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A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. CNN  —  Americans are still in the dark about the scope and scale of what Elon Musk is doing with DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, which is working to drastically shrink the size of government by aiming to cut $1 trillion or more in government spending. But there’s some insight into what’s driving Musk — namely, an effort to combat what he referred to as “civilizational suicidal empathy.” During a three-hour interview with the podcaster Joe Rogan…

CNN  —  Last year was a pretty good year if you were among the tens of millions of employees who put their savings to work in a 401(k) plan. Sure, strong returns on the S&P 500 helped. It rose nearly 25% for the year. Same goes for the Nasdaq, which was up about 32%. And bonds made small gains — the S&P Aggregrate Bond Index, for instance, increased by roughly 2.25%. But you deserve some credit, too. Based on the latest data from Fidelity and Vanguard, in 2024 many employees increased their savings rates, participants stayed diversified, and the vast…

A Dominican man wanted in his home country for human smuggling that resulted in the deaths of three minors was deported by ICE Miami earlier this week, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).Batista Matos, 36, was sent home on an ICE removal flight for the fifth time on Monday. He departed Miami for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he was met by local law enforcement and taken into custody.CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE  Batista Matos, 36, was deported to the Dominican Republic for the fifth time on Monday to face charges in connection with fatal human smuggling. (ICE…

CNN  —  A federal appeals court is allowing President Donald Trump to remove the head of a government watchdog agency while a legal challenge to his firing plays out. In a brief, unsigned order issued Wednesday afternoon, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request by the Trump administration to put on hold a lower-court ruling that said Trump’s firing of Hampton Dellinger was unlawful. That ruling said Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, was entitled to stay at his post. “This order gives effect to the removal of appellee from his position as Special Counsel…

CNN  —  Government by chaos is back. One day, President Donald Trump imposed a punishing tariff regime against Canada and Mexico. The next, he froze auto duties for a month after suddenly realizing that – as everyone had predicted – they could wreck a quintessential American industry. Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to the Oval Office to sign a rare-earth minerals deal that Trump billed as a triumph for the US. But Zelensky was provoked by Vice President JD Vance and kicked out of the White House. European leaders have spent days trying to fix the debacle. Elon…

CNN  —  A workers’ board is reinstating – at least temporarily – almost 6,000 fired probationary workers from the Department of Agriculture, according to a newly issued order obtained by CNN. The order, by the Merit Systems Protection Board, undercuts President Donald Trump’s attempts to downsize the federal civil service and is a major indication that the mass layoffs were unlawful and may eventually be reversed by the board. It also signals the board may reverse the Trump administration’s approach to mass firings across several other agencies in the federal government. Probationary workers, meaning those who have been in their…

London CNN  —  2025 has not been kind to Europe so far. The risk of war on the continent has been declared the highest it’s ever been, while data has shown the mighty US economy pulling even further ahead of its European counterpart. As a rapid rise in military spending across Europe looks increasingly likely, could it also give the region’s economy a much-needed shot in the arm, making Europeans both safer and richer? That depends on where the money comes from — taxes or borrowing — and how the money is spent — on imported weapons or, rather, the…

CNN  —  The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is considering selling off hundreds of “non-core” federal properties, according to the General Services Administration. “GSA’s decisive action to dispose of non-core assets leverages the private sector, drives improvements for our agency customers, and best serves local communities,” the agency said in a news release linking to a list of 440 properties that included the headquarters of the FBI and the Department Justice. Later Tuesday, however, the list was scaled back to 320 properties, with all DC-based properties removed. By Wednesday, the list of federal buildings had been removed from GSA’s…

CNN  —  US President Donald Trump issued what he said was a “last warning” to Hamas to release all of the hostages in Gaza immediately – in a move that came just hours after the White House confirmed it was negotiating directly with the militant group. “Release all of the hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday, soon after meeting eight freed hostages at the White House. Trump wrote that he would send Israel “everything it needs…

Washington CNN  —  When President Donald Trump declared in the House Chamber this week that executives at the nation’s top automakers were “so excited” about their prospects amid his new tariff regime, it did not entirely reflect the conversation he’d held with them earlier that day. Ford Motors, GM and Stellantis argued on that call that the new 25% tariffs the president applied on Canada and Mexico earlier this week could disadvantage their American-based businesses in favor of foreign carmakers — appealing directly to Trump for a reprieve, administration officials said. The message seemed to break through. A day later,…