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Al Roker, 70, says he didn't stop eating his favorite foods — including red meat and dessert — to lose weight

Al Roker
Al Roker underwent a gastric bypass surgery in 2002 and lost over 100 pounds after.

Nathan Congleton/NBC

  • "Today" host Al Roker says consistency and discipline help him stay fit at 70.
  • Roker's routine includes weight training, walking 10,000 steps a day, and not avoiding his favorite foods.
  • "Sometimes you have to push yourself to do the things you need to do," he said.

More than 20 years after undergoingΒ gastric bypass surgeryΒ and losing over 100 pounds, Al Roker says consistency helps him stay fit at 70.

During an interview with People published on Tuesday, the "Today" host spoke about his workout and diet routines.

"My mantra is 'something is better than nothing,'" Roker told People. "Maybe you'll be running marathons or entering weightlifting contests, but I think most people just want a level of fitness that improves their quality of life."

In the mornings, he does 10 minutes of weight training and 20 minutes on the treadmill. During warmer months, he also takes a 30 to 45-minute walk in Central Park.

"It's not so much to bulk up but to keep your bones strong, keep your flexibility, which is important as you age," Roker said.

He can carry his granddaughter with ease now, but he knows that might not be the case as she gets older.

"But you know, in a couple of years, she's going to be a bigger load. So 'grampa' wants to be able to carry her up and down the stairs," he said.

To hit his daily 10,000-step goal, Roker tries to keep moving throughout the day, with walking desks in his office and dressing room. He also walks around in his office building at 30 Rockefeller Center, where the "Today" studios are located.

"They're like walking snacks," Roker said. "You just fit it in."

In terms of diet, he eats a simple breakfast that consists of yogurt, granola, and the occasional banana. Lunch is heavy on protein, and he eats less red meat than he used to.

Some of his favorite foods include ribeye steak with creamed spinach or baked potato, and an apple crisp with vanilla ice cream β€” and he never denies himself the pleasure of enjoying them

"Moderation rather than deprivation is better in the long run," Roker said. "If you deprive yourself of stuff that you like, eventually you're going to snap and go crazy."

Roker says he also weighs himself every day, but doesn't stress over the number on the scale.

"There's no magic bullet" when it comes to losing weight, he said. At the end of the day, "you're still going to have to put in the work."

"Sometimes you have to push yourself to do the things you need to do," Roker added.

Roker is just one of many celebrities opening up about the wellness routines they rely on to stay fit.

Dick Van Dyke, 99, says his secret to living a long life is going to the gym 3 times a week.

"I've often tried to think, 'What did I do to live this long?' and I can't figure out," he said. "The only thing is I've always exercised. We still go to the gym three days a week and work out."

Helen Mirren, 79, says she swears by a 12-minute military workout to stay in shape.

"It is the exercise I have done off and on my whole life. It just very gently gets you fit," Mirren said.

Matthew McConaughey's mother, Kay McConaughey, 93, says that avoiding stress has helped her age well.

"I was really popular and I had a zest for life, and stress is not a word I can apply to me, ever," she said.

A representative for Roker did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.

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Build your own stoop culture

Cities with row homes are among my favorite in the U.S. Looking at you, D.C., Philly and Brooklyn.

The big picture: A key part of those cities is their stoop culture: the art of sitting outside, observing the street scene β€” and chatting with passersby, who might eventually go from strangers to friends.


Zoom in: Longtime San Franciscan Patty Smith wrote recently for the newsletter Supernuclear about how she and her husband Tyler set out to meet more neighbors by making a de facto stoop.

  • The approach was radically doable: Instead of drinking coffee in their house on the weekend, they set up folding chairs on the street.

What blossomed was a more interconnected community and new traditions, including sidewalk potlucks (like a pancake party), a TV watch party, a cookie swap and a parent hang at a brewery. Plus, an active WhatsApp chat for future planning.

  • All it took was one neighbor joining them on the "stoop," and then another... and another.

Why it matters: Research shows that knowing your neighbors comes with all sorts of perks, from better health to safer streets. But the share of Americans who know their neighbors has fallen over the last several decades. Committing to stoop culture could be a fix.

  • "Our neighborhood community is now a group of people that we rely on and who rely on us for emotional support, last-minute child care, home-cooked meals, general camaraderie and much more," Smith writes.

Try it!

  1. Keep it simple. "To avoid burnout, we've intentionally kept our community-building as low-lift as possible," Smith writes. You don't need to plan a party. Just start having your coffee outside.
  2. Think of sidewalks and streets as places to gather. Those who live in smaller spaces know this concept well. An unused parking spot can be a place to hang out.
  3. Don't overlook the front yard. Our default is to host gatherings in our backyards, but simply shifting them to the front can be an easy way to meet new people. "You capture some traffic walking by ... and then they see you out there and they wonder what it is. Before long, you've got more people in the group," Laura Carlson, a mom looking to build community in San Francisco, told Axios' Carly Mallenbaum.

My thought bubble: My partner Andy surprised me last year with a patio in our tiny patch of front lawn space shared with other condo owners, who luckily consented.

  • With a table and chairs, we've gathered to pass out candy on Halloween, eaten dinner and even brought our laptops outside to work.
  • We've met more of our neighbors and learned more about them than we would have from the requisite greeting in the hallway.

Iran could accept nuclear consortium on its soil, Iranian official says

Iran is open to basing a nuclear deal with the U.S. around the idea of a regional uranium enrichment consortium, so long as it is located within Iran, a senior Iranian official tells Axios.

Why it matters: The regional enrichment consortium is a key element in the proposal White House envoy Steve Witkoff gave Iran on Saturday. It's an attempt to reconcile President Trump's position that Iran can't be allowed to enrich uranium and Tehran's insistence that enrichment on its soil must continue.


The intrigue: "If the consortium operates within the territory of Iran, it may warrant consideration. However, should it be based outside the borders of the country, it is certainly doomed to fail," the senior Iranian official told Axios.

  • That response suggests Tehran may not outright reject Witkoff's offer, but instead seek to negotiate on the fine print.
  • Axios first reported the details of Witkoff's proposal on Monday.

Zoom in: The proposal doesn't clearly define where the consortium would be located.

  • In theory, the consortium would include the U.S., Iran and countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and even Turkey.
  • It would supply nuclear fuel to countries who want to develop civilian nuclear programs and be monitored by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors.

Between the lines: There could be a path by which the U.S. can declare that Iran is not allowed to enrich uranium β€” because the enrichment would over time be overseen by a broader group and not just Iran's government β€” and Iran can claim its red line around enrichment remains intact.

  • But settling on terms to which both sides can agree will be a challenge, not to mention actually establishing such a consortium.

The big picture: According to the U.S. proposal, the nuclear deal will focus on creating a regional enrichment consortium under these conditions:

  • Iran won't be allowed to develop domestic enrichment capabilities beyond those necessary for civilian purposes.
  • After signing the agreement, Iran will have to temporarily reduce its enrichment concentration to 3%. This period will be agreed upon in negotiations.
  • Iran's underground enrichment facilities will have to become "non-operational" for a period of time agreed by the parties.
  • The enrichment activity in Iran's above-ground facilities will temporarily be limited to the level needed for nuclear reactor fuel.

What to watch: The U.S. is still waiting to receive Iran's response for the proposal in the coming days.

  • Iranian officials have already said they want more clarity on when and how the U.S. would lift its sanctions under the proposal.
  • A sixth round of nuclear talks between White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi could take place this weekend in the Middle East, sources say.

Go deeper:

Trump's 50% tariffs on steel, aluminum take effect β€” raising ire of Canada, Mexico and the EU

President Trump signed an order Tuesday doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25% to 50% for al trading partners except the U.S. β€” drawing swift criticism from officials in neighboring Canada and Mexico.

Why it matters: Trump's order said the increased tariffs that took effect early Wednesday "will more effectively counter" countries that "offload low-priced, excess steel and aluminum" in the U.S., but economic officials have said such levies would lead to higher consumer prices and inflation.


  • A European Union official said after Trump announced the metal tariffs plan at a U.S. Steel plant in Pennsylvania on Friday that the president's decision "adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic."

Details: Trump says in the order that the previously imposed steel and aluminum tariffs had helped "provide critical price support" in the U.S.

  • However, "they have not yet enabled these industries to develop and maintain the rates of capacity production utilization that are necessary for the industries' sustained health and for projected national defense needs," he said.
  • "I have determined that increasing the previously imposed tariffs will provide greater support to these industries and reduce or eliminate the national security threat posed by imports of steel and aluminum articles and their derivative articles."

Yes, but: Steel and aluminum imports from the U.K. will remain at 25% until at least July 9 due to the framework for a sweeping new trade pact that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Trump signed last month.

State of play: The U.K. is not a leading exporter of the metals to the U.S., but Reuters notes that Canada exports the most steel by shipment volumes to the U.S. followed by Mexico.

  • Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's office said in a Tuesday media statement that his government was "engaged in intensive and live negotiations" for the removal of the tariffs, which it described as "unlawful and unjustified."
  • Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said during a Tuesday event that he'd seek an exemption for the country from the tariffs that he called "not fair" and "unsustainable," per multiple reports.

Flashback: Canada and Mexico were exempted from tariffs Trump imposed on the metals for trading partners during his first term.

What they're saying: Kevin Dempsey, president of industry group American Iron and Steel Institute, in a statement welcomed Trump's tariffs action.

  • "Led by China, global steel overcapacity and production continues to grow, even as overall global steel demand is being impacted by the sharp downturn in the Chinese construction sector," he said.
  • "Given these challenging international conditions that show no signs of improvement, this tariff action will help prevent new surges in imports that would injure American steel producers and their workers."

The other side: Robert Budway, president of industry group the Can Manufacturers Institute, in a statement said the tariffs hike would "further increase the cost of canned goods" at grocery stores.

  • "This cost is levied upon millions of American families relying on canned foods picked and packed by U.S. farmers, food producers, and can makers," he added.

What we're watching: While Trump campaigned on using tariffs to boost the economy and revive the domestic industry, he has so far mostly quickly pulled back on imposing hefty levies.

Go deeper: Trump puts U.S. Steel cart before the horse

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

A top Navy commander says there's a clear trait of a good leader: They eat risk instead of leaving it to middle managers

Adm. Sam Paparo, in a Navy uniform, salutes in Manila.
Adm. Sam Paparo, who leads the US Indo-Pacific command, says middle managers get 'ganged up' on by other generations when leadership should assume risk.

Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

  • Adm. Sam Paparo says leaders need to assume risk for their teams if they want to move fast.
  • He said they can't rely on middle managers, often blamed as the 'frozen middle,' to decide.
  • Leaders wanting change should give their teams official leeway to 'go break the rules,' he said.

A leader's job is to take responsibility for risks, instead of leaving middle managers to shoulder the question of whether to try new things, a top Navy commander said.

Speaking during a Saturday Q&A at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Adm. Sam Paparo said the US military needs to abandon its work culture of "operating at the speed of committee instead of the speed of combat."

To do that, he told delegates and reporters, the military needs someone to take innovative risks.

"And if we are putting that risk on middle management and expecting them to take that risk, then, you know: We're not leading," said Paparo, who is the commander of US forces in the Indo-Pacific.

The admiral said middle managers are often blamed for a resistance to change.

"This is how the young people and the old people gang up on the middle-aged people, by calling them the frozen middle," said Paparo.

But leaders need to be the ones to "eat risk," he added.

"So, if you are in a leadership position and you want your team to innovate faster, to move fast, and to break things, you have to assume their risk. You have to eat it," Paparo said. "Give them some letter that has your name on the bottom of it that allows them to go break the rules and do this thing."

The US military has to speed up

The admiral was addressing the topic of how the US military β€” America's single largest employer by far β€” was now taking on new technologies from private venture-backed research and development, instead of the traditional defense acquisition model.

Palmer Luckey's Anduril, for example, recently announced a joint effort with Meta to create extended reality headsets for the US military. The firms said development would be funded by "private capital, without taxpayer support."

At the panel, Paparo repeatedly warned that the US military must radically speed up its processes and decision-making to succeed in the next few decades. Washington's main concern in Paparo's jurisdiction, the Indo-Pacific, has been China's rapidly advancing and expanding military.

Paparo didn't specifically name China as a threat at the panel. But earlier that day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had publicly warned at the same conference that China's military build-up signaled that it could go to war soon.

"Nobody knows what China will ultimately do, but they are preparing, and therefore we must be ready as well," Hegseth told military leaders and representatives of 47 countries.

A rear admiral from China later said Hegseth's statements were "groundless accusations."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Elon Musk slammed Trump's 'big beautiful bill.' The stakes are high for Tesla if it becomes law.

Elon Musk standing in White House
Elon Musk referred to Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" as a "disgusting abomination."

Allison ROBBERT / AFP

  • Elon Musk's companies may be affected both positively and negatively by Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill."
  • A JPMorgan analyst wrote in a note that the bill threatens Tesla's profits.
  • The bill would increase federal AI spending, which could benefit Musk's AI company, xAI.

Tesla could take a hit if President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" becomes law.

Elon Musk's AI company, however, may get a boost.

Many of Musk's companies rely largely on federal regulations, subsidies, or contracts. That means the GOP's federal spending bill, if signed into law, could directly impact his businesses.

While Musk has previously shared his disapproval of the bill, the billionaire ratcheted up his criticism this week.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," Musk posted on X on Tuesday. "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination."

"Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong," he said in criticism aimed at the Republican politicians who voted in favor of the bill.

Musk's sharp words for Trump's bill come just days after he officially left his position as the de facto head of the DOGE office, ending his formal work at the White House. In recent weeks, both Trump and Musk have looked to assure the public that their relationship remains intact, even if they disagree on some issues.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing on Tuesday that the President already knew where Musk stood on the spending bill and that the Tesla CEO's recent comments criticizing it wouldn't change Trump's stance.

The bill, which champions Trump's agenda, includes cuts to Medicaid and the extension of the tax cuts that the president signed into law during his first term in 2017. It also includes administration priorities, including removing taxes on tips and overtime.

In regard to the companies Musk leads, the bill could have a mixed impact. While Tesla stands to potentially lose, companies like SpaceX and xAI may benefit from the president's massive spending bill.

Tesla's credits threatened

The bill, as written, makes big changes to the Biden-era EV tax credits, which aim to encourage more Americans to buy electric vehicles. It would largely phase out the clean vehicle credit, which lets people buying a new EV claim up to $7,500, and up to $4,000 for used-EVs.

Electric vehicles would no longer qualify for the tax credit if the automaker sold more than 200,000 previously qualifying EVs between December 31, 2009, and December 31, 2025, if the bill became law. Tesla delivered more than 336,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2025 alone.

Musk has previously said that eliminating the EV tax credit would devastate Tesla's competitors and impact the automaker as well. However, he said that the move would probably help Tesla in the long term. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Others don't seem sold on Musk's rationale.

Seth Goldstein, an equity strategist at Morningstar, told BI that the expedited elimination of the EV tax credit will be "the biggest area that could impact Tesla."

"Consumers have increased long-range EV choices at similar price points as Tesla," Goldstein said. "It's on Tesla to make the case for consumers to even slightly pay up today versus some other EVs."

Goldstein said that tax credit elimination could lead to a decrease in sales volume, which the automaker has already been struggling with.

JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman wrote in an investor note that Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," combined with other proposed legislation, including ending the California Air Resources Board Program, threatens over half of Tesla's 2025 profits.

Brinkman wrote in the note that the $7,500 consumer tax made up 19% of Tesla's 2024 earnings before interest and tax, and could result in a potential $1.2 billion headwind. He added that the automaker could face a $2 billion headwind from the removal of CARB ZEV credit sales, which encourage the sales of zero-emission vehicles.

Tesla is betting big on AI and robotics as it pushes to reach full autonomy, in part through its upcoming robotaxi service, efforts that Musk has said are key to growing the company's valuation. However, Brinkman said that any material benefit from Tesla's autonomous robotaxi business is years away, while the headwind from EV subsidy removal would likely hit the automaker in 2025 and 2026.

"We expect estimates to come down as the impact of Trump Administration EV subsidy removal becomes clearer," Brinkman wrote.

Goldstein said that the removal of the tax credit could "accelerate" Tesla's transition to an AI and robotics company.

It's also possible that the expiration of the EV tax credit on Tesla vehicles could spur some short-term demand from buyers looking to purchase one of the company's EVs before the window closes.

Trump's spending bill wouldn't only change existing taxes and fees. Under its current language, it would also impose a $250 yearly fee for EV drivers through the Federal Highway Administration, and a $100 yearly fee for hybrid vehicles.

As written, the bill also scraps a loan program that Tesla utilized in 2010, long before Trump even entered the political scene.

The spending bill also threatens Tesla's energy business, which Musk has said is "growing like wildfire," by ending energy tax credits. The automaker's energy generation and storage business, which includes Tesla's Megapack and Powerwall battery systems, brought in $2.73 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a 67% increase from the year prior.

Musk shared a post on X from the official Tesla Energy account that said, "abruptly ending the energy tax credits would threaten America's energy independence and the reliability of our grid."

Tesla Energy also added that it urges the Senate to enact legislation with a "sensible wind down" to continue speedy deployment that supports AI and domestic manufacturing.

"This bill would hurt Tesla around the energy tax credits going away," Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst and a noted Tesla bull, told BI.

xAI may benefit from AI regulation changes

Trump's spending bill, if signed into law, may also help his AI company, xAI.

One section of the bill prohibits states and local governments from regulating AI for the next decade in an effort to remove legal barriers related to deploying and adopting AI.

That could allow Musk to develop and advance xAI with less red tape on the regulatory side to slow the company down.

The bill also allocated funds toward modernizing the federal IT system with AI and improving the cybersecurity of its systems. With the government setting money aside to improve its systems, xAI, one of the companies at the forefront of the AI race, could be contracted to power the modernization efforts.

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Nvidia dethrones Microsoft as the world's most valuable publicly traded company with a $3.45 trillion market cap

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers the keynote for the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC) at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, U.S. March 18, 2025
Nvidia reclaims top spot as the most valuable publicly traded company.

Brittany Hosea-Small/REUTERS

  • Nvidia reclaimed top spot as the most valuable publicly traded company, surpassing Microsoft.
  • Investors are bullish on Nvidia shares since its earnings call, despite tariffs and chip controls.
  • Chip stocks are seeing an overall upward trend as the VanEck Semiconductor ETF climbs.

Nvidia reclaimed the title of the most valuable publicly traded company.

The AI chipmaking giant led by CEO Jensen Huang surpassed Microsoft after its stock jumped 3% to close at $141.40 on Tuesday. Nvidia now boasts a market cap of $3.444 trillion, edging out Microsoft's $3.441 trillion based on data from Nasdaq.

The last time Nvidia held the top spot was on January 24. Since last June, it has been competing with Apple and Microsoft for the title of the top market cap company.

The rise in Nvidia's value came a week after the company reported Q1 revenues that beat Wall Street expectations at $44.06 billion, which makes for a 69% year-over-year increase.

Confidence in Nvidia remains high despite the company expecting to lose $8 billion in revenue over the next quarter due to the Trump administration's new chip export control policies, which prevented it from selling its H20 chips developed specifically for China's market.

Huang has expressed dissatisfaction over chip controls during the earnings call and in media appearances that followed.

"On export control, China is one of the world's largest AI markets and a springboard to global success. With half of the world's AI researchers based there, the platform that wins China is positioned to lead globally," Huang said during the May 28 earnings call. "Today, however, the $50 billion China market is effectively closed to US industry."

"Export controls should strengthen US platforms, not drive half of the world's AI talent to rivals," Huang added.

Immediately after the earnings call on May 28, Nvidia shares shot up nearly 5% after trading hours, and as of June 3, had gained nearly 24% over the past month.

Overall, this week, investors flocked to chip stocks. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF climbed 2%, while individual companies like Micron Technology also gained as much as 4%.

A spokesperson for Nvidia declined to comment. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

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Trump asks Congress to pull $9.4 billion in funding for NPR, PBS and foreign aid

President Trump formally asked Congress on Tuesday to rescind $9.4 billion in already approved funding for foreign aid and the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds NPR and PBS.

Why it matters: The rescissions package is an attempt to codify DOGE-driven cuts amid a wider push a wider push from the Trump administration to target traditional news organizations Republicans perceive as biased against them.


  • NPR and PBS are suing the administration after Trump signed an executive order last month that directed CPB to "cease direct funding" for the two biggest public broadcasters in the U.S., which he called "biased."

Details: Congressional Republican leaders in a Tuesday night joint statement confirmed they had received Trump's recessions request to revoke $8.3 billion in funding for foreign assistance and $1.1 billion from the CPB.

  • "Now that this wasteful spending by the federal government has been identified by DOGE, quantified by the Administration, and sent to Congress, House Republicans will fulfill our mandate and continue codifying into law a more efficient federal government," per the statement that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) posted on X.
  • "This is exactly what the American people deserve," the statement added. "Next week, we will put the rescissions bill on the floor of the House and encourage all our Members to support this commonsense measure."

What they're saying: NPR CEO Katherine Maher noted in a statement on the White House memorandum stating it was asking Congress to "claw back" funding that such a revocation would cause immediate budget shortfalls, with dire consequences.

  • "This would result in cancellation of beloved local and national programming, a reduction in local news coverage and newsroom jobs, a severe curtailing (if not elimination) of public radio music stations who depend on CPB to negotiate music licenses, reduction in service areas for rural and remote communities, as well as forcing dozens of local stations to shutter operations," she said.
  • "Rescission would irreparably harm communities across America who count on public media for 24/7 news, music, cultural and educational programming, and emergency alerting services."
  • Representatives for PBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening, but its CEO Paula Kerger previously told Axios she would "vigorously" defend the public broadcaster's board from any political interference.

What we're watching: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is warning that she's concerned by cuts to AIDS relief in Africa in the rescissions package the White House sent to Congress.

  • "I am concerned about PEPFAR β€” very concerned β€” and it looks like there's a cut, but I need to look at it more closely," she said.
  • Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) thinks the package will ultimately pass.

Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Study AI if you want to get hired in the defense industry, the CEO of Scandinavia's biggest military manufacturer says

Micael Johansson speaks at a presentation of Saab's financial results.
Saab's CEO, Micael Johansson, told Business Insider on Friday that defense companies still need skilled manufacturing workers but will start hiring AI and data engineers more aggressively.

JESSICA GOW/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

  • AI and data engineers will be the defense industry's sought-after jobs, Micael Johansson told BI.
  • The Saab CEO said the defense world is moving toward a business model that offers software.
  • He said Saab, which makes the Gripen, recently hired 6,000 more people amid the boom.

Artificial intelligence and software skills will be a young graduate's best bets for a job in the rapidly surging defense industry, said Micael Johansson, CEO of Saab.

"I think there will be a big change going forward," Johansson told Business Insider on the sidelines of this year's Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

"Our systems will be software-defined, so of course, AI engineers, great software skills, data engineers will be super important to us," said the CEO, who was elected president of the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe last month.

Johansson said defense primes like Saab, which manufactures the Gripen fighter aircraft, will still need technicians and mechanics to build weapons platforms.

"We need excellent, skillful production people as well. Finding welders to do submarine work is not an easy thing, so it's a mix of jobs," he said.

But he added that Saab and the larger industry are moving toward a live service business model that emphasizes software in weapons systems that can be incrementally updated and connected with other platforms.

Part of that industry push comes from observing the war in Ukraine, where both sides are developing new techniques in drone jamming and countermeasures in a matter of weeks.

"The technology will grow so quickly, so you cannot buy a sort of, 50,000 drones and put them in stock. You want to have almost like drones as a service," Johansson said.

Saab, the Nordics' biggest defense manufacturer, has enjoyed an industry-wide boom since the start of the Ukraine war. The Swedish firm reported 2024 annual sales of 63.75 billion Swedish krona, or about $6.6 billion. By comparison, annual revenue in 2021 was 39.15 billion krona.

Amid the uncertainty of Washington's long-term role in NATO, the firm's share price has surged by more than 120% since President Donald Trump's inauguration in January to 484.30 krona, as of Monday afternoon.

Johansson said Saab has been investing heavily to meet demand and has grown its workforce from 19,000 to 25,000 in the last two years.

"We've had more than 200,000 applicants last year for the company and 74,000 for this first quarter," he said.

The CEO had said in February that he expected the Stockholm-based firm to hire 1,000 more people in Sweden this year. On Friday, he told BI he'd revised the figure to 2,000 after realizing Saab had already hired 900 new staff in the first quarter.

"Probably will be wrong again," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Federal Reserve lifts cap on Wells Fargo after fake account scandal fixes

Wells Fargo is shedding the last major link to the fake accounts scandal that dogged the bank: the Federal Reserve on Tuesday said that it would no longer cap how much the institution could grow.

Why it matters: For the first time in seven years, Wells Fargo is free to expand its business β€” take in more deposits, lend more to businesses and make acquisitions β€” in ways that might help it better compete on Wall Street.


What they're saying: "The removal of the growth restriction reflects the substantial progress the bank has made in addressing its deficiencies," said the Fed, which regulates the bank, in a statement.

Flashback: The Fed imposed a $2 trillion asset cap on Wells Fargo in 2018 β€” the most painful regulatory punishment imposed in the aftermath of the bank's fake accounts scandal.

  • The scandal was the company's biggest in its century-old history: employees opened millions of fake accounts on behalf of consumers who did not authorize them to do so.

Zoom in: An aggressive internal sales culture put pressure on employees. "Spurred by sales targets and compensation incentives, employees boosted sales figures by covertly opening accounts," the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in 2016.

  • The CFPB was the first federal agency to take crack down on the bank after Los Angeles filed a suit alleging the wrongdoing in 2015.
  • Years of other scandals, record fines, congressional hearings and a criminal investigation followed.

State of play: Wells Fargo said the removal of the asset cap was "a pivotal milestone" in its transformation.

  • "We are a different and far stronger company today because of the work we've done," said Charlie Scharf, the bank's third CEO since the height of the scandal, in a statement.
  • "We are excited to continue to move forward with plans to further increase returns and growth in a deliberate manner supported by the processes and cultural changes we have made," Scharf said, adding full-time employees would receive $2,000 bonuses.

Trump administration strips federal protections for emergency abortion providers

The Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded guidance telling health providers who perform abortions in emergency cases that they're protected under federal law even if bans exist in their states.

Why it matters: The directive was issued by the Biden administration to give legal assurances to physicians and other providers facing questions about what qualifies as an emergency under a state ban.


  • Since then, courts have grappled with how state restrictions and federal directives on emergency health care mesh. The Supreme Court last year dismissed a case surrounding Idaho's ban without ruling on the merits.

Driving the news: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Tuesday that the 2022 guidance and an accompanying directive from former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra "do not reflect the policy of this administration."

  • It said it would continue to enforce a federal law that requires emergency rooms to perform necessary care for anyone who comes through the door and "work to rectify any perceived legal confusion and instability created by the former administration's actions."
  • The move tracks with the principles laid out in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, which called for HHS to rescind Biden-era guidance around the emergency care law, known as EMTALA.

The other side: The decision "shows a callous disregard for the law and people's lives," said Amy Friedrich-Karnik, director of federal policy at the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute.

  • "EMTALA's importance has only increased as our nation reckons with the fallout from the Dobbs decision, which has led to a fractured and chaotic abortion access landscape," she said.
  • Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, said the administration sent a clear signal that it is siding with its anti-abortion allies β€” a move the group said will come at the expense of women's lives.
  • 13 states have total abortion bans in place and others restrict care throughout pregnancy, per Guttmacher.

Catch up quick: The Biden administration issued the directive soon after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

  • The concern was that treating a pregnancy-related medical emergency, or transferring a patient to another facility, could run afoul of state laws and make the providers subject to prosecution.
  • Some of the state bans allow exceptions for medical emergencies. But abortion rights advocates and some patients and doctors have gone to court, arguing that ambiguous wording has resulted in delayed or denied care and jeopardized patients' health.
  • Media reports have cited multiple instances in which women died in states with abortion bans while having complicated miscarriages at a hospital. Experts have said emergency abortions could have prevented the deaths.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals early last year ruled that EMTALA did not preempt Texas' strict abortion ban. The Supreme Court declined to hear a Biden administration appeal.

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