Why is Trump’s justice department investigating Fed chair Jerome Powell?

The US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, as Donald Trump’s White House escalates its campaign against the central bank’s independence.In a video posted on Sunday, a typically reticent Powell took the extraordinary step of denouncing the investigation as punishment for not setting interest rates in accordance with the US president’s wishes.This is just the latest development in a long string of White House attacks against the Fed. Here’s what we know about what’s going on.As chair of the Fed, Powell has been the public face of the central bank since 2018

US bond markets should be in revolt. Fed independence matters | Nils Pratley

Well said, Jerome Powell. The chair of the US Federal Reserve responded to news of a subpoena from the US Department of Justice with a statement that was extraordinary, necessary and stark.A criminal investigation into the Fed, and him personally, over the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters is an attempt to bully officials into setting policy according to the president’s whims, said Powell.“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” he said.It definitely needed to be spelled out

UK media regulator investigating Elon Musk’s X after outcry over sexualised AI images

The UK media watchdog has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the use of the Grok AI tool to manipulate images of women and children by removing their clothes.Ofcom has acted after a public and political outcry over a deluge of sexual images appearing on the platform, created by Musk’s Grok, which is integrated with X.The regulator is investigating X under 2023’s Online Safety Act (OSA), which carries a range of possible punishments for breaches, including a UK ban of apps and websites for the most serious abuses.Ofcom said it would pursue the investigation as a “matter of the highest priority”, while Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, said the regulator had the government’s full backing.Ofcom said: “Reports of Grok being used to create and share illegal nonconsensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material on X have been deeply concerning

Google parent Alphabet hits $4tn valuation after AI deal with Apple

Google’s parent company hit a major financial milestone on Monday, reaching a $4tn valuation for the first time and surpassing Apple to become the second-most valuable company in the world.Alphabet is the fourth company to hit the $4tn milestone after Nvidia, which later hit $5tn, Microsoft and Apple.The spike in share price comes after Apple announced it had chosen Google’s Gemini AI model to power a major overhaul of the iPhone maker’s digital assistant Siri, which comes installed in every iPhone. Neither company disclosed how much the deal was worth.“After careful evaluation, we determined that Google’s technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models,” Apple said in a statement to CNBC

Swiss resort Crans-Montana, scene of fatal bar fire, will be an Olympic venue in 2038

The Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, which was the scene of a fatal bar fire on New Year’s Day, is set to host the Alpine ski races at the 2038 Olympics.Less than a fortnight after the blaze at Le Constellation that killed 40 and injured 116 other people, officials for the bid have said that the municipality is a key site in their proposals for the Games in 12 years’ time.Switzerland has been granted privileged status by the International Olympic Committee, which means no other country will be allowed to bid while it finalises its proposal. Barring an unexpected development, therefore, it will host the 2038 Games.On Monday organisers confirmed that Crans-Montana would stage events as part of its plan to host competitions across the country in 12 years’ time in order to avoid taxpayer spending on construction

Olympic tensions flare as US skeleton star alleges Canadian coach rigged qualifying event

Sporting tensions between the USA and Canada have erupted once again, this time in skeleton as next month’s Winter Olympics approach.The USA’s Katie Uhlaender, a five-time Winter Olympian in skeleton, has accused the Canadian team of depriving her of a place at the Milan-Cortina Games by manipulating a qualifying event over the weekend.Uhlaender says that Canada deliberately pulled four of its six athletes from the race in the North American Cup in Lake Placid, New York. That meant the field was reduced to under 21 athletes and fewer qualifying points were on offer due to the lack of competition. Uhlaender believes the Canadian team did so to prevent American athletes from catching them in the standings for Olympic qualifying