www.nytimes.com U.S. Asks Judge to Break Up Google
The Justice Department said that the best way to address the tech company’s monopoly in internet search was to force it to sell Chrome, among other measures.
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The Justice Department said on Monday that the best way to address Google’s monopoly in internet search was to break up the $1.81 trillion company, kicking off a three-week hearing that could reshape the technology giant and alter the power players in Silicon Valley.
Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in August that Google had broken antitrust laws to maintain its dominance in online search. He is now hearing arguments from the government and the company over how to best fix Google’s monopoly and is expected to order those measures, referred to as “remedies,” by the end of the summer.
In an opening statement in the hearing on Monday, the government said Judge Mehta should force Google to sell its popular Chrome web browser, which drives users to its search engine. Government lawyers also said the company should take s
www.nytimes.com Top Trump Aide Hosts White House Meeting With Kremlin Envoy
The meeting between Kirill Dmitriev and Steve Witkoff was apparently the first time in years that a senior Russian official had traveled to the United States for talks with an American counterpart.
A Kremlin envoy said on Thursday that he was meeting with the Trump administration in Washington this week, the first time in years that a senior Russian official was known to have traveled to the United States for talks with American counterparts.
The envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and President Vladimir V. Putin’s special representative for investment and economic cooperation.
He said on the Telegram messaging app on Thursday that he had met with “representatives of the administration of President Donald Trump” on Wednesday and would do so again on Thursday.
There was no immediate comment from the Trump administration about Mr. Dmitriev’s post.
Mr. Dmitriev’s visit came despite sanctions imposed by the Biden administration that described him as “a known Putin ally.” It also came as President Trump excluded Russia
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www.nytimes.com Trump Administration Bolsters Putin With Hint of Abandoning Ukraine Talks
President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both suggested Friday that the United States might wash its hands of the peace effort.
“If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on.”
Whatever Mr. Rubio’s meaning, his words were the latest American gift to Mr. Putin’s cause. At every turn since Mr. Trump’s inauguration, he or his top national security aides have issued statements that played to Russia’s advantage: taking NATO membership for Ukraine off the table, repeatedly declaring that Ukraine would have to give up territory and even blaming Ukraine for the invasion itself.
On Friday, Mr. Trump himself suggested that the United States could walk away from the conflict, much as it did when frustrated in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Indeed, in an interview with The New York Times in the spring of 2016, when he was first running for president, Mr. Trump described Ukraine as Europe’s problem. “I’m all for Ukraine; I have friends that live in Ukraine,” he said.
But Mr. Trump a
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www.nytimes.com Trump Waved Off Planned Israeli Strike on Iranian Nuclear Sites
Israel developed plans for attacking Iranian nuclear facilities that would have required U.S. assistance. But some administration officials had doubts.
Israel had planned to strike Iranian nuclear sites as soon as next month but was waved off by President Trump in recent weeks in favor of negotiating a deal with Tehran to limit its nuclear program, according to administration officials and others briefed on the discussions.
Mr. Trump made his decision after months of internal debate over whether to pursue diplomacy or support Israel in seeking to set back Iran’s ability to build a bomb, at a time when Iran has been weakened militarily and economically.
The debate highlighted fault lines between historically hawkish American cabinet officials and other aides more skeptical that a military assault on Iran could destroy the country’s nuclear ambitions and avoid a larger war. It resulted in a rough consensus, for now, against military action, with Iran signaling a willingness to negotiate.
In a meeting this month — one
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www.nytimes.com Under Trump, National Security Guardrails Vanish
America’s adversaries have more room to operate, at least in the disinformation space, cybersecurity experts say.
This month, a network of pro-Russian websites began a campaign aimed at undermining confidence in the U.S. defense industry, according to disinformation analysts.
The F-35 fighter jet was one target. The effort, coordinated by a Russian group known as Portal Kombat, spread rumors that American allies purchasing the warplanes would not have complete control over them, the analysts said.
A study by analysts at Alethea, an anti-disinformation company that has tracked the F-35 campaign, indicates that pro-Russian outlets are already stepping up their propaganda efforts.
“The U.S. government at least publicly seems to be taking a more hands-off approach or prioritizing defense against other threats,” said Lisa Kaplan, Alethea’s chief executive. “So foreign governments are currently targeting government and military programs like the F-35 program — if they can’t beat it on t
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www.wsws.org Bernie Sanders has police drag away anti-genocide protesters at “Fighting Oligarchy” rally
The large rallies headlined by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez demonstrate the growing audience for anti-capitalist, anti-war and socialist politics. But if this healthy impulse is to be developed, it must break free from Sanders and the Democratic Party.
On Monday, during an election campaign-style rally in Nampa, Idaho Senator Bernie Sanders had two anti-genocide protesters ejected from the event by police for unfurling a banner depicting the Palestinian flag with the phrase “Free Palestine.” As the protesters were dragged away by police, thousands in the arena erupted into cheers of “Free Palestine,” drowning out Sanders’ attempts to quell their anger.
For nearly two months, tens of thousands of people across the United States have been attending rallies held under the banner of “Fighting Oligarchy” and headlined by Sanders and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
However, it is necessary to take stock of the political tendencies claiming to be “fighting oligarchy.” What role—if any—should Sanders, his protégé Ocasio-Cortez and the Democratic Party play in this struggle?
The episode in Nampa, Idaho, helps answer this question. Under conditions in which Israel is system
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www.nytimes.com 2 Protesters at Marjorie Taylor Greene Town Hall Are Subdued With Stun Guns
Three people, including the two who were subdued with stun guns, were arrested.
A town hall for Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia outside of Atlanta on Tuesday quickly deteriorated into chaos, as police officers forcibly removed several protesters.
Ms. Greene, a Republican firebrand and loyal ally of President Trump, had barely reached the podium to speak when a man in the crowd at the Acworth Community Center stood up and started yelling, booing and jeering at her. As her supporters stood and clapped, several police officers grabbed the man, later identified by the police as Andrew Russell Nelms of Atlanta, and dragged him out of the room.
“I can’t breathe!” Mr. Nelms shouted, interjecting with expletives as he was told to put his arms behind his back. The police then used a stun gun on him twice.
Back inside the room, Ms. Greene was unfazed as she greeted attendees at the event, in Acworth, Ga., northwest of Atlanta. She
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www.nytimes.com Richard L. Armitage, 79, Dies; State Department Official in a Turbulent Era
While serving as Colin Powell’s deputy during the Iraq war, he found himself at the center of a scandal when he leaked a C.I.A. operative’s name.
Richard L. Armitage, who served as the No. 2 official at the State Department from 2001 to 2005, during the turbulent era of the 9/11 attacks and the start of America’s retaliatory wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died on Sunday. He was 79.
Mr. Armitage was the unnamed source of a 2003 news account disclosing the identity of a secret Central Intelligence Agency operative, Valerie Plame Wilson, shortly after the invasion of Iraq. The George W. Bush administration had made the case for war based on exaggerated claims that the country was tied to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and harbored weapons of mass destruction.
Ms. Wilson was publicly named a week after her husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV, wrote an opinion column in The New York Times accusing President Bush of misleadingly claiming that Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Africa for nuclear weapons.
Mr. Wilson, a former st
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www.nytimes.com China’s Halt of Critical Minerals Poses Risk for U.S. Military Programs
The Pentagon and defense contractors are heavily reliant on magnets and rare earth minerals mined or processed in China, which has suspended exports of the materials in an escalating trade war.
On Air Force fighter jets, magnets made of rare earth minerals that are mined or processed in China are needed to start the engines and provide emergency power.
On precision-guided ballistic missiles favored by the Army, magnets containing Chinese rare earth materials rotate the tail fins that allow missiles to home in on small or moving targets. And on new electric and battery-powered drones being adapted by Marines, rare earth magnets are irreplaceable in the compact electric motors.
China’s decision to retaliate against President Trump’s sharp increase in tariffs by ordering restrictions on the exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets is a warning shot across the bow of American national security, industry and defense experts said.
In announcing that it will now require special export licenses for six heavy rare earth metals, w
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www.nytimes.com Ecuador’s President Wins Re-election in Nation Rocked by Drug Violence
In a divisive election season, Daniel Noboa pledged to bring law and order. His opponent immediately contested the results.
Ecuador’s president, who unexpectedly surged in the polls to secure a shortened term in 2023, was declared the victor of the presidential election with a decisive lead on Sunday in a race that showed voters’ faith in his vows to tackle the security crisis with an iron fist.
Daniel Noboa, 37, defeated Luisa González, 47, the handpicked successor of former President Rafael Correa.
The day before the election, Mr. Noboa declared a state of emergency in seven states, most of them González strongholds, raising fears that he was trying to suppress the vote among her supporters. The declaration restricts social activities and allows police and military to enter homes without permission.
The president said the measure was in response to violence in certain parts of Ecuador. Ms. González described it as an attempt to curb political participation.
“Declaring a state of emergency in
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www.nytimes.com As Ukraine’s Politics Heat Back Up, a Former President Sees an Opening
Petro O. Poroshenko, who led the country before Volodymyr Zelensky, said that peace talks could be smoothed if opposition figures were included in the government.
On the first day of Russia’s all-out invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and his main political opponent at home shook hands, setting aside their ferocious rivalry to focus on the enemy. The country’s typically raucous politics went largely dormant for the three years that followed.
Now, as peace talks led by the Trump administration have stirred prospects for a cease-fire and eventual elections, the political jockeying has returned.
Petro O. Poroshenko, a former Ukrainian president and the leader of a rival party, says that the best way to smooth the peace talks is to bring opposition figures into the government.
Mr. Zelensky has shown no interest in forming a coalition of ministers that would include opposition figures. Instead, his government has ratcheted up pressure on opponents by law enforcement and security agencies.
The mayo
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www.nytimes.com In U.S.- China Tariffs Standoff, Trump Showed Xi He Has Limits
Xi Jinping, who rules with absolute authority, has shown he is willing to let the Chinese people endure hardship. President Trump revealed he has limits.
President Trump didn’t seem to mind as his worldwide tariffs set off stock market sell-offs and wiped out trillions of dollars in wealth. “Be cool,” he told Americans.
Then he blinked on Wednesday afternoon in the face of financial turmoil, particularly a rapid rise in government bond yields that could shake the dominant position of the dollar and the foundation of the U.S. economy.
By pausing some tariffs for dozens of countries for 90 days, he also gave away something to his main rival, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with whom he’s engaged in a game of chicken that risks decoupling the world’s two biggest economies and turning the global economic order upside down.
Mr. Xi learned that his adversary has a pain point.
As the world learned this week, Mr. Trump cannot completely ignore the financial markets or the Wall Street and tech billionaires who supported his campaign.
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www.nytimes.com Trump Envoy Steve Witkoff Is in Russia, the Kremlin Says
Separately in Belgium, nations supporting Ukraine pledged billions more in military aid and raised doubts about Moscow’s desire for peace.
President Trump’s senior aide on Russia negotiations, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Russia on Friday, the Kremlin said, as American and Russian officials are trying to reignite talks over the war in Ukraine that have appeared stalled in recent weeks.
Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, told reporters that Mr. Witkoff had flown into Russia but refused to say whether the envoy would meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Earlier, the Kremlin said that Mr. Putin would be working away from Moscow on Friday.
If a meeting takes place, it would be Mr. Witkoff’s third with Mr. Putin since Moscow and Washington began working to reset the relationship and find ways to end the war in Ukraine.
Mr. Witkoff recently became the first senior American official to travel to Moscow to meet with Mr. Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The B
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www.nytimes.com How Do the iPhone 16E and Google Pixel 9A Compare to More Expensive Models?
With tariffs threatening to drive up the costs of most things, the new entry-level phones from Apple and Google present a timely opportunity to save some bucks.
With all the talk about tariffs driving up costs, the word “cheaper” should bring comfort to just about anyone. That’s why I’m delighted to share that the cheaper smartphone from Google has arrived, a few months after Apple released a somewhat cheaper entry-level iPhone — and that both products are very good.
Google this week released the Pixel 9a, the $500 sibling of its $800 flagship smartphone, the Pixel 9. It competes directly with the $600 iPhone 16e released in February, the cheaper version of Apple’s $800 iPhone 16.
Is it a wise idea to save some bucks, or better to spend more on the fancier phones? To find out, I strapped on a fanny pack and carried all four phones with me for the last week to run tests.
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www.nytimes.com With Trump’s Return, Netanyahu Faces Fewer Restraints On Gaza Than Ever
On the war, President Trump is more aligned than his predecessor with the aims of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his right-wing coalition.
There was a time, not long ago, when Israel’s resumption of the war in the Gaza Strip three weeks ago — a renewed offensive that has already claimed more than a thousand casualties — would have unleashed fierce Western pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s prime minister.
The condemnations would have been swift, in public and in backroom conversations. The demands for restraint would have come from Europe and the White House, where during four years, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. sometimes tried, and often failed, to contain Mr. Netanyahu’s impulses.
Now Mr. Biden is gone, and President Trump has made it clear that he has no intention of continuing the finger-wagging of his predecessor. Europe is distracted by Mr. Trump’s trade war, and Mr. Netanyahu has consolidated his coalition’s majority in Israel’s Parliament, giving him more political space to act
Due to foreign interference, the election has been cancelled and the results invalidated.
If there's one thing the federated universe needs, it's more administration.
No.