Brazil regulator authorizes Starlink to add 7,500 satellites to its local operation
SAO PAULO, April 8 (Reuters) - Brazil's telecommunications regulator Anatel authorized Elon Musk's Starlink to add 7,500 new satellites to operate in the Latin American nation, the watchdog said in a statement on Tuesday.
Starlink currently is allowed by Anatel to operate 4,408 satellites, according to the statement.
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Reuters
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UK house prices rise 3.5% y/y in May, Nationwide says
LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - British house prices in May were 3.5% higher than a year earlier, monthly data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Monday, after an unexpected 0.5% monthly increase largely reversed a fall in April. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.1% monthly increase and a 2.9% annual increase.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Musk takes hammer to Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' as he makes dire DOGE prediction after White House exit
Elon Musk says most of the savings made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will be wiped out within a year by President Donald Trump 's freshly unveiled 'big, beautiful bill.' Musk made the astounding comments during a blistering interview aired on Sunday despite initially declaring he only wanted to avoid discussing 'presidential policy' and stick to 'spaceships'. In a previously released clip last week, Musk took aim at Trump's bill saying that he didn't think it could be both big and beautiful - just one or the other. Speaking just days after officially leaving his advisory post, Musk warned that Trump's sweeping legislation would quickly obliterate the fiscal reforms DOGE had fought for. 'I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, doesn't decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' Musk told CBS Sunday Morning. The 'big, beautiful bill,' hailed by Trump as the keystone of his second-term agenda, proposes $5 trillion in tax cuts alongside aggressive new spending hikes, lifting the debt ceiling by more than $4 trillion over two years. Despite its ambitions, reshaping tax law, overhauling immigration policy, and slashing Medicaid benefits in the future, Musk believes the bill is fundamentally at odds with the hard choices DOGE made to streamline government. 'I actually thought that, when this "big, beautiful bill" came along, it'd be like, everything he's done on DOGE gets wiped out in the first year,' CBS reporter David Pogue said bluntly. 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful... but I don't know if it could be both. My personal opinion,' Musk laughed. It was a rare, public rebuke of Trump from Musk - a man once dubbed the president's 'first buddy' and hailed on the campaign trail as a 'truly incredible guy' by Trump himself. Musk spent $288 million supporting Trump's election and became a fixture at the White House, invited into Cabinet meetings and leading the charge to slash federal bureaucracy with DOGE's chainsaw-wielding fervor. But after months of political warfare, Musk's relationship with Washington, and with Trump, has cooled. Lawsuits and protests coupled with a 71 percent crash in Tesla profits followed DOGE's drastic cuts which saw 250,000 federal workers either fired or bought out across every federal department. Musk saw grants slashed and staffing culled at environmental agencies including the EPA and NOAA, despite decades of warning about the risks of climate change. Musk's personal net worth shrank by $100 billion, whilst government workers blamed DOGE for everything from Social Security delays to shuttered national parks. 'It's a bit unfair because DOGE became the whipping boy for everything,' Musk said. 'If there was some cut, real or imagined, everyone would blame DOGE. 'I've had people think that, like, somehow, DOGE is going to stop them from getting their Social Security check, which is completely untrue,' he went on. 'We became essentially the DOGE boogeyman, where any cut anywhere would be ascribed to DOGE,' he said. Originally touting a $2 trillion savings goal, Musk later revised his target to $1 trillion. In the end, Musk claims DOGE managed to slash an estimated $175 billion before his departure - a far cry from his lofty ambitions. Yet now, with Trump's bill promising $3.8 trillion in added debt over the next decade, Musk believes even those savings would essentially be rendered meaningless. 'We do expect, over time, to achieve a trillion,' Musk explained on Friday during his farewell press conference, but it was also clear he knew that a huge wave of fresh spending would overwhelm any of DOGE's victories. Musk's departure came after CBS previewed the interview in which he criticized the bill in a clip that quickly went viral and reached the Oval Office within hours. The timing was no coincidence: Musk's formal 130-day stint as a 'Special Government Employee' was over - yet until that moment, Musk seemed to imply that he would continue contributing to White House efforts part-time. At an Oval Office farewell event on Friday, both men tried to downplay the rupture. Trump presented Musk with a ceremonial gold key, praising him as a 'very special person.' 'Elon's really not leaving,' Trump said. 'He's going to be back and forth, I think. I have a feeling.' 'DOGE is gonna continue, just as a way of life,' Musk told CBS. 'I will have some participation in that, but as I've said publicly, my focus has to be on the companies at this point.' Sporting a noticeable black eye that he claimed to have received from a playful punch by his son 'Little X' he also made sure to praise the president one last time. 'The DOGE team is doing an incredible job. They're going to continue doing an incredible job, and I will continue to be visiting here and be a friend and advisor to the president,' Musk said. Despite the highly choreographed moment, there still appeared to be some tension. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who reportedly clashed with Musk behind closed doors, stood stone-faced at the event. Trump wistfully that both him and Musk had endured 'slings and arrows'. He described Musk as someone he would keep close. 'Many of the things that we're working on right now, we're going to have to remember Elon as we find them,' Trump said. Following the latest bill announcement, Musk appears to be distancing himself from the administration's latest fiscal ambitions. 'My frank opinion of the government is that it's just like the DMV that got big, okay?' Musk told CBS. 'When you say, "Let's have the government do something," you should think: "Do you want the DMV to do it?" 'It's not like I agree with everything the administration does. But we have differences of opinion. There are things that I don't entirely agree with. But it's difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a bone of contention,' Musk explained. 'So then, I'm a little stuck in a bind, where I'm like, well, I don't want to, you know, speak up against the administration, but I also don't want to take responsibility for everything this administration's doing.' Following the CBS interview, Musk returned to SpaceX's Texas headquarters, where he attended the ninth test launch of Starship. As the massive rocket spiraled out of control and disintegrated upon re-entry, some observers couldn't help but note the symbolism.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Donald Trump torpedoes Elon Musk's friend's hopes of running NASA over worrying 'prior associations'
Donald Trump has dashed Elon Musk 's hope that one of his close allies would run NASA by reneging on his nomination days before he was due to face the confirmation vote. The president maintains he backflipped on billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman's appointment after learning of his past donations to the Democrats. But MAGA loyalists suspect Trump may have been set up to make the call by insiders who have it out for Elon Musk and are looking to hurt him by punishing his friend. Trump ally Laura Loomer wrote: 'There is reason to believe that Isaacman may be facing retaliation because of his friendship with Elon Musk. 'If so, this would suggest there is a coordinated hit job on Isaacman in an effort to damage ties between President Trump and Elon Musk before the 2026 midterms. 'Is President Trump aware of the ulterior motives by some individuals in the administration who have an interest in seeing Isaacman's nomination pulled?' The New York Times revealed on Sunday that Trump reportedly knew about Isaacman's donations from the moment he chose to nominate him to run NASA. Isaacman had reportedly disclosed that over the years he had donated to prominent Democrats, including in the past two campaign cycles. Musk has also donated to Democrats in the past, before going on to become the single largest benefactor to the MAGA movement during the last campaign in his push to see Trump return to the White House. Isaacman was selected by Trump at the height of his bromance with Musk, who has a long and storied connection with the fellow billionaire. It is understood that Musk lobbied for Isaacman's appointment and that Trump deferred to the SpaceX founder for the final decision. At the time, Trump described Isaacman as 'an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot and astronaut.' He had been approved by a Senate committee and was headed to a confirmation vote this week when Trump suddenly pulled his nomination. The president gave Musk a heads up on Friday - his last day at the White House - that he intended to do so. Musk's time in the White House was fraught with tension and pushback from some of Trump's closest advisors, some of whom didn't like the access Musk had to the president and the power he wielded over departments with his Department of Government Efficiency. This has sparked rampant speculation that in the wake of his official departure as a Special Government Employee, that some of his foes are exacting revenge by getting in Trump's ear about Isaacman's nomination. Republican Senator and Trump ally Tim Sheehy wrote on X: 'Astronaut and successful businessman @RookIsaacman was a strong choice by President Trump to lead NASA. 'I was proud to introduce Jared at his hearing and strongly oppose efforts to derail his nomination.' It is understood that some of Trump's allies had been pressing him about Isaacman's donations to the Democrats in recent days, prompting Trump to renege on his offer. Loomer said despite his liberal ties, Isaacman was an ideal candidate to lead NASA, with 'unmatched credentials.' 'Isaacman was on track to get over 70 Senate votes. So why the sudden reversal and talks to pull his nomination?' she asked. 'Because the Deep State doesn't want President Trump to have allies like this in his administration.' White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston pushed back against any suggestion that the decision was not Trump's. 'The Administrator of NASA will help lead humanity into space and execute President Trump's bold mission of planting the American flag on the planet Mars,' she said. 'It's essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump's America First agenda and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon.' And Trump himself appeared to quell concerns that he and Musk were on the outs on Sunday night, sharing a new picture to Truth Social of him with the former First Buddy and one of Musk's sons. Musk left his role less than a week ago and just days ahead of schedule, signing off with a warm X post praising Trump. But days earlier, he had openly criticized Trump's landmark 'big, beautiful bill' and lamented the treatment of his baby-faced DOGE henchmen during his time in the White House. He said: 'I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it.' And in the days since his departure, a laundry list of allegations have surfaced about the simmering tensions between Musk and a handful of Trump's other allies. Former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon told that Musk's turbulent time in the White House was marred when he physically 'shoved' 62-year-old Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after he was confronted over wild promises to save the administration 'a trillion dollars'. 'Scott Bessent called him out and said, 'You promised us a trillion dollars (in cuts), and now you're at like $100 billion, and nobody can find anything, what are you doing?'' the prominent MAGA figure revealed. 'And that's when Elon got physical. It's a sore subject with him. 'It wasn't an argument, it was a physical confrontation. Elon basically shoved him.' Bannon said the physical altercation came as the two billionaires moved from the Oval Office to outside Chief of Staff Susie Wiles' office, and then outside the office of the then National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz. 'Trump 100%' sided with Bessent after the clash, he added. 'I don't think Bessent has any bad blood, but he's got a job to do and he's going to do it.' The revelations of the Musk-Bessant clash follow an explosive New York Times report that alleged Musk was using a cocktail of drugs on the campaig n trail including ketamine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. Bannon added that Musk also lost status in Trump's orbit when it was leaked to the New York Times in March that the billionaire was preparing to receive top-secret military briefings on China, which Trump abruptly stopped. 'People in the administration and the White House realized he didn't have any idea what he's doing,' Bannon said. 'They cauterized the damage.' clashed with Transport Secretary Sean Duffy for not firing enough air traffic controllers.
