President Donald Trump went to Capitol Hill to get Republican lawmakers on board with his multitrillion-dollar bill proposing significant tax cuts.

• Elon Musk challenged Bill Gates' criticism of DOGE's USAID budget cuts.
• Gates has claimed DOGE's cuts could cause "millions of deaths" but Musk demanded evidence.
• Musk defended DOGE's moves and slammed Gates' comments at the Qatar Economic Forum Tuesday.

Elon Musk clapped back at Bill Gates when asked about his criticism of the Department of Government Efficiency.

In response to Gates' remarks to CNN and other publications earlier this month that DOGE's slashes to the US Agency for International Development would lead to "millions of deaths," Musk asked his fellow tech billionaire to show proof.

"I'd like him to show us any evidence whatsoever that this is true. It's false," Musk told Bloomberg's Mishal Husain onstage at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday.

With Musk as its de facto leader, DOGE has taken an aggressive approach to making the government more efficient — including cutting over 80% of USAID's programs, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. DOGE was effectively "feeding USAID into the wood chipper," as the Tesla CEO put it in an X post on February 2.

Musk told Husain that parts of USAID "that were found to be even slightly useful" were preserved and moved to the State Department. On January 28, Rubio announced that the US would issue a waiver allowing "life-saving humanitarian assistance programs" to continue their work.

Musk previously called USAID a "criminal organization," and he said Tuesday that it hasn't been able to provide evidence of the children it's helping.

"'Like, where are they? If they're in trouble, we'd like to talk to them and talk to their caregivers,'" Musk said.

Neither Musk nor representatives for Gates immediately responded to Business Insider's request for comment.

Gates, the cofounder of Microsoft, committed his over $100 billion fortune and the resources of the Gates Foundation to aid in global health over the next 20 years. He told CNN that DOGE's bold approach to cutting government spending is "a mistake."

USAID distributed nearly $32.5 billion in aid in 2024, devoting over $2.3 billion to fighting AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis around the world. It also spent about $290 million on making vaccines and immunization more widespread.

According to the United Nations, the US funds 70% of the global response to HIV/AIDS, saving more than 26 million lives since the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was created in 2003.

"He's the one who cut the USAID budget. He put it in the wood chipper," Gates told The New York Times Magazine of Musk. "The world's richest man has been involved in the deaths of the world's poorest children."

House Speaker Mike Johnson cautioned the Senate in a closed door lunch on Tuesday not to make big changes to the reconciliation bill, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: If Johnson can get his conference in line, his problem will soon be Senate Majority Leader John Thune's (R-S.D.)— with an important July deadline looming on the debt ceiling.

• Sources tell Axios that Johnson projected a lot of confidence in the meeting.
• Johnson told senators "we're going to land this plane" and to expect a vote on Wednesday night, according to one attendee.

Zoom in: President Trump warned House conservatives on Tuesday to not "f**k around" with Medicaid, and told blue state holdouts to take Johnson's offer on the SALT deduction cap.

• Multiple House lawmakers — including SALT holdout Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) say they're still a "no" at this point.

Zoom out: The Senate does not expect to simply pass the House bill as is. Thune has his own potential detractors, with only three votes to spare.

• The Senate GOP may accept changes to SALT.
• But some senators want changes to Medicaid, renewable energy subsidies and spending cuts specifics.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and has been updated.

• As a chef, I've learned the best tricks to grill perfectly cooked, juicy chicken every time.
• Choose your chicken cut wisely and add flavor to your meat with a rub, marinade, or brine.
• Sauce can char on your chicken if you add it too soon, so wait until the end to brush it on.

Whether you're having people over or bringing a meal to a potluck, grilled chicken is always a crowd-pleaser.

As a restaurant chef, I've broken down so many whole birds that I could probably do it blindfolded, so I have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to making the tastiest grilled chicken around.

Buy high-quality chicken from a trusted source

First and foremost, buy a good chicken from a trusted source.

Terms like "organic" and "free range" are often vague and don't always indicate what you think they do, so look for the USDA-grade label first and foremost.

An A grade means there's a good fat-to-skin ratio and no discolorations, and B and C grades are usually used for ground meat.

From there, look for cage-free, antibiotics-free, and Kosher, which all refer to how the chickens are raised and processed. Those factors, separately or combined, make for a chicken that is consistently tasty. 

Know how to best handle whichever cut of meat you're planning to grill

If you're not sure what chicken to grill, I suggest bone-in, skin-on meat. It tastes better because this extra layer of fat infuses the chicken with flavor and moisture while cooking.

You can also experiment with grilling a whole bird spatchcock style, which is without the spinal cord. This way, the bird stays flush with the grill, so it will cook evenly over the heat, and everyone can still have their favorite cuts.

Grilled wings are also great for a crowd, and their small size means they'll cook quickly. Keep a close eye on them.

Chicken breast is popular for a reason, but it typically has an uneven thickness. Slice cutlets in half or pound them flat before grilling for even cooking results.

Don't underestimate the power of marinades, cures, and brines

The whole point of marinating meat is to break down tissue and bring in flavor with acid and salt.

A quick marinade is easy to throw together, too. Your acids could be lemons, limes, oranges, vinegar, and even wine or beer. You can even make a marinade with leftover salad dressing or pickle juice.

Marinate for a few hours or the night before cooking for best results.

You may also want to consider brining — an overnight bath in a salt and seasoning mixture can do wonders for flavor and texture.

The salt breaks down the proteins and pulls in the seasonings, essentially curing the meat.

You can also experiment with curing with dry rubs and salt seasoning mixtures, which don't use water. The salt will pull the moisture out of the meat and then reabsorb it.

Just sprinkle a thin layer all over your meat and plan to brine or cure at least one day before cooking.

Add your sauce toward the end of the grilling process

A good barbecue sauce can bring finger-licking qualities to your chicken, but don't add it too early in the grilling process. 

This is especially crucial for sauces made with sugar. Similar to roasted marshmallows, it will burn over an open flame and can turn into a black char if too close to the fire.

Instead, slather on your sauce when the meat is mostly cooked through. Barbecue sauce is best used as a basting tool right before serving, so you can get all of that flavor without turning your chicken into a hockey puck. 

Use one of several methods to ensure your chicken is cooked

A fully cooked piece of chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the thickest part. However, if you don't have a meat thermometer, look for other signs that can signify a bird is cooked.

If there are bones, they should wiggle easily in their sockets. If boneless, pierce with a knife and any juices — there should always be juices — should run clear.

If you undercook your chicken, put it back on the grill for a few more minutes with the cover on to let the residual heat cook it through.

Grill over indirect or direct heat, but keep the lid closed

Most grills have a large grate directly over the flame and a smaller elevated one with indirect heat.

If you're cooking a larger or thicker piece of chicken breast, grill over indirect heat before or after charring, especially if you want to ensure it's cooked all the way through.

You can add some wood chips to your gas or charcoal grill for extra flavor, but keep the lid closed to keep it nice and hot. It's OK to check on the meat every few minutes, but try to lift the grill lid sparingly to keep the heat inside. 

This story was originally published on August 13, 2o22, and most recently updated on May 20, 2025.

• I made Ina Garten's smashed cheeseburgers with caramelized onions.
• The recipe only calls for a few ingredients, and you don't even need to fire up the grill.
• The burgers were perfectly juicy, and the simple toppings made the process easy.

Ina Garten might be best known for her oversized-cosmopolitans and perfect roast chicken, but the celebrity chef has also released multiple burger recipes during her decades-long career.

Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, I decided to try one out.

Among her many burger recipes, her smashed hamburgers with caramelized onions called to me because of their simplicity.

A number of the ingredients I needed for the recipe were already in my pantry, which helped me save money on buying supplies and was a testament to Garten's flair for simple yet delicious recipes. 

Here's how to make Ina Garten's caramelized-onion cheeseburgers.

This recipe only requires a few basic ingredients, including onions.

You can find the full ingredient list and recipe instructions on Garten's website.

I started by preparing the caramelized onions. The recipe calls for two medium red onions, thinly sliced.

I added 2 tablespoons of canola oil to a large nonstick pan over medium heat and then added the onions.

Garten says it should take about eight to 10 minutes for the onions to start to brown. I liked that this recipe didn't require a grill, making it apartment-friendly for this New Yorker on Memorial Day weekend.

While the onions were browning, I began preparing the burger patties.

The recipe calls for a pound and a 1/2 of ground beef with 20% fat.

To make the burgers, you season the meat with Colman's mustard powder, black pepper, and kosher salt.

I had never used mustard powder in a recipe before, but I was excited to see if it would enhance the flavor of the burgers.

I mixed the ground meat and seasonings in a glass mixing bowl.

This was so much easier and simpler than adding an egg or a ton of other ingredients like many celebrity chef burger recipes require.

I shaped the meat into four burger patties and placed them on a plate in the freezer.

The chef says the burgers should stay in the freezer for exactly 15 minutes, so I set a timer to ensure I didn't go over or under the mark. I assumed this step was to help the burgers keep their shape when I added them to the cast-iron skillet.

After adding a teaspoon of sugar to the onions and letting them caramelize for a few minutes, I added a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.

Garten explains that this step is to help deglaze the pan. 

After less than a minute, my onions were lightly caramelized and ready to add to the burgers.

I took them off the heat while I waited for the burgers to be ready to add to the pan.

I heated up a couple of tablespoons of oil in my trusty cast-iron skillet and waited for the burgers to be done in the freezer.

While this recipe does call for two different pans, it doesn't require many extra bowls or equipment, which I greatly appreciated when it was time to clean up.

I placed the burger patties down in the cast iron and made sure not to move them once they made contact.

Each burger patty should be about an inch thick. While all my burgers weren't the exact same size, I figured I did a good enough job and was able to use every last bit of the meat mixture.

To put the "smash" in "smash burger," I pressed down firmly on my burgers with a spatula.

This definitely would have worked a little better with a metal spatula, as Garten suggests using, but I made do with the one I had in my kitchen. In the end, the burgers turned out well.

After the burgers had cooked on one side for three minutes, becoming perfectly crispy, I flipped them over and added my toppings.

I grated some Gruyere cheese to top the burgers and added the caramelized onions, too. Then, I placed a lid on the skillet to allow the cheese to melt completely and finish cooking the burgers.

After about two minutes, my burgers were done.

Garten suggests using sandwich potato rolls, such as Martin's, for the burgers, so I did just that.

When I cut into the burger, it was perfectly medium rare.

I'm admittedly not the best at telling when burgers are done to my liking, but Garten's timing worked out perfectly.

The burger blew me away — it was juicy and flavorful, and the onions added the perfect amount of sweetness.

This recipe is great for grill masters and burger novices alike, as you only need a few ingredients to get a delicious burger. Even my roommates were surprised by how tasty these simple burgers turned out. 

I'll definitely be making these burgers again for an easy dinner or even a summer party with friends.

• Sean "Diddy" Combs' ex-assistant testified about a 2008 ordeal involving Suge Knight.
• An armed Combs went after Knight after he was spotted at an LA diner, the man testified.
• Combs faces federal charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

With three guns on his lap, Sean "Diddy" Combs ordered his driver to "motherfucking go" as they lit out for a Los Angeles diner — itching to confront longtime rival Suge Knight, Combs' ex-personal assistant testified Tuesday.

David James, Combs' then-personal assistant, described the dramatic 2008 ordeal — in which an early morning cheeseburger run nearly escalated the notorious East Coast-West Coast rap feud— while on the stand at Combs' federal sex-trafficking trial.

"It was the first time I realized my life was in danger," James told the Manhattan jury during his second day of testimony.

Knight, the Death Row Records cofounder, had been spotted at Mel's Drive-In diner some 20 minutes prior, James testified. It was James who drove Combs and one of the hip-hop tycoon's trusted security guards back to the diner, guns at the ready.

"I remember complete silence" during the 10-minute drive from Combs' Hollywood Hills home to the diner, James testified, adding, "I remember thinking there are three guns and three people in this car" should anything happen.

James, who said he served as Combs' personal assistant from 2007 to 2009, told the jury that by the time Combs got to the diner, Knight had already left.

"We didn't see any black Escalades or black SUVs" in the lot by the time they returned, James said, referring to the four cars he said Knight had been traveling with.

In the end, Combs just went home.

"We eventually drove back to his house in Hollywood Hills," James told the jury.

James said that Combs' human resources director tried to talk him into continuing to work for the rapper's Bad Boy companies. She offered him a job with the Sean John fashion line, or in marketing, he said.

"I told her no," he testified. "I just wanted to get out."

Last week, Combs' ex-girlfriend — star prosecution witness Cassie Ventura — described the Combs-Knight incident from her vantage point, back at the rapper's home.

On Tuesday, James described it from his own perspective, telling jurors what he heard and saw from behind the wheel.

It was 4 a.m., and Combs wanted cheeseburgers after a late-night recording session at his rented Hollywood Hills mansion.

James and one of Combs' security guards, Damian "D-Roc" Butler, were sent to Mel's, a popular all-night diner.

"I drove the staff truck, a silver Lincoln Navigator," James testified.

James had just pulled the Navigator into a parking spot at Mel's when Butler saw Knight at the wheel of an Escalade parked a few spots over.

"That's motherfucking Suge Knight!" Butler said, according to James.

James testified that the security guard walked up to Knight's car and said, "What's up? It's me D-Roc, Biggie's boy," referring to rapper Notorious B.I.G.

"Oh, what are you doing in my city?" Knight asked Butler, who replied, "I'm just here getting money, you know how it is," James testified.

"I know what it is," Knight responded.

The two men shook hands, and parted ways.

But as James and Butler were placing their order inside Mel's, they saw someone pass a gun to Knight — and saw four SUVs drive into position at different corners of the parking lot, James testified.

"We gotta' fucking go," Butler said, and they sped back to Combs' home, James testified.

Knight, who is serving a 28-year prison sentence in connection to a fatal 2015 hit-and-run, has recently commented on Combs' criminal case in interviews. An attorney for Knight did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Outside of Combs' home that early morning, James told jurors he saw Combs arguing with Ventura.

"She was telling him not to go. She was very upset," James said of Ventura.

Ventura said there was a 'freak-off' right before the incident

In her testimony last week about the situation, Ventura said that she had been involved in one of Combs' "freak off" sex performances at the time.

"I just remember we were kind of, like, just chilling at this point and D-Roc came in and he said that Suge was down at Mel's diner, which was just right down the hill," Ventura had testified. "And they quickly packed up and drove down there."

Ventura said she got upset.

"I was crying. I was screaming, like, please don't do anything stupid. I just was really nervous for them," Ventura testified. "I didn't know what it meant, what they were going to do."

Ventura testified that Combs and the other men put on black clothes, covered up their heads, went into a safe, and grabbed guns.

"And next thing I knew, they were in the SUV," she said.

They returned to the house in about half an hour, Ventura testified.

Prosecutors say that for two decades, Combs led a "criminal enterprise" that involved the sex trafficking of Ventura and another woman. Combs is accused of coercing those women, plus two additional women, into sex through a pattern of threats, manipulation, and violence.

Combs and his associates also committed other crimes, including forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, drug offenses, and obstruction of justice, prosecutors allege.

If convicted on the sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges against him, Combs could spend the rest of his life behind bars.