All posts tagged: United States

Iran threatens Elon Musk companies in Middle East: State media

Iran threatens Elon Musk companies in Middle East: State media

Published by Sam Flores

Tesla CEO Elon Musk holds a mobile phone as he arrives to attend a state banquet with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, May 14, 2026. Evan Vucci | Reuters Iran will treat all of Elon Musk’s companies in the Middle East, including SpaceX’s Starlink internet service, as military targets as it retaliates against the U.S., Iranian state media outlet Fars reported Thursday. Iran is targeting “all interests related to economic holdings managed by Elon Musk in West Asia,” including a regional Starlink ground station, according to a translated post on Fars’ Telegram page. Starlink has played a key role in U.S. military operations against Iran, supporting high-tech ordnance ranging from aerial attack drones to unmanned surveillance and strike vessels. Iran asserts the U.S. has committed war crimes against it with the support of Musk-related companies, Fars reported, citing an “informed source.” “The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to attack all facilities related to [Musk]-managed holdings in the region and occupied …

Trump says U.S. will seize Iran’s Kharg Island, oil infrastructure

Trump says U.S. will seize Iran’s Kharg Island, oil infrastructure

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Shawn Thew | Bloomberg | Getty Images The U.S. military will attack Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT,” and will soon take over the country’s “oil infrastructure points,” President Donald Trump said Thursday morning. An operation to “assume total control” of Iran’s oil and gas markets and infrastructure, including taking Kharg Island, will occur “at some point in the not too distant future,” Trump vowed in a Truth Social post. Trump compared the forthcoming action to the U.S. operations in Venezuela, “which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America,” he wrote. This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news. Source link

Kuwait closes airspace, Israel warns of launches from Lebanon after U.S strikes in Iran

Kuwait closes airspace, Israel warns of launches from Lebanon after U.S strikes in Iran

Published by Sam Flores

Kuwait closed its airspace Thursday local time due to “Iranian aggressions” as it intercepted “hostile aerial targets,” following U.S. strikes against Tehran. Israel’s Home Front Command also warned of launches from Lebanon toward several communities in northern Israel. Iran “struck and destroyed eighteen important targets” belonging to U.S. forces at Kuwait’s Ali Salem and Ahmad al-Jaber air bases, as well as the Sheikh Issa air base in Bahrain, according to the state run Tasnim news agency. The media adviser to Bahrain’s king said the country’s air defense systems had intercepted and destroyed “Iranian aerial attacks.” Earlier in the day, Bahrain’s interior ministry had urged civilians to head to a safe place. The escalation follows U.S. attack on multiple targets in Iran Wednesday stateside at President Donald Trump’s direction, following “Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.” Centcom said strikes were completed at 9:04 p.m. ET Wednesday, adding it hit Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites. U.S. forces fired on Iranian targets that “posed a threat to U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting …

OpenAI says China-based actors stoking opposition to AI data centres | Technology

OpenAI says China-based actors stoking opposition to AI data centres | Technology

Published by Sam Flores

China-based actors are likely behind the use of ChatGPT for “covert influence operations” aimed at stoking opposition to data centres in the United States, OpenAI has said. In a research report released on Wednesday, the company behind the world’s most popular AI chatbot said it had banned a cluster of accounts likely based in China for attempting to “manipulate a legitimate debate about American AI”. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list OpenAI, whose release of ChatGPT in 2022 kicked off a global frenzy around AI, said the accounts were used to generate social media comments and images that blamed data centres for rising electricity prices in communities across the US. Among other content, the accounts generated a comic strip showing a cigar-chomping businessman holding bags marked with dollar signs as a family reacted in shock to their electricity bill, according to the San Francisco-based company. OpenAI said a second cluster of accounts had generated content casting US tariffs as an effort to “dominate technological competition” with China, and specified that the material should …

Rollins called screwworm a ‘little pest.’ Last year, she said ‘terrifying’

Rollins called screwworm a ‘little pest.’ Last year, she said ‘terrifying’

Published by Sam Flores

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told CNBC on Monday that the New World screwworm is a “little pest.” In the past, she called the parasite “terrifying.” The discrepancy in messaging before and after the flesh-eating pest was detected in the U.S. offers a window into how Rollins is managing the screwworm threat now that it has reached inside the border. And it shows how the administration is racing to alleviate fears that the parasite could further raise the price of beef amid rising inflation. Since screwworm was detected in Texas last week, Rollins has hit the airwaves to reassure the U.S. public that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is ahead of the infestation and that it does not pose a risk to the food system. She has also heaped blame on the Biden administration for the spread, arguing that lax immigration enforcement of the southern border helped the parasite move forward. “The food supply is not at risk. This is not a virus, it’s not a disease, it’s just a little pest, a larvae that lands …

‘Negotiate with bombs’: Hegseth defends second night of US strikes on Iran | US-Israel war on Iran News

‘Negotiate with bombs’: Hegseth defends second night of US strikes on Iran | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has confirmed that the United States is launching strikes on “key facilities” in Iran, framing the attacks as part of the ongoing negotiations for a permanent ceasefire. Hegseth spoke to reporters on Wednesday in Tampa, Florida, as he left the headquarters for the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in the Middle East and parts of Asia. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list His remarks echoed the escalating rhetoric of Republican President Donald Trump, who warned earlier that Iran would “have to pay the price” for taking too long with the negotiations. “ CENTCOM – Central Command – will be busy tonight because President Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard, and we will be,” Hegseth said. He explained that he had just reviewed the plans for Wednesday night’s attack with Admiral Bradley Cooper, CENTCOM’s commander. “ Those strikes that’ll happen tonight will be strong. They will be clear,” said Hegseth, who then suggested they may continue into a second day. “If they have to happen tomorrow …

Bill Gates testifies in closed-door US House meeting over Epstein ties | Government News

Bill Gates testifies in closed-door US House meeting over Epstein ties | Government News

Published by Sam Flores

Tech entrepreneur Bill Gates, the cofounder of Microsoft, has testified in a closed-door session with a panel in the United States House of Representatives about his connection to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While Wednesday’s meeting was held in private, Gates shared his opening remarks online, wherein he denied any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal actions. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “I want to state very clearly: I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct,” Gates wrote. “I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone. While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated.” Gates’s testimony was the latest in a string of appearances before the House Oversight Committee, as it seeks further information about Epstein’s connections — and whether powerful figures may have shielded the late financier from accountability. Committee chair James Comer, a Republican, told reporters on his way to the hearing that …

Trump says ‘I love the inflation’ after CPI hits 3-year high

Trump says ‘I love the inflation’ after CPI hits 3-year high

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said, “I love the inflation” after being asked if he was concerned about new consumer price index data that showed the annual inflation rate at 4.2%, a three-year high. Trump, speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, also predicted that inflation is “going to come down like a rock” after the United States’ war against Iran is over. The president linked that prediction to a confusing statement about the U.S. “taking” oil and ships. “No, I love it, the numbers were great,” Trump said when a reporter asked him about the CPI number issued earlier in the morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “You know what I really love? I love the inflation. You know why?” Trump said. “Because as soon as this war is over, you know I can say it now … you know we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil.” “Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran, until right now,” Trump said. Read more CNBC politics coverage “We took out …

Attorneys urge release of mosque leader, saying he’s been denied diabetes care in ICE custody

Attorneys urge release of mosque leader, saying he’s been denied diabetes care in ICE custody

Published by Sam Flores

Attorneys for the president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque say he is being denied basic medical care for diabetes and has lost 30 pounds (14 kilograms) in the two months since he was detained by immigration officers. Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident of the United States, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in April. His attorneys say he is being detained on baseless claims that he is a foreign policy threat, but they believe he was actually targeted for speaking out against Israel and for a conviction as a minor by Israeli military courts. He has no criminal record in the U.S., where he has lived for more than 30 years. Sarsour has Type 2 diabetes and his blood sugar levels aren’t being consistently checked, putting him at risk of organ failure or death if left untreated, his attorneys told a federal judge on Monday. Sarsour is being held in an Indiana county jail while his immigration case is pending. “We had the opportunity to make a direct, urgent …