5 ways that Trump's policies are impacting summer vacation
On the Jersey Shore and Delaware beaches, and in the Poconos, travelers are spending less. Las Vegas tourism is sputtering. And Niagara Falls hotels are emptier this year, according to business leaders and a Federal Reserve policy report.
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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Builds $274 Million War Chest Ahead of Midterms
(Bloomberg) -- Billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Yass along with crypto industry donors helped President Donald Trump raise $236 million for his political operation in the first six months of 2025 — an unprecedented sum for a second-term president. We Should All Be Biking Along the Beach Seeking Relief From Heat and Smog, Cities Follow the Wind Chicago Curbs Hiring, Travel to Tackle $1 Billion Budget Hole NYC Mayor Adams Gives Bally's Bronx Casino Plan a Second Chance The latest filings to the Federal Election Commission show that the fundraising haul, which includes donations to three leadership political action committees, joint fundraising committees and an allied super PAC, leaves Trump with $274 million cash on hand. It's a massive war chest he can deploy on behalf of Republican House and Senate candidates in the midterm elections, when the incumbent president's party generally loses seats, and it highlights the continued grip Trump retains on the GOP. Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc., provided the biggest draw for campaign cash, taking in $177 million. The president has held four $1 million-per-plate dinners for MAGA Inc. donors as well as a $1.5 million-per-plate event for entrepreneurs and investors in cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, two emerging technologies that have been a focus for his administration. While the FEC disclosures don't indicate whether a donor attended an event or simply wrote a check, they do reveal support from executives in tech, finance and energy for Trump. Yass, the co-founder of trading firm Susquehanna International Group and a major shareholder in TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd, gave $16 million. Pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren and his company, Energy Transfer LP combined to give $25 million. Crypto industry donors poured money in as well. Foris DAX Inc., parent of exchange gave $10 million, while Inc. gave $5 million. Venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz each gave $3 million, while billionaire twins Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss combined to give just over $2 million. MAGA Inc. got a $5 million donation from Musk, a close Trump ally who fell out with the president after leaving his role overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency in late May. Musk has criticized Trump and Republicans over their signature tax and spending bill. Musk's donation hit on June 27, the same day he gave $5 million checks to two super PACs that back Republican candidates in the House and Senate. Musk in July vowed to create a third party. Earlier: Musk Gave His Super PAC $45.3 Million in First Half of 2025 While the money doesn't guarantee that Republicans will hold onto their narrow margins in the House and Senate, it gives them a major financial advantage over Democrats, who don't have a single leader to rally around or to spearhead fundrasing. The Democratic National Committee has raised $69 million, while Future Forward, the party's main super PAC, recevied donations of about $1 million. Big-Dollar Donors While big donors continued to power Trump's fundraising — about 70% of his haul came from contributors who gave $1 million or more — his small-dollar donor support, the backbone of his political operation, slowed. He raised $22 million from contributors donating less than $200, with most of that raised by Trump National JFC, which splits donations between the Never Surrender PAC, formerly his presidential campaign committee, and the Republican National Committee. Never Surrender and his other leadership PACs — Save America, which he's used to pay legal bills, and Make America Great Again PAC — ended June with $41 million cash on hand. The three committees combined to spend $26.5 million, with $6 million of that amount going to legal fees. Trump is still trying to overturn his 2024 conviction on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. He's also fighting a judgment of civil fraud and a fine that now tops $500 million from a suit over his real estate valuations, as well as an $83.3 million award to writer E. Jean Carroll for defamation. (Removes characterization of unpublished DNC report on 2024 election in ninth paragraph.) How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry Everyone Loves to Hate Wind Power. Scotland Found a Way to Make It Pay Off Russia Builds a New Web Around Kremlin's Handpicked Super App What's Really Behind Those Rosy GDP Numbers? Cage-Free Eggs Are Booming in the US, Despite Cost and Trump's Efforts ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Newsweek
26 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump is Helping China in the AI Race. Why?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Nvidia has ordered 300,000 new top-line computer chips from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) following a huge boost in demand from China. The agreement over the H20 chipsets, which are some of the most advanced technology being produced in Taiwan's industry-leading factories, comes in the same month that Trump reversed a ban that stopped Nvidia from selling to China over security concerns. Newsweek contacted the Chinese Embassy and the White House for comment on this story via email. Why It Matters The January launch of DeepSeek, a Chinese-made AI model, , sparked what may have called a "cold war" over artificial intelligence development. Researchers developed DeepSeek with a fraction of the resources but managed to produce an AI capable of rivaling ChatGPT. In April, the Trump administration barred top U.S. suppliers, like Nvidia, from selling topline silicon to China over "national security concerns." The ban mirrored the 2022 CHIPS Act passed by former President Joe Biden, which increased semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. while also clamping down on chip companies investing in China and Russia, the biggest competitors in the industry. What To Know The White House reversed its ban after barely three months, giving Nvidia the all-clear in July to resume sales with China. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang on July 14 said the U.S. government had assured him it would restore the licenses to sell H20s in China. "General-purpose, open-source research and foundation models are the backbone of AI innovation," Huang said. "We believe that every civil model should run best on the U.S. technology stack, encouraging nations worldwide to choose America." Half a month later, and Chinese demand for Nvidia chips has surged, with the U.S. company looking to replenish its stock with an order of 300,000 H20 chipsets from TSMC, one of the largest manufacturers in the world. US President Donald Trump shakes hand with China's President Xi Jinping at the end of a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. US President Donald Trump shakes hand with China's President Xi Jinping at the end of a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. Getty Images The return of Nvidia chips to the Chinese market will be a boon to the country's rapidly expanding AI industry, but there's concern that the U.S. could fall behind in an AI "race", as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman describes it, using U.S. chips to do so. In May, a report from the Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology shared with Newsweek found that two of China's leading AI institutes, headquartered in Beijing, have established branches in Wuhan to cooperate on sophisticated alternatives to the large generative AI models. The report described the new labs' aim to "springboard to artificial general intelligence", overtaking the U.S. by focusing on other forms of AI as opposed to the western focus on large statistical models. What People Are Saying Alexandra Mousavizadeh, CEO of Evident and creator of the Global AI Index, told Newsweek that there were two different approaches to China's AI development: "You can continue to try and contain access to chips and close the walls off. While you're doing that, you're doubling down on investment into data infrastructure, supporting the development of AI in the U.S. and being first in that race, "Or you open up completely and you say, 'Look, it's to the benefit of all that everyone has access to everything, because the collaboration between Europe, the U.S. and China in the past has been what has led to the ability to get to where we are today.' A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy told Newsweek: "China has consistently advocated that the development of artificial intelligence should adhere to principles that are human-centered and promote benevolence. "China believes that AI development should be fair and inclusive, ensuring that all countries equally enjoy the benefits brought by AI, and has no intention of seeking dominance in this field." What Happens Next China will continue to be able to purchase from Nvidia and other U.S. chip manufacturers unless the White House alters its policy.
CNBC
26 minutes ago
- CNBC
OPEC+ makes another large oil output hike in market share push
OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, the latest in a series of accelerated output hikes to regain market share, as concerns mount over potential supply disruptions linked to Russia. The move marks a full and early reversal of OPEC+'s largest tranche of output cuts plus a separate increase in output for the United Arab Emirates amounting to about 2.5 million bpd, or about 2.4% of world demand. Eight OPEC+ members held a brief virtual meeting, amid increasing U.S. pressure on India to halt Russian oil purchases - part of Washington's efforts to bring Moscow to the negotiating table for a peace deal with Ukraine. President Donald Trump said he wants this by August 8. In a statement following the meeting, OPEC+ cited a healthy economy and low stocks as reasons behind its decision. Oil prices have remained elevated even as OPEC+ has raised output, with Brent crude closing near $70 a barrel on Friday, up from a 2025 low of near $58 in April, supported in part by rising seasonal demand. U.S. light crude oil prices fell about $2 a barrel in early trade in New York on Friday ahead of the anticipated increase in production by OPEC and its allies, however. "Given fairly strong oil prices at around $70, it does give OPEC+ some confidence about market fundamentals," said Amrita Sen, co-founder of Energy Aspects, adding that the market structure was also indicating tight stocks. The eight countries are scheduled to meet again on Sept. 7, when they may consider reinstating another layer of output cuts totalling around 1.65 million bpd, two OPEC+ sources said following Sunday's meeting. Those cuts are currently in place until the end of next year. OPEC+ in full includes 10 non-OPEC oil producing countries, most notably Russia and Kazakhstan. The group, which pumps about half of the world's oil, had been curtailing production for several years to support oil prices. It reversed course this year in a bid to regain market share, spurred in part by calls from Trump for OPEC to ramp up production. The eight began raising output in April with a modest hike of 138,000 bpd, followed by larger-than-planned hikes of 411,000 bpd in May, June and July, 548,000 bpd in August and now 547,000 bpd for September. "So far the market has been able to absorb very well those additional barrels also due to stockpiliing activity in China," said Giovanni Staunovo of UBS. "All eyes will now shift on the Trump decision on Russia this Friday." As well as the voluntary cut of about 1.65 million bpd from the eight members, OPEC+ still has a 2-million-bpd cut across all members, which also expires at the end of 2026. "OPEC+ has passed the first test," said Jorge Leon of Rystad Energy and a former OPEC official, as it has fully reversed its largest cut without crashing prices. "But the next task will be even harder: deciding if and when to unwind the remaining 1.66 million barrels, all while navigating geopolitical tension and preserving cohesion."
