Author: Buzzo

May the Force be with you…View Entire Post ›

President Donald Trump signed a handful of executive orders on Monday, including two banning “radical gender ideology” and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives from all branches of the U.S. military.Trump stated that both orders, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” and “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” should be in the process of being implemented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the secretary of homeland security within 30 days.Under “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” Trump states that DEI programs have undermined “leadership, merit and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness” and have “violated Americans’ consciences by engaging in invidious race…

Barcelona-based business travel management platform TravelPerk has raised $200 million at a hefty $2.7 billion valuation — almost double the $1.4 billion valuation at its previous fundraise last year. Alongside the raise, TravelPerk also announced it has acquired Swiss startup Yokoy to bring native expenses management into the fray. With the travel and tourism industry just about back to pre-pandemic levels, this has proved a boon for startups offering everything from tour packages and trip-planning tools, to luggage storage and vacation rental smarts. This trend has been reflected somewhat in the corporate sphere, too, with the World Travel and Tourism…

Morning opening: With friends like theseJakub KrupaDanish prime minister Mette Frederiksen and German chancellor Olaf Scholz at a press conference in Berlin this morning. Photograph: Filip Singer/EPADanish prime minister Mette Frederiksen travels to Berlin, Paris and Brussels at short notice today as she seeks to seek European unity in response to US president Donald Trump’s repeated plans to “get” Greenland.“Denmark is a small country with strong allies. And it is part of a strong European community where together we can meet the challenges we face. … With war on the continent and changes in geopolitical reality, … unity is crucial,”…

Peter HoskinsBusiness reporter, BBC NewsTrump: DeepSeek AI release should be ‘wake-up call’ for USUS President Donald Trump has called the rise of Chinese company DeepSeek “a wake-up call” for the US tech industry, after the emergence of its artificial intelligence (AI) model triggered shockwaves on Wall Street. Shares in major tech firms such as Nvidia fell sharply, with the chip giant losing almost $600bn (£482bn) in market value.What has shaken the industry is DeepSeek’s claim that its R1 model was made at a fraction of the cost of its rivals – raising questions about the future of America’s AI dominance…

German bOSSES can’t catch a break. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago their firms have been pummelled by surging energy prices, slowing demand in China, stiffening competition, fractious workers and a dysfunctional (though soon to be ousted) government. Shares in German companies have risen by just 2% since the start of 2022, compared with 16% for those in rich countries as a whole (see chart). Now they are wringing their hands over Donald Trump’s return to power.

An Indiana man and MAGA insurrectionist, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump for his involvement in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was fatally shot while allegedly resisting arrest.Preliminary investigation reveals that Matthew Huttle was pulled over by Jasper County sheriff’s depuy for a traffic stop, according to the Indiana State Police Criminal Investigations Division Lowell Post.During the stop, the officer was attempting to arrest Huttle when he began to resist, police said. JUDGE VACATES ORDER AGAINST J6 DEFENDANTS, SAYS THEY CAN VISIT US CAPITOL WITHOUT SEEKING PERMISSION An Indiana man involved in the U.S. Capitol…

The launch of a new chatbot by Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek triggered a plunge in US tech stocks as it appeared to perform as well as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other AI models, but using fewer resources.By Monday, DeepSeek’s AI assistant had rapidly overtaken ChatGPT as the most popular free app in Apple’s US and UK app stores. Despite its popularity with international users, the app appears to censor answers to sensitive questions about China and its government.Chinese generative AI must not contain content that violates the country’s “core socialist values”, according to a technical document published by the national…

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHERWASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Monday that it had fired more than a dozen employees who worked on criminal prosecutions of President Donald Trump, moving rapidly to pursue retribution against lawyers involved in the investigations and signaling an early willingness to take action favorable to the president’s personal interests.The abrupt termination targeting career prosecutors who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s team is the latest sign of upheaval inside the Justice Department and is consistent with the administration’s determination to purge the government of workers it perceives as disloyal to the president.The norm-shattering…

U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official, John Nkengasong, sent a memo to senior leaders at the agency on Sunday night telling them that all agency staff who work with the WHO must immediately stop their collaborations and “await further guidance.”Experts said the sudden stoppage was a surprise and would set back work on investigating and trying to stop outbreaks of Marburg virus and mpox in Africa, as well as brewing threats from around the world. It also comes as health…