
The Take: What did Elon Musk get from DOGE – and what's next?
Elon Musk may have resigned from the Department of Government Efficiency, but few believe he's stepping away from power. In under a year, DOGE brought Silicon Valley-style disruption to Washington, consolidating federal data and dismantling oversight. Now, Musk is expected to channel what he gained into a private AI venture – with public systems still in reach.
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This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker, Sonia Bhagat, and Chloe K Li with Sari el-Khalili, Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Kisaa Zehra, Mariana Navarrete, and our guest host, Natasha Del Toro. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.
The Take production team is Marcos Bartolome, Sonia Bhagat, Sarí el-Khalili, Tamara Khandaker, Phillip Lanos, Chloe K Li, Ashish Malhotra, Haleema Shah, Khaled Soltan, Amy Walters, and Noor Wazwaz. Our editorial interns are Remas Alhawari, Kingwell Ma, Mariana Navarrete, and Kisaa Zehra. Our guest host is Kevin Hirten. Our engagement producers are Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Aya Elmileik is lead of audience engagement.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
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Al Jazeera
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‘Malicious': New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka sues US attorney after arrest
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The lawsuit alleges that a member of the GEO Group, which owns the facility, allowed Baraka to come inside Delaney Hall's wire gate. But once inside, it says Patel ordered him to exit again, on threat of arrest. Baraka complied, but a few minutes later, as he stood with protesters outside the gate, agents with the Department of Homeland Security surrounded the mayor, handcuffed him and led him away. The complaint alleges that Patel ordered the agents to 'take [the mayor] down' and that they 'pushed, shoved and assaulted' the mayor's security team before arresting him. Baraka denies trespassing onto the Delaney Hall grounds. 'They abused their power to violently arrest me at Delaney Hall despite being invited inside,' Baraka wrote on social media on Tuesday. 'No one is above the law.' Habba initially filed a trespassing charge against Baraka for his actions during the protest. But by May 19, she moved to dismiss the charge, prompting a rebuke from the judge overseeing the case. 'Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamour, nor to advance political agendas,' Judge Andre Espinosa told a representative for Habba's office. 'The hasty arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, followed swiftly by the dismissal of those trespassing charges a mere 13 days later, suggests a worrisome misstep by your office,' Espinosa added. 'An arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool. It is a severe action, carrying significant reputational and personal consequences, and it should only be undertaken after a thorough, dispassionate evaluation of credible evidence.' At the same time as she announced she was seeking the dismissal of the trespassing charge, Habba revealed she would be pursuing criminal charges against US Congress member LaMonica McIver, who was also at the Delaney Hall protest. Habba accused McIver of assaulting law enforcement during Baraka's arrest. That case is ongoing. But Representative McIver has called the charges against her 'purely political', and she issued a statement on Tuesday in support of Baraka's lawsuit. 'The way Mayor Baraka was treated at Delaney Hall was outrageous,' the statement reads. 'It is beyond clear that there was never any legal or factual basis to arrest or charge him. The administration's playing politics with our justice system is disgraceful.' In the lead-up to Baraka's lawsuit, Habba herself weighed in, suggesting the mayor's complaint was a waste of time. 'He is planning to sue the Feds,' Habba wrote on social media Monday. 'My advice to the mayor – feel free to join me in prioritizing violent crime and public safety. Far better use of time for the great citizens of New Jersey.' Habba had served as part of Trump's personal legal team before joining his administration following his second inauguration in January. 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Al Jazeera
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