Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia is joining the Department of Government Efficiency along with Elon Musk, the New York Times said on Thursday, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/airbnb-co-founder-joe-gebbia-042937422.html
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. could hit Moscow with sanctions and potential military action if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that guarantees Kyiv's long-term independence, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
"There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage" the U.S. could use against Putin, Vance said in an interview with the newspaper.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) aims to launch its artificial intelligence features in China as early as May, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Bloomberg reported that the company has several teams in the U.S. and China working to adapt its AI features- called Apple Intelligence- for Chinese markets, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The company will use its own AI models, with inputs from Chinese internet giants Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), the Bloomberg report said. Earlier reports said the iPhone maker was planning to tie up with the two for its China AI rollout.
Apple is aiming for a launch by as soon as May 2025.
The company’s latest round of iPhone models had launched without Apple’s AI features in China, as Apple was unable to find a local partner in time to comply with Chinese and U.S. regulations.
Under U.S. law, OpenAI- Apple’s AI partner for regions outside China- is not allowed to operate in China.
The company has largely lagged global rivals such as Samsung (KS:005930) in incorporating AI features into its flagship devices.
Apple is also grappling with steadily declining smartphone sales in China- a major market- as it faces heightened competition from local players such as Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF) and Huawei.
Alibaba and Baidu had also recently revealed advanced versions of their AI models, as they rode a wave of optimism over China’s AI capabilities after the release of DeepSeek in late-January.
We are now firmly in the lawfare stage of the second Trump presidency, with Democrats filing a flurry of lawsuits to hinder the new administration's agenda until a strong ruling from the Supreme Court eventually sets precedent.
In the latest legal move, a group of 14 states have sued Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, alleging that the authority granted to the billionaire and his team at DOGE is unconstitutional. The states, including Arizona, Michigan and Rhode Island, have taken aim at efforts to dramatically reduce the size of the federal workforce, including dismantling entire agencies, as well as their access to sensitive data.
"The founders of this country would be outraged that, 250 years after our nation overthrew a king, the people of this country—many of whom have fought and died to protect our freedoms—are now subject to the whims of a single unelected billionaire," said Arizona AG Kris Mayes in a statement reported by NBC News.
When @DOGE was first announced I was mildly optimistic. However I underestimated how fast they would move uncovering waste and fraud.
— Edward Dowd (@DowdEdward) February 14, 2025
Clearly the #DeepState was caught unprepared.
This is like something out of a maneuver warfare manual.
The lawsuit argues that Trump violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution by creating DOGE - an unofficial government agency, without congressional approval, and for granting Musk "sweeping power" without the advice or consent of the Senate through a confirmation hearing.
"President Trump has delegated virtually unchecked authority to Mr. Musk without proper legal authorization from Congress and without meaningful supervision of his activities," reads the complaint. "As a result, he has transformed a minor position that was formerly responsible for managing government websites into a designated agent of chaos without limitation and in violation of the separation of powers."
The states seek a court order blocking Musk from making changes to government funding, canceling contracts, making personnel decisions, and more.
DOGE moving towards $100 billion in savings pic.twitter.com/oTNo5mDYqO
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) February 14, 2025
According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the lawsuit is nothing more than a "continuation of the weaponization of justice against President Trump," adding "The White House will continue to fight these battles in court, and we expect to be vindicated."
Another Thursday lawsuit from a group of government employees sought to block Musk and DOGE from accessing sensitive data and removing federal employees until "Musk is properly appointed pursuant to the U.S. constitution."
That lawsuit came on the heels of NY Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other attorneys general suing the Trump administration to block DOGE from accessing personal data housed in the Treasury department, calling it "unconstitutional." A federal judge temporarily granted that request, ruling that the states "will face irreparable harm in the absence of injuctive relief."
Meanwhile, 22 state attorneys general were separately granted a request to halt an effort by the Trump administration to make large cuts to federal research agencies.
Banana republic lately?
Here's what's cooking in the Democrat cauldron:
Democrats in Congress are growing louder with threats to force a shutdown in March to put the brakes on President Trump’s and Elon Musk’s efforts to overhaul the federal government by freezing spending and dismantling agencies.
A growing number of Democratic lawmakers think the March 14 deadline for funding the government gives them the best leverage to pressure Trump and Musk to back off their plans to pick apart the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other agencies.
But they are divided over how hard to push the threat of a shutdown, fearing Democrats might get blamed for a funding lapse that would furlough hundreds of thousands of federal workers and interrupt government services across the country.
Democrats say they traditionally try to do everything to avoid shutdowns but now warn one may be inevitable if Trump doesn’t rein in Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“I never support a shutdown, but I can see where it could happen in this situation. It’s an extreme situation,” Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) said.
So let's get this straight: They want to shut down the government, to protest Trump for ... shutting down the government.
And we thought Joe Biden's exit meant no more third world idiocies.
Aside from the stupidity of the tactics, they put themselves squarely in the position of defending the massive waste and fraud that Elon Musk's DOGE team has encountered under just the USAID banner, and now a host of other agencies -- Education, Defense, Health and Human Services, the arts -- prompting some serious consideration for the shutdown of USAID which is more waste and fraud than actual aid.
That's right, they are defending fraud and anyone nosing around to find that fraud. They want the fraud to go on and everyone can see it.
We know why they're doing that -- they're the exclusive recipients of the gravy train. A Polish official reportedly said that at least half of the USAID package to Ukraine was laundered back to Democrats.
U.S law requires that USAID funds cannot be disbursed unless the President certifies they won't be used for corrupt purposes. It is the President's authority to manage foreign policy-not the House Democrats. Now we know that most of them have redirected taxpayer money into their… https://t.co/sG6jTWPs9x
— V Francis (@realtymeeting) February 11, 2025
The DOGE project is popular with the public, too.
According to Newsweek:
According to the latest Trafalgar Group and Insider Advantage poll, conducted between February 7-9, 49 percent approve of the job Musk is doing at DOGE, while 44 percent disapprove
The poll also shows positive results for Trump. Some 54 percent approve of the job the president is doing, while 45 percent disapprove. The poll surveyed 1,321 voters with a margin of error of 2.98 percent.
It's popular not only because nobody likes waste and fraud, or those six figure salaries being made by all the USAID recipients in their receiving NGOs, as Americans suffer under Bidenflation.
Other than these Democrats making bank from it.
Is that really the hill they want to die on? That their rice bowls need to be filled with USAID or there won't be any government at all. What a hill to die on.
It gets worse for them, though, when the prospect of their getting their wish for a full government shutdown comes into focus.
Suppose the government really did shut down as they wanted. Maybe they can locate enough RINOs to join them on the promise of more goodies through some NGO or other and get their shutdown passed.
What would happen then?
Other than in a few areas held hostage, nothing.
There wouldn't be any difference with out without the gargantuan government they champion. That's the way it was with past government shutdowns, and probably more so with this one as the government has grown to gigantic proportions under Joe Biden. Nothing. Same as with Twitter when Musk laid off 80% of its employees and ... nobody noticed any difference.
A shutdown, in fact, might be good for President Trump's DOGE project, serving as a test run of what the government would look like without all of its x, y, or z agencies. If there's no difference between shutdowns and non-shutdowns, then it's an easy decision to shut them down for good, as will have the added benefit of already been tested for repercussions as if it were a pilot or beta project. They're giving him ideas.
Musk is probably licking his chops at the prospect.
Make his day.
Careful for what you wish for. You have no weapons. The shutdown of government idea is so bad it might just finish Democrats off as a political force for good.
Their party will go the way of the dodo. That works for us.
As a tool, tariffs may not be to everyone's taste, but they are a very effective policy instrument in President Trump's hands.
Trump knows how to use them.
Which is why we see this in Mexico, according to Border Report:
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A Mexican Senate commission has approved the entry of members of the U.S. Army’s 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) into the country starting this week.
The Americans will come fully armed as part of a mission to train the Mexican Navy’s InfanterÃa de Marina (marine infantry) on conventional and non-conventional types of combat.
The training takes place from Feb. 17 through March 30 at the Luis Carpizo naval facility in the state of Campeche, according to Sen. Alejandro Moreno Cardenas, president of the Mexican Senate’s Naval Ministry Commission.
That's a dramatic change from previous hesitant attitudes towards hosting U.S. troops on Mexican soil. The Mexican War that ended in 1848, and the Pershing expeditions of the early 20th century pretty well have made it a no-go idea in most Mexican power circles until recently.
But that was before President Trump, who seems to have persuaded Mexico's leftist president, Claudia Sheinbaum, to go along with the idea and take it to her country's legislature, which gave the A-O.K. by a unanimous vote. That was an impressive persuasion.
Border Report says it was because of the threat of tariffs:
Sheinbaum and President Donald Trump earlier this month reached a deal to postpone crushing 25% tariffs on Mexican exports to the United States in exchange for Mexico stepping up its fight against the drug cartels flooding America with the deadly illicit drug fentanyl.
Mexico, which has the U.S. as its top trading partner, really, really, really doesn't want President Trump to impose those threatened 25% tariffs, and Trump has been effective in securing a deal to ensure that they not be.
But it was probably more than tariffs that made Mexico's left-wing leaders amenable to the idea.
According to Latin Times:
In fact, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned earlier this month that the U.S. reserves the right to move against cartels in Mexico if the Trump administration believes the country is not doing enough on its end.
"We want them to secure their own territory and sovereignty, but we reserve the right – should there not be an ability to police international and violent cartels – to protect our own sovereignty as well. We hope Mexico will step up. We expect they will," Hegseth said.
Asked for specifics, Hegseth said it would be "silly" to tip his hand, according to Border Report. He added that troops' current mission lies in curbing unlawful immigration into the country.
Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, echoed the message, saying reining in on cartels would be "a great gift for the country of Mexico." Homan said such an outcome would mean "less journalists assassinated, less judges, less politicians being assassinated." "It would be a much safer country. That would be historic," he added.
Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office moving toward designating Mexican drug cartels and other Latin American criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
That must have concentrated their minds.
It would be interesting to know what kind of conversations went on in the Mexican embassy in Washington when this sort of talk dribbled out.
It's telling that the Green Berets are going to be training Mexico's naval infantry, or marines. Those troops tend to be saved for special missions because Mexico City believes the army and police forces are riddled with cartel informants, but these naval troops are special, viewed as far more aloof and untainted by such problems.
It's not the first time the Green Berets have gone in to train -- it's been reported that there were 11 such missions, but I don't recall of hearing any on Joe Biden's watch -- it's most likely that they occurred under President Trump's first term, with no problems reported.
Obviously, Trump has put the hammer to them, skillfully putting the cartels on the terrorism list, as leverage to get the cooperation from Mexico that the U.S. needs on drugs and illegal migrants flowing over the border.
Mexico's cartels -- about five or six were named to the bad list -- may not seem to be terrorists the way Hamas is, but as utterly depraved criminals, they are organized the same way big terrorist organizations are, and both are narco-trafficking organizations, as I recall Israeli terrorism expert Rachel Ehrenfeld once told me. All terrorism is narcoterrorism, she said, which would justify putting them on the list.
Training Mexico's best troops with the Green Berets in order to battle cartels isn't the only activity seen to eradicate the migrant-trafficking cartels.
Border Report noted that Mexico seems to be allowing U.S. surveillance missions close to the Baja and Mexican riviera coasts, too:
Mexican news media, however, earlier this month reported the presence of an alleged American spy plane off the coasts of Baja California and possibly Sinaloa. The Mexican government denied any unauthorized air incursions.
Stewart said the Mexican government may have allowed the presence of such an airplane so it could pass on intelligence to its law enforcement agencies.
“That may be an attempt to increase signals intelligence – that plane is a vacuum, it sucks up all communications – but I think it would be intelligence to pass to the Mexican marines and not necessarily in preparation for a U.S. airstrike or something,” Stewart said.
That suggests seriousness of purpose, and hopes that the training is going to lead somewhere, not just amount to training. It may well be that after a decade of doing very little to battle Mexico's cartels, (other than "hugs," as Mexico's previous president described his anti-cartel mission), the Mexican government has been goaded into taking them seriously.
That would be a huge gift to the people of northern Mexico, who suffer the most from cartel violence.
What a gift that would be to what Mexico City contemptuously refers to as the carne asada belt up north, which is Mexico's most economically productive region.
MAGA's reach has potential to benefit quite a bit more than just the U.S. if all goes well with this unprecedented will to action. Trump is getting results.
A better question would be: what was the need for this exhibit to exist in the first place? It seems a little...cult-ish...even for a place where the highest aspiration is to be a 5th grade field trip stop. But we digress.
“In the past 48 hours, HHS canceled 62 contract[s] worth $182 million. These contracts were entirely for administrative expenses — none touched any healthcare programs. This included terminating a $168,000 contract for an Anthony Fauci exhibit at the NIH Museum,” DOGE wrote on its X account this week.
The cut is part of more than $180 million in cuts being made, according to the New York Post.
The Post wrote this week that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had planned to spend $168,000 on an exhibit honoring Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring, Maryland, set for completion by July.
Now where will we take the kids for summer vacation?
However, the project was scrapped following pressure from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which claims to have saved taxpayers billions through similar cost-cutting measures, though some face legal challenges.
Fauci led the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, gaining prominence for his work on AIDS and later as a key figure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His handling of the pandemic, including support for strict mitigation measures, drew sharp criticism, particularly from conservatives. He also faced controversy over his congressional testimony about U.S. funding for gain-of-function research abroad. Emails revealed that a Fauci aide helped reinstate a grant for EcoHealth Alliance’s work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, with Fauci allegedly informed via a “secret back channel.”
Fauci denied involvement, stating he didn’t “recall any specific interaction.”
Last month, former President Donald Trump ended funding for Fauci’s post-retirement security detail, stating, “You can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life because you work for government.”
Before leaving office, President Joe Biden controversially issued a pre-emptive pardon for Fauci - we're sure for no reason at all - amid concerns he could face prosecution under a Trump administration.
In addition to canceling the exhibit, NIH announced reforms to its grant process to reduce administrative overhead, aiming to save $4 billion annually. “Last year, $9B of the $35B NIH granted for research was used for administrative overhead,” NIH stated on X. “Today, NIH lowered the maximum indirect cost rate research institutions can charge the government to 15%,” significantly less than the 60%+ charged by some institutions.
