Ariana Grande’s Style Evolution. While she’s experimented with fashion over the years, she’s also been candid about the scrutiny she’s faced being in the public eye since she was a teenager.
“I’ve been doing this in front of the public and been a specimen in a Petri dish since I was like 16 or 17,” Ariana explained in an interview with French influencer Crazy Sally in December. “It’s hard to protect yourself from that noise.”
That’s why she wasn’t afraid to clap back at those commenting about how she looked months earlier.
“There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful,” she shared in a TikTok video posted in April 2024. “The second thing is you never know what someone is going through, so even if you’re coming from a loving place or a caring place, that person probably is working on it or has a support system that they’re working on it with.”
While she’s saying thank u, next to her critics, keep reading to see how Ariana’s style has evolved over the years…
Government in talks with Labour MPs on welfare reforms, No 10 says. The government is in talks with Labour MPs about possible changes to its welfare policies, Downing Street has confirmed.
In a notable softening of tone, No 10 said that they “want” to go ahead with a scheduled vote on Tuesday, and admitted that getting the policy right was not easy.
It follows more than 120 Labour backbenchers signing an amendment calling for the proposals, aimed at reforming the welfare system, to be scrapped.
A No 10 source told the BBC: “Delivering fundamental change is not easy, and we all want to get it right, so of course we’re talking to colleagues about the bill and the changes it will bring. We want to start delivering this together on Tuesday.”
The source added: “The broken welfare system is failing the most vulnerable and holding too many people back. It’s fair and responsible to fix it. There is broad consensus across the party on this.”
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is understood to be involved in the discussions with rebels too.
Ministers have said the bill, which aims to save £5bn a year by 2030, is crucial to slow down the increase in the number of people claiming benefits.
However, some Labour MPs have criticised the proposals – arguing there has not been sufficient assessments of the impact of the measures.
Trade minister Douglas Alexander told the BBC he thought there was “common ground” between the government and the rebels.
“My sense is overwhelmingly Labour MPs want to get this legislation right,” he added.
“If there are improvements that can be made, let’s have the conversation”.
Six further Labour MPs backed the amendment overnight, bringing the total to 126 – around half those Labour MPs who do not hold a government role.
Later, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to call for a “fundamental rethink” of the welfare state in a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce.
She is expected to say “Britain needs real welfare reform if we’re to incentivise takers to become makers”.
“I was shocked to hear that the majority of new disability claims in this country are now for behavioural and mental health conditions like anxiety,” she is expected to add.
“Under my leadership, the Conservative Party will not shy away from confronting the tough questions that need answering and, more importantly, providing the solutions.”
Sir Keir Starmer said on Wednesday the party was “pretty united” when it came to the notion of reforming the welfare system.
However, rumbles of criticism began after the government’s own assessment into the planned changes, published in March, found they could push 250,000 people into relative poverty.
The prime minister said changes to welfare would be “tough going” but added that “the important thing is to focus on the change that we want to bring about”.
He said: “Are there plenty of people and noises off? Yes of course – there always are, there always have been, there always will be.”
Commons leader Lucy Powell has confirmed the initial vote on the welfare bill is still scheduled for Tuesday next week, with all its further stages in the Commons scheduled for Wednesday the following week.
The White House is scrambling to address growing questions about its military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, as President Trump and top officials insist the decision to bomb facilities has significantly set back Tehran’s nuclear efforts.
The Trump administration today will dispatch CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other officials to Capitol Hill to brief senators while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to hold a Pentagon news conference this morning “in order to fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots,” Trump said.
The president took a shot at media coverage of the Iran strikes while touting Hegseth’s appearance on Truth Social, promising it “will prove both interesting and irrefutable.”
▪ The Hill: Trump fights to hold on to narrative of Iran win
▪ The Hill: Questions around success of Iran strikes spark fears on Capitol Hill
Ahead of his Hill visit, Ratcliffe reinforced Trump’s statements that U.S. bunker-buster bombs dropped on multiple Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities effectively ended Tehran’s nuclear weapons program.
“New intelligence from an historically reliable and accurate source/method” found that “several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,” Ratcliffe said in a statement.
The CIA chief, a former member of Congress, is updating lawmakers after the administration postponed planned briefings Tuesday.
Trump said during a news conference in the Netherlands at the NATO Summit on Wednesday that Iran did not remove its near-weapons-grade uranium before the U.S. bombings. He said uranium is now buried beneath “granite, concrete and steel” under Iran’s blackened facilities.
“We think we hit them so hard and so fast, they didn’t get to move [it],” the president added. “We think we got it.”
Vice President Vance and Hegseth have also described the uranium as buried.
▪ The Hill: Trump, Hegseth scoff at Iran damage assessment; leak probe underway.
▪ The New York Times: Secretary of State Marco Rubio fleshes out Trump’s case that Iran’s nuclear capacity was eliminated.
As it escalates its public defense of the strikes, the administration says it will also impose new limits on intelligence sharing with Congress after the president lambasted media outlets that reported preliminary findings from a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) damage assessment.
Trump said information reported by news outlets was inconclusive and overtaken by additional intelligence, including from Israel.
Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), urged the administration to reconsider any information blackouts.
“The law requires the congressional intelligence committees to be kept fully and currently informed, and I expect the Intelligence Community to comply with the law,” Himes said.
Trump pointed to a statement from the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission that the strikes “rendered the enrichment facility inoperable.” The statement was distributed by the White House and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other parts of Iran’s military nuclear program, have set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years,” the statement said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera, “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure.”
Director of National Intelligence TulsiGabbard, recently rebuffed by Trump, said Wednesday that “new intelligence” confirmed the Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed.
The president said he doubts Iran would seek to rebuild its nuclear program, but if it tried, he suggested the regime would need years.
Trump also expressed confidence the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran can hold. “I think the war ended, actually, when we hit the various nuclear sites with planes,” he told reporters.
A majority of Americans, 56 percent, said they disapproved of the U.S. strikes in Iran, according to a CBS News/YouGov survey this week. The administration’s messaging has emphasized U.S. military prowess and assertions that Trump attained his goal to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon.
SMART TAKE with BLAKE BURMAN
The Trump administration is continuing to defend the success of Operation Midnight Hammer, which includes the CIA Director John Ratcliffe releasing a statement saying Iran’s nuclear program was set back years. I asked retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, NewsNation’s senior national security contributor, what he takes away from the satellite images of the Fordow nuclear facility.
“It’s severely damaged. We have to wait a number of days and maybe even weeks before we really understand what the [battle damage assessment] tells us,” Newton told me.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will be back before the cameras this morning, briefing the media at the Pentagon. President Trump turned the microphone over to Hegseth on Wednesday at his NATO press conference, and he must have liked what he saw.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new federal vaccine advisory panel will examine the cumulative effects of vaccines recommended from childhood into adolescence.
The Defense Department is setting up two more military buffer zones along the southwestern U.S. border with Mexico, bringing to four the number of areas where U.S. military personnel can temporarily detain migrants without legal status.
Leading the Day
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani’s stunning upset in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary is stoking Democrats’ battle over the future of their party. Mamdani shocked New York on Tuesday as votes poured in, showing him in a healthy position to defeat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Progressives argue Mamdani’s win is a sign of where the party needs to go if it wants to build winning coalitions that propel it to victory in next year’s midterms and beyond. But moderate Democrats say moving too far in that direction could put the party in jeopardy in areas of the country less friendly to the sort of progressive policies he has embraced.
“You can win if you build a coalition, and you show that you’re not just speaking to one part or one slice of voters — you’re speaking to a broader slice,” said Jenifer FernandezAncona, the co-founder and vice president of the Democratic strategy firm and donor network Way to Win. “And that enabled him to keep likely voters who were maybe on the fence, for him to win them over.”
Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) both congratulated Mamdani — but stopped short of endorsing their party’s likely nominee. The congressional leaders said they planned to meet with Mamdani but didn’t specify when.
Trump on Wednesday derided Mamdani as a “communist lunatic.” Right-wing influencers, meanwhile, reacted to Mamdani’s political upset with anti-Islam attacks.
▪ The Hill: Mamdani says his platform would be successful with candidates outside of NYC
▪ The Hill: Winners and losers from the New York City mayoral primary.
▪ The New York Times: In a postelection interview, Mamdani said he took some lessons from Trump’s focus on the cost of living.
▪ Politico: “Democratic leadership is way out of touch”: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Mamdani’s win.
MEGABILL IN DANGER: Republican senators are pushing back hard on hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts included in the Senate version of Trump’s budget reconciliation package, endangering Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-S.D.) plan for a vote as soon as Friday, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports.
Two Republicans are a hard “no” on the bill — Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) — while Bolton reports that a handful of other Republicans won’t say whether they’ll vote to begin debate on the package because they are concerned deep cuts in Medicaid spending could cause millions of Americans to lose their coverage and push scores of rural hospitals around the country into bankruptcy.
Others, including GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Josh Hawley (Mo.), are on the fence after the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday circulated a proposal to establish a $15 billion health care provider relief fund.
“I believe we need [a] $100 billion provider-relief fund. I don’t think that solves the entire problem. The Senate cuts in Medicaid are far deeper than the House cuts, and I think that’s problematic as well,” Collins said. “Obviously any money is helpful but not if it is not adequate. But I do not know for certain that that is where the Finance Committee has landed.”
While the Senate bill has some substantial differences from the version the House passed in May, extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts is a centerpiece of both. Republicans say the measures will boost growth, create jobs and won’t balloon the deficit. Economists, investors and tax experts are telling a different story.
“From a macroeconomic perspective, it probably has little effect,”Reuven Avi-Yonah, a professor of tax law at the University of Michigan, told The Hill’s Tobias Burns. “I’m always a bit skeptical of the growth potential resulting from tax cuts. And it increases the deficit significantly in a higher interest rate environment, and that’s not ideal.”
▪ The New York Times: Trump’s bill slashes the safety net that many Republican voters rely on.
▪ The Hill: House Republicans cleared their first funding bill for fiscal 2026 on Wednesday, approving more than $450 billion to fund the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction and other programs.
A SALTY COMPROMISE? Negotiators for the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap are down to the wire to strike a deal ahead of the GOP’s megabill deadline. Talks have seemingly remained stagnant in recent days as lawmakers try to resolve one of the numerous remaining issues by the end of the week.
After a high-stakes meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday, House Republicans in the SALT Caucus and a key GOP senator reported “progress” but no deal, leaving one of the thorniest issues in the party’s tax and spending bill unresolved.
“Everybody wants a deal, everybody wants to get to yes, everybody wants to put the nation on a better track,” said Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), a key member of the SALT Caucus. “But it does seem like the Senate and the House right now are far apart.”
▪ NOTUS: SALT negotiations are a question of which chamber will cave first.
▪ The Hill: White House budget chief Russell Vought faced bipartisan heat while urging senators to pass the administration’s roughly $9 billion in proposed cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting funds.
CRYPTO: The White House is pushing the House to quickly get stablecoin legislation across the finish line with limited changes, stymieing efforts to tie the bill to a larger crypto framework and steeply curbing the lower chamber’s ability to put its stamp on the measure.
But the push to pass the stablecoin bill on its own cuts against efforts supported by some in the industry and Congress who worry that another key crypto bill — seeking to divvy up regulation of the broader crypto market — will lose momentum.
ELSEWHERE: Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to charges she assaulted and interfered with federal officials during a congressional oversight visit to a New Jersey detention center with two other lawmakers.
Meanwhile, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) said her offices were evacuated due to “imminent death threats against me, my unborn child, my family, and my staff,” which she said “erupted” following a news report about her ectopic pregnancy.
When and Where
The president will hold a 4 p.m. event in the East Room focused on the pending tax and spending legislation that embodies his agenda.
The House will meet at 10 a.m.
TheSenate will convene at 3:30 p.m.
The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1 p.m.
Zoom In
HOME STRETCH: The Supreme Court is wrapping up its biggest cases of the year, with potentially landmark opinions still to come on immigration, religion, pornography and health care. Decisions coming as soon as today will resolve whether Trump can enforce his changes to birthright citizenship.
The justices will also issue decisions to determine if health insurers have to cover certain medicines and services, like HIV-preventive medication and cholesterol-lowering drugs, and if parents can remove their elementary school children from class when storybooks with LGBTQ characters are being read.
The Supreme Court will confront the next frontiers of the legal battle surrounding transgender rights now that the justices have signed off on Tennessee’s youth transgender care ban. After the justices announce opinions from the bench, they’ll meet behind closed doors to discuss how to proceed with more than a half-dozen petitions concerning states’ transgender athlete bans, bathroom restrictions and prohibitions on gender-affirming surgeries in Medicaid plans.
▪ The Hill: The Supreme Court codified same-sex marriage 10 years ago. Is a backlash brewing?
▪ The Hill: A group of 21 Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit against the administration for cutting grants allegedly misaligned with agency goals.
▪ The Hill: The Trump administration has sued the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and all 15 of its judges over an order slowing down its speedy deportation efforts, a striking escalation in its battle with the judiciary.
▪ ProPublica: A new Trump plan gives the Department of Homeland Security and the White House greater influence in the fight against organized crime. Internal documents show that an overhaul would scale back prosecutors’ control over investigations.
MEDIA: Kari Lake, Trump’s top adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media and staunch critic of the mainstream press, testified Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about her vision for Voice of America (VOA). Lake has slashed VOA’s staff by hundreds and promised to transform the English-language broadcaster into an outlet that promotes Trump’s “America First” messaging around the world.
HIGHER ED: Colleges are waiting with bated breath after the president announced an upcoming deal with Harvard University, fearing concessions that could become a blueprint for what the administration demands of other schools. Some observers see no path forward that could both satisfy Trump and avoid compromising principles Harvard President Alan Garber promised to keep.
Elsewhere
DEFENSE SPENDING: NATO leaders on Wednesday agreed to a major defense spending increase while leaving room for some alliance countries, including Spain, Belgium and Slovakia, to not hit the new spending goals thanks to very particular wording.
“Allies commit to invest 5 percent of GDP annually on core defense requirements as well as defense- and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations,” the 32 leaders of the alliance said in a statement that pointedly did not specify “all allies” had committed to doing so.
Since his first term, Trump has pressured NATO countries to commit more of their annual gross domestic product (GDP) to military spending as the United States looks to shift its attention from security priorities in Europe to the Indo-Pacific and Middle East.
Trump on Wednesday slammed Spain during a press conference at the NATO Summit after the country said it could not meet the goal. The president said he would push for Spain to pay more through a trade deal.
“We’re going to make them pay twice as much,” he said. “And I’m actually serious about that… They want a little bit of a free ride, but they’ll have to pay it back to us on trade, because I’m not going to let that happen. It’s unfair… They’ll pay more money this way.”
▪ CNN: Inside the NATO charm offensive that shocked as much as it delivered.
▪ The Hill: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte sought to clarify an eyebrow-raising comment he made alongside Trump: He doesn’t consider the U.S. leader “daddy” and was making a reference in jest.
▪ NBC News: Trump’s unpredictability causes great anxiety in Europe, particularly his questioning of the mutual defense promise at the heart of the alliance.
UKRAINE: Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky“couldn’t have been nicer”during their one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit. Trump said at a press conference that the two leaders did not discuss details of a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war but stressed their shared desire to end the war swiftly.
Trump said he’d call Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to facilitate an end to the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Zelensky also gave a glowing review of what he described as a “long and substantive meeting with President Trump.”
▪ EuroNews: “It’s possible” Putin will invade more than Ukraine, Trump said.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: At NATO, Trump said Putin was the “more difficult” leader to convince of ending the war in Ukraine.
Opinion
How Trump turned popular athletes into his own pariahs, by Howard Bryant, guest essayist, The New York Times.
Want more children? Make it free to give birth, by Danielle Pimentel, opinion contributor, The Hill.
The Closer
And finally … ☠️ It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for this week’s Morning Report Quiz! This is our summer “ick” puzzle. Go ahead, frolic outdoors, but be alert to the seasonal hazards!
Be sure to email your responses to asimendinger@thehill.com and kkarisch@thehill.com — please add “Quiz” to your subject line. Winners who submit correct answers will enjoy some richly deserved newsletter fame on Friday.
Why were Africanized honeybees, known as “killer bees,” in U.S. headlines this week?
A man mowing his property died after a killer bee attack
Bees spooked by a lawn mower swarmed and killed three horses
Thirteen states have reported them, and the bees are spreading north
All of the above
This year’s abundance of blood-sucking, potentially Lyme disease-carrying ticks as summer arrives have been blamed by experts on a 2023 bumper crop of what in New York state?
Acorns
Spotted lanternflies
Public parks
Dogs
With the recent anniversary of the 1975 film “Jaws,” the news media this month focused on which state that claims a beach known as the “shark bite capital of the world”?
Hawaii
Maine
North Carolina
Florida
Mosquitoes are everywhere in states’ headlines because the biting pests are testing positive for what hazard to humans?
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Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks are arguably the best growth opportunity available right now. Analysts have projected that the AI market will be worth trillions of dollars in the next five to 10 years. If you have $3,000, that’s more than enough to invest in a few of the companies set to capitalize on the AI boom.
For the best results, you may want to split your money among companies that each focus on different parts of the AI market. Here are three options to consider. Please, visit our Websites Homepage and Facebook pages for latest news update.
Image source: Getty Images.
Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world. It creates AI chips that tech companies use in their data centers, similar (but not entirely identical) to GPU maker Nvidia.
Semiconductor stocks are an excellent AI investment opportunity. They provide the hardware necessary to run the most advanced AI models, and the semiconductor industry is growing to meet rising demand. The global semiconductor market grew by 19.7% in 2024, and is projected to grow another 11.2% in 2025.
Broadcom stands out from the competition because it makes customizable chips called AI accelerators. Some of the major hyperscalers, including Alphabet(NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Meta Platforms, use Broadcom to make their own custom AI chips. It’s rumored that OpenAI is another company partnering with Broadcom for this reason. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan says that it has three hyperscaler customers expected to deploy 1 million AI accelerators in 2027.
Broadcom is on the pricey side, trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 38. That’s common for AI companies, and based on Broadcom’s momentum and earnings projections, this could still be a good time to invest.
It beat expectations in its second fiscal quarter of 2025, with revenue rising 20% year over year to $15 billion. AI revenue was particularly impressive, growing 46% year over year to $4.4 billion. Tan expects that to grow even more in the third quarter to $5.1 billion.
Tech conglomerate Alphabet is integrating AI throughout its products and services. Perhaps the most well-known example is the AI overviews that now sit at the top of Google search results. Alphabet has also added AI tools to Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, etc.), launched its Gemini chatbot, and uses AI for its self-driving car project, Waymo.
Alphabet is both innovative and relatively safe, with a strong balance sheet, and shares are cheap right now. It has the lowest forward P/E ratio of the “Magnificent Seven,” a nickname for seven of the largest tech companies.
To be fair, there are reasons why Alphabet is so affordable. It lost an antitrust lawsuit last year, with a judge ruling that it monopolized the open-web digital advertising market. A penalty hasn’t been decided yet.
Alphabet is also trimming its workforce, as reports came out earlier this month that it was offering buyouts to employees in its search, advertising, research, and engineering units. And there are fears that the growth of AI will negatively impact Alphabet’s Google Search business.
Even with those headwinds, Alphabet should continue to perform well as a long-term investment. Search may be its calling card, but it has built and acquired several successful businesses over the years, including Android, YouTube, and Google Cloud. And it has shown the ability to adjust and evolve its business, with the addition of AI to search results being one good example.
As mentioned earlier, semiconductors are an essential part of AI (as well as most modern electronics). ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) is crucial to the semiconductor industry, as it manufactures extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines used to mass-produce high-performance microchips.
It sells these machines to companies that manufacture semiconductors, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel, and Samsung. And these are massive, expensive pieces of equipment. High NA machines, its most advanced chipmaking technology, cost over $400 million and weigh more than six tons.
ASML’s revenue can be up and down due to the nature of its business. It doesn’t sell many machines — it sold 77 lithography machines in the first quarter of 2025 (73 new and four used), but that was enough for 7.7 billion euros in revenue with a gross margin of 54%. Trade restrictions to China are also a risk factor.
But ASML has a wide moat, with an over 90% share of the lithography market. If the AI and semiconductor markets continue their rapid growth, ASML should benefit from that and could outperform the market.
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Lyle Daly has positions in ASML, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Intel, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Brad Feld on “Give First” and the art of mentorship (at any age)
Brad Feld has spent decades operating by a simple principle: Give without expecting anything in return. This philosophy goes beyond traditional pay-it-forward thinking, he says. It’s about helping others, knowing only that meaningful connections and opportunities will emerge organically over time if you do.
The entrepreneur and VC, who began angel investing in the 1990s, rose to prominence through his candid blog “Feld Thoughts,” which pulled back the curtain on the then-secretive venture industry and sparked countless discussions across Silicon Valley. After decades as an investor and co-founding both Techstars and the venture firm Foundry Group — which backed hundreds of companies over 18 years before deciding to stop raising new funds in early 2024 — Feld has distilled his approach to business and life into his latest book, “Give First.”
TechCrunch talked with Feld last week about mentorship, boundaries, and why vulnerability might be the most important leadership skill.
You’ve been thinking about this “Give First” concept for over a decade. What finally pushed you to write the book now?
This is my ninth book, and I was getting close to being done with writing nonfiction; I’m interested in exploring science fiction writing. The intersection of maybe this being my last book and really wanting to capture these ideas made me sit down about three years ago.
The concept emerged in 2012 in my “Startup Communities” book as a paragraph called “Give Before You Get.” The idea was that if you want a startup community to really move, you need people willing to put energy in without defining upfront what they’ll get back. It’s not altruism — they’ll get something, but they don’t know when, from whom, over what time period, or in what form.
You were once seemingly everywhere, then you pulled way back. After taking a two-year break from public life, what brought you back?
I decided I didn’t want to be involved in anything public-facing. I was tired and burnt out. I focused on behind-the-scenes work, which meant [my wife] Amy and I were together all the time because I wasn’t distracted by other stuff. That’s been really satisfying.
When David Cohen came back as CEO of Techstars a year ago, I told him I’d engage as much as he wanted, but I still didn’t feel like being public. Working with him on strategy got me super deep back into it. I also took the [book draft] off the shelf, looked at it, and thought, “This is pretty good.”
This book is really about mentorship in its different forms. You also talk about the importance of setting boundaries to avoid burnout. There’s a reason for the adage “no good deed goes unpunished.” How should mentors protect themselves while still giving generously?
There’s a lot of that in the book. I’ve been very open about mental health struggles to help destigmatize these issues … and there aren’t absolute answers to the question. One challenge when you’re willing to contribute energy without being transactional is that there are people who can’t do that, or who are extractors.
Adam Grant describes this spectrum in “Give and Take,” with givers on one end, takers on the other, and traders in the middle. Most of our world, really, is traders to takers. Over the short term, takers can do extremely well, but over the long term, people at the giver end are much more successful when success isn’t simply measured as power and money.
You emphasize the importance of saying “I don’t know” when mentoring. Why is that so crucial?
It’s extremely harmful to new founders when experienced, successful people position themselves as having the answer to everything. The magic in entrepreneurship is having lots of hypotheses, testing them quickly, and learning when most fail.
We’re in an environment where people can’t present things as hypotheses. They present them as assertions. The blurring between opinion and fact is a mess. The best mentors provide data and hypotheses, not assertions about what you should do.
One of [my] mentor manifesto phrases is “guide, don’t control.” Sometimes you do know the answer, but anyone who’s been a great manager knows the best way to get commitment is to get people to make the commitment themselves.
There’s a lot of opinion shopping that goes on behind the scenes. How should founders navigate conflicting advice from multiple mentors?
When I got feedback on my first draft [of the book] from 25 people, I absolutely got conflicting information. The more mentors can make feedback from their own experience, the more useful it is. Instead of saying, “Here’s what you should do,” they should say, “Here’s an experience I had that’s similar, and here’s what I did.”
If mentees listen that way, mentor whiplash is no big deal; you’re getting multiple data points from multiple experiences. It’s less “choose your own adventure” and more synthesizing things that make sense in your context, making a decision, communicating it back to mentors, and then having them commit and support you.
At what point is someone ready to be a mentor?
Here’s the magic trick of mentorship: The best mentor-mentee relationships become peer relationships where the mentor learns as much from the mentee as the mentee learns from the mentor. That means essentially anyone can be a mentor at any point.
Some of the people I’ve learned the most from are at the very beginning of their careers — people still in college, running their first company. My friend Rajat Bhargava was 21 when we started working together in 1994. The amount we’ve learned from each other since then is unreal.
There are very successful, experienced people who are awful mentors, and people early on with little experience who are extraordinary mentors. Your ability to be effective as a mentor isn’t related to your success or experience — it’s a way of being.
How does this philosophy apply during times like now, where we’re seeing massive layoffs in tech, disruption from AI in everything…
Right now, there is almost zero predictive power associated with anything anyone is saying. We’re so disconnected from understanding what will actually happen. The very loud, extreme pronouncements people are making have the lowest predictive power I’ve ever seen.
We’re living in a space where it’s loud and jarring, but I’m hopeful this stuff is timeless. My goal with this book isn’t for people to say I got it right. It’s to stimulate people to think differently about some things, or reinforce what they’re already thinking in an additive way.
You’re still managing funds and assets dating back almost two decades. Any final thoughts on stepping back from the traditional venture model?
Amy and I say it all the time: We’re all going to die. We don’t know when that day is. What are you going to do with your precious life? The number of people hanging on to relevance by their fingernails in their 70s and 80s … if that gives you meaning, awesome. But for many, the answer [to the question of whether or not to do that] is not yes. Please, Visit our Websites Homepage for latest news update.
NFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.
As the offseason program moves on, rookies across the NFL have had their opportunity to make their first impressions before teams break ahead of the real fun next month when training camps begin.
There were 32 first-round picks, and our NFL Nation reporters tracked all of their progress thus far. Here’s how every first-round pick from the 2025 draft has fared, and here’s what coaches and players around the league have had to say about them:
Ward has already emerged as a leader. He had a group of rookie pass catchers coming to the building at 5 a.m. for film study and never hesitated to tell a veteran receiver how he wants a route to be run. Ward also showed he’s able to remain unfazed by mistakes. Ward threw an interception on Day 2 of minicamp before bouncing back by completing 18 consecutive passes. While interceptions should never be minimized, coach Brian Callahan loved his quarterback’s resiliency.
“It certainly didn’t shy him away from throws,” Callahan said. “You want to see a guy just kind of get ready and throw it again.” Ward took most of the reps in team period and 7-on-7. He turned in a solid performance against a variety of blitzes. On one rep, Ward made a check that resulted in a bomb to Calvin Ridley for a touchdown. — Turron Davenport
Think Energizer Bunny. Players and coaches have been impressed by Hunter’s seemingly endless motor: He can run all day (according to QB Trevor Lawrence), brings good juice to the field (according to C Patrick Mekari) and just keeps going (per coach Liam Coen). Two other things also stand out: his ball skills and his football IQ. He catches the ball easily and has shown good body control when he has had to go up for an errant pass. Hunter has practiced mainly on offense but spent two full practices and part of another on defense, and his defensive coaches like his retention level despite having had much more on-field time on offense. –– Michael DiRocco
Explosive. That was evident from the moment Carter stepped on the field. “He looks quick,” veteran middle linebacker Bobby Okereke said of his first impression. Carter didn’t look out of place physically or mentally early in his Giants tenure so far. He was used all over the field this spring — as an edge rusher, defensive tackle and inside linebacker. If the offseason indicated anything, it’s that his usage will be something to watch this season. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has already noted Carter’s versatility. Bowen’s job is to find a way to put the best 11 players on the field, and based on the way Carter moves, early indications are that he is clearly among them. — Jordan Raanan
Campbell was the top left tackle from his first practice through the end of spring, with veteran right tackle Morgan Moses saying, “He’s eager to learn.” Furthermore, veteran right guard Mike Onwenu took note of how smoothly Campbell sets in pass protection. But as is the case for offensive and defensive linemen across the NFL, the true measure will come when players start practicing in full pads, which doesn’t come until training camp.
“Every day he asks questions; his locker is right beside mine, so we get to talk about football all day,” Moses said. “Obviously, he’s a stud. He’s played great football in college and now he’s just trying to figure it out. … He’s fine-tuning the things he’s learned in college, taking them to the NFL and getting challenged every day.” — Mike Reiss
The spring has been a transition for Graham, who was asked to take on blockers at Michigan but will be expected to penetrate the defensive line and be more of a disruptive force in Cleveland. Despite the difference in scheme, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said Graham is “pretty far ahead right now.” Graham rotated with the first-team defense during OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
“You see his rush game developing, you see him launching with hands,” defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire said. “It’s going to be hard, obviously coming from a read scheme, going to an attack game. But he’s done a really good job.” — Daniel Oyefusi
Jeanty has already made a strong impression within the organization. Coach Pete Carroll said Jeanty was “every bit” of what the team had hoped for during the offseason program, admiring his pass-catching ability and understanding of the offense. Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said he’s one of the most talented running backs he has seen enter the league. During OTAs and minicamp, Jeanty received the majority of the first-team reps — a sign that he has already established himself as the team’s top running back.
“He’s such a strong and dynamic back,” Raiders starting left tackle Kolton Miller said. “Even if he gets hit, he’s still balanced, and that’s super unique.” — Ryan McFadden
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The highlights that make Ashton Jeanty a top NFL draft prospect
Check out highlights from Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty ahead of the 2025 NFL draft.
Barring something unforeseen, Membou will be the Week 1 starter at right tackle. All indications from the offseason pointed in that direction. It’s almost impossible to evaluate an offensive lineman in non-padded practices, but this much was clear in the spring: Membou is an exceptional mover for 332 pounds. That 4.92-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine wasn’t a fluke. With that kind of agility, he should be able to block at the second level. He did struggle some against Will McDonald IV, a bendy pass rusher, but offensive linemen are at a disadvantage without pads. Line coach Steve Heiden said, “We’ve seen all the workout warriors who can’t play a lick of ball. Membou can play ball.” — Rich Cimini
Beyond being held out of two mandatory practices as a precaution after a collision the previous day, McMillan has been as advertised. He has made everyone around him better because he can play every receiver spot. He has created competition at receiver, something that wasn’t there a year ago. His presence has benefited 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette, who believes he and McMillan double the problems for defenses.
“The goal is to get him comfortable with the system, the different types of plays, and the different formations,” coach Dave Canales said. “We’re starting to make it more challenging in terms of moving him around in different spots. He’s handling it great.” — David Newton
The Saints seem prepared to make Banks their future starting left tackle, which frees up 2024 first-round pick Taliese Fuaga to move to right tackle, the position he played in college. Although New Orleans moved Banks around at times during OTAs, it seems clear that Banks will ultimately play tackle now that Trevor Penning has moved to guard. Saints center Erik McCoy said he thinks Banks will hold down the left side for a “long, long time.” — Katherine Terrell
Loveland wasn’t on the field this spring while recovering from AC joint reconstruction in his right shoulder, but he made an appearance in uniform on the final day of mandatory minicamp. “I’m working out. I’m running. I’m doing everything, except the weight is not as heavy, obviously,” Loveland said in May. Coach Ben Johnson said that the Bears should get the green light for the rookie to participate in practice at “some point” in training camp, which coincides with the six-month recovery timeline Loveland said doctors gave him when he underwent surgery in January. — Courtney Cronin
Williams didn’t participate in everything during the sessions open to the media, and it’s hard to tell much about a pass rusher without pads on. But he has earned positive early reviews for his willingness to learn from veterans such as end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner. What’s more, Williams has already checked a couple of important boxes for defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, who has been pleased with Williams’ eager approach.
“He’s got a lot of talent, a lot of eagerness to learn, more so than I’ve seen probably from any young guy,” Bosa said. “He just wants to learn as much as he can, and I’m excited to give all the knowledge I can to him.” — Nick Wagoner
Despite the padless practices, Booker has impressed with his willingness to learn and work. He has been with the starters from the first OTA through the minicamp, so there’s no pretense about what is expected. He is being viewed the same way the Cowboys have viewed Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin and Tyler Smith: as a Day 1 starter.
“Whether it’s the responsibilities that he has to bring to the huddle or whether it’s his communications on the line, he’s doing a hell of a job,” QB Dak Prescott said. “And you can tell this guy is a football player. Guy has a lot of pride standard in what he does.” — Todd Archer
Without pads, Grant has impressed with his work ethic and mentality away from the practice field. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Grant “works endlessly” at the things he’s been asked to do — a critical character trait for a first-round pick.
“You’re hitting a home run with the team when a first-round draft pick comes in with that mindset, so we can work with that and veterans know you can count on that,” McDaniel said. “There’s been ebbs and flows like for every rookie, but what I’ve seen from him, I’ve seen production where he wins based on technique and fundamentals early in the snap, and I’ve seen late-down wins where he’s straining and utilizing grit and finish to make plays.” — Marcel Louis-Jacques
It was practically impossible to watch an Indianapolis practice and not notice how often Warren touched the football. Any doubts about him having a notable role were erased in the first week of OTAs, when he could be seen running drag routes or matching up with linebackers in the middle of the field. The Colts had a league-low 39 receptions from their tight ends last season, but expect that to improve.
“I think he’s had a great spring,” quarterback Daniel Jones said of Warren. “He’s made a lot of plays for us out here, and you can see his feel, his instincts, his strength, just his ability to go up and catch the ball.” — Stephen Holder
Folks can’t stop raving about Walker, from his physical abilities to his football acumen. The former Georgia standout has made a seemingly seamless transition so far at the Falcons’ team facility, about 43 miles northeast of where he attended college. Linebacker Kaden Elliss has come away impressed by Walker’s explosiveness in getting off blocks. Safety Jessie Bates III has helped take Walker under his wing. Coach Raheem Morris has already tabbed him as a potential future team leader.
“The human, the character, the person, the player, the all-in mentality,” Morris gushed. “He has those captain-like traits, and when you first meet him, you get that feel, you get that vibe from him, and he’ll be one of those guys.” — Marc Raimondi
Nolen impressed coaches and teammates from the jump during OTAs and minicamp. He looks the part, fitting into a veteran defensive line room from a physical perspective, but he was able to stand out on the field, as well. Fellow defensive lineman Calais Campbell was impressed with Nolen on the line.
“He has unbelievable lateral quickness. Very few players can go kind of backdoor and to come down the line and make a [tackle for loss],” Campbell said. “He’s one of those guys that has that unique ability where he has quickness. His quickness is different level, and he has good instincts.” — Josh Weinfuss
Stewart was the only first-round pick who did not participate in offseason workouts, effectively conducting a “hold-in” as he tried to iron out contract language pertaining to guaranteed money that could be voided. Stewart was in team meetings and was a close observer during position drills. However, the situation escalated during minicamp, when he said the team was more interested in winning arguments than games, then left minicamp before the final day. Still, the coaching staff remains high on Stewart.
“It’s a lesson for him in the NFL — control what you can control,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “From our standpoint he’s done a good job in terms of the learning. We are as excited as anybody to get him out there.” — Ben Baby
As with all linemen, the Seahawks won’t start to truly see what they have in Zabel until the pads come on in training camp. But what is clear now is that he’s in line to start at left guard, where he has taken all the first-team reps and has been building a rapport with left tackle Charles Cross.
“Really excited about Grey,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “He is what we thought he was up to this point. … [He’s] hitting his spots, communicating, being decisive with Charles on the left side. I think those guys are working really well together, so I’m really fired up to see him in the fall.” — Brady Henderson
Egbuka is going to have a big role in the Bucs’ offense, especially with Chris Godwin still recovering from ankle surgery, and even after. He has shown up a ton in the short passing game — really helping Tampa Bay stretch the field horizontally, and at times looking like a running back once the ball is in his hands — but he’s also been on the end of some big plays downfield.
“The thing that sticks out is how cerebral he is,” QB Baker Mayfield said. “He’s so smart. Right now, I think we could plug-and-play him at every [wide] receiver spot; he understands the offense that well. That’s just him being a pro already.” — Jenna Laine
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Emeka Egbuka’s NFL draft profile
Check out some stats and info from draft prospect Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State.
The Broncos have been hard at work scheming up ways to integrate Barron — who played outside corner, nickel, safety and dime linebacker in college — into their defense. Right now, they are primarily working Barron out at cornerback, both outside and in the slot. His versatility and reliable tackling, downfield and at the line of scrimmage, give Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph a variety of options.
“He was a can’t-miss prospect for us. He can tackle, he can cover, he has excellent ball skills … it was a no-brainer to draft him,” Joseph said. — Jeff Legwold
It’s not often the Steelers tap a rookie to be a starter in June, but that’s exactly what defensive line coach Karl Dunbar did. “He goes out there with the 1s,” Dunbar said. “He’s our left starting defensive tackle. You can write that.” Then again, Pittsburgh doesn’t often use its base 3-4 defense that would put Harmon on the field as a starter alongside Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton. Still, Dunbar identifying him as a starter signals that the Steelers have been impressed with their first-round pick.
“I feel, like, comfortable,” Harmon said of the defense. “[At] Oregon, we had the same defense, so I’m playing the same-for-same position. Biggest difference for me is really just learning the speed of the game.” — Brooke Pryor
Hampton has been the talk of the Chargers’ offseason activities for his play on the field and his physical stature. At Hampton’s introductory news conference, coach Jim Harbaugh jokingly grabbed his 6-foot, 221-pound rookie by the shoulders and said to reporters, “That looks like a football player, right?”
“He’s the total package,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. “… You don’t see a lot of guys find a hole like he’s doing right now.” — Kris Rhim
It didn’t take long for Golden to catch Jordan Love‘s eye. The quarterback was immediately impressed with just about everything he has seen from Golden: “I think from the get-go, from day one when he got here, he’s showcased kind of just the versatility he has running routes, the speed he has and his ability to catch,” Love said. With Christian Watson still rehabbing from ACL surgery, Golden has gotten plenty of run with the starters. If he’s not an immediate starter, he appears set for a significant role along with the likes of Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks. — Rob Demovsky
It’s difficult for an offensive lineman to stand out in no-contact practices, so the most important development for Jackson is that he worked with the first team at left guard for the majority of spring practices. Part of that can be attributed to right guard Will Fries‘ ongoing recovery from a fractured right leg. Blake Brandel, last season’s starter at left guard and Jackson’s primary competition at that position, has filled in for Fries on the right side. But there is every reason to believe Jackson has the inside track to emerge from training camp.
“It does give you some real beneficial options to see guys progress through the learning phase,” coach Kevin O’Connell said, “and all of a sudden you’ve got three or four guys that maybe are a little more versatile than we thought.” — Kevin Seifert
Dart had an “excellent” spring, according to Brian Daboll. The coach was especially impressed with the way Dart processed and retained information, confirming why he was a first-round pick. On his final throw of minicamp, he fired a dart deep down the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown. It was indicative of the flashes he showed this spring. But there were also indications that he’s a rookie quarterback with plenty to learn, with him holding on to the ball too long at times. Dart began the spring taking reps with the third-team offense. Two weeks in, he was working primarily with the second team, behind Russell Wilson but ahead of Jameis Winston. — Raanan
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Jordan Raanan: Pretty clear Russell Wilson is Giants’ guy
Jordan Raanan reports the latest on the Giants’ quarterback situation, with Russell Wilson being the clear starter so far.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris said the team “fell in love” with Pearce as a person during the predraft process. One of the most striking things about Pearce is his size. The former Tennessee standout was measured at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds at the combine and said he has put on some more muscle to go along with his 4.47-second 40-yard dash time. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said Pearce might have been the best pure pass rusher in the draft.
“Been really [pleased] at his willingness to really collaborate with the people that we hooked him up with, whether it’s been strength coach, whether it’s been nutrition,” Morris said. “Really his buy-in. Really smart, sharp, particular guy that asks a lot of questions.” — Raimondi
Starks has played with the first-team defense from the first practice of spring, and he hasn’t blinked. He made a strong first impression by organizing walk-throughs at the team hotel during rookie minicamp. Since then, Starks has knocked away numerous passes by breaking on the ball. His maturity should make him an immediate impact player.
“You throw a situation at him, and he knows,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s been studying and comes prepared. I’ve never seen him make a real mistake yet. He’s very much a pro, probably way advanced beyond his years.” — Jamison Hensley
Williams was a limited participant throughout the offseason program as the team was being cautious about his health after coming off a long championship college season. Williams says he has felt great vibes from the team. He could play a big role right away as he’s expected to fill in for starting defensive tackle Alim McNeill as he recovers from a torn ACL that ended his 2024 season.
“Knowing what we know and where he’s at and what he can do, we like what he is,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “He is smart. He can get lined up. I know he’s been grinding in the rehab, the training, so that’s good.” — Eric Woodyard
The Commanders are excited about Conerly. The belief is that he could move to left tackle down the road. For now, though, Conerly will play right tackle. They have not handed him the starting job. He worked mostly with the second group in the spring. But his footwork and ability to play in space and move on pulling action make the team confident. It’s hard to accurately gauge an offensive lineman until the pads come on in practice, but his movement skills impressed.
“He’s going to be a dog,” Laremy Tunsil said. “Just the way he moves, the way he bends, athletic, smart, very intelligent. He has all the tools to be a damn good player in this league.” — John Keim
Hairston did not participate in the final day of the Bills’ minicamp practice after tweaking his hamstring the day prior, but general manager Brandon Beane said that Hairston will “rehab it and be ready to go for camp.” Hairston showed signs of why he is strongly in the mix for the outside cornerback No. 2 role, but he had highs and lows. He often could be seen getting plenty of attention and feedback from cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae.
“There’s speed, and then there’s playing fast. And I think what we’re starting to see is Max playing faster and utilizing his speed because his processing is starting to slow down a little bit in the event that he’s grasping what we are throwing at him,” defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. “… Max is blessed with a lot of speed. And we’ll see if that can show up consistently on the field.” — Alaina Getzenberg
Campbell wasn’t able to fully participate in the team’s offseason program after undergoing shoulder surgery in March. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said he is expected back on the field sometime in August. Campbell can line up at off-ball linebacker and on the edge. Fangio said they’ll start him at inside ‘backer since “there’s a lot more to learn there.” With Nakobe Dean out for the foreseeable future as he recovers from a torn patellar tendon, there’s an opportunity for Campbell to carve out a role once cleared to play.
“He’s doing all he can in meetings; we’re doing all we can with him on the field. I take him to the side and do an individual drill with him that’s suited to what he can do right now,” Fangio said. “So, he’s working good and trying to pick it up.” — Tim McManus
Simmons has been working as the starting left tackle during offseason practices. Even though these are noncontact sessions, it still represents progress. Simmons is coming off a torn patellar injury, and his timetable for a return to play was uncertain when the Chiefs drafted him. Now, minus a setback, it appears he’s on schedule to be their starter when the season begins. “We weren’t quite sure how much we were going to be able to get out of him, but he looks strong,” coach Andy Reid said. “You can tell that he rehabbed. He did a nice job with it.” A stronger test for Simmons will come during training camp, when he and his teammates will put on the pads for the first time and the physical part of the game will come into play. — Adam Teicher
Amazon Prime Day is a major shopping event exclusively for Prime members, offering limited-time deals across top categories like tech, beauty, fashion, home, and more. Launched in 2015 to celebrate Amazon’s anniversary, it has grown into one of the biggest online sales of the year, rivaling Black Friday. The event usually lasts 48 hours and features deep discounts, Lightning Deals, and early access offers for Prime members only.
When Is Amazon Prime Day 2025?
Amazon Prime Day will return from July 8th to 11th. The sale typically only lasts two days, however, this year it’s been extended to four days full of unbeatable deals.
What’s on Sale for Amazon Prime Day?
Expect major savings on everything from Amazon devices and smart home gadgets to beauty bestsellers, fashion finds, home upgrades, and more. Limited-time Lightning Deals and daily discounts drop throughout the event.
How Can I Find the Best Amazon Prime Day Deals?
Stay ahead of the sale by checking curated Prime Day picks from E! Insider Shop. New offers go live regularly, and early deals often roll out before the main event. Bookmark Amazon’s Prime Day hub for the latest drops.
Amber heat health alerts have been issued for parts of England as temperatures are set to climb to more than 30C.
They will be in force from 12:00 BST on Friday until 18:00 BST on Tuesday, with the warmest weather expected on Sunday and Monday.
The amber alerts will be in place for five regions – East Midlands, South East, South West, East and London – while less serious yellow heat health alerts will be in force for two areas, Yorkshire and Humber and the West Midlands.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warns that the hot weather is likely to bring increased pressures on health and social care services.
The new heat health alerts come as a second heatwave of 2025 is expected in parts of the UK.
Hot weather will last into the first part of next week, becoming increasingly intense with the possibility of recording the highest temperature of the year so far.
It follows the first heatwave of the year that saw the hottest day of 2025 recorded – 33.2C in Charlwood, Surrey on 21 June.
As the dust settles on Iranian sites hit by U.S. bombs and missiles over the weekend, there’s growing tension over how much the military operation set back Tehran’s nuclear program.
The Trump administration is blasting assessments from U.S. intelligence agencies about the damage inflicted by strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, while apparently endorsing an Israeli assessment.
And Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Wednesday that “new intelligence” confirms “Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed.”
At the center of the discourse are Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) findings, widely reported Tuesday, that called into question statements made by top Trump administration officials describing Iran’s nuclear facilities as “obliterated.”
The preliminary classified report assessed the attacks had set Iran’s nuclear program back several months, rather than the years or even decades Trump has claimed.
The DIA found the bombing did not destroy the main components of Iran’s nuclear program, failing to collapse the underground buildings of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment plant and the Natanz Enrichment Complex.
What’s more, the assessment found the strikes likely did not destroy much of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, as it was moved before the bombing.
Instead, the 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs dropped on Fordow and Natanz — as well as armaments that struck at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site — significantly damaged aboveground structures while leaving the sites’ centrifuges still “intact,” the assessment said.
President Trump disputed a range of the report’s findings Wednesday, calling them incomplete and saying officials were merely guessing.
“They didn’t see it. All they can do is take a guess,” Trump said while attending the NATO summit.
“If you take a look at the pictures, if you take a look how it’s all black, if you know the fire and brimstone is all underground because it’s granite and it’s all underground, you don’t show it. But even there, with all of that being said, the whole area — for 75 yards around the hole where it hit — is black with fire,” Trump said.
Satellite images have revealed damage to the Iranian facilities, but there are signs Tehran is already working to fill in craters at the Natanz complex, indicating crews were able to quickly return to the bombed site to start rebuilding.
Trump also read off a statement from Israeli intelligence assessing the strike on Fordow “destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable.”
“We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, has set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years,” the statement reads.
Sarit Zehavi, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Israeli military, estimated the damage set back Iran between five years and 10 years, “depending on various factors.”
Iran’s nuclear project involves dozens of sites and numerous components that have “sustained significant damage, causing a substantial delay to the program,” said Zehavi, now the founder and president of Alma, a nonprofit research institute focusing on Israel’s security.
“Iran cannot simply decide now to ‘sprint to the bomb’ in five minutes. These are capabilities built over many years, many of which no longer exist in their previous form.”
But despite Israel’s major air offensive against Iran prior to the U.S. stepping in with its own strikes, neither Tehran’s nuclear or missile program “was entirely eradicated and, crucially, the Iranian regime remains in power,” Zehavi added.
Before the bombings, U.S. intelligence agencies estimated Iran was months away from building a nuclear bomb but had not decided to do so. Experts said Iran was between 18 months and three years away from fitting a nuclear bomb onto a ballistic missile.
Trump last week brushed aside those assessments, which were read aloud by the Gabbard during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in March.
“I don’t care what she said,” Trump told reporters June 17. “I think [Iran] were very close to having it.”
Three days later, when asked what intelligence he had indicating Iran is building a nuclear weapon, given Gabbard’s comments, Trump pointedly said she was “wrong,” as was the intelligence community.
“My intelligence community is wrong,” Trump told reporters. “Who in the intelligence community said that?”
Gabbard then pushed back on speculation Trump was choosing to ignore conclusions from his own intelligence agencies, insisting they were on the same page and that America “has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly.”
Trump also has disagreed with the indications that Iran moved nuclear materials away from the sites prior to the U.S. strikes, telling reporters Wednesday: “We think we hit them so hard and so fast, they didn’t get to move.” He further claimed the material was too dangerous to transport, a difficult task given “it’s very heavy” and was stored “literally 30-35 stories down in the ground.”
However, a U.S. intelligence agency assessed Iran was still between three month and eight months away from making a nuclear weapon — but there was no indication that it had decided to do so, CBS News reported.
A U.S. intelligence agency assessment provided to the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Saturday — the same day Trump ordered the Iran strikes — found Iranian officials were mulling moving some of its highly enriched uranium into vehicles to store them in public parking lots to avoid destruction, according to CBS.
Other Trump administration officials have sought to diminish the DIA’s findings, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said the only way to know how much damage was done to Fordow is with a shovel.
Standing alongside Trump after the NATO summit, Hegseth described the DIA assessment as a “preliminary report that’s deemed to be a low assessment. You know what a low assessment means? Low confidence in the data in that report.”
“If you want to make an assessment of what happened at Fordow, you better get a big shovel and go really deep. Because Iran’s nuclear program is obliterated,” he said.
Gabbard joined in with similar assertions later Wednesday, posting on the social platform X that: “New intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed. If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do.”
She did not say what the new intelligence was or where it came from.
Despite the fervent insistence the U.S. strikes were effective, other Trump administration officials and experts have acknowledged it may take days to fully determine the extent of Iran’s damage.
Among them is Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, who said Sunday that initial battle damage assessments “indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” but that a full assessment would take time.
A recommendation downgrade from a veteran investment bank had a predictable effect on Dollar General(NYSE: DG) stock Tuesday. Investors put the company in the bargain bin by trading it down by more than 1% on the day. That didn’t contrast well with the S&P 500‘s (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) gain of over 1%.
The institution behind the move was Goldman Sachs, whose analyst Kate McShane lowered her rating on Dollar General to neutral — at a price target of $116 per share — from her preceding buy.
Image source: Getty Images.
In her view, the budget retailer‘s recent share price appreciation has left it fairly priced, according to reports. At its current level, the company would have to substantially improve its fundamentals, and that isn’t likely to happen, given the tough competitive environment in which it operates.
McShane also said Dollar General is limited by necessary investments into infrastructure and its supply chain.
That being said, she was complimentary about management’s success in better positioning the company via the Back to Basics program. In her opinion, this has led to encouraging comparable-sales growth, and higher profit margins.
Dollar General’s robust, year-to-date increase is striking — even with the Tuesday slip, the stock has gained nearly 50%, against the S&P 500 index’s less than 4% rise. Much of this is a play on a potential economic slowdown; particularly in the opening months of 2025, the market was worried about the detrimental effect of high tariffs on the economy. This is not such a concern anymore.
So I think the assessment that Dollar General doesn’t have much (if any) upside is realistic. This isn’t a stock I’d get very excited about just now.
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