DOGE's Aggressive Push to Restructure Federal Agencies | JQJO

New York‑based startup Asymptote Labs announced a $5.5 million seed round led by Tower Research Ventures. The funding will support the company’s development of tools that record and block risky actions by AI systems.

President Trump announced at a Kansas rally that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will launch a new Harvest Fuel Relief program, providing $8 billion to offset diesel costs for the 2026 crop year. The USDA said farmers do not need crop insurance to qualify and can apply by creating a Login.gov account. Secretary Brooke Rollins said the investment will give farmers certainty during the harvest season. The program will pay farmers a portion of their estimated losses using a standard formula based on planted acreage, production costs, crop yields and prices from the USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. Payment rates for major commodity crops will be announced in November, with details for other eligible products to follow. The aid comes amid record diesel prices, which peaked at $6.53 per gallon on September 22 and are now averaging $6.32 per gallon, up from $3.62 a year ago, according to AAA data. The USDA forecasts net farm income to drop 2.6% this year as production costs rise 4.5%, with fuel and oil expenses expected to jump nearly 30%.

Amazon’s Alexa Tablet 12 Pro marks a departure from its Fire line, offering a premium build and high‑end specs that position it as a direct competitor to the iPad. The 12‑inch device features an aluminum unibody, 6.5 mm thick, weighing about 550 g, and comes in a single graphite color. It runs Google Play services instead of Amazon’s forked Android. The tablet includes a USB‑C port, a power button with fingerprint sensor, and volume controls on the right edge. Priced at $500, the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro aims to attract users who want a high‑quality tablet without the iPad price tag.

U.S. envoys met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on Tuesday as Kyiv accused Washington of pulling back crucial aid. The meeting, attended by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son‑in‑law Jared Kushner (via videoconference), also included Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Kyiv’s criticism came after Trump waived sanctions and agreed to a diesel deal with Russia, actions that have raised doubts about U.S. mediation efforts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he hoped Trump’s envoys could meet in Russia “in the near future.”

A sixty‑five‑year‑old woman died after a shark mauled her while swimming at Orient Beach in KuGompo City, South Africa, on Tuesday. Police arrived around seven a.m. local time and found her body with severe wounds to her arm and leg. Witnesses reported seeing a shark’s tail and fin before the attack. The municipality closed nearby beaches and urged the public to stay out of the water. The incident follows a pattern of rare but deadly shark encounters along South Africa’s coast.

A documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, titled "You Can See Everything," opened Friday in 855 theaters across the United States and Canada, earning approximately fifteen million dollars in its opening weekend. The film, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim and distributed by A24, recorded more than two thousand sold‑out screenings and finished second at the weekend box office. Filmed largely in secret over three years, the documentary follows Holmes, whose blood‑testing startup collapsed after its claims were exposed as fraudulent. Holmes was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud investors and began serving her prison sentence in May two thousand twenty‑three.

The Justice Department announced on Monday it was charging twenty‑eight green card holders in California with election crimes for allegedly registering to vote or voting in U.S. elections. This action escalates the Trump administration’s dispute with the state over its voting system as the midterm elections approach. The DOJ also filed an emergency request to block California from processing ballots from people on its voter rolls that the federal government says are likely noncitizens. Meanwhile, TikTok staff have repeatedly raised child‑safety concerns with executives, who have failed to act, according to court records. President Trump is campaigning in key purple states, including Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, Iowa and Florida, as Election Day nears.

Antigravity has slashed the entry price of its A1 Follow‑Me drone to $799 in the U.S., replacing the original FPV headset and motion controller with a wristwatch and ring. The new kit lets users launch the drone from their hand, then walk or ride while the A1 automatically films and follows them, avoiding obstacles. Users can nudge the drone with arm gestures, view a swipeable preview on the watch, and manually fly the drone with sliders. However, the drone still struggles to dodge power lines, thin branches, and utility wires, and it can fail to follow after cresting a high hill. Antigravity hopes to address these rough edges in future updates.