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The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is set to slash its workforce by more than half, eliminating over 1,300 positions as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to downsize the federal government. President Donald Trump has characterized the Department of Education as being influenced by “radical zealots and Marxists, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon has publicly acknowledged that the recent workforce reductions at the department are part of a broader plan to dismantle the department entirely. McMahon claims that the recent workforce reduction aims to enhance efficiency and redirect resources. “Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” she said in a statement. Partisan divide Despite these assurances, the layoffs affect employees in roles crucial to ensuring compliance with federal education laws, handling student loan oversight, and supporting programs for low-income students and those with disabilities. Critics warn that reducing staff at this scale could significantly weaken the departments ability to uphold equal access to education. A new nationally representative poll commissioned by New America, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C., and conducted by Voss Research and Strategy found that most Americans oppose eliminating the Department of Education. The survey revealed that 55% of American adults are against the idea, while only 25% support it, and 17 % remain unsure. The poll also highlighted a stark partisan divide: 89% of Democrats oppose eliminating the department while 51%of Republicans support the move. Independents lean against the cuts as well, with 54% opposing the proposal. Uncertain future for education oversight The cuts at the Education Department are part of a broader effort that has impacted multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration, with employees reporting increased pressure to accept buyouts. The long-term impact of these cuts remains uncertain. While the administration argues that these reductions will create a leaner, more effective government, many question whether slashing the Education Departments workforce will hinder its ability to serve students, schools, and borrowers. Surely not the path to greatness?
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E-Commerce
The center-right Demokraatit Party won the most votes in a surprising result in Greenland’s parliamentary elections, held in the shadow of U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated goal of taking control of the island one way or another.Both Demokraatit, or the Democrats, and the second-place finisher Naleraq, or Point of Orientation, favor Greenland’s independence from Denmark but differ on the pace of change.Demokraatit won nearly 30% of the vote, compared to just 9% in the election four years ago, Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation KNR TV reported.Naleraq came in second with almost 25% of the vote. In the 2021 election, they received just under 12%, according to KNR TV.Demokraatit’s upset victory over parties that have governed the territory for years indicated many in Greenland care just as much about health care, education, cultural heritage and other social policies.“I think this is a historic result in Greenland’s political history,” Demokraatit party leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen said.Nielsen, 33, appeared to be surprised by his party’s gains, with photos showing him sporting a huge grin and applauding at the election party.The Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR reported that Nielsen said his party would reach out to all other parties to negotiate the future political course for Greenland.“We had not expected that the election would have this outcome,” Nielsen said, according to KNR TV. “We are very happy.”Nielsen also said that Greenland needs to stand together “in a time of great interest from outside,” KNR TV reported.Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede had called the early vote in February, saying the country needed to be united during a “serious time” unlike anything Greenland has ever experienced.On Wednesday, after the results were known, Egede thanked voters in a Facebook post for turning out and said the parties were ready to turn to negotiations to form a government.His party, Inuit Ataqatigiit, or United Inuit, received 21% of the vote. This is a significant decline from the last election, when the party came in strongest with 36% of the vote, according to KNR TV.Inuit Ataqatigiit had been widely expected to win, followed by Siumuttwo parties which had dominated Greenland’s politics in recent years.Siumut came in fourth with 14% of the vote.Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen congratulated the Demokraatit party and said the future Greenlandic government would likely have to “deal with massive pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump,” according to DR.He added that “it’s not the case that you can just take part of the Danish Realmthe future of Greenland is based on what the Greenlandic people and government want,” DR reported.Trump has been outspoken about his desire to control Greenland, telling a joint session of Congress last week that he thought the U.S. was going to get it “one way or the other.”Greenland, a self-governing region of Denmark, straddles strategic air and sea routes in the North Atlantic and has rich deposits of the rare earth minerals needed to make everything from mobile phones to renewable energy technology.A break from Denmark wasn’t on the ballot, but it was on everyone’s mind. The island of 56,000 people has been on a path toward independence since at least 2009, and the 31 lawmakers elected will shape the island’s future as it debates whether the time has come to declare independence.Four of the five main parties in the race sought independence, but disagreed on when and how.Naleraq is the most aggressively pro-independence, while Demokraatit favors a more moderate pace of change.“What approach to independence will win the day will ultimately depend on if Demokraatit decides to form a coalition government, and if so, with which party,” said Dwayne Menezes, managing director of the Polar Research and Policy Initiative.Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the election “a joyful day and a celebration of democracy” in a statement released Wednesday.Frederiksen congratulated Demokraatit on the win and said the Danish government would await the results of coalition negotiations. Danica Kirka, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
A well-funded AI lab with a deep bench of research talent is releasing a powerful new model that generates high-definition video for the film and advertising industries. The company, Moonvalley, on Wednesday launched its first model, named Mareya nod to early cinema pioneer Étienne-Jules Mareywhich could soon help Hollywood studios dramatically speed up production and cut costs. What sets Marey apartand has caught the attention of risk-averse studiosis its training data. The model was trained exclusively on video content either owned or fairly licensed by Moonvalley, avoiding the copyright gray zones that make much generative content legally fraught. Moonvalley is rolling out Marey to a group of 20 trusted filmmakers, some of whom work for major, household-name studios (whose names havent been disclosed), according to cofounder and CEO Naeem Talukdar. The version being released is still early-stage, with regular updates and new features planned. The key differentiator, Talukdar says, is Mareys native high-definition outputsomething thats been notoriously difficult to achieve. The challenge is that if you want to output in high definition, your inputs have to be in high definition, so you need to be able to train the model on HD footage, he says. In other words: It demands lots of powerful servers. By contrast, Talukdar says, most other video generation models are trained on lower-quality 480p or 720p videoand even then, they often compress the data before encoding. That compromises the models understanding of fine-grained detail, leading to uncanny or distorted outputs (like misrendered fingers). Marey is designed to overcome that. Its also operated differently. Unlike most consumer-facing video generators that start with text prompts, Marey is tailored for professional workflows. Filmmakers can input storyboards or keyframes; actors can film demo reels on their phones, which producers can then use to generate scenes showing the actor from different angles or performing new movements. The model can make subtle edits, like changing the direction of wind in a characters hair, or adjusting production-quality scenesfilling in background details or background characters (commonly played by extras). Moonvalley is also running pilot programs with brands looking to train the model on their own imagery and style guidelines. That could allow companies to generate broadcast-quality commercials on demand. We have a number of smaller boutique brands who suddenly are like, Hey, I can go and make a Super Bowl commercial, Talukdar says. The startup raised a $70 million seed round last year, backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and General Catalyst. Vinod Khosla is described as an unofficial member of the board. Beyond the top-tier investors, Moonvalley has serious R&D chops. Cofounders Mateusz Malinowski and Miko³aj Biñkowski previously led video research at DeepMind and helped develop the model that later became Googles Veo 2 video generator. The team includes six other DeepMind alumni, alongside talent from Meta, Microsoft, Google, TikTok, and Snap. While Talukdar acknowledges that AI tools like Marey could lower production costs, he insists its certainly not the beginning of the end for actorsor filmmakers. Budgets, he argues, arent likely to shrink; instead, creators will use the savings to pursue bigger, more ambitious ideas. I think youre going to see new jobs, he says. And more importantly, I think what this is really going to do is empower the creators more than anybody else.
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E-Commerce
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