Supreme Court widens Trump’s power to fire agency leaders — except the Fed - POLITICO

The justices didn’t detail how much evidence of wrongdoing would be needed to dismiss her, but zeroed in on the Justice Department’s claim that Trump had accorded her due process by issuing a Truth Social post demanding her resignation. 

“The President’s post did not suggest that a response from Cook would be appropriate, nor did it even provide a clear account of the charge made against her. It instead read simply ‘Cook must resign, now!!!’ and linked to a news article,” Roberts wrote. “That will not do. At minimum, Cook was entitled to some explanation of the evidence at issue, some avenue for a response, and a deadline by which a response would be due.”…

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/29/trump-supreme-court-slaughter-cook-fire-fed-00979734

 

Apple Just Positioned Itself for the Next Trillion Dollars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaAFquzj5B8 

 

Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal — ProPublica

In reality, Trump, then a New Yorker, does not appear to have ever lived in either home, let alone used them as a principal residence. Instead, the two houses, which are next to his historic Mar-a-Lago estate, were used as investment properties and rented out, according to contemporaneous news accounts and an interview with his longtime real estate agent — exactly the sort of scenario his administration has pointed to as evidence of fraud…

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-mortgage-fraud-florida-principal-residences 

 

US treasury secretary reportedly made similar mortgage pledge to Lisa Cook

Bloomberg reports Scott Bessent agreed to occupy two different houses at same time as his 'principal residence'…

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/17/scott-bessent-mortgage-principal-residence

 

Trump official confirmed to Fed board but court rejects Lisa Cook removal bid

Hours before Fed policymakers convene for their September decision on interest rates, the Senate voted 48 to 47 to confirm Stephen Miran – already chair of Donald Trump's council of economic advisers – as a governor...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/15/stephen-miran-federal-reserve-lisa-cook

 

Governor Lisa Cook declared key property as ‘vacation home’, files show

The documents cited by Pulte include standardized federal mortgage paperwork which stipulates that each loan obtained by Cook for the Atlanta and Michigan properties is meant for a "primary residence". But documentation reviewed by Reuters for the Atlanta home, filed with a court in Georgia's Fulton county, clearly says the stipulation exists "unless Lender otherwise agrees in writing". The loan estimate, a document prepared by the credit union, states "Property Use: Vacation Home". 

The document appears to help Cook's case, said two real-estate experts who aren't involved in representing her. That's because it indicates that during the loan-application process, she told the lender she intended to use the property as a vacation home...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/13/fed-governor-lisa-cook-home

 

Fed governor Lisa Cook sues Trump over his ‘illegal attempt’ to fire her

US president spent months waging campaign against Fed's leaders, which has raised questions over its independence…

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/aug/28/fed-governor-lisa-cook-sues-trump?CMP

 

Trump moves to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook in escalating attack on bank’s independence

Rohit Chopra, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Joe Biden, accused the White House of seeking to "transform the financial regulators from independent watchdogs into obedient lapdogs that do as they're told". 

"Wrecking institutions with unlawful behavior and pathetic power grabs come with costs to Americans," said Skanda Amarnath, the executive director of Employ America and a former Fed economist. "The dollar continues to weaken as American governance continues to erode. That means higher prices for all commodities. Chair Powell must ensure that Lisa Cook is not removed as a result of these arbitrary and capricious actions from the president."…

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/aug/25/trump-fires-federal-reserve-governor-lisa-cook

 

Trump asks Apple to end diversity policies after shareholders vote in favor | Reuters

The company reports workforce diversity data but sets no targets or quotas, focusing its DEI efforts on programs such as a racial justice initiative that supports historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S. 

Apple's "strength has always come from hiring the very best people and then providing a culture of collaboration, one where people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives come together to innovate", CEO Tim Cook said at Tuesday's meeting… 

"As the legal landscape around these issues evolves, we may need to make some changes to comply, but our North Star of dignity and respect for everyone and our work to that end will never waver," Cook said…

https://www.reuters.com/technology/trump-says-apple-should-eliminate-diversity-policies-2025-02-26/

 

Cook Political Report makes 8 race shifts, maintaining close race forecast

Democrats need to net only four seats to take the House majority, and they appear better positioned to do so after the shake-up in the presidential race, according to the analysis. Still, the fight for the lower chamber will come down to a few dozen seats where neither party has a clear advantage at this point...

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4865556-cook-political-report-house-races-democrats-republicans/

Apple will use American-made chips from TSMC’s new Phoenix fab - The Verge

The two fabs will produce more than 600,000 wafers annually by 2026, which White House officials said will be enough to meet the entire US demand for advanced chips... 

"The progress we've made with Apple Silicon has transformed our devices," Cook said on Tuesday. "When you stop and think about it, it's extraordinary what chip technology can achieve. And now, thanks to the hard work of so many people, these chips can be proudly stamped 'Made in America.'"… This reshoring vigor culminated in the CHIPS and Science Act, a legislative package that contains $52 billion for domestic chip production. Biden signed the bill into law in August…

https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/6/23497417/apple-tsmc-phoenix-fab-plans-biden-amd-nvidia

Elon Musk Says Apple Isn't Threatening To Remove Twitter From The App Store After All | HuffPost Impact

Earlier in the week, Musk had complained about Apple's control over its App Store, saying that the company applies a "secret 30% tax" to purchases. His tweets garnered the attention of Republicans, with some condemning the tech company and calling for antitrust regulation...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elon-musk-tim-cook-meeting_n_63889572e4b0151bdb1e78b8

Taking On Fake News About Climate Change | John Cook

Excellent presentation, not only on climate change, but resources for developing critical thinking and reasoning skills, and helping inoculate others from fake news on this subject....

https://youtu.be/X7Wv0AZC_D4

Apple Requested 'Zero' Personal Data In Deals With Facebook, CEO Tim Cook Says -

"We've never been in the data business," Cook tells NPR. He was responding to a report that Facebook struck deals giving Apple and other device makers access to Facebook users' personal information. ...
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/04/616280585/apple-requested-zero-personal-data-in-deals-with-facebook-ceo-tim-cook-says

Why Apple uses privacy as a sales pitch - CNN Money

Apple CEO Tim Cook teed off on Facebook over its data scandal. Here's the back story on the two tech giants and privacy. ....
http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/30/technology/business/apple-facebook-privacy/index.html

Tim Cook’s refusal to help FBI hack iPhone is validated by ‘WannaCry’ ransomware attack

The proliferation of the WannaCry ransomware last week unequivocally justifies Apple’s steadfast refusal to help the FBI break into an iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists. As a quick refresher, the FBI last year wanted Apple engineers to create a brand new version of iOS that would allow them to skirt around iOS security measures. As a precaution, a security setting in iOS wipes a device clean after 10 erroneous passcode entry attempts. The FBI, as a result, tried to force Apple to release a specialized version of iOS that would not include this security limitation....
http://bgr.com/2017/05/15/wannacry-ransomware-apple-ios-tim-cook/

Tim Cook says Apple is investing $1 billion in US manufacturing

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced today that the iPhone maker will be putting $1 billion of its roughly $256 billion cash hoard into a US advanced manufacturing fund. The news, which Cook disclosed in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, indicates that Apple’s executive leadership is intent on heading off any potential conflicts between the company and President Trump, who has promised to bring jobs back and pressure corporations to invest more domestically....
https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/3/15537742/apple-ceo-tim-cook-1-billion-us-manufacturing-investment