The New York Post reports: Elon Musk confidently compared himself to the Buddha as he insisted his federal cost-cutting efforts would continue long after he leaves his role at the White House. “Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?” the Tesla founder said Wednesday when asked who would lead DOGE when he leaves the role. “Was it not stronger after he passed …

CNN reports: Some of the last cargo ships carrying Chinese goods without crippling tariffs are currently drifting into US ports. Come next week, though, that will change. Cargo on ships from China loaded after April 9 will carry with them the 145% tariff President Donald Trump slapped on goods from that nation last month. Next week, those goods will arrive, but …

NPR reports: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as of Thursday, has ended a new mortgage-rescue program that so far has helped about 20,000 veterans avoid foreclosure and keep their homes. The move leaves millions of military veterans with far worse options than most other American homeowners if they run into trouble paying their home loans. And it comes at …

NBC News reports: U.S. fireworks wholesalers and distributors say they’ve been canceling shipments from China for this year’s July Fourth holiday. Some are also halting manufacturing in China of fireworks for next year’s celebrations of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence. Trump’s April 2 tariff rollout, which he dubbed “Liberation Day,” raised the effective import tax rate on nearly all …

The Daily Mail reports: Two major airlines have warned that European tourists are avoiding visiting the US this summer. Air France and Lufthansa reported weaker demand for transatlantic bookings from Europe to the US in the first quarter of the year. “We know there are a lot of customers that are holding back in buying tickets for a little more …

The Daily Beast reports: The White House has launched its own Drudge Report-esque website to spotlight positive news stories on President Donald Trump. Called the White House Wire, or WHWire, the site is a one-stop shop for news on the president and so far features headlines on the “rousing success” of his first 100 days that link to outlets like …

CNBC reports: Shares of Tesla were flat in premarket trading Thursday after the EV maker denied a Wall Street Journal report that its board was searching for a replacement for chief executive Elon Musk. The report, citing comments from sources familiar with the discussions, said that Tesla’s board members reached out to several executive search firms to work on a …

The Washington Post reports: A recent U.S. overture, which included a list of names of potential deportees to Rwanda, was received warmly, according to a Rwandan official with knowledge of the situation. Though the administration has deported only one person — an Iraqi refugee accused of having links to terrorism groups — from the United States to Rwanda so far, …

CNN reports: Lawmakers in Florida approved a bill to prohibit certain additives in drinking water, effectively banning fluoride, and the measure now goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis for a signature. If it’s finalized, Florida will become the second state to ban fluoride in municipal drinking water. The Florida Farm Bill includes language banning the use of any additive in a …

Augusta’s CBS affiliate reports: Marjorie Taylor Greene fired back after a religious group called for her censure over an online post that followed the death of Pope Francis. “Today there were major shifts in global leaderships,” it reads. “Evil is being defeated by the hand of God.” The congresswoman then doubled down in a lengthy statement issued Wednesday, demanding an …

The Houston Chronicle reports: A lawmaker pushing to ban non-human behavior in schools says he based his bill on a conversation with a school administrator, who has since denied so-called furries are a problem in her district. During an at-times tense hearing Tuesday night, Republican state Rep. Stan Gerdes said he filed the bill after hearing “reports of the presence …

Wired reports: A young man with no government experience who has yet to even complete his undergraduate degree is working for Elon Musk’s so-called DOGE at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and has been tasked with using artificial intelligence to rewrite the agency’s rules and regulations. Christopher Sweet was introduced to HUD employees as being originally from …

“I want to say this, we’ve had four measles deaths in this country in 20 years. We have 100,000 autism cases a year. We have 38% of our kids now are diabetic or pre-diabetic. That should be in the headline. What I’ve been saying to people is, let’s pay attention to other illnesses as well, the illnesses that are really, …

Variety reports: Katy Perry has responded to backlash following criticism of her new music, tour and Blue Origin space flight earlier this month, writing in a social media comment that she’s felt “battered and bruised” but has “kept looking to the light.” On April 14, the pop star was part of an all-female crew — also including “CBS Mornings” anchor …

The Hill reports: A Senate vote to scrap President Trump’s wide-ranging “Liberation Day” tariffs narrowly failed on Wednesday, sparing Republicans a second consecutive blow as the president’s trade policy continues to face opposition. Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Rand Paul (Ky.) — voted in favor of the resolution alongside every present Senate Democrat. But …

Ars Technica reports: Germ theory is, of course, the 19th-century proven idea that microscopic germs—pathogenic viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi—cause disease. It supplanted the leading explanation of disease at the time, the miasma theory, which suggests that diseases are caused by miasma, that is, noxious mists and vapors, or simply bad air arising from decaying matter, such as corpses, sewage, …

“The letters and the numbers are labels that translate the symbols on his knuckles. The reporter tried to say that the labels were the tattoo. An intentional deception to make you think he’s a gang member. No, we know he’s a gang member.  “Those numbers above aren’t even the same typeface. Let me put it this way. Can you put …

The Daily Beast reports: Attorney General Pam Bondi gloated on Wednesday about “signing death warrants” during a Cabinet meeting where she offered extensive praise of President Donald Trump. After staring adoringly at Trump she also confessed that the administration was facing a record number of lawsuits—200 and counting—due to the president’s executive orders. “On top of everything else, I think I’m …

NBC News reports: The owner of an Idaho bar and restaurant plans to host a two-day “Hetero Awesome Fest” outside of the state Capitol in Boise in June to coincide with LGBTQ Pride Month. Mark Fitzpatrick, the owner of the Old State Saloon in Eagle, a suburb of Boise, said the event was inspired by the restaurant’s inaugural “Heterosexual Awesomeness …

The Washington Post reports: The FBI has reassigned several agents who were photographed kneeling with protesters in Washington during the 2020 racial justice protests after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to three people familiar with the matter. Conservatives have pointed to the photo, taken during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, as proof that …