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The Justice Department ended its prosecution on Wednesday of two former co-defendants of President Donald Trump who were accused of mishandling classified documents.Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped the case against Trump after he won November’s election but charges were still  pending against Walt Nauta, Trump’s valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, a property manager at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, threw out the case in July but Smith had appealed the dismissal of the charges against Nauta and De Oliveira to the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.The Justice Department, which is now led by Trump appointees, said in a filing with the 11th Circuit Court that it was abandoning its appeal.No reason was given for the move, which the appeals court is likely to accept, bringing the case to an end.Nauta, Trump’s long-time valet, and De Oliveira had pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements and obstructing justice.Trump was accused by the special counsel of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and stashing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home after leaving the White House at the end of his first term.Trump allegedly kept the top secret documents — which included records from the Pentagon and CIA — unsecured at Mar-a-Lago and thwarted efforts to retrieve them.Smith dropped both cases against Trump after the election citing a Justice Department policy of not indicting or prosecuting a sitting president.

The emergence of the DeepSeek chatbot has sent Silicon Valley into a frenzy, with calls to go faster on advancing artificial intelligence and beat communist-led China before it is too late. California tech investors have usually kept their involvement in politics low key, generally supporting centrist politicians who don’t get in the way of their innovations and business plans.But the AI revolution, and the potential ability of China to pose a direct threat to US dominance, has unnerved tech investors, who are now calling on the Donald Trump-led US government to help them take the battle to their Chinese rivals.”It’s a huge geopolitical competition, and China’s running at it super hard,” warned Facebook titan Mark Zuckerberg on the Joe Rogan podcast. He noted that DeepSeek is “a very advanced model” and that it censors historical events like Tiananmen Square, arguing that “we should want the American model to win.”Google, though not specifically mentioning DeepSeek, on Wednesday said the United States must take urgent action to maintain its narrow lead in artificial intelligence technology or risk losing its strategic advantage.”America holds the lead in the AI race — but our advantage may not last,” it warned, calling for government help in AI chip production, streamlining regulations and beefing up cybersecurity against national adversaries.The emergence of DeepSeek’s lower cost breakthrough particularly threatens US-based AI leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have invested billions in developing leading AI models.OpenAI raised alarms Tuesday about Chinese companies attempting to copy their advanced AI models through distillation techniques, announcing plans to deepen collaboration with US authorities.OpenAI investor Josh Kushner criticized so-called “pro-America technologists” who praise what he claims is Chinese AI built with misappropriated US technology. Palmer Luckey, a Trump-supporting tech entrepreneur, suggested DeepSeek’s success was being amplified to undermine Trump’s policies.- ‘Fall behind’ -Despite US government efforts to maintain AI supremacy through export controls on advanced chips, DeepSeek has found ways to achieve comparable results using authorized, less sophisticated Nvidia semiconductors.The app’s popularity has soared, topping Apple’s download charts, with US companies already incorporating its programming interface into their services. Perplexity, an AI-assisted search engine startup, has begun using the technology while claiming that it keeps user data within the US.The tech community can count on Washington, where concern about China has achieved rare bipartisan consensus.Last year, Republicans and Democrats passed a law ordering the divestment of TikTok, a subsidiary of the Chinese group ByteDance.”If America falls behind China on AI, we will fall behind everywhere: economically, militarily, scientifically, educationally, everywhere,” the US Senate’s top Democrat Chuck Schumer said Tuesday.”China’s innovation with DeepSeek is jarring, but it’s nothing compared to what will happen if China beats the US on the ultimate goal of AGI, artificial general intelligence. We cannot, we must not allow that to happen.”Representative Mark Green, a senior Republican said “let’s set the record straight — DeepSeek R1 is another digital arm of the Chinese Communist Party.”However, some argue this aggressive approach may backfire, given Silicon Valley’s reliance on Chinese talent. Nvidia researcher Zhiding Yu highlighted this concern on X, noting how a Chinese intern from his team joined DeepSeek in 2023.”If we keep cooking up geo-political agendas and creating hostile opinions to Chinese researchers, we will shoot ourselves in the foot and lose even more competitiveness.”

After three interest rate cuts in a row, the US Federal Reserve is expected to signal it will remain on pause until the data changes, resisting pressure to continue cuts in the first rate decision since Donald Trump returned to the White House.The second day of interest rate deliberations began at 9:00 am in Washington (1400 GMT) as scheduled, the Fed announced in a statement. The rate decision will be published at 2:00 pm local time. Analysts expect the Fed to sit tight and wait to see how the economy evolves, and what impact Trump’s tariff and immigration policies could have. “I think the Fed sits on its hands,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told AFP.”Until there’s more clarity — or any kind of clarity — around the economic policies of the Trump administration, the Fed is going to be reluctant to move,” he added. The US central bank has a dual mandate from Congress to tackle both inflation and unemployment, primarily by raising or lowering its benchmark short-term lending rate, influencing borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.The US economy is going fairly well with robust growth, a more-or-less healthy labor market, and relatively low inflation which nevertheless remains stuck above the Fed’s long-term target of two percent.The Fed’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to lower its key lending rate by a full percentage point between September and December 2024 to between 4.25 and 4.50 percent.Futures traders overwhelmingly expect the Fed to remain on pause this month, and assign a probability of close to 70 percent that it will extend its hold at the next rate meeting in March, according to data from CME Group.- ‘Definitely inflationary’ -Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has revived his threats to impose sweeping tariffs on US trading partners as soon as this weekend and to deport millions of undocumented workers. He has also said he wants to extend expiring tax cuts and slash red tape on energy production.Last week, Trump revived his criticism of the Fed and its chair Jerome Powell, whom he first appointed to run the US central bank.”I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately,” he said, later adding that he would “put in a strong statement” if the Fed did not take his views on board.”I think I know interest rates much better than they do,” he said. “And I think I know certainly much better than the one who’s primarily in charge of making that decision.”Most — though not all — economists expect Trump’s tariff and immigration policies to be at least mildly inflationary, raising the cost of goods faced by consumers. “I think those policies are definitively inflationary, it’s just a question of what degree,” said Zandi from Moody’s Analytics.”A big part of (the Fed’s) job in calibrating monetary policy is responding to what lawmakers are doing, and if they can’t get a fix on what they’re doing, then that just argues for no change in policy, either higher or lower rates,” he added.- ‘Meaningful odds’ -At the Fed’s previous meeting, policymakers also dialed back the number of rate cuts they expect this year to a median of just two, with some incorporating assumptions about Trump’s likely economic policies into their forecasts, according to minutes of the meeting.Given the uncertainty, analysts are now divided over how many rate cuts they expect the Fed to make this year. In a recent investor note, economists at Goldman Sachs said their baseline forecast was for two quarter point cuts, assuming a mild, one-time effect on inflation, “causing it to fall by less but not to rise and leaving the door open to rate cuts.””We retain our baseline that the FOMC will cut rates 25bp (basis points) this year, in June,” economists at Barclays wrote, pointing to the underlying strength of the economy.Zandi from Moody’s Analytics said he also expects two rate cuts later in the year. But, he added, “there are meaningful odds that the next move by the Fed may not be a rate cut, it might be a rate increase.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr faced a make-or-break Senate hearing Wednesday where he was grilled on his history of promoting vaccine misinformation and plans to upend US science agencies as he bids to become President Donald Trump’s health secretary.If confirmed, the 71-year-old Kennedy family scion and former environmental lawyer would take the helm of a department overseeing more than 80,000 employees and a $1.7 trillion budget, just as scientists warn of the growing risk of bird flu triggering a human pandemic.Critics argue he is dangerously unqualified, citing his promotion of debunked claims linking childhood vaccines to autism, his suggestion that HIV does not cause AIDS, and accusations that he fueled anti-measles vaccine sentiment in Samoa during a 2019 visit, months before a deadly outbreak.They also say his lucrative consulting fees for law firms suing pharmaceutical companies revealed in disclosure forms pose a conflict of interest. “Mr. Kennedy has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks, charlatans, especially when it comes to the safety and efficacy of vaccines, he has made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life saving vaccines,” Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said in his opening remarks.Kennedy hit back, saying: “News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine and anti-industry — I am neither. I am pro-safety.”At the same time, the former Democrat has garnered praise for his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda, which riffs on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan and emphasizes combating the nation’s chronic disease epidemic through healthier eating and promoting sustainable farming.Complicating his path to confirmation, a conservative group founded by former vice president Mike Pence has raised concerns about Kennedy’s past donations to organizations supporting abortion access — an issue that could alienate some Republicans and hurt his chances of securing a majority of Senate votes.- Vaccine opposition -Though he has tried to soften his vaccine skepticism in recent months, Kennedy, or “RFK Jr” as he is widely known, spent two decades promoting vaccine conspiracy theories, especially around Covid-19 shots — which he called the “deadliest ever made.”He has also stated that he exclusively drinks raw milk, claiming it “advances human health” — a stance he maintains even as bird flu spreads among US cattle and has been shown to contaminate unpasteurized milk.Another frequent target of his ire is the presence of fluoride in the nation’s public water supplies, introduced in the mid-20th century to reduce dental cavities.While his criticism of this practice has generated controversy, he also has the support of some in the scientific community who question whether the benefits of water fluoridation outweigh potential neurotoxic risks, particularly as fluoride is now readily available through toothpaste.- Brain worm, dead whale -Kennedy initially ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election, setting the campaign ablaze with a string of headline-grabbing revelations.His claim of recovering from a parasitic brain worm, made during an old divorce deposition, resurfaced — as did a tale, told by his daughter, that he once used a chainsaw to decapitate a dead whale.He even released a video admitting that, a decade earlier, he had placed a dead six-month-old bear cub in Central Park after initially planning to skin it for meat. His decision to back Trump after withdrawing from the race led to condemnation from his siblings — and on Tuesday, his cousin Caroline Kennedy published a scathing letter to senators, urging them to reject him and calling him a “predator” who led younger relatives down the path of drug addiction.”His basement, his garage, and his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks,” wrote Kennedy, a former ambassador and daughter of slain former president John F. Kennedy.

US President Donald Trump will take a victory lap Wednesday as he signs a bill cracking down on migrant criminal suspects — his first piece of legislation since he returned to power vowing a blitz on illegal immigration.The ceremony at the White House comes as Trump faces pushback over his broader plans to overhaul the government, including a funding freeze that caused chaos and an offer of a severance package to federal workers.The Laken Riley act — which orders the pre-trial detention of undocumented migrants charged with theft and violent crimes — is named for a 22-year-old student murdered by a Venezuelan man who was wanted for shoplifting.The Republican-led US Congress passed the law just two days after Trump’s inauguration on January 20, with some Democrats also joining in after hardening US attitudes on migration proved crucial in Trump’s election win.”President Trump has used every lever of his executive power to ensure that we can secure the border,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Wednesday.Trump repeatedly spotlighted Laken Riley’s case during his election campaign as he railed against undocumented migrants, blaming them for “poisoning the blood” of the country.Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, a Venezuelan with no papers, was convicted of murdering the nursing student in 2024 after she went missing on her morning run near the University of Georgia in Athens.Ibarra had been arrested and released twice before, including when he crossed the Mexican border in 2022.Trump has since launched what his second administration is casting as a major crackdown on illegal migration, trumpeting immigration raids and arrests and deportations on military aircraft.His administration said on Wednesday it had evoked an extension of the protected status for more than 600,000 Venezuelans that had allowed them to remain in the United States.Trump has made the issue a priority on the international stage too, threatening Colombia with sanctions and massive tariffs for turning back two planeloads of deportees, before Bogota backed down.- ‘Option to resign’ -The Republican president has meanwhile launched a fully fledged bid to overhaul the US government, vowing to force federal employees to back his right-wing political goals or face retribution.Potentially trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans and other aid faced possible suspension by the White House, although a federal judge suspended the order shortly before it was to take effect Tuesday afternoon.Trump hours later unveiled an even more radical move, offering most federal workers the option to leave their jobs in exchange for eight months severance, plunging the lives of US civil servants into disarray.The White House denied accusations of a purge of Trump’s opponents.”Absolutely false. This is a suggestion to federal workers that they have to return to work,” Leavitt told reporters, referring to Trump’s bid to make all federal employees return to full-time office work.”If they don’t then they have the option to resign and this administration is very generously offering to pay them for eight months.”Despite the denials, Trump’s administration continues to strip security for his opponents.Former top US military officer Mark Milley became the latest, having his security detail and security clearance stripped by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon said.Trump has also been pursuing a radical right-wing agenda on everything from gender — signing an order on Tuesday to restrict gender surgery for minors — to health.His pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faced a pivotal Senate hearing Wednesday where he was being grilled on his history of promoting vaccine misinformation and plans to upend US science agencies.

A summit of Latin American countries to discuss a united front in the face of US President Donald Trump’s plans for mass migrant deportations has been called off, the organizers said Wednesday.Honduras had called an urgent meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) for Thursday to discuss migration after a blazing row between Colombia and the United States over Bogota’s refusal to accept two US military deportation flights.But the Honduras government on Wednesday cancelled the meeting after no leaders apart from Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced they would attend.The foreign ministry said it had been called off after Colombia said it had resolved its row with Washington.Petro is the only Latin American leader to have publicly blocked US deportation flights since Trump returned to office a week ago.Colombia’s first left-wing president refused two US military planes after taking umbrage at the treatment meted out to expelled Brazilian migrants flown home from the United States last week in shackles.A furious Trump retaliated by threatening punishing tariffs and sanctions and suspending visa applications at the US embassy in Bogota.The Colombian government later sent two of its own air force planes to bring home 201 of its nationals.No other leaders in the region have confronted Trump so forcefully on the issue.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to avoid confrontation with the Republican leader, who has also threatened her country with stiff tariffs.Brazil on Monday summoned the top US envoy to Brasilia to explain the treatment of its deported citizens but has not refused deportation flights.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is removing the security detail for former top US military officer Mark Milley — a foe of President Donald Trump — and suspending his security clearance, the Pentagon said.The retired general, who reportedly once labeled Trump a “fascist” to a journalist, is the latest official-turned-critic to see their security protection pulled since Trump began his second term last week.Hegseth informed Milley “that he is revoking the authorization for his security detail and suspending his security clearance as well,” Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot said in a statement late Tuesday.Milley was named by Trump during his first administration as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but their relationship deteriorated sharply.Milley is believed to be under threat from Tehran for overseeing the 2020 US drone strike ordered by Trump that killed powerful Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.”The secretary may determine whether it is appropriate to reopen his military grade review determination,” Ullyot added.Milley retired as a four-star general, but that process could see him demoted in retirement.Trump has repeatedly promised “retribution” against his opponents and threatened some with criminal prosecution.Trump was enraged after Milley told journalist Bob Woodward that the Republican was “fascist to the core” and a “dangerous person.”Milley also revealed he had secretly called his Chinese counterpart after the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump’s supporters to reassure Beijing that the United States remained “stable” and had no intention to attack China.Trump subsequently wrote on his Truth Social network that “in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” for Milley.- Death threats -The general stepped down as chairman in 2023 at a ceremony in which he took a final swipe at Trump.”We don’t take an oath to a king, or queen, or a tyrant or a dictator,” Milley said of American troops. “And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator.”Milley’s portrait honoring his service as chairman of the Joint Chiefs was taken down at the Pentagon on the day that Trump was sworn in.The removal of the painting came after former president Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Milley and other Trump opponents in one of his last acts in office.Trump has also revoked security from former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former national security advisor John Bolton, believed to be facing the same threat from Iran.Bolton has become one of Trump’s most outspoken critics since leaving the White House, while Pompeo briefly considered a Republican run for president, reportedly annoying Trump.The president has also removed security protection from Anthony Fauci, who led the country’s fight against Covid-19 starting in Trump’s first term, and has received death threats over his handling of the pandemic.Senior Republican senators have urged him to reconsider.But the White House remained defiant over the decision Wednesday, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoing comments from Trump that officials were not entitled to security protection and clearances for life.”The individuals you’re mentioning are quite wealthy, I understand, so they can get their own private security if they wish,” she told reporters.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr faces a pivotal Senate hearing Wednesday where he will be grilled on his history of promoting vaccine misinformation and plans to upend US science agencies as he bids to become President Donald Trump’s health secretary.If confirmed, the 71-year-old Kennedy family scion and former environmental lawyer would take the helm of a department overseeing more than 80,000 employees and a $1.7 trillion budget at a time when scientists are sounding the alarm over the potential for bird flu to trigger a human pandemic.Critics have labeled him dangerously unqualified, citing his promotion of debunked claims linking measles vaccines to autism, his suggestion that HIV does not cause AIDS, his financial interests in law firms suing pharmaceutical companies, and more.At the same time, the former Democrat has garnered praise for his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda, which riffs on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan and emphasizes combatting the nation’s chronic disease epidemic through healthier eating and prioritizing wellness.Complicating his path to confirmation, a conservative group founded by former vice president Mike Pence has raised concerns about Kennedy’s past donations to organizations supporting abortion access — an issue that could alienate Republicans and jeopardize his chances of securing the necessary 50 votes.”His stance on multiple health issues goes against established scientific knowledge — and these are huge red flags,” Syra Madad, an epidemiologist and fellow at Harvard Belfer Center told AFP.- Vaccine opposition -Though he has tried to soften his vaccine skepticism in recent months, Kennedy, or “RFK Jr” as he is widely known, spent two decades promoting vaccine conspiracy theories, especially around Covid-19 shots — which he called the “deadliest ever made.”He has also stated that he exclusively drinks raw milk, claiming it “advances human health” — a stance he maintains even as bird flu spreads among US cattle and has been shown to contaminate unpasteurized milk.Another frequent target of his ire is the presence of fluoride in the nation’s public water supplies, introduced in the mid-20th century to reduce dental cavities.While his criticism of this practice has generated controversy, he also has the support of some in the scientific community who question whether the benefits of water fluoridation outweigh potential neurotoxic risks, particularly as fluoride is now readily available through toothpaste.- Bizarre behavior -Kennedy initially ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election, setting the campaign ablaze with a string of bizarre and headline-grabbing revelations.His claim of recovering from a parasitic brain worm, made during a divorce deposition, resurfaced in a New York Times report.He also released a video admitting that, a decade earlier, he had placed a dead six-month-old bear cub in Central Park after initially planning to skin it for meat. Meanwhile, a government agency reportedly launched an investigation into a claim made by his daughter that Kennedy had once used a chainsaw to decapitate a dead whale.His decision to back Trump after withdrawing from the race led to condemnation from his siblings — and on Tuesday, his cousin Caroline Kennedy published a scathing letter to senators, urging them to reject him and calling him a “predator” who led younger relatives down the path of drug addiction.”His basement, his garage, and his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks,” wrote Kennedy, a former ambassador and daughter of slain former president John F. Kennedy.

Taiwan will consider supporting its domestic industrythe government said Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump warned he will soon place tariffs on overseas-made semiconductor chips.The self-ruled island is a global power in the manufacturing of chips, which are used in products from Apple’s iPhones to Nvidia’s artificial intelligence hardware and are a key driver of its economy.”In the next day or two, we will urgently assess whether additional collaboration plans or support measures for the industry are needed,” Premier Cho Jung-tai told reporters.”Taiwan’s position in the global supply chain cannot be ignored, and we will continue to maintain this advantage.”Trump, who previously accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry, has threatened several key trade partners with tariffs in an attempt to drive companies to shift manufacturing to the United States.Speaking at a Republican congressional retreat in Miami on Monday, Trump warned the United States will soon place tariffs on foreign-made semiconductor chips, pharmaceuticals and metals such as steel.The levies could be implemented in the “very near future” so as to “return production of these essential goods to the United States of America”, he said.”They left us and they went to Taiwan… which is about 98 percent of the chip business… and we want them to come back,” he added.”The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even 100 percent tax.”Trump has previously criticised the CHIPS Act, a major law passed during former president Joe Biden’s tenure aimed at strengthening the US semiconductor industry and reducing the country’s reliance on Asian suppliers, including Taiwan.The United States finalised a deal to award Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC up to $6.6 billion in direct funding to help build “state-of-the-art facilities in Arizona”, officials said in November.Similar deals were struck with US chipmakers GlobalFoundries, Intel and South Korea’s SK Hynix before Trump took office, ensuring the funds can start flowing as companies reach milestones.TSMC, which is the world’s largest chipmaker, has long been under pressure to move more of its production away from Taiwan, where the bulk of its fabrication plants are located.While Taiwan is a self-ruled island, China claims it as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.TSMC’s new factories overseas include three planned in the United States and one that opened in Japan last year.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Elon Musk’s company SpaceX will “soon” begin a mission to repatriate two American astronauts who have been stranded for months on the International Space Station.Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the ISS in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner, and were due to spend only eight days on the orbiting laboratory, but technical problems on the spacecraft prompted NASA to change plans. The US space agency announced in August that Boeing rival SpaceX would bring the crew home in February, before their return was further postponed to late March due to SpaceX preparing a new spacecraft.”Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without specifying when the mission would take place.Musk, who heavily funded Trump’s election campaign, wrote earlier on X that the president had asked SpaceX to bring home the two astronauts “as soon as possible.”SpaceX, the private company founded by billionaire Musk, has been flying regular missions every six months to allow the rotation of ISS crews.In January, Wilmore and Williams said their spirits were still high despite being stranded above Earth, adding that they had plenty of food and were enjoying their time on the space station.While their protracted stay is notable, it has not yet surpassed Frank Rubio’s record-breaking 371 days aboard the ISS, which he completed in 2023 after the Russian spacecraft designated for his return developed a coolant leak.