Hundreds Of US Government Sites Go Offline

Hundreds of US government websites were offline on Monday, an AFP review showed, including that of the humanitarian agency USAID which President Donald Trump's administration is shutting down.

From a list of nearly 1,400 federal sites provided by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), more than 350 were unavailable on Monday afternoon.

These included sites linked to the departments of defense, commerce, energy, transportation, labor as well the Central Intelligence Agency and the Supreme Court, the review showed.

The exact time when the sites became unavailable was not clear. Nor was it known whether the sites were temporarily offline or taken down at the instruction of Trump's administration.

But the development comes amid the administration's controversial drive to radically shrink the US government.

Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive and the world's richest person, is leading Trump's federal cost-cutting efforts under the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

On Monday, Musk said USAID will be shuttered, calling the agency which runs relief programs in about 120 countries a "criminal organization."

USAID's website was offline as employees were instructed by email not to go to their offices on Monday.

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The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover

 

Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk’s companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.

Elon Musk’s takeover of federal government infrastructure is ongoing, and at the center of things is a coterie of engineers who are barely out of—and in at least one case, purportedly still in—college. Most have connections to Musk, and at least two have connections to Musk’s longtime associate Peter Thiel, a cofounder and chair of the analytics firm and government contractor Palantir who has long expressed opposition to democracy.

WIRED has identified six young men—all apparently between the ages of 19 and 24, according to public databases, their online presences, and other records—who have little to no government experience and are now playing critical roles in Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project, tasked by executive order with “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” The engineers all hold nebulous job titles within DOGE, and at least one appears to be working as a volunteer.

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Donald Trump's new Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy seen performing raunchy dance in embarrassing video

 

 

 

Trump's new Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy performs a raunchy 'Chippendale' striptease and gets his nipple licked in a cringeworthy clip from his forgotten past in reality TV.

The resurfaced footage shows the man tasked with restoring confidence in America's shaken airline industry prancing around in nothing but his tighty whities, socks, and eyeglasses.

Set to sultry saxophone music, the risqué routine begins with a 20-something Duffy gyrating near-naked in front of a window while fellow contestants from MTV's The Real World: Boston howl with laughter.

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New Trump Official Declared ‘Competent White Men Must Be in Charge’ in Pack of Viral Resurfaced Tweets

 

Trump’s State Department is hiring first-term Trump speechwriter Darren Beattie to a top job just 15 weeks after he submitted that “competent white men must be in charge” in one of many controversial, resurfaced tweets. 

Semafor broke the news on Sunday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will appoint Beattie as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy at the State Department almost seven years after Beattie was fired from the first Trump White House for speaking at a conference with white nationalists.

And as recently as October, Beattie was bluntly espousing white authority, writing “Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work. Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities, and demoralizing competent white men.”

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The Dumbest Trade War Fallout Begins (Wall Street Journal)

 

Canada and Mexico vow retaliation in response to Trump’s tariffs, amid new economic uncertainty.
President Trump conceded Sunday that there may be “some pain” from his sweeping tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but they will eventually lead to a new “GOLDEN AGE.” 

Nice of him to promise a glorious future because the pain is already unfolding, and the tariffs won’t even take effect until Tuesday.
“WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!). BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday morning. 

He also included a blast at these columns for leading the “Tariff Lobby” after our Saturday editorial called his 25% across-the-board tariffs on our friends and neighbors “the dumbest trade war in history.”
We appreciate Mr. Trump’s attention, though we’re anti-tariff and not lobbyists. 

But bad policy has damaging consequences, whether or not Mr. Trump chooses to admit it. Mr. Trump can’t repeal the laws of economics any more than Joe Biden could on inflation. Tariffs are taxes, and when you tax something you get less of it. 

Who pays the tariff depends on the elasticity of supply and demand for the specific goods. But Mr. Trump wants American workers and employers to take one for the team. Hope you don’t lose your job or business before the golden age arrives.
The economic fallout began Saturday evening as Canada said it will retaliate with a 25% tariff on $30 billion (Canadian dollars) of U.S. goods, with another C$125 billion to follow in three weeks. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also promised to retaliate.

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Trump says Canada will 'cease to exist' without subsidy and US has 'unlimited energy'

 

 Donald Trump has fired back at Justin Trudeau's tariffs by claiming Canada should become 'our cherished 51st state.' Donald Trump has angrily fired back at Justin Trudeau's tariffs by claiming Canada will "cease to exist as a viable country" without US subsidy.

Trump has sparked a bitter trade war as Mexico and Canada, who have hit back with retaliatory tariffs after the US president slapped both countries with huge levies.

After Trudeau vowed he would never back down, Trump responded on Sunday morning by saying Canada should become "our cherished 51st state". Writing on his Truth Social platform, he said: "We pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada. Why? There is no reason.

Trump says Canada will 'cease to exist' without subsidy and US has 'unlimited energy'. Donald Trump has fired back at Justin Trudeau's tariffs by claiming Canada should become 'our cherished 51st state.'

OpenAI alerta para "problemas de segurança" em alusão à rival DeepSeek

 

A empresa tecnológica norte-americana OpenAI e a japonesa Softbank alertaram para possíveis "problemas de segurança" relacionados com a inteligência artificial (IA), numa alusão hoje em Tóquio à DeepSeek, concorrente chinesa no setor.

"Temos de proteger a segurança humana. Embora a tecnologia e o resultado sejam semelhantes, as características para a segurança humana são diferentes", disse o fundador da SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, num evento na capital japonesa, que contou também com a presença do diretor executivo da OpenAI, Sam Altman.

Num encontro entre os dois, Son mencionou a DeepSeek e deixou uma pergunta a Altman sobre a empresa chinesa, ao que Altman, sem se referir à concorrente da China, respondeu que "a sociedade tem de decidir quais são os limites do setor".
"Dependendo do país de origem, podem surgir situações muito perigosas, se utilizarmos esta tecnologia de forma incorreta, o que pode desencadear uma situação muito má para a humanidade", afirmou Son.
Altman, de forma mais positiva, disse que a sociedade como um todo "vai conseguir fazer as coisas corretamente".

Quanto aos comentários sobre se a IA poderia roubar trabalho, os dois empresários mostraram-se otimistas, afirmando que a humanidade "encontra sempre novos empregos" e que a tecnologia "é capaz de gerar novo conhecimento".
Também hoje, os responsáveis das duas empresas anunciaram um acordo de parceria estratégica para criar a empresa conjunta SB OpenAI Japan, com um projeto de IA generativa chamado "Crystal".
Son afirmou que o objetivo é desenvolver "soluções de ponta" para as empresas e disse que a SoftBank se vai tornar no primeiro utilizador do projeto no âmbito do serviço de mensagens Line ou da aplicação de pagamentos PayPay.

O anúncio surge depois de vários meios de comunicação social terem noticiado, na semana passada, que a SoftBank está em negociações para investir até 25 mil milhões de dólares (24 mil milhões de euros) na OpenAI, num negócio que a tornaria o maior financiador do fabricante do ChatGPT.
A notícia surge também depois de o novo Presidente dos Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, ter anunciado um investimento de até 500 mil milhões de dólares (488 mil milhões de euros) no setor privado para construir uma infraestrutura de IA.

Este projeto avançado por Trump vai ser formado pela OpenIA, SoftBank e Oracle, que terá início com um investimento num centro de dados no Texas, sul dos Estados Unidos, expandindo-se depois a outros estados.

OpenAI anuncia ferramenta de "pesquisa aprofundada" para ChatGPT

 

A norte-americana OpenAI anunciou hoje uma ferramenta de "pesquisa aprofundada" para o ChatGPT, pouco antes de uma reunião em Tóquio com o parceiro SoftBank, numa altura em que a chinesa DeepSeek intensifica a concorrência na inteligência artificial.
A OpenAI disse que a nova ferramenta "realiza em dezenas de minutos o que levaria muitas horas" a ser feito por uma pessoa.

"A pesquisa aprofundada é a nova ferramenta da OpenAI que pode trabalhar para si de forma independente: dê-lhe um comando e o ChatGPT encontrará, analisará e sintetizará centenas de fontes 'online' para criar um relatório abrangente ao nível de um analista", afirma a OpenAI no portal oficial.
O robô de conversação ChatGPT marcou o aparecimento da inteligência artificial (IA) generativa para o público em geral em 2022.
Numa apresentação vídeo em direto, os investigadores da OpenAI demonstraram como a 'pesquisa aprofundada' foi capaz de resumir dados de pesquisa na Internet para recomendar equipamento de esqui para umas férias de neve no Japão.

O diretor executivo da OpenAI, Sam Altman, encontra-se em Tóquio para se encontrar hoje com o primeiro-ministro japonês, Shigeru Ishiba, e o diretor executivo do grupo SoftBank, Masayoshi Son.
Altman e Son são parceiros no Stargate, um novo projeto que envolve investimentos de pelo menos 500 mil milhões de dólares (488 mil milhões de euros) em infraestruturas de IA nos Estados Unidos, recentemente revelado pelo Presidente norte-americano, Donald Trump.
Masayoshi Son também assistiu à tomada de posse de Trump em janeiro.

Estes desenvolvimentos surgem numa altura em que a 'startup' chinesa DeepSeek abalou o mundo tecnológico norte-americano com o potente robô de conversação desenvolvido a baixo custo e a funcionar com menos recursos.
Numa entrevista ao jornal económico japonês Nikkei, Sam Altman afirmou que a China está a recuperar o atraso em relação às tecnologias de IA baseadas nos EUA.
Alertou também para o facto de as tecnologias de IA poderem ser utilizadas por Estados autoritários para reforçar o controlo