Business

Transportation secretary says he spoke with Elon Musk on U.S. airspace reforms

Feb. 06, 2025

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he spoke with Trump administration advisor and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk about reforming the country’s airspace and raised concerns about the military’s use of helicopters in Washington, D.C.’s crowded airspace after a deadly collision last week. “I had a conversation with Elon Musk yesterday, pretty remarkable guy. He thinks differently than I think probably a lot of us do, but he has access to the best technological people, the best engineers in the world,” Duffy said Wednesday at a roadway transportation event in Washington. “We’re going to remake our airspace, and we’re going to do it quickly.” Duffy’s comments come a week after an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an arriving American Airlines regional jetliner at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. All 64 people on the American flight and the three military crew on the Black Hawk, which was on a training mission, were killed. It was the deadliest airline accident in the United States since 2001.

Business

Chipotle downplays looming Trump tariffs, says only half of its avocados are from Mexico

Feb. 06, 2025

Chipotle Mexican Grill said Tuesday that it does not expect costs to rise much if tariffs on key imported ingredients go into effect next month, noting that only about half of its avocados come from Mexico. A day earlier, President Donald Trump paused his plans for 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports. If implemented after the one-month suspension, imports such as avocados and beef would be more expensive for restaurants, which would likely try to pass on the increased cost to their diners. But Chipotle executives shook off the tariff fears during the company’s earnings conference call on Tuesday. If tariffs aimed at Mexico, Canada and China all go into effect, Chipotle expects that its cost of sales would rise about 60 basis points, or 0.6 percentage points, according to Chief Financial Officer Adam Rymer.

Business

How Elon Musk's access to Treasury system may affect Social Security, other government payments

Feb. 06, 2025

News that Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk now has access to a government payment system that is responsible for $6 trillion in annual federal payments — including Social Security and Medicare benefits — has prompted criticism from Democratic lawmakers and advocates. Yet in a new letter to Congress, the Treasury Department said the new development has not caused those benefit payments to be “delayed or re-routed.” Last week, it was reported Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted access to the federal payment system to DOGE, an office within the president’s executive office. DOGE has been tasked with finding ways to reduce federal spending and increase government efficiency.

Business

Trump's China tariff increase affects Ford and GM vehicles, billions of dollars in auto parts

Feb. 06, 2025

DETROIT — President Donald Trump’s move to impose 10% additional tariffs on imports from China this week affects a small number of U.S. vehicles. But those tariffs are also hitting auto parts, which could increase already heightened vehicle prices for consumers. The U.S. in recent years has imported roughly $15.4 billion to more than $17.5 billion worth of transportation goods from China, including $9 billion to $10 billion in auto parts and accessories for vehicles and tractors, among other special purpose vehicles, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. The largest impact on actual vehicles will be on Ford Motor’s Lincoln Nautilus and General Motors’ Buick Envision. Those crossovers accounted for 83,884, or 95%, of the 88,515 China-made vehicles that were sold in the U.S. last year.

Entertainment

Movie Review: Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose lead action-comedy ‘Love Hurts’

Feb. 06, 2025

Ke Huy Quan plays a happy-go-lucky real estate agent named Marvin Gable whose past life as a hitman comes back to haunt him in “Love Hurts.” The action-comedy goes hard on elaborately choreographed fight sequences and violent, bloody deaths. Anything from a boba straw to a cookie cutter is fair game in these gruesome showdowns. But while the derivative and cartoonish spectacle can be fun and impressive at times, “Love Hurts” just doesn’t work in the end, hampered by a lack of directorial vision, comedic pacing and an ensemble of caricatures instead of characters. “Love Hurts” may only run 83 minutes, but if you’ve seen the 2:41 trailer, you’ve kind of seen it all.

Business

Lara Trump to host weekend show on Fox News

Feb. 06, 2025

President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump will host a weekend show on Fox News, the news channel announced Wednesday. "My View with Lara Trump" is expected to premiere Feb. 22 and air at 9 p.m. ET Saturdays, taking the spot of "One Nation with Brian Kilmeade." Kilmeade's show will move to 10 p.m. ET Sundays, Fox News Channel said in a news release. "I’m thrilled to bring my voice back to FOX News, talk directly with the American people and highlight what makes this country so great," Trump said in a statement. "As I cover the success of The Golden Age of America, I look forward to where this time will lead our country and where this opportunity will lead me in the future."

Sports

Neymar left speechless after making first appearance for Santos since return to Brazilian club

Feb. 06, 2025

Neymar said he was left speechless after making his first appearance for Santos since returning to the Brazilian club where he began his illustrious career. Neymar confirmed in January that he was returning to his boyhood club, 12 years after he first left to join Barcelona as one of the most promising youngsters ever to come out of Brazil. Days before, it was announced that the superstar and Saudi club Al-Hilal had mutually agreed to part ways, 18 months after the forward joined in a high-profile move for a reported €90 million ($98.5M). And on Wednesday, Neymar stepped back onto the field at the Urbano Caldeira stadium when he came off the bench at the start of the second half against Botafogo in the Brazilian Paulista Championship.

Entertainment

Movie Review: A deftly choreographed nightmare unspools in Norwegian film ‘Armand’

Feb. 06, 2025

A mother is called to her child’s school for an urgent meeting with his teachers in the Norwegian film “Armand,” a riff on a claustrophobic courtroom thriller set in a primary school classroom. The film, which won the best first feature prize at Cannes last year, dolls out bits and pieces of information slowly and purposefully, building not a solid set of answers but a web of complications and ambiguities. It is a strange and fascinating experience that may be a bit frustratingly inconclusive but is never not compelling. Even the inciting incident is withheld from the audience for a time. We’re thrown into a conversation between a junior teacher, Sunna (Thea Lambrechts Vaulen), an administrator type Asja (Vera Veljovic) and the school’s principal, Jarle (Øysten Røger). Asja and Jarle are entrusting Sunna to lead this conversation (though they’ll have to join eventually). None of them are even quite sure what exactly happened, whether it was innocent or malicious, or what to do if they can get to the bottom of it. Jarle advises Sunna to treat it soberly, whatever that’s supposed to mean.

Entertainment

Movie Review: ‘No Other Land’ is a shocking look at Palestinian life under occupation

Feb. 06, 2025

The irony shouldn’t be lost on anyone that “No Other Land,” a documentary about the systemic demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank, cannot find a cinematic home, either with a distributor or a major U.S. streamer. Producers have opted to self-distribute this powerful, pointed look at Israel’s policies in seized land despite the movie earning an Oscar nomination and wins at the Berlin International Film Festival, Gotham Awards and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards. “No Other Land” is, in its nature, a piece of advocacy. There are no both-sidesing explored here. The filmmakers — a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four directors — make it clear they hope documenting their plight will get the United States to pressure Israel to stop the destruction. The documentary is largely told from the perspective of Basel Adra, an activist born in Masafer Yatta, a collection of villages in the southern mountains of the occupied West Bank. The Israelis have ordered Palestinians off the land to make room for a military training ground.

Business

How Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger got caught in Trump's trade war with China

Feb. 06, 2025

China has blacklisted the owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, which could force the company to shut down stores and manufacturing in an early repercussion of President Donald Trump’s trade war. China added PVH Corp. to its “unreliable entities” list on Tuesday, which allows the Chinese government to fine the retailer, prohibit import and export activities, revoke work permits, and deny employees the ability to enter the country, among other deliberately vague powers. While China’s Ministry of Commerce began investigating PVH in September for allegedly refusing to source cotton from the Xinjiang region, which has become notorious for its Uyghur detention camps, Beijing officially placed the company on its blacklist on Tuesday. The announcement came just days after Trump slapped a 10% tariff on imports from China, and came along with a slew of other retaliatory measures against the U.S., including new duties on energy imports and farm gear.