iPad Air and iPad 2025 refreshes Apple announces M3-powered iPad Air with improved Magic Keyboard layout The base iPad also doubled its storage, is "6x faster" than some Android models. Kevin Purdy Mar 4, 2025 10:38 am | 13 Credit: Apple Credit: Apple Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIt's not the update that most Apple watchers were hoping for, but today, Apple announced upgrades to two of its iPads, including the standard iPad and the quirky middle child, the iPad Air.The iPad Air moves up from an M2 in last year's Air refresh to an M3 chip, which is capable of Apple Intelligence and more graphics rendering. The Magic Keyboard gets a new layout with a larger trackpad and a physical function key row. iPad Air and its Magic Keyboard. Credit: Apple iPad Air and its Magic Keyboard. Credit: Apple That's a notable upgrade for anybody doing real, portable-minded work with an iPad, but there's even better news: The new Magic Keyboard with those physical keys is backward-compatible with previous iPad Airs: 4th and 5th generation, 11-inch M2 and M3, and 13-inch M2 and M3 models (better news, that is, if you're good with the $270 price).The new Airs ship in the same 11- and 13-inch sizes. Apple's messaging about the new Air promotes the graphic performance of the M3 chip, saying it provides "up to 40 percent faster graphics performance over M1" and support for things like hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing. Perhaps more realistically than promising serious gaming on native iPad apps, Apple touts 4 times the performance of an M1 iPad Air for "graphics-intensive rendering workflows." And the M3 supports Apple Intelligence if you're coming from anything M1 or older. The standard iPad, now with an A16 chip and 128GB base storage. Credit: Apple The standard iPad, now with an A16 chip and 128GB base storage. Credit: Apple The base iPad also got a boost today, earning an entire paragraph in Apple's larger Air news release. It jumps up from an A14 to A16 chip inside and doubles its base storage from 64GB to 128GB. Apple cannot help but suggest that it's "6x faster than the best-selling Android tablet," which the company does not name (a footnote says the tablet is based on a Qualcomm SM6375 chip, so it's almost certainly some kind of Samsung Galaxy device).The standard iPad, new iPad Airs, and updated Magic Keyboard will be available on March 12. The iPad is $349 with 128GB storage, and the iPad Airs start at $599 and $799 for the 11- and 13-inch models, respectively.Kevin PurdySenior Technology ReporterKevin PurdySenior Technology Reporter Kevin is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering open-source software, PC gaming, home automation, repairability, e-bikes, and tech history. He has previously worked at Lifehacker, Wirecutter, iFixit, and Carbon Switch. 13 Comments

Radical opacity RFK Jr. shuts Americans out of health decisions despite vow for transparency Kennedy vowed last month to usher in an era of "radical transparency." Beth Mole Mar 4, 2025 10:21 am | 5 US Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listens as President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025. Credit: Getty | Jim Watson US Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listens as President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025. Credit: Getty | Jim Watson Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreFederal health policies and decisions are quickly becoming less transparent under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.despite him telling Health Department employees just last month that he would work with them to "launch a new era of radical transparency."Since then, Kennedy has axed a public meeting on vaccinesleaving lingering questions about the future of those transparent proceedings. He has also revoked a broad transparency policy for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that required public notice for certain new rules and a comment period to allow for the public to be involved with the rulemaking process. Revoking the policy could have sweeping effects. For instance, HHS could now change Medicaid requirements with no notice or change federal research grants without input from the research communitysomething the Trump administration has already tried to do before it was put on hold by a federal judge.Rolling back public participationOn Monday, Kennedy published the new policy in the Federal Register, which specifically revoked a transparency rule adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 1971. The rulecalled the Richardson Waiver, after then-health secretary Elliot Richardsonrequired HHS to have public notice-and-comment periods for proposed rules and policies regarding certain matters, namely public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts. These five categories would otherwise have been exempt from public notice-and-comment requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The APA also says that public notice-and-comment periods can be waived for "good cause."The Nixon-era Richardson Waiver came about amid a push for more public engagement, with the waiver acting essentially as a workaround to amending the APA's exemptions. As Richard Brady, the assistant secretary for administration. wrote in the Federal Register at the time, implementing the Richardson Waiver "should result in greater participation by the public in the formulation of this Department's rules and regulations.""The public benefit from such participation should outweigh any administrative inconvenience or delay which may result from use of the APA procedures in the five exempt categories," Brady wrote. The waiver also noted that the Health Department should use the "good cause" exception "sparingly."Kennedy's new policy rescinds Richardson Waiver entirely. He writes in stark contrast: "The extra-statutory obligations of the Richardson Waiver impose costs on the Department and the public, are contrary to the efficient operation of the Department, and impede the Department's flexibility to adapt quickly to legal and policy mandates."Ars Technica has reached out to HHS to ask how rescinding the waiver fits with Kennedy's pledge for transparency and how removing public notice and comment periods will improve the agency's efficiency. HHS did not respond, but we will update this story if it does.Eliminating transparencyMeanwhile, Kennedy has also leapfrogged independent advisors for the Food and Drug Administration who make transparent recommendations on a variety of things, including the virus strains in seasonal flu shots. Last week, the FDA abruptly and without explanation canceled the committee's March 13 meeting on the upcoming seasonal flu vaccine. In an agency statement sent late Friday, the FDA essentially said it will now decide the 20252026 flu shots without its independent advisors, relying only on federal partners instead.The move does not necessarily imperil the tight, six-month manufacturing schedule for the upcoming flu vaccine. The US typically goes along with the flu strain selection decisions made by the World Health Organization, which has already held its meeting and announced the selections. Representatives for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and FDA were present at the meeting, despite the country's planned withdrawal from the agency, according to reporting from Stat News.Still, the advisory meetings were the most open portion of the US process. The advisors held public meetings with comment periods in which advisors had open discussionsand sometimes disagreements. They reviewed the global flu data and offered post-mortem analysis of the previous year's season and vaccines.Now, the committeethe Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC)is in limbo. Members are unsure why they were cut out of the process and whether they will meet to discuss other decisions, including the upcoming selection of strains for the next annual COVID-19 shots. Other meeting dates are not populating their calendars as they normally would, according to Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and VRBPAC member.Ars Technica has reached out to the FDA asking, again, why the meeting was canceled, why the agency is moving forward without the advisors' input, and what the future is for VRBPAC. The FDA did not respond."That's what worries me in thisthat this represents something bigger," Offit told Ars Technica. These meetings give the public a way to see how experts are viewing vaccines and what they see as their strengths and weaknesses. "When you eliminate that, you eliminate transparency, which according to RFK Jr. is what he wanted."For now, all one can do is "just sort of buckle up and see how this plays out," he said.Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 5 Comments

Shane Snider, Senior Writer, InformationWeekMarch 4, 20254 Min ReadFeodora Chiosea via Alamy StockThe Trump administration on Tuesday pulled the trigger on promised tariffs targeting goods and services from China, Mexico, and Canada, escalating new conflicts with Americas top three trade partners.Goods and services from Mexico and Canada will face tariffs of 25%, while Chinese goods will face an additional 10% (on top of the 10% announced a month ago). Those tariffs will be paid by importers, who will likely pass price increases onto consumers. Those countries have all announced retaliatory tariffs on American goods and services and other actions.Trump said the tariffs were enacted to stop the flow of fentanyl and chemicals used in the drugs production from entering the US. He has also stated the tariffs will spur domestic manufacturing.China announced immediate retaliatory tariffs of 10% to 15% on select US imports and new export restrictions for designated US entities. The country also said it filed complaints about the new tariffs with the World Trade Organization.Canada struck back with a 25% tariff on $20.7 billion worth of US imports, promising to add another $83.7 billion worth of goods and services in 21 days. Mexico was expected to announce its response on Tuesday.Gary Shapiro, CEO and vice chair of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), says the tariffs will spur increased technology pricing across the board. Tariffs will spur inflation, and not just on groceries, Shapiro said in a statement. CTA research shows tariffs make the tech products Americans love and rely on more expensive.Related:IT leaders will feel the pinch as well. Budgets, already stretched thin to accommodate increased spending on artificial intelligence, will now face pricing pressure for components and materials mostly produced abroad.Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, tells InformationWeek that even enacted for a short period, the tariffs will have long-lasting consequences. I think well have to start seeing negative consequences to the point that the decision is made to end the current tariff regime, he says in a phone interview. The challenge with that is that the President will have to have the optics that hes coming out a winner, so its difficult to see how that gets resolved soon. [Trump] seems to have a chronic inability to ever admit to having made a mistake.Tariffs on MaterialsThe Trump Administrations announcement of a blanket 25% tariff on aluminum and steel imports would also increase costs for the technology sector through direct and indirect economic pressure, experts warn.Related:Amid a flurry of President Donald Trumps executive actions in the first weeks of holding office, the administration has also announced a plan to charge a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel imports.Trump says steel and aluminum tariffs will encourage US companies to produce more domestically. But industries, including the tech sector, are dependent on steel and aluminum for building and machinery. The tech sector uses steel and aluminum for server racks, data center infrastructure, electronic components housing, and more.Miller said its not yet clear now the aluminum and steel tariffs will be applied along with the tariffs on all Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese goods. Will it be on top of those tariffs? Theres no clarity there yet, he says.How IT Leaders Should RespondAn IBM report spending outside of traditional IT operations could surge 52% this year as enterprise ramps up AI-driven transformation. Those costs could increase substantially as new tariffs are factored in.MSUs Miller says companies that were on the fence about capital outlays should act now. If youre on the fence about bringing something in now, versus a couple of months, I would get it now, he says, adding Trump may respond to retaliation efforts with even more tariffs. I wouldnt be surprised if were not looking at 40%-50% before all is said and done at the rate were going.Related:Whatever the case, the cost of the tariff action will likely be felt for years, Miller says. There will be lasting impact from this, he says. So, you need to have those conversations with customers, and say, Hey, weve got to pass some percentage of this cost increase on because we have to stay profitable. Its about being transparent about what tariffs are doing to cost structures.Read more about:RegulationSupply ChainAbout the AuthorShane SniderSenior Writer, InformationWeekShane Snider is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of industry experience. He started his career as a general assignment reporter and has covered government, business, education, technology and much more. He was a reporter for the Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh News and Observer and most recently a tech reporter for CRN. He was also a top wedding photographer for many years, traveling across the country and around the world. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and two children.See more from Shane SniderWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like

Mice that have been modified to give them a mammoth-like coatColossalThere are an estimated 1.5 million genetic differences between woolly mammoths and Asian elephants. Colossal Biosciences, the company aiming to resurrect the extinct species through genetic engineering, has now made mice with mammoth-like fur, each with up to five genetic changes. There is, it seems, still a way to go.True, the fur of these mice is long, curly and blondish. In that way, it does resemble the coats of woolly mammoths preserved in permafrost. However, it isnt clear that making the same genetic changes to Asian elephants which have far fewer hairs per area of skin would have similar results. AdvertisementThe work done on these mice does not mean that there is a ready solution to bring back a mammoth phenotype, says team member Love Daln at Stockholm University in Sweden, who is on Colossals scientific advisory board. As you point out, we also need to figure out how to make the fur grow more.Creating Asian elephants with these genetic changes will also be much harder than doing it in mice. Engineering mutations in mice is a well-established process and not particularly challenging, says Dusko Ilic at Kings College London.A modified and unmodified mouseColossalTechniques that work in mice often fail in other species, and the size of elephants and their slower reproduction will vastly increase the time and costs involved. Those methods have not been developed for elephants and it wont be easy just based on the anatomy, says Vincent Lynch at the University at Buffalo, New York. That is probably the biggest challenge.But Lynch has no doubt it is achievable. Indeed, Thomas Hildebrandt at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany another Colossal advisor told New Scientist that his team has collected eggs from elephants for the first time, though the results havent yet been published. Egg collection is a key step in IVF and the genetic modification of mammals.So how did Colossal make its mammoth mice? The researchers began by looking for known mutations in mice that make their fur look mammoth-like. [T]he majority of these genes were selected based on previous observations of coat phenotypes in mice, they write in a paper released today, which hasnt been peer-reviewed.They identified eight genes that affect the pattern (curliness), colour and length of hair when disabled in mice. Of these eight, one was naturally disabled in mammoths, according to Colossal.From the mammoth genome, the team also identified a small mutation thought to affect hair pattern, along with another disabled gene involved in fat metabolism.The company then tried altering these genes in mice. For instance, in one experiment, it tried using CRISPR gene editing to disable five of these genes in fertilised eggs. From 134 edited eggs, 11 pups were born and in one of these pups, both copies of the five genes were disabled.Preserved fur on a frozen mammoth trunkAlamy Stock PhotoIn another study, the researchers used a form of CRISPR called base editing to disable several of the genes in embryonic mice stem cells. They combined this with another technique called homologous recombination to make the exact mutation found in the mammoth genome. Making precise changes is much harder than disabling genes but the recombination method only works well in mice.The team then sequenced the cells to identify ones with the desired changes and injected them into mice embryos to create chimeric mice. Of 90 embryos injected, seven mice with the four intended changes were born.These experiments can be said to be successful in terms of producing some mice with the desired physical changes to their fur, but only one of the genetic changes exactly matches what is seen in the mammoth genome. A lot more work is needed to achieve Colossals stated aim of creating a cold-resistant elephant with all of the core biological traits of the woolly mammoth and with elephant pregnancies lasting around two years, Colossal is running out of time to meet its self-imposed 2028 deadline.An elephant with a fur will not be a mammoth in the way we think of it, says Juan Antonio Rodrguez at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Many of the 1.5 million differences between the genomes of mammoths and Asian elephants may have no effect, he says, but we dont know for sure which ones do matter.Even if we did, making more extensive changes is risky, says Rodrguez. The more things you change in an organism, the more likely it is that you end up messing up with key metabolic pathways or genes.Rodrguez, Lynch and Ilic are all against bringing back the mammoth. Lynch reels off a long list of reasons why he thinks it is a bad idea, from the mammoths habitat no longer existing to the ethical aspects of trying to genetically modify elephants even in humans, for instance, collecting eggs for IVF remains a risky and painful procedure.Mammoths are extinct and cannot be de-extincted or resurrected, says Lynch. All they can do is make an elephant look like a mammoth.Topics:genetics

Should we add fungus to cows meals?Volodymyr TVERDOKHLIB/ShutterstockA species of fungus found in soil can be fed to cows to cut down on the potent greenhouse gas methane in their burps.Its a fungal soup, says Matthew Callaghan at Roam Agricultural, a startup in Australia aiming to grow large amounts of the fungus in bioreactors. Instead of feeding cows the fungi directly, however, the company plans to extract the methane-reducing compound they make called bromoform and add it to feed

Since the emergence of enterprise-grade generative AI, organizations have tapped into the rich capabilities of foundational models, developed by the likes of OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Mistral, and others. Over time, however, businesses often found these models limiting since they were trained on vast troves of public data. Enter customizationthe practice of adapting large language models (LLMs) to better suit a businesss specific needs by incorporating its own data and expertise, teaching a model new skills or tasks, or optimizing prompts and data retrieval.DOWNLOAD THE REPORTCustomization is not new, but the early tools were fairly rudimentary, and technology and development teams were often unsure how to do it. Thats changing, and the customization methods and tools available today are giving businesses greater opportunities to create unique value from their AI models.We surveyed 300 technology leaders in mostly large organizations in different industries to learn how they are seeking to leverage these opportunities. We also spoke in-depth with a handful of such leaders. They are all customizing generative AI models and applications, and they shared with us their motivations for doing so, the methods and tools theyre using, the difficulties theyre encountering, and the actions theyre taking to surmount them.Our analysis finds that companies are moving ahead ambitiously with customization. They are cognizant of its risks, particularly those revolving around data security, but are employing advanced methods and tools, such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), to realize their desired customization gains.Download the full report.This content was produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by MIT Technology Reviews editorial staff.

Palo Steakhouse has a chic "Beauty and the Beast" theme.Palo is in an adults-only area of the ship. Terri Peters Located on deck 12 of the Disney Treasure, Palo is nestled in an adults-only area themed around "Beauty and the Beast."Throughout the restaurant, there's themed artwork and decor, making it feel very elegant and whimsical. The best part? Since it's adults-only, the entire area is blissfully quiet.After checking in for our noon brunch reservation, we were shown to our table, which had an amazing ocean view.The brunch, which costs $50 per person, includes lots of dishes to choose from.We were able to choose as many dishes as we wanted. Terri Peters Brunch at Palo Steakhouse costs $50 per person and includes antipasti, egg dishes, waffles and pancakes, soups, pizza, and entres.Each guest can also choose one alcoholic drink, like a mimosa or Bloody Mary, as part of their brunch, with additional drinks available for a charge.There's no set amount of things you can order during brunch at Palo. In fact, our server encouraged us to try items in every category, and we happily obliged, ordering almost everything except pizza.We started our meal with a round of non-alcoholic Bellinis.The Bellinis had a nice peachy flavor. Terri Peters No one in my party drinks alcohol, so we ordered a round of non-alcoholic cocktails as our complimentary drink.The Bellinis were pre-made and bottled and full of peachy flavor. Delicious and satisfying, we didn't miss the alcohol a bit.We ordered a bottle of sparkling water from Palo's extensive menu.We ordered a $16 bottle of sparkling water. Terri Peters Something that always catches my eye at Palo is the extensive menu of still and sparkling waters, available at an extra charge.We chose a $16 bottle of sparkling water, the most pricey option on the menu, and split it four ways.With a hint of minerality and tiny, effervescent bubbles of carbonation, the water was refreshing and a nice way to hydrate during our meal.The bread service alone is worth visiting Palo for.The bread was one of my favorite parts of our meal. Terri Peters Our complimentary bread service came with a mix of seasoned flatbreads, crispy crackers, garlicky naan, and more. Some highlights were a focaccia-style bread with onion and blue cheese baked in, and warm, fresh baguettes.For dipping, our server brought out olive oil and balsamic vinegar and poured them into two separate sections of a dish so they didn't combine.We each had a choice of two antipasti options: charcuterie or seafood.I chose the charcuterie-style antipasti. Terri Peters Each person in our group got to choose between two antipasti options: meat and seafood.Three of us ordered the meat antipasti, a charcuterie board-style appetizer with prosciutto, bresaola, coppa, salami, olives, roasted garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and peppers.This dish was one of my favorite parts of brunch at Palo. The cured meats tasted fresh and delicious and paired well with salty accouterments like olives and cheese.One person in our group tried the seafood antipasti: a combination of marinated jumbo shrimp, crab claw, ahi tuna, mussels, and cured salmon. Although I'm not a huge seafood eater, she seemed to enjoy it.My friend let me try some of her tomato and basil soup.The tomato and basil soup was delicious. Terri Peters Although I didn't order a bowl for myself, my friend let me taste her tomato and basil soup.Had I not been trying to save room for my entre, I would've gone back for additional bites. The soup was tangy, creamy, and felt like a fancy take on a comforting classic.I ordered the chicken Parmesan as my entre.The chicken Parmesan came with a layer of creamy risotto. Terri Peters I've had the chicken Parmesan at Palo before, so I knew what to expect from this classic favorite.The breaded chicken dish was topped with San Marzano tomato sauce and thick, cheesy mozzarella. However, the real star was the risotto underneath.I loved the buttery, creamy Arborio risotto, which was a lighter twist on the piles of pasta you usually get with chicken Parmesan.One of my friends ordered the eggplant Parmesan.The eggplant Parmesan looked delicious. Terri Peters One member of my group tried the eggplant Parmesan and loved it. The dish a lightly-breaded slice of eggplant rolled up with prosciutto, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce looked decadent.Since we were at a steakhouse, another friend opted for the sirloin.The sirloin was served with green beans and potatoes. Terri Peters Another friend chose the grilled sirloin steak, which came cooked to the perfect medium-rare temperature.She was pleased with the dish, which was topped with thyme-herb butter and served with a side of green beans and roasted potatoes.The final member of our group ordered Palo's roasted red snapper filet.My friend was underwhelmed with the sides that accompanied the red snapper. Terri Peters The final entre ordered was Palo's roasted red snapper filet. Although my friend said she enjoyed the fish, the sides served alongside it weren't her favorite.The meal came with with asparagus, an eggplant caponata, and a strange orange square, which we weren't able to identify by taste.After asking our server what the bar-of-soap-looking side dish was, she explained that it was a saffron fondant-covered potato.We enjoyed breakfast for dessert.I had an apple-cinnamon Mickey waffle for dessert. Terri Peters At our server's suggestion, we saved our waffles and pancakes course for last. She was absolutely right, as having something sweet to close out the meal felt decadent, even though there weren't any desserts on the brunch menu.I ordered apple-cinnamon waffles, while two others ordered the strawberry version. Of course, the waffles were Mickey-shaped, which I really do believe makes them taste even more delicious.Another person in my party ordered the blueberry pancakes and said they were really good topped with syrup and powdered sugar.Our meal at Palo Steakhouse was amazing and well worth the price.I thought our brunch at Palo was a great value. Terri Peters Overall, our $220 meal at Palo Steakhouse was well worth it. We got a great adults-only meal in arguably one of the quietest and most beautiful parts of the ship, and also made a special memory together that we'll never forget.

2025-03-04T16:09:36Z Read in app Aberdeen rebranded as Abdrn in 2021. Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA/Getty Images This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? A 200-year-old asset manager has added the 'e's back to its name after it was widely mocked.abrdn is now aberdeen after the company's 2021 rebrand was ridiculed.The company's CEO said the move would help in "removing distractions" and mark a new chapter.From Flickr to Grindr and Tumblr to The Weeknd, dropping an "e" has long been a way to signal youth and energy. But a 200-year-old investment firm that jumped onStandard Life Aberdeen rebranded as abrdn in 2021 under previous CEO Stephen Bird, proclaiming it was part and parcel of being a "modern, agile, digitally-enabled brand." The decision sparked cackles at a straight-laced financial group seemingly trying to be cool and hip.Nearly four years after that decision, it's rebranded once again as aberdeen, reinstating its three "e"s but stopping short of embracing a capital letter.CEO Jason Windsor wrote in the company's annual report on Tuesday that the move was aimed at "removing distractions," and it was a "pragmatic decision marking a new phase for the organisation."The group's chief investment officer, Peter Branner, bemoaned the criticism of its shortened name as "corporate bullying" in an interview with Financial News last year. He derided the "childish jokes" and questioned whether those poking fun would do the same to a person.The asset manager reported a 6% fall in adjusted net operating revenue to the sterling equivalent of $1.68 billion last year. Adjusted operating profit rose 2% as aberdeen reduced its adjusted operating costs by 7%.The company's stock price jumped 9% in London on the news, taking its year-to-date gain to about 26%. It still trades about a third lower than when it changed its name the last time.Many corporations have changed their names over the years, often to herald a new strategic direction. For example, Weight Watchers rebranded in 2019 as WW after more than 50 years in business, and Dunkin' Donuts became simply Dunkin' the same year. Back in 2002 PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting rebranded as Monday, but was acquired by IBM shortly afterwards.

President Donald Trumps decision to halt American military aid to Ukraine is one of the most dramatic US foreign policy shifts of recent years. The US has not only effectively changed sides in an ongoing war, it has also seemingly cast aside decades of alignment with Europe against Russian aggression, effectively taking Russias side in the larger geopolitical struggle.For some, Trumps move will come as no surprise. From the time he defended Russias human rights record by pointing out that the US isnt so innocent to the time he took Russian President Vladimir Putins word over his own intelligence agencies, his rhetoric has given more than enough ammunition over the years to opponents who portray him as the Russian leaders puppet, as Hillary Clinton once famously described him. But despite Russias much-investigated interference on his behalf in the 2016 election, and despite his frequent expressions of affection for Putin, Trumps actual policies during his first term in office were not particularly pro-Russian. After Trumps first inauguration in 2017, there were literal champagne toasts on the floor of Russias parliament to celebrate what was expected to be a new golden age of US-Russia relations. But the good feelings were short-lived.Despite what some Trump officials may have promised the Kremlin, Trump did not lift any significant sanctions on Russia and in fact applied dozens of new ones. The Trump administration signed off on the sale of Javelin anti-tank weapons to Ukraine 2019, after the Obama administration had declined. The effectiveness of these weapons against Russias armored vehicles following the full-scale invasion in 2022 gave them near-mythical status in Ukraine. Trumps more hawkish senior officials and members of Congress were often able to get their way on Russia policy, despite the presidents own preferences. By the time of the 2020 election, the consensus in Moscow was that Trump hadnt made much of a difference and that relations would continue to be bad, no matter who was in the White House. This time around, Russian leaders reacted a lot more cautiously to Trumps reelection, with the foreign ministry saying that a bipartisan anti-Russia consensus predominated in Washington and they didnt expect the new president to change that. That, however, was before the events of the past few weeks, which have seen the US restarting direct high-level talks with Russia (effectively ending the diplomatic cold shoulder the country has received from the West since 2022); Trump repeating the Kremlin talking points that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that started the war and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is an unelected dictator; and then the televised humiliation of Zelenskyy by Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office Friday, including chiding the Ukrainian leader for his hatred of Putin.In addition to halting military aid to Ukraine, the White House has reportedly also asked the State Department and Treasury Department to draw up lists of sanctions against Russian entities and individuals including oligarchs that could be lifted in the coming days. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has gone as far as to instruct the US Cyber Command to halt all planning against Russia, including offensive cyber operations. In short, the pro-Russia Trump foreign policy that many in both countries expected, but which never materialized, during the first term, is now here. Less clear, however, is what Russia itself will make of this turn of events. Cancel the new Cold War?Theres no reason to delve into conspiracies or game theory to explain Trumps actions. Trump likely genuinely believes support for Ukraine is a bad investment for the US and that the foreign policy establishments paeans to the importance of alliances and NATO has allowed other countries to get a free ride on Americas military might.Its also probably true, as analyst and Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer writes, that for this president, the personal is often political: Trump gets along with Putin personally, while Trump believes (correctly) that most European leaders neither like nor respect him.Still: Its really unthinkable that the leader of the United States would act this way, said Sasha de Vogel, a political scientist and Russia specialist at the University of North Carolina. Its incredibly bizarre to see the leader of the United States celebrating Putin and making decisions that play directly into the hands of Russia, which is not our ally, and which considers us their enemy. I would expect to see Russia trying to take every advantage that they can.Supporters of Trumps foreign policy sometimes disagree on whether a new detente with Russia should be part of an overall retrenchment of US military power, or a shift toward addressing what they see as the more serious threat from China, perhaps even peeling Moscow away from its alliance with Beijing in a kind of reverse Nixon maneuver.Either way, theres little to hold Trump back from embracing Putin exactly as much as he wants this time around. Since Trumps first term, pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian sentiment has become widespread among Trumps base even if its still the minority position in the country at large. Unlike the first time, his administration is stocked with officials who either share his views on Russia (like Vance) or, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, have views that are evolving to match the presidents. In the wake of Zelenskyys dressing down, some of the Congressional GOPs staunchest Russia hawks have either fully backed the president or gone quiet.After Trumps election, some Ukrainians, and some Europeans, pointed to Trumps first term record as evidence he wouldnt fully reverse course on US support for Ukraine, and might even do away from some of the cautious approaches to military aid they sometimes found frustrating from the Biden administration. In fairness, some of Trumps own statements gave reason to believe this.Now, however, leaders on the continent appear to be coming to the conclusion that the 80-year-old alliance between the US and Europe to face down first Soviet, now Russian encroachment can no longer be taken for granted. During his first term, Trump threatened to pull the United States out of NATO entirely. It seems entirely possible he might make good on that threat this time. Even as leaders like Britains Keir Starmer insist the US is not an unreliable ally, its clear that any Western head of state could probably get the same treatment Zelenskyy received at the White House and that it will be up to Europe to keep Ukraine in the fight going forward. But the country that may have the trickiest time figuring out how to react to Americas pro-Russia tilt is Russia itself. Will Russia take the win?For the moment, Russian leaders seem almost taken aback by their change in fortune in Washington. If youd told me just three months ago that these were the words of the US president, I would have laughed out loud, former President and current social media troll-in-chief Dmitry Medvedev tweeted following Trumps description of Zelenskyy as a dictator. Following the Oval Office meeting, Medvedev followed up, For the first time, Trump spoke the truth to the cocaine clowns face. The insolent pig has finally received a solid slap in the face. In slightly more sober language, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told state television, The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely aligns with our vision.A poll released on Friday by Russias Levada Center shows that public support for the war now stands at 80 percent, the highest level since March 2022. (Opinion polling in an authoritarian country should be taken with a grain of salt, but there is at least an observable trend line.)This is incredibly good news for Putin, said de Vogel. While showing no signs of interest in halting the war, the Russian president was at least facing some headwinds due to high casualties, recruiting difficulties, and an overheating economy. This could make him less, rather than more, likely to engage in serious negotiations with the US, Europe, or anyone else, to actually end the war. Theres no reason for Putin to rush into negotiations for a ceasefire if he can continue to push his advantage now.While Russia can be expected to take full advantage of the current moment, experts say its less likely they will see this moment as a full-fledged geopolitical realignment. They are extremely suspicious of the US, Andrei Soldatov, a Russian journalist and security analyst based in the UK, told Vox. To be honest, they do not believe in a long, lasting peace or in new arrangements for European security. Tactically, theyll take what they can, but they believe they are in a centuries-long struggle with the West, and Trumps not going to change that.In a recent column, Fyodor Lukyanov, arguably Russias leading government-aligned foreign policy intellectual, compared the current moment to Yalta Conference, exactly 80 years ago, when the allies met to devise a new security order for Europe, laying the groundwork for what became the Iron Curtain. Could Trump and Putin follow in Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalins footsteps? Hardly, writes Lukyanov. Trumps approach to deal-making prioritizes monetary gain and situational advantage over comprehensive, long-term solutions. His understanding of agreements is transactional, lacking the vision required for a treaty on the scale of Yalta. Additionally, he writes, the concept of a world order, as understood in Western terms, is losing relevance, and future agreements are more likely to be limited, short-term, and transactional. Besides, Russian leaders may feel theyve seen this movie before. Theres something of a tradition of American presidents coming into office hoping for better relations with Putin. In 2001, President George W. Bush met the newly minted (and still fairly unknown) Russian leader, claiming to have looked into his eyes and gotten a sense of his soul, finding him trustworthy. Barack Obama had the famous reset complete with props an attempt to find areas of common interest and cooperation. Trump, of course, had his own frustrated attempts to find common ground with Putin in his first term. Joe Biden bucked the trend, by calling Putin a killer in the early weeks of his presidency, though even he was able to negotiate a key arms control agreement with Putin before relations collapsed over Ukraine. This second Trump administrations pro-Russia tilt is far more dramatic than any of these overtures, but also seems less thought-out. Trumps initially fairly cautious approach to Ukraine seemed to transform overnight after one call with Putin. As for Putin, he may need to see more before he believes it. See More:

One of President Donald Trumps biggest targets in his second term has been the Education Department, a federal agency established in 1979 that oversees the enforcement of federal law in schools. Hes called the department a big con job, and expressed his hope that Linda McMahon, confirmed on Monday to head the agency, will put herself out of a job. In an email to the department just after her confirmation, McMahon called on staffers to join us in this historic final mission, which she described as a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great.Trump is also reportedly planning an executive order to abolish the department, though he cannot legally close it without cooperation from Congress. (During her confirmation hearing, McMahon agreed that congressional action would be necessary, and said some programs would continue.) Meanwhile, the agencys Office for Civil Rights has switched its focus from protecting students against racial and disability discrimination to investigating cases of transgender athletes competing in womens sports. Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already slashed research programs, and the administration has laid off dozens of employees actions that education advocates say amount to eliminating the department in all but name. Theyre really gutting it from within, said Blair Wriston, senior manager for government affairs at EdTrust, an education equity nonprofit. The people who suffer are going to be the kids.Its not just children. In addition to bolstering underfunded K-12 schools and protecting the rights of kids with disabilities, the department also manages the federal financial aid process for college students. I am not certain whether or not students will be able to get financial aid next year, Dominique Baker, a professor of education and public policy at the University of Delaware, told Vox.The Education Departments critics misrepresent it as a tool for the federal government to exert control over schools. Its actually an agency tasked with supporting the nations most underserved students while also overseeing the massive and complex ecosystem of federal student loans and disrupting those functions could affect students and families across the country.What the Education Department doesFirst, lets talk about what the Education Department doesnt do. It does not set K-12 curricula or tell schools what to teach. Thats up to states and individual districts. So when Trump says he wants to get rid of the Education Department in order to send education back to the states, its somewhat misleading, because state and local governments are already in charge of what kids learn in schools.What the department does do is implement all of the federal laws and policies that focus on schools, Baker said. At the K-12 level, a lot of that work involves supporting vulnerable and underserved students, said Kenneth Wong, a professor of education policy at Brown University.Under a program known as Title I, the department sends federal money to schools with a high percentage of low-income students to help them hire additional teachers or otherwise bolster core subject areas like reading, Wong said. The federal government makes up about 14 percent of school budgets overall, according to the Associated Press, but low-income schools receive additional funding.The department also sends money to states under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), helping schools provide small class sizes and other supports for students with disabilities and learning differences that state governments wouldnt be able to afford on their own.While these programs are important to many elementary, middle, and high schools around the country, the Education Department plays an even bigger role with colleges and universities, Baker said. It makes sure the application for federal financial aid, the FAFSA, is available to students, that the information students enter is sent to colleges, and that the money is actually disbursed. The department also helps make sure that for-profit colleges arent scamming students, Baker said, by controlling which institutions get access to federal student aid.Two other key functions to know about: the Education Department serves as a watchdog for student civil rights at K-12 schools and colleges, Wriston said. If students with disabilities arent getting the support they need to access their legal right to an education supports that can range from wheelchair ramps to occupational therapy to a one-on-one aide their families can file a complaint with the departments Office for Civil Rights. Students and families can also file with the office if they believe theyve experienced racial discrimination at school.And through the Institute of Education Sciences, the department conducts research on education around the country, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, probably the best source of nationwide data on students reading and math skills. The vast majority of any statistics that we know about schooling comes from data thats collected by the federal government, Baker said.What Trump wants to do, and what DOGE is already doingIts unclear exactly how the Trump administration might go about closing the Education Department. He cannot fully eliminate the department without help from Congress, and while legislation to do so has been introduced, its unlikely to pass the closely divided House and Senate. Instead, Trump could seek to move some parts of the department to other agencies Project 2025, a blueprint for much of the Trump administrations actions thus far, calls for converting Title I funds into grants to the states, and moving the Office for Civil Rights to the Department of Justice. But DOGE isnt waiting for an executive order, terminating dozens of contracts at the Institute of Education Sciences in February. Though the cuts reportedly dont affect the NAEP tests, much of the work of the Institute has ground to a standstill, Baker said. Meanwhile, more than 60 department employees have been terminated, including people responsible for civil rights and financial aid, with the potential of more layoffs in the future. (The Education Department has about 4,400 employees.) Last Friday, employees received an email offering them $25,000 if they agreed to quit by Monday; the message also said a very significant reduction in force was coming, according to the New York Times.Regardless of what happens with any future executive order, the Trump administration and DOGE are actively dismantling the department, Wriston said.How gutting the Education Department hurts studentsThat dismantling is already having an effect on students. As soon as Trump was inaugurated, the departments processing of disability rights complaints ground to a halt, families told the Associated Press. That has left students including a 12-year-old boy with autism and epilepsy whos been unwillingly assigned to remote schooling without recourse and, in some cases, losing precious weeks and months of learning.Instead, the department has focused on trans athletes and all-gender bathrooms. The agency also sent a letter to school leaders saying they could face investigation if they take steps to diversify their teaching staff or recruit students of color for selective programs, according to Chalkbeat. Meanwhile, cuts at the Institute of Education Sciences include programs addressing young childrens literacy and improving the transition out of high school for students with disabilities, Wriston said. Dismantling the Institute is especially ironic at a time of nationwide concern over declining NAEP scores, he said. Were going to gut the agency completely thats doing the real work here of gathering the research and evidence to help inform our practices.Without the data the institute collects, it will also be more difficult for taxpayers to see the impact that cuts by the federal government might have on kids education, Baker said.At the college level, meanwhile, experts fear a breakdown in the basic systems that allow students to apply for, use, and repay their student loans. Without a functioning Education Department, its not clear how students financial information will be collected and sent to universities for financial aid decisions, or who will certify borrowers income for income-based repayment plans, Baker said. The department already struggled with the rollout of a new FAFSA last year, and given canceled contracts and other changes under the new administration, I dont know why anyone would expect smooth sailing next year, Baker said. Gutting the research and oversight functions of the department could also make it easier for colleges to lie to students about their graduation rates and the success of their graduates, experts say.Over the long term, parceling out programs like Title I and IDEA to other departments each with their own functions and priorities could weaken those programs ability to serve the high-needs students they were created to support, Wong said. The Education Department is (or was) full of experts who have spent their careers serving students, and other departments simply wont have the same expertise. And, of course, those other departments are also on the chopping block in the DOGE era, Wriston pointed out.As Trump and DOGE move forward with their plans, advocates and voters can respond by elevating the stories and the perspectives of impacted communities, of families and students and educators who are being impacted by this, Wriston said. Those perspectives are critical right now.While students and families are the most directly impacted by changes at the Education Department, those changes have also inspired a broader concern. Some of the programs terminated by DOGE are congressionally mandated, and if the president or Musk can simply stop them, that means that Congress no longer actually functions, Baker said.There are no longer checks and balances for the executive branch, Baker said. A significant part of this goes beyond education and speaks to a constitutional crisis that shapes the future of our country.See More: