Hacked Elmo X account called for extermination of Jews: US media
A slew of messages calling for the extermination of Jewish people and labeling the US president a "puppet" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were shared on the account, according to the reports.
Around 650,000 users follow Elmo, the fuzzy red monster who teaches his young audience about kindness and patience.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, said that an unidentified hacker was behind the posts, which were published on Sunday afternoon before being removed.
"Elmo's X account was compromised today by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts," it said in a statement carried by the New York Times.
The hacking on Elon Musk's X platform is the latest in a string of hate speech incidents since the billionaire bought then-Twitter in 2022 and axed moderation policies that he considers censorship.
On Saturday, his xAI startup apologized for antisemitic posts published on X by its artificial intelligence assistant Grok, which praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Antisemitism in particular is facing scrutiny in the United States after two Israeli embassy staffers were killed outside a Jewish museum in Washington in May.
Meanwhile, a firebombing attack at a protest in Colorado supporting Israeli hostages held in Gaza left over a dozen people wounded in June, and an 82-year-old woman later died from her injuries.
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ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
How Trump's ex-wife Marla Maples helped birth the wellness movement reshaping America
The call came unexpectedly. Marla Maples was on a cruise ship off the coast of Alaska when she got word her former husband, Donald Trump, had narrowly survived an assassination attempt. Not long after, the phone rang again. It was Robert F Kennedy Jr. "I need to get a message to the president." To most political observers, it was a surprising move. Even though Maples and Kennedy — whom she affectionately calls "Bobby" — had been close friends for years, Kennedy was running against Trump as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential race. There was no love lost between the two men. Trump had publicly called Kennedy "the dumbest member" of the famous Kennedy clan. Kennedy, in turn, had labelled Trump "unhinged" and "a terrible human being". But that one phone call to Marla Maples would help trigger a political realignment few saw coming, and the birth of a movement that is now reshaping America's health system. A Georgia native who still speaks with a soft Southern lilt, Marla Maples met Donald Trump in New York in the 1980s where she was working as a model and actor. They had their daughter, Tiffany, in 1993, and were married two months later in a lavish ceremony at the Plaza Hotel. The marriage ended in 1999. Since then, Maples has carved out a career as an actress, TV host and model. But in recent years, she has become deeply embedded in the world of wellness, and it's there that she strengthened her friendship with Kennedy. "I met him probably 20 years ago and he was doing a lot with keeping the rivers and the water clean, and I thought that was one of the most important things we could do," she told Foreign Correspondent. "I just loved the commitment to making sure that we have a healthy environment." The two have a close friendship, bonded by a shared love of nature and a belief in the healing power of clean water, fresh air and holistic living. When Kennedy launched his independent presidential run he drew strong backing from the wellness world; a community of influencers, health crusaders and mothers passionate about clean eating, "vaccine freedom" and alternative healing. Many self-identify as "crunchy", favouring natural living and holistic remedies over conventional medicine. Trump, on the other hand, has never been mistaken for a wellness icon. The 79-year-old is arguably McDonalds' most famous customer. During his first presidential campaign, his go-to order was reported to be two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fishes and a chocolate shake. But despite Trump and Kennedy's differences - in politics and in diet - Maples saw something others didn't. That vision would finally materialise in the days after the assassination attempt. When Kennedy asked her to pass a message to Trump, Maples agreed without hesitation - and for good reason. Kennedy was just nine when his uncle, President John F Kennedy, was assassinated in broad daylight. Five years later, his own father was gunned down while running for president. So, when he watched his political opponent narrowly escape a similar fate, it hit close to home. "That was a very powerful moment," Maples said. "These things are triggers." According to Maples, Kennedy was speaking with Trump the next day. "Bobby has so many people that follow him who didn't necessarily support Donald," she said. "So it was a tricky situation. You have to help people understand what's at risk, what's at stake and what the bigger goal is." After weeks of behind-the-scenes talks, Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump. That unlikely alliance sparked a new slogan and a new mission: Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). When Kennedy and Trump teamed up, the MAHA movement quickly became a political force. It helped Kennedy to bring countless devoted followers into the Republican fold. At its core, the MAHA ideology sells itself on the idea of a cleaner, more "natural" way of life. Its followers reject chemical additives, seed oils and artificial dyes. Instead, they promote organic food, regenerative farming and what they call "health freedom". Much of the movement exists online, shaped by influencers who felt alienated during the pandemic and found each other in the comment sections of Instagram and TikTok. One of them is Erika Nolan. A homesteader and horticulturalist in Georgia's picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, Nolan is a proud "MAHA mom". Homesteaders like Nolan aim to live off the land, growing their own food, raising animals, and embracing a self-sufficient lifestyle. Like many in the movement, she wasn't always political, or particularly health conscious. Growing up, Nolan ate what she now calls "junk": Kraft Mac and Cheese, Froot Loops and Burger King were staples in her diet. That changed during COVID. "I felt like I was already waking up to a corrupt food system prior to COVID but it was COVID that really fast-tracked me," she said. "I was reading the ingredient labels on everything I consumed, including medicine." Nolan started speaking out online, questioning lockdowns and vaccine mandates. She lost old friends, but she gained a new community online. "People started coming together from out of the woodwork from different areas where all of a sudden it was this feeling of like, I'm not alone," she said. To many in the health world, Kennedy was a hero. "He was aware that things like food dyes and seed oils were toxic," said Erika. "[It] taps into the conversations that I was already having." When Kennedy joined forces with Trump, Erika said, the reaction online was ecstatic. "I was so pumped up. I was so excited. I couldn't believe it," she said. "Everyone in the health and wellness niche were totally swayed by RFK moving in that direction. RFK had a huge following and obviously Trump knew that." After winning the presidency, Trump swiftly appointed Kennedy as his health secretary. In turn, Kennedy wasted no time bringing the ideas once promoted by the wellness fringe into the mainstream. States like Utah and Florida have followed his lead, removing fluoride from their public drinking water. And in Texas and Louisiana, certain processed foods must now carry warning labels if they contain certain banned substances. To supporters of the MAHA movement, these changes represent a long-overdue reckoning. But for dietitian and nutrition scientist, Jessica Knurick, the picture is more complicated. "Their approach really has been to focus on very specific things, very easy-to-understand, specific things that play into a real conspiratorial message," she said. "So, food additives and food dies and toxic seed oils and things like that that kind of play into this distrust that Americans have in health institutions, in science and scientists. And it's a real distraction from the systemic issues in America." Those systemic issues, Knurick said, are far more urgent and difficult to solve. "Our food environment right now is, if you look at the data, it's about 70 per cent ultra processed food," she said. "And we have a food environment where a lot of people live in what we term food deserts, where it's very difficult to have access to fresh produce, fresh fruits and vegetables." And for many people, she said, the issues the MAHA movement is focused on just don't match their everyday reality. "The MAHA movement is very much a movement that seems to be for middle to upper class white people in this country, which is also one of my issues with it," she said. "So, it sells a lot of solutions. It talks a lot about supplements, it talks a lot about personal health. If you live in a food desert, is the fact that they use Red Dye 40 in Skittles instead of beet juice really the biggest issue for you?" While MAHA's clean food policies have dominated headlines, another force is quietly powering the movement: vaccine resistance. The anti-vaccine movement, long simmering at the edges of American wellness culture, has become one of MAHA's most controversial elements. It's a message that resonates deeply with a base already sceptical of government science - and now, with RFK Jr inside the Health Department, that scepticism is rapidly becoming policy. Kennedy is a longtime vaccine critic. He's the founder and former chairman of Children's Health Defense, a prominent anti-vaccine group. Last month, he sacked all members of a key federal immunisation advisory panel and appointed several vocal vaccine sceptics in their place. During the recent measles outbreak - the worst in the US in more than 30 years - the virus spread from Texas to nearly 40 states. Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but falling childhood immunisation rates since the pandemic have left many communities vulnerable. There are now more than 1,260 confirmed cases. It took more than two months and the deaths of two unvaccinated children before Kennedy said on social media that the most effective way to prevent measles is to get the MMR vaccine. Paediatrician Dr Annie Andrews said she was disappointed by Kennedy's response to the outbreak. "He has the biggest platform of all of us and he had an incredible opportunity to damper distrust in vaccines in the face of this measles outbreak, which is a true public health crisis," she said. "[Instead] he's played word salad and said some things around that. He has not said it unequivocally." Kennedy's concerns with childhood vaccinations run deep. He has previously linked them with autism, despite there being no scientific evidence to prove it. In April, he announced that he would determine the cause of autism by September this year. Dr Andrews, who is running in the 2026 midterm elections as a Democrat, is worried that Kennedy's quest to find the cure for autism will result in him blaming vaccines. "That is just diverting resources. That's diverting focus," said Dr Andrews. "What he is doing in my view is laundering the anti-vax movement under this umbrella agenda of making America healthy again. And ironically, not vaccinating is going to make our communities and Americans a lot less healthy." The movement has had a popular start, galvanised online, championed by influencers and now embedded inside America's highest offices. But the real test is the next four years. In the coming weeks, the MAHA Commission, a government appointed group created to deliver the movement's goals and headed up by Kennedy, is expected to release its first national road map, focused on improving the health of America's children. Behind the scenes, wellness warriors like Marla Maples have helped push the agenda forward. Now, they say, the moment has arrived. "It's a time of unveiling," Maples said. "I think a lot was hidden from us for many, many years and now people are asking the questions." For Maples, this isn't just political. It's deeply personal - a vision for a healthier, freer future. "We can breathe clean air. We can have our kids running free through the grass, [they] learn how to eat right. They learn how to live with the joy. That's what I want. "We say make yourself healthy again." Watch Trump's Wellness Warriors tonight on Foreign Correspondent at 8pm on ABC TV and iview.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
America has lit a fire under the rare earths market. Now ASX juniors want Australia to do the same
Rare earths miners are hopeful of higher prices thanks to a US Government deal with California miner MP Materials Floor price of US$110/kg for NdPr could drag ex-China rare earths prices higher Developers and explorers want Australia to follow suit and provide floor pricing to build ex-China supply chain In the weeks ahead of the Federal Election, the Albanese Government launched its "Trump Card", to get miners onside and float a carrot in the face of the US Administration in a bid to allay the threat of tariffs. A $1.2 billion commitment to build a critical minerals stockpile, leveraging the geological miracle of WA with its bounty of lithium, nickel and rare earths, was proposed as a way to support a set of industries beaten down by Chinese market control and manipulation and give the US access to something it dearly wants. Like so many political commitments it was wishy-washy. What would go into that stockpile was unclear. Lynas (ASX:LYC) boss Amanda Lacaze declined last month at a media huddle in Perth to say whether the company had been in negotiations about selling material to Canberra from its Mt Weld mine near Laverton, or what price it may chase. But a shot in the arm was delivered by the Americans themselves last week, which could set prices for any similar initiative the Aussie Government wants to roll out. MP Materials, the US$7.4 billion owner of the US' only rare earths operation at Mountain Pass in California, inked US$400m in equity investments from the Department of Defense as part of a multi-billion dollar public-private partnership that will make the Pentagon a 15% shareholder in the New York listed company – a 52% gain on Thursday already putting the taxpayer in the money. Contained within that deal were loans to expand and construct new and existing magnet production plants and, crucially, a 10-year arrangement to buy or stockpile oxides from Mountain Pass at US$110/kg NdPr oxide. Even with prices in China surging in response to the news, that clocks in at roughly double the Chinese market price once value-added tax is removed. If ex-China pricing rises to meet that signal, the key circuit-breaker to kick-off stalled rare earths developments – ending low prices resulting from overproduction in the Middle Kingdom – could be triggered. Argonaut's Jon Scholtz and George Ross said the deal could provide guidance for future offtakes in Australia, such as for the Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU) Eneabba Refinery in WA, which is being supported by close to $2 billion of cheap Canberra debt. "We view this move as a positive which solidifies the US rare earth magnet supply chain. Of our covered, LYC has upside from the US Plant (separate heavies) which would fill the last remaining gap in the US supply chain," they said in a note on Monday. "While this provides precedent for ILU's Eneabba facility and potential offtakes with the Australian government for a strategic stockpile." Developers rejoice The MP Materials news unsurprisingly sent a whole host of rare earths stocks flying on Friday. And even more ASX companies are now stepping out with calls for more support for western rare earths supply. "China's price manipulation of rare earths has halted the development of dozens of otherwise viable projects globally and hurt the bottom line of companies such as Lynas," Victory Metals (ASX:VTM) CEO and executive director Brendan Clark said. "It's not that the demand isn't there it's that the economics have been artificially crushed to maintain China's dominance. "That strategy has worked for a long time, but this kind of US Government backed partnership is exactly what is needed to break that control." VTM owns the North Stanmore project in WA's Gascoyne region. It's already built strong ties with the US Government despite being based in Australia. The project, which promises to deliver critical metals including heavy and light rare earths, gallium, scandium and hafnium for the defence, semiconductor, auto and energy sectors, has already received a letter of intent for a US$190m funding package from the US Export-Import Bank. With System for Award Management approval this week it is now able to throw its hat in the ring for further support and engagement with the Pentagon and other US Government departments. Clark said he was pleased by the level of US involvement to date, and expects to see more news in the pipeline. "I predict you will see more of these types of announcements especially for the more critical rare earths like dysprosium and terbium," he said. Others, like Red Metal (ASX:RDM) boss Rob Rutherford, have called for Australia to mirror the policy direction from the DoD. His company owns the Sybella project near Mt Isa in north Queensland and he thinks the Australian Government should work with nations like South Korea and Japan to set up subsidised intergovernmental supply chains. 'It is now up to other manufacturing nations like South Korea, Japan, Europe and even Australia to invest in expanded magnet capacity with REO supply guaranteed with similar price flooring mechanisms," he said. 'I strongly believe the Australian Government should jointly fund and build magnet plants in these resource-poor manufacturing nations, government to government, on the provision they utilise Australian raw REO materials." Excitement brews in Brazil While the DoD has set its focus on the sole domestic operation in the United States – something that lead to big price gains since Friday for ASX stocks in the immediate vicinity like Dateline Resources (ASX:DTR) and Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) (both continued climbing ~12% on Monday) – other jurisdictions could stand to benefit. The key exploration jurisdiction open to the West for rare earths outside the US and Australia is Brazil, where explorers are trying to prove up "China-style" clay-hosted rare earth deposits. Developers have been seeking to align their exploration and resource compilation efforts tailored to commodities the US desperately wants for its defence and tech markets. Alongside rare earths, that also includes critical minerals like gallium, a key component in semiconductor chips also subject to controls from Beijing. One of those is Axel REE (ASX:AXL), which is aiming to compile a maiden resource of both gallium and rare earths at its Caladão project. "As countries seek to diversify away from China's dominance, rare earths jurisdictions like Brazil, with strong resource endowments and a growing appetite for foreign investment, are rising in global importance," AXL's Pat Volpe said. "Our Caladão Project is particularly well placed in this emerging landscape. With high-grade magnetic rare earths mineralisation, and more importantly exceptional at surface gallium content, Axel's portfolio is aligned with the very materials now being prioritised by US and allied governments. "Gallium, in particular, is rapidly gaining attention for its role in semiconductors and 5G infrastructure, yet global supply is almost entirely controlled by China. Projects like ours can play a meaningful role in reshaping that balance. "This US investment will likely trigger a broader reassessment of how and where the world sources its critical minerals." Demand strength Others think it says as much about the demand side as it does supply chains. Demand for rare earth metals could lift from 93,000t in 2023 to 169,000t by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency. RareX (ASX:REE) managing director James Durrant says the MP investment highlights how important rare earth elements are to the defence sector. With investment in defence budgets increasing, more REE magnets will be required to fuel growing drone and airforce fleets, along with other military tech and weaponry. RareX owns the Cummins Range project in WA's north, a large deposit consisting of rare earths and phosphate, with high grade hits also of scandium and gallium. But it is also leveraged to any supply deals Iluka makes, with the junior collaborating with the mineral sands producer to potentially pick up the Mrima Hill project Kenya, where rare earths enriched material would be mined and then shipped for processing at Eneabba. Durrant says "diversification is always key for competition and supply security". "If the Americans are doing this, will the Ausralians follow? There's already Australian Government debt, but will they go into the equity space?" Durrant asked.
ABC News
4 hours ago
- ABC News
US and NATO strike Ukraine arms deal
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where President Trump announces a deal to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine through NATO, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard (Reuters: Nathan Howard)
