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Leaders at the McKnight Foundation, the Freedom Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation released an open letter in early April calling on the philanthropy community to stand in solidarity with each other and resist the onslaught of executive orders, funding freezes, and investigations that threaten to hobble the independence of the nonprofit sector and reduce trust in charitable institutions.
Living Cities, the organization I lead, readily signed on to this pledge of solidarity, along with hundreds of others.
I applaud the philanthropic sector for standing up and standing together on this important issue. But if we are to fully rebuild trust among the American people, we must go beyond solidarity calls and begin to lead the charge against the anti-establishment and anti-knowledge crusade that is attacking civic leaders, institutions, and community groups that are seeking to create an economy for all. This requires the philanthropic sector to do three things.
1. Create Inclusive Growth
Our country cannot thrive if everyone does not participate in our collective economic growth. Currently, we have too many working people who feel shut out from our economy. They feel like the system is rigged against them. This has led to a groundswell of support for indiscriminate, anti-establishment efforts.
We need to counter the narrative that institutions do not support the working people while also acknowledging that there are many reasons why the system is, in fact, rigged against them. We see that in many cases, race and risk are conflated and people of color have difficulty accessing the same opportunities as others. We see that geography is destiny, and the class you are born into determines your future outcomes more than anything else in your life. This is not the America we were promised, and weas philanthropic institutions must work to elevate the opportunity of inclusive growth.
2. Counter the Zero-Sum Narrative
Many of our leaderspolitical, business, and otherwiseoperate as if we exist within a zero-sum game: Whats good for some is bad for others.
This is decidedly untrue. We see that equity remains a superior growth model. Investing in one part of a communityparticularly parts of communities that are the most marginalizedbenefits the whole. Equitable community reinvestment and economic development not only benefit the neighborhoods where those developments occur, but the entirety of the community through better jobs and increased dollars flowing through neighborhoods.
Instead of thinking about how much smaller to slice up the pie, we need to focus on how to grow the pie for all to benefit.
3. Refuse to Back Down
Now is not the time to back off. The statement of solidarity is a good first step, but it is not the end. We must find strength in this solidarity to be bold in our pronouncements and push forward on what we know this country needs. No matter how we label our economic opportunity efforts and investments, we must link them, foster connection between grantees, and show, to all parties, that shared prosperity is in the country’s best interest.
There are certainly threats to this shared prosperity right now. I do not want to pretend there are not. Those of us speaking out on behalf of this goal may face threats or challenges. But because we stand together, and we know the value of shared prosperity, we can deliver the results all people in this country deserve and restore faith in the philanthropic sector.
Joe Scantlebury is CEO of Living Cities.
Jimmy Fallon has done plenty of commercials and branded segments on his late-night show. Last year, he partnered with Beats by Dre for a signature set of headphones and put them head-to-head against Kim Kardashians design.
Now, The Tonight Show host is taking his business interests to a new level by becoming a brand partner and investor in tortilla chips and salsa brand Xochitl. His first challenge is pretty basic: teach people how to pronounce the brand name. (Its so-cheel.)
Its like so-chill. Or so-cheel media. So-cheel network. So-cheel distortion, says Fallon. It gets easier the more you practice it. So that’s my first job. And then once I get that out there, they’ll probably give me other assignments.
[Photo: Xochitl]
Xochitl is Americas largest independent tortilla chip brand, but it is still far lesser known than your grocery store staples on the tortilla chip shelf, and lacks full national distribution. Its looking to Fallon for a mainstream boost.
Founded in 1995, the Irving, Texas-based brand is aiming to take a bigger bite out of the $11 billion North American tortilla chip market. It’s a growing category, with Frito-Lay’s Tostitos brand dominating, and Utz’s On the Border also a major player. Last May, private equity firm Forward Consumer Partners took a 50% stake in Xochitl.
Chairman Matt Leeds says the goal here is to drive brand awareness and grow distribution. Who better to do that than a guy with 32.4 million YouTube subscribers and 27.4 million Instagram followers? We believe that his involvement will create a lot of excitement, which can open distribution opportunities and retail partnerships, Leeds says. As a brand looking to emphasize warmth, authenticity, and shared experiences, Jimmys funny, approachable, and family-friendly persona aligns well with us and our brand strategy.
Now just say the name.
[Photo: Xochitl]
Right chip, right time
At times it can seem like you cant swing an empty booze bottle without hitting a celebrity tequila or whiskey. And yes, even beer. Fallon says hes been offered similar opportunities in the past, but none really fit.
I’ve been offered my own whiskey, my own tequila, and all that stuff, and I just don’t want to be out there boozing it up at the golf course, selling bottles of stuff, Fallon says. What am I doing? I didn’t know anything about that. But this? Tortilla chips, I can get behind. It’s on brand for me, and I have no problem selling this and standing behind it.
For Xochitl, the strategy is as simple as it gets: Ask a very famous guy who seems fun to not only promote but be involved in the brand.
The partnership with Jimmy grew out of a simple insight: Xochitl is hard to pronounce but easy to love, Leeds says. We started with a blank sheet of paper, and Jimmy was literally our first and best idea for someone who could help teach people the Xochitl name in a way that’s fun, unique, and memorable.
Leeds called. Fallon answered. And just so happened to have been eating Xochitl chips that weekend.
He called me up, and I said, Wait, I actually know what youre talking about! Fallon says. I had no clue how it’s pronounced, though. He gave me this kind of rundown of where the business is, and I thought this sounded like a fun opportunity. I love business stories, I love marketing stuff, and Id love to help see something grow and become giant.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
[Photo: Xochitl]
Marching orders
For Fallon, this is a unique opportunity to work with a brand that has very clear and ambitious objectives in mind.
This has the chance and opportunity to really grow, Fallon says. When a brand is already massive, then Im just doing a commercial or something. Its a paid gig. It’s all good. You do the commercial, and you hope it’s funny. But with this? I’m a partner and an investor, so if it works out, I might actually see some dividends. Ive got some skin in the game.
Before announcing the Fallon partnership, Xochitl had fewer than 5,000 Instagram followers. So theres plenty of room to grow. Fallon is a self-described ad nerd and just wrapped production on a new advertising-based reality show for NBC that’s set to launch later this year.
Now its just a matter of taking everything hes ever learned about advertising and marketing, and putting it to work. They’re in select stores and some participating Walmarts, but theyre not in Whole Foods or Target, Fallon sys. Thats the challenge. I know my marching orders, and I want to see if I can get them there. I want to see if I can get them in every store in the country. Itll be fun.
This week, Xochitl is dropping its first-ever flavor collaboration with McCormick & Companys Cholula hot sauce brand, exclusively at more than 2,000 Walmart stores, and it will roll out on Amazon and at grocers nationwide in the coming months.
Between Late Night and The Tonight Show, Fallon has spent the last 16 years helping his celebrity guests plug their latest movies, TV, music, and more. Now hes excited to really be selling his own brand.
One of my jobs at The Tonight Show is to always be selling everyone else’s stuff, which is great. I love it. It’s my favorite job, he says. So now I’m, like, Why not do it for myself?
One more time, it’s so-cheel.
Florida is poised to become the second state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, over the concerns of dentists and public health advocates who say the mineral is a safe, effective way to protect people of all ages from developing cavities.
Florida lawmakers gave final approval to the bill Tuesday after Utah became the first state to pass a ban last month. The Republican-led states are following a push led by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is setting the gears of government in motion to stop fluoridating water.
The Florida measure now goes to the desk of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose administration has advocated against the fluoridation of community water systems, arguing high levels could pose a risk to childrens intellectual development.
Fluoride strengthens teeth by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water is considered among the greatest public health achievements of the last century.
As dentists, we see the direct consequences fluoride removal has on our patients and its a real tragedy when policymakers decisions hurt vulnerable kids and adults in the long term, Brett Kessler, president of the American Dental Association, said in a statement earlier this month. Blindly calling for a ban on fluoridated water hurts people, costs money, and will ultimately harm our economy.
While Florida’s bill doesn’t specifically reference fluoride, it will require the mineral and some other additives be removed from water sources across the state, said bill sponsor Republican state Rep. Kaylee Tuck.
Anything that relates to water quality, removing contaminants, things like that, we’re not touching that,” Tuck said. “It’s anything that has to do with health. So fluoride, vitamins, whatever else it is.
Some local officials in Florida have already voted to remove the mineral from their community water systems, ahead of state lawmakers’ push to ban fluoride.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Tuesday she is deeply disappointed by the passage of the bill, adding that it disregards the overwhelming consensus of dentists, doctors and medical experts and will end a practice that has been in place for decades to protect our health.
Levine Cava said that ending fluoridation, which is a safe and cost-effective way to prevent tooth decay, will have long-lasting health consequences, especially for our most vulnerable families.
The mayor said the decision should be left to local communities.
About one-third of community water systems, serving more than 60% of the U.S. population, fluoridated their water, according to a 2022 analysis by the CDC.
Kate Payne, Associated Press/Report for America
Associated Press writer Freida Frisaro contributed to this report.
Weve had many, many threats against our nation, President Trump said in the Oval Office in November 2018, as he announced the creation of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Now were putting people that are the best in the world in charge, he said, and I think were going to have a whole different ball game.
Eight years later, his second administration is ripping up parts of the countrys cyber playbook and taking many of its best players off the field, from threat hunters and election defenders at CISA to the leader of the NSA and Cyber Command. Amid a barrage of severe attacks like Volt Typhoon and rising trade tensions, lawmakers, former officials, and cyber professionals say that sweeping and confusing cuts are making the country more vulnerable and emboldening its adversaries.
There are intrusions happening now that we either will never know about or won’t see for years because our adversaries are undoubtedly stepping up their activity, and we have a shrinking, distracted workforce, says Jeff Greene, a cybersecurity expert who has held top roles at CISA and the White House.
The dismissals and budget cuts have eliminated hundreds of workers and jeopardized dozens of initiatives that help protect machines, networks, and individuals across the U.S. Most of the cuts are at CISA, which sits under the Department of Homeland Security and partners with the public and private sectors to defend grids, banks, networks, and other critical industries. Its also responsible for protecting elections from hackers and foreign influence campaigns, efforts the President and Republicans have long accused of political censorship.
Around 400 positions at the Dept. of Homeland Security have been cut so far, and in total, 1,300 jobs could be cut at CISA, or over a third of the agency’s workforce. Some of the earliest cuts hit contractors and probationary employees at CISA, eliminating an elite slate of experts recently hired through a new program geared toward attracting more talent from the private sector. (After a judge ordered the probationary workers to be rehired, the agency immediately placed them on administrative leave.)
They got rid of some of our best cyber talent, says another veteran federal cyber official, speaking anonymously to avoid retribution. It’s fucking ridiculous.
Many anticipated CISA would face heavy scrutiny under Trump 2.0, especially for its election security work. During her confirmation hearing, DHS chief Kristi Noem said the agency had gone off-mission with its work on elections and disinformation, and that she intends to make CISA smaller and more nimble. (Project 2025 called for closing the agency and moving what remains to the Dept. of Transportation.)
But the cuts at CISA have extended to programs beyond election integrity, impacting much of what sits outside of the agency’s most basic mission of protecting .gov networks. More broadly, the cuts align with a February executive order that seeks to delegate the bulk of responsibility for disaster preparedness and response, “including cyber attacks, wildfires, hurricanes, and space weather,” to state and local governments.
At the same time, the cuts are targeting programs that help cash-strapped states, small businesses and infrastructure operators defend their growing networks. The White House has cut resources around a key cybersecurity grant program that states have been clamoring for, and curtailed support for threat-advisory groups that assist states with network vulnerabilities, critical infrastructure, and election security.
State and local cyber officials are worried the cuts will impact their ongoing efforts to fend off cyberattacks. According to a report published Tuesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, some government agencies say they will be unable to sustain their cybersecurity initiatives without the federal funding, which is up for reauthorization by Congress this year.
While I can understand [shifting more responsibility to states] in theory, it is a little concerning because we don’t really know what the plan is, says Alex Whitaker, director of government affairs for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. “States and localities are already on the front lines, and these are services they rely on.”
Also shut down are CISAs advisory boards focused on safety, AI, and telecommunications, which were conducting investigations into the China-linked hacking group Salt Typhoon and other ongoing threats. These were abruptly disbanded as part of an effort ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security, as an administrator wrote in an internal memo.
Last week, two senior CISA officials who were leading its Secure by Design effortaimed at making security core to the way our software is builtleft the agency, adding to a number of other departures, and putting the initiative in jeopardy.
“We’re undoing a lot of really good work that frankly was started under Trump 1, says a former federal cyber official.
Enter revenge politics
Amid the wave of efficiency-related cuts to cybersecurity, other decisions have cast a partisan shadow over a set of threats that are stubbornly indifferent to politics.
In an April 9 memo, Trump called for an investigation into CISAs founding director, Chris Krebs, who earned the presidents ire in 2020 when he declared that the election was secure. The memo also demanded a comprehensive evaluation of all of CISAs activities over the last 6 years.
On Monday, a public statement signed by hundreds of prominent cybersecurity professionals and academics condemned what they described as political retaliation. Chris did the best he could in a difficult time, and he deserves our thanks not our anger, says Greene.
Right now, to see what’s happening to the cybersecurity community inside the federal government, we should be outraged, Krebs, a lifelong Republican, said at the RSA Conference this week. Absolutely outraged.
Earlier in the month, Trump shocked the national security world when he abruptly fired Gen. Timothy Haugh, director of the National Security Agency and Cyber Command, and reassigned his deputy, without explanation. Some experts speculated the move could be part of a larger plan to split the leadership of NSA and Cyber Command, which are responsible for intelligence and military missions respectively. The right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, who visited the White House the day before, said the dismissals were related to questions about loyalty.
Russia and China are laughing at us because we just fired the absolute best leaders, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, a member of the Armed Services Committee, told Face the Nation.
The firing of Gen. Haughan experienced four-star general with decades of experience in cyberspacereally caught me off-guard, one former CISA official says. Those things have a morale impact thats really hard to quantify.
CISA, too, lacks a permanent leader. This month Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore, announced he was blocking the confirmation of Trumps nominee to lead the agency, Sean Plankey, a veteran of the Pentagon and DHS, over CISAs years-long refusal to release information regarding a vulnerability in global telecom networks.
In a statement, Wyden, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, blamed the White House for weakening CISA and the countrys defenses. Trump is kneecapping our countrys ability to defend itself against cyberattacks by disarming our countrys cybersecurity defenses and purging experienced professionals, he said.
From firing General Haugh, disbanding the Cyber Safety Review Board and preparing to slash the cybersecurity workforce at CISA, Trump is rolling out a digital red carpet to hackers from China and other adversary nations,” he added.
Some of the cyber decisions may reflect a push by Trump White House cyber officials toward a more offensive, deterrent posture. But former officials have worried the strategy could come at the expense of defense, and that its emphasis appears to be focused more heavily on China than on Russia.
One signal came in early March, when the Defense Secretary ordered Gen. Haugh at Cyber Command to temporarily pause offensive operations against Russia, amid negotiations with the Kremlin over Ukraine, as The Record and other outlets reported. Some experts at CISA were also directed to focus on adversaries other than Russia, sources told the Washington Post. The Pentagon later denied it had halted its cyber operations, according to Bloomberg, but the reports still chilled security experts, who say Russia remains a major cyberthreat to the U.S.
“If we’re dialing it back on hacking Russia, I think we have a high likelihood of seeing ransomware incidents go up against American companies and everybody else, says one former White House cyber official.
In response to questions about specific cuts and the country’s cyber posture, a CISA spokesperson says in an email that the agency was designed to work across public and private sectors to improve the nations cybersecurity, which demands more agility, flexibility, and innovation than traditional government organizations have allowed.
CISA continuously evaluates how we work with partners and takes decisive action to maximize impact while being good stewards of taxpayer dollars and aligning with Administration priorities and our authorities, they added.
One Trump White House official, U.S. chief information officer Greg Barbaccia, struck a rare note of caution last month, when he urged federal agencies to refrain from laying off cybersecurity teams as they raced to complete mass layoffs.
We believe cybersecurity is national security and we encourage Department-level Chief Information Officers to consider this when reviewing their organizations, he wrote in an email to IT employees across the federal government.
Even CISAs defenders acknowledge bureaucratic inefficiencies that hamper cyber defense. But they say Trumps cuts are reckless and tainted by politics. Apart from upsetting cyber readiness, the upheaval and anxiety inside CISA could make it harder for the government to attract and retain top cyber talent, especially amid a severe talent shortage.
It’s not good for bringing the best and the brightest into government, if you’re creating this environment of fear, says the former White House official.
People that we know will only respond to us on personal Signal, and they won’t even talk to anybody outside of government, because they’re so terrified of what the Trump people are doing, they added.
The administrations handling of sensitive data has raised a separate set of cyber alarms. Even before Signalgate and a slew of personal phones exposed military plans, the Department of Government Efficiencys (DOGE) handling of government data, including on millions of Americans, prompted a slew of lawsuits. Meanwhile, one of two DOGE employees detailed to CISA is Edward Coristine, a college student who has been linked with a cybercrime gang and was suspected by an employer, cybersecurity firm Path Network, of leaking proprietary information to a competitor. Coristine did not respond to a request for comment.
‘Very concerning’ at the local level
For years, CISA has offered free services and consultations to states and municipalities that struggle to hire their own IT and cyber experts. State and local governments, K-12 schools, and critical infrastructure facilities are often short on resources and have limited tolerance for downtime, making them a top target for cyberattackers. fficials from every party have also expressed gratitude for CISAs help protecting elections, adopted the agencys recommendations, and sought out its services.
“Your IT person is a city council member; he or she is mowing the lawn and they’re also doing all the IT stuff, says Whitaker. There’s never enough resources.”
But soon, layoffs are expected to decimate the units at CISA primarily responsible for much of this work.
Cuts are expected at the Integrated Operations Division, which coordinates CISA operations at the regional level and helps respond to incidents that impact critical infrastructure, and at the Stakeholder Engagement Division, which helps coordinate national and global information sharing and helps local governments, companies, and other organizations protect critical infrastructure. The National Risk Management Center (NRMC), which coordinates risk analysis for cyber and critical infrastructure, is also expected to see significant cuts.
In March the administration also eliminated an inter-state threat-advisory organization focused on election threats, and placed on leave dozens of personnel who work on combating foreign election disinformation. At the FBI, Attorney General Pam Bondi also dissolved a task force focused on foreign influence around U.S. elections. And the State Department has put dozens of employees who tracked global disinformation on leave, closing the operation that had publicized the spread of Chinese and Russian propaganda.
Cuts have also impacted a separate threat sharing program, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC). Some of its work will continue, including support for an intrusion detection system geared toward government networks. But other services have been decimated, including stakeholder engagement, cyber threat intelligence, and cyber incident response.
Cuts to the MS-ISAC are “very concerning,” Whitaker says. MS-ISAC is considered “one of the best tools that states have to figure out where the threats are coming from.”
The New York-based nonprofit that runs the program has said it will continue its efforts with more limited funding in the short-term. The group recently issued two advisories about vulnerabilities and patches, which was the first time it had done so in more than a month.
States also stand to lose millions in vital cyber funds. In 2021, Congress created a four-year, $1 billion cybersecurity grant program for state and local governments. Since then, every state but one has taken advantage of the funds to back initiatives like deploying intrusion-monitoring software, securing websites, and teaching cyber hygiene, with states required to direct at least 80% of their grant awards to cash-strapped local governments.
In Connecticut in 2022, more than 100 communities requested a combined $12 million, far more than the states $2.7 million allotment from Washington, its CIO told the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection at a March hearing.
The federal funding is not big,” says Whitaker, “but its essential.”
The grant program expires next September, however, leaving its fate in the hands of a GOP-controlled Congress, and DHS chief Kristi Noem, whose state was the only one in the country not to take the federal cyber funds.
And the funding is already in jeopardy. The White House recently cut staff at CISA and FEMA who manage the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, and an Office of Management and Budget memo that went into effect in January directs federal agencies to temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, including dozens of cybersecurity-specific federal grant programs and other federal grants that can help bolster cyber defenses. A federal judge temporarily halted the order the same day.
The prospect of state governments shouldering more responsibility for cybersecurity has rattled some state officials, who operate on often razor-thin budgets, and are already eyeing cuts to technical and fiscal support.
States have tools, but states need the federal government to lead on coordination, unification and major incident response, adds Colin Ahern, the chief cyber officer for New York State. We think that one of the things that only the feds can really do is this information sharing and operational collaboration.
A retreat by Washington is also prompting companies to reevaluate their own defenses, according to Danny Rogers, CEO of iVerify, which partnered with CISA last year on a security toolkit for communities at higher risk of cyberattack.
The cuts, he said, suggest that you’re really not going to be able to rely on the government to have your back anymore.”
The effects wont be immediately evident. “Its a boil the frog thing, he added, where we’re going to wake up one day and realize there’s a lot more catastrophe and a lot less capacity to deal with it.”
To discuss this or share more information, you reach me securely on Signal at alex.265 or at apasternack@fastcompany.com.
4.5 billion years ago the Sun was formed in a swirling cloud of dust and gas called the Solar Nebula. In a paper published by Nature Astronomy journal on April 28th, a team of internationally collaborating scientists proved that another giant molecular cloud hangs only 300 light-years awaymaking it the closest cloud to Earth.
The cloud, named Eos after the Greek goddess of dawn, is so massive that its width would measure about 40 moons side-by-side and its mass is 3,400 times that of the Sun. This thing was pretty much in our cosmic backyard, and weve just missed it, says astrophysicist and study coauthor Thomas Haworth in an interview with CNN.
Why has it taken scientists so long to detect Eos?
Molecular clouds are usually detected by tracking light emitted by their carbon monoxide content. For example, the Orion Nebula, which was previously thought to be the closest star forming cloud to Earth, is so bright that its visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy smudge under Orions Belt.
However, this only really works for clouds that have already produced stars. Clouds like Eos that have not yet created any stars do not contain much carbon monoxide. Eos is mostly hydrogen, so it does not emit the signature that scientists typically look for.
Because of this, the researchers found Eos by tracking ultraviolet emissions from the hydrogen using data from the Korean STSAT-1 satellite. A spectrograph on the satellite split the ultraviolet light into a spectrum of wavelength components that the researchers were able to analyze.
This is the first-ever molecular cloud discovered by looking for far ultraviolet emission of molecular hydrogen directly, says lead study author Dr. Blakesley Burkhart in a news release. The data showed glowing hydrogen molecules detected via fluorescence in the far ultraviolet. This cloud is literally glowing in the dark.
Could Eos make new stars?
Stars are formed when clumps of gas and dust in molecular clouds reach a critical mass and then collapse into their own gravity, sucking in more nearby material. Large molecular clouds can birth thousands of protostars.
But Eos might be dispersing too quickly to ever produce its own stars. The researchers calculated that the cloud will be destroyed in 5.7 million years’ time. They also calculated the clouds photodissociation rate to be around three times the regions star-formation rate.
Even if Eos may never birth a new star, it will provide researchers much deeper insight into the ways that molecular clouds form and dissociate.
When we look through our telescopes, we catch whole solar systems in the act of forming, but we dont know in detail how that happens, says Burkhart. Our discovery of Eos is exciting because we can now directly measure how molecular clouds are forming and dissociating, and how a galaxy begins to transform interstellar gas and dust into stars and planets.
Not to mention, that using the new far-ultraviolet fluorescence emission technique could allow scientists to uncover previously hidden clouds across the galaxy.
A long-delayed project promising nonstop rail service between San Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours may be able to secure the private funding it desperately needs if California agrees to pay the investors back, its chief executive told The Associated Press.
Ian Choudri, who was appointed CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority in August, is tasked with reinvigorating the nation’s largest infrastructure project amid skyrocketing costs and new fears that the Trump administration could pull $4 billion in federal funding.
We started this one, and we are not succeeding, Choudri said, describing what drew him to the job after work on high-speed systems in Europe. That was the main reason for me to say, ‘Lets go in, completely turn it around, and put it back to where it should have been. Fix all the issues, get the funding stabilized, and demonstrate to the rest of the world that when we decide that we want to do it, we actually will do it.’
Voters first approved $10 billion in bond money in 2008 to cover about a third of the estimated cost with a promise the train would be up and running by 2020. Five years past that deadline, no tracks have been laid, and Choudri acknowledges it may take nearly two more decades to complete most of the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles segment, even if funding is secured.
Funding woes
The project’s price tag now exceeds $100 billion, more than triple the initial estimate. It has mostly been funded by the state through the voter-approved bond and money from the states cap-and-trade program. A little less than a quarter of the money has come from the federal government.
The authority has already spent about $13 billion. The state is now out of bond money, and officials need to come up with a financing plan for the Central Valley segment by mid-2026, according to the inspector generals office overseeing the project.
The managers of the project were in trouble from the very beginning because they never had the financingcertainly not stable and predictable financingthat they would have needed to manage the project efficiently, said Lou Thompson, who led a peer review group that analyzes the states high-speed rail plans.
Losing money from the federal government would require a real hard rethinking of what do we do to survive the next four years, he said.
Rail leaders are in talks with Gov. Gavin Newsoms administration and state lawmakers on what will be needed to secure private investment, Choudri said, adding that without the private sector money the state may have to take out federal loans or issue new bonds. At an industry forum in January, private investors expressed interest in the project but need some form of security, he said.
Choudri is pushing Newsom and lawmakers to consider a program that would eventually commit the state to paying back private investors, possibly with interest. That would give the state more time to cover the cost.
Legislative Democrats say they remain hopeful for the projects future. But they havent unveiled any proposals yet this year in the state Legislature to set aside additional funding and have resisted spending more money on the project in the past.
Choudri plans to provide lawmakers this summer with an updated timeline and price tag.
An ambitious vision
Choudri aims to fulfill the original vision of building a pioneering systemalready common in Europe and Asiathat spurs economic growth, curbs planet-warming emissions from cars and planes, and saves drivers hours on the road.
At speeds up to 220 miles (354 kilometers) per hour, it would be the nation’s fastest way to travel by ground.
Amtraks Acela train transports passengers at speeds up to 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour to major cities including New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. Another rail line in Florida, operating at speeds up to 125 miles (201 kilometers) per hour, shuttles people from Orlando to Miami.
Construction is underway for a mostly privately funded high-speed system to carry riders from Las Vegas to Southern California.
California’s construction is far from completion. Of the 119 miles (192 kilometers) of construction underway in the Central Valley, only a 22-mile (35-kilometer) stretch is ready for the track-laying phase, which isnt set to start until next year.
Finishing the line in the Valley is just the first step. Next, the train has to extend north toward the San Francisco Bay Area and south toward Los Angeles. Choudri’s goal within the next 20 years is to build to Gilroy, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. Under current public transit, it would then take at least one more train transfer to get into the city.
Southward, he envisions building to Palmdale, 37 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles. From there, it takes more than one hour to drive or two hours on an existing train line to reach Los Angeles.
In the ideal world, you can take the 500 miles, build it in your warehouse and then just drop it, and everybodys happy,” Choudri said. But the programs are never built like that. You build incrementally, and thats what were doing right now.
Doubts for the future
Critics say the project will never be completed and may leave towering and unusable infrastructure stretching through the state’s agricultural heartland. More than 50 structures have already been built, including underpasses, viaducts, and bridges to separate the rail line from existing roadways for safety.
Weve now spent billions of dollars and really no tracks have been laid, said Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland, who is vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.
Doug Verboon, chair of the Kings County Board of Supervisors, who has fought the High-Speed Rail Authority in court over farmers’ loss of land due to the project, said the people who should be most upset by delays are its longtime supporters.
It doesnt seem to me like the state government is in a hurry to finish it,” he said.
Sophie Austin, Associated Press/Report for America
Starbucks held its quarterly earnings call Tuesday, during which CEO Brian Niccol highlighted a slew of design steps the company is taking as part of its overall turnaround strategy.
While Niccols described the company’s drop in quarterly earnings as “disappointing,” behind the scenes he claims the coffee chain is still making progress toward its back-to-basics comeback plan by upgrading its coffeehouses, standardizing the Starbucks experience store-to-store, and implementing more efficient systems. All of this will begin to roll out over the next few months.
Here’s a rundown of the design changes so far and what’s heating up for next quarter.
[Photo: Starbucks]
1. Coffeeshop uplifts coming to select cities in months
Starbucks has been planning to make its cafés more cozy for a while now, as part of an effort to keep customers coming back and spending more time in-store. On its Tuesday earnings call, Niccol said store redesigns are moving along and that he expects they will deliver an exceptional customer experience.
Coffeehouse uplifts, as Niccols described them during the company’s earnings call, will begin to roll out in New York City and Southern California in the coming months. The chain designed the updates to its cafés to make them feel more premium, warm, and inviting while also keeping costs down and minimizing store closures. Already, a return to what Niccol described as great seats in some locations has contributed to more customers sitting and staying a while longer.
“The third place is our heritage,” he said. “It’s needed more than ever, and we’re reclaiming it.”
2. An optimized shift app for employees
Last quarter, the company made an update to Shift Marketplace, its tool that allows employees to trade and pick up shifts locally. This increased the pool of employees able to fill in last-minute shift changes by a factor of 10, so that fewer cafés are understaffed, according to the company.
The ultimate goal of the change is to improve employee experience as well as the customer’s in-store experience, by beefing up staffing and decreasing wait times.
[Photo: Starbucks]
3. The green apron premium experience at scale
Niccol said the company had piloted a “new green apron service model” for employees and stores that creates more flexibility; better captures demand, especially at peak hours; and delivers “a more premium customer experience.” The model includes updated expectations and new streamlined routines, and a new algorithm for sequencing when to make preordered drinks, especially important during peak times.
The new model will be expanded to more than 2,000 U.S. company-operated locations beginning in May, and reach more than two-thirds of its cafés by the end of the fiscal year.
4. Paired with premium drinks and a redesigned menu
Starbucks has simplified its menu, and it’s also focusing on premium drinks. It plans to fully roll out its proprietary single-cup Clover Vertica brewer, which has now been installed in 70% of stores. Niccol said Starbucks is also working on artisanal snacks and freshly baked and prepared food it can bring to stores. The more upscale menu goes hand in hand with the elevated store design, aimed at getting customers to come in, spend more, and stay longer.
Niccol said Starbucks is also finding ways to improve on existing products, like matcha, which saw sales improve 40% year over year after the company removed sugar in response to customer feedback. When it comes to seasonal drinks, the company will take “an agile test-and-learn approach” to create drinks that are not only relevant but “executed consistently.”
5. A new, more efficient ordering algorithm
Starbucks piloted a new algorithm at select stores that does a better job of sequencing the production of drink orders, whether placed at the café counter, drive-through, or by app. According to the company’s tests, it has dropped café wait times by an average of two minutes. Being able to shave minutes off wait times is especially helpful during peak hours, and it gives employees a more streamlined work experience.
“We’re finding through our work that investments in labor, rather than equipment, are more effective at improving throughput and driving transaction growth,” Niccol said. “We’re shifting our focus from beverage production to craft and connection.”
[Photo: Starbucks]
All part of its “Back to Starbucks” approach
Starbucks announced an updated dress code for employees earlier this month to make the customer and employee experience consistent across cafés and to ensure the brand’s recognizable green apron was the star of the fit. The dress code is an outward sign of a larger shift at the company.
Starbucks’s other ongoing design changes, like bringing back handwritten notes on coffee cups, ceramic mugs for to-stay orders, and free same-visit refills of hot or iced coffee or tea, have been received positively by customers, Niccol said. Starbucks says it’s getting back to basics, and the coffee chain hopes that a renovated store and improved customer experience will not only deliver on that, but also improve the company’s bottom line.
Are you ready to hand over your wallet to AI and let it do your shopping for you? Maybe notbut the technology to do it is hitting the market.
On Wednesday, Visa announced Visa Intelligent Commerce, which effectively allows AI agents to find and buy goods or services on behalf of consumers. While Visa itself doesnt create the AI agents, what its done is create the e-commerce backbone to allow it to happen. Consumers could use AI tools to track down potential purchases, but then those platforms would hand control back over to the human to complete the transaction.
The big change with Visas technology is that, with the proper permissions enabled, AI agents can complete the purchase without going back to their human handler. The value-add, Visas Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell tells Fast Company, is that it frees up the cognitive load and time, delivering massively better outcomes, and more valueits going to deliver better shopping experiences.
For example, a shopper can now request that an AI agent buy a bouquet for their mom as a Mothers Day gift, and the entire process requires little, if any additional input from the shopper. The AI may be able to find the particular flowers the consumers mother likes, at a desired price point, and have them delivered on or before Mothers Day. The shopper can breathe easy, and not put too much thought or effort into the transactionsomething that their mothers probably wouldnt want to know.
As for the tech itself, Forestell says that getting AI agents set up to make payments involves getting a payment card credential to an agent, which he says is tech thats similar to Apple Pay or Google Paythe agent gets a token that can only be used by that agent. From there, and from Visas standpoint, two things need to occur: Visa needs to get a buy signal from a merchant that indicates an agent is making a purchase, and the confirmation that the transaction has completed.
While there will be some lag between users adopting agentic payments en masse, as merchants, consumers, and financial institutions learn to trust them and use them efficiently. But Forestell says APIs will be available on Wednesday, so people and companies can begin to work with the technology.
Pretend you and 99 peers had to duke it out against a gorilla. Would your squad emerge victorious? That debate has been dividing the internet over the past few days.
The conversation originally surfaced on Reddit back in 2020, when a user posed the question in the r/whowouldwin subreddit. It recently reignited after the question was put to X users last week. The viral postnow with over 288 million viewssuggests that 100 men could defeat a single gorilla if everyone was dedicated to the task.
Since then, arguments have raged across social media. MrBeast even joined the discussion: Need 100 men to test this, any volunteers? he wrote, alongside a fake thumbnail for a YouTube video based on the concept.
Need 100 men to test this, any volunteers? pic.twitter.com/p2iQvOWbYJ— MrBeast (@MrBeast) April 28, 2025
Meanwhile, Elon Musk responded: Sure, whats the worst that could happen?
Naturally, the internet had questions before picking a side. Are weapons allowed? What tactics are in play? Are we talking average guysor 100 Dwayne The Rock Johnsons?
To help settle the debate, some turned to AI and gaming simulators. One viral post on X showed the gorilla dispatching 100 humans with apparent ease.
someone simulated 100 men vs 1 gorilla pic.twitter.com/9F2hTldLDt— juju (@ayeejuju) April 28, 2025
Another user vibe coded a custom battle in Hytopia, a free-to-play gaming world. The gorilla won, they added. In yet another simulation, X users took issue with the unrealistic height advantage given to the gorilla (because, of course, accuracy matters here). The craziest thing about this trend is that it revealed how many people think gorillas are 15 feet tall, one person commented.
someone made a simulator of the 1 gorilla vs 100 men pic.twitter.com/ZnIt7VXuCv— kira (@kirawontmiss) April 28, 2025
A primatologist brought in by Rolling Stone quickly shut the whole thing down, calling the premise entirely unrealistic. While adult male gorillas can weigh over 400 pounds and are estimated to be four to 10 times stronger than humans, they are in fact gentle giants who would avoid this conflict whenever possible, they explained.
Still, as one X user put it: This gorilla conversation is real interweb discussions. Not all that other tomfoolery nonsense. And really, isnt it nice to see the internet putting its debating skills to positive use?
Duolingo launched 148 new language classes that were built by generative AI, the company announced Wednesday.
The move, which more than doubles it current language offering, comes as the gamified learning platform is facing criticism for replacing contract workers with artificial intelligence.
“Developing our first 100 courses took about 12 years, and now, in about a year, were able to create and launch nearly 150 new courses. This is a great example of how generative AI can directly benefit our learners,” Duolingo CEO and cofounder Luis von Ahn said in a press release. “This launch reflects the incredible impact of our AI and automation investments, which have allowed us to scale at unprecedented speed and quality.”
As of Wednesday, the language expansion makes the platforms seven most popular non-English languagesSpanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarinavailable across all supported user interface languages. This means that speakers of languages like Japanese, Hindi, and Mandarin can now learn any of these languages, not just English. According to the company, the new courses will initially focus on beginner levels, with more advanced content to follow in the coming months.
The rapid expansion is part of Duolingo’s bet on artificial intelligence. Von Ahn said in an email to employees and posted to social media on Monday that it was shifting to become an “AI-first” company. That includes phasing out contractors who do work that AI can handle, approving headcount additions if a team can’t automate more of its work, and looking for AI skills when hiring.
“This isn’t about replacing Duos with AI,” von Ahn wrote in the email. “It’s about removing bottlenecks so we can do more with the outstanding Duos we already have. We want you to focus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks. We’re going to support you with more training, mentorship, and tooling for AI in your function.”
Duolingo will likely share more about its mission when it reports first quarter 2025 earnings on Thursday. Shares of the company were up nearly 18% year-to-date on Wednesday afternoon and up 174% from its 2021 market debut.
