SpaceX founder Elon Musk gestures to the audience after being recognized by U.S. President Donald Trump at NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building following the successful launch of a Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center
Paul Hennessy | SOPA Images | Getty Images
As part of a criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election, a federal judge asked if the company formerly known as Twitter was trying to “cozy up” to the ex-president by refusing to hand over data related to his account.
According to a court transcript that was made public on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell grilled Twitter’s legal team during a hearing on Feb. 7, for delaying the delivery of materials to special counsel Jack Smith, who had a search warrant for Trump’s Twitter account.
At the time, Twitter wasn’t complying with the warrant, citing various legal arguments and its desire to notify Trump about the probe. Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased Twitter late last year and soon reinstated Trump’s account after the ex-president was kicked off the site in January 2021 following the Capitol riot.
“Twitter has had quite some time to comply with the warrant and have everything prepared to turn over, so I am a little bit concerned about where we are,” Howell said, according to the transcript.
Twitter, now known as X, eventually sent Smith’s team the necessary data related to Trump’s Twitter account on Feb 9, and was then fined $350,000 as part of a so-called contempt sanction.
Trump was indicted earlier this month on charges related to attempting to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. The former president now faces 91 felony charges across four criminal cases.
Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to members of the media at the US Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, on August 1, 2023.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
At various points during the February hearing, Judge Howell peppered Twitter’s lawyers about whether they understood the “scope” of the warrant and the information that the government sought.
“Is it because the CEO wants to cozy up with the former president, and that’s why you are here?” Howell asked.
The judge and the defense’s legal team engaged in a seemingly tense back-and-forth exchange about the proper ways to search for the material and what kind of data was appropriate for the government to gather as part of its probe.
At several times during the conversation, Howell disputed Twitter’s interpretation of various rights related to the First Amendment and executive privilege, which the company claimed would impede its ability to provide materials to the government as part of an investigation.
“It couldn’t be that Twitter is trying to make up for the fact that it kicked Donald Trump off Twitter for some period of time that it now is standing up to protect First Amendment rights here, is it?” said Howell.
“No, your honor,” replied George Varghese, Twitter’s lawyer, adding that the nature of the search request provided a legal reason for not complying with the order.
Howell continued, asking if the company was trying “to make Donald Trump feel like he is a particularly welcomed new renewed user of Twitter, here.”
Varghese responded by saying “Twitter has no interest other than litigating its constitutional rights, your honor.”
An illustration photo shows Moore Threads logo in a smartphone in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, China on October 30, 2025.
Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Shares of Moore Threads, a Beijing-based graphics processing unit (GPU) manufacturer often referred to as “China’s Nvidia,” soared by more than 400% on its debut in Shanghai following its $1.1 billion listing.
Moore Threads’ IPO was led by CITIC Securities, which served as the lead underwriter for the offering. The joint book runners on the deal were BOC International Securities, China Merchants Securities, and GF Securities.
The company, which is not yet profitable, said in its listing that the IPO proceeds are needed to accelerate several core research and development initiatives, including new-generation self-developed AI training and inference GPU chips. A portion of the funds will also be used to supplement working capital.
Moore Thread’s successful IPO comes despite it being placed under U.S. sanctions in 2023, which limited its access to advanced chip manufacturing processes and foundries.
The firm is representative of a growing cast of Chinese companies developing AI processors amid Beijing’s efforts to reduce reliance on American chip designer Nvidia.
Other companies in the space include tech giants like Huawei, as well as more specialized players like Cambricon — a firm whose shares on the Shanghai exchange have surged more than 100% year to date.
Washington has maintained varying export restrictions on Nvidia for years, preventing it from selling its most advanced AI chips to China. More recently, Beijing has also stepped in to block imports of Nvidia’s chips as it tries to encourage domestic alternatives like Moore Threads.
Newer players like Enflame Technology and Biren Technology have also entered the space, aiming to capture a share of the billions in GPU demand no longer served by Nvidia. Chinese regulators have also been clearing more semiconductor IPOs in their drive for greater AI independence.
Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, speaking with CNBC at the annual Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 10th, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
SoFi shares fell almost 6% in extended trading Thursday after the fintech company announced a $1.5 billion stock offering.
The company, which provides online loans and other banking services, said in a press release that it will use the proceeds for “general corporate purposes, including but not limited to enhancing capital position, increasing optionality and enabling further efficiency of capital management, and funding incremental growth and business opportunities.”
The announced offering comes after SoFi’s market cap almost doubled so far in 2025. The stock price is up more than sixfold since the end of 2022.
A company’s share price often drops on a planned share sale as the offering dilutes the value of existing holders’ stakes.
In its third-quarter earnings release in late October, SoFi reported revenue growth of 38% from a year earlier to $961.6 million, while net income more than doubled to $139.4 million. The company reported cash and equivalents of $3.25 billion.
Lisa Jackson, senior vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives at Apple Inc., speaks during the TechCrunch Disrupt 2017 in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple’s general counsel, Kate Adams, and its vice president for environment, policy, and social initiatives, Lisa Jackson, are retiring from the company, the iPhone maker announced on Thursday.
Jennifer Newstead, Meta’s chief legal officer, will become Apple’s new general counsel in March, and Jackson’s government affairs staff will report to her starting late next year, Apple said.
The two executives, who both reported to Apple CEO Tim Cook, are the latest members of senior leadership to exit the company. In recent weeks, Apple’s head software designer said he was leaving to join Meta, while Apple said its AI chief was retiring, along with its chief operating officer.
Adams joined Apple from Honeywell and became general counsel in 2017, and oversaw legal matters including litigation, global security, and the company’s privacy initiatives. Under Adams, Apple grappled with rising antitrust scrutiny and regulation around the world, including major lawsuits in the U.S. over the iPhone App Store’s restrictions and fees.
Jackson joined Apple in 2013, and led the company’s diversity programs as well as much of its policy work in Washington, D.C. Before that, she spent four years as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a position she was appointed to by President Barack Obama.
With her emphasis in areas like social justice and renewable energies, Jackson’s job lost relevance during the second Trump administration, which has publicly denounced diversity, equity and inclusion programs and slammed efforts to combat climate change.
Apple has faced increased tariffs from the Trump administration, and Cook has met with President Donald Trump several times to tout the company’s American manufacturing plans as part of an effort to influence policy.
Jackson was instrumental in Apple’s launch of its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative following the 2020 murder of George Floyd. She then helped expand the company’s equity and justice efforts to other countries, including the U.K., Mexico and New Zealand, according to a report published in 2023.
“At Apple, we pledge that our resolve will not fade,” Jackson wrote in a section of that report. “We won’t delay action. We will work, each and every day, on the urgent task of advancing equity.”
Jackson also worked on Apple’s environmental image. Her job “focused on reducing greenhouse gases, protecting air and water quality, preventing exposure to toxic contamination, and expanding outreach to communities on environmental issues,” according to her bio on the company’s website. She discussed Apple’s plans to become carbon neutral at iPhone launch events.
Jackson also accompanied Cook to several official functions in Washington, including state dinners.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple Vice President Lisa Jackson arrive at the White House for a state dinner on April 10, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Tasos Katopodis | Getty Images
Newstead, who will become Apple’s top lawyer, has overseen Meta’s legal and regulatory matters pertaining to its family of apps like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp since 2019. A Meta spokesperson said Newstead will be staying through the end of the year and that the company is actively searching for her replacement.
Prior to Meta, Newstead served as a Trump-appointed legal advisor at the State Department during the president’s first administration in 2019.
Before that, she was a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell and a general counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget, among other roles in the U.S. government.