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    Trump’s First Cabinet Meeting Was a Display of Deference to Elon Musk

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    President Trump’s first cabinet meeting was a display of deference to Elon Musk.A couple of hours before President Trump convened his cabinet for the first time, he used his social media platform to declare that the group was “EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON.”As the meeting began, it seemed to be the members’ job to prove it.The secretaries sat largely in silence behind their paper name cards, the sort of thing you need when, powerful though you may be, you are not a household name. And they listened politely as the richest man in the world loomed over them, scolding them about the size of the deficit, sheepishly admitting to temporarily canceling an effort to prevent ebola and insisting they were all crucial to his mission.“I’d like to thank everyone for your support,” Elon Musk said.In fact, Musk has not had the support of every cabinet secretary — at least not when he tried to order their employees to account for their time over email or resign. When a reporter asked about the obvious tension, Trump kicked the question to the secretaries themselves.“Is anybody unhappy with Elon?” Trump asked. “If you are, we’ll throw him out of here. Is anybody unhappy?”Nobody was unhappy. Nervous laughter rippled around the table as Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, grinned and led a slow clap, which Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, eventually joined before scratching her nose.Next to her, Kelly Loeffler, the small business administrator, applauded and attended to an itch on her ear. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered up a single clap and gazed over at Musk, a fixed smile on his face. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, shifted in his seat.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Washington Post Opinion Editor Exits as Bezos Steers Pages in New Direction

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      Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Post, said that the newspaper’s opinion section would focus on “personal liberties and free markets.”The Washington Post’s opinion editor, David Shipley, is exiting as the newspaper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, steers the section in a libertarian direction.In an email to The Post’s employees on Wednesday, Mr. Bezos said that Mr. Shipley was stepping down amid a narrowing of the opinion section’s focus to defend “personal liberties and free markets.”“I am of America and for America, and proud to be so,” Mr. Bezos said. “Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical; it drives creativity, invention and prosperity.”In his note, Mr. Bezos said that he asked Mr. Shipley whether he wanted to stay at The Post, and Mr. Shipley declined.“I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t ‘hell yes,’ then it had to be ‘no,’ Mr. Bezos wrote.In a note to opinion staff members, Mr. Shipley said that he decided to step down “after reflection on how I can best move forward in the profession I love.”“I will always be thankful for the opportunity I was given to work alongside a team of opinion journalists whose commitment to strong, innovative, reported commentary inspired me every day,” Mr. Shipley wrote.This is a developing story. Check back for updates. More

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      Amazon planea donar 1 millón de dólares al fondo de investidura de Trump

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      La decisión forma parte de un patrón en el que empresas tecnológicas están tomando medidas para reparar sus relaciones con el presidente electo.Amazon dijo el jueves que tenía previsto donar un millón de dólares al fondo de investidura del presidente electo Donald Trump, como parte de un patrón en el que las empresas tecnológicas y sus dirigentes están tomando medidas para reparar sus relaciones con Trump.Meta, la empresa matriz de Facebook, dijo el miércoles que iba a donar un millón de dólares al fondo de investidura, apenas unas semanas después de que Zuckerberg se reuniera con Trump en Mar-a-Lago.Amazon y su fundador, Jeff Bezos, quien también es propietario de The Washington Post, han tenido una historia turbulenta con Trump. Trump había albergado durante mucho tiempo frustración con Bezos por los reportajes de The Washington Post. Durante su primer gobierno, Trump también cuestionó que el Servicio Postal de Estados Unidos concediera a Amazon un trato preferencial, y Amazon acusó a Trump de presionar indebidamente al Pentágono para que denegara a la empresa un importante contrato de computación en la nube.Pero durante el verano, Bezos habló con Trump después de que el expresidente fuera tiroteado en un acto de campaña, y en las redes sociales elogió la “gracia y valentía de Trump bajo fuego literal”. Más recientemente, Bezos ha dicho que se siente “muy optimista” sobre el próximo gobierno de Trump.En la Cumbre DealBook celebrada en Nueva York el 4 de diciembre, Bezos dijo que Trump “parece tener mucha energía en torno a la reducción de la regulación. Y mi punto de vista es que, si puedo ayudarlo a hacerlo, lo ayudaré, porque tenemos demasiada regulación en este país”.Amazon también dijo que retransmitiría en directo la toma de posesión el mes que viene, como ya ha hecho con las anteriores. The Wall Street Journal ya había informado de la donación.Trump dijo el jueves que Bezos, quien preside el consejo de administración de Amazon, se reuniría con él la próxima semana. Trump dijo que quería obtener ideas de Bezos y de otros líderes tecnológicos.Los regalos a los comités de investidura, que no tienen límites de contribución, son populares entre las empresas y los particulares deseosos de ganarse el favor de un gobierno entrante. El comité de investidura de Trump ofrece beneficios de alto nivel a los donantes que contribuyan con un millón de dólares.Amazon donó 57.746 dólares al comité de investidura de Trump en 2017, según OpenSecrets, que realiza un seguimiento de las donaciones políticas. La empresa dijo que la campaña de Joe Biden no aceptó donaciones de empresas tecnológicas en 2020.Karen Weise escribe sobre tecnología y reside en Seattle. Su cobertura se centra en Amazon y Microsoft, dos de las empresas más poderosas de Estados Unidos. Más de Karen WeiseMaggie Haberman es corresponsal política sénior e informa sobre la campaña presidencial de 2024, las contiendas electorales en todo Estados Unidos y las investigaciones sobre Trump. Más de Maggie Haberman More

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      Amazon Plans $1 Million Donation to Trump’s Inaugural Fund

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      Amazon said on Thursday that it was planning to donate $1 million to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inaugural fund, part of a pattern in which tech companies and their leaders are taking steps to repair their relationships with Mr. Trump.Meta, the parent company of Facebook, said on Wednesday that it was putting $1 million into the inaugural fund, just weeks after Mr. Zuckerberg met with Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago.Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, have had a rocky history with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump had long harbored frustration with Mr. Bezos over reporting in The Washington Post. During his first administration, Mr. Trump had also questioned whether the U.S. Postal Service gave Amazon a sweetheart deal, and Amazon accused Mr. Trump of improperly pressuring the Pentagon to deny the company a major cloud computing contract.But over the summer, Mr. Bezos spoke with Mr. Trump after the former president was shot at a campaign event, and on social media he praised Mr. Trump’s “grace and courage under literal fire.” More recently, Mr. Bezos has said that he is “very optimistic” about the incoming Trump administration.At the DealBook Summit in New York on Dec. 4, Mr. Bezos said that Mr. Trump “seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. And my point of view is, if I can help him do that, I’m going to help him, because we do have too much regulation in this country.”Amazon also said it would livestream the inauguration next month, as it has done with previous inaugurations. The donation was previously reported by The Wall Street Journal.Mr. Trump said on Thursday that Mr. Bezos, who chairs Amazon’s board, was meeting him next week. Mr. Trump said he wanted to get ideas from Mr. Bezos and other tech leaders.Gifts to inaugural committees, which do not have contribution limits, are popular among businesses and individuals eager to curry favor with an incoming administration. Mr. Trump’s inaugural committee is offering top-tier benefits to donors who contribute $1 million.Amazon gave $57,746 to Mr. Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks political donations. The company said the Biden campaign did not accept donations from tech companies in 2020. More

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      Matea Gold Named Washington Editor of The New York Times

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      Ms. Gold, a managing editor at The Washington Post, is the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the paper.Matea Gold, a managing editor at The Washington Post who until recently was a contender for the newspaper’s top editing role, is joining The New York Times as a senior editor in its Washington bureau.Ms. Gold will be Washington editor for The Times, reporting to its newly appointed Washington bureau chief, Dick Stevenson, the company said on Monday. She starts in January.Since May 2023, Ms. Gold, 50, has been a managing editor overseeing The Post’s political, local and investigative coverage. She was previously the newspaper’s national editor, leading a staff of 150 journalists. Ms. Gold joined The Post more than a decade ago from The Los Angeles Times and has served in a variety of roles, covering politics as a reporter and shepherding ambitious political investigations.Under Ms. Gold’s supervision, The Post’s national staff contributed to Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Post’s national staff also won a Pulitzer for a feature article on the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and end the constitutionally protected right to abortion.Her departure is the latest in a series of high-profile exits from The Post news and opinion departments in recent months.The newsroom has been in turmoil since Will Lewis, the company’s chief executive, abruptly forced out the paper’s top editor, Sally Buzbee, in June. Matt Murray, the former top editor of The Wall Street Journal, has led the newsroom on an interim basis since then. Several journalists from the opinion section stepped down from their positions after Jeff Bezos, the paper’s owner, decided shortly before the U.S. presidential election that the paper would not endorse a candidate for president.The Post is searching for a permanent top editor for its news department. Ms. Gold had been considered a candidate for executive editor of The Post, according to two people familiar with the search process. Other candidates include Clifford Levy, a former deputy managing editor of The Times and now the deputy publisher of Wirecutter, The Times’s product recommendation site, and The Athletic, its sports site, the people said. Mr. Murray is also a candidate, the people said.One of the final hurdles is an interview with Mr. Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, who weighs in on hiring decisions for top positions.Ms. Gold joins The Times amid changes in the top ranks of its Washington bureau. The Times announced in November that Elisabeth Bumiller, who had led the bureau since 2015, would be stepping down from that role and returning to reporting. Mr. Stevenson, who has worked at The Times in various reporting and editing jobs for nearly 40 years, will be taking over for her in January. More

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      Why Jeff Bezos Likes ‘Messy’ Meetings

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      The billionaire founder of Amazon spoke with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook Summit.Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and the owner of The Washington Post, defended his decision to end presidential endorsements at The Post and expressed optimism about a second Trump administration at the DealBook Summit on Wednesday. But he also delved into his personal philosophy in his discussion with Andrew, including how he approaches entrepreneurship and leadership.Why to run a ‘messy’ meetingIn a discussion about how Bezos views his influence, Bezos said he considers himself a wanderer. He added that he applies this mind-set to meetings, and that he is on time only to his first meeting of the day because “I won’t finish a meeting until it’s really finished.” Of this approach, he said:I try to teach, like, really wander in the meetings. There are certain kinds of meetings that are like a weekly business review or something where it’s a set pattern and you’re going through it — that can have an agenda and it can be very crisp. That’s a different kind of meeting. But for most of the meetings that are useful, we do these six-page memos, we do a half-hour study hall, we read them. And then we have a messy discussion. So I like the memos to be like angels singing from on high, so clear and beautiful. And then the meeting can be messy.About the value of running meetings this way, he said:You don’t want the whole thing to be figured out and then presented to you. You want to be part of the sausage-making. Like, show me the ugly bits. And I always ask, are there any dissenting opinions on the team? You know what? I want to try and get to the controversy.How to take a leap of faith as an entrepreneurAndrew asked Bezos where he gets the confidence to create a business that requires as much scale as Amazon or Blue Origin, where at the beginning it can be difficult to see how the full vision could materialize. Bezos said:I think it’s generally human nature to overestimate risk and underestimate opportunity. And so I think entrepreneurs in general, you know, would be well advised to try and bias against that piece of human nature: The risks are probably not as big as you perceive, and the opportunities may be bigger than you perceive.And so you say it’s confidence, but maybe it’s just trying to compensate for that — accepting that that’s a human bias, and trying to compensate against it. The second thing I would point out is that thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Musk, Trump, A.I. and Other DealBook Summit Highlights

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      The economy, inflation, tariffs, the future of media, pardon politics and other big topics that made headlines this year.Jeff Bezos was cautiously optimistic that President-elect Donald Trump would be more measured in his second term.Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesFour takeaways from the DealBook Summit The U.S. election dominated the news agenda this year, and the two people at the center of Donald Trump’s win came up in nearly every conversation yesterday at the DealBook Summit. The president-elect and Elon Musk may not have been in the room, but questions about how they will shape business and politics were front and center.The general view of the day was cautious optimism, even among those who had publicly criticized Trump and Musk — or been targeted by them.But many questions remain. What will Trump and Musk mean for government, business and the economy? Will they succeed in cutting regulation and government spending? And will they go after their perceived enemies and rivals?Here are four big themes from this year’s event.What will happen with the economy?Most of the speakers were willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, or at least played down worries about his most disruptive policy ideas.Jay Powell, the Fed chair, addressed one of the biggest questions hanging over the next administration: Will the president-elect go after the central bank’s independence? No, Powell said emphatically. The Fed, he said, was created by Congress and its autonomy is “the law of the land.”“There is very, very broad support for that set of ideas in Congress in both political parties, on both sides of the Hill, and that’s what really matters,” he said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Biggest Takeaways From the DealBook Summit With Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman and More

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      Serena Williams, Jerome H. Powell, Jeff Bezos and other leaders across business and technology discussed artificial intelligence, inflation, the media and what the world would look like under a second Donald J. Trump presidency.Mr. Bezos, for one, thinks the president-elect has “a good chance of succeeding.”Elon Musk wasn’t in the room, but he was present throughout at the DealBook Summit. The speakers were largely optimistic about his efforts in the new administration.The event, hosted by Andrew Ross Sorkin, founder of DealBook, has taken place since 2011.Here are five main themes:Inflation is still an issue, but there’s a chance for growth.Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said the economy was in a “very good place.” Inflation has come down, and the labor market has rebounded. The big takeaway for investors: The central bank can afford to be more cautious when it considers lowering interest rates, Mr. Powell said. (The next Fed meeting will be Dec. 17-18.)Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of the hedge fund Citadel and a top donor to the Republican Party, placed the blame for inflation squarely on the Biden administration, which, he argued, “put this country on an inflationary path that was unprecedented in our lifetime.” Mr. Powell has “had to deal with cleaning up the mess,” he added.Former President Bill Clinton said inflation was the “fundamental problem” that helped Mr. Trump return to the White House.“The average person had not really lived through something like this for 40 years, since the ’70s,” Mr. Clinton said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More