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Insiders say that the deal for Wasserman's firm, now known as "The Team," could wrap up in the next two weeks.

Is Nicole Avant, a stalwart supporter of the Obamas and longtime LA democrat changing her political stripes?

Education Department Probes Stanford Over Alleged Racial Discrimination

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has initiated an investigation into Stanford University to determine whether one of its programs is racially discriminatory and violates Title VI.

Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., on July 31, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, and color in educational programs that receive financial assistance from the federal government. At issue is Stanford’s National Board Resource Center’s (NBRC’s) program that “helps future teachers who ‘identify as a person of color’ receive National Board Certifications,” the department said in an April 29 statement.

National Board Certification is a professional certification issued that recognizes accomplished teachers. Stanford’s NBRC offers support for teachers seeking this certification.

The Office for Civil Rights noted that the California Teachers Association (CTA) has partnered with Stanford in the NBRC program and positioned the initiative as seeking to boost diversity among certified teachers.

In a 2022 report, the CTA said that selected teachers from the “Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Cohort” receive “full funding for all certification support services offered by Stanford NBRC.”

The NBRC program also provides such individuals with support in accessing funding sources to cover the costs of certification, including receiving funding through the California National Board Incentive Grant program.

In the statement, the Office for Civil Rights said the investigation into Stanford will assess whether the university’s NBRC program discriminates on the basis of race.

“Instead of helping students achieve their goals through merit, Stanford appears to be conditioning access to National Board Certification programs based on skin color. It is unconscionable that an institution which claims to be a pinnacle of educational excellence would deny opportunities based on race,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said.

“If the allegations are true, Stanford is engaged in discrimination – pure and simple. The Trump Administration will always fight against discrimination to protect Americans’ rights under the law. All students, regardless of their skin color, should have an equal opportunity to succeed.”

Stanford University said it was meeting obligations required ‌under ⁠civil rights laws and “maintaining an environment free of prohibited discrimination” and that NBRC “is open to any primary or secondary teacher, regardless of their race, who is pursuing the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification.”

Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., on July 31, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

The university added that the cohort-based program “is not accepting new teachers and ​is being sunsetted.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Stanford for further comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

‘Bringing Back America’s Golden Age’

In an April 6 statement, the Education Department said that under the Trump administration, more than 300 colleges and universities have so far eliminated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirements, shut down DEI offices, and removed diversity statements from their hiring practices.

Such institutions include Stanford University, Harvard University, Purdue University, Rutgers University, the University of Iowa, the University of Southern California, and the Ohio State University.

According to the department, just over a year ago, colleges and universities were more focused on DEI than on ensuring students were prepared for success after graduating.

“Institutions required DEI statements from faculty and held segregated affinity graduation ceremonies for students. Academic standards fell, admissions were skewed to favor race over merit, and students graduated with a massive pile of debt and degrees that led to no job prospects,” the department said.

“Today, institutions of higher education are changing the game because President Trump is bringing back America’s Golden Age — shifting the culture and restoring our nation’s institutions to greatness.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/30/2026 - 09:40

A tiny island off the Southern California coast delivers “million-dollar” scenery but remains out of reach for nearly everyone.

Not all heroes wear capes — some have flippers.

"Low Hire, No Fire": Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Plunge To Record Low

We have gone from a "low hire, low fire" economy to "AI chatbot hire, no fire." We joke, but really there is no other way to explain what is going on here: this morning the Dept of Labor reported that in the week ended April 25, jobless claims fell 26k to 189k (from an upward revised 215k), compared with median est. 212k. And... are you sitting down... this was the lowest weekly jobless print on record.

With the est. range at 205k-228k, today's print was not only far below the lowest estimate, but a 6 sigma miss to estimates.

While one can normally blame this on seasonal adjustments, the unadjusted number also plunged to just 179K in the last week.

Continuing claims also fell 23k to 1.785m in the week ending April 18. This was the lowest since early 2024.

Those wondering what was behind the unprecedented drop in claims, the answer appears to be a crash in New York State initial claims.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/30/2026 - 09:28

The AI firm said that unlike previous model bugs, the issue "crept in subtly".

"While there are nods to the film, we weren't dressing Miranda Priestly," Micaela Erlanger told Page Six Style.

"While there are nods to the film, we weren't dressing Miranda Priestly," Micaela Erlanger told Page Six Style.

Heavily Shorted Hertz Soars On Uber Robotaxi Deal

Heavily shorted shares of rental-car company Hertz are soaring in premarket trading after the company announced a partnership with Uber Technologies to scale both autonomous robotaxi and driver-led rideshare operations.

Hertz’s Oro Mobility unit will be used as a fleet-management system for Uber’s next-generation mobility network of autonomous robotaxis. This means Oro will support the critical operating layer: charging, maintenance, repairs, cleaning, depot staffing, and vehicle logistics.

"Through its partnerships with Uber, Oro will deliver scalable operational and maintenance services across both autonomous and driver-led operations in key U.S. markets, reflecting the breadth of the companies' collaboration across multiple mobility models," Hertz wrote in a press release.

Oro will support Uber’s autonomous robotaxi program using Lucid vehicles equipped with Nuro AV technology. The new service is expected to launch in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year, with possible expansion next year.

What the Hertz-Uber partnership entails:

Autonomous Robotaxi Fleet Management

Oro will support Uber's autonomous robotaxi program of Lucid vehicles equipped with Nuro AV technology, providing day-to-day vehicle asset management, including charging, maintenance, repairs, cleaning, and depot staffing. Services are expected to launch in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year, as Hertz and Uber explore expansion opportunities in 2027.

Driver-Led Fleet Management

Oro has also partnered with Uber to offer strategic fleet services on the Uber platform, utilizing a fleet of high-quality, well‑maintained vehicles operated by Oro‑employed drivers. The model better enables Uber to meet increasing rider demand with a seamless customer experience, while demonstrating Hertz's ability to deliver turnkey fleet solutions at scale. Following a successful pilot in Atlanta last year, Oro is now also active on the Uber platform in Los Angeles and San Francisco, with Northern New Jersey expected to launch this spring.

"This partnership with Uber establishes Oro as an integrated solution that connects demand with scalable fleet management services. Through this work, we're deepening our capabilities across diverse mobility use cases, and positioning Hertz to play a significant role as the industry evolves," Hertz CEO Gil West wrote in a press release. 

Andrew Macdonald, President and COO of Uber, stated, "Partnering with Hertz's Oro Mobility will help us continue to bring the best autonomous technology onto the Uber platform and accelerate the transition to a hybrid network in which both driver-led and autonomous rideshare operations can scale and serve communities reliably and efficiently." 

The news sent Hertz shares flying in premarket trading, up more than 17%.

Bloomberg data shows Hertz shares are 49% short, equivalent to about 59 million shares. Days to cover stand at around 4.2 days.

Is the squeeze on?

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/30/2026 - 09:20

They aren't giving up yet.

The Lakers blew it.  They have no killer instinct. No urgency. No desperation.  They stood around and watched each other miss shots. They struggled to get stops. They were sloppy. Discombobulated. Unfocused.  They sleepwalked through Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Rockets, falling 99-93.  A massively underwhelming performance by LeBron James and...

Core PCE Rises Most In 3 Years; Savings Rate Tumbles As Spending Far Outpaces Income

The Fed's favorite inflation indicator - Core PCE - rose 0.3% MoM in January (as expected), a dip from the 0.4% sequential increase in February, with YoY rising by 3.2% (also as expected), slightly higher than the 3.0% in Feb. That is the highest annual increase in Core PCE since Nov 2023. 

The headline PCE jumped notably more, as expected since it includes non-core items like energy and food, rising 0.7% MoM (as expected) driving prices up 3.5% YoY, also as expected, from 2.8% and the highest since May 2023.

Taking a closer look at the headline print shows a surge in non-durable goods, largely the result of soaring gasoline prices.

On the other hand, core PCE was far more muted, with the monthly increase actually the lowest in three months, even as the annual increase keeps mounting.

Finally, supercore PCE was also muted, indicating that the energy price spillover into the broader economy is taking place but not as fast as some feared.

For those worried about the impact of crude oil's recent surge (since the start of the Iran war), it appears - somehow - that PCE's Energy component has already front-run a lot of the move...

Higher prices were met with higher incomes and higher spending (rising in line with one another for a change): personal income rose 0.6%, double the expected 0.3% and a surge from the 0.0% printed last month. Spending meanwhile rose 0.9%, as expected, and also higher from last month's 0.6%.

Ominously, spending growth continues to outpace income growth

And since spending rose more than income once again (as wages are not keeping up with income), the savings rate just tikced down to a fresh 4 years low.

And with rate-cut expectations in free fall - especially after yesterday's hawkish Fed - this latest data will do nothing to support a dovish take going forward (unless oil crashes the global economy and AI takes over all jobs).

 

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/30/2026 - 09:04

Nuchem Yasir Ebeth's mutilated remains were discovered inside the abandoned closet after it was dumped on a street in Bogota on Sunday -- just days after his family had reported him missing.

The California abode where the golden-curled sweetheart of Old Hollywood tied the knot is on the market in Monterey.

Those Big, Beautiful Bonds

Authored by Robert Aro via the Mises Institute,

The U.S. Government sells debt on a revolving door basis, yet most people aren’t aware of the mechanism by which this is done. Luckily, ZeroHedge covers the debt auction results, which allows us to articulate one of the structural problems in the Federal Reserve system. As reported last week:

The week’s lone coupon auction priced at 1pm when the Treasury sold $13 BN in 20Y paper, in a solid if not stellar auction.

Deciphering the trader talk in the article, the Treasury took on an additional $13 billion in debt that is repayable in 20 years, paying an annual interest rate of 4.883% (approximately $635 million a year).

A 2.68 bid-to-cover ratio means that for every $1 of debt issued, there were $2.68 in bids, suggesting a healthy market appetite. Only so many entities can lend billions of dollars at a time; here are the three who took the auction:

• Direct bidders (institutional money like pension funds) took 22.9%;
• Indirect bidders (foreign central banks) took the brunt at 67.4%;
• Primary Dealers (JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, etc.) held just 9.7%.

Since primary dealers are mandated to buy, and since the Fed will buy from them, the free-market price and demand for debt remains a mystery. Therefore, without the Fed’s anti-capitalist intervention, demand would be lower and yields would be higher.

A $13 billion debt still seems incomprehensible, so let’s assume you had $100,000 today and had to keep it in a cash equivalent for the next two decades. What would you choose? If you bought that Treasury, you’ll be earning 4.883% interest each year, and in 2046 you’ll get your principal back in full.

Whether rates go up or down, neither outcome will be pleasant, leaving you, the bondholder, caught between the Unthinkable and the Unimaginable.

The Unthinkable: Should the market demand a higher yield, or should the Fed raise rates, your 4.883% return will no longer be a good deal. If you sell, you’ll take a loss. On a societal level, for each 1% increase in rates, the interest burden on the $39 trillion debt climbs toward an additional $390 billion annually as the debt rolls over. At some point, the interest alone begins to choke the life out of the economy. If there is any consolation, maybe this fights “price inflation,” but even that’s uncertain, and prices could still skyrocket along with rates.

The Unimaginable: U.S. politicians find a way to balance the books and take on less debt… but in reality, history has shown this to be impossible. In all likelihood, the Fed will have to keep rates low and the debt spiral manageable by increasing its bond purchases and the money supply, i.e., inflation in the traditional and honest sense. In this scenario, your 4.883% bond is worth more on paper, but your currency will likely be worth a lot less.

The Fed faces an impossible task. To abstain from intervention is to allow high interest rates to compound on an unrepayable debt. To intervene is to flood the system with debased currency. Either way, the bondholder is the casualty, and the capital structure is the cost.

Feel free to sit with your 4.883% bond and wait for the Fed to make a move. In the end, it almost doesn’t matter whether rates go up or down; you’re simply watching society erode, one basis point at a time. The interest rate is the symptom; the debt mechanism is the disease.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/30/2026 - 09:00

Abdul-Mateen II and series EP Steven Caple Jr. chatted with DECIDER about their take on A.J. Quinnell's novels.

Rep. Ken Calvert rolled out a resolution Tuesday blasting California’s energy policies as a wallet-busting, security-risking mess, accusing leaders of choking off oil production and driving up costs.

See how The Post is betting on the Mets vs. Nationals on Thursday afternoon.

BetMGM bonus code NYPNEWSGET on BetMGM Sportsbook unlocks a welcome promotion to use for Game 6 between the Celtics and 76ers on Thursday.