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Category: Business

Applebee’s offers boneless wing deal after Super Bowl LIX

FOX Business correspondent Jeff Flock goes through Super Bowl stats ahead of the big game in New Orleans on ‘The Bottom Line.’

Applebee’s is offering a one-day boneless wing deal to customers after the Philadelphia Eagles notched a pick-six during Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Under its “Pick 6 Monday” deal, the restaurant chain will throw in six free boneless wings with orders of at least $10 that customers place on Monday. It is available for both dine-in and online orders at participating restaurants, according to the company’s website.

A view of an Applebee’s restaurant sign and logo. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The deal for six free boneless wings was contingent on an interception during the Super Bowl being returned for a touchdown – and Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean delivered during the second quarter.

EAGLES ROOKIE, CELEBRATING HIS 22ND BIRTHDAY, RECORDS PICK-6 IN SUPER BOWL LIX FOR FIRST NFL INTERCEPTION

“We can’t call into work for you tomorrow but we can offer you 6 free boneless wings because of that Pick 6,” Applebee’s tweeted Sunday night during the Super Bowl.

Customers looking to cash-in on the Eagles pick-six at Applebee’s on Monday can “mention ‘Applebee’s Pick 6 Monday’ to your server in the restaurant” or plug in the promo code “PICK6” online to nab the free boneless wings, the company said.

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The deal stems from the Pick 6 promotion that the chain, which had over 1,500 locations across the U.S. as of the end of September, offered throughout the NFL season.

The 2024 NFL season officially ended Sunday night with the Eagles winning Super Bowl LIX. Philadelphia defeated the Chiefs 40-22, earning the Eagles their second-ever championship title.

Terry Bradshaw (L) speaks with Philadelphia Eagles owner, chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie as Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach Nick Sirianni watch. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Kansas City had been looking to win its third straight Lombardi Trophy but came up short.

STARBUCKS OFFERING FREE POST-SUPER BOWL COFFEE

February 10, 2025
Trump suggests US may have less debt than thought because of fraud

Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., discusses President Donald Trump critiquing FEMAs hurricane response to North Carolina, reconciliation negotiations and the presidents efforts to lower inflation through executive orders.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. national debt could be smaller than thought because of fraud.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump suggested that the administration and Elon Musk’s efficiency team found irregularities at the Treasury Department that could mean the U.S. government’s more than $36 trillion debt isn’t that high.

“We’re even looking at Treasuries,” Trump said. “There could be a problem – you’ve been reading about that, with Treasuries and that could be an interesting problem.”

“It could be that a lot of those things don’t count. In other words, that some of that stuff that we’re finding is very fraudulent, therefore maybe we have less debt than we thought,” he added.

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President Donald Trump said his administration is looking at fraud in Treasuries. (Alex Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

It wasn’t clear from Trump’s comments whether he was referring to debt service or other government payments that are handled by the Treasury Department.

FOX Business reached out to the Treasury Department for clarification.

“It is virtually impossible that President Trump’s comments refer to the debt held by the public, including foreign holders,” said Maria Vassalou, head of the Pictet Research Institute. “This is the reason the market is not reacting and any reaction would be based on misunderstandings or misinformation.”

She added that about one-fifth of the gross U.S. federal debt is held in government accounts that are mostly related to trust funds for Social Security and Medicare, adding that Trump’s comments “most likely refer to that portion of U.S. debt.”

US ECONOMY ADDED 143K JOBS IN JANUARY, UNEMPLOYMENT RATE TICKS LOWER

President Donald Trump tasked Elon Musk with leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“(Markets) do care and should care, absolutely, given the $35 odd trillion in public debt,” said Martin Whetton, head of financial markets strategy at Westpac in Sydney. “In short, until it is clarified it is meaningless.”

Given the lack of certainty over what Trump intended to say, financial markets have focused on the economy and the Federal Reserve’s path for interest rate cuts later this year.

The Labor Department on Friday reported the U.S. economy added 143,000 jobs in January, below the 170,000 jobs expected by LSEG economists.

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The market’s expectations around the Fed’s plan for interest rate cuts were little changed by the news, with the probability of the Fed leaving rates unchanged at its March meeting rising to more than 91% from 86% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Reuters contributed to this report.

February 10, 2025
A crypto pioneer was denied housing in ‘mecca’ of Democratic Party fundraisers. Now he alleges discrimination

Kraken Chairman and co-founder Jesse Powell speaks with Fox News Digital about why he filed a lawsuit against a co-op board in a prominent Democrat building for discrimination against his offer to buy one of 12 units.

A San Francisco apartment co-op used to house ritzy Democrat campaign parties and its megadonors has found itself as the defendant in a new discrimination lawsuit filed by a cryptocurrency pioneer.

Jesse Powell, the co-founder of crypto exchange Kraken, is suing the 2500 Steiner Street shareholder corporation over alleged discriminatory actions against his financial, criminal and potential political affiliations that led to the denial of his purchase of California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis’ unit.

“I’m just frankly exhausted at dealing with this, exhausted from being discriminated against,” Powell told Fox News Digital on Friday. “And San Francisco should not be the place where that happens. In fact, San Francisco needs the crypto industry more than ever right now.”

“I think that the hypocrisy of the so-called progressive movement that somehow can’t tolerate ideas that disagree with their own, meanwhile claiming to be open to everything,” he added. “It’s just bizarre to me.”

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Powell filed the lawsuit last Wednesday – claiming he “tried everything to avoid” it – where it’s alleged that he and the unit seller inked a nearly $15.5 million deal for the sale of the unit in September and entered escrow before the co-op board learned of his identity and their “demeanor changed.”

Kraken Chairman and co-founder Jesse Powell tells Fox News Digital that he’s “exhausted” after alleged housing discrimination and “the hypocrisy of the so-called progressive movement.” (Getty Images)

Powell holds protected status under California’s Fair Employment Housing Act (FEHA) and the Unruh Act, due to his source of income and criminal history. FBI agents had searched Powell’s Los Angeles home in July 2023 over hacking and cyberstalking allegations, but he was never charged with any crime in connection to the search and seizure.

“The final attempt that I made was to send each shareholder a personal letter explaining why I think I would be a good neighbor, asking to have a conversation with them. And the response we got back from that was, ‘We consider the matter to be closed,’ from their attorney,” Powell explained. “And so that, to me, was the end of the road of trying to resolve this amicably. And I had no other choice but to file a lawsuit at that point.”

In a co-op building, buyers invest in shares of a housing cooperative as opposed to owning a property. When Powell’s offer reached the shareholders for final approval, the lawsuit says the board “schemed to discriminate against Mr. Powell by refusing to approve the sale,” and “the Corporation never gave Mr. Powell a straight answer for its denial, instead offering only obfuscation and shifting pretexts for hindering.”

This specific 12-unit property is colloquially known as “Susie’s Building,” named after businesswoman and longtime Democratic donor Susie Tompkins Buell.

“Whether our political differences might have sort of tinged their opinion or willingness to have an open mind about those things, maybe. But, the building is packed with Democrats,” Powell noted. “It’s obviously known for [and] has a reputation of being this sort of mecca of Democratic Party fundraisers where the who’s who of the party go floor to floor collecting checks.”

“I’m not a Democrat, but I’m not a Republican either. I vote the issues. I consider each candidate independently. I look at the public policy implications of things. And so, I just happen to be, I think, more aligned with sort of right-coded causes over the last four years as the Biden administration had attacked our industry,” the Kraken co-founder continued.

When going through the shareholder approval process, Powell understood that an agreement between him and the sellers was not the end of the purchase. Bylaws required the sale to be submitted to the building’s non-selling shareholders.

Powell’s application was initially denied in October, when no reason was reportedly listed for the denial. Upon pressing for an answer, the building’s property manager claimed there were “a number of concerns” deemed “unresolvable.”

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell on doubling down on anti-woke culture in the work place and the impact its has on his employees.

Days later, the lawsuit alleges, the 2500 Steiner Street board told Powell that the denial was a matter of finances, which his attorneys argued were “far from ‘unresolvable.’” He provided necessary documentation, and requested a meeting with the board as typical in co-op transactions, but “no such meeting happened” before the shareholders delivered their final decision in November.

TRUMP INAUGURATION DRAWS BIG CRYPTO DONATIONS

“The shareholders knew who the seller was all along. They received the entire package of materials, including the transfer agreement… They knowingly, to the lieutenant governor of California, were willing to block her from selling her unit that she’s been trying to sell, from my understanding, for over a year, quietly and off the market,” Powell said.

“Obviously, she didn’t want coverage of this. And they sort of forced her into a position of now being in the media about this transaction. And so, you have to wonder if there’s some bad blood there – why is she getting out of the building? If she’s leaving San Francisco, why is she leaving San Francisco? That’s probably a larger question.”

Cleo Capital managing director Sarah Kunst discusses Silicon Valley’s embrace of President Donald Trump on ‘Making Money.’

Representatives for the 2500 Steiner Street corporation did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Lt. Gov. Kounalakis’ office also did not respond to Fox Digital’s request for comment.

Though Powell has no formal attachment to the Democrat or Republican Parties, he did donate $1 million to President Donald Trump’s campaign in June and has recently “supported nationally popular conservative causes,” the lawsuit says. He co-founded Kraken in 2011 and stepped down as CEO in April 2023, but remains as chairman and a large shareholder.

He argues that preventing this real estate deal is “very bad for San Francisco,” perpetuating a city housing supply shortage, keeping millions of dollars from entering the local economy and hindering other successful entrepreneurs from moving there.

“This has far-reaching implications. It’s not just about this one unit in the city preventing somebody from moving from one city to another city… I think we need to look at the rules around co-ops, and maybe we need some new law that says you can’t discriminate against anybody for any reason other than financial qualifications when it comes to housing. No matter how much you like them, no matter how much you don’t like them, no matter whether you think they’re going to be a good neighbor or not. If they’re financially qualified, you got to let them in.”

When asked why he has no desire to find another property, Powell replied that 2500 Steiner Street’s “amazing” views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island and its location convinced him to move back to San Francisco after leaving for Los Angeles in 2018.

“I guess I just sort of became emotionally attached to it. And me going to another unit doesn’t really solve the housing problem. It’s still one less unit that’s on the market,” he said. “I’m happy to live in a neighborhood with people with different ideas, happy to live in a building with people with different ideas… I take care of my neighbors and I want to make San Francisco a better place. And I don’t think ruffling a few feathers, people being uncomfortable, people not wanting to see me as they pass me in the lobby… is a reason to block somebody from having an apartment. I think it’s extremely selfish.”

Jesse Powell reacts to Bitcoin’s surge in the markets after brief dip below $30K.

The Kraken co-founder isn’t interested in playing a part in the California exodus either, though people have suggested he move to places like Austin, Texas, or Miami, Florida. He stood firm in that he hopes to “make a difference” in his longtime home state “rather than flee.”

A court date has been set for July 9 in California’s superior court to hear opening arguments of the case. Powell and his attorneys are asking the judge to move the unit sale forward and award declaratory relief for compensatory damages, punitive damages and legal fees and costs.

“We may get to some sort of settlement before that happens. If this ultimately goes to trial, a jury will have to decide on whether there was unlawful discrimination or not,” Powell said. “There are a few avenues we can discuss in settlement if they’re interested in settlement. But, I’m really focused on just being able to move into that unit. And that’s really the most satisfying outcome to me.”

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O’Leary Ventures chairman Kevin O’Leary reacts to California Senate candidates’ efforts to raise the minimum wage to as high as $50 on ‘Varney & Co.’

“San Francisco’s obviously welcoming of a wide variety of people from all walks of life who have very different ideas about how to live and what their identities are. In fact, San Francisco is a sanctuary city… And so you would think that the people that live in this building, who were largely Democrats and donate to these causes of diversity and inclusion, would be open to somebody with a diverse job or a diverse opinion about politics or even cryptocurrency. As you know, the cryptocurrency industry has faced significant debanking. And so we are used to being discriminated against on the basis of our industry and the work that we do. And it feels like this is yet another example of being discriminated against on the basis of the work that I do.”

“I think the city has a lot of work to do to bring back businesses, to revitalize downtown. And it’s not going to get very far if people like me continue to be discriminated against when they’re looking for housing to return to San Francisco,” he concluded.

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February 10, 2025
Court strikes down Biden-era rule push to make car pricing more transparent

Erin Witte, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America, on why the FTC was fighting for the CARS rule.

A federal appellate court vacated a rule last week that advocates argue would have made the car-buying process more transparent and saved consumers billions.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down the Combating Auto Retail Scams Trade Regulation – or CARS – rule before it could go into effect, arguing that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) failed to follow its own internal process.

The rule was aimed at fighting two common types of illegal tactics consumers face when buying a car, such as bait-and-switch tactics and hidden junk fees. But it also included provisions specifically protecting military members and their families from deceptive dealers falsely claiming military affiliation, along with addressing other issues unique to service members.

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The FTC estimated in a report that the rule would save consumers more than $3.4 billion and cut down on the time it takes to buy a car by 72 million hours each year. Critics such as the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) – an American trade organization representing nearly 16,500 franchised dealers, and the Texas Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) – said the FTC’s research was “rushed” and “poorly researched.”

A used vehicle for sale at a dealership in Richmond, California, on Feb. 21, 2023. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

A slew of changes would have taken effect if the rule had been implemented, including requiring car dealers to disclose the price of the car along with all mandatory fees up front every time they advertise the vehicle, according to Erin Witte, director of Consumer Protection for the Consumer Federation of America.

The FTC, which was granted authority to regulate unfair or deceptive practices by motor vehicle dealers under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, “discovered that throughout the process of buying a car, it is frequently riddled with deception and unfair practices” said Witte.

The price consumers see is “almost never” the price that they pay at the end of the day, said Witte, adding that it’s “remarkably common” for a dealership to tell consumers that they can’t tell them a price over the phone, and they should come in person to discuss what kind of deal they can offer.

Witte said it’s done intentionally to squeeze more out of consumers and that the tactics also rip customers away from “honest car dealers.”

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“Not every car dealer wants to gouge people,” she said. “There are lots of car dealers that want to honestly advertise the price of their car, but they lose out if someone’s advertising the same car for a cheaper price. But they can track someone on their lot for four hours and then jack up the price because they’re there.”

Vehicles for sale at a Chrysler dealership in Richmond, California, on Feb. 21, 2023. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

New Jersey car dealership owner Tom Maoli told FOX Business that he was an advocate for the CARS rule because it would have increased consumer confidence in buying cars from franchise car dealerships. Historically, they have “bad view of how they are treated at car dealerships across the country,” said Maoli, whose company Celebrity Motor Car Company runs six dealerships.

Conversely, NADA and TADA argued that the new rule would have “added massive amounts of time, complexity, paperwork and cost to the car-buying and car-shopping experience for virtually every customer.” The industry groups also said it “would have been a nightmare for consumers and dealers alike.”

NADA said consumers would have spent an additional 60 to 80 minutes at the dealership for every transaction, and would have been subject to having to complete at least five new, untested forms during both the shopping and the purchasing process. This “would have driven up costs for vehicle purchases and, beyond that, would have cost consumers $1.3 billion a year collectively in lost time,” the trade group said in a statement to FOX Business.

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The court didn’t take sides for or against the rule. Instead, it ruled that the FTC skipped an important part of the notice-and-comment process called the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). In this initial step, the agency formally requests public input on a proposed regulation. It argued the FTC should have stated that it was considering issuing a rule about car dealers and these practices and left a discussion open for public feedback.

Instead, the FTC started at the second phase, called Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), where they outline their plan to change a rule and then open it up for public comment before finalizing it.

Used vehicles for sale at a dealership in Colma, California, on Feb. 21, 2023. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

Witte argued that the FTC should have been allowed to skip this step since it was given the authority to fast track rulemaking for motor vehicle dealers.

“It also is frankly ridiculous to think that the FTC didn’t do their homework on this to understand the impact of the rule,” Witte said. “This was a decade in the making. The FTC relied on many, many enforcement actions, conversations with car dealers, with NADA, with consumer advocates and with actual consumers. They paid attention to what people were actually telling them about their experiences.”

The FTC has to start this process over again if it wants to finalize the rule. It remains to be seen if that will occur, Witte said.

February 10, 2025
Starbucks offering free post-Super Bowl coffee

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol says the company’s app needs to be more transparent on pricing.

Starbucks is offering members of its loyalty program free coffee on Monday, the day after the Super Bowl.

Starbucks Rewards members in the U.S. on Monday will be eligible for a free tall hot or iced-brewed coffee at any point throughout the day. They will be limited to one drink.

Customers who are a Starbucks Rewards member will already have a coupon in the Starbucks app that they can apply for when they place a mobile order. Customers can also redeem their Starbucks Monday coupon when ordering in the store or in the drive-thru.

Anyone who joins the program on Monday can also redeem the coupon in-store.

The company advertised the move as a way to help its customers get through the “long Monday” after the Super Bowl. It is also seen as a way to convince more consumers to join its free loyalty program, which has been growing in back-to-back quarters. In its January earnings call, the company announced that Starbucks Rewards membership and spending grew quarter over quarter and year over year. It also saw growth among non-Starbucks Rewards customer traffic quarter over quarter.

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A Starbucks barista working at a store in January 2025. (Joshua Trujillo, Starbucks)

The growth in traffic comes as the company rolls out a series of new initiatives under CEO Brian Niccol, who took over in September 2024, to reverse the company’s sales slump and return it to its traditional coffee house roots.

STARBUCKS CEO SAYS BETTER PRICING TRANSPARENCY NECESSARY FOR MOBILE APP

Last month, the company’s condiment bars – which were removed during the COVID-19 pandemic – returned to Starbucks locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, offering customers the ability to add their own creamer, milk and sweeteners.

A barista pours steamed milk into a beverage cup at a Starbucks Corp. cafe. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Baristas also began to put “any” drinks ordered “for here” in coffee mugs, glasses or a customer’s personal cup. The company also brought back free refills of hot brewed or iced coffee, or hot or iced tea for dine-in customers during the same visit.

The coffee giant also stopped charging customers for soy milk, oat milk, almond milk and coconut milk at company-owned and operated locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %

SBUX STARBUCKS CORP. 112.20 +0.50 +0.45%

Niccol, who had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the complexity of the company’s menu, also announced last month that the company would be cutting 30% of its food and beverage offerings. However, the company still plans “to lead this market with breakthrough beverage and food innovation,” and is offering limited-time drinks for Valentine’s Day.

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Niccol previously detailed other changes the company is looking to make, such as “fully” introducing digital menu boards at U.S. company-owned stores over the next year-and-a-half to “make our offerings more easily understood and to better show customization add-ons.”

February 10, 2025
Open AI CEO Sam Altman predicts artificial intelligence will lower prices

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anduril Industries co-founder and CEO Brian Schimpf discuss the future of A.I. and the ethical use of technology on ‘Making Money.’

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts that artificial general intelligence will lead to lower costs for many goods, but has also warned that AI could be leveraged by authoritarian governments aiming to control people.

OpenAI is the company behind the popular AI model ChatGPT.

Altman explained in a blog post that AGI generally refers to “a system that can tackle increasingly complex problems, at human level, in many fields.” He noted that systems “are coming into view” which begin “to point to AGI.”

OPENAI ANNOUNCES US NATIONAL LABORATORIES PARTNERSHIP, PLANS TO SUPPORT WORK ON NUCLEAR SECURITY AND MORE

Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, speaks during a panel discussion titled “The Age of AI” at the Technical University of Berlin on Feb. 7, 2025, in Berlin, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

“Although some industries will change very little, scientific progress will likely be much faster than it is today; this impact of AGI may surpass everything else,” he noted.

Altman suggested that while prices for many goods will decrease, some things, such as land, could see significant price increases.

“The price of many goods will eventually fall dramatically (right now, the cost of intelligence and the cost of energy constrain a lot of things), and the price of luxury goods and a few inherently limited resources like land may rise even more dramatically,” he wrote.

While Altman predicted that AI will permeate society, he also warned that the power of AI could be harnessed by authoritarian governments.

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OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar discusses the company’s partnership with SoftBank, consumers embracing artificial intelligence, OpenAI’s ‘deep research’ tool and DeepSeek’s impact in the space.

“AI will seep into all areas of the economy and society; we will expect everything to be smart. Many of us expect to need to give people more control over the technology than we have historically, including open-sourcing more, and accept that there is a balance between safety and individual empowerment that will require trade-offs,” he wrote.

“While we never want to be reckless and there will likely be some major decisions and limitations related to AGI safety that will be unpopular, directionally, as we get closer to achieving AGI, we believe that trending more towards individual empowerment is important; the other likely path we can see is AI being used by authoritarian governments to control their population through mass surveillance and loss of autonomy.”

It is important to make certain that “the benefits of AGI are broadly distributed,” Altman asserted.

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Arm CEO Rene Haas discusses Big Tech pledging billions for AI on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

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He suggested that “the balance of power between capital and labor could easily get messed up, and this may require early intervention. We are open to strange-sounding ideas like giving some ‘compute budget’ to enable everyone on Earth to use a lot of AI, but we can also see a lot of ways where just relentlessly driving the cost of intelligence as low as possible has the desired effect.”

February 10, 2025
Hyatt to acquire Playa Hotels

Jack Otter and the ‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panelists discuss the top three tips investors should be considering heading into next week.

Hyatt Hotels will buy Playa Hotels & Resorts for about $2.6 billion including debt, net of cash, the company said on Monday, seeking to boost its presence in Mexico and the Caribbean.

The acquisition follows rising interest in upscale and luxury offerings outside the U.S. as more Americans take advantage of a stronger dollar.

Playa runs 24 high-end, all-inclusive resorts across Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

Hyatt, which owns a 9.4% stake in Playa, expects the deal to close later this year. (Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Hyatt has offered $13.50 per Playa share held, representing a 40.5% premium to its last close on December 20, before the companies announced deal talks. Playa’s shares were up 2% in premarket trading on Monday.

Hyatt, which owns a 9.4% stake in Playa, expects the deal to close later this year.

It said it would identify third-party buyers for Playa’s owned properties and expects to gain at least $2 billion from the sale of assets by 2027.

This is part of Hyatt’s asset-light business model, where the operator prefers not to own physical properties but to manage or franchise them.

February 10, 2025
Florida Senator Rick Scott says Trump won because of Democrats’ ‘foolish decisions’

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., discusses how Democrats are outraged over Elon Musk and DOGE’s budget cuts on ‘The Bottom Line.’

Republican Senator Rick Scott credited the Democrats’ “foolish decisions” with propelling President Donald Trump back into the White House.

“The Democrats are in the stages of a loss. They’re either in the grief stage or the anger stage, but they don’t understand that Donald Trump won the presidency, and part of the reason he won is all the Democrats’ foolish decisions,” the Florida Republican told Fox News’ “The Bottom Line.”

Scott went on to say that Trump won on a pledge to make government accountable and transparent, and he claimed that the president and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chair Elon Musk are fulfilling that promise.

The senator said Democrats were frustrated by Trump and Musk’s efforts to reform the government.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott praised Elon Musk’s management of DOGE.

ELON MUSK SLAMS ‘MEAN’ PODCAST HOSTS FOR CALLING DOGE EMPLOYEES ‘ARROGANT LITTLE PR—S’ AMONG OTHER THINGS

Musk announced a series of “super obvious” changes that the US treasury and DOGE jointly agreed to on Saturday. Among them was requiring the treasury to add a “payment authorization code” and rationale to all outgoing payments and strengthening implementation of the DO-NOT-PAY list to ensure federal funds aren’t going to terrorist fronts and other fraudsters.

President Donald Trump predicted that Musk is likely to find hundreds of billions of dollars in “fraud and abuse” once DOGE sets its sights on The Department of Education and Pentagon, in a pre-Superbowl interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier.

President Trump predicted that Musk will find hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud and abuse. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“The amount of waste is staggering,” Sen. Scott said.

DEMOCRATIC AGS FROM 19 STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER DOGE ACCESS TO SENSITIVE, PERSONAL DATA AT TREASURY

“Elon Musk is doing a great job, Donald Trump is doing a great job, and the Democrats cannot believe that all their failure, all their fraud and all their waste is being exposed, and it’s going away.”

Elon Musk announced a series of “super obvious” changes the treasury and DOGE jointly agreed to. (om Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)

When asked if there were any Democrats willing to work with the GOP on reducing waste and fraud in federal spending, Scott said “there weren’t many.”

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“It’s nice that people will say some nice things, but they gotta vote with us,” the senator said.

February 10, 2025
Disney drops woke program from their DEI section in latest SEC filing

MDB Capital president and chief marketing strategist Lou Basenese joins ‘Cavuto: Coast to Coast’ to discuss Disney’s recent turnaround.

The Walt Disney Company appears to be scaling back its DEI initiatives according to its latest SEC filing – and activist investors are pushing the entertainment conglomerate to go even further.

Disney dropped its “Reimagine Tomorrow” program from their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion section of its 2024 SEC 10-K report. The program was mentioned in the 2023 report, which defines the program as “the Company’s digital destination for amplifying underrepresented voices and features some of Disney’s DE&I commitments and actions.” The program hosted a controversial 2022 leaked “all-hands” meeting in which a Disney executive touting her “not at all secret gay agenda.”

“On my little pocket of Proud Family Disney TVA, the showrunners were super welcoming… our leadership over there has been super welcoming to my not-at-all-secret gay agenda… they’re going hard… I don’t have to be afraid to have these two characters kiss in the background. I was just, wherever I could, adding queerness,” executive producer Latoya Raveneau said at the time.

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Disney appears to be backing away from woke policies (Fox News Digital / Fox News)

Disney’s “Reimagine Tomorrow” webpage, which is still active, says its mission is “amplifying underrepresented voices and untold stories as well as championing the importance of accurate representation in media and entertainment.”

The page also lists racial and gender breakdowns of their content and workforce as of 2021 and boasts of their Business Employee Research Groups which represent employees from different ethnic backgrounds.

“The Walt Disney Company Has Established Business Employee Resource Groups Across 10 Dimensions: Asian/ Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander, Black/ African American Disabilities Hispanic/ Latin X Jewish, LGBTQ+, Multicultural, Native American/ Indigenous Veterans/ Military, Women,” the website boasts.

“Disney dropping [Reimagine Tomorrow] from their DEI section could mean they’re walking back their DEI investments, or it could signal they’re hiding them,” Stefan Padfield, director of the Free Enterprise Project for the National Center for Public Policy Research, told Fox News Digital. “Either they recognize that more litigation is coming, or it could be part of a vibe shift.”

Target was recently hit with a lawsuit related to its DEI initiatives as shareholders contend the retailer failed to be transparent about the risks posed by their DEI policies and Pride displays.

“Where is your data that shows DEI serves the bottom line?” Padfield asked of companies that still employ DEI measures.

“The concern about the scrutiny about these questions is built into this movement we’re seeing across companies. The Trump administration announced they’ll investigate nine companies for their DEI practices, and you’re seeing corporations scramble to not be among those nine,” he said.

By scaling back its DEI section in its SEC filing, Disney joins a growing trend of companies from Meta to John Deere that have rolled back or eliminated their DEI initiatives.

The movie, cruise and theme park behemoth has also dropped its “The Disney Look” appearance guidelines from their DEI section in their 2024 SEC filing. The 2023 SEC filing states that the guidelines were “updated to cultivate a more inclusive environment that encourages and celebrates authentic expressions of belonging among employees.”

Disney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

DISNEY ACCUSED OF MISLEADING SHAREHOLDERS WITH ‘WOKE POLITICAL AGENDA’

Disney has removed its “Reimagine Tomorrow” section from its recent SEC filing. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The moves come as Disney reportedly lost 700,000 users on its Disney+ streaming platform in the final quarter of 2024. The entertainment conglomerate has faced backlash for, what some call, its “woke political agenda.” The corporation was sued by America First Legal in March 2024 for allegedly doing “damage to Disney’s brand, properties, and commercial reputation by management’s manufactured misalignment between its woke political and social agenda and the vast majority of the Company’s customers.”

Disney’s move to distance itself from the woke initiative comes as activist investors are pressuring the company to drop its participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index.

The HRC releases a yearly survey which grades corporations on their compliance with a litany of LGBTQ initiatives, among them “Equal health coverage for transgender individuals without exclusion for medically necessary care” and “Integration of gender identity and sexual orientation in professional development, skills-based or other leadership training that includes elements of diversity and/or cultural competency.” Disney has had a perfect score on the Equality Index every year since 2007.

‘CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD’ STAR SAYS THE CHARACTER SHOULD NOT REPRESENT AMERICA

LGBTQ employees and their supporters walkout of Disney Animation protesting CEO Bob Chapek’s handling of legislation in Florida in 2022. ((Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

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Padfield is attempting to get Disney to drop its participation in the survey. Padfield contends that HRC increases its requirements to achieve a perfect score on each successive evaluation, new indexes are released annually, and meeting these requirements could force companies to pursue policies that are bad for business.

“There’s a number of items in the index that in order to get the perfect score really start pushing corporations out on a radical edge,” Padfield told Fox News Digital. “It’s essentially built to work like ratchet… a lot of people’s perceptions is that these companies are just moved further and further left in terms of this radicalism.”

February 10, 2025
Trump to announce 25% steel, aluminum tariffs Monday

MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian says Donald Trump is a ‘great’ president while expressing some concerns over tariffs on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

President Donald Trump plans to announce 25% tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports into the U.S. early this week.

Trump, who told reporters on Air Force One about his plans on Sunday afternoon, is expected to announce the new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Monday. Trump also plans to announce “reciprocal tariffs” – or tariffs directed at countries that impose duties on U.S. exports – on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The newest tariffs echo the 25% steel tariffs and 10% aluminum tariffs that his first administration imposed in 2018. At the time, the U.S. was the biggest importer of steel, while China was the largest exporter of steel.

Likewise, the U.S. is still one of the largest importers of aluminum, along with Germany and China.

PALANTIR CEO TOUTS ELON MUSK’S DOGE, ABILITY TO HOLD ‘SACRED COW OF THE DEEP STATE’ ACCOUNTABLE

President Donald Trump said he will announce 25% tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports on Monday. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

On Feb. 1, Trump introduced the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which includes 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. The tariffs have received mixed reactions from consumers and negative pushback from foreign leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

MEXICO AGREES TO DEPLOY 10,000 TROOPS TO US BORDER IN EXCHANGE FOR TARIFF PAUSE

“We need to protect Americans, and it is my duty as President to ensure the safety of all,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Feb. 1. “I made a promise on my Campaign to stop the flood of illegal aliens and drugs from pouring across our Borders, and Americans overwhelmingly voted in favor of it.”

In a White House fact sheet, officials said that the purpose of the IEEPA was to help stop “illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country.” Last week, the CEO of the largest steel producer in the U.S. endorsed the IEEPA tariffs.

In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Nucor Corp chair, president and CEO Leon J. Topalian wrote that he “applauds the first steps taken by President Trump in his America First Trade Agenda.”

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Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary, left, speaks during an executive order signing ceremony with President Donald Trump, center, and Howard Lutnick, chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald LP and US commerce secretary nominee, in the Oval Office (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We look forward to working with President Trump to enforce our trade laws and strengthen American manufacturing!” the statement added.

FOX Business’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.

February 9, 2025