For Brandon Mintz, it was the text messages and calls that started rolling in from friends and colleagues asking how high bitcoin prices could go. For Lee Bratcher, it was the surge in ticket sales for his annual North American Blockchain Summit. They were signs, the two bitcoin industry executives said, that the next era of cryptocurrency could soon be dawning. President-elect Donald Trump’s win on the heels of his campaign’s embrace of cryptocurrency technology, along with Senate and House victories by a Republican Party seen as friendlier to crypto interests, have sparked a fresh wave of optimism in the crypto world. It’s a sharp turn in sentiment for an industry that, 24 months ago, was reeling from a precipitous crash in prices, multibillion-dollar scandals and deep questions...

President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday that oil and gas industry executive Chris Wright, a staunch defender of fossil fuel use, would be his pick to lead the Department of Energy. Wright is the founder and CEO of Liberty Energy, an oilfield services firm based in Denver. He is expected to support Trump’s plan to maximize production of oil and gas and to seek ways to boost generation of electricity, demand for which is rising for the first time in decades. He is also likely to share Trump’s opposition to global cooperation on fighting climate change. Wright has called climate change activists alarmist and has likened efforts by Democrats to combat global warming to Soviet-style communism. “There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy tran...

For President-elect Donald Trump , there’s a clear story that runs through each of the seven battleground states that he swept on his way to recapturing the White House. He managed to drive up even further what were already sky-high margins with his white, blue-collar base while harnessing historically broad nonwhite voter support to erode the Democratic base in cities and diversifying suburbs. And for Vice President Kamala Harris , the battleground picture is one of regression — a widespread failure to match Joe Biden’s 2020 performance, with her gains largely isolated to areas centered on the wealthier, college-educated white voters who increasingly make up her party’s backbone. With the final votes now largely tallied , we dug into the county-level, demogra...

Country singer Sundance Head, who won Season 11 of "The Voice," was injured by a bullet at his ranch in Texas on Friday, his agent said. Head, 46, was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Tyler, agent Trey Newman said in a statement. He was released late Friday and was back home, according to a post on his verified Facebook page Saturday. The round lodged in a fatty area of Head’s stomach, Newman said. Head’s wife, Misty, said on the Facebook page that surgery would be unnecessary. The bullet, described by the page as a round from his .22 firearm, could have caused serious damage if it struck the area of his body just outside the wound profile, according to Saturday’s statement. “I’m posting a pic of his shirt just so y’all can see how lucky he was,” the state...

Ford Motor Company has agreed to pay $165 million, the second-largest auto penalty ever issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to settle charges it failed to comply with federal recall requirements. In a release , the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Ford had agreed to pay the massive fine, including an up-front payment of $65 million, over allegations the auto maker failed to file recall reports on time, and that some of its reports contained inaccuracies. “The total civil penalty amount of $165 million is second only to the Takata airbag consent order in the agency’s 54-year history,” the NHTSA said in a statement. The Ford penalty stems from a multi-year investigation into the automaker's handling of defective rollover safety camer...

Jake Paul unanimously defeated Mike Tyson Friday night in Arlington, Texas, after fighting a marquee bout on Netflix. But at a press conference following the match, the 27-year-old social media star admitted he literally pulled some punches to avoid hurting the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion. “Yeah, definitely a bit,” Paul said during the post-fight press conference after being asked if he went easy on Tyson. “I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.” Tyson, who hadn't fought in a formal match in 19 years, entered the ring wearing a knee brace. Despite an initial volley of punches, the Brooklyn-born slugger showed signs of waning stamina throughout the eight-round contest. “I tried to give the best figh...

Black users make up some of social media’s most engaged , influential audiences. They are now also among the thousands of people who have left X, formerly Twitter, citing a flood of bots, harassment and partisan ads surrounding the polarizing presidential election. With throngs of people leaving, “Black Twitter” may become a thing of the past as more users move to alternative text-based social media apps. “I don’t think that Black Twitter is going to exist within the next couple of years,” said Jonathan Johnson, a 29-year-old behavioral therapist in Houston and a longtime Twitter and X user. The future is unclear for Black Twitter, an unofficial group of users self-organized around shared cultural experiences that convenes sometimes viral discussions on everything from social ...

The Summary Nearly 12 million cases of dengue fever have been recorded in the Americas this year, close to triple last year’s total. New research suggests that climate change is responsible for nearly a fifth of the world’s dengue burden. That share is likely to rise significantly in the future, according to the findings. It has been an exceptionally bad year for dengue fever: Nearly 12 million cases were recorded in the Americas through October, close to triple last year’s total of 4.6 million. Research being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene on Saturday quantifies the role that climate change has played in the trend, attributing nearly a fifth of the existing dengue burden to rising temperatures. By 2...

Social media star Jake Paul defeated legendary boxer Mike Tyson via unanimous decision late Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in one of the most improbable matchups in the sport’s history. All three judges ruled the fight in favor of Paul, with scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73. The win improves Paul’s professional record to 11-1 while dropping Tyson to 50-7. "He's exactly what I thought, one of the greatest to ever do it," Paul said after the fight. Tyson was asked if he was officially done boxing. He said he wasn't sure. "I don't think so," Tyson said on the broadcast. "Maybe the brother (Logan Paul)." Paul, 27, a social media star with more than 27 million Instagram followers and nearly 21 million YouTube subscribers, cruised in the bout. After a first ...

With President-elect Donald Trump ’s trade and foreign policy team taking a hawkish stance toward China , U.S. companies are increasingly concerned a hard-line approach could stunt their prospects in the world’s second-largest economy — and turn them into targets of Chinese retaliation. Trump has threatened to hit China with at least 60% tariffs and vowed to end reliance on the country. That alone would be disruptive. It would force companies to scramble to find other sources of supply, American consumers to pay higher prices at the store, and, according to many experts, lead to job losses. More from CNBC ‘Political malpractice’ if Trump undoes climate-geared Biden projects, U.S. energy secretary says Argentina’s Milei is a VIP at Mar-a-Lago as Trump and...