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In a year when the U.S. consumer has been weighed down by economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and inflation, Black entrepreneurs are eager to get to the Essence Festival of Culture to connect with their core customers.

“Essence Fest is like my Black Friday,” said Rochelle Ivory, owner of beauty brand On the Edge Baby Hair. “It is my biggest sales weekend of the year. It’s where I make all the capital I reinvest in my business.”

Essence Fest kicks off on Friday, with roughly 500,000 people attending the event in New Orleans. It generates around $1 billion in economic activity, according to organizers.

“It’s the cannot-miss event for us,” said Brittney Adams, owner of eyewear brand Focus and Frame. She said this year Essence Fest is even more important because she’s seen Black consumers pulling back on spending.

“I would say the uncertainty of just the economic and political climate — that’s giving people a little bit of hesitancy. Should they save the money? Should they buy the things they want?” Adams said.

Ivory said her sales are down roughly 30% year over year, but she’s hopeful people come to New Orleans looking to spend their time and money in the festival marketplace.

“This could make or break some of us,” she said. “It’s one of the few places where Black women, Black founders can really come together and be seen.”

The Global Black Economic Forum aims to bring visibility and create solutions for Black business owners at Essence Fest. This year speakers include Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. Last year, then-Vice President Kamala Harris spoke.

“We intentionally curate a space that allows leaders to preserve, build and reimagine how we can collectively increase economic opportunity to thrive,” said Alphonso David, CEO of the GBEF.

While many Black Americans express economic anxiety, the data is less clear.

In the first quarter of this year, according to Federal Reserve data, the median weekly salary for Black workers was $1,192 a 5% increase year over year. Black unemployment stood at 6% in the most recent jobs report, a historically low number, but still higher than the national average of 4.2%.

However, the data doesn’t appear to fully reflect the sentiment for many Black Americans who are concerned about the political, cultural and economic shifts that have taken place since President Donald Trump’s election.

“Never let a good crisis go to waste,” said John Hope Bryant, founder and CEO of Operation Hope, one of the nation’s largest non-profits focused on financial education and empowerment.

Bryant said he sees the concerns of Black Americans as an opportunity in the second half of 2025.

“This president has done something that hasn’t been done since the 1960s, which is unify Black America. Wealth was created in the early 20th century because Blacks were forced to work together. But instead of Black Lives Matter, let’s make Black capitalist matter,” he said.

Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has galvanized Black consumers with an organized boycott of Target that began in February in response to the retailer’s decision to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Bryant said he is in discussions with Target but is ready to organize a longer-term boycott if the retailer does not fulfill the promises it made to the Black community after the killing of George Floyd. He is urging Black Americans to use the estimated $2.1 trillion dollars in spending power forecast by 2026 to drive economic and political change.

“I would dare say that ‘pocketbook protests’ are a revolutionary activity,” said Bryant.

“I think we have to be very selective in light of the ‘Big Ugly Bill’ that just passed and how it will adversely affect our community,” he said, referencing Trump’s megabill that passed through Congress this week.

Invest Fest, an event that blends commerce and culture created by financially focused media company Earn Your Leisure kicks off in Atlanta in August.

Co-CEOs Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings said the event will remain focused on financial literacy, but this year they are emphasizing the urgent need for education and entrepreneurship in technology.

“It’s definitely now or never, the time is now,” said Bilal.

“The important thing this year is the way technology is going to disrupt a lot of career paths and the businesses, and we have to prepare for that, which is why AI is at the forefront of the conversation, crypto is at the forefront of the conversations, real estate as always and entrepreneurship,” said Millings.

New this year is a partnership with venture capital firm Open Opportunity and a pitch competition where an entrepreneur can win $125,000 in funding to scale their business.

“We need more businesses that can reach $100 million valuation to a $1 billion valuation, get on the stock market. The pathway to that 9 times out of 10 is technology,” Bilal said.

The National Black MBA Association Conference in Houston in September will have a similar tone. The event is known for its career fair where the nation’s largest companies recruit as well as for networking and vibrant social activities.

This year, interim CEO Orlando Ashford is working to establish artificial intelligence education and financial literacy as pillars of the event.

“Doing business as usual is not an option,” Ashford told CNBC. “AI is something I literally refer to as a tsunami of change that’s on its way. All of us will be forced to pivot in some ways as it relates to AI. Those of us that are out in front, that embrace it and leverage it actually can turn it into a tremendous and powerful opportunity. Those that wait and ignore it will be overtaken by the wave.”

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A teenage pilot, who is attempting to fly all seven continents solo, hit a patch of rough air this weekend when Chilean authorities detained him for changing his flight plan without their permission and landing in Antarctica.

Chilean prosecutors say American influencer Ethan Guo, 19, broke “multiple national and international regulations” by changing his flight plans without prior notice, landing on a part of Antarctica where the South American country maintains a territorial claim.

Guo, whose website states he is trying to raise $1 million for cancer research by becoming “the first person ever to fly to all seven continents solo,” has broadcast his continent-hopping journey since last September to more than a million Instagram followers.

His last post, on June 23, documents a flight over the Philippines.

Chilean authorities say that on Saturday, Guo submitted a false flight plan and took off from Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Airport in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas as the sole passenger and crew member aboard a Cessna 182Q aircraft, registered as N182WT. At one point during that flight, authorities say he turned off course toward Antarctica.

“The accused provided false information to the aeronautical authority. He submitted a flight plan indicating that he was going to fly over the city of Punta Arenas,” said Cristian Crisosto Rifo, the Regional Prosecutor of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica.

“However, he continued toward Antarctica without informing anyone and without any authorization, landing at the airfield of Lieutenant Rodolfo Marsh Base in Chilean Antarctic territory. With this behavior, the accused seriously endangered the safety of air traffic to Antarctica and the Magallanes region,” the prosecutor added.

Cristoso explained that as soon as Guo landed in Antarctica, he was detained and formally charged. “The accused not only violated the Aeronautical Code but also multiple national and international regulations regarding routes to Antarctica and access to the white continent,” emphasized Crisosto.

On Sunday, his lawyer told reporters at a press conference after Guo was charged that the young pilot experienced “complications” while flying. “While already in the air, he began to experience a series of complications,” Karina Ulloa said, adding that Guo claims “that he was conducting an exploratory flight to see if he could follow this route or not.”

The Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Prosecutor’s Office determined on Sunday that the teen must remain in the Chilean sector of the frozen continent until authorities give him permission to return to the city of Punta Arenas.

The Chilean court decreed a 90-day investigation period for this case, during which time Guo must remain in Chile.

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UK lawmakers voted Wednesday to ban Palestine Action, a UK-based group that aims to disrupt the operations of weapons manufacturers supplying the Israeli government.

Members of Parliament voted 382 to 26 in favor of the measure against the group after two Palestine Action activists broke into Britain’s largest air base in central England, damaging two military aircraft.

The draft proscription order will reach the House of Lords on Thursday. If approved by the upper house, the ban would go into effect in the following days.

A full ban would mean that it would be illegal under UK law to be a member of – or invite support for – Palestine Action. It would put the group on par with terrorist organizations such as Hamas, al Qaeda and ISIS – sparking condemnation from United Nations experts, human rights groups, and politicians.

British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the government’s intention to proscribe the group on June 23, after two Palestine Action activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers.

Video from the scene showed activists spraying red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers, which the group said were targeted for their alleged role in carrying military cargo and for their use in refueling Israeli, American and British military aircraft.

Palestine Action announced on Monday that it had started legal proceedings against the government’s decision. The group’s co-founder Huda Ammori said the clampdown mirrored “many authoritarian regimes around the world who have used counter-terrorism to crush dissent.”

If the ban goes into effect, it would likely be the first time in UK history that a direct action protest group has been proscribed under anti-terror legislation, according to several human rights advocates.

Those who defy the ban could face up to 14 years in prison, according to UK counter-terrorism police and the government. Even wearing items of clothing which “arouse reasonable suspicion” that an individual is a member or supporter of the group could result in six months in prison or a fine, police say.

‘Grave misuse of anti-terrorism powers’

Human rights organisations have vehemently criticised the government’s move, saying it is the latest in a series of draconian measures taken by the state to clamp down on legitimate protest in the country.

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK chief executive, said on June 23 that proscribing Palestine Action could risk an “unlawful interference” with the fundamental rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

She wrote to parliamentarians on Tuesday to warn that outlawing the group would be a “grave misuse of anti-terrorism powers.”

“Proscribing Palestine Action will mean that by the weekend, millions of people living in the UK will have limitations on their freedom of speech,” she said.

Experts from the United Nations also added to the growing chorus of criticism on Tuesday, saying they were worried about the “unjustified labelling of a political protest movement as ‘terrorist’.”

Others have previously shared messages of solidarity with the group: “We are all Palestine Action,” Labour MP Zarah Sultana posted June 24 on X. Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the government’s proscription plan was “not what the counter terrorism laws were introduced for.”

Palestine Action called the government’s reaction to its air base action “unhinged.”

“The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these war planes, but the war crimes that have been enabled with those planes because of the UK Government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide,” the group said in a statement on June 24.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Rescuers were searching Thursday for 38 people missing in rough seas overnight after a ferry sank near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali.

Another four people died and 23 have been rescued, according to the Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency.

The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java’s Ketapang port late Wednesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement. It was bound for Bali’s Gilimanuk port, a 50-kilometer (30-mile) trip.

The ferry carried 53 passengers, 12 crew members and 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks, it said.

Many of those rescued were initially unconscious after drifting in choppy waters for hours, said Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra.

Nine boats, including two tug boats and two inflatable boats, have been searching for the missing people, battling waves up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) high in the overnight darkness.

Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where ferries are often used as transport and safety regulations can lapse.

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Bangladesh’s ousted and self-exiled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to six months in prison by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday in a contempt of court case, a top prosecutor said.

Hasina has been facing multiple cases since she fled to India after deadly student-led protests in August, but it was the first time the former leader was sentenced in one of them.

Shakil Akand Bulbul, a leader of the Awami League party’s banned student wing Chhatra League, was also sentenced to two months in prison in the same case, Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told reporters. The party had been led by Hasina for years.

A three-member ICT tribunal, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the verdict in their absence, noting that the sentences will take effect upon arrest or surrender, the prosecutor added.

The contempt charges stem from a leaked phone recording where Hasina was allegedly heard saying, “there are 227 cases against me, so I now have a licence to kill 227 people.”

A forensic report by a government investigative agency later confirmed the audio’s authenticity.

The ICT was originally set up in 2010 by Hasina’s own government to try 1971 war crimes.

Bangladesh’s interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, pledged to hold leaders, including Hasina, accountable for rights abuses and corruption, including the crackdown on the student-led uprising last July that toppled Hasina’s regime.

The tribunal has so far issued three arrest warrants for Hasina, including charges of crimes against humanity linked to the July violence. Hasina’s Awami League party remains banned while trials continue against the party and its former leaders.

Supporters of Hasina dismiss the charges as politically motivated, but the interim government insists the trials are crucial for restoring accountability and rebuilding trust in Bangladesh’s democratic institutions.

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A prominent Catholic Church leader and ally of Pope Leo XIV has strongly criticized the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, describing the rounding up and deportation of immigrants as “inhumane” and “morally repugnant.”

McElroy was appointed to lead the archdiocese in the US capital by Pope Francis in January, the month of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. He was among the more than 100 cardinals who took part in the conclave that elected the first American pope in May.

“This is simply not only incompatible with Catholic teaching, it’s inhumane and is morally repugnant,” he added.

“The scenes that occurred in Los Angeles where you saw mass agents of the government descending on car washers and Costco parking lots to round up whoever they can round up is not a sign of going after those who have criminal convictions.”

Trump has said his tough immigration policies are necessary to keep criminals off US streets and to ease the burden on US institutions. He has embraced the sinister image of a migrant detention facility surrounded by swampland and reptiles.

“It’s known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ which is very appropriate, because I look outside and it’s not a place I want to go,” Trump said Tuesday.

McElroy argued that the government had a right to deport people convicted of “serious crimes,” adding that the problems with immigration were rooted in an American political system that had failed to address immigration law and reform over the last 15 years.

But McElroy said people were now “afraid even to go to church” after the Trump administration removed the policy that prohibited immigration agents from making arrests in sensitive areas, like churches.

“What is behind this?” he asked, referencing the stricter immigration policies and enforcement tactics. “I fear that one of the main things behind it, in the minds of many who are pushing it, is the sense that the people who are coming to our country now are of a different kind.

“And that’s been a great theme in American culture and history all through our country’s immigration, when the Irish came, when the Italians came, when the Poles came, the refrain has been the same, ‘these are inferior people,’ and that’s what’s going on now… it’s an outrage.”

The cardinal, a former Bishop of San Diego, is one of several Catholic bishops who have spoken out against Trump’s migration policies.

But Vice President JD Vance, a devout Catholic who converted in 2019, earlier this year suggested the bishops’ criticisms of the Trump administration’s policies were motivated by financial interests because the church receives federal funding to resettle immigrants. McElroy hit back in the interview, saying the government funding was far from sufficient to cover the programs and the church had to pick up the shortfall.

“Those who say that haven’t done the math on what the church has been contributing over and above what the government has contributed to these programs,” he added.

Since his election, Pope Leo has urged respect for migrants, describing himself as “the descendant of immigrants, who in turn chose to emigrate.” McElroy said that while Leo XIV spoke about immigration in a “universal” context, “when you look at what he’s saying, it has clear implications for us.”

During the interview, Cardinal McElroy also criticized Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” – a sweeping piece of legislation that would extend tax cuts and increase funding for national security, partly paid for by the biggest cut to the federal social safety net in decades. He’s recently signed a letter with other bishops and faith leaders opposing the bill.

He said it appeared that millions would “ultimately lose their health care because of this bill so that billionaires can receive greater tax cuts,” adding: “There’s something radically wrong with a society that takes from the poorest to give to the wealthiest. It’s just wrong.”

In a statement, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson rejected the criticism – particularly that leveled at the Trump agenda bill.

“The American people elected President Trump, not a DC Archbishop, to serve as their President,” Jackson said. “President Trump is fulfilling the mandate the American people gave him in November to turn his campaign promises – like no tax on tips, social security, and overtime – into law. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill will be one of the most successful pieces of legislation ever passed and will supercharge our economy to benefit all Americans.”

When it came to church reforms and priorities for Pope Leo, McElroy talked about the importance of addressing the role of women.

He said this topic had been an “immensely powerful current” during recent Vatican assemblies, the synod, which looked at questions of church renewal and looked at how to include more women in decision making roles.

“The major thrust has to be look at where women ‘aren’t’ and then ask why?”

McElroy supports ordaining women as deacons, who carry out functions like a priest but without saying Mass or hearing confessions, which he says is consistent with the church’s theology. “It’s a controversial question within the church,” he admits, “but I think it would be important to move in that direction.”

Cardinal McElroy’s candidacy for Washington DC was bolstered by his doctorate in political science from Stanford University, which he was awarded for a thesis on moral norms in foreign policy.

“My great fear is that the lessons that nations will take away from this intervention against Iran is that if they have nuclear weapons then they won’t be subject to this sort of attack,” he said. “I think that’s an open question. Will this encourage more proliferation because the incentives are stronger now or clearer now, and that’s very ominous.”

Finally, the cardinal said he believes that Chicago-born Pope Leo would make a visit home – although he did not know when.

“I think when he does come to the United States it will be a great moment for our country.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

President Donald Trump’s $3.3 trillion ‘big, beautiful bill’ has reportedly set the House record for the longest vote in the history of the lower chamber of Congress. 

The procedural vote on the Senate-amended version of the bill lasted for more than seven hours. In 2021, the House spent seven hours and six minutes voting on former President Joe Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ legislative package. 

Wednesday night’s voting surpassed the previous record at 9:15 p.m. ET Wednesday by at least 15 minutes, according to Axios.

Assistant House Minority Leader Joe Neguse, D-Colo., goaded House Republicans by claiming the protracted voting period Wednesday violated House rules, Axios reported. 

The extended voting period came as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrangled with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. They pushed back on the Senate’s version of the megabill over its projected increase to the federal deficit, as well as what they deemed insufficient Medicaid reforms and spending cuts. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, took issue with Senate revisions reintroducing green energy tax credits despite House efforts to roll back such programs. 

With the Democrats united in opposition, the future of the more than 800-page, Trump-backed legislative package depends on a handful of GOP holdouts. 

Following the overnight session, Johnson said Thursday he was determined to get the Senate-amended bill passed by the House and to the president’s desk by the Independence Day deadline on Friday. 

Lawmakers voted to proceed with debate on the Trump agenda bill in the early hours of Thursday – a mechanism known as a ‘rule vote’ – teeing up a final House-wide vote sometime later Thursday morning.

Speaking to reporters Thursday morning, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said that beyond the House Freedom Caucus, some moderate Republicans also have final questions about how the megabill would be implemented. 

‘Some of them wanted to talk to some of the different agencies about, you know, how they’re planning on implementing it, which obviously the agency heads have been planning for months on these changes,’ Scalise said. ‘So they walk through those things and that was helpful to members just to at least get a good idea of what to expect once the bill becomes law. Of course, none of it happens if the bill doesn’t become law. So the focus has always been, let’s get this bill passed.’ 

The Senate passed the ‘big, beautiful bill’ by a razor-thin, 51-50 margin last week, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. 

Fox News’ Liz Elkind and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

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The ‘bunker busting’ bombs dropped on Iranian nuclear sites last month by U.S. forces have degraded Tehran’s atomic program by up to two years, the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday.

‘We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department [of Defense] assess that,’ Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell told reporters. 

‘We believe that Iran’s nuclear capability has been severely degraded, perhaps even their ambition to build a bomb,’ he added, though security experts have told Fox News Digital that Tehran is unlikely to be deterred in its ambition to build a nuclear weapon.

The announcement reflects a far more positive assessment regarding the success of the June 22 strikes that targeted the Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites than previous estimates regarding the extent to which Tehran’s atomic capabilities had been degraded. 

Rafael Grossi, head of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), over the weekend warned that Iran may be able to resume enriching uranium within a matter of months. 

The comments also coincided with reports that Iran may have been able to move some of its stockpiles of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, or possibly centrifuges, after satellite images showed more than a dozen cargo trucks were spotted at the Fordow nuclear site prior to the U.S. strikes. 

The U.S. has fervently denied that any intelligence suggests Iran was successful in moving its nuclear capabilities off site. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth became angry when asked about the possibility by reporters.

Fox News Digital has confirmed that Israel is continuing to monitor the security situation. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi this week acknowledged that there was severe damage to the Fordow facility, though he also insisted that ‘the technology and knowhow is still there.’

‘No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged,’ Aragchi said during a CBS interview this week.

Though according to Parnell on Wednesday, ‘All of the intelligence that we’ve seen (has) led us to believe that Iran’s – those facilities especially, have been completely obliterated.’

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At this point, most Americans are aware that their personal information is often up for sale. But few would have expected their domestic flight records to be part of the trade. 

You might think that when you book a flight, the data stays between you, the airline and perhaps your travel agency, but a new report suggests otherwise. Internal documents reveal that major U.S. airlines have been funneling detailed passenger data to a little-known broker, which then sells that information directly to the Department of Homeland Security. 

Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM/NEWSLETTER

Which airlines shared data and how the travel intelligence program works

At the center of the controversy is the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), a company jointly owned by several of the largest U.S. airlines, including Delta, American Airlines and United. ARC’s core business includes managing ticket settlements between airlines and travel agencies. However, under a lesser-known initiative called the Travel Intelligence Program (TIP), ARC collects and monetizes vast amounts of data from domestic flight bookings. This includes names, complete itineraries and payment details.

Internal government records and procurement documents reveal that Customs and Border Protection (CBP), part of the Department of Homeland Security, has purchased access to ARC’s TIP data to track individuals of interest across the U.S. While CBP maintains that this data supports criminal and administrative investigations, critics argue that the arrangement raises major privacy concerns. 

The data is shared without travelers’ knowledge or consent, and ARC reportedly requested that the agency keep its identity confidential unless legally required to disclose it.

The documents confirm that CBP’s initial contract with ARC began in June 2024. It has already been extended and may continue through 2029. Although the initial amounts seem modest, around $11,000 with a recent $6,800 update, the implications are far-reaching.

What DHS is collecting from your flight bookings and why it’s concerning

ARC’s Travel Intelligence Program goes far beyond basic passenger manifests. It includes over a billion records spanning both past and future travel, updated daily. The system can be queried by name, credit card or even travel agency. Importantly, it does not include data from tickets purchased directly through airline websites, focusing instead on bookings made via travel agencies, such as Expedia.

The DHS has justified its use of TIP data in a public Privacy Impact Assessment, noting the program helps in active investigations. CBP echoed this, stating that data is only used when a case is already open. Still, this sets a dangerous precedent. It normalizes mass surveillance through third-party data purchases, undermining safeguards designed to limit unnecessary intrusion.

This isn’t an isolated incident. Last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement also acknowledged purchasing ARC data. Other federal agencies listed in procurement records include the Secret Service, SEC, DEA, TSA and even the Air Force.

6 ways you can protect your privacy from data brokers

If you want to take back control of your personal information, here are six smart steps you can take right now to reduce your exposure to data brokers.

Whenever you can, avoid using third-party travel sites like Expedia, Orbitz or travel agencies. These platforms are the main sources of the data collected by the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) through its Travel Intelligence Program. When you book directly on an airline’s official website or mobile app, your data is far less likely to be shared with ARC or sold to government agencies. While it might be tempting to look for deals on aggregator sites, once you find a fare you like, try to book it directly through the airline.

The ARC system allows queries by credit card number, which means your travel activity can be tracked even if your name is not directly searched. To protect yourself, consider using a virtual credit card or a disposable card number for flight bookings. These are often available through banking apps or fintech services like Revolut, Privacy.com or certain American Express accounts. Virtual cards are tied to your main account but generate a temporary number that can only be used once or at a specific merchant. This makes it much harder for brokers to link future bookings to you.

Be cautious about the personal information you enter during the booking process. Unless it is legally required, avoid adding unnecessary details like your frequent flyer number, passport data for domestic flights or secondary phone numbers. You can also create a separate email address specifically for travel bookings to reduce the risk of cross-linking data with your other online accounts. When it comes to loyalty programs, consider opting out or using a separate identity if you are concerned about data being shared across companies.

The most effective way to take control of your data and avoid data brokers from selling it is to opt for data removal services. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com/Delete

Prevent tracking at the source by using privacy-first tools. Switch to browsers like Brave, Firefox or DuckDuckGo, which block ads and data collectors by default. Set up a separate, secure alias email address for booking travel using services. This limits how easily brokers can link your travel data to your online identity. See my review of the best secure and private email services by visitingCyberguy.com/Mail

If your travel or payment data is ever leaked or abused, freezing your credit can help prevent identity theft. Identity theft companies can assist you in freezing your bank and credit card accounts to prevent further unauthorized use by criminals. They can also monitor personal information like your Social Security number, phone number and email address and alert you if it is being sold on the dark web or being used to open an account. 

One of the best parts of my No. 1 pick is that is it has identity theft insurance of  and a white glove fraud resolution team where a . See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft by visiting Cyberguy.com/IdentityTheft 

Kurt’s key takeaway

The ARC incident is yet another example of federal agencies bypassing traditional legal channels by buying sensitive data from private firms. Travelers are not just passengers, they are data points in a growing ecosystem where information is currency. The fact that this trade happened without informed consent and behind legal smokescreens should worry anyone who values privacy.

Would you change how you book flights if it meant protecting your personal data? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM/NEWSLETTER

Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.  All rights reserved.  

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President Donald Trump’s administration released its annual report revealing the salaries for every staffer inside the White House on Thursday.

The report shows employees’ earnings in a range of $59,070 at the lowest to $225,700 at the highest, though a few aren’t accepting salaries at all.

The top-paid staffer at the White House is Jacalynne Klopp, a senior advisor and the sole staffer earning $225,700. Behind her is Edgar Mkrtchian, an associate counsel, making $203,645.

Behind them comes a group of 33 staffers making $195,200, which includes many well-known names. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt takes in this level of salary, as does border czar Tom Homan, chief of staff Susan Wiles, trade advisor Peter Navarro, communications director Steven Cheung and police chief of staff and homeland security advisor Stephen Miller.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

According to the report, there are 108 employees who make between $59,000 and $80,000, while Trump’s speechwriters earn between $92,500 and $121,500.

Eight employees do not receive salaries at all, though some of those are due to overlapping roles in other sections of government.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is chief among these, not receiving any compensation for his White House role as national security advisor. Special envoy Steve Witkoff also receives compensation from the State Department rather than the White House.

Trump’s own compensation is not listed in the report, but the pay scheme for the president is laid out in federal law. As president, Trump earns a base salary of $400,000, as well as a $50,000 expense allowance, $100,000 for travel and $19,000 for entertainment.

Trump donated his salary to government agencies during his first term in office and said he will do the same during his second term.

The White House did not immediately respond when asked about Trump’s compensation.

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