Khalid Al-Falih, minister of investment of Saudi Arabia, on boosting non-oil investments, Middle Eastern conflict and President Donald Trump’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump the kingdom plans to sink $600 billion into new investments and trade with the U.S. over the next four years, according to reports.
The Saudi State news agency reported that, during a phone call between the two leaders, bin Salman said expected reforms from the Trump administration could create “unprecedented economic prosperity.”
The agency also said Saudi Arabia would like to capitalize on these conditions, though it did not say where the $600 billion would come from, how it would be deployed and if it would be public or private spending.
Bin Salman told Trump the investment “could increase further if additional opportunities arise,” the report noted.
TRUMP SPOTTED SITTING WITH HEAD OF SAUDI ARABIA’S PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND AT UFC FIGHT
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shakes hands with President Donald Trump at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (Reuters/File photo / Reuters Photos)
During his first term, President Trump built close ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. In fact, Saudi Arabia invested $2 billion in a firm created by Trump’s son-in-law and former aide, Jared Kushner, after Trump had left office.
During his inauguration Monday, Trump said he would consider making Saudi Arabia his first destination for a foreign visit if the capital city of Riyadh agreed to purchase $500 billion in American products.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin presents a gift made of a mammoth tusk to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, looks on in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 14, 2019. (Reuters/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
“I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to bury $450 billion worth of our product,” Trump said in reference to his 2017 visit to the country. “I said, ‘I’ll do it, but you have to buy American product,’ and they agreed to that.”
After winning his way back to the Oval Office in November, Trump and several others attended a UFC fight at Madison Square Garden.
Those in attendance with Trump included Elon Musk, Kid Rock, RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
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The PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, which is controlled by bin Salman and governed by Al-Rumayyan.
According to Reuters, the PIF was estimated to have about $925 billion in assets in July.
The Miami Heat’s rollercoaster saga with All-Star Jimmy Butler continues, as they are reportedly suspending him two games for missing a team flight for a road trip, per ESPN.
The Heat were heading to Milwaukee on Wednesday for their nationally televised game against the Bucks on Thursday night, but Butler was not on the flight.
ESPN adds that Butler intended on making his way to Milwaukee another way, but the Heat are expected to suspend him for the road trip, which includes a Saturday game against the Brooklyn Nets as well.
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Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat prepares to shoot a free throw against the Washington Wizards on February 2, 2024 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. (Kenny Giarla/NBAE via Getty Images)
This is the second in-house suspension for Butler this season, which only adds to the turmoil that was highlighted by him requesting a trade a few weeks ago.
Butler also served a seven-game suspension for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team,” though he remains a member of the Heat.
JIMMY BUTLER PLAYS IN SUNS-THEMED SNEAKERS HOURS AFTER PHOENIX ACQUIRES TRADE ASSETS
Butler continues to play, but he noted over the weekend that the “whole truth will come out” after making his trade request.
“Sooner or later, the whole truth will come out, but until then, we’ll continue to let people talk. And if I’m here, I will get out there to play,” Butler told the media after playing in the team’s loss to the Denver Nuggets at home.
Bulter also seemed to be frustrated with the reports that said his relationship with Miami players and the front office were tense.
“I expect for people to talk,” Butler said. “Half the reason is because don’t nobody ever know what I’m really doing, so you just make up stuff, which is fine. And, honestly, I really don’t pay any attention to it. But I’ve got people telling me, ‘Oh they said this. They said that.’ So, I guess it’s really all good. I don’t have to clear anything up.
“So more power to you. Keep talking, and we’ll see where we end up.”
Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat reacts against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on February 2, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the 35-year-old sparked some social media controversy as he was spotted wearing Phoenix Suns-themed sneakers on Tuesday night, with many believing it was done purposefully as his desired trade destination.
It also came just hours after the Suns acquired three future first-round picks from the Utah Jazz in exchange for another first-round pick.
Phoenix could use another star, as the Kevin Durant-Devin Booker-led roster is only 21-21 this season.
Heat president Pat Riley said back in December, “We are not trading Jimmy Butler.” However, the team’s stance changed after that seven-game suspension.
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) walks off the court after the game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. (Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images)
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The Heat said they would “listen to offers” on Butler after announcing his suspension.
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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a memo to its civil rights division, ordering a freeze to all ongoing litigation originating from the Biden administration and halting the pursuit of any new cases or settlements, according to reports.
The Washington Post first reported that a memo sent to Kathleen Wolfe, the temporary head of the division appointed by the Trump administration, instructed her to make sure attorneys do not file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, agree-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest.”
As to how long the freeze will last, the memo does not say, though it practically ceases the division until President Donald Trump’s nomination to lead the department, Harmeet Dhillon, is confirmed by the Senate.
The publication also reported the freeze was “consistent with the Department’s goal of ensuring that the Federal Government speaks with one voice in its view of the law and to ensure that the President’s appointees or designees have the opportunity to decide whether to initiate any new cases.”
DOJ RACING THE CLOCK TO ENSHRINE ‘WOKE’ POLICING RULES, LAWYER SAYS, AS JUDGE HEARS BREONNA TAYLOR REFORM CASE
The Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.(Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A source familiar with the memo confirmed its contents to Fox News.
The DOJ had no comment on the matter.
Wolfe was also told in another memo that the division must tell the chief of staff of the DOJ about any consent decrees finalized by the division over the past 90 days.
WATCHDOG SEEKS HALT TO 11TH HOUR BIDEN DOJ EFFORT TO ‘HANDCUFF’ KY POLICE OVER BREONNA TAYLOR INCIDENT
President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump(Getty Images)
Earlier this month, a Kentucky judge declined to immediately sign a police reform consent decree forged by the DOJ and the city of Louisville during a hearing one courtroom participant described as a hasty attempt by the Biden administration to hamstring incoming President Trump.
But federal Judge Benjamin Beaton refused to be a “rubber stamp” for a 240-page reform plan prompted by the 2020 police-involved shooting of Breonna Taylor, according to Oversight Project counsel Kyle Brosnan.
Taylor was killed in a hail of police gunfire after Louisville officers sought to serve a drug warrant at her boyfriend Kenneth Walker’s house. Walker fired a “warning shot” through the door and struck Officer Jonathan Mattingly in the leg.
PROPOSED CHICAGO POLICE RESOURCE CUTS COULD LAND CITY IN COURT UNDER CONSENT DECREE, OFFICIALS WARN
A photo of Breonna Taylor shared at the 2022 Defend Black Women March in Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Frontline Action Hub)
A consent decree, Brosnan noted, is different from other legal agreements in that it cannot simply be reversed by presidential order or a change of heart by one of the parties involved.
The consent decree alleged a pattern or practice of racial bias in Louisville policing, including in traffic stops, sexual assault probes or use of force.
There are at least two other police reform consent decrees going through the legal process, one in Maryland and one in Minnesota.
On Jan. 6, the DOJ reached an agreement with Minneapolis, which still requires court approval, to reform the department’s “unconstitutional and unlawful practices” allegedly counter to the Americans With Disabilities Act and 14th Amendment.
In October 2024, the feds sued the Maryland Department of State Police alleging Civil Rights Act violations.
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“The United States claims MDSP violated Title VII when it used a certain physical fitness test and a certain written test to hire entry-level Troopers because the tests disqualified more female and African-American applicants than others and were not job related,” a court document states.
Maryland police dispute the allegations.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.
Germany’s ambassador to the U.S. has warned that President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will “undermine” democratic principles with a “maximum disruption” agenda, according to a report.
Reuters reported that it viewed a confidential briefing document signed by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis that describes the incoming Trump agenda as “a redefinition of the constitutional order – maximum concentration of power with the president at the expense of Congress and the federal states.”
“Basic democratic principles and checks and balances will be largely undermined, the legislature, law enforcement and media will be robbed of their independence and misused as a political arm, Big Tech will be given co-governing power,” reads the document, which was dated Jan. 14.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment but did not immediately hear back.
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President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago, on Jan. 9, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Michaelis said recent actions by Trump and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk could lead to a “redefinition of the First Amendment.”
“One is using lawsuits, threatening criminal prosecution and license revocation, the other is having algorithms manipulated and accounts blocked,” the document reads, per Reuters.
Musk supported Trump throughout the election, and was tapped by the president-elect to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency.
GERMANY ACCUSES ELON MUSK OF TRYING TO INTERFERE IN ITS NATIONAL ELECTIONS
Last month, Germany accused Musk of attempting to interfere in the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections on behalf of the country’s far-right political party, German Alternative for Germany, citing recent social media posts and a weekend op-ed doubling down on his endorsement.
Meanwhile, Michaelis even claimed that Trump could force his agenda on states using broad legal options and that “even military deployment within the country for police activities would be possible in the event of declared ‘insurrection’ and ‘invasion’.”
The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, however, bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement unless Congress overrides the federal law.
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Despite what Michaelis says in the reported document, the German foreign ministry has acknowledged Trump won the democratic election and said it will “work closely with the new U.S. administration in the interests of Germany and Europe.”
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A U.S. startup company is reportedly offering wealthy couples the chance to screen their embryos for IQ and other favorable genetic traits, which has raised ethical concerns.
Heliospect Genomics is charging up to $50,000 to test 100 embryos and claims their technology can help couples undergoing IVF pick children with IQ scores six points higher or more over babies conceived naturally, The Guardian reports.
The company has already worked with more than a dozen couples, undercover video footage reviewed by the outlet reveals.
“Everyone can have all the children they want, and they can have children that are basically disease-free, smart, healthy; it’s going to be great,” CEO Michael Christensen said on a video call in November 2023, according to the report. The call was recorded by an undercover researcher for Hope Not Hate, an antifascist group that works to “expose and oppose far-right extremism.”
DESIGNER BABIES MAY BE ‘MORALLY’ ACCEPTABLE, UK ETHICS COUNCIL DECIDES
A microscopic view of a cryo solution during embryo prep in the IVF lab at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.(David L. Ryan/Boston Globe via Getty Images)
On the call, Heliospect employees reportedly walk prospective parents through the experimental genetic selection techniques advertised by the company. One employee explained how couples could use polygenic scoring to rank up to 100 embryos based on “IQ and the other naughty traits that everybody wants,” including sex, height, risk of obesity and risk of mental illness, according to The Guardian.
Heliospect says its prediction tools use data from UK Biobank, a publicly funded genetic repository with half a million British volunteers. The database permits approved researchers and scientists around the world to access it for “health-related research that is in the public interest.”
United Kingdom law prohibits parents from selecting embryos on the basis of predicted high IQ, but the practice is currently legal in the U.S., even if the technology is not yet commercially available.
Expert geneticists and bioethicists told The Guardian the prospect of selecting embryos for favorable genetic traits is ethically questionable since it could reinforce the idea of “superior” and “inferior” genetics. Hope Not Hate went further in its own reporting, tying a handful of Heliospect employees to people and publications that have purportedly promoted so-called scientific racism, or the contested belief that human races have innately different levels of physical, intellectual and moral development determined by their genetics.
TRUMP PLEDGES COVERAGE FOR IVF TREATMENT
U.S.-based startup Heliospect Genomics claims it can help parents screen embryos to predict higher intelligence and other desirable genetic traits.(iStock)
Katie Hasson, associate director of the Center for Genetics and Society in California, warned in comments to The Guardian that embryo selection technology could mainstream “the belief that inequality comes from biology rather than social causes.”
Heliospect Genomics did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Heliospect managers told The Guardian the U.S.-based company operates within the bounds of all applicable law and regulations. The company said it is currently in “stealth mode” and is still developing its services before a planned public launch. They added that couples who have screened fewer embryos were charged around $4,000 for the service.
On the calls recorded by Hope Not Hate, Heliospect’s team described how its “polygenic scoring” service uses algorithms to analyze the genetic data given by parents to predict the specific traits of their individual embryos. The company does not offer IVF services, according to The Guardian.
Christensen presented an ambitious vision for how the technology could develop, even suggesting that “lab-grown eggs would allow couples to create embryos on an industrial scale – a thousand, or even a million – from which an elite selection could be handpicked,” the report said.
According to The Guardian, he suggested that future technology might be able to screen for personality types, including what he referred to as “dark triad” traits, namely machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy.
AI BABIES: NEW TECHNOLOGY IS HELPING FERTILITY DOCS CHOOSE THE BEST EMBRYOS FOR IVF
Blood samples taken from volunteers are labeled and ready to be stored at the UK Biobank on April 17, 2007, in Manchester, England.(Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
“Beauty is something lots of people actually ask about,” he reportedly added.
Heliospect told The Guardian it does not condone industrial-scale egg or embryo production or elite selection and that it does not plan to offer personality screening services.
Among Heliospect’s senior staff is Jonathan Anomaly, a controversial academic who has defended so-called “liberal eugenics,” or the idea that parents should use genetic technology to enhance their children’s prospects.
Anomaly told The Guardian that as a professor of philosophy, he has published provocative articles intended to stimulate debate and that “liberal eugenics” was an accepted term by bioethicists.
Records show Heliospect gained access to UK Biobank’s data in June 2023. In its application, the company said it planned to use advanced techniques to improve the prediction of “complex traits.” But Heliospect did not disclose screening embryos as an intended commercial application or mention IQ, The Guardian reported.
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UK Biobank told the outlet Heliospect’s use of its data appeared to be “entirely consistent with our access conditions.”
Experts suggested to The Guardian that restrictions on access to databases like UK Biobank may need to be strengthened in light of the ethical concerns around embryo screening.
“UK Biobank, and the UK government, may want to think harder about whether it needs to impose some new restrictions,” said professor Hank Greely, a bioethicist at Stanford University.
Heliospect emphasized that its use of UK Biobank data is lawful and complies with relevant regulations. The company told The Guardian it supports addressing concerns about preimplantation embryonic screening through public education, policy discussions and properly informed debates about the technology, which it strongly believed had the potential to help people.
