Author: Grace Johnson

US President Donald Trump has announced he will immediately remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook from her position. The move escalates his confrontation with the central bank. Trump claimed Cook submitted false information on mortgage documents and argued that constitutional powers give him the authority to remove her. Cook rejected the claim, insisting the president lacks legal authority to fire her. She stated she will not resign. No US president has previously attempted to dismiss a Federal Reserve governor. Trump’s action follows months of criticism of the Fed and its chair Jerome Powell. He accuses Powell of refusing to cut…

Vintage once ruled the wine world In wine, the vintage has always been king. Every bottle of red, white, or rosé almost always carries the year of harvest on the label. Non-vintage still wine, which blends grapes from several years, has long been seen as cheap and undesirable. It is also far less common. But climate change is now shaking this tradition. Heatwaves, droughts, and extreme weather push winemakers to seek consistency. A small but growing group of respected wineries now release non-vintage bottles. They argue blending ensures quality when nature brings chaos. Napa Valley feels the heat Chris Howell,…

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker condemned President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard in Chicago. He called it an abuse of power. Pritzker said no emergency justifies sending troops to Illinois. He accused Trump of creating a crisis to expand federal authority. Trump has already sent about 2,000 troops to Washington DC. The city’s Democratic leaders opposed the move. Trump frames the deployment as part of a nationwide crime crackdown. On Friday, he announced Chicago and New York could be next. Chicago mayor warns of growing tensions Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he had received no official notice about…

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced on Friday that Washington will acquire a 10% stake in Intel. “This historic agreement strengthens American leadership in semiconductors. It will grow our economy and secure our technological edge,” Lutnick wrote on X. He shared the post with a photo of himself alongside Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. President Donald Trump confirmed the deal earlier in the Oval Office. He described it as “a great deal for them.” Shares of the Santa Clara-based chipmaker rose more than 5% on Friday. Intel confirmed that the US government will invest $8.9bn (£6.6bn) in its common stock.…

Elon Musk and his company X have reached a settlement with former staff. The employees had sued for $500 million in unpaid severance. The agreement appeared in a court filing on Wednesday. Both parties asked the San Francisco appeals court to delay a hearing. They said they needed extra time to complete the paperwork. Lawsuit followed sweeping layoffs The case began after Musk dismissed about 6,000 employees in 2022. That was more than half of the company’s workforce. Many of the affected staff challenged the severance terms in court. So far, neither X nor the employees’ lawyers have issued public…

Sony will raise the price of the PlayStation 5 in the United States by around $50 starting Thursday. The Japanese company faces rising production costs and slowing demand in the gaming market. Sony executive Isabelle Tomatis said in a blog post that the company is operating in a “challenging economic environment.” All three console models will cost more. The Pro edition will now sell for $749.99. Tariffs drive up consumer costs The price increase follows tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on several trade partners, including Japan. These measures raised concerns about higher expenses for American consumers. Tomatis said: “We…

The Kremlin has minimized talk of a quick summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. Donald Trump, however, called for the leaders to meet and work toward ending the war in Ukraine. His push followed a meeting with Putin in Alaska last week. On Monday, Trump hosted Zelensky and seven European leaders at the White House. Trump admitted the conflict is difficult to resolve. He warned that Putin might not be interested in peace. “We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks,” he said on Tuesday. “It’s possible that he doesn’t want to make…

An Australian court has fined airline giant Qantas 90 million Australian dollars for unlawful sackings during the Covid-19 crisis. The company dismissed more than 1,800 ground staff in 2020. Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union welcomed the decision. It called the fine the largest ever for breaches of industrial relations law. Court sends a strong warning Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said the penalty must act as a real deterrent. He stressed that employers cannot ignore legal obligations. Qantas accepted the ruling and announced it will pay the fine. The company acknowledged the harm caused to its workers. “We sincerely apologise to…

Leaked report sparks outrage A US senator launched an investigation after a leaked internal report suggested Meta’s AI engaged in “sensual” and “romantic” conversations with children. Reuters reported the document, titled “GenAI: Content Risk Standards.” Republican Senator Josh Hawley called the contents “reprehensible and outrageous.” He demanded full access to the report and explanations of the products involved. Meta denied the allegations, saying the examples and notes were “erroneous and inconsistent with our policies.” The company highlighted strict rules for chatbot responses that ban content sexualizing children or sexualized role play between adults and minors. Meta added the document contained…