Every time Bryan publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. President Donald Trump has a Jerome Powell-sized problem with installing Kevin Warsh as the new Fed chair. That senator — Thom Tillis of North Carolina — happens to sit on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, which considers Fed chair nominations. In a post on X on Friday, Tillis made clear that he has nothing against Warsh, who has otherwise been lauded as a strong pick by both Republicans and economists. "Kevin Warsh is a qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy," Tillis wrote, later adding: "Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable." Trump has said that he had no knowledge of the subpoenas before Powell made them public. In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai said that Warsh is "eminently qualified to serve" as the next Fed chair and that the White House "looks forward to working with the Senate to quickly confirm him and get the Federal Reserve back on track." Trump appeared unmoved by Tillis's opposition, telling reporters in the Oval Office later on Friday that it's "too bad." He also suggested that Warsh's confirmation may have to wait until Tillis is out of office. Under Senate rules, before the full chamber can vote on a nominee, it must be reported "favorably" by the committee with jurisdiction, which requires a majority vote. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement on Friday that "no Republican purporting to care about Fed independence should agree to move forward with this nomination" under the circumstances. It would take 60 votes in the Senate to bypass that committee vote and bring his nomination to the floor — an unlikely prospect, given that it requires Democratic support. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has acknowledged the predicament. According to POLITICO, when asked on Thursday whether Warsh could be confirmed without Tillis's support, Thune said: "Uh, probably not."

Eli Lilly on Friday said it will spend more than $3.5 billion to build a manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley that will help make its next-generation obesity drugs. That includes a closely watched experimental drug called retatrutide, which has shown the highest weight loss seen to date for any treatment in a late-stage trial. It is the fourth facility in a string of new planned U.S. investments by the pharmaceutical giant. Lilly announced in February 2025 that it would spend at least $27 billion to build new domestic manufacturing facilities, adding to $23 billion in previous investments since 2020. On Thursday, President Donald Trump said Lilly CEO Dave Ricks has told him the drugmaker aims to build six plants in the U.S. But Lilly has not confirmed those plans. That added production capacity for upcoming weight loss treatments is crucial. Retatrutide is viewed as a key pillar of Lilly's long-term obesity strategy after its popular injection Zepbound and upcoming obesity pill. Some health experts say retatrutide, which works by targeting three gut hormones rather than one or two, can reach patients with severe obesity who would benefit from even more weight loss than what existing injections can offer. Lilly plans to release data from seven other Phase 3 trials on the drug this year. The company and its chief rival, Novo Nordisk, have invested heavily in boosting production capacity after previously facing supply shortages for their existing weekly injections in the U.S. Preparing enough supply of upcoming drugs is also central to Lilly's efforts to maintain its dominance in the booming GLP-1 market. Lilly has its own pill, orforglipron, that could win approval and launch later this year. Drugmakers have been scrambling to boost their production in the U.S. after threats by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S. But concerns about those potential tariffs have eased following voluntary drug pricing deals with Trump in recent months that exempt companies — including both Lilly and Novo — from the levies for three years. Eli Lilly said the Pennsylvania site will bring 850 jobs to the area, including engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians, as well as 2,000 construction jobs. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said Friday that Venezuela has taken positive steps to protect investment by private oil companies since the Trump administration captured former President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela on Thursday passed reforms to its hydrocarbon law that ease state control of the oil industry and grants private producers more autonomy. Wirth said Chevron is still reviewing the legislation. The CEO said security of contracts, commercial stability and regulatory predictability are key to attract investment in Venezuela. "We see Venezuela taking steps in a positive direction to address those issues, which will encourage investment, not only from a company like ours, but from others that I think are also considering the opportunities there," Wirth told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" in an interview. Chevron is the only U.S. oil major operating in Venezuela through a special license issued by the Treasury Department. It is currently producing about 250,000 barrels per day through joint ventures with state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA. Wall Street largely views Chevron as the U.S. oil company best positioned to benefit from the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela due to its presence in the country and its relationship with PDVSA. "We've stayed when others didn't," Wirth said. "We're getting paid back some debts that we're owed, and it does give us a significant head start. And the country has tremendous long-term potential." The CEO said the security situation is mostly stable where Chevron operates though there are areas of Venezuela that are less safe. "And our operations have continued uninterrupted through this entire period of time." Chevron reported fourth-quarter earnings on Friday that beat estimates. While Chevron is ready to ramp up production, competitor Exxon Mobil is wary of returning to Venezuela after its assets were seized twice in the past. Exxon CEO Darren Woods has called the country uninvestable. President Donald Trump is pressuring the oil industry to invest at least $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela's energy sector. Chevron shares were trading up 1.4% after reporting its results. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Luigi Mangione will not face a possible death penalty sentence in the New York federal criminal case where he is charged with killing health insurance CEO Brian Thompson, a judge ruled Friday. Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Garnett, in an order Friday, dismissed two of the four criminal counts Mangione faced in the case. The potential maximum sentence for the remaining two counts for causing the UnitedHealthcare executive's death under federal stalking laws is "life in prison without parole," Garnett noted. Thompson was fatally shot on a midtown Manhattan street in December 2024. That count, which the judge tossed out, would have made Mangione eligible for a possible death sentence. The fourth count, which was also dismissed, accused Mangione of the use of a firearm equipped with a silencer during the stalking. "The crimes charged in Counts Three and Four require that the stalking crimes in Count One and Two meet the federal statutory definition of 'crimes of violence' as a matter of law," Garnett wrote. "The Defendant has moved to dismiss Counts Three and Four on that ground that this requirement is not satisfied." The judge, who admitted that the analysis she applied to that argument "may strike the average person — and indeed many lawyers and judges — as tortured and strange," ruled that Supreme Court precedent bound her to conclude that the first two counts did not meet the definition of "crimes of violence." Separately on Friday, Garnett dismissed a motion by Mangione's defense team to suppress the contents of the backpack in his possession when he was questioned and detained by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after Thompson's killing. Mangione's attorneys had argued that the search was not legally valid. Mangione also faces murder charges in state court in Manhattan, where prosecutors are seeking to try him before the federal trial. We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Sandisk's stock popped 14% after the company crushed Wall Street's fiscal second-quarter estimates, as the artificial intelligence boom sent demand for its chips skyrocketing. The flash storage memory company reported earnings of $6.20 per share, excluding items, blowing past the $3.62 per share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Shares had jumped more than 20% in the premarket. Sandisk's third-quarter forecast also outpaced expectations for analysts. That blew away the $2.93 billion expected by FactSet. Raymond James analysts upgraded the stock to an outperform rating, citing Sandisk's pricing momentum as new supply struggles to come online. "We know demand is exceptionally strong and likely only growing, supply is tightening to the point of potentially being sold out for years," the firm wrote, believing the company should benefit from "longer-lived" datacenter production. Memory companies like Sandisk are seeing a boost from skyrocketing memory need, as businesses race to funnel more storage supply into the power-hungry datacenter buildout that's fueling the AI revolution. This backdrop has also created a supply and demand imbalance that's allowed memory companies to hike prices and maintain strong margins. Sandisk said it expects third-quarter gross margins to range between 65% and 67%, far ahead of the 49.3% expected by analysts polled by StreetAccount. The memory shortage has hit multiple areas of the tech sector, and Apple reported supply issues of its own when it reported first-quarter earnings on Thursday. CEO Tim Cook said access to advanced node manufacturing was keeping it from making more iPhones, but the company would be hit by rising memory prices. Cook said Apple was looking at "a range of options to deal with that." WATCH: Sandisk stock pops more than 15% on better-than-expected quarterly results We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said Friday that Venezuela needs to transition to democracy in order for investment in the South American nation's dilapidated oil industry to make sense. President Donald Trump is pressuring oil companies to invest at least $100 billion in Venezuela to rebuild the country's oil industry after the U.S. captured former President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. But Woods told Trump at the White House on Jan. 9 that Venezuela is "uninvestable" in its current state. Woods stood by his assessment in an interview with CNBC on Friday. "Those priorities start with one, stabilizing the country," Woods told CNBC's "Squawk Box." The Trump administration has not laid out a clear plan for Venezuela to hold elections and transition to a democratic government. Senior administration officials have said they are focused right now on stabilizing the country and improving its economy through oil sales. The U.S. has been working with Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, who is a long-standing insider in the authoritarian regime that former President Hugo Chavez built. The cooperation with Rodriguez has raised concern among some observers that the current regime could remain in place so long as it meets the Trump administration's demands on oil. Exxon exited Venezuela in 2007 after its assets were seized by the Chavez regime. It has billions of dollars in outstanding claims against Caracas from the nationalization. "Frankly, from our perspective, there's a principle that we stand on that if you don't uphold the sanctity of the contracts, if you choose to instead to steal the investments that we made and undermine the work that we've been doing, that we can't continue to work with you," Woods said. Trump told oil industry CEOs at the White House meeting that his administration is not planning to force Venezuela to play claims from the 2007 nationalization. "We're not going to look at what people lost in the past, because that was their fault," Trump said on Jan. 9. Venezuela, a founding member of OPEC, is believed to have the largest crude oil reserves in the world but its energy infrastructure is in a state of disrepair. Investment to repair Venezuela's infrastructure could prove financially challenging right now as a surplus of crude oil in the world has depressed prices. Oil prices in 2025 posted their steepest annual loss since 2020 as OPEC+ increased production and the U.S. continued to pump oil at a strong clip. Earlier Friday, Exxon reported fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates, but both profit and revenue were down from the year-ago period due to weak crude prices. Notably, Exxon achieved its highest full-year net production in more than 40 years at 4.7 million barrels per day. Exxon's competitor, Chevron, is the only U.S. oil major operating in Venezuela under a special license issued by the Treasury Department. Chevron says it can increase production in Venezuela by 50% over the next 18 to 24 months. While Exxon's stock was down more than 1% after reporting its results, its shares have had a strong start to the year. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Sign up today for the new CNBC Sport Newsletter A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman, which brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media. This year, you can make — or lose — money on them, too. Prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket currently have contracts open on which companies will run ads during Super Bowl 60, which will feature the Seattle Seahawks vs. the New England Patriots and is set for Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California. Users can trade on whether Salesforce or Verizon or Coca-Cola will have a Super Bowl spot this year, for example. ", with trades available for Sydney Sweeney, Timothée Chalamet and Harry Styles. It's a new wrinkle for the advertising industry's biggest night. The price of Super Bowl commercials goes higher and higher each year as the Super Bowl's TV audience keeps rising. Last year's game was watched by 127.7 million viewers, a record high. That game, broadcast by Fox, generated about $7.5 million per 30-second spot, with 10 or so ads commanding more than $8 million. This year, NBC, which will broadcast the game, has sold out all of its ad inventory, averaging $8 million per 30-second commercial, with between five and 10 ads selling for more than $10 million apiece, according to Mark Marshall, NBC's chairman of global advertising and partnerships. According to Marshall, technology companies have bought the most spots across this year's slate, though NBC defines technology relatively broadly: Uber Eats, for example, is considered a tech company. Only two automobile companies are advertising during the game. About 40% of advertisers this year have never bought a Super Bowl spot before, Marshall said. But the entrance of prediction market platforms means Marshall has reason to keep details close to the vest. For those not familiar with how these prediction markets work, they basically trade like stocks, with contracts priced between $0 and $1. As of Friday morning, a "Yes" contract for Spotify was priced at $0.37. If your predicted outcome materializes, you get paid, with winning contracts paying out $1 each, minus fees. Both Polymarket and Kalshi are also offering other prediction trades around the Super Bowl, including "What songs will be played at the halftime show?," "Who will attend the big game?" ), and more traditional sportsbook "bets" such as "Seattle vs. New England: Most Rushing Yards." While straight sports predictions, such as rushing yards, are unknown events, there are likely hundreds, if not thousands, of employees who know whether their company is planning to run a Super Bowl commercial. That makes some contracts ripe for insider trading. Existing laws prohibit insider trading on prediction markets, but industry experts are skeptical that a gutted Commodity Futures Trading Commission has the will or the staff to police those problems. Meanwhile the question of whether events contracts on sports amount to financial derivatives or gambling is dividing the sports gambling industry — and tying federal courts in knots. "A couple of courts have held that event contracts based on sports are not derivatives subject to the CFTC's authority," said Jack Murphy, senior counsel at Akin Gump and a former CFTC enforcement attorney. If sports event contracts aren't derivatives, then criminal authorities could still prosecute insider trading on prediction markets under a wire fraud theory." On Thursday, Michael Selig, the new chairman of the CFTC, said he had directed agency staff to withdraw a proposed rule that would ban prediction trades on sports and politics. Meanwhile live sports continue to fuel prediction market growth. Kalshi's on track for 44% month-over-month growth in total trading volume, according to Piper Sandler analyst Patrick Moley. has already accounted for more than $150 million in trading volume. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents in connection with his journalistic activities covering protests in Minnesota, his lawyer said Friday. Lemon "was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards," his attorney, Abbe Lowell, in a statement. "Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done," Lowell said. Department of Justice officials had publicly vowed to bring charges against Lemon over his presence at a Jan. 18 protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lemon, an independent reporter who hosts "The Don Lemon Show" on YouTube, has said he was reporting on the protest. A federal magistrate judge last week reportedly rejected a criminal complaint that was brought against Lemon. In Friday's statement, Lowell called Lemon's arrest an "unprecedented attack on the First Amendment" and a "transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration." "Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court," Lowell said. We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Every time Dan publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Today's the day not to do much of anything. At least, that's what a group of ICE protesters is hoping for. Of course, getting buzz on social media about a protest is one thing. It's unclear what, if any, impact Friday's protest will have on the economy. For context, boycotters last year planned an economic blackout of major retailers on February 28 to protest corporate corruption. The impact wasn't massive — only a 5.4% drop in sales, according to Numerator — but Black and LGBTQ+ shoppers did noticeably shift their spending habits that day. But these one-off events are more so meant to signal frustration than destroy companies' bottom lines. And some change has already been elicited, as Maine Sen. Susan Collins announced ICE halted "enhanced activities" in the state. One company that's right in the thick of it has issues beyond a one-day blackout. Minneapolis-based Target has deep ties to the city and a history of navigating civil unrest there. Michael Fiddelke is facing a baptism by fire as he takes over as Target's new CEO this weekend, writes BI's Dominick Reuter and Sarah Needleman. Hundreds of Target employees already signed a letter urging the company to bar ICE from its stores. Fiddelke addressed the situation in a video message Monday, but didn't name Trump or ICE specifically. Over the past 12 quarters, 10 have had flat or declining comparable sales. But Target didn't bring in outside talent to shake things up. And former longtime CEO Brian Cornell is sticking around as executive chairman. Fiddelke's deep knowledge of the company could be considered a strength.

Within minutes of the nomination, reactions started pouring in from prominent economists and business leaders. "Having observed and interacted with Kevin during his prior tenure as Fed Governor, in academia, and as a fellow member of the Group of Thirty (G-30), I believe he brings a strong mix of deep expertise, broad experience, and sharp communication skills," El-Erian wrote in a post on X. "His commitment to reforming and modernizing the Fed bodes well for enhancing policy effectiveness and protecting the institution's political independence." Earlier in January, El-Erian wrote on X that the Department of Justice probe into Jerome Powell could undermine the "credibility of a Fed whose public standing is already fragile." Jason Furman, a Harvard economist and former top economist to President Barack Obama, wrote on X that "Warsh is well above the bar on both substance and independence to be Chair of the Federal Reserve." Hopefully that will make it clear Warsh should be confirmed," he wrote. "Warsh has a range of views that would not have led me to recommend a Democratic President nominate him as Federal Reserve Chair," Furman added. "I would be thrilled if he ends up conducting himself over the next four years in a way that would make a President of any party want to reappoint him." Joseph Brusuelas, principal and chief economist for RSM US LLP, said Warsh meets the bar to lead the Fed, but he should be questioned on central bank independence and reform, as well as on reducing the Fed's balance sheet. "Moreover, he should be challenged to how he would respond in a financial crisis given his public track record of focusing on inflation risk during a time of rising unemployment and deflation during the early portion of the Great Financial crisis," Brusuelas wrote on X. "Warsh has a range of views and track record that presents significant concerns about how he would proceed during a financial and economic crisis. Robin Brooks, senior fellow at Brookings, said in an X post that Warsh "is a really good pick for Fed Chair and known as a hawk." "But markets are asking themselves what was promised to get the nod, which is why the Dollar - after its huge decline in recent days - isn't managing to rally on what should be good news," said Brooks, who was also a managing director and chief economist at the Institute of International Finance. Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and research professor at the City University of New York's Graduate Center, criticized Warsh's nomination. He wrote in a post on his Substack: "As I write this, many media reports are describing Warsh as a monetary hawk. "It's a humiliating day for the Federal Reserve, which has always prided itself on its professionalism and has been hugely respected around the world. Sonali Basak, the chief investment strategist for iCapital and a former Bloomberg anchor, wrote on X: "Between Bessent & Warsh, you have two proteges of Stanley Druckenmiller in the most powerful finance posts in government." Warsh is a partner at billionaire Druckenmiller's Duquesne Family Office LLC. "Kevin Warsh is an excellent choice as Chair of the Fed - smart, serious, experienced, knows the new economy as well as the old," said Osborne, who leads OpenAI for Countries, wrote in a post on X. "I've been fortunate enough to know him for more than twenty years and this is the job he was put on earth to do. The world feels a little safer - and more prosperous - today," he added. "I've known him for more than 20 years, and his judgment, integrity, and depth of experience will make him an exceptional leader of the Federal Reserve," Howard said in a statement sent to Business Insider.

He returns now under very different circumstances, asked to serve a notoriously fickle president who will place significant but very different demands on him. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Warsh was one of the youngest members ever to serve on the board of governors. While at the Fed, Warsh played an important role in the design and implementation of emergency lending programs aimed at stabilizing credit markets. However, Warsh emerged from the era as a Fed critic. He warned that large-scale asset purchases and near-zero benchmark interest rates ran the risk of distorting markets and undermining long-term price stability. While supporting the earlier efforts, Warsh voted against the second round of Fed bond buying, a program known as quantitative easing. Warsh has further criticized the post-financial crisis Fed with going too far in monetary policy stimulus, contending that it is helping sow the sees for further crises. In some respects, President Donald Trump is appointing a Fed chair who may be even less inclined to accommodate political pressure than Jerome Powell. Trump cited Warsh's extensive background in announcing his appointment to the top Fed post Friday morning. Warsh is currently a distinguished visiting fellow at Stanford University. "On top of everything else, he is 'central casting,' and he will never let you down," the president posted on Truth Social. Warsh, is a Stanford University graduate who earned his law degree from Harvard and ultimately married into the Lauder cosmetics family. While positioning himself as a defender of Fed independence, Warsh also has criticized it for mission creep and told CNBC in an interview last year that the central bank needs "regime change." Warsh made his misgivings known about the current Fed. It's a position that could put him in an adversarial role at an institution where consensus building is key to policy implementation. Despite multiple missteps on policymaking, Chair Powell has largely been able to keep the Fed consensus together. However, in recent months that has faltered, with each of the past several meetings featuring at least one and sometimes multiple dissents. Warsh's appointment would mark a sharp philosophical shift from Powell's pragmatic, consensus-driven approach and signal a potential tightening of the Fed's tolerance for inflation and balance sheet expansion. He would fill the seat currently occupied by Stephen Miran, whose term expires Saturday. Miran told CNBC on Friday that he supports the pick. "Chairman-designate Warsh has a long history of being an innovative and original thinker on monetary policy," Miran said. But if Trump thinks Warsh will be able to just push through aggressive rate cuts with ease, he might be in for an unpleasant surprise. Multiple voting members on the Federal Open Market Committee have expressed resistance to cutting further until there's more evidence that inflation is definitively moving towards the central bank's 2% inflation goal. Traditionally, though, the chair has been first among equals when it comes to voting on the FOMC, so Warsh may be able to tilt the group in at least a bit more dovish direction. "We see Warsh as a pragmatist not an ideological hawk in the tradition of the independent conservative central banker," Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI, said in a note. "Because he has a hawkish reputation and is seen as independent, he is better placed to bring the FOMC along with him to deliver at least two and plausibly three cuts this year than some rivals." So while Warsh may prove an ideological ally of the administration, how that translates into action will be a key question. "Analytically, we expect he will be strongly aligned with the Administration's arguments that booming productivity will allow for neutral or accommodative rates even with robust growth," wrote Tobin Marcus, head of U.S. policy and politics at Wolfe Research. Warsh emerged from a competitive derby that one included 11 candidates, an array of past and present Fed officials, leading economists and a few Wall Street investment professionals including BlackRock fixed income chief Rick Rieder. That field was whittled down to five then four before Warsh emerged as the selection. Trump made no secret of the most important criteria — a willingness to slash rates lower and keep them low. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has vowed to block any Trump Fed nominees until that situation is resolved. "The Warsh pick is likely to have broad support – Democrat economist Jason Furman is out early in favor – and he should be relatively easy to confirm in the Senate," Guha said. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Protesters said that one of the church's pastors also worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In a statement, Lemon's attorney Abbe Lowell said he was taken into custody by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards. "Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done," Lowell said. "Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court," he said. Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed Lemon's arrest in a post on X. She also said that Georgia Fort, another independent journalist, had been taken into custody, along with two other people. "At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota," Bondi wrote. "They said they were able to go to a grand jury sometime, I guess, in the last 24 hours, and they have a warrant for my arrest," Fort said in the video. Minnesota has been rocked by major protests amid a surge of ICE agents that the Trump administration has sent to the state to ramp up deportations. A federal magistrate judge had previously rejected charges against five people who appeared at the protest, including Lemon, according to The New York Times. Lemon left CNN in 2023 after 17 years at the network. He has since worked as an independent content creator, distributing his work on social media and hosting live events. The day after the Cities Church protest, President Donald Trump shared a screenshot of an X post on his Truth Social calling for Lemon to be imprisoned. "These arrests, under bogus legal theories for obviously constitutionally protected reporting, are clear warning shots aimed at other journalists," Seth said. "The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them."

Sen. Thom Tillis said Friday that he will oppose President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair until the criminal probe of the current chair, Jerome Powell, is "fully" resolved. Tillis, who is set to retire, vowed earlier this month to oppose any new nominee for the Fed until the Department of Justice's controversial investigation of Powell is completed. Tillis is a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, which has 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats. The refusal of a single Republican on that panel to vote for a presidential nominee would set up a stalemate that could leave Warsh's nomination without a recommendation of approval by the full Senate. Powell has said he is under investigation by the DOJ, ostensibly in connection with the Fed's multibillion-dollar renovation of its headquarters and his testimony to Congress about that project. Powell says the real reason for the probe is his and other Fed board members' refusal to cut interest rates as quickly and as much as Trump has demanded. "Kevin Warsh is a qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy," Tillis said in his statement. "However, the Department of Justice continues to pursue a criminal investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell based on committee testimony that no reasonable person could construe as possessing criminal intent," Tillis said. "My position has not changed: I will oppose the confirmation of any Federal Reserve nominee, including for the position of Chairman, until the DOJ's inquiry into Chairman Powell is fully and transparently resolved." Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the banking committee, in a statement on Friday, said, "No Republican purporting to care about Fed independence should agree to move forward with this nomination" of Warsh. "Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh – who cared more about helping Wall Street after the 2008 crash than millions of unemployed Americans – has apparently passed the loyalty test," she said. "This nomination is the latest step in Trump's attempt to seize control of the Fed and follows the Trump Administration's weaponization of the Department of Justice to open criminal investigations into Fed Governor Lisa Cook and sitting Fed Chair Jerome Powell." Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

President Donald Trump on Friday named Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, ending a prolonged odyssey that has seen unprecedented turmoil around the central bank. The decision culminates a process that officially began last summer but started much earlier than that, with Trump launching a fusillade of criticism against the Powell-led Fed almost since Powell took the job in 2018. "I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best," Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the selection. The pick of Warsh, 55, likely won't ripple markets because of his past Fed experience and Wall Street's view that he wouldn't always do Trump's bidding. However, I believe longer term he will be a credible candidate," added Bahnsen. Stock market futures nevertheless were slightly negative Friday morning, though off their lows since Warsh's appointment became clear. If approved, he will take over the position in May, when Powell's term expires. Warsh will fill the Board of Governors position currently held by Governor Stephen Miran, whose term expires Saturday. Miran can continue to serve until a replacement is named. Since Powell's confirmation in 2018, during Trump's first term, the president has persistently hectored policymakers to lower interest rates aggressively. Even with three successive reductions in the latter part of 2025, Trump kept up the attack, pressing for lower rates and criticizing Powell for cost overruns at the Fed's massive renovation of its Washington, D.C., headquarters. Among the changes, pushed by Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, herself once in the running for Fed chair, are lower capital requirements, reducing supervision and supervisory staff, and backing the Fed out of ancillary efforts like pushing banks to prepare for climate events. It's a position that could put him in an adversarial role at an institution where consensus building is key to policy implementation. Trump's decision to nominate Warsh comes at one of the most precarious moments for the U.S. central bank in decades — with inflation not fully defeated, government borrowing escalating and the Fed itself facing unusually direct political pressure over how it conducts monetary policy. In an uncharacteristically blunt response, Powell charged the move was a "pretext" to push the Fed into following Trump's orders and ease policy further. To that end, the nomination comes as questions about Fed independence, a bedrock of central bank credibility, have moved from academic debate into concern. Trump and other administration officials have floated ideas ranging from tighter White House oversight to changes in how the central bank sets rates, including forcing the chair to consult with the president on rate decisions. "I want to keep it nice and pure, but he certainly wants to cut rates," Trump said Friday afternoon during an Oval Office session with reporters. He added that he has not talked with Warsh about cutting rates, though the president said that would be a litmus test for candidates. The nomination ends a competitive derby that at one point included 11 candidates. They spanned from former and current Fed officials to prominent economists and Wall Street pros in an interview process led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Ultimately, the field was winnowed to five then four, with Trump last week hinting to CNBC that he had arrived at his choice. Among the finalists were current Governor Christopher Waller, BlackRock bond chief Rick Rieder and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. "Christopher Waller, Rick Rieder, and others, were interviewed for the Fed position. "This has been an incredible honor for me," Rieder said in a statement to CNBC. "He is doing such an outstanding job working with me and my team at the White House, that I just didn't want to let him go," he said. In a CNBC interview, Hassett said he was not disappointed and wished Warsh well. I think President Trump made a great choice, and I'm really thrilled and humbled by all the kind things he said about me. I think we've been hitting on all cylinders, and it's a really bad time to change teams." Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has indicated he will block any Fed nominees until the Justice Department probe is finished. However, the Department of Justice continues to pursue a criminal investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell based on committee testimony that no reasonable person could construe as possessing criminal intent," Tillis posted Friday on social media site X. "My position has not changed: I will oppose the confirmation of any Federal Reserve nominee, including for the position of Chairman, until the DOJ's inquiry into Chairman Powell is fully and transparently resolved," he added. Hassett told CNBC that the DOJ issue "could get resolved quickly. The White House is highly, highly confident that Kevin Warsh is a great nominee and that he should be confirmed as soon as possible, and every single resource we have at our disposal is behind him, and behind that outcome." Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who chairs the Senate banking committee, praised Warsh's "deep knowledge of markets and monetary policy that will be essential in this role." "The Federal Reserve's decisions touch every American household, from mortgage rates to retirement savings, and President Trump has been clear that bringing accountability and credibility to the Federal Reserve is a priority, and his nomination of Kevin Warsh reflects that focus," Scott said. In any event, markets don't expect much action from the new chair: Traders are pricing in at most two more cuts this year before the benchmark fed funds rate lands around 3%, which policymakers have indicates is the long-run "neutral" rate that neither boosts nor hinders economic growth. Then there's the issue of what happens with Powell. Though chairs historically have resigned their Fed positions after being removed as chair, that may not be the case this time around. Powell has two years remaining in his governor term, and he could choose to serve it as a bulwark against Trump's efforts to compromise Fed independence. The Supreme Court already is weighing Trump's move to unseat Governor Lisa Cook, a case that ultimately could decide what powers a president has over Fed board members. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Every time Allie publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michael Knox, co-owner of Toma Mojo Grill near Minneapolis. This story has been edited for length and clarity. I run a fast casual chicken restaurant in Richfield, Minnesota, a suburb just south of Minneapolis. With ICE agents in the area, I don't know when — or if — staff will be able to come to work. There are only six of us operating this place, seven days a week. And I have concerns: Are my employees going to get stopped on their way to work? Are they going to be hassled or detained? Are they going to come back? Over the past couple of weeks, we've adjusted our hours, opening later and closing earlier. I've been picking up everyone's shifts, but I can't physically work 16 hours a day, seven days a week. We had to close last week so that I could have a day off. Some of my employees don't feel comfortable leaving their houses. If they tell me they can't come to the restaurant, my policy, of course, is "no questions asked." If we're not serving guests our food, there's no money coming in, and we can't pay people. Every time Allie publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! Stay connected to Allie and get more of their work as it publishes. By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. We don't know who's looking in now, or what their purpose is. Are you a business owner or employee affected by ICE in your area? Here's our guide to sharing information securely. I can only do what I think is good for me, my staff, and the restaurant. ICE agents are bad for business, no matter which way they come. There are fewer delivery drivers and gig workers, so our takeout food is sitting longer before pickup. Our walk-in business is suffering too: After the sun goes down, we're seeing almost a noticeable drop in sales. I went to the strike with my friends and family last week to voice our dissatisfaction with the situation. My employees and I thought it was important to close that day too. That's a big sacrifice — but I know it's important. What's happening in Minneapolis should horrify every American. There's a very real, pervasive fear about what's going to happen next. And I'm worried that there's going to be more loss of life. It takes a lot of guts to put everything on the line do something you really want to do, to present a product or service that you think is good enough to charge money for. They don't tend to be the quiet type.

Every time Ashley publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. A leaked Amazon Web Services organizational chart shows the 15 executives under CEO Matt Garman, plus changes to his reports over the past year. Garman, a longtime Amazon veteran, began leading in June 2024 after running sales and marketing. AWS teams were among those impacted by the company's recent mass layoff targeting 16,000 employees. Business Insider wrote about Garman's org chart a year ago. Bonnett is an Amazon boomerang who rejoined the company in 2024 after a two-year stint at Google. Laura Grit was listed as technical advisor in Garman's January 2025 org chart. Kapoor joined Amazon in October from his previous post as CEO and chairman of DataStax, an AI data company acquired by IBM last year. Brown is a nearly 19-year Amazon veteran who runs services including Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud, or EC2, intended to allow customers to easily scale up and down their cloud usage on AWS using virtual servers. Tomsen Bukovec joined AWS in 2010 and is a high-profile executive at Amazon, known for running key services, including Simple Storage Service (S3), the first cloud service AWS introduced. Sivasubramanian became head of Agentic AI in March 2025 and is known for launching popular AI platforms, including Amazon SageMaker and Bedrock. Kalyanaraman, in an internal memo viewed by Business Insider after the company announced plans to lay off 16,000 employees, wrote that his org in the past year has "made tremendous progress on scaling to meet unprecedented customer demand." Aubrey has spent more than 20 years at Amazon but switched to AWS in May, around the time ex-AWS CEO Adam Selipsky left. She leads the AWS unit responsible for business applications. A calendar invite sent on behalf of Aubrey this week shared details about the company's layoff plans before they were announced. Baker has been at Amazon since 2016 and runs the unit responsible for custom agreements between AWS and customers, including terms such as usage-based discounts. Baker's past roles include positions at SAP and Oracle. She was most recently the chief marketing and solutions officer at SAP. Before that, she spent nearly two decades at Microsoft in roles including corporate vice president of product marketing for the Azure cloud unit. "Julia will join my leadership team and further develop and execute our global marketing strategy, playing a pivotal part in AWS's growth," Garman wrote in an email announcing her appointment. Grit, an 18-year Amazon veteran, is Garman's previous technical advisor. She previously led Amazon.com's migration from on-premise data centers to AWS cloud services. When Garman took over, he put Borno in charge of a new unit combining its Channels and Alliances team, responsible for relationships between global partners and customers, and its Worldwide Specialist Organization, which connects service teams to customers. Missing from Garman's latest organizational chart are Peter DeSantis, previously listed as senior vice president of AWS Utility Computing, and Kathrin Renz, ex-VP of AWS Industries.

While Nvidia's workforce is relatively small compared to other tech giants, with just 36,000 employees as of early 2025, stock appreciation during the AI boom has turned certain ordinary contributors into millionaires, according to pay data tracked by Levels.fyi. Nvidia president and CEO Jensen Huang takes a hands-on approach to employee compensation. "I review everybody's compensation up to this day at the end of every cycle," Huang said on an episode of the "All-In" podcast in July. Huang also said on the podcast that he's "created more billionaires on my management team than any CEO in the world." Still, employees who joined Nvidia earlier are likelier to have reaped rewards than newer hires—a pay disparity that employees sometimes openly discuss. Nvidia doesn't disclose salary data for its workforce, though publicly available work visa filings offer one of the few empirical glimpses into how much it pays for key roles. The figures come from filings that all companies submit to the Labor Department to sponsor H-1B visas, which Huang has stressed Nvidia will continue to sponsor and cover all associated fees amid evolving policies. Nvidia received roughly 1,900 certified H-1B applications in fiscal 2025, with some of the 25 most frequent roles including software engineers, research scientists, and product managers. Big Tech salaries amid the AI boom have seen companies like Google, Meta, and Microsoft forking over similar figures. Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Business Insider analyzed how much money corporate companies from Apple to Walmart are paying for jobs and other roles.

Every time Lee Chong Ming publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The global memory chip shortage is catching up with Apple, Tim Cook says. The warning comes amid blockbuster demand for Apple's newest products. Every time Lee Chong Ming publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! Stay connected to Lee Chong Ming and get more of their work as it publishes. By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Higher demand has also reduced flexibility across Apple's supply chain, he said. Memory shortages played a minimal role in Apple's December-quarter margins, but their impact is expected to grow, Cook added. Apple posted a gross margin of about 48% in the December quarter. "We do continue to see market pricing for memory increasing significantly," Cook said. "As always, we'll look at a range of options to deal with that." Apple's stock price rose about 2% after hours following the results on Thursday. Cook's comments come as the tech industry grapples with a worsening global shortage of memory chips. AI companies, smartphone makers, and PC manufacturers are competing for the same pool of memory components, which are critical not just for consumer electronics but also for powering large language models and other AI systems. "The amount of context memory, the amount of token memory that we process, KB cache we process, is now just way too high," he added, referring to AI storage needs. Market analysis firm Counterpoint also said last month that memory prices could climb as much as 40% through the second quarter of 2026. "The memory market is at an unprecedented inflexion point, with demand materially outpacing supply," an analyst from global market intelligence firm International Data Corporation wrote in a December note.