U.S. stocks are sinking as Wall Street gets back to hunting and punishing companies that could be made losers by the artificial-intelligence revolution. A surprisingly discouraging update on inflation also hurt the market.

The S&P 500 fell 0.8% and is staggering toward the finish of what would be just its second losing month in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 569 points, or 1.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% lower.

A report showing that inflation at the U.S. wholesale level was at 2.9% last month, much higher than the 1.6% that economists expected, upset the market. The number was so much worse than expected that it could help persuade the Federal Reserve to hold off longer on its cuts to interest rates.

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Lower rates would give the economy and prices for investments a boost, but they risk worsening inflation at the same time.

The discouraging data layered more worries atop a Wall Street where investors returned to knocking down software companies and others whose businesses may end up getting supplanted by AI-powered competitors.

Block, the company behind Cash App, Square and other businesses, gave a signal of what AI could do after CEO Jack Dorsey said he was cutting its workforce by nearly half. Thats even though Blocks profit is growing and its sending more cash to shareholders through stock buybacks.

Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company, Dorsey said in a letter to shareholders while announcing Blocks latest profit results. Were already seeing it internally. A significantly smaller team, using the tools were building, can do more and do it better.

The co-founder of Twitter also said, I dont think were early to this realization. I think most companies are late. Within the next year, I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes.

Block is cutting more than 4,000 jobs from its workforce of over 10,000. Its stock jumped nearly 20%.

Capable AI tools that can replace humans could also replace entire companies, or at least eat away at their profit margins. Fears about AI disruption have been causing sudden and swift sell-offs for stocks seen as potentially under threat, rolling through industries as seemingly disparate as trucking logistics and legal services.

Salesforce, whose platform helps customers manage their relationships with clients, fell 4.4%. It gave back its 4% gain from the day before after reporting a better profit than analysts expected.

Even the companies currently seeing their revenue and profits soar because of AI-related demand are also weakening. Nvidia fell 2.6%, a day after dropping to its worst loss since last spring, even though it reported a better profit than analysts expected and forecast more in revenue for the current quarter.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Inside the secretive data centers powering the AI boom

Rival chip companies fell by similar amounts, and Broadcom dropped 2.6%. Worries are hurting such companies not only about whether their stock prices following huge gains in recent years but also whether the huge spending driving their growth can continue. Can big spenders like Amazon, Alphabet and others possibly make back all their billions of dollars in AI investments through higher productivity and profits in the future?

On the winning side of Wall Street was Netflix, which jumped 8.6% after walking away from its bid to buy Warner Bros. Discoverys studio and streaming business. That put Skydance-owned Paramount in a position to take over its Hollywood rival.

Paramount Skydance shares climbed 2.2%, while Warner Bros. Discovery fell 1.9%.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 3.97%. It swiveled higher following the inflation report, but its down from its 4.02% level late Thursday.

ln stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe and Asia. South Koreas Kospi fell 1% from its latest record, and Hong Kongs Hang Seng rose 0.9% in two of the worlds larger moves.

In energy markets, the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 3.2% to $67.27. Worries about rising tensions between the United States and Iran over Irans nuclear program have been causing big swings.

The U.S. military has already gathered a massive fleet of aircraft and warships in the Middle East, and a conflict could disrupt the global flow of oil and drive prices higher.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.1% to $73.04 per barrel.

The U.S. Embassy in Israel on Friday told its staff that it could leave the country and urged anyone considering departure to do so immediately, as the threat of an American strike on Iran looms.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee told embassy employees in an email that discussions with officials in Washington had led to a decision authorizing departures for those who wished to leave.

The email was recounted to The Associated Press by someone involved with the U.S. mission who wasn't authorized to share details. Sent before 10:30 a.m., it urged staff considering departure to do so quickly, advising them to to focus initially on getting any flight out of Israel and to then make their way to Washington.

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Those wishing to take AD should do so TODAY," Huckabee wrote, using an acronym for authorized departure.

While there may be outbound flights over the coming days, there may not be," he added.

Huckabee said that there was no need for panic, but for those desiring to leave, it was important to make plans soon.

The email came a day after Iran and the United States walked away from nuclear negotiations without a deal. Airlines such as Netherlands-based KLM have already announced plans to suspend flights out of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport, and other embassies have also made plans for authorized departures from Israel and neighboring countries.

Australia on Wednesday directed the departure of all dependents of Australian officials posted to Israel in response to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East. India and several European countries with missions in Iran advised citizens to avoid travel to the country as well.

On a town hall meeting Friday after the email was sent, Huckabee told staff that he was encouraging airlines to keep flying.

RELATED STORY | Trump weighing next steps with Iran

The departure authorizations signal a new level of contingency planning as a massive fleet of U.S. aircraft and warships mass in the Middle East.

Badr al-Busaidi, Oman's foreign minister who is mediating in the negotiations, said that there had been significant progress made on Thursday, though officials from Iran and the United States haven't announced steps forward.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday offered no specifics, but said what needs to happen has been clearly spelled out from our side.

Shares in the financial technology company Block soared more than 20% in premarket trading Friday after its CEO announced it was laying off more than 4,000 of its 10,000 plus employees, reconfiguring to capitalize on its use of artificial intelligence.

The core thesis is simple. Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company, Jack Dorsey said in a letter to shareholders in Block, the parent company to online payment platforms such as Square and Cash App. A significantly smaller team, using the tools were building, can do more and do it better, he said.

PAST STORY | Twitter Names Co-Founder Jack Dorsey As New CEO

Dorsey's comments explicitly naming AI as a key driver behind the move were also posted on X, or Twitter, a company he co-founded. The assertion that the job cuts will add to Block's profitability and efficiency led investors to jump in and buy, analysts said.

Blocks shares gained 5% Thursday to $54.53, before it reported its earnings. They shot up to nearly $69 in after-hours trading. The mobile payments services provider reported its fourth quarter gross profit jumped 24% from a year earlier.

For years, we have debated whether AI would dent jobs at the margin. Now we have a public case study in which the CEO explicitly says that intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Other large employers have announced tens of thousands of cuts in recent months. Some have downplayed the AI link. Block did not, he said.

A global technology company founded in 2009, San Francisco-based Block operates in the United States, Canada, parts of Europe, Australia and Japan.

RELATED STORY | If cash apps fail, consumers could lose billions, feds warn

In a post on X, Dorsey outlined various ways the company will support those laid off. For employees overseas, the terms might differ, he said.

It was unclear which employees would be laid off where.

Layoffs by American companies remain at relatively healthy levels, but the job cuts at Block are the latest among thousands announced in recent months.

A number of other high-profile companies have announced layoffs recently, including UPS, Amazon, Dow and the Washington Post.

Pakistan and Afghanistan traded attacks in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the countries that Pakistans defense minister said Friday means they are now in open war.

Tensions have been high between the neighbors for months, with border clashes in October killing dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. Pakistan accuses Afghanistans Taliban government of harboring militant groups that then stage attacks across the border and also of allying with its archrival India.

A Qatari-mediated ceasefire ended the fighting, although the two sides still occasionally trade fire. Several rounds of peace talks in Istanbul in November failed to produce a formal agreement.

Late Thursday, Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan, saying it was in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas Sunday.

RELATED STORY | Pakistan and Afghanistan announce ceasefire after deadliest clashes in years

Pakistan then carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early Friday.

After the strikes Friday, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said in an X post that Pakistan had hoped for peace in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces in 2021 and expected the Taliban, which seized power in the country, to focus on the welfare of the Afghan people and regional stability.

Instead, he said that the Taliban had turned Afghanistan into a colony of India, with which Pakistan has periodically engaged in wars, clashes and skirmishes since gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1947. India has had improved ties with Afghanistan recently, offering to enhance bilateral trade, to the annoyance of Islamabad.

Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us, he said. There was no immediate reaction from Afghan officials.

Afghan authorities in the eastern Nangarhar province said that fighting was ongoing in the Torkham border area Friday morning. The province's information directorate said that Pakistani mortar fire hit civilian areas in Torkham, including a refugee camp, which had been evacuated overnight. In response, Afghanistan was targeting Pakistani army posts across the border, it said.

Exporting terrorism

Asif, the Pakistani defense minister, accused Afghanistan of exporting terrorism. Islamabad frequently levies the allegation at its western neighbor as militant violence has surged in Pakistan, accusing Afghanistan of supporting the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, and outlawed Baloch separatist groups.

Pakistan accuses the TTP which is separate from but closely allied with Afghanistans Taliban of operating from inside Afghanistan. Both the group and Kabul deny that charge.

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Pakistan has also frequently accused neighboring India of backing the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and the Pakistani Taliban, allegations New Delhi denies.

Asif's comments came hours after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistans capital, Kabul, as well as in Kandahar in the south and Paktia province in the southeast, according to Pakistani officials and Afghanistan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. Pakistan said the strikes were in retaliation for the Afghan cross-border attacks.

Retaliatory strikes

Afghanistan, meanwhile, said that it launched its attack late Thursday also in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas Sunday.

The governments have issued sharply differing casualty claims. Each said that it inflicted heavy losses of dozens of soldiers on the other, while putting its own casualty figures in the single digits. The claims couldn't be independently verified.

Afghanistan also claimed it had captured an undisclosed number of Pakistani soldiers. Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, a spokesperson for Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, denied any soldiers had been captured.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistans anti-drone systems shot down several small drones over the northwestern cities of Abbottabad, Swabi, and Nowshera on Friday. He said the drones appeared to be part of a failed attack by the Pakistani Taliban, and that there were no casualties. Tarar claimed the drone attacks once again exposed direct linkages between the Afghan Taliban regime and terrorism in Pakistan.

International calls for restraint

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held separate phone calls with his Pakistani, Afghan, Qatari and Saudi counterparts on Friday to discuss the conflict, a Turkish official said, without providing details on the talks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.

In October, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia had facilitated talks between the sides.

U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres urged both sides to protect civilians as required under international law and to continue to seek to resolve any differences through diplomacy, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Russia called for an immediate halt to the fighting and for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, Russian diplomat Zamir Kabulov told news agency Ria Novosti. Kabulov, who is President Vladimir Putins special envoy for Afghanistan, said that Moscow would consider mediating between the two countries if asked, according to Ria Novosti.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to resolve their differences through dialogue during the holy month of Ramadan. He also said that Tehran was ready to assist in facilitating dialogue.

Refugees at the border

Pakistani authorities said that dozens of Afghan refugees in the Torkham border area had been relocated to safer places.

Pakistan launched a sweeping crackdown in October 2023 to expel migrants without documents, urging those in the country to leave of their own accord to avoid arrest and forcibly expelling others. Iran also began a crackdown on migrants at around the same time.

Since then, millions have crossed the border into Afghanistan, including people who were born in Pakistan decades ago and had built lives and created businesses there.

Last year alone, 2.9 million people returned to Afghanistan, the U.N. refugee agency has said, with nearly 80,000 having returned so far this year.

The U.S. military used a laser Thursday to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, according to members of Congress, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas.

Just over two weeks ago, the FAA shut down the El Paso airport and the surrounding area after another use of an anti-drone laser. This time, commercial flights are not affected by the expanded airspace closure over Fort Hancock.

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Rep. Rick Larsen and several other top Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee said they were notified through official channels.

Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high risk counter-unmanned aircraft system, Larsen and the other representatives wrote. We said months ago that the White Houses decision to sidestep a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to appropriately train C-UAS operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, DHS and the FAA was a short-sighted idea. Now, were seeing the result of its incompetence.

The Defense Department and Transportation Department referred questions to the FAA, which said in a brief statement that it had expanded the airspace closure around Fort Hancock. Border Protection did not immediately respond to questions.

World Economic Forum head Brge Brende said Thursday that he is stepping down after facing pressure over his contacts with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister, said in a statement that he had decided after careful consideration to step down as president and chief executive of the forum, known for its annual January summit in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos.

RELATED STORY | Powerful men, including 'Melania' director, dispute Epstein connection after appearing in more files

I am grateful for the incredible collaboration with my colleagues, partners, and constituents, and I believe now is the right moment for the Forum to continue its important work without distractions, Brende said in a statement released by the WEF.

Brende was Norways foreign minister from 2013-2017 and is one of several prominent Norwegians who have faced scrutiny following the latest release of Epstein files.

He didn't refer directly to that controversy in Thursday's statement, but the WEF announced earlier this month that it was opening an internal review into Brende to determine his relationship with Epstein after files indicated the two had dined together several times and exchanged messages.

Brende told Norwegian broadcaster NRK at the time that he was cooperating with the investigation, that he only met Epstein in business settings and that he had been unaware of Epsteins criminal background.

RELATED STORY | Citizen journalists, sleuths helping to unravel the tangle of Epstein documents

WEF co-chairs Andr Hoffmann and Larry Fink said in a statement that the independent review conducted by outside counsel has concluded. The findings stated that there were no additional concerns beyond what has been previously disclosed.

They said that Alois Zwinggi will serve as the forum's interim president and CEO.

When sifting through the seemingly endless collection of documents in the Epstein files gets to be too much and Ellie Leonard needs a break, she takes a walk outside. Then it's back to the computer.

The New Jersey mother of four is among hundreds of citizen-journalists, or sleuths, absorbed by the material connected to the late Jeffrey Epstein. She's determined to learn the stories behind his illicit sex ring and relationships with some of the world's most powerful people, and publish what she finds on Substack.

I like a good puzzle, Leonard said. I like an investigation. I like things that we have to solve and looking for clues.

Professional news outlets immediately went to work, sometimes in tandem, when the Justice Department released over three million pages of documents and tens of thousands of visual images on Jan. 30. Hundreds of journalists at The Associated Press, CBS, NBC, MS NOW and CNBC are collaborating to examine the files and share what they find.

RELATED STORY | Hillary Clinton denies knowledge of Epsteins crimes in deposition

Dozens of journalists at The New York Times alone are assigned to examine the documents, using artificial intelligence to speed the process along. Still, the newspaper said last week it had examined only a small percentage of what is there.

That's where people like Ellie Leonard come in.

There's plenty of material for the professionals and amateurs

A steady stream of news stories has emerged as more is found and people and institutions react. Some result in resignations or job losses the chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs, executive chairman at Hyatt Hotel, chairman of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, government officials in Slovakia and Norway.

SmartNews is one of the independent places selling itself as a reliable source to sum up the reports. CNN is focused on one angle, Fox is pushing another, Twitter is a mess, a narrator said in one of its social media ads. I'm seeing the same story with completely different narratives ... Who do I trust?

With all that, there's plenty of room for people like Leonard. She's been journalism-adjacent for much of her career, running a business that offered transcription services until AI rendered it largely obsolete. She worked briefly in education and wrote about politics and social issues on her Substack, The Panicked Writer.

But after seeing the interest generated when she started looking at Epstein documents a few months ago, she began devoting all of her professional time to it.

RELATED STORY | New Mexico DOJ investigating claims of burials near Jeffrey Epsteins Zorro Ranch

She describes her glee in spotting, at 1 a.m. after an evening of scrolling, a document involving lawyer Alan Dershowitz and Virginia Giuffre, who alleged sex abuse by several men who knew Epstein. In recent Substack postings, she wrote about what was in a young victim's journal and email conversations between Epstein and Sarah Ferguson.

Leonard said she looks for nuggets of information others may not be talking about and likes to show how things within Epstein's wide circle tie together. I'm putting four kids into the world, she said, and I don't want to see something like this happen again.

Journalist Wajahat Ali, who runs the Left Hook Substack, said he admires Leonard's work and often features her on his site. Some of the Epstein citizen journalists gather on livestreams to talk about what they've found.

Over the past decade, Ali has watched the growth of a subculture of people obsessed about true crime stories who love to comb through evidence and advance their own theories. Authorities involved in the Arizona search for the missing mother of NBC's Savannah Guthrie have complained about distractions caused by amateur sleuths.

The Epstein files are the mother lode, he said. If you love conspiracy theories, if you love true crime, this is the Citizen Kane of true crime. It is the unfortunately sordid gift that will keep on giving.

A story that fascinates and repulses

Like Leonard, Anne P. Mitchell and Kassandra Mable Costa have professional backgrounds that have helped them with the Epstein files. Costa, from North Carolina, is accustomed to research in her marketing job. Mitchell is a former law professor from Colorado with an expertise in hunting down legal documents and explaining what they mean in plain language.

RELATED STORY | New Mexico DOJ investigating claims of burials near Jeffrey Epsteins Zorro Ranch

Fascinated and repulsed by the story, Costa was drawn to the source material. She doesn't write about what she's found. Instead, she uses her skills to help others, collecting evidence for a friend who is trying to get the name of former Maine Sen. George Mitchell removed from an elementary school. The former politician has denied wrongdoing, but the files show he maintained a relationship with the sex offender.

I am not really politically active, Costa said. There are ways that I try to help and ways that I try to create a better world. But Im not overly political. Im not looking for conflict, Im not looking for controversy.

Anne P. Mitchell's Notes From the Front Substack serves as a connector for Epstein sleuths; she holds chat groups and offers access to a multitude of documents to the few thousand followers who have a paid subscription. We may have just found a smoking gun, she writes of a file she's offering of images that appear to show men with victims. Both Mitchell and Leonard offer some material to followers for free, and sell some to the more obsessed.

Mitchell applauds people who are working through the Epstein files. The more people who are doing it, the more that is going to come to light, she said. But Im guessing that the more people who are doing it, the more its not going to be good for their mental health.

Unproven accusations emphasize the need to verify facts

Matthew LaPlante, a journalism professor at Utah State University, said having more citizens using reportorial skills whether they know it not can benefit society. He cited Minneapolis residents who used phones to document immigration enforcement efforts.

The downside, he says, is that few of these people are trained in the painstaking task of verifying facts or, for that matter, who understand the legal implications of publishing rumors. The New York Times, in a story that explained to readers how it is examining the material, stressed this need for care. We dont publish anonymous information that we cant verify ourselves, the newspaper said.

LaPlante pointed to one Substack post last week with more than a dozen videos from the file, most partly redacted and making little sense without any context like one of two unidentified men writing on a sex doll.

Many unproven accusations, some outlandish, are included in the Epstein files. How much of that unvetted material will find its way into the public discourse to say nothing of false or doctored information created by the unscrupulous?

What is in the files is damaging enough, Ali said. You don't need to indulge in conspiracy theories. It would be a disservice to the survivors and would hurt the credibility of what is already there.

There's enough to keep the curious occupied professional and amateur alike. Potentially, there's more new or unredacted material to come.

I hope I'm around for 15 or 20 years, said Mitchell, who is largely confined to her home due to health issues. Because I really think it's going to take that long for the full extent of this to be exposed.

Netflix is declining to raise its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discoverys studio and streaming business, in a stunning move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over the fellow storied Hollywood giant.

On Thursday, after Warners board announced that Skydance-owned Paramounts offer was superior to the agreement it had previously struck with Netflix, the streaming giant said the new price that would be required to buy Warner would make it a deal that is no longer financially attractive.

Unlike Netflixs bid, Paramount wants all of Warners operations, including networks like CNN and Discovery. That would put CNN under the same roof as Paramounts CBS and combine two of Hollywoods last five remaining studios.

RELATED STORY | Paramount goes hostile in bid for Warner Bros., challenging a $72 billion bid by Netflix

The owner of HBO Max, DC Studios and popular titles like Harry Potter had backed Netflixs proposal for months. But after Skydance-owned Paramount upped its rival bid for the entire company to $31 per share, in addition to other revisions, Warners board on Thursday said that the offer constitutes a company superior proposal.

A Paramount buyout Warner's business would vastly reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape. Paramounts CBS has seen significant editorial shifts, notably with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss at CBS News, under new Skydance ownership. And if Paramounts acquisition of Warner is successful, many expect the reach of those changes to only grow.

A Paramount-Warner combo would also combine two of Hollywoods five legacy studios that remain today, in addition to their theatrical channels. Beyond Harry Potter, Warner movies like Superman, Barbie, and One Battle After Another as well as hit TV series like The White Lotus and Succession would join Paramounts content library.

Today, Paramounts lineup of titles include Top Gun, Titanic and The Godfather. And beyond CBS, it owns networks like MTV and Nickelodeon, as well as the Paramount+ streaming service.

Executives at Paramount have argued that merging will be good for consumers and the wider industry. But lawmakers and entertainment trade groups have sounded the alarm warning that a Warner takeover would only further consolidate power in an industry already run by just a few major players. Critics say that could result in job losses, less diversity in filmmaking and potentially more headaches for consumers who are facing rising costs of streaming subscriptions as is.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Paramount completes merger with Skydance

Combined, that raises tremendous antitrust concerns. The U.S. Department of Justice has already initiated reviews, and other countries are expected to do so, too.

Netflix, Warner and Paramount have spent the last couple of months in a heated, public back and forth over whose deal has a better regulatory path and offers more value for Warner shareholders. Thursday's announcement arrived shortly after Paramount upped the ante on its offer.

Beyond increasing its proposed purchase price for Warner, the company also agreed to a regulatory termination fee of $7 billion. And Paramount pledged to move up a previously-promised ticking fee. The company initially said it would pay 25 cents per share for every quarter the deal drags on past the end of the year. Now its agreed to pay that amount if the deal doesnt go through by the end of September, Warner said.

But Paramount is taking on billions of dollars in debt to finance its offer. And David Ellison's father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, is heavily backing the bid for his son's company. Foreign sovereign wealth funds have also provided equity for the offer, drawing scrutiny.

The Ellisons also have a close relationship with President Donald Trump bringing more politics into question. Trump previously made unprecedented suggestions about his involvement in seeing a deal through, before walking back those statements and maintaining that regulatory approval will be up to the Justice Department.

The push to acquire Warner also arrives just months after Skydance closed its own buyout of Paramount in a contentious merger approved just weeks after the company agreed to pay the president $16 million to settle a lawsuit over editing at CBS 60 Minutes program. Still, Trump has continued to publicly lash out at Paramount and 60 Minutes since.

Walmart Inc. has agreed to pay $100 million to settle allegations from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that the retailer caused its delivery drivers to lose tens of millions of dollars worth of earnings by deceiving them about their pay and tips they could make, the commission said in a statement on Thursday.

Joined by 11 states Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin the FTC alleges that the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer showed drivers inflated base pay and tip amounts in its crowdsourced gig driver delivery program called Spark.

RELATED STORY | Amazon to pay $2.5 billion to settle FTC claims it duped customers into enrolling in Prime

The FTC alleges that the retailer deceived customers by falsely claiming that all of its customer tips would actually go to drivers. The commission also alleges that Walmart failed to inform drivers that it would split tips when a customers delivery was split across multiple drivers.

Labor markets cannot function efficiently without truthful and nonmisleading information about earnings and other material terms, said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement.

As part of its settlement with the FTC, Walmart is required to implement an earnings verification program to ensure that drivers are paid the promised earnings and tips, among other orders.

Walmart launched its Spark program in 2018, allowing gig workers to enlist to make deliveries for the retailer.

Walmart has credited its speedy online deliveries for helping to fuel the company's sales growth. Its e-commerce business increased 27% during the fiscal fourth quarter, accounting for 23% of overall sales.

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Walmart said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press that it values "the hard work and dedication of the drivers who deliver great service and products to our customers. It noted that it has issued payments to affected drivers and continues to make additional payments as appropriate.

We are continuously improving procedures to ensure fairness and transparency for drivers, Walmart said.

Being gay in Morocco is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison. But it was the violence from her family that forced Farah, a 21-year-old gay woman, to flee the country.

After a long journey to the United States and a third-country deportation by the Trump administration, however, Farah said she is now back in Morocco and in hiding.

It is hard to live and work with the fear of being tracked once again by my family, she told The Associated Press, in a rare testimony from a person deported via a third country despite having protection orders from a U.S. immigration judge. But there is nothing I can do. I have to work.

She asked to be identified by her first name only for fear of persecution. The AP saw her protection order and lawyers verified parts of her account.

Farah said that before she fled, she was beaten by her family and the family of her partner when they found out about their relationship. She was kicked out of the family home and fled with her partner to another city. She said her family found her and tried to kill her.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Trump administration completes another third-country deportation to Africa

Through a friend, she and her partner heard about the opportunity to get visas for Brazil and fly there with the aim of reaching the United States, where they had friends. From Brazil, she trekked through six countries for weeks to reach the U.S. border, where they asked for asylum.

You get put in situations that are truly horrible," she recalled. "When we arrived (at the U.S. border), it felt like it was worth the trouble and that we got to our goal."

They arrived in early 2025. But instead of finding the freedom to be herself, Farah said she was detained for almost a year, first in Arizona, then in Louisiana.

It was very cold, she said of detention. And we only had very thin blankets. Medical care was inadequate, she said.

She was denied asylum, but in August she received a protection order from an U.S. immigration judge, who ruled she cannot be deported to Morocco because that would endanger her life. Her partner, denied asylum and a protection order, was deported.

Farah said she was three days from a hearing on her release when she was handcuffed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and put on a plane to an African country she had never visited, and one where homosexuality is illegal: Cameroon. She was put in a detention facility.

They asked me if I wanted to stay in Cameroon, and I told them that I cant stay in Cameroon and risk my life in a place where I would still be endangered, she said. She was flown to Morocco.

Most deportees had protection orders

She is one of dozens of people confirmed to be deported from the U.S. by the Trump administration to third countries despite having legal protection from U.S. immigration judges. The real number is unknown.

The administration has used third-country deportations to pressure migrants who are in the U.S. illegally to leave on their own, saying they could end up in any number of third countries."

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | US deportations to African nations escalate amid concerns over due process

The detention facility in Cameroon's capital of Yaounde, where Farah was held, currently has 15 deportees from various African countries who arrived on two flights, and none is Cameroonian, according to lawyer Joseph Awah Fru, who represents them.

Eight of the deportees on the first flight in January, including Farah, had received a judge's protection orders, said Alma David, an immigration lawyer with the U.S.-based Novo Legal Group who has helped deportees and verified Farahs case. The AP spoke to a woman from Ghana and a woman from Congo, who both said they had protection orders, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Another flight on Monday brought eight more people. Three freelance journalists reporting on the deportations to Cameroon for the AP were briefly detained there.

Deporting people to a third country where they could be sent home was effectively a legal loophole, said David.

By deporting them to Cameroon, and giving them no opportunity to contest being sent to a country whose government hoped to quietly send them back to the very countries where they face grave danger, the U.S. not only violated their due process rights but our own immigration laws, our obligations under international treaties and even DHS own procedures," David said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security earlier confirmed there were deportations to Cameroon in January.

We are applying the law as written. If a judge finds an illegal alien has no right to be in this country, we are going to remove them. Period, it said, and asserted that the third-country agreements ensure due process under the U.S. Constitution.

Asked about the deportations to Cameroon, the U.S. State Department on Friday told the AP it had no comment on the details of our diplomatic communications with other governments." It did not reply to further questions.

Cameroons Foreign Ministry didnt respond to a request for comment.

Impossible choices

Farah was one of two women from the first group of deportees to return to Morocco.

They were given two impossible choices, David said, and asserted that claiming asylum was not clearly presented as one of them. This was before the lawyer had access to them."

She said International Organization for Migration staff in the facility did not give them any indication that there was a viable option other than going back to their home countries.

Fru said he has not been granted access to the deportees. He said the assistant to the country director for the IOM, a U.N.-affiliated organization, told him he must apply to speak to them. Fru plans to do that Monday.

The IOM told the AP it was aware of the removal of migrants from the United States of America to some African countries and added that it works with people facing difficult decisions about whether to return to their country of origin." It said its role is providing accurate information about options and ensuring that "anyone who chooses to return does so voluntarily.

The IOM said the facility in Yaounde was managed by the authorities in Cameroon. It did not respond to further questions.

African nations are paid millions

Cameroon is one of at least seven African nations to receive deported third-country nationals in a deal with the U.S. Others include South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.

Some have received millions of dollars in return, according to documents released by the State Department. Details of other agreements, including the one with Cameroon, have not been released.

The Trump administration has spent at least $40 million to deport about 300 migrants to countries other than their own, according to a report released last week by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

According to internal administration documents reviewed by the AP, 47 third-country agreements are in various stages of negotiation.

In Morocco, Farah said it was hard to hear U.S. officials refer to people like her as a threat.

The USA is built on immigration and by immigrant labor, so were clearly not all threats, she said. What was done to me was unfair. A normal deportation would have been fair, but to go through so much and lose so much, only to be deported in such a way, is cruel.

FedEx is suing the U.S. government, requesting a full refund on what it paid for tariffs set by President Donald Trump last year after the Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs are illegal.

FedEx said in a filing with the U.S. Court of International Trade that they have suffered injury from having to pay the tariffs and that the relief they're seeking from the court would redress those injuries.

Other companies have already launched efforts to recoup costs from the illegal tariffs, including large U.S. corporations like Costco and Revlon.

The National Retail Federation said in a statement on Friday that the Supreme Court's ruling provided certainty for U.S. businesses and manufacturers.

RELATED STORY | With Trump's tariffs struck down, what happens to the billions collected?

We urge the lower court to ensure a seamless process to refund the tariffs to U.S. importers, it said. "The refunds will serve as an economic boost and allow companies to reinvest in their operations, their employees and their customers.

The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trumps far-reaching global tariffs on Friday. Trump said he was absolutely ashamed of some justices who ruled 6-3 against him, calling them disloyal to our Constitution and lapdogs. At one point he even raised the specter of foreign influence without citing any evidence.

The courts ruling found tariffs that Trump imposed under an emergency powers law were unconstitutional, including the sweeping reciprocal tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.

The Treasury had collected more than $133 billion from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law as of December, federal data shows. The impact over the next decade has been estimated at some $3 trillion.

RELATED STORY | Trump signs order for new tariffs after Supreme Court blocked earlier plan

Trump has vowed to collect tariffs through other means. He reached for a stopgap option immediately after his defeat Friday at the Supreme Court: Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 15% for up to 150 days. But any extension beyond 150 days must be approved by a Congress likely to balk at passing a tax increase as Novembers midterm elections loom.

Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.

His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene, entered the plea on his behalf as he stood behind glass in a custody area of a packed Los Angeles courtroom.

Reiner, 32, the third of Rob Reiner's four children, has been held without bail since his arrest hours after the actor-director and his wife of 36 years were found dead with stab wounds on Dec. 14 at their home in the upscale Brentwood section of Los Angeles.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Rob Reiners son Nick appears in court on 2 counts of murder in killing of his parents

Reiner appeared in court in an enclosed custody area with his head shaved and wearing brown jail clothes. He talked to his lawyer briefly before the judge began the brief hearing. He spoke only to answer yes to a question from the judge. He was not wearing the suicide prevention smock he wore in his first court appearance in December.

Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian said his office is still awaiting a full autopsy report in the case, but all other evidence has been turned over to the defense.

Reiner's not guilty plea is common for criminal defendants at this stage of the case, whatever their longer-term plan might be.

Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, died from "multiple sharp force injuries," the LA County Medical Examiner said in initial findings. Authorities said they were killed hours before the bodies were discovered. A court order has prevented the release of more details. Authorities have said nothing about possible motives.

Prosecutors have said they have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty for Nick Reiner, who is eligible for it under the charges.

Reiner's previous attorney, the high-profile private lawyer Alan Jackson, had to quit the case at the previous hearing in January because of what he called circumstances beyond his and his client's control. He said legal ethics would not allow him to say why, but in parting he adamantly declared outside the courthouse that "pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder."

Jackson did not elaborate but said the conclusion came after weeks of intensive investigation before his team had to hand the case off. He said he wanted to push back against false reporting on the case.

It's not clear who hired Jackson to represent Reiner or who was paying the bill. Generally, defendants use public defenders when they can't afford a private attorney.

Rob Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and '90s. His credits included "This is Spinal Tap," "Stand By Me," "A Few Good Men," and "When Harry Met Sally ," during whose production he met photographer Michele Singer and married her soon after.

Crews recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who were killed in a California avalanche four days ago, authorities said Saturday.

A search team reached the bodies of eight victims and found one other who had been missing and presumed dead since Tuesday's avalanche on Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe.

The recovery efforts had been put on hold for several days because of heavy snow and the threat of more avalanches.

RELATED STORY | Blizzard warnings issued for New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut as storm threatens East Coast

Helicopters with the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol recovered the bodies on Saturday morning by hoisting them from the mountain and bringing them to nearby snowcats trucks outfitted for transportation on the snow.

Officials said on Friday that they were using water to break up the snow in the area as avalanche mitigation work, a technique that is designed to intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the risk when rescue crews go in.

The mitigation and search efforts have included California Highway Patrol air operations, Nevada County Sheriffs search and rescue, Tahoe Nordic search and rescue, the utility company Pacific Gas & Electric, the Sierra avalanche center and others.

Blizzard warnings were issued Saturday for New York City, New Jersey and coastal communities along the East Coast as a late-winter storm set to arrive on Sunday threatened to make a mess of the start of a new week.

The National Weather Service increased its assessment of the potential severity of a storm that was projected to be less ferocious only days earlier.

The weather service said 1 to 2 feet of snow was possible in many areas as it issued blizzard warnings for New York City, Long Island, southern Connecticut and coastal communities in New Jersey and Delaware. Flooding was also possible in parts of New York and New Jersey, the weather service said.

RELATED STORY | Strong storms forecast to continue risks for heavy snow in the West, fire weather in the Plains

The weather service said the storm could arrive quietly on Sunday with rainfall in some places before worsening, with the heaviest snowfall expected Sunday night and as much as 2 inches of snow an hour at times in some areas before tampering off by Monday afternoon.

The weather service warned that the storm, with steady winds of 25 to 35 mph would "make travel dangerous, if not impossible. Scattered downed tree limbs and power outages possible due to snow load and strong winds."

The storm approached just as the icy remains of a snowstorm that struck the region weeks earlier were finally melting away.

RELATED NEWS | Eight backcountry skiers found dead and 1 still missing after California avalanche

Americas gross domestic product the nations output of goods and services increased at an 1.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Friday, down from 4.4% in the July-September quarter and 3.8% in the quarter before that.

A downturn in government and consumer spending contributed to the slowdown in fourth-quarter growth, the government said. Consumer spending rose just 2.2%, a significant slowdown from the third quarters healthy 3.5% gain.

The report underscores an odd aspect of the U.S. economy: It is growing steadily, but without creating many jobs. Growth was a fairly healthy 2.2% in 2025, yet a government report last week showed that employers added less than 200,000 jobs last year the fewest since COVID struck in 2020.

RELATED STORY | Resilient US consumers drive strongest economic expansion in 2 years

Economists point to several possible reasons for the gap: The Trump administrations crackdown on immigration has sharply slowed population growth, reducing the number of people available to take jobs. Its one reason that the unemployment rate rose only slightly to 4.3% from 4% last year, even with the nearly non-existent hiring.

Some businesses may also be holding back on adding jobs out of uncertainty about whether artificial intelligence will enable them to produce more without finding new employees. And the cost of tariffs has reduced many companies profits, possibly leading them to cut back on hiring.

The economy is also unusual right now because growth is solid, inflation has slowed a bit, and unemployment is low, but surveys show that Americans are generally gloomy about the economy. In January, a measure of consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since 2014, yet consumers have kept spending, propelling growth.

RELATED STORY | The latest economic numbers: Slow hiring, and not much impact from tariffs so far

Some of that spending may be disproportionately driven by upper-income consumers, in a phenomenon known as the K-shaped economy. Yet data from many large banks suggests lower-income consumers are still raising their spending, even if by not as much.

The White House insisted that President Donald Trump was visiting Georgia to promote the economy.

But in the opening minutes of his first stop at a local restaurant before touring a steel company, the president raised debunked claims of voter fraud, talked up his plan to require voters to show identification before casting ballots, and discussed the recent FBI raid of election offices in the state's most populous county.

They came in, they took all those ballots; all those crooked ballots were taken, Trump said. And the Democrats are fighting like hell. They dont want anyone to see those ballots. Lets see what happens.

Later at Coosa Steel Corporation, the president charged that Democrats cheated like dogs in the 2020 election.

The White House has long said Trump would focus more on the economy, and he frequently complains that he doesnt get enough credit for it. But recent months have been dominated by other issues, including deadly clashes during deportation efforts in Minneapolis, potential military action in Iran, and his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Trump's destination in Georgia suggests he has something else on his mind, too. He was appearing in the congressional district previously represented by Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former supporter who resigned in January after feuding with Trump.

There's a special election to replace her on March 10.

After his early focus on the state's voting system, Trump refocused his comments on the economy as he toured a steel company whose owner said it had benefited from the president's tariffs.

The president, who was especially fiery at times during his public remarks, also railed against the Supreme Court, which is weighing the legality of his novel use of an emergency powers law to impose worldwide tariffs.

Ive been waiting forever, forever, and the language is clear that I have the right to do it as president, Trump shouted. He added, The tariff is the greatest thing that has happened to this country.

Trump also claimed that inflation is no longer a problem in the U.S., blaming Democrats for rising costs: They caused the affordability problem. And we solved it.

Meanwhile, new research tied to one of Americas leading banks showed on Thursday that tariffs paid by midsize U.S. businesses tripled over the course of the past year.

The additional taxes have meant that companies that employ a combined 48 million people in the U.S. the kinds of businesses that Trump had promised to revive have had to find ways to absorb the new expense, by passing it along to customers in the form of higher prices, employing fewer workers or accepting lower profits.

False claims of voter fraud

The Georgia visit comes less than a month after federal agents seized voting records and ballots from Fulton County, home to the states largest collection of Democrats.

Trump has long seen Georgia as central to his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen by Democrats and President Joe Biden, a fabrication that he reiterated repeatedly this week, including during a White House reception on Black History Month.

Trump praised the FBI raid during his speech at the steel company.

The FBI came in and raided. They found plenty of your stuff, and now they have the ballots, Trump said. And the Democrats are fighting like hell. Now theyre trying to stop anybody from looking. You know why? Because they cheated like dogs.

Audits, state officials, courts and Trumps own former attorney general have all rejected the idea of widespread problems that could have altered the election.

Some Republicans are now pushing for Georgias State Election Board, which has a Trump-aligned majority, to take control of elections in Fulton County a step enabled by a controversial state law passed in 2021.

Board member and conservative commentator Janelle King said she was aware of calls for a takeover, but said Wednesday that its just not something that were looking to do without having all of the information. She said she expects to have a clearer picture once the FBI is done with its investigation.

At the same time, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump was exploring his options when it comes to a potential executive order he teased on social media over the weekend designed to address voter fraud.

Trump described Democrats as horrible, disingenuous CHEATERS in the post, which is pinned to the top of his social media account. He also said that Republicans should feature such claims at the top of every speech.

Scott Johnson of Marietta, a longtime GOP leader in Georgia who attended the president's speech, said the economy is a winning issue for us.

He's not so sure that boosting claims of election fraud from 2020 is a good idea.

Im not concerned about relitigating the past. Im concerned about moving forward in the future, he said.

RELATED NEWS | FBI raid on Georgia election hub tied to potential 2020 election 'defects,' affidavit says

Greene has not gone quiet

Trump on Thursday did not address fresh attacks from Greene, once among the president's most vocal allies in Congress and now one of his loudest conservative critics.

In a social media post ahead of Trump's visit, Greene noted that the White House and Republican leaders met earlier in the week to develop an effective midterm message. She suggested they were on the struggle bus and blamed them for health insurance costs that ballooned this year.

Approximately 75,000 households in my former district had their health insurance double or more on January 1st of this year because the ACA tax credits expired and Republicans have absolutely failed to fix our health insurance system that was destroyed by Obamacare, she said. And you can call me all the petty names you want, I dont worship a man. Im not in a cult.

Early voting has already begun in the special election to replace Greene, and the leading Republican candidates have fully embraced Trump.

Trump was traveling on Thursday with his preferred candidate, Clay Fuller, a district attorney who prosecutes crimes in four counties and described himself as a MAGA warrior before Trump took the stage.

Other candidates in the race include Republican former state Sen. Colton Moore, who made a name for himself with a vociferous attack on Trumps prosecution in Georgia. Moore, the favorite of many far-right activists, said hes been in communication with Trump even after Trump endorsed Fuller, calling the choice unfortunate.

I think hes the greatest president of our lifetimes, Moore said.

California on Monday saw a powerful winter storm carrying treacherous thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow in mountain areas.

Millions of Los Angeles County residents faced flash flood warnings as rain pounded the region and people in some areas scarred by last years devastating wildfires were under an evacuation warning through Tuesday because of the potential for mud and debris flows.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ordered emergency crews and city departments to be ready to respond to any problems.

The storm wreaked havoc on roadways spanning from Sonoma County to the Sierra Nevada. Traffic was halted temporarily in both directions on I-80 near the Nevada state line due to spinouts and crashes, the California Department of Transportation reported. In Santa Barbara County, a large tree toppled onto US-101, shutting down southbound lanes.

Forecasters said the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, northern Shasta County including portions of Interstate 5 and parts of the states Coast Range could see up to 8 feet of snow before the storm moves through late Wednesday. The heavy snow, wind and low visibility could also make travel conditions dangerous to near impossible, forecasters added.

It has seemed springlike for a large part of 2026, but winter is set to show its not quite done yet, the Shasta County Sheriffs Office said in a social media post urging residents to stay aware of the storm.

Californias Office of Emergency Services said it was placing fire and rescue personnel and resources in areas most at risk for flooding, mud and debris flows.

In Southern California, Six Flags Magic Mountain was closed Monday due to the storm, and Knotts Berry Farm amusement park shut its doors early. But the winter weather was celebrated by local ski resorts that have waited weeks for snow.

Other states on Monday braced for different threatening weather events. Residents in parts of eastern Colorado received warnings that they could be in fire danger due to a combination of abnormally high temperatures, gusty winds and dry conditions. The risks were expected to continue further into the week as gusts up to 60 mph (96 kph) are likely to hit the Colorado eastern plains on Tuesday. Parts of Texas, New Mexico and Kansas were also under red flag warnings.

MORE CONTEXT | Record snow drought in Western US raises concern for a spring of water shortages and wildfires

The latest storm comes amid a snow drought across much of the American West, with snow cover and depth measuring at the lowest levels scientists have seen in decades. Most states saw half their average precipitation or less in January, though California fared better others due to heavy rains in December.

It was the first of several days of stormy weather forecast for California. A coastal flood advisory was in effect for San Francisco until Tuesday afternoon, with cooler showers and a chance of hail on Tuesday, while nearby mountains were expecting snow, the National Weather Service in Monterey reported.

Kashawna McInerny, a Realtor in the mountain community of Wrightwood, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles, on Monday said she was still dealing with several tons of rock and debris on her property from Christmas and New Year's storms that pummeled the community. After the last one, she said she got help trenching part of her side yard to direct stormwater down the street and placed a barrier of metal and wood by a door in hopes of keeping out mud and debris.

Were not panicking yet. At least Im not, she said with a laugh.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama said he did not see evidence that aliens have made contact with us, after sending social media abuzz by saying aliens were real on a podcast over the weekend.

During a lightning round of questions with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama was asked, Are aliens real?

Theyre real, he answered, continuing: But I havent seen them. And, theyre not being kept in Area 51.

On Sunday, the former president released a statement on Instagram, appearing to clarify what he meant by his comments that have since gone viral.

RELATED STORY | Pentagon finds no evidence of extraterrestrial activity or coverups

I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since its gotten attention let me clarify. Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good theres life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances weve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!

Secrecy around Area 51, a top-secret Cold War test site in the Nevada desert, has long fueled conspiracy theories among UFO enthusiasts.

In 2013, the CIA acknowledged the existence of the site, but not UFO crashes, black-eyed extraterrestrials or staged moon landings.

Declassified documents referred to the 8,000-square-mile (20,700-square-kilometer) installation by name after decades of U.S. government officials refusing to acknowledge it.

The base has been a testing ground for a host of top-secret aircraft, including the U-2 in the 1950s and later the B-2 stealth bomber.

Michael Jordan, six-time NBA champion, is now a Daytona 500 winner, too.

Tyler Reddick won The Great American Race on Sunday with a last-lap pass at Daytona International Speedway that sent Jordan into a frantic celebration. The NBA Hall of Famer bear-hugged Reddick in victory lane and then jointly hoisted the Harley J. Earl trophy with the 23XI Racing driver.

Jordan, who turns 63 on Tuesday, will get a Daytona 500 ring for his birthday and made it known in victory lane he wears a size 13.

It feels like I won a championship, but until I get my ring, I wont even know, Jordan said.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Auction of Michael Jordan's championship sneakers sets $8M record

The moment captured the message team co-owner Denny Hamlin who finished 31st in Sunday's bid to become the third driver in history to win four Daytona 500s delivered to 23XI employees in a team meeting ahead of NASCAR's season opener.

He loves his race team, Hamlin said, adding he reminded the team of the fulfillment they saw in Jordan when Reddick won at Talladega in 2024. "I was like You know, you guys understand the responsibilities you have, that you have the power to bring joy to Michael Jordan. You have that power and nobody else can do it.

There's nothing else that can bring him the joy that seeing what his team can do and they took it to heart.

Reddick, in a Toyota, led only one lap Sunday: the one to the checkered flag. He was the 25th different driver to lead a lap for a new Daytona 500 record.

Just incredible how it all played out. Just true Daytona madness, Reddick said. Ive already lost my voice from screaming. Never thought Id be Daytona 500 champion.

Reddick, a 30-year-old from Corning, California, won for the ninth time in the Cup Series and first time since late in the 2024 season. Winless last year, Reddick was primarily focused on his infant son, who was found to have a tumor in his chest that affected his heart. Reddick opened last year with a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500.

He snapped the 38-race losing streak by finishing one place higher Sunday and winning to start a celebration that included multiple stars of NASCAR. It included Jordan, a global icon, and Hamlin, at 45 the oldest full-time driver in the Cup Series.

Reddick is teammates with Bubba Wallace, who went to victory lane in tears after leading a race-high 40 laps before finishing 10th. Jordan wrapped his arms around Wallace from behind and spoke closely into Wallace's ear in a brief speech of encouragement.

I dont want my emotions to take away from the monumental day they just accomplished. Happy birthday, MJ. Thats a massive birthday present, Wallace said. I thought this was our week, the best 500 Ive ever had, and come up short, sucks.

Led a lot of laps, lap leader, I believe. It was a good day for us, but damn. Try again next year.

Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, was involved in the final caution when he and teammate Christopher Bell collided with nine laps remaining. It set up the final push to the finish over the final four laps.

Elliott grabbed the lead at the start of the final lap when Carson Hocevar was spun off the track. Reddick made a huge surge with an assist from teammate Riley Herbst, made contact with Elliott that caused Elliott to crash, then sailed past to give Jordan a victory in NASCAR's biggest event of the year.

It's stuff you dream of as a kid, said Reddick. "Now, I definitely didn't look into the future and know that I would drive for Michael Jordan. But to be able to have someone like Michael Jordan believe in me enough, someone like Denny Hamlin.

I'm just trying to do my best to live on the promises that I made to them and vice versa.

Jordan was the face of the December federal antitrust lawsuit that NASCAR settled on the ninth day of trial. The settlement changed the revenue-sharing model in the United States' top motorsports series.

Jordan watched the win from a suite overlooking the superspeedway built by the France family NASCAR founders and private owners that he just beat in federal court. NASCAR chairman Jim France, who was personally a defendant in the suit, went to victory lane to congratulate the winners.

I cant even believe it. It was so gratifying, Jordan said of the victory. You never know how these races are going to end. You just try to survive. We hung in there all day. Great strategy by the team, and we gave ourselves a chance at the end. Look, Im ecstatic.

The victory marked a Daytona sweep for three team owners heavily involved in the trial. Bob Jenkins, who joined 23XI in suing NASCAR, opened the weekend with a victory when Chandler Smith won the Truck Series opener on Friday night for Front Row Motorsports.

RELATED STORY | Michael Jordan's 23XI and a 2nd team sue NASCAR over revenue sharing model

Richard Childress, who testified on behalf of 23XI and Front Row and was the subject of disparaging text messages by since-departed NASCAR chairman Steve Phelps, was the winning team owner Saturday when Austin Hill won.

Then it was time for Jordan and Hamlin, the two front-facing litigants, as they got their first Daytona 500 victory together.

All we do is win, shrugged Hamlin, who called the trio of weekend winners coincidence.

Former race winners Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Logano finished second and third as Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford each placed a driver on the podium. Elliott wound up fourth and sat dejected and in disbelief on the outside wall of the track after climbing from his car.

We ended up kind of getting gifted the lead ... and then at that point in time, youre just on defense. Man, thats a really, really tough place to be, truthfully, Elliott said. Obviously looking back, you can run it through your mind 1,000 times, do you do something different?