Category: Business Insider

• The House voted on Thursday to condemn Iran's recent missile and drone attack on Israel.
• 13 progressive House Democrats — and one Republican — voted against it.
• Among them was AOC, who argued this week's flurry of anti-Iran bills were designed to cause war.

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to condemn Iran's recent missile and drone attack on Israel.

13 progressive House Democrats voted against the resolution along with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, a non-interventionist libertarian who often opposes these types of resolutions.

The attack, the first-ever launched from Iranian soil, came in response to an Israel's bombing of an Iranian consular facility in Syria on April 1. The attack was largely foiled as a result of both American forces and Israeli missile defense systems.

In response to Sunday's attack, House Republicans teed up a barrage of resolutions and bills this week that took aim at Iran while affirming US support for Israel.

That included a series of bills to ratchet up sanctions on Iran and its proxies in the Middle East, as well as a resolution condemning the pro-Palestinian slogan "from the river to the sea" as antisemitic, which 44 House Democrats voted against.

Most of those bills garnered broad bipartisan support, but a small cohort of progressive Democrats opposed most or all of them.

In a statement on Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York accused Republicans of attempting to "distract from their own incompetence" by bringing bills "designed purposefully to increase the likelihood of a deadly regional war."

"I will oppose any cynical effort to further inflame tensions, destroy a path to peace in the region, and further divide the American people," said Ocasio-Cortez. Other progressives issued statements calling for de-escalation in the region more broadly.

Thursday's resolution also included a clause affirming the US's "commitment to Israel's security, including through security assistance and defense sales."

As the death toll from Israel's war in Gaza has mounted, progressives have increased called for conditioning — or outright refusing — further military aid to Israel. Democrats are also increasingly likely to view Israel's actions in Gaza as a genocide.

Here are the 13 House Democrats who voted against the resolution:

• Jamaal Bowman of New York

• Cori Bush of Missouri

• Greg Casar of Texas

• Jonathan Jackson of Illinois

• Pramila Jayapal of Washington

• Hank Johnson of Georgia

• Barbara Lee of California

• Summer Lee of Pennsylvania

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York

• Ilhan Omar of Minnesota

• Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts

• Delia Ramirez of Illinois

• Rashida Tlaib of Michigan

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• Ural Airlines has abandoned plans to rescue its Airbus A320 stranded in a Siberian wheat field.
• High costs, logistical challenges, and a lack of support from Airbus influenced the decision.
• The loss could be a blow to Ural amid Western sanctions that limit Russia's aircraft supply.

An Airbus A320 passenger jet operated by Russian carrier Ural Airlines has been sitting in a Siberian wheat field since September.

A hydraulic failure caused a low-fuel situation, and the pilot made the decision to ditch the jet instead of continuing to the diversion airport.

None of the nearly 170 people onboard were injured and customers were offered about $1,100 in compensation.

Ural initially planned to retrieve and repair the stranded plane for re-entry to service — even posting progress updates on Telegram late last year — but money and logistics have forced the airline to jump ship, an airline representative told the Russian newspaper Izvestia on Thursday.

"We assess all the risks and are inclined to not use this aircraft in commercial operation, taking into account the fact that in the current conditions there is no support from the manufacturer Airbus," Ural told the outlet.

Ural said it had considered several ways to fly the aircraft out, like taking off from a frozen runway available during the Russian winter or constructing a new one using slabs.

The soil density, however, made the former nearly impossible, the airline told Izvestia. Ural further said the materials needed for the latter would be difficult to transport to the remote field from the south Russian city of Novosibirsk, some 120 miles away,

The high cost associated with the plane's upkeep was also a driver in abandoning its rescue. Ural told Izvestia it has already spent 10.5 million rubles (about $112,000) on expenses like maintaining the A320, renting the land, putting up fencing, and hiring security.

Ural told Izvestia it still plans to remove the plane — but likely not in one piece, looking at options like disassembling the jet and taking it out in sections via helicopter.

The loss of Ural's A320 leaves it with 25 of the Airbus narrowbodies in its fleet, according to Planespotters. The airline also operates four Airbus A319s and 22 Airbus A321s for a total of 51 planes.

Russian carriers are already pulling from a low stock of airplanes amid Western sanctions preventing the country from receiving Boeing and Airbus jets, so losing one in the current climate could be a significant financial hit to Ural.

However, it's likely the airline could salvage the much-needed parts to use on other aircraft as sanctions also prevent Russian carriers from receiving spare inventory.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russian airlines have turned to seedy methods to build their maintenance stockpiles and keep passenger planes flying, like buying secondhand parts from China and Iran and "cannibalizing" their own fleets.

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• New images posted to social media show China's third and newest aircraft carrier hosting aircraft mock-ups.
• It's a notable step before the Fujian's upcoming sea trials, showing what its future air wing might look like.
• The Fujian is a large, modern ship expected to be a major upgrade to China's naval capabilities.

China's newest aircraft carrier appears to be sporting mock-ups of warplanes, according to new images posted to social media by a long-time China watcher.

It's a major step for the Fujian, as the People's Liberation Army Navy looks to put its largest, most advanced carrier through sea trials and push it closer to being ready for operations.

Images of the Fujian, also identified as Type 003, docked in Shanghai were posted on X this week. On Tuesday, Andreas Rupprecht, a China aviation observer and researcher, also shared the images, discussing their significance. The Fujian's mock-ups were first reported by The War Zone.

Closer examination of the flight deck revealed that the Fujian is currently hosting five mock-ups: a KJ-600 airborne early warning and control aircraft, two fourth-generation J-15 carrier-based fighters, a fifth-generation J-35 fighter, and a JL-10J advanced jet trainer and light combat aircraft.

The mock-ups appear to simulate where the aircraft would be on the carrier's deck. The pictures also show the Fujian's catapult system, designed to launch aircraft much like the US Navy's aircraft carriers. The Fujian is China's first carrier to feature this technology, as previous carriers have launched aircraft with ski jumps, upward ramps at the end of the deck. China's two other carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, both feature ski jumps.

Back in January, Chinese state media showed aerial footage of the Fujian featuring three catapult tracks and an aircraft mock-up. Catapult launch systems are much more effective than ski jumps, easing the strain of takeoff on the aircraft and allowing for the launch of larger fixed-wing planes with heavier payloads and more fuel.

The Chinese carrier relies on conventional power, as opposed to nuclear like US carriers, and steam turbines, but the ship's catapults are electromagnetic, like those on the US Navy's new Ford-class aircraft carriers.

The Fujian's catapults are a notable jump in technology. The Department of Defense said in 2019 in its annual China military power report that the carrier's "design will enable it to support additional fighter aircraft, fixed-wing early-warning aircraft, and more rapid flight operations."

Before the carrier's launch, experts said that the ship would "significantly upgrade China's naval capabilities." These features allow the Chinese navy to tap the full potential of the heavy J-15, and launch assets like early warning planes for greater situational awareness in combat.

The new images of the Fujian come as the aircraft carrier, the Chinese PLAN's third and by far most advanced, is expected to head out on its first sea trials this year. Previous satellite images have documented extensive progress on the Fujian.

The Fujian is a major improvement in naval capability for China. Named after China's closest province to Taiwan, the carrier officially launched in June 2022. It began construction in 2018. It is still a conventionally powered carrier, but observers suspect the PLAN will develop nuclear-powered carriers in the future.

The Fujian is larger than its predecessors — likely the size of the US' old Kitty Hawk-class carriers, Matthew P. Funaiole, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., and Brian Hart wrote for the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in June 2021.

"When the Type 003 eventually enters service, it will be a formidable addition to China's navy and allow it to more effectively project power into the Indian and Pacific Oceans," they said at the time.

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• Tesla has laid off 280 workers at its Buffalo, New York facility.
• Elon Musk told Tesla staff he was cutting more than 10% of the company's workforce.
• The Buffalo site is used for training Tesla's driver-assist software, and energy storage products.

A regulatory filing lends more insight into Tesla's recent layoffs.

The company has laid off 280 workers at its facility in Buffalo, New York — or about 14% of the workers at the site — according to a regulatory filing in New York under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The WARN act requires most companies with more than 100 employees to provide 60 days of notice before a large-scale layoff.

The 280 Buffalo-based workers are part of the larger layoffs across Tesla. On Sunday night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told staff the company was cutting more than 10% of its workforce. Within hours, laid-off workers were notified their employment had been terminated effective immediately.

The layoffs appear to have impacted workers across the country, as well as some staff at Tesla's international offices. Two of Tesla's largest factories are located in California and Texas, both of which were included in the layoffs.

Tesla's Buffalo site is used as a site for the company's data analysis to train its Autopilot and so-called Full Self-Driving software. The facility also produces Tesla's solar panels, EV charging, and energy storage components.

On Wednesday, Tesla began sending out severance packages to some workers who'd been laid off. Five workers told Business Insider they were offered severance packages that were equal to two months pay. Tesla's severance offer could address any potential penalties if it were found to have violated the WARN Act, which says laid-off employees can be entitled to up to 60 days of pay and benefits if not given proper advanced notice.

A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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

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• Fed officials had further commentary on the path of rate cuts in 2024 following Powell's remarks on Tuesday. 
• The path to getting inflation back to target levels looks uncertain, central bankers said.
• The market has mostly given up on the idea of a rate cut at the Fed's June meeting. 

Federal Reserve officials heaped more doubt on the timing of rate cuts this year, echoing Chair Jerome Powell in stating that the path to 2% inflation looks uncertain. 

Inflation will likely fall further, but the central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates at the moment, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said in public remarks on Wednesday. Her comments come shortly after inflation clocked in hotter-than-expected for the month of March, the third straight month to post above-expected inflation figures. 

The Fed has projected three rate cuts to come by the end of 2024. That outcome is still possible, though it will be a "close call" and dependent on future economic data, Mester said.

"At some point, as we get more confidence, we will start to normalize policy back to a less restrictive stance, but we don't have to do that in a hurry," she added.

Strong price growth could mean that the progress in lowering inflation has come to a standstill, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said at a separate event on Wednesday. In early April, she warned of the possibility of another rate hike if inflation continues to tread higher and the job market remains tight. 

The US added 303,000 jobs last month, more than economists expected. The jobless rate, meanwhile, dropped to 3.8%, remaining near a historic low.

"[There] is a lot of financial market activity and a lot of continued growth that we wouldn't have expected if policy was sufficiently tight," Bowman said Wednesday evening. "I think time will tell whether it is sufficiently restrictive."

New York Fed President John Williams said rates will eventually need to be lowered, but that will hinge on the strength of the economy. It's also possible the Fed will hike rates again, he added, if strong economic data shows that it's necessary.

"I definitely don't feel an urgency to cut interest rates," Williams said on Thursday, adding that the Fed funds rate was already in a "good place." 

Fed Chair Powell suggested earlier in the week that rate cuts could be delayed, causing stocks to slide. The Fed's April Beige Book also revealed that central bankers had mixed outlooks on inflation, with some officials airing concerns over a resurgence in high prices.

Price growth, meanwhile, has remained at least a full percentage point above the Fed's 2% target for nearly two years.

Inflation risks haven't been lost on investors, who have been steadily dialing back their expectations for Fed rate cuts over the last few months. Markets are now expecting just one or two rate cuts by the end of the year, according to the CME FedWatch tool, down from six cuts that were anticipated at the start of 2024.

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• Donald Trump's criminal hush-money trial in New York lost a juror Thursday over privacy concerns.
• "I don't believe at this point I can be fair and unbiased," the woman told the judge. 
• The judge scolded press for revealing too much information about jurors in the historic trial.

A juror who had already been seated in Donald Trump's criminal hush-money trial in New York was excused Thursday after she expressed concerns about her identity possibly being revealed to the public.

New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the historic case, said in court Thursday that the woman, known as "juror No. 2," called the court on Wednesday saying that she had "concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial" in the trial after sleeping on it.

"Yesterday alone I have had friends, family push things to my phone regarding questioning my identity as a juror," the juror then told the judge in the courtroom.

"I don't believe at this point I can be fair and unbiased," the woman explained before Merchan dismissed her from the case.

Merchan then scolded the press for revealing details about the woman during the jury selection process this week.

"There's a reason why this is an anonymous jury, and we've taken the measures that we've taken," Merchan said when he addressed the press and encouraged them to use "common sense."

"It kind of defeats the purpose of that when so much information is put out there that makes it very, very easy to find out who they are," the judge said.

Merchan said that the juror who was excused "said she was afraid and intimidated by all the press."

"We just lost what may have been a very good juror," Merchan added.

There are now six jurors empaneled. The jury selection process is continuing.

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• Instacart is adding miles to some Seattle deliveries, helping avoid paying the city gig worker wage.
• It created a border to define orders in the city from the suburbs after the Pay Up law took effect.
• Instacart, DoorDash, and other gig delivery apps are fighting to roll back the Seattle law.

Some gig workers in and around Seattle are traveling miles more than normal to deliver groceries and takeout food as the companies they work for try to avoid the city's new pay law.

Seattle's minimum wage law for gig workers took effect January 13, requiring companies like Instacart and DoorDash to pay those workers a minimum wage comparable to the city's $19.97 hourly minimum.

But some orders and order offers from Seattle and its suburbs seen by Business Insider suggest that the companies are avoiding paying the higher wage by sending shoppers to stores outside the city to fill orders — even if it takes longer and adds miles to the delivery run or risks disappointing customers.

One recent offer from Instacart seen by a shopper who works in the Seattle area involved driving 7.4 miles from a Total Wine store to a customer's home in the Shoreline neighborhood to deliver some hard seltzer. There was another Total Wine store about half as far from the customer's house with a similar product selection, but it was located within the city of Seattle, the shopper who shared the offer with BI said.

As presented, the entire delivery would have taken place outside Seattle city limits, meaning that Instacart would not have had to pay the shopper according to the Pay Up law.

"Someone could order ice cream, and now we're driving eight miles to deliver ice cream when they have the grocery store right across the street," the shopper told BI. The shopper asked not to have their name used in this article for fear of retaliation from Instacart. BI verified their identity and work for Instacart.

"I've noticed that a lot of my regular customers have stopped ordering" outside the Seattle city area, the shopper added.

Two other order offers seen by BI show delivery routes that involved delivering groceries from stores north of Seattle to addresses to the west of the city in Kirkland, Washington — even though both chains have closer locations in Seattle itself.

Still, before the law was enacted, Instacart had laid out how it would deal with orders within the city and outside. A day before Pay Up took effect, Instacart said that the company's gig workers would "only be able to facilitate orders from Seattle retail locations to customers who live within Seattle."

"This means that customers outside of Seattle will not be able to order from stores within Seattle, and vice versa," Instacart said.

An Instacart spokesperson confirmed the hard border, saying that the company faced "extensive requirements to conduct business within Seattle, which do not apply to customer or retailer locations outside of the city limits."

They added: "We cannot apply different regulatory structures to the same customer order."

But it's becoming increasingly clear that creating the border has started disrupting shoppers. Some have even said it's created a dead zone where accepting orders of any kind is impossible.

One such area is 145th Street, a road that runs East-West and functions as the northern boundary between the City of Seattle and the suburban neighborhood of Shoreline. The street is also home to stores frequented by Instacart shoppers, such as a QFC supermarket, which Kroger owns.

"It won't let me take an order when I am in Seattle, or in Shoreline, or even at the store," one shopper posted on Reddit in January after Instacart made changes in response to Pay Up.

Instead, the app "just gives me the error message that I can't accept non-Seattle batches while in Seattle even when I am not in Seattle."

Instacart — and other gig apps — have been making their opposition to Seattle's pay law clear.

Since it took effect in January, Instacart has fielded a survey of 250 shoppers that it says shows overwhelming dissatisfaction with the law — though BI reported that the study asked about elements of working for Instacart, such as tips, that Instacart has made changes to even though Seattle didn't require them.

Other companies, including DoorDash and Uber, have also demanded rollbacks of all or parts of the law.

Do you work for or use Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Walmart Spark, or another gig delivery app and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com

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Almost Friday! The complicated relationship between professional sports and legal gambling just took another twist. The NBA issued a lifetime ban to Jontay Porter for leaking info to known sports bettors. But it might ultimately be a good thing for the NBA.

In today's big story, we're looking at one person's argument for why you don't need a real-estate agent when buying a home.

What's on deck:

• Markets: A recession is being held off thanks to three key reasons, according to one economist.

• Tech: Searching for something on Google might lead you to Reddit. Here's why.

• Business: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been royally bad for business.

But first, no agent, no problem.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

DIY homebuying

Buying a house is the biggest purchase most people make, so it makes sense to hire an expert to help with the process.

So, about that…

One recent homebuyer's brief experience working with a real-estate agent left him feeling way better off doing it himself. And he doesn't see why everyone else can't do the same.

"If you're thinking about buying a home, ask yourself the following three questions: Do you have an internet connection? Do you have at least a seventh-grade reading level? Do you like saving money? If you answer yes to all three, you're in fantastic shape to be your own agent," writes Albert Fox Cahn.

Albert details how much of what his real-estate agent told him was what he'd already figured out. Most of the listings his agent "found" were homes Albert had already seen online, sometimes weeks earlier. The agent also tried to push him into a bidding war that got uncomfortably high.

He eventually found a place without a real-estate agent. Better yet: he saved $50,000 since the seller had baked his agent's commission into the price.

Now, before you fire up the hate mail, I understand Albert's experience isn't representative of all real-estate agents.

But there's a legitimate case for more people to follow in Albert's footsteps. That's thanks to a recent settlement focused on agent commissions.

In short, buyers and sellers could be responsible for paying their agents separately. Previously, sellers typically paid out both agents with a chunk of the final sale price, usually around 5-6%.

(Business Insider's James Rodriquez has done a fantastic job covering this whole saga, including how the settlement could upend the future of homebuying.)

So, with real estate where it is — expensive and mind-numbingly frustrating — you could see why buyers might be willing to cut ties with agents to save some cash.

It all speaks to a broader DIY debate that plays out in industries. Take personal finance. Financial advisors are a market worth trillions of dollars. Yet some say you're better off avoiding advisors and their fees and sticking your money in low-fee index funds.

Sometimes, though, people are willing to "pay for peace."

Airbnb upended the hotel industry when it entered the scene. Why pay for a pricey, small hotel room when you could rent an entire house or apartment, often at a lower price?

But it wasn't long before annoying checkout chores and exorbitant fees sent some people running back to hotels.

3 things in markets

1. What's holding off a recession? Economist David Rosenberg, who has a pessimistic view on the market's future, has some ideas for what's stopping a downturn. Government spending has boosted manufacturing facility construction and debt was refinanced when rates were still historically low.

2. Seth Klarman sounds off. The billionaire founder of the hedge fund Baupost shared his perspective on the impact of AI on society while speaking at a Harvard Business School event. He also sees credit and real-estate opportunities due to interest-rate increases and pandemic knock-on effects.

3. The US freight recession seems to be getting worse. Shares in J.B. Hunt, which is seen as a bellwether for the industry, tumbled 8% Wednesday after a first-quarter earnings report that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. The broader freight market has been toiling through an extensive slowdown since the pandemic years, driven by weak sales and an overload of trucks.

3 things in tech

1. Reddit is taking over Google Search results. If you've noticed way more Reddit posts when you search on Google, you're not alone: Google's shift to promoting more human sites has led to a surge in traffic to Reddit. The change, however, is already being exploited by spammers.

2. TikTok Shop is better at keeping customers than Temu and Shein. You might be annoyed by all those TikTok Shop videos on your feed, but it appears they're working. New data shows TikTok outpaced its rivals regarding repeat purchases, and was only beaten by Amazon.

3. More layoffs at Google. The tech giant is cutting some jobs in its finance and real estate teams, two current employees told BI. Some roles are also being relocated to other offices in the US and abroad where Google is putting more investment, including India, Dublin, and Atlanta.

3 things in business

1. Harry and Meghan's mega-deals have been mega-busts. In the last four years, companies have thrown millions of dollars into Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's projects only to be met with mixed results. Sure, the couple is really famous — but it's clear they're terrible at business.

2. Laid-off Tesla workers are starting to receive severance. Tesla appeared to be offering two months' pay and health insurance, five former workers told BI. However, CEO Elon Musk has apologized because some of the severance packages were "incorrectly low," per CNBC. Meanwhile, as the problems pile up at Tesla, perhaps Musk shouldn't have so many jobs.

3. Tech giants are building new data centers — and you might end up paying for it. Amazon and Ohio's largest utility company have asked the state for a huge electricity discount as it ramps up its construction of data centers there. Consumer advocates and energy experts worry that home and business ratepayers may end up bearing the brunt of the rise in costs.

In other news

• Microsoft has a target to amass 1.8 million AI chips by the end of the year, internal document shows.

• Google fired 28 employees for staging in-office protests against the company's contract with Israel.

• Rivian lays off more workers.

• Google is trying to solve one of Americans' top concerns about having an EV.

• Why Tesla wants to give Elon Musk a $55 billion pay package.

• Another perk of weight-loss drugs? Eli Lilly's Zepbound may alleviate sleep apnea, too.

• Tesla gives Delaware the cold shoulder and pitches a move to Texas.

• Peter Thiel says AI will be 'worse' for math nerds than for writers.

• Nvidia stock could soar 81% if investors recognize its full potential as an AI ecosystem, rather than just a chipmaker, Evercore says.

• Long-time quant bigwig Neil Chriss is out at Paloma after just 11 months. It was a year of big hires, a restructuring, and new New York digs.

• Russia will grow faster than the US and all other advanced economies this year, the IMF says.

What's happening today

• Today's earnings: Netflix, Blackstone, Alaska Air, and other companies are reporting.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London. Grace Lett, associate editor, in Chicago. Laine Napoli, associate audience producer, in New York.

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• Manhattan prosecutors in Trump's hush-money trial want more sanctions against him.
• They say he's posted "disturbing" things about prospective jurors on Truth Social.
• They also say he's violated a gag order by repeatedly attacking Michael Cohen.

Manhattan prosecutors in Donald Trump's criminal hush-money case asked the judge presiding over the case to sanction him for attacking prospective jurors in the trial, arguing the former president has repeatedly violated his gag order.

The latest salvo, from Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy in court Thursday morning, concerns a Truth Social post made by Trump on Wednesday, in which he quoted Fox News host Jesse Watters on his Truth Social account.

"They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury," Trump posted on his feed, quoting Watters while applying his own letter capitalization.

Conroy told New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan Thursday morning that it was "the most disturbing post" among seven occasions where Trump has violated his gag order since Monday, the day jury selection began.

He asked Merchan to hold Trump in contempt and fine him, adding that the Manhattan district attorney's office was "still considering our options" for the full scope of sanctions to request from the judge. Being held in contempt of court can potentially result in jail time for the former president.

Prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney's office have accused Trump of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, keeping her quiet ahead of the 2016 election about an affair she says she had with her.

Merchan issued a gag order in the case forbidding Trump from making statements about trial jurors, witnesses, staff prosecutors, and family members of Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Prosecutors accused Trump of violating it on Monday with attacks on Daniels and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who are both set to be key witnesses in the trial, which is expected to last six weeks in downtown Manhattan.

Merchan also castigated Trump on Tuesday for "muttering" and being "audible" while a prospective juror had answered questions aimed at determining her ability to be impartial.

"I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom," the judge said. "I want to make that crystal clear."

On Thursday, Conroy said Trump violated the gag order seven more times with attacks on Cohen on social media and on his campaign website.

Emil Bove, one of Trump's attorneys, said that reposting — which he falsely said Trump did with the Watters quote, even though it was not a repost — wasn't covered by Mercham's gag order.

Bove also argued that the last rounds of Trump's criticism against Cohen were fair game because they were "political in nature," countering Cohen "attacking his candidacy."

Merchan previously scheduled a hearing next Tuesday to determine whether Trump violated his gag order. He said he would consider Conroy's new allegations at that time.

"We'll sort this out at the hearing," he said.

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• Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas could be an expensive vacation compared to other cruise ships.
• Sailing on the mega-ship without paying for any of its upcharged amenities is possible.
• But it would mean spending at least $265 a day, staying sober, and repeating meals.

A budget vacation on Royal Caribbean's new wildly popular Icon of the Seas is possible. Just be prepared to stay sober, repeat meals, and pay at least $265 a day.

Right now, there's likely no better example of the mass-market cruise industry's shift toward the budget airline strategy — charge a cheap base fare and offer irresistible up-charged amenities — than Royal Caribbean's new world's largest cruise liner.

After all, what other ship comes with a $100,000-a-week cabin and a $200-per-person restaurant?

But it is possible to vacation on the mega-ship without giving into any of its upcharged restaurants and activities. If you're strong enough to do so, here's what your seven nights on Icon of the Seas could look like.

Be warned: It won't include lobsters or private lounges.

Less than half of Icon’s 28 eateries are complimentary, so you’ll likely repeat meals.

Picky eaters are sure to find at least one satisfactory option at the ship's three buffets, one of which is Mexican-themed.

If not, the complimentary pizza shop or sandwiches from the two on-board cafés might suffice.

In search of variety, grab a Mediterranean-style wrap or crepe at the five-stall food hall instead.

For a more formal dinner, budget cruisers can grub on a three-course meal at the complimentary dining room.

The three-floor restaurant has a rotating menu with classics like crab cakes, New York strip steak, and cheesecake.

Just don't expect lobster or filet mignon. Both cost extra.

For better or worse, guests snubbing upcharged options would also be snubbing booze.

Like most mass-market cruise ships, Icon of the Seas' 18 bars aren't free. If you want alcohol and sodas, be prepared to pay for a beverage package.

Thankfully, the ship’s complimentary amenities could distract you from your sobriety.

Icon's surf simulator and impressive six-slide waterpark won't run you a tab.

The same goes for its seven pools and nine hot tubs — save for one of each exclusive to guests who've booked a suite.

For drier activities, families could spend their afternoons scaling the rock climbing wall or testing their putt at the nine-hole mini-golf course.

Or they could work off their lunch buffet by sweating it out at the sports court — basketball and ping pong included — for no extra charges.

Fortunately, Icon of the Seas' nighttime entertainment is also a great equalizer. Its ice skating performance, rendition of the Broadway hit "Wizard of Oz," and multi-disciplinary dance, swim, and dive show are complimentary to all guests.

But if you want to test your fear of heights at the part-walking, part-agility, part-ziplining Crown's Edge, you'll have to cough up $49.

The arcade games aren't free, either.

Guests staying in suites have access to a shared outdoor lounge.

There's also the option to pay up to $700 for one day with a private cabana-like "casita."

But if you're on a budget, you'll have to fight "pool chair hogs" for the best poolside seating instead. (Consider bringing a sheet mask with you — a 25-minute facial at the ship's spa is almost $150.)

And hold off on your Instagram photo dumps until after your vacation.

Otherwise, you'll have to cough up $31 per day and device for streaming-enabled WiFi, totaling $217 for the duration of the cruise. (Icon of the Seas is exclusively operating seven-night sailings.)

But let’s face it: The base fare alone isn’t ultra-affordable compared to other cruise ships.

Patrick Scholes, a lodging and leisure research analyst at Truist Securities, told Business Insider in late 2023, three months before Icon's launch, that the vessel was priced at a premium of "at least 50%, if not more."

Steep, compared to the typical 20% to 50% new-ship premiums.

The cheapest interior stateroom for 2024 currently costs $265 per person per day.

But even the windowless cabin comes with its own list of upgrades.

Travelers who want to pick their own stateroom must pay an additional $128 per person. If they opt for one of the larger (by at least one square foot) interior cabins, it'll be an extra $100.

Which is to say, good luck avoiding any of the upcharged amenities on your Icon of the Seas vacation.

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