7 h. ago Elon Musk’s Doge to expand blitz against spending on consultants

Firms including Deloitte and Accenture told to justify billions of dollars’ worth of contracts

Economics

22 h. ago White House plans to expand mass layoffs to IRS and Veterans Affairs

Trump administration looks to axe half up to half of the tax agency’s workforce and fire up to 83,000 workers at the VAUS politics live – latest updatesMass layoffs are being planned for two more vital federal US government agencies as the IRS and Veteran Affairs have emerged as the latest targets of the Trump administration’s unprecedented purge through billionaire Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge), new reports suggest.The IRS is drafting plans to slash its 90,000-strong workforce by up to half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and buyouts, according to the Associated Press. The federal tax collector has offices across the country, with women accounting for 65% of the workforce, while people of color represent 56%. Continue reading...

Society

30 h. ago Trump makes a telling admission of Elon Musk as he lists 'wasteful spending' DOGE is targeting

President Trump said Tuesday night in his speech to Congress that DOGE is 'headed by Elon Musk,' although government lawyers have told courts he has no 'formal authority.'

Events

33 h. ago Trump salutes Elon Musk's DOGE and says US is woke no more as Democrats walk out: Live speech updates

President Donald Trump is addressing Congress for a joint session for the first time since his 2020 State of the Union.

Politics

2 d. ago Trump administration may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring effect of Doge cuts

Howard Lutnick’s remarks echo Elon Musk, who says government spending doesn’t create value for US economyUS politics live – latest updatesHoward Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, said on Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by billionaire businessman Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) could possibly cause an economic downturn.“You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 d. ago US may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring effect of Doge cuts

Howard Lutnick’s remarks echo Elon Musk, who says government spending doesn’t create value for US economyUS politics live – latest updatesHoward Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, said on Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by the billionaire businessman Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) could possibly cause an economic downturn.“You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Second Musk email arrives ordering all federal employees to justify their roles

New round of emails from ‘Doge’ department begin appearing as early as Friday

Politics

5 d. ago Elon Musk's baby mama Shivon Zilis reveals DOGE head's 14th alleged child and his very unusual name

Elon Musk and Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis have welcomed their fourth child together, revealing his unique name via a social media post. This marks Musk's alleged 14th child.

Politics

5 d. ago Elon Musk had done ‘no preparation’ for DOGE ahead of Trump’s win so adopted a ‘spaghetti against the wall’ approach

SpaceX billionaire reportedly needed civics lessons to be brought up to speed on how US government works

Politics

5 d. ago Trump administration says DOGE records aren’t public after Elon Musk promised ‘maximum transparency’

The billionaire says all government information should be public — but the administration says FOIA doesn’t apply to his agency

Politics

5 d. ago Elon Musk’s DOGE homes in on new target: Weather forecasters

The cuts will ‘endanger American lives,’ lawmaker says

Society

5 d. ago Manchester council tax to rise as opposition say £18m budget savings 'dodgier than Elon Musk's DOGE'

But ruling Labour councillors said the budget will ‘help fill people with civic pride’

Economics

6 d. ago Elon Musk’s DOGE homes in on new target, slashing hundreds of jobs

The cuts will ‘endanger American lives,’ lawmaker says

Society

6 d. ago Hundreds of weather forecasters fired in latest wave of DOGE cuts

Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees on probationary status have been fired, lawmakers and weather experts say

Events

6 d. ago Where are federal jobs affected by DOGE cuts? A look at congressional districts across the US

Civilian federal jobs are being cut by the thousands, as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency continues to shrink the government workforce at the behest of President Donald Trump

Politics

6 d. ago AI is ‘beating’ humans at empathy and creativity. But these games are rigged | MJ Crockett

Research pitting people against AI systems gives AI an edge by asking us to perform in machine-like waysTechno-optimists are evangelizing a vision of “superhuman” artificial intelligence. Dario Amodei, CEO of the AI company Anthropic, predicts within a few years, AI will be “better than almost all humans at almost everything”. Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) is proposing replacing government workers with chatbots in the name of efficiency. And some scientists are claiming that AI can already outperform humans even in domains previously thought to be exclusively human, like empathy, creativity and conflict resolution.It’s true that in several prominent studies, researchers have staged “competitions” in which AI technology appears to outperform humans in these very human areas. But a closer look reveals that these games are rigged against us humans. The competitions do not actually ask machines to perform human tasks; it’s more accurate to say that t...

Events

7 d. ago As Trump administration dismantles USAID, staffers get just 15 minutes to clear desks

Many workers say the move is insulting

Politics

7 d. ago USAID staffers given 15 minutes to clear desks as Trump administration dismantles agency

Many workers say the move is insulting

Politics

7 d. ago Republicans wrestle with Elon Musk while Democrats call him a ‘d***’ — and worse

Republicans want some restraint while Democrats, Eric Garcia reports, are making Musk their new boogeyman

Politics

7 d. ago Elon Musk admits that DOGE accidentally canceled Ebola prevention during USAID cuts: ‘We won’t be perfect’

SpaceX boss claims there was ‘no interruption’ to the Ebola program, but a former USAID head says otherwise

Politics