Even Trump’s chief of staff was ‘aghast’ at Elon Musk’s deadly USAID cuts

Tech-news elon musk, News, Policy, Politics, Tech December 17, 2025

Wiles says she called Musk on the carpet. “You can’t just lock people out of their offices,” she recalls telling him. At first, Wiles didn’t grasp the effect that slashing USAID programs would have on humanitarian aid. “I didn’t know a lot about the extent of their grant making.” But with immunizations halted in Africa, lives would be lost. Soon she was getting frantic calls from relief agency heads and former government officials with a dire message: Thousands of lives were in the balance.

Wiles continued: “So Marco is on his way to Panama. We call him and say, ‘You’re Senate-confirmed. You’re going to have to be the custodian, essentially, of [USAID].’ ‘Okay,’ he says.” But Musk forged ahead—all throttle, no brake. “Elon’s attitude is you have to get it done fast. If you’re an incrementalist, you just won’t get your rocket to the moon,” Wiles said. “And so with that attitude, you’re going to break some china. But no rational person could think the USAID process was a good one. Nobody.”

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Michelle Obama Pairs Her Go-to Jimmy Choo Pumps With Hervé Léger Dress for ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

Crypto’s Most Powerful PAC Sends a Warning to Politicians: Resistance Is Futile
Congressman Al Green, the incumbent representative for the 18th Congressional District in Texas, lost to fellow House Representative Christian Menefee in a runoff election in the Democratic primary for a seat in Congress on Tuesday, and one crypto-focused political action committee (PAC) announced that the loss should be taken as a warning shot to future candidates. Fairshake and other crypto-related PACs dumped millions of dollars into the primary election to oust Green, who has held a seat in Congress for twenty years. The contest played out across multiple stages following Republican-led redistricting that effectively merged elements of two Houston-area congressional districts into one. The redraw consolidated portions of both incumbents’ districts into a newly drawn 18th, forcing the two Democratic incumbents to compete against each other. In the March primary, both Menefee and Green advanced as the top two finishers but fell short of a majority, forcing the runoff, which Menefee won with nearly 70% of the vote. The victory in the safely Democratic district means Menefee is heavily favored in the November general election. Fairshake and its affiliated group Protect Progress poured millions into backing Menefee, with The Texas Tribune reporting more than million in outside spending from one crypto super PAC alone, the Fairshake-affiliated Protect Progress. According to The Block, Green earned an F rating from the industry-aligned Stand with Crypto group after voting against both the GENIUS stablecoin legislation and the Clarity Act. Green had also publicly warned that digital assets could undermine the dollar’s global dominance and pose risks to national security. In contrast, Menefee received an A rating from the same group and has spoken positively about blockchain’s potential to improve trust, transparency, and efficiency in finance and supply chains.

Once the results became clear, Fairshake released a confrontational statement: “Rep. Green’s defeat proves that anti-crypto hostility carries real electoral consequences, making him the first Democratic incumbent this cycle to lose his seat. Fairshake was the difference-maker in this race, and we will continue to aggressively back leaders like Rep. Menefee across the country.”

The crypto lobby has been credited with giving a massive boost to Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election following a speech he gave at the 2024 Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where he made several positive statements regarding bitcoin and crypto, including a stated desire to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve. Industry-backed super PACs, including Fairshake, Protect Progress, and Defend American Jobs, spent more than 3 million across federal races that cycle, according to OpenSecrets. Major donors included Coinbase, Ripple, Jump Crypto, and Andreessen Horowitz. A recent New York Times report has pointed to similar concerns around the money involved in the CFTC’s strong stance regarding federal authority over the emerging prediction markets and crypto industries. Among the claims, the report alleges that senior CFTC officials under then-acting chair Caroline Pham helped clear regulatory hurdles for several firms tied to Trump family business interests.

The Trump family’s involvement in the crypto industry more generally has also been heavily criticized for “unprecedented corruption.” Duke University lecturing fellow Lee Reiners recently indicated that the Trump-linked World Liberty Financial stands to benefit tremendously from the Clarity Act, which is currently making its way through the Senate. Reiners, a former bank examiner, analyzed World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token and concluded it functions as an unregistered security under the Howey test due to its structure, profit expectations, and centralized control. If passed as written, the legislation would likely reclassify those tokens as network commodities, moving them outside much of the securities-law framework for disclosures and antifraud enforcement. Critics say that would benefit the Trump family’s crypto interests and deepen concerns about self-dealing and conflicts of interest during the president’s second term. The Clarity Act is intended to clarify how the crypto industry will be regulated in the United States. The specifics of the legislation are still being worked out after intense debate between crypto and banking interests in the U.S. Notably, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong threw his weight around back in March by indicating a previous draft of the bill would be worse than having no bill at all. He cited provisions that would amount to a de facto ban on tokenized equities and impose overly broad restrictions on decentralized finance. Coinbase is a massive contributor to the aforementioned crypto PACs, having given more than million to Fairshake and its affiliates during the 2024 cycle and committing an additional million for the 2026 midterms, according to CNBC. Although the crypto industry has spent massively on political campaigns over the past few years and they were successful in this most recent runoff election in Texas, the Clarity Act is still not a slam dunk, as Democrats (and some Republicans) are pushing for ethics language to prevent the sort of corrupt profiteering by lawmakers that Trump has been alleged to have conducted. #Cryptos #Powerful #PAC #Sends #Warning #Politicians #Resistance #FutileBitcoin,CLARITY Act,Donald Trump,Fairshake,Marc Andreessen

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Congressman Al Green, the incumbent representative for the 18th Congressional District in Texas, lost to fellow House Representative Christian Menefee in a runoff election in the Democratic primary for a seat in Congress on Tuesday, and one crypto-focused political action committee (PAC) announced that the loss should be taken as a warning shot to future candidates. Fairshake and other crypto-related PACs dumped millions of dollars into the primary election to oust Green, who has held a seat in Congress for twenty years.

The contest played out across multiple stages following Republican-led redistricting that effectively merged elements of two Houston-area congressional districts into one. The redraw consolidated portions of both incumbents’ districts into a newly drawn 18th, forcing the two Democratic incumbents to compete against each other. In the March primary, both Menefee and Green advanced as the top two finishers but fell short of a majority, forcing the runoff, which Menefee won with nearly 70% of the vote. The victory in the safely Democratic district means Menefee is heavily favored in the November general election.

Fairshake and its affiliated group Protect Progress poured millions into backing Menefee, with The Texas Tribune reporting more than $4 million in outside spending from one crypto super PAC alone, the Fairshake-affiliated Protect Progress. According to The Block, Green earned an F rating from the industry-aligned Stand with Crypto group after voting against both the GENIUS stablecoin legislation and the Clarity Act. Green had also publicly warned that digital assets could undermine the dollar’s global dominance and pose risks to national security. In contrast, Menefee received an A rating from the same group and has spoken positively about blockchain’s potential to improve trust, transparency, and efficiency in finance and supply chains.

Once the results became clear, Fairshake released a confrontational statement: “Rep. Green’s defeat proves that anti-crypto hostility carries real electoral consequences, making him the first Democratic incumbent this cycle to lose his seat. Fairshake was the difference-maker in this race, and we will continue to aggressively back leaders like Rep. Menefee across the country.”

The crypto lobby has been credited with giving a massive boost to Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election following a speech he gave at the 2024 Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where he made several positive statements regarding bitcoin and crypto, including a stated desire to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve. Industry-backed super PACs, including Fairshake, Protect Progress, and Defend American Jobs, spent more than $133 million across federal races that cycle, according to OpenSecrets. Major donors included Coinbase, Ripple, Jump Crypto, and Andreessen Horowitz.

A recent New York Times report has pointed to similar concerns around the money involved in the CFTC’s strong stance regarding federal authority over the emerging prediction markets and crypto industries. Among the claims, the report alleges that senior CFTC officials under then-acting chair Caroline Pham helped clear regulatory hurdles for several firms tied to Trump family business interests.

The Trump family’s involvement in the crypto industry more generally has also been heavily criticized for “unprecedented corruption.” Duke University lecturing fellow Lee Reiners recently indicated that the Trump-linked World Liberty Financial stands to benefit tremendously from the Clarity Act, which is currently making its way through the Senate. Reiners, a former bank examiner, analyzed World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token and concluded it functions as an unregistered security under the Howey test due to its structure, profit expectations, and centralized control. If passed as written, the legislation would likely reclassify those tokens as network commodities, moving them outside much of the securities-law framework for disclosures and antifraud enforcement. Critics say that would benefit the Trump family’s crypto interests and deepen concerns about self-dealing and conflicts of interest during the president’s second term.

The Clarity Act is intended to clarify how the crypto industry will be regulated in the United States. The specifics of the legislation are still being worked out after intense debate between crypto and banking interests in the U.S. Notably, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong threw his weight around back in March by indicating a previous draft of the bill would be worse than having no bill at all. He cited provisions that would amount to a de facto ban on tokenized equities and impose overly broad restrictions on decentralized finance. Coinbase is a massive contributor to the aforementioned crypto PACs, having given more than $75 million to Fairshake and its affiliates during the 2024 cycle and committing an additional $25 million for the 2026 midterms, according to CNBC.

Although the crypto industry has spent massively on political campaigns over the past few years and they were successful in this most recent runoff election in Texas, the Clarity Act is still not a slam dunk, as Democrats (and some Republicans) are pushing for ethics language to prevent the sort of corrupt profiteering by lawmakers that Trump has been alleged to have conducted.

#Cryptos #Powerful #PAC #Sends #Warning #Politicians #Resistance #FutileBitcoin,CLARITY Act,Donald Trump,Fairshake,Marc Andreessen">Crypto’s Most Powerful PAC Sends a Warning to Politicians: Resistance Is Futile

Congressman Al Green, the incumbent representative for the 18th Congressional District in Texas, lost to fellow House Representative Christian Menefee in a runoff election in the Democratic primary for a seat in Congress on Tuesday, and one crypto-focused political action committee (PAC) announced that the loss should be taken as a warning shot to future candidates. Fairshake and other crypto-related PACs dumped millions of dollars into the primary election to oust Green, who has held a seat in Congress for twenty years.

The contest played out across multiple stages following Republican-led redistricting that effectively merged elements of two Houston-area congressional districts into one. The redraw consolidated portions of both incumbents’ districts into a newly drawn 18th, forcing the two Democratic incumbents to compete against each other. In the March primary, both Menefee and Green advanced as the top two finishers but fell short of a majority, forcing the runoff, which Menefee won with nearly 70% of the vote. The victory in the safely Democratic district means Menefee is heavily favored in the November general election.

Fairshake and its affiliated group Protect Progress poured millions into backing Menefee, with The Texas Tribune reporting more than $4 million in outside spending from one crypto super PAC alone, the Fairshake-affiliated Protect Progress. According to The Block, Green earned an F rating from the industry-aligned Stand with Crypto group after voting against both the GENIUS stablecoin legislation and the Clarity Act. Green had also publicly warned that digital assets could undermine the dollar’s global dominance and pose risks to national security. In contrast, Menefee received an A rating from the same group and has spoken positively about blockchain’s potential to improve trust, transparency, and efficiency in finance and supply chains.

Once the results became clear, Fairshake released a confrontational statement: “Rep. Green’s defeat proves that anti-crypto hostility carries real electoral consequences, making him the first Democratic incumbent this cycle to lose his seat. Fairshake was the difference-maker in this race, and we will continue to aggressively back leaders like Rep. Menefee across the country.”

The crypto lobby has been credited with giving a massive boost to Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election following a speech he gave at the 2024 Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where he made several positive statements regarding bitcoin and crypto, including a stated desire to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve. Industry-backed super PACs, including Fairshake, Protect Progress, and Defend American Jobs, spent more than $133 million across federal races that cycle, according to OpenSecrets. Major donors included Coinbase, Ripple, Jump Crypto, and Andreessen Horowitz.

A recent New York Times report has pointed to similar concerns around the money involved in the CFTC’s strong stance regarding federal authority over the emerging prediction markets and crypto industries. Among the claims, the report alleges that senior CFTC officials under then-acting chair Caroline Pham helped clear regulatory hurdles for several firms tied to Trump family business interests.

The Trump family’s involvement in the crypto industry more generally has also been heavily criticized for “unprecedented corruption.” Duke University lecturing fellow Lee Reiners recently indicated that the Trump-linked World Liberty Financial stands to benefit tremendously from the Clarity Act, which is currently making its way through the Senate. Reiners, a former bank examiner, analyzed World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token and concluded it functions as an unregistered security under the Howey test due to its structure, profit expectations, and centralized control. If passed as written, the legislation would likely reclassify those tokens as network commodities, moving them outside much of the securities-law framework for disclosures and antifraud enforcement. Critics say that would benefit the Trump family’s crypto interests and deepen concerns about self-dealing and conflicts of interest during the president’s second term.

The Clarity Act is intended to clarify how the crypto industry will be regulated in the United States. The specifics of the legislation are still being worked out after intense debate between crypto and banking interests in the U.S. Notably, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong threw his weight around back in March by indicating a previous draft of the bill would be worse than having no bill at all. He cited provisions that would amount to a de facto ban on tokenized equities and impose overly broad restrictions on decentralized finance. Coinbase is a massive contributor to the aforementioned crypto PACs, having given more than $75 million to Fairshake and its affiliates during the 2024 cycle and committing an additional $25 million for the 2026 midterms, according to CNBC.

Although the crypto industry has spent massively on political campaigns over the past few years and they were successful in this most recent runoff election in Texas, the Clarity Act is still not a slam dunk, as Democrats (and some Republicans) are pushing for ethics language to prevent the sort of corrupt profiteering by lawmakers that Trump has been alleged to have conducted.

#Cryptos #Powerful #PAC #Sends #Warning #Politicians #Resistance #FutileBitcoin,CLARITY Act,Donald Trump,Fairshake,Marc Andreessen

Image may contain Electronics Mobile Phone Phone Accessories Baby and Person

#Vertu #Folding #Phone #Powered #bySurprisean #Agentphones,smartphones,android,shopping,luxury,design">

mwasimuddin125 0

Vertu is a company known for making extraordinarily gaudy smartphones with outdated technology, luxe materials, and eye-watering prices. Now the brand is here to meet the AI moment with its first-ever book-like folding phone, complete with an AI agent on board.
The company announced the AlphaFold smartphone on Thursday—targeting business executives—which comes outfitted with the Hermes Agent. This agent can purportedly handle schedules and tasks on a user’s behalf and “connect to enterprise systems.” Agents are big in the smartphone world right now, with companies like Google and Samsung offering ways for Gemini on Android smartphones to perform tasks such as booking an Uber or ordering DoorDash. Vertu is cashing in on that trend.
But the company has a checkered past. Originally, Vertu was a Nokia subsidiary that made handcrafted luxury Nokia phones (in the UK!) in the early 2000s. Each phone came with access to a live concierge service. The company faced headwinds with the smartphone revolution and fell behind the times. Vertu then changed hands over several years, with various acquisitions, eventually shuttering its UK factory and laying off staff.
Courtesy of Vertu
In the last few years, the company has been churning out luxury Android smartphones again—it debuted a folding flip phone last year that starts at $4,300 (with a calfskin backplate, naturally). In late 2025, it unveiled the Agent Q, which it calls the “world’s first AI agent phone for entrepreneurs.”
While the company still claims a British heritage, its phones are no longer made in the UK, and according to its website, its head office is in Hong Kong. Vertu spokesperson Viki You tells WIRED that the phones are “still handcrafted,” but they’re assembled in China. “We have different factories,” You says, noting that the company sources its high-end materials from other countries, like the full-grain calfskin from Italy.
The AlphaFold has all the markings of a high-end Android smartphone. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset from 2025 and is 11.8 millimeters thick when folded, 5.4 mm when unfolded. Not quite as svelte as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, but not far off from competitors like the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Vertu says the hinge and screen architecture were tested to withstand 650,000 folds, which is more than Samsung’s claim of 500,000 folds.
Inside is a 6,500-mAh silicon-anode battery, an up-and-coming battery technology that’s been making waves in Chinese smartphones and has only recently made its way into Western smartphones from the likes of Motorola. There’s 65-watt fast charging, a 120-Hz screen refresh rate for the inner 8.05-inch screen, and a 6.53-inch outer screen. There’s a triple-camera system with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, and a 5-megapixel telephoto.

#Vertu #Folding #Phone #Powered #bySurprisean #Agentphones,smartphones,android,shopping,luxury,design">Vertu Is Back With a Folding Phone Powered by—Surprise—an AI Agent

Vertu is a company known for making extraordinarily gaudy smartphones with outdated technology, luxe materials, and eye-watering prices. Now the brand is here to meet the AI moment with its first-ever book-like folding phone, complete with an AI agent on board.

The company announced the AlphaFold smartphone on Thursday—targeting business executives—which comes outfitted with the Hermes Agent. This agent can purportedly handle schedules and tasks on a user’s behalf and “connect to enterprise systems.” Agents are big in the smartphone world right now, with companies like Google and Samsung offering ways for Gemini on Android smartphones to perform tasks such as booking an Uber or ordering DoorDash. Vertu is cashing in on that trend.

But the company has a checkered past. Originally, Vertu was a Nokia subsidiary that made handcrafted luxury Nokia phones (in the UK!) in the early 2000s. Each phone came with access to a live concierge service. The company faced headwinds with the smartphone revolution and fell behind the times. Vertu then changed hands over several years, with various acquisitions, eventually shuttering its UK factory and laying off staff.

In the last few years, the company has been churning out luxury Android smartphones again—it debuted a folding flip phone last year that starts at $4,300 (with a calfskin backplate, naturally). In late 2025, it unveiled the Agent Q, which it calls the “world’s first AI agent phone for entrepreneurs.”

While the company still claims a British heritage, its phones are no longer made in the UK, and according to its website, its head office is in Hong Kong. Vertu spokesperson Viki You tells WIRED that the phones are “still handcrafted,” but they’re assembled in China. “We have different factories,” You says, noting that the company sources its high-end materials from other countries, like the full-grain calfskin from Italy.

The AlphaFold has all the markings of a high-end Android smartphone. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset from 2025 and is 11.8 millimeters thick when folded, 5.4 mm when unfolded. Not quite as svelte as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, but not far off from competitors like the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Vertu says the hinge and screen architecture were tested to withstand 650,000 folds, which is more than Samsung’s claim of 500,000 folds.

Inside is a 6,500-mAh silicon-anode battery, an up-and-coming battery technology that’s been making waves in Chinese smartphones and has only recently made its way into Western smartphones from the likes of Motorola. There’s 65-watt fast charging, a 120-Hz screen refresh rate for the inner 8.05-inch screen, and a 6.53-inch outer screen. There’s a triple-camera system with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, and a 5-megapixel telephoto.

#Vertu #Folding #Phone #Powered #bySurprisean #Agentphones,smartphones,android,shopping,luxury,design

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you’ve ever played dominoes, you’ll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we’ve shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don’t necessarily have to match.

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:

Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.
Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.
Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.
Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.
Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 28 Pips

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 3-3, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 4-0, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically; 2-1, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (6): Everything in this space must be greater than 6. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally.

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Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 28 Pips

Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 4-3, placed vertically; 5-5, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally; 2-2, placed horizontally.

Not Equal: Everything in this red space must be different. The answer is 5-6, placed vertically; 4-4, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed horizontally; 2-2, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 28 Pips

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-6, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed vertically; 3-2, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (1): Everything in this space must be greater than 1. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-5, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-5, placed vertically; 1-0, placed vertically.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 1-0, placed vertically; 0-0, placed horizontally.

Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 1-4, placed vertically; 3-0, placed vertically; 2-6, placed vertically.

Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically.

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically; 4-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed vertically; 6-1, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 1-3, placed vertically; 6-1, placed vertically; 1-1, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 1-3, placed vertically

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

#NYT #Pips #hints #answers">

mwasimuddin125 0

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.
Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.
Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:

Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.
Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.
Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.
Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.
Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.