Tech

Musk Takes the Wheel—And the Government Data

Can a Tech Billionaire Be Trusted with America’s Secrets?

Elon Musk’s takeover continues, as he was granted access to the federal payment system, exposing the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans, as well as details of public contractors who compete directly with Musk’s own businesses. This is due to Musk leading the “department of government efficiency,” but certainly prompts concerns for many about a potential conflict of interest. 

President Trump’s new treasury secretary, Scott Besent, granted Doge “full access to the system.” The data includes “social security and medicare benefits, grants, [and] payments to government contractors.”

Musk, the world’s richest person, now has access to one of the most sensitive US government databases. During a time when many are already concerned about their privacy and (tech) companies access to your data. 

The system, that Musk now has access to, controls more than $6 trillion of federal cash flow each year, with millions of Americans depending on it for social security and medicare benefits, federal salaries, and more. 

Until now, the information stored on it has been exceptionally closely guarded, with only a select few officials having clearance to control it. However, that has now changed with Doge. 

Furthermore, the Treasury Department’s top civil servant, David Lebryk, had just retired after more than 30 years of service. Lebryk had clashed with Musk (and his associates) over their efforts to gain access to the aforementioned system. Lebryk had been placed on administrative leave after objecting to the idea of Doge agents being granted access. The incoming treasury secretary, Bessent, gave his permission on Friday. 

Under the arrangement, Tom Krause, CEO of the tech company Cloud Software Group, now has access to the data, as part of Doge. 

One of the concerns with Musk’s access is the fear that he could now block payments to a large number of federal programs as part of his mission to slash the spending of the U.S. government.

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Politics

Tariff Tug-of-War: Canada vs. The U.S.

The Trade Battle That Could Shake Up Your Wallet

President Trump signed executive orders implementing tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China… a move that was (unsurprisingly) promptly slammed by the three countries, who also promised retaliatory measures. 

Trump announced a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, excluding Canadian energy products, which would face a 10% tariff. He also implemented a 10% tariff on imports from China for the same reason. The tariffs will begin on Tuesday, with some exceptions. The White House also said the tariffs would remain in place “until the crisis is alleviated.”

Canada and Mexico then said they would implement their own tariffs in response to Trump’s, in a “whats good for the goose is good for the gander” move, which could further disrupt things economically among the close trading partners. 

Meanwhile, China, a U.S. competitor, did not mention tariffs or anything specific (yet), but did say it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization and enact "necessary countermeasures.”

Mexico, Canada and China combined to account for more than 40% of the total U.S. imports last year. Retaliatory tariffs could send prices (further) soaring for consumers in the U.S., including items such as food, electronics and cars. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Saturday that Canada would implement a 25% tariff against $155 billion Canadian dollars worth of U.S. goods. $155 billion in Canadian dollars would be about $106 billion in U.S. dollars. The tariffs on American goods include “immediate tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods as of Tuesday,” the same day the U.S. is set to begin its tariff collecting. Trudeau said the rest of the tariffs will then come in about three weeks later to “allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives.” 

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Business

Tesla's Got a New Ride—And It’s Driverless!

Musk’s Robotaxi Dreams Take Off in Austin

First it was the space race. Now, Tesla will enter the taxi race. Tesla announced plans to debut a fully autonomous ride-hailing service for the public in Austin, Texas, in June. The service will use Tesla-owned vehicles with the first version of the company’s unsupervised Full Self-Driving software.

However, the robotaxi fleet will not include the planned Tesla Cybercab, which isn’t expected to start production until 2026, at the earliest. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk made the announcement Wednesday on a year-end earnings call with investors, saying “we’re going to be launching unsupervised Full Self-Driving as a paid service in Austin in June.”

However, Musk didn’t release any specific details about pricing. Tesla models have been operating autonomously at its factory in Fremont, California, which will soon extend to its Austin facility (and others around the world). While the venture will begin in Austin, the company ims to expand to other cities by the end of the year.

Tesla isn’t the first to attempt this, though, as Waymo has been operating a driverless ride-hailing service (called Waymo One) for several years. The service began in Phoenix, Arizona and has since expanded to Los Angeles, San Francisco and soon Atlanta, Miami and even… Austin - providing a head-to-head competition! 

Tesla will ease into its robotaxi service to ensure everything is working properly, and to prioritize the safety of riders and pedestrians, before expanding. “Our solution is a generalized AI solution,” Musk explained. “It doesn’t require high-precision maps of a locality, so we just want to be cautious.”

Musk also said that the unsupervised version of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software could become available on customer cars as early as next year. This would allow owners to rent out their personal vehicles as part of the ride-hailing fleet, something Musk has discussed for nearly a decade (the “Tesla Network”). But first, Tesla needs to make sure everything works out smoothly.

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U.S. News

Tragedy Over the Potomac: The Deadliest Crash in Two Decades

A Black Hawk and a Commercial Flight Collide—What Went Wrong?

This country experienced the deadliest plane crash in two decades on Wednesday, as a commercial flight collided with a helicopter, killing all 67 people on board.

The flight, American Airlines Flight 5342, was descending to land at Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport, when it collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission. There were 64 people aboard the plane, which departed from Wichita, Kansas, and three soldiers in the helicopter. Recovery crews were still working over the weekend to pull the wreckage from the Potomac River.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause, which will take about 30 days to release a preliminary report. A final report, which will determine a probable cause, will take much longer. In the meantime, let the theories fly…

Based on flight tracking data, it appears the Black Hawk was flying 100 feet above its allowed altitude and was veering off the prescribed route along the Potomac River’s east side. Its turns would have put the helicopter closer to the airport than the standard route. However, it has been warned that the flight tracking data for the helicopter is imperfect. 

“Someone was at the wrong altitude,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News on Friday. “Was the Black Hawk too high? Was it on course? Right now, we don’t quite know.”

President Trump added on social media: “The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200 foot limit.” 

The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder (the black box) has been recovered and is being investigated. The details could provide key clues. They’ve also begun interviewing air traffic control personnel, which will go on for a few days. 

According to the audio obtained by CNN, air traffic control operators had directed the helicopter to pass behind the passenger plane. 

The helicopter pilot later said the helicopter had the "aircraft in sight, request visual separation,” which has led some to wonder if the helicopter crew was looking at a different airplane, or if they misjudged the position of the plane.

Some, like former Black Hawk pilot Elizabeth McCormick, have questioned if the helicopter was understaffed. 

“You only have visibility from the front 180 degrees. Your crew chiefs clear the back. If you only have one crew chief, how much can you clear? I think that was a major issue,” explained McCormick. 

Speaking of understaffed, on the night of the crash, one controller at Reagan National was performing duties that can be performed by two separate air traffic controllers, handling both local plane and helicopter traffic. 

Still, officials have said there is still a lot we do not know.

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Sports

NBA Shockwave: Luka Doncic to the Lakers?

A Trade That Stunned the League—What’s Next for Doncic and the Mavs?

What is being described as the most shocking trade in NBA history went down in the beginning moments of Sunday morning on the east coast (after 12:00 AM), as the Dallas Mavericks traded their star, Luka Doncic, to the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Part of the shock was the lack of return, as the Mavericks got one draft pick (in 2029) and oft-injured Anthony Davis for one of the top players in the league, who is still only 25 years old. Not to mention the fact that Doncic had just led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season. 

The trade now teams up LeBron James with Luka, two of the biggest names in the sport, while also providing the Lakers with their next star to build around whenever the time comes to replace James. 

Doncic was eligible for the Super-Max contract this summer, but the Mavericks were reportedly hesitant to commit to him long term due to his conditioning (or lack thereof), as well as his poor defense. The trade actually cost Doncic $120 million for his next contract. 

There was no buzz around a potential trade and the Mavs didn’t even shop their star around - keeping them from getting a much better deal.

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