Federal prosecutors argued Google must take steps to end its monopoly on online search. Accusations of sexual misdeeds are not a roadblock to landing a high-powered job in Donald Trump’s new administration. The 2024 Country Music Awards highlighted legacy and new talent.
🙋🏼♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Are you pro- or anti-reclining your airplane seat?
Justice Department orders Google to take anti-competition steps
Department of Justice lawyers say Google must sell its Chrome browser, share data and search results with rivals and take other measures – including possibly selling Android – to end its monopoly on online search. The judge overseeing the case deemed an illegal monopoly in search and related advertising in the U.S., where Google processes 90% of searches.
What this means: The measures presented by the DOJ are part of a landmark case in Washington that has the potential to reshape how users find information.
- These measures would be enforced for up to a decade via a court-appointed committee. Their proposals include ending exclusive agreements in which Google pays billions of dollars annually to Apple and other device vendors to make its search engine the default on their tablets and smartphones.
- Chrome for sale: The world’s most widely used web browser could fetch as much as $20 billion. Chrome is a pillar of Google’s business, providing user information that helps the company target ads more effectively and profitably.
- Google called the proposals staggering. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has scheduled a trial on the proposals for April, though President-elect Donald Trump and the Justice Department’s next antitrust head could step in and change course in the case.
Meet the Tennessee family behind the US Supreme Court’s major transgender health care case
“She is a happy, healthy kid who is not hurting anyone. Her joy, her smile, her confidence would not be what they are if it were not for the blockers she’s been on for a year and a half.”
~Samantha Williams, one of the plaintiffs in a watershed legal case that could affect transgender youth medical treatment across the U.S. USA TODAY spoke with Williams and her child, L.
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Trump’s cabinet picks are mired by sexual misconduct allegations
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pete Hegseth, Matt Gaetz, Elon Musk: Four men who President -elect Donald Trump has nominated for prominent positions in his incoming administration also have faced sexual misconduct accusations, raising questions about their past and complicating their pathway to government service. Read more
USA TODAY is following allegations against Trump’s cabinet picks:
Russia denies ‘sabotage’
Russia dismissed as “absurd” on Wednesday any suggestion that it had been involved in deliberate damage caused over the weekend to two fibre-optic data telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea. The Kremlin’s response comes after European governments accused Russia on Tuesday of escalating hybrid attacks on Ukraine’s Western allies. Read more
Today’s talkers
Why everyone’s using Bluesky to talk about Bluesky
Social media platform Bluesky has seen a boom in new accounts since the election. The app has seen approximately 2.5 million new signups in the last week, drawing users who are abandoning X, which is owned by Donald Trump-appointee Elon Musk. Bluesky is a decentralized social media app. It has a similar look and feel as X, formerly Twitter, but has some different features to bring more people in. Here’s what new users are saying.
Photo of the day: Lainey’s ‘Whirlwind’
The 58th annual Country Music Association Awards kicked off in Nashville on Wednesday evening, honoring this year’s top country music performances, songs and stars. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles delivered the Female Vocalist of the Year award to Lainey Wilson at the ceremony. Here’s who won (and who didn’t).
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.