• Nikki Haley wrote 'finish them' on an artillery shell during a visit to Israel, a photo shows.
• A picture shared by Danny Danon showed Haley signing the shell over Memorial Day Weekend.
• Haley also criticized Joe Biden for temporarily cutting off weapons to Israel, per The Guardian.

Nikki Haley wrote "finish them" on an Israeli artillery shell during a recent visit to Israel.

Danny Danon, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, shared a post on X on Tuesday featuring four photos of Haley and himself during her visit to Israel over Memorial Day Weekend, including one of her kneeling and writing on an artillery shell.

"Finish them! This is what my friend, the former ambassador, Nikki Haley, wrote today on a shell during a visit to an artillery outpost at the northern border," Danon said.

Haley was the US Ambassador to the UN under the Trump administration between 2017 and 2018, which overlapped with Danon's time as Israel's Permanent Representative to the UN.

Haley was touring parts of Israel, including Kibbutz Nir Oz, where Hamas militants killed one in four people during the terrorist attacks of October 7.

"What happened on October 7 is pure evil and can never be forgotten," she said, per the Jewish News Syndicate.

At least 1,189 people were killed during Hamas' attacks, and 252 were taken hostage.

Israel launched offensives against Gaza in the aftermath of those attacks, which have killed at least 35,000 Palestinians as of May 20, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, shared by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

During her trip, Haley also criticized President Joe Biden for his momentarily withholding aid to Israel.

"The sure way to not help Israel is to withhold weapons," she said, per The Guardian, adding: "America needs to do whatever Israel needs and stop telling them how to fight this war."

In an interview with CNN earlier this month, Biden said he would cut off Israel from offensive weapons if it went ahead with an assault on Rafah.

But on Tuesday, the White House said the assault hadn't violated Biden's previous warnings against launching a large-scale assault targeting population centers.

Haley dropped out of the US presidential race in March.

• The Chinese automaker BYD briefly eclipsed Tesla as the world's top seller of electric vehicles.
• Even though it doesn't have access to the US market, BYD's affordable EVs are popular in China.
• Here's how a little-known Chinese brand proved it could go toe-to-toe with an industry giant.

BYD may not be a household name in America, but it recently made itself known in a big way.

For a brief moment earlier this year, the Chinese automaker unseated Tesla as the world's top seller of electric cars.

Even though you won't see a BYD car in America (yet), the company has built an affordable brand that's popular in China and elsewhere.

It also just announced a Cybertruck competitor, the BYD Shark, along with a hybrid powertrain that allows its sedans to travel up to 1,250 miles without stopping.

Here's the story of the company that proved it could outsell Elon Musk.

BYD doesn't stand for anything — officially.

Wang Chuanfu and a cousin founded BYD in 1995. Then a 29-year-old government researcher, Wang came from a family of rice farmers. He earned a university scholarship and eventually moved to the Special Economic Zone in Shenzhen to start his new company.

The "YD" in the name came from Yadi, the village in Shenzhen where the company originally was, one South Korean newspaper reported. The "B" was added later as a promotional tool, the report said. Wang has said in interviews that, taken together, the BYD name doesn't stand for anything in particular.

It was only later that Wang derived the slogan "Build Your Dreams." The company has also acquired another nickname: "Bring Your Dollars."

The company was originally a cellphone-battery manufacturer.

The company's original business wasn't cars. It was cellphone batteries. BYD challenged the established Japanese suppliers Toyota and Sony by providing a cheaper alternative. By 2002, companies such as Motorola, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung were all using BYD batteries.

They started making cars in 2003.

BYD moved into the car business after buying Xi'an Tsinchuan, a failing state-owned automaker that was then an arm of the defense contractor Norinco, the South China Morning Post reported.

The company launched its first car in 2005. The BYD F3 was a compact sedan that resembled the Toyota Corolla. It sold for as little as 40,000 yuan, or about $5,850.

Warren Buffett was a key early booster.

The billionaire investor Warren Buffett was one of the high-profile names who took an interest in BYD early on. Looking to invest in China's booming car market, Buffett toured BYD's headquarters.

The Wall Street Journal reported that while the Berkshire Hathaway tycoon was there, Wang took a sip of battery fluid to prove how clean his batteries were. Buffett was so impressed by the experience that he offered to buy 25% of the company.

Wang declined that offer, but Buffett was not deterred. Berkshire Hathaway acquired a 10% stake in BYD — for $232 million — in 2008.

Their first electric car drew scorn from Elon Musk.

The company debuted its first fully electric vehicle, the E6, in 2010. Benefiting from Chinese government subsidies, it was able to compete with its Japanese counterparts.

But not everyone was impressed. Tesla CEO Elon Musk laughed in a 2011 interview when asked whether he considered BYD a serious rival to Tesla.

"Have you seen their car?" he said. "I don't think they make a good product. I don't think it's particularly attractive. The technology is not very strong."

BYD's hybrid cars turned it into a titan of Chinese automakers.

BYD established itself as one of the top automakers for hybrid vehicles in China in the 2010s. Its most popular offering was the Qin, introduced in 2012, which became one of the best-selling cars in China.

That wasn't the only offering that propelled BYD to prominence, however. The company also released the Tang, a hybrid SUV, and partnered with Daimler AG (now Mercedes-Benz) to make its Denza line.

BYD took the EV crown from Tesla — briefly.

Even though most of its sales in the fourth quarter of 2023 came from the Chinese market, BYD made headlines across the globe when it seemingly did the impossible — it unseated Tesla as the world's top seller of electric cars.

The Chinese automaker rode the EV wave on the back of its new Seagull, which debuted for 73,000 yuan, or about $10,000, as well as its Song, Qin Plus, Dolphin, Yuan Plus, and Han EVs.

Tesla reclaimed the crown in the first quarter of 2024, though both companies saw steep declines in their sales.

BYD's Shark takes aim at Tesla's Cybertruck

The Shark, unveiled on Tuesday, is the latest model offered by BYD.

It's a midsize hybrid pickup truck, and the cabin's design fuses outdoor functionality with modern style and durability.

The truck has more than 430 horsepower, or 170 less than Tesla's all-wheel-drive Cybertruc. BYD says it can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers an hour, or about 62 miles an hour, in roughly 5.7 seconds. The vehicle has five seats and a maximum towing capacity of 2,500 kilograms, which is just more than 5,500 pounds. That's about half of the Cybertruck's towing capability.

Designed for everyday trips and off-road driving, the Shark has three terrain modes: sand, mud, and snow.

It also has built-in features to make camping and off-roading more accessible. The vehicle offers bidirectional charging, according to BYD's site.

While the Shark isn't in direct competition with the Cybertruck as a hybrid model that doesn't sell in the US, it may entice EV fans looking for a more traditional pickup design. It's also priced competitively at about $53,451, which is lower than Cybertruck's $60,990 starting price tag.

Don't expect to see a BYD car on American roads anytime soon.

For a time, it looked as if we were just a few years away from getting Chinese electric cars in the United States. A BYD executive said as much in 2017, and the company even hired Leonardo DiCaprio as a brand ambassador for English-speaking customers.

Since then, BYD has expanded overseas. The Chinese automaker is planning a factory in Mexico — alarming US officials — and even created its own shipping fleet in a bid to cut down on export costs.

But the company says it has abandoned its plans of selling its EVs to Americans. Analysts have pointed to geopolitical tensions and trade barriers between the two countries, as well as the slumping demand for EVs in the United States.

BYD is launching a new hybrid powertrain system on two midsize sedans — and it can drive 1,250 miles without charging or stopping to fill up for gas.

BYD is upgrading its hybrid powertrain system.

The company announced that the upgraded powertrains will launch in two of sedans, one of which will be the BYD Seal 06, Bloomberg reported. Both models will reportedly be under 100,000 yuan, according to the company.

Hybrids make up the majority of BYD vehicles sold, according to a Reuters report. The new upgrade gives them a competitive edge against rivals like Toyota and Volkswagon, which mostly sell fuel-powered vehicles.

The powertrain system translates to about 81 miles per gallon at full charge, which is over triple the US fuel economy average for 2022 cars. That's also close to 500 more miles of range than a hybrid 2023 Lexus ES, which was the longest-range hybrid in the Kelley Blue Book's list last year.

Additional reporting by Graham Rapier.

• Tesla is offering a potential Gigafactory tour with Elon Musk to shareholders who vote in its annual meeting.
• 15 investors will be chosen at random for the tour, Tesla said.
• The vote will address proposals regarding Musk's pay plan and moving Tesla's incorporation to Texas.

Tesla is offering shareholders the opportunity to tour its Texas Gigafactory alongside Elon Musk and the designer of the Cybertruck Franz von Holzhausen — there's just one catch.

To qualify for a possible invite to the tour, investors must cast their vote on Musk's pay package.

Tesla announced the tour promotion on Tuesday. The company will select 15 shareholders at random for the event, which will take place the day before the annual shareholder meeting on June 12 and will include a tour of the Cybertruck and Model Y production lines at the Gigafactory.

To enter into the raffle, Tesla investors must submit proof that they've held a stake in the company as of April 15, as well as show evidence that they voted on the proposals for the upcoming meeting. The deadline to apply for the opportunity is June 7.

"You should only submit proof that you voted, not how you voted," according to Tesla's website. "You do not need to vote for or against any proposals to be eligible for entry."

Ahead of the annual meeting for investors, shareholders will be asked to vote on a number of proposals, including a proposal to reinstate Musk's pay package, which was struck down by a Delaware judge earlier this year. The company is also asking investors to vote on a proposal to move the company's state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas, and a separate proposal to reelect Tesla board members Kimbal Musk and James Murdoch.

Over the past few weeks, Tesla has pulled out all the stops to encourage investors to vote for the proposals, particularly Musk's pay package, which was valued at around $55 billion before it was voided in January. The company has argued the compensation plan is "critical to the future success of Tesla" and has even paid for a handful of advertisements promoting the pay plan.

Meanwhile, some investors have urged others to vote against the proposals. On May 21, a group of shareholders filed a letter with the Securities and Exchange Commission calling for investors to vote against both Musk's pay package and the proposal to reelect Murdoch and Kimbal Musk. Separately, proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis said in a report on Saturday that the pay plan was "excessive" and presented investors with "uncertain benefits and additional risk."

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

• The productivity boost that AI technology will generate is being overestimated, according to a new MIT study.
• AI-led US GDP growth in the next 10 years will rise just 0.93% to 1.16%, economist Daron Acemoglu wrote.
• That's just a fraction of the impact being forecasted by the likes of Goldman Sachs.

Talk to nearly any artificial intelligence bull, and they'll likely mention the technology's huge expected economic impact.

It's expected to turbocharge productivity, enhancing the efficiency of today's human-led jobs. That, in turn, is seen triggering a new era of growth.

Goldman Sachs is among those bullish on AI's economic prospects, previously forecasting that annual global GDP will eventually see a 7% boost from AI's labor impact. Vanguard also recently estimated that average real GDP could exceed 2.3% between 2028 and 2040.

But one MIT economist isn't so sure.

In a new National Bureau of Economic Research study, MIT economist Daron Acemoglu projects just mild economic upside in the US, stemming from AI advancement.

"My calculations suggest that the GDP boost within the next 10 years should also be modest, in the range of 0.93%-1.16% over 10 years in total," Acemoglu wrote. "Presuming that the technology prompts an investment boom, this forecast could rise to a range of 1.4%-1.56% in total."

The low estimate stems from subdued outlooks on how much AI can really advance total factor productivity; while nontrivial, this figure will also be modest, Acemoglu wrote. 

That's especially made true in the face of "hard-to-learn tasks," such as decision-making situations that are heavily context-dependent. According to the study, many of today's bullish forecasts overestimate productivity gains, as they only take into account easy tasks.

But when recognizing hard tasks, AI's boost to total factor productivity falls to an upper bound of 0.53% within the next decade.

While Acemoglu notes that new tasks and products from AI will boost GDP, not not every contribution will be positive. The technology will likely also increase manipulative tasks, pulling down on welfare. 

Bad tasks includes deepfakes, false advertising, social media addiction, and AI-led computer hacks, he listed. While these could add 2% to GDP, the impact on welfare would actually be a contraction of 0.72%, he said.

• I recently flew four hours from New York to Texas on a Delta Air Lines Airbus A220 in economy.
• The smaller aircraft has Delta's usual seatback screens, power, and WiFi but fewer middle seats.
• My flight was comfortable and on time, and I finally saw the A220's funky lavatory window.

Delta Air Lines has always been my go-to carrier.

I regularly flew the airline to and from Atlanta growing up, and now take advantage of its huge hubs at my nearby New York City area airports.

Other airlines are starting to grow on me, but my dozens of Delta flights over the years have been on time, and I appreciate its large network and consistency in terms of product and customer service.

To add a little excitement to a recent domestic flight from New York to Dallas/Fort Worth, I specifically booked Delta's Airbus A220.

Although the jet is smaller than a typical mainline plane, it's just as comfortable — and you might actually want to visit the lavatory on this one.

My Delta flight left out of Terminal 4 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The giant hub has been renovated with a spacious check-in area, and new SkyClub lounges have been added for business, first-class passengers, and other eligible customers.

Delta is expanding its lounge collection in June 2024 by opening its first "premium lounge" at New York-JFK — a 38,000-square-foot space complete with a year-round terrace.

The airport was packed, and the Delta counters and kiosks had lines of people waiting. Luckily, I only had a carry-on, so I went straight to security.

I rarely check a bag and avoid the airport crowds by checking in on the mobile app and saving my boarding pass to my phone.

If you are flying this summer — especially out of giant hubs like New York-JFK — I recommend budgeting extra time to account for the busy peak season crowds.

I used TSA PreCheck to speed through security, but Delta also has a special facial-recognition line for eligible SkyMiles members.

The biometrics digital ID program lets eligible travelers expedite bag drop and security, according to Delta.

To use the program, customers must upload their Known Traveler Number and passport information to their free SkyMiles account and have the Delta Fly Mobile app.

I used PreCheck out of habit but later realized the shorter Delta digital ID line would have been a few minutes faster — maybe next time.

After a quick stop at the newly opened Chase Sapphire Lounge, I boarded Delta's A220-100 at Gate B30.

As a regular economy flyer, I rely on my Priority Pass membership for lounge access. I get the perk through my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card.

It was small but had comfortable seating, an a-la-carte menu with items like eggs benedict, a buffet, and a bar.

Only a few other US airlines fly an A220 variant, including JetBlue Airways and Breeze Airways.

Delta started flying the modern jet in February 2019 and is the only mainline operator with the plane, flying both the A220-100 and A220-300 models.

The aircraft was previously known as the Bombardier CSeries before Airbus took over the program.

Smaller than mainline narrowbodies, the A220 family has middle seats on only one side of the cabin.

The A220-100 aircraft I flew on offers 12 first-class seats in a 2×2 layout at the front of the jet, followed by 15 comfort+ seats and 82 regular economy seats in a 2×3 layout, according to Delta.

The right side of the jet has middle seats, meaning customers who don't pre-pay for seats have a better shot at getting a random window or aisle.

I took my chances with a random assignment and ended up in 22D — a middle seat. It was still plenty spacious despite the smaller plane.

My regular economy A220-100 seat offered 18.6 inches of width and 30 inches of pitch. Some coach seats have up to 32 inches of pitch, while Comfort+ seats offer 34 inches.

First class are larger loungers with 37 inches of pitch and more than 20 inches of width.

At only 5'3" tall, I had enough legroom for the four-hour flight. However, the 30 inches of pitch could be cramped for taller travelers.

Delta's 30 inches of pitch is not uncommon, with American Airlines and United Airlines offering similar legroom onboard their narrowbody airplanes.

Though, it still doesn't beat the industry-leading legroom on JetBlue's A220, which is 32 inches.

While the pitch is not as generous as competitors, Delta's cabin is consistent — complete with TVs, WiFi, power, and headrests.

According to Delta, it has more than 161,000 seatback screens across 850 aircraft, with TVs being added to Airbus A319s, Airbus A320s, and Boeing 737-800s by the end of this summer.

Delta offers complimentary and paid inflight WiFi options, including free sessions to SkyMiles members and eligible T-Mobile customers on more than 650 domestic narrowbody planes.

I like knowing what to expect when flying on Delta's mainline planes.

Delta's consistent mainline cabin means I can almost always rely on its in-flight entertainment in case I forget mine, and I'll have access to power and WiFi for working.

JetBlue has a similar consistency, while both American and United have been growing familiarity across their narrowbodies

Unique to Delta's A220, however, is a surprise window in the aft lavatory — which is why I wanted to fly on this specific jet.

The full-size lavatory window is a design unique to Delta; neither JetBlue nor Breeze installed the window.

It may sound silly, but we aviation enthusiasts love little details that give us a random "loo with a view."

The best part is the window-equipped lavatory is in the back of the aircraft — meaning it isn't reserved for just first-class flyers.

This is debatably the best "window seat" flying.

The Dallas/Fort Worth-bound flight was overall comfortable and on time — though I did have issues with the WiFi.

Delta's WiFi is typically fast and reliable over the US, but I still find it susceptible to disruptions at times.

Airline WiFi relies on satellites, which can be impacted by natural events like solar storms. The time it takes for signals to travel between satellites and planes can also lag the internet.

Moreover, turbulence can physically shake a WiFi antenna attached outside the aircraft, causing it to cut out. Flying over water can also cause internet issues.

And I'll admit that I prefer American's tablet holder over Delta's TV screen.

American's narrowbody planes have a tablet holder in lieu of a seatback screen for holding electronics, such as tablets and phones. I've also seen it used for a Nintendo Switch.

Although not a popular opinion, I prefer this set-up because I like to binge my own shows on flights, and the angle is better than watching from the tray table.

Still, I like Delta's consistent comfort and reliability. And it A220 is worth purposefully flying if you want a funky inflight experience.

Delta's recent lounge upgrades, improved cabins, beefed-up route network, and overhauled loyalty program indicate the airline's focus on developing its "premium" product to attract more high-paying flyers.

Personally, I have had very few bad experiences with Delta, and its customer service is typically helpful.

However, its SkyMiles changes make it harder to earn status, and the "premium" aspect that is at times boosting fares is less important to me. I'd likely book a competitor if the price and timing were right — especially as American, in particular, climbs in my rankings.

• A man waged a revenge campaign against a cop for a $196 jaywalking ticket, according to a lawsuit.
• The officer and his family are suing for $16.5 million, citing distress and privacy invasion.
• The man told police that he was behind the harassment, which included filing false police reports.

A Fresno police officer issued a California man with a ticket for jaywalking in 2019.

But instead of taking the fine on the chin, John Christopher Spatafore launched a campaign of revenge against the cop, which included filing false police reports about him, according to a civil lawsuit.

The cop, identified only as John Doe, is seeking $16.5 million in damages for himself and his family.

The Fresno Bee was the first to report on the lawsuit, which is expected to go to trial later this year.

According to the local outlet, the officer's lawyer, Brian Whelan, described the lawsuit as addressing a "cyber campaign of hate and revenge" waged against the policeman and his family.

A complaint filed by the officer, his wife, and his daughter in 2021, said the officer witnessed Spatafore jaywalking near Fresno City Hall and along railroad tracks on October 25, 2019.

The officer issued Spatafore with a ticket for violating a section of California's vehicle code. Under the code, jaywalking carries a fine of up to $196, plus court administrative fees and assessments.

Spatafore was "visibly upset" while being detained, according to the lawsuit, and asked "strange personal and vaguely threatening questions" about the officer's address and whether he had kids.

Four days later, according to the lawsuit, the officer started receiving password reset codes, which suggested attempts were being made to hack into his personal email account.

The lawsuit said that this was followed by a tirade of texts, calls, and emails from car dealerships "responding" to information requests about purchasing cars that the officer had never made.

It said that on November 6, 2019, the officer had more than 100 texts to his personal phone concerning inquiries he had never initiated.

According to the lawsuit, Spatafore then filed two false police reports against the officer.

In the first, he accused him of being involved in a hit-and-run incident. An investigation by Fresno police found that this wasn't true, according to the Fresno Bee.

In the second, Spatafore alleged that the officer's wife was a victim of domestic violence, according to the lawsuit. The police also found this report to be false, the Fresno Bee reported.

According to the lawsuit, the officer and his wife also received a message claiming that their computer camera had been hacked and compromising videos of them would be released unless they met certain demands.

Spatafore also tried to get the officer's water and trash services turned off on Thanksgiving Day, the Fresno Bee reported.

Spatafore was arrested on November 21, 2019, nearly a month after the harassment campaign began.

He was pulled over within a mile of the officer's home with a loaded .38 caliber revolver that was not registered, and for which he did not have a license to carry, according to the Fresno Bee.

The local outlet said the hospital he worked at fired him that same day after finding that he had used his work laptop to carry out the revenge campaign.

The officer is now seeking $5.5 million each for himself, his wife, and his daughter, accusing Spatafore and the hospital of invasion of privacy, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other claims.

Spatafore admitted to harassing the officer online during an interview with police, adding that he used Facebook, not hospital records, to find information on him, according to the Fresno Bee.

He was charged with two counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information and one count of having a concealed firearm, alongside misdemeanor charges, but the criminal case was suspended after his lawyer got him into a mental health diversion program.

Spatafore's lawyer, the lawyer for the officer, and the hospital did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

• The evolution of tech and media is creating opportunities for innovation in sports.
• Sports betting has also added new facets to the industry in the US.
• Here are pitch decks that 17 sports startups used to raise millions in Series A and seed rounds.

The sports industry has exploded in recent years as technology and consumer habits change.

The expansion of legal sports betting in the US ushered in one of the biggest transformations. It's opened up a new market not only for sportsbooks like DraftKings, but for the ancillary businesses that support betting — be it platform providers, data companies, media partners, geolocation and compliance suppliers, or others.

Venture capital poured about $330 million into early-stage US sports betting and online gambling companies last year, despite the current macroeconomic struggles, according to PitchBook. That was down from the previous year but more than the year before.

In college sports, student-athletes are finally allowed to profit from their name, image, and likeness, after a 2021 rule change. Student-athletes have since become one of the most engaging influencer groups, earning anywhere from a few hundred dollars to six figures from brand deals. This has opened the opportunity for startups to build marketplaces or creator tools to help student-athlete creators. 

Technology has also changed the way leagues and teams operate and how fans consume sports. Uplift Labs has partnered with leagues like the NBA for its technology that analyzes player movement through smartphone cameras.

Stadium Live, which has raised $13 million in funding since 2020, created a fan-engagement app for Gen-Z audiences, who founder Kevin Kim said are paying less attention to TV screens during live sports. Kim said investors even chased him down on platforms like Twitter and Discord, gaining interest in Stadium Live's unique position in sports media.

"Every time an investor or potential people would look at [Stadium Live], they were like, 'Oh, this has a unique vibe that we have not seen before in any other apps,'" Kim told Business Insider.

Whether in sports tech, betting, or consumer products, the sports space has become a world of opportunity for startups to create the next big company.

BI spoke with 17 sports companies that have pitched investors about their process. They broke down the pitch decks they used to secure millions of dollars in funding. 

Read the pitch decks that helped 17 sports-focused startups raise millions of dollars (in alphabetical order):

• Ballislife, a basketball media brand: $2.7 million (12 pages)
• BeyondPlay, a mobile gaming and online-gambling app: $1.7 million (90-second video)
• Brag House, an esports social platform for college gamers: $5 million Series A round (24 pages)
• Champions Round, a social-gaming startup catering to Gen-Z audiences who want shorter, faster play: $7 million Series A (13 pages)
• Compliable, a tech company helping with the sports-gambling licensing process: $3.6 million seed round (4 pages)
• Curastory, a video-making startup for sports creators: $2 million seed round (27 pages)
  
• Grandstand, a sports creator economy startup: $2.75 million (15 pages)
• Huupe, an interactive smart basketball hoop: $8 million seed round (5 pages)
• Kero Sports, a startup that powers free-to-play games in sports apps: $1 million seed round (6 key pages)
• LoopGolf, an on-course betting app that lets golfers wager with their friends: $2 million (9 pages)
• Mojo, a sports-betting app where bettors can invest in the careers of athletes (11 pages)
• Overtime, a social media outlet target ting the Gen-Z market that has launched a basketball league (33 pages)
• Pro League Network develops "made-for-wagering" sports like CarJitsu and slapfighting: $2.2 million (20 pages)
• The Seattle Storm, a WNBA team: $21 million (14 pages)
• SoBet, a sports startup for bettors and creators: $3.7 million seed round (10 pages)
• Stix, a golf startup aiming to make quality equipment more affordable: $10 million Series A (14 pages)
• Uplift, a sports tech startup using biomechanics to improve performance and physical health: $5.5 million seed round (14 pages)

This story has been updated with additional details.

• 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 arguments 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 where he walked them through a more than 180-part slideshow presentation before they begin deliberating Wednesday.

But if he was involved, there was no intent to commit fraud, Blanche argued. How could there be, he asked, when Trump freely and repeatedly 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.

In his own closing argument, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said Trump had to have approved the reimbursement scheme.

Cohen would never have fronted the $130,000 in Daniels hush-money without his micromanaging boss's pre-approval and guarantee of repayment, Steinglass argued.

"Michael Cohen had 130,000 reasons to get Mr. Trump's sign-off," th prosecutor told jurors.

During his closing argument, Blanche angered the judge by telling jurors that "you cannot send somebody to prison based on what Michael Cohen is saying."

Jurors are supposed to weigh only the facts in their deliberations — not the potential punishment.

"That was outrageous, Mr. Blanche," state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan told Blanche after jurors were dismissed for lunch.

"Someone who's been a prosecutor as long as you have, and a defense lawyer as long as you have, knows it's highly inappropriate," the judge said.

"It's simply not allowed. Period," the judge added. He gave a curative instruction to the jury, explaining that Blanche's comment was "improper" and that if Trump is convicted, "a prison sentence is not required." Falsifying business records carries a sentence of anywhere from zero jail to four years prison.

Here are the three exhibits that Blanche displayed in court for jurors as "proof" that Trump had nothing to hide and, therefore, could not have intended to defraud anyone.

But each is highly incriminating of Trump, prosecutors have argued.

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 income in 2017.

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

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

But the 1099s are "false," Steinglass, the prosecutor, told jurors in his own closing arguments, which went on for five hours, ending at 8 p.m.

The 1099s demonstrate that Trump "filled out phony forms," reporting income for Cohen that did not exist, Steinglass said — "because it wasn't income. It was reimbursement."

2. A 2018 tweet

On May 3, 2018, Trump posted a somewhat garbled tweet that conceded 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

Finally, 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.

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.

But prosecutors have argued this form shows Trump knew the money he paid Cohen was reimbursement for money lent — the Daniels hush money.

Cohen the GLOAT

Blanche 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," the defense lawyer 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."

The DA's reliance on Cohen's testimony demonstrates the weakness in the prosecution's case, Blanche said. He said that Cohen committed "per-ju-ry" — stressing every syllable — on the witness stand and was "the human embodiment of reasonable doubt."

"You should want and expect more than the testimony of Michael Cohen," he said.

Blanche sidestepped the most pivotal documents in the case, handwritten notes from Weisselberg and company comptroller Jeffrey McConney that appear to explain how Cohen would be repaid for hush money in $35,000 payments, including a "gross up" to cover taxes.

Blanche claimed that if the document was truly proof of an illegal conspiracy, the Trump Organization would have destroyed it instead of keeping it in a filing cabinet — where they were ultimately turned over to prosecutors.

Steinglass countered that it must have been hard for Blanche to make that argument "with a straight face," saying the illegal conspiracy was laid out "in the document itself."

"These documents are so damning that you almost have to laugh," he said.

At the beginning of the prosecution's closing argument on Tuesday afternoon, Steinglass said that while Cohen may have a track record of dishonesty, he has come clean and has "been consistently explaining the facts of this case for six years."

"We didn't choose Michael Cohen. We didn't pick him up at the witness store," Steinglass said. "The defendant chose Michael Cohen because of his willingness to lie."

Blanche had also also criticized prosecutors for spending time teasing out testimony from Daniels, which he said wasn't critical to the criminal charges, related to falsified documents. Prosecutors, the defense lawyer said, just wanted to "embarrass" Trump.

Daniels's vivid and "cringeworthy" details "ring true" and were "uncomfortable," which is why they were so important, Steinglass said. Trump wanted to cover up her story to influence the election, he said.

"That's kind of the point," Steinglass said. "That's the display the defendant didn't want the American people to see."

Trump didn't pay $130,000 to cover up a photo of him and Daniels on a golf course — but to cover up a scandal, Steinglass said.

"Stormy Daniels is the motive," he said.

• Nvidia cofounder Jensen Huang is now worth $100 billion, according to Bloomberg.
• His fortune ballooned $6.6 billion on Tuesday as the AI darling stock racked up more gains.
• Huang is now richer than Rob, Jim or Alice Walton, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Nvidia has emerged as one of the main winners of the AI investing craze — and the good times keep rolling for the semiconductor giant.

Shares in the "Magnificent Seven" tech company jumped 7% on Tuesday as its earnings rally continued, lifting its valuation to $2.8 trillion.

One obvious winner anytime the year's hottest stock surges is Nvidia CEO and cofounder Jensen Huang. His net worth jumped another $6.6 billion, according to data from Bloomberg, as investors seized on better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue numbers.

Huang's personal fortune of $100 billion now puts him 15th on the outlet's Billionaires Index. He's richer than every Walmart heir, including founder Sam Walton's three children Rob, Jim, and Alice.

Here's everything you need to know about Huang, who rocks a leather jacket everywhere he goes and reportedly got a tattoo of Nvidia's logo once the company's share price hit $100.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is now worth $91 billion.

Most of Huang's wealth comes from his 3.5% stake in the Santa Clara-based chipmaker, per the company's 2023 annual report.

The jump in Nvidia stock follows another set of blockbuster quarterly earnings this week as the generative AI boom continues.

He moved to the US as a child

Born as Jen-hsun Huang in Taipei in 1963, Huang spent part of his childhood in Taiwan and Thailand, per Bloomberg. 

In 1973, Huang's parents sent their children to relatives in the US owing to the social unrest in the Southeast Asian country, before relocating there themselves.

Huang's aunt and uncle — who were recent migrants to Washington state at the time — accidentally sent Jensen and his brother to Oneida Baptist Institute in Kentucky, which was considered a reform school instead of a prep school, according to Huang's 2002 interview with Wired.

"And the kids were really tough," Huang told NPR in a 2012 interview. "They all had pocket knives — and when they get in fights, it's not pretty. Kids get hurt."

Students at the school also had to work, and Huang's duty was to clean the bathrooms. 

"The ending of the story is I loved the time I was there," Huang told NPR. "We worked really hard — we studied really hard, and the kids were really tough."

In 2019, he and his wife Lori donated $2 million toward building a female dormitory and classroom building at the school, per the institute's website.

He loves computer games and studied electrical engineering

Huang and his brother eventually moved to Oregon where they rejoined the family.

During his time as a high schooler in Beaverton, he was a nationally ranked junior table tennis champion, according to a 2017 profile on Oregon State University, or OSU, where Huang attended college.

Huang also holds a Master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford. 

 

 

Huang met his wife, Lori Mills, in his freshman year of college

The couple have two children, according to OSU's profile. 

"I enjoyed computers growing up, but OSU opened up my eyes to the magic behind them," he told the university.

Huang graduated in 1984 — the "perfect year to graduate," he said at a keynote speech at National Taiwan University's commencement ceremony this year, per Fortune. That was the same year when the first Mac computers were released, bringing forth a new age in personal computing.

After graduating from OSU, Huang worked at chip companies LSI Logic and Advanced Micro Devices in a variety of roles, according to his bio on Nvidia's website.

He founded Nvidia in 1993 after leaving LSI Logic.

Huang founded Nvidia while dining at Denny's

Nvidia was founded in 1993 at a Denny's restaurant where he was meeting with two friends, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, per The Wall Street Journal.

 The trio "wondered whether starting a graphics company would be a good idea," Huang told Stanford University's engineering school in a 2010 interview.

"We brainstormed and fantasized about what kind of company it would be and the world we could help. It was fun," he told Stanford.

Denny's was also where Huang part-timed when he was a student, per a 2010 New York Times interview. There, he learned how to be more outgoing.

"I was a very good student and I was always focused and driven. But I was very introverted. I was incredibly shy," he told The Times. "The one experience that pulled me out of my shell was waiting tables at Denny's. I was horrified by the prospect of having to talk to people."

Huang is 61, making him years older than Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos when they left day-to-day operations at 52 and 57 years old, respectively.

There are few signs he plans to slow down.

"Nothing is more fun to me than to build a once-in-a-generation company with all of my friends here," Huang told Business Insider in 2021 . "I can't imagine wanting to do anything other than that."

May 24, 2024: This story has been updated to reflect movements in Nvdia's share price and Jensen Huang's net worth.

Huang is now one of the biggest winners of the AI boom.

Nvidia has made itself a key player in the AI boom by supplying hardware to major companies, including OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Demand for the company's hardware has been driven by several factors, including a sophisticated software system that makes its chips simple to use as well as a shortage of AI chips. 

Huang now believes we've hit a new threshold in the AI hype cycle. "Accelerated computing and generative AI have hit the tipping point. Demand is surging worldwide across companies, industries, and nations," Huang said in the company's fourth-quarter earnings press release.

 

• MrBeast, YouTube's top creator, thrives on a relentless work ethic and extreme challenges.
• In a recent interview, he spoke about the situations he finds particularly difficult.
• He said he enjoys pushing himself and doesn't foresee wanting to slow down.

MrBeast is the world's biggest YouTuber for one main reason: he's a workaholic.

Becoming No. 1 isn't easy, and he's the first to admit it. But, in a recent interview, he said he even enjoys pushing himself to the extreme.

He also said he's not about to take a break anytime soon.

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is the biggest YouTube creator in the world with 262 million subscribers. He is just four million subs behind the channel of T-Series, the Indian music label, and is on track to take over and snatch the top spot in a matter of weeks.

In an interview with journalist and YouTuber Jon Youshaei, posted on May 28, Donaldson spoke about loving pushing himself to the point of misery, his mental health, and how time off is simply not an option.

Youshaei asked Donaldson about his schedule, to which he said every day off "is kind of an L for the content."

"Every day I don't film is the day I could have filmed and made these videos better," he said.

Donaldson said he doesn't mind pushing himself, though, such as when he counted from 1 to 100,000 in one sitting, which took around 40 hours.

"Weirdly, I get enjoyment out of going to the point of misery and then pushing through it and finishing," he said.

It's a lot for someone to put themselves through, and Donaldson has been making content and performing increasingly intense challenges for over a decade. However, he said he doesn't see "any world where I'm stopping."

"I mean, what else would I do? I mean, maybe I'll take Sundays off consistently and play Call of Duty or something, but I'm not at that point yet," he said. "I probably have at least another 10 years before I need a break or anything like that."

Donaldson has spoken many times about how much work his videos require. In March, he said it was "painful" to see people quit their jobs or drop out of school to make content full-time before they were ready.

"For every person like me that makes it, thousands don't," he said. "Keep that in mind and be smart plz."

Donaldson makes hundreds of millions of dollars in a year, but he puts everything he earns back into the content. In a recent profile in Time, he said 12,000 hours of footage can go into making a single 15-minute video, so the costs can be massive.

In his interview with Youshaei, Donaldson went through the pain-staking process of choosing thumbnails and sifting through all the footage from hundreds of cameras for some of his videos.

'"Most people can't do that because I think we had petabytes worth of footage," Donaldson said. "It would've taken a single human five lifetimes to watch all the footage we had."

Donaldson also told Youshaei he is "technically the product" of his videos, as well as effectively being the CEO, so "it all falls apart if I don't show up."

"I don't recommend most people do videos like me, it requires you to have a lot of team, a lot of money," he said. "It's a lot of stuff just resting on your shoulders."

Donaldson also spoke about his extreme experimental content, such as spending time in abandoned cities and burying himself alive. These things he has no issue with, he said.

But, he said, he cannot cope with heat, the sun, and bugs.

"If it's an extreme challenge and it doesn't have those three variables, I got it," he said.

But those three things together, such as his video posted in March where he spent seven days on a desert island, was a challenge.

"It was miserable," Donaldson said. "And I was like, I can't do five more days of that, which is good, that's something I've learned about myself."