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Donald Trumps Big Beautiful Bill Act has passed through the Senate thanks to Vice President JD Vances tiebreaking vote. But alongside the late-night drama in the chamber this week, another wave of developments has unfolded online. Elon Musk, once President Trumps closest confidante during the early months of his second presidency, has broken his social media silence to criticize what he calls the insane spending bill and has even threatened to launch a competing political party to challenge both Republicans and Democrats. If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day. Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2025 The Musk-Trump relationship, once warm, soured last month and has taken a new turn. The president has now threatened to consider deporting the South African businessman over his outspoken opposition. Musk argues the utterly insane and destructive bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country! According to the SpaceX and Tesla CEO, the bill provides handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future. The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future. https://t.co/TZ9w1g7zHF— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2025 He contends that the bill removes subsidies for electric and clean-fuel vehicles, reduces the value of tax credits for new wind and solar projects, and speeds up the phaseout of existing ones. In doing so, Trump is undermining the United States energy transition toward cleaner fuelscrucial for combating climate change and keeping the American economy competitive. Putting aside the name-calling and dramatic threats that mark any clash between Musk and Trump, some experts agree with Musk. This bill is a huge setback for clean energy development in the United States, says Daniel Cohan, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University. He warns that current decisions risk stalling clean energy growth, while other countries, including China, push forward with renewables. It takes away support for the technologies that matter most for cutting emissionssolar, wind, batteries, and electric carswhile wasting money on ones that don’t, such as biofuels and carbon capture for oil recovery, explains Cohan. Beyond the environmental consequences of cutting subsidies and benefits for clean energy, the bill may have economic impacts likely to concern Trump more directly. One analysis by the Rhodium Group predicts that the bills provisions could cost 300,000 jobs and result in $220 billion in lost clean energy investment in the U.S. by 2030. Still, not everyone agrees with Musk. Musk’s faith in the economic viability and value of unconventional power, and the need to maintain the subsidies and other subventions, is wholly misplaced, says Benjamin Zycher, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank. There are some silver linings for forward-looking energy sectors. The removal of fuel sourcing restrictions and retention of PTCs confirm strong federal support for advanced nuclear technologies, says Julien Dumoulin-Smith, energy analyst at investment bank Jefferies. These provisions are expected to accelerate next-gen reactor deployment and reinforce the value of existing assets. Dumoulin-Smith calls the bill as best an outcome that could have been expected [for renewables] after direct intervention by Trump earlier on renewable credits, though he acknowledges it may still hurt the industry. Whether the bill will damage the countryor Trumps presidencymay depend on how aggressively Musk chooses to fight back. But it could also come down to employment. This bill will reverse progress on bringing clean energy manufacturing and deployment jobs to the United States at a time when China and other countries are dramatically ramping up their efforts, says Cohan, the Rice University professor. For a president fixated on putting America first, that may prove to be the most consequential outcome.
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E-Commerce
A European heat wave helped fuel a virulent wildfire in Spain that killed two farmers before hundreds of firefighters brought it under control thanks to a timely rainstorm, authorities said Wednesday.The blaze that broke out late on Tuesday in the rural province of Lleida created an enormous thick plume of ash and smoke that reached 14,000 meters (45,000 feet) of altitude, making it the largest registered by firefighters in Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain.Firefighters said that the fire spread at 28 kph (17 mph) at one point, making it one of the fastest fires registered in Europe, they said.Catalan regional president Salvador Illa announced the deaths, which occurred late Tuesday, in a social media post around midnight. Firefighters said that the two victims were found near the small village of Coscó in the county of La Segarra near a vehicle. Regional official Nuria Parlón said that the two victims were a farmer and one of his workers. She said that it appears that they were caught by the flames as they were trying to flee the farm.Two firefighters also needed to be treated a local hospital for injuries. Rain played a helping hand A total of 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres), mostly of fields growing grains and cereals, was burned before firefighters got some help from a rainstorm and established a perimeter. Authorities issued warnings to residents via messages to smartphones and ordered 14,000 people to stay indoors, firefighters said. That order was lifted late Tuesday as more than 500 firefighters participated in the deployment.Firefighters said that the rainstorms “quickly changed the situation and helped speed up getting the fire stabilized.”The fire destroyed mostly farmland, but it also incinerated at least three old farmhouses and some other farm buildings before it was declared under control early Wednesday.“Wildfires today are not like they were before,” Illa, the regional president, said. “These are extremely dangerous. From the very first moment, it was considered to be beyond the capacity of extinction. I mean that not even with two or three times the number of firefighters, they have told me, it would have been possible to put out.”The heat wave in parts of Europe has set record high temperatures for June in Spain and Portugal.More hot weather is expected on Wednesday with temperatures in the Lleida region forecast to reach a high of 39 C (102 F).“It will be a difficult day due to the high temperatures and until we get past the hottest part of the afternoon we will have to be on our guard,” Illa said. Spain bakes Spain has been sweltering under its first heat wave of the year since the weekend. Its weather service said that the national average for June of 23.6 C (74 F) was a new record. It was the first time that June was hotter than the average temperatures for both July and August.Except for Spain’s northern Atlantic coast, the country remained under alert for high temperatures and for wildfire risk on Wednesday.In Spain’s southern city of Malaga, the international Red Cross set up a “climate refuge” that is air-conditioned down to the low 20s C (about 70F) to help residents “cope with the heat in comfort and with company, avoiding the isolation and loneliness” that extreme heat can impose as people stay indoors.The Spanish Red Cross was also providing an “assisted bathing service” to help people with reduced mobility to cool down in waters at the beach.The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts said that it was closely monitoring the abnormally hot temperatures for the continent. Weather experts link the heat wave to climate change.More than two-thirds of the severest heat waves in Europe registered since 1950 have occurred since 2000, the World Meteorological Organization says.France’s national weather agency kept four departments under red alert on Wednesday after temperatures exceeded 40 C (104 F) in many towns. The summit of Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower remained closed until Thursday for “everyone’s comfort and safety.” Air conditioning strains Italian power Heat alerts were issued for 17 Italian cities Wednesday. The corresponding surge in air conditioning was straining the electric grid and causing periodic blackouts. On Tuesday, parts of Florence’s historic centerwhich is packed with hotels, restaurants, and shopshad a blackout following a surge in electricity use, energy company Enel said.Italy’s labor ministry, meanwhile, summoned union representatives to a meeting Wednesday to finalize a protocol on protecting farm, construction and other workers who labor outdoors from heat exposure.This came after a construction worker died in Bologna this week. Switzerland protects river In Switzerland, one of the two reactors at the Beznau nuclear power plant was shut down as part of efforts to prevent excessive warming of the Aare River, so as not to further burden wildlife and the overall ecosystem in already hot weather, operator Axpo said. Samuel Petrequin in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, and Nicole Winfield in Rome, contributed to this report. Joseph Wilson, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Versant, the new company thats being spun off from Comcast, and which will be the new home to several of its cable networks, is building out a new, independent news-gathering operation as it disentangles MSNBC from NBC News. For decades, the two brands worked hand-in-hand, sharing reporting and resources. However, with the two entities soon to be part of different companies, they need to decouple, which includes determining where some of the companys talent will go. Thats a complicated process, and it means that MSNBC, for the first time since its inception in 1996, will rely on its own stable of reporters and correspondents, rather than the combined efforts of its staff and NBC News. And right out of the gate, the news is good for MSNBC, as it has managed to bring aboard one of NBC News’s most prominent journalists. Brandy Zadrozny is joining MSNBC as the networks new senior enterprise reporter, based in New York. She moves to the new role after serving as a senior reporter at NBC News, where she covered the internet with a focus on politics, tech, and extremism. Brandy Zadrozny [Photo: courtesy MSNBC] Zadroznys work won her an Emmy, a Webby Award for a six-episode NBC News podcast she created, and includes stories related to radicalization, vaccine skepticism, and QAnon. Im thrilled to be joining MSNBC after years of reporting alongside its journalists, Zadrozny tells Fast Company. At a moment when theres real hunger for fact-based journalism with a clear mission, Im grateful for the opportunity to keep investigating stories that matterabout disinformation and the fringe forces reshaping our politicswith the support and reach of a network that knows exactly what it stands for. Filling out the ranks Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. announced in late 2024 that it would spin out its cable TV networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Golf Channel, into a separate publicly traded company, initially dubbed “SpinCo,” which it said at the time had generated $7 billion in 2024. The company name was revealed as Versant in May, with the spin-off expected to be completed later this year. Shares of Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) are down roughly 3% since the announcement. Zadrozny is one of several key hires that MSNBC is making, bringing in talent with diverse media backgrounds, including alumni of the Wall Street Journal, Politico, CNN, and even the upstart Crooked Media. That includes Scott Matthews, who will be MSNBCs senior vice president of news-gathering, along with NBC Newss Joey Cole and ABC Newss Erin Zimmerman, who will be in charge of day-to-day and long-term planning for the news team. Sudeep Reddy, formerly of Politico, is the networks new Washington bureau chief, and Madeleine Haeringer, formerly of NBC News and Crooked Media, is the new head of digital, audio, and long-form operations. In addition, Vaughn Hillyard will be the networks senior White House correspondent, and Laura Barrón-López (a former White House correspondent for PBS NewsHour) will be MSNBCs White House correspondent. David Noriega will be a correspondent based in Los Angeles, and Marc Santia will be an Investigative Correspondent. But thats not all: MSNBC is also welcoming a batch of correspondents and contributors, including Eugene Daniels, Jackie Alemany, Antonia Hylton, Elise Jordan, Ken Dilanian, and Erielle Reshef. Programming shifts There will also be some programming shakeups. That includes Jen Psakis show airing at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday through Friday, with Rachel Maddow holding down the slot on Monday nights. Ali Velshis program is being supersized to three hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Its expected that MSNBC will be fully independent from NBC News within a few months, and that the full spin-off of Versant from NBCUniversal and Comcast will occur by the end of the year. Versants properties will reach 70 million households in the United States. In the meantime, MSNBC and NBC News will continue the work of separating. Notably, both MSNBC and CNBC will retain their names, despite no longer being affiliated with NBCmuch in the same way that MSNBC has kept MS as a part of its branding, despite no longer being affiliated with Microsoft, which helped launch the brand in the 1990s. (Disclosure: The author of this story previously worked for CNBC.)
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