President-elect Trump backs H-1B visas, siding with Elon Musk after the tech billionaire pledged to go to "war" to defend the program and branded GOP opponents "hateful, unrepentant racists."
Why it matters: The MAGA-DOGE civil war that erupted over the last 48 hours has now come to a tipping point, with Trump's new techno-libertarian coalition of billionaires taking full aim at his traditional base.
Nothing revs up MAGA like the chance to dunk on DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion.
DEI-bashing is the core of the "anti-woke" theology. MAGA warriors want a true color/gender-blind meritocracy, they say.
Why it matters: MAGA's DEI unity has hit a big snag. Elon Musk — a MAGA fanboy and fav until this past week — and others on X are arguing forcefully that in a true meritocracy, you'd pick harder-working foreigners for high-skilled gigs over less-qualified Americans.
Bankrupt retailer Big Lots said Friday it struck an 11th-hour deal to save hundreds of its stores via a sale to Gordon Brothers and Variety Wholesalers.
Why it matters: The Columbus, Ohio-based company had about 27,700 employees and more than 1,300 stores in 48 states when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.
Elon Musk condemned a segment of the MAGA movement as "contemptible fools" who should be purged from the Republican Party in a social media post Friday.
Why it matters: A virtual right-wing civil war has broken out over race, class, immigration and the future of President-elect Trump's movement, and Musk is increasingly at odds with Trump's historic base.
Nearly 200 ski patrollers and mountain safety personnel on Friday launched a strike at Park City Mountain in Utah to protest alleged unfair labor practices.
Why it matters: The post-Christmas job action threatened to disrupt operations at the largest ski resort in the U.S. during one of the busiest weeks of the season.
Sriram Krishnan has become a MAGA lightning rod since President-elect Trump named him as a senior adviser on artificial intelligence, due to both anti-Indian racism and Krishnan's pro-immigration views.
The big picture: Krishnan is an unlikely candidate for controversy, known throughout Silicon Valley for his affability and to the broader world as co-host of a podcast with his wife, tech entrepreneur Aarthi Ramamurthy.
An erupting civil war in MAGA world over foreign workers has shone a fresh spotlight on a visa scheme that has become the backbone of the country's highly skilled tech industry.
Why it matters: The brewing conflict has underscored the schism between one of President-elect Trump's cornerstone pledges — cracking down on immigration — and his Silicon Valley supporters, many of whose businesses depend on attracting foreign workers.
A handful of conservative critics of Elon Musk are alleging censorship and claiming they were stripped of their verification badges on X after challenging his views on H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers.
Why it matters: The H-1B issue and an X post by Musk ally Vivek Ramaswamy about America's culture of "mediocrity" have sparked an online MAGA civil war over immigration and race. Some supporters of President-elect Trump are now turning on Musk and the tech bros Trump has tapped for key administration roles.
American adults are nearly as likely to blame insurance denials for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as they are to blame the person who shot him, according to new poll data.
The big picture: The reaction to Brian Thompson's killing — and the veneration by some of suspect Luigi Mangione — has revealed a deep distrust of the health insurance industry and its treatment of patients in need of critical care.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday vehemently denied President-elect Trump's claims of Chinese interference in the Panama Canal.
Why it matters: Trump has accused Panamanian authorities of charging "exorbitant" shipping rates and cited the increasing dominance of China's government in trade throughout the Americas as a reason to take control of the Panama Canal, one of the world's most crucial pieces of infrastructure that the U.S. ceded in 1999.
