Unblocked! After legal feud, US Supreme Court allows Elon Musk's DOGE broad access to Social Security data
The US Supreme Court on Friday granted billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency access to personal information on millions of Americans amid an extended legal battle. DOGE plays a very important role in the Trump administration's aim to slash the federal workforce. According to Reuters, the justices put on hold Maryland-based US District Judge Ellen Hollander's order that blocked DOGE's access to the personal information of Americans.
Judge Hollander's order blocked DOGE's access to the Social Security data systems that contained the medical and financial records of millions of Americans. It was cited in the order that granting such access could violate federal privacy laws in the country.
According to NBC, the conservative-majority court granted an emergency application filed by the Trump administration. The application requested the justices to lift an injunction issued by a federal judge in Maryland.
This comes at a time when Donald Trump and Elon Musk are caught in the middle of a major feud, with the latter taking to X to criticize the reigning US President. The Social Security data request was made by the Elon Musk-led DOGE before the fallout between the billionaire and the President. At the time, DOGE wanted to modernize the existing systems and detect waste and fraud at different levels. Their request revolved around Social Security numbers, medical records, and crucial financial information of Americans.
'These teams have a business need to access the data at their assigned agency and subject the government's records to much-needed scrutiny,' Solicitor General D. John Sauer was quoted as writing in the court documents.
Meanwhile, the challengers' lawyers wrote, "The agency is obligated by the Privacy Act and its own regulations, practices, and procedures to keep that information secure — and not to share it beyond the circle of those who truly need it," according to the court documents.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
40 minutes ago
- News18
150 Pakistani Contacts, Links To ISI: Details From 'Spy' Jasbir Singh's Probe
Last Updated: Jasbir Singh is the second content creator held in recent weeks in the investigation in which Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was arrested earlier. Punjab Youtuber Jasbir Singh, who was arrested by the Punjab Police's State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), Mohali, for his alleged involvement in a Pakistan-backed espionage network, has been remanded to two more days of police custody by Mohali court. Singh was produced before the local court in Mohali on Saturday after his three-day police remand ended. The state police sought a seven-day remand but the court granted them two more days of custody, Singh's counsel said. He is the second content creator held in recent weeks in the investigation in which Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was arrested earlier. Jasbir Singh alias Jaan Mahal (41), a resident of Village Mahlan in Rupnagar, has been operating a YouTube channel "JaanMahal Video" with over 11 lakh subscribers, ostensibly posting travel and cooking vlogs. Police Found 150 Pak Contacts From His Phone According to the police, the YouTuber had visited Pakistan six times and had around 150 contact numbers from the neighbouring country in his phone. After his arrest, Singh told the police during remand that he had given his laptop to a Pakistan intelligence officer for around an hour. Singh was in touch with Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) operative Danish alias Ehsan-ur-Rehman, who worked as a visa officer in the Pakistani embassy in Delhi. Singh also told the police that Danish had ordered some SIM cards from him. Investigations have revealed that Singh had attended the Pakistan National Day event in Delhi on Danish's invitation, where he met Pakistani Army officials and vloggers. The accused has also travelled to Pakistan on three occasions, including in 2020, 2021 and 2024, and came into direct contact with ISI officers, who subsequently cultivated and recruited him to carry out espionage activities within India. Earlier, Singh was found to be associated with Pakistan Intelligence Officer Shakir alias Jutt Randhawa. He also disclosed during police interrogation that former Pakistan cop Nasir Dhillon had introduced him to ISI officials in Lahore. Attempted Cover-Up By Jasbir Singh Following the arrest of Jyoti Malhotra, Jasbir Singh is believed to have attempted to erase traces of his links with ISI handlers. However, forensic examination of his digital devices uncovered communication with several Pakistani phone numbers. Punjab Police have arrested at least seven individuals in the case so far, including Falaksher Masih and Suraj Masih from Amritsar, Guzala and Yameen Mohamad from Malerkotla, and Sukhpreet Singh and Karanbir Singh from Gurdaspur. Espionage Network Busted In India The development comes as a series of revelations regarding Pakistani spy networks in India. Several Indians were arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan including a CRPF personnel Moti Ram Jat from Rajasthan, a contractual health worker Sahdevsinh Gohil posted in the border district of Kutch, a YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra from Haryana who has several lakhs of subscribers. She was arrested in Haryana this month. She had travelled to Pakistan a number of times. Additionally, a Rajasthan government employee was detained in Jaisalmer on suspicion of espionage for Pakistan with sources saying he worked as an assistant to former Congress minister Shale Mohammad. Prior to this month's conflict, Pakistanis and Indians were able to travel to each other's countries, but it has long been very difficult to obtain visas due to government bureaucracy and historical mistrust. The relations between India and Pakistan hit rock bottom after the neighbouring country resorted to a terror attack in Kashmir's iconic Pahalgam, killing 26 innocent tourists on April 22. In response, India, on the intervening night of May 7 and 8, launched 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan and destroyed multiple terror targets there. (With inputs from agencies) First Published: June 07, 2025, 20:33 IST News india 150 Pakistani Contacts, Links To ISI: Details From 'Spy' Jasbir Singh's Probe
New Indian Express
40 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Vance says Musk making a 'huge mistake' in going after Trump but also tries to downplay the attacks
BRIDGEWATER: Vice President JD Vance said Elon Musk was making a 'huge mistake' going after President Donald Trump in a storm of bitter and inflammatory social media posts after a falling out between the two men. But the vice president, in an interview released Friday after the very public blow up between the world's richest man and arguably the world's most powerful, also tried to downplay Musk's blistering attacks as an 'emotional guy' who got frustrated. 'I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear,' Vance said. Vance's comments come as other Republicans in recent days have urged the two men, who months ago were close allies spending significant time together, to mend fences. Musk's torrent of social media posts attacking Trump came as the president portrayed him as disgruntled and 'CRAZY' and threatened to cut the government contracts held by his businesses. Musk, who runs electric vehicle maker Tesla, internet company Starlink and rocket company SpaceX, lambasted Trump's centerpiece tax cuts and spending bill but also suggested Trump should be impeached and claimed without evidence that the government was concealing information about the president's association with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. 'Look, it happens to everybody," Vance said in the interview. 'I've flown off the handle way worse than Elon Musk did in the last 24 hours.' Vance made the comments in an interview with ' manosphere' comedian Theo Von, who last month joked about snorting drugs off a mixed-race baby and the sexuality of men in the U.S. Navy when he opened for Trump at a military base in Qatar. The vice president told Von that as Musk for days was calling on social media for Congress to kill Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' the president was 'getting a little frustrated, feeling like some of the criticisms were unfair coming from Elon, but I think has been very restrained because the president doesn't think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk.' 'I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine," he added.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
Fur-taxi and the Furious: How India's pet cabs are rescuing the rides for furry passengers
TAIL WINDS Live Events LONG-DISTANCE WOOFS BIG BROTHER STEPS IN (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Maya, a wide-eyed indie with a nervous bark, trembled as the first Diwali crackers burst in the Bengaluru sky last year. Her pet parents, Rahul Chawda and Aarti Karwayun, knew the drill. Like every year, they had booked a pet-friendly stay in the countryside. But as usual, every regular cab they summoned turned back the moment they saw Maya.'Every year, the driver would either cancel or reluctantly allow her in, only to complain later. It was uncomfortable for everyone—driver, dog and us,' says a common story in urban India where pet ownership is climbing steadily. With over 32 million pets today—projected to rise to 51 million by 2028, according to India Brand Equity Foundation—more families are finding themselves stranded with furry dependents and no pet was during Covid-19 lockdowns that Mumbai-based Arpita Sandilya first felt the need for a pet transport service—not for emergencies, but to send rescued dogs to their adoption homes. 'That was my first real trigger, to be honest. I used my own car for rescues, and the idea just grew from there. I thought, why not start a service that helps rescuers and pet parents?' says Sandilya, who now runs a two-car fleet under her venture, TaxiForPaws Like many others in this space, she faces challenges. 'Finding pet-friendly drivers is hard. Not everyone is comfortable around animals or ready to clean the car after each ride.' Her cars are outfitted with blankets, bowls and custom-made dog-seat belts. 'Each trip ends with a deep clean—it is expensive, but essential.'Another Mumbai-based player, SDAASH Pet Cabs, started in 2022 after founder Pranav Lokhande lost his pet when no cab agreed to transport them. 'It cost us dearly,' says Heenal Lokhande , who runs the operations of two modifies its vehicles by removing the front passenger seat to create space for a soft bed. 'Some pets want to be beside their humans; others love their own space,' says TaxiForPaws, each ride of SDAASH is followed by a deep clean, and incidents like vomiting or peeing send the car straight to the wash station. The roadblock it faces is also similar—drivers. 'At times we ride the cab ourselves when drivers do not turn up, because we know the pain of not getting a cab on time.'In Delhi, FurryTaxi has faced similar hurdles. Founder Anurag Tripathi, who started the service with ad-hoc rescues in 2019 and later shifted to a structured service in 2022, now operates eight cars. 'In the past six months alone, we have done long-haul trips to Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Srinagar. It's growing,' says again, the crunch is drivers. 'Drivers must be pet-friendly, trained and calm even when a Rottweiler barks mid-ride.' Each driver goes through a vetting process: 'They accompany me for initial rides, then handle a few with owners onboard, before going solo,' says Tripathi. People use the service for veterinarian visits, boarding stations and airport visits. Pets can travel solo or their pet parents can accompany them in the demand comes from metro cities—Delhi, Mumbai, cross-country journeys, platforms like FidoJet and CarryMyPet are leading the FidoJet started in 2018 when its founders—Rajesh Sharma, Manjeet Swami and Nikhil Khalera—noticed that pets were often shipped like cargo. 'We were pet parents ourselves. Watching animals treated like packages was painful,' says cofounder began with road travel and now offer help with air and rail travel as well. It is supported by over 150 vehicles via vendor networks. Their cars come with booster seats, harness seat belts and non-slip routes are Delhi–Mumbai, Bengaluru–Kochi and Hyderabad–Goa. Pricing ranges from ₹12/km to ₹20/km depending on distance. 'Over 90% of the demand is from metros,' says Khalera. 'But we have handled everything from senior dogs to blind pets. Every case requires planning, patience and empathy.'No story captures this better than that of Dobby, a wheelchair-bound stray adopted during the pandemic. Carry My Pet helped relocate Dobby from Nagpur to Poland. 'The owner had every reason to leave Dobby behind. But she chose love,' says Faisal Islam , cofounder, Carry My Pet. 'We managed her journey across continents, with careful coordination and tailored care.'Carry My Pet, headquartered in Gurgaon, operates on an asset-light model, partnering with logistics firms across India. They offer multimodal pet relocation by air, train and road. Their pricing starts at ₹13/km for cabs, ₹10,000 for relocation via train and ₹25,000 for domestic notes that demand is rising about 10% year-on-year. 'Pet owners today want real-time tracking, transparency and expert help.'But it's not all smooth. Regulatory ambiguity, breed restrictions, lack of pet-friendly rail infrastructure and inconsistent airport facilities still pose hurdles. 'We have relocated thousands of pets with a zero-harm record, but every ride demands precision,' says relocation he recalls is moving a Labrador named Ludo from Delhi to Port of Spain, via a complex, multi-leg route through Miami and the Caribbean. 'It took weeks of planning, but seeing Ludo reunited with his family was worth everything.'Even tech majors are watching. Uber, for instance, has introduced Uber Pet in cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru. Pet parents confirm that while it's a welcome addition, the experience is still inconsistent.'Drivers often are not prepared, and there are no comfortable amenities,' says a Mumbai-based user. 'But it is better than nothing, especially when specialised services aren't available.'India's pet and pet-care market is forecast to double to $7 billion by 2028, according to consulting firm Redseer. As pets take centre stage in urban homes, pet-cab services have shifted from niche novelty to everyday essential
