When President Donald Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency, its mandate was to modernize “federal technology and software.” It has done a lot more than that. But Wednesday, New York Times journalists Ryan Mac and Hamed Aleaziz reported that Elon Musk’s outfit is doing something entirely new: building a...
Republicans Weigh Tax Increase on Wealthy in Trump Agenda Bill
Republican lawmakers are considering allowing tax rates to increase for high-income earners as part of President Donald Trump's agenda bill, according to an NBC News report. This potential move, driven partly by a need to limit deficit spending and fund other priorities like immigration enforcement and military spending, marks a...
More Than 40% of Puerto Rico Customers Without Power After Island-Wide Blackout
(Reuters) - Nearly half of the homes and businesses in Puerto Rico that receive electricity from the commonwealth's main utility were still without power on Thursday, a day after a widespread blackout struck the island, Luma Energy said in a statement. Hospitals, airports and prisons were among the structures still...
Popular AIs Head-to-Head: OpenAI Beats DeepSeek on Sentence-Level Reasoning
ChatGPT and other AI chatbots based on large language models are known to occasionally make things up, including scientific and legal citations. It turns out that measuring how accurate an AI model's citations are is a good way of assessing the model's reasoning abilities. An AI model "reasons" by breaking...
Al Sharpton Calls Meeting With Target’s CEO Amid DEI Backlash ‘Very Constructive and Candid’
NEW YORK — Target's chief executive officer met Thursday with the Rev. Al Sharpton, whose civil rights organization has encouraged consumers to avoid U.S. retailers that scaled backed their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Sharpton called the meeting with Target CEO Brian Cornell "very constructive and candid," according to an...
Former Pentagon Spokesman Tied to Online DEI Purge Was Asked to Resign
WASHINGTON — Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot was asked to resign this week, a senior defense official told The Associated Press on Thursday, in the latest shakeup for the Defense Department following firings and other changes under President Donald Trump. Ullyot was one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's initial hires...
Average US Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage Climbs to 6.83%, Highest Level Since Late February
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. climbed to its highest level in eight weeks, a setback for home shoppers in the midst of the spring homebuying season. The rate rose to 6.83% from 6.62% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the...
More Than 1,000 International Students Have Had Visas or Legal Status Revoked
WASHINGTON — More than 1,000 international students have had their visas or legal status revoked in recent weeks, and several have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, arguing the government denied them due process when it suddenly took away their permission to be in the U.S. The actions by the...
Protest Planned in Clovis Targets the Trump Administration
A protest of President Donald Trump and his policies is planned for Saturday at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Shaw and Clovis avenues, according to a flyer circulating online. The demonstration is organized under the “Hands Off!” banner, which calls for the protection of key social programs and policies....
The Kings Agree to Hire Scott Perry as General Manager, AP Source Says
SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings took little time to hire a new general manager, agreeing to a deal with Scott Perry just hours after parting ways with Monte McNair. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday that Perry will take over for McNair and try...