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White House fires USAID inspector general after warning about funding oversight, official says

White House fires USAID inspector general after warning about funding oversight, official says

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House fired the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday, several U.S. officials said. The dismissal comes a day after his office warned that the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID had made it all but impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in unspent humanitarian funds.

The White House gave no reason for the firing of Inspector General Paul Martin, one of the officials said. The dismissal was first reported by CNN. The officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Inspectors general are typically independently funded watchdogs attached to U.S. agencies, who are tasked with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse at government agencies. The Trump administration earlier purged more than a dozen inspectors general.

On Monday, Martin’s office issued a flash report warning that the Trump administration’s funding freeze and staff actions within USAID had left oversight of the humanitarian aid “largely nonoperational.” read more

As egg prices continue to soar, grocers like Trader Joe’s limit how many cartons customers can buy

As egg prices continue to soar, grocers like Trader Joe’s limit how many cartons customers can buy

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Trader Joe’s and other grocers are limiting the number of eggs customers can buy across the U.S., citing limited supply caused by the ongoing bird flu outbreak.

Trader Joe’s is capping purchases to one carton per customer each day, the Monrovia, California-based chain confirmed. That limit applies to all of Trader Joe’s locations across the country.

“We hope these limits will help to ensure that as many of our customers who need eggs are able to purchase them when they visit Trader Joe’s,” the company said in a statement sent to The Associated Press Tuesday.

Photos of in-store notices about eggs purchase limits at retailers nationwide have swirled around online in recent weeks. In addition to Trader Joe’s, consumers and several local media outlets have also reported varying limits seen at stores like Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger and Aldi locations.

When each limit went into effect is unclear, however. And not all are being implemented nationally. A spokesperson for Kroger, for example, confirmed that the supermarket giant doesn’t currently have “enterprise-wide limits” in place — but said some of regional divisions and store banners are asking customers to cap egg purchases to two dozen per trip. read more

How Elon Musk’s crusade against government could benefit Tesla

How Elon Musk’s crusade against government could benefit Tesla

By KIMBERLY KINDY and BRIAN SLODYSKO

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk has long railed against the U.S. government, saying a crushing number of federal investigations and safety programs have stymied Tesla, his electric car company, and its efforts to create fleets of robotaxis and other self-driving automobiles.

Bayer backs broadened effort to shield popular weedkiller from claims it failed to warn of cancer

Bayer backs broadened effort to shield popular weedkiller from claims it failed to warn of cancer

By HANNAH FINGERHUT and DAVID A. LIEB

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A renewed and expanded effort from chemical giant Bayer to shield itself from lawsuits that claim its popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer brought dozens of protesters to the Iowa Capitol building Monday begging lawmakers to reject it.

Elon Musk-led group proposes buying OpenAI for $97 billion. OpenAI CEO says ‘no thank you’

Elon Musk-led group proposes buying OpenAI for $97 billion. OpenAI CEO says ‘no thank you’

By MATT O’BRIEN, AP Technology Writer

A group of investors led by Elon Musk is offering about $97.4 billion to buy OpenAI, escalating a legal dispute with the artificial intelligence company that Musk helped found.