News that the Trump administration had agreed with Russia to try to negotiate a peace settlement for Ukraine, without including Ukraine in the talks, was a revelation that many believed reversed years of efforts to isolate Moscow. But prominent voices in the right-wing media world interpreted the development this week as cause for celebration. “Every … Read more
The Senate on Tuesday voted 51 to 45 to confirm Howard Lutnick to be President Trump’s commerce secretary, putting in place one of the administration’s top economic officials who will help oversee an agenda around tariffs and protectionism. Mr. Lutnick, who was the chief executive of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, became a central … Read more
Dickson Despommier, a microbiologist who proposed that cities should grow food in high-rises, popularizing the term “vertical farming” — an idea that crossed over from the realm of the purely fanciful to become a reality around the globe — died on Feb. 7 in Manhattan. He was 84. His wife, Marlene Bloom, confirmed the death, … Read more
Mira Murati, the former chief technology officer of OpenAI who unexpectedly left the company in September, has helped found a new artificial intelligence start-up called Thinking Machines Lab, adding to the wave of young companies that have been formed in the race to lead A.I. Thinking Machines Lab aims to “make A.I. systems more widely … Read more
The family of one of the 67 victims of a plane crash last month near Washington filed two legal claims against the federal government on Tuesday, seeking compensation and signifying the beginning of what is expected to be a long and complex legal fight. The claims, which appear to be the first against the U.S. … Read more
In February of last year, as videos of tweens racing to Sephora for beautifully packaged creams and serums that contained anti-aging chemicals flooded TikTok, a legislator in California tried to end that trend by introducing a bill that would stop stores from selling those products to them. It failed. Now, even though the chatter around … Read more
European defense stocks continued their rally on Tuesday, as President Trump’s threats to reduce American military support to the continent and NATO raised the prospect that Europe’s governments will increase military spending. The flurry of trading helped push the Pan-European Stoxx 600 index to a record high; the Stoxx Europe Total Market Aerospace & Defense … Read more
Turo, a car rental start-up in San Francisco, has been trying to go public since 2021. But a volatile stock market in early 2022 delayed its listing. Since then, the company has waited for the right moment. Last week, Turo pulled its listing entirely. “Now is not the right time,” Andre Haddad, the company’s chief … Read more
The fire hose of Elon Musk news continues: We’ve got more on the controversy over the access to sensitive I.R.S. data that Musk’s cost-cutting team is seeking and the resignation of a senior official at the Social Security Administration over a similar issue. And in case you missed it, there were two revealing long reads … Read more
The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to give a team member working with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive taxpayer data, people familiar with the matter said. The systems at the I.R.S. contain the private financial data tied to millions of Americans, including their tax returns, Social Security numbers, addresses, banking … Read more