The European Union has fined Google $3.46 billion for abusing its dominant position in the digital advertising market, accusing the company of creating inherent conflicts of interest by controlling both the buy and sell sides of online advertising. In response, US President Donald Trump has threatened to initiate a Section 301 trade investigation, which could lead to retaliatory tariffs, calling the fine "unfair" and "discriminatory" against American companies.

The European Commission announced the $3.46 billion fine on Friday, stating that Google's control of both the buy and sell sides of the online advertising market created "inherent conflicts of interest." The investigation, which began in 2021, found that Google favored its own advertising services, violating EU competition laws Regulators have ordered Google to end its "self-preferencing practices" and resolve these conflicts of interest, with the company having 60 days to propose a remedy.

The Commission noted that structural remedies, such as a forced divestiture of parts of its adtech business, remain a possibility if Google's proposals are inadequate.

President Trump reacted swiftly on Truth Social, calling the fine "unfair" and "discriminatory" towards US companies. He claimed the $3.5 billion penalty was taking money that would otherwise go to "American Investments and Jobs" and stated, "Very unfair, and the American Taxpayer will not stand for it!" Trump explicitly threatened to start a Section 301 proceeding to "nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies."

A Section 301 investigation paves the way for Washington to impose import taxes under a fortified legal basis through the Commerce Department, and the president has a lot of latitude to issue tariffs over unfair trade practices under the provision. Section 301 is the same trade tool Trump used to justify tariffs on China starting in 2018.

Trump also referenced a previous $17 billion fine against Apple, suggesting it should be reversed He claimed the total fines against Google from the EU now amount to $16.5 billion, including the latest penalty.

The fine marks the fourth antitrust penalty for Google from the EU The investigation focused on Google's dominance in online display advertising, where personalized banners and text ads appear on websites. The EU has previously warned that past penalties and requirements have not effectively curbed anti-competitive practices.

Google has rejected the decision, calling it "wrong" and stating it would appeal, arguing that the fine is unjustified and that the required changes would harm European businesses.

The company maintains that providing services for both ad buyers and sellers is not inherently anticompetitive and that there are more alternatives available than ever before.

The timing of Trump's threat is notable, as it comes just a day after he hosted Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, co-founder Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg and other tech leaders at a White House dinner to discuss artififical intelligence implications with First Lady Melania Trump. This confrontation adds tension to a recently agreed-upon US-EU trade deal aimed at reducing US tariffs on EU imports.

“The European Union must stop this practice against American Companies, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday, formally changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, a move he framed as a restoration of American military strength and a rejection of what he termed "woke" policies within the Pentagon.

The rebranding, which requires congressional approval for permanence, was announced in a ceremony in the Oval Office, where Trump, flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, stated the change was necessary because the U.S. "never fought to win" under the previous name, attributing past military stalemates to political correctness.

Hegseth declared the change was about "restoring the warrior ethos" and fighting "to win, not to lose," while Caine's remarks were not detailed in the provided sources.

"Really it has to do with winning. We should have won every war. We could have won every war, but we really chose to be very politically correct or wokey and we just fight forever," Trump said, flanked by Hegseth and Gen. Caine. "We had it, and we won World War I, we won World War II, we won everything before, and as I said, we won everything in between," Trump added. "And we were very strong. But we never fought to win. We just didn’t fight to win. We would have won every one of those wars quickly, but they went a route that I think was probably politically correct, but not correct for our nation. So I think the Department of War sends a signal." He also stated, "We won the first world war, second world war- everything before that and in between and then we decided to go woke and changed the name to 'Department of Defense', so we're going 'Department of War'"

Hegseth on his part said, "This name changing is not just about renaming, it is about restoring. Words matter... Restoring the warrior ethos, restoring victory and clarity, restoring intentionality... The War Department is going to fight decisively, not endless conflicts. It's going to fight to win, not to lose. We are going to go on offence, not just defence; maximum lethality, not tepid legality; violent effect, not politically correct. We are going to raise up warriors, not just defenders"  He also stated, "We won World War I and World War II not with the Department of Defence but with the War Department"

The Department of War was established by President George Washington in 1789 and served as the primary agency for the U.S. Army until 1947. In that year, President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act, which merged the Department of the Army (formerly the Department of War), the Department of the Navy, and the newly created Department of the Air Force into the National Military Establishment. This entity was renamed the Department of Defense in August 1949.

The recent rebranding is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Hegseth to reverse policies deemed "woke" or politically correct, including reversing the renaming of military bases from Confederate names and renaming a Navy ship previously named after gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

The White House has already updated its social media and the Pentagon's website to reflect the new name, with the domain changing to "war.gov." The move has been met with enthusiasm from some on the right, but skepticism and scorn from others.

Tesla's Board of Directors has proposed a performance-based compensation package for CEO Elon Musk that could be worth nearly $1 trillion if all targets are met, with the shares to be distributed in 12 tranches over a 10-year period.

The plan, which requires shareholder approval at the November 6 annual meeting, is designed to retain Musk and incentivize him to achieve ambitious growth and operational milestones, including reaching an $8.5 trillion market capitalization, delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles, launching 1 million Robotaxis, and achieving $400 billion in adjusted EBITDA profit.

Robyn Denholm, Tesla's Chairwoman, stated the package aims to keep Musk "motivated and focused on delivering for the company" and emphasized that his compensation is tied directly to performance, not guaranteed.

"Mr. Musk is independently wealthy and has consistently demonstrated that he is motivated by more than just conventional forms of compensation. Rather, he is driven by bold, high-stakes challenges that allow him to fundamentally reshape industries and society, while maximizing long-term shareholder value," the company's board said in a statement. "The Special Committee believes that retaining and incentivizing Mr. Musk as Chief Executive Officer at this pivotal moment is essential to Tesla’s successful transition from its role as a leader in the EV and renewable energy industries to growing into a leader in AI, robotics and related services."

The total value of the package is estimated at $975 billion based on maximum payout, with the potential to reach approximately $1 trillion if all performance targets are achieved.

The first tranche requires Tesla to reach a $2 trillion market cap, with subsequent milestones increasing by $500 billion per tranche, culminating in the final $8.5 trillion target.

Operational milestones include the delivery of 1 million Optimus robots, 10 million active Full Self-Driving (FSD) subscriptions, and the commercial operation of 1 million Robotaxis.

To earn the final two tranches, Musk must participate in developing a long-term CEO succession framework approved by the board, and he must remain at Tesla as either CEO or an executive officer responsible for product or operations for at least 7.5 years.

The package is a response to a Delaware Chancery Court ruling that voided Musk’s 2018 $56 billion pay plan, which was deemed improperly granted and excessive  Tesla has appealed the decision, and the company recently awarded Musk an interim $29 billion stock award.

The proposal also includes a separate shareholder vote on whether Tesla should invest in Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI, at the same meeting.

“Elon earns nothing under the 2025 CEO Performance Award until he meets a series of incredibly ambitious market capitalization AND operational milestones,"  If he succeeds, Tesla will become the most valuable company in history – with an $8.5 trillion market cap – and shareholders will benefit from incredible growth and value creation.”

Denholm reiterated in a statement that retaining and incentivizing Musk is fundamental to Tesla achieving its goal of becoming the most valuable company in history.