I like to get a second opinion when buying UK shares, even an artificial one. So I called in AI chatbot ChatGPT.
I asked it to create a balanced retirement portfolio of five FTSE 100 stocks. I had to substitute two of my robot buddy’s choices, because I’ve covered both a lot lately. I’ve highlighted my stock substitutions below.
As my robot buddy said, “when it comes to building wealth over 50, a sensible strategy involves balancing growth potential with steady dividend income”. Who needs Warren Buffett when I’ve got blinding computer insights like?
My mechanoid mate started by tipping Legal & General Group, a stock I love and own. On being pressed, it switched to insurer Prudential (LSE: PRU), which I don’t.
Prudential has underperformed
Prudential has made a much-applauded transition from Europe to Asia, hoping to tap into the huge and growing Asian middle class. So far, it hasn’t paid off.
The Prudential share price has plunged 20% over one year and 50% over five. China’s economic troubles have hit investor appetite, while higher interest rates and market volatility squeeze insurers generally.
The shares look good value with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 9.5 times. The yield is a disappointing 2.7%, way short of Legal & General’s 8%. ChatGPT was right to pick that first. I’d do the same.
One day Prudential could rally hard, but I’ve been saying that for a long time now.
I also asked ChatGPT to find a substitute for its next pick, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. Unsurprisingly, it picked rival GSK.
GSK has been trailing AstraZeneca for years, but in my view looks better value today. It yields almost 4%, roughly double Astra’s income. And it’s incomparably cheaper, with a P/E of around nine times against AstraZeneca’s hefty P/E of 65 times.
I didn’t have any issues with ChatGPT’s third pick, consumer giant Unilever. “As the owner of household brands like Dove, Persil and Ben & Jerry’s, it enjoys steady demand regardless of economic cycles”, ChatGPT drooled.
The yield is modest at 3.1% but Unilever typically hikes shareholder payouts by 5% every year. The shares are up 18% in 12 months. It’s sprawling, ill-focused operations need banging into shape, but it still looks like a solid long-term buy and hold to me.
Investing for income and growth
I certainly can’t argue against AI’s final two picks – utility giant National Grid and cigarette maker British American Tobacco (except on moral grounds in the latter case).
As a regulated utility, National Grid enjoys predictable income streams, ChatGPT tells me, with an attractive 5.8% trailing yield. The shares look good value with a P/E below 12. My worry is that National Grid has to invest heavily in the energy transition. That’s driving up debt and could one day squeeze dividends.
British American Tobacco is under constant regulatory attack and operates in a declining market. Yet it boasts top brands like Dunhill, LuckyStrike and Vuse, while “pricing power and brand strength allows it to maintain high profit margins”, ChatGPT enthuses.
The trading yield is 7% with the shares up 40% in a year. It’s also cheap with a P/E below nine.
Any investor considering these stock should ensure they work well with existing holdings. They should also take a long-term view. Even over 50, there’s still a long way to go.
NEW ORLEANS — Antonio Gates always dreamed of being in the Hall of Fame.
The basketball Hall of Fame, that is.
The Chargers’ legendary tight end instead took his “plan B” and manifested another dream, being selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday in a four-man class that also included Jared Allen, Sterling Sharpe and Eric Allen.
Gates spent his entire 16-year career with the Chargers, becoming an icon at his position with an NFL-leading 116 touchdown catches. After he transitioned from college basketball at Kent State, the undrafted free agent and former power forward became the Chargers’ franchise leader in receptions, yards receiving, and touchdown catches.
“It’s really so hard to describe in words,” Gates said during one of his numerous interviews after the announcement. “The thing I come up with most is it’s just an amazing feeling. I’m so happy. It’s like a world of weight off my shoulders. I finally made it. I finally reached the pinnacle of sports.”
Gates was introduced in New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre by his former Chargers teammate and fellow Hall of Famer, LaDainian Tomlinson. Other Hall of Famers wrapped Gates in bear hugs as he strode across the stage. Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis grasped Gates’ face with a wide grin.
The four-person class was the smallest in 20 years. Former Rams wide receiver Torry Holt and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning were among the finalists who did not make the cut.
Holt, who was a finalist for the sixth consecutive year, had 920 catches for 13,382 yards and 74 touchdowns during his 11-year career, 10 seasons comingwith the Rams. He was a key component to the “Greatest Show on Turf,” helping the Rams to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV as a rookie. His Rams teammates Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce are enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
“Every year when this time comes, you look at the stats and I’m dumbfounded that he still doesn’t have a gold jacket,” Warner said on the red carpet before the event. “Being next to other Hall of Famers and still doing what he did … if you’re sharing the ball with those guys and you have that kind of production and consistently, year in and year out, go to championship games, win championship games, for all of us it’s overdue.”
Last year Gates was confident he would get the call as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Other players assured him he would. When it didn’t come, he was surprised at how much it hurt.
It felt as if no one recognized just how hard he worked to go from mid-major college basketball star to eight-time Pro Bowl player.
Gates transferred to Kent State after Nick Saban, then the football coach at Michigan State, discouraged him from playing both sports for the Spartans. Gates helped the Golden Flashes reach the Elite Eight as a junior. He was an Associated Press All-American honorable mention as a senior, averaging 20.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, but the stands still were full of NFL scouts. They had gotten a tip from Saban that one of the best football players in the country was on the basketball court.
Even now, Gates’ friends and family from Detroit still consider him more of a basketball player.
“Every year, I wanted to just constantly prove I’m one of the best athletes on this planet, regardless of what sport it was,” Gates said. “It was just that little person in your head, like they didn’t believe you were good enough. The NBA, the Lakers didn’t want to draft you. It helped me flourish to becoming the all-time reception leader, the all-time touchdown leader for the Chargers, essentially, and getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
After retiring in 2018, Gates has remained connected with the Chargers as the team’s legends ambassador.
When he saw Dean Spanos in the press tent before sitting for a news conference, Gates, wearing a red and blue plaid blazer with navy slacks, wrapped the Chargers owner in a hug.
“Finally,” he said.
Staff writer Gary Klein contributed to this report.
The Lakers have long wrestled with a problem complicated by competing interests. On one hand, they have a star in LeBron James, who is creeping closer toward retirement. On the other, they have a future to worry about, one in which James is gone and they would need to navigate a rebuild.
But at this year’s NBA trade deadline, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said the moment and the circumstances were right for the Lakers to take their swings. They traded away their two best remaining draft picks, a future Hall of Famer and their two best young guards in a series of deals that netted them Luka Doncic and Mark Williams.
“I think we’ve said all along we were willing to use our picks if the right opportunity came,” Pelinka said Thursday. “And I think we feel like we have two top five, top 10 players in the world on our team right now. And just saw this as an opportunity to give those two players all the resources they need to make a playoff run.”
James is energized by the prospect of playing with Doncic, who likely will debut Monday.
“I can’t wait. Everything I do on the floor, he just has the ability to do it, or even do it better. That’s how great he is,” James said. “Even at his young age of 25, he’s such a unique player, special player, generational talent. So I’ll be super appreciative to be able to share the floor with him and then watch him do his thing. So it’ll be good.”
In Williams, the Lakers found a center the team believes caters to the style that Doncic told Pelinka he likes to play.
“It wasn’t like, ‘Go get this.’ That was not the spirit of the discussions. More like ‘Stylistically, some of the bigs I had in Dallas were really effective, sort of to how I play and how I make my reads.’ And I said, ‘Hey, I’ll do my best for the deadline to see if something like that’s available. If not, it’s something we’ll attack this summer,’” Pelinka said of his talk with Doncic. “I think I said at my press conference a few days ago that the market for bigs was dry. But this opportunity came to us. Maybe it’s in some sense like the L.A. housing market. Not every house is listed. And sometimes you become aware of something that’s available that’s not on the market.
“And when you see the perfect house, you’re willing to go get it, even if you have to be aggressive to do it. I think that’s how we looked at the Mark Williams opportunity when we opened up discussions with Charlotte.”
The Lakers said they expect Williams, who has had a number of injuries with the Hornets, to be fine physically, though the team will still put him through a physical.
“We vetted the injuries he’s had and we’re not concerned about those,” Pelinka said.
Pelinka said that the timing matched with the opportunity for Williams was too good to wait on.
“He’s got great hands, catches the ball above the rim, can finish, gives us a defensive paint presence,” Pelinka said. “There’s a lot of teams in the West that have formidable size that are around the standings with us, Memphis and Houston and OKC. And we just felt like we needed to address that, and we felt like we got the perfect guy.”
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Get ready to impress with One-Pan Marry Me Tortellini! This 20–minute dish is made with cheese tortellini simmered in a rich sun-dried tomato cream sauce. It’s infused with garlic, fresh spinach, and parmesan. You’ll fall in love with every bite!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
Total Comfort Food: Marry Me Tortellini is a dish so rich, creamy, and flavorful that it just might inspire a proposal!
One-Pan Wonder: Everything cooks in a single pan, making cleanup a breeze. This is one of the best busy weeknight dinners!
Restaurant-Quality at Home: This is a meal that feels fancy but is super quick and simple to make. It’s perfect for date night or a cozy family dinner. Serve it with my favorite Caesar salad and rolls for a complete meal!
Simple and Stunning!
This Marry Me tortellini is not only easy to throw together, but it is also an absolute show stopper! I almost didn’t want to eat it because it looked so beautiful in my pan! The reason it is so easy to throw together is because almost all of the ingredients are ready to go! Very minimal prep work is required. It all simmers in one pan, making cleanup a breeze! This delicious dish would be perfect for a fancy occasion or a simple week night dinner!
Ingredients For Marry Me Tortellini
How to Make One-Pan Marry Me Tortellini
So much flavor in this recipe, and you only need one pan and 20 minutes! Simply cook the sundried tomatoes and garlic, and add the remaining ingredients. Let the tortellini simmer, and allow the flavors to come together! Let’s get started!
Sauté: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp oil from the jarred sun-dried tomatoes, the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and minced garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Stir in the Flour and Seasonings: Add the all-purpose flour, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Stir into the tomato mixture to create a roux.
Simmer Broth: Whisk in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer the sauce for 3-5 minutes until it starts to thicken.
Stir in the Tortellini: Add the pasta and stir to coat it in the sauce. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Finish and Serve: Turn off the heat and add heavy cream, chopped fresh spinach, and grated parmesan cheese. Stir and heat until the spinach wilts. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, if needed. Garnish Marry me tortellini with red pepper flakes, and enjoy!
Tortellini Tips and Variations
Here are some ideas for making this one-pan Marry Me tortellini recipe your own. It’s really easy to change up!
Can I add protein? If you’re looking to add protein to this recipe, try adding chicken, sausage, or bacon! Any of those options would be tasty!
What if I don’t like spinach? Use chopped fresh basil in place of the spinach if you prefer. I love the added pop of color and nutrition that the spinach or basil adds to this dish.
What kind of tortellini should I use? We love cheese tortellini, but you can use spinach or sausage tortellini as well. I prefer refrigerated tortellini over frozen, but frozen will also work. For frozen, add a few minutes to the cooking time when you add it to the pan.
Leftover One-Pan Marry Me Tortellini
I hope you have leftover one-pan Marry Me tortellini because it makes the best lunch the next day! The only problem is that everyone will be fighting over them.
Fridge: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing the leftovers.
Reheat: Heat individual potions in the microwave until warmed through. If the tortellini has absorbed too much liquid, add a splash of heavy cream or milk before warming.
More Delicious ‘Marry Me’ Recipes
These are called ‘Marry Me’ for good reason! The bold, cozy flavors are so good it will be love at first bite! Check it out! Let me know which one you want to try!
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil from the jarred sun-dried tomatoes, 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, and 2 teaspoons minced garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Add 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, and 1 teaspoon paprika. Stir into the tomato mixture to create a roux.
Whisk in the 2 cups chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer the sauce for 3-5 minutes until it starts to thicken.
Add 1 (18-ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini and stir to coat them in the sauce. Simmer for 3-5 minutes to cook the tortellini.
Turn off the heat and add 1 cup heavy cream, 2 cups chopped fresh spinach, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese. Stir and heat until the spinach wilts.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed. Garnish with red pepper flakes,, and enjoy!
Former vice president Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff were spotted at a Los Angeles Lakers game Thursday night — with many quick to boast that “nobody even cared” she was there.
Footage circulating on social media showed the ex-veep showing up to the arena with very little fanfare as she and her hubby hiked up the stairs to their non-courtside seats.
“Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff arrive at the Lakers game. Pretty much nobody cared,” one person howled on X.
Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff attended the Lakers game on Thursday to little fanfare. Getty ImagesLeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball against Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski of the Golden State Warriors on February 06, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images“Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff arrive at the Lakers game. Pretty much nobody cared,” one person howled on X. AP
“Just goes to show you how unpopular Kamala really is and how all the hoopla while she campaigned was completely fake.”
The Democratic presidential candidate could be seen smiling and waving at some in the crowd but the clips showed only a handful of people turning around to catch a glimpse of her.
Others on social media were also quick to poke fun at the couple’s lack of VIP courtside seating.
Harris was seen smiling and waving at some in the crowd, with only a handful of people turning around. NBAE via Getty Images
“Kamala Harris is at the Lakers Warriors game in like row 58. Should’ve saved some of that money,” one person posted on X alongside a video of themselves sitting rows far ahead of her.
The couple ended up sitting in front of a broadcast booth to watch the Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors.
Kate Moss poses in Donna Karan’s spring-summer 2025 campaign. Photo: Craig McDean / Donna Karan
Kate Moss is back, and she’s bringing relaxed elegance to Donna Karan’s spring-summer 2025 campaign. The images, lensed by Craig McDean, embrace a warm, minimalist aesthetic with sun-kissed golden tones.
Donna Karan Spring/Summer 2025 Campaign
Donna Karan features a bodycon dress in its spring-summer 2025 campaign. Photo: Craig McDean / Donna Karan
This season, the collection centers on elevated wardrobe staples. Flowing dresses, sleek tailoring, and soft draping define the silhouettes. Meanwhile, a neutral palette of ivory, champagne, and sand creates a sense of quiet luxury.
Kate Moss suits up in Donna Karan’s spring 2025 ad. Photo: Craig McDean / Donna Karan
Stylist Jessica Diehl curates the looks with a mix of structured pieces and fluid, feminine designs, balancing power dressing with sensuality. Moss, exuding her signature confidence, wears standout pieces like a halter-neck gown with gold hardware, a shimmering slip dress adorned with embellishments, and a tailored suit.
Supermodel Kate Moss wears a white dress for the Donna Karan spring 2025 campaign. Photo: Craig McDean / Donna Karan
Accessories remain understated, with sculptural gold cuffs and minimalist heels complementing the clean lines. The campaign follows Moss’s recent appearance in Isabel Marant’s spring ads, reinforcing her enduring influence in fashion.
First, it must be enabled (it’s off by default). Then a shared key must be generated and used to get the devices talking to each other, after which a layout can be arranged. There are all kinds of controls that come into play: a dozen for behavior, five keyboard shortcuts, and a smattering of advanced settings and troubleshooting tools. Figure 11 shows two of my laptops (P16 and X380, from left to right) set up to permit the cursor to track between them.
Figure 11: MWB lets you arrange systems (two laptops in this case) in line to track the cursor across them.
Ed Tittel / Foundry
New+: Lets you create files and folders from your own personalized template set. You can use it to set up text, Office, and other files with predefined info. For instance, you could create a file with the address block, date placeholder, and recipient placeholder for a business letter; another with layouts and column heads for invoice spreadsheets; and others for commonly needed files for everyday use. The New+ settings let you change the default template location and hide filename extensions and starting characters.
Peek: Another File Explorer extension that provides quick, transient access to file previews. Highlight a file, press Ctrl + spacebar, and a preview window opens. This works especially well for screencaps; as demonstrated in Figure 12, it’s easy to see details captured in a screenshot without actually opening the image file. (Notice the Peek icon up top, a magnifying glass on a file folder.) Peek has very simple controls, too.
Figure 12: Highlight a file, press Ctrl + spacebar, and get the preview.
Ed Tittel / Foundry
PowerRename: Provides a context menu entry (Windows Shell extension) for advanced bulk file renaming in File Explorer using search and replace or regular expression syntax (regex). Regex is an extremely powerful technique, and it’s a good idea to have some knowledge of how it works before you use PowerRename to mess around with real, live files on your PC. Microsoft Learn has a nice regex tutorial for Visual Studio that covers the basics of characters, operators, constructs, and patterns.
Figure 13 shows me renaming some of the image files for this very story: it’s a useful tool.
Figure 13: I highlighted four filenames and Shift-clicked to open this PowerRename window. It’s set up to replace “pt25” with “PowToy25.”
Ed Tittel / Foundry
PowerToys Run: A quick pop-up launcher that works like the Run command window. Shortcut key combo: Alt + spacebar. Note that these keys are adjacent on US QWERTY keyboards for super-quick access and use. It’s faster and easier to access than the Run box, and its search function is likewise lightning fast. Click any item in the search results to launch and go.
Figure 14 shows a generic PowerToys Run box that puts its capabilities on display: run executables; calculate simple equations; search previous inputs, files, folders and programs; and navigate the Registry. The better you know it, the better you’ll like it!
Figure 14: Press Alt + spacebar to get this nifty box offering a variety of instant actions.
Ed Tittel / Foundry
Quick Accent: Longtime windows users know they can use all kinds of Esc and Alt key combos to emit odd and interesting characters from Windows keyboards. Quick Accent provides another way to access accents, fractions, diacritical marks, and other characters using a more visual approach.
As you can see in Figure 15, holding down the 1 key and hitting the left arrow puts lots of 1s down before the accent bar pops up above, with various sub- and superscript options plus fractions with a 1 numerator. Interesting!
Figure 15: The Quick Accent bar appears above the Notepad window: that’s where you pick the character you want.
Ed Tittel / Foundry
This one takes some playing with to get used to but can then be quite handy. When you don’t need the Quick Accent toolbar anymore, you must disable this PowerToy to make it vanish.
Registry Preview: Provides a clean, simple look at the contents of any Windows Registry file. You can launch this app from PowerToys Settings > Registry Preview, or else hold down the Shift key when you click on a .reg file in File Explorer, then select Preview from the resulting pop-up menu. Those who occasionally (or regularly) work on the Registry directly will find this a pleasant, lightweight alternative to RegEdit.exe.
Screen Ruler: Provides a simple, visual way to measure pixels on a Windows display. It also includes horizontal and vertical measurement capability; offers continuous measuring; and provides color, color edge, and edge detection controls (see PowerToys Settings > Screen Ruler for all the details). Its shortcut key combo is Win key + Shift + M.
Figure 16 shows the ruler at work, showing the pixel count between two desktop background elements. As with Quick Accent, you must disable Screen Ruler to turn off the top center ruler toolbar when you don’t wish to see or use it.
Figure 16: A faint red line labeled “345” shows the distance in pixels from the circle to the logo.
Ed Tittel / Foundry
Shortcut Guide: A context-sensitive listing of keyboard shortcuts that shows up in Windows 10 or 11 when shortcut key combo Win key + Shift + / (right-slash) is pressed. If opened on the desktop (as in Figure 17), it shows Windows shortcuts. Opened inside any application, it shows that app’s shortcuts instead. Hit Esc to close the guide. One of my personal favorites, this tool helps me remember more shortcuts than my poor brain can hold.
Figure 17: Combined with the Windows key, these are the basic Windows shortcuts, neatly laid out in Shortcut Guide.
Ed Tittel / Foundry
Text Extractor: Copies text from any portion of the Windows display, including inside images or videos. Microsoft recommends using the relatively new “Text actions” capability inside the Snipping Tool instead of this tool. Indeed, Text Extractor is disabled by default. But when enabled, it responds to the shortcut key combo Win key + Shift + T.
Once you define a rectangular region on screen, Text Extractor parses all text it finds into the clipboard. You can then paste that text into an editor or text input of your choice. I used it to grab the end of the Lenovo logo on my desktop, which you can see pasted into Notepad in Figure 18.
Figure 18: When I trace a rectangle around “novo” (white text on red background), Text Extractor pastes it into Notepad.
Ed Tittel / Foundry
Workspaces: A tool for grouping a set of applications together, with positioning control and unique configuration settings. The shortcut to launch this tool, if enabled, is Win key + Ctrl + ` (grave accent or backtick). Pressing that shortcut opens the Workspaces editor and lets you choose from predefined layouts (called Templates) or create your own unique layout (called Custom).
You can see a custom workspace in Figure 19, which shows Chrome at left, PowerToys above and Edge below in the center, and Copilot to the right.
Figure 19: Workspaces makes it easy to set up and switch among common working scenarios.
Ed Tittel / Foundry
Workspaces is helpful when you run specific work scenarios and need groups of applications to make them fly. (See “The ultimate Windows app launcher” for more info.) Works on both single and multiple monitor setups.
ZoomIt: A longtime favorite among Sysinternals users, PowerToys has brought this nifty screen zoom, annotation, and recording tool under the PowerToys umbrella. It’s a great addition for those who’ve never used it; it’s even more convenient for longtime Sysinternals fans and users (like yours truly, who had the pleasure of writing for Winternals in Austin in the 1990s). The best way to dig into ZoomIt is to read the Microsoft Learn article “ZoomIt utility,” which includes an animated demo that shows you exactly how it works.
This concludes the overview of the current PowerToys lineup as of early February 2025. For more about working with PowerToys, see “10 PowerToys you should use on Windows.”
In the next section, you’ll learn a bit about what the PowerToys team is thinking about and working on, by way of possible new PowerToys.
What’s coming for PowerToys
If you visit the PowerToys roadmap, you’ll see information about what the Microsoft development team currently has in its sights. (Shortcut Guide v2 gets my vote.) But because PowerToys is an open-source effort and takes input from countless volunteers who contribute ideas and code, this doesn’t cover everything that might show up in the toybox.
Given those provisos and qualifications, here’s a short-ish list of what’s up with possible enhancements or new PowerToys:
The in-house team is always working on the PowerToys installer and UI bits and pieces (including the taskbar icon, flyout menu, and more). Right now if you look back at Figure 1 you’ll see that the PowerToys that function as apps (e.g. Color Picker, Environment Variables, FancyZones, Hosts File Editor, PowerToys Run, Text Extractor, Registry Preview, Screen Ruler, Shortcut Guide, and Workspaces) all appear as icons on that flyout menu. As these items come and go, this lineup will change to match.
Each new PowerToys release comes with release notes that include a “What’s New” section. This is a great way to find (and see) what kinds of things are popping up inside the toybox.
PowerToys works well with the WinGet package manager and includes its own update button on the “General” pane in PowerToys Settings. It provides notifications when updates are ready and makes it easy to update. Personally, I tend to catch updates through WinGet because I run it on my Windows systems every other day.
In online forums recently, PowerToys team lead Clint Rutkas has teased adding transcoding capabilities for audio and video files within the Advanced Paste PowerToy.
Given that the Sysinternals tool ZoomIt is now integrated into PowerToys, one has to ponder the possibility that others in that collection may make their way into the toybox, too. Learn more about the outstanding Sysinternals tool set at its Microsoft home page.
Don’t you need some PowerToys?
As somebody who’s used some of these wonderful programs and extensions since the late 1990s, my own opinion on using PowerToys is an emphatic “Yes! May I have another?” But you’ll have to try them out for yourself and see how you like them if you’re not using them already. If you are, hopefully you’ve seen something new or intriguing here that you’ll want to try out. Enjoy!
This story was originally launched in October 2020 and updated in February 2025.
If you’re on the market for a new pair of wireless earbuds, the latest sale on the AirPods Pro 2 is a good one to consider. They’re down to $169 right now, which is 32 percent off their regular price. While not quite as low as we saw them during the holiday shopping season last year ($154), this is the best price they’ve been in 2025 so far.
Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 came out in 2022 and yet we still rate them the best wireless earbuds for iPhone. At the time, we gave them a score of 88 thanks to big improvements from their predecessor, including fantastic sound and an amazing transparency mode. They’ll last you six hours at a time with ANC on or seven hours without it.
Apple
Notably, Apple’s newest generation of earbuds are also on sale. The AirPods 4 are down to a new all-time low price of $100, from $129, thanks to a 22 percent discount. We also gave the AirPods 4 an 88 in our review, noting their improved fit, comfort and sound quality. Their biggest drawback is the lack of ANC but, if you don’t need that, then this is a great deal.
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Checks and balances are alive and well as a Reagan-appointed federal judge in Seattle blocked Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order, writing, “It has become evermore apparent that to our president the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goal. The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether it be for political or personal gain.”
Meanwhile, in Boston, a second federal judge issued a restraining order that prevented the Trump administration from enforcing the deadline on their scheme to try to get federal employees to quit. The Trump administration was also ordered to notify all federal employees that the deadline has been removed.
American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley responded to the ruling by saying, “We are pleased the court temporarily paused this deadline while arguments are heard about the legality of the deferred resignation program. We continue to believe this program violates the law, and we will continue to aggressively defend our members’ rights.”
Nothing is coming easy for Donald Trump. His bids to consolidate power and make himself the most powerful president in American history are being resisted by the American people, Democrats, and the courts.
The “shock and awe” administration has been more like crime and court.
Donald Trump is trying to scare the American people into accepting an all-powerful president, but it isn’t working. Donald Trump is losing. Whether it is a battle of popular opinion or in the courthouse, Trump is being handed defeat after defeat.
The Trump threat is going to be consistent and daily, but today’s rulings are another example of the idea that America is more potent than any president, and we won’t be pushed around by Donald Trump.
What do you think of Trump’s latest losses in court? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
In a bombshell revelation that could shake the foundations of American healthcare, Elon Musk, leading the charge under President Trump’s newly minted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has uncovered what he describes as a staggering “$100B of taxpayer money” wasted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
On Wednesday, Musk’s team, along with two senior veterans from the agency, has been meticulously reviewing the CMS’s payment and contracting systems, which are crucial for managing health insurance for approximately one in every four Americans, according to far-left USA Today.
“CMS has two senior Agency veterans – one focused on policy and one focused on operations – who are leading the collaboration with DOGE, including ensuring appropriate access to CMS systems and technology,” the agency said in a statement to Reuters.
The DOGE team was granted read-only access to the system.
Their mission, as outlined by Andrew G. Nixon, the HHS director of communications, is to identify “opportunities for more effective and efficient use of resources” in alignment with President Trump’s efficiency agenda.
However, the narrative has quickly escalated from efficiency to accusations of rampant waste and potential fraud.
“This is where the big money fraud is happening,” Musk tweeted on Wednesday in response to a post suggesting that aides using DOGE are searching the Medicare agency payment systems for fraud.
This revelation comes as CMS processes over one billion Medicare claims annually, oversees healthcare quality through hospital and nursing home inspections, and disburses billions in matching funds to states for Medicaid programs.
Medicare currently covers about 68 million Americans, primarily those over 65 and individuals with disabilities, while Medicaid serves approximately 73 million low-income citizens.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), from June 2024 through October 2024, CMS suspended 850 agents and brokers’ Marketplace Agreements for reasonable suspicion of fraudulent or abusive conduct related to unauthorized enrollments or unauthorized plan switches. These agents and brokers are now prohibited from participating in Marketplace enrollment, including receiving related commissions.
The Department of Justice has also been active in combating healthcare fraud.
In recent years, the average loss associated with the schemes prosecuted by the Health Care Fraud Unit has steadily risen.
In June 2024, the Department of Justice announced charges against 193 defendants, including 76 medical professionals, for their alleged involvement in fraudulent schemes amounting to approximately $2.75 billion in false claims.
Since 2007, the Health Care Fraud Unit has charged more than 5,400 defendants with fraudulently billing Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurers more than $27 billion.
