The first direct flight from the U.S. to Greenland by an American airline landed in the capital city of Nuuk Saturday evening and is set to make its return flight on Sunday morning.

The United Airlines-operated Boeing 737 Max 8 departed from Newark International Airport in New Jersey at 11:31 a.m. EDT (1531 GMT) on Saturday and arrived a little over four hours later, at 6:39 p.m. local time (1939 GMT), according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

A one-way ticket from Newark to Nuuk cost roughly $1,200. The return flight had a $1,300 to $1,500 price tag.

Saturday’s flight marks the first direct passage between the U.S. and the Arctic island in nearly 20 years. In 2007, Air Greenland launched a route between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Kangerlussuaq Airport, some 315 kilometers (195 miles) north of Nuuk. It was scrapped the following year due to cost.

Warren Rieutort-Louis, a 38-year-old passenger from San Francisco, decided to visit Nuuk for just one night to be a part of the historic flight.

“I’ve been to Greenland before, but never this way around. I came the other way through Europe, so to be able to come straight is really amazing,” Rieutort-Louis said after the plane landed.

The United Airlines flight took place on U.S. President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, which was celebrated in Washington with a controversial military parade that was part of the Army’s long-planned 250th anniversary celebration.

Trump has repeatedly said he seeks control of Greenland, a strategic Arctic island that’s a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, and has not ruled out military force.

The governments of Denmark, a NATO ally, and Greenland have said it is not for sale and condemned reports of the U.S. stepping up intelligence gathering on the mineral-rich island.

United announced the flight and its date in October, before Trump was re-elected. It was scheduled for 2025 to take advantage of the new Nuuk airport, which opened in late November and features a larger runway for bigger jets.

“United will be the only carrier to connect the U.S. directly to Nuuk — the northernmost capital in the world, providing a gateway to world-class hiking and fascinating wildlife under the summer’s midnight sun,” the company said in a statement at the time.

Saturday’s flight kicked off the airline’s twice weekly seasonal service, from June to September, between Newark and Nuuk. The plane has around 165 seats.

Previously, travelers had to take a layover in Iceland or Copenhagen, Denmark, before flying to Greenland.

The new flight is beneficial for the island’s business and residents, according to Greenland government minister Naaja Nathanielsen.

Tourists will spend money at local businesses, and Greenlanders themselves will now be able to travel to the U.S. more easily, Nathanielsen, the minister for business, mineral resources, energy, justice and gender equality, told Danish broadcaster DR. The route is also an important part of diversifying the island’s economy, she said. Fishing produces about 90% of Greenland’s exports.

Tourism is increasingly important. More than 96,000 international passengers traveled through the country’s airports in 2023, up 28% from 2015.

Jessica Litolff, a 26-year-old passenger from Louisiana, said she also hopes the new route will benefit the U.S. and Greenland.

“Distance-wise it’s only like four and a half hours, so by flying you can get to Greenland faster than you can to some parts of the United States,” she said.

Visit Greenland echoed Nathanielsen’s comments. The government’s tourism agency did not have projections on how much money the new flights would bring to the island.

“We do know that flights can bring in much more than just dollars, and we expect it to have a positive impact — both for the society and travellers,” Tanny Por, Visit Greenland’s head of international relations, told The Associated Press in an email.

Aria Varasteh, a 34-year-old traveler from Washington, had wanted to travel to Greenland “for a very long time.”

“I do hope that we receive a warm reception from the locals. From those I’ve talked to already, it seems that they’re excited to have us here,” Varasteh said. “And so we’re excited to be here and just be the best versions of ourselves.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Mads Claus Rasmussen—Ritzau Scanpix via AP

President Donald Trump would have unique influence over the operations of U.S. Steel under the terms of what the White House calls an “investment” being made by Japan-based Nippon Steel in the iconic American steelmaker.

Administration officials over the past few days provided additional insight into the “golden share” arrangement that the federal government made as a condition for supporting the deal.

The Pittsburgh-based steel maker and Nippon Steel plan $11 billion in new investments by 2028 after indicating that they plan to move forward with the deal under the terms of a national security agreement that has the White House’s approval.

The White House has described the deal as a “partnership” and an “investment” by Nippon Steel in U.S. Steel, although Nippon Steel has never backed off its stated intention of buying and controlling U.S. Steel as a wholly owned subsidiary in a nearly $15 billion offer it originally made in late 2023.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posted on social media on Saturday how the “golden share” to be held by the president would operate, revealing that the White House is willing to insert itself aggressively into a private company’s affairs even as it has simultaneously pledged to strip away government regulations so businesses can expand.

Under the government’s terms, it would be impossible without Trump’s consent to relocate U.S. Steel’s headquarters from Pittsburgh, change the name of the company, “transfer production or jobs outside the United States,” shutter factories, or reincorporate the business overseas, among other powers held by the president.

Lutnick also said it would require presidential approval to reduce or delay $14 billion in planned investments.

“The Golden Share held by the United States in U.S. Steel has powerful terms that directly benefit and protect America, Pennsylvania, the great steelworkers of U.S. Steel, and U.S. manufacturers that will have massively expanded access to domestically produced steel,” Lutnick posted on X.

That $14 billion figure is higher than what the companies disclosed on Friday when Trump created a pathway for the investment with an executive order based on the terms of the national security agreement being accepted.

Lawmakers from Pennsylvania say the higher figure includes the cost of an electric arc furnace — a more modern steel mill that melts down scrap — that Nippon Steel wants to build in the U.S., bringing the value of the deal to at least $28 billion.

The president has the authority to name one of the corporate board’s independent three directors and veto power over the other two choices, according to a person familiar with the terms of the agreement who insisted on anonymity to discuss them. The details of the board structure were first reported by The New York Times.

Details of the agreement emerged as Trump was traveling to Alberta in Canada for the Group of Seven summit.

Still, the full terms remain somewhat unclear. The companies have not made public the full terms of Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel or the national security agreement with the federal government.

On Sunday, the United Steelworkers, the labor union representing U.S. Steel employees, posted a letter raising questions about the deal forged by Trump, who during his run for the presidency had pledged to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel.

The union said it was “disappointed” that Trump “has reversed course” and raised basic questions about the ownership structure of U.S. Steel.

“Neither the government nor the companies have publicly identified what all the terms of the proposed transaction are,” the letter said. “Our labor agreement expires next year, on September 1, 2026, and the USW and its members are prepared to engage the new owners” of U.S. Steel “to obtain a fair contract.”

If Trump has as much control of U.S. Steel as he has claimed, that could put him in the delicate position of negotiating the salary and benefits of unionized steelworkers going into midterm elections.

As president, Joe Biden used his authority to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel on his way out of the White House after a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

After he was elected, Trump expressed openness to working out an arrangement and ordered another review by the committee. That’s when the idea of the “golden share” emerged as a way to resolve national security concerns and protect American interests in domestic steel production.

As it sought to win over American officials, Nippon Steel made a series of commitments.

It gradually increased the amount of money it was pledging to invest in U.S. Steel, promised to maintain U.S. Steel’s headquarters in Pittsburgh, put U.S. Steel under a board with a majority of American citizens and keep plants operating.

It also said it would protect the interests of U.S. Steel in trade matters and it wouldn’t import steel slabs that would compete with U.S. Steel’s blast furnaces in Pennsylvania and Indiana.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Julia Demaree Nikhinson—AP

“How to Train Your Dragon” took flight at the box office this weekend, proving that some remakes still have teeth.

The Universal live-action adaptation of the beloved animated franchise soared to a strong $83.7 million debut in North American theaters, according to Comscore estimates Sunday. The film, directed by franchise veteran Dean DeBlois, follows the unlikely friendship between a young Viking named Hiccup (Mason Thames) and a dragon called Toothless.

The reboot easily outpaced 2019’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” which opened with $55 million. The latest film earned more than $114.1 million internationally, bringing the global total to $197.8 million.

“This is yet another example of a live-action remake really delivering on the promise of the marketing,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “I think the longevity and playability of some of these films particularly in the summer has been nothing short of miraculous.”

“How to Train” also claimed the No. 1 spot ahead of Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch,” which slipped to second place after topping the charts for three weekends. That hybrid live-action remake added another $15 million, pushing its domestic total past $386.3 million.

“Materialists,” a modern-day New York love story starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans, rounded out the top three films of the week with a $12 million debut. The romantic dramedy features Johnson as a savvy matchmaker caught between two suitors: a broke, struggling actor who happens to be her ex, and a wealthy “unicorn” who seems too good to be true.

“Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” slid to fourth place, taking in $10.3 million and avoiding a dip into single-digit territory.

The John Wick spinoff “Ballerina” fell to fifth place with $9.4 million, despite strong reviews from both critics and audiences. Directed by Len Wiseman, the action film stars Ana de Armas and features Keanu Reeves reprising his role in a supporting turn.

Dergarabedian said “Ballerina” could have a surge later down the line similar to 2014’s “John Wick.”

“It took a while for that franchise to really catch on,” he said. “You saw a huge outpouring of interest for the first ‘John Wick’ when it hit home video or streaming, I should say, and I think the same will happen here.”

In sixth place, “Karate Kid: Legends” earned $5 million followed by “Final Destination: Bloodlines” at seventh with $3.9 million. Wes Anderson’s latest “The Phoenician Scheme” brought in $3 million eighth place. “The Life of Chuck,” based on a Stephen King story, placed ninth with $2.1 million.

Rounding out the top 10 was “Sinners.” The Ryan Coogler film starring Michael B. Jordan, drew $1.4 million – which is impressive since the movie is available to watch at home through online and digital platforms after being released two months ago.

Overall, the box office is up 23% from this point in 2024.

Dergarabedian said he’s looking forward to films in the coming weeks that could have a positive presence at the box office, such as “Eilo,” “F1,” “Superman” and “28 Days Later.”

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

• 1. “How to Train Your Dragon,” $83.7 million
• 2. “Lilo and Stitch,” $15.5 million.
• 3. “Materialists,” $12 million.
• 4. “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” $10.3 million.
• 5. “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina,” $9.4 million.
• 6. “Karate Kid: Legends,” $5 million.
• 7. “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” $3.9 million.
• 8. “The Phoenician Scheme,” $3 million.
• 9. “The Life of Chuck,” $2.1 million.
• 10. “Sinners,” $1.4 million.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Universal Pictures via AP

When U.S. President Donald Trump last came to Canada for a Group of Seven summit, the enduring image was of him seated with his arms folded defiantly as then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel stared daggers at him.

If there is a shared mission at this year’s G7 summit, which begins Monday in Canada’s Rocky Mountains, it is a desire to minimize any fireworks at a moment of combustible tensions.

The 2018 summit ended with Trump assailing his Canadian hosts on social media as he departed on Air Force One, saying he had instructed the U.S. officials who remained in Quebec to oppose the G7 joint statement endorsed by the leaders of Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and, of course, Canada.

“I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” Trump posted on the site then known as Twitter.

This time, Trump already has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. There is little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and now a new and escalating conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Add to all of that the problems of climate change, immigration, drug trafficking, new technologies such as artificial intelligence and China’s continued manufacturing superiority and chokehold on key supply chains.

Asked if he planned to announce any trade agreements at the G7 as he left the White House on Sunday, Trump said: “We have our trade deals. All we have to do is send a letter, ‘This is what you’re going to have to pay.’ But I think we’ll have a few, few new trade deals.”

At stake might be the survival of the G7 itself at a time when the Trump administration has sent mixed signals about whether the president will attend the November Group of 20 summit in South Africa.

What Trump opposed at the 2018 summit in Quebec wasn’t just tariffs, but a focus on having alliances with a shared set of standards seeking to shape policies.

“The big dispute in Quebec were the references to the rules-based international order and that’s where that famous photo comes from,” said Peter Boehm, Canada’s counselor at the 2018 G7 summit in Quebec and a veteran of six G7 summits. “I think it gave everyone the idea that G7s were maybe not business as usual.”

The German, U.K., Japanese and Italian governments have each signaled a belief that a friendly relationship with Trump this year can reduce the likelihood of outbursts.

“Well, I have got a good relationship with President Trump, and that’s important,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday as he flew to Canada.

There is no plan for a joint statement this year from the G7, a sign that the Trump administration sees no need to build a shared consensus with fellow democracies if it views such a statement as contrary to its goals of new tariffs, more fossil fuel production and a Europe that is less dependent on the U.S. military.

“The Trump administration almost certainly believes that no deal is better than a bad deal,” said Caitlin Welsh, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank who was part of Trump’s team for the G7 in Trump’s first term.

The White House has stayed decidedly mum about its goals for the G7, which originated as a 1973 finance ministers’ meeting to address the oil crisis and steadily evolved into a yearly summit that is meant to foster personal relationships among world leaders and address global problems.

The G7 even briefly expanded to the G8 with Russia as a member, only for Russia to be expelled in 2014 after annexing Crimea and taking a foothold in Ukraine that preceded its aggressive 2022 invasion of that nation.

Trump will have at least three scheduled bilateral meetings during the summit with other world leaders while in Canada, staring on Monday morning with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The U.S. president is also expected to have bilateral meetings with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to an administration official.

The U.S. president has imposed 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos, all of which have disproportionately hit Japan. Trump is also charging a 10% tax on imports from most countries, though he could raise rates on July 9, after the 90-day negotiating period set by him would expire.

The United Kingdom reached a trade framework with the U.S. that included quotas to protect against some tariffs, but the 10% baseline would remain as the Trump administration is banking on tariff revenues to help cover the cost of its income tax cuts.

Canada and Mexico face separate tariffs of as much as 25% that Trump put into place under the auspices of stopping fentanyl smuggling, through some products are still protected under the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed during Trump’s first term.

The Trump administration has insisted that its broad tariffs will produce trade agreements that box out China, though it’s unclear how antagonizing trade partners would make them want to strengthen their reliance on the U.S. Carney, the Canadian leader, has been outspoken in saying his country can no longer look to the U.S. as an enduring friend.

That might leave Trump with the awkward task of wanting to keep his tariffs in place while also trying to convince other countries that they’re better off siding with the U.S. than China.

“Trump will try to coordinate the group against China’s economic coercion,” Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council, wrote in an analysis. “But the rest of the leaders may turn back to Trump and say that this kind of coordination, which is at the heart of why the G7 works, would be easier if he weren’t imposing tariffs on his allies.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI—AFP via Getty Images

The man suspected of killing a Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another has been taken into custody, two law enforcement officials said, bringing an end to a nearly two-day search that put the state on edge.

Vance Boelter was arrested Sunday evening. The arrest was confirmed to The Associated Press by law enforcement officials were who were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. Former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin home, about 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) away.

Boelter was captured in Minnesota, though officials didn’t immediately say where.

A criminal complaint unsealed Sunday night says Boelter faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Hoffman and his wife.

The Hoffmans were attacked first at their home in Champin early Saturday. After police in nearby Brooklyn Park learned of that shooting, they sent patrol officers to check on the Hortmans’ home.

Brooklyn Park police officers arrived just in time to see Boelter shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home, the complaint says. It says they exchanged gunfire with Boelter, who fled inside the home before escaping the scene.

The complaint indicates the shooting at the Hoffmans’ home was called in by their adult daughter.

Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office via AP

A massive search

Earlier Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said authorities found a car very early Sunday they believed Boelter was using, a few miles from his home in Green Isle, in the farm country about an hour west of Minneapolis. He also said they found evidence in the car that was relevant to the investigation, but did not provide details.

Authorities named Boelter, 57, as a suspect, saying he wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, even allegedly altering a vehicle to make it look like a police car.

Evens confirmed that investigators found a cowboy hat near the vehicle and believe it belonged to Boelter. The superintendent also said authorities interviewed Boelter’s wife and other family members in connection with Saturday’s shootings. He said they were cooperative and were not in custody.

The FBI had issued a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

More than 100 law enforcement officers including SWAT teams were searching the area, including nearby homes, Evans said. He also said they had received more than 400 tips from the public.

The earlier search happened in rural Sibley County, roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Minneapolis, where Boelter had a home with his wife and five children. Residents in the area received an emergency alert about the located vehicle that warned them to lock their doors and cars.

The shootings come as political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated amid deep political divisions. Lawmakers said they were disturbed by the attacks as Twin Cities residents mourned.

Brightly colored flowers and small American flags were placed Sunday on the gray marbled stone of the Minnesota State Capitol along with a photo of the Hortmans. People scrawled messages on small notes including, “You were our leader through the hardest of times. Rest in Power.”

Pam Stein came with flowers and kneeled by the memorial. An emotional Stein called Hortman an “absolute powerhouse” and “the real unsung hero of Minnesota government.”

No details on motive

Authorities have not yet given details on a motive.

A list of about 70 names was found in writings recovered from the fake police vehicle that was left at the crime scene, the officials said. The writings and list of names included prominent state and federal lawmakers and community leaders, along with abortion rights advocates and information about healthcare facilities, according to the officials.

Evans clarified that while he described the materials on Saturday as a “manifesto,” the papers were not a political or ideological treatise. He said it was more of a notebook, listing lawmakers and other people, with various thoughts mixed in. He declined to give details.

A Minnesota official told AP lawmakers who had been outspoken in favor of abortion rights were on the list. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

The attacks prompted warnings to other state elected officials and the cancellation of planned “No Kings” demonstrations against President Donald Trump, though some went ahead anyway, including one that drew tens of thousands to the State Capitol in St. Paul. Authorities said the suspect had “No Kings” flyers in his car.

Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other.

Around 6 a.m. Saturday, Boelter texted friends to apologize for his actions, though he didn’t say what he had done.

“I’m going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way. … I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused,” he wrote in messages viewed by AP.

Two Democrats targeted

On Sunday evening, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a statement from Yvette Hoffman expressing appreciation for the outpouring of public support.

“John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,” Yvette Hoffman said in a text that Klobuchar posted on social media. “He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark.”

On social media, Gov. Tim Walz remembered Hortman on Sunday as, “The most consequential Speaker in state history.”

Hortman, 55, had been the top Democratic leader in the state House since 2017. She led Democrats in a three-week walkout at the beginning of this year’s session in a power struggle with Republicans. Under a power-sharing agreement, she turned the gavel over to Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth and assumed the title speaker emerita.

Hortman used her position as speaker in 2023 to champion expanded protections for abortion rights, including legislation to solidify Minnesota’s status as a refuge for patients from restrictive states who travel to the state to seek abortions — and to protect providers who serve them.

The couple had an adult son and an adult daughter.

Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and was chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, which oversees one of the biggest parts of the state budget. He and his wife have one adult daughter.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© George Walker IV—AP Photo

 Melissa Hortman’s influence at the Minnesota Capitol and her power as a Democratic leader to shape the course of a deeply divided Legislature were a far cry from her job as a teenager making chili-cheese burritos and overshadowed her volunteer work training service dogs for veterans.

She was a lifelong Minneapolis-area resident who went to college in Boston and then returned home for law school and, with degree fresh in hand, worked as a volunteer lawyer for a group fighting housing discrimination. Elected to the Minnesota House in 2004, she helped pass liberal initiatives like free lunches for pubic school students in 2023 as the chamber’s speaker. With the House split 67-67 between Democrats and Republicans this year, she helped break a budget impasse threatening to shut down state government.

Tributes from friends and colleagues in both parties poured in after Hortman and her husband were shot to death early Saturday in their suburban Brooklyn Park home in what authorities called an act of targeted political violence. Helping Paws, which trains service dogs, posted a message on its Facebook page, along with a 2022 photo of a smiling Hortman with her arm around Gilbert, a friendly-looking golden retriever trained to be a service dog and adopted by her family.

“Melissa Hortman was a woman that I wish everyone around the country knew,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a longtime friend and Democratic ally, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

Klobuchar added: “She was a true leader and loved her work, but was always so grounded and such a decent person. I think that’s probably the best word to describe her. You look at her pictures and you know what she was about.”

Helping Paws via AP

The shootings followed a big Democratic dinner

The killings of Hortman and her husband early Saturday followed the shootings and wounding of another prominent Minnesota lawmaker, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, at their home in Champlin, another Minneapolis suburb. Hoffman is chair of the Senate committee overseeing human resources spending. A nephew posted Sunday on Facebook that the Hoffmans were out of surgery and recovering from multiple gunshot wounds.

The Hortmans, the Hoffmans and other top Democrats had gathered at a downtown Minneapolis hotel Friday night for their party’s annual Humphrey-Mondale dinner. It’s named for two Minnesota liberal icons who served both as U.S. senators and vice presidents, Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale.

Minnesota Democrat and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said she saw both lawmakers at the dinner.

“So it feels so personal, because we’re all very good friends, of course, to have that have happened so shortly after we were all together,” Smith said on CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday.”

Outside the state Capitol in St. Paul, a memorial to Hortman and her husband included flowers, candles, small American flags and a photo of the couple. Visitors left messages on Post-It notes commending Hortman’s legislative work, including, “You changed countless lives.”

Hortman supplied a key vote for a budget deal Democrats disliked

Legislative colleagues described Hortman as funny, savvy and fiercely committed to liberal causes. When lawmakers convened in January with a vacancy in a Democratic seat in the House giving the GOP a temporary advantage, Hortman led a boycott of daily sessions for more than three weeks to force Republicans into a power-sharing arrangement.

Republicans were intent this year on ending state health coverage for adult immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally, authorized in 2023 as part of a sweeping liberal program. Democrats wanted to keep it, and lawmakers began June — the last month of the 2025 budget year — without having passed a 2026-27 spending blueprint.

Hortman helped negotiate a package that included a bill ending the state health coverage for adult immigrants on Jan. 1, 2026. She was the only House Democrat to vote for it last week— the 68th vote it needed to pass the chamber.

She told reporters afterward that Republicans insisted on the bill, and Minnesota voters who gave the House an even partisan split expect the parties to compromise. But she acknowledged she worries about people who will lose their health insurance.

“I know that people will be hurt by that vote,” she said, choking up briefly before regaining her composure. “We worked very hard to get a budget deal that wouldn’t include that provision.”

Tacos, auto parts, physics and Habitat for Humanity

Hortman’s earliest jobs didn’t suggest that she’d become a power in Minnesota politics. The earliest job listed on her LinkedIn.com profile, when she was 16, was as a cook and cashier at a restaurant, where she made tacos and, “most importantly, chili cheese burritos.” She also worked for caterers and was a runner at an auto parts store, putting inventory away and retrieving items for customers.

Her husband, Mark, earned a physics degree from the University of North Carolina and later, a master’s of business administration. He was the chief operating officer of an auto parts company for 10 years before co-founding a business consulting firm. He was active in Helping Paws and worked with homebuilding nonprofit Habitat for Humanity.

Melissa Hortman earned a degree in philosophy and political science from Boston University, where she also worked as a residence assistant in one of its dormitories. She earned her law degree from the University of Minnesota, but also a master’s of public administration from Harvard University.

She served a decade on the board of a local nonprofit providing transportation and car repairs for low-income residents. She also was part of a committee in 2005 considering whether Minneapolis should submit a bid to host the Summer Olympics.

“We remember Melissa for her kindness, compassion, and unwavering commitment to making the world better,” Helping Paws said in its Facebook message.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Glen Stubbe—Star Tribune via AP File

President Donald Trump rejected a plan presented by Israel to the U.S. to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei.

After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel’s military operation aimed at decapitating Iran’s nuclear program from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilize the region.

Asked about the plan during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly address whether the White House rejected the plan.

“But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we’ll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu spokesperson Omer Dostri later called reports about the Israeli plan to kill Khamenei “fake.”

Netanyahu in the Fox interview also said regime change “could certainly be the result” of the conflict “because the Iranian regime is very weak.”

Trump’s rejection of the proposal was first reported by Reuters.

Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on U.S. targets in the Middle East while also predicting Israel and Iran would “soon” make a deal to end their escalating conflict.

Trump in an early morning social media posting said the United States “had nothing to do with the attack on Iran” as Israel and Iran traded missile attacksfor the third straight day. Iran, however, has said that it would hold the U.S.—which has provided Israel with much of its deep arsenal of weaponry—for its backing of Israel.

“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump said.

Hours later Trump took to social media again to predict “Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal.”

The U.S. president said he has a track record for de-escalating conflicts, and that he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities “just like I got India and Pakistan to make” after the two countries’ recent cross-border confrontation.

India struck targets inside Pakistan after militants in April massacred 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has denied any links to the attackers. Following India’s strikes in Pakistan, the two sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto borders, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other’s territories, mainly targeting military installations and airbases.

It was the most serious confrontation in decades between the countries. Trump on Sunday repeated his claim, disputed by India, that the two sides agreed to a ceasefire after he had offered to help both nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate.

Trump also pointed to efforts by his administration during his first term to mediate disputes between Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia.

“Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!” Trump said. “Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump is set to travel later Sunday to Canada for Group of Seven leaders summit where the Mideast crisis will loom large over his talks with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan and the European Union.

There’s a divide in Trump world about how far the president should go in backing Israel.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson are among the prominent backers of Trump who have argued voters backed Trump because he would not involve the nation in foreign conflicts.

GOP Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul praised Trump for having shown restraint and said he hoped the president’s “instincts will prevail.”

“So, I think it’s going to be very hard to come out of this and have a negotiated settlement,” Paul said in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” ”I see more war and more carnage. And it’s not the U.S.’s job to be involved in this war.”

In an interview aired on CBS’ “Face the Nation” GOP South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said he preferred diplomatic efforts, but if diplomacy doesn’t work Trump should “go all in” on destroying Iran’s nuclear program.

“If that means providing bombs, provide bombs,” he said. “If that means flying with Israel, fly with Israel.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Alex Brandon—AP Photo

Israel launched an expanded assault on Iran on Sunday, targeting its energy industry and Defense Ministry headquarters, while Tehran unleashed a fresh barrage of deadly strikes.

The simultaneous attacks represented the latest burst of violence since a surprise offensive by Israel two days earlier aimed at decimating Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

New explosions boomed across Tehran as Iranian missiles entered Israel’s skies in attacks that Israeli emergency officials said caused deaths around the country, including four in an apartment building in the Galilee region. A strike in central Israel killed an 80-year-old woman, a 69-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy, officials said.

Casualty figures weren’t immediately available in Iran, where Israel targeted its Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran as well as sites that it alleged were associated with the country’s nuclear program. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed that Iranian missiles targeted fuel production facilities for Israeli fighter jets, something not acknowledged by Israel.

Amid the continued conflict, planned negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program were cancelled, throwing into question when and how an end to the fighting could come.

“Tehran is burning,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on social media.

Both Israel’s military and Iran state television announced the latest round of Iranian missiles as explosions were heard near midnight, while the Israeli security cabinet met.

Israel’s ongoing strikes across Iran have left the country’s surviving leadership with the difficult decision of whether to plunge deeper into conflict with Israel’s more powerful forces or seek a diplomatic route.

Urgent calls to deescalate

World leaders made urgent calls to deescalate and avoid all-out war. The attack on nuclear sites set a “dangerous precedent,” China’s foreign minister said. The region is already on edge as Israel makes a new push to eliminate the Iranian-backed militant group Hamas in Gaza after 20 months of fighting.

Israel — widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East — said its hundreds of strikes on Iran over the past two days have killed a number of top generals, nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s U.N. ambassador has said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded.

U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have repeatedly said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon before Israel unleashed its campaign of airstrikes targeting Iran beginning Friday. But Iran’s uranium enrichment has reached near weapons-grade levels, and on Thursday the U.N.’s atomic watchdog censured Iran for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program his top priority, said Israel’s strikes so far are “nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.”

In what could be another escalation if confirmed, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported an Israeli drone struck and caused a “strong explosion” at an Iranian natural-gas processing plant. It would be the first Israeli attack on Iran’s oil and natural gas industry. Israel’s military did not immediately comment.

The extent of damage at the South Pars natural gas field was not immediately clear. Such sites have air defense systems around them, which Israel has been targeting.

Iran calls nuclear talks ‘unjustifiable’

The sixth round of U.S.-Iran indirect talks on Sunday over Iran ’s nuclear program will not take place, mediator Oman said. “We remain committed to talks and hope the Iranians will come to the table soon,” said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomacy.

Iran’s top diplomat said Saturday the nuclear talks were “unjustifiable” after Israel’s strikes. Abbas Araghchi’s comments came during a call with Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat.

The Israeli airstrikes were the “result of the direct support by Washington,” Araghchi said in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency. The U.S. has said it isn’t part of the strikes.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran to reach a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear program, adding that “Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left.”

US helps to shoot down Iranian missiles

Iran launched its first waves of missiles at Israel late Friday and early Saturday. The attacks killed at least three people and wounded 174, two of them seriously, Israel said. The military said seven soldiers were lightly wounded when a missile hit central Israel, without specifying where.

U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures.

Israel’s main international airport said it will remain closed until further notice.

First responders were looking for survivors and clearing the remnants of a missile that fell on a neighborhood outside of Tel Aviv early Sunday morning.

An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass.

Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors in some of the areas that were too hard to access. Some people were fleeing the area with their belongings in suitcases.

‘More than a few weeks’ to repair nuclear facilities

Israel attacked Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. Satellite photos analyzed by AP show extensive damage there. The images shot Saturday by Planet Labs PBC show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The structures hit include buildings identified by experts as supplying power to the facility.

U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said.

Israel said it also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, including “infrastructure for enriched uranium conversion,” and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said four “critical buildings” at the Isfahan site were damaged, including its uranium conversion facility. “As in Natanz, no increase in off-site radiation expected,” it added.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with official procedures, said that according to the army’s initial assessment “it will take much more than a few weeks” for Iran to repair the damage to the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. The official said the army had “concrete intelligence that production in Isfahan was for military purposes.”

Israel denied it had struck the nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Tehran.

Among those killed were three of Iran’s top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard’s aerospace division, which oversees its arsenal of ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. On Saturday, Khamenei named a new leader for the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division: Gen. Majid Mousavi.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Getty Images

The grand military parade that President Donald Trump had been wanting for eight years kicked off Saturday with tanks, troops and a 21-gun salute, playing out against the counterpoint of protesters around the country who decried the U.S. leader as a dictator and would-be king.

The Republican president, on his 79th birthday, sat on a special viewing stand south of the White House to watch the display of American military might, which began early as light rain fell and dark clouds loomed. It’s a procession Trump tried to make happen in his first term after seeing such an event in Paris in 2017, but the plans never came together until this year, when it was added to an event recognizing the Army’s 250th anniversary.

Hours before the parade was set to start, demonstrators turned out in streets and parks around the nation to decry the Republican president as a dictator or would-be king.

They criticized Trump for using the military to respond to those protesting his deportation efforts and for sending tanks, thousands of marching troops and military aircraft out for a show in the U.S. capital.

In Washington, anti-war protesters unfurled signs that said “Homes not drones” not far from a display of armored vehicles, helicopters and military-grade equipment on the National Mall set up to commemorate the Army’s birthday. Vendors outside the festival sold gear marking the military milestone. Others hawked Trump-themed merchandise.

Stephanie Scarbrough—AP Photo

Doug Haynes, a Navy veteran who voted for Trump, attended the daylong festival to celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday, but said that the parade scheduled for later “was a little over the top.”

Pointing at a nearby tank, Haynes said that having them roll down the street is a “very bold statement to the world, perhaps.”

The military procession was set to step off from the Lincoln Memorial later Saturday, under the threat of stormy weather and to the accompaniment of protests elsewhere in the city.

Trump brushed off the possibility of both disruptions, with a social media post Saturday morning that said the “great military parade” would be on “rain or shine.” The protests, he said earlier, “will be met with very big force.” Hours ahead of the parade, crowds of protesters with anti-Trump signs marched toward the White House, escorted by police vehicles and officers on bicycles. Some held a giant banner that read: “TRUMP MUST GO NOW.”

The parade was added just a few weeks ago to the planned celebration of the Army’s birthday and has drawn criticism for its price tag of up to $45 million and the possibility that the lumbering tanks could tear up city streets. The Army has taken a variety of steps to protect the streets, including laying metal plates along the route.

About 6 in 10 Americans said Saturday’s parade was “not a good use” of government money. The vast majority of people, 78%, said they neither approve nor disapprove of the parade overall, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Julia Demaree Nikhinson—AP Photo

The daylong display of America’s Army comes as Trump has shown his willingness to use the nation’s military might in ways other U.S. presidents have typically avoided. In the last week, he has activated the California National Guard without the governor’s permission and dispatched the U.S. Marines to provide security during Los Angeles protests related to immigration raids, prompting a state lawsuit to stop the deployments.

He similarly sought to project military strength during his first presidential term, saying in 2020 that he wanted forces to “dominate” the streets following racial justice protests that turned violent and warning governors that he was prepared to send in active-duty fighters if they did not call out the National Guard in their states.

Earlier this week, Trump raised eyebrows during a speech at Fort Bragg when members of the 82nd Airborne Division, who were directed to stand behind Trump, booed and cheered during his incendiary remarks, including condemnation of his predecessor, Joe Biden. There also was a pop-up “Make America Great Again” merchandise stand nearby selling souvenirs to troops in uniform.

The Defense Department has a doctrine that prohibits troops from participating in political activity while in uniform. Members of Congress and military leaders have expressed concerns about the political displays during the speech at Fort Bragg.

Saturday’s pageantry was designed to fulfill Trump’s expressed desire for a big parade that he tried to get done in his first term after seeing one in Paris on Bastille Day in 2017. Trump said after watching the two-hour procession along the famed Champs-Élysées that he wanted an even grander one in Washington.

Saturday’s event is expected to include about 6,600 soldiers, 50 helicopters and 60-ton M1 Abrams battle tanks, as well as possibly 200,000 attendees and heightened security to match.

The parade will wind down Constitution Avenue, lined with security fencing and barriers. Army helicopters and aircraft will fly above, and the march will be capped off by a parachute jump, a concert featuring “God Bless the U.S.A.” singer Lee Greenwood and fireworks.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP Photo

It remained unclear whether any protests would disrupt the parade, though several hundred demonstrators assembled in the hours before. Officials have said they had no indication of any security threat.

“No Kings” rallies — organizers picked the name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration — unfolding in hundreds of cities — were meant to counter what organizers say are Trump’s plans to feed his ego on his 79th birthday and Flag Day.

Ahead of a rally and march toward the White House on Saturday afternoon, about 200 protesters assembled in northwest Washington’s Logan Circle and handed out signs and danced to upbeat music from a local street band, including “This Land Is Your Land.”

The mood was celebratory as the group chanted “Trump must go now” before erupting in cheers.

A larger-than-life puppet of Trump was wheeled through the crowd, a caricature of the president wearing a crown and sitting on a golden toilet.

Other protesters waved pride flags and hoisted signs, some with pointed messages such as “I prefer crushed ICE,” referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Other messages were: “The invasion was HERE Jan. 6th, NOT in L.A.” and “Flip me off if you’re a FASCIST.”

With rain expected, there was a chance the parade could be interrupted by thunderstorms.

The Army expects as many as 200,000 people could attend the festival and parade.

The parade is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT, but parts of it — including the horse-drawn caissons and other units — start at the Pentagon, head over a bridge and meet up with some of the heavier tanks and equipment. Officials did not want the more-than-60-ton M1A1 Abrams tanks and Stryker vehicles crossing the bridge.

Timed down to the minute, the march will be divided into sections by history — with equipment and troops in full dress from each period.

It will include a total of 6,169 soldiers and 128 Army tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery, while 62 aircraft fly overhead.

At the end of the parade, Trump will swear in 250 new or reenlisting troops, and the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team will jump onto the Mall. That will be followed by a concert and fireworks.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Julia Demaree Nikhinson—AP Photo

The Trump administration directed immigration officers to pause arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels, after President Donald Trump expressed alarm about the impact of aggressive enforcement, an official said Saturday.

The move follows weeks of increased enforcement since Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump’s immigration policies, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump’s second term.

Tatum King, an official with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, wrote regional leaders on Thursday to halt investigations of the agricultural industry, including meatpackers, restaurants and hotels, according to The New York Times.

A U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to The Associated Press the contents of the directive. The Homeland Security Department did not dispute it.

“We will follow the President’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets,” Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokesperson, said when asked to confirm the directive.

The shift suggests Trump’s promise of mass deportations has limits if it threatens industries that rely on workers in the country illegally. Trump posted on his Truth Social site Thursday that he disapproved of how farmers and hotels were being affected.

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” he wrote. “In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

While ICE’s presence in Los Angeles has captured public attention and prompted Trump to deploy the California National Guard and Marines, immigration authorities have also been a growing presence at farms and factories across the country.

Farm bureaus in California say raids at packinghouses and fields are threatening businesses that supply much of the country’s food. Dozens of farmworkers were arrested after uniformed agents fanned out on farms northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County, which is known for growing strawberries, lemons and avocados. Others are skipping work as fear spreads.

ICE made more than 70 arrests Tuesday at a food packaging company in Omaha, Nebraska. The owner of Glenn Valley Foods said the company was enrolled in a voluntary program to verify workers’ immigration status and that it was operating at 30% capacity as it scrambled to find replacements.

Tom Homan, the White House border czar, has repeatedly said ICE will send officers into communities and workplaces, particularly in “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit the agency’s access to local jails.

Sanctuary cities “will get exactly what they don’t want, more officers in the communities and more officers at the work sites,” Homan said Monday on Fox News Channel. “We can’t arrest them in the jail, we’ll arrest them in the community. If we can’t arrest them in community, we’re going to increase work site enforcement operation. We’re going to flood the zone.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Damian Dovarganes—AP Photo

A massive search stretched into its second day Sunday for a man who authorities say wore a mask and posed as a police officer while fatally shooting a Democratic state lawmaker in her suburban Minneapolis home, an act Gov. Tim Walz called “a politically motivated assassination.” Authorities said the suspect also shot and wounded a second lawmaker and was trying to flee the area.

Former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin address, about 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) away.

Authorities identified the suspect as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, and the FBI issued a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. They shared a photo taken Saturday of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat and asked the public to report sightings. Hundreds of law enforcement officers fanned out in the search for the suspect.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said Sunday that authorities believe the shooter hasn’t gone far.

“We believe he’s somewhere in the vicinity and that they are going to find him,” the Democrat said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But right now, everyone’s on edge here, because we know that this man will kill at a second.”

Authorities had not yet given any details on a possible motive.

Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other.

The attacks prompted warnings to other state elected officials and the cancellation of planned “No Kings” demonstrations against President Donald Trump, though some went ahead anyway, including one that drew tens of thousands to the State Capitol in St. Paul. Authorities said the suspect had “No Kings” flyers in his car and writings mentioning the names of the victims as well as other lawmakers and officials, though they could not say if he had any other specific targets.

A Minnesota official told AP the suspect’s writings also contained information targeting prominent lawmakers who have been outspoken in favor of abortion rights. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

Law enforcement agents recovered several AK-style firearms from the suspect’s vehicle, and he was believed to still be armed with a pistol, a person familiar with the matter told AP. The person could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The shootings happened at a time when political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated amid deep political divisions.

“We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence,” said Walz, a Democrat. He also ordered flags to fly at half-staff in Hortman’s honor.

“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!” President Donald Trump said in a statement.

Exchange of gunfire

Police responded to reports of gunfire at the Hoffmans’ home shortly after 2 a.m., Champlin police said, and found the couple with multiple gunshot wounds.

After seeing who the victims were, police sent officers to proactively check on Hortman’s home. There they encountered what appeared to be a police vehicle and a man dressed as an officer at the door, leaving the house.

“When officers confronted him, the individual immediately fired upon the officers who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home” and escaped on foot, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said.

Authorities believe the shooter was wearing a mask when carrying out the attacks, according to a law enforcement official. The FBI released photos of the suspect including an image that appears to show him wearing a mask that covered his face and head, a police uniform, and holding a flashlight.

Multiple bullet holes could be seen in the front door of Hoffman’s home.

John and Yvette Hoffman each underwent surgery, according to Walz.

Two Democrats targeted

Hortman, 55, had been the top Democratic leader in the state House since 2017. She led Democrats in a three-week walkout at the beginning of this year’s session in a power struggle with Republicans. Under a power sharing agreement, she turned the gavel over to Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth and assumed the title speaker emerita.

Hortman used her position as speaker in 2023 to champion expanded protections for abortion rights, including legislation to solidify Minnesota’s status as a refuge for patients from restrictive states who travel to the state to seek abortions — and to protect providers who serve them.

Walz called her a “formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota.”

Hortman and her husband had two adult children.

The initial autopsy reports from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office gave their cause of death as “multiple gunshot wounds.”

The reports said Melissa Hortman died at the scene while her husband was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and was chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, which oversees one of the biggest parts of the state budget. He and his wife have one daughter.

The suspect

Boelter was appointed to the workforce development board in 2016 and then reappointed in 2019 to a four-year term that expired in 2023, state records show.

Corporate records show Boelter’s wife filed to create a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services LLC with the same Green Isle mailing address listed for the couple. Boelter’s wife is listed as president and CEO and he is listed as director of security patrols on the company’s website.

The website says the company provides armed security for property and events and features a photo of an SUV painted in a two-tone black and silver pattern similar to a police vehicle. Another photo shows a man in black tactical gear with a military-style helmet and a ballistic vest.

An online resume says Boelter is a security contractor who has worked in the Middle East and Africa, in addition to past managerial roles at companies in Minnesota.

Around 6 a.m., Boelter texted friends to say he had “made some choices,” the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

In the messages, read to reporters by David Carlson, Boelter did not specify what he had done but said: “I’m going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way. … I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused.”

Political violence

Klobuchar condemned online threats and urged people Sunday to think twice before posting accusations or motives on the Internet.

Speaking of Hortman on CNN, Klobuchar said: “This is a person that did everything for the right reasons.

“Regardless of political parties, look at her face before you send out your next post,” Klobuchar said.

Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican from Cold Spring, called the attack “evil” and said she was “heartbroken beyond words” by the killings.

The shootings are the latest in a series of attacks against lawmakers across parties.

In April a suspect set fire to the home of Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, forcing him and his family to flee during the Jewish holiday of Passover. The suspect said he planned to beat Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he found him, according to court documents.

In July 2024, Trump was grazed on the ear by one of a hail of bullets that killed a Trump supporter. Two months later a man with a rifle was discovered near the president’s Florida golf course and arrested.

Other incidents include a 2022 hammer attack on the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in their San Francisco home and a 2020 plot by anti-government extremists to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and start a civil war.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he asked Capitol Police to “immediately increase security” for Klobuchar and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith. He also asked Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, to hold a briefing on member security.

Speaking Sunday on CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday,” Smith said she personally felt safe and the thought of security details becoming the norm was unbearable.

“But I think we are at a tipping point right now when we see these kinds of personal threats. It gets worse, not better,” she said. “I don’t want to think that I need to have a personal security detail wherever I go.“

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Alex Kormann—Star Tribune via AP

Demonstrators crowded into streets, parks and plazas across the U.S. on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump, mixing anti-authoritarian messages with support for immigrants and calls to protect democracy.

Governors across the U.S. urged calm and vowed no tolerance for violence, while some mobilized the National Guard ahead of marchers gathering in major downtowns and small towns. Through midday, confrontations were isolated.

Atlanta’s 5,000-capacity “No Kings” rally quickly reached its limit, with thousands more demonstrators gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol. Huge crowds marched in New York, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, some behind “no kings” banners.

In Minnesota, organizers canceled demonstrations as police worked to track down a suspect in the shootings of two Democratic legislators and their spouses.

Intermittent light rain fell as marchers gathered for the flagship rally in Philadelphia’s Love Park. They shouted “Whose streets? Our streets!” as they marched to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where they listened to speakers on the steps made famous in the movie “Rocky.”

“So what do you say, Philly?” Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland shouted to the crowd. “Are you ready to fight back? Do you want a gangster state or do you want free speech in America?”

Trump was in Washington for a military parade marking the Army’s 250th anniversary that coincides with the president’s birthday. There, a massive demonstration toured the city’s streets, led by a banner reading, “Trump must go now.”

In Charlotte, demonstrators trying to march through downtown briefly faced off with police forming a barricade with their bicycles, chanting “let us walk,” while law enforcement in northern Atlanta deployed tear gas to divert several hundred protesters heading toward Interstate 285. A journalist was seen being detained by officers and police helicopters flew above the crowd.

In some places, organizers handed out little American flags while others flew their flags upside down. Mexican flags made an appearance in some demonstrations.

Protests were planned in nearly 2,000 locations across the country, from city blocks and small towns to courthouse steps and community parks, organizers said. The 50501 Movement orchestrating the protests says it picked the “No Kings” name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration. The name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement.

The demonstrations come on the heels of protests that flared up across the country over federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.

Philadelphia

Thousands gathered in downtown Love Park, with organizers handing out small American flags and people carried protest signs saying things like “fight oligarchy” and “deport the mini-Mussolinis.”

Karen Van Trieste, a 61-year-old nurse who drove up from Maryland, said she grew up in Philadelphia and wanted to be with a large group of people showing her support.

“I just feel like we need to defend our democracy,” she said. She is concerned about the Trump administration’s layoffs of staff at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fate of immigrant communities and the Trump administration trying to rule by executive order, she said.

A woman wearing a foam Statue of Liberty crown brought a speaker system and led an anti-Trump sing-along, changing the words “young man” in the song “Y.M.C.A.” to “con man.”

One man in Revolutionary War era garb and a tricorn hat held a sign with a quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson: “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

Los Angeles

Thousands gathered in front of City Hall in a boisterous crowd, waving signs and listening to a Native American drum circle and dance performances, before marching through the streets.

Signs included “They fear us, don’t back down California,” “Protesting is not a crime,” “We carry dreams not danger” and “ICE out of LA.” One demonstrator carried a 2-foot-tall (60-centimeter) Trump pinata on a stick, with a crown on his head and sombrero hanging off his back while another hoisted a huge helium-filled orange baby balloon with blond hair styled like Trump’s.

North Carolina

Crowds cheered anti-Trump speakers in Charlotte’s First Ward Park and chanted “we have no kings” before marching behind a “No Kings” banner through the city, chanting “No kings, no crowns, we will not bow down” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”

Marchers stretched for blocks, led by a group of people holding a giant Mexican flag and bystanders cheering and clapping for protesters along the way.

Jocelyn Abarca, a 21-year-old college student, said the protest was a chance to “speak for what’s right” after mass deportations and the deployment of the National Guard to deal with protesters in Los Angeles last week.

“If we don’t stop it now, it’s just going to keep getting worse,” she said of the Trump administration’s actions.

Minnesota

Before organizers canceled demonstrations in the state, Gov. Tim Walz took to social media to issue a warning after the shootings.

“Out of an abundance of caution my Department of Public Safety is recommending that people do not attend any political rallies today in Minnesota until the suspect is apprehended,” he wrote.

Florida

About a thousand people gathered on the grounds of Florida’s old Capitol in Tallahassee, where protesters chanted, “This is what community looks like,” and carried signs with messages like “one nation under distress” and “dissent is patriotic.”

Organizers of the rally explicitly told the crowd to avoid any conflicts with counterprotesters and to take care not to jaywalk or disrupt traffic.

One march approached the gates of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where sheriff’s deputies turned them back.

Urging calm and calling out the National Guard

Governors and city officials vowed to protect the right to protest and to show no tolerance for violence. Some urged calm, while Republican governors in Virginia, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri were mobilizing National Guard troopsto help law enforcement manage demonstrations.

Some governors urged calm and put state police on standby for the weekend.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Mike Stewart—AP Photo

President Donald Trump’s administration this week provided deportation officials with personal data — including the immigration status — on millions of Medicaid enrollees, a move that could make it easier to locate people as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

An internal memo and emails obtained by The Associated Press show that Medicaid officials unsuccessfully sought to block the data transfer, citing legal and ethical concerns.

Nevertheless, two top advisers to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.ordered the dataset handed over to the Department of Homeland Security, the emails show. Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were given just 54 minutes on Tuesday to comply with the directive.

The dataset includes the information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington, D.C., all of which allow non-U. S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars. CMS transferred the information just as the Trump administration was ramping up its enforcement efforts in Southern California.

Besides helping authorities locate migrants, experts said, the government could also use the information to scuttle the hopes of migrants seeking green cards, permanent residency or citizenship if they had ever obtained Medicaid benefits funded by the federal government.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ’s office said in a statement that it was concerned about how deportation officials might utilize the data, especially as federal authorities conduct immigration raids with the assistance of National Guard troops and Marines in Los Angeles.

“We deeply value the privacy of all Californians,” the statement said. “This potential data transfer brought to our attention by the AP is extremely concerning, and if true, potentially unlawful, particularly given numerous headlines highlighting potential improper federal use of personal information and federal actions to target the personal information of Americans.”

Some California lawmakers on Friday also expressed alarm. U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman, a Democrat, wrote on X that “we should never use a person’s need to go to the doctor against them. This will only lead to more chaos and pain in our communities.”

U.S. Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the data sharing was legal. He declined to answer questions about why the data was shared with DHS and how it would be used.

“With respect to the recent data sharing between CMS and DHS, HHS acted entirely within its legal authority — and in full compliance with all applicable laws — to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them,” Nixon said.

An official with DHS, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement that Trump “promised to protect Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. To keep that promise after Joe Biden flooded our country with tens of millions of illegal aliens CMS and DHS are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans.”

The initiative appears to be part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to provide DHS with more data on migrants. In May, for example, a federal judge refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help agents locate and detain people living without legal status in the U.S.

A targeted review of millions of immigrant Medicaid enrollees

CMS announced late last month that it was reviewing some state’s Medicaid enrollees to ensure federal funds have not been used to pay for coverage for people with “unsatisfactory immigration status.” In a letter sent to state Medicaid officials, CMS said that the effort was part of Trump’s Feb. 19 executive order titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders.”

As part of the review, California, Washington and Illinois shared details about non-U. S. citizens who have enrolled in their state’s Medicaid program, according to a June 6 memo signed by Medicaid Deputy Director Sara Vitolo that was obtained by the AP. The memo was written by several CMS officials under Vitolo’s supervision, according to sources familiar with the process.

The data includes addresses, names, social security numbers and claims data for enrollees in those states, according to the memo and two people familiar with what the states sent to CMS and what was shared with DHS. Both individuals spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share details about the data exchange.

CMS officials attempted to fight the data sharing request from Homeland Security, saying that to do so would violate federal laws, including the Social Security Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, according to Vitolo’s memo.

“Multiple federal statutory and regulatory authorities do not permit CMS to share this information with entities outside of CMS,” Vitolo wrote, further explaining that the sharing of such personal data is only allowed for directly administering the Medicaid program.

Sharing information about Medicaid applicants or enrollees with DHS officials would violate a “long-standing policy,” wrote Vitolo, a career employee, to Trump appointee Kim Brandt, deputy administrator and chief operating officer of CMS.

Vitolo and Brandt could not be reached for comment.

The legal arguments outlined in the memo were not persuasive to Trump appointees at HHS, which oversees the Medicaid agency.

Four days after the memo was sent, on June 10, HHS officials directed the transfer of “the data to DHS by 5:30 ET today,” according to email exchanges obtained by AP.

Former government officials said the move was unusual because CMS, which has access to personal health data for nearly half the country, does not typically share such sensitive information with other departments.

“DHS has no role in anything related to Medicaid,” said Jeffrey Grant, a former career employee at CMS.

Beyond her legal arguments, Vitolo said sharing the information with DHS could have a chilling effect on states, perhaps prompting them to withhold information. States, she added needed to guard against the “legal risk” they were taking by giving federal officials data that could be shared with deportation officials.

A ‘concerning’ development

All states must legally provide emergency Medicaid services to non-U. S. citizens, including to those who are lawfully present but have not yet met a five-year wait to apply for Medicaid.

Seven states, along with the District, allow immigrants who are not living legally in the country to enroll — with full benefits — in their state’s Medicaid program. The states launched these programs during the Biden administration and said they would not bill the federal government to cover those immigrants’ health care costs.

The Trump administration has raised doubts about that pledge.

Nixon, the HHS spokesperson, said that the state’s Medicaid programs for immigrants “opened the floodgates for illegal immigrants to exploit Medicaid — and forced hardworking Americans to foot the bill.”

All of the states — California, New York, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota and Colorado — have Democratic governors. Due to his state’s budget woes, Newsom announced earlier this year he would freeze enrollment into the program; Illinois will also shut down its program for roughly 30,000 non-U. S. citizens in July.

The remaining states — New York, Oregon, Minnesota and Colorado — have not yet submitted the identifiable data to CMS as part of the review, according to a public health official who has reviewed CMS’ requests to the states.

Illinois health officials also said they were “deeply concerned” by the AP’s findings that revealed their state’s Medicaid customer information was shared with federal agencies outside of CMS, given that their “understanding (is) that the data is protected under the federal Privacy Act of 1974 and other federal regulations — which protects the rights of Americans’ sensitive health and personal data.”

In a statement issued after publication of AP’s story, California’s Newsom said the decision to share the data “will jeopardize the safety, health, and security of those who will undoubtedly be targeted by this abuse.”

State health officials from the District and Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Mark Schiefelbein—AP Photo

The House narrowly voted Thursday to cut about $9.4 billion in spending already approved by Congress as President Donald Trump’s administration looks to follow through on work done by the Department of Government Efficiency when it was overseen by Elon Musk.

The package targets foreign aid programs and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides money for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service as well as thousands of public radio and television stations around the country. The vote was 214-212.

Republicans are characterizing the spending as wasteful and unnecessary, but Democrats say the rescissions are hurting the United States’ standing in the world and will lead to needless deaths.

“Cruelty is the point,” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said of the proposed spending cuts.

The Trump administration is employing a tool rarely used in recent years that allows the president to transmit a request to Congress to cancel previously appropriated funds. That triggers a 45-day clock in which the funds are frozen pending congressional action. If Congress fails to act within that period, then the spending stands.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, your taxpayer dollars are no longer being wasted,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote. “Instead, they are being directed toward priorities that truly benefit the American people.”

The benefit for the administration of a formal rescissions request is that passage requires only a simple majority in the 100-member Senate instead of the 60 votes usually required to get spending bills through that chamber. So if they stay largely united, Republicans will be able to pass the measure without any Democratic votes.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the Senate would likely not take the bill up until July and after it has dealt with Trump’s big tax and immigration bill. He also said it’s possible the Senate could tweak the bill.

The administration is likening the first rescissions package to a test case and says more could be on the way if Congress goes along.

Republicans, sensitive to concerns that Trump’s sweeping tax and immigration bill would increase future federal deficits, are anxious to demonstrate spending discipline, though the cuts in the package amount to just a sliver of the spending approved by Congress each year. They are betting the cuts prove popular with constituents who align with Trump’s “America first” ideology as well as those who view NPR and PBS as having a liberal bias.

Four Republicans voted against the measure — Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Mike Turner of Ohio. No Democrats voted for the measure.

The bill looked like it was in danger of going down, but two lawmakers — Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Nick LaLota of New York — changed their votes to yes, allowing it to advance to the Senate.

LaLota had an extensive conversation with Johnson on the House floor as Johnson could be seen trying to win him over. Afterward, LaLota called it “private discussions” to make sure “my constituents will get what they need.”

Bacon said he was reassured by House Republican leadership that PBS would receiving funding for next year. He said he was also told that funding for the U.S.-led global response to HIV, known as PEPFAR, will not be affected.

“Because of these reassurances, I voted yes on H.R. 4,” Bacon said.

In all, the package contains 21 proposed rescissions. Approval would claw back about $900 million from $10 billion that Congress has approved for global health programs. That includes canceling $500 million for activities related to infectious diseases and child and maternal health and another $400 million to address the global HIV epidemic.

The Trump administration is also looking to cancel $800 million, or a quarter of the amount Congress approved, for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and sanitation, and family reunification for those forced to flee their own country.

About 45% of the savings sought by the White House would come from two programs designed to boost the economies, democratic institutions and civil societies in developing countries.

Democratic leadership, in urging their caucus to vote no, said that package would eliminate access to clean water for more than 3.6 million people and lead to millions more not having access to a school.

“Those Democrats saying that these rescissions will harm people in other countries are missing the point,” said Rep. Lisa McClain, House Republican Conference chair. “It’s about people in our country being put first.”

The Republican president asked lawmakers to rescind nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it’s slated to receive during the next two budget years. About two-thirds of the money gets distributed to more than 1,500 locally owned public radio and television stations. Nearly half of those stations serve rural areas of the country.

“Cutting off federal funding to public media will not only damage local stations, it will be disruptive for millions of Americans who rely on it for news and information that helps them make decisions about their lives and participate in their communities,” said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Several advocacy groups that serve the world’s poorest people had urged lawmakers to vote no.

“We are already seeing women, children and families left without food, clean water and critical services after earlier aid cuts, and aid organizations can barely keep up with rising needs,” said Abby Maxman, president and CEO of Oxfam America, a poverty-fighting organization.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said the foreign aid is a tool that prevents conflict and promotes stability, but the measure before the House takes that tool away.

“This bill is good for Russia and China and undertakers,” said Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.

Republicans disparaged the foreign aid spending and sought to link it to programs they said DOGE had uncovered.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said taxpayer dollars had gone to such things as targeting climate change, promoting pottery classes and strengthening diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Other Republicans cited similar examples they said DOGE had revealed.

“Yet, my friends on the other side of the aisle would like you to believe, seriously, that if you don’t use your taxpayer dollars to fund this absurd list of projects and thousands of others I didn’t even list, that somehow people will die and our global standing in the world will crumble,” Roy said. “Well, let’s just reject this now.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Alex Brandon—AP

JetZero Inc. announced plans Thursday to build its first manufacturing plant for a next-generation passenger jet in central North Carolina, a project that if successful would create more than 14,500 jobs there in a decade.

The California-based startup intends to build the factory at Greensboro’s airport, investing $4.7 billion. The planned hirings from 2027 through 2036 would be the largest job commitment in North Carolina history, according to Gov. Josh Stein.

The company previously identified Greensboro as one of three finalists for the factory to build its fixed-wing — also known as all-wing or blended-wing — Z4 aircraft, which JetZero says will be up to 50% more fuel-efficient than traditional tube-and-wing airliners.

JetZero has said it’s already raised about $300 million toward investment in the Z4 project, including a U.S. Air Force grant to build and fly a demonstrator model by 2027.

United Airlines and Alaska Airlines also are project investors and have made conditional purchase agreements for their fleets, the company said. JetZero aims for the planes to go into service in the early 2030s, with a goal of completing 20 airplanes per month at full production.

Stein, on hand with JetZero executives and other officials for the formal announcement at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, cited North Carolina’s robust aerospace industry and the first manned powered flights at Kitty Hawk by the Wright brothers in 1903.

“North Carolina is the perfect location,” Stein said. “North Carolina was first in flight. We are also the future of flight.”

The jobs would pay minimum average salaries of more than $89,000, according to the state Department of Commerce, which provided details of the project discussed earlier Thursday by a state committee that awards economic incentives.

State and local monetary and training incentives for JetZero and the project described at the committee meeting could exceed $2.35 billion by the 2060s if investment and job-creation thresholds and other requirements are met.

A portion of state incentives awarded by the committee — more than $1 billion over 37 years — is based on a percentage of income taxes withheld from plant workers’ paychecks. The incentives also include up to $785 million from Guilford County and Greensboro and up to $450 million from the General Assembly in part to help with infrastructure, officials said. The project includes a research facility for composite structures.

A commerce department official said that JetZero, headquartered in Long Beach, California, looked for over a year for a plant location, examining 25 sites in 17 states.

JetZero, currently with just 225 workers, enters a jet purchasing market dominated by industry behemoths U.S.-based Boeing and European Airbus.

“We have already shown strong commercial interest and momentum to meet the real airline demand for this aircraft,” CEO Tom O’Leary said. “So this is more than just a factory. It’s a launchpad for a new chapter of American aerospace.”

While a variant of the Z4 would have tanker and transport uses in the military, JetZero has said that it would focus first on building a commercial jetliner with about 250 seats and a range of 5,000 nautical miles.

The 5-year-old company says the plane’s shape will reduce drag and the mounting of engines on the top and back of the plane will make it much quieter than traditional airliners. The Z4 would run on conventional jet fuel but could be converted to hydrogen fuel, according to JetZero.

JetZero says Z4 travelers will board through larger doors and into shorter but wider cabins, and aisles will be less congested as bathrooms will be far away from galleys where meals are prepared.

“It’s going to deliver a better passenger experience than you’ve ever had before on any other plane,” O’Leary said.

Stein said the state is already home to more than 400 aerospace companies. And the Piedmont Triad airport has emerged as an industry hot spot, with Honda Aircraft placing its headquarters there and Boom Supersonic building its first full-scale manufacturing plant for next-generation supersonic passenger jets.

The central location and easy access to interstates also lured Toyota to build an electric battery plant in adjoining Randolph County.

North Carolina’s previous largest economic development project, measured by employment, was revealed in 2022, when Vietnamese automaker VinFast announced plans to build an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Chatham County, promising 7,500 jobs.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Walt Unks—The Winston-Salem Journal via AP

Meta is making a $14.3 billion investment in artificial intelligence company Scale and recruiting its CEO Alexandr Wang to join a team developing “superintelligence” at the tech giant.

The deal announced Thursday reflects a push by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to revive AI efforts at the parent company of Facebook and Instagram as it faces tough competition from rivals such as Google and OpenAI.

Meta announced what it called a “strategic partnership and investment” with Scale late Thursday. Scale said the $14.3 billion investment puts its market value at over $29 billion.

Scale said it will remain an independent company but the agreement will “substantially expand Scale and Meta’s commercial relationship.” Meta will hold a 49% stake in the startup.

Wang, though leaving for Meta with a small group of other Scale employees, will remain on Scale’s board of directors. Replacing him is a new interim Scale CEO Jason Droege, who was previously the company’s chief strategy officer and had past executive roles at Uber Eats and Axon.

Zuckerberg’s increasing focus on the abstract idea of “superintelligence” — which rival companies call artificial general intelligence, or AGI — is the latest pivot for a tech leader who in 2021 went all-in on the idea of the metaverse, changing the company’s name and investing billions into advancing virtual reality and related technology.

It won’t be the first time since ChatGPT’s 2022 debut sparked an AI arms race that a big tech company has gobbled up talent and products at innovative AI startups without formally acquiring them. Microsoft hired key staff from startup Inflection AI, including co-founder and CEO Mustafa Suleyman, who now runs Microsoft’s AI division.

Google pulled in the leaders of AI chatbot company Character.AI, while Amazon made a deal with San Francisco-based Adept that sent its CEO and key employees to the e-commerce giant. Amazon also got a license to Adept’s AI systems and datasets.

Wang was a 19-year-old student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology when he and co-founder Lucy Guo started Scale in 2016.

They won influential backing that summer from the startup incubator Y Combinator, which was led at the time by Sam Altman, now the CEO of OpenAI. Wang dropped out of MIT, following a trajectory similar to that of Zuckerberg, who quit Harvard University to start Facebook more than a decade earlier.

Scale’s pitch was to supply the human labor needed to improve AI systems, hiring workers to draw boxes around a pedestrian or a dog in a street photo so that self-driving cars could better predict what’s in front of them. General Motors and Toyota have been among Scale’s customers.

What Scale offered to AI developers was a more tailored version of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, which had long been a go-to service for matching freelance workers with temporary online jobs.

More recently, the growing commercialization of AI large language models — the technology behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s Llama — brought a new market for Scale’s annotation teams. The company claims to service “every leading large language model,” including from Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta and Microsoft, by helping to fine tune their training data and test their performance. It’s not clear what the Meta deal will mean for Scale’s other customers.

Wang has also sought to build close relationships with the U.S. government, winning military contracts to supply AI tools to the Pentagon and attending President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The head of Trump’s science and technology office, Michael Kratsios, was an executive at Scale for the four years between Trump’s first and second terms. Meta has also begun providing AI services to the federal government.

Meta has taken a different approach to AI than many of its rivals, releasing its flagship Llama system for free as an open-source product that enables people to use and modify some of its key components. Meta says more than a billion people use its AI products each month, but it’s also widely seen as lagging behind competitors such as OpenAI and Google in encouraging consumer use of large language models, also known as LLMs.

It hasn’t yet released its purportedly most advanced model, Llama 4 Behemoth, despite previewing it in April as “one of the smartest LLMs in the world and our most powerful yet.”

Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, who in 2019 was a winner of computer science’s top prize for his pioneering AI work, has expressed skepticism about the tech industry’s current focus on large language models.

“How do we build AI systems that understand the physical world, that have persistent memory, that can reason and can plan?” LeCun asked at a French tech conference last year.

These are all characteristics of intelligent behavior that large language models “basically cannot do, or they can only do them in a very superficial, approximate way,” LeCun said.

Instead, he emphasized Meta’s interest in “tracing a path towards human-level AI systems, or perhaps even superhuman.” When he returned to France’s annual VivaTech conference again on Wednesday, LeCun dodged a question about the pending Scale deal but said his AI research team’s plan has “always been to reach human intelligence and go beyond it.”

“It’s just that now we have a clearer vision for how to accomplish this,” he said.

LeCun co-founded Meta’s AI research division more than a decade ago with Rob Fergus, a fellow professor at New York University. Fergus later left for Google but returned to Meta last month after a 5-year absence to run the research lab, replacing longtime director Joelle Pineau.

Fergus wrote on LinkedIn last month that Meta’s commitment to long-term AI research “remains unwavering” and described the work as “building human-level experiences that transform the way we interact with technology.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Republican tax bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives would cost the poorest Americans roughly $1,600 a year while increasing the income of the wealthiest households by an average of $12,000 annually, according to a new analysis released Thursday by the Congressional Budget Office.

Middle-income households would see a boost of roughly $500 to $1,000 per year under Republican President Donald Trump’s tax bill, the CBO found.

The cuts to the lowest-income households come from proposed cuts to social safety net programs including Medicaid and a food assistance program for lower-income people, known as Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program.

The bill also proposes expanding work requirements to receive food aid and new “community engagement requirements” of at least 80 hours per month of work, education or service for able-bodied adults without dependents to receive Medicaid. Some proposed tax breaks would be temporary, including a tax break on tips and overtime, car loan interest and a $4,000 increase in the standard deduction for seniors.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other Republicans have sought to discredit the CBO’s analyses of the bill and say that the U.S. could head toward economic catastrophe if the measure is not passed. GOP Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo said during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday that the tax bill “recognizes the solution to our debt crisis is not to tax Americans more, it is to spend less.”

“The legislation recognizes that extending proven tax reform is critical for working families,” he said.

Administration officials have said the the cost of the tax bill would be offset by tariff income. Recently, the CBO separately estimated that Trump’s sweeping tariff plan would cut deficits by $2.8 trillion over a 10-year period while shrinking the economy, raising the inflation rate and reducing the purchasing power of households overall.

The CBO was established more than 50 years ago to provide objective, impartial analysis to support the budget process. It is required to produce a cost estimate for nearly every bill approved by a House or Senate committee and will weigh in earlier when asked to do so by lawmakers.

The office’s analysis released Thursday considers Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” in isolation, excluding the potential impact of the tariffs that Trump has imposed and paused on nations around the world.

Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, who requested the CBO analysis released Thursday, said in a statement that “this would be one of the largest transfers of wealth from working families to the ultra-rich in American history. It’s shameful.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order that directed President Donald Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California after he deployed them there following protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids.

The court said it would hold a hearing on the matter on Tuesday. The ruling came only hours after a federal judge’s order was to take effect at noon Friday.

Earlier Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled the Guard deployment was illegal and both violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded Trump’s statutory authority. The order applied only to the National Guard troops and not Marines who were also deployed to the LA protests. The judge said he would not rule on the Marines because they were not out on the streets yet.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had asked the judge for an emergency stop to troops helping carry out immigration raids, had praised the earlier ruling.

“Today was really about a test of democracy, and today we passed the test,” Newsom said in a news conference before the appeals court decision.

The White House had called Breyer’s order “unprecedented” and said it “puts our brave federal officials in danger.”

“The district court has no authority to usurp the President’s authority as Commander in Chief,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. “The President exercised his lawful authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect federal buildings and personnel in Gavin Newsom’s lawless Los Angeles. The Trump Administration will immediately appeal this abuse of power and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”

Marines in civil disturbance training at nearby base

About 700 Marines have been undergoing civil disturbance training at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach in Orange County, California. Nicholas Green, an attorney for the state, told the court: “I have been told by the office of the governor that within the next 24 hours, 140 Marines will replace and relieve National Guard members in Los Angeles.”

Typically the authority to call up the National Guard lies with governors, but there are limited circumstances under which the president can deploy those troops. Trump federalized members of the California National Guard under an authority known as Title 10.

Title 10 allows the president to call the National Guard into federal service under certain limited circumstances, such as when the country “is invaded,” when “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government,” or when the president is unable “to execute the laws of the United States.”

Breyer said in his ruling that what is happening in Los Angeles does not meet the definition of a rebellion.

“The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of ‘rebellion,’” he wrote.

California sued the federal government

Newsom sued to block the Guard’s deployment against his wishes. California later filed an emergency motion asking the judge to block the Guard from assisting with immigration raids.

The governor argued that the troops were originally deployed to protect federal buildings and wanted the court to block the troops from helping protect immigration agents during the raids, saying that involving the Guard would only escalate tensions and promote civil unrest.

Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, commander of Task Force 51, which is overseeing the Guard troops and Marines sent to Los Angeles, said that as of Wednesday about 500 of the Guard troops had been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations. Photos of Guard soldiers providing security for the agents have already been circulated by immigration officials.

None of the Marines have been trained to go on immigration raids, and it is not yet clear if they eventually will, Sherman said.

Trump improperly called up the Guard, judge says

In his broad ruling, the judge determined Trump had not properly called the Guard up in the first place.

The lawsuit argued that Title 10 also requires that the president go through governors when issuing orders to the National Guard.

Brett Shumate, an attorney for the federal government, said Trump complied with the statute by informing the general in charge of the troops of his decision and would have the authority to call in the Guard even if he had not.

In a brief filed ahead of the Thursday hearing, the Justice Department said Trump’s orders were not subject to judicial review.

“Courts did not interfere when President Eisenhower deployed the military to protect school desegregation. Courts did not interfere when President Nixon deployed the military to deliver the mail in the midst of a postal strike. And courts should not interfere here either,” the department said.

“Our position is this is not subject to judicial review,” Shumate told the judge.

Breyer, who at one point waved a copy of the Constitution, said he disagreed.

“We’re talking about the president exercising his authority, and the president is of course limited in that authority. That’s the difference between a constitutional government and King George,” he said.

Protests intensified

The protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles intensified after Trump called up the Guard and have since spread to other cities, including Boston, Chicago and Seattle.

Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Damian Dovarganes—AP

Israel attacked Iran’s capital early Friday in strikes that targeted the country’s nuclear program and killed at least two top military officers, raising the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.

The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and appeared certain to trigger a reprisal, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning that “severe punishment” would be directed at Israel. Hours later, Israel’s military said it had begun intercepting Iranian drones launched in retaliation.

An Israeli official said the interceptions were taking place outside of Israeli territory, but did not elaborate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement.

Iraq said more than 100 Iranian drones had crossed its airspace, and a short time later neighboring Jordan said its air force and defense systems had intercepted several missiles and drones that had entered its airspace for fear they would fall in its territory.

Israel’s attack on Iran hit several sites, including the country’s main nuclear enrichment facility, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. Later in the morning, it said it had also destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran.

The leader of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, was confirmed dead, Iranian state television reported, a development that is a significant blow to Tehran’s governing theocracy and an immediate escalation of its long-simmering conflict with Israel.

The chief of staff of Iranian armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, was also confirmed dead by Iranian state television. Other top military officials and scientists were believed to have been killed.

In Washington, the Trump administration, which had cautioned Israel against an attack during continued negotiations over Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, said that it had not been involved and warned against any retaliation targeting U.S. interests or personnel.

Still, it seemed likely the U.S. suspected an attack could be in the offing, with Washington on Wednesday pulling some American diplomats from Iraq’s capital and offering voluntary evacuations for the families of U.S. troops in the wider Middle East.

Israel calls attacks preemptive strikes on Iran’s nuclear program

Israeli leaders cast the preemptive assault as a fight for the nation’s survival that was necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that or whether Iran had actually been planning a strike soon.

“It could be a year. It could be within a few months,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he vowed to pursue the attack for as long as necessary to “remove this threat.”

“This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival,” he said.

Israel is believed to have carried out numerous highly secretive attacks on Iranian soil over the years, though it has rarely acknowledged them. Most have been aimed at Iran’s nuclear program, though Iran has also accused Israel of targeting its natural gas pipelines and of assassinating Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Over the past year, Israel has also been targeting Iran’s air defenses, hitting a radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery in April 2024 and surface-to-air missile sites and missile manufacturing facilities in October.

Some 200 Israeli aircraft took part in Friday’s operation, hitting about 100 targets, Israeli army chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said, adding that the attacks were ongoing.

In the aftermath, Defrin said Iran had launched more than 100 drones toward Israel and that “all the defense systems are acting to intercept the threats.”

Israel, Iraq, Iran and Jordan shut down their airspace to all flights as a precaution.

Iran confirms top officials and scientists killed

Khamenei issued a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency. It confirmed that top military officials and scientists had been killed in the attack.

Israel “opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centers,” Khamenei said.

For Netanyahu, the operation distracts attention from Israel’s ongoing and increasingly devastating war in Gaza, which is now over 20 months old.

There is a broad consensus in the Israeli public that Iran is a major threat, and Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, a staunch critic of Netanyahu, offered his “full support” for the mission against Iran. But if Iranian reprisals cause heavy Israeli casualties or major disruptions to daily life, Netanyahu could see public opinion quickly shift.

Netanyahu expressed hope the attacks would trigger the downfall of Iran’s theocracy, saying his message to the Iranian people was that the fight was not with them, but with the “brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years.”

“I believe that the day of your liberation is near,” the Israeli leader said.

Multiple sites in the Iranian capital were hit in the attack, which Netanyahu said targeted both nuclear and military sites. Also targeted were officials leading Iran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that an Israeli strike hit Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and said it was closely monitoring radiation levels.

The strike on Iran pushed the Israeli military to its limits, requiring the use of aging air-to-air refuelers to get its fighter jets close enough to attack. It wasn’t immediately clear if Israeli jets entered Iranian airspace or just fired so-called “standoff missiles” over another country. People in Iraq heard fighter jets overhead at the time of the attack. Israel previously attacked Iran from over the border in Iraq.

Tension had been growing for weeks ahead of attacks

The potential for an attack had been apparent for weeks as angst built over Iran’s nuclear program.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he did not believe an attack was imminent but also acknowledged that it “could very well happen.” Once the attacks were underway, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued an alert telling American government workers and their families to shelter in place until further notice.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took “unilateral action against Iran” and that Israel advised the U.S. that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defense.

“We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement released by the White House.

Trump is scheduled to attend a meeting of his National Security Council on Friday in the White House Situation Room, where he is expected to discuss the conflict with top advisers. It is not clear if he plans to make public remarks on the strikes.

Israel has long been determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a concern laid bare on Thursday when the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency for the first time in 20 years censured Iran over its refusal to work with its inspectors. Iran immediately announced it would establish a third enrichment site in the country and swap out some centrifuges for more-advanced ones.

Even so, there are multiple assessments on how many nuclear weapons it could conceivably build, should it choose to do so. Iran would need months to assemble, test and field any weapon, which it so far has said it has no desire to do. U.S. intelligence agencies also assess Iran does not have a weapons program at this time.

In a sign of the far-reaching implications of the emerging conflict, Israel’s main airport was closed and benchmark Brent crude spiked on news of the attack, rising nearly 8%. Both Iran and Israel closed their airspace.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that in the aftermath of the strikes, “missile and drone attacks against Israel and its civilian population are expected immediately.”

“It is essential to listen to instructions from the home front command and authorities to stay in protected areas,” he said in a statement.

As the explosions in Tehran started, Trump was on the lawn of the White House mingling with members of Congress. It was unclear if he had been informed, but the president continued shaking hands and posing for pictures for several minutes.

Trump earlier said he urged Netanyahu to hold off on any action while the administration negotiated with Iran over nuclear enrichment.

“As long as I think there is a (chance for an) agreement, I don’t want them going in because I think it would blow it,” Trump told reporters.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Majid Saeedi—Getty Images

Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla on Thursday was forcefully removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference in Los Angeles and handcuffed by officers as he tried to speak up about immigration raids that have led to protests in California and around the country.

Video shows a Secret Service agent on Noem’s security detail grabbing the California senator by his jacket and shoving him from the room as he tried to speak up during the DHS secretary’s event. Padilla interrupted the news conference after Noem delivered a particularly pointed line, saying federal authorities were not going away but planned to stay and increase operations to “liberate” the city from its “socialist” leadership.

“I’m Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he shouted in a halting voice.

Scuffling with officers outside the room, he can be heard bellowing, “Hands off!” He is later seen on his knees and then pushed to the ground and handcuffed in a hallway, with several officers atop him.

🚨 #BREAKING @SenAlexPadilla tries to interrupt a press conference by @DHSgov Sec @KristiNoem and he’s forcibly removed.

California’s senior U.S. Senator was handcuffed and detained.

Video from @AlexPadilla4CA’s staff 🚨 pic.twitter.com/PXfszkBXxo

— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) June 12, 2025

The shocking scene of a U.S. senator being aggressively removed from a Cabinet secretary’s news conference prompted immediate outrage from his Democratic colleagues. Images and video of the scuffle ricocheted through the halls of Congress, where stunned Democrats demanded an immediate investigation and characterized the episode as another in a line of mounting threats to democracy by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said what he saw “sickened my stomach.”

“We need immediate answers to what the hell went on,” the New York senator said from the Senate floor. “It’s despicable, it’s disgusting, it’s so un-American.”

In a statement, DHS said that Padilla “chose disrespectful political theater” and that Secret Service “thought he was an attacker.” The statement claimed erroneously that Padilla did not identify himself — he did, as he was being pushed from the room.

“Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands,” the statement said, adding that “officers acted appropriately.”

The fracas in Los Angeles came just days after Democratic U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted on federal charges alleging she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers outside a detention center in New Jersey while Newark’s mayor was being arrested after he tried to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility. Democrats have framed the charges as intimidation efforts by the Trump administration.

It also follows days of rising tension between Trump and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the federal military intervention in California. In a speech earlier this week, the governor warned that “democracy is under assault before our eyes.”

Emerging afterward, Padilla said he was removed while demanding answers about the Trump administration’s “increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions.” He said he and his colleagues had received little to no response to their questions in recent weeks, so he attended the briefing for more information.

“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question … I can only imagine what they are doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers throughout the Los Angeles community, and throughout California and throughout the country,” he said.

Noem told Fox LA afterward that she had a “great” conversation with Padilla after the scuffle, but called his approach “something that I don’t think was appropriate at all.”

The White House accused Padilla of grandstanding.

“Padilla didn’t want answers; he wanted attention,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “It’s telling that Democrats are more riled up about Padilla than they are about the violent riots and assaults on law enforcement in LA.”

Padilla, the son of immigrants from Mexico, has been a harsh Trump critic and his mass deportations agenda. In a social media post, he said of recent federal immigration raids in Los Angeles, “Trump isn’t targeting criminals in his mass deportation agenda, he is terrorizing communities, breaking apart families and putting American citizens in harm’s way.”

Padilla in 2021 became the state’s first Latino U.S. senator when he was selected by Newsom to fill Kamala Harris’ Senate seat after she was elected vice president. At the time, Padilla was the state’s chief elections officer.

Harris wrote in a social media post Thursday that Padilla “was representing the millions of Californians who are demanding answers to this administration’s actions in Southern California.” She called his forceful removal “a shameful and stunning abuse of power.”

Democratic senators quickly gathered in the chamber, denouncing the treatment of their colleague — a well-liked and respected senator — and urged Americans to understand what was happening.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Trump is making this country “look more and more like a fascist state.”

“Will any Republican senator speak up for our democracy?” Warren pleaded.

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., called on Noem to resign, saying that there was no justification for Padilla’s treatment and that the Trump administration needed to be held accountable.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., accused Padilla of “charging” Noem and indicated that the behavior “rises to the level of a censure.”

“My view is it was wildly inappropriate,” Johnson, a Trump ally, told reporters outside the House chamber as Democrats walking past shouted over him, “That’s a lie!”

“A sitting member of Congress should not act like that,” Johnson said, loudly speaking over reporters’ questions. “It’s beneath a member of Congress. It’s beneath the U.S. senator.”

Senate Republican leader John Thune said he has spoken to Padilla and is trying to reach Noem but hasn’t yet connected with her.

“We want to get the full scope of what happened and do what we would do in any incident like this involving a senator and try to gather all the relevant information,” the South Dakota senator said.

The No. 2 Republican, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, said that he was unaware of what happened but that Padilla should have been at work in Washington.

The stark incident comes as Congress faces increasing episodes of encroachment on its authority. As a coequal branch of the U.S. government, the Trump administration is exerting its executive powers in untested ways.

As part of their work in Congress, lawmakers are responsible for providing oversight of the administration, its agencies and actions.

Several senators and representatives have been exercising their oversight roles by surveying the treatment of immigrants and others being detained as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation operation.

From the steps of the U.S. Capitol, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said what happened to Padilla “was un-American” and those involved must be held accountable.

“This is not going to end until there is accountability and until the Trump administration changes its behavior,” he said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© AP Photo/Etienne Laurent