• Elon Musk's super PAC poured more than $12 million into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
• In the end, the liberal candidate, Judge Susan Crawford, defeated conservative Judge Brad Schimel.
• The loss is a blow for Musk, who held a town hall in Wisconsin and urged voters to back Schimel.

For Wisconsin Republicans, regaining a conservative majority on the state's Supreme Court was a top priority.

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, funneled more than $12 million via his America PAC to sway the pivotal judicial race in one of the country's premier swing states.

It wasn't enough.

On Tuesday, Musk's big bet on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race fell apart, with outlets including NBC News and CNN projecting that liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford has defeated conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel in the most expensive judicial race in US history.

Musk, the face of President Donald Trump's White House DOGE office, has been met with increasingly vocal opposition by voters over the task force's cost-cutting efforts. And the fallout from DOGE is also impacting Tesla, the company that catapulted Musk to international prominence.

Crawford's victory is a significant blow for Musk as DOGE's work continues to face increased scrutiny from the public and could lead to electoral gains for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections.

Here's how Crawford's win is set to upend Musk's political playbook:

Musk is caught in the DOGE-house

For weeks, scenes of frustrated voters sharply questioning and booing GOP members of Congress have become a defining narrative of DOGE, as many lawmakers have had to defend waves of staffing cuts.

As a guiding force behind efforts to cut costs at critical federal departments — along with efforts to eliminate the US Agency for International Development, or USAID — Musk has faced mounting pushback over the task force's aggressive tactics to reign in spending.

Musk went all in for Schimel, arguing that the Wisconsin race was "important for the future of civilization."

"If the [Wisconsin] Supreme Court is able to redraw the districts, they will gerrymander the district and deprive Wisconsin of two seats on the Republican side," Musk said, referencing the potential for Democrats to make gains through a new congressional map.

"Then they will try to stop all the government reforms we are getting done for you, the American people," he added.

In a state that narrowly backed Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris last November, voters this week made a new choice.

Crawford's win keeps the liberal bloc in the majority. The court could potentially revisit the state's congressional maps, with a redraw likely to offer Democrats an opportunity to pick up additional seats.

With Republicans currently clinging to a razor-thin 218-213 majority in the US House ahead of what could be a tough midterm cycle, holding the lower chamber will be key for Musk and Trump — especially as it relates to future oversight over DOGE's work.

Musk may approach other races differently

Musk campaigned heavily for Trump in swing-state Pennsylvania last November, with America PAC pouring millions of dollars into the state, much of it for canvassing and other digital-related efforts.

The tech mogul's decision to hand out $1 million checks to select voters who signed petitions at town hall events — similar to what he employed in Wisconsin this time around — drew many people out as he criticized Harris and the media. Trump would go on to win Pennsylvania in the 2024 general election.

Schimel's loss, on the other hand, is a setback for Musk.

Wisconsin Supreme Court races in recent years have become increasingly polarized, with issues like abortion rights, union collective bargaining rights, and voting regulations being used to drive up turnout among base voters. This week, conservatives fell short in their efforts to take the court in a different direction.

Musk is poised to wade into other contests ahead of the midterms, especially with Trump's agenda on the line. However, the latest results in Wisconsin show that there's a limit to such an influence.

• The Trump administration has cut off billions of dollars in federal funding for universities.
• The move has already caused some institutions to scale back hiring or implement layoffs.
• The White House also directly targeted a few schools, withholding funds until demands are met.

The Trump administration has set its crosshairs on dozens of universities across the US as part of an effort to crack down on DEI-related initiatives and what the administration has said to be a rampant presence of anti-semitism on campuses.

Already, the administration's moves to reduce federal spending has had sweeping consequences for America's higher education institutions.

Universities have implemented hiring freezes or pursued layoffs as billions of dollars worth of funding toward research remains at threat or has been taken away as a result of the White House's move to downsize or dismantle government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the United States Agency for International Development.

But the administration also has directly threatened several universities to strip them of federal funds, accusing them of failing to properly respond to anti-semitism on campus or participating in "race-exclusionary practices."

The Department of Education issued a letter in March to 60 higher education institutions, including a few Ivy League schools, warning them of potential probes if they do not do more to protect Jewish students.

Columbia University was stripped of $400 million worth of federal contracts and grants after the Trump administration accused the university of mishandling its response to harassment against Jewish students.

In two weeks, the Ivy League school conceded, by banning masks on campus and hiring more security, in hopes of restoring the contracts.

Here's a list of notable cases in which the Trump administration targeted higher education institutions and how universities have responded:

Harvard University

The Department of Health and Human Services announced that it was conducting a review of $8.9 billion worth of federal contracts and grants.

The Trump administration accused the university of failing to protect its Jewish student body and promoting "divisive ideologies over free inquiry."

The review is to "ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities," according to a statement from the Department of Education."

Harvard University President Alan M. Garber said in a statement that the school would "engage with members of the federal government's task force to combat antisemitism."

Columbia University

Columbia University was the first Ivy League school the Trump administration targeted over concerns of anti-semitism on university campuses.

The administration announced in a statement that it was cancelling about $400 million in federal contracts and grants to Columbia.

The university responded to the funding cuts on March 20 with a list of nine proposals that entailed increasing campus security and stronger enforcement of disciplinary actions, among other actions.

Columbia's interim president, Katrina Armstrong, resigned after the university announced its concessions.

Princeton University

Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber said in an announcement that dozens of research grants, including those administered by the Department of Energy, NASA, and the Defense Department, were suspended.

The university leader said in a statement that the "full rationale" of the move was unclear but added that the school was "committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination."

Prior to the announcement, Eisgruber penned an essay in The Atlantic saying the Trump administration's targeting of universities presents "the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s."

Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins said it would get rid of more than 2,200 jobs as a result of the Trump administration's move to eliminate the US Agency for International Development.

Part of the funding was directed toward work focused on preventing the spread of HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, the university said in a statement.

"Over more than five decades, our colleagues have brought the benefits of research, discovery, and clinical care to mothers, children, and families at home and around the world, from Nepal to Nigeria, from the Western highlands of Guatemala to our hometown of Baltimore," university president Ron Daniels said.

University of Michigan

University of Michigan leaders eliminated its office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and other related programs.

University leaders said in a statement that the moves comes as "federal actions against DEI programming have intensified."

"These decisions have not been made lightly," the statement said. "We recognize the changes are significant and will be challenging for many of us, especially those whose lives and careers have been enriched by and dedicated to programs that are now pivoting."

The school said it would redirect funding towards other "student-facing programs," including financial aid for lower-income families and mental health services.

University of Pennsylvania

The Trump Administration suspended $175 million in federal contracts from the University of Pennsylvania citing the participation of a transgender athlete, Lia Thomas, on the women's swimming team in 2022.

"These contracts include research on preventing hospital-acquired infections, drug screening against deadly viruses, quantum computing, protections against chemical warfare, and student loan programs," the university's president J. Larry Jameson wrote in a statement at the end of March.

"These stop work orders are in addition to several federal grants that have been cancelled recently, and the slowing down of the award of grants going forward," Jameson went on. "We are actively pursuing multiple avenues to understand and address these funding terminations, freezes, and slowdowns."

• Chana Widawski handed in her notice after feeling burned out at work.
• She celebrated her 50th birthday with a yearlong sabbatical.
• Now 51 and back in New York, she says the sabbatical taught her to prioritize living over making a living.

Burnout is real, and so is turning 50.

As I neared both, I knew it was time for a sabbatical. I needed a break from my job as a social worker and from my hectic life in the concrete jungle of New York City. I craved travel and needed to recharge. I decided that it was time.

Sabbaticals are an almost foreign concept in my field and for most Americans in general. Losing both of my parents at a young age and working for years with families who had lost loved ones made it clear to me that life is short.

As with most things, dreaming it up was easy; actualizing was not.

I cherished many aspects of my job and life. I loved the neighborhood free store and composting initiative I started. I relished opportunities to dance and partake in happenings around the city.

But those all-too-familiar feelings of stagnation, burnout, and wanderlust prevailed. While I didn't quite know how I would spend my break or exactly when I'd start it, I handed in my notice.

It was transformative, even though my actual last day on the job came 6 months later.

In January 2023 my journey began. Single and without children or aging parents to care for, I was free of responsibilities and faced no objections to traveling into the next half-century of my life with positive energy and openness.

Traveling solo, at my own pace

I used the airline points I had accrued to book a one-way flight to India, unsure of how long I would stay or where I'd head next.

Eliminating my primary expense, housing, came easy, as a friend was more than happy to use my affordable, centrally located apartment in my absence.

Once abroad, I opted for the adventure of low-cost public transportation. This included a 24-hour bus journey from Kathmandu to Delhi and sitting on sacks of rice with someone's child on my lap for segments of a packed bus ride toward Muktinath in Nepal.

Similar to my life back in New York, I avoided lavish spending and saved money by living a socially conscious lifestyle — bicycling, camping, gardening, volunteering, foraging, eating home-cooked meals, and wearing secondhand clothes.

My background in social work gave me a sense of openness while I moved about the world.

I lived with the Lohani family in Nepal, volunteering on their farm and eating the best home-cooked dal baht, a rice dish with lentils. We hiked through the mountainside to join the entire village for its rice planting festival and for a baby's rice feeding ceremony.

Self-discovery through solo travel

I traveled slowly and covered a lot of ground, from Nepal and India to Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East, both coasts of the US, and lots in between.

A friend from home joined me to trek the mountain villages of Svaneti, Georgia. I spent time with new friends at gatherings in Germany, a festival in the Czech Republic, a conference I presented at in Croatia, and on a canoe trip back in the US, on Utah's Green River.

But nothing compared to the powerful serendipities and exchanges I experienced while traveling alone.

On the day of my 50th, I didn't get any hugs, phone calls, or even text messages. My phone was in a drawer at the picturesque Kopan Monastery in Nepal while I spent 10 days in silence, with people from across the globe, learning, meditating, reflecting and just being. It was idyllic.

My sabbatical turned out to be more than just a break; it transformed my way of being.

Two years later, I'm back in New York.

I'm still in love with the city and still disillusioned by the rat race and concrete jungle. The trip taught me to continue to prioritize living over making a living.

• President Donald Trump said Willkie Farr & Gallagher pledged $100 million in pro bono work for "conservative ideals."
• Legal activists are calling for Doug Emhoff to resign and "stand on the side of the rule of law."
• Federal judges have blocked most of Trump's orders that target Big Law and their security clearance.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher, the law firm where Doug Emhoff, former Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, is a partner, is pledging at least $100 million in pro bono legal work for causes aligned with "conservative ideals," President Donald Trump said on Tuesday via social media.

Willkie would be the third top law firm to formalize such a deal with Trump, following similar pledges from Paul Weiss and Skadden.

"Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP proactively reached out to President Trump and his Administration, offering their decisive commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession," said the White House, according to Trump's post on Truth Social.

Doug Emhoff and Willkie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump's social media post also said that Thomas M. Cerabino, Chairman of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, stated that "the substance of that agreement is consistent" with the firm's views on access to legal representation by clients and that the firm has a "history of working with clients across a wide spectrum of political viewpoints."

The announcement comes amid a wave of executive orders from Trump targeting Big Law over their affiliations — both with political adversaries and with causes he has publicly criticized. These executive orders have included reviewing the security clearances of law firms and terminating their contracts with the government.

Most of these executive orders, including ones targeting Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, and Jenner & Block, have been blocked by federal judges — some indefinitely until an official ruling has been reached.

"Willkie Farr's capitulation to Trump is absolutely shameful," said Molly Coleman, executive director of the People's Parity Project, an organization of law students and attorneys. "Emhoff and other partners need to show they stand on the side of the rule of law by resigning — there's absolutely no other option."

"If anyone should have the courage to refuse to practice the law under Trump's thumb, it should be Doug Emhoff," she added.

Paul Weiss has also faced criticism for bowing to Trump's demands, and at least two lawyers have publicly resigned from Skadden before and after its agreement with Trump, with one calling the act "a craven attempt to sacrifice the rule of law for self-preservation."

Just a week after Trump was sworn in for his second term, Wilkie announced it had hired Emhoff as a partner. In 2023, Wilkie brought on Tim Heaphy, the former chief investigative counsel for the House select committee that probed the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

The firm represented Trump during a 1990s bankruptcy case and successfully defended his close ally, Thomas Barrack, in a 2022 federal case. The firm also represents X, the social media company now owned by Trump ally and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

• The US is officially extending the deployment of an aircraft carrier in the Middle East.
• The Pentagon is also directing a second carrier to the region while another moves into the Pacific.
• The force posture changes come amid high tensions between the US and Iran and its proxies.

American aircraft carriers are on the move as the US military reacts to the rising tensions in the Middle East.

The US is officially extending the deployment of an aircraft carrier in the Middle East and sending another to the region, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday. A third one is heading to the Western Pacific to maintain a US presence there amid the heightened focus on the Central Command area of responsibility.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group to stay in the Middle East region "in support of regional deterrence and force protection efforts," Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, said in a statement.

The strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman entered the US Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, in mid-December to take over the Navy's yearlong fight against the Houthis in Yemen.

The US military has noticeably intensified its campaign against the Houthis in recent weeks as the Trump administration directs American forces to hit the rebels with airstrikes until they halt their attacks on Red Sea shipping. The Truman strike group has been involved in these efforts.

Parnell said that the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, which is led by the carrier USS Carl Vinson equipped with F-35C stealth fighter jets, will arrive in the Centcom area of responsibility "to continue promoting regional stability, deter aggression, and protect the free flow of commerce in the region" after it finishes a scheduled exercise in the Indo-Pacific.

It is unclear how long the two Navy carrier strike groups could overlap in the Middle East, but it's a notable show of force. The Navy last had two carriers in the region in the summer as the Houthis fired missiles and drones at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The Pentagon's official force posture update confirms earlier reporting and comes amid high tensions between the Trump administration and Iran and the Tehran-backed Houthis.

Parnell said that Hegseth directed more aircraft to the Middle East. The US has been moving both A-10 attack planes and B-2 stealth bombers to the region. The Vinson also brings with it a considerable air wing.

"Secretary Hegseth continues to make clear that, should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people," the Pentagon spokesman said.

His comments echo those of President Donald Trump, who said on Monday the strikes against the Houthis will continue if the rebels don't stop attacking US ships. He warned that "the real pain is yet to come" for the Houthis and Iran.

As the US masses forces in the Middle East, the Pentagon said that the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group led by the aging USS Nimitz has started a deployment to the Western Pacific, where it will maintain the Navy's aircraft carrier presence there.

There have previously been concerns that an overemphasis on deploying carriers and other warships to the Middle East leaves gaps in the US force presence in the Indo-Pacific, which is home to top US rival China, a priority challenge.

• My newborn daughter had a traumatic ICU experience.
• The immediate outpouring of support from family and friends got us through.
• A care package from a former high school acquaintance provided immense comfort.

My daughter was two days old when she was hospitalized with bacterial sepsis. The blinking monitors and beeping machines of the ICU felt like the soundtrack to my worst nightmare. Every hour seemed to pass in a painful haze of I.V.s, seizure medications, and bad news.

When I could muster the energy, I turned to Facebook, posting small pieces of our daughter's journey and asking for prayers and encouragement.

Not wanting to leave our medically fragile child alone, my husband and I spent the nights sharing a cramped window seat as a makeshift bed or slumped over on the room's solo hardback chair. We had arrived at the hospital by ambulance empty-handed and frazzled, yet our community had immediately and graciously stepped up to help us.

Everyone supported us

My sister and her husband cared for our older child. My mom packed a suitcase with our clothes and toiletries and brought it to us. Friends delivered homemade meals, baked goods, additional clothes, and even fresh-squeezed juices that were gentlest on my stressed stomach. I'd never been more grateful for our friends and family. Seven years later, I still remember the minutest gifts and acts of service that sustained us in those dark hours.

However, one of the most generous offerings came from outside that close circle, and its unexpected thoughtfulness continues to amaze me.

A week into our hospital stay, I received a care basket from someone whose name was vaguely familiar. Where did I know her from? I repeated it several times before it hit me — an old high school friend I hadn't spoken to in 11 years.

And yet, more than a decade later, she'd taken the time to drive probably half an hour to an hour from home to deliver a care basket for my family and me. The generosity overwhelmed me.

Inside the basket, I found an inspirational, hardback journal, fuzzy socks, sweetly scented soaps, snacks, and other sweet offerings that spoke to her own experience as a mom of a sick child. In the card, she shared how her daughter battled cancer and how the things inside this basket were the things she felt she would have benefited from having during her long, difficult hospital stays, including the socks for the cold, sterile floors.

The generosity moved me

It's one of the most moving examples of generosity I've ever experienced, and to this day, the memory floods me with gratitude

My daughter made a full, miraculous recovery. She is a healthy, strong 7-year-old — it's easy to forget she was ever on the cusp of death because her life's so full of vitality. But I never want to forget what that care basket and other gifts, meals, and thoughtful gestures meant to my family. They are why I am convinced it's important to always show up for others facing hard circumstances.

Since my own experience in the hospital, I have tried to pay it forward to other families in crisis by delivering meals, offering a listening ear, or sending a care package of my own. Because I know, from the deepest part of my heart, that in the darkest hour, even the smallest act of kindness brings hope.

• Conservative television network Newsmax has seen its stock skyrocket since going public on Monday.
• The investment bank that handled the public offering is a little-known firm called Digital Offering.
• A Digital Offering exec explains how the firm won the deal.

Newmax's stock debut may be the talk of Wall Street, but the investment bank behind the deal is not normally associated with the sector's splashiest IPOs.

Rather than using a large advisory firm like Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley, Newsmax tapped a relatively obscure advisor: Laguna Beach, California-based Digital Offering LLC, which has just six full-time registered bankers. The stock debut has helped put the bank on the map and is already driving new business to the firm, said Mark Elenowitz, a managing director at the firm, based in New York.

"It's huge for us," Elenowitz told Business Insider in an interview. "The small-cap community knows who we are, but the rest of Wall Street didn't."

Digital Offering advises companies valued at $1 billion or less — what's considered small potatoes for some bulge-bracket shops. The bank also specializes in the unconventional method Newsmax used to sell its stock to the public for the first time.

Rather than hire a bunch of banks to underwrite the IPO and sell the stocks to large investors in a roadshow, Newsmax relied on a lower-cost, less onerous form of a public offering termed Regulation A+, a provision of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2012.

The conservative news station raised $75 million selling 7.5 million shares at $10 each through this process, sometimes called the "mini IPO." Despite Newsmax losing $72 million in 2024, the stock shot up 735% on its first day of trading and another 180% on Tuesday to close up over 1,200% for the week at $233.

It could lead to a surge in demand for this type of offering and more business for firms like Digital Offering. Elenowitz said some mid-cap investment bank advisory firms have already reached out in recent days to express their desire to partner on public offerings structured similarly to Newsmax.

"They want us to help them," he said of this type of stock offering.

Working with Newsmax

The bank's relationship with Newsmax began in August 2023, Elenowitz recounted. At first, Digital Offering helped Newsmax raise $225 million in capital from accredited investors.

Newsmax wasn't aware of the Regulation A+ method for taking a company public, and Digital Offering was able to enumerate its vision. "We felt that it would really create visibility for the company beyond just raising money, but actually creating visibility for the brand," he said.

Elenowitz spearheaded the Newsmax transaction alongside Gordon McBean, the bank's cofounder and chairman and a veteran of Lehman Brothers and Wells Fargo; and Mike Boswell, an MD who also has business interests in the defense sector and blockchain technology.

Digital Offering saw Newsmax as the right candidate for a Regulation A+ offering because of its consumer appeal. Whereas a traditional IPO prioritizes large institutional investors, a Reg A offering lets companies raise money from accredited and non-accredited investors, including mom-and-pop retail investors.

"Instead of buying, as an institution, a million dollars and really being concerned, these are investors that are buying $500, $1000" worth of equity, "which gives management the time to stop worrying about their stock price and focus on growth their business."

The past 48 hours have been a rush for Elenowitz. The phones have been ringing off the hook, he and his team rejoiced over a celebratory dinner, and he and his wife are departing to Paris this weekend.

He said the highlight was ringing the trading bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. An exchange official handed Elenowitz a sheet of paper shortly after 10:51 a.m. that read, "Opening trade: 244,778 shares at $14."

"That, to me," he said, "was a historic moment."

Reed Alexander is a correspondent at Business Insider. He can be reached via email at [email protected], or SMS/the encrypted app Signal at (561) 247-5758.

• ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli-style images helped drive a record user spike.
• The popularity of both the trend and ChatGPT's latest release is straining OpenAI's resources.
• CEO Sam Altman says OpenAI is facing GPU capacity issues, causing delays and service disruptions.

ChatGPT users just can't get enough of Studio Ghibli-style image generations — so much so that the popular trend is helping fuel a record spike in users, and OpenAI is struggling to keep up.

OpenAI rolled out its latest ChatGPT-4o version last week. Users took advantage of the tool's new image generation capabilities to create images in the style of Japanese animation firm Studio Ghibli that look like they were drawn by founder and director Hayao Miyazaki himself.

Social media has been flooded with the AI-animated images, leading OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to join in, updating his X profile photo with a Ghibli-style image of himself, and sharing posts from other users containing the images.

On March 26, just a day after the ChatGPT-4o launch, Altman wrote on X that image generations had already been "wayyyy more popular than we expected (and we had pretty high expectations)." As a result, he said, the free tier of the feature would be delayed, but within days, he announced it had been rolled out to all free users.

"Can yall please chill on generating images this is insane our team needs sleep," Altman wrote on X on Sunday.

The popularity of the Ghibli trend combined with the advanced capabilities of ChapGPT's latest version and the rollout of that version to free users this week has created a perfect storm of conditions to give OpenAI a big boost.

Altman wrote on X on Monday that ChatGPT had just added one million users in the past hour, compared to two years ago, when the newly launched platform added that many users in five days.

During the week of March 24, ChatGPT's weekly app downloads, weekly active users, and revenue from subscriptions and in-app purchases reached an all-time high — increasing 11%, 5%, and 6%, respectively, week-over-week — according to data from market intelligence firm SensorTower.

And compared to the same week last year, app downloads and in-app purchase revenue were up over 500%, according to SensorTower.

In a record-breaking month, ChatGPT visits also reached over 4 billion in the first 28 days of March for the first time, according to market research firm Similarweb.

But all the hooplah around the latest update has been causing problems for OpenAI, according to X posts from Altman over the last few days.

"It's super fun seeing people love images in chatgpt," Altman posted on X on Thursday. "But our GPUs are melting. we are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient." He followed up by adding that the app will be "refusing some generations that should be allowed" but that, "we are fixing these as fast we can."

Altman said on X that OpenAI is having issues with its GPU capacity.

"We are getting things under control, but you should expect new releases from openai to be delayed, stuff to break, and for service to sometimes be slow as we deal with capacity challenges," Altman wrote on X on Tuesday, adding a callout, "if anyone has GPU capacity in 100k chunks we can get asap please call!"

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. GKIDS, the North American distributor of Studio Ghibli's film library, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• OpenAI has raised $40 billion at a lofty $300 billion valuation.
• Securing $20 billion of that comes with a catch.
• The Japanese conglomerate needs to see OpenAI complete its for-profit restructuring first.

OpenAI just raised up to $40 billion at a $300 billion valuation — but around $20 billion of its funding comes with very long strings attached.

According to information released on Monday by SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate headed by AI-obsessive Masayoshi Son, its investment is set to come in two separate closings. The amount in one of those depends on OpenAI completing its transition to a for-profit.

Here's how SoftBank sets out the — somewhat convoluted — terms.

The first closing would see OpenAI receive $10 billion this month, with funding directed toward its existing for-profit subsidiary, OpenAI Global — no strings attached. SoftBank said this $10 billion would be financed through borrowings from Mizhuho Bank and other financial institutions.

In the second closing, set for December, OpenAI is expected to receive up to $30 billion. But things get a little more complex when breaking down where that $30 billion will come from and on what terms.

Specifically, SoftBank is committing $22.5 billion along with $7.5 billion coming from a syndicate in the second closing, expected by the end of 2025, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. In the event the restructuring does not happen, SoftBank has the option to reduce the second part of its funding for the second closing to $10 billion, per the source. Business Insider understands that the syndicate is also contingent on OpenAI completing its for-profit restructuring.

So that means SoftBank is pledging a total of around $20 billion no matter what — and an extra $10 billion if OpenAI achieves its for-profit switch. Meanwhile, up to $10 billion may be syndicated out to co-investors in either scenario and across either close, according to SoftBank's announcement. While SoftBank says it has started talks with "major institutional investors," that funding isn't guaranteed.

OpenAI's structure until the end of 2024 involved having a for-profit controlled by a non-profit entity and a capped profit share for investors and employees, per details from the company.

Entering 2025, however, OpenAI said its structure would change as it seeks to "advance the mission of ensuring AGI benefits all of humanity." The new structure — a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation — loosely defines a firm seeking profit while aiming to deliver a positive social impact.

The shift to a new structure is not completed yet, and the process is facing a legal challenge from Elon Musk. For OpenAI, then, there's plenty still to do before the end of the year if it wants a significant third of the $30 billion tranche at stake in the second closing.

SoftBank, for its part, seems ready to still give OpenAI a whole lot of money, whether or not its for-profit conversion is completed by the end of the year.

The company, which is also partnering with OpenAI on the up to $500 billion Stargate project, said it recognized OpenAI as "the partner closest to achieving artificial general intelligence."

SoftBank first invested in OpenAI last October as part of a $6.6 billion funding round — one that valued the company at $157 billion.

That said, the company is holding off on going all in. At least until OpenAI has made the full shift toward a for-profit structure.

SoftBank's deal terms for its OpenAI investment were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

• Charlie Javice faces up to 30 years for tricking JPMorgan into buying her fintech startup for $175M.
• After Friday's verdict, her lawyers argued wearing an ankle monitor would ruin her Pilates career.
• A judge Tuesday ordered her to wear the monitor, but suggested he may change his mind in the future.

Convicted JPMorgan fraudster Charlie Javice will have a tougher time teaching Pilates, at least for now.

US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled Tuesday that Charlie Javice must wear a GPS ankle monitor in the weeks prior to her August sentencing, at which she faces a possible maximum of 30 years in prison.

He also invited Javice's legal team to return to him with a revised bail package and new arguments.

"Come up with a package," he advised, after suggesting he would consider ditching the ankle monitor if some other constraints — including an electronically monitored home curfew — were offered.

"If you come up with a successful package you would be able to change the terms," he said.

Javice, 33, teaches Pilates in Miami Beach, where she and her mother live in the same waterfront apartment building. In her previous career, she founded Frank, a website that helped students fill out their federal financial aid forms.

A jury found on Friday that Javice used fake data to trick JPMorgan, the country's largest bank, into believing her website had gathered the names and other personal data of more than 4 million students. The bank had hoped to market checking accounts and credit cards to these students, but later found that Javice had data for fewer than 300,000 of them.

The judge's ankle monitor decision on Tuesday followed some 90 minutes of arguments in federal court in Manhattan — complete with court exhibits showing Javice teaching Pilates.

In arguing against the ankle monitor, Javice's lawyer, Ron Sullivan, told the judge that Javice has never missed a day of court and is not a flight risk.

Wearing the bulky device once again — as she had for several weeks before a November decision granting its removal — would be a severe impediment to her career as a Pilates instructor, Sullivan said.

"To have your legs in the air and the monitor going up and down on your leg — it is a significant encumbrance," Sullivan told the judge. The lawyer held both arms aloft and waved them back and forth to demonstrate as he stood at a podium.

While wearing an ankle bracelet previously, she was only able to teach lessons briefly, and for family and friends, Sullivan said.

Her classes require "demanding physical movement and full flexibility and range of motion, specifically around her feet and ankles," her lawyers argued in court filings earlier Tuesday.

"Ms. Javice's services are sought after because her instruction is particularly challenging and dynamic," the filing said.

In Hellerstein's courtroom, an assistant US attorney countered that an ankle bracelet is necessary now that Javice, who holds dual French-US citizenship, has been convicted.

"We would be well within our rights to seek remand," said the prosecutor, Georgia V. Kostopoulos.

"And we understand that pretrial services would not be opposed to that," she said, referring to the agency that handles post-conviction supervision.

France does not have an extradition agreement with the United States, prosecutors have said.

Hellerstein said that he had examined a GPS ankle monitor earlier in the day.

"It's not heavy. It probably weighs a pound," he told the prosecutors and defense lawyers.

"So I don't know," he said. "I accept what you say, that it's a restriction on her ability to do the advanced Pilates that she does."

Still, he added, "I can't say there is no risk of flight."

He briefly retreated to chambers — holding printouts of photos of Javice teaching — to think it over before deciding.

The judge also required Javice's codefendant, Olivier Amar, to wear an ankle monitor. As with Javice, Amar's lawyers — who'd argued that a monitor "is quite large" and "makes him a pariah" — were invited to pitch the judge an alternate bail package.

Amar is free on a $1 million bond. Javice is free on a $2 million bond. The judge required both to be fitted with ankle monitors before leaving the courthouse on Tuesday.

• Sen. Cory Booker just delivered the longest-recorded Senate floor speech ever.
• It's an astonishing feat of workplace stamina — one that requires some preparation.
• Sen. Ted Cruz, who once spoke for more than 21 hours, said he didn't use a diaper or catheter.

At about 7 p.m. ET on Monday night, Sen. Cory Booker began delivering what became the longest Senate floor speech in American history.

At 8:06 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the New Jersey Democrat finally finished what was a 25-hour-and-4-minute-long speech in opposition to President Donald Trump, DOGE, the firing of federal workers, and more. It was the longest-recorded Senate floor speech in American history, and it prevented the GOP-controlled Senate from doing anything else, temporarily delaying the confirmation of some of Trump's nominees.

Booker never left to use the restroom. He didn't eat a meal. He stood largely in the same spot behind his desk on the left side of the chamber; his speech was occasionally interrupted by a Democratic colleague whose friendly questions allowed him quick reprieves.

Several of Booker's colleagues have done the same in the last 12 years, including Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky, along with Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Delivering a speech like this requires stamina — and careful preparation. Just ask Cruz, who in 2013 spoke for 21 hours and 18 minutes against the Affordable Care Act. Earlier that year, Paul had spoken for almost 13 hours in opposition to former President Barack Obama's nominee to be CIA director, and the Kentucky Republican offered Cruz some advice.

"He said, No. 1, wear comfortable shoes," Cruz recalled on Tuesday. "And he said, number two, drink very little water."

It's a delicate question — what if you really have to pee? Paul ended his own 2013 speech by noting that "there are some limits to filibustering, and I am going to have to go take care of one of those here."

Wendy Davis, a former Democratic state senator in Texas, has said she used a catheter when she delivered a 13-hour filibuster against an abortion restriction bill in 2013. Sen. Strom Thurmond, the late senator whose 24 hours and 18 minutes filibuster against civil rights legislation was previously the longest speech in US Senate history, reportedly had access to a bucket if he needed to relieve himself.

"In the age of C-SPAN, that seemed like a poor idea," Cruz said, alluding to the presence of television cameras trained on the Senate floor. He also confirmed that he never used a catheter or a diaper. "In 21 hours, I drank one little glass of water."

A spokesperson for Booker declined to comment on how the New Jersey senator had prepared for the speech — and whether he wore a catheter or diaper. Booker, after he passed the 24-hour mark, referenced "biological urgencies" that he was feeling.

Booker's has now exceeded not just Thurmond's record but Cruz's 2013 record as well. The senator from Texas said he's still "grumpy" that he couldn't claim the top spot himself, owing to previously agreed-upon limits on the length of the debate.

However, he said he wished Booker the best.

"Cory's a good friend," Cruz said. "Knock yourself out."

Update: This story was updated with the news that Booker finished his speech and passed Thurmond's record.

• The US seeks to execute Luigi Mangione for the ambush murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
• The government's odds for success are steep, given the hesitancy of death penalty juries in NY.
• In 2023, a death penalty jury could not agree on Sayfullo Saipov, a terrorist who killed 8 people.

On Halloween in 2017, an avowed Islamist extremist named Sayfullo Saipov drove a rental truck across the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan, then careened south along a popular west-side bike path, sending cyclists flying. Eight people died.

If Saipov's jury failed to send him to death row, there's no way another jury — sitting, like Saipov's, in a federal courtroom in Manhattan — will vote to end the life of Luigi Mangione, former federal prosecutors told Business Insider.

"Honestly I don't believe any Manhattan jury is going to decide to impose the death penalty," said Ephraim Savitt, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice.

Mangione does not fit the profile of a death penalty eligible criminal, he said, speaking Tuesday after Attorney General Pam Bondi said the government will seek the ultimate penalty in the "cold-blooded assassination" of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

"Maybe in Texas," Savitt said. "But it's not a mass shooting. It's not an act of terrorism. It's a horrible crime, of course. But as serious as it is, it does not fit in the rubric of someone who should be put to death."

He added, "Mangione is not going to be sentenced to death."

Mangione is facing charges in three jurisdictions.

The least serious are the weapons and forgery charges out of Pennsylvania, where the 26-year-old software developer from Maryland was arrested after a five-day manhunt.

He is also facing state-level charges of murder as an act of terror out of Manhattan, where DA Alvin Bragg has said that Mangione would be tried first.

Mangione's federal jury would be chosen from the Southern District of New York, which includes people from Manhattan, the Bronx, Westchester County, and five other counties on the southern end of the state.

In federal court, now that this is an official death penalty case, a single trial jury would preside over a phase to determine Mangione's guilt and then another to determine how he should be punished.

There's a strategy in seeking the death penalty

The jury would be comprised only of people who are willing to impose a death penalty, tilting it in the government's favor, Ephraim said.

"It improves your odds of a conviction, absolutely," said Savitt, of the Ephraim Savitt Law Firm in Manhattan.

That's one of two key strategic benefits to seeking the death penalty, former prosecutors said, even if an ultimate verdict of death may be unlikely.

Another strategic benefit to seeking the death penalty is it gives the government "great leverage" in plea negotiations, said another former federal prosecutor, Michael Bachner.

"If you're the defense lawyer you may want to work it out as a package — he pleads to both cases and there's no death penalty," said Bachner, now in private practice at Bachner & Associates.

In Mangione's favor is that a death penalty verdict must be unanimous. The defense need only persuade one juror that Mangione does not deserve the death penalty, Bachner and Saviott said.

Both former prosecutors said, strategy aside, the real benefit to seeking the death penalty is political.

The top count against Mangione — murder through the use of a firearm in the commission of crimes of violence — is death penalty eligible, and President Donald Trump has promised to seek executions in all eligible cases.

"I think seeking the death penalty in this case is a reaction to Donald Trump's previous statements," said Bachner.

Should the case go to trial, and a death penalty phase be necessary, much of the evidence would center on Mangione's mental health, Bachner said.

"Just in the evidence that's in the papers, his behavior, his writings, his break with his parents, and although there was planning, he certainly is not all there," Bachner said.

"And juries are not going to convict a 26-year-old kid who's had no violence in the past, and may have mental issues, and who comes from a good family," he added.

"I don't think there's any jury anywhere that would unanimously impose the death penalty on Luigi Mangione," he said.

A split jury, no matter how small the split, would mean that Mangione would face life in prison without parole.

Annual revenue, profit, stock prices and sold EVs show how close the competition is between Tesla and its Chinese rival, BDY.

• Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez will wed in Venice this summer.
• Around 200 guests, including Kim Kardashian and Ivanka Trump, are expected to attend.
• The couple went public with their relationship in 2019 and became engaged in 2023.

Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos are preparing to host the wedding of the year — or maybe even the century.

After months of speculation, the mayor of Venice confirmed in late March that the billionaire and his soon-to-be bride are set to wed within the Italian city's borders this summer.

The ceremony will take place more than six years after the couple went public with their relationship in January 2019.

Here's everything we know about the highly anticipated event so far.

Hundreds of invitations and a luxe destination

Bezos, 61, and Sánchez, 55, have yet to share any details about their coming wedding. However, other involved parties have.

Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro released a statement on Saturday saying the city would host the coming nuptials.

He told The Times that Venice won the couple's affection — they considered multiple destinations — with some help from Dolce & Gabbana designer Domenico Dolce.

Local officials also said four luxury hotels and a fleet of water taxis have been rented for the occasion, The Times reported.

The Amazon founder and his fiancée have invited around 200 guests, according to Brugnaro's statement. That list is said to include Kim Kardashian, Ivanka Trump, and Bill Gates, among other celebrities and billionaires.

However, Brugnaro said Venice is equipped to handle the star-studded ceremony and has "experience in international events much larger than this."

"The organization (Bezos and guests) have categorically not booked large amounts of gondolas or excessive numbers of water taxis," he said. "It is their utmost priority to make sure the city functions as normal, for all, with no abnormal disruption to anyone."

The couple was previously surrounded by rumors that they were hosting a $600 million winter wedding in Aspen last year until Bezos shut down the speculation on X.

Italian publications later said they'd wed on Bezos' $500 million yacht in the region, though The Daily Mail reported that the rumor was false.

Page Six reported that wedding invitations have officially been sent and that the couple's outfit fittings are now underway.

This weekend, photos of Bezos and Sánchez visiting a Dolce & Gabbana store in Milan were published. As they left the boutique, members of their posse were seen carrying white garment bags.

There are also rumors that Sánchez's wedding dress will be designed by Oscar de la Renta, the same designer who created her 2024 Met Gala gown.

The story of Bezos and Sánchez

The couple is said to have connected at an Amazon Studios party for the film "Manchester by the Sea" in 2016 while they were both married to other people.

In 2018, they reconnected professionally when Bezos hired Sánchez's aerial filming company to work with Blue Origin.

Bezos and his now ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, announced their divorce on January 9, 2019, and his relationship with Sánchez was announced hours later.

The couple confirmed their engagement in May 2023 and have been attending major events like White House dinners and movie premieres ever since.

• Elijah Wood said it was understandable that "The Lord of the Rings" cast didn't get paid much.
• Last year, his costar Cate Blanchett joked she "basically got free sandwiches" to be in the film.
• Wood told BI he knows Blanchett's comments were in jest and none of them regret being in the movies.

The classic 2001 film "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" may have launched a multibillion-dollar fantasy trilogy, but star Elijah Wood said the offer he got to play Frodo Baggins wasn't exactly the payday of a lifetime — and he's OK with that.

"Because we weren't making one movie and then renegotiating a contract for the next, it wasn't the sort of lucrative scenario that you could sort of rest easy for the rest of your life," Wood told Business Insider on the red carpet for the 2025 Texas Film Awards hosted by the Austin Film Society.

Wood described New Line Cinema's buy-in on three movies featuring a sprawling ensemble cast as "a real gamble," one that he said was mitigated by "not massive salaries."

He called the trade-off understandable, especially given how life-changing the trilogy was for everyone involved.

"The benefit of that was that we were also signing up for something that was going to be a part of our lives forever," he said.

Of course, that gamble worked out for everyone involved in the end. The trilogy went on to make New Line nearly $3 billion at the box office, launch an equally lucrative prequel trilogy, and turbo-charge the careers of many of its stars — including Wood, who's currently starring in season two of the Starz psychological thriller "Yellowjackets" in addition to producing films through his company SpectreVision.

Wood's comments come after Cate Blanchett, who played the elf Galadriel, made waves last year when she said she essentially got paid in free sandwiches to appear in the films.

While Blanchett didn't share specific numbers, several other "LOTR" stars have disclosed their salaries. Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas, said in 2019 that he got $175,000 for the three movies, but called it the "greatest gift" of his life and said he'd do it again for half that. Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee, said he got about $250,000 for the films and also hinted that the cast had agreed not to talk about their pay by the time the third film, "The Return of the King," came out in 2003.

When asked about unconfirmed rumors that he was paid $250,000 for "The Fellowship of the Ring," Wood said that figure wasn't accurate but declined to elaborate. "It doesn't matter," he told BI.

He added that while Blanchett's sandwiches comment was admittedly "hilarious," he knows that she and the rest of the cast were grateful to have been part of the film.

"Statements like that are not made with any kind of ire," Wood said. "It's such an honor to have been a part of those films and they represent some of the best experiences of my life."

• A Canadian chef-turned-drone pilot fighting for Ukraine shot down a Russian Lancet with a fixed-wing drone.
• Video footage shows the confirmed hit.
• The pilot, call sign "Butcher," was originally involved in humanitarian work before enlisting.

A Canadian fighting for Ukraine took down a Russian Lancet drone with a fixed-wing drone in a caught-on-camera kill. He says he believes he is the first foreign volunteer to do so.

The drone operator, who goes by the call sign "Butcher" and asked for anonymity for security reasons, said that the successful mission came after months of training on a variety of drone models.

Butcher told Business Insider that he was "eager" to get the kill since he was new to piloting drones. When he got it, he posted a video confirming the Russian target was a Lancet, a kind of one-way attack drone.

In the combat footage, his drone can be seen approaching the uncrewed aerial system from behind before the feed cuts. It didn't make a kinetic kill, meaning it didn't fly into the Lancet. Instead, it detonated an explosive nearby, scoring a proximity intercept.

"I got my first confirmed kill as a pilot today," Butcher posted on March 9. "And this one saved lives, given it was a Lancet." Lancets are technically loitering munitions, meaning they lurk above targets before flying into them and detonating.

While some loitering munitions like the Iranian-made Shahed-136 are used against cities and critical infrastructure, the Lancets are regularly used tactically against front-like targets.

The range, weight, and speed of the Lancet depend on its variant. They have been huge pain points for vehicle crews.

The Canadian drone pilot told BI that he was using a monitor instead of a headset, which reduces fatigue for pilots operating drones all day.

Monitors also make it easier to determine three-dimensional trajectories and positioning in varying altitudes, as drones can shift, turn, and dive quickly.

"There are times when [drone flying] becomes pretty much the same as dogfighting," he said, referring to close-range air-to-air combat between two aircraft, traditionally crewed.

Flying the drone, he explained, is just like using a video game controller, which other Ukrainian pilots have noted as well. Operators previously told BI that gamers tend to make pretty good pilots. But this war is very different from a game, as battlefield decisions come with very real life-and-death consequences.

Butcher, originally a chef at home in Canada, traveled to Ukraine in early 2023 and joined up with an organization cooking for troops on the front lines. Ukrainian culture was a big aspect of his upbringing, but he had lost the language and grew away from the community as he got older.

But in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and began seizing territories in the Donbas region, "I started paying more attention to what was happening," Butcher said. He was propelled to action after the 2022 full-scale invasion.

In June 2023, he began working to provide aid with a non-governmental organization after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam east of Kherson. He remained involved in humanitarian and military aid for months, also helping translate.

He first began learning about combat drones by volunteering with the Wild Hornets, a nonprofit organization that is focused on providing uncrewed systems for Ukraine's armed forces. He honed other combat skills before enlisting in basic training last fall.

He's now focused on air defenses, often targeting drones used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations, and is deployed in the Donetsk area.

Ukraine has been increasingly using drones to intercept and take out Russia's attack drones and loitering munitions, opting to use them as cheaper options over air defense missiles. They've also targeted Russian intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms that provide information on Ukrainian activities.

Working with drones has come with a learning curve, one that is far from static. After Butcher decided to start training on drones, he began with different sizes and brands of first-person view drone models. All of these elements of drone warfare, he said, are new and constantly changing. Indeed, it has been a headache for operators to keep up.

"What's happening here is there's such an aggressive and fast evolution of things," Butcher said. "You could develop the technology or a tactic or system and implement it," but once Russia has adapted, it becomes "a very fast cat and mouse game," he added.

Ukrainian drone companies have been at the forefront of developing new software and hardware technologies to give operators an edge in battle. They have also been at work on ways to counter — or completely avoid — challenging adaptations like extensive electronic warfare and signal jamming.

Operators previously told BI that there is a "hidden electronic warfare battle" raging in Ukraine, demanding more from drone units. "This is an ongoing challenge," one special unit said.

• On March 26, Prince Harry resigned from Sentebale, a charity he cofounded.
• He resigned in solidarity with the board of trustees, who stepped down after the chair refused to.
• Now, the chair, Sophie Chandauka, has accused Prince Harry of bullying her.

One of Prince Harry's charitable organizations has become the center of controversy.

On March 26, Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho announced they were resigning as patrons of Sentebale, a charity they cofounded in 2006.

The pair said in their announcement that it was "devastating" they had to step down and pointed to issues with the organization's chair, Sophie Chandauka, as the reason for their resignation.

Days later, Chandauka accused Prince Harry of "harassment and bullying at scale" in a Sky News interview.

Sentebale in turmoil

When it was founded, Sentebale aimed to support children and young people living with HIV or AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana. In 2024, it expanded its mission to help young people more generally in southern Africa.

The princes confounded the organization in honor of their late mothers and have maintained a close relationship for decades. Prince Seeiso even appeared in the Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan" in 2022.

Harry and Seeiso have been patrons of Sentebale for nearly 20 years, with Harry frequently traveling to Africa to support the organization.

However, in recent months, tensions have been mounting between Sentebale's board and Chandauka, who was appointed chair in July 2023. Chandauka, a lawyer and biotech founder, had previously been a Sentebale board member from 2009 to 2015, according to the organization's website.

Five former Sentebale trustees said in a statement shared with Business Insider that they "made the difficult decision to unanimously resign," adding that they saw "no other path forward as the result of our loss in trust and confidence in the Chair of the board."

"Our priority has always been, and will always be, what's in the best interest of the charity, and it's desperately sad the breakdown in relationship escalated to a lawsuit by the Chair against the charity, to block us from voting her out after our request for her resignation was rejected," the trustees said. "We could not in good conscience allow Sentebale to undertake that legal and financial burden and have been left with no other option but to vacate our positions."

CBS News said the trustees asked Chandauka to resign because of "a change in Sentebale's mission." On Tuesday, the BBC also reported that financial issues led to tension at the organization.

Harry and Seeiso announced their resignation in a joint statement "in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees."

"It is devastating that the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation," their statement said. "What's transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale's beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the Charity Commission as to how this came about."

"Although we may no longer be Patrons, we will always be its founders, and we will never forget what this charity is capable of achieving when it is in the right care," the princes said.

Chandauka said in a statement shared with People that she refused to step down at the board's request because "beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir — and the coverup that ensued."

Chandauka did not respond to a request for comment from BI.

The New York Times also reported that Chandauka replaced the board with four new members following the resignations and filed a report against the former trustees with the Charity Commission, which regulates and registers charities in England and Wales, including Sentebale. Harry and Seeiso said in their statement they also intended to file a report to the commission.

When contacted by BI for this story, the Charity Commission said, "We can confirm that we are aware of concerns about the governance of Sentebale. We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps."

A source close to the trustees told BI that the board "fully expected this publicity stunt and reached their collective decision with this in mind. They remain firm in their resignation, for the good of the charity, and look forward to the adjudication of the truth."

Then, last weekend, Chandauka accused Harry of "bullying" her by going public with Sentebale's problems.

Sophie Chandauka said Prince Harry was 'bullying' her

On Sunday, Chandauka appeared on the Sky News program "Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips" to discuss Sentebale, focusing on Harry in her interview — even though Seeiso and the board members also resigned.

Chandauka said in the interview that her relationship with the prince had largely been "fantastic" but accused him of "harassment and bullying." Specifically, she said he did not inform her of his decision to resign as patron before he and Seeiso released their statement publicly.

"At some point on Tuesday, Prince Harry authorized the release of a damaging piece of news to the outside world without informing me or my country directors or my executive director," she said. "Can you imagine what that attack has done for me, on me, and the 540 individuals in the Sentebale organizations and their family?"

"That is an example of harassment and bullying at scale," Chandauka said, adding that she believes Harry activated "the Sussex machine" to publicize Sentebale's issues.

A source familiar with the events told BI that despite Chandauka's comments, Harry and Seeiso had sent their joint resignation letter to the trustees and the chair on March 10.

In the same interview, Chandauka also said she had issues with Prince Harry since she became chair and believed he had been trying to oust her for months.

She said his step back as a senior royal put Sentebale at financial risk and that his Netflix series about polo interfered with a Sentebale charity fundraiser, pointing to a venue change. However, a source close to the production said the show's involvement ultimately led to another player participating and Sentebale being featured in the docuseries.

Chandauka also said Meghan Markle's unexpected attendance became a problem at the match. Cameras filmed an awkward interaction between her and Meghan as they tried to fit onstage together during an awards ceremony, which led to negative press stories about Meghan. Chandauka told the Financial Times that Harry asked her to release a statement in support of his wife at the time, but she refused.

"I said no, we're not setting a precedent by which we become an extension of the Sussex PR machine," she told the outlet.

As of Tuesday, Chandauka remains chair of Sentebale's board.

• DOGE's next round of federal job cuts swept health agencies on Tuesday with plans to cut 10,000 workers.
• HHS employees waited in long lines to scan their badges at security to find out if they still had a job.
• The badge scans appear to be similar to Tesla layoffs in 2024.

Employees at the Department of Health and Human Services showed up to their offices on Tuesday to learn their fate: If their badges worked, they still had a job. If they didn't, they had to clean out their desks.

"I was crying the entire drive to work today," an HHS employee told Business Insider as they waited in line.

The employee said they saw a man walk past, wheeling out his personal belongings on a desk chair after being terminated.

"I've seen three people who went in, and then came back out and left with tears in their eyes," said the employee, who was eventually let into the building. "People behind me are sniffling."

The badge-swiping tactic appeared similar to one used by Tesla, the electric-vehicle maker helmed by DOGE's de facto head, Elon Musk. In 2024, some employees told BI they arrived at work and discovered they had been axed when their badges failed to work.

The HHS firings are part of DOGE and the Trump administration's goal to reduce government waste and slash the federal workforce. On March 27, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to terminate about 10,000 workers at the agency.

Kennedy said in a video statement that "HHS is a sprawling bureaucracy that encompasses literally hundreds of departments, committees, and other offices."

"This leads to tremendous waste and duplication, and worst of all, a loss of any unified sense of mission," Kennedy said.

HHS is responsible for a range of key health programs and agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Other federal agencies have announced plans to reduce their workforces, but each agency is carrying out those plans differently.

"Everyone's really somber," an employee said. "I'm still not in the safe zone. These firings might be happening all week long."

Representatives for HHS, DOGE, and Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Another HHS employee who made it into the building told BI that they learned via a Reddit post that termination notices were going out around 5 a.m.

The worker said they were met with enhanced security when they arrived at work.

"When I got to work this morning, the building was locked and we needed to swipe badges to get in," the employee said. "Security warned employees not to let people behind them in. Security told us that the procedure would be different today, and they collected our badges and scanned them themselves (rather than having us scan them) and had us wait, lined against the wall, while they were doing so."

"There were three uniformed officers standing behind security, presumably to escort those who had been out," the worker added.

David Super, an administrative law professor at Georgetown Law, told BI that he's "confident" the HHS terminations will be litigated.

"Firing thousands of skilled employees is not a plausible way to accomplish the purposes Congress assigned to these agencies," Super said.

Lawsuits have already resulted in the reinstatement of thousands of terminated probationary employees, but they could still be included in coming — and more legally sound — reduction plans.

Federal workers across the board have been in limbo while their agencies develop these reorganization plans. The Department of Education fired 1,300 workers as part of Trump's aim to eliminate the agency entirely, and the Small Business Administration said it would reduce its workforce by 43%.

Have a tip or story to share? Contact this reporter via Signal at asheffey.97 or via email at [email protected]. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• In the 1920s, workers commuted via buses, subways, ferries, streetcars, and automobiles.
• Improved public transportation for commuting led to the development of suburbs in major US cities.
• Modern commuters still use New York City's subway system, which is over 120 years old.

Without technology like computers and the internet, remote work wasn't a possibility 100 years ago.

In the 1920s, workers in major US cities commuted via buses, subways, ferries, streetcars, and automobiles.

Getting to work has changed dramatically in cities like Los Angeles, which in the 1920s was home to the world's largest electric interurban trolley system. Today, the streetcars have been replaced by highways clogged by private vehicles.

New York City, however, still uses the same subway system built over 120 years ago.

Commuting has continued to evolve since the COVID-19 pandemic. While some companies are requiring employees to return to the office after years of working from home, a 2024 analysis by Stanford, WFH Research, and Gusto found that workers now live nearly three times further from their offices than they did before the pandemic because of the rise of remote work.

Here's what commuting looked like in three major US cities 100 years ago.

A century ago, the streets of New York City were full of buses, cars, and pedestrians walking to work.

By 1900, the population of New York City reached 3.5 million people as large numbers of immigrants arrived in the US, TR News magazine reported. Many newly arrived residents lived in tenement districts within walking distance of the factories or sweatshops where they worked.

The subway was a popular way to commute to work in New York City.

While New York City's elevated railroad began operating in 1868, the subway system was built between 1900 and 1936, with the first underground railway opening in 1904.

The underground trains helped relieve congestion above ground and expand the distance from which people could commute to work.

The subway cost five cents per ride — lower than today's fare of $2.90.

In the 1920s, parts of the subway system were still under construction.

Some subway tunnels were built using a method called "cut and cover" in which workers cut trenches into the street and built temporary wood structures over the hole to allow for the continued flow of traffic, according to the New York Transit Museum. The construction of deeper tunnels required the use of dynamite.

New York City's municipal ferry system also serviced all five boroughs and New Jersey.

The ferry routes became obsolete as more bridges were built, allowing cars to cross New York City's waterways. Out of the dozen or so ferry routes that operated in the 1920s, the Staten Island Ferry remains the only free ferry service provided by the city, according to the New York City Department of Records and Information Services.

In the 1920s, Chicago's elevated railway, known as the "L," had recently been constructed.

Chicago's first elevated railroad opened in 1892, and the Union Elevated Railroad connecting all four lines was completed in 1897, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago.

The city's first subway didn't open until 1943.

Even with commuters riding the "L" trains, Chicago's Loop was also congested with buses and automobiles.

The population of Chicago was around 2.7 million in 1920, according to US Census data.

Crowds gathered at bus stops to wait for their rides.

In the 1920s, women often wore flapper dresses and cloche hats, while men wore suits and fedoras.

Before most Los Angeles residents drove everywhere, electric street cars were a popular mode of public transportation.

Operated by the Pacific Electric Railway, the red streetcars provided interurban service to the greater Los Angeles area, leading to the development of suburbs in the nearby Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties.

By the 1920s, Los Angeles had the world's largest electric interurban trolley system.

At its peak ridership of 3.1 million passengers in 1924, the Pacific Electric Railway operated 2,100 trains a day across 1,100 miles of track in the greater Los Angeles area, Pasadena Weekly reported, citing data from the Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California.

The streetcars were eventually replaced with buses.

Pacific Electric Railway's streetcar service shut down fully in 1961.

• The Trump administration froze dozens of federal research grants at Princeton University.
• The suspension follows similar actions against elite universities over antisemitism allegations.
• There is an ongoing lawsuit over grant suspension at Columbia which imperils key medical research.

The Trump administration has suspended dozens of federal research grants at Princeton University, Christopher L. Eisgruber, the Ivy League university's president, announced on Tuesday.

Grants from agencies including the Department of Energy, NASA, and the Defense Department were being halted, according to a campus-wide message from Eisgruber.

"We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism," said Eisgruber, "Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University."

"The full rationale of this action is not yet clear," he added.

Princeton's funding halt marks Trump's latest crackdown on a growing list of elite universities facing similar federal funding threats, some over allegations of antisemitism on campus.

On Monday, a federal antisemitism task force announced a sweeping review of Harvard's nearly $9 billion in federal grants and contracts.

Earlier this month, Columbia University agreed to a series of federal demands, including stricter protest regulations and expanded campus security presence, after the government froze $400 million in grants and warned billions more could be at risk. The university's interim president resigned shortly after the agreements.

After Columbia's funding freeze, The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers have sued the Trump administration, saying that the cuts have terminated grants for fetal health, Alzheimer's, and cancer research at Columbia.

Princeton's endowment value stands at $34.1 billion toward the end of 2024 and generated a 3.9% investment gain in the previous fiscial year.

Eisgruber recently penned an essay in The Atlantic saying the Trump administration's targeting of universities like Columbia presents "the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s."

"Every American should be concerned," he wrote.