March 10, 2025

Ahead of Sunday night, Kendrick Lamar promised to deliver “storytelling” in his Super Bowl Halftime performance in New Orleans. And, while dropping a career-spanning set over 13 minutes amid dancers clad in red, white and blue, the multi-platinum-selling rapper and this year’s Grammy Awards darling spun a narrative equally about a politically divided America (while still putting a nail in the coffin of his feud with rapper Drake).

Before the lights went up on Lamar as he launched into the performance, which marked the Super Bowl’s first-ever solo rap halftime show, the field at Caesar’s Superdome was lit into nine squares with Xs, Os and triangles popping up within. 

A familiar face appeared on the floor as iconic actor Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as American icon Uncle Sam, welcomed the audience to “the great American game.” Lights in the stadium crowd spelled out: START HERE above a downward pointing arrow squarely on Lamar, kneeling in front of a Buick GNX, an unspoken nod to his latest LP, GNX. He wore denim jeans and a jacket with “Gloria” emblazoned on the back, a reference to the closing track on that album. 

New YorkCNN — 

American buyers beware: President Donald Trump’s desire to get even on countries by matching tariffs they have on American goods could come at a steep cost.

In Trump’s view, it’s unfair for other countries to charge American imports higher tariffs than what America, in turn, charges those countries for their own exports to the United States.

“Very simply, it’s if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said Sunday.

He’s set to put his words into action as soon as Tuesday, enacting reciprocal tariffs that could hit just about “every country,” he said. That would come on top of a 10% across-the-board tariff that went into effect last week on top of other tariffs on Chinese goods and stricter 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum that Trump announced Monday.

However, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro doubled down on Trump’s prior comments, telling CNN’s Pamela Brown on Tuesday that government officials are taking the time to first study and uncover what they deem instances of unfair trade policies.

The US weighted average tariff rate, which gives special consideration to countries the US imports more from, was 1.5% as of 2022, according to World Bank data. If the US matched tariff rates of other nations on American goods, that rate would increase to nearly 5%, Deutsche Bank economists estimate, based on an analysis of World Bank data for the top 10 countries that ship goods to the US. Those 10 countries as of 2022 included China, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany and Vietnam, accounting for 70% of the value of the goods the US imported.

But in some cases, the disparity with US tariffs was much higher. For instance, in 2022, the US average tariff rate on imports from India was 3%, whereas India’s average tariff rate on imports from the US was 9.5%.

President Trump and Elon Musk appeared together from the Oval Office on Tuesday, where they defended their efforts to enact sweeping changes to the federal government and limit spending.

Their joint appearance came as Trump signed an executive order providing new guidance for federal agencies on the implementation of Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, a push to cut what Musk and Trump characterize as excessive government spending.

Speaking to reporters with Musk at his side, Trump said DOGE has already resulted in the discovery of "billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse," adding that the final tally could eventually reach as high as "close to a trillion dollars." But the president and Musk offered few specifics on how they were arriving at those estimates.

Tuesday's order provides new details on how government agencies will work with DOGE to reduce the size of the federal workforce and calls on the heads of federal agencies to "promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force." The order did not specify a range of how many workers may be affected and lose jobs.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke to Elon Musk regarding “misinformation” about South Africa after US President Donald Trump said he would suspend aid to the country over its land reform policy.

South African-born billionaire Musk, who is close to Trump, waded into the dispute on Monday with a post on X accusing South Africa of having “openly racist ownership laws”, suggesting white people were the victims.

Trump on Sunday accused South Africa of confiscating land and badly treating “certain classes of people”.

Ramaphosa responded by saying the government had not confiscated any property and the policy is aimed at ensuring equitable public access to land.

The presidency said in a statement that Ramaphosa and Musk spoke on Monday “on issues of misinformation and distortions” about South Africa.

“In the process, the president reiterated South Africa’s constitutionally embedded values of the respect for the rule of law, justice, fairness and equality,” it said, giving no further details.

On the outskirts of Cairo, a cutting-edge space lab was supposed to be the first in Africa to produce homegrown satellites. Step inside the plant, though, and the made-in-Africa image begins to fade.Satellite equipment and parts arrive in crates from Beijing. Chinese scientists scan space-tracking monitors and deliver instructions to Egyptian engineers. 

A Chinese flag hangs from one wall. The first satellite assembled at the factory, hailed as the first ever made by an African nation, was built mainly in China and launched from a spaceport there in December 2023.The Egyptian satellite lab is the latest advancement in China’s secretive overseas space program. 

Beijing is building space alliances in Africa to enhance its global surveillance network and advance its bid to become the world’s dominant space power, Reuters has learned. China has publicly announced much of this space assistance to African countries, including its donations of satellites, space monitoring telescopes and ground stations. What it hasn’t discussed openly, and which Reuters is reporting for the first time, is that Beijing has access to data and images collected from this space technology, and that Chinese personnel maintain a long-term presence in facilities it builds in Africa.

The satellite plant, which began operating in 2023, is part of a suite of space technology that China has gifted to Egypt over the past two years. Transfers that have been disclosed publicly include a new space monitoring center, which features two of the world’s most powerful telescopes, plus two Earth observation satellites launched in 2023 – the one that was assembled in Egypt, and another manufactured solely in China. 

In addition, China that year launched a third, Chinese-made satellite for Egypt, one capable of military-grade surveillance, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.The satellite facility is the centerpiece of Space City, a complex being constructed about 30 kilometers east of Cairo near a new administrative capital being built by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s government.Sisi has fostered closer ties with China in recent years, including inking infrastructure and energy projects under President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.

CNN — 

A month into Donald Trump’s first term, the president’s then-political sage Steve Bannon coined a doctrine to explain the conservative wrecking ball now demolishing the US government: “the deconstruction of the administrative state.”

It took eight years, but the theory is becoming reality, and could portend a fateful reshaping of American governance under a mighty presidency that was never envisaged by the founders.

Trump and his merchant of chaos Elon Musk are pummeling federal agencies, targeting bureaucrats, clawing back spending approved by Congress, buckling the world order and busting trade pacts.

They are following a playbook developed by movement hardliners, dismayed at the missteps and lost focus of Trump’s first term, who are determined to use a potentially short window on power to forge irrevocable change.

Once again, Trump is raising questions at a velocity that leaves other branches of government, his opponents and voters struggling to grasp what’s happening and unable to resist.

Five key questions or trends are emerging that will help to define his second term.

• Is growing outrage and fear justified? To what extent are the shocks rattling Washington simply the signs of a hyper-committed new administration implementing a mandate to transform how the country is run and who runs it?
• Or, are Trump’s tactics becoming an all-out assault on the Constitution from a president who believes he has unlimited authority and who mocks checks and balances meant to ensure commanders in chief are not kings?
• Musk, wielding vast, mostly invisible power, working deep beneath the hood of the federal government, is especially problematic. He’s not elected or confirmed by Congress and seems accountable to nobody — perhaps not even Trump.
• And there are multiple and growing signs that institutions like the FBI, CIA, DOJ and federal agencies that Americans have relied upon to deliver justice and keep them safe, prosperous and healthy are now mere tools of Trump’s whims.
• Who is going to stop any of this? After last fall’s widespread defeat, Democrats are toothless. Republicans who run Congress have neutered their own branch of government to appease an all-powerful president. Court cases are coming but can’t keep up with Trump.

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday made public the transcript and full video of CBS News' "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris as part of its investigation.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the agency was seeking public comments on the issues raised in a complaint, which alleges the interview violates the FCC's rules on "news distortion." Paramount's (PARA.O), opens new tab CBS, which turned over the unredacted video and transcript this week to the FCC, also posted the transcript and video on its website.

CBS said on Wednesday the transcripts "show – consistent with 60 Minutes' repeated assurances to the public – that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful."Carr, appointed by President Donald Trump last week, said the commission had reinstated a complaint into the appearance."CBS played the same question on two different programs and clearly the words of the answers were very different," Carr said earlier this week. "Was it edited for clarity and length - which would be fine - or are there other reasons?"

CBS said Wednesday it broadcast a longer portion of the vice president's answer on "Face the Nation" and a shorter one on "60 Minutes." The network said "each excerpt reflects the substance of the vice president's answer."

Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said the transcript and footage of this interview "provide no evidence that CBS and its affiliated broadcast stations violated FCC rules.... The FCC should now move to dismiss this fishing expedition to avoid further politicizing our enforcement actions.

In October, Trump filed a lawsuit against CBS seeking $10 billion over the interview with Harris that he called "misleading," and asked the commission to compel CBS to release the transcript.

Last week, the New York Times reported that Paramount representatives were in settlement talks to resolve the Trump lawsuit. 

Paramount is seeking FCC approval for an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.The FCC is reviewing whether the broadcast violates "news distortion" rules. 

Though the agency is prohibited from censorship or infringing the First Amendment rights of media, broadcasters cannot intentionally distort the news.
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President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders aiming to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the federal government, as well as its grantees and contractors. The executive orders put policies and programs targeting discrimination -- some that go back decades -- on the chopping block.

ABC News spoke to DEI experts and consultants about what DEI is and what these initiatives entail.

DEI initiatives are intended to address and correct discriminatory policies or practices that may be found within an organization, according to Tina Opie, a DEI consultant and professor at Babson College.

Experts told ABC News that some examples of DEI initiatives include: implementing accessibility measures for people with disabilities, addressing gender pay inequity, expanding recruitment practices among underrepresented demographics, holding anti-discrimination trainings and more.

“Diversity” refers to the representation of people from a variety of backgrounds at all levels in an organization -- a diversity of races, genders, disabilities, religions, ages, sexual orientations, class status, military service status and more, according to Erica Foldy, a professor at NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

“Equity” focuses on fairness and impartiality, particularly referring to whether people are being fairly paid, treated or considered for opportunities, DEI experts told ABC News.

“Inclusion” is about whether people feel like they belong, and whether they feel heard or valued in an organization, experts say.

"When done right, DEI policies improve employee engagement, reduce turnover, and foster innovation by bringing diverse perspectives to the table," said Christie Smith, former vice president of inclusion and diversity at Apple and C-Suite adviser, in a statement to ABC News. "But the impact depends on how well they’re executed. Policies alone don’t change cultures — consistent action and accountability do."

DEI has its roots in the 1960's anti-discrimination legislative movement when laws like the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 addressed labor issues based on protected classes.

Companies had to comply with these anti-discrimination laws, and the DEI movement stems from these efforts to continue creating equitable workplaces and schools.

NEW YORK (AP) — As a Democrat who immersed himself in political news during the presidential campaign, Ziad Aunallah has much in common with many Americans since the election. He’s tuned out.

“People are mentally exhausted,” said Aunallah, 45, of San Diego. “Everyone knows what is coming and we are just taking some time off.”

Television ratings — and now a new poll — clearly illustrate the phenomenon. About two-thirds of American adults say they have recently felt the need to limit media consumption about politics and government because of overload, according to the survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Smaller percentages of Americans are limiting their intake of news about overseas conflicts, the economy or climate change, the poll says. Politics stand out.

Election news on CNN and MSNBC was taking up too much of Sam Gude’s time before the election, said the 47-year-old electrician from Lincoln, Nebraska. “The last thing I want to watch right now is the interregnum,” said Gude, a Democrat and no fan of President-elect Donald Trump.

The poll, conducted in early December, found that about 7 in 10 Democrats say they are stepping back from political news. The percentage isn’t as high for Republicans, who have reason to celebrate Trump’s victory. Still, about 6 in 10 Republicans say they’ve felt the need to take some time off too, and the share for independents is similar.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials share responsibility for the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO — although not as much as the person who pulled the trigger, according to a new poll.

In the survey from NORC at the University of Chicago, about 8 in 10 U.S. adults said the person who committed the killing has “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of responsibility for the Dec. 4 shooting of Brian Thompson.

Despite that, some have cast Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect charged with Thompson’s murder, as a heroic figure in the aftermath of his arrest, which gave rise to an outpouring of grievances about insurance companies. Police say the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition investigators found at the scene, echoing a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.

UnitedHealthcare has said Mangione was not a client.

About 7 in 10 adults say that denials for health care coverage by insurance companies, or the profits made by health insurance companies, also bear at least “a moderate amount” of responsibility for Thompson’s death. Younger Americans are particularly likely to see the murder as the result of a confluence of forces rather than just one person’s action.

The poll finds that the story of the slaying is being followed widely. About 7 in 10 said they had heard or read “a lot” or “some” about Thompson’s death.

Multiple factors were seen as responsible. 

After much back-and-forth, the House Ethics Committee released a bombshell report about alleged sexual misconduct by former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), stating that he broke multiple state laws and that he’s previously paid a minor for sex. Gaetz has categorically denied the allegations and on Monday filed a lawsuit aimed at preventing the report’s release.

The review, which is the culmination of a years-long investigation, contains multiple allegations of wrongdoing, including that Gaetz spent tens of thousands paying women, and in at least one instance a 17-year-old, for sex or drugs, and that he’s used illicit drugs like ecstasy and cocaine. Although the Ethics Committee concluded that Gaetz had not violated federal sex trafficking statutes, it found that the lawmaker had broken other state laws.

“The Committee concluded there was substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report reads.

There was some question about whether the report would be released, and substantial portions of it leaked before it was formally published. The Ethics Committee, a bipartisan panel that investigates wrongdoing by lawmakers, initially deadlocked when it came to releasing their results in the wake of Gaetz’s resignation from Congress. It’s uncommon for the panel to share its findings after a member is no longer in Congress, though it’s not unheard of.

Rebecca Nagle has turned the false history of Native American communities she received as a child into a career of truth-driven storytelling. 

A writer, journalist and author, Nagle is the host of the documentary podcast “This Land” and author of the novel “By the Fire We Carry.” 

Born in Joplin, Missouri, 38-year-old Nagle spent much of her youth in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma City with her Cherokee family members. She recalls Native history scarcely being addressed throughout her education.

“I remember making ships out of popsicle sticks to celebrate Columbus Day and asking questions that went unanswered. I definitely think my education was lacking when it came to that stuff in public school,” she said.

Her understanding of her family history and culture was primarily taught through her grandmother.

“Growing up, I learned a lot from my grandma. She made sure that we understood that we knew who our family was,” she said. “And then, of course, as an adult you sort of test what your family members told you about your family.” 

Niki Capaci, a mother of seven, died last year while incarcerated in a New York jail. Her family is suing Wellpath, a top provider of medical care in that jail and hundreds of other facilities around the country, alleging medical neglect in the death of their loved one.

But that case and dozens of other wrongful death, personal injury and medical negligence lawsuits filed by incarcerated individuals and their families are delayed because the multimillion-dollar company filed for bankruptcy last month.

"I'm more frustrated about the fact that I feel like [Wellpath is] kind of trying to shirk responsibility," said Layla Capaci, Niki Capaci's sister. "I don't care as much about my day in court or the money. I care about there being some accountability, someone saying, 'Hey, we f****d up.' And I feel like this is kind of a way for them to avoid having to do that."

The company says that, while bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing, it will continue operating services in more than 400 facilities, including prisons, jails and hospitals, as it attempts to reduce approximately $550 million in debt and plans a reorganization of its Wellpath Correctional Healthcare division.

Dec 26 (Reuters) - When Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office for the second time next year, he will inherit a slew of lawsuits challenging the Biden administration's healthcare policies. The cases will give him an immediate opportunity to change course, before any new rules or legislation are passed, and could offer an early look at his administration's approach. Here are some of the cases to watch.

Many of the most closely watched lawsuits have centered on abortion rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling allowing states to ban abortion. Trump shied away from offering specific policies on abortion during his campaign, but his administration will need to take positions in several pending cases.

One case, three Republican-led states are seeking to restrict the distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration under Biden has defended loosening restrictions on the drug in recent years but could reverse course under Trump.

Another case involves abortions in medical emergencies. The Biden administration sued Idaho in 2022, alleging that the state's near-total abortion ban runs afoul of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires hospitals to stabilize patients in medical emergencies, by potentially preventing medically necessary abortions.

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk have become an inseparable duo. Since Trump’s reelection, the richest man in the world — and one of Trump’s top campaign donors — has been a shadow trailing him at his Florida residence. The tech billionaire has taken center stage in the incoming administration, promising to slash $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget.

A whirlwind relationship developing between a politician — in this case, the president-elect — and a financial backer isn’t unusual. What stands out is how much the donor himself is in the spotlight. Tim Walz’s joke that Musk, not JD Vance, was Trump’s running mate, rings more true every day. “We’ve never really seen anyone be that directly connected with a campaign unless they were the candidate,” says Jason Seawright, a political science professor at Northwestern University and co-author of Billionaires and Stealth Politics.

It makes Musk an oddity among his billionaire class, who almost always use their influence quietly.

He’s showing other members of the ultra-wealthy a bold alternative to stealth politics, urged on by a president-elect who has embraced giving billionaires a seat at the table. A private citizen can grab power in full view of the public — as long as they’re rich enough, and have enough fans.

The cases against Diddy aren't going away. Neither are the conspiracy theories.

Since Sean "Diddy" Combs' indictment and arrest in September, more than two dozen civil lawsuits have been filed against the media mogul for sexual assault, rape, sex trafficking and more. 

Many of the complaints, as well as the federal charges, depict a pattern in which Combs allegedly exploited his stature across music, fashion and entertainment to victimize those who looked up to him — including minors. The federal charges against the mogul not only accuse him of misconduct, but also of using his employees, record label and many business outfits to organize and facilitate his crimes for years.

As these allegations have played out in court proceedings and legal documents, a web of rumors and speculation has also developed online. It has been bolstered by social media platforms and algorithms, and at times threatens to shroud the facts of the civil and criminal cases against Combs.

Combs has repeatedly denied, via his attorneys, that he has ever trafficked, drugged or sexually assaulted anyone. 

And in one filing, his representation wrote that "by treating these ridiculous claims as anything but a pathetic extortion scheme, the government is fueling the fire of online conspiracy theories and making it impossible for Mr. Combs to have a fair trial." But the deluge of accusations against him, a surveillance video that shows him kicking his ex-girlfriend, the singer Cassie Ventura, in a Los Angeles hotel and new claims of Combs' aggressive behavior in the past have led many to wonder how such abuses of power went unchecked for so long — and who else might be complicit in cultivating a culture of silence around the alleged crimes.

The United States is known as a great melting of people, food and culture. In major cities across the country like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, people can find nearly any cuisine that fits their heart's desire.

However, as Chef Sean Sherman of the Oglala Lakota Tribe has pointed out in the past, these cities have few - if any - restaurants focused on Indigenous cuisines from the more than 570 recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities. Each of these tribes has their distinct food traditions.

Eateries like Watecha Bowl, Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery, and Owamni aim to change that by reviving or paying homage to the centuries-old techniques and flavors passed down through generations.

"We all are on the same mission of food sovereignty," Watecha Bowl owner and entrepreneur Lawrence West told CBS News. "And introducing the world to Native American food."

West is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

"The things that I cook and the way that I prepare food is very important because it only represents a certain heritage of people," he said.

West's restaurant Watecha Bowl is a fast-food eatery in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that serves food and flavors from the Lakota Nation.

"I've had the privilege of feeding people from all over the world," West said. "I've fed people from all 50 states."

This year, his restaurant is giving out an Indian taco in exchange for a toy that will be donated to local Native American kids in foster care, according to the Facebook page with 30,000 followers. 

Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery is a fast-casual restaurant that serves build-your-own Native American food in Denver, Colorado. Its goal is to "rebuild the original American food system." 

Co-founder and President Ben Jacobs, told CBS News that he wants to make his cuisine accessible to everyone while offering a space for Native community members to feel at home. He is a tribal member of the Osage Nation of northeast Oklahoma.