PC Industry in Dire Straits, 'Asking You to Own Nothing and Be Happy,’ Says Framework CEO

PC Industry in Dire Straits, 'Asking You to Own Nothing and Be Happy,’ Says Framework CEO

Own Nothing and Be Happy,’ Says Framework CEO
At least one laptop maker is saying what PC owners have all been thinking.
BY KYLE BARRPUBLISHED APRIL 10, 2026, 11:30 AM ET

READING TIME 3 MINUTES

The Framework Laptop 16 has seen multiple price increases over the last few months due to the ongoing RAM crisis. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo
READ LATER COMMENTS (69)



The ongoing RAM crisis and global supply chain woes have meant the PC industry is taking it from all sides. Framework, the maker of ultra-customizable and repairable laptops, has come out and said what many PC owners have feared.

“The computer in the cloud has increasingly greater economic output than the computer in the hand,” said Framework founder and CEO Nirav Patel in a blog post. “This means that to the extent that there are constraints on the supply that feeds both, the cloud will win every time.”

And here’s the kicker: “What does this all mean? The industry is asking you to own nothing and be happy.” Gizmodo has previously reported that execs in companies like Lenovo imagine the future may be “hybrid,” where there could be far more reliance on cloud computing to counteract skyrocketing PC prices. Personal computing evangelists like Patel fear a cloud-centric future will inevitably force users into ever-more expensive Netflix-like subscriptions.


Over the last few months, Framework routinely issued price increases for its RAM and storage components. Most recently, in April, the repairable laptop maker said it was hiking costs of SSDs of 4TB or higher. The price of prebuilt configurations of the Framework Laptop 16 with 64GB of DDR5 RAM also went up. Framework, like other computing companies that sell more customizable components, has been far more vocal about the impact the RAM crisis has had on business.
PC makers are all feeling the heatThe Asus Zenbook A16 had its price adjusted just a few hours after launch, costing $1,700 instead of $1,600. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

The entire PC industry is growing, but analysts fear that could change. In its latest PC shipments report, market analysis firm IDC stated that the entire industry is in flux. IDC’s report said that the industry was growing well in the first quarter of 2026. That same growth took a nosedive at the tail end of that period due to “the component shortages and deteriorating economic conditions.” Many companies, save for HP, saw strong growth year-over-year, but IDC hinted that may change.

The current war in Iran is doing further damage to PC makers’ prospects, according to IDC senior research analyst Isaac Ngatia. The strain on global logistics is “trickling down the value chain, intensifying the pricing pressure of PCs on the end-users.” We can see this effect in real time. On Tuesday, Asus launched its Zenbook A16 laptop with a reasonable price of $1,600. By that same afternoon, the company adjusted the price to $1,700. In an email explaining the change, Asus blamed “an error” from retailer Best Buy.
Framework is using doom and gloom to promote products

Framework’s Patel is giving voice to a sentiment growing among PC circles. AI datacenter projects have created a massive demand for HBM (high-bandwidth memory). The three largest semiconductor companies that make RAM—namely Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—have all tuned their businesses to supplying the AI industry rather than consumer or commercial electronics. Over the past six months, the cost of consumer-end DRAM and NAND flash storage has become increasingly untenable. Prices of many components, from RAM to SSDs to GPUs, have skyrocketed many times over.

“Computers are no longer a bicycle for the mind,” Patel continued, quoting a famous line by Steve Jobs. “They are becoming the self-driving car that takes you directly to the destination.”




Patel isn’t just writing this to lament the state of the industry. He’s attempting to use that sense of doom and gloom to promote an upcoming product announcement slated for April 21. In a teaser video, Framework keeps showing off penguin-laden icons, hinting at some sort of Linux connection. Framework’s current computers, like its Framework Desktop, Framework Laptop 13, and Framework Laptop 16, are all built so you can install Linux yourself or else purchase a Windows 11 license.

The next Framework computer may save on costs by relying on the open-source Linux operating system. But really, Patel is hoping the dedicated PC buyers will be willing to spend more for the sake of ownership. Either way, PCs are becoming more of a luxury.

King’s approval of Canada’s next Governor General

Prime Minister Carney announces the King’s approval of Canada’s next Governor General

May 5, 2026, Ottawa, Ontario

Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced that, on his recommendation, His Majesty King Charles III has approved the appointment of the Honourable Louise Arbour as the next Governor General of Canada.

As Governor General, Ms. Arbour will be the representative of His Majesty The King in Canada. She will be Canada’s 31st Governor General since Confederation and the first Governor General of Canada appointed by His Majesty.

Ms. Arbour is a world-renowned legal scholar, judge, and leader in human rights and justice. With a career of service spanning more than five decades, she has held nearly every office a Canadian jurist can hold, and several that no Canadian had held before. She was appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court of Ontario, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and the Supreme Court of Canada. In 1996, she was appointed by the United Nations (UN) as Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda. In this role, she led efforts that resulted in the first conviction for genocide since the Genocide Convention and the first indictment for war crimes of a sitting head of state.

Ms. Arbour was appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights by the UN Secretary-General in 2004 and later served as UN Special Representative for International Migration from 2017 to 2018. More recently, she delivered the Independent External Comprehensive Review on misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces, which became a catalyst for unprecedented culture change and reform.

Ms. Arbour is a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honour, and a Grande officière de l’Ordre national du Québec. She has received nearly 100 honours and awards, including 42 honorary doctorates from universities around the world. Ms. Arbour’s experience, judgement, moral clarity, and conviction will serve Canada exceedingly well.

The Prime Minister expresses his deepest thanks to Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon for her exemplary tenure as Governor General and for her lifetime of advocacy for Inuit rights, Indigenous self-determination, and the preservation of Indigenous language, culture, and identity. Her legacy will endure not only in her service, but in the way she served – with an unshakable belief in Canada.

Meta Is Upgrading One of the Worst Parts of Its Smart Glasses

Meta Is Upgrading One of the Worst Parts of Its Smart Glasses

Meta Is Upgrading One of the Worst Parts of Its Smart Glasses
And no, it's not privacy.
BY JAMES PEROPUBLISHED APRIL 10, 2026, 11:10 AM ET

READING TIME 2 MINUTES

© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo
READ LATER COMMENTS (11)



Computer vision might be one of the defining features of Meta’s smart glasses, but that doesn’t mean it works like one. Having used Meta’s Ray-Ban AI glasses at length, I can say with certainty that the ability to use the camera for identifying stuff in your surroundings is very hit or miss—sometimes it gets things right, but just as often it falls flat. According to Meta, an upgrade to that tumultuous experience may be on the way thanks to a new AI model.

Muse Spark, which Meta officially unveiled this week, is what the company is calling the “first in a series” of large language models built by Meta’s Superintelligence Labs. Though it’s not out yet, Meta says it plans to integrate Muse Spark into quite a few of its products, including AI glasses, in the coming weeks. What exactly will it be doing there? Seeing stuff better, apparently.


“When Meta AI powered by Muse Spark comes to our AI glasses, the assistant will be able to better see and understand the world around you,” says Meta in a blog post.

Lots of Muse Sparks’ strengths, in fact, appear to be centered on “multimodal perception,” which is shorthand for seeing stuff in your environment and being able to understand it. According to Meta, one of Muse Spark’s strengths is health. “Meta AI is now able to help you navigate health questions with more detailed responses, including some questions involving images and charts,” according to the company. It also says that Muse Spark excels at “visual coding,” which allows people to “create custom websites and mini-games straight from a prompt.”Meta notably shows nutrition features on a phone, though that doesn’t mean its AI glasses aren’t also capable of doing the same thing. © Meta

While it doesn’t say either of those abilities is coming to AI glasses necessarily, it’s worth noting that Meta has leaned into health recently, expanding the nutrition coaching capabilities on its AI glasses. Computer vision and AI are still two of the core pillars of Meta’s smart glasses, so I’m going to assume that any way Meta can squeeze Muse Spark into the equation, it’ll try.

How impactful Muse Spark is on the experience of using Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses is still an open question, but even if it makes computer vision less prone to mistakes and hallucinations, it could be a significant improvement. Now, if they could just spend a little time getting their abysmal privacy standards in order…

Social media’s Big Tobacco moment

Social media’s Big Tobacco moment

Getty Images

It’s official: brain rot from doomscrolling has replaced tooth decay from candy as the top concern for parents. Worried adults are holding social media companies’ feet to the fire as US teens’ scrolling time exceeds five hours a day, on average, and evidence mounts that apps are behind the deterioration of youth mental health. One recent study found that 18- to 24-year-olds who reduced their social media usage to an average of half an hour a day experienced lower rates of depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Many teens don’t need adults to tell them they have a problem: In 2024, 48% of teens ages 13 to 17 said social media has a negative effect on them, up from 32% in 2022, per Pew Research Center. Even many tech CEOs say they restrict their kids’ social media usage. But...some researchers say there’s still not enough evidence to conclude that social media causes mental health issues, noting that young people who already have poor mental wellbeing could be more prone to scrolling excessively. Big Tech faces the music The purveyors of the platforms known to cause the teen glass-eyed stare were dealt some courtroom defeats recently: A California jury ordered Meta and Alphabet to pay $6 million in damages to a woman who suffered depression and anxiety while using their platforms as a teen. The jury found that the platforms were intentionally designed to hook young users. New Mexico recently won a case against Meta, which was fined $375 million for misleading users about the risks of its platform for children and failing to protect kids from child predators on its platforms. Legal experts say the verdicts create precedents that could lead to a cascade of lawsuits that would bite into Big Tech’s profits. No phone, no problem On top of their legal troubles, social media companies are now seeing their products yanked out of young users’ hands in the US. Phones are now banned in schools in 27 states, as well as in several major districts, including New York City. Meanwhile, some countries have decided they want kids to touch grass 24/7. Australia became the first country to ban social media usage for kids under 16 last year, with Austria and Denmark preparing similar measures. Dozens of other countries are considering their own bans. Big picture: Losing their young audience would be as painful for tech companies as the feeling of an iPad kid finding himself locked out of his device. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, and X made $11 billion selling ads that targeted kids and teens in 2022, according to an estimate by Harvard School of Public Health researchers.

Ted Turner, founder of CNN, dead at 87 | CBC News

Ted Turner, founder of CNN, dead at 87 | CBC News

Ted Turner, founder of CNN, dead at 87

Famed TV producer founded the 24-hour network that revolutionized broadcast news

Thomson Reuters · Posted: May 06, 2026 7:28 AM PDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Listen to this article

Estimated 2 minutes

CNN founder Ted Turner, seen here in 2004, has died, the network announced Wednesday. (Peter Kramer/Getty Images)

Social Sharing

Ted Turner, ​the brash sportsman and entrepreneur whose ambition and instincts led to a media empire that included groundbreaking news network CNN, has died, CNN reported on Wednesday citing a press release from Turner Enterprises. He was 87.

No cause of death was given.

In September 2018 Turner revealed that he had Lewy body dementia, a degenerative nerve disease.

Born Robert Edward Turner III in Cincinnati on Nov. 19, 1938, he moved to the South with his family when ⁠he was nine. He was sent to military schools where he ⁠became a champion debater and yachtsman.

He became a billionaire by taking over his father's billboard business, buying a television station in 1970 and parlaying that into what would become a vast ground-breaking television group.

Turner became one of the most ‌powerful figures in U.S. media and entertainment, his networks specializing in news, sports, re-runs and old movies.

Turner was married and divorced three times and had five children. His third marriage, to Jane Fonda, which ​lasted 10 years, ended in 2001.

Turner and his former wife, actor Jane Fonda, speak during the 20th annual Enviornmental Media Association Awards at Warner Brothers Studios on Oct. 16, 2010 in Burbank, Calif. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Turner set bar for 24-hour news

In 1980, he started CNN in Atlanta, which he said would counter "sleazy" coverage by the major networks CBS, NBC and ABC.

Offering low pay but the lure of adventure, Turner signed up journalists and technical crew who endured ridicule that the "Chicken Noodle Network" would fail.

Instead, as the first 24-hour news outlet, it set a template for worldwide news coverage of wars, trials, revolutions and both manmade and natural disasters.

Turner was also a major philanthropist. In 1997 he made philanthropic history by announcing that he was donating $1 billion US to fund United Nations operations. In 2017, after the last installment of the donation, Turner called it "the best investment I've ever made."

His Turner Foundation also gave millions to environmental groups, while he promoted and invested in clean energy.

Ted Turner, CNN founder, has died

 Ted Turner, CNN founder, has died

Tom Hill/Getty Images

Ted Turner, the founder of CNN, creator of the 24-hour news cycle, and Braves fan before they were good, died yesterday at 87. Turner earned the nickname “Captain Outrageous” and “The Mouth of the South” while building one of the largest cable TV empires in the country. Outside of work, he was known as a sailor, conservationist, and, briefly, Jane Fonda’s husband. At age 24, Turner took over his family’s Atlanta billboard business following his father’s suicide, and ultimately turned it into a media powerhouse and himself into a billionaire: Turner bought local radio stations and a struggling Atlanta TV station, and by 1976, jumped on satellite technology to broadcast around the country. In 1980, Turner introduced CNN and the idea of around-the-clock news. Over the next few decades, he snapped up movie and TV libraries and turned them into channels like Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network. In 1996, Turner merged his massive portfolio with Time Warner in an ~$8 billion deal. Turner remained in the executive suite until 2003, when he was pushed out of the company following a disastrous $156.1 billion merger between Time Warner and AOL in 2000. When the dot-com bubble burst, Turner lost a huge chunk of his fortune. But he didn’t seem to harbor much bitterness, telling Charlie Rose in a 2008 interview, “Hardly anybody wins all the time. I’ve won more than most.” Plus, he had plenty of extracurriculars Turner, a conservationist, owned an estimated 2 million acres of land across eight states, making him one of the largest individual landowners in the US. He also owned the Atlanta Braves, helping the team become champions in the 1990s and being the last team owner to step in as manager before the league banned it. He was married three times, was a four-time Yachtsman of the Year recipient, went duck hunting with Fidel Castro, and donated $1 billion to the United Nations. Breaking news…once the leader of cable news, CNN is currently set to be rocked by the highly protested $111 billion takeover of its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance.

Businesses aren’t leaving Mamdani’s NYC

 Businesses aren’t leaving Mamdani’s NYC

Caean Couto/Getty Images

The theory that businesses would ditch New York City in response to democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s policy plans presently seems as real as city sewers teeming with alligators. In the lead-up to Mamdani’s 100th day in office yesterday, business leaders continued to warn that his proposed tax hikes on companies and New Yorkers making over $1 million would spur many to move to cheaper places (with inferior bagels). But, so far, corporate America is actually expanding its New York footprint under Mamdani, according to research by real estate firm JLL: The city’s office vacancies were 13.5% in the first three months of 2026, down 2.2% from a year before—while leasing by AI companies soared. JLL said that companies might be drawn to NYC’s unmatched talent pool: The city attracted 10% more early- and mid-career professionals from top schools than Florida did in the past year, according to its analysis of LinkedIn data. Exodus anxieties JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said this week that the higher cost of doing business in the Big Apple due to taxes could drive companies and talent to relocate to locales like Dallas, Texas, where the banking giant now has more employees than in NYC. And private equity behemoth Apollo Global Management said it’s looking to add a second HQ outside of New York City in Texas or Florida. However, the tax fears might not materialize…as NYC’s mayor needs state approval for most tax hikes, which New York Gov. Kathy Hochul seems reluctant to grant.

Investing is starting to look like a casino

 Investing is starting to look like a casino

Unsplash

The investment strategies of many rank-and-file workers could be sponsored by Red Bull because of how adrenaline-inducing they’ve become. Americans are embracing speculative assets like crypto and prediction market bets to complement the diversified stock and bond portfolios your grandparents used to grow their piggy banks. Much of this trading is happening on digital platforms like Robinhood, Coinbase, and Kalshi that have made it possible to bet your net worth on red at the roulette table go long and short on speculative assets while sitting on the toilet: In 2025, 17% of American investors said they owned crypto, up from 2% in 2018, according to a Gallup poll. A recent study by Northwestern Mutual found that about a third of Gen Zers and almost a quarter of millennials said they already have invested, or planned to invest, in sports betting or prediction markets this year. Stock options—which refers to bets on the price movement of a stock that offers higher potential returns with a much higher probability of losing 100% of the money invested—are no longer solely the domain of pro traders: Retail investors’ share of stock options trading has hovered between 40% and 50% in recent years, compared to about 35% pre-pandemic, per data cited by the NYSE. Meanwhile, many Americans are tying their financial futures to volatile assets that you can store away in a locked safe—like gold, luxury watches, and trading cards. It might be financial nihilism…aka the belief that traditional investments are futile because the system is rigged, that’s driving people to chase risky investments in hopes that the higher potential returns will offer a shortcut to prosperity. For instance, there’s evidence suggesting that Americans may be placing risky bets instead of pursuing homeownership, which has become out of reach for many. Data cited by Bloomberg shows that crypto investments were more prevalent among renters with a net worth under $300,000 than among homeowners with the same wealth level.

Louise Arbour announced as Canada’s 31st Governor General | Oak Bay News

Louise Arbour announced as Canada’s 31st Governor General | Oak Bay News

Louise Arbour announced as Canada’s 31st Governor General

Published 8:07 am Tuesday, May 5, 2026


By Lauren Collins







Louise Arbour was announced as Canada’s 31st Governor General on May 5, 2026. (Canada’s Walk of Fame)


Louise Arbour, a former Supreme Court of Canada judge, has been selected as Canada’s next Governor General.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Arbour would be the country’s 31st Governor General on Tuesday (May 5). She is the first Governor General appointed by King Charles III.

The announcement from Carney’s office says Arbour is a world-renowned legal scholar, judge, and leader in human rights and justice. She is a Companion of the Order of Canada, which is Canada’s highest civilian honour, and a Grande officière de l’Ordre national du Québec.

in 1996, she was appointed as chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda by the United Nations. Through that, Arbour led efforts that resulted in the first conviction for genocide since the Genocide Convention and the first indictment for war crimes of a sitting head of state.She was appointed high commissioner for human rights by the United Nations secretary-general in 2004 and later served as United Nations special representative for international migration from 2017 to 2018.

Arbour has more recently delivered the Independent External Comprehensive Review on misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces, “which became a catalyst for unprecedented culture change and reform,” the release notes.

Mary Simon has held the role of Governor General since 2021.Carney thanked Simon for her time as Governor General, and for her lifetime of advocacy for Inuit rights, Indigenous self-determination and the preservation of Indigenous language, culture, and identity.“Her legacy will endure not only in her service, but in the way she served – with an unshakable belief in Canada.The role of the Governor General is to act on behalf of the Crown, Canada’s head of state. The Governor General’s responsibilities include carrying out constitutional duties, serving as commander-in-chief, representing Canada at home and abroad, encouraging excellence, and bringing Canadians together.

Amazon CEO defends AI spend

 Amazon CEO defends AI spend, pokes at rivals

Noah Berger/Getty Images

The annual letter to Amazon shareholders was 5,000 words, but it could be summed up in seven: We’re gonna keep throwing money at AI. Yesterday, CEO Andy Jassy doubled down on the company’s plan to spend more than any other tech company this year on AI, data centers, chips, robotics, and satellites. “We’re not investing approximately $200 billion in capex in 2026 on a hunch,” Jassy wrote. The letter said: Amazon expects to start making its money back next year on multibillion-dollar deals with customers like OpenAI. Revenue from AI services and chips is booming, with customers wanting “better price-performance” for chips—a subtle jab at Nvidia. Jassy warned that Amazon is OK with being strapped for cash flow in the short term because it anticipates a major payoff from AI, which Jassy called a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” “We’re not going to be conservative in how we play this,” he said. Where the capex will go: Reiterating Amazon’s previously announced plans, Jassy said its hefty AI investing will support efforts to further robotize its warehouses, grow its soon-to-launch network of Starlink-competing satellites, and expand rural and drone-aided delivery. Zoom out: Shares of Amazon had been down this year as investors questioned its $200 billion capex plan, but yesterday’s remarks putted the stock into the green.

Carney Breaks Down Plans to Spend $51B on Local Infrastructure Over a Decade

Carney Breaks Down Plans to Spend $51B on Local Infrastructure Over a Decade

Carney Breaks Down Plans to Spend $51B on Local Infrastructure Over a Decade
April 7, 2026
Reading time: 3 minutes

Full Story: The Canadian Press with file from The Energy Mix
Author: Craig Lord



Mark Carney/Facebook



The federal government will address infrastructure gaps across Canada with billions of dollars in funding over the coming decade, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday at a news conference in Brampton, Ontario.

Carney used the event to break down how his government plans to distribute $51 billion in its Build Communities Strong Fund. The new pot of money was first announced in the 2025 budget, which became law last month.

Ottawa plans to nearly double the rate of infrastructure investment in Canada over the next eight years compared with the previous eight, Carney said.

He teased that future announcements are coming on initiatives for skills training and apprenticeships, and urged youth to consider a career to support the infrastructure agenda.

“The next 25, 30 years is going to be a great time to be in the trades, to be an electrician, to be a pipefitter, to be a welder, to a plumber, a carpenter, and beyond, because we are literally going to build this country,” Carney said.

The Build Communities Strong Fund includes $27.8 billion over the next 10 years for infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and water and sewer systems, and $6 billion for other major local projects like building retrofits and community centres.

Carney’s first announcement under this local stream was $64 million for a new recreation centre and park in Brampton. The federal government announced $300 million in funding for 13 projects later in the day, more than a third of which will go toward water and wastewater systems underpinning new housing developments in Iqaluit.

“Iqaluit, Hay River, and Whitehorse all received federal support for key infrastructure from the Build Communities Strong Fund,” CBC North reports. In Iqaluit, “Tuesday’s announcement will fund utilidor improvements and trucked water services needed to add up to 2,500 new housing units in the Nunavut capital.”

The federal government also launched a website allowing municipalities and other organizations to apply for new project funding under this stream.

The remaining $17.2 billion in the fund is to be matched by provinces and territories and used to reduce the cost of building new infrastructure and housing. That includes $5 billion over three years to build out health care facilities such as new emergency departments.

The federal government announced last week that Ontario will use $4.4 billion of its allotment to waive sales taxes on eligible new homes for the next year.

With $6 billion set aside for the province, Ontario will receive the biggest share from the provincial and territorial stream. Quebec will receive $3.6 billion, British Columbia will get $2.2 billion, and Alberta will receive $1.9 billion, with hundreds of millions set aside for the remaining provinces and territories.

Provinces and territories are required to allocate 20% of their funding to rural, northern, and Indigenous communities. Ten per cent of funding through the $6-billion “direct delivery” stream must go to Indigenous-led projects.

British Columbia MP Dan Albas, the Conservative shadow minister for transport, criticized the infrastructure fund rollout as “another reannouncement.”

“Conservatives want our infrastructure, homes, and health to grow and improve, but the Carney Liberals need to get out of the way and scrap their anti-development laws and unaffordable taxes,” Albas said in a statement.

The main body of this story was first published by The Canadian Press on April 7, 2026.

More restaurants, bars are banning phones

 More restaurants, bars are banning phones

Niv Bavarsky

The next time you’re out to dinner, someone might not only ask to take your jacket, they may want you to hand over your phone, too. The number of bars and restaurants establishing a phone-free environment is growing, per Axios—a change that appeals to younger patrons. Axios found that at least 11 states have individual restaurants or bars with a form of phone restriction or digital detox. Scrolling a menu instead of your phone is thought to create a more intimate setting, lead to more focus on food, and protect patron privacy. A recent survey from Talker Research shows a significant number of people are putting their phones away and probably don’t want to see someone taking pictures of their food: 63% of Gen Z says they intentionally disconnect; 57% of millennials say the same. Even older crowds are on board—42% of Gen X and 29% of boomers said they unplug. A needed break: Data from Consumer Affairs showed Americans spend an average of 4.5 hours per day on their devices. Another revealed that 86.5% of phone use involves social networking and texting during meals. It’s chains, too: The upscale supper club Delilah’s has a no-phones policy. Even some Chick-Fil-A locations are offering free ice cream as an incentive for turning over your phone while eating.

LIV Golf may be a lost ball after Saudis pull support

 LIV Golf may be a lost ball after Saudis pull support

Hector Vivas/Getty Images

This is why Shania Twain says to dance with the one that brought you: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced yesterday that it will stop funding LIV Golf, its high-paying disruptor league, leaving players who defected from the PGA Tour in the lurch. This is probably the end of LIV, at least in its current form. The upstart league is looking for new investors after the PIF confirmed weeks of speculation that it was pulling out. But it’s tough to imagine who might be willing and able to fill the Saudi-sized hole left in LIV’s business after the current season ends in August: As LIV’s sole backer, the PIF poured $5+ billion into the league since co-founding it in 2021. It reportedly spent $100 million per month on LIV this year. And the league is bleeding money. Despite luring top talent with extravagant tournament purses and contracts worth up to $300 million, LIV struggled to sustain US fan interest. Looking ahead…LIV players who violated their PGA Tour contracts to join LIV may have some groveling to do. “There were rules, and they were broken,” the PGA Tour’s CEO said this week. The league recently offered four elite players a way to come crawling back from LIV, but only one took the deal, at a cost of up to $90 million in reentry fees.

7-foot statue to a legend

 7-foot statue to a legend

Nick Iluzada

A new monument has been erected to honor someone the public has no problem accepting as both a rat and a hero all at once. That someone is Magawa, the African giant pouched rat who sniffed out 100 land mines for the nonprofit Apopo, which trains and deploys the rodents to detect the explosives so that they can be safely cleared. Magawa died in 2022, but in his five-year career for the nonprofit, he distinguished himself as one of the best to ever do it. According to the Washington Post: He could search an area the size of a tennis court in 20 minutes by himself. It would take a human several days. The little guy cleared 1.52 million square feet of land, equivalent to ~26 football fields. He detected “dozens” of land mines during his tenure. Magawa retired in 2021 and mentored some other rats for his encore career. The statue has been placed in Cambodia, where Magawa completed his life’s work. The nation has a goal to be land mine free by 2030. An estimated 6 million land mines remain there, according to Apopo.

King Charles playfully reminds Trump that he's Canada's head of state | CBC News

King Charles playfully reminds Trump that he's Canada's head of state | CBC News

After more than a year of U.S. President Donald Trump calling the country's prime ministers "governor," King Charles asserted his role as Canada's head of state in remarks at the White House late Tuesday.

In his speech at the official state banquet held in his honour, Charles gently poked at the president, at one point obliquely referencing Trump's penchant for suggesting Canada could become the 51st state.

"In just a few weeks, the United States and Canada will be among those to welcome the world as hosts of the FIFA World Cup," Charles said as Trump looked on. "So, in one sense, Mr. President, as heads of state, we are joint hosts."

The embarrassing lesson of Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing

The embarrassing lesson of Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing

MS NOW · an hour ago
by Mary McCord · Opinion


Maybe now that Pam Bondi is gone, she will reflect on where and why she went astray.

Since Bondi became U.S. attorney general last February, I’ve often thought of three witnesses who testified at her confirmation hearing in support of her nomination. All were in law enforcement. All had worked with Bondi when she was attorney general of Florida. One had even run for that office as a Democrat.

Each said that they believed she would adhere to the rule of law as U.S. attorney general.
Play
‘She couldn’t get the revenge he craved’: Trump fires Bondi as attorney general April 3, 2026 / 13:14

I, too, testified during the second day of Bondi’s confirmation hearings, in my capacity as a veteran of the Department of Justice for more than 20 years, including as the acting assistant attorney general for national security. I was there not to speak about Bondi — whom I have never met — but to remind lawmakers of the importance of maintaining the independence of the Department. I testified that this requires the attorney general to take seriously the oath they swear to the Constitution, not the president; to recuse from any matter where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned; and to reaffirm policies in place since Watergate to limit contacts between the White House and Justice Department lawyers on specific investigations and cases.

Among the other witnesses’ comments that I have reflected on during Bondi’s tenure, which ended Thursday, are these: One testified that Bondi understood a prosecutor’s obligation to “follow the evidence and the law, without fear or favor.” Another said that Bondi “appreciates the rules which make our judicial system the best in the world” and told Justice Department lawyers that they, like him, “will love working with Pam Bondi.” One extolled her “compassionate side,” as a “staunch supporter of crime victims.” Bondi herself committed to “one tier of justice for all.”


I have since wondered many times whether Bondi’s supporters at that hearing have had regrets as they’ve watched her actions over the past 14 months stray far from their predictions.

Chatting with Bondi’s supporters before and after the hearing, I never doubted their earnestness. They had worked with her to go after the “pill mills” that had produced the opioid crisis that killed many Floridians. The Democratic witness had even been tapped by Bondi to be her “drug czar,” which sparked significant criticism from Florida Republicans. Having seen Bondi promote Donald Trump’s fraudulent election claims on Fox TV and elsewhere, I was dubious about her ability to uphold the ideals of the Department of Justice, but I could not deny that she had some prosecutorial chops and had, at least with respect to her choice of drug czar, shown a commendable lack of partisanship.

I have since wondered many times whether Bondi’s supporters at that hearing have had regrets as they’ve watched her actions over the past 14 months stray far from their predictions.

In her first address to Justice Department attorneys in the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy building, Bondi did not commit to evenhanded justice. Instead, she announced that she, Todd Blanche (Trump’s former personal attorney who was deputy attorney general under Bondi and is now acting attorney general), and Emil Bove, then the principal assistant deputy attorney general, were “so proud to work at the directive of Donald Trump.”

And work at the president’s directive she did. On her first day as U.S. attorney general, Bondi issued a series of memos to DOJ attorneys, including one that established a “Weaponization Working Group” to examine, among other frequent Trump complaints, the investigations by Special Counsel Jack Smith and the “pursuit of improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions” relating to Jan. 6. Another memo announced a policy of “zealous advocacy” and threatened discipline, including termination, for any department attorney who refused to zealously advocate for the president’s policies because of “personal political views or judgments.”
Play
Pam Bondi out at DOJ after failed ‘revenge’ prosecutions and Trump administration’s Epstein turmoil April 2, 2026 / 11:45

Rather than following the evidence and the law, as one witness predicted, Bondi tried to appease Trump by investigating and prosecuting his political enemies, including former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. She did so after the president complained that “Nothing is being done” about Comey, James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., all of whom Trump called “guilty as hell.” Under Bondi’s leadership, the Justice Department took steps such as dropping its prosecution of Eric Adams, then mayor of New York, in what appeared to be a deal to get Adams to cooperate with the president’s immigration enforcement agenda. Acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, who headed the prosecution, cited the zealous-advocacy memo in her resignation letter, which said the dismissal was “driven by improper considerations.”


Far from adhering to the rule of law and the impartial administration of justice, Bondi cast those principles aside as attorney general in her dogged pursuit of the president’s campaign of retribution.

And in contrast to the prediction of another witness that lawyers would love working with Bondi, scores of DOJ attorneys lost their jobs. After getting rid of Jack Smith’s team, Bondi told Fox News host Sean Hannity that department leadership would keep going to “root out” the people “who despise Donald Trump.” Many career attorneys with irreplaceable expertise were forced out; others resigned because they did not feel that they could in good faith defend the president’s actions. So many left U.S. attorney’s offices that Bondi’s former chief of staff posted on social media: “If you are a lawyer, are interested in being an AUSA, and support President Trump and anti-crime agenda, DM me.” In March, the Justice Department authorized U.S. attorney’s offices to recruit straight out of law school, removing a minimum requirement of one year of experience, due to the “exigent hiring need for attorneys across the Department.”

As to Bondi’s record as, in the words of one of the witnesses, a “staunch supporter of crime victims,” the evidence is spotty at best. Although she has publicly honored the mothers of victims of violence by those she called “illegal aliens” and victims of fentanyl overdoses, she refused even to look at victims of Jeffrey Epstein who attended a February House Judiciary Committee hearing when lawmakers asked the Epstein victims present to raise their hands if they had not had any opportunity to meet with the Justice Department. Bondi has been harshly criticized by Democrats and Republicans over her handling of the Epstein files, including the Justice Department’s failure to redact personal identifying information and even nude photographs of victims. Her response to criticism from lawmakers included calling Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a “washed-up lawyer” and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a “failed politician” with “Trump derangement syndrome.”

Far from adhering to the rule of law and the impartial administration of justice, Bondi cast those principles aside as attorney general in her dogged pursuit of the president’s campaign of retribution. She did an enormous disservice to the Department of Justice, greatly harming its lawyers, crime victims and public trust in the institution. The Senate must ensure that the next attorney general is held to the standards that Bondi’s supporters predicted of her — but that she failed to meet.

The post The embarrassing lesson of Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing appeared first on MS NOW.

‘Significant Support’ for Trades Apprenticeships

 

‘Significant Support’ for Trades Apprenticeships

The government’s new $6-billion skills development initiative, titled Team Canada Strong, is meant to address a long-standing shortage of skilled tradespeople that is expected to deepen as older workers retire, the Globe and Mail reports.

“This is a smart investment in the future of our country,” Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske said in a statement. “At the same time, we need to see the government invest in building physical and social infrastructure so these skilled workers can be put to work in good, unionized jobs.”

“Think of it as a human resources strategy to go alongside the major projects capital investment strategy,” Marc Desormeaux, vice-president of policy at the Business Council of Canada, told the Globe. “A major challenge for our economy over the long run, particularly to our building ambitions, is to get the right people with the right skills able to fill labour shortages.”

The plan includes:

• $2 billion over five years, including wage subsidies of $10,000 per employee, to help workers aged 15 to 30 get entry-level trades experience;

• $3.4 billion over five years to help apprentices complete their training.

The federal government estimates its plans for new housing, infrastructure, and large resource projects will require 1.4 million additional trades positions by 2033, a far cry from what the economic update funding will support.

Deloitte economist Trevin Stratton called the announcement “definitely a step in the right direction”. But he told the Toronto Star the government has “very ambitious building targets and objectives, and so more will probably be needed for us to fully meet those.” A report last October, which he co-authored, warned that Canada’s economy could look like Alberta and B.C. in the early 2000s when a “perfect storm” of energy projects created “bidding wars for electricians, welders, crane operators, and concrete crews, schedule delays, and spiralling costs.”

When that happened, the report added, “it was not a shortage of money or projects holding back activity, but the lack of available workers.”

Efficiency Canada cited Team Canada Strong as one of the highlights of the economic update, along with a permanent capital gains tax exemption for employee ownership and several other measures. Social Capital Partners Chair Jon Shell praised the employee ownership announcement as “huge news”, noting that the provision is now a permanent part of Canada’s tax code.

“The exponential growth of employee ownership in both the UK and the U.S. has been driven by policies exactly like the one the Canadian government just announced,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “It’s going to be a tonne of fun to watch the same thing happen here.”

$13B Over Five Years for Climate Finance

The economic update also earned praise for pledging $13 billion over five years for international climate finance.

“The government’s move to scale up and reorient $13 billion in international climate finance is… welcome, helping emerging economies cut emissions while opening markets for Canadian clean technologies and crowding in private investment,” Canadian Climate Institute President Rick Smith said in a release.

“There haven’t been many wins for climate action lately, but Canada’s renewed and increased climate finance commitment is one worth celebrating,” agreed Climate Action Network Canada Executive Director Caroline Brouillette. “Amid other countries’ devastating cuts and delays, this move illustrates what Prime Minister Carney meant by a principled and pragmatic approach to international relations. It shows that Canada remains committed to its Paris Agreement obligation to provide climate finance, and reinforces that international cooperation is in Canada’s interest.”

Complete story here: