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To: Bonefish who wrote (1538538)5/14/2025 3:35:12 AM
From: sylvester80  Respond to of 1570975
 
BOOM: US Industry at a standstill as companies delay U.S. manufacturing

Industry leaders say tariffs are causing major disruptions, rising costs, and buyer hesitation. Many see 2025 as a write-off and are bracing for 2026, calling for urgent relief to avoid deeper crisis.

msn.com



To: Bonefish who wrote (1538538)5/14/2025 3:42:28 AM
From: sylvester80  Respond to of 1570975
 
BOOM: Elon Musk left red-faced as Tesla Optimus robot admits it's less useful than others
Elon Musk left red-faced as Tesla Optimus robot admits it's less useful than others
Tesla's head honcho Elon Musk has caused quite a stir on social media by posting a clip of the Tesla Optimus humanoid robot busting some groovy dance moves, showcasing both the robot's nimble steps and the leaps the company has made in its tech development.

It all started back in 2021 when Tesla first introduced the humanoid Optimus robot at its yearly AI Day. To jazz things up, they had a person costumed as a humanoid robot hit the stage with some dance moves for the attendees.

Time whipped by, and nearly four years on, the robot finally strutted its stuff for real.

READ MORE: Melania Trump admits Barron still creating 'unimaginable, unpredictable concerns' in jab at Donald

The very first glimpse people caught of Optimus was at 2022's AI Day, where Tesla trotted out a kind-of-working prototype, managing to traipse across the stage and pull off some rudimentary arm waves. Fast forward a year, and this bot could hold yoga stances and perform more sophisticated tasks like color-coded block sorting.

Related video: Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' Mode is a Joke (Motoring USA)

We've spoken about Tesla a lot on here.
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During last year's "We, Robot" shin-dig at Tesla, a posse of Tesla Optimus robots played bartender and mingled with the crowd. They even had a moment when they busted dances moves together, arms and torsos perfectly in sync.

From its inception, Tesla has revved up its progress on the robot project over recent years, now tweaking its dance routine to bring more pizzazz and precision to its legwork. The latest dance-off video shared by Tesla is expected to herald a new era in the evolution of humanoid robots.

However, not everything’s about dance-offs and robot soire´es; despite these robotic marvels, when Musks's own Grok AI bot was wrangled into ranking the world's top AI bots on X (formerly known as Twitter), it chimed in with its two cents.

"Ranking the top 5 humanoid robot manufacturers based on real-world test videos as of May 2025: 1. Boston Dynamics (Atlas) - excels in dynamic movements like parkour. 2. Figure AI (Figure 01/02) - deployed in factories, performing autonomous tasks. 3. Agility Robotics (Digit) - used in warehouses for material handling. 4. UBTECH (Walker S1) - active in automotive assembly lines. 5. Tesla (Optimus) - impressive mobility but early in practical application. The field is evolving rapidly, so rankings may shift with new advancements," Grok wrote.


Elon Musk left red-faced as Tesla Optimus robot admits it's less useful than others© tesla/X

According to Tesla's Q1 2025 updated letter, the company has already started limited production of the Optimus bot at its Fremont Factory.

Musk said the company plans to produce over 1,000 units of Tesla Optimus for internal use in 2025 and external sales by 2026.

Musk claims Tesla Optimus could be "more significant than Tesla's vehicle business," with a value of $25 trillion. Musk believes that by automating low-skill, repetitive jobs, Teslabots could reshape economies around the world.

Musk believes it could lead to an "age of abundance" where goods and services are cheaper.



To: Bonefish who wrote (1538538)5/14/2025 4:32:39 AM
From: sylvester80  Respond to of 1570975
 
Larry Summers Says 'It's Very Clear' Who Blinked On U.S.-China Trade War
Story by Marita Vlachou
21h
2 min read
Larry Summers Says 'It's Very Clear' Who Blinked On U.S.-China Trade War
Larry Summers, who served as treasury secretary in former President Bill Clinton’s administration, on Monday said it was President Donald Trump who caved in the U.S.-China trade war, while assessing how the new agreement informed his prediction on the probability of the U.S. entering a recession.

The U.S. announced it reached an agreement with Beijing to reduce tariffs for now in an effort to deescalate the tension between the world’s two biggest economies.

In an interview with CNN’s “The Arena,” Summers said “it’s very clear” that Trump was the one to blink here.

“We had said that we were determined to impose these policies for an indefinite period,” Summers said. “China didn’t make any consequential or significant change in its policies.”

As part of the deal, the U.S. will slash the additional import taxes it levied on Chinese imports last month to 30% from 145%. In exchange, China said it will reduce tariffs on U.S. imports to 10% from 125% for the next 90 days.

Summers credited Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who led the delegation representing the U.S. in the Geneva talks with China, for reaching an agreement with Beijing under the circumstances.

“Look, sometimes it’s good to blink when you make a mistake, it’s usually best to correct it and retreat, even if it’s a little bit embarrassing,” he said.

The economist, though, conceded that while he was heartened to see the administration “less committed to disastrous policies” than he originally feared, the U.S. has not fully averted the possibility of entering a recession. Summers now assessed the odds of a U.S. economic downturn to “close to 50-50 ... but perhaps a little bit on the south side of 50-50.”

Monday’s deal was welcomed by the markets, prompting the U.S. dollar to jump.

In a White House press conference, Trump told reporters he expects to possibly speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping by the end of the week.

“They were very happy to be able to do something with us,” he said. “The relationship is very, very good.”

For his part, Xi seemed to make a subtle reference to the U.S. in his first remarks since the trade war pause.

“There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars,” he said, according to CNN. “Bullying or hegemonism only leads to self-isolation.”

House Democrat Nails Exactly Why GOP Is 'So Out Of Touch' With Americans

Some Republicans Voice Concern Over Trump's Plan To Accept Qatari Plane

GOP Rep Hilariously Struggles To Explain Trump’s Orange Complexion To High Schoolers



To: Bonefish who wrote (1538538)5/14/2025 4:37:12 AM
From: sylvester80  Respond to of 1570975
 
MUST READ: House Democrat Nails Exactly Why GOP Is 'So Out Of Touch' With Americans
Rep. Jim McGovern slammed Republicans for making Marie Antoinette "look down to earth" with a proposal to slash SNAP spending.
By Ben Blanchet
May 14, 2025, 04:12 AM EDT

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) slammed Republicans on Tuesday for proposing major cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps an average of over 42 million Americans purchase food each month.

“Folks who paid taxes and played by the rules, expecting that their government will help them if they fall on hard times and you guys want to tell them to all go screw themselves?” he said at a House Agriculture Committee markup meeting.

“It is so out of touch it takes my breath away. You guys make Marie Antoinette look down to earth. Donald Trump’s Cabinet is like an episode of the ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.’ These people are totally clueless. They don’t shop for their own groceries, they don’t buy their own food.”

Aside from reportedly proposing to slash over $290 billion in federal funding from the program, which is administered by states, the House GOP proposal also includes tweaks to work requirements for participants.

The proposal is one of the ways House Republicans look to offset tax cuts in their “big, beautiful bill” that they hope will satisfy President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Experts warn that the bill could lead to more children facing food insecurity just as research shows that work requirements don’t actually lead to a jump in employment but rather a drop in participants, NBC News reported.

McGovern, after blasting Republicans for lecturing people about “fraud and waste,” stressed that programs like SNAP are in place because most Americans believe “nobody should go without basic necessities.”

He later used a hypothetical example of a recently-laid off factory worker that had been breaking his “back” for decades lifting heavy equipment that would only get just 90 days to get work again “before he goes hungry.”

“I mean seriously, what is wrong with you people?” he said.

“And you know what? I think you guys know exactly what you’re doing. Either that or you’re just so afraid of Trump that you don’t care. But either way, this is just shameful and I find it unconscionable, unconscionable and immoral. And make no mistake, this is an immoral bill.”
huffpost.com



To: Bonefish who wrote (1538538)5/14/2025 4:49:18 AM
From: sylvester801 Recommendation

Recommended By
Wharf Rat

  Respond to of 1570975
 
Keep saying that while F.elon musk could not even find 10% of the $2 trillion he promised he would "find easily". In fact not even the $170B he has posted as fraud & abuse are that. Instead he is killing millions of children by gutting and cutting whole departments and contracts like USAID. Disgusting US traitors all these MAGAts are.



To: Bonefish who wrote (1538538)5/14/2025 9:04:11 AM
From: sylvester80  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1570975
 
REVEALED: Republican tax gifts to the rich would explode deficit they always complain about
Story by Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams
• 2h •
4 min read
Revealed: Republican tax gifts to the rich would explode deficit they always complain about
While Republicans on Capitol Hill—including the leaders of both chambers of Congress—have long argued for reducing the national debt, the GOP is now pushing a tax bill that would not only fund giveaways to the rich by gutting programs that serve the working class, but also add $3.8 trillion to the U.S. deficit.

The national debt is currently $36.2 trillion. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) on Tuesday released an analysis showing that the Republican bill would cost $3.8 trillion through 2034, or 1.1% of gross domestic product.

The JCT document notes that some estimates—such as the impact of modifications to de minimis entry privilege for commercial shipments and to Medicare, including limiting coverage—will be provided by the Congressional Budget Office.

The JCT's release coincides with a key meeting in the U.S. House of Representatives. As Politico detailed:

The newly revised estimate released Tuesday afternoon is up slightly from the $3.7 trillion price tag budget forecasters had previously put on the plan, and it comes as the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee began formally debating the package. Additional changes are possible there, and also later, when Republicans are preparing to take the legislation to the House floor." [...]

Under the House GOP's budget, the size of their tax cuts is contingent on lawmakers simultaneously cutting spending, and Republicans are hoping to match $4 trillion in tax cuts with $1.5 trillion in spending reductions.

Ahead of the markup, Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), said in a statement that "this bill gives enormous additional tax cuts to wealthy people and corporations, spikes the deficit, and strips healthcare from millions of Americans."

"Reckless tax cuts for the top and new corporate loopholes appear to be the big features of this bill, and they're paid for by cutting our healthcare and making American communities more vulnerable to floods, fires, and storms," she stressed. "The revenue raisers—which don't stop this from being extremely expensive—seem to be about picking winners and losers, rather than passing rational, consistent policies."

ITEP's statement also lists the bill's major provisions, including making changes to personal income tax rates and brackets from the GOP's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent; making permanent and increasing the "pass-through" business deduction; increasing the estate tax exemption; and temporarily increasing the child tax credit, but excluding millions of children.

Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) similarly listed provisions on social media Tuesday—and highlighted their impacts.

What's the result of maintaining the top income tax rate cut? "25% of the benefits go straight to the top 1%," the group noted. "The average top 1% household makes $2.5 million a year. They would get a $55k tax break. The top 400 taxpayers would get an $800 MILLION tax cut each year."

"Since they're deficit-financing most of this, every penny of the 'savings' DOGE has found... is paying for tax breaks for the wealthy."

What about widening the "pass-through" loophole? "Half of this break goes to millionaires," ATF continued. "The top 0.1% would get a $107,000 tax cut. The top 1% would get an average $22,500 tax cut. Working families would get around $40 to $50. White households get 90% of the benefit."

The group pointed out that "the package doubles how much rich heirs can inherit without paying taxes. That means a couple could pass on $30 MILLION without paying a penny in taxes. This tax break ONLY benefits the richest 0.2% of households. Weakening the estate tax is projected to cost $200 BILLION."

"It also gives corporations $642 BILLION in tax breaks," ATF said. "Most of the benefit of corporate tax cuts goes to CEOs, rich shareholders, and foreign investors. One provision gives Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Tesla alone a $75 BILLION tax cut. Another encourages offshoring."

ATF also tied the proposal to supposed cost-cutting efforts by President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its de facto leader, Elon Musk—who also happens to be the CEO of Tesla and the richest man on Earth.

"The part they won't say out loud?" the group wrote. "Since they're deficit-financing most of this, every penny of the 'savings' DOGE has found by cutting the [the Department of Veterans Affairs], Department of Education, and Social Security Administration is paying for tax breaks for the wealthy. Really."

Although Republicans control both chambers and the White House, their majorities are slim, meaning absences and disagreements over issues like increasing the deficit or cuts that will anger constituents in swing districts could slow or even impede their ability to send "one big, beautiful bill" to Trump's desk.

As Common Dreams reported earlier Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is deploying organizers to mobilize opposition against the GOP's emerging reconciliation package, focusing on districts he has visited as part of his Fighting Oligarchy Tour.

Materials that organizers plan to distribute encourage constituents to call their representatives and request they vote no "on a bill to cut Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and education to pay for hundreds of billions of dollars in more tax breaks for billionaires."

NOW READ: Inside the big lie at the heart of Trump's huge tariff hoax

Related Articles:· Economist slams Trump’s latest tax cut demand as 'major strategic error'

· Trump official worried GOP will get 'slaughtered' if they run on 'tax cuts for the rich'

· 'Getting rid of math': GOP pretending Trump’s corporate tax cuts won’t increase deficit by $4 trillion

· 'Magical thinking': Analysis reveals math on GOP budget and Trump tax cuts don’t add up

· Here’s why the cost of extending Trump’s tax cuts just surged by nearly $1 trillion