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Re-runs of “The Apprentice” reality show that propelled Donald Trump into the US national consciousness, are showing on Prime Video, the latest indication of warming relations between the US president and Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos. Following a frosty few years between tech titans and the US president, the move is another sign of a rapprochment that  saw key figures from Apple, Amazon, Google and Meta bag front-row seats at Trump’s January inauguration after making hefty donations.Bezos has also sought to make his Washington Post newspaper less hostile to the president, ordering its opinion section not to run columns opposed to “personal liberties and free markets,” and quashing its planned endorsement of Democrat Kamala Harris before the US election.Amazon’s announcement comes after its streaming arm said it would also air a behind-the-scenes documentary about First Lady Melania Trump.The first season of “The Apprentice” became available on the platform on Monday and by Tuesday was being advertised on the landing page, where it was showing as “#6 in the US.”Amazon said new seasons would become available every week until the seventh season, which will be released in April.In a statement released by Amazon, Trump welcomed the return of the show — of which he was a producer, and therefore likely to gain revenue from re-runs.”I look forward to watching this show myself — such great memories, and so much fun, but most importantly, it was a learning experience for all of us!” he said.Mark Burnett, the British-American producer considered the brains behind the format, said he hoped the show would attract a new generation of viewers, two decades after it first aired.”The Apprentice is one of the best shows that I ever produced,” he said in a statement.”The charismatic onscreen presence of President Donald J. Trump made it a bona fide hit! Now, thanks to Prime Video, a whole new audience will experience a new season every Monday.”While Trump was already a celebrity figure in New York in the 1980s and 1990s, “The Apprentice” catapulted him to broader national fame when it launched in 2004.Producers cast the real estate mogul as an archly successful businessman, who oversaw a cut-throat competition between budding entrepreneurs.Contestants would vie for Trump’s approval, allowing them to progress to the following installment, with those who failed summarily dismissed by Trump’s now-famous catchphrase “You’re fired!”The ultimate winner of the series was given a six-figure salary to work within the Trump empire.”The Apprentice” was a huge network television hit for several years and is credited with creating the public persona that Trump leveraged to run for the White House in 2016.It also spawned dozens of international off-shoots including some that outlasted the US progenitor. While Trump was fired from the US show in 2015 over remarks he made about Mexican immigrants, the British version is still shown on the BBC.”The Apprentice” is owned by MGM Alternative, whose parent company was bought by Amazon three years ago.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would “probably” reconsider doubling planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, hours after announcing the sharp hike.Trump’s step up to 50 percent levies initially came after the Canadian province of Ontario imposed an electricity surcharge on three US states who buy it — but Ontario has suspended this decision after talks with Washington.Asked if the change would influence his decision on Canada tariffs, Trump told reporters: “I’m looking at that, but probably so.”Trump’s threats came shortly before a midnight deadline for ramping up a globe-spanning trade offensive with 25 percent levies on steel and aluminum imports.The US dollar fell sharply on Tuesday, particularly against the euro, while markets fluctuated in volatile trading.Canadian Prime Minister-elect Mark Carney earlier vowed that his incoming administration would hit back with “maximum impact.”But Ontario has since agreed to halt the 25 percent fee on electricity exports to Michigan, Minnesota and New York after premier Doug Ford said he held “productive” talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.Ford, Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet in Washington on Thursday “to discuss a renewed USMCA ahead of the April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline,” said a US-Canada joint statement, referring to the North American trade pact.The upcoming steel and aluminum levies, which currently contain no exceptions, threaten to affect everything from electronics to vehicles and construction equipment — and have manufacturers scrambling to find cost-effective domestic suppliers.Canada, historically among the closest US allies, had been facing the most aggressive action and has been the target of Trump’s ire on trade — and unprecedented questioning of and threats to its sovereignty.Canada supplies half of US aluminum imports and 20 percent of US steel imports, says industry consultant EY-Parthenon.- Electricity, autos -Trump said his supercharged tariffs were in response to Ontario’s electricity surcharge.He added on Truth Social that if Canada uses electricity as a bargaining chip “they will pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in History Books for many years to come!”He also threatened to boost tariffs on cars from April 2, saying this would “essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada.”Trump has vowed reciprocal levies as soon as April 2 to remedy trade practices Washington deems unfair, raising the potential for more products and trading partners to be specifically targeted.Reacting to Trump’s announcement on MSNBC, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the US president made “an unprovoked attack on our country, on families, on jobs.”Trump, meanwhile, backed up his tariff threats by saying again that Canada should be absorbed.The “only thing that makes sense” is for Canada to join the United States as a 51st state, he said. “This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.”- Costs and opportunities -Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said on X that Trump’s tariff threats on Canada would be “a self-inflicted wound to the US economy that we cannot afford, at a moment when recession risks are rising.”Trump on Tuesday played down fears over the economy, saying he does not see a recession coming while dismissing losses on Wall Street.If some companies were bracing for a damaging period of higher production costs, others sensed an opportunity.Drew Greenblatt, owner of Baltimore-based metal product manufacturer Marlin Steel, said incoming levies on imported steel have already boosted his new orders.”We only use American steel, so we’re thrilled with the tariffs,” he told AFP, adding that these helped him gain an edge over a competitor.For Robert Actis, whose firm makes stucco netting used in construction, the expanded scope of incoming levies is a relief.Currently, a business like his imports wire for manufacturing, facing added tariff costs. But foreign-made finished products could enter the US market.With incoming levies covering a range of finished metal products too, Actis said this levels the playing field.But higher import costs will likely ripple through the economy.A major US maker of steel products warned American steel prices would surge to match the elevated costs of foreign goods.Supply constraints nudge prices up too, making items like nails, for example, more expensive as much of their cost is in original steel.Purchasers in industries like homebuilding would therefore end up spending more and could pass costs to consumers, making homes less affordable.

Ukraine endorsed an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and agreed to immediate negotiations with Russia in pivotal talks in Jeddah on Tuesday after three years of grinding war.In the first high-level US-Ukraine meeting since President Volodymyr Zelensky’s White House dressing down, the Americans agreed to restore military aid and they pledged to conclude a deal on Ukrainian minerals “as soon as possible”, a joint statement said.”Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate negotiations,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.”We’ll take this offer now to the Russians and we hope they’ll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court,” he added.The joint statement said that “Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties”.The ceasefire is “subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation,” it added.”The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.”National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said he would now speak to Russia about the proposal, adding it was now a question of “how” not “if” the war would end.The talks in western Saudi Arabia took place after Ukraine launched its biggest direct attack on Moscow overnight, with hundreds of drones slamming into the capital and other areas, leaving three people dead.The Ukrainians were hoping to restore the US military aid, intelligence sharing and access to satellite imagery that was cut off after Zelensky’s public row with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.They entered the meeting with a proposal for a sea and sky ceasefire that had been cautiously welcomed by Rubio.”We are ready to do everything to achieve peace,” the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak told reporters as he entered Tuesday’s meeting at a luxury hotel.Kyiv said the “largest drone attack in history” was intended to push Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to the aerial and naval ceasefire.”This is an additional signal to Putin that he should also be interested in a ceasefire in the air,” said Andriy Kovalenko, a national security council official responsible for countering disinformation.- Minerals deal -Zelensky, who met Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler in Jeddah on Monday, left the White House late last month without signing an agreement pushed by Trump that would give the US control over Ukrainian mineral resources.Asked whether the overnight drone attack could derail peace talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said: “There are no (peace) negotiations yet, so there is nothing to disrupt here.” He also declined earlier to comment on Russia’s stance on the proposed partial ceasefire.”It is absolutely impossible to talk about positions yet,” he said. “The Americans will find out only today, as they themselves say, from Ukraine to what extent Ukraine is ready for peace.”For its part, Russia has escalated strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, and said it had retaken 12 settlements in its Kursk region that Ukraine had captured in a bid for bargaining leverage.- Rubio seeks ‘concessions’ -In the infamous White House meeting last month, Zelensky refused to bite his tongue in the face of criticism from Vice President JD Vance, with the Ukrainian leader questioning why his country should trust promises from Russia.He has since written a repentant letter to Trump.Rubio had signalled that the Trump administration would likely be pleased by the Ukrainian proposal of a partial ceasefire.”I’m not saying that alone is enough, but it’s the kind of concession you would need to see in order to end the conflict,” he told reporters.Rubio said he did not expect to be “drawing lines on a map” towards a final deal in the Jeddah meeting, but that he would bring ideas back to Russia.Rubio and Waltz met last month with counterparts from Russia, also in Saudi Arabia, ending a freeze in high-level contacts imposed by former president Joe Biden after Russia defied Western warnings and launched its invasion.Trump last week also threatened further sanctions against Russia to force it to the table as it carried out strikes on Ukraine.But Trump’s abrupt shift in US policy — including suggesting Ukraine was to blame for the war, and recently siding with Russia at the UN — has stunned many allies. Rubio said Monday that the United States would also object to “antagonistic” language on Russia from a forthcoming meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers.burs-sct/th/kir

US lawmakers geared up Tuesday for a crunch vote on a stopgap plan to avert a government shutdown that would pile more pain on the economic chaos marring President Donald Trump’s early weeks in office.Republicans have released a bill to keep the government funded through September 30 that would give Trump the summer months to steer his agenda of tax cuts, mass deportations and boosted energy production through Congress.House Speaker Mike Johnson hopes to advance the legislation through the lower chamber in a late afternoon vote, with Senate approval envisioned before Friday night’s midnight shutdown deadline. It is a high-wire act for Johnson, who has to corral backbenchers who reliably vote against stopgaps — known as continuing resolutions (CRs) — because they mostly freeze spending rather than making cuts.”We’ll have the votes. We’re going to pass the CR. We can do it on our own,” a defiant Johnson told reporters at the US Capitol.The threat of a weekend shutdown comes with Wall Street reeling under Trump’s trade war and radical cuts to federal spending that have seen tens of thousands of layoffs.Traders had initially reacted with optimism to the Republican billionaire’s election, but growing fears that his tariffs will reignite inflation and spark a recession have led to a three-week market sell-off. If Congress fails to act, there will be more economic misery as the government grinds to a halt, potentially leading to tens of thousands of public employees being sent home without pay as federal agencies shutter.House Democratic leadership is whipping against the 99-page CR, which would drop domestic spending by about $13 billion from 2024 levels, while increasing defense spending by about $6 billion.Republicans call the bill a “clean” CR but Democrats counter that it is full of partisan ideological add-ons that make it a non-starter.Among the most contentious is a provision surrendering congressional authority to block Trump’s tariffs, which were imposed under emergency economic powers, meaning any member can force a vote to terminate them.- ‘Mad king’ -There are cuts totaling billions of dollars from a program for veterans exposed to Agent Orange and toxic burn pits, as well as from research into medical conditions from cancer and Alzheimer’s to heart disease. There are also huge economies running to hundreds of millions of dollars in nuclear non-proliferation programs, rural broadband, food inspections, rent subsidies and election security funding.Illinois Democrat Sean Casten accused Republicans of “strapping on the ball gag (and) climbing into Trump’s dungeon.””This is what you do to cower before a mad king,” he posted on X. “It is not what you do if you are defending a constitutional democracy,” he posted on X. The latest funding fight comes with Trump pushing unprecedented federal firings as he begins unilaterally shrinking or shuttering agencies from USAID to the Department of Education.   The drive is being spearheaded by Trump aide Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, who has enraged much of the country and Congress — including Republican lawmakers — with his seemingly haphazard approach.While Musk enjoys Trump’s confidence, polling shows he is deeply unpopular among ordinary Americans, and his cuts have sparked angry confrontations between Republicans and their constituents at town halls.The White House has been marshaling its top officials — from Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Vice President JD Vance to Trump himself — to work the phones and meet would-be dissidents in person. Congress needs a CR because it is so evenly split that it has been unable to approve the 12 separate bills that allocate full 2025 budgets for various federal agencies.But Johnson’s tiny 218-214 majority means he cannot afford much dissent — two of his lawmakers switching sides would tank the bill if Democrats put up a united front. He is already dealing with one confirmed “no” vote — fiscal conservative Thomas Massie — and Trump vowed Monday to unseat the Kentucky congressman in the midterm elections.In the Senate, Republicans look likely to need help from around eight Democrats, with Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman already indicating he is willing to cross the aisle.

US President Donald Trump announced sharply higher tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum Tuesday, while threatening to “shut down” its auto industry and saying the best way to end the trade war was for Washington’s ally to be absorbed into the United States.Trump’s shock new threats came hours before a midnight deadline for ramping up the Republican’s increasingly global trade offensive with levies on both metals.On his Truth Social platform, Trump said he would double planned 25-percent tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent for imports of the metals from Canada.A 25-percent levy is still due to kick in Wednesday for US trading partners, hitting Brazil, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and other countries.The upcoming tariffs, which currently allow for no exceptions, threaten to affect everything from electronics to vehicles and construction equipment — and have manufacturers scrambling to find cost-effective domestic suppliers.The country facing the most aggressive action is Canada, historically one of the United States’ closest allies and top trading partners.Ottawa is locked in an extraordinarily bitter war of words with the Republican, facing constant threats over its sovereignty.Canada’s incoming prime minister Mark Carney struck a defiant note Sunday, saying Canadians are “always ready” for a fight if one is needed.A Canadian government source told AFP Tuesday that Ottawa will “have to respond” in kind if Trump hiked tariffs further on its goods.Canada supplies half of US aluminum imports and 20 percent of US steel imports, noted industry consultant EY-Parthenon.- Electricity emergency? -Trump said his supercharged tariffs were in response to Canadian province Ontario’s 25-percent surcharge on electricity exports to three US states.Trump said he would announce an electricity national emergency in the area hit by the price increases.He also ramped up threats, warning that if what he called “egregious” Canadian tariffs are not dropped, he would boost tariffs on cars from April 2.This would “essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada,” he said.Trump has vowed reciprocal levies as soon as April 2 to remedy trade practices Washington deems unfair.Reacting to Trump’s announcement on MSNBC, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the US president made “an unprovoked attack on our country, on families, on jobs,” promising an appropriate response.In his social media post Tuesday, Trump said the “only thing that makes sense” is for Canada to join the United States as a 51st state.”This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear,” Trump said.- Costs and opportunities -Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said on X that Trump’s tariff threats on Canada would be “a self-inflicted wound to the US economy that we cannot afford, at a moment when recession risks are rising.”But if some companies were bracing for a damaging period of higher production costs, others sensed an opportunity.Drew Greenblatt, owner of Baltimore-based metal product manufacturer Marlin Steel, said incoming levies on imported steel have already boosted his new orders.”We only use American steel, so we’re thrilled with the tariffs,” he told AFP, adding that these helped him gain an edge over a competitor that was using Chinese metal imports.For Robert Actis, whose firm makes stucco netting used in construction, the expanded scope of incoming levies is a relief.Currently, a business like his imports wire for manufacturing, facing added tariff costs. But foreign-made finished products could enter the US market.With incoming levies covering a range of finished metal products too, Actis said this levels the playing field.But higher import costs will likely ripple through the economy.A major US maker of steel products warned American steel prices would surge to match the elevated costs of foreign goods.Supply constraints nudge prices up too, making items like nails, for example, more expensive as much of their cost is in original steel.Purchasers in industries like homebuilding would therefore end up spending more and could pass costs to consumers, making homes less affordable.

Ukraine said talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia were progressing “constructively” on Tuesday, with a partial ceasefire with Russia on the table hours after Kyiv conducted its largest drone attack on Moscow in three years of war.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga attended the meeting in Jeddah — which Russia was not participating in — as President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Ukraine to end the war that began with Russia’s 2022 invasion.The talks follow President Volodymyr Zelensky’s public dressing-down at the White House, after which the United States cut off military aid, intelligence sharing and access to satellite imagery. Ukraine is hoping the offer of a partial ceasefire in the sky and at sea will persuade Washington to restore the assistance.”We are ready to do everything to achieve peace,” Ukrainian presidency chief of staff Andriy Yermak told reporters as he entered Tuesday’s meeting at a luxury hotel.A Ukrainian official, who requested anonymity, later told AFP the talks were “going OK, a lot of questions have been discussed”.Kyiv said the “largest drone attack in history”, in which hundreds of drones slammed into Moscow and other areas overnight, was intended to push Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to the aerial and naval ceasefire.”This is an additional signal to Putin that he should also be interested in a ceasefire in the air,” said Andriy Kovalenko, a national security council official responsible for countering disinformation.Three people were killed in the attack, which both sides said was the biggest so far on Moscow. Russia’s army said it intercepted 337 drones around the country.- Minerals deal -Zelensky, who met Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler in Jeddah on Monday, left the White House late last month without signing an agreement pushed by Trump that would give the US control over Ukrainian mineral resources.Zelensky has said he is still willing to sign, although Rubio said it would not be the focus of Tuesday’s meeting.Rubio, who is accompanied by national security advisor Mike Waltz, said the aid suspension was “something I hope we can resolve” in the talks.”Hopefully, we’ll have a good meeting and good news to report,” Rubio said.Rubio said the United States had not cut off intelligence for defensive operations.”The meeting with the US team started very constructively, we continue our work,” Yermak said on social media Tuesday. Asked whether the overnight drone attack could derail peace talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said: “There are no (peace) negotiations yet, so there is nothing to disrupt here.” He also declined earlier to comment on Russia’s stance on the proposed partial ceasefire.”It is absolutely impossible to talk about positions yet,” he said. “The Americans will find out only today, as they themselves say, from Ukraine to what extent Ukraine is ready for peace.”For its part, Russia has escalated strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, and said it had retaken 12 settlements in its Kursk region that Ukraine had captured in a bid for bargaining leverage.- Rubio seeks ‘concessions’ -In the infamous White House meeting last month, Zelensky refused to bite his tongue in the face of criticism from Vice President JD Vance, with the Ukrainian leader questioning why his country should trust promises from Russia.He has since written a repentant letter to Trump.Faced with Washington’s pressure, Ukraine will lay out its support for a limited ceasefire in the sky and at sea, a Ukrainian official told AFP on Monday.Rubio signalled that the Trump administration would likely be pleased by such a proposal.”I’m not saying that alone is enough, but it’s the kind of concession you would need to see in order to end the conflict,” he told reporters.”You’re not going to get a ceasefire and an end to this war unless both sides make concessions.”Rubio said he did not expect to be “drawing lines on a map” towards a final deal in the Jeddah meeting, but said he would bring ideas back to Russia.Rubio and Waltz met last month with counterparts from Russia, also in Saudi Arabia, ending a freeze in high-level contacts imposed by former president Joe Biden after Russia defied Western warnings and launched its invasion.Trump last week also threatened further sanctions against Russia to force it to the table as it carried out strikes on Ukraine.But Trump’s abrupt shift in US policy — including suggesting Ukraine was to blame for the war, and recently siding with Russia at the UN — has stunned many allies. Rubio said Monday that the United States would also object to “antagonistic” language on Russia at an upcoming gathering of Group of Seven foreign ministers.burs-sct/th/smw

Shockwaves from the Trump administration’s campaign against pro-diversity policies and its harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric were felt throughout the South By Southwest festival, the sprawling arts and tech event long known for championing progressive values.Since taking office, Donald Trump’s hard-right White House has delivered a series of executive orders demanding that agencies across the federal government remove all references to policies meant to facilitate the hiring of women, people of color, or those with disabilities.The campaign, which has seen the Pentagon’s Black joint chief of staff asked to leave office, has also been mirrored by some of the country’s biggest companies including certain tech giants, who are dismantling departments dedicated to promoting workplace diversity.These harsh anti-progressive policies cast a shadow over this year’s SXSW, the 37-year-old festival that transforms downtown Austin, Texas, with offerings of music, cinema, and technology talks.The event typically attracts hundreds of thousands of forward-thinking creative professionals from around the world.”It feels like we’re being crushed and that any good, human, normal business policies are just being thrown out the window. I find it terrifying. We’re living in a dystopia,” said Kerrie Finch, a European based communications consultant that works with US companies.”Dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion harms everyone because diversity means all people,” US Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley told an audience. – ‘It means women’ -“It means women. It means disabled people. It means people in rural communities. It means veterans. It means people of color,” she added.Pressley has been one of Washington’s most vocal critics of rolling back diversity policies, many of which emerged from the Black Lives Matter movement that reached its peak following George Floyd’s death at the hands of a police officer in 2020.In rented bars and hotel meeting rooms surrounding the Austin convention center, countries like France, Germany, Australia, and Brazil promote their startups and industries.Given the America First mindset in the White House, exhibitors say they sensed an impact.”From Europe…we already see it happening,” said Yeni Joseph, who leads the Netherlands taskforce for diversity and inclusion. “We have talents here that come knocking on our doors, or companies who want to expand and don’t know what it’s going to look like here,” she added.Trump’s hard line on illegal migration is deterring professionals who might consider moving to the United States, according to Dallas-based immigration attorney Dobrina Ustun. Speaking from the SXSW expo center where she offered services to foreign attendees interested in opportunities in the United States, she explained: “If you’re somebody sitting in Japan or Germany contemplating moving to the US and then you turn on the TV and hear all this anti-immigrant rhetoric, you might change your mind, at least for the time being.”- ‘Building bridges’ -Europe-based Arne Mosselman of Ainigma, an AI advisory firm, said that some US multinationals are closing down diversity projects even outside the United States.This is particularly unfortunate since AI technology is proving effective at supporting foreign workers in companies, as generative AI can help improve their performance.”Whether you want to get refugees in your company, or a designer from the Middle East – somebody who speaks a language as a second language can become client-facing thanks to generative AI,” he said.Angela V Davis of the 2638 Management Group said the rollback on diversity programs should not come as a surprise.”Companies will make promises and say, ‘Okay, we will hit our target by 2020,’ but then they keep moving the finish line. There’s no accountability,” she said.These are “interesting times in the US,” said SXSW President Hugh Forrest, speaking to a keynote audience. The success of the festival “shows what we believe in: cooperation over competition, building bridges versus burning them down.”

Climate scientist Tom Di Liberto had dreamed of working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) since college. After more than a decade as a contractor, he finally secured a full-time position nearly two years ago.Last week, he was among hundreds abruptly fired in a sweeping government purge which, critics warn, will delay hurricane forecasts, cripple climate research and disrupt vital fisheries.Still more workers have accepted deferred resignation “buyouts” offered by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, and even deeper cuts are expected imminently.”This is the dream job — everything I want to do with my life,” Di Liberto told AFP.The 40-year-old father of two, who worked on the El Nino–La Nina cycle, was just days short of his two-year anniversary — a milestone that would have protected him from the first round of probationary workers cuts.”We knew it was coming,” he said. “But it’s never good to get such a dry, cold, callous email saying you were fired because your skills weren’t needed.”A NOAA engineer, requesting anonymity for fear of losing her job, said the cuts were already taking a toll. Half of her satellite forecasting team was laid off because they were probationary, meaning malfunctioning satellites won’t be restored as quickly.”People won’t be evacuated on time from natural disasters,” she said. “They could lose property — or their lives.”- Project 2025 – Around 700 NOAA employees — out of a 12,000-strong workforce — have been fired, though the agency has not confirmed a final number. According to The New York Times, the total, including resignations, could soon reach 20 percent of staff.The Trump administration appears to be following Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint that calls NOAA one of the “main drivers of the climate change alarm industry” and proposes breaking it up. It also seeks to privatize the National Weather Service (NWS), forcing Americans to rely on commercial services.”Significant elements of Project 2025 have already been implemented, despite Donald Trump disavowing any knowledge of it,” Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland told AFP, vowing continued protests and legal action. “This is being carried out in a completely lawless and irresponsible manner.”Some of those fired held leadership roles, including Sarah Cooley, 47, who was director of NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program. A longtime academic and nonprofit leader, she said climate science stagnated under Trump’s previous term, though states and nonprofits worked to fill the gap.”But at the end of the day, loss of the work at the federal level can have a very extensive effect,” she told AFP.While states and philanthropic organizations can fund research, they don’t fly planes into hurricanes or maintain oceanographic expeditions — at least not at NOAA’s level, she added.- Flagship climate agency  -NOAA scientists play a crucial role in marine conservation and fisheries management, collecting data on fish stocks and monitoring ecosystem changes to set catch limits and other policies.”If they aren’t there to do their important jobs, these fisheries may not go forward, they may not open for the year,” Gib Brogan, a fisheries expert at nonprofit Oceana, told AFP.He warned that the economic fallout for coastal communities could be severe.But it is NOAA’s role as a cornerstone of global climate monitoring that has made it a prime target. “NOAA currently plays a major role as the clearinghouse for global climate data,” Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth told AFP. Its datasets inform major climate groups, he said, warning that severe cuts would amount to “willfully blinding ourselves to avoid the uncomfortable truth about the rapid changes the world is experiencing.”As uncertainty looms, researchers worldwide are scrambling to preserve NOAA’s data.”I am aware of several research groups that have preemptively downloaded the current version of their NOAA datasets of interest to mitigate some of the risks,” Leonard Borchert, a climate statistician at the University of Hamburg, told AFP.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will buy a “brand new Tesla” in support of his top donor and close advisor, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, after share prices tanked amid recession fears and Musk’s controversial actions in Washington.”To Republicans, Conservatives, and all great Americans, Elon Musk is ‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform just after midnight on Tuesday.Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has empowered Musk to slash federal government spending and headcounts as leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).But DOGE’s high-profile cost-cutting campaign has faced increasing backlash, including protests, court rulings and some pressure from lawmakers. The turmoil has also tarnished the Tesla brand, with sales plummeting in Europe, share prices tumbling and multiple reports of cars being vandalized.Unhappy Tesla owners have even slapped bumper stickers on their vehicles claiming they had purchased them “before Elon went crazy.””The Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World’s great automakers, and Elon’s ‘baby,’ in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for,” Trump’s post said.”I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.”Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”Musk, the world’s richest person, responded on his X platform, thanking the president.While Musk enjoys Trump’s confidence, polling shows the tech billionaire is deeply unpopular among ordinary Americans, and his cuts to government budgets have sparked angry confrontations between Republicans and their constituents at town halls.- Slumping shares -Tesla share prices continued to fall following a brief rally Tuesday, after closing more than 15 percent down on Monday, as uncertainty over Trump’s import tariffs and threats have left US financial markets in turmoil.The tech-heavy Nasdaq had tanked four percent Monday owing in part to the plunge in high-flying titans including Tesla, Apple, and Amazon.Tesla has also seen its sales drop across Europe in recent weeks following Musk’s controversial support for far-right groups, including Germany’s AfD during the country’s recent election campaign.Tesla sales in Germany — Europe’s biggest auto market — plunged more than 76 percent year-on-year in February, official data showed. Overall sales in the European Union almost halved, on year, in January.In early March, a dozen Teslas were torched at a dealership in France in what authorities treated as an arson attack, and the firm’s facilities have also been vandalized in the United States.Tesla has lost more than one-third of its market value since mid-December as Musk deepens his association with Trump.Meanwhile, Musk said his X platform was hit Monday by a major cyberattack, raising questions as to whether the politically divisive billionaire is being targeted or his decision to gut staff at what was once Twitter is haunting the social network.

Colonel Bree Fram has served in the US military for 22 years, but she now faces possible dismissal from the Space Force under President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops.Trump repeatedly took aim at trans people during the 2024 election campaign and signed an executive order in January stating they were unfit for military service, while the Pentagon has said it will remove transgender troops from the armed forces and prevent others from joining.The ban has been challenged in court, but unless a judge issues an injunction soon, thousands of transgender military personnel may be just weeks away from the start of proceedings to force them to cut short their careers.”I’m heartbroken about the loss, not just for myself, if it comes to that, but for all of us,” said Fram, who spoke to AFP in a personal capacity and whose views do not necessarily reflect those of the Defense Department or US government.”I think all of us want to be able to take the uniform off at a time and a place of our choosing,” said the 45-year-old engineer, who served for 18 years in the Air Force before transferring to the Space Force.”When it’s your own government that says you have to take that off because you are somehow not suitable for military service, that’s painful.”- ‘Best version of ourselves’ -Transgender Americans have faced a roller coaster of changing policies on military service in recent years, with Democratic administrations seeking to permit them to serve openly, while Trump has tried to keep them out.The US military lifted a ban on transgender troops in 2016, during Democrat Barack Obama’s second term as president, after which Fram publicly came out as transgender.But Trump took office the following year, launching his first attempt to ban transgender troops with a 2017 tweet that landed “like a lightning bolt out of the blue,” Fram said. “The initial reaction was shock.”President Joe Biden lifted the restrictions in 2021, but Trump was reelected last year after making clear he would again seek to roll back transgender rights.”This time around, it’s been more like a hurricane approaching shore that you can see coming,” she said.But the latest restrictions are even harsher, targeting transgender personnel who are already openly serving in the military as well as those who want to come out or enlist.”It’s a challenge when your identity becomes political, because trans people are not broken. We’re not asking anyone to fix us. We’re merely reaching for the best version of ourselves,” said Fram.- Seeking ‘the same opportunity’ -She said being true to herself has made her better at her job.”I truly became a better commander, a better leader, by transitioning and embracing my authenticity and letting people in to hear my story, because then they wanted to share theirs,” Fram said.Chief Petty Officer Ryan Goodell, a 32-year-old US Navy cryptologic technician, came out as trans in 2018, before Trump’s first attempt to ban trans troops went into effect.The Republican’s second ban “came as no surprise. It is disappointing nonetheless, right? Because I have 13 years in and I had planned on doing 20 — at least 20 to retire,” he said.Goodell — who like Fram spoke to AFP in a personal capacity, and whose views are his own and do not reflect those of the government or Defense Department — now faces leaving the Navy before he was ready to do so, an experience he described as “nerve-wracking.”While government officials have declared trans people unfit to serve, “we’ve had 10 years of service showing that the things being said about us are just untrue and not based in fact at all,” said Goodell.”We understand that there’s no right to serve. We just ask for the same opportunity as our cisgender counterparts to show that not only are we meeting the expectations as laid out before us now, we’ve in some cases exceeded them.”