New U.S laws designed to protect minors are pulling millions of adult Americans into mandatory age-verification gates to access online content, leading to backlash from users and criticism from privacy advocates that a free and open internet is at stake. Roughly half of U.S. states have enacted or are advancing laws requiring platforms — including adult content sites, online gaming services, and social media apps — to block underage users, forcing companies to screen everyone who approaches these digital gates. He explained that the patchwork of state laws vary in technical demands and compliance expectations. "The regulations are moving in many different directions at once," he said. Social media company Discord announced plans in February to roll out mandatory age verification globally, which the company said would rely on verification methods designed so facial analysis occurs on a user's device and submitted data would be deleted immediately. Any time you introduce something that touches identity and verification, people are going to have strong feelings," Discord chief technology officer and co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy wrote in a Feb. 24 blog post. Websites offering adult content, gambling, or financial services often rely on full identity verification that requires scanning a government ID and matching it to a live image. But most of the verification systems powering these checkpoints — often run by specialized identity-verification vendors on behalf of websites — rely on artificial intelligence such as facial recognition and age-estimation models that analyze selfies or video to determine in seconds whether someone is old enough to access content. Social media and lower-risk services may use lighter estimation tools designed to confirm age without permanently storing detailed identity records. Vendors say a challenge is balancing safety with how much friction users will tolerate. "We're in the business of ensuring that you are absolutely keeping minors safe and out and able to let adults in with as little friction as possible," said Rivka Gerwitz Little, chief growth officer at identity-verification platform Socure. Excessive data collection, she added, creates friction that users resist. Still, many users perceive mandatory identity checks as invasive. Gerwitz Little said Socure does not sell verification data and that in lightweight age-estimation scenarios, where platforms use quick facial analysis or other signals rather than government documentation, the company may store little or no information. But in fuller identity-verification contexts, such as gaming and fraud prevention that require ID scans, certain adult verification records may be retained to document compliance. She said Socure can keep some adult verification data for up to three years while following applicable privacy and purging rules. Civil liberties' advocates warn that concentrating large volumes of identity data among a small number of verification vendors can create attractive targets for hackers and government demands. Earlier this year, Discord disclosed a data breach that exposed ID images belonging to approximately 70,000 users through a compromised third-party service, highlighting the security risks associated with storing sensitive identity information. In addition, they warn that expanding age-verification systems represent not only a usability challenge but a structural shift in how identity becomes tied to online behavior. Age verification risks tying users' "most sensitive and immutable data" — names, faces, birthdays, home addresses — to their online activity, according to Molly Buckley, a legislative analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Even when vendors promise to safeguard personal information, users ultimately rely on contractual terms they rarely read or fully understand. "There's language in their terms-of-use policies that says if the information is requested by law enforcement, they'll hand it over. As more platforms route age checks through third-party vendors, that concentration of identity data is also creating new legal exposure for the companies that rely on them. "A company is going to have some of that information passing through their own servers," Tandy said. "And you can't offload that kind of liability to a third party." Companies can distribute risk through contracts and insurance, she said, but they remain responsible for how identity systems interact with their infrastructure. "What you can do is have really good insurance and require really good insurance from the entities that you're contracting with," she said. Tandy also cautioned that retention promises can be more complex than they appear. "I wouldn't feel comfortable trusting a company that says, 'We delete everything one day after three years.' An FTC spokesperson told CNBC that companies must limit how collected information is used. While age-verification technologies can help parents protect children online, the agency said firms are still bound by existing consumer protection rules governing data minimization, retention, and security. According to Rae Pickett, a spokesperson from the Virginia attorney general's office — one of the states that has been actively enforcing age-verification laws — officials view strong verification and data-handling standards as inseparable parts of protecting young users and ensuring age-appropriate online experiences. She pointed to litigation against Meta and TikTok as evidence that inadequate safeguards can expose young users to harmful content and experiences. But if legislators want to meaningfully improve online safety instead of building new systems of surveillance, censorship, and exclusion, she said they should pass a strong, comprehensive federal privacy law that protects and empowers all internet users to control how our data is collected. Major platforms based in the U.S. are staking out positions on how age verification should be implemented, though not without controversy, as the Discord example suggests, and coming after years of lawsuits alleging weak efforts to keep their sites safe for children. Discord said in explaining its delayed global rollout that other than in countries where national laws require certain methods of verification, over 90% of users will never need to verify their age by any methods other than its existing internal safety systems that do not require user action. Though its CTO noted in the recent blog post, "We know many of you believe the right answer is not to do this at all." Discord said it is using the additional time this year to add more verification options, including credit cards, more transparency on vendors and technical detail of how age verification will work, and once the system goes into effect, it will publish details on the percentage of users asked to verify age in its existing transparency reports. Snap, which operates Snapchat, said it supports alternative approaches that reduce the need for platforms to collect identity information directly. "We believe there are better, more privacy-conscious solutions such as mandating age verification at the primary point of entry — the device, operating system, or app store level," a Snap spokesperson told CNBC. Meta and Google did not respond to requests for comment. Taken together, industry leaders say the rapid spread of age-verification laws may push platforms toward systems that verify age once and reuse that credential across services. In other words, a digital proof of age that travels with the user across platforms. Tandy said over time, once a system confirms someone's age, it may not need to ask again. She compared the model to ecosystems such as Disney accounts, where a user's age is established once and then recognized across its services rather than being rechecked every time they log in, even years later. For adults, that means an internet where identity verification is no longer occasional friction but a built-in layer of everyday access. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said oil and gas prices will begin to fall when the U.S. begins to knock out Iran's ability to hinder tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, as Americans weather spiking gas prices due to the war in Iran. "We're massively attriting their ability to strike with missiles and drones, and that rate of attrition will increase in the coming days. President Donald Trump was elected to a second term in the White House in part by promising to lower gas prices and defeat high inflation. He has frequently touted lower gas prices ahead of the November midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress for the remainder of his term. But gas prices and oil have spiked since the war began in Iran, with vessel bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz causing the surge. About 20% of global energy supply moves through the strait. U.S. crude oil has soared to more than $91 per barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude has spiked to over $92 per barrel. Wright said that "one large tanker has already gone through the straits with no issues at all." Typically, roughly 100 tankers and cargo ships move through the strait every day. Wright said the disruption would last for "weeks, certainly not months." "Iran will finally be defanged, and now you can see more investment, more free flow of trade, less ability to threaten energy supplies." When asked about potentially tapping the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to reduce pain at the pump, Wright suggested such a move is not necessary yet. In the past, the SPR has been tapped to mitigate disruptions in oil flows. "We're more than happy to use [the SPR] if needed," Wright said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "But ... it's a logistics issue, where do they need oil? "We've got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday. WATCH: No traffic will flow through Strait of Hormuz until a resolution with Iran: Kpler's Matt Smith We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

We know that raising emotionally intelligent kids sets them up for future success. The challenge is that many of us were never taught those skills ourselves. Growing up, many of us heard phrases like "stop crying," "calm down," or "be good." Over time, those messages taught us to suppress feelings rather than understand them. But children today can develop emotional intelligence through everyday interactions with the adults around them. After years studying more than 200 parent-child relationships, I've found that certain questions consistently help children build emotional awareness, resilience and empathy. Children often experience emotions in their bodies before they have the language to describe them. Asking this question helps them begin noticing those signals. Recognizing these sensations helps children build awareness of their emotional state. Empathy grows when children pay attention to the emotions of others. This question encourages them to notice facial expressions, tone of voice and behavior. The hope is that they become more aware that emotions exist not only within themselves but also in the people around them. Many children associate pride only with winning or performing well. Children begin recognizing things like kindness, persistence or generosity as reasons to feel proud. If they have trouble answering, gentle prompts can help: This question encourages children to think about their needs during difficult moments. Expressing these preferences helps them learn that their needs matter and can be communicated. Emotional intelligence includes learning how to calm the body during stressful moments. Recognizing these strategies helps children approach strong emotions with more confidence. This question introduces children to the idea of an inner voice. Young kids often benefit from hearing examples of supportive self-talk. With repetition, children begin using these phrases themselves, which strengthens resilience. Caring for someone else's feelings often appears in simple behaviors. They might mention listening to a friend, asking "Are you okay? ", sharing a toy or sitting with someone who feels lonely. These everyday actions help children practice kindness in concrete ways. This question helps children think about the qualities that define who they are. Parents can mention traits like creativity, curiosity, humor, thoughtfulness or bravery and ask which ones feel true to them. Recognizing these qualities supports a healthy sense of identity that isn't tied to comparison or achievement. Reem Raouda is a leading voice in conscious parenting and the creator of the BOUND and FOUNDATIONS journals, now offered together as her Emotional Safety Bundle. Sign up for CNBC's new online course, How to Raise Financially Smart Kids. CNBC Select is editorially independent and may earn a commission from affiliate partners on links.

Investors seeking solid stock picks in this backdrop can turn to the recommendations of top Wall Street analysts for useful insights. These experts look beyond short-term pressures and focus on a company's ability to deliver strong returns over the long term. Here are three stocks favored by some of Wall Street's top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. Semiconductor giant Nvidia (NVDA) is this week's first pick. In comparison, TipRanks' AI Analyst has an "outperform" with a price target of $230. Arcuri stated that following the meeting, he is bullish on Nvidia's networking growth and long-term margins. He noted that NVDA is very upbeat about its networking expansion. With regard to gross margin, the five-star analyst highlighted that NVDA expects some variance in the near term due to new program launches. Management sees 75% as a good long-term target for gross margin and is not currently aiming for a significantly higher level above 75%. Nvidia expects compute performance and TCO (total cost of ownership) improvements, along with enhanced customer economics in each generation, to help sustain strength in margins over the longer term. Among other key takeaways, Arcuri mentioned that while Nvidia expects upside to the $550 billion backlog for Blackwell and Rubin, it doesn't intend to continue to update this figure. This is because management believes that customer focus has moved to 2027 buildouts, with the company seeing continued strength in compute demand. Nvidia's confidence about compute buildouts is backed by its optimism about the capex sustainability of hyperscalers, thanks to their solid balance sheets and cash flow-generating capabilities. "Management also sees financing mechanisms expanding from straight capex to leases, SPVs and other vehicles," said Arcuri. We move on to Palo Alto Networks (PANW), a cybersecurity company. Recently, TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal reaffirmed a buy rating on PANW stock with a price target of $255 following a virtual meeting with the company's senior vice president of investor relations and strategic finance. TipRanks' AI Analyst is also bullish on PANW stock, with an outperform rating and a price target of $181. The five-star analyst considers growing adoption of agentic AI as the next potential secular catalyst for Palo Alto. The analyst explained that as agentic AI becomes embedded across business operations, companies might prefer security tool consolidation for dealing with cyberattacks, as relying on conventional, fragmented tools may not be effective in protecting autonomous systems. Specifically, customers who first adopted SASE during the pandemic are now reevaluating their architecture and vendors, allowing Palo Alto to capture market share as clients look for a more comprehensive solution. Moreover, PANW's Prisma Browser and a strong go-to-market (GTM) execution backed by an experienced sales team are also driving SASE sales. Finally, Eyal noted, "Opportunistic tuck-in acquisitions on an annual basis will remain an integral part of achieving $20B in NGS ARR [next-generation security annual recurring revenue] by FY30." 393 among more than 12,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. See Palo Alto Networks Ownership Structure on TipRanks. Memory and data storage solutions provider Micron Technology (MU) is scheduled to announce its fiscal second-quarter results on March 18. The company is benefiting from AI-led demand for its products and rising memory prices. Ahead of the results, Stifel analyst Brian Chin reiterated a buy rating on Micron stock and boosted his price target to $550 from $360. TipRanks' AI Analyst has an outperform rating on MU stock with a price target of $497. "Memory pricing is hitting levels we did not envision, evidence of the widening/persistent gap between supply and demand," said Chin. In fact, Chin expects the company's DDR5 RDIMM product's gross margin to expand more than 80%, significantly surpassing the HBM margin. Meanwhile, Chin doesn't expect the strength in memory pricing to fade, as supply checks continue to indicate that memory supply will remain relatively fixed over the near term. He contends that consensus expectations are too low and underestimate the extent of upward revision potential in the quarters ahead. The analyst highlighted that his revised estimates reflect solid average selling price (ASP)-driven growth across Micron's cloud, data center and mobile/client segments. While industry bit growth may be modest in Q1 2026, Chin expects higher pricing across segments to boost gross margins. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

A federal judge ruled on Saturday that Kari Lake's leadership of the U.S. Agency for Global Media for much of last year violated federal law, invalidating ⁠a sweeping series of actions she took to cut staff and end many operations at its Voice ​of America unit. In another ​blow to the Trump ​administration's attempts to diminish various government agencies, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth granted a summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs — including VOA journalists and a union representing federal employees — who argued that ⁠Lake's ‌appointment as acting CEO and actions she took in ⁠that role ran afoul of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and the Constitution's Appointments Clause. Lamberth ruled that Lake was ineligible to serve as acting CEO because she was not employed by USAGM when former CEO ‌Amanda Bennett resigned in January 2025, and had not been confirmed by the Senate to any other federal post. Lake officially joined USAGM in March ​as a senior adviser. A November 21 news release from the agency called her deputy CEO. The judge, in April and September, halted plans that ‌would have put many VOA employees out of work, although the April ruling was later overturned by an appeals court. Lake vowed to appeal Lamberth's latest ruling. "Judge Lamberth has a pattern of activist ⁠rulings — and this case is no different," she said in a statement. Under the Vacancies ⁠Act, actions taken by someone not lawfully serving in a vacant office "shall have no force or effect" and cannot be ratified, Lamberth wrote. ​That standard could threaten the legal standing of ‌Lake's decisions, including a reduction-in-force affecting hundreds of employees that remains under a court-ordered suspension. "As a consequence, any actions taken by Lake during her asserted tenure as acting CEO between July 31 and November 19, 2025...are void," Lamberth wrote. Voice of America, which had broadcast in 49 languages to ​420 million people across more than 100 ‌countries, was limited to four languages under the administration's efforts to dismantle the agency. We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Gulf states reported more damage to infrastructure over the weekend as Iran continues to attack regional allies in retaliation for ongoing strikes by U.S. and Israeli forces. Meanwhile, Iranian media said a new leader has been appointed, replacing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening salvos of the war. The United Arab Emirates said it was "dealing with incoming missile and drone threats from Iran." "UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran," the country's Ministry of Defense said in a post on X. On Saturday evening, alarms rang out across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, warning residents to "immediately seek a safe place" due to missile threats, and CNBC's team confirmed hearing a loud explosion. According to Dubai's Media Office, no one was injured, but authorities confirmed that "debris from an aerial interception fell onto a vehicle in the Al Barsha area, resulting in the death of a Pakistani driver." Also on Saturday, passengers waiting for flights at Dubai International Airport were ushered into train tunnels. Iran said it had struck an air base in the United Arab Emirates. Since the war started on Feb. 28, Iran has targeted several radar and air defenses in the Middle East — in Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — in retaliation against U.S. and Israeli attacks, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials, military analysts and commercially available satellite images. The country said "blatant Iranian aggression" damaged a university building in the Muharraq area, injuring three people, as missile fragments fell. Meanwhile, Iran has accused the U.S. of striking a desalination plant in its country. "Attacking Iran's infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences," Araghchi said. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesman, told MS NOW that Araghchi's claim was false. "The Iranian regime is doing everything it can to peddle lies and deceive," Hawkins said. "This is the same terrorist regime that has attacked 12 different countries and continues to deliberately target civilian airports, hotels, and neighborhoods in those countries. Elsewhere, Kuwait said two fuel depots at its international airport were hit by drones, causing a "huge fire at one of them." The country's Public Institution for Social Security said its headquarters were targeted, resulting in "material damage" to the building. Meanwhile, Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran have continued through the weekend. Israel said it struck several fuel storage complexes belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IDF also said it attacked "key commanders in the IRGC's Quds Force's Lebanon Corps who operated in Beirut." The bottleneck has left Gulf nations unable to export their oil. Oil production in Iraq has fallen by 70% since the war broke out, according to Reuters. Kuwait, another oil-rich Gulf state, has also slashed its oil production. U.S. crude oil has soared to more than $91 per barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude has spiked to over $92 per barrel. Energy Secretary Chris Wright sought to assure Americans that the spike in fuel prices is just a short-term problem, saying the disruption would last for "weeks, certainly not months." "Iran will finally be defanged, and now you can see more investment, more free flow of trade, less ability to threaten energy supplies." Iran's Mehr news agency quoted Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Alam al-Huda as saying Sunday elections have been held to replace Khamenei and that a new leader has been appointed. "All the rumors and news that tried to pretend that the Assembly of Experts has not yet made a decision are pure lies," al-Huda was quoted as saying. Iranian state ​media reported on Saturday that two influential Iranian clerics have called for the swift selection of a new supreme leader One of the clerics, Naser Makarem ‌Shirazi, a grand ayatollah who commands a broad following for his religious rulings, said an appointment was ​needed swiftly to "help better organize the country's affairs," state media reported. The calls suggest that at least some in the clerical establishment are uncomfortable with leaving a three-man council in charge — even temporarily ⁠under constitutional ‌rules — after the killing of Supreme ⁠Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump has argued the U.S. should have a role in choosing the new leader, a demand Iran has rejected. On Sunday, Trump threatened that a new leader in Tehran would be short-lived without his approval. We want to make sure that we don't have to go back every 10 years, when you don't have a president like me that's not going to do it." Trump told ABC he would not rule out someone from the old regime taking over the country, saying, "There are numerous people that could qualify." The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it would "pursue every successor and every person who seeks to appoint a successor." "We warn all those who intend to participate in the successor selection meeting that we will not hesitate to target you either. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Every time Jacob 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 two great underwriters of Jeffrey Epstein's $630 million fortune were the billionaires Les Wexner and Leon Black, who entrusted him with managing their finances and ensuring their tax bills stayed as low as possible. The Justice Department's files show that in the years before his 2019 arrest on sex-trafficking charges and jailhouse death, Epstein tried to nab another billionaire client: the real estate and media mogul Mortimer Zuckerman. Zuckerman, who is now 88, at one point had a higher public profile than both Black, the former CEO and chairman of Apollo Global Management, and Wexner, the onetime owner of Victoria's Secret. Between the 1980s and 2000s, Zuckerman was a frequent presence on cable news, occasionally floated himself as a national political candidate, and saw his romantic flings chronicled in tabloid newspapers. He stepped away from some of those companies and public life about a decade ago "due to issues with his health," a person close to Zuckerman's family told Business Insider. He still owns US News & World Report, best known for its rankings of universities and hospitals. Zuckerman's relationship with Epstein stretched back to at least the early 2000s. In 2003, they teamed up with producer Harvey Weinstein and writer Michael Wolff in a failed bid to buy New York magazine. In 2004, Zuckerman and Epstein financed the ill-fated relaunch of Radar, a celebrity gossip publication. There's no indication in the files that Zuckerman had knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking operation. In 2013, Epstein pitched himself to Zuckerman as a financial manager, the Justice Department's records show. The deal was never consummated, but the files show that Epstein, a college dropout, held himself out as one of the few people qualified to help Zuckerman with what he said were sophisticated financial problems that required "surgical" care. After repeated rejections over the course of two years, Epstein turned impatient. "I hav not asked for the money that mort promised for getting my help and never following through," Epstein wrote in an email to Zuckerman's nephews, who also served as his investment advisors. I have been patient and my fondness for mort remains." A draft contract, dated December 17, 2013, shows that Epstein proposed Zuckerman retain Southern Trust Inc., one of Epstein's companies in the US Virgin Islands, for "analyzing, evaluating, planning and structuring large discrete issues relating to Mr. Zuckerman's financial estate." Zuckerman would pay $21 million for the first 10 months of Epstein's services. Paul Weiss, the Big Law firm that had also done estate planning work for Black, would represent Zuckerman's interests in the deal, according to another document. Terje Rød-Larsen, a Norwegian diplomat and friend of Epstein's, would get $1 million under the proposal. John Christian Elden, an attorney for Rød-Larsen, told Business Insider that Zuckerman and the diplomat were friends, and that his role in Zuckerman's estate planning was Epstein's idea. "Mr. Zuckerman did not pursue Mr. Epstein's advice or proposals, and accordingly, these arrangements were never implemented," Elden said. The Epstein files show that he began getting involved with Zuckerman's estate planning earlier in 2013. That April — following a dinner with Zuckerman at Epstein's Manhattan mansion that, according his calendar, also featured Ehud Barak, Jes Staley, Woody Allen, and Tom Pritzker — Epstein told Zuckerman he'd review his financial situation. The trusts needed a "total re-do," Epstein said. The job required someone with knowledge of investing, tax, estate law, real estate partnerships, securities filings, and divorce law. "it is a serious job that requires surgical intervention," Epstein added. Epstein initially said it would take him 15 months to personally fix Zuckerman's finances and cost between $30 million and $40 million. "Mort , I have sat with you in dunkin donuts outside of sloan kettering bad time ,-- sat next to you at harry evans when you announced your engagement to Marla, hopeful times," Epstein wrote. The following month, after phone calls and meetings, Epstein urged Zuckerman to move fast. "Everything virtually from top to bottom will get redone. every trust , all investments , and build a financial structure," Epstein said with his typical idiosyncratic punctuation. In August 2013, Epstein told his personal lawyer and accountant that Zuckerman agreed to a $30 million fee and asked them to draft a contract. In a September 2013 email, he disparaged the team Zuckerman had surrounded himself with — including Zuckerman's nephews and investment advisors, Eric and Jamie Gertler. "Mort , I recommend you hire professionals , not your nephews." He said Zuckerman needed an "architect" for his financial life, and that leaving his nephews in charge would cause family strife. In Epstein's view, putting Zuckerman's nephew in charge of his daughter's upbringing would "wreak havoc" on his family." In a January 2014 email, Epstein told Zuckerman that he had already sunk resources into the project, stressed the supposedly dire straits of Zuckerman's finances, and told Zuckerman he would be getting Epstein at a bargain rate. Zuckerman told Epstein the financial structure he suggested just "doesn't fit." I have now consulted with three tax specialists and they do not see the issues as you do," Zuckerman responded. "You agree that a committee should be set up to manage your financial. In the email, Epstein yet again pitched that he be put in charge, and suggested he could be paid with Boston Properties stock or part of Zuckerman's investment portfolio. Zuckerman said he was "definitely going to proceed" with putting together a committee, led by Rød-Larsen, to run his financial affairs. When Epstein followed up the next month, Zuckerman told him, "i have my own pace." Around this time, Epstein started emailing the people close to Zuckerman to convince them that he should be hired. In one email to the Gertlers, he suggested Zuckerman only backed out of an agreement for Epstein to be his financial manager because of "his illness." Eric Gertler kept a firm but polite distance. "Regardless, I am not interested in nor is it appropriate to go back and forth." In October 2015, Epstein emailed Eric Gertler to suggest that he and Jamie Gertler take over Zuckerman's financial life entirely, citing the billionaire's health. He suggested setting up "Mort" like a company. Eric Gertler would run the day-to-day and health issues. Neither Beller nor Klein responded to Business Insider's requests for comment. Epstein also reached out directly to Zuckerman, recommending that a team of people take over, but Zuckerman continued to decline his help. "i assume you are aware that hes now wacko on somethings," Epstein wrote. By late 2016, their relationship seemed to have deteriorated. Epstein told Zuckerman: "how you could let your paper call me a pedophile.???!! I have been a close friend of yours for years." The files don't include a response from Zuckerman.

Every time Lloyd 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. Backflipping robots make for splashy demos and viral videos, but Agility Robotics sees humanoid bots doing something simpler — solving an urgent global labor issue inside manufacturing plants. The Oregon-based startup has so far deployed its humanoid robot, Digit, at Amazon, Schaeffler Group, and GXO, a logistics company. In Germany, Korea, Japan, or the US, manufacturers just don't have enough people who want to work mundane, repetitive jobs. "It's the same exact issue: Labor gaps in these highly repetitive physical tasks," Diez said. "They simply can't find the people to do this work." In addition to vacancies, talent retention remains a top concern for manufacturers, according to a 2024 survey of more than 200 companies conducted by The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte. Diez said there are "compounding effects" to the so-called labor gap. A significant share of the manufacturing workforce is 55 and over, he said, meaning they're approaching retirement. "This re-shoring of manufacturing in the US is going to only occur through a combination of human employment and automation technology, like humans and robotics," he said. The company's former CEO, Robert Playter, previously told Business Insider that Boston Dynamics is helping companies brace for population decline and increased manufacturing demand. At Toyota Motor's manufacturing plant in Ontario, the automaker is starting with three Digit bots that will do the simple task of moving totes, or plastic containers, from one spot to another. There are robots out there that could execute much more complex tasks, while some industry insiders say humanoids, or bots with two legs and arms, are still years away from scaling. "At this moment in time, it feels like an ideal solution for brownfield facilities," he said, referring to underutilized industrial facilities that tend to have a baked-in layout. In other words, with humanoids, manufacturers can automate their properties without making significant changes to the factory layout and workflow. Diez said that any industry with highly repetitive tasks is ripe for the adoption of humanoid robots. "We're not having to convince people that this is a technology need," Diez said. "We have more than enough hand-raisers who are coming to us."

Every time Ayelet 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. In the latest twist to determining the fate of the SAVE student-loan repayment plan, a district judge said in a February 27 ruling that he would not sign off on President Donald Trump's proposed settlement to eliminate the SAVE plan. That means that Trump's attempt to ax SAVE before its planned phaseout in 2028 is moot, and the administration cannot move forward with an accelerated timeline unless it receives a new court ruling or undergoes the lengthy negotiated rulemaking process. Advocates and Democratic lawmakers said that the judge's decision means that the Department of Education should move forward with processing debt relief for eligible borrowers on SAVE. Business Insider wants to hear about the challenges, successes, and unique experiences you're facing with your student loans. Please fill out this form, and we'll be in touch. "This decision formally ends the SAVE injunction that has forced over 7 million SAVE borrowers into economic limbo—pushing meaningful debt relief and affordable monthly payments out of reach," a group of Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Jeff Merkley and Bernie Sanders, wrote in a March 4 letter. The SAVE plan was created by former President Joe Biden in 2023, and it intended to give borrowers cheaper monthly payments with a shorter timeline to debt relief. During this time, borrowers enrolled in SAVE have been on forbearance. The Department of Education restarted interest charges on SAVE accounts in August 2025 and encouraged borrowers to switch to a different income-driven repayment plan and begin making payments. The department also said in court updates that the block on SAVE prevented it from processing loan forgiveness for borrowers who reached their payment thresholds on any IDR plan after April 2025. Advocates said there's no reason the department cannot move ahead with processing that relief. "Not only is there no legal barrier to delivering those rights through the SAVE plan, but the Secretary has a legal obligation to do so," Winston Berkman-Breen, legal director at advocacy group Protect Borrowers, said in a statement. "The U.S. Department of Education must immediately identify borrowers who are eligible to have their loans cancelled under SAVE and instruct their student loan servicers to cancel those loans." "A short postponement will not materially hamper any contrary reliance interests—because the SAVE Rule as it has been administratively stayed or preliminarily enjoined for nearly two years," Missouri wrote in its motion. "Thus, borrowers will not be harmed because a brief administrative stay merely maintains this status quo of their payment obligations." For now, borrowers enrolled in SAVE are permitted to stay on the plan until the summer of 2028, when Trump's "big beautiful" spending legislation calls for its phase-out. After that point, borrowers will have two options to repay their loans: a standard repayment plan and a new Repayment Assistance Plan, which has less generous terms than SAVE, including forgiveness after 30 years of payments. The department compiled a list of 10 programs that will qualify for the professional program designation, including law and dentistry. As for SAVE, borrowers are awaiting guidance from the Department of Education. Borrowers enrolled on the plan previously told Business Insider that the lower monthly payments through SAVE have been a lifeline, and they're unable to afford the anticipated higher payments on a different plan. "I'm bracing for an astronomical bill," Brenda McCoy, a 60-year-old SAVE borrower, said.

"The agenda of high-level exchanges is already on the table," Wang told reporters in Mandarin Chinese, according to an official translation. "What the two sides need to do now is make thorough preparations accordingly, create a suitable environment, manage the risks that do exist and remove unnecessary disruptions." "Turning our backs on each other would only lead to mutual misperception and miscalculation," he said. "Sliding into conflict or confrontation would only drag the whole world down." After an in-person meeting in South Korea in the fall, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump indicated plans to visit each other's countries. However, Beijing has yet to confirm the exact dates of a Trump visit. Wang did not elaborate either, but noted the U.S. and Chinese presidents' high-level interactions have "provided [an] important strategic safeguard for the China-U.S. relationship to improve and move forward." Some analysts have raised doubts over whether the trip will happen on schedule, especially since it would likely come shortly after joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran that killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Wang did not name either individual in his remarks to the press Sunday morning but reiterated Beijing's calls for a ceasefire in the Iran conflict. "This is a war that should not have happened," he said. "It is a war that does no one any good." Wang has held phone calls with at least seven foreign ministers — including those of Russia, Iran and Israel — since the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, according to official readouts. He was speaking Sunday to reporters on the sidelines of China's eight-day annual parliamentary meeting that is set to wrap Thursday. China's top leaders, including President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier He Lifeng, are meeting in Beijing with delegates from across the country. U.S. Treasury Scott Bessent and He are expected to meet towards the end of this week in Paris to discuss business deals that the two presidents could agree to if they meet as scheduled, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. China has not commented on the Bloomberg report. The bilateral discussions come as the U.S. and China reached a fragile truce in October for lowering tariffs on each other's goods to below 50% for one year. In response to a question about Trump's casting of U.S.-China relations as a new "G2" for leading the world, Wang pushed back against the idea that two countries alone would do so, instead emphasizing multipolarity. "This is no different from using kindling to put out a fire," he said. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox