action is not the appropriate response to disagreements over court rulings.Boasberg has been contemplating whether to hold any administration officials in contempt of court for ignoring his orders last month to turn around planes that were carrying the deportees to El Salvador. Boasberg had been expected to rule as early as this week on whether there are grounds to find anyone in contempt. During a hearing last week, he said the Trump administration may have acted in bad faith by trying to rush the migrants out of the country before a court could step in to block the deportations. Its not clear whether Boasberg would move forward with contempt proceedings after the Supreme Courts ruling vacating his order. A Justice Department lawyer told the judge Monday evening that the Supreme Courts decision eliminates the basis for any further action. The Justice Department has said the administration didnt violate the judges order, arguing it didnt apply to planes that had already left U.S. airspace by the time his command came down.___ Associated Press writer Cedar Attanasio in New York City contributed to this story. LINDSAY WHITEHURST Whitehurst covers the Supreme Court, legal affairs and criminal justice for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C. Past stops include Salt Lake City, New Mexico and Indiana. twitter mailto