Key Supreme Court conservatives seemed skeptical Wednesday that President Donald Trump has the power to unilaterally impose far-reaching tariffs, potentially putting at risk a key part of his agenda in the biggest legal test yet of his unprecedented presidency.
The Republican administration is trying to defend the tariffs central to Trump’s economic agenda after lower courts ruled the emergency law he invoked doesnt give him near-limitless power to set and change duties on imports.
The Constitution says Congress has the power to levy tariffs. But the Trump administration argues that in emergency situations the president can regulate importation and that includes tariffs.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett grilled the government on that point. Has there ever been another instance in which a statute has used that language to confer the power? she asked.
Justice Neil Gorsuch also questioned whether Trumps position would hand too much congressional power to the president. Is the constitutional assignment of the taxing power to Congress, the power to reach into the pockets of the American people, just different? he asked. And its been different since the founding?”
Questions from Chief Justice John Roberts also suggested he might not be convinced. With the court’s three liberal-leaning justices seeming deeply dubious, the tariffs challengers could win by swaying two conservatives.
A decision in the case could take weeks or months.
Trump has called the case one of the most important in the countrys history and said a ruling against him would be catastrophic for the economy.
The challengers argue the 1977 emergency powers law Trump used doesnt even mention tariffs, and no president before has used it to impose them. A collection of small businesses say the uncertainty is driving them to the brink of bankruptcy.
The case centers on two sets of tariffs. The first came in February on imports from Canada, China, and Mexico after Trump declared a national emergency over drug trafficking. The second involves the sweeping reciprocal tariffs on most countries that Trump announced in April.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed over the tariffs, and the court will hear suits filed by Democratic-leaning states and small businesses focused on everything from plumbing supplies to women’s cycling apparel.
Lower courts have struck down the bulk of Trump’s tariffs as an illegal use of emergency power, but the nations highest court may see it differently.
Trump helped shape the conservative majority court, naming three of the nine justices in his first term. The justices have so far been reluctant to check his extraordinary flex of executive power, handing him a series of wins on the court’s emergency docket.
Still, those have been short-term orders little of Trumps wide-ranging conservative agenda has been fully argued before the nations highest court. That means the outcome could set the tone for wider legal pushback against his policies.
The justices have been skeptical of executive power claims before, such as when then-President Joe Biden tried to forgive $400 billion in student loans under a different law dealing with national emergencies. The Supreme Court found the law didnt clearly give him the power to enact a program with such a big economic impact, a legal principle known as the major questions doctrine.
The challengers say Trumps tariffs should get the same treatment, since theyll have a much greater economic effect, raising some $3 trillion over the next decade. The government, on the other hand, says the tariffs are different because theyre a major part of his approach to foreign affairs, an area where the courts should not be second-guessing the president.
The challengers are also trying to channel the conservative justices skepticism about whether the Constitution allows other parts of the government to use powers reserved for Congress, a concept known as the nondelegation doctrine. Trumps interpretation of the law could mean anyone who can regulate can also impose taxes, they say.
The Justice Department counters that legal principle is for governmental agencies, not for the president.
If he eventually loses at the high court, Trump could impose tariffs under other laws, but those have more limitations on the speed and severity with which he could act. The aftermath of a ruling against him also could be complicated, if the government must issue refunds for the tariffs that had collected $195 billion in revenue as of September.
The Trump administration did win over four appeals court judges who found the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, gives the president authority to regulate importation during emergencies without explicit limitations. In recent decades, Congress has ceded some tariff authority to the president, and Trump has made the most of the power vacuum.
Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press
On November 3, Vogue announced that it is folding its sister publication Teen Vogue into Vogue.com. Now, the internet is mourning the loss of a rare publication that took young people seriously.
The news came in the form of an article posted to Vogues business vertical. Per the post, the transition is part of a broader push to expand the Vogue ecosystem.
The article goes on to explain that Teen Vogue will remain a distinct editorial property, with its own identity and mission, and that the publication will focus its content on career development, cultural leadership, and other issues that matter most to young people.
Further, it notes that Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Versha Sharma will be leaving the company, while Vogues head of editorial content, Chloe Malle, will step in to oversee the sister publication.
In the wake of Vogues announcement, Condé Nast laid off several of Teen Vogue‘s staffers, reportedly including a majority of its BIPOC and trans employees. Now, Teen Vogues former editors and writers, and many of its current fans, are taking to the internet to mourn the loss and criticize the magazine giant that owns it.
Heres what to know.
What happened to Teen Vogue?
While Vogue is framing the absorption of Teen Vogue as a way to provide “a more unified reader experience,” members of Condé United, a union that represents workers across Condé Nast’s magazine brands, call the move clearly designed to blunt the award-winning magazines insightful journalism at a time when it is needed the most.
In a post to X, the union said: Management plans to lay off six of our members, most of whom are BIPOC or trans, including Teen Vogues Politics Editor. The statement added: Teen Vogue now has no writers or editors explicitly covering politics.
In a statement to Fast Company, a Condé Nast spokesperson said: “Teen Vogue has faced ongoing challenges around scale and audience reach for some time. Rather than continuing to operate independently with limited reach, bringing Teen Vogue under the Vogue umbrella allows it to tap into a larger audience, stronger distribution, and more resources.”
Neither Vogue nor Condé Nast directly responded to questions about whether the layoffs primarily impacted BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and trans staffers and how many employees were let go in total.
Teen Vogues robust political reporting previously earned the publication several major awards, including the April Sidney Award for social justice coverage in 2018 and the Roosevelt Institute’s Freedom of Speech Medal in 2025.
In a statement published on November 3, the Roosevelt Institute called Vogues decision to incorporate Teen Vogue evidence that corporate concentration eliminates innovative ideas and silences voices with less power.
Fans react to the news
Fans of Teen Voguewhich was first published in 2003are taking to the internet in droves to express their sadness that one of the only major publications geared toward teens (and primarily teen girls) will no longer maintain an independent presence.
Teen Vogue took young people seriously. It’s impossible to overstate how important, how rare, and how profoundly needed that is, one tweet from writer Rainesford Stauffer reads.
[Depressed] at the Teen Vogue news, wrote another X user. There’s going to be nothing left for youth/teens to reach for when they are curious about news and issues, whether it’s about fashion or politics or pop culture.
Readers are most concerned by the apparent gutting of Teen Vogue staffers who focused on identity and politics coverage, especially during a moment when conservative messaging has become more common in media and concepts like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are under attack.
In one TikTok explainer with more than 12,000 likes, creator @nya.etienne describes the overhaul as an intentional silencing of underrepresented voices.
[They] laid off the majority of their BIPOC and trans staff, and this should be a huge concern for everybody that cares about free press in media, she says in the video. Teen Vogue is a magazine that taught a generation of us how to think critically.”
Former staffers take to social media
Teen Vogues former writers, editors, and staffers are also taking to social media to express alarm at the sudden change.
Aiyana Ishmael, the publications former style editor, shared on Bluesky that she has been laid offadding that, in the wake of the layoffs, there are no Black staffers remaining at the publication.
At [the Teen Vogue Summit], I was asked how it felt to be 1 of 2 Black women left and what that meant for representation, she wrote. Now, there are no Black women at Teen Vogue, and that is incredibly painful to think about.
Teen Vogues most recent politics editor, Lex McMenamin, was also laid off this week: “Certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue, they wrote on Bluesky on November 3.
In a lengthy blog written for the publication Talking Points Memo (TPM), Allegra Kirkland, who served as Teen Vogues politics director for six years until June 2025, condemned Condé Nasts decision.
She told Fast Company that the publication served as a place for young peopleespecially young women and LGBTQ+ peopleto put themselves on the front lines of the fight against Trumpism, advocating for issues from the atrocious war on Gaza to book bans and gun violence in schools.
Now, she says, that platform is gone.
The mainstream media too often disregards young peoples opinions, or condescends to them in their coverage, Kirkland says. Theyre smeared as woke scolds, checked-out TikTok
Democrats dominated the first major Election Day since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
And while a debate about the future of the Democratic Party may have only just begun, there are signs that the economy specifically, Trumps inability to deliver the economic turnaround he promised last fall may be a real problem for Trumps GOP heading into next years higher-stakes midterm elections.
Happy Anniversary! On this day, November 5th, one year ago, we had one of the Greatest Presidential Victories in History Such an Honor to represent our Country. Our Economy is BOOMING, and Costs are coming way down. Affordability is our goal. Love to the American People! Trump posted to social media Wednesday.
Democratic candidates who won Tuesday in the New Jersey and Virginia governors races, and the New York City mayors contest, focused their campaigns on the publics cost-of-living concerns.
The Latest:
Conservative Supreme Court justices appear skeptical of Trumps sweeping unilateral tariffs
Arguments at the Supreme Court have concluded for the day as the justices consider President Trumps sweeping unilateral tariffs in a trillion-dollar test of executive power.
Conservative justices seemed skeptical of Trumps tariffs, potentially putting at risk a key part of his agenda in the biggest legal test yet of his unprecedented presidency.
Challengers say Trump is illegally using an emergency law to claim nearly limitless tariff power and American small businesses are paying the price. Trumps administration says the law gives the president the power to regulate importation, including tariffs.
The Republican president has said a ruling against him in the case before the court Wednesday would be catastrophic for the economy.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla takes a pass on 2026 race for California governor
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla is staying put.
The California Democrat who flirted with running for governor in 2026 announced Tuesday he plans to remain in the Senate.
I choose to stay in this fight, Padilla told reporters on Capitol Hill in disclosing his decision. The Constitution is worth fighting for, our fundamental rights are worth fighting for.
Fellow Democrats had been urging Padilla, first appointed to the Senate by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, to consider entering a race that lacks a clear leader or star and was left wide open after former Vice President Kamala Harris announced her decision not to run.
Newsoms final term runs through January 2027. His party is favored to hold the seat in the heavily Democratic state.
Did Sliwa spoil the race for Cuomo in NYC? Not so fast.
Many have declared Republican Curtis Sliwa the spoiler in the three-way race between him, Democrat Zohran Mamdani and former governor Andrew Cuomo.
But AP Voter Poll data suggests that its unlikely that Sliwas presence in the race changed the outcome.
When asked how they would vote if only Mamdani and Cuomo were in the race, about half of Sliwas supporters said they would have voted for Cuomo. In the hypothetical question, about 4 in 10 Sliwa supporters said they wouldnt have voted. The remainder either would have moved to Mamdani, or didnt know what they would do.
The data indicates that even half of Sliwas voters on Tuesday would not have been enough to make up the significant lead that Mamdani won by.
With slightly more than 90% of the estimated vote counted, the AP Decision Desk found Mamdani won with 50.4% of the vote, while Cuomo gathered 41.6% percent of the vote. Sliwa, for his part, won 7.1% percent of the vote. Those figures could change as late-arriving mail ballots are added.
Fetterman pours cold water on impact of Democrats election wins
Asked about his thoughts on Democrats resounding victories in Tuesdays election, Pennsylvanias Democratic senator said he didnt think they meant much, saying Democrats were heavy favorites in both New Jersey and Virginia, as was a ballot measure in California.
I wasnt surprised by any of these things, said Sen. John Fetterman.
Whether the results will have an impact on the shutdown, Fetterman said he didnt think Democrats should be treating the shutdown like its some kind of a political game.
If people think that we should keep it closed because of the elections that we already knew we were going to win, its like then that seems like its a game, he added.
Democrats expand majorities
Democrats expanded their majorities Tuesday in both the New Jersey Assembly and Virginia House and broke a Republican supermajority in the Mississippi Senate.
Democrats flipped control of two Mississippi Senate districts that had been redrawn under court order to increase Black voter representation. The reshaped districts played a significant role in Democrats victories, said Heather Williams, president of the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
When there are representative maps — and there is a process that actually gives voters a choice of who their elected officials are — we can connect with voters and win, said Williams, adding: Mississippi was a prime example of that.
But the future of such districts could be in doubt. Thats because the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing a legal challenge to the section of the federal Voting Rights Act allowing such court intervention.
Trumps Oval Office redecoration may reach the exterior, too
Reporters waiting near the South Lawn for the president to leave on a trip to Florida noticed what appeared to be a mock-up of a sign that says, The Oval Office.
The flowery, gold lettering appeared to be written on some type of temporary paper that was put up on the wall near the door where reporters enter for Trumps appearances in the Oval with foreign leaders, Cabinet members or other guests.
The White House had no comment on the sign.
Read more about White House redecorations
Administration revokes temporary protected status for South Sudanese living in U.S.
he Department of Homeland Security is revoking protections that shielded some South Sudanese living in the United Status from deportation, saying it is now safe for them to return to their chaotic East African nation.
The order, which will take effect in early January, affects the small number of South Sudanese who have temporary protected status, which allows people already in the U.S. to stay and work legally if their homelands are deemed unsafe.
But the news comes amid fears that the 2018 peace agreement ending that nations civil war is collapsing, with growing hunger, violence and kidnappings, including of aid workers, and weeks after an international ceasefire monitor warned that all sides in the conflict were recruiting new fighters.
The announcement, which was released for public review Wednesday in the Federal Register, will be formally published Thursday. It will take effect 60 days later.
The DHS statement acknowledged South Sudan is dealing with violence linked to border disputes, cross-border violence, cyclical and retaliatory attacks, and ethnic polarization, but notes that return to full-scale civil war, to-date, has been avoided.
Democrat who vanished at sea loses race in NYC suburbs
Petros Krommidas lost to incumbent Nassau County Legislator Patrick Mullaney in his bid for a seat in the Nassau County Legislature on Long Island, according to the countys unofficial election results.
With all precincts reporting, Krommidas captured about 40% of votes cast in the race while Mullaney, a Republican, garnered about 55%.
Krommidas disappeared after a night swim off Long Beach in the spring. A state judge ruled that his name had to remain on the ballot after local Republicans challenged Democrats attempt to field a replacement.
Republicans will sue over California ballot measure
The California Republican Party says Proposition 50 violates the 14th and 15th Amendments.
The ballot measure created a new congressional map with the goal of giving Democrats five more of the states 52 congressional seats. It easily passed.
The party announced plans to file a federal lawsuit on Wednesday. Its being filed by The Dhillon Law Group, the California-based firm started by Harmeet Dhillon, who now works for the U.S. Department of Justice. A state assemblyman and 18 voters are also plaintiffs.
Scientists perform last rites for dearly departed datasets under Trump
While some people last Friday dressed in Halloween costumes or handed out candy to trick-or-treaters, a group of U.S. data scientists published a list of datasets that have been axed, altered or had topics scrubbed since Trump returned to the White House.
The timing of the release of the Dearly Departed Datasets with All Hallows Eve may have been cheeky, but the purpose was serious: to put a spotlight on attacks by the Trump administration on federal datasets that dont align with its priorities, including data dealing with gender identity; diversity, equity and inclusion; and climate change.
Officials at the Federation of American Scientists and other data scientists who compiled the list divided the datasets into those that had been killed off, had variables deleted, had tools removed making public access more difficult and had found a second life outside the federal government.
Read more about efforts to preserve federal data
Mamdani celebrated as one of their own in India and Uganda
Indians lit up social media on Wednesday to celebrate Zohran Mamdanis election win as New York City mayor after he thanked his Indian-born parents, quoted a historic speech by Indias first prime minister and turned the victory rally into a Bollywood-style street party.
We are proud of him. He has done a great job, Mamdanis maternal uncle Vikram Nair told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile in Uganda, where Mamdani was born, the opposition leader in the Ugandan Parliament sees his victory as an inspiring political shift. Its a big encouragement even to us here in Uganda that its possible, said Joel Ssenyonyi, who represents an area of the Ugandan capital of Kampala.
Uganda has had the same president for nearly four decades, Yoweri Museveni, despite attempts by multiple opposition leaders to defeat him in elections.
Read more about how Ugandans and Indians are celebrating Mamdanis victory.
Mamdanis school on southern tip of Africa says congratulations
Mamdani attended St Georges Grammar School in Cape Town for around three years in the mid-1990s, from the age of five. He and his family lived in South Africa after leaving his country of birth, Uganda, and before emigrating to the United States. Mamdanis father, a political theorist, worked as an academic at the University of Cape Town.
We trust that he will continue to uphold the principles embodied in our school motto, Virtute et Valore the courage to do what is right, Mamdanis former school said in a statement sent to the AP.
The grammar school also released a photo of Mamdani at 6 or 7 years old.
Judge in Comey case scolds prosecutors as he orders them to produce records from probe
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered prosecutors in the criminal case of former FBI Director James Comey to produce a trove of materials from the investigation, saying hes concerned the Justice Departments position has to been to indict first and investigate later.
Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick instructed prosecutors to produce by the end of Thursday grand jury materials as well as other vidence that investigators seized. Comeys attorneys said they were at a disadvantage because they had not been able to review materials that were gathered years ago.
Comey is charged with lying to Congress in 2020 in a case filed days after Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies. He has pleaded not guilty.
Grassroots groups urge Democrats to hold firm after election wins
Progressive organizations are using Tuesdays election victories to warn Democrats against cutting a deal with Republicans to end the government shutdown.
Moderate Senate Democrats who are looking for an offramp right now are completely missing the moment, said Katie Bethell, political director of MoveOn. Voters have sent a resounding message: We want leaders who fight for us, and we want solutions that make life more affordable.
Read more about congressional developments involving the government shutdown
Trump now says affordability is GOPs goal
Trump sent the social media post as Air Force One was about to take off for Miami, where hes addressing business leaders in the afternoon.
Wednesday marked one year since his reelection.
Happy Anniversary! On this day, November 5th, one year ago, we had one of the Greatest Presidential Victories in History Such an Honor to represent our Country. Our Economy is BOOMING, and Costs are coming way down. Affordability is our goal. Love to the American People! he wrote.
Democratic candidates who won Tuesday in the New Jersey and Virginia governors races, and the New York City mayors contest, focused their campaigns on the publics cost-of-living concerns.
Democratic leaders demand Trump meet to end shutdown
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said its time for Trump to meet with them as well as GOP congressional leaders to negotiate an end the shutdown and address the health care issue.
Democrats stand ready to meet with you face to face, anytime and anyplace, the Democratic leaders wrote. Trump has so far refused to engage in talks until the Democrats vote to reopen the government.
North Carolinas largest city reelects mayor after fallout over train stabbing
Voters in Charlotte, North Carolina, have given Democrat Vi Lyles a fifth term as mayor.
Lyles won comfortably Tuesday to remain the citys top leader 2 1/2 months after the death of a young Ukrainian woman on a commuter train. The stabbing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska sparked outrage from Trump and other Republicans, who sought to pin blame for violent crime and pretrial release decisions on Democrats in general, and Lyles in particular.
Lyles defeated Republican candidate Terrie Donovan, who had made crime her top issue even before the August stabbing. Charlotte hasnt elected a Republican mayor since 2007.
The suspect in Zarutskas stabbing had been arrested more than a dozen times. The GOP-controlled state legislature tightened suspect release rules in September, and Lycles has promoted additional safety measures on Charlottes light rail.
Trump may become the face of economic discontent
Trump just got a serious warning from voters that hes out of touch with their fears about a deteriorating U.S. economy.
Democrats were able to run up the score in key races across the country on Tuesday by harnessing some of the same populist fervor that helped get Trump reelected a year ago but also by focusing on the kitchen table issues the Republican had vowed to fix. Now, as the incumbent, fears about the economy have made Trump the face of much of the publics discontent.
Voters in the Virginia and New Jersey governor races, the New York City mayoral contest and the California ballot proposition each ranked economic concerns as a top issue. Democrats swept all those, and it was difficult to point to any major race, anywhere, where Republicans had a key victory.
Read more about how Americans have soured on Trumps management of the economy
Mamdani to Trump: You will have to get through all of us
Mamdani wasted little time as New York Citys mayor-elect before making clear that hell be standing up to the president of the United States, who had threatened not only to defund the city if he won, but also to arrest and deport him.
Donald Trump, since I know youre watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up, he said at his victory party. If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.
New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant, said Mamdani, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Uganda. So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.
Trump seemed to be watching: AND SO IT BEGINS! he posted on social media as Mamdani spoke.
Speaker Mike Johnson calls longest shutdown a sad landmark
The Republican speaker insisted hes willing to talk to Democrats about their demands for health care funds, but blames them for the record-breaking shutdown, now in its 36th day.
Johnson was speaking with GOP lawmakers on the steps outside the Capitol, where he has kept the House closed to regular business, sending lawmakers home in September.
Ntanyahu officials criticize New York Citys mayor-elect
Israels hardline National Security Minister Itamir Ben-Gvir said Mamdanis election is an everlasting disgrace how antisemitism triumphed over common sense. He called Mamdani a Hamas supporter, a hater of Israel and an avowed antisemite.
Mamdani has said Israels military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide, a claim denied by Israel. During the campaign, he also denounced atrocities committed by Hamas in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which he called a horrific war crime. While supportive of Palestinian rights, he denies being antisemitic and reached out to Jews during his campaign.
Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli posted on X encouraging Jews of New York to emigrate to Israel, writing that the city would never be the same again. His feed on the social media site Wednesday was a stream of anti-Mamdani graphics, including a photo of the Twin towers being engulfed in flames with the caption New York already forgot, a meme criticized as Islamophobic.
Mamdani says hes willing to work with Trump but will put New York residents first
When asked Wednesday about their combative relationship during the mayoral campaign, Mamdani said he has repeatedly expressed a willingness to help the president fulfill some of the promises Trump made during his 2024 presidential campaign.
I have said time and again that I will work with the president if he wants to work together to deliver on his campaign promises of cheaper groceries or a lower cost of living. But for too long what New Yorkers have seen is a mayor who has been willing to work with the president at the expense of those New Yorkers, Mamdani said on New Yorks NY1 news channel.
And I want to make it very clear that if the president looks to come after the people of this city, then I will be there standing up for them every step of the way.
Many big companies have cited AI as a reason for recent layoffs. But the new technology transforming the workforce may create some new jobs, too.
AI startups are racing to hire a certain kind of software engineer who works with both customer teams and product engineering teams: Candidates are expected to have tech skills, but also, understand the business model so they can help customize customers’ AI models for their companies’ specific needs.
The emerging role is called a forward-deployed engineer (FDE), and according to the Financial Times, job postings for the position are absolutely skyrocketing, increasing more than 800% from the start of 2025 through September.
The origins of the role come from data software company Palantir, which pioneered the job in the early 2010s. Today, the company says FDEs make up about half of their workforce. Nic Prettejohn, head of AI in the U.K. at Palantir, said, per the Financial Times, described the job as “product discovery from the inside.The specific tasks an FDE is responsible for may vary from company to company, but the job certainly seems to encompass a lot.According to Planitir, FDEs responsibilities look similar to those of a startup CTO: youll work in small teams and own end-to-end execution of high-stakes projects.” Likewise, a job ad for an FDE at the financial tech company Ramp says the role includes working with “sales and go-to-market teams to close exciting deals, activate customers, and expand the value Ramp provides over time.While many worry that AI will take their jobs, some say that AI also has the power to create jobs, too, and maybe even, at a greater rate. And as AI companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and others, recruit FDEs, perhaps both arguments have weight, especially because it’s not just FDE job postings that are rising.According to the 2025 World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report, while AI could displace around nine million jobs over the next five years, it could also create 11 million new jobs. Some of the roles could be things like AI trainers, AI auditors, AI translators, and more. Aneesh Raman, LinkedIns chief economic opportunity officer, spoke to the undeniable rise in new AI jobs, telling the New York Times, Head of AI. jobs are up, I think, three times in the last five years, he said. AI engineers are the fastest growing role in the U.S., followed by AI consultants.Other experts agree that new jobs can help to bridge the gap between the ever-growing ways that AI technology is being used, and what human beings still need from other humans, working to integrate the technology into real life. Tech innovator Pramod Pallath Vasudevan articulated the point in a post on social media about the surge in FDE hiring, writing, “AI isnt taking engineers away from the real world. Its bringing them closer to it.”
Vasudevan added, “AI isnt replacing us. Its redeploying usto the front lines of progress.”
Fortnite maker Epic Games and Google just agreed on a comprehensive settlement that could be the final chapter in Epics long battle over app store rules.
In a joint filing in a San Francisco federal court, both companies proposed a resolution to Epics antitrust lawsuit against Google, which the game publisher filed in 2020 along with a parallel lawsuit against Apple.
In a post on X, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney called the proposed settlement awesome and expressed hope that the courts would agree.
It genuinely doubles down on Android’s original vision as an open platform to streamline competing store installs globally, reduce service fees for developers on Google Play, and enable third-party in-app and web payments, Sweeney said. This is a comprehensive solution, which stands in contrast to Apples model of blocking all competing stores and leaving payments as the only vector for competition.
In the settlement, Google agrees to cap app store fees at 9% to 20% depending on the transaction. Currently, Google takes a 15% cut of the first $1 million in developer revenue and 30% of anything above that threshold. Beyond lowering fees, Google also said it would allow alternate app stores to be offered officially in the next major Android update. All of the proposed changes would go into effect globally not just in the U.S. and remain in place through 2032.
The surprise settlement follows some resounding losses for Google. Late last year, a judge sided with Epic on many of the game publishers demands and ordered Google to open its app marketplace to competing third-party app stores in the U.S. for three years, a decision that stood to completely remake Androids app ecosystem. Prior to the settlement, it looked like Googles last hope was a hail mary asking the Supreme Court to take on the case a long shot given that the court previously shrugged off Epics parallel case against Apple.
Epics epic battle
In 2020, Epic kicked off a flashy campaign to rally people against mobile softwares gatekeepers by breaking the rules of both Google and Apples app stores intentionally, getting Fortnite kicked off of phones and tablets in the process. In lawsuits against both companies, Epic argued that Google and Apple violated antitrust laws by forcing users to pay for apps and in-app purchases through their app marketplaces while taking a slice of every transaction.
While Epics case against Apple is now mostly resolved without too much disruption to Apples business, the iPhone maker did land itself in hot water earlier this year when a federal judge determined that it violated the terms of a court order forcing it to give developers more freedom to accept payments.
Epics case against Google took a different path. After years of back-and-forth in court, Epic landed a major win over the summer when a federal appeals court upheld a jury verdict that deemed Google Play, Androids app store, to be a monopoly. In other recent cases, courts determined that Google was operating a monopoly in its digital ads and search engine businesses.
Together with Epic Games we have filed a proposed set of changes to Android and Google Play that focus on expanding developer choice and flexibility, lowering fees, and encouraging more competition all while keeping users safe, Android Ecosystem President Sameer Samat wrote on X, adding that the company would discuss the settlement with a judge on Thursday.
Elon Musk turned off many potential buyers of his Tesla cars and sent sales plunging with his foray into politics. But the stock has soared anyway and now he wants the company to pay him more a lot more.
Shareholders gathering Thursday for Tesla’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas, will decide in a proxy vote whether to grant Musk, the company’s CEO and already the richest person in the world, enough stock to potentially make him history’s first trillionaire.
It’s a vote that has sparked heated debate on both sides of the issue, even drawing the pope’s comments on it as an example of income inequality.
Several pension funds have come out against the package, arguing that the board of directors is too beholden to Musk, his behavior too reckless lately, and the riches offered too much.
Supporters say Musk is a genius who is the only person capable of ushering in a Tesla-dominated future in which hundreds of thousands of self-driving Tesla cars many without steering wheels will ferry people and humanoid Tesla robots will march around factories and homes, picking up boxes and watering plants. The pay is necessary to incentivize him, they say, and keep him focused.
Musk has threatened to walk away from the company if he doesn’t get what he wants and has blasted some of the packages critics as corporate terrorists.”
What is up for a vote
To get his Tesla shares, Musk has to secure approval from a majority of the company’s voting shareholders. Improving the odds, Musk gets to vote his own shares, worth 15% of the company.
Shareholders first heard about the pay package in September when the board of directors proposed it in a detailed filing to federal securities regulators. The document, running 200 pages, also contains other proposals up for a vote at the meeting, including whether to allow Tesla to invest in another Musk company, xAI, and who should serve on the board in the future.
How Musk can get $1 trillion
Musk won’t get necessarily get all of that money, or even a cent of it, if the package is approved. He first has to meet several operational and financial targets.
To get the full pay, for instance, he has to deliver to the car market 20 million Teslas over 10 years, more than double the number he has churned out over the past dozen years. He also has to massively increase the market value of the company and its operating profits and deliver one million robots, from zero today.
If he falls short of the biggest goals, though, the package could still hand him plenty of money.
Musk will get $50 billion in additional Tesla shares, for example, if he increases the company’s market value by 80%, something he did just this past year, as well as doubling vehicle sales and tripling operating earnings or hitting any other two of a dozen operational targets.
Musk vs. Rockefeller
Musk is already the richest man in the world with a net worth of $493 billion, according to Forbes magazine, and well ahead of some of the wealthiest of years past.
The steel giant, Andrew Carnegie, was once worth an inflation-adjusted $300 billion, according to the Carnegie Corp., well below Musk’s wealth.
Musk is still trailing John D. Rockefeller, but he’s closing in fast. The railroad titan hit peak inflation-adjusted wealth of $630 billion in 1913, according to Guinness World Records.
For his part, Musk says its not really about the money but about getting a higher Tesla stake it will double to nearly 30% so he can control the company. He says that’s a pressing concern given Tesla’s future robot army,” a reference to the company’s Optimus humanoid workers that he doesn’t trust anyone else to control.
Split among shareholders
Many investors have come out in support of the package, including Baron Capital Management, whose founder called Musk indispensable to the company. Without his relentless drive and uncompromising standards, wrote founder Ron Baron, there would be no Tesla.
Critics include the biggest in the U.S. public pension fund, Calpers, and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest. They argue the pay is excessive, with the Norway fund expressing concern that the board that designed it, which includes Musk’s brother, is not independent enough. That echoes a decision from a Delaware court nearly two years ago that blasted the process for approving a previous Musk pay package as deeply flawed given his extensive ties to directors.
Even the Vatican has weighed in, decrying the wealth gap in the world and blasting the trillion dollar offer in particular.
If that is the only thing that has value anymore, said Pope Leo XIV, “then were in big trouble.
Musk’s record at Tesla is mixed
Judging from the stock price alone, Musk has been spectacularly successful. The company is now worth nearly $1.5 trillion.
But a lot that runup reflects big bets by investors that Musk will be able deliver things that are difficult to pull off, and the way Musk has run the company recently doesn’t inspire confidence. He has broken numerous promises, and his tendency to say whatever is on his mind has sabotaged the company.
Just this year, for instance, he vowed to deliver driverless taxis in several cities, secure regulatory approval in Europe for his self-driving software, and push sales up 20% or 30%.
Instead, his driverless robotaxis in Austin and San Francisco have human safety monitors inside. Europeans still haven’t approved his software. And Tesla sales continue to plunge, with new figures out Monday showing a stunning 50% drop last month in Germany alone.
That said, Musk has pulled off the impossible before. His company, a half dozen years ago, was widely feared to be near bankruptcy because he wasn’t making enough cars, but then he succeeded, and the stock soared.
He frequently teeters on the edge of disaster,” said Tesla owner and money manager Nancy Tengler, “and then pulls back just in the nick of time.
Bernard Condon, AP business writer
Monday, November 3, saw nearly 5,000 flights delayed in the U.S. The weekend prior saw more than 10,000. Cancellations are stacking up as well.
As the length of this most recent government shutdown sets new records, those headaches at the airport aren’t expected to ease. They are, in fact, likely to get worse. And while that’s scary news for anyone who might be planning to head home for Thanksgiving, there’s a chance it could be what gets the government back to work.
Republicans and Democrats are still at odds, and neither is showing any sign of backing down. Even the brief cessation of SNAP benefits (and the lawsuits that followed) hasn’t brought about a détente. But airlines are key to the financial health of the countryand air traffic controllers have been the key factor in ending a shutdown in the past.
Major airlines are already applying pressure. Delta, United, American, and Southwest have all called on Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill that would allow the government to reopen, citing risks to aviation safety. The airline industry lobby typically carries significant weight in Washington, as it represents 10 million jobs. It’s also a critical part of the tourism and cargo transport industries, in addition to general business. Last year, companies spent $1.47 trillion on business travel worldwide.
The delays and cancellations have been increasing for the past few weeks, as staffing shortages become more common. Air traffic controllers have been working without pay for over a month, and as a result, some have begun to call in sick.
That’s reminiscent of the government shutdown of 2019. And it was those shortages that were largely credited for breaking the logjam in Congress.
On January 25, 2019, the 35th day of that shutdown, 10 air traffic controllerssix from northern Virginia and four from Floridastayed home. That wasn’t a huge number in the grand scheme of things, but with just those 10 absences, delays stacked up at several hubs and shut down travel temporarily at LaGuardia Airport in New York. The shutdown was settled before the end of the day.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has said it does not “endorse, support or condone” any coordinated activity by members that would impact the capacity and safety of air traffic control systems (i.e., no organized sick-outs), but it has urged the government to end the shutdown and pay its workers as soon as possible to ensure the skies are safe.
“For this nations air traffic controllers, missing just one paycheck can be a significant hardship, as it is for all working Americans. Asking them to go without a full months pay or more is simply not sustainable,” said NATCA president Nick Daniels in a statement. “These professionals are required to oversee the movement of the nations passengers and cargo while many are working 10-hour days and six-day workweeks due to the ongoing staffing shortage, all without pay. This situation creates substantial distractions for individuals who are already engaged in extremely stressful work.”
This comes on top of an existing shortage of air traffic control workers.
There is, of course, no guarantee that delays and cancellations will force Democrats and Republicans to reopen the government this time around. Both sides are playing an ongoing game of chicken, which reached new heights Tuesday when U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that “some” airspaces in the U.S. might need to be closed if the shutdown continues. He also warned that should air traffic controllers miss another full paycheck, it would result in “mass flight delays and mass cancellations” around the country.
That came a day after he told CNBC that if he thought travel was to become too risky in his department’s opinion, he would “shut the whole airspace down. We won’t let people travel.”
The last time that occurred was following the September 11 terror attacks in 2001.
On the same day Shein opened its first store in Paris, the French government said Wednesday it will suspend Shein’s website over its alleged online sale of childlike “sex dolls” online until it complies with French law, according to the Associated Press.
Fast Company has reached out to Shein for comment. A spokesperson for the company told Reuters it was working with authorities; and it has banned sex dolls on its site.
A French consumer watchdog discovered the dolls and weapons on the site over the weekend, per Reuters. (Under French law, the government can order businesses to remove illegal content from their websites, such as child pornography within 24 hours, and block access to those sites, AP reported.)
This is the online Chinese retailer’s first brick-and-mortar store in Paris, which is located on the sixth floor of the iconic BHV department store in the heart of the city. Shein sells heavily discounted, ultra “fast-fashion” and has drawn protests and boycotts from French shop owners and consumers, who decry the environmental impact that comes from making large amounts of cheap products, as well as the working conditions at its factories.
Police stood guard outside BHV on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday, bracing for the store’s opening, after several weeks of intermittent strikes, protests and boycotts; including by activists stood topless outside BHV on Monday, while several French fashion brands said they were pulling out, according to CNN.
Meanwhile, Disneyland Paris cancelled its holiday window display and pop-up store in BHV Marais, Agence France-Presse reported. “Conditions are no longer exist to calmly hold Christmas events,” Shein told AFP.
Shein said it plans to open five other store locations in France in: Dijon, Reims, Grenoble, Angers and Limoges, AFP reported.
Across the country, Americans have seen their electricity bills spike this year. Energy prices have been rising faster than inflation, and are expected to just keep rising.
In two states in particular, this issue became a core tenant of the Democratic candidates governors races.
Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia both ran in part on a promise to keep electricity costs downand both won big on election night.
Voters in New Jersey and Virginia chose leaders ready to take on soaring energy costs and the powerful interests driving them higher, Evergreen Action executive director Lena Moffitt said in a statement.
Governors-elect Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger earned voters trust with common-sense plans to lower costs by fixing [electricity grid operator] PJMs broken system and expanding cheap, homegrown, faster-to-build clean energy, she added. In elections defined by the skyrocketing cost of living, voters made clear they want leaders who will actually do something about it.”
How New Jerseys new governor will tackle electricity prices
Rising electricity rates have hit New Jersey particularly hard. Residents there saw prices spike about 21% over this past year.
Sherrill, who won New Jersey with just over 56% of votes, pledged to declare a state of emergency on utility costs on her first day in office. She has also promised to freeze residents utility rates, build more cheaper and cleaner power, and push utility companies to be more transparent.
Sherrills state of emergency could be seen as a counter to the states of emergency that President Trump declared at the beginning of his second term.
Trumps move to declare a national energy emergency cited a need to boost oil and gas production, even though increased drilling doesnt necessarily translate to lower gas prices for consumers, and renewable power is the cheapest form of new energy to build.
Trump also promised to slash electricity bills for Americans during his run for the presidency, but so far into his term, energy price are up, and expected to keep climbing. Experts have blamed his actions like inhibiting renewables, canceling federal energy assistance, and enacting tariffs on energy imports.
For New Jersey, the governor declaring a state of emergency is a signal of her priorities.
Its put everyone on notice that I am no longer going to allow the can to be kicked down the road, she said on WNYC Thursday morning. It gives everyone a sense of urgency that this has got to be tackled, and it’s got to be tackled now.
That pledge has already resulted in utility companies saying theyll come to the table to negotiate, and spurred discussions among workers about programs that could help the electricity grid, she added. Sherrill also campaigned on developing plans for new nuclear capacity in New Jersey.
How Virginias new governor will tackle electricity prices
Virginia is home to the biggest data center market in the world, with more than 600 clustered around Washington, D.C., and Richmond. And though the states electricity prices havent risen as steeply as New Jerseys, theyve still risen about 6.7% over the last year.
As even more data centers are proposed and built, experts say energy prices are likely to increase to meet growing energy demands. Dominion Energy, the biggest electric utility in the state, is also looking to build more natural gas units to support those data centers.
That raises environmental concerns, and also price concerns. Natural gas is getting more expensive because the U.S. is exporting more and more of it to other countries.
Spanberger, who won Virginia with just over 57% of the votes, made an Affordable Virginia Plan a core part of her campaign. Along with housing and healthcare, the plan specifically calls out energy bills as an area shell focus on.
To do so, she says shell expand and support Virginias local electricity generationincluding its nation-leading offshore wind development.
She plans to incentivize more solar energy projects on rooftops, parking lots, former industrial sites, abandoned mines, schools, and public buildings, supported by battery storage. Shell also encourage the development of nuclear, geothermal, fusion, and hydrogen.
Spanberger has called out data centers specifically as well, saying shell make sure they pay their own way and their fair share of their new electricity and transmission needs.
Its not yet clear how exactly shell do that, and Dominion contests the idea that data centers are being subsidized by consumers; instead, the utility has blamed inflation for rising costs.
But Dominion is also currently seeking to raise rates even more to increase its profit margins. Depending on how that case pans out, Spanberger said during a debate that it may require action within the General Assembly to ensure that large utility users like data centers are paying their fair share for the energy that they consume.
