Business Sentiment
Sentiment Legend:
Negative < 44
Mixed 46-54
Positive > 56
Kseniya Petrova was returning to the US from a trip to France when officials revoked her visa and detained her
A Russian scientist from Harvard Medical School has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to her friends and colleagues.
On Wednesday, Cora Anderson, a friend and colleague of Kseniya Petrova, shared the news of Petrova's detention on Facebook, saying the Russian scientist arrived at Boston Logan international airport on 16 February from a trip to France when she was stopped by US authorities.
According to Anderson, authorities revoked Petrova's visa and told her that she was to be deported to Russia. In response, Petrova said that she feared political persecution and was instead sent by authorities to a detention facility, Anderson said.
“We had no idea initially what had happened to her since she was unable to send any messages or make any calls upon detention. She was moved to a facility in Vermont at first and then Louisiana where she is now. Where she is now is a jail that has space rented by ICE and is kept in a room with over 80 other female detainees,” Anderson wrote in her Facebook post.
“Despite having lawyers and the fact she did not do anything illegal in the first place, she is still there, and we have no idea when she will be paroled (or released, however simply released is unlikely),” she added.
Speaking to the independent Russian news outlet Agentstvo, Petrova's friend Andrei Shevtsov said that Petrova was detained after undeclared frog embryo samples were discovered in her luggage.
Another colleague of Petrova who spoke anonymously to Mediazona, another independent Russian news outlet, said that Petrova was carrying a “sizable box with several cold blocks, which was clearly impossible to hide”. Petrova's colleague added that she may have accidentally made a mistake while filling out the US customs declaration form.
According to a LinkedIn post by Petrova from seven months ago which the independent news outlet the Insider reviewed, Petrova pointed to a 2024 study which shed light on molecular pathways that orchestrate meiotic progression in frogs.
A GoFundMe page set up by Anderson for Petrova said that the researcher was hired to work for Harvard Medical School and had entered the US on a work visa. Anderson did not specify which work visa category Petrova was under. She said that Petrova is “supported in applying for a new visa” but added that it is a “multi-month process during which she will not be able to work thus not collect a paycheck”.
Reports of Petrova's detention come just weeks after a French scientist was denied entry in the US this month after US immigration officers searched his phone and found messages critical of Donald Trump.
Also earlier this month, Canadian citizen Jasmine Mooney was detained by US authorities and was held by ICE for two weeks before being released. In another case, a German tourist, 29-year-old tattoo artist Jessica Brösche, spent six weeks in detention including eight days in solitary confinement after she was arrested at the Mexican border on 18 February.
In recent weeks, federal authorities have detained a handful of other university students and researchers – including green card holders – who have expressed Palestinian solidarity amid Israel's deadly war on Gaza. Earlier this week, 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, was detained by masked federal officials in dramatic footage that has caused widespread outrage.
Immigration officials also detained Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil – a green card holder – earlier this month in front of his pregnant wife, Noor, a US citizen. Other students detained by immigration officials include Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, after the Department of Homeland Security accused him of having ties to Hamas.
Subscribe Now! Get features like
OpenAI's latest image generation tool sparked a viral trend of Studio Ghibli-style renderings, flooding social media with cartoons of pets, families, and famous landmarks or events reflecting the work of legendary auteur and animator Hayao Miyazaki -- only for the AI company to restrict access to Plus and Pro subscribers, within 24 hours.
By Wednesday night, social media timelines had transformed into vibrant galleries of whimsical imagery as users rushed to experiment with OpenAI's newest image generation capabilities.
By Thursday, many users found their creative endeavors met with rejection messages. OpenAI had begun blocking requests from ChatGPT accounts which were still on the free tier for images in the “style of Ghibli” and some other artists — a swift response to concerns about creative rights that demonstrated the precarious balance between innovation and ethical responsibility in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
The viral sensation highlighted a significant evolution for ChatGPT as it competes in the increasingly crowded AI chatbot market. Image generation isn't unique to OpenAI's offering — competitors such as xAI's Grok and Google Gemini already feature similar capabilities — but the quality and precision of GPT-4o's creations potentially set a benchmark that was evident by how popular it became.
“GPT-4o image generation excels at accurately rendering text, precisely following prompts, and leveraging 4o's inherent knowledge base and chat context—including transforming uploaded images or using them as visual inspiration,” OpenAI said in its update documentation.
The tool's distinctive strength lies in its granular understanding of complex prompts. While “other systems struggle with around 5-8 objects,” according to OpenAI, GPT-4o can handle requests featuring up to 20 different elements with remarkable accuracy. This precision stems from extensive human labelling of training data, creating what the company describes as a “tighter binding of objects to their traits and relations” that allows for unprecedented control.
To create these images, users simply upload a photo or describe a scene with text prompts such as “Visualise this photo into a Studio Ghibli-style anime illustration with soft textures, warm colours, and whimsical details.” Within seconds, GPT-4o generates an image that captures the essence of the Oscar-winning Miyazaki's signature aesthetic — soft colour palettes, detailed natural settings, and lush backgrounds reminiscent of films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle and The Wind Rises.
The swift Ghibli-style generations captured the tenuous relationship today between technological innovation and creative rights. That this emerged around Studio Ghibli's aesthetic makes for a more striking capture of this challenge: the Japanese animation house occupies a unique position in global cinema — transcending both the animation genre and its cultural origins to achieve a rare universality, from mainstream culture to those with more nuanced and niche appreciation of the arts.
When Disney conquered Western animation with optimistic fairy tales, Miyazaki and his collaborators crafted narratives addressing environmental destruction, pacifism, and female agency without simplistic moralising. Each meticulously hand-drawn frame represents countless hours of human artistry — precisely the kind of creative labour that raises thorny questions about AI's relationship to original artistic expression.
This isn't the first time style transformation tools have captured public imagination. In 2016, the Prisma app gained rapid popularity for its ability to apply artistic filters inspired by painters like Pablo Picasso and Edvard Munch. The iOS version was downloaded 7.5 million times in its debut week, with the Android release achieving 1.7 million downloads on its first day — impressive figures in the pre-AI boom era.
However, OpenAI's latest technology's impressive realism also raised concerns about potential misuse. To address this, OpenAI confirms all image generations will adhere to C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) metadata guidelines, allowing viewers to distinguish between AI-generated and authentic images.
“What we'd like to aim for is that the tool doesn't create offensive stuff unless you want it to, in which case within reason it does,” said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. “As we talk about in our model spec, we think putting this intellectual freedom and control in the hands of users is the right thing to do, but we will observe how it goes and listen to society.”
OpenAI is particularly mindful of artistic rights following previous controversies and lawsuits. “We're respecting of the artists' rights in terms of how we do the output, and we have policies in place that prevent us from generating images that directly mimic any living artists' work,” says Brad Lightcap, COO of OpenAI.
This commitment appears to have motivated the company's swift response to the Ghibli-style trend. When questioned by news reporters about the restrictions, OpenAI explained that they had “added a refusal which triggers when a user attempts to generate an image in the style of a living artist.”
The latest ChatGPT update represents a significant transition from text-only or externally dependent image generation tools to fully integrated multimodal systems. It also reflects the accelerating pace of AI development, with companies racing to enhance their offerings. Google's Imagen 3 model powers Gemini's image generation capabilities across web and smartphone apps, while xAI's Grok 3 has included image generation since early 2025.
OpenAI initially intended to make the new image generation capabilities available across all subscription tiers, but the overwhelming demand has forced a change of plans. “Roll-out to our free tier is unfortunately going to be delayed for a while,” Altman confirmed. For now, only ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Pro subscribers will maintain access to these features.
Hundreds of people asked to leave their homes amid states of emergency and out-of-state responders battling blazes
At least a half-dozen large wildfires continued to burn in the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday, leading to states of emergency and evacuations as firefighters deployed from other parts of the US to help bring the blazes under control.
In North Carolina, progress was being made in containing two of the largest wildfires burning in the mountains, but officials warned that fire danger remained from dry and windy conditions.
The news was worse in South Carolina, where two fires nearly doubled in size on Wednesday.
Hundreds of people have been asked to leave their homes in the two states. Wednesday's dry weather led to several new fires in western North Carolina and prompted the state's governor, Josh Stein, to declare a state of emergency in 34 western counties. At least nine fires were active in that part of the state, officials said.
The so-called Black Cove complex fire is currently the highest-priority wildfire in the US, according to an update from the North Carolina department of agriculture, with hundreds of firefighters working to battle the flames. States such as Oregon have already sent dozens of firefighters to assist with the efforts, deploying an additional 11 people on Wednesday.
Acres burned
US wildfires are measured in terms of acres. While the size of a wildfire doesn't necessarily correlate to its destructive impact, acreage provides a way to understand a fire's footprint and how quickly it has grown.
There are 2.47 acres in a hectare, and 640 acres in a square mile, but this can be hard to visualise. Here are some easy comparisons: one acre equates to roughly the size of an American football field. London's Heathrow airport is about 3,000 acres. Manhattan covers roughly 14,600 acres, while Chicago is roughly 150,000 acres, and Los Angeles is roughly 320,000 acres.
Megafire
A megafire is defined by the National Interagency Fire Center as a wildfire that has burned more than 100,000 acres (40,000 hectares).
Containment level
A wildfire's containment level indicates how much progress firefighters have made in controlling the fire. Containment is achieved by creating perimeters the fire can't move across. This is done through methods such as putting fire retardants on the ground, digging trenches, or removing brush and other flammable fuels.
Containment is measured in terms of the percentage of the fire that has been surrounded by these control lines. A wildfire with a low containment level, such as 0% or 5%, is essentially burning out of control. A fire with a high level of containment, such as 90%, isn't necessarily extinguished but rather has a large protective perimeter and a rate of growth that is under control.
Evacuation orders and warnings
Evacuation warnings and orders are issued by officials when a wildfire is causing imminent danger to people's life and property. According to the California office of emergency services, an evacuation warning means that it's a good idea to leave an area or get ready to leave soon. An evacuation order means that you should leave the area immediately.
Red flag warning
A red flag warning is a type of forecast issued by the National Weather Service that indicates when weather conditions are likely to spark or spread wildfires. These conditions typically include dryness, low humidity, high winds and heat.
Prescribed burn
A prescribed burn, or a controlled burn, is a fire that is intentionally set under carefully managed conditions in order to improve the health of a landscape. Prescribed burns are carried out by trained experts such as members of the US Forest Service and Indigenous fire practitioners. Prescribed burns help remove flammable vegetation and reduce the risk of larger, more catastrophic blazes, among other benefits.
Prescribed burning was once a common tool among Native American tribes who used “good fire” to improve the land, but was limited for much of the last century by a US government approach based on fire suppression. In recent years, US land managers have returned to embracing the benefits of prescribed burns, and now conduct thousands across the country every year.
So far no one has been hurt in the fires, which have burned more than 20 sq miles in mostly rugged, remote forests and the popular state park that includes Table Rock Mountain. Only a few dozen structures have been damaged.
But the fires are burning in an area that was hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September. Fed by dry conditions, the millions of fallen trees from that storm have become a tinderbox, providing fuel for the wildfires and hindering firefighters' use of logging roads and paths.
Forestry officials were worried after all those trees came down during Helene. It's not just the fuel they create – they also hinder firefighters' movement.
“It is nearly impossible to get through this stuff. We've got about five bulldozers, an excavator and saw crews to open this up and clean this,” Toby Cox, the firefighter in charge of the Table Rock fire, said about a fire break in a video briefing on Thursday morning.
Six months ago, Eric Young packed up his cats and left his home in Transylvania county, North Carolina, after floods and winds from Helene knocked out power, water and cell service. On Wednesday, the fires in nearby South Carolina forced them all out again.
A retired environmental educator who moved there from Long Island a few years ago, he lost his car and a heater when his driveway and crawl space were inundated in September.
Sign up to Headlines US
Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning
after newsletter promotion
Now he is at a friend's home in Charlotte, trying to keep a sense of humor about the absurdity of floodwaters followed so soon by flames.
“I thought it was nirvana here – never get anything but severe thunderstorms, the weather is temperate, very nice,” he said. “I didn't know I'd be gut-punched twice in six months.”
Wildfires are unusual in the Carolinas, but not unheard of. The Great Fire of 1898 burned about 4,700 sq miles (12,175 sq km) in the two states, an area roughly the size of Connecticut, said David Easterling, the director of the technical support unit at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Spring is typically when blazes happen, according to Kathie Dello, North Carolina's state climatologist.This season the Blue Ridge Mountains are dry, having received only about two-thirds of the normal amount of rainfall in the last six months since Hurricane Helene. March has been full of sunny, dry, windy days.
There is rain in the forecast for the weekend, but it isn't the kind of soaking downpour that can knock a fire out on its own, said the National Weather Service meteorologist Ashley Rehnberg in Greer, South Carolina.
“Hopefully that will at least calm things down briefly,” Rehnberg said.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that he would speak with Us President Donald Trump in the coming days after Mr Trump announced 25% tariffs on auto imports.
Mr Carney, who has not spoken with Mr Trump since becoming Canada's new leader nearly two weeks ago, said that the US president reached out on Wednesday night to schedule a call.
“We will be speaking soon, certainly in the course of the next day or two,” Mr Carney said.
Mr Carney said that Mr Trump has to respect Canada's sovereignty.
“That's not much to ask, but apparently it's a lot for him,” he said.
Mr Trump has declared a trade war on Canada and continues to call for the US' northern neighbour to become the 51st US state, a position that has infuriated Canadians.
Mr Carney was sworn in as Canada's new prime minister on March 14.
It is unusual for a US president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office.
Mr Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau as Canada's leader and the head of the Liberal Party, is at the start of a five-week campaign after calling an early election for April 28.
The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Mr Trump declared a trade war and challenged Canada's sovereignty.
The crisis has created a surge in patriotism among Canadians, with many in the country feeling that Mr Carney is the best person to lead the country at the moment.
Mr Trump has acknowledged himself that he has upended Canadian politics.
Mr Carney has called the tariffs unjustified and left the election campaign to chair his special Cabinet committee on US relations in Ottawa.
Automobiles are Canada's second-largest export and the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries.
Mr Trump previously had granted a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on auto imports from Mexico and Canada for US automakers.
In the auto sector, parts can go back and forth across the Canada-US border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan.
Mr Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canada's steel and aluminium and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as on all of America's trading partners — on April 2.
The president has plunged the US into a global trade war — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.
The tax hike on auto imports starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales.
“This is not an industry that is Donald Trump's to steal or take,” said Lana Payne, the national president of Unifor, the union that represents auto workers in Canada.
Ms Payne said that Mr Carney should tell Mr Trump that if US automakers are going to sell cars and trucks in Canada, they are going to have to build in Canada.
Russia could supply a small nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars planned by billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, President Vladimir Putin's international cooperation envoy said on Thursday.
The envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, said Moscow could discuss the offer with Musk by video conference. It was the second time Dmitriev has spoken of potential cooperation with Musk this month.
The proposal comes after US President Donald Trump launched talks with Russia aimed at reviving bilateral ties which were languishing at their lowest level in decades due to Russia's war in Ukraine. Moscow is seeking to develop economic cooperation with Washington, even as US sanctions against Russia over the conflict remain in place.
Musk, a close Trump associate, said earlier this month that his Starship rocket would blast off for Mars by the end of next year despite various failures in tests and amid scepticism from some space experts about Musk's projected timeline.
In a post on X, Musk said human landings could take place as early as 2029, but that "2031 was more likely." He spoke last year of plans to build a "self-sustaining city in about 20 years" on Mars, something that would need a power source.
Speaking in Murmansk on the sidelines of an Arctic Forum, Dmitriev, who is also head of a fund that works to attract foreign investors, said Russia could contribute a lot to a potential Mars mission.
"Russia can offer a small-sized nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars and other advanced technological capabilities," the state RIA news agency cited him as saying.
"We believe that Russia has a lot to offer for a mission to Mars, because we have some nuclear technologies that I think could be applicable," he added, saying Russia regarded cooperation with Musk, whom Dmitriev hailed as a "great visionary", as important.
Yuri Borisov, the then head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency, said last year that Russia and China were considering putting a nuclear power plant on the moon from 2033-35, something he said could one day allow lunar settlements to be built.
Russia said in 2022 it would start work on its own Mars mission after the European Space Agency (ESA) suspended a joint project after the start of the war.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
Manage your account
The fallout continues over a security breach in which high-ranking members of the Trump administration accidentally shared plans about a forthcoming U.S. military attack on Yemen with the top editor of the Atlantic magazine on the Signal messaging app.
Military and intelligence experts and some members of Congress have expressed shock over the inadvertent leak, raising questions about national security protocols and the use of unsecured channels for sensitive information. The Senate Armed Services Committee is calling for an independent investigation.
President Trump and U.S. intelligence officials have tried to downplay the security risks and insist no classified material was shared.
The Atlantic's editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed in an article published on Monday that he knew about U.S. airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen hours before they happened, because he was added to a Signal group chat where members of the Trump administration appeared to be discussing such war plans.
Goldberg said he received a Signal connection request on March 11 from someone whom he believed to be Michael Waltz, President Trump's national security adviser. Two days later, Goldberg said he was added to a conversation with 18 members of the administration — including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — where they talked about plans to bomb Yemen.
U.S. air and naval assets hit multiple Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15.
Goldberg said that he initially did not think the Signal group chat was real. “I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans,” he wrote. "I have never seen a breach quite like this.
“It is not uncommon for national-security officials to communicate on Signal,” Goldberg added. “But the app is used primarily for meeting planning and other logistical matters — not for detailed and highly confidential discussions of a pending military action. And, of course, I've never heard of an instance in which a journalist has been invited to such a discussion."
Related from Yahoo News: What is Signal, anyway?
White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement that the message thread described by Goldberg “appears to be authentic” and that security council officials were “reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.”
Trump first told reporters on Monday that he knew nothing about the incident. Then, in a phone interview with NBC News, the president said he stood by Waltz.
“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man," Trump said. The president suggested that a member of Waltz's staff accidentally added Goldberg to the group.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Tuesday, Trump disparaged Goldberg and the Atlantic, calling the editor a “total sleazebag” and the 167-year-old publication a “failed magazine.”
On Wednesday, White House reporters asked Trump which members of his administration bore responsibility for the chat.
“It was Mike, I guess, I don't know,” Trump responded.
When pressed on Hegseth's role in the scandal, the president did not seem fully briefed on the fact that his defense secretary had shared sensitive information on Signal.
“How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do with it,” Trump said.
In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday night, Waltz said that he takes “full responsibility" for the “embarrassing” security breach, and that he built the group chat himself.
“I take full responsibility. … I built the group,” Waltz said. “My job is to make sure everything's coordinated.”
But Waltz also said he doesn't know how Goldberg was added to the chat.
"I can tell you for 100% I don't know this guy," Waltz said, adding that he had spoken to Elon Musk for help in finding out what happened.
Appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, Gabbard and Ratcliffe were grilled by Democrats over the breach, which they both sought to downplay.
During a House Intelligence Committee hearing Wednesday, Gabbard acknowledged the inclusion of a Goldberg on the Signal chat was a “mistake,” but said no classified information was shared.
Speaking to reporters in Hawaii on Monday, Hegseth flatly denied sharing any sensitive military information.
“Nobody was texting war plans,” Hegseth said. “And that's all I have to say about that.”
He reiterated those comments on Tuesday.
“Nobody's texting war plans,” Hegseth said. “I know exactly what I'm doing.”
During a news conference in Kingston, Jamaica, on Wednesday, Rubio said he hoped "there'll be reforms and changes made so this never — it's not going to happen again. It can't."
“Obviously, someone made a mistake. Someone made a big mistake and added a journalist. Nothing against journalists, but you ain't supposed to be on that thing,” Rubio added.
In the article published Monday, Goldberg did not reveal details of the strike plans, saying the information “could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel.”
But on Wednesday, the Atlantic published the full text thread from the Signal group under the headline: “Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared on Signal.”
“The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump — combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts — have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions,” Goldberg and colleague Shane Harris explained.
The messages include specific details on the timing of launches by U.S. military jets that were to strike Houthi targets.
In an interview with the BBC, Goldberg said such specifics undercut the administration's assertions that no sensitive military information was shared.
"If Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, is texting me, telling me the attack was about to be launched on Yemen — telling me what kind of aircraft are going to be used, what kind of weapons are going to be used, and when the bombs are going to fall two hours after the text is received — that seems like sensitive information, war-planning information to me," he said.
Current and former intelligence officials and mostly Democratic lawmakers have expressed shock over the breach, wondering why members of the Trump administration would be discussing security plans on Signal in the first place.
"This Signal chat situation sheds light on a sloppy and grossly incompetent national security strategy from the Trump administration," said Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that they'd be this reckless and careless with our national security,” Ned Price, a former CIA analyst who was deputy to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Biden administration, told NPR.
Price said he had spoken to former national security officials and colleagues involved in military planning, adding, “It's fair to say ... that heads are exploding.”
Some security experts have suggested that the group chat may have violated the Espionage Act for mishandling national defense information on Signal. But FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi each signaled this week that neither the FBI nor the Justice Department will investigate the matter.
While most Republicans have avoided criticizing the administration over the breach, a few have spoken out.
“Classified information should not be transmitted on unsecured channels — and certainly not to those without security clearances, including reporters. Period,” Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, wrote on X. “Safeguards must be put in place to ensure this never happens again.”
“The White House is in denial that this was not classified or sensitive data,” Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska and a former Air Force brigadier general, told reporters on Wednesday. “They should just own up to it and preserve credibility.”
Meanwhile, the Senate Armed Services Committee is calling for an independent investigation into the leak. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican and chairman of the panel, and Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island and the committee's ranking member, sent a letter to the Pentagon's acting inspector general Wednesday requesting a formal probe over “the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know.”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois and a member of the committee, did not mince words in a post on X Wednesday.
"Pete Hegseth is a f***ing liar," Duckworth wrote. "This is so clearly classified info he recklessly leaked that could've gotten our pilots killed. He needs to resign in disgrace immediately."
A YouGov poll conducted on March 25 found that 74% of Americans — including 60% of Republicans — thought the Trump administration's military leak is a very or somewhat serious problem.
The survey of 5,976 U.S. adults was conducted a day before the Atlantic published the full text of the group chat.
Are you an educator? What do you think about Trump's efforts to dismantle the Department of Education?
Yahoo News is asking teachers, administrators and other school staff around the country for their reactions to President Trump's order and how closing the Department of Education would affect their schools and students. Let us know what you think in our form, here.
Two 22-year-old engineers at RAF Odiham in the UK have been sentenced after damaging a statue of Paddington Bear at 2am following a night out in earlier this month.
© 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
A lawyer for The Associated Press has asked a US judge to reinstate the agency's access to the White House press pool and other official events, saying the Trump administration's ban is a fundamental attack on freedom of speech and should be overturned.
“AP has now spent 44 days in the penalty box,” said Charles Tobin, speaking on behalf of the news agency.
The AP and the new administration are at odds over the White House's removal of AP reporters and photographers from the small group of journalists who follow the president in the pool and other events.
Last month, AP sued White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and two other administration officials, demanding reinstatement.
The White House retaliated against the news outlet last month for not following President Trump's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
The notion of banning a news agency for what it says — and for not using the words that a government demands — is extraordinarily unusual in a country whose constitution guarantees free speech without official interference.
By punishing AP for what it publishes, the administration has raised questions about what the White House feels it could punish from news outlets whose words or images it does not like.
A lawyer for the government, Brian Hudak, told US District Court Judge Trevor N McFadden that AP had not shown irreparable harm.
“There is no showing of exclusion,” he said, adding that AP can still access events in the East Room and document who arrives at the White House and leaves it.
In actuality, AP has been able to access East Room events only occasionally, at the discretion of the White House.
Evan Vucci, an AP photographer, gave evidence that the agency was “basically dead in the water on major news stories”.
Mr Vucci took a renowned and widely distributed photo of Trump immediately after an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania last summer.
Mr Tobin held up a book published by Mr Trump that depicted the same photo on its cover.
– ‘Viewpoint discrimination' is at the centre of the case
In last month's hearing, Judge McFadden refused the AP's request for an injunction to stop the White House from barring reporters and photographers from events in the Oval Office and Air Force One.
He urged the Trump administration to reconsider its ban before Thursday's hearing. It has not.
“It seems pretty clearly viewpoint discrimination,” Judge McFadden told the government's lawyer at the time.
The AP has sued Mr Trump's team for punishing a news organisation for using speech that it does not like.
The news outlet said it would still refer to the Gulf of Mexico in its style guidance to clients around the world, while also noting that Mr Trump has ordered it renamed the Gulf of America.
“For anyone who thinks the Associated Press's lawsuit against President Trump's White House is about the name of a body of water, think bigger,” Julie Pace, the AP's executive editor, wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
“It's really about whether the government can control what you say.”
The White House said it has the right to decide who gets to question the president, and has taken steps to take over a duty that has been handled by journalists for decades.
The president has dismissed the AP as a group of “radical left lunatics” and said that “we're going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it's the Gulf of America”.
– AP is still covering the president
The AP has still covered the president, and has been permitted in Ms Leavitt's press briefings, but the ban has cost the organisation time in reporting and impeded its efforts to get still images.
Even if Judge McFadden rules in favour of the news organisation, it is unclear how the White House will respond to the judge's order.
The White House Correspondents' Association has asked its members to show solidarity with the AP.
Its president Eugene Daniels, was in the courtroom gallery on Thursday.
The case is one of several aggressive moves the second Trump administration has taken against the press since his return to office, including FCC investigations against ABC, CBS and NBC News, dismantling the government-run Voice of America and threatening funding for public broadcasters PBS and NPR.
A Trump executive order to change the name of the United States' largest mountain back to Mount McKinley from Denali is being recognised by the AP.
Mr Trump has the authority to do so because the mountain is completely within the country he oversees, AP has said.
Writing in the Journal, Ms Pace said the AP did not ask for the fight and made efforts to resolve the issue before going to court, but needed to stand on principle.
“If we don't step up to defend Americans' right to speak freely,” she wrote, “who will?”
Even if a judge rules in favour of the news organisation, it is unclear how the White House will respond to the order.
Target faced backlash after ending its DEI programs in January 2025.
John Swinney has been urged to finally honour his promises to tackle the NHS crisis after a damning report found that patients were routinely being treated in the corridors of hospitals in Scotland's largest health board.
The US is the second largest export market after the European Union for cars built in the UK
Six senior cardinals, including two considered strong contenders to be future popes, have been accused by campaigners of covering up sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.
Has the UK's dependence on the US become a Faustian pact?
The Trump-supporting politician took exception to being asked about the Signal scandal by Sky News reporter Martha Kelner.
The president had a lot he needed to get off his chest between 1 and 2 a.m.
The president was asked on Wednesday if he had been briefed on the men, and sparked outrage online with his response
Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to travel to the island Friday.
Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė says there are ‘positive signs' following an overnight search and rescue operation in Pabradė
The money expert focused on household income and rumoured ISA changes in his initial reaction
When it rains, it pours—at least that's the case for Mike Waltz and the country's top national security officials this week. After President Donald Trump's national security adviser accidentally added a prominent journalist to a private Signal chat with more than a dozen top government officials, it emerged that he had made another digital blunder: leaving his Venmo friends list set to public. And that's not all. German news magazine Der Spiegel also reported Wednesday that it had found email ad
Scott Presler earlier asked the tech billionaire for a ‘discussion' amid calls for Republicans to support a tightly-run Pennsylvania state Senate race
“All we talk about is how unpopular Donald Trump is, but in reality ...," said Harry Enten.
She was feted as the “Queen of Europe”, the pragmatic nationalist leader dragging Brussels to the Right on migration while acting as the EU's bridge to Donald Trump's White House.
It turns out that Donald Trump needs “pathetic” Europe after all.
Andrew Jolly spent thousands building the structure after he and his wife Alison downsized to a bungalow in Wigan, Greater Manchester.
Tulsi Gabbard's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee has led Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to believe that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, despite intelligence suggesting otherwise.
MAGA firebrand sharply dismissed a constituent's question about DOGE's supposed ‘overreaching' during the far-reaching townhall.
Six tourists were killed and 39 rescued when a submarine sank in the Egyptian Red Sea, the local governor confirms
The accident happened around one kilometre off the coast of Hurghada
The governor says the tourists were from Russia, Norway, Sweden, and India - all six who died were Russian
In November, a tourist boat called the Sea Story sank in Hurghada, leaving 11 dead or missing - including a British couple - and 35 survivors
The question is why these incidents keep happening, writes Sally Nabil from Cairo
One person who went on the submarine last month tells us he "never felt unsafe" - while another tourist shares recent footage of a trip with the same company
Are you in Hurghada? Get in touch with us here
Edited by Owen Amos and Imogen James, with Sally Nabil reporting from Cairo
Imogen JamesLive reporter
At about 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT), a tourist submarine sank in the Egyptian Red Sea, off the coast of Hurghada. Our live coverage is ending now, so here's everything we know - and don't know:
What we know:
Six people, all Russian, died after the tourist vessel sank around one kilometre from the coast. The local governor said 39 tourists were rescued, and nobody is missing.
The 45 tourists were from Russia, Norway, Sweden and India, the governor said, along with five Egyptian crew members.
The company in charge, Sindbad, has cancelled upcoming trips and authorities are investigating.
A number of people have got in touch with the BBC to share their experiences on Sindbad submarines - this tourist shared footage from their trip this past weekend.
What we don't know:
We still don't know what caused the sinking.
Speaking to Russian media, a survivor said that as they took their reserved seats, water started "pouring in" as two hatches were open. She said it was as if the submarine had fallen off "whatever it was holding on to".
(Earlier, we learned that tourists are taken out to the submarine - which is docked at a floating platform - on a regular boat).
But other unconfirmed reports said the vessel hit a reef at 20 metres and lost pressure.
For more on the who, what, where, when and why, here's our explainer. Thanks for reading.
Just last week, tourist Roy Gillson took a trip on a Sindbad submarine in Egypt.
He says they enjoyed the trip, but "looking back we had no safety drill whatsoever".
(We earlier heard from a different tourist who said they listened to a recorded safety briefing).
Watch his footage from their trip below:
This video can not be played
Footage taken from inside a Red Sea Sindbad submarine last weekend
It's still not known what caused the Sindbad submarine to sink. One report, from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, suggested the vessel may have hit a reef at a depth of around 20 metres.
A woman now tells Russian outlet Ren TV, in a phone interview, that water flowed into hatches as passengers boarded the submarine.
Ekaterina says as they took their reserved seats, water started "pouring in" as two hatches were open.
She says it was as if the submarine had fallen off "whatever it was holding on to". Earlier, we learned that tourists are taken out to the submarine, which is docked at a floating platform.
Some managed to swim out and some didn't, she says. Her daughter and mother are in hospital, she adds.
We're beginning to get details of those injured and killed in today's incident.
Two people who died are from the village of Urussu, in the Russian republic of Tatarstan, the republic's authorities tell Russian media.
They were married doctors, and their two daughters are in hospital, the authorities add.
As a reminder, the Red Sea governor earlier said all six who died are Russian citizens.
A Sindbad submarine (not the vessel lost) in Hurghada today
We still don't know what caused the Sindbad submarine to sink in the Red Sea.
But according to a Telegram post from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, "unconfirmed reports" say the submarine hit a reef and lost pressure.
The collision happened at a depth of 20 metres (65 feet), the post adds. The company website says it takes tourists to a maximum depth of 25 metres.
The post adds that all excursions and ticket sales for the tours have been suspended, and all other recreational submersible dives off the Hurghada coast have been cancelled.
We've been receiving pictures from people who have been on the Sindbad excursion in recent weeks.
These are from one of the two submarines the company says it owns - we don't know if this is the specific submarine involved in today's incident.
We've spoken to Dr James Aldridge, from Bristol, who took a trip on the submarine last month.
This is how he described the excursion:
First, tourists are taken out on a boat to the submarine, which is at a floating dock.
There are two entry points, he says, and the tourists then climb into the vessel. Inside, he describes it as modern, clean, and well-maintained.
Once inside, the tourists sit down on a cushion next to their assigned window and listened to a recorded safety briefing. He says it wasn't overcrowded.
They toured the reef for 40 minutes, and Aldridge says he "never felt unsafe". He says they never went to the depths of 25 metres that the company says is possible.
Divers who went alongside the submarine used fish food to attract marine life, so there would be more for the guests to see.
They were not issued life jackets, and "at all times the staff were professional and knowledgeable", he says.
Sally NabilReporting from Cairo
We don't know yet what caused this submarine to sink. But the question is why these incidents are still happening frequently in this area.
The frequency of these tragedies raises questions about the security measures employed by the local authorities, especially by excursion companies.
The Red Sea resort is a very popular tourist destination - but this tragedy will deal a very, very heavy blow to the industry, which is a lifeline to the Egyptian economy.
The industry is also highly dependent on Russian tourists, and all those who died were Russian, the local governor says.
Wael HusseinReporting from Cairo
We're getting more information from the Red Sea governor, Amr Hanafy.
He says there were 45 passengers on board, plus five Egyptian crew.
The passengers were from Russia, India, Norway and Sweden. The six killed were Russians, he says.
Earlier, the Russian embassy in Egypt said all the passengers were Russian.
We can bring you more now from the Red Sea governor.
Amr Hanafy says the submarine involved had a valid licence and the crew leader obtained the correct "scientific certificates".
The company, Sindbad, has been operating for several years and owns two submarines, according to its website.
In a new update, the Red Sea area governor says six tourists are dead and 39 others have been rescued.
There are no tourists missing, Amr Hanafy adds in an update on Facebook.
The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, he says.
Hanafy praises the rescue teams involved in the incident, and says they will continue to coordinate with the relevant embassies and parties.
A video alongside the post shows him speaking to families and individuals in hospital, wrapped in blankets.
There's a lot of boating activity around Hurghada harbour near where the submarine sank.
The below video shows vessels on the water today, as well as the clear skies and calm conditions we mentioned earlier.
This video can not be played
A Russian official in Hurghada, Viktor Voropaev, says at least five Russians were killed in the submarine accident, including two children.
Voropaev - Russia's consul general in the Red Sea resort - was speaking to Tass, the state-owned Russian news agency.
BBC reporters in Egypt say six people are feared dead. Earlier, the Russian embassy in Egypt said four people had been killed, and that all passengers on board were Russian.
Emma PengellyReporter
We're now seeing more pictures from Hurghada, where ambulances have gathered after a tourist submarine sank off the popular resort's coast.
In the second image, you can see a second Sindbad vessel docked in the harbour. This isn't the same vessel involved in this morning's incident.
A tourist staying at the Sindbad Club in Hurghada, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells the BBC: "We
heard the ambulance sirens which lasted a long time and there are still at
least three ambulances at the harbour."
Darren BettBBC weather presenter
Weather observations are very sparse in the Red Sea. There
is a weather site at Hurghada that was reporting very light winds – around 5mph
and no low cloud early this morning.
It can be windy in the Red Sea when a northerly wind blows
and the seas become rough. But it looks like the weather was quite calm this
morning with wave heights nearby around 0.2m, so no sign of any rough waters.
As we've been reporting, a number of people have been taken to hospital following the incident.
In new pictures, we can see police waiting outside the Egyptian Hospital in Hurghada. Sources earlier told the BBC that nine people were injured, four critically.
Joe InwoodBBC correspondent
I've been hearing from Dr Simon Boxall, from the National Oceanography Centre at Southampton University.
He's been telling me a bit more about these types of vessels. According to the tour company Sindbad, the submarines were built in Finland - Boxall says he isn't sure if this is true but if it is, they will have been built to very high standards.
There is an "intense nature" in operating these vessels, he adds.
If a submarine runs into a problem, it will either surface quickly, or get the passengers out as soon as possible before it drops down too far, Boxall explains.
It is still early days, and we are yet to hear of any potential cause of this incident.
But Boxall says Egypt is facing a "crisis on at the moment, in terms of safety on some of these tourist vessels".
Whatever the cause of today's incident, Boxall says it's a "terrible tragedy".
As we've been reporting, a tourist submarine has sunk in Egypt. Here are the details:
Who: At least six people are feared dead, with nine injured and 29 rescued, sources tell the BBC. All passengers on board are Russian, according to Moscow's embassy in Egypt.
What: The vessel is believed to be operated by Sindbad Submarines, and the submarine has been operating tourist trips for several years.
When: The incident happened this morning at around 10:00 local time, according to the Russian embassy.
Where: Sindbad, the submarine, sank close to the harbour in Hurghada, a popular tourist resort in the Red Sea known for its beaches and coral reefs.
How: We don't know yet what caused the submarine to sink, but our teams in London and Egypt are trying to find out what happened.
Sally NabilReporting from Cairo
It's
the second incident in the Red Sea in around six months.
Last November,
a boat named Sea Story carrying more than 40 people also sank near the
Egyptian resort of Marsa Allam, with 11 people unaccounted, or presumed dead.
Today, six people are feared to have died, with others injured, after a submarine sank in Hurghada, another famous tourist
resort.
Reasons behind this latest tragedy are not clear yet. But the frequency
of such incidents raise big questions about safety measures employed by local
authorities, in such popular tourist sea excursion areas, and whether or not proper safety checks are being carried out.
Back in November, Egyptian officials
were talking about rough weather conditions causing the Sea Story to sink.
But
the BBC spoke to survivors, who cast doubt on the claim.
It's a pretty warm, sunny day in Egypt now. We don't know yet what the authorities will say caused the incident in Hurghada.
The local governorate's office in Hurghada tells the Reuters news agency that six foreigners, whose nationalities are unknown, were killed in the Red Sea submarine incident.
That tallies with the BBC's reporters in Egypt, who also say six people are feared dead.
The Russian embassy in Egypt says at least four people were killed, and that all tourists on board were Russian.
Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
By Maya Gebeily, Timour Azhari and Feras Dalatey
DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Close to midnight on March 6, as a wave of sectarian killings began in western Syria, masked men stormed the homes of Alawite families in the capital Damascus and detained more than two dozen unarmed men, witnesses said.
Those taken from the neighbourhood of al-Qadam included a retired teacher, an engineering student and a mechanic, all of them Alawite - the minority sect of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad.
A group of Alawites loyal to Assad had launched a fledgling insurgency hours earlier in coastal areas, some 200 miles (320 km) to the northwest. That unleashed a spree of revenge killings there that left hundreds of Alawites dead.
Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa told Reuters he dispatched his forces the next day to halt the violence on the coast but that some fighters who flooded the region to crush the uprising did so without defence ministry authorisation.
Amid fears of wider sectarian conflict across Syria, Sharaa's government took pains to emphasize in the wake of the violence that the killings were geographically limited. It named a fact-finding committee to investigate "the events on the coast".
According to accounts from 13 witnesses in Damascus, however, the sectarian violence spread to the southern edges of Syria's capital, a few kilometres from the presidential palace. The details of the alleged raids, kidnappings and killings have not been previously reported.
"Any Alawite home, they knocked the door down and took the men from inside," said one resident, whose relative, 48-year-old telecoms engineer Ihsan Zeidan, was taken by masked men in the early hours of March 7.
"They took him purely because he's Alawite."
All the witnesses who spoke to Reuters requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals.
The neighbourhood of al-Qadam is well-known to be home to many Alawite families. In total, the witnesses said, at least 25 men were taken. At least 12 of them were later confirmed dead, according to relatives and neighbours, who said they either saw photographs of the bodies or found them dead nearby.
The rest of the men have not been heard from.
Four of the witnesses said some of the armed men who came to al-Qadam identified themselves as members of General Security Service (GSS), a new Syrian agency comprising former rebels.
A spokesperson for the interior ministry, under which the GSS operates, told Reuters the force "did not target Alawites directly. The security forces are confiscating weapons from all sects."
The spokesperson did not respond to further questions, including why unarmed men were allegedly taken in these operations.
Yasser Farhan, spokesman for the committee investigating the sectarian violence, said its work has been geographically limited to the coast, so it had not investigated cases in al-Qadam. "But there may be deliberations within the committee at a later time to expand our work," he told Reuters.
Alawites comprise around 10% of Syria's population, concentrated in the coastal heartlands of Latakia and Tartus. Thousands of Alawite families have also lived in Damascus for decades, and in provincial cities such as Homs and Hama.
CYCLE OF IMPUNITY
Human Rights Watch researcher Hiba Zayadin called for a thorough investigation of the alleged raids, in response to Reuters' reporting.
"Families deserve answers, and the authorities must ensure that those responsible are held accountable, no matter their affiliation," she said. "Until that happens, the cycle of violence and impunity will continue."
Four of the men confirmed dead in Damascus were from the same extended family, according to a relative who escaped the raid by hiding on an upper floor with the family's young children.
They were Mohsen Mahmoud Badran, 77, Fadi Mohsen Badran, 41, Ayham Hussein Badran, a 40-year-old born with two fingers on his right hand, a birth defect that disqualified him from army service, and their brother-in-law Firas Mohammad Maarouf, 45.
Relatives visited the Mujtahid Hospital in central Damascus in search of their bodies but staff denied them access to the morgue and referred them to the GSS branch in al-Qadam, the witness said.
An official there showed them photographs on a phone of all four men, dead. No cause of death was given and none could be ascertained from the images, the relative said.
The official told the family to collect the bodies from the Mujtahid hospital but staff there denied they had them.
"We haven't been able to find them, and we're too scared to ask anyone," the relative told Reuters.
Mohammad Halbouni, Mujtahid Hospital's director, told Reuters that any bodies from al-Qadam were taken directly to the forensic medicine department next door. Staff there said they had no information to share.
The interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to questions about whether the forces at al-Qadam station were linked to the deaths.
Sharaa has announced the dissolution of all rebel groups and their planned integration into Syria's restructured defence ministry. But full command-and-control over the various, sometimes rival, factions remains elusive.
Four other men seized the same night were found in an orchard near al-Qadam, with gunshot wounds indicating they were killed "execution-style," according to a second resident, who told Reuters the family swiftly buried the bodies.
Reuters was unable to confirm independently the details of her account.
Another set of four men were confirmed dead by their relatives, who received photographs of the bodies on messaging platform WhatsApp on Thursday, nearly three weeks after they were taken.
The pictures, reviewed by Reuters, depicted four men on the ground with blood and bruises on their faces. One of them was identified by the relative as Samer Asaad, a 45-year-old with a mental handicap who was taken on the night of March 6.
Most of those seized remain missing.
They include university student Ali Rustom, 25, and his father Tamim Rustom, a 65-year-old retired maths teacher, two relatives told Reuters. "We have no proof, no bodies, no information," one said.
'ALL I WANT IS TO LEAVE'
A relative of Rabih Aqel, a mechanic, said his family had inquired at the local police station and other security agencies but were told they had no information on Aqel's whereabouts.
She drew parallels with forced disappearances under Assad, when thousands vanished into a labyrinthine prison system. In many cases, families would learn years later their relatives had died in detention.
She and the other witnesses said they have not been approached by the fact-finding committee.
Farhan, the committee spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday its members had interviewed witnesses in several coastal districts and had two more cities there to visit.
All the witnesses said they felt under pressure to leave al-Qadam specifically because they were Alawite. Some already had.
One young resident said armed men had come to his home several times in the weeks after Assad's ouster, demanding proof the family owned the house and had not been affiliated to the ousted Assad family.
He and his family have since fled, asking Sunni Muslim neighbours to look after their home.
Others said they had stopped going to work or were only moving around in the daytime to avoid possible arrest.
Another woman in her sixties said she was looking to sell her house in al-Qadam because of the risks her husband or sons would be taken. "After what happened, all I want is to leave the area."
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily, Timour Azhari and Feras Dalatey; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.
Judge James E. Boasberg, chief judge of the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., stands for a portrait at E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C., March 16, 2023. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Thursday ordered all parties involved in the Trump administration's leaked Signal chat to preserve disclosed messages, giving him additional time to evaluate the administration's handling of the infamous group chat.
A lawsuit filed by the left-leaning government transparency group American Oversight asks whether senior Cabinet officials violated federal recordkeeping laws by using Signal to discuss plans for a military strike on the Houthis in Yemen.
The chat became infamous after it was revealed that top U.S. officials had inadvertently included Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Golberg for several days of their discussions.
Boasberg said during a 25-minute hearing that the federal government must "preserve all Signal communications between March 11 and March 15," roughly the window of the communications about the military action in Yemen.
TRUMP REVEALS WHO WAS BEHIND SIGNAL TEXT CHAIN LINK
The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg published a piece saying he was inadvertently invited to a Trump administration text group chat discussing the White House's plans to strike Houthi militants in Yemen. (Reuters )
Boasberg, already under fire from the Trump administration for issuing a restraining order that temporarily blocked the president's use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals, emphasized at the start of Thursday's hearing he was randomly assigned to the case through a docket computer system, not by choice.
His remarks came hours after President Donald Trump accused Boasberg on social media of "grabbing the 'Trump Cases' all to himself," a claim Boasberg quickly sought to refute by detailing the court's random assignment process, including the electronic card system used to distribute cases among judges.
"That's how it works, and that's how all cases continue to be assigned in this court," he said.
JUDGE TELLS GOVERNMENT WATCHDOGS FIRED BY TRUMP THERE'S NOT MUCH SHE CAN DO FOR THEM
President Donald Trump and U.S. District Judge James Boasberg (Getty Images)
Boasberg has sparred with the Trump administration over its failure to comply with the court's requests for information on its deportation flights earlier this month, which sent around 261 migrants, including Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua, from the U.S. to El Salvador.
The flights appeared to have departed from Texas around the time Boasberg issued an emergency restraining order and were not returned to the U.S. despite a bench ruling explicitly ordering their immediate return.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Justice Department this week invoked the state secrets privilege in the ongoing court battle, a national security tool that could allow the Trump administration to withhold certain information from the courts for national security purposes.
Most recently, the Trump administration vowed to immediately appeal to the Supreme Court a ruling from the D.C. appellate court, which voted 2-1 to uphold Boasberg's ruling and allow, for now, the block on Trump's deportation flights to continue.
Fox News's William Mears contributed to this report.
Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and
agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can
opt-out at any time.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by
Factset. Powered and implemented by
FactSet Digital Solutions.
Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by
Refinitiv Lipper.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.
'The Big Weekend Show' panelists discuss the legal fight over deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Eight inspectors general abruptly fired by President Donald Trump at the start of his second term appeared in federal court Thursday to challenge their dismissals — a long-shot case that nonetheless sparked fireworks during oral arguments.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes acknowledged on Thursday that it would be difficult for the court to reinstate the eight ousted inspectors generals, who were part of a broader group of 17 government watchdogs abruptly terminated by Trump in January, just four days into his second White House term.
In a lawsuit last month, the eight inspectors general challenged their firings as both "unlawful and unjustified" and asked to be reinstated — a remedy that Reyes acknowledged Thursday would be exceedingly difficult, even if she were to find that their firings were unconstitutional.
"Unless you convince me otherwise," she told the plaintiffs, "I don't see how I could reinstate the inspectors general" to their roles.
AXED GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG SAYS TRUMP HAS RIGHT TO FIRE HIM
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Reyes suggested that the best the court could do would be to order back pay, even as she told both parties, "I don't think anyone can contest that the removal of these people — the way that they were fired — was a violation of the law."
The preliminary injunction hearing comes more than a month after the eight fired inspectors general filed a lawsuit challenging their termination as unconstitutional. Plaintiffs asked the judge to restore them to their positions, noting in the filing, "President Trump's attempt to eliminate a crucial and longstanding source of impartial, non-partisan oversight of his administration is contrary to the rule of law."
Still, the remedies are considered a long shot — and Trump supporters have argued that the president was well within his executive branch powers to make such personnel decisions under Article II of the Constitution, Supreme Court precedent and updates to federal policy.
LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP'S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS
The E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Court House in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
In 2022, Congress updated its Inspector General Act of 1978, which formerly required a president to communicate to Congress any "reasons" for terminations 30 days before any decision was made. That notice provision was amended in 2022 to require only a "substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons" for terminations.
The 30-day period was a major focus of Thursday's hearing, as the court weighed whether inspectors general can be considered "principal" or inferior officers.
The White House Director of Presidential Personnel has claimed that the firings are in line with that requirement, which were a reflection of "changing priorities" from within the administration.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, suggested earlier this year that Congress should be given more information as to the reasons for the firings, though more recently he has declined to elaborate on the matter.
Ana Reyes, nominee for district court judge in Washington, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2022. (Reuters)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Reyes, for her part, previously did not appear to be moved by the plaintiffs' bid for emergency relief.
She declined to grant their earlier request for a temporary restraining order — a tough legal test that requires plaintiffs to prove "irreparable" and immediate harm as a result of the actions — and told both parties during the hearing that, barring new or revelatory information, she is not inclined to rule in favor of plaintiffs at the larger preliminary injunction hearing.
Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and
agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can
opt-out at any time.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by
Factset. Powered and implemented by
FactSet Digital Solutions.
Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by
Refinitiv Lipper.
Sections
Resources
Resources
Resources
Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee explains his vote on the funding bill, how budget negotiations are going and his viral social media persona.
Capitol Chat With Burchett
Illustration by USN&WR | Source: Getty Images
Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee
If you're plugged into the Washington, D.C. social media space, chances are you've seen Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee.
Usually clad in the same tan Carhartt jacket, Burchett's X account is littered with videos of him ranting about a vote he didn't like on a bill he hated even more. There's also a video of a longboard he made by hand, a hobby he picked up on the weekends.
First elected in 2019, Burchett has become known across Capitol Hill as one of the more approachable and unfiltered lawmakers – a designation he says he likes. It is this side of him that has made him an important figure in the Republican caucus as he sits on the newly formed House Department of Government Efficiency subcommittee this session.
U.S. News & World Report sat down with Burchett to discuss his decision to vote for the stopgap funding bill, how budget negotiations between the House and Senate are going and his viral social media personality.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“Just the overwhelming amount of money that we send to the Pentagon. All this money we're saving in DOGE, we're not saving any of it. We just turn it over to the Pentagon and they are irresponsible with their funds.
“In the last eight audits, not only have they failed those audits, they even failed to complete them in their arrogance. And then how did we punish them? In the last National Defense Authorization Act, we gave them more money.”
Aneeta Mathur-Ashton March 24, 2025
“I think it just shows the Democrats are the rudder of a ship right now. They gave a united try, but the irony of it was that last time they were saying we were going to shut down the government, how horrible it was and they were doing the exact same thing. They were just playing politics with the whole thing.”
“I think it's going very well.
“I would hope that we could get with the Senate early on and craft something agreeable to everybody that we could all hold our noses and vote for. I would also hope that we could continue down the path of, at least, holding the government accountable and not increasing the amount of money that we give the government.”
“I do. Johnson is very capable of doing that and he keeps his word. He works very hard to reach those goals and he's got to juggle a lot, so I'm a fan of his.”
“I'd say it'd be fairly close. Honestly, we don't have enough people with enough guts to make the cuts that are really needed. I think too many people are worried about getting reelected and not saving our country for both parties. Unfortunately, Washington, D.C. today is about self-preservation and not doing what's right long-term for our country.”
Aneeta Mathur-Ashton March 13, 2025
“That's a lie. (Democrats in Congress) are just using those things (comments regarding proposed cuts) to scare people.
“Case in point is SNAP. All we're trying to do is get the soft drinks out of there. There's no reason somebody on welfare ought to get a free Coca-Cola with my hard-earned tax dollars. That's just wrong, and type 2 diabetes is rampant, especially in our minority communities, and again, we don't have the guts to call that stuff out and stop it.”
“I would make serious cuts, I would codify the things that are coming out of DOGE and I would force votes on it and not make it one big bill. Each individual cut that DOGE has come out with needs to be put into a law and individually passed.”
“Everybody made fun of me when I first started doing my videos and now people have Twitter or X teams that try to create that.
“I come off the House floor and I'm ticked off about a stupid vote about a terrible piece of legislation. So I want America to know about it.
“They make fun of the way I talk and many members behind my back will say things about me. But that's because they just don't have the guts to come out and tell America what's going on. I think more and more people are demanding that and I've developed a huge following across the country.”
READ:
“I've always said my biggest surprise was that I wasn't surprised. It's just like junior high school with a big checkbook.
“I get disappointed in the public when we just have 12% or 15% of the public vote in a lot of elections, and the local media doesn't cover what's going on up here. America, I think, gets continuously surprised because they're too busy paying bills and taking care of their families to monitor us 24/7. So I think that's why my internet stuff's so effective – they can just catch it during the day and click on it.”
“I used to have somebody who worked for me, and they said the one thing I never have to say is ‘what Tim Burchett really means to say is….' I guess sometimes I look back and think I probably shouldn't have said that, but that's the truth. So I don't have too many regrets up here.”
Tags: Congress, federal budget, Republican Party, Democratic Party
Read More
America 2024
Photos
Photos
Photos
U.S. News Decision Points
Your trusted source for the latest news delivered weekdays from the team at U.S. News and World Report.
Sign in to manage your newsletters »
Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S. News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy.
U.S. News StaffJan. 21, 2025
March 27, 2025, at 1:29 p.m.
March 26, 2025
Cecelia Smith-SchoenwalderMarch 27, 2025
Tim SmartMarch 27, 2025
Aneeta Mathur-Ashton March 27, 2025
Tim SmartMarch 27, 2025
Laura Mannweiler and Elliott Davis Jr.March 26, 2025
Cecelia Smith-SchoenwalderMarch 26, 2025
Aneeta Mathur-Ashton and Alan KronenbergMarch 26, 2025
Best Countries
Best States
Healthiest Communities
News
U.S. News Decision Points
Photos
Ideas & Opinions
Events
Best Countries
Best States
Healthiest Communities
News
U.S. News Decision Points
Photos
Ideas & Opinions
Events
Sections
Resources
Resources
Resources
Catch up on what you need to know or might have missed with this lunchtime lowdown.
Lunch Break: Is Your Venmo Private?
Andrew Harnik|Getty Images
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Feb. 26, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
The dust is still settling around Signalgate, with much of Washington watching to see what happens next. Thus far, Democratic lawmakers have largely reacted with shock and dismay, while Republicans are downplaying and ignoring the controversy over the Trump administration's use of an unsecured group chat to discuss war plans.
The issue won't be going away soon: Leaders of the Senate Armed Forces Committee demanded the inspector general for the Defense Department investigate the leak in a letter signed by senators of both parties, with hearings likely to follow. And reports from Wired and German outlet Der Spiegel revealed top Trump administration officials left their Venmo accounts public and their contact information easily accessible online, which probably won't help.
It also begs the question: Why is anyone making their Venmo activity public?
Elsewhere, the clock is ticking on congressional Republicans' self-imposed Easter deadline to nail down a budget proposal, President Donald Trump has a busy day at the White House and French President Emmanuel Macron convened a summit to defend Ukraine.
Here's the lunchtime lowdown, which U.S. News will be publishing each weekday to keep track of the goings-on in Washington and beyond:
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced this morning that the agency would lay off more than 10,000 employees, and that another 10,000 employees will depart via buyouts and early retirement. Kennedy said this “dramatic restructuring” will "streamline the functions" of the department he called a “sprawling bureaucracy” and save $1.8 billion. Read more.
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, wants the inspector general of the Defense Department to investigate Signalgate, while the Senate Intelligence Committee may conduct its own investigation. And it's not just Signal – Wired reports that national security adviser Mike Waltz and others left sensitive information publicly available on Venmo and German outlet Der Spiegel found the passwords and private data of officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth online. Read more.
After announcing a 25% tariff on imported automobiles last night, Trump threatened to place “far larger” tariffs on the European Union and Canada if they worked together “to do economic harm to the USA.” Trump has promised to impose still more tariffs on April 2 of next week, which he has taken to calling “Liberation Day.” Read more.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France and Britain will move forward with plans to send troops to Ukraine after hosting a summit in Paris with 30 nations today to discuss Europe's role in the Russia-Ukraine war. Macron said the decision to send soldiers to Ukraine was “not unanimous” but “several European nations” will deploy troops as Europe prepares for the possibility of a reduced U.S. role in the conflict. Read more.
The Senate is holding a hearing this morning on the preliminary findings of a federal probe into the deadly midair collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and a military helicopter above Washington, D.C., nearly two months ago, which killed 67 people. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said 40 experts are working on its investigation and that she hopes it will be completed within a year. Read more.
Tags: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., HHS, U.S. intelligence, Donald Trump, tariffs, France, Ukraine, Russia, Congress
Read More
America 2024
Photos
Photos
Photos
U.S. News Decision Points
Your trusted source for the latest news delivered weekdays from the team at U.S. News and World Report.
Sign in to manage your newsletters »
Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S. News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy.
U.S. News StaffJan. 21, 2025
March 27, 2025, at 1:29 p.m.
March 26, 2025
Tim SmartMarch 27, 2025
Tim SmartMarch 27, 2025
Laura Mannweiler and Elliott Davis Jr.March 26, 2025
Cecelia Smith-SchoenwalderMarch 26, 2025
Aneeta Mathur-Ashton and Alan KronenbergMarch 26, 2025
Aneeta Mathur-Ashton March 26, 2025
Aneeta Mathur-Ashton March 26, 2025
Best Countries
Best States
Healthiest Communities
News
U.S. News Decision Points
Photos
Ideas & Opinions
Events
Best Countries
Best States
Healthiest Communities
News
U.S. News Decision Points
Photos
Ideas & Opinions
Events
Watch CBS News
March 27, 2025 / 11:16 AM EDT
/ CBS News
Kansas health officials have confirmed 23 measles cases, marking an outbreak for the state as infections in at least 17 states have led to the most cases in the U.S. in a single year since 2019.
The Kansas outbreak is spread across 6 southwest counties, the state's Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday.
The majority of cases, 20, are individuals who were not vaccinated against the infection. Fifteen cases are in school-aged children, between ages 5 and 17, six patients are 4 years old or younger and two are over 18, officials said.
Measles, a highly contagious infectious disease, can in some cases cause severe infections in the lungs and brain that may lead to cognitive issues, deafness or death. A vaccine against the illness is safe and effective, doctors and health officials say.
While most people's symptoms improve, about 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who get measles will be hospitalized. About 1 out of every 1,000 children with measles will develop brain swelling that can lead to brain damage, and up to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected will die, the CDC says.
So far, no cases in Kansas have led to hospitalization or death, according to the data from the state's health department.
The Kansas cases come as other states are facing rising infections too. The majority of the cases have been reported in an outbreak in Texas that has sickened more than 300 people since late January and has caused the death of a child. An adult with measles also died in New Mexico.
Earlier this month, a person with a confirmed measles infection may have exposed Amtrak passengers on a train to Washington, D.C., according to officials at the D.C. Department of Health.
Measles cases have also been reported in a number of other states, including New Jersey, Georgia, California, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Michigan, Alaska and Pennsylvania.
The measles vaccine is usually administered in childhood as part of the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, shot. Two doses are about 97% effective at preventing measles, and a single dose is about 93% effective, the CDC says.
Similar to the Kansas cases, the Texas outbreak largely spread in a community with very low vaccination rates, and Texas health officials said the child who died in that outbreak was unvaccinated.
Sara Moniuszko is a health and lifestyle reporter at CBSNews.com. Previously, she wrote for USA Today, where she was selected to help launch the newspaper's wellness vertical. She now covers breaking and trending news for CBS News' HealthWatch.
© 2025 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright ©2025 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.
Oops, something went wrong
GameStop (GME) stock slid nearly 25% on Thursday as the company announced it's attempting to raise $1.3 billion to buy bitcoin (BTC-USD).
The company will attempt to raise the funds via convertible senior notes.
The news comes after GameStop shares rose nearly 12% when the video game operator turned popular meme stock said in a release that its board "has unanimously approved an update to its investment policy to add Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset."
The planned bitcoin investment comes about a month after CNBC reported GameStop was exploring cryptocurrency investments. On Feb. 8, a social media post from GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen sparked speculation over GameStop's interest in cryptocurrency. Cohen posted a picture on X with Strategy (MSTR) CEO Michael Saylor, who has famously hitched his company to bitcoin. It now holds more than 447,000 tokens, per a February filing.
The strategy has worked out well for Saylor's company, with the stock up over 84% in the past year amid a rise in the price of bitcoin. But Wall Street strategists are hesitant to conclude that GameStop investing in bitcoin would mean the video game retailer's stock has upside.
"The company's strategy, which has changed about six times in three years, is they're going to buy cryptocurrency and be just like MicroStrategy," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter told Yahoo Finance on Monday ahead of the earnings release.
He added, "The problem with that thinking is MicroStrategy trades at about two times their bitcoin holdings. If GameStop were to buy all bitcoin with their $4.6 billion in cash and trade at two times [their bitcoin holdings,] the stock would drop five bucks."
Also after the bell on Tuesday, GameStop reported fourth quarter earnings results. The company posted $1.28 billion in net sales for the quarter, marking a 28% decline from the year-earlier period. For the full year, GameStop reported an adjusted EBITDA of $36.1 million, down from $64.7 million seen the year prior.
Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Sign in to access your portfolio
Oops, something went wrong
Brendan Lane woke up on Thursday feeling the squeeze from United States President Donald Trump's latest tariff: a 25 per cent levy on finished vehicles, in the simplest terms, made outside his country minus the cost of parts made in the U.S.
The general manager of Windsor, Ont.-based Lanex Manufacturing Inc. oversees the production of a variety of auto parts, including strikers, which is what your car door latches onto when it closes shut.
How those parts would be affected by Trump's tariffs raises complicated questions. If the materials come from the U.S., but get formed on Lane's factory floor in Windsor, return to the U.S. to be coated in paint or plated, only to come back to Canada to be installed in a vehicle, is that part made in Canada or the U.S.?
It's a question that may only be answered over time as border officials and lawyers read the fine print and hash out a system, but the answer could affect global trade for years to come.
For now, as the Trump administration continues its pattern of announcing tariffs, pausing tariffs and modifying tariffs while hinting at still more tariffs to come, business owners such as Lane have been left scrambling to figure out their new costs, complete paperwork for exemptions, consider when it makes sense to reorganize supply chains and keep everything running.
“It's been a mess: 25 per cent (tariffs) multiple times on something now,” he said. “Obviously, automotive margins are not 25 per cent or anywhere near that.”
The result is going to be fairly predictable even for companies such as Lanex, which is a couple of steps removed from the automakers that use his company's parts.
He said the message from the automakers in recent weeks has been clear: consumers are not going to purchase vehicles if the price goes up, so find ways to keep costs stable.
He's not sure how that will be possible.
“They're going to start looking to see how they solve the problem. And it's going to squeeze us as best as they can,” he said. “I don't know. I don't have the answer at this point.”
Lane's father, Bruce, set up Lanex in 1988 after developing expertise in auto manufacturing, such as stamping and welded assemblies, while working in the sector that has existed in Windsor, just across a river from Detroit, for more than a century.
The new tariffs, which Trump has said are to help force companies to build plants in the U.S., strike at the foundation of the Windsor's economy.
“This whole community is set up for across the border. We cross the border with parts all the time,” he said. “The system has all been set up based off the rules that were in play. Nobody was breaking rules. This is what we agreed upon. This is the CUSMA agreement. So, now everything is changing.”
In Trump's White House press conference about the auto tariffs, he said investment is already pouring into the U.S.
But many economists doubt that the tariff will achieve the intended effect. Auto-manufacturing plants take years to build and cost hundreds of millions, sometimes billions, of dollars and are generally planned for years before investment decisions are made.
“One can easily see a 30 per cent downward shift in U.S. auto sales in the coming months and quarters,” economist David Rosenberg said in a newsletter on Thursday, “and the hit to output and employment will come far in advance of any potential shift in factory production to the U.S.”
He said the more immediate impact will be inflationary given that the U.S. imports nearly half of its light-duty vehicles and trucks and 60 per cent of its auto parts.
Even a 15 per cent spike in auto prices would add US$6,000 to the cost of a new vehicle, Rosenberg said.
In Canada, he predicted the tariffs could lead to 180,000 job losses.
Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. chief executive Eric Desaulniers said the flood of tariffs has already created an environment of fear and uncertainty, which is never good for investment.
Even though his project, a mine two hours north of Montreal and a processing plant in the Quebec port city of Bécancour, is theoretically unaffected by tariffs so far, no one can say for certain whether that will be the case in the future.
General Motors Co., one of Nouveau Monde Graphite's investors, plans to buy graphite from its mine, but Desaulniers said the uncertainty Trump is creating for the auto sector will make it more difficult to lock in the $1.5 billion in financing his company needs for the project.
“This uncertainty is never good for deploying this much capital in a project,” Desaulniers said.
Steven Beatty, who retired as Toyota Canada Inc.'s corporate counsel in December, said there is too much uncertainty about how the auto tariff announced on March 26 will be implemented.
On its face, he said the latest tariffs against autos produced in Canada, or Mexico for that matter, appear to violate the terms of the Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement that Trump administration officials negotiated in his first term.
He pointed to a “side letter” to CUSMA that former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wrote in 2018 to former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland that said in the event that section 232 tariffs are applied — as Trump has now done — they would exclude 2.6 million Canadian-made vehicles and US$32.4-billion worth of auto parts per year.
The question is whether the Trump administration will honour the terms of the free trade agreement or not.
“If the worst-case scenario is true, we're moving into an area of lawlessness; that's kind of scary,” Beatty said. “We haven't gone over the brink yet.”
He said that part of the reason U.S. automakers build plants in Canada is because it is a highly lucrative market for their products and they want to preserve duty-free access.
In 2023, U.S. automakers exported US$23.2-billion worth of vehicles to Canada, its largest export market, and more than three times as much as the next highest, Germany, where it exported US$7.5-billion worth of vehicles.
Trump slaps 25% tariff on imported autos
Prospect of U.S. tariffs haunting Canadian copper sector
Carney pledges $2 billion for Canada's auto sector in trade war
Beatty suggested that Canada would need to put counter tariffs on U.S. vehicles if Trump intends to violate the CUSMA.
Ultimately, he said, vehicles are a necessary item for the economy to function, and if prices rise too high or too fast, it would make tariffs politically unfeasible.
“There's only so much self-inflicted pain that any administration can take before you have to say, ‘OK, well, maybe that wasn't a good idea, and we're going to take a different tack,” he said.
• Email: gfriedman@postmedia.com
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the business news you need to know — add financialpost.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
Oops, something went wrong
Automaker stocks here and abroad are getting smoked following President Trump's big move to impose 25% tariffs on foreign autos and certain auto parts. But one automaker is up — Tesla.
Tesla (TSLA) stock jumped 5% in early trade as rivals GM (GM) tumbled nearly 7% and Ford (F) 3%.
Beyond the obvious connection between CEO Elon Musk's affinity for Trump and his leadership of the DOGE commission, there are a few other reasons why Trump's auto policies — both on tariffs and EVS — may not be a problem for Tesla.
The main reason tariffs aren't likely to affect Tesla is the company's localized manufacturing. Though the company operates gigafactories in China and Germany, none of the EVs built there are sold in the US.
Tesla's US-sold vehicles are made exclusively at the company's Fremont, Calif., location or at Giga Austin in Texas. Rivian (RIVN) and Lucid (LCID) are the only other automakers that make 100% of their vehicles in the US for US buyers. By comparison, 77% of Ford's autos are made in the US, followed by Stellantis (57%), Nissan (52%), and GM (52%).
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs
TD Cowen's Itay Michaeli thinks this makes Tesla a "relative winner" in the tariff wars.
"Tesla a relative beneficiary given 100% US production footprint, substantial US sourcing and with Model Y competing in a midsize crossover segment where close to ~50% of vehicles could be subject to tariffs," Michaeli wrote Thursday morning.
Trump said in his news conference last night that he didn't consult Musk about the auto tariffs because the CEO "may have a conflict."
Despite Tesla being a relative winner in the situation, some company execs are a little worried. In an unsigned letter submitted last week to US trade representative Jamieson Greer, the company warned tariffs could lead to retaliation from US export partners and higher prices for parts that can only be sourced internationally.
Musk added last night on X that Tesla is "NOT unscathed here" and that the impact of tariffs on the company is "still significant."
Investors, at least at this point, disagree with Musk's outward assertion, though the CEO did not elaborate how or why the impact would be "significant."
One area that might concern Musk and Tesla is the future of the federal EV tax credit that allows for $7,500 rebates to consumers who buy or lease pure EVs.
Tesla likely would not exist if not for that tax credit, which the company availed itself to for years during the Obama administration. The EV tax credit was extended and enhanced in President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act signed in 2022.
But now that Tesla can produce its EVs profitability — and is essentially a cost leader in the space — Musk is fine with Trump and a GOP-led Congress potentially pulling the EV tax credit benefit, to the chagrin of his competitors.
"I think it would be devastating for our competitors and for Tesla slightly. But long term probably actually helps Tesla, would be my guess," Musk said when asked about the future of the tax credits during Tesla's Q2 earnings call last year.
Most Wall Street analysts and economists believe a loss of EV tax credits would hurt Tesla sales, though it would hurt its competitors more.
But perhaps the biggest reasons Tesla and Musk support Trump are self-driving and autonomy.
The bet is that the White House and regulators will ease, at least at the federal level, the ability to deploy robotaxis and self-driving technology at scale. And Tesla bulls like Adam Jonas at Morgan Stanley and Dan Ives at Wedbush see that as the main driver of Tesla's future growth.
Musk, not surprisingly, agrees.
"The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy. These other things are, I think, no way it's relative to autonomy," Musk said during last year's Q2 call. "I recommend anyone who doesn't believe that Tesla would solve vehicle autonomy should not hold Tesla stock."
"If you believe Tesla will solve autonomy, you should buy Tesla stock. And all these other questions are in the noise."
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Featured
Submit a story
Tell us your story.
Featured
Submit a story
Tell us your story.
Featured
Submit a story
Tell us your story.
By:
Amber Murray
Retail Reporter
Naked Wines has released details of its new strategic growth plan as it promises to “recalibrate” the businesses to drive growth.
The wine seller also announced that its trading performance “continues to track in line with expectations” ahead of full-year results later this year.
Its share price rose more than 11 per cent in early trades.
Naked Wines said it has three new priorities: achieving £75m in cash, reaching £10m-£15m annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EDITDA) and achieving sustainable underlying revenue growth.
It expects revenue to stabilise by 2029 at £200-£225m, and that underlying EBITDA will progressively build to £10m-£15m in the medium term.
The company plans to “recalibrate around a profitable core” of members, save costs to free up cash, and restore customer retention back to 2019 levels.
After struggling post-pandemic with a sharp downturn in demand, Naked Wines started to reduce its losses last year after hiring Maze as CEO.
“Investors need to pay attention – Naked Wines has turned a corner and there is a plan to achieve three things: significantly build cash… return the business to 5-10 per cent revenue growth… while underpinning EBITDA at circa £10m in the near-term, and commit to distributing this cash to shareholders,” Panmure Liberum analysts said.
Panmure raised its target price up to 150p from 50p. The stock is currently trading at 63p, having risen 38 per cent in the year to date.
“A year ago, I made a commitment to deliver real value to all our stakeholders. We now have a powerful plan that fulfills that promise, as we deliver on FY25 guidance even in the face of challenging market conditions,” CEO Rodrigo Maza said.
“We will look to commence distributions, unlock capital from surplus inventory, double down on serving our most valuable members, and transform how we attract and retain new customers.
“I am deeply grateful to the team for their commitment and relentless hard work. Together, we are turning challenges into opportunities and paving the way for a bright future,” Maze said.
Share this article
Subscribe to the City AM newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.
Follow us for breaking news and latest updates
An ancient and enormous organism called Prototaxites, initially found to be a type of fungus, may actually be an unknown branch of life, researchers say.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
A bizarre ancient life-form, considered to be the first giant organism to live on land, may belong to a totally unknown branch of the tree of life, scientists say.
These organisms, named Prototaxites, lived around 420 million to 375 million years ago during the Devonian period and resembled branchless, cylindrical tree trunks. These organisms would have been massive, with some species growing up to 26 feet (8 meters) tall and 3 feet (1 meter) wide.
Since the first Prototaxites fossil was discovered in 1843, scientists haven't been sure whether they were a plant, fungus or even a type of algae. However, chemical analyses of Prototaxites fossils in 2007 suggested they were likely a giant ancient fungus.
Now, according to a paper published March 17 on the preprint server bioRxiv, Prototaxites might not have been a humongous fungus after all — rather, it may have been an entirely different and previously unknown life-form. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.
All life on Earth is classified within three domains — bacteria, archaea and eukarya — with eukarya containing all multicellular organisms within the four kingdoms of fungi, animals, plants and protists. Bacteria and archaea contain only single-celled organisms.
Previous chemical analysis of Prototaxites fossils indicated that they likely fed off decaying organisms, just like many fungi do today, rather than making their food from carbon dioxide in the air like plants.
However, according to this new research, Prototaxites may actually have been part of a totally different kingdom of life, separate from fungi, plants, animals and protists.
Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
The researchers studied the fossilized remains of one Prototaxites species named Prototaxites taiti, found preserved in the Rhynie chert, a sedimentary deposit of exceptionally well-preserved fossils of early land plants and animals in Scotland. This species was much smaller than many other species of Prototaxites, only growing up to a few inches tall, but it is still the largest Prototaxites specimen found in this region.
Upon examining the internal structure of the fossilized Prototaxites, the researchers found that its interior was made up of a series of tubes, similar to those within a fungus. But these tubes branched off and reconnected in ways very unlike those seen in modern fungi.
"We report that Prototaxites taiti was the largest organism in the Rhynie ecosystem and its anatomy was fundamentally distinct from all known extant or extinct fungi," the researchers wrote in the paper. "We therefore conclude that Prototaxites was not a fungus, and instead propose it is best assigned to a now entirely extinct terrestrial lineage."
True fungi from the same period have also been preserved in the Rhynie chert, enabling the researchers to chemically compare them to Prototaxites. In addition to their unique structural characteristics, the team found that the Prototaxites fossils left completely different chemical signatures to the fungi fossils, indicating that the Prototaxites did not contain chitin, a major building block of fungal cell walls and a hallmark of the fungal kingdom. The Prototaxites fossils instead appeared to contain chemicals similar to lignin, which is found in the wood and bark of plants.
"We conclude that the morphology and molecular fingerprint of P. taiti is clearly distinct from that of the fungi and other organism preserved alongside it in the Rhynie chert, and we suggest that it is best considered a member of a previously undescribed, entirely extinct group of eukaryotes," the researchers wrote.
Kevin Boyce, a professor at Stanford University, led the 2007 study that posited Prototaxites is a giant fungus and was not involved in this new research. However, he told the New Scientist that he agreed with the study's findings.
—Scientists discover new 15 million-year old fish with last meal fossilized inside its stomach
—30,000-year-old fossilized vulture feathers 'nothing like what we usually see' preserved in volcanic ash
—Iguanas sailed one-fifth of the way around the world on rafts 34 million years ago
"Given the phylogenetic information we have now, there is no good place to put Prototaxites in the fungal phylogeny," Boyce said. "So maybe it is a fungus, but whether a fungus or something else entirely, it represents a novel experiment with complex multicellularity that is now extinct and does not share a multicellular common ancestor with anything alive today."
More research into Prototaxites fossils needs to be done to determine if they were fungi or a completely different type of life, and what caused them to go extinct millions of years ago.
"The conclusion that it is a completely unknown eukaryote certainly creates an air of mystery and intrigue around it — probably not likely to be solved until more fossils are discovered or new analytical techniques developed," Brett Summerell, a plant pathologist and fungi expert at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney, Australia, who not involved in this new study, told the New Scientist.
Jess Thomson is a freelance journalist. She previously worked as a science reporter for Newsweek, and has also written for publications including VICE, The Guardian, The Cut, and Inverse. Jess holds a Biological Sciences degree from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in animal behavior and ecology.
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
How many species of insects are there on Earth?
Scientists thought sharks didn't make sounds — until this accidental discovery
James Webb telescope zooms in on bizarre 'Einstein ring' caused by bending of the universe
Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
The strange sight is actually two galaxies, with the light of the second warped around the one at the front as a result of its massive gravity.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a stunning image of a bizarre astronomical optical illusion.
This "rare cosmic phenomenon", called an Einstein ring, appears as a single eye-like orb in the darkness of space, but is actually a distorted view of two distant galaxies in the constellation Hydrus.
In the bright center of this cosmic spectacle is one galaxy, while the stretched orange and blue color surrounding it is the light from another galaxy located behind it. The light from the more distant galaxy looks like a ring because it has been distorted by gravitational lensing.
Gravitational lensing occurs when the gravity of a massive object — like a galaxy or a black hole — bends the light from a more distant object. This effect is a direct consequence of Einstein's theory of relativity, which states that mass warps the fabric of space-time, causing light to follow curved paths, like a ball rolling down a curved slope.
"This effect is much too subtle to be observed on a local level, but it sometimes becomes clearly observable when dealing with curvatures of light on enormous, astronomical scales," ESA representatives wrote in a statement.
This latest image was released by ESA and the Canadian Space Agency today (March 27) as their March picture of the month. It was captured by JWST's Near-InfraRed Camera instrument and also includes data from the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope.
Related: 42 jaw-dropping James Webb Space Telescope images
Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
Einstein rings like these are created when the distant light source, the massive lensing object, and the observer are perfectly aligned, resulting in the light appearing as a complete ring wrapped around the lensing object. As a result, they are rare.
In this case, the elliptical galaxy in the foreground — which is part of a galaxy cluster named SMACSJ0028.2-7537 — is so massive that it is bending the light of the spiral galaxy situated far behind it.
"Even though its image has been warped as its light travelled around the galaxy in its path, individual star clusters and gas structures are clearly visible," according to the statement
The fascinating phenomenon of gravitational lensing also allows astronomers to better understand the universe.
—James Webb telescope captures auroras on Neptune for first time ever
—James Webb telescope reveals 'cosmic tornado' in best detail ever — and finds part of it is not what it seems
—'Unlike any objects we know': Scientists get their best-ever view of 'space tornadoes' howling at the Milky Way's center
Light emitted from distant galaxies, which existed long ago in the past, is often too faint to be observed directly from Earth. Strong gravitational lensing magnifies these galaxies, making them appear larger and brighter, and allowing astronomers to study some of the first galaxies formed after the Big Bang.
"Objects like these are the ideal laboratory in which to research galaxies too faint and distant to otherwise see," the ESA statement noted.
Additionally, because black holes and dark matter don't emit light, scientists can use gravitational lensing to detect and study these phenomena by measuring how they bend and magnify background stars.
Jess Thomson is a freelance journalist. She previously worked as a science reporter for Newsweek, and has also written for publications including VICE, The Guardian, The Cut, and Inverse. Jess holds a Biological Sciences degree from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in animal behavior and ecology.
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
How to watch Saturday's sunrise 'devil horn' solar eclipse online for free
James Webb telescope captures auroras on Neptune for first time ever
How to watch Saturday's sunrise 'devil horn' solar eclipse online for free
Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
Only $2.99 a month
The evidence for Majorana qubits didn't win over many skeptics at the Global Physics Summit
Microsoft's topological quantum chip, the Majorana 1 (pictured), could be a boon to quantum computing, but some physicists are skeptical that the chip does what's claimed.
Microsoft
By Emily Conover
4 hours ago
ANAHEIM, CALIF. — At the world's largest gathering of physicists, a talk about Microsoft's claimed new type of quantum computing chip was perhaps the main attraction.
Microsoft's February announcement of a chip containing the first topological quantum bits, or qubits, has ignited heated blowback in the physics community. The discovery was announced by press release, without publicly shared data backing it up. A concurrent paper in Nature fell short of demonstrating a topological qubit. Microsoft researcher Chetan Nayak, a coauthor on that paper, promised to provide solid evidence during his March 18 talk at the American Physical Society's Global Physics Summit.
Before the talk, the chair of the session made an announcement: Follow the code of conduct; treat others with respect. The room, jam-packed with hundreds of eager physicists filling the seats and standing along the walls, chuckled knowingly at the implication that decorum might be lost.
Topological quantum computing has had a dark shadow cast upon it by a series of retracted claims. Nevertheless, the concept holds great promise. The qubits that make up quantum computers are notoriously fragile and error-prone. Qubits that harness the concepts of topology, the mathematical discipline that describes structures with holes or loops, might improve on this. With topological quantum computing, “you can have very low error rates,” Nayak, of Microsoft's Station Q in Santa Barbara, Calif., said during his talk.
Scientists were not wowed by the data he presented.
A key plot looked like random jitter, rather than an identifiable signal. Nayak claimed that an analysis of that apparent randomness revealed a pattern underlying the noise, suggesting a working qubit. That argument wasn't enough to flip the harshest critics.
“The data was incredibly unconvincing. It is as if Microsoft Quantum was attempting a simultaneous Rorschach test on hundreds of people,” says physicist Henry Legg of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, one of the fiercest critics of Microsoft's work.
Still, others were optimistic that, with additional effort, Microsoft could improve their device to produce a clearer signal. “I felt like it was maybe a bit premature to call it a qubit,” says physicist Kartiek Agarwal of Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill. But “there's very many positive signs.”
Quantum computers promise to unlock new types of calculations, but only if they can be made reliable. The idea of building a qubit that is intrinsically less error-prone has excited scientists. “It's one of the more creative, more original approaches to quantum computing, and in this sense, I've really been rooting for it,” says physicist Ivar Martin of Argonne National Laboratory.
But the idea has struggled to get off the ground, trailing decades behind more conventional qubit technologies.
Creating a topological qubit requires provoking electrons in a material to dance just-so. The electron collective behaves like a hypothetical, particle-ish thing: a quasiparticle known as a Majorana. But creating Majoranas, and proving they exist, has been extremely challenging.
Sponsor Message
Microsoft has made impressive strides, Martin notes. But “as far as demonstrating things which people at this meeting would care about the most — really convincingly showing physics of Majoranas — it's underwhelming to many.”
If it's possible to be less-than-underwhelmed, that would describe Legg, who gave a talk the day before Nayak's. He expressed doubts about the very foundation of Microsoft's method in a room filled to bursting — albeit a significantly smaller room than Nayak's headliner venue.
In his talk, squeezed into the meeting's schedule at the last minute, Legg listed a litany of criticisms. The critique centered on the method used to demonstrate that the device is topological in the first place — the “topological gap protocol,” laid out in a 2023 Microsoft paper in Physical Review B. That protocol was flawed, he argued in his talk and in a paper submitted March 11 to arXiv.org. For example, Legg argued, the protocol gives different results for the same data, depending on the range of the parameters included, such as the spread of magnetic field or voltage values.
“Any company claiming to have a topological qubit in 2025 is essentially selling a fairytale, and I think it's a dangerous fairytale,” Legg said. “It undermines the field of quantum computation and, in general, I think it undermines, actually, the public's confidence in science.”
During a Q&A immediately after Legg's talk, Microsoft researcher Roman Lutchyn rose with a forceful rebuttal: “A lot of statements here are just simply incorrect,” he said, ticking through several of Legg's claims, which he also addressed in a LinkedIn post. “We stand behind the results in these papers.”
At their most basic level, Microsoft's devices consist of aluminum nanowires, just 60 nanometers wide, laid atop a semiconductor. When cooled, this aluminum becomes superconducting, allowing it to transmit electricity without resistance. This induces superconductivity in the semiconductor, creating ideal conditions for Majoranas. Once the device is tuned to particular values of magnetic field and voltage, Majoranas should theoretically appear at each end of the nanowires.
Disorder in these devices is a big problem for topological qubits. Surface roughness or material defects can result in spurious signals or ambiguous results. In recent years, Microsoft's devices have improved enormously in that regard, says physicist Sankar Das Sarma of the University of Maryland in College Park. But, he says, “some more improvement is needed.… I think disorder still needs to go down by another factor of two.”
When the aluminum threads are arranged in an H shape, they create a qubit with Majoranas at each of its four ends. To claim a working qubit, Microsoft needed to show that they could perform measurements on it. This involves probing quantum dots, hot dog–shaped nanoparticles laid out near the nanowires. Two types of measurements, known as X and Z, are necessary.
Microsoft's new qubit looks like a H on its side. It's made of two nanowires (green, in this rendering) connected by a third (gray). Two quantum dots (hot dog shapes) allow two different types of measurements, X and Z (indicated by dotted lines). The qubit is based on quasiparticles called Majoranas which should reside at the wires' ends (red).
In the February Nature paper, Microsoft demonstrated a Z measurement, which involves probing the quantum dot associated with a single wire. Repeated Z measurements revealed the qubit switching between two possible states, the expected outcome for a topological qubit. These transitions purportedly indicated flips in parity, essentially reflecting whether there were an even or odd number of electrons within a wire.
During Nayak's talk, he unveiled their X measurement, which probes a quantum dot adjacent to two nanowires. The plot of these data looked random, lacking the same obvious flip-flopping between two values.
The audience did not seem particularly impressed. During the Q&A, Cornell University physicist Eun-Ah Kim said, “I would have loved this to just come out screaming at me that there's only two, but I don't think that's what I see.”
Nayak said that a statistical analysis of the random-looking data revealed a hidden pattern. But, in an email, Kim questioned the validity of Nayak's method for teasing out this pattern.
Even regarding the clearer Z measurement, scientists still don't agree whether this flipping constitutes evidence for Majoranas. “I'm persuaded,” Das Sarma says, “but people of goodwill could disagree.”
During the talk, attendees raised smartphones high to snap photos of Nayak's slides, which rocketed around the physics community. Just after the presentation, physicist Sergey Frolov of the University of Pittsburgh, who was not at the meeting, posted a detailed rebuttal on the social media platform BlueSky.
“[T]he data shown are … just noise. They are simply disappointing,” wrote Frolov. This, he suggested, doesn't bode well for the chip containing eight qubits that Microsoft announced in February: “That chip cannot possibly work, given what we saw today.”
Not all scientists are quite as critical as Legg and Frolov. Agarwal, for example, thinks Microsoft's topological gap protocol, the foundation of their current work, is sound. But, he notes, the device Nayak presented is impractical, given that its values appear essentially random. “It certainly can't be used as a qubit in its present state. That's also clearly obvious,” Agarwal says.
Nayak is confident that his team will improve their devices further, until skeptics are convinced. Frolov, for one, is confident that more paper retractions are coming.
Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at feedback@sciencenews.org | Reprints FAQ
C. Nayak. Towards topological quantum computing using InAs-Al hybrid devices. Global Physics Summit, Anaheim, Calif., March 18, 2025.
H.F. Legg. Can we build a topological qubit in 2025? Global Physics Summit, Anaheim, Calif., March 17, 2025.
H.F. Legg. Comment on "Interferometric single-shot parity measurement in InAs-Al hybrid devices", Microsoft Quantum, Nature 638, 651-655 (2025). arXiv:2503.08944. Submitted March 11, 2025.
Microsoft Azure Quantum. Interferometric single-shot parity measurement in InAs–Al hybrid devices. Nature. Vol. 638, February 20, 2025, p. 651. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08445-2.
Microsoft Quantum. InAs-Al hybrid devices passing the topological gap protocol. Physical Review B. Vol. 107, June 21, 2023, 245423. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.107.245423.
Physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers' Association Newsbrief award.
We are at a critical time and supporting science journalism
is more important than ever. Science News and our
parent organization, the Society for Science, need your help to strengthen
scientific literacy and ensure that important societal decisions are made
with science in mind.
Please
subscribe to Science News and add $16 to expand
science literacy and understanding.
Science News was founded in 1921 as an independent, nonprofit source of accurate information on the latest news of science, medicine and technology. Today, our mission remains the same: to empower people to evaluate the news and the world around them. It is published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education (EIN 53-0196483).
© Society for Science & the Public 2000–2025. All rights reserved.
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.
Not a subscriber?
Become one now.
Archaeologists are unsure why unrelated teenagers were buried in an elaborate Bronze Age tomb but think their age may be a clue.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
Five millennia ago, Bronze Age people in Mesopotamia built elaborate stone tombs full of spectacular grave goods and human sacrifices. Researchers are unsure of the meaning of this ritual, but a new study of the skeletons points to a clue: the age at which people were sacrificed and their biological sex.
"The fact that they are mostly adolescents is fascinating and surprising," David Wengrow, a professor of comparative archaeology at University College London, told Live Science. "It highlights how little thought scientists and historians have really given to the importance of adolescence as a crucial stage in the human life cycle."
The finding may also upend assumptions about the type of government this culture practiced. Previously, it was thought to be a king-led hierarchical society, but these burials hint at a more egalitarian organization.
Wengrow and colleagues have studied a series of skeletons found at the archaeological site of Başur Höyük on the Upper Tigris River in southeastern Turkey. Once part of ancient Mesopotamia, Başur Höyük is dated to between 3100 and 2800 B.C. Several stone tombs were discovered there a decade ago, full of hundreds of copper artifacts, textiles and beads.
In a previous study, researchers identified a burial of two 12-year-old children flanked by eight violently killed people and suggested the funeral ritual indicated the rise of an early state that included "royal" tombs with "retainer sacrifice."
But in a new study, published March 17 in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal, the researchers conducted ancient DNA analysis on a separate set of skeletons and presented a more nuanced view of the cemetery, focusing on the idea of adolescence as an important life stage in this society.
Related: Massive Mesopotamian canal network unearthed in Iraq
Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
Ancient DNA analysis of nine skeletons from Başur Höyük showed that the people were not biologically related to one another. The DNA also showed that most of the people the researchers tested were female.
"So we are dealing with adolescents brought together, or coming together voluntarily, from biologically unrelated groups to carry out a very extreme form of ritual," Wengrow said. The meaning of the ritual, however, is still unclear.
Previously, researchers thought that the main burials represented young royals with their sacrificed attendants. But this interpretation was based on the idea that early Bronze Age societies had evolved into large-scale states with a king at the top of the social hierarchy.
There is now more archaeological evidence that Bronze Age political systems were more flexible. Societies in Mesopotamia could have regularly switched between hierarchical, king-based rule and a more egalitarian social organization where people collectively make decisions.
"The idea that humans evolved to live in just one form of society almost all the time is almost certainly wrong," Wengrow said. If Başur Höyük was one of these more fluid societies, the "royal" burial may be better explained as a complex and potentially age-related funeral tradition.
"Much more likely, what we see in the cemetery is a subset of a larger group, other members of which survived the ritual process and went on to full adulthood," Wengrow said. This larger group can be called an "age set," according to the study.
In general, in egalitarian societies, leadership is earned instead of inherited, but "age sets" and gender can also come into play. For instance, elders may be valued for their wisdom and experience, while adolescents may be valued for their hunting skills. In the case of the Bronze Age burials in Turkey, this "age set" of adolescents could represent initiates into an ancient cult or victims of inter-group competition or violence, the researchers note in their study.
—Origins of world's earliest writing point to symbols on 'seals' used in Mesopotamian trade
—5,000-year-old artifacts in Iraq hint at mysterious collapse of one of the world's 1st governments
—People have been dumping corpses into the Thames since at least the Bronze Age, study finds
Few researchers focus on adolescence in ancient societies, the researchers noted in their study, so the Başur Höyük burials suggest that it is important to investigate age sets in early Bronze Age states rather than assuming the society was led by kings and other royals at the top of a political hierarchy.
Further research on the skeletons is forthcoming, Wengrow said, in terms of stable isotope analysis to figure out the origins of the people buried at Başur Höyük.
"For now, all we can say is that many of the teenagers buried in the tombs were not local to the area of the cemetery," he said.
Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in anthropology and classical archaeology and was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Why modern humans have smaller faces than Neanderthals and chimpanzees
Archaeologists may have finally discovered famous 'lost' canal built by Julius Caesar's uncle
Sony A7R V review: A 61-megapixel giant
Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
The James Webb Space Telescope has successfully detected auroras on Neptune for the first time ever, finishing a job that NASA's Voyager 2 probe began decades ago.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
New James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) images have captured auroras on Neptune for the first time.
The telescope spotted infrared auroras that create exotic molecules known as trihydrogen cations, according to a study published March 26 in Nature. Scientists identified auroras on Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus more than 30 years ago, but Neptune's auroras staunchly evaded detection until now.
Auroras form when energetic, charged particles from the sun get caught up in a planet's magnetic field. The field funnels the particles toward the planet's magnetic poles, where they collide with — and ionize — atmospheric molecules along the way, causing them to glow.
Unlike auroras on Earth, which occur at extreme northern and southern latitudes near our planet's North and South Pole, Neptune's auroras appear near the planet's mid-latitudes. That's because Neptune's magnetic field is tilted 47 degrees off its rotational axis, so the planet's magnetic poles lie between the geographic poles and the equator — around where South America would be located on Earth.
And unlike the Northern Lights, Neptune's auroras aren't visible to the naked eye.
"Turns out, actually imaging the auroral activity on Neptune was only possible with Webb's near-infrared sensitivity," Henrik Melin, a planetary scientist at Northumbria University in the U.K., said in a statement. "It was so stunning to not just see the auroras, but the detail and clarity of the signature really shocked me."
In June 2023, researchers used JWST's Near-Infrared Spectrograph to look for the trihydrogen cation (H3+), a hallmark of auroral activity in the hydrogen-rich atmospheres of the solar system's gas giants. NASA's Voyager 2 probe flew by Neptune in 1989, but it didn't have the right equipment to detect the cation. Since then, scientists at ground-based facilities, such as Hawaii's Keck telescope and NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, have looked for this molecule in Neptune's atmosphere without success, despite predictions that it should be present.
Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
Related: 'Hidden' rings of Uranus revealed in dazzling new James Webb telescope images
This time, JWST detected H3+, but researchers also noted unexpected changes in Neptune's atmosphere. "I was astonished — Neptune's upper atmosphere has cooled by several hundreds of degrees [since the Voyager flyby]," Melin said in the statement. "In fact, the temperature in 2023 was just over half of that in 1989."
—Mystery of Jupiter's powerful X-ray auroras finally solved
—Do extraterrestrial auroras occur on other planets?
—James Webb telescope to zoom in on Uranus and Saturn in study of mysterious auroras
These cold temperatures could be why scientists haven't detected H3+ on Neptune until now. The auroras appear much fainter at cold temperatures, and light reflecting off Neptune's clouds may have drowned them out, the researchers said.
"As we look ahead and dream of future missions to Uranus and Neptune, we now know how important it will be to have instruments tuned to the wavelengths of infrared light to continue to study the auroras," study coauthor Leigh Fletcher, a planetary scientist at Leicester University in the U.K., said in the statement. "This observatory has finally opened the window onto this last, previously hidden ionosphere of the giant planets."
Skyler Ware is a freelance science journalist covering chemistry, biology, paleontology and Earth science. She was a 2023 AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow at Science News. Her work has also appeared in Science News Explores, ZME Science and Chembites, among others. Skyler has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech.
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Current AI models a 'dead end' for human-level intelligence, scientists agree
'We will fight for him': Author John Green meets Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient with drug-resistant disease
'Fish odor syndrome': A rare metabolic condition that makes sweat smell like rotten fish
Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
In a new survey, 76% of scientists said that scaling large language models was "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to achieve AGI.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
Current approaches to artificial intelligence (AI) are unlikely to create models that can match human intelligence, according to a recent survey of industry experts.
Out of the 475 AI researchers queried for the survey, 76% said the scaling up of large language models (LLMs) was "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI), the hypothetical milestone where machine learning systems can learn as effectively, or better, than humans.
This is a noteworthy dismissal of tech industry predictions that, since the generative AI boom of 2022, has maintained that the current state-of-the-art AI models only need more data, hardware, energy and money to eclipse human intelligence.
Now, as recent model releases appear to stagnate, most of the researchers polled by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence believe tech companies have arrived at a dead end — and money won't get them out of it.
"I think it's been apparent since soon after the release of GPT-4, the gains from scaling have been incremental and expensive," Stuart Russell, a computer scientist at the University of California, Berkeley who helped organize the report, told Live Science. "[AI companies] have invested too much already and cannot afford to admit they made a mistake [and] be out of the market for several years when they have to repay the investors who have put in hundreds of billions of dollars. So all they can do is double down."
The startling improvements to LLMs in recent years is partly owed to their underlying transformer architecture. This is a type of deep learning architecture, first created in 2017 by Google scientists, that grows and learns by absorbing training data from human input.
This enables models to generate probabilistic patterns from their neural networks (collections of machine learning algorithms arranged to mimic the way the human brain learns) by feeding them forward when given a prompt, with their answers improving in accuracy with more data.
Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
Related: Scientists design new 'AGI benchmark' that indicates whether any future AI model could cause 'catastrophic harm'
But continued scaling of these models requires eye-watering quantities of money and energy. The generative AI industry raised $56 billion in venture capital globally in 2024 alone, with much of this going into building enormous data center complexes, the carbon emissions of which have tripled since 2018.
Projections also show the finite human-generated data essential for further growth will most likely be exhausted by the end of this decade. Once this has happened, the alternatives will be to begin harvesting private data from users or to feed AI-generated "synthetic" data back into models that could put them at risk of collapsing from errors created after they swallow their own input.
But the limitations of current models are likely not just because they're resource hungry, the survey experts say, but because of fundamental limitations in their architecture.
"I think the basic problem with current approaches is that they all involve training large feedforward circuits," Russell said. "Circuits have fundamental limitations as a way to represent concepts. This implies that circuits have to be enormous to represent such concepts even approximately — essentially as a glorified lookup table — which leads to vast data requirements and piecemeal representation with gaps. Which is why, for example, ordinary human players can easily beat the "superhuman" Go programs."
All of these bottlenecks have presented major challenges to companies working to boost AI's performance, causing scores on evaluation benchmarks to plateau and OpenAI's rumored GPT-5 model to never appear, some of the survey respondents said.
Assumptions that improvements could always be made through scaling were also undercut this year by the Chinese company DeepSeek, which matched the performance of Silicon Valley's expensive models at a fraction of the cost and power. For these reasons, 79% of the survey's respondents said perceptions of AI capabilities don't match reality.
"There are many experts who think this is a bubble," Russell said. "Particularly when reasonably high-performance models are being given away for free."
—Scientists propose making AI suffer to see if it's sentient
—AI could crack unsolvable problems — and humans won't be able to understand the results
—AI can now replicate itself — a milestone that has experts terrified
Yet that doesn't mean progress in AI is dead. Reasoning models — specialized models that dedicate more time and computing power to queries — have been shown to produce more accurate responses than their traditional predecessors.
The pairing of these models with other machine learning systems, especially after they're distilled down to specialized scales, is an exciting path forward, according to respondents. And DeepSeek's success points to plenty more room for engineering innovation in how AI systems are designed. The experts also point to probabilistic programming having the potential to build closer to AGI than the current circuit models.
"Industry is placing a big bet that there will be high-value applications of generative AI," Thomas Dietterich, a professor emeritus of computer science at Oregon State University who contributed to the report, told Live Science. "In the past, big technological advances have required 10 to 20 years to show big returns."
"Often the first batch of companies fail, so I would not be surprised to see many of today's GenAI startups failing," he added. "But it seems likely that some will be wildly successful. I wish I knew which ones."
Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess.
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
New AI is better at weather prediction than supercomputers — and it consumes 1000s of times less energy
Punishing AI doesn't stop it from lying and cheating — it just makes it hide better, study shows
Human sacrifices found in a Bronze Age tomb in Turkey were mostly teenage girls
Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
Every print subscription comes with full digital access
A U.S. return to underground detonations would have wide-ranging implications
In 1946, the United States conducted this nuclear test at Bikini Atoll. Tests moved underground in the 1960s to limit nuclear fallout. After decades of hiatus, the United States may resume underground tests, some experts say.
Science History Images/Alamy Stock Photo
By Emily Conover
4 hours ago
When the countdown hit zero on September 23, 1992, the desert surface puffed up into the air, as if a giant balloon had inflated it from below.
It wasn't a balloon. Scientists had exploded a nuclear device hundreds of meters below the Nevada desert, equivalent to thousands of tons of TNT. The ensuing fireball reached pressures and temperatures well beyond those in Earth's core. Within milliseconds of the detonation, shock waves rammed outward. The rock melted, vaporized and fractured, leaving behind a cavity oozing with liquid radioactive rock that puddled on the cavity's floor.
As the temperature and pressure abated, rocks collapsed into the cavity. The desert surface slumped, forming a subsidence crater about 3 meters deep and wider than the length of a football field. Unknown to the scientists working on this test, named Divider, it would be the end of the line. Soon after, the United States halted nuclear testing.
Beginning with the first explosive test, known as Trinity, in 1945, more than 2,000 atomic blasts have rattled the globe. Today, that nuclear din has been largely silenced, thanks to the norms set by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, or CTBT, negotiated in the mid-1990s.
Only one nation — North Korea — has conducted a nuclear test this century. But researchers and policy makers are increasingly grappling with the possibility that the fragile quiet will soon be shattered.
Some in the United States have called for resuming testing, including a former national security adviser to President Donald Trump. Officials in the previous Trump administration considered testing, according to a 2020 Washington Post article. And there may be temptation in coming years. The United States is in the midst of a sweeping, decades-long overhaul of its aging nuclear arsenal. Tests could confirm that old weapons still work, check that updated weapons perform as expected or help develop new types of weapons.
Meanwhile, the two major nuclear powers, the United States and Russia, remain ready to obliterate one another at a moment's notice. If tensions escalate, a test could serve as a signal of willingness to use the weapons.
Testing “has tremendous symbolic importance,” says Frank von Hippel, a physicist at Princeton University. “During the Cold War, when we were shooting these things off all the time, it was like war drums: ‘We have nuclear weapons and they work. Better watch out.' ” The cessation of testing, he says, was an acknowledgment that “these [weapons] are so unusable that we don't even test them.”
Many scientists maintain that tests are unnecessary. “What we've been saying consistently now for decades is there's no scientific reason that we need to test,” says Jill Hruby, who was the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, during the Biden administration.
That's because the Nevada site, where nuclear explosions once thundered regularly, hasn't been mothballed entirely. There, in an underground lab, scientists are performing nuclear experiments that are subcritical, meaning they don't kick off the self-sustaining chains of reactions that define a nuclear blast.
Many scientists argue that subcritical experiments, coupled with computer simulations using the most powerful supercomputers on the planet, provide all the information needed to assess and modernize the weapons. Subcritical experiments, some argue, are even superior to traditional testing for investigating some lingering scientific puzzles about the weapons, such as how they age.
Others think that subcritical experiments and simulations, no matter how sophisticated, can't replace the real thing indefinitely. But so far, the experiments and detailed assessments of the stockpile have backed up the capabilities of the nuclear arsenal. And those experiments avoid the big drawbacks of tests.
Sponsor Message
“A single United States test could trigger a global chain reaction,” says geologist Sulgiye Park of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy group. Other nuclear powers would likely follow by setting off their own test blasts. Countries without nuclear weapons might be spurred to develop and test them. One test could kick off a free-for-all.
“It's like striking a match in a roomful of dynamite,” Park says.
The logic behind nuclear weapons involves mental gymnastics. The weapons can annihilate entire cities with one strike, yet their existence is touted as a force for peace. The thinking is that nuclear weapons act as a deterrent — other countries will resist using a nuclear weapon, or making any major attack, in fear of retaliation. The idea is so embedded in U.S. military circles that a type of intercontinental ballistic missile developed during the Cold War was dubbed Peacekeeper.
Since the end of testing, the world seems to have taken a slow, calming exhale. Global nuclear weapons tallies shrunk from more than 70,000 in the mid-1980s to just over 12,000 today. That pullback was due to a series of treaties between the United States and Russia (previously the Soviet Union). Nuclear weapons largely fell from the forefront of public consciousness.
Since the first nuclear weapons test in 1945, there have been more than 2,000 tests. In the 1960s, countries began performing tests underground over fears of radioactive fallout. In the 1990s, nuclear testing largely ended with the arrival of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The only country to test nuclear weapons in the 21st century is North Korea. Its last known test was in 2017.
But now there's been a sharp inhale. The last remaining arms-control treaty between the United States and Russia, New START, is set to expire in 2026, giving the countries free rein on numbers of deployed weapons. Russia already suspended its participation in New START in 2023 and revoked its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty to mirror the United States and a handful of other countries that signed but never ratified the treaty. (The holdouts prevented the treaty from officially coming into force, but nations have abided by it anyway.)
Nuclear threats by Russia have been a regular occurrence during the ongoing war in Ukraine. And China, with the third-largest stockpile, is rapidly expanding its cache, highlighting a potential future in which there are three main nuclear powers, not just two.
“There is this increasing perception that this is a uniquely dangerous moment.… We're in this regime where all the controls are coming off and things are very unstable,” says Daniel Holz, a physicist at the University of Chicago and chair of the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a nonprofit that aims to raise awareness of the peril of nuclear weapons and other threats. In January, the group set its metaphorical Doomsday Clock at 89 seconds to midnight — the closest it has ever been.
Some see the ability to test as a necessity for a world in which nuclear weapons are a rising threat. “We are seeing an environment in which the autocrats are increasingly relying on nuclear weapons to threaten and coerce their adversaries,” says Robert Peters, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. “If you're in an acute crisis or conflict in which your adversary is threatening to employ nuclear weapons, you don't want to limit the options of the president to get you out of that crisis.” Testing, and the signal it sends to an adversary, he argues, should be such an option.
Peters advocates for shortening the time window for test preparations — currently estimated at two or three years — to three to six months. The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 calls for “immediate test readiness.”
The United States regularly considers the possibility of testing nuclear weapons. “It's a question that actually gets asked every year,” says Thom Mason, director of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Los Alamos is one of the three U.S. nuclear weapons labs, alongside Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. Each year, the directors of the three labs coordinate detailed assessments of the stockpile's status, including whether tests are needed.
“Up until this point, the answer has been ‘no,' ” Mason says. But if scientific concerns arose that couldn't be resolved otherwise or if weapons began unexpectedly deteriorating, that assessment could change.
If a test were deemed necessary, exactly how long it would take to prepare would depend on the reasons for it. “If you're trying to answer a scientific question, then you probably need lots of instrumentation and that could take time,” Mason says. “If you're just trying to send a signal, then maybe you don't need as much of that; you're just trying to make the ground shake.”
The area of the Nevada desert encompassing the test site is speckled with otherworldly Joshua trees and the saucer-shaped craters of past tests. In addition to 828 underground tests, 100 atmospheric tests were performed there, part of what's now known as the Nevada National Security Sites. Carved out of Western Shoshone lands, it sits 120 kilometers from Las Vegas. Radioactive fallout from atmospheric tests, which ceased in 1962, reached nearby Indian reservations and other communities — a matter that is still the subject of litigation.
By moving tests underground, officials aimed to contain the nuclear fallout and limit its impact on human health. Before an underground test, workers outfitted a nuclear device with scientific instruments and lowered it into a hole drilled a few hundred meters into the earth. The hole was then filled with sand, gravel and other materials.
As personnel watched a video feed from the safety of a bunker, the device was detonated. “You see the ground pop, and you see the dust come up and then slowly settle back down. And then eventually you see the subsidence crater form. It just falls in on itself,” says Marvin Adams, a nuclear engineer who was deputy administrator for NNSA's Defense Programs during the Biden administration. “There was always a betting pool on how long that would take before the crater formed. And it could be seconds, or it could be days.”
Kilometers' worth of cables fed information from the equipment to trailers where data were recorded. Meanwhile, stations monitored seismic signals and radioactivity. Later, another hole would be drilled down into the cavity and rock samples taken to determine the explosion's yield.
Today, such scenes have gone the way of the '90s hairstyles worn in photos of underground test preparation. They've been replaced by subcritical experiments, which use chemical explosives to implode or shock plutonium, the fuel at the heart of U.S. weapons, in a facility called the Principal Underground Laboratory for Subcritical Experimentation, PULSE.
The experiments mimic what goes on in a real weapon but with one big difference. Weapons are supercritical: The plutonium is compressed enough to sustain chains of nuclear fission reactions, the splitting of atomic nuclei. The chain reactions occur because fission spits out neutrons that, in a supercritical configuration, can initiate further fissions, which release more neutrons, and so on. A subcritical experiment doesn't smoosh the plutonium enough to beget those fissions upon fissions that lead to a nuclear explosion.
The PULSE facility consists of 2.3 kilometers of tunnels nearly 300 meters below the surface. There, a machine called Cygnus takes X-ray images of the roiling plutonium when it's blasted with chemical explosives in subcritical experiments. X-rays pass through the plutonium and are detected on the other side. Just as a dentist uses an X-ray machine to see inside your mouth, the X-rays illuminate what's happening inside the experiment.
Glimpses of such experiments are rare. A video of a 2012 subcritical experiment shows a dimly lit close-up of the confinement vessel that encloses the experiment over audio of a countdown and a piercing beeping noise, irritating enough that it must be signifying something important is about to happen. When the countdown ends, there's a bang, and the beeping stops. That's it. It's a far cry from the mushroom clouds of yesteryear.
The experiments are a component of the U.S. stockpile stewardship program, which ensures the weapons' status via a variety of assessments, experiments and computer simulations. PULSE is now being expanded to beef up its capabilities. A new machine called Scorpius is planned to begin operating in 2033. It will feature a 125-meter-long particle accelerator that will blast electrons into a target to generate X-rays that are more intense and energetic than Cygnus', which will allow scientists to take images later in the implosion. What's more, Scorpius will produce four snapshots at different times, revealing how the plutonium changes throughout the experiment.
And the upcoming ZEUS, the Z-Pinched Experimental Underground System, will blast subcritical experiments with neutrons and measure the release of gamma rays, a type of high-energy radiation. ZEUS will be the first experiment of its kind to study plutonium.
Subcritical experiments help validate computer simulations of nuclear weapons. Those simulations then inform the maintenance and development of the real thing. The El Capitan computer, installed for this purpose at Lawrence Livermore in 2024, is the fastest supercomputer ever reported.
That synergy between powerful computing and advanced experiments is necessary to grapple with the full complexity of modern nuclear weapons, in which materials are subject to some of the most extreme conditions known on Earth and evolve dramatically over mere instants.
To maximize the energy released, modern weapons don't stop with fission. They employ a complex interplay between fission and fusion, the merging of atomic nuclei. First, explosives implode the plutonium, which is contained in a hollow sphere called a “pit.” This allows fission reactions to proliferate. The extreme temperatures and pressures generated by fission kick off fusion reactions in hydrogen contained inside the pit, blasting out neutrons that initiate additional fission. X-rays released by that first stage compress a second stage, generating additional fission and fusion reactions that likewise feed off one another. These principles have produced weapons 1,000 times as powerful as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
To mesh simulations and experiments, scientists must understand their measurements in detail and carefully quantify the uncertainties involved. This kind of deep understanding wasn't as necessary, or even possible, in the days of explosive nuclear weapons test, says geophysicist Raymond Jeanloz of the University of California, Berkeley. “It's actually very hard to use nuclear explosion testing to falsify hypotheses. They're designed mostly to reassure everyone that, after you put everything together and do it, that it works.”
Laboratory experiments can be done repeatedly, with parameters slightly changed. They can be designed to fail, helping delineate the border between success and failure. Nuclear explosive tests, because they were expensive, laborious one-offs, were designed to succeed.
Stockpile stewardship has allowed scientists to learn the ins and outs of the physics behind the weapons. “We pay attention to every last detail,” Hruby says. “Through the science program, we now better understand nuclear weapons than we ever understood them before.”
For example, Jeanloz says, in the era of testing, a quantity called the energy balance wasn't fully understood. It describes how much energy gets transferred from the primary to the secondary component in a weapon. In the past, that lack of understanding could be swept aside, because a test could confirm that the weapons worked. But with subcritical experiments and simulations, fudge factors must be eliminated to be certain a weapon will function. Quantifying that energy balance and determining the uncertainty was a victory of stockpile stewardship.
This type of work, Jeanloz says, brought “the heart and soul, the guts of the scientific process into the [nuclear] enterprise.”
Subcritical experiments are focused in particular on the quandary over how plutonium ages. Since 1989, the United States hasn't fabricated significant numbers of plutonium pits. That means the pits in the U.S. arsenal are decades old, raising questions about whether weapons will still work.
An aging pit, some scientists worry, might cause the multistep process in a nuclear warhead to fizzle. For example, if the implosion in the first stage doesn't proceed properly, the second stage might not go off at all.
Plutonium ages not only from the outside in — akin to rusting iron — but also from the inside out, says Siegfried Hecker, who was director of Los Alamos from 1986 to 1997. “It's constantly bombarding itself by radioactive decay. And that destroys the metallic lattice, the crystal structure of plutonium.”
The decay leaves behind a helium nucleus, which over time may result in tiny bubbles of helium throughout the lattice of plutonium atoms. Each decay also produces a uranium atom that zings through the material and “beats the daylights out of the lattice,” Hecker says. “We don't quite know how much the damage is … and how that damaged material will behave under the shock and temperature conditions of a nuclear weapon. That's the tricky part.”
One way to circumvent this issue is to produce new pits. A major effort under way will ramp up production. In 2024, the NNSA “diamond stamped” the first of these pits, meaning that the pit was certified for use in a weapon. The aim is for the United States to make 80 pits per year by 2030. But questions remain about new plutonium pits as well, Hecker says, as they rely on an updated manufacturing process.
Hecker, whose tenure at Los Alamos straddled the testing and post-testing eras, thinks nuclear tests could help answer some of those questions. “Those people who say, ‘There is no scientific or technical reason to test. We can do it all with computers,' I disagree strongly.”
But, he says, the benefits of performing a test would be outweighed by the big drawback: Other countries would likely return to testing. And those countries would have more to learn than the United States. China, for instance, has performed only 45 tests, while the United States has performed over 1,000. “We have to find other ways that we can reassure ourselves,” Hecker says.
Other experts similarly thread the needle. Nuclear tests of the past produced plenty of surprises, such as yields that were higher or lower than predicted, physicist Michael Frankel, an independent scientific consultant, and colleagues argued in a 2021 report. While the researchers advise against resuming testing in the current situation, they expect that stockpile stewardship will not be sufficient indefinitely. “Too many things have gone too wrong too often to trust Lucy with the football one more time,” Frankel and colleagues wrote, referring to Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. If we rely too much on computer simulations to conclude an untested nuclear weapon will work, we might find ourselves like Charlie Brown — flat on our backs.
But other scientists have full faith in subcritical experiments and stockpile stewardship. “We have always found that there are better ways to answer these questions than to return to nuclear explosive testing,” Adams says.
For many scientists, subcritical experiments are preferable, especially given the political ramifications of full-fledged tests. But the line between a nuclear test prohibited by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and an experiment that is allowed is not always clear.
The CTBT is a “zero yield” treaty; experiments can release no energy beyond that produced by the chemical explosives. But, Adams says, “there's no such thing as zero yield.” Even in an idle, isolated hunk of plutonium, some nuclear fission happens spontaneously. That's a nonzero but tiny nuclear yield. “It's a ridiculous term,” he says. “I hate it. I wish no one had ever said it.”
The United States has taken zero yield to mean that self-sustaining chain reactions are prohibited. U.S. government reports claim that Russia has performed nuclear experiments that surpass this definition of the zero yield benchmark and raise concerns about China's adherence to the standard. The confusion has caused finger-pointing and increased tensions.
But countries might honestly disagree on the definition of a nuclear test, Adams says. For example, a country might allow “hydronuclear” experiments, which are supercritical but the amount of fission energy released is dwarfed by the energy from the chemical explosive. Such experiments would violate U.S. standards, but perhaps not those of Russia or another country.
Even if everyone could agree on a definition, monitoring would be challenging. The CTBT provides for seismic and other monitoring, but detecting very-low-yield tests would demand new inspection techniques, such as measuring the radiation emanating from a confinement vessel used in an experiment.
Tests that clearly break the rules, however, can be swiftly detected. The CTBT monitoring system can spot underground explosions as small as 0.1 kilotons, less than a hundredth that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. That includes the most recent nuclear explosive test, performed by North Korea in 2017.
Despite being invisible, underground nuclear explosive tests have an impact. While an underground test is generally much safer than an open-air nuclear test, “it's not not risky,” Park says.
The containment provided by an underground test isn't assured. In the 1970 Baneberry test in Nevada, a misunderstanding of the site's geology led to a radioactive plume escaping in a blowout that exposed workers on the site.
While U.S. scientists learned from that mistake and haven't had such a major containment failure since, the incident suggests that performing an underground test in a rushed manner could increase the risks for an accident, Park says.
Hecker is not too concerned about that possibility. “For the most part, I have good confidence that we could do underground nuclear testing without a significant insult to the environment,” he says. “It's not an automatic given.… Obviously there's radioactive debris that stays down there. But I think enough work has been done to understand the geology that we don't think there will be a major environmental problem.”
While the United States knows its test sites well and has practice with underground testing, “other countries might not be as knowledgeable,” Hruby says. So if the United States starts testing and others follow, “the chance of a non-containment, a leak of some kind, certainly goes up.” A U.S. test, she says, is “a very bad idea.”
Even if the initial containment is successful, radioactive materials could travel via groundwater. Although tests are designed to avoid groundwater, scientists have detected traces of plutonium in groundwater from the Nevada site. The plutonium traveled a little more than a kilometer in 30 years. “To a lot of people, that's not very far,” Park says. But “from a geology time scale, that's really fast.” Although not at a level where it would cause health effects, the plutonium had been expected to stay put.
The craters left in the Nevada desert are a mark of each test's impact on structures deep below the surface. “There was a time when detonating either above ground or underground in the desert seemed like — well, that's just wasteland,” Jeanloz says. “Many would view it very differently now, and say, ‘No, these are very fragile ecosystems, so perturbing the water table, putting radioactive debris, has serious consequences.' ”
The weight of public opinion is another hurdle. In the days of nuclear testing, protests at the site were a regular occurrence. That opposition persisted to the very end. On the day of the Divider test in 1992, four protesters made it to within about six kilometers of ground zero before being arrested.
The disarmament movement continues despite the lack of testing. At a recent meeting of nuclear experts, the Nuclear Deterrence Summit in Arlington, Va., a few protesters gathered outside in the January cold, demanding that the United States and Russia swear off nuclear weapons for good. But that option was not on the meeting's agenda. During a break between sessions, the song that played — presumably unintentionally — was “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at feedback@sciencenews.org | Reprints FAQ
S. Park and R.C. Ewing. Environmental impacts of underground nuclear weapons testing. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Published online March 7, 2024. doi: 10.1080/00963402.2024.2314439.
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Nuclear weapons: Program management improvements would benefit U.S. efforts to build new experimental capabilities. Published online August 30, 2023.
J. Scouras, G. Ullrich and M. Frankel. Tickling the sleeping dragon's tail: Should We Resume Nuclear Testing? Defense Technical Information Center. Published online May 10, 2021. Accession Number: AD1132778.
Physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers' Association Newsbrief award.
We are at a critical time and supporting science journalism
is more important than ever. Science News and our
parent organization, the Society for Science, need your help to strengthen
scientific literacy and ensure that important societal decisions are made
with science in mind.
Please
subscribe to Science News and add $16 to expand
science literacy and understanding.
Science News was founded in 1921 as an independent, nonprofit source of accurate information on the latest news of science, medicine and technology. Today, our mission remains the same: to empower people to evaluate the news and the world around them. It is published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education (EIN 53-0196483).
© Society for Science & the Public 2000–2025. All rights reserved.
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.
Not a subscriber?
Become one now.
Patients with trimethylaminuria, or "fish odor syndrome," make too much of a chemical with a strong fishy smell.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
Disease name: Trimethylaminuria (TMAU), also known as "fish odor syndrome"
Affected populations: TMAU is a rare metabolic condition that causes a person to smell like rotten fish. The condition is more common in women than in men, and there's evidence that female sex hormones, such as progesterone, can exacerbate patients' symptoms.
The exact prevalence of TMAU is unknown, and estimates of global cases vary greatly, ranging from 1 in a million to 1 in 200,000 people.
Causes: Patients with TMAU smell like fish due to a buildup of a chemical called trimethylamine in their body. Trimethylamine is produced by bacteria in the gut as a byproduct of the digestion of certain foods, including eggs, liver, legumes and specific kinds of seafood, such as fish, squid and crabs.
Related: Why can't we smell ourselves as well as we smell others?
Normally, an enzyme in the body breaks down trimethylamine into an odorless chemical, known as trimethylamine N-oxide, which is then excreted via urine. This enzyme is encoded by a gene called FMO3.
In patients with TMAU, though, this enzymatic process doesn't occur, so trimethylamine accumulates in the body and ends up being released in excess quantities in patients' sweat, urine and breath. This makes them smell like rotten fish.
Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
Most cases of TMAU are caused by mutations in the FMO3 gene that prevent the enzyme it encodes from working properly. In these instances, patients inherit the disease in an autosomal recessive manner, meaning they must inherit two copies of the mutated FMO3 gene — one from each parent — to develop the condition.
More rarely, TMAU can be caused by consuming a large quantity of foods that lead to trimethylamine production. It can also result from liver failure and certain medical treatments, such as testosterone replacement therapy, which impact the processing and production of trimethylamine, respectively. Hormonal changes brought about by the menstrual cycle can also cause a transient form of TMAU.
Symptoms: Symptoms of TMAU may be present from birth or arise later in life, normally near the start of puberty (roughly around age 8 to 13 in females and 9 to 14 in males), when many hormonal changes happen.
Some patients with TMAU have a strong fishy odor all the time, while the smell may come and go for others with the condition. A patient's stress levels and diet can worsen their symptoms by increasing their sweat production and levels of trimethylamine, respectively.
TMAU is not deadly, but the condition can have devastating effects on patients' quality of life, by impeding their relationships with others and their career, for instance. These impacts can considerably impede their mental health and may lead to symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts in some.
Treatments: There is no cure for TMAU. However, health care providers may recommend that patients avoid foods that contain trimethylamine or substances that can be broken down into the chemical. These include milk from wheat-fed cows, as well as eggs, liver, kidney, seafood and peas.
—What is babesiosis? The parasitic infection that 'eats' your red blood cells
—POLG diseases: Rare genetic conditions that starve cells of energy and afflicted the late Prince of Luxembourg
—The rare genetic disorder that causes severe itchiness and liver failure
Patients may also be advised to wash their skin with a slightly acidic soap or shampoo, to avoid strenuous exercise that causes sweating, to wash their clothes frequently and to use antiperspirant. They may also be advised to take measures to reduce their stress levels.
Additionally, doctors can prescribe low doses of antibiotics to reduce the amount of bacteria in the gut that metabolize trimethylamine. They may also prescribe activated charcoal, which binds to and reduces the amount of trimethylamine that can be absorbed from the gut. (Activated charcoal can interact with many medications, though, so it should be used with caution.)
This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.
Emily is a health news writer based in London, United Kingdom. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Durham University and a master's degree in clinical and therapeutic neuroscience from Oxford University. She has worked in science communication, medical writing and as a local news reporter while undertaking NCTJ journalism training with News Associates. In 2018, she was named one of MHP Communications' 30 journalists to watch under 30. (emily.cooke@futurenet.com)
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
HIV-funding cuts could lead to nearly 3 million extra deaths by 2030, study suggests
In a 1st, trial finds vitamin D supplements may slow multiple sclerosis. But questions remain.
Why modern humans have smaller faces than Neanderthals and chimpanzees
Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
We have smaller faces than Neanderthals and even chimps. A new study may explain how this came to be.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
Modern humans have uniquely small and flat faces, especially compared with our Neanderthal cousins' notoriously robust faces and large noses, but the reason for this difference has eluded paleoanthropologists. Now, researchers have determined that human faces grow slowly and stop growing during early adolescence, whereas Neanderthals' faces kept growing into early adulthood.
"These two human species followed different developmental trajectories for their facial bones," Alexandra Schuh, a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, told Live Science.
In a study published Monday (March 24) in the Journal of Human Evolution, Schuh and colleagues analyzed the midface region of 174 skulls of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and chimpanzees. By including skulls from individuals throughout childhood and into adulthood, the researchers were able to investigate facial ontogeny — how the facial bones of the skull develop and grow.
The researchers used two techniques to closely examine the skulls. First, they created virtual 3D models of the skulls and digitized over 200 landmarks on the upper jawbone to look at patterns of growth and development. Then, they undertook microscopic analysis to look for bone formation and bone resorption, a normal process in bone remodeling that helps the tissue retain its structure and strength.
Related: 28,000-year-old Neanderthal-and-human 'Lapedo child' lived tens of thousands of years after our closest relatives went extinct
"We found that bone formation is predominant in Neanderthals — from birth on — who develop larger and more projecting faces," Schuh said. "In contrast, present-day humans exhibit significantly higher levels of bone resorption."
The new research showed that both chimpanzees and Neanderthals had larger, faster-growing faces, while modern humans have smaller faces that stop growing sometime during adolescence.
Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
"Earlier growth cessation is a distinctive feature of our species," Schuh said. "We have identified a unique developmental pattern seen exclusively in Homo sapiens."
—Neanderthal 'population bottleneck' around 110,000 years ago may have contributed to their extinction
—Did we kill the Neanderthals? New research may finally answer an age-old question.
—Neanderthals and modern humans interbred 'at the crossroads of human migrations' in Iran, study finds
Experts have put forth numerous explanations for why Neanderthals had such large faces and noses, including adaptation to a cold climate, higher energy needs, the chewing of tough foods, and the use of their teeth as tools. Explanations for humans' small faces, on the other hand, include the invention of cooking and increases in brain size.
But the reason humans evolved these uniquely small faces is a particularly complex question in paleoanthropology that has not yet been solved. "However, our study addresses aspects of the 'how,'" Schuh said, "providing an important first step toward understanding these processes."
Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in anthropology and classical archaeology and was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Archaeologists may have finally discovered famous 'lost' canal built by Julius Caesar's uncle
2,200-year-old mysterious pyramid structure filled with coins and weapons found near Dead Sea
HIV-funding cuts could lead to nearly 3 million extra deaths by 2030, study suggests
Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
Manage your account
King Charles III was briefly hospitalized Thursday amid ongoing medical treatment for cancer, according to Buckingham Palace.
Charles' hospitalization was a result of "temporary side effects" he experienced after undergoing what the palace described as "scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer" on Thursday morning.
After a "short period of observation" in the hospital, the 76-year-old king returned to Clarence House, his royal residence in London, according to the palace.
As a result of the hospitalization, Charles's engagements on Thursday afternoon and Friday were postponed.
"His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result," the palace said in a statement Thursday evening.
King Charles visits cancer center in 1st return to public duties since cancer diagnosis
Charles's cancer diagnosis was announced by Buckingham Palace in February 2024, shortly after he underwent treatment for benign prostate enlargement.
In announcing Charles' diagnosis, the palace did not specify the type of cancer, the stage of cancer or the type of treatment he is undergoing or planning to undergo.
After spending several weeks largely out of the public eye, Charles visited a cancer treatment center on April 30, 2024, in his first public royal engagement since his own diagnosis.
King Charles III seen in new photos after cancer diagnosis
Since then, Charles has resumed a more regular schedule of public duties.
On Wednesday, he visited an exhibition at Somerset House in London and later that evening attended a reception at Buckingham Palace.
King Charles briefly hospitalized amid cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace says originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
Dartmouth researchers conducted the first clinical trial of a therapy chatbot powered by generative AI and found that the software resulted in significant improvements in participants' symptoms, according to results published March 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine AI.
People in the study also reported they could trust and communicate with the system, known as Therabot, to a degree that is comparable to working with a mental-health professional.
The trial consisted of 106 people from across the United States diagnosed with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or an eating disorder. Participants interacted with Therabot through a smartphone app by typing out responses to prompts about how they were feeling or initiating conversations when they needed to talk.
People diagnosed with depression experienced a 51% average reduction in symptoms, leading to clinically significant improvements in mood and overall well-being, the researchers report. Participants with generalized anxiety reported an average reduction in symptoms of 31%, with many shifting from moderate to mild anxiety, or from mild anxiety to below the clinical threshold for diagnosis.
Among those at risk for eating disorders-who are traditionally more challenging to treat-Therabot users showed a 19% average reduction in concerns about body image and weight, which significantly outpaced a control group that also was part of the trial.
The researchers conclude that while AI-powered therapy is still in critical need of clinician oversight, it has the potential to provide real-time support for the many people who lack regular or immediate access to a mental-health professional.
The improvements in symptoms we observed were comparable to what is reported for traditional outpatient therapy, suggesting this AI-assisted approach may offer clinically meaningful benefits."
Nicholas Jacobson, study's senior author and associate professor of biomedical data science and psychiatry in Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine
"There is no replacement for in-person care, but there are nowhere near enough providers to go around," Jacobson says. For every available provider in the United States, there's an average of 1,600 patients with depression or anxiety alone, he says.
"We would like to see generative AI help provide mental health support to the huge number of people outside the in-person care system. I see the potential for person-to-person and software-based therapy to work together," says Jacobson, who is the director of the treatment development and evaluation core at Dartmouth's Center for Technology and Behavioral Health.
Michael Heinz, the study's first author and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth, says the trial results also underscore the critical work ahead before generative AI can be used to treat people safely and effectively.
"While these results are very promising, no generative AI agent is ready to operate fully autonomously in mental health where there is a very wide range of high-risk scenarios it might encounter," says Heinz, who also is an attending psychiatrist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. "We still need to better understand and quantify the risks associated with generative AI used in mental health contexts."
Therabot has been in development in Jacobson's AI and Mental Health Lab at Dartmouth since 2019. The process included continuous consultation with psychologists and psychiatrists affiliated with Dartmouth and Dartmouth Health.
When people initiate a conversation with the app, Therabot answers with natural, open-ended text dialog based on an original training set the researchers developed from current, evidence-based best practices for psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, Heinz says.
For example, if a person with anxiety tells Therabot they have been feeling very nervous and overwhelmed lately, it might respond, "Let's take a step back and ask why you feel that way." If Therabot detects high-risk content such as suicidal ideation during a conversation with a user, it will provide a prompt to call 911, or contact a suicide prevention or crisis hotline, with the press of an onscreen button.
The clinical trial provided the participants randomly selected to use Therabot with four weeks of unlimited access. The researchers also tracked the control group of 104 people with the same diagnosed conditions who had no access to Therabot.
Almost 75% of the Therabot group were not under pharmaceutical or other therapeutic treatment at the time. The app asked about people's well-being, personalizing its questions and responses based on what it learned during its conversations with participants. The researchers evaluated conversations to ensure that the software was responding within best therapeutic practices.
After four weeks, the researchers gauged a person's progress through standardized questionnaires clinicians use to detect and monitor each condition. The team did a second assessment after another four weeks when participants could initiate conversations with Therabot but no longer received prompts.
After eight weeks, all participants using Therabot experienced a marked reduction in symptoms that exceed what clinicians consider statistically significant, Jacobson says.
These differences represent robust, real-world improvements that patients would likely notice in their daily lives, Jacobson says. Users engaged with Therabot for an average of six hours throughout the trial, or the equivalent of about eight therapy sessions, he says.
"Our results are comparable to what we would see for people with access to gold-standard cognitive therapy with outpatient providers," Jacobson says. "We're talking about potentially giving people the equivalent of the best treatment you can get in the care system over shorter periods of time."
Critically, people reported a degree of "therapeutic alliance" in line with what patients report for in-person providers, the study found. Therapeutic alliance relates to the level of trust and collaboration between a patient and their caregiver and is considered essential to successful therapy.
One indication of this bond is that people not only provided detailed responses to Therabot's prompts-they frequently initiated conversations, Jacobson says. Interactions with the software also showed upticks at times associated with unwellness, such as in the middle of the night.
"We did not expect that people would almost treat the software like a friend. It says to me that they were actually forming relationships with Therabot," Jacobson says. "My sense is that people also felt comfortable talking to a bot because it won't judge them."
The Therabot trial shows that generative AI has the potential to increase a patient's engagement and, importantly, continued use of the software, Heinz says.
"Therabot is not limited to an office and can go anywhere a patient goes. It was available around the clock for challenges that arose in daily life and could walk users through strategies to handle them in real time," Heinz says. "But the feature that allows AI to be so effective is also what confers its risk-patients can say anything to it, and it can say anything back."
The development and clinical testing of these systems need to have rigorous benchmarks for safety, efficacy, and the tone of engagement, and need to include the close supervision and involvement of mental-health experts, Heinz says.
"This trial brought into focus that the study team has to be equipped to intervene-possibly right away-if a patient expresses an acute safety concern such as suicidal ideation, or if the software responds in a way that is not in line with best practices," he says. "Thankfully, we did not see this often with Therabot, but that is always a risk with generative AI, and our study team was ready."
In evaluations of earlier versions of Therabot more than two years ago, more than 90% of responses were consistent with therapeutic best-practices, Jacobson says. That gave the team the confidence to move forward with the clinical trial.
"There are a lot of folks rushing into this space since the release of ChatGPT, and it's easy to put out a proof of concept that looks great at first glance, but the safety and efficacy is not well established," Jacobson says. "This is one of those cases where diligent oversight is needed, and providing that really sets us apart in this space."
Dartmouth College
Heinz, M. V., et al. (2025). Randomized Trial of a Generative AI Chatbot for Mental Health Treatment. NEJM AI. doi.org/10.1056/aioa2400802.
Posted in: Device / Technology News | Medical Condition News
Cancel reply to comment
Conversations on AFM: Exploring the nanomechanics of living cells
In this interview Prof. Dr. Kristina Kusche-Vihrog speaks about the nanomechanics of living cells and their implications for cardiovascular disease.
Olivier Negre
In this interview, News Medical speaks with Olivier Negre, Chief Scientific Officer at Smart Immune, about how immunotherapy is being revolutionized.
Angeline Lim
Molecular Devices' CellXpress AI streamlines cell culture processes, reducing human error and improving efficiency in drug discovery with advanced automation.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Thursday 27 Mar 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
Manage your account
The Department of Health and Human Services will be firing 10,000 employees—nearly a quarter of the workforce.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is cutting employees in the disease outbreak, drug approval, and insurance departments. These firings, combined with the 10,000 employees who've already quit, leaves the critical public health department with just 62,000 employees. The department will also lose half of its regional offices.
“We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said.
According to the Journal, the cuts will include:
- 3,500 full-time employees from the Food and Drug Administration—or about 19% of the agency's workforce.
- 2,400 employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—or about 18% of its workforce.
- 1,200 employees from the National Institutes of Health—or about 6% of its workforce
- 300 employees from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—or about 4% of its workforce.
HHS has been a target for Elon Musk and DOGE since Trump reentered the Oval Office, and has received much ire from the right for its Covid-19 policies.
This story has been updated.
Recognizing the importance of nutrition in a patient's recovery, NYU Langone Health has integrated meal delivery into patients' discharge planning at its Manhattan and Brooklyn campuses through a self-funded partnership with God's Love We Deliver, providing customizable meal deliveries based on a patient's dietary needs and preferences to those in need at home after they leave the hospital.
Bridging hospital care and home recovery through nutrition is the driving mantra behind the partnership between NYU Langone Health and God's Love We Deliver, the only medically tailored meal provider in the New York metropolitan area.
For Nancy Bourges, a Coney Island resident caring for her daughter following a transplant at NYU Langone, the meal delivery service came as an unexpected blessing.
"She gets happy when they come," Bourges said. "She takes out each item and organizes them. When we don't have certain things at the house, she uses the bread they bring, puts it in the toaster, and makes peanut butter and jelly."
The partnership, launched in February 2024, strengthens how patients transition from hospital to home. Instead of being handed a list of community resources and hoping for the best, eligible patients connect with God's Love We Deliver before even leaving the hospital.
Kwan Hong Kim, a social worker at NYU Langone, understands the real-world challenges awaiting patients after discharge, such as managing medications and securing basic nutrition—factors that can make the difference between recovery and readmission.
Being in a hospital is not exactly the most stress-free setting. Some families are very anxious. They have a loved one in the hospital. They're dealing with all these other things going on. Coordinating a meal plan is an added component of patient care involving multiple moving parts that social work is responsible for."
Kwan Hong Kim, social worker at NYU Langone
"What I like about how the program is set up is that the providers from God's Love have access to relevant information about the participating patient's medical conditions and nutritional needs," Kim added. This seamless integration ensures patients receive nutritional support precisely tailored to their medical conditions.
For Allyson Schiff, director of business development at God's Love We Deliver, this represents a shift in healthcare delivery. "We are constantly demonstrating how medically tailored meals are part of a healthcare delivery system in a world that tends to think of healthcare as doctors' offices, prescriptions, and surgeries," Schiff explained. "We build flavor from things like garlic and ginger and carrots and onions. All our meals are low sodium and heart healthy. That's the foundation of a medically tailored meal."
The reliability and compassion of the delivery service have made a significant impact on families like Bourges's. "The delivery people are very polite with my daughter, very friendly," she said. "It's usually the same guy, and he knows her already. He's so nice and patient with her because she talks to him. I'll say, 'She's got to let you go,' and he'll say, 'No, no, it's all right.'"
This approach reflects mounting evidence that factors outside hospital walls — what healthcare professionals call "health-related social needs"—account for over 80 percent of overall health outcomes. Additionally, research has shown that medically tailored meals can reduce the rate of hospital readmission by up to 13 percent.
"Our goal is to facilitate the transition from the hospital back into their community or home," said Jasmine Bar, MPH, administrative fellow of hospital operations, NYU Langone. "The program and its infrastructure give us insight into the challenges and opportunities that exist for patients and families to get connected to social care resources."
The partnership's structure reveals patterns in how patients engage with support services. "When we rolled it out, the idea was if we offer people free meals, the majority of them would take the resource because it's free. But what we're seeing is there are multiple phases at which they might drop off," Bar said. "For patients who don't enroll in the program or don't want to accept the meals, we have a structure in place for social workers to document why, which can then inform additional interventions."
Bourges initially was hesitant about the service when it was first offered. "I felt that maybe, being that my daughter is a picky eater, I don't want to waste food," she said. "I don't want to take away from somebody that could use it, or it could help them. But when they did deliver it, there was stuff that she did like, and oh my God, she was so happy."
By documenting these experiences, the team can better tailor both their outreach and the meals themselves to meet patient needs.
This attention to patient experience comes naturally to Kim, whose path to social work emerged through personal experience as a caregiver for a parent. "The social workers made me feel like a human being and not just an MRN," Kim said, referring to patients' medical record numbers. That experience now shapes Kim's dedicated approach to patient care, building trusted bonds with patients and families that open the doors for valuable client feedback.
"Some of our patients are used to being the primary cook in their household, so having someone else prepare the meals is a huge logistical and financial weight off of them," Kim said.
While early data shows promise, the team maintains rigorous standards. "Our standards for data evaluation are really high," said Bar. "There are many confounding factors as to why someone might be readmitted to a hospital shortly after they've been discharged. However, we can see the value the program is currently bringing to people's discharge experience and the learnings we will be able to integrate for better care."
For many patients, the transition home is the most difficult part of their recovery. Through a careful approach to both patient care and program evaluation, hospitals can reshape what comprehensive healthcare looks like.
NYU Langone
Posted in: Healthcare News
Cancel reply to comment
Conversations on AFM: Exploring the nanomechanics of living cells
In this interview Prof. Dr. Kristina Kusche-Vihrog speaks about the nanomechanics of living cells and their implications for cardiovascular disease.
Olivier Negre
In this interview, News Medical speaks with Olivier Negre, Chief Scientific Officer at Smart Immune, about how immunotherapy is being revolutionized.
Angeline Lim
Molecular Devices' CellXpress AI streamlines cell culture processes, reducing human error and improving efficiency in drug discovery with advanced automation.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Thursday 27 Mar 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
In the wooded highlands of northern Arkansas, where small towns have few dentists, water officials who serve more than 20,000 people have for more than a decade openly defied state law by refusing to add fluoride to the drinking water.
For its refusal, the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority has received hundreds of state fines amounting to about $130,000, which are stuffed in a cardboard box and left unpaid, said Andy Anderson, who is opposed to fluoridation and has led the water system for nearly two decades.
This Ozark region is among hundreds of rural American communities that face a one-two punch to oral health: a dire shortage of dentists and a lack of fluoridated drinking water, which is widely viewed among dentists as one of the most effective tools to prevent tooth decay. But as the anti-fluoride movement builds unprecedented momentum, it may turn out that the Ozarks were not behind the times after all.
"We will eventually win," Anderson said. "We will be vindicated."
Fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral, keeps teeth strong when added to drinking water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association. But the anti-fluoride movement has been energized since a government report last summer found a possible link between lower IQ in children and consuming amounts of fluoride that are higher than what is recommended in American drinking water. Dozens of communities have decided to stop fluoridating in recent months, and state officials in Florida and Texas have urged their water systems to do the same. Utah is poised to become the first state to ban it in tap water.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long espoused fringe health theories, has called fluoride an "industrial waste" and "dangerous neurotoxin" and said the Trump administration will recommend it be removed from all public drinking water.
Separately, Republican efforts to extend tax cuts and shrink federal spending may squeeze Medicaid, which could deepen existing shortages of dentists in rural areas where many residents depend on the federal insurance program for whatever dental care they can find.
Dental experts warn that the simultaneous erosion of Medicaid and fluoridation could exacerbate a crisis of rural oral health and reverse decades of progress against tooth decay, particularly for children and those who rarely see a dentist.
"If you have folks with little access to professional care and no access to water fluoridation," said Steven Levy, a dentist and leading fluoride researcher at the University of Iowa, "then they are missing two of the big pillars of how to keep healthy for a lifetime."
Many already are.
Nearly 25 million Americans live in areas without enough dentists — more than twice as many as prior estimates by the federal government — according to a recent study from Harvard University that measured U.S. "dental deserts" with more depth and precision than before.
Hawazin Elani, a Harvard dentist and epidemiologist who co-authored the study, found that many shortage areas are rural and poor, and depend heavily on Medicaid. But many dentists do not accept Medicaid because payments can be low, Elani said.
The ADA has estimated that only a third of dentists treat patients on Medicaid.
"I suspect this situation is much worse for Medicaid beneficiaries," Elani said. "If you have Medicaid and your nearest dentists do not accept it, then you will likely have to go to the third, or fourth, or the fifth."
The Harvard study identified over 780 counties where more than half of the residents live in a shortage area. Of those counties, at least 230 also have mostly or completely unfluoridated public drinking water, according to a KFF analysis of fluoride data published by the CDC. That means people in these areas who can't find a dentist also do not get protection for their teeth from their tap water.
The KFF Health News analysis does not cover the entire nation because it does not include private wells and 13 states do not submit fluoride data to the CDC. But among those that do, most counties with a shortage of dentists and unfluoridated water are in the south-central U.S., in a cluster that stretches from Texas to the Florida Panhandle and up into Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
In the center of that cluster is the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority, which serves the Arkansas counties of Boone, Marion, Newton, and Searcy. It has refused to add fluoride ever since Arkansas enacted a statewide mandate in 2011. After weekly fines began in 2016, the water system unsuccessfully challenged the fluoride mandate in state court, then lost again on appeal.
Anderson, who has chaired the water system's board since 2007, said he would like to challenge the fluoride mandate in court again and would argue the case himself if necessary. In a phone interview, Anderson said he believes that fluoride can hamper the brain and body to the point of making people "get fat and lazy."
"So if you go out in the streets these days, walk down the streets, you'll see lots of fat people wearing their pajamas out in public," he said.
Nearby in the tiny, no-stoplight community of Leslie, Arkansas, which gets water from the Ozark system, the only dentist in town operates out of a one-man clinic tucked in the back of an antique store. Hand-painted lettering on the store window advertises a "pretty good dentist."
James Flanagin, a third-generation dentist who opened this clinic three years ago, said he was drawn to Leslie by the quaint charms and friendly smiles of small-town life. But those same smiles also reveal the unmistakable consequences of refusing to fluoridate, he said.
"There is no doubt that there is more dental decay here than there would otherwise be," he said. "You are going to have more decay if your water is not fluoridated. That's just a fact."
Fluoride was first added to public water in an American city in 1945 and spread to half of the U.S. population by 1980, according to the CDC. Because of "the dramatic decline" in cavities that followed, in 1999 the CDC dubbed fluoridation as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.
Currently more than 70% of the U.S. population on public water systems get fluoridated water, with a recommended concentration of 0.7 milligrams per liter, or about three drops in a 55-gallon barrel, according to the CDC.
Fluoride is also present in modern toothpaste, mouthwash, dental varnish, and some food and drinks — like raisins, potatoes, oatmeal, coffee, and black tea. But several dental experts said these products do not reliably reach as many low-income families as drinking water, which has an additional benefit over toothpaste of strengthening children's teeth from within as they grow.
Two recent polls have found that the largest share of Americans support fluoridation, but a sizable minority does not. Polls from Axios/Ipsos and AP-NORC found that 48% and 40% of respondents wanted to keep fluoride in public water supplies, while 29% and 26% supported its removal.
Chelsea Fosse, an expert on oral health policy at the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, said she worried that misguided fears of fluoride would cause many people to stop using fluoridated toothpaste and varnish just as Medicaid cuts made it harder to see a dentist.
The combination, she said, could be "devastating."
"It will be visibly apparent what this does to the prevalence of tooth decay," Fosse said. "If we get rid of water fluoridation, if we make Medicaid cuts, and if we don't support providers in locating and serving the highest-need populations, I truly don't know what we will do."
Multiple peer-reviewed studies have shown what ending water fluoridation could look like. In the past few years, studies of cities in Alaska and Canada have shown that communities that stopped fluoridation saw significant increases in children's cavities when compared with similar cities that did not. A 2024 study from Israel reported a "two-fold increase" in dental treatments for kids within five years after the country stopped fluoridating in 2014.
Despite the benefits of fluoridation, it has been fiercely opposed by some since its inception, said Catherine Hayes, a Harvard dental expert who advises the American Dental Association on fluoride and has studied its use for three decades.
Fluoridation was initially smeared as a communist plot against America, Hayes said, and then later fears arose of possible links to cancer, which were refuted through extensive scientific research. In the '80s, hysteria fueled fears of fluoride causing AIDS, which was "ludicrous," Hayes said.
More recently, the anti-fluoride movement seized on international research that suggests high levels of fluoride can hinder children's brain development and has been boosted by high-profile legal and political victories.
Last August, a hotly debated report from the National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program found "with moderate confidence" that exposure to levels of fluoride that are higher than what is present in American drinking water is associated with lower IQ in children. The report was based on an analysis of 74 studies conducted in other countries, most of which were considered "low quality" and involved exposure of at least 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water — or more than twice the U.S. recommendation — according to the program.
The following month, in a long-simmering lawsuit filed by fluoride opponents, a federal judge in California said the possible link between fluoride and lowered IQ was too risky to ignore, then ordered the federal Environmental Protection Agency to take nonspecified steps to lower that risk. The EPA started to appeal this ruling in the final days of the Biden administration, but the Trump administration could reverse course.
The EPA and Department of Justice declined to comment. The White House and Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to questions about fluoride.
Despite the National Toxicology Program's report, Hayes said, no association has been shown to date between lowered IQ and the amount of fluoride actually present in most Americans' water. The court ruling may prompt additional research conducted in the U.S., Hayes said, which she hoped would finally put the campaign against fluoride to rest.
"It's one of the great mysteries of my career, what sustains it," Hayes said. "What concerns me is that there's some belief amongst some members of the public — and some of our policymakers — that there is some truth to this."
Not all experts were so dismissive of the toxicology program's report. Bruce Lanphear, a children's health researcher at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, published an editorial in January that said the findings should prompt health organizations "to reassess the risks and benefits of fluoride, particularly for pregnant women and infants."
"The people who are proposing fluoridation need to now prove it's safe," Lanphear told NPR in January. “What the study does, or should do, is shift the burden of proof."
At least 14 states so far this year have considered or are considering bills that would lift fluoride mandates or prohibit fluoride in drinking water altogether. In February, Utah lawmakers passed the nation's first ban, which Republican Gov. Spencer Cox told ABC4 Utah he intends to sign. And both Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller have called for their respective states to end fluoridation.
"I don't want Big Brother telling me what to do," Miller told The Dallas Morning News in February. "Government has forced this on us for too long."
Additionally, dozens of cities and counties have decided to stop fluoridation in the past six months — including at least 16 communities in Florida with a combined population of more than 1.6 million — according to news reports and the Fluoride Action Network, an anti-fluoride group.
Stuart Cooper, executive director of that group, said the movement's unprecedented momentum would be further supercharged if Kennedy and the Trump administration follow through on a recommendation against fluoride.
Cooper predicted that most U.S. communities will have stopped fluoridating within years.
"I think what you are seeing in Florida, where every community is falling like dominoes, is going to now happen in the United States," he said. "I think we're seeing the absolute end of it."
If Cooper's prediction is right, Hayes said, widespread decay would be visible within years. Kids' teeth will rot in their mouths, she said, even though "we know how to completely prevent it."
"It's unnecessary pain and suffering," Hayes said. "If you go into any children's hospital across this country, you'll see a waiting list of kids to get into the operating room to get their teeth fixed because they have severe decay because they haven't had access to either fluoridated water or other types of fluoride. Unfortunately, that's just going to get worse."
This KFF Health News article identifies communities with an elevated risk of tooth decay by combining data on areas with dentist shortages and unfluoridated drinking water. Our analysis merged Harvard University research on dentist-shortage areas with large datasets on public water systems published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Harvard research determined that nearly 25 million Americans live in dentist-shortage areas that span much of rural America. The CDC data details the populations served and fluoridation status of more than 38,000 public water systems in 37 states. We classified counties as having elevated risk of tooth decay if they met three criteria:
More than half of the residents live in a dentist-shortage area identified by Harvard.
The number of people receiving unfluoridated water from water systems based in that county amounts to more than half of the county's population.
The number of people receiving unfluoridated water from water systems based in that county amounts to at least half of the total population of all water systems based in that county, even if those systems reached beyond the county borders, which many do.
Our analysis identified approximately 230 counties that meet these criteria, meaning they have both a dire shortage of dentists and largely unfluoridated drinking water.
But this total is certainly an undercount. Thirteen states do not report water system data to the CDC, and the agency data does not include private wells, most of which are unfluoridated.
This article was reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF - the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
KFF Health News
Posted in: Healthcare News
Cancel reply to comment
Conversations on AFM: Exploring the nanomechanics of living cells
In this interview Prof. Dr. Kristina Kusche-Vihrog speaks about the nanomechanics of living cells and their implications for cardiovascular disease.
Olivier Negre
In this interview, News Medical speaks with Olivier Negre, Chief Scientific Officer at Smart Immune, about how immunotherapy is being revolutionized.
Angeline Lim
Molecular Devices' CellXpress AI streamlines cell culture processes, reducing human error and improving efficiency in drug discovery with advanced automation.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Thursday 27 Mar 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
President Donald Trump is vowing a new approach to getting homeless people off the streets by forcibly moving those living outside into large camps while mandating mental health and addiction treatment — an aggressive departure from the nation's leading homelessness policy, which for decades has prioritized housing as the most effective way to combat the crisis.
"Our once-great cities have become unlivable, unsanitary nightmares," Trump said in a presidential campaign video. "For those who are severely mentally ill and deeply disturbed, we will bring them to mental institutions, where they belong, with the goal of reintegrating them back into society once they are well enough to manage."
Now that he's in office, the assault on "Housing First" has begun.
White House officials haven't announced a formal policy but are opening the door to a treatment-first agenda, while engineering a major overhaul of the housing and social service programs that form the backbone of the homelessness response system that cities and counties across the nation depend on. Nearly $4 billion was earmarked last year alone. But now, Scott Turner, who heads Trump's Department of Housing and Urban Development — the agency responsible for administering housing and homelessness funding — has outlined massive funding cuts and called for a review of taxpayer spending.
"Thanks to President Trump's leadership, we are no longer in a business-as-usual posture and the DOGE task force will play a critical role in helping to identify and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and ultimately better serve the American people," Turner said in a statement.
Staffing cuts already proposed would hit the part of the agency overseeing homelessness spending and Housing First initiatives particularly hard. Trump outlined his vision during his campaign, calling for new treatment facilities to be opened on large parcels of government land — "tent cities where the homeless can be relocated and their problems identified." They could receive treatment and rehabilitation or face arrest. Now in office, he has begun to turn his attention to street homelessness, in March ordering Washington, D.C., to sweep encampments, potentially separating homeless people from their case managers and social service providers, derailing their path to housing.
The administration is discouraging local governments from following the federal policy, telling them it will not enforce homelessness contracts "to the extent that they require the project to use a housing first program model." And, in a recent order "reducing the scope of the federal bureaucracy," Trump slashed the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, shrinking the agency responsible for coordinating funding and initiatives between the federal government, states, and local agencies, known as Continuums of Care.
"Make no mistake that Trump's reckless attacks across the federal government will supercharge the housing and homelessness crisis in communities across the country," Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles said in response to the order.
Housing First was implemented nationally in 2004 under the George W. Bush administration to combat chronic homelessness, defined as having lived on the streets with a disabling condition for a long period of time. It was expanded under President Barack Obama as America's plan of attack on homelessness and broadened by President Joe Biden, who argued that housing was a basic need, critical to health.
The policy aims to stabilize homeless people in permanent housing and provide them with case management support and social services without forcing treatment, imposing job requirements, or demanding sobriety. Once housed, the theory goes, homeless people escape the chaos of the streets and can then work on finding a job, taking care of chronic health conditions, or getting sober.
"When you're on the streets, all you're doing every day is figuring out how to survive," said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. "Housing is the most important intervention that brings a sense of safety and stability, where you're not just constantly trying to find food or a safe place to sleep."
But Trump wants to gut taxpayer-subsidized housing initiatives. He is pushing for a punitive approach that would impose fines and potentially jail time on homeless people. And he wants to mandate sobriety and mental health treatment as the primary homelessness intervention — a stark reversal from Housing First.
The shift has ignited fear and panic among homelessness experts and front-line service providers, who argue that forcing treatment and criminalizing homeless people through fines and jail time simply doesn't work.
"It's only going to make things much worse," said Donald Whitehead Jr., executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. "Throwing everybody into treatment programs just isn't an effective strategy. The real problem is we just don't have enough affordable housing."
Trump got close to ending Housing First during his first term when he tapped Robert Marbut to lead the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2019. Marbut pushed for mandating treatment and reducing reliance on social services, while curtailing taxpayer-subsidized housing. He argued that forcing homeless people to get sober and enter treatment would help them achieve self-sufficiency and end their homelessness. But covid-19 stalled those plans.
Now, Marbut said, he believes the president will finish the job.
"Trump knows that what we need to do is get funding back to treatment and recovery," Marbut said. "The Trump administration is laser-focused on ending Housing First. They realized it was wrong the first time and that's why I was selected to change it. They still realize it's wrong."
Trump and administration officials did not respond to questions from KFF Health News. A request to interview Turner was not granted. Project 2025's "Mandate for Leadership," a conservative policy blueprint from some of Trump's closest advisers, explicitly calls for an end to Housing First.
Housing First is under attack not only from Republicans who have long criticized taxpayer-subsidized housing for homeless people, but also from Democrats responding to public frustration over homeless encampments multiplying around the nation. Last year, the federal government estimated that more than 770,000 people in the U.S. were homeless, a record high. That was up 18% from 2023. And while housing grows increasingly unaffordable, homeless camps have exploded, spilling into city parks, crowding sidewalks, and polluting sensitive waterways, despite unprecedented public spending.
Already, cities and states, liberal and conservative, are cracking down on street homelessness and targeting the mental health and addiction crisis. This is true even in deep-blue states like California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has created a "CARE Court" initiative that can mandate treatment even though housing isn't always available and threatened to withhold funding from cities and counties that don't aggressively clear encampments.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has proposed ending harm reduction for drug users. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is prioritizing encampment sweeps even though the promise of housing or shelter is elusive. And San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan won initial City Council support for plans to arrest people who refuse shelter three times in 18 months and to divert permanent housing funding to pay for an expansion of homeless shelters.
Mahan believes liberals and advocates have been too "purist" because housing isn't being built fast enough, while investments in shelter and treatment have been inadequate. "It can't only be about Housing First," he said.
Homelessness crackdowns have exploded since the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for elected officials and law enforcement agencies to fine and arrest people for living outside. Since June, roughly 150 laws imposing fines or jail time have been passed, with about 45 in California alone, said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director for the National Homelessness Law Center.
Rabinowitz and other experts say both Republicans and Democrats are undermining Housing First by criminalizing homelessness and conducting encampment sweeps that hinder the ability of front-line workers to get people into housing and services.
However, there's disagreement on whether to entirely dismantle the policy. Liberal leaders want to maintain existing streams of housing and homelessness funding while expanding shelters and moving people off the streets. Conservatives blame Housing First for the rise in homelessness and are instead pushing for mandatory treatment and cutting housing subsidies.
"I used to think it was just a waste of taxpayer money because it wasn't treatment-based, but now I think it actually enables people to remain homeless and addicted," Marbut said of the Housing First approach. He favors requiring behavioral health treatment as a prerequisite to housing.
Evidence shows Housing First has been successful in moving vulnerable, chronically homeless people into permanent housing. For instance, a systematic review of 26 studies indicated that, compared with treatment-first, "Housing First programs decreased homelessness by 88%."And the approach has shown remarkable improvements in health, reducing costly hospital and emergency room care.
Experts say Housing First has been severely underfunded and implemented unevenly, with some homelessness agencies taking federal money but not providing appropriate services or housing placements.
"Making it the broad policy to all homelessness leaves it vulnerable to being attacked the way it's currently being attacked," said Philip Mangano, a Republican who spearheaded the development of Housing First as the lead homelessness adviser to George W. Bush. "The truth is it's a mixed bag. For some people like those who are using substances, the evidence just isn't there yet."
Others say it has been ineffective in some places because of rampant misspending, abuse, and a lack of accountability.
"This works when it's done right," said Marc Dones, a policy director for homelessness initiatives at the University of California-San Francisco, arguing that housing can save lives and lower spending on costly health care. "But I think we have been too polite and too nice for too long about some real incompetence."
Jeff Olivet, who succeeded Marbut at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness under Biden, said Marbut and Trump's positions are misguided. He argues that Housing First has worked for those who have gotten indoors, yet the number of people falling into homelessness outpaces those getting housing. And he says there was never enough money to provide housing and supportive services for everyone in need.
"Housing First is not just about sticking somebody in an apartment and hoping for the best," Olivet said. "It's really about providing stable housing and access to health care, mental health and substance use treatment, and to support people, but not forcing it on people."
This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
This article was reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF - the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
KFF Health News
Posted in: Healthcare News
Cancel reply to comment
Conversations on AFM: Exploring the nanomechanics of living cells
In this interview Prof. Dr. Kristina Kusche-Vihrog speaks about the nanomechanics of living cells and their implications for cardiovascular disease.
Olivier Negre
In this interview, News Medical speaks with Olivier Negre, Chief Scientific Officer at Smart Immune, about how immunotherapy is being revolutionized.
Angeline Lim
Molecular Devices' CellXpress AI streamlines cell culture processes, reducing human error and improving efficiency in drug discovery with advanced automation.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Thursday 27 Mar 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
Wearable mobile health technology could help people with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) to stick to exercise regimes that help them to keep the condition under control, a new study reveals.
Researchers studied the behaviour of recently-diagnosed T2D patients in Canada and the UK as they followed a home-based physical activity programme – some of whom wore a smartwatch paired with a health app on their smartphone.
They discovered that MOTIVATE-T2D participants were more likely to start and maintain purposeful exercise at if they had the support of wearable technology- the study successfully recruited 125 participants with an 82% retention rate after 12 months.
Publishing their findings in BMJ Open today (27 Mar), an international group of researchers reveal a range of potential clinical benefits among participants including improvements in blood sugar levels and systolic blood pressure.
Our findings support the feasibility of the MOTIVATE-T2D intervention – paving the way for a full-scale randomized controlled trial to further investigate its clinical and cost-effectiveness.
We found that using biometrics from wearable technologies offered great promise for encouraging people with newly diagnosed T2D to maintain a home-delivered, personalised exercise programme with all the associated health benefits."
Dr. Katie Hesketh, Co-Author, University of Birmingham
Researchers found that, as well as the encouraging data for blood sugar and systolic blood pressure, the programme could help to lower cholesterol and improve quality of life.
The programme saw participants gradually increasing purposeful exercise of moderate-to-vigorous intensity – aiming for a target of 150 minutes per week by the end of 6 months and supported by an exercise specialist-led behavioural counselling service delivered virtually.
MOTIVATE-T2D used biofeedback and data sharing to support the development of personalised physical activity programmes. Wearable technologies included a smartwatch, featuring a 3D accelerometer and optical heart rate monitor, synced with an online coaching platform for the exercise specialist and web/smartphone app for participants.
"The programme offered a variety of workouts, including cardio and strength training, that could be done without the need for a gym," added Dr. Hesketh. "Its goal is to make exercise a sustainable part of daily life for people with Type 2 Diabetes, ultimately improving their physical and mental health."
The feasibility trial recruited participants aged 40-75 years, diagnosed with T2D within the previous 5-24 months and managing their condition through lifestyle modification alone or Metformin.
University of Birmingham
Hesketh, K., et al. (2021). Mobile Health Biometrics to Enhance Exercise and Physical Activity Adherence in Type 2 Diabetes (MOTIVATE-T2D): protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052563
Posted in: Device / Technology News | Medical Research News | Medical Condition News
Cancel reply to comment
Conversations on AFM: Exploring the nanomechanics of living cells
In this interview Prof. Dr. Kristina Kusche-Vihrog speaks about the nanomechanics of living cells and their implications for cardiovascular disease.
Olivier Negre
In this interview, News Medical speaks with Olivier Negre, Chief Scientific Officer at Smart Immune, about how immunotherapy is being revolutionized.
Angeline Lim
Molecular Devices' CellXpress AI streamlines cell culture processes, reducing human error and improving efficiency in drug discovery with advanced automation.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Thursday 27 Mar 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
Novak Djokovic has won the title in Miami seven times
Novak Djokovic overcame American Sebastian Korda in their rescheduled match to reach the semi-finals of the Miami Open.
The world number five rallied in the second set from a break down to close out a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory.
The 37-year-old is the oldest player to reach the last four of an ATP Masters 1,000 event and is going for a seventh title in Miami.
The match was due to be played on Wednesday but was postponed to Thursday at short notice after Emma Raducanu's quarter-final match did not finish until after 23:00, past the ATP's cut-off point.
"You wait an entire day and if it's for the rain I guess you accept it, but this was scheduled and then the matches and everything just extended so much," Djokovic told Sky Sports.
"The match was postponed for today and it wasn't too early so it was OK to get some sleep. I didn't go to bed until 2.30am so it disrupts your body rhythm - so I'm just happy to come through."
Djokovic will face Bulgarian 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals on Friday as he continues his pursuit of a 100th ATP title.
Sabalenka powers past Paolini to reach Miami final
'Raducanu needs lasting plan to build on Miami progress'
It is a first semi-final appearance for Djokovic at this tournament since 2016 and, with Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper and Daniil Medvedev among a host of top-10 seeds already out, the draw has opened up for the Serb to add another Miami title.
Djokovic efficiently took the opening set on Thursday, breaking his opponent's serve in the eighth game.
But the 24-time Grand Slam champion had to dig deep in the second, with some impressive serving allowing him to recover from 5-2 down to force a tie-break and clinch the win.
"Best serving performance for me so far," Djokovic said. "I was quite nervous because you never know what comes from Korda - he's so aggressive and talented.
"I was on my back foot, waiting for his error rather than dictating from the back of the court. When I needed a first serve I got it but a tense match and great performance."
Earlier on Thursday, unseeded Czech Jakub Mensik beat 17th seed Arthur Fils 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to book a semi-final against either Italian 29th seed Matteo Berrettini or American Taylor Fritz.
Live scores, results and order of play
Get tennis news sent straight to your phone
Ruthless Chelsea overcome Man City to reach semi-finals
Littler wins again to stretch Premier League lead
Barcelona beat Osasuna in rearranged La Liga game
From lucky treasure hunters to Newport's most wanted
Rose Ayling-Ellis's ambitious plan to transform lives
Escape the noise of daily life with music and meditation
A gritty crime saga set in Liverpool starring Sean Bean
'Raducanu needs lasting plan to build on Miami progress'
'A magical high in rollercoaster Arsenal campaign'
Brilliant FA Cup free-kicks - Beckham & Payet star. VideoBrilliant FA Cup free-kicks - Beckham & Payet star
Grayson's journey from Villa & Preston to Everest base camp
'No evidence leading back to me' - Mayer on Ryan paint attack
Archie Vaughan on living with his father's legacy
We need some Ashes glory in colour, says England's Wane
What's going on with Brazil?
The Jordan shot that 'changed the world'
Which is the biggest football club in Britain?
Alexander-Arnold backlash: 'Brilliant servant' or 'tarnished legacy'?
Six-way photo finish in 60m hurdles as Charlton wins gold. VideoSix-way photo finish in 60m hurdles as Charlton wins gold
Who is through to World Cup - and how does qualifying work?
Four tactical lessons we learned from Tuchel's first games
In pictures: Sporting photos of the week
Were Ferrari at fault or unlucky with disqualifications?
Blood brothers - bonds and betrayal on a rugby pitch
'A return to Scotland's worst of times under Clarke'
'McLaren the class of the field but have hard tightrope to walk'
Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
Former Barcelona and Manchester United centre-back Gerard Pique is the founder and president of Kosmos
The International Tennis Federation has settled its dispute with Gerard Pique's investment company after their multi-billion dollar deal to organise the Davis Cup ended abruptly in 2023.
Kosmos, founded by the former Barcelona defender, and the ITF announced a 25-year, $3bn (£2.25bn) partnership in 2018 in a bid to revamp the men's national team tournament.
The ITF said at the time of the deal that it would safeguard the historic Davis Cup and provide an extra $25m a year for the global development of the sport.
The partnership with the 2010 World Cup winner's company also saw the format of the 123-year-old tournament change to an end-of-season 'World Cup-style' event, a change that proved controversial among players.
But the partnership was terminated in 2023 when Kosmos sought to renegotiate the deal, with the ITF saying it had "ensured financial contingencies are in place" for the competition which began in 1900.
Kosmos then filed a lawsuit at the Court of Arbitration for Sport accusing the ITF of an 'unjustified termination' of the contract and claiming damages.
However, resolution has been achieved, with the ITF stating: "Kosmos and the ITF have reached an amicable resolution regarding their previous contractual disagreements related to the organisation of the Davis Cup.
"Both organisations wish each other success in their future projects."
Live scores, results and order of play
Get tennis news sent straight to your phone
'Raducanu needs plan quickly to build on Miami progress'
Premier League to have two summer transfer windows
Red Bull confirm Tsunoda to replace Lawson
From lucky treasure hunters to Newport's most wanted
Rose Ayling-Ellis's ambitious plan to transform lives
Escape the noise of daily life with music and meditation
A gritty crime saga set in Liverpool starring Sean Bean
'Raducanu needs plan quickly to build on Miami progress'
'A magical high in rollercoaster Arsenal campaign'
Brilliant FA Cup free-kicks - Beckham & Payet star. VideoBrilliant FA Cup free-kicks - Beckham & Payet star
Grayson's journey from Villa & Preston to Everest base camp
'No evidence leading back to me' - Mayer on Ryan paint attack
Archie Vaughan on living with his father's legacy
We need some Ashes glory in colour, says England's Wane
What's going on with Brazil?
The Jordan shot that 'changed the world'
Which is the biggest football club in Britain?
Alexander-Arnold backlash: 'Brilliant servant' or 'tarnished legacy'?
Six-way photo finish in 60m hurdles as Charlton wins gold. VideoSix-way photo finish in 60m hurdles as Charlton wins gold
Who is through to World Cup - and how does qualifying work?
Four tactical lessons we learned from Tuchel's first games
In pictures: Sporting photos of the week
Were Ferrari at fault or unlucky with disqualifications?
Blood brothers - bonds and betrayal on a rugby pitch
'A return to Scotland's worst of times under Clarke'
'McLaren the class of the field but have hard tightrope to walk'
Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
Danielle Collins found the injured dog on Saturday night
Her Miami Open hopes may be over, but Danielle Collins leaves Florida this week with a friend for life.
Collins, the world number 15, was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka on Monday as the American's hopes of retaining her Miami Open title came to an end.
But the 31-year-old's mind may have been elsewhere after she found an injured dog two days earlier on her way out of the Hard Rock Stadium.
Collins found the dog curled up in the middle of the road after it had been hit by a car and took him to a nearby veterinary hospital.
The former world number seven, who asked fans to pray for the dog, has now revealed that she has adopted him and named him Crash.
"Crash is recovering and finally out of the hospital after five days on oxygen support," Collins said on Instagram.
"His breathing is back to normal, his wounds are healing, and he's definitely enjoying all the love he's receiving. He's curious, affectionate and grateful for a second chance at life.
"It was so incredibly painful to witness a dog in so much pain after being hit by a car and left in the middle of the road with so many people driving by his curled up body.
"I'm just grateful I was able to be there and get him the care he needed.
"I've officially adopted him. Once he finishes recovering he'll be attending school."
Live scores, results and order of play
Get tennis news sent straight to your phone
'Raducanu needs plan quickly to build on Miami progress'
Premier League to have two summer transfer windows due to Club World Cup
Real Madrid quartet probed for alleged indecent conduct
From lucky treasure hunters to Newport's most wanted
Rose Ayling-Ellis's ambitious plan to transform lives
Escape the noise of daily life with music and meditation
A gritty crime saga set in Liverpool starring Sean Bean
'Raducanu needs plan quickly to build on Miami progress'
'A magical high in rollercoaster Arsenal campaign'
Brilliant FA Cup free-kicks - Beckham & Payet star. VideoBrilliant FA Cup free-kicks - Beckham & Payet star
Grayson's journey from Villa & Preston to Everest base camp
'No evidence leading back to me' - Mayer on Ryan paint attack
Archie Vaughan on living with his father's legacy
We need some Ashes glory in colour, says England's Wane
What's going on with Brazil?
The Jordan shot that 'changed the world'
Which is the biggest football club in Britain?
Alexander-Arnold backlash: 'Brilliant servant' or 'tarnished legacy'?
Six-way photo finish in 60m hurdles as Charlton wins gold. VideoSix-way photo finish in 60m hurdles as Charlton wins gold
Who is through to World Cup - and how does qualifying work?
Four tactical lessons we learned from Tuchel's first games
In pictures: Sporting photos of the week
Were Ferrari at fault or unlucky with disqualifications?
Blood brothers - bonds and betrayal on a rugby pitch
'A return to Scotland's worst of times under Clarke'
'McLaren the class of the field but have hard tightrope to walk'
Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
The sudden death of 14-year-old Miller Gardner in Costa Rica should not impact potential travelers from visiting the country, says the nation's Chamber of Tourism.
Miller, the son of former Yankees star Brett Gardner, died while vacationing with his family in the tourist region of Manuel Antonio on Friday, March 21.
“We express our deepest sympathy to the family of the young man who passed away,” Shirley Calvo, executive director of Costa Rica's National Chamber of Tourism, said in a statement to Us Weekly on Thursday, March 27. “We are truly saddened by this situation.”
The statement continued, “So far, no cancellations or impacts on tourism activity have been reported as a result of this unfortunate event. While various speculations have circulated regarding the possible causes of death, we believe this is an isolated and uncommon case in our country.”
Costa Rica has “established itself as a tourist destination known for the quality and safety of its offerings,” the Chamber of Tourism said, and vowed, “it is wise to wait for the official results of the investigation before making further assessments.”
“In the meantime, we call on the sector to reinforce controls and best practices at all levels of interaction with tourists, with the clear goal of continuing to provide safe, trustworthy, and satisfying experiences to those who choose us as a destination,” the statement concluded.
The Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels also issued a statement to Us Weekly on Thursday, saying the organization “deeply regrets the situation that occurred.”
“At the same time, since we still do not have the biopsy results that will indicate the cause of this young man's death, we cannot give a direct opinion on what led to the situation or why it happened in the area,” said Flora Ayub, the group's executive director. “However, we once again emphasize that we deeply regret this and express our solidarity with the family.”
Miller and his family were staying at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort when they all became severely ill on the evening of Thursday, March 20. The Gardner family were all given medication by a doctor on the resort's premises.
The next morning, Miller was found dead in his hotel room. His cause of death remains unknown.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Check our latest news in Google News
Check our latest news in Apple News
Authorities expect Miller's toxicology and autopsy reports to take two to three months due to increased gang violence in Costa Rica, leading to a backlog of cases.
Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort has attempted to distance themselves from Miller's death, telling TMZ Sports on Tuesday, March 25 that the Gardner family did not eat at their restaurants for lunch or dinner the day before Miller died.
“We are deeply saddened by this loss, and our hearts go out to the family during this incredibly difficult time,” the hotel said in a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday. “The factors that led to this tragic incident are unknown, and we are fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate.”
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly is part of Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. © a360media 2025Powered by WordPress VIP
Megan Fox Gives Birth to Fourth Child, Her First with Machine Gun Kelly
Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Guest List: Every Celebrity Invited, So Far
Surprise! Elisabeth Moss Confirms She Gave Birth to Her First Child!
Dua Lipa Enjoys Fun Beach Day with Friends in Sydney
Megan Fox has given birth!
On Thursday (March 27), Machine Gun Kelly announced that he and the 38-year-old Jennifer's Body actress welcomed their first child together, a baby girl.
“she's finally here!! our little celestial seed 🥹💓♈️♓️♊️ 3/27/25,” the 34-year-old “Emo Girl” singer wrote on Instagram along with a video of himself holding the newborn's hands.
Keep reading to find out more…As of right now, Megan and MGK have not revealed the baby's name.
The pair got engaged in January 2022, called it quits at the end of November 2024, not long after announcing their baby on the way.
Megan is also mom to sons Noah Shannon, 12, Bodhi Ransom, 10, and Journey River, 8, with ex-husband Brian Austin Green while MGK is dad to 15-year-old daughter Casie.
Congrats! See all of the other stars that also recently welcomed babies.
A post shared by mgk (@machinegunkelly)
Megan Fox Gives Birth to Fourth Child, Her First with Machine Gun Kelly
Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Guest List: Every Celebrity Invited, So Far
Surprise! Elisabeth Moss Confirms She Gave Birth to Her First Child!
Dua Lipa Enjoys Fun Beach Day with Friends in Sydney
Continue »
Reports have emerged that Amazon's billionaire founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancee Lauren Sanchez have sent out their wedding invitations, and a list of celebrities who reportedly scored an invite have been revealed!
The wedding is said to be taking place sometime this summer in Italy.
Keep reading to see which celebrities were reportedly invited…
Continue »
By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
It turns out that producers of Boy Meets World had ulterior motives when it came to featuring so many food fights on the hit ‘90s series.
“We had a producer on the show that had a very strange food fetish,” Will Friedle, who played Eric Matthews on the ABC sitcom, claimed on the Wednesday, March 26, episode of his “Pod Meets World” recap podcast. “It was almost, like, a sexuality when it came to food. So, that's where he was going with this.”
Friedle, 48, and cohosts Rider Strong and Danielle Fishel were discussing the season 6 episode “Hogs and Kisses,” where Rachel (Maitland Ward) instigated a food fight with roommates Eric (Friedle) and Jack (Matthew Lawrence) after they tried to change their behavior to be more prim and proper to impress her. Rachel started the messy brawl as a way to prove that she shouldn't be treated differently because she's a woman.
“And then the feet in the marinara on my face, [that] was all a sexual thing,” Friedle further alleged.
While Strong, 45, didn't remember the producer's apparent foodie request, Fishel, 43, did.
“Cory and Topanga have one, too,” Fishel recalled of her TV husband Ben Savage's character. “I think there is a movie called Nine and a Half Weeks, where they have sex in a food fight. That movie was mentioned to me during that episode about 75 times.”
Strong, meanwhile, pointed out that “the food fight thing” was a standard trope on kids' shows — outside of any potential fetish.
“Nothing about this episode said, ‘We are still a kids' show,'” Fishel asserted, to which Friedle concurred about the college setting that BMW transitioned to for seasons 6 and 7.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Check our latest news in Google News
Check our latest news in Apple News
“I don't even care what the story is anymore,” Friedle quipped. “I'm over it for the B-story, but if I have to see Jack and Eric and Rachel just in the apartment for another episode, I'm gonna lose it. It's, like, ‘Are you kidding me? Now we're just the three of us in that one little space trying to woo this girl still.'”
While Friedle was over the Eric-Jack-Rachel love triangle, he was more into the main story of the episode when Cory (Savage) got jealous about the prospect of Shawn (Strong) kissing Topanga (Fishel).
“I could watch that [version of] Ben all the time. He was so funny [and] it might be my favorite Ben Savage performance I've ever seen,” Friedle added. “He's just so good. He also looks shredded when he comes in and then he rips off his shirt and, like, ‘Damn.'”
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly is part of Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. © a360media 2025Powered by WordPress VIP
Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Guest List: Every Celebrity Invited, So Far
Surprise! Elisabeth Moss Confirms She Gave Birth to Her First Child!
'Survivor' Contestants Share Powerful & Emotional Moment That Causes Jeff Probst to Cry for the First Time in 48 Seasons (Video)
Dua Lipa Enjoys Fun Beach Day with Friends in Sydney
Brian Austin Green is hitting back at Machine Gun Kelly.
The 51-year-old actor shared a screenshot of his DMs with the 34-year-old entertainer on his Instagram Story after MGK chastised Brian for asking when his baby with Megan Fox is due.
If you didn't know, MGK is expecting his first child with Megan. He already has a daughter Casie, 15. Brian has three children with Megan: Noah Shannon, 12, Bodhi Ransom, 10, and Journey River, 8.
Keep reading to find out more…
“Stop asking when our child is gonna be born. you the FEDS 🐀👮♂️,” MGK wrote to Brian.
“Quit calling TMZ and focus on that apology you owe me for speaking my name in public.”
“You chose the wrong one to f— with mr child actor. go back to cereal commercials,” he added.
Underneath the photo, Brian wrote, “😂😂😂😂 I didn't know ‘child actor' was something bad.”
“Leo, careful,” he continued, seemingly referencing Leonardo DiCaprio. “He may be coming for you next 🤣🤣🤣🤣.”
Back in February, Brian opened up about posting a screenshot of MGK calling out an article about his previous relationship with Megan.
“Bro. Just be honest for once in your life. Stop caring so much about how you're perceived that you will try and drag other people,” he wrote at the time.
“That's not something that I normally do, but it just really at the time, really got under my skin to read about his sort of take on it,” he said to People of sharing the post. “So I spoke my mind, but then I've since come to terms with the fact that I won't do that anymore. I'm going to shut up and just sit back.”
Find out what else Brian said about the news of the couple expecting.
By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Survivor fans won't soon forget the Wednesday, March 26, episode of Survivor 48.
In maybe the most emotional moment in the show's 25-year history, contestant Eva Erickson, who has autism, persevered through the end of a challenge to win immunity for her Lagi tribe. As she continued to struggle to land a ball in a hole at the end of a table maze, her frustration was becoming clear in her expression and body language. When she finally succeeded, she broke down in tears and began to struggle to rein in her emotions.
“I was certainly aware that this was the kind of pressure that could trigger Eva, so I was definitely paying attention to her while also being very mindful to not interfere with her moment,” host Jeff Probst recalled in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, published on Thursday. “This is the kind of test that Eva not only anticipated, but on some level wanted when she applied to be on Survivor.”
Joe Hunter, now a member of the Vula tribe, started the game with Lagi. He was the one person who Eva, 24, confided in during the game's first couple days. She explained to him the situations in which she struggles and how he can help her in those moments.
Probst, 63, watched Eva struggle after the challenge and gave Joe, 45, the go-ahead to walk over and give her a hug — even though tribes usually stay separated during challenges. Over the next few minutes, Joe knew what to say and do to help calm his friend.
“My decision to ask Joe if he wanted to go over and give Eva comfort wasn't really a decision at all — it was instinct,” Probst continued. “I'm sure somewhere in the back of my mind I ran through a quick mental checklist to make sure I wasn't compromising the integrity of the game. But the truth is, moments like this transcend anything else that is happening. It's not about logic or rules, it's about being human.”
After settling down, Eva told her full story to all three tribes, explaining how doctors told her parents that she would never be able to live independently or hold down a job because of her autism. Instead, her parents believed in her and helped get her the treatment necessary so she could “be mainstream” in school and beyond.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Check our latest news in Google News
Check our latest news in Apple News
The story even caused Probst, who has never cried on air before, to tear up when he explained that her actions could help inspire someone with autism watching at home.
“When I said the words ‘mom and dad,' it triggered the parent in me and something cracked open,” the longtime host admitted. “It wasn't just about Eva anymore — it was about every young person searching for the words to express who they are, and every parent trying to understand, support, and protect their child through it.”
Survivor airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly is part of Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. © a360media 2025Powered by WordPress VIP
Leonardo DiCaprio has officially joined YouTube to debut the trailer for One Battle After Another, the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie.
Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Alana Haim, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, Chase Infiniti and Benicio del Toro also star.
Keep reading to find out more...
It is said that the film might be based off of Thomas Pynchon's 1997 novel “Vineland," according to IndieWire.
Here's the novel's plot: “Here, in an Orwellian 1984, Zoyd Wheeler and his daughter Prairie search for Prairie's long-lost mother, a Sixties radical who ran off with a narc. ‘Vineland' is vintage Pynchon, full of quasi-allegorical characters, elaborate unresolved subplots, corny songs (“Floozy with an Uzi”), movie spoofs (Pee-wee Herman in The Robert Musil Story), and illicit sex (including a macho variation on the infamous sportscar scene in V.).” It is known, though, that Anderson's “One Battle After Another” is set in the present day.
The film was recently delayed a few weeks and now will be released on September 26.
If you didn't see, Leo's girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti shared some very rare insight into their relationship, including where they met and why she finds it "extremely annoying" to be labeled as his girlfriend.
Megan Fox Gives Birth to Fourth Child, Her First with Machine Gun Kelly
Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Guest List: Every Celebrity Invited, So Far
Surprise! Elisabeth Moss Confirms She Gave Birth to Her First Child!
Dua Lipa Enjoys Fun Beach Day with Friends in Sydney
By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
To prepare for his Today cohosting gig, Jenna Bush Hager's husband, Henry Hager, recruited help from a familiar face.
Hager, 46, visited his wife's 30 Rock colleagues to “get some tips from some pros” in a video package during the Thursday, March 27, episode of Today With Jenna & Friends. After getting a “great crash course” from NBC's biggest personalities, Hager went to “the one person who knows [Jenna] best” — Hoda Kotb.
“I've got some good advice. No. 1, never point out any of her stains because she's gonna have one here, one here and one here,” Kotb, 60, told Hager while pointing to various spots on his shirt. “Have a blow dryer at the ready. Do you know why? Armpit stains.”
For her last and “most important” words of wisdom, Kotb told Hager, “You have the best seat in the house.” He agreed, stating, “I do.”
The surprise interaction brought Bush Hager, 43, to tears. “What is happening? That's so sweet. Thank you for doing that,” she said after the package's conclusion. “And you also opened my heart, so thank you. That was so sweet. I miss Hoda. She's the best.”
Bush Hager took over Kathie Lee Gifford's role as Kotb's fourth hour of Today cohost in 2019. After nearly 20 years on the NBC morning show, Kotb had her final episode of Today on January 10.
Kotb has not appeared live on the show since her exit but has appeared in a handful of video messages, including one to announce her new book, Jump and Find Joy, earlier this month. She also surprised Bush Hager backstage at Jenna & Friends while she was cohosting with former NBA star Dwyane Wade.
“What is happening?” Bush Hager excitedly exclaimed before embracing Kotb in a clip shared via the show's Instagram page on March 11. “I had to come in for a second,” Kotb stated before telling Wade, 43, he was “crushing it” as that week's guest host.
Hager chatted with Wade about hosting in his Thursday video package. “It's going great,” the athlete said before joking, “I kind of got a little feel of what it's like being married to Jenna. Yeah, I've learned to let her talk.”
During his 30 Rock visit, Savannah Guthrie encouraged Henry to channel his past self on air. “Be that cute Henry that worked in her father's campaign in the old days,” she quipped. “Be a little snazzy, the one that snuck out of the White House in the wee hours. That guy.”
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Check our latest news in Google News
Check our latest news in Apple News
Guthrie, 53, also recommended that Hager “tell some tales on Jenna,” adding, “She can dish it. Can she take it?”
Hager gushed over his wife at the top of Thursday's episode, stating, “I love you. I would do anything for you, and I'm so proud of you. … You brighten my day and my life all the time, and so, let's just do this and see how it goes.”
Bush Hager, for her part, returned the love by surprising him with a “good luck” video message from their three kids — Mila, 11, Poppy, 9, and Hal, 5.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly is part of Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. © a360media 2025Powered by WordPress VIP
By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
The Yellowstone spinoffs just keep coming — but who might be getting their own show next?
Variety reported on Wednesday, March 26, that CBS is in early discussions on a procedural series that would have Luke Grimes reprising his role as Kayce Dutton. Plot details are under wraps as no official deals are in place, per the outlet.
Yellowstone, which premiered on Paramount in 2018, followed the fictional Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana. Kevin Costner's portrayal of family patriarch John Dutton reeled in viewers, but other leads including Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, Cole Hauser and Kelsey Asbille kept them tuning in for five seasons — as did the offscreen drama.
The show's final season was plagued with delays and rumors about Costner's exit after news broke in 2023 that he would not be returning. In the season 5B premiere, John was killed off, which turned out to be a set-up by Jamie (Bentley) and Sarah (Dawn Olivieri).
Costner, 70, previously denied that he left Yellowstone due to a feud with creator Taylor Sheridan. “I have taken a beating from those f—– guys and I know a lot of times where it's coming from,” he told Deadline in May 2024. “I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did.”
Costner continued, “I left exactly when they wanted, and it made it hard on me. It turns out they didn't have the scripts for 5B. They needed four more days just to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn't get 10.”
While Costner has moved on from the Yellowstone universe, some of his costars are interested in continuing to play their respective characters. Reilly, 47, and Hauser, 50, have been tapped for a spinoff series following Beth and Rip's story.
“I loved this season. There were some really different territories to explore, so I'm not clinging to her,” Reilly told Town and Country in November 2024. “I'm happy to put her back in her padlocked box.”
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Check our latest news in Google News
Check our latest news in Apple News
Reilly admitted she wouldn't mind getting to spend more time with the role, adding, “I am definitely interested in Beth, and who she is after some things have happened. Who is she in peace? As an actor you're like, ‘Ooh, let me at that.' Wouldn't it be fun to watch Beth go to therapy?”
Before Yellowstone came to an end, ViacomCBS president Chris McCarthy confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that another spinoff starring Matthew McConaughey was in the works. One year later, however, the McConaughey project appeared to be dead and replaced by a different spinoff titled The Madison.
Michelle Pfeiffer stars in the upcoming series alongside Patrick J. Adams, Kurt Russell and Beau Garrett. The Madison is the first spinoff in the Yellowstone franchise set in the present day alongside prequels 1923 and 1883.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly is part of Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. © a360media 2025Powered by WordPress VIP
By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
The Costa Rica resort town where Miller Gardner died last week is on edge as questions linger about the 14-year-old's death.
“It's a hard topic,” a hotel bartender in the tourist region of Manuel Antonio told the New York Post on Wednesday, March 26. “Everyone is worried because someone — a chef or someone who made the food — could go to jail. People are talking about it.”
The bartender added, “Everyone in town is nervous.”
Miller and his family — including his father, Brett Gardner, a former star for the New York Yankees, his mother, Jessica Gardner, and his older brother, Hunter, 16 — were staying at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort, which is where he was found dead in his hotel room on Friday, March 21.
Since his untimely death, the resort has distanced themselves from the incident, telling TMZ Sports on Tuesday, March 25, that the Gardner family did not eat at any of their restaurants for lunch or dinner the day before Miller died.
In a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, the resort said it was “deeply saddened” by Miller's death.
“The factors that led to this tragic incident are unknown, and we are fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate,” the hotel added.
Another resort in town, Hotel La Mariposa, also spoke out after it was revealed that the Gardner family had eaten at one of their restaurants, Le Papillon, shortly before Miller's death.
“Due to misinformation circulating on social media, we would like to clarify that the Gardner family dined at our restaurant, Le Papillon, on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 18, 2025 — three days before Miller's tragic passing,” the hotel posted via Facebook on Monday, March 24. “Any claims suggesting a link between our restaurant and this heartbreaking event are entirely false and unfounded.”
The statement continued, “Any news, statements, or claims to the contrary do not reflect the reality of the situation. Furthermore, we do not have any additional information, as the Gardner family did not stay at our hotel.”
Miller's cause of death remains unknown. Authorities listed his preliminary cause of death as asphyxia “after a possible intoxication after apparently ingesting some food.”
A representative from Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) told CNN on Tuesday that Miller's cause of death was “asphyxiation due to intoxication related to food poisoning.”
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Check our latest news in Google News
Check our latest news in Apple News
However, a journalist affiliated with OIJ told Us Weekly that asphyxia had been entirely ruled out as the cause.
The night before he died, Miller's entire family reportedly became sick with “severe” symptoms and were all treated with medication on their resort's premises. Miller was found dead the following morning.
Miller's toxicology and autopsy results are expected to take “at least two to three months” due to an outbreak of violent crime among drug gangs in Costa Rica, the OIJ said on Wednesday.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly is part of Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. © a360media 2025Powered by WordPress VIP
By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Bon Iver's Justin Vernon has become the king of collaborations — and two of his most frequent duet partners have long-standing beef.
During his appearance on The New York Times‘ “Popcast” on Wednesday, March 26, Vernon, 43, was asked about how he “seamlessly” moves between his “isolated” Bon Iver persona and his status as a sought-after collaborator for artists like Taylor Swift and Kanye West.
“You might be one of the very few people who's worked with both of them,” the interviewer remarked, also citing Vernon's work with Zach Bryan and Charli XCX.
Vernon opened up about his collab process, revealing, “It all came to me. And I think I'm really lucky and humbled by that, you know, but I never was like, ‘Get me on a song.' It all came to me. Kanye seeks me out. Taylor seeks me out. … And then there's all the dozens of collaborations I've just done with homies or the people in Minneapolis or Eau Claire [Wisconsin] that I just also do it 'cause it's good and it's fun and it's what I want to do.”
Vernon and West's history dates back to the rapper's 2010 album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, with songs like “Monster” and “Lost in the World.” They last teamed up on the 2019 song “Take Me to the Light” by Francis and the Lights.
“I learned so much from Kanye,” Vernon said on the podcast, adding that he's “been deeply saddened” by recent headlines about West, 47. “But I have other people in my life that remind me of him that I'm constantly learning from.”
When it comes to his relationship with Swift, 35, Vernon first appeared on the song “Exile” from her 2020 album Folklore.
“I love the Taylor song a lot,” Vernon said. “And it was also a rare time where, like, they wrote the song — her and Joe [Alwyn] and Aaron [Dessner] wrote the song — and were like, ‘We want you to sing this part.'”
For Vernon, it was “kind of awesome” to be given a specific vision. “I added my little bits here and there,” he recalled. “But it was just so enjoyable. I did it on my own in COVID and I was sort of just looking out the window. Like, a bird was watching me do it.”
He continued to heap praise onto Swift, saying that the song turned out to be “one of my favorite collaborations.”
Vernon worked with Swift again on Folklore‘s sister album, Evermore, also released in 2020. He sings on the title track.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Check our latest news in Google News
Check our latest news in Apple News
Apart from their shared connection to Vernon, Swift and West have a history of their own. Their drama began in 2009 when West crashed a then 19-year-old Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video during the MTV Video Music Awards, claiming Beyoncé was the rightful winner. West subsequently apologized, but the duo have been subtly — or sometimes blatantly — referencing each other in their work ever since.
In a candid 2023 interview for her TIME Person of the Year cover story, Swift reflected on what she's learned from public feuds with people like West.
“My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things. Keep making art,” she explained. “But I've also learned there's no point in actively trying to quote-unquote defeat your enemies. Trash takes itself out every single time.”
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly is part of Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. © a360media 2025Powered by WordPress VIP
There's finally news about Downton Abbey 3, the new movie in the franchise!
Focus Features has revealed the title of the film - Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale - as well as released a new poster. You can see a full size version of the poster in the gallery below.
Head inside for all the remaining news about this announcement...
The title of the film also confirms some upsetting news we already sort of knew: it appears as if this is our final goodbye to Downton. The inclusion of "Grand Finale" in the title seems to indicate that this will, in fact, be the final project in the franchise.
The film is currently set for release on September 12, 2025.
If you didn't see, there's a cast member who won't return for the third film.
Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Guest List: Every Celebrity Invited, So Far
Surprise! Elisabeth Moss Confirms She Gave Birth to Her First Child!
'Survivor' Contestants Share Powerful & Emotional Moment That Causes Jeff Probst to Cry for the First Time in 48 Seasons (Video)
Dua Lipa Enjoys Fun Beach Day with Friends in Sydney
Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Guest List: Every Celebrity Invited, So Far
Surprise! Elisabeth Moss Confirms She Gave Birth to Her First Child!
'Survivor' Contestants Share Powerful & Emotional Moment That Causes Jeff Probst to Cry for the First Time in 48 Seasons (Video)
Dua Lipa Enjoys Fun Beach Day with Friends in Sydney
Chris Evans‘ name was left off of Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday cast list, and fans were really hoping he'd be returning as Captain America/Steve Rogers for the 2026 movie.
There are 27 Marvel stars who WILL be returning, so why isn't Chris one of them? Well, he did previously explain why it would take a lot for him to be an “eager yes” to return.
Keep reading to find out more…
In 2019, Chris sat down with his Marvel co-star Scarlett Johansson and explained further.
He shared, “You never say never. I love the character. I don't know [...] It's not a hard no, but it's not an eager yes either. There are other things that I'm working on right now. I think Cap[tain America] had such a tricky act to stick the landing, and I think they did a really nice job letting him complete his journey. If you're going to revisit it, it can't be a cash grab. It can't be just because the audience wants to be excited. What are we revealing? What are we adding to the story? A lot of things would have to come together.”
Scarlett then said, “It was such a beautiful cathartic ending, and I loved that for Steve. I think he deserved that. It was all his happiness.”
“It'd be a shame to sour that. I'm very protective of it. It was such a precious time, and jumping onto the movie was a terrifying prospect to me. I said no a bunch of times, and there's a million and one ways it could have gone wrong. It almost feels like maybe we should let this one sit,” Chris added.
See which Marvel actors will be back for Doomsday.
By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Brett Gardner and his family enjoyed quality time in paradise before the death of his 14-year-old son, Miller.
The former New York Yankees player and his wife, Jessica Clendenin, announced in a Sunday, March 23, statement released by the MLB team that their youngest son died after “falling ill along with several other family members while on vacation.” Miller “passed away peacefully in his sleep” at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort in Costa Rica on Friday, March 21.
“We are deeply saddened by this loss, and our hearts go out to the family during this incredibly difficult time,” the resort said in a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, March 25. “The factors that led to this tragic incident are unknown, and we are fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate. We remain committed to supporting our guests and staff, prioritizing their well-being and safety, while respecting the privacy of those affected.”
That same day, an official from Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Police confirmed to CNN that Miller's preliminary cause of death was determined to be “asphyxiation due to intoxication related to food poisoning.”
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Check our latest news in Google News
Check our latest news in Apple News
The Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort claimed to TMZ Sports on Tuesday that Miller and the Gardner family did not eat at any of the property's restaurants the day before his death. Food from a local restaurant the family reportedly dined at has been taken for testing and analysis, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday, March 26.
Scroll down to get a look inside the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort:
Credit: Courtesy of Hunter Gardner/Instagram
Brett Gardner and his family enjoyed quality time in paradise before the death of his 14-year-old son, Miller.
The former New York Yankees player and his wife, Jessica Clendenin, announced in a Sunday, March 23, statement released by the MLB team that their youngest son died after “falling ill along with several other family members while on vacation.” Miller “passed away peacefully in his sleep” at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort in Costa Rica on Friday, March 21.
“We are deeply saddened by this loss, and our hearts go out to the family during this incredibly difficult time,” the resort said in a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, March 25. “The factors that led to this tragic incident are unknown, and we are fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate. We remain committed to supporting our guests and staff, prioritizing their well-being and safety, while respecting the privacy of those affected.”
That same day, an official from Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Police confirmed to CNN that Miller's preliminary cause of death was determined to be “asphyxiation due to intoxication related to food poisoning.”
The Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort claimed to TMZ Sports on Tuesday that Miller and the Gardner family did not eat at any of the property's restaurants the day before his death. Food from a local restaurant the family reportedly dined at has been taken for testing and analysis, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday, March 26.
Scroll down to get a look inside the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort:
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
The resort offers a variety of luxury room options, some of which feature stunning views of the Pacific Ocean.
The resort offers a variety of luxury room options, some of which feature stunning views of the Pacific Ocean.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
Guests' rooms are just a short walk away from a picturesque beach.
Guests' rooms are just a short walk away from a picturesque beach.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
The resort's direct beach access features popular surfing spots and areas to lounge and grab a drink or cocktail.
The resort's direct beach access features popular surfing spots and areas to lounge and grab a drink or cocktail.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
The wood and wicker lobby furniture perfectly compliments the resort's rainforest location.
The wood and wicker lobby furniture perfectly compliments the resort's rainforest location.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
In addition to a souvenir store, guests can grab beverages in the resort's entry space.
In addition to a souvenir store, guests can grab beverages in the resort's entry space.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
More of the luxury suites place guests right in the rainforest and offer views of Manuel Antonio National Park.
More of the luxury suites place guests right in the rainforest and offer views of Manuel Antonio National Park.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
Walking paths on the property connect guests from their rooms to the beach and more.
Walking paths on the property connect guests from their rooms to the beach and more.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
Guests can access the town of Manuel Antonio from the resort's long stretch of beach.
Guests can access the town of Manuel Antonio from the resort's long stretch of beach.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
The resort offers activities for those looking for relaxation and excitement, from rainforest excursions to ziplining to surf lessons and more.
The resort offers activities for those looking for relaxation and excitement, from rainforest excursions to ziplining to surf lessons and more.
In order to view the gallery, please allow Manage Cookies
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly is part of Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. © a360media 2025Powered by WordPress VIP
By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Sign InUp with your social account
We won't post to any of your accounts
Your password must include:
Former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna is revealing where she stands with Lisa Vanderpump.
Rinna, 61, shared on the Thursday, March 27, episode of the “Therapuss” podcast that she and Vanderpump, 64, remain cold with one another after Vanderpump's dramatic exit at the end of RHOBH season 9. (Rinna herself exited RHOBH after season 12.)
During the ninth season of the Bravo reality show, which aired in 2019, Vanderpump clashed with Rinna, Kyle Richards and Dorit Kemsley over the famous “Puppygate” incident.
Six years on and it seems that Rinna and Vanderpump have yet to clear the air.
“We end up at the same sushi restaurant up the [Beverly] Glen quite a bit. And nope, no words have been spoken,” Rinna said after host Jake Shane quizzed her on whether she has spoken to Vanderpump since season 9.
Shane then asked, “But is it cold energy?” to which Rinna responded, “Oh, we just pretend that we're not there. She doesn't see me. I don't see her. It's hilarious because we both know we're there. I know she's there. She knows I'm there. It's hilarious.”
During her time on the show, Vanderpump was accused by her costars of contriving drama to instigate arguments for the cameras.
“I think Lisa was a producer in her own right,” Shane shared with Rinna. The Days of Our Lives alum responded, “You said it, not me. You just said it, not me.”
Vanderpump exited RHOBH after a dramatic showdown with Richards, 56, at her Beverly Hills mansion, which ended with Vanderpump's husband, Ken Todd, kicking Richards out of the house and declaring, “Goodbye, Kyle!”
In November 2023, the Vanderpump Rules star gave an update on her relationship with Richards while speaking exclusively to Us Weekly at BravoCon. At the time, she said she had “empathy” for Richards amid her separation from husband Mauricio Umansky.
“With Kyle and Mauricio, I mean, I don't have a great relationship with her, I've been honest about that,” Vanderpump said. “When somebody calls you a liar, it's hard to come back from that when they don't take it back. But I have empathy. Empathy for it. They've got a family and beautiful girls.”
Last year, however, the former BFFs took swipes at each other. During an appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in May 2024, host Alex Cooper asked Vanderpump if she had “ever known a castmate's partner was cheating.” Vanderpump responded with yes.
“They're on a reality show, and they're living their lives. Of course, all marriages have problems. Anybody that says, ‘He is perfect, my love, and they're my king.' … I mean, f— off. It's your husband, get real,” Vanderpump continued. “Then suddenly, they get divorced, but they've been saying, ‘Oh, love bean or my king.' … Life's not like that. You've got two imperfect people living together that it's not, you know, and that's bulls—.”
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Check our latest news in Google News
Check our latest news in Apple News
She added, “How many times have you seen this, especially on that show that I used to be on? … Everything's just going just fine. And then, oh, we are getting a divorce, or oh, we've just separated.”
Richards fired back during an Amazon Live livestream, saying Vanderpump's remarks were “so classic her” and that she “never changes or grows or learns.”
“[She was] trying to imply that when I was, you know, showing myself being happy, that I actually wasn't — which is an absolute lie, and she knows that,” Richards said. “She just does that to be really mean. And then she goes on to say, ‘I'm not saying who I'm talking about. I would never do such a thing.' This is always what she does.”
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.
You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Us Weekly is part of Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. © a360media 2025Powered by WordPress VIP
CONTINUE »
The Harry Potter movies aren't just full of magic and adventures - they're also full of celebrity cameos!
Over the years, stars including Julianne Hough and Rege-Jean Page have talked about their small, and uncredited, roles in the blockbuster movie franchise.
Julianne recently detailed an interaction with Emma Watson (aka Hermione) years after they shared the screen in the first movie.
We are now taking a look at the 17 celebs that make surprising cameos in the Harry Potter movies - and we bet there are ton on this list that you never knew about!
Click through the slideshow to find out the 17 celebrities that made surprising cameos in the Harry Potter movies...
CONTINUE »
'Survivor' Contestants Share Powerful & Emotional Moment That Causes Jeff Probst to Cry for the First Time in 48 Seasons (Video)
Beyoncé Shut Out of ACM Awards 2025 Nominations After Winning Album of the Year at Grammys 2025
Nicholas Braun Shares Super Rare Photos with Girlfriend Hyunji Ward for Her Birthday!
Mariah Carey & Anderson .Paak Are 'Full on Dating,' Sources Confirm!
Ellen Pompeo is stepping out in London to promote her new Hulu series!
The 55-year-old actress joined co-stars Mark Duplass and Imogen Faith Reid at a special screening of their new series Good American Family on Wednesday (March 26) held at BAFTA in London, England.
For the screening, Ellen looked cool in a tan furry coat paired with tan pants.
The new show tells the story of Natalia Grace, played by Imogen, a girl with a rare form of dwarfism who was adopted by a Midwestern couple and later accused of being an adult women.
Ellen and Mark play Kristine and Michael Barnett, the adoptive parents.
New episodes of Good American Family are released on Hulu on Wednesdays. Watch the trailer here!
Click through the gallery inside for 10+ pictures of the stars at the screening...
'Survivor' Contestants Share Powerful & Emotional Moment That Causes Jeff Probst to Cry for the First Time in 48 Seasons (Video)
Beyoncé Shut Out of ACM Awards 2025 Nominations After Winning Album of the Year at Grammys 2025
Nicholas Braun Shares Super Rare Photos with Girlfriend Hyunji Ward for Her Birthday!
Mariah Carey & Anderson .Paak Are 'Full on Dating,' Sources Confirm!
The Masked Singer is back!
A new episode of season 13 of the hit FOX singing competition series aired on Wednesday night (March 26).
The show, which began in South Korea, features celebrities singing songs while wearing costumes and face masks concealing their identities until they're eliminated. Throughout the season, the contestants provide clues to try and help the judges and fans figure out who is under the mask.
This season includes the new costumed character Detective Lucky Duck, who will help panelists "uncover who's behind each mask."
During the episode, Group C contestants Cherry Blossom, Mad Scientist Monster, Nessy, Stud Muffin, and Yorkie hit the stage for their first performances of the season.
While on stage, Nessy performed "Roxanne" by The Police.
Keep reading to see all of the clues and guesses...Keep scrolling to check out the clues and guesses...
FIRST PERFORMANCE CLUES:
- Says he's a "gentle giant"
- Has been called a "legend"
- Holds up a card with kiss print on it"
- Plane shown on a newspaper front page
- Says he's been able to keep his star-status on the download
- Holds up a radio, appears to be a radio star
- Holds a lucky horseshoe
- "Took a lot of time off" to spend time with his family
PANEL GUESSES: Gene Simmons, Dan Reynolds, & Daryl Hall
OUR GUESS: Daryl Hall
In his clue package, Nessy talked a lot about being a "private guy," which could be a reference to Daryl's 1981 album Private Eyes. The radio clue could be a reference to Daryl's podcast Live from Daryl's House, in which he performs with other artists from the comfort of his own home. Some of Daryl's singles fit the clues, including "Private Eyes" (the private jet), "Kiss on My List" (the red lips), and "Portable Radio" (the radio). The "exposed" clue could be a reference to the time Daryl collaborated on Robert Fripp's album Exposure.
'Survivor' Contestants Share Powerful & Emotional Moment That Causes Jeff Probst to Cry for the First Time in 48 Seasons (Video)
Beyoncé Shut Out of ACM Awards 2025 Nominations After Winning Album of the Year at Grammys 2025
Nicholas Braun Shares Super Rare Photos with Girlfriend Hyunji Ward for Her Birthday!
Mariah Carey & Anderson .Paak Are 'Full on Dating,' Sources Confirm!
Alec Baldwin apparently has a fan in Melania Trump.
While making an appearance at 92nd Street Y event earlier this week, the 66-year-old Emmy-winning actor claimed that former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer once said that the 54-year-old First Lady "loved" his Saturday Night Live impersonation of Donald Trump.
Keep reading to find out more...“Spicer — maybe he had a couple drinks, I don't know; I wasn't there," Alec told the crowd, according to Page Six. "He says to the people at SNL, ‘Melania watches the show every Saturday night. And she points at the TV and says “That's what he's like! That is what he's like! Exactly! Alec Baldwin is exactly like Donald!"'"
“We're gagging laughing, but it made sense!" Alec continued. “She loves when they give it to him, you know what I mean?”
Alec impersonated the 78-year-old President on SNL from October 2016 to November 2020 and won an Emmy for the role in 2017.
While Melania is apparently a fan of Alec's impression, Trump has made it very clear over the years that he hates it.
'Survivor' Contestants Share Powerful & Emotional Moment That Causes Jeff Probst to Cry for the First Time in 48 Seasons (Video)
Beyoncé Shut Out of ACM Awards 2025 Nominations After Winning Album of the Year at Grammys 2025
Nicholas Braun Shares Super Rare Photos with Girlfriend Hyunji Ward for Her Birthday!
Mariah Carey & Anderson .Paak Are 'Full on Dating,' Sources Confirm!
The models are stepping out for Vogue World's big press announcement!
Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne, Hailey Bieber, and Adwoa Aboah posed for photos together as they attended the press event to announce Vogue World: Hollywood on Wednesday (March 26) held at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.
During the press conference, Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour teased that the Hollywood setting will set “great film costumes next to brilliant fashion collections.”
Keep reading to find out more...“By mixing fashion and the arts and culture in the center of a city, and by raising money for a cause, Vogue World has become a runway show-as-rallying cry, a way to fix the attention of a huge global audience, to bring awareness, and sound an unmistakable note of positivity, creativity, and hope," Anna said, according to E! News.
Other stars in attendance at the press event included Taylor Russell, Natalia Bryant, Victoria Monet, and California Governor Gavin Newsom along with fashion designer Jeremy Scott and Nicolas Ghesquière.
Vogue World's inaugural event took place back in 2022 in New York City. The annual runway show then took place in London in 2023 and in Paris the following year.
As for Vogue World: Hollywood, the event will be held at the Paramount Picture Studios Lot on October 26.
Kendall was just recently in Paris for a new campaign with this Bridgerton star!
FYI: Hailey is wearing a Schiaparelli dress.
Click through the gallery for 25+ pictures of the stars at the event...
'Survivor' Contestants Share Powerful & Emotional Moment That Causes Jeff Probst to Cry for the First Time in 48 Seasons (Video)
Beyoncé Shut Out of ACM Awards 2025 Nominations After Winning Album of the Year at Grammys 2025
Nicholas Braun Shares Super Rare Photos with Girlfriend Hyunji Ward for Her Birthday!
Mariah Carey & Anderson .Paak Are 'Full on Dating,' Sources Confirm!
Justin Theroux and Nicole Brydon Bloom are stepping out for the first time as husband and wife!
The newlyweds held hands as they ran a few errands together with his beloved dog Kuma on Wednesday afternoon (March 26) in New York City.
For their outing, the 53-year-old Running Point actor sported a tan and green coat with gray jeans and a black baseball hat while the 31-year-old Paradise actress wore a gray jacket, black sweater, and jeans.
Earlier this month, Justin and Nicole married at a beach resort in Mexico with tons of their famous friends in attendance!
If you didn't know, Justin and Nicole were introduced back in 2022 by one of Nicole's Gilded Age co-stars.
Click through the gallery inside for 25+ pictures of Justin Theroux and Nicole Brydon Bloom stepping out in NYC...
'Survivor' Contestants Share Powerful & Emotional Moment That Causes Jeff Probst to Cry for the First Time in 48 Seasons (Video)
Beyoncé Shut Out of ACM Awards 2025 Nominations After Winning Album of the Year at Grammys 2025
Nicholas Braun Shares Super Rare Photos with Girlfriend Hyunji Ward for Her Birthday!
Mariah Carey & Anderson .Paak Are 'Full on Dating,' Sources Confirm!