We Finally Unbox And Play The Switch 2. Should You Buy One?
Back
Services & Software
All the news and tips you need to get the most out of services, apps and software you use every day.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump drops Nasa nominee Jared Isaacman, scrapping Elon Musk's pick
The White House has withdrawn as its nominee for Nasa administrator, abruptly yanking a close ally of Elon Musk from consideration to lead the space agency. Donald Trump said he would announce a new candidate soon. 'After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head Nasa,' the US president posted online. 'I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be mission aligned, and put America first in space.' Related: Drugs, marital advice and that black eye: key takeaways from Trump's Oval Office send-off for Elon Musk Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut who had been Musk's pick to lead Nasa, was due next week for a much-delayed confirmation vote before the US Senate. His removal from consideration caught many in the space industry by surprise. Trump and the White House did not explain what led to the decision. Isaacman, whose removal was earlier reported by Semafor, said he was 'incredibly grateful' to Trump 'and all those who supported me throughout this journey'. 'I have gained a much deeper appreciation for the complexities of government and the weight our political leaders carry,' he posted. 'It may not always be obvious through the discourse and turbulence, but there are many competent, dedicated people who love this country and care deeply about the mission.' Isaacman's removal comes just days after Musk's official departure from the White House, where the SpaceX CEO's role as a 'special government employee' leading the so-called department of government efficiency (Doge) created turbulence for the administration and frustrated some of Trump's aides. Musk, according to a person familiar with his reaction, was disappointed by Isaacman's removal. 'It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted,' Musk wrote of Isaacman on X, responding to the news of the White House's decision. Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was unclear whom the administration might tap to replace Isaacman. One name being floated is the retired US air force Lt Gen Steven Kwast, an early advocate for the creation of the US space force and a Trump supporter, according to three people familiar with the discussions. Isaacman, the former CEO of the payment processor company Shift4, had broad space industry support but drew concerns from lawmakers over his ties to Musk and SpaceX, where he spent hundreds of millions of dollars as an early private spaceflight customer. The former nominee had donated to Democrats in prior elections. In his confirmation hearing in April, he sought to balance Nasa's existing moon-aligned space exploration strategy with pressure to shift the agency's focus on Mars, saying the US can plan for travel to both destinations. As a potential leader of Nasa's 18,000 employees, Isaacman faced a daunting task of implementing that decision to prioritize Mars, given that Nasa has spent years and billions of dollars trying to return its astronauts to the moon. On Friday, the space agency released new details of the Trump administration's 2026 budget plan that proposed killing dozens of space science programs and laying off thousands of employees, a controversial overhaul that space advocates and lawmakers described as devastating for the agency. The Montana Republican Tim Sheehy, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee, posted that Isaacman had been 'a strong choice by President Trump to lead Nasa'. Related: Universe's mysteries may never be solved because of Trump's Nasa cuts, experts say 'I was proud to introduce Jared at his hearing and strongly oppose efforts to derail his nomination,' Sheehy said. Some scientists saw the nominee change as further destabilizing to Nasa as it faces dramatic budget cuts without a confirmed leader in place to navigate political turbulence between Congress, the White House and the space agency's workforce. 'So not having [Isaacman] as boss of Nasa is bad news for the agency,' Harvard-Smithsonian astronomer Jonathan McDowell posted. 'Maybe a good thing for Jared himself though, since being Nasa head right now is a bit of a Kobayashi Maru scenario,' McDowell added, referring to an exercise in the science fiction franchise Star Trek where cadets are placed in a no-win scenario. With Reuters
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Musk backs down on threat to retire SpaceX Dragon spacecraft amid Trump dispute
Elon Musk, the world's richest person, on Thursday said his company SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft after he engaged in an extraordinary public fallout with Donald Trump who had threatened to cancel government contracts with Musk's businesses. He later appeared to back down. 'In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,' Musk posted on the social media platform X, which he owns. A few minutes earlier Trump had posted on Truth Social – the media platform that he owns – that he might cancel huge lucrative contracts with Musk's businesses, which include the SpaceX company that is building a fleet of rockets. Related: Trump and Musk's very public feud is like Alien v Predator for political nerds 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' Trump said. Nasa relies on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Hours after issuing his threat, Musk appeared to take pleas from users on his social media platform X to 'cool down' and he posted: 'Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon.' Since 2008, SpaceX has received more than $20bn in government contracts, largely from Nasa and the Department of Defense. In March, two Nasa astronauts returned to Earth in a Dragon capsule after being stranded on the ISS for nearly nine months, after their Boeing Starliner capsule faced technical issues and returned to Earth without them. The next SpaceX Dragon launch is scheduled to take place on 10 June. The Dragon is expected to carry four people to and from the ISS on Axiom Mission 4. Nasa's press secretary, Bethany Stevens, in a statement on X after Musk's announcement, said the agency 'will continue to execute upon the president's vision for the future of space'. Related: Trump v Musk: 10 ways they can further hurt each other 'We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the president's objectives in space are met,' she added. Musk's announcement came amid an escalating dispute with Trump that began after he denounced the president's tax and spending bill as a 'disgusting abomination'. Musk later accused Trump of 'ingratitude' for the millions he spent to get him elected. Trump, in turn, said he was 'very disappointed' in Musk. The president wrote earlier on Thursday that Musk was 'wearing thin' and that the tech billionaire 'went crazy' after he was asked to depart the White House last week as head of Trump's 'department of government efficiency' .
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Trump-Musk feud shows danger of handing the keys of power to one person
After a year of effusive praise and expressions of love for each other, Elon Musk and Donald Trump exploded their political partnership in dramatic fashion this week. The highly public split included, among other highlights, the world's richest person accusing the president of the United States of associating with a notorious sex offender. Trump said Musk had 'lost his mind'. As Musk and Trump traded insults, each on his own social network, they also issued threats with tangible consequences. Trump suggested that he could cancel all of Musk's government contracts and subsidies – 'the best way to save money', he posted – a move that would have devastating consequences not only on the tech billionaire's companies but also on the federal agencies that have come to depend on them. Musk responded by announcing that he would begin decommissioning the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that Nasa relies on for transport missions, although he later reversed the decision. While the ongoing episode had the tenor of sensational reality TV, the fight between Trump and Musk once again exposed the danger of putting key public goods in the hands of private companies controlled by erratic billionaires. It highlighted how something like space travel, once a vaunted and collective national enterprise, can now be almost entirely derailed by the emotional whims of a single person. Musk and Trump's partnership had already fueled months of concern about corruption and calls for investigations into the Tesla CEO's use of his position in government to benefit his companies. The breakup has highlighted another risk of Musk's deep ties with the government, where the services that he provides can now become collateral damage in interpersonal disputes. Tens of billions of dollars hang in the balance of their fight. The messy, public way that the clash has played out also serves as a reminder of how unpredictable their decision-making can be. Musk's vow to sideline SpaceX's spacecraft and his reversal, without which the US would have immediately been prevented from reaching the International Space Station (ISS), appeared, for instance, as an emotional lash-out amid a string of other insults against Trump, and it was nearly impossible to discern whether he was serious. 'In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,' Musk posted without warning on Thursday. 'Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon,' Musk followed up less than a day later, responding to an anonymous user with about 5,000 followers who said he should 'cool off and take a step back for a couple days'. If Musk and Trump's fight ends up disrupting government services or further turning them into political leverage, it will not have come without warning. Ever since Musk refused in 2023 to let Ukraine use Starlink in Crimea to launch a surprise attack against Russian forces, governments have dealt with the uncomfortable reality of Musk's control over global infrastructure. Musk's claim that he could hobble Ukraine's 'entire front line' by turning off Starlink caused a diplomatic incident earlier this year. Meanwhile, European governments have recently rushed to find alternatives to Starlink amid concerns over Musk's unpredictability. While Musk provoked foreign governments and acted as an unaccountable global power broker, the US has by contrast continued to hand him contracts and increase its dependence on his companies. Space operations in particular have become practically synonymous with Musk. Related: Trump and Musk's very public feud is like Alien v Predator for political nerds Since SpaceX won its first Nasa contract in 2006, the government has awarded about $15bn worth of contracts to the company and has come to depend on it for ferrying astronauts and cargo into space. Nasa has also contracted SpaceX for its planned crewed mission to the moon, as well as a mission to explore one of Saturn's moons. Last year, the agency turned to SpaceX when it needed to rescue two astronauts stuck on the ISS. The government's reliance on Musk's empire also extends beyond Nasa. The Pentagon has extensive contracts with Musk, using SpaceX to launch intelligence satellites. SpaceX was also the frontrunner in the Trump administration's plans to build a 'Golden Dome' missile defense shield, which has become a US national defense priority. Starlink, Musk's satellite communications service, had also made inroads into the government to the point that it was installed this year at the White House. Musk is still accountable to market forces and the investors backing his companies, as was made evident on Thursday after Tesla's shares plunged roughly 14% during his dustup with Trump. Musk has previously stated that he is willing to lose money over his ideology, however, and his immense wealth somewhat insulates him against even large shocks to his companies. When Tesla's shares dropped on Thursday, it wiped about $34bn off his total net worth in a single day – yet he remained the world's richest person by a gap of more than $90bn. The extensive reliance on Musk and the privatization of government services has always drawn criticism from ethics watchdogs and some aerospace and defense industry experts, but it appears especially risky now that Musk has threatened to hold certain services hostage. It has also served as a counterpoint to the project of slashing and privatizing the federal government that Musk spent his tenure with the Trump administration carrying out. Musk has furiously campaigned against bureaucracy, courts and regulators as impediments to getting things done, but these also exist as a bulwark against exactly the kind of unaccountable personal power and erratic whims that both he and Trump put on display during their clash.
