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Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook toured Southeast Asia last week, visiting Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore, as part of a multiday trip geared toward reducing Apple’s reliance on China as its central manufacturing hub. And while Apple isn’t looking to abandon China — Cook spent a number of days in the country just last month — the company is hedging against the potential for future manufacturing roadblocks in the region. At the same time, the company is slowly setting its sights on India as its next major growth opportunity now that China has become a more mature smartphone market. “Apple is...

The University of Southern California (USC) has canceled its main graduation ceremony due to apparent security concerns after anti-Israel protesters tried to encamp and were removed by Los Angeles Police Department this week. As Breitbart News reported, anti-Israel protesters had tried to occupy the campus, as demonstrators have done at other universities in an apparently well-coordinated and well-funded campaign. In addition, USC canceled the speech of its valedictorian after she was found to have supported the annihilation of the State of Israel in online posts.

A federal judge rejected former President Trump’s latest attempt for a new trial, upholding the verdict and $83.3 million award in his defamation case against writer E. Jean Carroll. In a written opinion, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said Trump’s arguments are “without merit.” “Mr. Trump’s malicious and unceasing attacks on Ms. Carroll were disseminated to more than 100 million people. They included public threats and personal attacks, and they endangered Ms. Carroll’s health and safety,” Kaplan wrote. A jury in January ordered him to pay $83.3 million to Carroll after Kaplan found he was liable for defamation. Last month,...

Shares of rental car giant Hertz plunged by more than 20 percent on Thursday after the company reported huge losses related to its investment in Electric Vehicles (EVs). For months, Hertz has been struggling after going all-in on EVs. On Thursday, Hertz executives said it lost $1.28 per share in the first quarter, many times larger than Wall Street’s estimate of a loss of 45 percent per share. The wider-than-expected loss came even though business was actually busier than expected for Hertz. The company took in $2.1 billion in revenue, slightly outpacing expectations. In January, Hertz executives announced that they...

Anti-Jewish, pro-Hamas protesters — such as those seen at Columbia and Yale — will be expelled if they try to pull the same stunts at Florida universities, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) made clear on Thursday. “You think about what happened when you have these Hamas demonstrators out. They’re taking over bridges, and they’re taking over roads,” he said, noting that these individuals do not have the right to do that. “How do you know if someone — someone may need to get to a hospital. Someone may need to pick up a child somewhere, and you’re just going to commandeer...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Thursday his state “will not comply” with recently unveiled changes to Title IX by the Biden administration. “Florida rejects [President Biden’s] attempt to rewrite Title IX,” DeSantis said in a video posted to the social platform X. “We will not comply, and we will fight back.” “We are not gonna let Joe Biden try to inject men into women’s activities,” DeSantis continued. “We are not gonna let Joe Biden undermine the rights of parents, and we are not gonna let Joe Biden abuse his constitutional authority to try to impose these policies on us...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with low-level Chinese Communist Party officials, students, and businessmen in Shanghai on Thursday, promoting an “expansion of exchanges” with the rogue state in several fields. The most prominent of his meetings was with the head of the Communist Party in Shanghai, Secretary Chen Jining, who said in a press engagement prior to their meeting that he was pleased to hear that Blinken had attended a basketball game and visited Shanghai’s Yu Garden after landing on Wednesday: Met with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining to discuss the importance of healthy economic competition and a level...

Southwest Airlines issued a press statement Thursday declaring their intention to fire around 2,000 employees and cancel service to four airports following financial difficulties. “[W]e are implementing cost control initiatives, including limiting hiring and offering voluntary time off programs. We now expect to end 2024 with approximately 2,000 fewer Employees as compared with the end of 2023,” Bob Jordan, the president and CEO of Southwest Airlines ... Jordan also announced that the company was shutting down its service to three airports in the United States and one in Mexico. “[W]e have made the difficult decision to close our operations at...

U.S. economic growth was much weaker than expected to start the year, and prices rose at a faster pace, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services produced in the January-through-March period, increased at a 1.6% annualized pace when adjusted for seasonality and inflation, according to the department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 2.4% following a 3.4% gain in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 4.9% in the previous period. Consumer spending increased 2.5% in the period, down from a 3.3% gain...

The proposal, released last month, notes that the administration wants to increase the top marginal rate on long-term capital gains dividends up to 44.6 percent, which would make the tax rate exceed 50 percent in states like California, New Jersey, New York and others. Two separate proposals would need to pass in the final 2025 budget for the 44.6 percent figure to come to fruition. 'Biden has proposed adding a second Death Tax (separate from and in addition to the existing Death Tax) by taking away stepped-up basis when parents die. This would result in a mandatory capital gains tax...

Hollywood elites are planning to throw more money at President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, with a star-studded fundraiser reportedly being planned for mid-June that will feature George Clooney and former President Barack Obama. The shindig will also feature former Disney boss Jeffrey Katzenberg, who is Biden’s campaign co-chair, according to an Axios report. Julia Roberts might attend the event, unnamed sources told the outlet. Hollywood remains one of Biden’s most loyal constituencies even as his popularity has plummeted with ordinary Americans who must deal with record consumer prices and unprecedented levels of illegal immigration that is swamping cities around the...

Reporter- "What's it like seeing so many Republicans and Trump supporters in Manhattan? Does that surprise you?" Construction Worker, ""No- not at all- it's turning now" Reporter- "What's your message to Joe Biden?" Construction Worker- "F*&^% You!!"

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted Thursday to restore Obama-era net neutrality rules. The agency voted 3-2 along partisan lines to revive rules barring broadband providers from blocking or throttling internet traffic to some websites and speeding up access to others that pay extra fees. The move brings broadband under the purview of the FCC by classifying it as telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. “Four years ago, the pandemic changed life as we know it,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said at Thursday’s commission meeting. “We were told to stay home, hunker down and live online. So...

The Biden administration finalized a rule Wednesday that bans the use of natural gas in new federal buildings. The Department of Energy announced the final rule, which requires federal agencies to “phase out” and ultimately eliminate the on-site use of fossil fuels starting in 2030. New federal buildings constructed after 2030 will not be allowed to have the natural gas hookups required to power gas stoves and other appliances under the final rule. “The Biden-Harris Administration is practicing what we preach,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said of her agency’s rule. “Just as we are helping households and businesses across the...

Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian, and pro-Hamas protesters who camped out in Harvard Yard on Wednesday received a rude awakening overnight as automatic sprinklers switched on, soaking tents and sending the activists into a panic. The Harvard Crimson reported that sprinklers began to turn on after 2:00 a.m. in 36º Fahrenheit weather. It later noted at 4:05 a.m. ET: As protesters spend their first night in the Harvard Yard encampment, the biggest threat to their stay has not come from administrators or Harvard University police officers, but the Yard’s sprinklers. Two more sprinklers turned on at the edge of the encampment near Massachusetts...

Gillette-based L&H Industrial, a 60-year-old industrial machinery company in the coal-rich Powder River Basin, has partnered with nuclear technology innovator BWX Technologies as part of a blockbuster deal to launch a multibillion-dollar industry in the micro nuclear reactor field. A Wyoming company with international clout that’s bolstered the state’s energy industries for decades is jumping into the nuclear business. Gillette-based L&H Industrial Inc., a 60-year-old stalwart industrial machinery company in the coal-rich Powder River Basin, has partnered with nuclear technology innovator BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT) as part of a blockbuster deal to launch a multibillion-dollar industry in the micro nuclear...

Breitbart economics editor John Carney said Thursday on Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow” that President Joe Biden is implementing regulations that were crushing the economy. Carney said, “When you add on giant regulatory burdens onto the private sector what you end up doing is crushing the ability of businesses to grow, crushing the ability of businesses to hire people, crushing people to start new businesses. That is what happened under Obama when it was just 1/5 of what Biden has done. Biden this is just the track record so far, imagine what he will do when he is a lame duck...

The US economy grew at a slower pace than expected in the first quarter. The Bureau of Economic Analysis's advance estimate of first quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy grew at an annualized pace of 1.6% during the period. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg estimated the US economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.5% during the period. The reading came in significantly lower than fourth quarter GDP, which was revised up to 3.4%. The softer-than expected print is a sign that the Federal Reserve's historic interest rate hikes are putting pressure on consumers and the economy. Investors...

KEY POINTS Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services produced in the January-through-March period, increased at a 1.6% annualized pace, below the 2.4% estimate. The personal consumption expenditures price index, a key inflation variable for the Federal Reserve, rose at a 3.4% annualized pace for the quarter, its biggest gain in a year. Consumer spending increased 2.5% in the period, down from a 3.3% gain in the fourth quarter and below the 3% Wall Street estimate. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. economic growth was much weaker than expected to start the year, and prices rose at a faster pace, the...

Oh, sweet — the ‘nanny state’ is back! Fast-food chains and coffee shops in New York City would have to slap a warning on menu boards and packaging under a new rule from the Adams administration. The city Health Department’s first-in-the-nation edict will mean labels warning on food and drinks with more than 50 grams of added sugar, including frozen coffee drinks from places like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, fountain sodas and even hot chocolate. Food outlets with 15 or more stores in the US are ordered to use a warning icon — a spoon loaded with heaps of sugar...