Trump Warns Musk of ‘Serious Consequences' if He Backs Democrats
BEDMINSTER, N.J.—President Trump warned former right-hand-man Elon Musk to stay out of the midterm elections, threatening 'very serious consequences' if he backed Democrats in the campaign.
Musk, who crossed Trump by staunchly opposing his 'big, beautiful' tax-and-spending bill over deficit concerns, said last week that anyone who votes for this bill should be fired. Some Democrats have suggested that they try to win Musk over to their side, despite his being villainized by the party for his sweeping cuts to government staff. The billionaire spent about $300 million backing Trump and Republican candidates in the 2024 elections.
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USA Today
34 minutes ago
- USA Today
Texas enacts robotaxi rules on the eve of Tesla's Austin rollout
AUSTIN - Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has signed legislation requiring a permit to operate self-driving vehicles just before Tesla's planned launch of a robotaxi trial on Sunday, June 22 in Austin, according to the governor's website. The law does not take effect until Sept. 1, but the governor's approval of it on Friday sends a strong signal that state officials from both parties want the driverless-vehicle industry to proceed cautiously. A group of Democratic state lawmakers earlier this week asked Tesla to delay its planned robotaxi trial because of the legislation. Neither Tesla nor the governor's office immediately responded to requests for comment. The law marks a reversal from the state's previous anti-regulation stance on autonomous vehicles. A 2017 Texas law specifically prohibited cities from regulating self-driving cars. In recent days, Tesla has sent invites to a select group of Tesla online influencers for a small and carefully monitored robotaxi trial, which the company has said would include 10 or 20 Model Y vehicles operated in a limited zone of Austin. The governor's signature on the law puts the automaker in the position of choosing whether to proceed with a rollout it might have to terminate before Sept. 1. The law requires autonomous-vehicle operators to get approval from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles before operating on public streets without a human driver. It also gives state authorities the power to revoke permits if they deem a driverless vehicle "endangers the public" and requires firms to provide information on how police and first responders can deal with their driverless vehicles in emergency situations. Musk pledges safe robotaxi rollout The planned Tesla robotaxi launch, which the company warned might be delayed, comes after more than a decade of CEO Elon Musk's unfulfilled promises to deliver self-driving Teslas. Most of Tesla's sky-high stock value now rests on its ability to deliver robotaxis and humanoid robots, according to many industry analysts. Tesla is by far the world's most valuable automaker. Musk has said Tesla would be "super paranoid" about safety for the Austin rollout. The company planned to operate only in areas it considered the safest and to have "safety monitors" riding in the front passenger seat. It is not clear how much control the monitors would have over the vehicles in an emergency situation. The service in Austin will have other restrictions as well. Tesla plans to avoid bad weather, difficult intersections, and will not carry anyone below the age of 18. Musk has said he is ready to delay the start for safety reasons, if needed. The planned launch has generated buzz among Tesla fans. "Wow. We are going to ride in driverless Teslas in just a few days. On public roads," posted Omar Qazi, an user with 635,200 followers who writes often about Tesla using the handle @WholeMarsBlog and received an invite. Commercializing autonomous vehicles has been risky and expensive. GM's Cruise was shut down after a fatal accident and regulators are closely watching Tesla and its rivals, Alphabet's Waymo, which runs a paid robotaxi service in several U.S. cities, and Amazon's Zoox. Tesla is also bucking the young industry's standard practice of relying on multiple technologies to read the road, using only cameras. That, says Musk, will be safe and much less expensive than lidar and radar systems added by rivals.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oklahoma City (OK) Mayor David Holt Elected New President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Policy Agenda Adopted for the Year Ahead, as Annual Meeting Concludes
San Diego (CA) Mayor Todd Gloria and Lincoln (NE) Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird Elected First and Second Vice Presidents TAMPA, Fla., June 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) voted to elect a new leadership team and approved a slate of policy resolutions that will serve as the official platform of the organization and guide its advocacy agenda for the year ahead. The business meeting marked the close of USCM's 93rd Annual Meeting, which convened more than 170 mayors from across the country in Tampa, Florida. Oklahoma City (OK) Mayor David Holt was elected by his fellow mayors to serve as the next President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He will serve a one-year term. "There is no more important place in human existence than the city, and there is no higher office than the Mayor," said President Holt. "The Conference of Mayors sits at the epicenter of America's future. If that future is to be as bright or brighter than the past, it will be because of the work that happens right here." "This Conference is fortunate to lean on the leadership of Mayor Holt in this time of opportunity and need for America's cities," said Tom Cochran, USCM CEO and Executive Director. "He champions the value of local leadership, and he embraces the power this Conference has to unite so many voices to improve the lives of the people of America's cities. I know his colleagues are grateful to have him steering the ship." In addition to elevating Mayor Holt to USCM president, mayors elected San Diego (CA) Mayor Todd Gloria as First Vice President and Lincoln (NE) Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird as Second Vice President. The Conference also named new Trustees and Advisory Board Members. New USCM Trustees are as follows: Scranton (PA) Mayor Paige Cognetti Albuquerque (NM) Mayor Tim Keller Columbia (SC) Mayor Daniel Rickenmann These mayors, in addition to the current elected top leaders and past presidents, make up the USCM Executive Committee. New USCM Advisory Board Members are as follows: Redmond (WA) Mayor Angela Birney Carmel (IN) Mayor Sue Finkam Chicago (IL) Mayor Brandon Johnson Tucson (AZ) Mayor Regina Romero Mount Vernon (NY) Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard A major component of today's meeting was also the consideration and adoption of policy resolutions. Throughout the Annual Meeting, the standing committees of the Conference met to propose and advance resolutions on a wide range of priorities for American mayors. Of particular emphasis today, the full Conference adopted a policy that calls for recalibrating federal immigration enforcement, protecting local control in public safety and with federal resources, preserving economic growth, and continuing to improve cities' affordability and quality of life. Other policies were adopted on issues including energy, housing, the environment, transportation, and the economy. The resolutions adopted today now make up the official policy of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and can be found here. Next year's Annual Meeting will be in Long Beach, California. About the United States Conference of Mayors – The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Follow our work on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, and Medium. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Post
35 minutes ago
- New York Post
Vance: ‘No interest in boots on the ground' — but bracing for poss. sleeper-cell attacks in US
Vice President JD Vance on Sunday insisted the US has no interest in putting boots on the ground in Iran — while admitting the administration is bracing for potential terror attacks from sleeper cells in America. 'We're not at war with Iran. We're at war with Iran's nuclear program,' Vance told NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'We have no interest in a protracted conflict. We have no interest in boots on the ground,' he said. 'We didn't blow up diplomacy. 'We only took this action when it was clear, as the president said, that the Iranians were tapping us along,' the vice president said of the US strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities Saturday. 'The Iranians are clearly not very good at war. Perhaps they should follow President Trump's lead and give peace a chance if they're serious about it. I guarantee you, the president of the United States is,' Vance said. 4 Vice President JD Vance on Sunday warns Iran against retaliation. NBC 4 The Pentagon laid out a timeline for how 'Operation Midnight Hammer' unfolded against Iran on Saturday. Dept of Defense The vice president insisted Iran's network of terrorist proxies in the region is already washed up, as is its nuclear program, though comprehensive damage assessments haven't been finished. After announcing the successful military campaign late Saturday, Trump dramatically warned that any retaliation from Iran 'will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed' during the strikes on its Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear sites. Vance reiterated that warning and underscored that 'it would be the stupidest thing in the world if they' seek retribution. He also indicated that the US has been battening down the hatches just in case. 'We're, of course, doing everything that we can to keep our people safe. I think that we're prepared in the event that the Iranians do retaliate,' Vance said — before later warning about possible sleeper cells in the US. 'Unfortunately, we know that a lot of people who we don't have full accounting of were let in over the last four years under the Biden administration,' Vance said. Also among the fears of reciprocation from Iran is that Tehran could target US bases and other military assets in the Mideast or close off the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which about 20% to 25% of the world's oil consumption flows. 4 Vance joined President Trump in the Situation Room to monitor the strikes Saturday. The White House/X Vance said it would be 'suicidal' for Iran to try to shut the strait, particularly given the havoc that would wreak on its already beleaguered economy. But he reiterated that 'our biggest red line is the Iranian nuclear weapons.' Vance, throughout his tenure as an elected official, has staked out a staunch anti-war position. He had long been skeptical of protracted US aid to war-torn Ukraine. In March, a leaked Signal message chat revealed that he was privately apprehensive about Trump's strike against the Houthis in Yemen. Despite that, Vance was adamant Sunday that Trump is being prudent with his use of military force and that preventing Iran's theocratic regime from obtaining a nuke is within America's core interests. 'The president has actually been one of the fiercest critics of 25 years of failed foreign policy in the Middle East, which is why he did what he did: a very precise, a very surgical strike tailored to an American national interest,' Vance said. 'I don't fear that this is going to become a protracted conflict because I think that we have a president who knows what's in America's interest.' The vice president also juxtaposed Trump's use of military action against Iran with how past presidents have dealt with conflicts in the tumultuous region. 4 Top military officials are still assessing the damage done to the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and other facilities. MAXAR Technologies 'I certainly empathize with Americans who are exhausted after 25 years of foreign entanglements in the Middle East,' he stressed. 'I understand the concern. But the difference is that back then we had a dumb president.' Shortly after news of the strikes broke, a chorus of Democrats called for Trump to be impeached, accusing him of exceeding his military authority. Even some Republicans, such as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), called the airstrikes unconstitutional. Vance, a former Ohio senator, shrugged off those concerns and stressed that 'the president has clear authority to act to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.' Earlier this year, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified before the House and Senate intelligence committees that the US intelligence community assessed that 'Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.' She later accused the media of misconstruing her words. 'They were way too close to a nuclear weapon for the comfort of the president of the United States, which is why he took this action,' Vance said of the Iranians. 'We had a narrow window of opportunity. 'We might not have been able to carry out this attack six months down the road,' he added. 'It would have been irresponsible, I think, for the president not to take the action that he did. 'What happens next is up to the Iranians,' Vance assessed at another point in the interview.
