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Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, arrives to testify during the House Financial Services hearing on An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019.
Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

As senators absorbed Tuesday’s testimony from the Facebook whistleblower, who leaked the company’s internal research to reporters, they demanded to hear from the person in charge.

In front of a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday, Frances Haugen, a former product manager at Facebook, said the company repeatedly prioritized profits over user safety. Haugen said she felt compelled to come forward because “almost no one outside of Facebook knows what happens inside Facebook.”

There’s one person inside the company who knows more than anyone: CEO Mark Zuckerberg. But on Sunday, as “60 Minutes” was set to air Haugen’s first press interview as the unmasked whistleblower, Zuckerberg posted a video that showed him sailing with his wife, Priscilla Chan.

“Mark Zuckerberg ought to be looking at himself in the mirror today, and yet, rather than taking responsibility and showing leadership, Mr. Zuckerberg is going sailing,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chair of the subcommittee that held Tuesday’s hearing. “No apologies, no admission, no action, nothing to see here. Mark Zuckerberg, you need to come before this committee you need to explain to Francis Haugen, to us, to the world and to the parents of America what you were doing and why you did it.”

Since the Wall Street Journal began running a series of stories last month, based on documents provided by Haugen, Zuckerberg has been noticeably silent on the matter. The stories have exposed numerous troubling issues within Facebook’s apps, as well as the company’s own research that shows Instagram is harmful to teens’ mental health.

The closest Zuckerberg has come to addressing the subject was on Sept. 21, after a New York Times story said that Facebook’s current public relations strategy is to distance the CEO from scandals and not apologize for them. The Times incorrectly stated in the story that Zuckerberg had recently posted a video of himself riding an electric surfboard.

Zuckerberg took offense, with a sarcastic response.

Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, testifies during the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security hearing titled Children’s Online Safety-Facebook Whistleblower, in Russell Building on Tuesday, October 5, 2021.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

“Look, it’s one thing for the media to say false things about my work, but it’s crossing the line to say I’m riding an electric surfboard when that video clearly shows a hydrofoil that I’m pumping with my own legs,” Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook.

He was referring to a viral video from July 4, that showed him riding a hydrofoil while holding an American flag. Coupled with the sailing video from the weekend, senators said Zuckerberg is missing the moment.

“Mark Zuckerberg is going sailing and saying no apologies,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during the hearing. “I think the time has come for action. And I think you are the catalyst for that action.”

In keeping his distance from the Journal’s reports and the whistleblower documents, Zuckerberg has let other company representatives take the heat publicly. Last week, for example, Facebook sent Antigone Davis, its global head of safety, to testify before the same committee about the Journal’s reporting and the company’s research.

‘The buck stops with him’

And on Monday, as Haugen was testifying, Facebook spokesman Andy Stone took to Twitter to try and discredit the ex-employee’s authority, by pointing out that she didn’t work directly on the issues at hand.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., read Stone’s tweet towards the end of the hearing, and said the company has an open stage to tell its side of the story.

“I will simply say this to Mr. Stone: If Facebook wants to discuss their targeting of children, if they want to discuss their practices, privacy invasion or violations of the children online privacy act, I am extending to you an invitation to step forward, be sworn in and testify before this committee,” Blackburn said. “We would be pleased to hear from you and welcome your testimony.”

Ultimately, it’s Zuckerberg they want to question. He’s the founder, visionary, largest shareholder and he still controls over half the voting power. Haugen made that point to the committee.

“Mark has built an organization that is very metrics driven,” Haugen said. “It isn’t it is intended to be flat, there is no unilateral responsibility. The metrics make the decision. Unfortunately, that itself is a decision. And in the end, if he is the CEO and the chairman of Facebook, he is responsible for those decisions.”

“The buck stops with the buck stops wit him?” Blumenthal asked.

“The buck stops with him,” Haugen said.

After the hearing, Stone tweeted out a statement from Facebook, suggesting that Haugen was not in a position to know the inner workings of the company.

“We don’t agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about,” Facebook said.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., thanked Haugen for coming forward, called her “a 21st-century American hero” and said the committee is coming after Zuckerberg.

“Here’s my message for Mark Zuckerberg: Your time of invading our privacy, promoting toxic content and preying on children and teens is over,” Markey said. “We will not allow your company to harm our children and our families and our democracy any longer.”

Following the hearing, Blumenthal said it was premature to consider subpoenaing Zuckerberg, adding that he should appear before Congress voluntarily.

“He has a public responsibility to answer these questions,” Blumenthal said.

— CNBC’s Lauren Feiner contributed to this report.

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Waymo to begin testing in Philadelphia with safety drivers behind the wheel

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Waymo to begin testing in Philadelphia with safety drivers behind the wheel

A Waymo autonomous self-driving Jaguar electric vehicle sits parked at an EVgo charging station in Los Angeles, California, on May 15, 2024.

Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

Waymo said it will begin testing in Philadelphia, with a limited fleet of vehicles and human safety drivers behind the wheel.

“This city is a National Treasure,” Waymo wrote in a post on X on Monday. “It’s a city of love, where eagles fly with a gritty spirit and cheese that spreads and cheese that steaks. Our road trip continues to Philly next.”

The Alphabet-owned company confirmed to CNBC that it will be testing in Pennsylvania’s largest city through the fall, adding that the initial fleet of cars will be manually driven through the more complex parts of Philadelphia, including downtown and on freeways.

“Folks will see our vehicles driving at all hours throughout various neighborhoods, from North Central to Eastwick, and from University City to as far east as the Delaware River,” a Waymo spokesperson said.

With its so-called road trips, Waymo seeks to collect mapping data and evaluate how its autonomous technology, Waymo Driver, performs in new environments, handling traffic patterns and local infrastructure. Road trips are often used a way for the company to gauge whether it can potentially offer a paid ride share service in a particular location.

The expanded testing, which will go through the fall, comes as Waymo aims for a broader rollout. Last month, the company announced plans to drive vehicles manually in New York for testing, marking the first step toward potentially cracking the largest U.S. city. Waymo applied for a permit with the New York City Department of Transportation to operate autonomously with a trained specialist behind the wheel in Manhattan. State law currently doesn’t allow for such driverless operations.

Waymo One provides more than 250,000 paid trips each week across Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas, and is preparing to bring fully autonomous rides to Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C., in 2026.

Alphabet has been under pressure to monetize artificial intelligence products as it bolsters spending on infrastructure. Alphabet’s “Other Bets” segment, which includes Waymo, brought in revenue of $1.65 billion in 2024, up from $1.53 billion in 2023. However, the segment lost $4.44 billion last year, compared to a loss of $4.09 billion the previous year.

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Trump advisor Navarro rips Apple’s Tim Cook for not moving production out of China fast enough

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Trump advisor Navarro rips Apple's Tim Cook for not moving production out of China fast enough

Peter Navarro: 'Inconceivable' that Apple could not produce iPhones outside China

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro chastised Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday over the company’s response to pressure from the Trump administration to make more of its products outside of China.

“Going back to the first Trump term, Tim Cook has continually asked for more time in order to move his factories out of China,” Navarro said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “I mean it’s the longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley.”

CNBC has reached out to Apple for comment on Navarro’s criticism.

President Donald Trump has in recent months ramped up demands for Apple to move production of its iconic iPhone to the U.S. from overseas. Apple’s flagship phone is produced primarily in China, but the company has increasingly boosted production in India, partly to avoid the higher cost of Trump’s tariffs.

Trump in May warned Apple would have to pay a tariff of 25% or more for iPhones made outside the U.S. In separate remarks, Trump said he told Cook, “I don’t want you building in India.”

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Analysts and supply chain experts have argued it would be impossible for Apple to completely move iPhone production to the U.S. By some estimates, a U.S.-made iPhone could cost as much as $3,500.

Navarro said Cook isn’t shifting production out of China quickly enough.

“With all these new advanced manufacturing techniques and the way things are moving with AI and things like that, it’s inconceivable to me that Tim Cook could not produce his iPhones elsewhere around the world and in this country,” Navarro said.

Apple currently makes very few products in the U.S. During Trump’s first term, Apple extended its commitment to assemble the $3,000 Mac Pro in Texas.

In February, Apple said it would spend $500 billion within the U.S., including on assembling some AI servers.

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CoreWeave to acquire Core Scientific in $9 billion all-stock deal

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CoreWeave to acquire Core Scientific in  billion all-stock deal

CoreWeave founders Brian Venturo, at left in sweatshirt, and Mike Intrator slap five after ringing the opening bell at Nasdaq headquarters in New York on March 28, 2025.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Artificial intelligence hyperscaler CoreWeave said Monday it will acquire Core Scientific, a leading data center infrastructure provider, in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $9 billion.

Coreweave stock fell about 4% on Monday while Core Scientific stock plummeted about 20%. Shares of both companies rallied at the end of June after the Wall Street Journal reported that talks were underway for an acquisition.

The deal strengthens CoreWeave’s position in the AI arms race by bringing critical infrastructure in-house.

CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator said the move will eliminate $10 billion in future lease obligations and significantly enhance operating efficiency.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending regulatory and shareholder approval.

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The deal expands CoreWeave’s access to power and real estate, giving it ownership of 1.3 gigawatts of gross capacity across Core Scientific’s U.S. data center footprint, with another gigawatt available for future growth.

Core Scientific has increasingly focused on high-performance compute workloads since emerging from bankruptcy and relisting on the Nasdaq in 2024.

Core Scientific shareholders will receive 0.1235 CoreWeave shares for each share they hold — implying a $20.40 per-share valuation and a 66% premium to Core Scientific’s closing stock price before deal talks were reported.

After closing, Core Scientific shareholders will own less than 10% of the combined company.

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