Author: openjargon

• Ex-OpenAI exec Jan Leike joined rival AI company Anthropic days after he quit over safety concerns.
• Leike, who co-led OpenAI's Superalignment team, left less than two weeks ago.
• It comes as OpenAI has been hit with a wave of resignations from employees recently.

OpenAI's former executive Jan Leike announced he's joining its competitor Anthropic.

Leike quit OpenAI less than two weeks ago and announced his departure on X, formerly Twitter. He accused the ChatGPT maker of putting "shiny products" ahead of "safety culture and processes."

Leike co-led OpenAI's Superalignment team alongside cofounder Ilya Sutskever, who also resigned. The team was tasked with ensuring superintelligence doesn't go rogue and has since been dissolved, with remaining staffers joining the core research team.

In addition to defecting to competitor Anthropic AI, which Amazon invested $4 billion in, Leike also called for potential recruits to join him at his new employer.

In a post on X Tuesday, Leike said, "I'm excited to join @AnthropicAI to continue the superalignment mission! My new team will work on scalable oversight, weak-to-strong generalization, and automated alignment research. If you're interested in joining, my dms are open."

Anthropic was founded by former OpenAI employees and siblings Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei in 2021. Amazon has a minority ownership stake in the company, which has attempted to position itself as more safety-conscious than its rivals. The company previously said it will use Amazon Web Service's cloud servers and chips to train and power its large language models.

Jan Leike did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

OpenAI has been hit recently with a small wave of departures. In addition to Leike and Sutskever resigning, a few other employees have recently quit the firm. Last week, policy researcher Gretchen Krueger announced in a thread on X that she resigned on May 14. She said that she shared some of the concerns voiced by others.

OpenAI announced on Tuesday that it has set up a safety committee, which is being overseen by all of its board members: chair Bret Taylor, CEO Sam Altman, Nicole Seligman, and Adam D'Angelo. The company also revealed that it's starting to test its "next frontier model."

• Some TikTokers are recording their orders being made at Chipotle in hopes of getting more food.
• The so-called "phone hack" originated with complaints that the chain is serving smaller portions of protein.
• Chipotle said it hasn't made any changes to its portion sizes.

This year's burrito season at Chipotle is closing out with a controversy.

Some customers say that the restaurant chain famous for its bowls of meat, cheese, and guacamole isn't as generous with its portions as it used to be. In response, they're pulling out their smartphones as Chipotle employees add chicken al pastor, steak, or another one of their preferred proteins to their order.

Smaller portions of meat were one of the issues that influencer Keith Lee pointed to in an early May post on TikTok. In the video, Lee samples multiple Chipotle items, including a bowl he ordered with chicken al pastor.

For several seconds, Lee searches the bowl for a piece of chicken with his fork as tense music from the gameshow "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" plays over the video.

Lee rates the bowl a "two out of 10," citing factors including the small protein portion. "This was $12 or $13," Lee says in the post. "I only got four pieces of chicken."

Lee previously helped popularize ordering a steak quesadilla with fajita veggies and a side of honey vinaigrette mixed with sour cream. Chipotle later made the item a formal part of its menu.

After Lee's video, other TikTokers started recording employees as they prepared their Chipotle orders to see if they would get bigger portion sizes than if they hadn't whipped out their phone.

It's not clear that the so-called "phone hack" works, though.

One poster on TikTok headed to a Chipotle restaurant to try it out.

His conclusion: "I really don't think there's any difference in this," he said while showing his bowl. "Maybe a little more chicken than usual."

He did point to another issue: The portion of chips he received was small, the poster said, and they were cold. "Chipotle needs to step it up," he says in the video.

"There have been no changes in our portion sizes, and we have reinforced proper portioning with our employees," Chipotle Chief Corporate Affairs and Food Safety Officer Laurie Schalow told Business Insider. "If we did not deliver on our value, we want our guests to reach out so we can make it right."

Customers "can vocalize or digitally select their desired portions" when ordering, Schalow said in a statement. Chipotle hasn't given employees instructions on what to do when customers start filming, a spokesperson added.

The chain has also defended itself in a more lighthearted way on TikTok, posting its own video featuring a sea of customers holding their phones up near the ordering counter at a restaurant.

Do you work or dine at Chipotle and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com

• Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson criticized Tesla in a recent interview.
• Rawlinson, a former Tesla engineer, said that Tesla has lost its way.
• The executive said that "there's a clear distraction there from leadership."

Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson isn't a fan of Tesla's recent trajectory under Elon Musk.

Rawlinson, who served as a chief engineer at Tesla from 2009 to 2012 before joining Lucid in 2013, said that Tesla seems to have lost its sense of purpose during an interview with BBC's Wake Up to Money that aired Monday.

"Tesla was truly at the cutting edge developing the most advanced technology with a clarity of vision and purpose and an absolute singularity of mindset," Rawlinson said of his time at the EV company. "And what I'm seeing now is I'm seeing a worrying trend towards a sort of distraction."

The Lucid CEO said he feels Tesla is "losing its way" and doesn't have the same sense of purpose it once did. While Rawlinson did not directly say Elon Musk by name, he said that "there's a clear distraction there from leadership." He also mentioned things that line up with Musk's actions in recent years, appearing to allude to the Tesla CEO's purchase of Twitter and politics.

"There's an interest in social media, even politics, and it's kind of losing its way. I don't see it having that singular sense of purpose, and I think it really falls to Lucid to take the technology to a whole new level now," Rawlinson said.

Rawlinson is far from the first to question Musk's focus on Tesla. Since Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, some Tesla investors have questioned his commitment to the electric carmaker. After all, Musk is directly involved in at least six different companies.

While Rawlinson told BBC that Lucid is "many years ahead" of other automakers, including Tesla, when it comes to some of its technology, the company has only a fraction of the market share compared to Tesla. Lucid only delivered about 6,000 vehicles in 2023. Tesla delivered more than 1.8 million.

Both automakers have faced headwinds in recent months due to slumping EV sales. Over the past month, Tesla initiated a series of layoffs, and on Wednesday, Lucid kicked off a round of job cuts as well, slashing its workforce by 6%.

Lucid declined to comment further when contacted by Business Insider. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.

Rawlinson and Musk have traded barbs on social media in the past. In 2021, Musk said Rawlinson was "never chief engineer."

"He arrived after Model S prototype was made, left before things got tough & was only ever responsible for body engineering, not powertrain, battery, software, production or design," Musk posted on X in 2021.

Rawlinson told Axios at the time that Musk's view of his role was an example of "historical revisionism."

Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at gkay@businessinsider.com or at 248-894-6012

• Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter were married for 77 years before her death in November 2023.
• It makes them the longest-married presidential couple in US history.
• They were both from Plains, Georgia, and knew each other since Rosalynn was a newborn.

Jimmy Carter was 3 years old and Rosalynn Smith was a baby when they met for the first time.

They were the longest-wed presidential couple in history, married for 77 years until Rosalynn Carter's death on November 19 at the age of 96.

"The best thing I ever did was marrying Rosalynn," the former president said in a 2015 interview at his nonprofit, The Carter Center, shared by C-SPAN. "That's the pinnacle of my life."

"Though we faced extraordinary responsibilities and lived a life we could have never, ever dreamed of, we are first and always Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter from Plains, Georgia," Rosalynn wrote in her 1984 autobiography, "First Lady From Plains."

In February 2023, Jimmy Carter, now 99, entered hospice care at their home in Plains, Georgia, where they've lived since 1962. The Carter Center announced in November that Rosalynn died at home surrounded by friends, family, and her husband.

Here's a timeline of the Carters' relationship.

August 1927: Jimmy Carter was just 3 years old when he met his future wife.

Three-year-old Jimmy met Rosalynn Smith when she was just a newborn. Lillian Carter, Jimmy's mother, worked as a nurse and helped deliver Rosalynn.

Jimmy's younger sister, Ruth, became best friends with Rosalynn. In the 2020 book "What Makes a Marriage Last" by Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue, Rosalynn shared that Jimmy's sister is in part responsible for their relationship.

"I always said I fell in love with a photograph of him on her [Ruth's] bedroom wall," Rosalynn said.

"Ruth and I plotted to get me together with [Jimmy]. She'd call and say 'Come over! He's here!' and I'd go flying over to her house, but he'd be gone again," she told the authors.

1945: It wasn't until he was attending the US Naval Academy that Jimmy finally asked Rosalynn out on a date.

Before his final year at the Naval Academy, and before Rosalynn's second year of college, the future couple went on their first date.

"I was cruising around with my sister Ruth and her boyfriend, just looking for a date, and I picked up Rosalynn in front of the Methodist church," he told the authors for "What Makes a Marriage Last."

The two then went out to the movies. "I kissed her on that first date. I remember that vividly," he said in the book.

He also recalled telling his mother the next morning that Rosalynn would be his wife one day.

"Rosalynn was the one I wanted to marry," he said.

1946: Jimmy proposed to Rosalynn — twice.

Less than a year after their first date, Jimmy asked Rosalynn to marry him. She initially rejected his proposal, because she wanted to prioritize completing her education. 

Later that year, in May 1946, he proposed to her again. This time, she said yes.

July 7, 1946: The Carters married in their hometown.

The couple tied the knot when Jimmy was 21 and Rosalynn was just 19. They got married in Plains, Georgia, at a Methodist church.

July 3, 1947: Jimmy and Rosalynn welcomed the first of their four children, John William Carter, known as Jack.

Rosalynn gave birth to their first child, Jack, in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1947 while Jimmy was still serving in the US Navy. 

Jack went to law school at the University of Georgia, and he later ran for senate in Nevada in 2006. Although he succeeded in becoming the Democratic nominee, he lost against the Republican incumbent.

April 12, 1950: Their second son, James Earl Carter III, was born while the family was living in Honolulu, Hawaii. He goes by Chip.

Chip was born in Honolulu, where Carter was stationed with the Navy at the time.

After working on his family's peanut farm, Chip Carter served on the city council in Plains and later worked on the Democratic National Committee. He then worked at Friendship Force, a nonprofit organization focused on building international connections between people.

August 18, 1952: They had their third child, Donnel Jeffrey Carter, who is known as Jeff.

He was born in New London, Connecticut.

Jeff spent the first years of his marriage to his wife, Annette, living in the White House.

In 1978, he graduated from George Washington University, where he studied geography with a specialty in computer cartography. Later, he became a co-founder of Computer Mapping Consultants, the Bryan Times reported.

1953: They moved back to Georgia, where they worked together on Carter's family farm and he started his political career.

After his father died in July 1953, Jimmy Carter left the Navy to move his family back to Plains, where he worked for the family's peanut farm.

"We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics," Rosalynn told the Associated Press in 2021. "I knew more on paper about the business than he did. He would take my advice about things."

Once home, Carter eventually turned his attention to politics, serving as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967.

October 19, 1967: Amy Carter, the couple's youngest child, was born.

In addition to being the only daughter of Jimmy and Rosalynn, Amy is the only Carter child who spent their younger years in the White House.

She initially attended Brown University, but she eventually completed her bachelor's degree at Memphis College of Art in 1991 before earning her master's in art history from Tulane University in 1996, The Washington Post reported. She is now a board member for The Carter Center.

January 12, 1971: Carter began serving as the governor of Georgia, making Rosalynn the state's first lady.

Carter served as the governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1957. During her time as the first lady of Georgia, Rosalynn focused on helping Georgians suffering from mental health issues. She served on the Governor's Commission to Improve Services to the Mentally and Emotionally Handicapped.

August 7, 1975: They became grandparents with the birth of their first grandchild, Jason James Carter.

Jason James Carter was born in 1975 to parents Jack Carter and Julie Langford. In 2010, Jason James Carter was elected to the Georgia Senate, although his grandfather didn't campaign for him until just before the election.

"I needed to be more than Jimmy Carter's grandson and I needed to be sure that I could introduce myself and my vision for this state in an effective way," Jason James Carter told ABC News in 2010.

In 2014, he followed in his grandfather's footsteps and ran for governor of Georgia, albeit unsuccessfully. 

Jimmy and Rosalynn have eight other grandchildren, a handful of whom have opted out of the public eye. James Carter IV, the son of Chip and Caron Carter, also works in politics as an opposition researcher.

They also have 22 great-grandchildren.

1976: During the 1976 presidential election, Rosalynn traveled the country to campaign for her husband.

Carter announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on December 12, 1974. Rosalynn was on board from the beginning.

"My wife is much more political," he told the Associated Press in 2021.

She added, "I love it. I love campaigning. I had the best time. I was in all the states in the United States."

The White House's official website says Rosalynn's "belief in her husband's ability to lead the nation was communicated in a quiet, friendly manner that made her an effective campaigner."

November 2, 1976: The couple embraced after learning that Carter had won the 1976 election.

Carter defeated incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford to win the presidency.

January 20, 1977: Jimmy Carter became the 39th president of the United States with Rosalynn by his side.

At the 1977 presidential inauguration, the couple shared a kiss after Carter was sworn in as the 39th president of the United States in Washington, DC.

1977: Carter's term started, and Rosalynn became the first lady of the US.

As the first lady, Rosalynn focused on mental health advocacy. For one year, between 1977 and 1978, she was the honorary chairperson of the president's Commission on Mental Health. In this role, she oversaw a team of social workers, doctors, and lobbyists to enact policy change related to issues of mental illness.

FirstLadies.org describes Rosalynn as a political activist, highlighting how her husband frequently solicited her guidance on both foreign and domestic policy decisions.

1979: President Carter gave Rosalynn a kiss on the cheek after announcing his run for reelection.

In 1979, then-president Jimmy Carter announced that he would run for reelection. "Let us commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the American spirit," he said in the last leg of his speech, before planting a kiss on Rosalynn's cheek.

He lost the 1980 election to his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan.

1980: After Carter was defeated by Ronald Reagan, Rosalynn was outspoken in her support of her husband.

In a discussion about the then-upcoming 1984 election with UPI, Rosalynn said, "I think the most important thing is to beat Reagan. I think it's a tragedy what he has done. I feel sorry for who follows him in office."

She praised the decisions her husband made while in office, saying, "Jimmy made the world a safer place with the Panama Canal Treaty, the Camp David agreement, and SALT 2."

In her memoir, "First Lady from Plains," she added, "I would be out there campaigning right now if Jimmy would run again. I miss the world of politics."

"I'd like people to know that we were right, that what Jimmy Carter was doing was best for our country, and that people made a mistake by not voting for him," she wrote.

January 1981: With daughter Amy, the couple moved back to their modest home in Georgia after leaving the White House.

After Jimmy lost the 1980 election, the couple moved back to Plains, Georgia, in January 1981.

In 2018, The Washington Post reported that Jimmy Carter is the only president in recent history to return to the house he lived in before the White House. The couple moved back to the ranch-style home they'd built, which, according to the Post, was valued at $167,000 — less than the cost of the Secret Service armored cars that follow him around. 

1982: The couple founded The Carter Center, a nongovernmental organization that promotes human rights.

The Carter Center aims to increase human rights, put an end to human suffering, and promote democracy worldwide. Included in The Carter Center's provisions is a Mental Health Program, which aimed to continue the work that Rosalynn started while her husband held office.

Thirty years after its founding, in 2012, the Carters were interviewed by Georgia Trend, and the former president discussed his intentions for the organization.

"I imagined something like a small Camp David, where a nation that had a civil war going on or where a civil war might break out, could come, and we would negotiate between the two opposing sides to try to bring peace, or prevent a war," he said.

The accomplishments of the organization, such as monitoring elections around the world and nearly eradicating the Guinea worm disease, exceeded the couple's wishes.

"But we never dreamed when we started 30 years ago that we'd be involved in elections around the world — no one had ever done it before. And we never dreamed that we'd get involved in tropical, neglected diseases, and that has become the overwhelming thing we do," he said.

1984: They worked with Habitat for Humanity for the first time, beginning a decades-long partnership.

After helping on a project in Americus, Georgia — 10 miles from their hometown, Plains — the Carters "quickly realized that our mission closely aligned with their values," according to Habitat for Humanity.

Later that year, the couple established the Carter Work Project — it would later become known as the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project — by helping renovate a building in New York City.

According to the organization, the Carters have since worked alongside 104,000 volunteers in 14 countries to build and repair more than 4,300 homes.

October 2014: In an interview marking Jimmy Carter's 90th birthday, Rosalynn told People magazine she believed "space" was the key to a lasting marriage.

When asked in the joint People interview for the secret to a long marriage, Rosalynn said, "I'd say space. One of the hardest times was when we came home from the White House. It was the first time we'd been together in the house all day every day. So I got my office in what was a bedroom, and his is in what was the garage."

As for his secrets to a long life, Jimmy Carter credited exercise and his wife's cooking.

"I exercise and eat right," he said. "My wife is an expert dietitian and a good cook."

Rosalynn added, "I fix fruits and vegetables. Cereal. He never turns down ice cream."

October 2019: After he turned 95, Carter said the secret to a long life was to "marry the best spouse."

In 2019, Carter became the longest-living president in US history. George H.W. Bush, who died in 2018, had lived until 94.

"It's hard to live until you're 95 years old," Carter told People magazine. "I think the best explanation for that is to marry the best spouse: someone who will take care of you and engage and do things to challenge you and keep you alive and interested in life."

Jimmy and Rosalynn continued to make public appearances and endorse political candidates.

The Carters continued to make appearances at high-profile political events including Democratic National Conventions and presidential inaugurations — the last inauguration they attended was Donald Trump's in 2017. The couple also publicly supported Democratic candidates, including Raphael Warnock in the 2020 Senate race. 

"President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter's legacy as human rights champions and humanitarians is an inspiration to us all," Warnock wrote on Facebook following the endorsement.

2021: Reflecting on 75 years of marriage, Carter told PBS that if he and Rosalynn experience any "differences" during the day, they "make up and give each other a kiss before we go to sleep."

"At the end of the day, we try to become reconciled and overcome all the differences that arose during the day," he said in a 2021 interview with PBS.

"We also make up and give each other a kiss before we go to sleep still in bed. And we always read the Bible every night, which adds a different aspect to life. So, we really try to become completely reconciled each night before we go to sleep," Carter added.

In their 2014 interview with People, Carter confirmed they had been reading to each other every night for 40 years.

February 2023: The Carter Center shared that, at 98, Jimmy had entered at-home hospice care, surrounded by his family.

Jimmy Carter, who turned 99 in October, is now receiving at-home hospice care. In a statement, the Carter Center said he "has the full support of his family and his medical team."

In May 2023, their grandson Jason Carter said Jimmy Carter remains in good spirits and is enjoying peanut-butter ice cream, the Associated Press reported.

"We did think that when he went into hospice it was very close to the end," Jason Carter told attendees at an event honoring his grandfather in May, according to the AP. "Now, I'm just going to tell you, he's going to be 99 in October."

May 2023: Rosalynn was diagnosed with dementia, the Carter Center said.

"The Carter family is sharing that former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia," the organization wrote in a statement on its website on May 30, 2023. "She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones."

It added, "We hope sharing our family's news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor's offices around the country."

November 19, 2023: Rosalynn Carter died at the age of 96.

In a statement, the Carter Center wrote that Rosalynn Carter died "peacefully, with her family by her side" at home in Plains, Georgia.

"Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished," Jimmy Carter said of his wife of 77 years. "She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me."

November 28, 2023: Jimmy Carter wore a blanket with his late wife's face on it to her memorial service.

At Rosalynn Carter's memorial service in Atlanta, Jimmy Carter attended the event with a blanket over his legs embroidered with images of himself and Rosalynn, captioned "The Carters."

The blanket's design also honored their hometown with the words "Plains, Georgia, Est. 1855" and dogwood flowers that grow throughout Georgia.

Jimmy Carter slept at the Carter Center the night before the memorial service because "he never wants to be very far from her," Paige Smith, the Carter Center's CEO, told the Associated Press.

• In closings Tuesday, defense lawyer Todd Blanche tried the classic " but if he did do it" defense.
• If Trump did falsify documents, he didn't do it with the required criminal intent, Blanche argued.
• He then showed jurors 3 prosecution exhibits where Trump admits to the hush-money reimbursement. 

It's the classic defense closing argument: My client didn't do it, ladies and gentlemen — but if he did do it, it wasn't intentional.

This is the argument that Donald Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, tried out on the hush-money jury in Manhattan on Tuesday.

Yes, Blanche spent the bulk of his argument denying that Trump committed the charges he's on trial for

Prosecutors say Trump falsified 34 business records to hide a year's worth of reimbursement payments to his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, who had fronted a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump was not involved with any such conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, Blanche told jurors in great detail on Tuesday, during a three-hour summation.

But if he was, there was no requisite intent, Blanche argued. How could there be, he asked, when Trump freely admitted to reimbursing Cohen?

Blanche then showed the jury three exhibits from the prosecution's own case.

Each exhibit — showing a tax form, a tweet, and a government ethics form — was shown on the courtroom's display screens.

Each bolsters the prosecution's case: that Trump knew full well that the $130,000 he paid Cohen in installments throughout 2017 was for reimbursement, not legal fees as his business- record entries falsely claimed.

"The government has to prove to you that President Trump caused these entries — even if they were false — with an intent to defraud," Blanche told jurors.

"Where is the intent to defraud on the part of President Trump?" the lawyer asked the jury.

Prosecutors must demonstrate Trump had an intent to defraud in order to prove first-degree falsifying business records, the state charge that Trump allegedly violated 34 times throughout 2017, including when he personally signed nine of Cohen's reimbursement checks.

Here are the three exhibits that Blanche displayed in court for jurors as "proof" that Trump had nothing to hide.

1. A 1099 tax form from 2017

The Trump Organization — and Trump as an individual — reported that they'd paid Michael Cohen a total of $420,000 in 2017.

Prosecutors say this is the sum Trump's then CFO, Allen Weisselberg, calculated for what Cohen would be paid as reimbursement for his hush-money outlay, plus taxes and other money Trump owed him.

1. Why would Trump announce these payments to the IRS "if there was some deep-rooted intent to defraud on the part of President Trump?" Blanche asked jurors.

   

2. A 2018 tweet

On May 3, 2018, Trump posted a somewhat garbled tweet that concedes the payments he'd made to Cohen throughout 2017 were, in his word, "reimbursement."

This tweet was made just five months after signing the last of nine $35,000 checks to Cohen. Each check was labeled "RETAINER."

3. A government ethics form

Also during closing arguments, Blanche showed jurors what's called an "Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report" for the year 2017. This was the then-president's mandatory disclosure of his assets and liabilities .

3. Under "Liablities" — which is the section where Trump must list the money he's borrowed — Trump certified that in 2017, he "fully reimbursed" Cohen an interest-free sum of between $100,000 and $250,000.

   

"President Trump tweeted what happened when it came out," and then signed a government ethics form that also admitted to the reimbursement, Blanche told jurors Tuesday.

"That's not evidence of any intent to defraud," Blanche said.

The defense lawyer spent most of his summation impugning the credibility of Cohen, whose testimony is key to the prosecution case.

Cohen is "literally like an MVP of liars," Blanche told jurors. Two jurors — a woman in the front row and a man in the back row, smiled when Blanche went on to call Cohen "The 'Gloat'" — for Greatest Liar of All Time."

Deliberations are expected to begin on Wednesday.

• GOP Sen. Josh Hawley has positioned himself as a populist ally of workers.
• That's included rallying with striking auto workers with the UAW last year.
• But the UAW just backed his likely Democratic opponent, Lucas Kunce, while calling Hawley a "joke."

In recent years, Sen. Josh Hawley has sought to position himself as populist Republican and a staunch ally of organized labor.

That's included rallying with striking auto workers in his home state of Missouri last September, courting support from labor unions, and even voting against a recent GOP-led effort to overturn a new rule from the National Labor Relations Board.

Despite those moves, the United Auto Workers are endorsing Democrat Lucas Kunce over Hawley as the Missouri Republican seeks reelection this year.

"Josh Hawley calling himself pro-worker is a total joke. There is only one candidate in this US Senate race who has earned the trust of Missouri autoworkers, and that's Lucas Kunce," said Fred Jamison, President of the UAW Region 4 Midwest States Cap Council, in a statement first shared with Business Insider.

A spokesperson for Hawley did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Kunce, a self-styled populist Democrat who also ran for Senate in 2022, is likely to prevail in the August 6 primary. Observers generally consider the race to lean Republican, though organizers are hoping to put a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights on the ballot this November — a move that could drive Democratic turnout.

"I'm honored to have the support of UAW in this race," Kunce said in a statement to Business Insider. "The only way we'll put Missouri and America first in the next generation of industry is by investing in and empowering workers like them. In the US Senate, I'll fight like hell for them. Let's pass the PRO Act and Make Shit In America Again!"

Hawley has made some pro-worker moves in recent years, including voting to give seven extra days of paid sick leave to rail workers during a looming strike in December 2022 and supporting a $15 minimum wage for workers at companies that generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue.

The Teamsters, one of the country's largest labor unions, contributed $5,000 to Hawley's reelection campaign in April. They also gave $45,000 to the Republican National Committee — along with the same amount to the Democratic National Committee — and have seemingly considered endorsing former President Donald Trump.

But Hawley previously supported right-to-work laws, and he remains opposed to the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a top priority of organized labor. The Democratic-backed bill is designed to strengthen workers' ability to form unions.

"I'm not a huge fan of the PRO Act," Hawley told Business Insider in September. "My worry would be that it might, you know, hurt workers more than it helps."

He went on to say that "we can have a debate about" the bill, but that the "real question" is whether certain jobs will remain in the US at all.

"If you want to talk about how to divide up a shrinking pie, I suppose we can do that," said Hawley. "But why don't we think about how we get more pie for labor in this country?"

Hawley has also criticized public sector unions, which account for slightly less than half of all union members in the US and include teachers and police officers.

"I just think that public sector unions for a long time have held government hostage, held vital government services for people hostage, and that's different," Hawley told the Kansas City Star in October. "But when you're talking about private sector unions that are trying to get folks bargaining power, these multinational corporations, particularly in the last 30 years, they're really less and less tied to this country and less and less tied to American workers."

• BYD says its new hybrid powertrain system can drive 1,250 miles without refueling or recharging.
• That's nearly twice the range of some rival hybrids in the US.
• Hybrid popularity has surged as EVs remain expensive and largely unprofitable. 

1,250 miles without stopping to fill up? That's a pipe dream for any car on the market right now, whether it's powered by gas or electricity. 

But Chinese EV maker BYD says it can happen thanks to upgrades in its new hybrid powertrain system, which will launch on two recently revealed midsize sedans, Bloomberg reported. It's the equivalent of about 81 miles per gallon, more than three times the US fuel economy average for model-year 2022 cars. It's also about 500 more miles of range than a hybrid 2023 Lexus ES, which last year topped Kelley Blue Book's list of longest-range hybrids.

A leap this big in hybrid technology would boost an already fervent interest in these cars, with their impressive fuel economies, lower upfront costs, and mitigated range anxiety. The models are wildly popular with both automakers and consumers as a bridge between traditional ICE engines and fully electric models, especially as EV sales plateau in many markets. 

In BYD's case, hybrids make up a majority of its models sold, Reuters reported.

Toyota, a relative latecomer to EVs with a plethora of hybrid options, has seen its strategy vindicated by this softening of the market. Ford said in April that it would expand its hybrid offerings as the segment helped cushion EV losses. GM also plans to bring more hybrid models to North America in response to changing demand. 

Just don't expect to buy a BYD car in the US anytime soon. 

• Melinda French Gates further explained her decision to leave the foundation she started with Bill Gates.
• In an op-ed in The New York Times, she said she's leaving to focus her philanthropy on women and girls.
• She and Gates initially continued work on their foundation together after divorcing in 2021.

Melinda French Gates is speaking out about her upcoming departure from the philanthropic foundation she cofounded with her now ex-husband Bill Gates.

She explained her decision in an op-ed in The New York Times published Tuesday.

"Many years ago, I received this piece of advice: 'Set your own agenda, or someone else will set it for you.' I've carried those words with me ever since," she wrote. "That's why, next week, I will leave the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, of which I was a co-founder almost 25 years ago, to open a new chapter in my philanthropy."

French Gates announced earlier this month that she's resigning as cochair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, effective June 7, to "to move forward into the next chapter of my philanthropy."

"I am sorry to see Melinda leave, but I am sure she will have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work," Gates said in a separate statement.

French Gates and Gates announced their divorce in 2021 after 27 years of marriage, saying, "We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives." The Wall Street Journal later reported that French Gates had been meeting with divorce lawyers since 2019, after Bill Gates' ties to Jeffrey Epstein became publicly known (Gates has said his meetings with Epstein were "a mistake in judgment.")

After announcing their divorce, French Gates affirmed her commitment to continuing to work with Gates for the foundation. The Gates Foundation said in July 2021 that Melinda would step down from her role as co-chair if, after two years, either she or Bill decided they could no longer continue working together.

As recently as last July, spokespeople for French Gates had told The Wall Street Journal that she had decided to stay as its cochair. However, 10 months later she announced she was resigning.

As part of French Gates' new philanthropic endeavors, she's committing $1 billion through 2026 to "people and organizations working on behalf of women and families around the world, including on reproductive rights in the United States," she wrote in the op-ed.

Included is a $20 million grant-making fund distributed to a dozen people to use at their discretion, including former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, track and field Olympic medalist Allyson Felix, and filmmaker Ava DuVernay, according to a press release from Pivotal Ventures, which French Gates founded in 2015.

• A Chinese supersonic spy drone was intercepted by Japan over the East China Sea.
• The WL-10/WZ-10 drone is a reconnaissance/attack drone with electronic warfare capabilities.
• The drone's flight path indicates it was flying near a Japanese base key to US airpower in the region.

Japan intercepted the Chinese supersonic WL-10/WZ-10 drone over the East China Sea for the first time on Monday.

The drone, which appears to mainly serve as a reconnaissance and electronic warfare platform with some strike capabilities, was flying near Japanese air defenses and a key base hosting US airpower.

Japan's Joint Staff Office, which oversees ground, maritime, and air self-defense forces, released a statement on Monday confirming the interception of the Chinese WL-10, or WingLoong-10, drone. China also appears to designate the drone the WZ-10.

The office said this was the first time the aircraft was spotted in an airspace violation. Japanese fighter jets responded to the drone, monitoring its flight.

According to the office's post, the WL-10 drone's flight pattern showed it traveling in the East China Sea north of Taiwan and near Japan's Okinawa prefecture, a grouping of southwestern islands in the area. It's home to multiple Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air missile defense systems, as well as the Kadena Air Base.

Located in Okinawa, Kadena is a key hub for US airpower in the Pacific. Most recently, US 18th Wing and Japan Air Self-Defense Force aircraft conducted bilateral exercises at both Kadena and Naha Air Base from May 13-17 as part of an annual exercise "to enhance interoperability between US forces and host nation partners."

Japanese F-15J Eagles and US F-22A Raptors were involved.

China unveiled the WZ-8 reconnaissance drone during a military parade in 2019. The drone looked strikingly similar to a US drone that crashed into China's southwestern Yunnan province in 1971. The WZ-8, about 37 feet long with a 22-foot wingspan, was reported by Chinese media to be capable of flying 160,000 feet at speeds as fast as Mach 6.

US intelligence documents leaked last April revealed that China has "almost certainly" established its first operational WZ-8 unit. One document from the leak claimed that one of the drone's missions was to conduct high-altitude reconnaissance flights of the South Korean coast and Taiwan using "electro-optical" cameras and sensors and synthetic aperture radars to map territory at night or in low visibility.

The WZ-10 spotted by Japan appears to be a variation of that drone model, likely larger than the WZ-8 in length and wingspan. The WZ-10 appears to also host electronic warfare capabilities, per The Aviationist, and like the WZ-8, could be capable of being modified to launch strikes.

Japan's news of the WZ-10 flight comes just days after China conducted massive, two-day military drills surrounding Taiwan. The exercises were a joint military effort partially in response to the inauguration of Taiwan's new president. They were also a show of force, identified by experts as a clear rehearsal for some sort of assault or blockade.

• Interest-rate hikes aren't out of the question, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said.
• "If we get surprised by the data, then we would do what we need to do," he said.
• Most central bankers favor a policy pause as they wait for inflation to fall towards the 2% target.

As markets debate the timing of when interest rates could finally ease, investors shouldn't be so sure rate hikes won't resume. 

According to Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank president, Neel Kashkari, monetary policy is likely restrictive enough for now, but no central banker can say with certainty that more rate hikes are completely out of the question. 

"I don't think anybody has formally taken them off the table, even me," he said during a Tuesday presentation in London, and later added: "Of course, if we get surprised by the data, then we would do what we need to do."

All of this is determined by how far away inflation is from the Fed's 2% target, which every central banker is committed to reaching, Kashkari said. In that spirit, most of his colleagues are for now set on keeping monetary policy unchanged as they await more clarity on the direction of consumer prices in the US. 

Kashkari agrees with this approach. In a separate interview with CNBC on Tuesday, he stressed that there's no hurry to cut rates.

"The most recent inflation print that we got on the CPI data was marginally better than the earlier prints from the first three months, but it's still not where we needed to get to," he said, continuing: "I think we're right now we're in a good position because the labor market remains strong in the US. So we have the luxury of being able to sit here until we gain confidence on where inflation is headed."

Still, though outlooks have shifted throughout this year, markets still expect inflation to fall low enough for rate cuts to emerge in 2024. As of Tuesday, investors are pricing in an interest rate pivot by November.