Author: potus

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., and Omead Afshar, left, leave an event at the site of the company’s manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China, on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019.Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesTesla CEO Elon Musk has fired Omead Afshar, the automaker’s vice president of manufacturing and operations, CNBC has confirmed, following declines in car sales in key markets this year.Afshar, who reported directly to Musk, led a team of more than a half-dozen high level employees, according to internal organizational charts viewed by CNBC.Forbes first reported that Afshar was dismissed by Musk. Bloomberg reported earlier…

As the dust continues to settle after the U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, which were meant to destroy Tehran’s ability to build nuclear weapons but did not apparently succeed entirely, one question looms above all: What did the United States gain from walking away from the nuclear deal with Iran seven years ago? The Trump administration insists that the strikes, including 14 massive “bunker-buster” bombs dropped on three key installations, completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear program. Yet a preliminary assessment by the U.S. intelligence community concluded that the attacks did little lasting damage to the Iranian facilities and set the…

A woman walking past the logo of U.S. big data analytics software company Palantir Technologies during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty ImagesSix people were taken into custody by police on Thursday as a group blocked the entrance to the New York office of Palantir to protest the tech company’s work for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the Israeli military and other efforts.More than 30 people participated in the protest, according to Planet Over Profit, the group that organized the demonstration in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.The New York Police…

(The Center Square) – Republicans’ chances of passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by next week have narrowed considerably, with the Senate parliamentarian ruling out several Medicaid-changing provisions that held hundreds of billions in savings.The House-passed OBBBA, a multitrillion-dollar budget reconciliation bill fulfilling President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, has already undergone Senate committee revisions and is currently under the parliamentarian’s review.While the core elements of the House’s bill remain intact – extending the 2017 tax cuts, boosting national defense resources, and reforming entitlement programs like Medicaid and food stamps – Senate Republicans made significant changes.One of the more controversial…

(The Center Square) – A new report finds that cuts in the federal budget bill could affect hundreds of thousands on Medicaid and other federal marketplace plans in Michigan.Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has joined other Democrats in opposing the cuts, which are a part of the Republican-sponsored One Big Beautiful Bill Act.“Everyone deserves access to quality, affordable health care regardless of their income or work status,” Whitmer said. “Right now, Republicans in Congress are rushing through dangerous cuts to critical health insurance programs that would threaten access to health care for 11 million people.”The report from Michigan’s Department of Insurance and Financial…

Jeremy Allaire, CEO and co-founder of Circle Internet Group, the issuer of one of the world’s biggest stablecoins, and Circle Internet Group co-founder Sean Neville react as they ring the opening bell, on the day of the company’s IPO, in New York City, U.S., June 5, 2025.Brendan McDermid | ReutersStablecoin issuer Circle resumed its rally on Thursday after a brief pullback this week.Shares were last higher by 8%, after losing about 15% earlier over the past two days amid heightened post-IPO volatility and as investors weigh speculation around crypto regulation and the upcoming Fed rate decision.With Circle still hot off…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on the House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena Thursday to Anthony Bernal, a senior aide to former first lady Jill Biden, as part of their rapidly expanding investigation into former President Joe Biden’s mental fitness while in office.The subpoena signed by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the Republican Oversight chairman, requires Bernal to appear for a deposition on July 16. It came after several weeks of back-and-forth with Bernal’s lawyer over the timing of a voluntary interview. “Given your close connection with both former President Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden, the Committee sought to…

(The Center Square) – South Carolina and other states can bar taxpayer dollars from the federal Medicaid program from going to Planned Parenthood for abortion services, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday.In Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, justices ruled 6-3 in favor of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, paving the way for other states to follow in removing Planned Parenthood from their Medicaid programs.McMaster’s 2018 executive order prevents clinics who provide abortion services from receiving reimbursements through Medicaid.“Payment of taxpayer funds to abortion clinics, for any purpose, results in the subsidy of abortion and the denial of the right…

(The Center Square) – In today’s edition of Illinois in Focus Daily, The Center Square Editor Greg Bishop delves into the latest U.S. Census data showing Illinois leading the nation in the rate of decline of people 18 and under as older populations increases. Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski shares his perspective of the demographics. Bishop also talks live with Stephanie Trussell, a Republican running for the 42nd Illinois House District. As the former Republican Lt. Governor candidate in 2022, Trussell provides her thoughts on Gov. J.B. Pritzker announcing a bid for a third term as governor. Finally, Bishop shares recent comments from…

Marc Benioff, Chairman & CEO of Salesforce, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 22nd, 2025. Gerry Miller | CNBCSalesforce is accelerating its use of artificial intelligence in automating workloads, according to CEO Marc Benioff.”All of us have to get our head around this idea that AI could do things, that before, we were doing, and we can move on to do higher value work,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang, noting that the technology currently accounts for about 30% to 50% of the company’s work.Technology companies are hunting for…