For the Sussexes, the sole recognition of the business aspect of the journey was found at the conclusion of a five-page pre-tour briefing. It stated: “As with numerous visits of this kind, a limited number of private engagements are included to bolster wider commercial, charitable, and community aims.”
“Everything is interconnected as one large, costly, and highly intricate entity, essential for the National Security and Military Operations of the United States of America!” he noted, mentioning that the subterranean facility would feature bomb shelters and healthcare amenities.
Grinex, a Kyrgyzstan-registered cryptocurrency exchange under US sanctions, announced it is suspending operations after suffering a $13 million theft attributed to “western special services” hackers.
Researchers at TRM, which has validated the breach, estimated the stolen assets at $15 million after identifying roughly 70 emptied addresses — about 16 more than Grinex reported. Neither TRM nor fellow blockchain analytics firm Elliptic have explained how the attackers evaded Grinex’s security. Grinex said it has faced near-continuous attack attempts since its incorporation 16 months ago, and that the most recent incidents targeted Russian users of the platform.
“The digital footprints and nature of the attack indicate an unprecedented level of resources and technology available exclusively to the structures of unfriendly states,” Grinex said. “According to preliminary data, the attack was coordinated with the aim of causing direct damage to Russia’s financial sovereignty.”
“Because of the attack, the Grinex exchange is compelled to suspend operations,” Grinex added. “All available information has been handed over to law enforcement agencies. An application has been filed at the infrastructure’s location to initiate a criminal case.”
TRM said that TokenSpot, another Kyrgyzstan-based exchange, was also compromised. Two of that exchange’s addresses sent funds to the same consolidation address used by the affected wallets linked to Grinex. Moreover, both exchanges went offline on Wednesday, suggesting they were targeted by the same attacker.
TRM said TokenSpot was a front for Grinex, which the US Treasury Department sanctioned last year. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control stated that Grinex was a rebrand of Garantex, an exchange it had sanctioned in 2022. At that time the department said Ganantex had “directly facilitated notorious ransomware actors and other cybercriminals by processing over $100 million in transactions linked to illicit activities since 2019.” Last year’s sanctions against Grinex came months after TRM said the exchange was likely a front for Ganantex.
The head of Sora, Bill Peebles, alongside the VP of AI for Science at the company, are leaving their positions.
The head of Sora, Bill Peebles, alongside the VP of AI for Science at the company, are leaving their positions.
Last month, OpenAI discontinued its Sora video generation tool, and on Friday, the leader of the Sora team, Bill Peebles, revealed his departure from the organization. OpenAI has been reorienting its goals as part of a strategy to steer clear of “side quests,” and Peebles’ exit is merely one of numerous recent adjustments as the firm aims to prioritize coding and enterprise applications.
In a note that Peebles shared on X, he stated:
I am profoundly appreciative of Sam, Mark, Aditya, and Jakub for creating a research atmosphere that enabled us to explore ideas beyond the traditional company roadmap. It’s easy to focus solely on the primary objective in life, but nurturing variety is essential for a research lab’s long-term success, and Sam truly comprehends this. Sora was a venture that could only have been realized at OpenAI, and I will always have deep affection for this establishment because of that.
Kevin Weil, who previously served as the VP of AI for Science and once held the position of chief product officer, is also leaving, with Friday marking his final day. He mentioned in a post on X that the group is “being decentralized into other research teams.” OpenAI’s Prism, a newly introduced research-focused “workspace for scientists” that Weil was overseeing, is being phased out, and according to Wired, OpenAI’s strategy is to integrate its functionalities into the Codex desktop application.
The mean tax return is 11.2% greater this year, compared to approximately the same time in 2025, based on the most recent IRS filing statistics.
As of April 10, the average refund amount for individual taxpayers stood at $3,397, increased from $3,055 roughly one year prior, as reported by the IRS on Friday.
The IRS figures represent around 114 million individual submissions received, out of roughly 164 million expected by Tax Day. The upcoming filing update is anticipated to feature data through the April 15 deadline.
President Donald Trump‘s 2025 legislation, renamed the “working families tax cuts,” served as a crucial discussion point for Republicans on Tax Day.
As the midterm elections in November draw nearer and Republicans aim to maintain narrow majorities in Congress, many GOP politicians have underscored Trump’s tax incentives and increased average refunds.
Simultaneously, issues of affordability have been at the forefront of concerns for many Americans in light of growing expenses for fuel, electricity, food, and various living costs.
Among those expecting a refund this year, nearly a quarter, or 23%, intended to apply the funds to decrease credit card debt, while the same percentage indicated they would save their refund, according to the CNBC and SurveyMonkey Quarterly Money Survey, published in April. The survey questioned 3,494 U.S. adults at March’s end.
“This has been an excellent tax period for the American populace,” many of whom have gained from Trump’s tax benefits, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a White House press conference on Wednesday.
Over 53 million tax filers took advantage of at least one of Trump’s “signature new tax cuts” — including deductions for tip income, overtime wages, senior citizens, and interest on auto loans, as the Department of the Treasury revealed on Wednesday.
Taxpayers who reported these deductions on Schedule 1-A experienced an average tax reduction exceeding $800, according to the Treasury. Tax reductions can lead to either an increased refund or lowered taxes owed, which varies based on the individual taxpayer’s context.
Some taxpayers who detail tax benefits have also gained from the heightened federal deduction cap for state and local taxes, often referred to as SALT. Trump’s legislation elevated that limit to $40,000, up from $10,000, for 2025.
The recent change to the SALT deduction limit is predicted to mostly assist higher income earners, according to a May 2025 analysis of multiple proposals from the Tax Foundation.
The Treasury has yet to provide statistics on how many taxpayers have utilized the SALT deduction throughout the 2026 filing period.
The White House hosted a meeting on Friday with CEO Dario Amodei, according to reports.
The White House hosted a meeting on Friday with CEO Dario Amodei, according to reports.
For almost two months, the Trump administration has been at odds with AI firm Anthropic. The administration has labeled the company a “RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY” filled with “Leftwing nut jobs” and deemed it a threat to national security. However, there are reports indicating thawing tensions between the two sides, attributed to Anthropic’s newly launched cybersecurity-focused model: Claude Mythos Preview.
The relationship between Anthropic and the Pentagon soured rapidly in late February after the company declined to compromise on two crucial issues: utilizing its technology for domestic mass surveillance or developing fully autonomous lethal weapons without human oversight. Previously, Anthropic’s technology had been significantly employed by the DoD, and it was the first firm whose models received clearance to function on classified military networks. The impasse resulted in public clashes on social media, Anthropic being classified as a “supply chain risk,” the firm filing a lawsuit challenging that classification, and a temporary injunction lifting its ban.
Anthropic has recently endeavored to mend its relationship with the US government, at least partially, through the introduction of Mythos Preview. And according to reports indicating that CEO Dario Amodei participated in a meeting at the White House on Friday, it may be having an effect. Anthropic acknowledged the meeting on Friday. “Today, Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei engaged with senior administration members for a fruitful discussion regarding how Anthropic and the US government can cooperate on key mutual interests such as cybersecurity, maintaining America’s lead in the AI race, and AI safety,” stated Anthropic representative Max Young. “This meeting demonstrated Anthropic’s continual commitment to collaborating with the US government on the advancement of responsible AI. We appreciate their time and are eager to continue these dialogues.”
Mythos Preview was launched to great fanfare concerning its abilities — notably its capacity to identify security vulnerabilities across nearly all major web browsers and operating systems. Anthropic asserts that this model represents its most advanced iteration to date, currently offered exclusively for private access. It is positioned as a tool for highlighting critical vulnerabilities within widely utilized internet infrastructure, allowing companies like Apple, Nvidia, and JPMorgan Chase — all of which have already opted to employ it — to address these issues before they can be exploited by malicious actors. The rollout of Mythos Preview has purportedly already sparked emergency discussions among US banking executives and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
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The Trump administration also appears to be paying attention. In a statement regarding Mythos Preview, Anthropic noted that it had been engaged in “ongoing conversations with US government representatives about Claude Mythos Preview and its offensive and defensive cybersecurity functionalities.” Earlier this month, when The Verge inquired, Dianne Penn, a product management leader at Anthropic, verified that the firm had “briefed senior officials in the US government about Mythos and its capabilities,” asserting that the company remains “dedicated to collaborating with various government levels.” The company opted not to specify exactly whom had been briefed.
Additionally, Anthropic has reportedly recently brought on Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm associated with Trump, prompting further speculation that a potential agreement between Anthropic and the White House might be forthcoming.
On Friday, Axios reported that Amodei was slated for a meeting with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles later that day. Describing the reasons for the meeting, a source familiar with the discussions stated, “It would be exceedingly irresponsible for the U.S. government to deprive itself of the technological advancements offered by the new model” and emphasized that “it would be a boon for China.” The report also mentioned that “parts of the U.S. intelligence community, along with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA, part of Homeland Security)” are testing Mythos Preview, while other departments and agencies are showing interest.
Should Amodei’s discussions lead to deeper integration of Anthropic’s Claude within governmental operations, it is conceivable that the DoD might revise its stance on Claude as well. This would mark a somewhat anticlimactic resolution to a contentious dispute surrounding national security — not the first instance of the administration abruptly altering its position.
According to a government court filing, Moore deliberately accessed the Supreme Court’s electronic filing system without authorization by using the stolen credentials of an authorized user (“GS”) on 25 separate days, at times returning to the site multiple times in a single day. Through that access, Moore obtained GS’s full name, email address, phone number, home address, date of birth, and the private answers GS had provided to three security questions.
The filing states that on July 29, August 18, and November 28, 2023, Moore posted screenshots of GS’s home page on the Supreme Court electronic filing system to his Instagram account, which used the handle “@ihackedthegovernment.” The screenshots, visible to the public, showed GS’s name and a list of all of GS’s current and past electronic filing records.
The government said Moore likewise used stolen credentials to access a My AmeriCorps account. He publicly posted that user’s name, date of birth, email address, home address, phone number, citizenship status, veteran status, service history, and the last four digits of the user’s Social Security number.
Prosecutors say Moore also used stolen login credentials belonging to a U.S. Marine Corps veteran identified as “HW” to access the Department of Veterans Affairs’ My HealtheVet platform on five separate days. There he obtained HW’s personal information, including prescribed medications and blood type.
The government said that on October 13, 2023, Moore disclosed HW’s individually identifiable health information when he sent an associate a screenshot from HW’s MyHealtheVet account that identified HW and displayed the medications he had been prescribed. Moore then used his Instagram account to publicly post HW’s personal information, including his full name, home address, service branch, email address, phone number, and blood type.
“We witnessed what happened with Susan,” Debra Houry, the CDC’s former chief medical officer who resigned in protest over Kennedy’s political meddling, told Stat News. “She was unable to make staffing or policy choices. What’s different now? Kennedy hasn’t changed.”
Reporting by The Washington Post said that during the search for a new CDC director, several well-qualified contenders demanded guarantees of independence — including authority to hire and fire staff and protections to keep science free from political interference. Sources told the Post those candidates were passed over.
Trump revealed Schwartz’s nomination in a social media post on Wednesday, calling her “a STAR,” and announced nominees for three other agency roles. “These Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine have the knowledge, experience, and TOP degrees to restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC,” he wrote.
Kennedy replied with a more tempered statement, writing: “I congratulate Dr. Schwartz and the new CDC leadership team. I look forward to working together to restore trust, accountability, and scientific integrity at the CDC so we can return it to its core mission and Make America Healthy Again.”
Kennedy’s close anti-vaccine ally and former personal lawyer, Aaron Siri, meanwhile, was blunt, predicting Schwartz’s tenure at the CDC would “likely be a disaster.”
Siri accused Schwartz of overseeing the nationwide Covid-19 vaccine rollout and, he said, having a long history of imposing what he described as rights-eroding civilian and military vaccine mandates — including ordering smallpox, anthrax, and flu shots for US forces and disciplining those who declined — which, he argued, demonstrates she lacks the basic ethics and morals to lead the CDC.
He added that her previous promotion, and even mandates, of nearly a dozen vaccines leaves little reason to expect she will impartially oversee the CDC’s vaccine program.
On Friday, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated that existing economic circumstances are making interest rate decisions more complex, as policymakers confront a potentially enduring inflation shock alongside a labor market that is stable but showing no job growth.
In light of this scenario, Waller mentioned that the Fed might need to maintain its current stance for an extended timeframe until the economic trajectory becomes more discernible.
“Navigating high inflation and a sluggish labor market could pose significant challenges for decision-makers,” the central banker remarked during a speech in Alabama. “Should I encounter such circumstances, I would need to weigh the risks associated with both aspects of the Fed’s dual mandate to ascertain the correct policy path, which might entail keeping the policy rate within the existing target range if inflation risks overshadow those related to the labor market.”
The speech arrives as markets anticipate that the Fed will remain steady this year amidst a murky economic forecast.
For Waller, this speech represented a shift from his earlier evaluation of the labor market. In prior months, he voiced worries regarding low hiring rates, but stated on Friday that indicators are emerging suggesting the break-even rate—where hiring levels sustain the unemployment rate—could be nearly zero.
Waller had previously advocated for reducing interest rates but participated in a March vote to hold the federal funds rate within a band of 3.5%-3.75%.
Nevertheless, he expressed ongoing concerns regarding the labor market.
“I perceive that employers are balancing precariously between their previous difficulties in sourcing qualified candidates and their perceptions of economic trends, making them susceptible to potential economic shocks that could lead to significant job cuts,” he noted.
Regarding inflation—the other facet of the Fed’s dual mandate—Waller conveyed that he is less optimistic compared to some other policymakers and analysts who view the impact of the Iran conflict as short-lived.
“Considering the duration of these disruptions, coupled with this economic shock following the price increases from import tariffs, I believe there is a chance that this series of price fluctuations might result in a more persistent rise in inflation, much like the series of shocks we experienced during the pandemic,” he remarked.
Whether rising fuel costs or concern about the climate are motivating you, there’s arguably never been a better moment to buy a used electric vehicle — even though the Trump administration eliminated the used clean vehicle tax credit last year. When we launched this ongoing series on secondhand EVs, the goal was to find the cheapest options. Now we’re examining the $20,000–$25,000 range, which is well above bargain-basement territory and offers thousands of EVs nationwide.
If you’re only allocating $5,000 for an electric car, you’ll be limited to much older cars with smaller batteries and limited range even when new. At four or five times that amount, though, your choices expand dramatically. Shoppers can afford to be selective here, especially as a wave of ex-lease vehicles starts arriving at dealer lots this year.
It’s helpful for buyers that EVs tend to have lower resale values than comparable gasoline cars. Incentives and advantages that went to the first owner are effectively transferred to subsequent buyers, but Deloitte reports that EV residuals are falling short of expectations. “Many US consumers remain cautious about range, charge time, price, battery replacement cost, and public charging access,” Deloitte notes. Automakers and sales teams will need to do a better job communicating battery life and realistic range to change that perception, the consulting firm says.
That trend isn’t ideal if you’re trying to sell an EV, but it’s advantageous if you’re buying: for the same budget you can often get a higher-spec model, a newer year, or fewer miles than you would with an equivalent gas-powered car.
With a $25,000 cap, you can also start to be choosier about the badge on the nose: do you want a mainstream model with low miles, or something a bit more luxurious or premium?
