France&#8217;s National Assembly on Monday backed legislation to ban children under 15 years old from social media on Monday, amid growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks.
The bill proposes banning under-15s from social networks and &#8220;social networking functionalities&#8221; embedded within broader platforms, and reflects rising public angst over the impact of social media on minors.
Lawmakers voted 116 to 23 in favor of the bill. It now passes to the Senate before a final vote in the lower house.
President Emmanuel Macron has pointed to social media as one factor to blame for violence among young people. He is urging France to follow Australia, whose world-first ban for under-16s on social media platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube came into force in December.
Macron wants the ban in place in time for the start of the next academic year in September.
&#8220;With this law, we are setting a clear boundary in society and saying social media is not harmless,&#8221; centrist lawmaker Laure Miller told the chamber as she presented the bill.
&#8220;Our children are reading less, sleeping less, and comparing themselves to one another more,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;This is a battle for free minds.&#8221;
Australia&#8217;s social media ban is being studied in countries including Britain, Denmark, Spain and Greece.
The European Parliament has called for the European Union to set minimum ages for children to access social media, although it is up to member states to impose age limits.
There is broad political and public support in France for curbing minors&#8217; access to social media.
Far-right lawmaker Thierry Perez said the bill responded to a &#8220;health emergency.&#8221;
&#8220;Social media has allowed everyone to express themselves, but at what cost to our children?” Perez said.
The French ban would require platforms to block access to young teenagers through age‑verification mechanisms compliant with European Union law.
Enforcing such bans can be difficult. Australia&#8217;s government acknowledged the rollout of its ban would be bumpy after children claiming to be under 16 flooded the country&#8217;s social media feeds with messages gloating about their continued ability to access networks.
The French legislation also extends an existing ban on smartphones in junior and middle schools to cover high schools.
A Harris Interactive survey in 2024 showed 73% of the public supported a ban on social media access for under-15s.
Teenagers on the streets of Paris were split in their views. Some said they acknowledged the dangers associated with social media. Others felt a ban was excessive.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas and Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Richard Lough, Alex Richardson and Diane Craft)

Social Media And Messaging Apps

France’s National Assembly Approves Ban On Social Media For Those Under 15 Years Old

Australia

Big Tech

Emmanuel Macron

France

Social Media

World

More than 800,000 customers in the United States, as far west as New Mexico, were without electricity, and over 10,000 flights were canceled on Sunday ahead of a monster winter storm that threatened to paralyze eastern states with heavy snowfall.
Forecasters said snow, sleet, freezing rain, and dangerously frigid temperatures would sweep the eastern two-thirds of the nation on Sunday and into the week.
Calling the storms &#8220;historic,&#8221; President Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia.
&#8220;We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm,&#8221; Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, the Department of Homeland Security said.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, at a news conference on Saturday, warned Americans to take precautions.
&#8220;It’s going to be very, very cold,&#8221; Noem said. &#8220;So we&#8217;d encourage everybody to stock up on fuel, stock up on food, and we will get through this together.&#8221;
The number of power outages continued to rise. As of 10:18 a.m. EST (1518 GMT) on Sunday, more than 800,000 U.S. customers were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us, with at least 300,000 in Tennessee and over 100,000 each in Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana. Other states affected included Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Alabama.
The Department of Energy on Saturday issued an emergency order authorizing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to deploy backup generation resources at data centers and other major facilities, aiming to limit blackouts in the state.
On Sunday, the DOE issued an emergency order to authorize grid operator PJM Interconnection to run &#8220;specified resources&#8221; in the mid-Atlantic region, regardless of limits due to state laws or environmental permits.
The National Weather Service warned of an unusually expansive and long-duration winter storm that would bring widespread, heavy ice accumulation in the Southeast, where &#8220;crippling to locally catastrophic impacts&#8221; can be expected.
Weather service forecasters predicted record cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills descending further into the Great Plains region by Monday.
More than 10,100 U.S. flights scheduled for Sunday were canceled, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Over 4,000 flights were canceled on Saturday.
Major U.S. airlines warned passengers to stay alert for abrupt flight changes and cancellations.
Delta Air Lines adjusted its schedule on Saturday, with additional cancellations in the morning for Atlanta and along the East Coast, including in Boston and New York City.
It would relocate experts from cold-weather hubs to support de-icing and baggage teams at several southern airports, the airline said.
JetBlue said that as of Saturday morning, it had canceled about 1,000 flights through Monday.
United Airlines said it had proactively canceled some flights in places with the worst expected weather.
U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts.
Dominion Energy, whose Virginia operations include the largest collection of data centers in the world, said if its ice forecast held, the winter event could be among the largest to affect the company.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Lewis Krauskopf; Additional reporting by Chandni Shah, Devika Nair, and Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru, and Blake Brittain in Washington, DC; Editing by Sergio Non, Chizu Nomiyama, Edwina Gibbs, Bernadette Baum, and Nick Zieminski)

Major winter storm spreads across a large swath of the United States

Winter Storm Leaves 800,000 Without Power, Forces 10,000 Flight Cancellations

Airlines

Canceled flights

Donald Trump

Severe Weather

Winter storm

More than 4,000 flights were canceled in the U.S. on Saturday ahead of a monster winter storm that has already cut power to more than 100,000 utility customers as far west as Texas, and threatened to paralyze eastern states with heavy snowfall.
Forecasters said snow, sleet and freezing rain, accompanied by dangerously frigid temperatures, would sweep the eastern two-thirds of the nation on Sunday and into next week.
Calling the storms &#8220;historic,&#8221; President Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia.
&#8220;We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm,&#8221; Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, the Department of Homeland Security said.
&#8220;We do have tens of thousands of people in affected states in the South that have lost power. We have utility crews that are working to restore that as quick as possible,&#8221; DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said late Saturday afternoon.
The number of power outages continued to rise. As of 6:30 pm ET, more than 130,000 U.S. customers had lost electricity, the bulk of them in Texas and Louisiana, according to PowerOutage.com.
The U.S. National Weather Service warned of an unusually expansive and long-duration winter storm that will bring widespread, heavy ice accumulation in the southeast U.S. and cited &#8220;crippling to locally catastrophic impacts.&#8221;
Weather service forecasters predicted record cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills descending further into the Great Plains region of the U.S. by Monday.
As of 6:42 p.m. EST, more than 4,000 U.S. flights scheduled for Saturday had been canceled, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. More than 9,000 U.S. flights originally set for Sunday also have been canceled, the website indicated.
Major U.S. airlines warned passengers to stay alert for abrupt flight changes and cancellations.
In an update on its website on Saturday morning, Delta Air said it “continues to make schedule adjustments due to Winter Storm Fern,” with additional cancellations in the morning for Atlanta and along the East Coast, including Delta hubs in Boston and New York City.
The airline said it was relocating experts from cold weather hubs to support de-icing and baggage teams at several southern airports.
JetBlue said as of Saturday morning it had canceled about 1,000 flights through Monday, with additional cancellations possible, as it was “closely monitoring” forecasts for the storm.
U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts.
Dominion Energy, whose Virginia operations include the largest collection of data centers in the world, said if its ice forecast holds, it could be among the largest-ever winter events to affect the utility&#8217;s operations.
Noem, speaking at a news conference about U.S. government preparations for the storm, warned Americans to take precautions.
&#8220;It’s going to be very, very cold,&#8221; Noem said. &#8220;So we&#8217;d encourage everybody to stock up on fuel, stock up on food, and we will get through this together.&#8221;
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Sergio Non, David Gregorio and Chizu Nomiyama)

Snowstorm

Winter Storm Leads To More Than 100,000 Power Outages, Thousands Of Flight Cancellations

Texas

U.S.

U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts as frigid weather hitting half of the country&#8217;s population stressed their operations.
The PJM Interconnection &#8211; the largest U.S. regional grid that serves 67 million people in the East and Mid-Atlantic &#8211; reported temporary spikes in spot wholesale electricity prices that soared above $3,000 per megawatt hour on Saturday morning from earlier levels of less than $200 per MWh.
Older power plants, typically idled much of the year, are coming online to take advantage of the elevated prices to serve higher than expected demand, said Georg Rute, CEO of grid software company Gridraven, and an expert on how weather affects power line capacity.
&#8220;A 40-year-old gas turbine switches on because it sees these super-high prices,&#8221; Rute told Reuters. He added it is a sign of stress in the PJM system and elsewhere.
Prices also soared in other regions as stormy weather and temperatures hovering around 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius) pushed up electricity demand and prompted some operators to shut in natural gas production in key basins, while grid companies also faced constraints on gas pipeline supply.
Dominion Energy, whose Virginia operations include the largest collection of data centers in the world, said if its ice forecast holds, it has the potential to be one of the largest winter events to affect the utility&#8217;s operations.
While regional grid operators juggle restricted fuel supplies, congested transmission lines and wild weather, electric utilities are staging crews to repair expected ice and snow damage on low-voltage distribution lines that bring power to homes and businesses.
Faced with constricted gas supplies, regional U.S. grid operators are asking coal and gas-fired power plants to boost output, according to grid operations reports.
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator called on power plants to maximize output and curtailed electricity exports in a territory that stretches across 15 states in the Midwest and South and Manitoba, Canada.
Over the past 24 hours, MISO imported up to several thousand megawatts of power from PJM&#8217;s territory to meet demand, according to MISO&#8217;s operations reports.
PJM faces greater reliability threats in winter because natural gas plants &#8211; the backbone of its generation &#8211; frequently face fuel supply constraints and mechanical freezing during extreme cold, according to analysts at consulting firm ICF International.
Neighboring grid MISO issued an all-hands-on-deck emergency action designed to avoid capacity shortfalls as some power plants are forced offline or reduce their output because of freezing temperatures, alerting utilities to be prepared to produce as much electricity as possible.
MISO spot wholesale electricity prices soared to nearly $500 per MWh in MISO&#8217;s Minnesota hub, as the upper Midwest experienced transmission bottlenecks across high-voltage power lines. By contrast, spot electricity prices in MISO&#8217;s southern territory were less than $50 per MWh.
In New England, fuel oil generation kicked into high gear to help the six-state region&#8217;s electric grid conserve natural gas, its top fuel source.
Early Saturday, oil-fired generation accounted for 35% of the New England grid&#8217;s output, compared with a typical level of about 1% or less, ISO New England&#8217;s operations display showed. Natural gas, usually the grid&#8217;s main fuel source, accounted for 22% of the grid&#8217;s generation output.
New England spot electricity prices were more than $300 per MWh, or about double the price on Friday.
For the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the winter storm is the biggest test for the state&#8217;s main grid operator since 2021, when a storm nearly caused a catastrophic regional blackout.
More than 200 people died as ERCOT lost about half of its generation capacity amid frigid weather.
Since then, stricter state and federal rules have been implemented to require better winter readiness by utilities and grid operators throughout the country.
Rute said ERCOT appears to be in good shape as it has abundant fossil-fuel generation, big contributions from wind and solar power, and more battery storage than any other grid.
&#8220;I think there&#8217;s very little chance of a (2021) rerun,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But no blackout happens the same way twice.&#8221;
(Reporting by Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Jan Harvey, Liz Hampton, Rod Nickel)

Icicles

Frigid Weather Stresses U.S. Electric Grid

Electricity

power grid

Heavy snow was falling over Northwest Texas and Oklahoma City on Friday morning as a major winter storm began moving east across the U.S., bringing deadly cold and the threat of power outages and treacherously icy roads to almost half the nation&#8217;s population and prompting more than a dozen governors to declare states of emergency.
More than 150 million Americans were under some form of weather emergency notices from the National Weather Service.
Driven by a massive blast of Arctic air from Canada, the storm will move across the nation from the southern Rockies to the East Coast through early Monday, and cover much of the eastern U.S. through the weekend, forecasters said.
At least 14 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had declared states of emergency as of Friday morning, activating resources and mobilizing crews to mitigate the storm&#8217;s impact by salting roads, preparing to respond to power outages, and more.
Brandon Buckingham, a meteorologist with private forecasting company AccuWeather, said snow and sleet had started to fall Thursday evening in portions of the Central Plains, and warned that there was a danger of ice accumulating on roads, trees and power lines.
&#8220;Dallas could see a half-inch of ice,&#8221; Buckingham said. &#8220;This is going to become treacherous very quickly.&#8221;
He said residents should prepare for &#8220;power outages lasting at least several days&#8221; in areas where ice accumulates, even though the storm is expected to dissipate by early Monday.
In Oklahoma City, which could see up to 12 inches of snow and a glaze of ice before the weekend is over, supervisor Morgan Mayo of the cafe Not Your Average Joe said customers were packing in on Friday morning to get out of the frigid temperatures: a low of 8 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday.
&#8220;We&#8217;re going to do our darnedest to stay open&#8221; even on Saturday when the high is expected to be just 10 degrees, Mayo said. &#8220;We have several employees who live in walking distance and are willing to brave the storm.&#8221;
In Texas, the potentially catastrophic storm recalls a 2021 ice storm that cut power to nearly 40 percent of the state&#8217;s power grid and left more than 2.7 million people without electricity for days. The storm was blamed for more than 200 deaths, most related to cold temperatures.
The state’s largest electrical grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), said it is ready for this weekend&#8217;s storm and expects “sufficient generation to meet demand this winter.”
As the storm heads east on Saturday and Sunday, upwards of a quarter-inch of ice could accumulate in Atlanta and Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina this weekend.
On Sunday, between 4 and 8 inches of snow will fall on Washington D.C., Baltimore, New York City and Boston, although snow exceeding 12 inches is likely to fall in parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic.
In the nation&#8217;s capital, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser on Friday declared a state of emergency and a snow emergency to remain in effect from Saturday through Tuesday. Bowser asked the National Guard to provide high-ground-clearance vehicles to ensure first responders could effectively move through the District.
The storm represents the first major test for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office just weeks ago. He told local news station NY1 on Friday that the city&#8217;s sanitation workforce would transform &#8220;into the nation’s largest snow-fighting operation&#8221; in advance of the heavy snowfall expected on Sunday, but that the city&#8217;s schools would be open on Monday for either in-person or remote learning.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Julia Harte in New York; editing by Donna Bryson and David Gregorio)

Empty Shelves

Snow Starts Falling In Texas, Oklahoma As Eastern U.S. Braces For Winter Storm

Oklahoma

Snow

Delta Air Lines on Friday urged passengers traveling this weekend to reschedule their flights as a major winter storm threatens to disrupt operations and force widespread cancellations.
The storm is disrupting U.S. air travel, prompting airlines to cancel flights, warn of delays and issue travel waivers as ice, snow and strong winds sweep across major hubs and regional airports in the South, East and central part of U.S.
The airline operator said customers should expect flight cancellations across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, including Nashville and Raleigh–Durham, as the storm threatens to disrupt weekend travel.
Delta Air Lines canceled flights at several airports in five states on Thursday, warning that slow operations could trigger more delays and cancellations, and complicate rebooking during one of the busiest winter travel periods.
About two-thirds of the 815 flights scheduled to depart Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport on Saturday have been canceled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Separately, American Airlines said it would add more than 3,200 extra seats to and from its Dallas–Fort Worth hub from Friday to Sunday.
The National Weather Service warned that a mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow could make travel hazardous and cause power outages and tree damage across the Southeast, with heavier snowfall expected farther north as the storm moves up the country.
Airlines urged passengers to keep a close eye on their flight status and use mobile apps or airline websites for the quickest rebooking options as the storm advances. Travelers have already begun adjusting plans in anticipation of mounting disruption.
(Reporting by Apratim Sarkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

Airplane

Delta Urges Travelers To Rebook As Winter Storm Threatens Weekend Flights

Air Travel

Delta Airlines

WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) — Conservative and liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled skepticism on Wednesday toward President Donald Trump&#8217;s bid to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in a case with the central bank&#8217;s independence at stake.
During about two hours of arguments in the case, the justices indicated they were unlikely to grant the Trump administration&#8217;s request to lift a judge&#8217;s decision barring ​the Republican president from immediately firing Cook while her legal challenge continues to play out.
Some of the justices pressed D. John Sauer, the U.S. solicitor general arguing for Trump&#8217;s administration, about why Cook was not given a chance to formally respond to the unproven mortgage fraud allegations — which she has denied — that the president cited as justification to oust Cook. They also raised concerns about the effect on the economy of such a first-ever presidential firing from the central bank and the implications for the Fed&#8217;s cherished independence from political influence.
The case represents the latest dispute to come to the top U.S. judicial body involving Trump&#8217;s expansive view of presidential powers since returning to office 12 months ago.
When the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, agreed in October to hear the case, they left Cook in her job for the time being.
&#8220;This case is about whether the Federal Reserve will set key interest rates guided by evidence and independent judgment or will succumb to political pressure,&#8221; Cook, who attended the arguments, said in a statement afterward.
&#8220;For as long as I serve at the Federal Reserve, I will uphold the principle of political independence in service to the American people,&#8221; Cook added.
&#8216;DECEIT OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE&#8217;
Sauer told the justices that the allegations against Cook impugn her &#8220;conduct, fitness, ability or competence to serve as a governor of the Federal Reserve.&#8221;
&#8220;The American people should not have their interest rates determined by someone who was, at best, grossly negligent in obtaining favorable interest rates for herself,&#8221; Sauer said.
&#8220;Deceit or gross negligence by a financial regulator in financial transactions is cause for removal,&#8221; Sauer added, arguing that the allegations require immediate removal.
Cook has called the allegations against her a pretext to fire her over monetary policy differences as Trump heaps pressure on the central bank to cut interest rates and lashes out at Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not doing so more quickly.
Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts asked Sauer to explain whether his argument that Cook should be immediately removed applies if the basis of the mortgage allegations — that she cited two different properties as a principal residence — is an &#8220;inadvertent mistake contradicted by other documents in the record.&#8221;
Sauer responded that, even if Cook made a mistake on mortgage paper, &#8220;it is quite a big mistake.&#8221;
Roberts seemed skeptical, telling Sauer &#8220;we can debate that.&#8221;
Paul Clement, the lawyer arguing for Cook, told the justices that the allegations against Cook arise from &#8220;at most an inadvertent mistake&#8221; on a mortgage application concerning a vacation property.
Trump&#8217;s move against Cook is seen as the most consequential challenge to the Fed&#8217;s independence since it was formed in 1913. Until now, no president had sought to oust a Fed official.
A Supreme Court ruling is expected by the end of June.
&#8216;A MILLION HARD QUESTIONS&#8217;
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito expressed concern that the administration had handled the case &#8220;in a very cursory manner.&#8221; Though the case involves Trump&#8217;s asserted cause to fire Cook, Alito said, &#8220;No court has ever explored those facts.  Are the mortgage applications even in the record in this case?&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s a million hard questions in this case,&#8221; Alito said.
In creating the Fed, Congress passed a law called the Federal Reserve Act that included provisions meant to insulate the central bank from political interference, requiring governors to be removed by a president only &#8220;for cause,&#8221; though the law does not define the term nor establish procedures for removal.
Clement told the justices that Trump&#8217;s position would transform tenure protections for Fed governors into &#8220;at-will employment.&#8221;
&#8220;That makes no sense,&#8221; Clement said. &#8220;There&#8217;s no rational reason to go through all the trouble of creating this unique, quasi-private entity that is exempt from everything from the (congressional) appropriations process to the civil service laws, just to give it a removal restriction that is as toothless as the president imagines.&#8221;
Roberts expressed doubts about Sauer&#8217;s arguments that the president&#8217;s assertion of a cause is not reviewable, or that judges cannot reinstate a fired officer.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh expressed doubts about the real-world effects of the administration&#8217;s arguments.
&#8220;Your position,&#8221; Kavanaugh told Sauer, &#8220;that there&#8217;s no judicial review, no process required, no remedy available, very low bar for cause that the president alone determines — I mean, that would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve.&#8221;
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett also questioned why the Trump administration has denied Cook a hearing to defend herself, saying that it &#8220;would not have been that big of a deal&#8221; for Trump to sit down with Cook and lay out the alleged evidence against her.
Barrett also asked Sauer about the practical implications of allowing Trump&#8217;s firing of a Fed governor.
&#8220;We have amicus (friend-of-the-court) briefs from economists who tell us that if Governor Cook is (fired), that would trigger a recession. How should we think about the public interest in a case like this?&#8221; Barrett asked, adding: &#8220;If there is a risk (at this preliminary stage of the case) doesn&#8217;t that counsel caution on our part?&#8221;
Sauer said that Cook was notified in August of her termination, and that has not affected the markets. Sauer urged the justices to weigh the predictions of doom for the U.S. economy by economists in briefs submitted in the case supportive of Cook with a &#8220;jaundiced eye.&#8221;
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in September ruled that Trump&#8217;s attempt to remove Cook without notice or a hearing likely violated her right to due process under the U.S. Constitution&#8217;s Fifth Amendment. Cobb also found that the mortgage fraud allegations likely were not a legally sufficient cause to remove a Fed governor under the law, noting that the alleged conduct occurred before she served in the Fed post.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined Trump&#8217;s request to put Cobb&#8217;s order on hold.
&#8216;YOU&#8217;RE FIRED&#8217;
Conservative and liberal justices alike posed sharp questions to Sauer on his contention that Cook was not entitled to formal notice and a hearing before removal by the president.
Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch asked Sauer what such a hearing would look like and whether Cook would have a right to legal counsel. Sauer responded that the court in the past has been very reluctant to &#8220;dictate procedures to the president&#8221; and that it would be up for Trump to decide.
&#8220;Calling Ms. Cook into the (White House) Roosevelt Room, sitting across a conference table, listening for, I don&#8217;t know how long, how much evidence is a lawyer required, and then making a decision? Could that suffice?&#8221; Gorsuch asked, adding: &#8220;Just a meeting across a conference table finished with, &#8216;You&#8217;re fired&#8217;?&#8221;
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas asked Sauer on what basis should the justices conclude that the Fed is &#8220;an executive branch agency and hence that the president does have a removal authority.&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s an academic dispute about whether or not the Federal Reserve&#8217;s Open Market operations constitute executive power or something else, essentially private conduct. However, Congress has over the years kind of packed on traditional executive powers on the Federal Reserve,&#8221; Sauer replied.
As a Fed governor, Cook helps set U.S. monetary policy with the rest of the central bank&#8217;s seven-member board and the heads of the 12 regional Fed banks. Her term in the job runs to 2038. Cook was appointed in 2022 by Democratic former President Joe Biden as the first Black woman to serve in the post.
Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pressed Sauer to reconcile two seemingly conflicting positions: his claim the president has broad discretion to remove a Fed governor and his recognition that Congress included tenure protections for Fed governors to shield the Fed&#8217;s independence from White House interference.
&#8220;How does that further the aims of the statute?&#8221; Jackson asked.
Alito voiced skepticism toward Clement&#8217;s argument that a Fed governor&#8217;s conduct before taking office cannot provide a basis for removal by the president, asking Cook&#8217;s attorney to address a series of increasingly egregious hypothetical scenarios.
&#8220;How about if, after the person assumes office, videos are disclosed in which the office holder is expressing deep admiration for Hitler or for the Klan?&#8221; Alito asked.
AGENCY INDEPENDENCE
In prior cases, the Supreme Court chipped away at the independence of various federal agencies from presidential control, and could soon overrule a key precedent that has shielded the heads of independent agencies from removal since 1935.
But the court last year signaled it may view the central bank as an exception, noting in a May ruling that let Trump remove two Democratic members of federal labor boards that the Fed possesses a unique structure and historical tradition.
The Supreme Court has backed Trump in a series of emergency rulings since he returned to the presidency on immigration, mass federal layoffs, cutting foreign aid, dismantling the Education Department and other matters.
The president sought to fire Cook on August 25 by posting a termination letter on social media citing the mortgage fraud allegations disclosed by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee.
The administration ‍this month opened a criminal investigation into Powell over remarks he made to Congress last year about a Fed building project, a move he similarly called a pretext aimed at gaining influence over monetary policy.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Additional reporting by Jan Wolfe, John Kruzel and David Lawder in Washington and Ann Saphir in San Francisco; Editing by Will Dunham)

SCOTUS, Lisa Cook, Donald Trump

Supreme Court Appears Reluctant To Let Trump Fire Fed’s Lisa Cook

Federal Reserve

Supreme Court

The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers in Alaska to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, the site of large protests against the government&#8217;s deportation drive, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday.
The army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case violence in the midwestern state escalates, the officials said, though it is not clear whether any of them will be sent.
President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to use the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces if officials in the state do not stop protesters from targeting immigration officials after a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
But if the troops are deployed, it is unclear whether the Trump administration would invoke the Insurrection Act. Even without invoking the act, a president can deploy active-duty forces for certain domestic purposes such as protecting federal property, which Trump cited as a justification for sending Marines to Los Angeles last year.
In addition to the active-duty forces, the Pentagon could also attempt to deploy newly created National Guard rapid-response forces for civil disturbances.
The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment on the order, which was first reported by ABC News.
&#8220;If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT,&#8221; Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
The soldiers subject to deployment specialize in cold-weather operations and are assigned to two U.S. Army infantry battalions under the 11th Airborne Division, which is based in Alaska, the officials said.
Confrontations between residents and federal officers have become increasingly tense in Minneapolis, Minnesota&#8217;s most-populous city, after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good.
Trump, a Republican, has sent nearly 3,000 federal agents from ICE and Border Patrol to Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul since early last week, as part of a wave of interventions, mostly to cities run by Democratic politicians.
He has said troop deployments in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Memphis and Portland, Oregon, are necessary to fight crime and protect federal property and personnel from protesters. But this month he said he was removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, which have faced legal setbacks and challenges.
Local leaders have accused the president of federal overreach and of exaggerating isolated episodes of violence to justify sending in troops.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, against whom the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation, has mobilized the state&#8217;s National Guard to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies, the state Department of Public Safety posted on X on Saturday.
Trump has repeatedly invoked a scandal around the theft of federal funds intended for social-welfare programs in Minnesota as a rationale for sending in immigration agents. The president and administration officials have singled out the state&#8217;s community of Somali immigrants.
The Insurrection Act is a federal law that gives the president the power to deploy the military or federalize National Guard troops inside the U.S. to quell domestic uprisings.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart in Washington and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue, William Mallard and Matthew Lewis)

Federal Agents Increase Immigration Enforcement In Minneapolis

Pentagon Readies 1,500 Troops For Potential Minnesota Deployment, U.S. Officials Say

Military

Minneapolis

Minnesota

Protests

Riots

At least 5,000 people have been killed in protests in Iran, including about 500 security personnel, an Iranian official in the region said on Sunday, citing verified figures and accusing &#8220;terrorists and armed rioters&#8221; of killing &#8220;innocent Iranians.&#8221;
Nationwide protests erupted on December 28 over economic hardship and swelled over two weeks into widespread demonstrations calling for the end of clerical rule &#8211; resulting in the deadliest unrest since Iran&#8217;s 1979 Islamic revolution.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if protesters continued to be killed on the streets or were executed. In a social media post on Friday, he thanked Tehran&#8217;s leaders, saying they had called off scheduled executions of 800 people.
A day later, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a public speech branded Trump a &#8220;criminal&#8221; for the casualties he inflicted on Iran by supporting protesters.
&#8220;We will not drag the country into war, but we will not let domestic or international criminals go unpunished,&#8221; Khamenei said, acknowledging &#8220;several thousand deaths&#8221; that he blamed on &#8220;terrorists and rioters&#8221; linked to the U.S. and Israel.
Iran&#8217;s judiciary indicated that executions may go ahead.
&#8220;A series of actions have been identified as Mohareb, which is among the most severe Islamic punishments,&#8221; Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir told a press conference on Sunday.
Mohareb, an Islamic legal term meaning to wage war against God, is punishable by death under Iranian law.
Trump said in an interview with Politico on Saturday: &#8220;it&#8217;s time to look for new leadership in Iran.&#8221;
U.S.-based rights group HRANA said on Saturday the death toll had reached 3,308, with another 4,382 cases under review. It said it had confirmed more than 24,000 arrests.
The Iranian official said the verified death toll was unlikely to &#8220;increase sharply,&#8221; adding &#8220;Israel and armed groups abroad&#8221; had supported and equipped those taking to the streets.
The clerical establishment regularly blames unrest on foreign enemies, including the U.S. and Israel, an arch foe of the Islamic Republic which launched military strikes in June.
The violent crackdown appears to have broadly quelled protests, according to residents and state media.
One resident in Tehran said he had witnessed riot police directly shooting at a group of protesters, who were mostly young men and women. Videos circulating on social media, some of which have been verified by Reuters, have shown security forces violently cracking down on demonstrations across the country.
The Iranian official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, also said some of the heaviest clashes and highest number of deaths were in the Iranian Kurdish areas in the country&#8217;s northwest.
Kurdish separatists have been active there and flare-ups have been among the most violent in past periods of unrest.
Three sources told Reuters on January 14 that armed Kurdish separatist groups sought to cross the border into Iran from Iraq in a sign of foreign entities potentially seeking to take advantage of instability.
&#8220;I am against this regime and have taken part in protests, but I witnessed some armed individuals disguised as protesters shooting at civilians. They were not ordinary protesters, they carried guns and knives,&#8221; an Iranian in a northwestern town told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The Norway-based Iranian Kurdish rights group Hengaw has said some of the heaviest clashes during protests that erupted in late December were in Kurdish areas in the northwest.
Getting information out of Iran has been complicated by internet blackouts, which were partly lifted for a few hours early on Saturday. But internet monitoring group NetBlocks said the blackout seemed to have later been reimposed.
Faizan Ali, a 40-year-old medical doctor from Lahore, said he had to cut short his trip to Iran to visit his Iranian wife in the central city of Isfahan as &#8220;there was no internet or communication with my family in Pakistan.&#8221;
&#8220;I saw a violent mob burning buildings, banks and cars. I also witnessed an individual stab a passer-by,&#8221; he told Reuters upon his arrival back in Lahore.
(Additional reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore,Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Alexander Smith)

BRITAIN-IRAN-PROTEST-RIGHTS

At Least 5,000 Dead In Iran Unrest, Official Says, As Judiciary Hints At Executions

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The Trump administration&#8217;s top auto policy officials on Saturday touted federal efforts to lower car prices by eliminating vehicle emissions regulations, as affordability remains a key concern among Americans.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer toured the annual Detroit Auto Show to wrap up a two-day Midwestern swing that included stops at a Ford truck factory and Stellantis Jeep plant in Ohio on Friday.
The administration has aggressively rolled back electric vehicle rules from former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration.
Duffy said the rules &#8220;will bring car prices down and allow car companies to offer products that Americans want to buy.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;this is not a war on EVs at all &#8230; We shouldn&#8217;t use government policy to encourage EV purchases all the while penalizing combustion engines.&#8221;
President Donald Trump is grappling with economic headwinds a year after taking office and ahead of November&#8217;s midterm ⁠elections, having campaigned on quickly fixing higher prices for American consumers.
Average new car transaction prices hit a record $50,326 in December as Americans bought more pricey trucks and SUVs, research firm Cox Automotive said, while automakers are offering fewer entry-level vehicles.
Trump signed legislation last year eliminating a $7,500 EV tax credit, rescinding California&#8217;s EV rules and cancelling penalties for automakers not meeting fuel efficiency requirements.
Zeldin said the government &#8220;should not be forcing, requiring, mandating that the market go in a direction other than what the American consumer is demanding.&#8221;
Automakers also face steep tariffs imposed by Trump on imported vehicles and parts. Despite the EV policy changes and new tariffs, new U.S. vehicle sales rose 2.4% in 2025 to 16.2 million vehicles.
Democrats say auto tariffs and efforts to eliminate EV incentives will harm consumers. But Greer said car prices are trending down and &#8220;whatever effects those tariffs may have on various parts of the supply chain, they&#8217;re not really getting down to the consumer.&#8221;
Kathy Harris, director of clean vehicles at environmental activist group NRDC, criticized the administration&#8217;s auto policies. &#8220;The oil industry will rake in billions more from cash-strapped Americans who can&#8217;t afford to spend more to fuel up their car or truck.&#8221;
In December, the U.S. Department of Transportation proposed rolling back Biden-era fuel efficiency standards that had prodded auto companies to build more EVs to comply. The EPA is also expected to finalize a rule in the coming weeks eliminating vehicle tailpipe emissions requirements.
USDOT estimates its proposal would reduce average up-front vehicle costs by $930, but increase fuel consumption by as much as 100 billion gallons through 2050, and cost Americans up to another $185 billion for fuel.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in DetroitEditing by Rod Nickel)

Cars

Trump Admin Touts Push To Lower Car Prices, De-Emphasize EVs

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Trump Administration

Iran&#8217;s authorities indicated on Saturday they could intensify their crackdown on the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years, with the Revolutionary Guards blaming unrest on terrorists and vowing to safeguard the governing system.
A day after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new warning that the United States could intervene, there were fresh reports of violence across the country, although an internet blackout made it difficult to assess the full extent of unrest.
The exiled son of Iran&#8217;s last shah, who has emerged as a prominent voice in the fragmented opposition, made his strongest call yet for the protests to broaden into a revolt to topple the clerical rulers.
State media said a municipal building was set on fire in Karaj, west of Tehran, and blamed &#8220;rioters.&#8221; State TV broadcast footage of funerals of members of the security forces it said were killed in protests in the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Hamedan.
Footage on social media on Friday showed large crowds gathered in Tehran and fires lit in the street at night. Reuters was able to confirm the location by comparing landmarks with satellite imagery.
Protests have spread across Iran since December 28, beginning in response to soaring inflation, and quickly turning political with protesters demanding an end to clerical rule. Authorities accuse the U.S. and Israel of fomenting unrest.
Iranian rights group HRANA says at least 50 protesters and 15 security personnel have been killed, and some 2,300 arrested.
ARMY SAYS &#8216;TERRORIST GROUPS&#8217; SEEK TO UNDERMINE SECURITY
A witness in western Iran reached by phone said the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were deployed and opening fire in the area from which the witness was speaking, declining to be identified for safety.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the arrest of 100 &#8220;armed rioters&#8221; in the town of Baharestan near Tehran.
In a statement broadcast by state TV, the IRGC &#8211; an elite force which has suppressed previous bouts of unrest &#8211; accused &#8220;terrorists&#8221; of targeting military and law enforcement bases over the past two nights. It said several citizens and security personnel had been killed and public and private property set on fire.
Safeguarding the achievements of the Islamic revolution and maintaining security was a &#8220;red line,&#8221; it added.
The regular military also issued a statement saying it would &#8220;protect and safeguard national interests, the country’s strategic infrastructure, and public property.&#8221;
PAHLAVI SAYS GOAL IS TO PREPARE TO &#8216;SEIZE CITY CENTRES&#8217;
In a video posted on X, U.S.-based Reza Pahlavi, 65, whose father was toppled as Iran&#8217;s shah in the 1979 revolution, said the Islamic Republic would be brought &#8220;to its knees.&#8221; He called for people to seize the centres of their towns, and said he was preparing to return soon to Iran.
&#8220;Our goal is no longer merely to come into the streets; the goal is to prepare to seize city centres and hold them,&#8221; he said.
Trump said on Thursday he was not inclined to meet Pahlavi, a sign that he was waiting to see how the crisis plays out before backing an opposition leader.
Iran&#8217;s rulers have weathered repeated bouts of unrest, including student protests in 1999, over a disputed election in 2009, against economic hardships in 2019, and in 2022 over the death in custody of a woman accused of violating dress codes.
Trump, who joined Israel to strike Iran&#8217;s nuclear sites last summer, warned Tehran last week the U.S. could come to the protesters&#8217; aid. On Friday, he said: &#8220;You better not start shooting because we&#8217;ll start shooting too.&#8221;
&#8220;I just hope the protesters in Iran are going to be safe, because that&#8217;s a very dangerous place right now,&#8221; he added.
He has repeatedly included Iran in lists of places where he could intervene next, after sending forces to seize the president of Venezuela a week ago.
Some protesters on the streets have shouted slogans in support of Pahlavi, such as &#8220;Long live the shah,&#8221; although most chants have called for an end to rule by the clerics or demanded action to fix the economy.
DOCTOR SAYS PEOPLE BADLY BEATEN, KILLED
A doctor in northwestern Iran said that since Friday large numbers of injured protesters had been brought to hospitals. Some were badly beaten, suffering head injuries and broken legs and arms, as well as deep cuts.
At least 20 people in one hospital had been shot with live ammunition, five of whom later died.
On Friday, Khamenei accused protesters of acting on behalf of Trump, saying rioters were attacking public properties and warning that Tehran would not tolerate people acting as &#8220;mercenaries for foreigners.&#8221;
The IRGC&#8217;s public relations office said three members of the Basij security force were killed and five wounded during clashes with what it described as “armed rioters” in Gachsaran, in the southwest.
Another security officer was stabbed to death in Hamedan, in western Iran. The son of a senior officer, Brigadier General Nourali Shoushtari, was killed in the Ahmadabad area of Mashhad, in the northeast. Two other security personnel were killed over the past two nights in Shushtar, in Khuzestan province.
Authorities have described protests over the economy as legitimate while condemning what they call violent rioters over the past two weeks.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom. Writing by Tom PerryEditing by Mark Potter and Peter Graff)

Iran Authorities Signal Intensified Crackdown As Unrest Grows

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

(Reuters) &#8211; Two people were killed, and at least six others were injured in a shooting during an altercation outside a funeral at a church in the Utah capital of Salt Lake City, police said on Wednesday, as they launched a manhunt for suspects.
The situation was still fluid after Wednesday&#8217;s initial report of the incident in the parking lot outside a chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a police spokesperson said.
&#8220;Out in the parking lot, there was some sort of altercation and that&#8217;s when shots were fired,&#8221; Glen Mills told reporters, adding that a funeral service was being held in the church at the time.
Among at least eight adult victims, two died of their injuries, the police said, while three of the survivors were critical and the medical condition of the rest was not known.
Police said they launched a manhunt for the suspects and aimed to interview witnesses among the dozens of people who attended the funeral. The FBI said it was offering assistance.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t believe this was a targeted attack against a religion or anything like that,&#8221; a police officer told a later press conference on live television.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the Mormon church, follows the teachings of Jesus Christ and the 19th-century prophecies of Joseph Smith.
In a statement, it said it was cooperating with law enforcement after a serious incident outside a church meeting-house as a memorial service was being held in the chapel.
&#8220;We extend prayers for all who have been impacted by this tragedy and express deep concern that any sacred space intended for worship should be subjected to violence of any kind,&#8221; it added.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Clarence Fernandez)
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