It was 24 years ago that baseball’s Winter Meetings, in this same location, produced one of the wildest free-agent runs in history.

Alex Rodriguez received a staggering 10-year, $252 million contract, twice as much as the biggest contract in sports history, and more than the total value of 18 MLB franchises.

Mike Hampton signed the richest pitching contract in history, an eight-year, $121 million deal with the Colorado Rockies. The Boston Red Sox signed Manny Ramirez to the second-largest contract in history with an eight-year, $160 million deal.

There was a record $739 million spent on 25 free agents at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.

Now, nearly a quarter-century later, those meetings could look like a neighborhood bake sale with the amount of money that’s about to be distributed.

Juan Soto is on the verge of signing a monstrous deal that will certainly exceed a record $700 million – perhaps even reach $750 million – two officials with direct knowledge of negotiations told USA TODAY Sports. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly comment.

Soto’s deal will eclipse Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million deal last winter with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and will pay Soto an average salary of at least $47 million a year for 14 or 15 years. And, oh yes, it will include opt-outs just in case it’s somehow undervalued in a few years.

The New York Mets remain the favorites, executives say, but officials caution that the Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox are all in the same $700+ million neighborhood. The deal certainly will be a blessing for teams with exorbitant contracts, suddenly making All-Star outfielder Fernando Tatis’ 14-year, $340 million deal look like a bargain if the San Diego Padres ever decide to move him.

Free-agent starters Corbin Burnes and Max Fried also are expected to receive deals exceeding $200 million at the meetings this week, and shortstop Willy Adames kicked off the meetings with a franchise-record seven-year, $182 million deal contract from the San Francisco Giants.

Baseball executives, scouts, managers, and agents are scheduled to descend upon Dallas on Sunday, and by the time they depart for their flights back home Wednesday afternoon, there could be nearly $1.5 billion spent on free agents.

Here at the five most intriguing free agents, top players who could be traded, and five teams to watch during the Winter Meetings:

Juan Soto, top free agents set to cash in

1. Juan Soto: The guy who turned down a 15-year, $440 million contract in 2022 will be laughing all the way to the bank. He made himself an extra $300 million by waiting. It took A-Rod nine years and a change of teams to win a World Series championship after his record contract. How long will it take for Soto to get that second ring – and will it be with the same team that signs him to this historic this contract?

2. Corbin Burnes and Max Fried: They haven’t thrown a pitch in more than two months, but their stocks have soared thanks to the contracts given to pitchers whose resumes pale in comparison. When Matthew Boyd receives a 2-year, $29 million contract without throwing more than 79 innings since 2019, when Luis Severino is getting $67 million over three years and Blake Snell is making an average annual salary of $36.4 million, Burnes and Fried should top $200 million. The San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox all lurk. The only drama is whether Fried goes ahead and signs before Burnes, or lets Burnes set the bar. Fried priced himself out of Atlanta, but is expected to sign with the Yankees or Red Sox. If Soto goes to the Mets, Fried could find himself in a nice bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees.

3. Alex Bregman: Teams everywhere are being linked to Bregman, but the truth is that the Astros badly want him back, and the feeling is mutual. The trouble is that they are about $50 million apart. The Astros have a six-year deal worth $156 million sitting on the table – $5 million more than third baseman Matt Chapman received from the Giants but $26 million less than Adames – and Bregman is seeking in excess of $200 million. The Astros are expected to enhance their offer, but will it be enough to convince Bregman to stay?

4. Teoscar Hernández: Did the Dodgers meet with Soto and let people believe they actually are pursuing him just to help them sign Blake Snell, another Scott Boras client? Did they let the Soto rumors fester just to up the pressure on a Hernández reunin? Or did they jump into the original bidding to drive up the Soto price tag for everyone else? The truth is that the Dodgers should re-sign Hernandez to a three-year contract, with perhaps a fourth-year option, for somewhere in the $65-80 million range. The two sides have been seriously engaged in negotiations this week, but caution there’s still a gap.

5. Pete Alonso: Alonso says he loves the Mets and the Mets say they love Alonso, but something seems off. The Mets tried to sign him to an extension – seven years and $158 million, according to the New York Post – but it was flatly rejected. There’s no sign that the two sides have since talked, leaving everyone to wonder whether David Stearns, Mets president of baseball operations, even wants Alonso. He could easily turn to Christian Walker, the three-time Gold Glove first baseman, who should come at less than half the cost of Alonso. Alonso could be a perfect fit for the Seattle Mariners.

MLB trade rumors surround top players

1. Garrett Crochet, White Sox: No player will command as much on the trade market than Crochet, the ace of the Chicago White Sox. They are asking for team’s top prospects, and no one blames them. He’s young (25), he’s cheap (projected to earn $2.9 million by MLB Trade Rumors) and he’s a stud, striking out 209 batters in 146 innings last season. The White Sox have had serious talks with the Philadelphia Phillies, but rejected the concept of Alec Bohm and outfielder Justin Crawford. The San Diego Padres would love him, and have dealt plenty of prospects in the past, but told the White Sox they are hanging onto catcher Ethan Salas and shortstop Leodalis De Vries. The Red Sox lurk. In the end, the White Sox will trade him to the team that gives them the most prized prospects, and hope they never again experience anything like their embarrassing 41-121 season.

2. Cody Bellinger: He may make too much money. No one is going to assume the entire $52.5 million left in Bellinger’s contract (if he opts back in for 2026 at $25 million). The Cubs would love to dump the contract, even for a lesser return, but they’re finding precious little interest. Still, there’s got to be a team out there that is willing to bite the bullet on the cash, and realize he’ll be a significant upgrade. We’re talking about you, Mariners and Yankees. He’ll definitely be moved, but it may not be until later this winter or spring.

3. Jordan Montgomery, Diamondbacks: When your boss calls you one of the worst decisions in his baseball career and is angry that you opted back into your contract at $22.5 million, you don’t need a therapist to know that you’re not wanted. The Diamondbacks are shopping him everywhere. They tried to get the Cubs interested in a swap for Bellinger. So far, they’re striking out, but considering the soaring price of pitching, and the brilliance he showed on the Texas Rangers’ World Series championship team, there’s a better shot of snow flurries in Phoenix next summer than Montgomery wearing a D-backs uniform.

4. Alec Bohm, Phillies: The Phillies realize they can’t run it back with the same offense again in 2025. It can be the most explosive in baseball, but as they’ve learned in the postseason, their lineup can also be awfully easy to navigate for opposing pitchers. Something has got to change, and Bohm easily has the most trade value among Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and himself. If the Astros lose Alex Bregman in free agency, you can be assured that Phillies president Dave Dombrowski will be immediately on the phone offering Bohm for Astros reliever Ryan Pressly – who’s being extensively shopped.

5. Nolan Arenado, Cardinals: Let’s be honest, the Cardinals want him off the books and Arenado wants out of St. Louis if they’re not trying to win. He still has three years, $74 million left in his deal but if a team is willing to assume the entire contract, they’ll have to only send only a few Imo’s pizzas in return. Arenado has a full no-trade clause, but would be Ohtani’s personal driver if the Dodgers were willing to take him. The Red Sox could present a nice alternative, too. There are only a few suitors who have expressed the slightest of interest, but both sides know that if Arenado is still on the team when they report to Jupiter, Fla., the distractions of potential trade talks could be a nightmare for everyone.

Most intriguing teams at the Winter Meetings

New York Yankees: In case the Yankees are ready to drown their miseries if they don’t re-sign Soto, all they have to do is look at the Padres to give them a $700 million shot of confidence. The Padres had Soto the entire 2023 season. You know what happened? They missed the playoffs. They traded him to the Yankees in the offseason, and they got better. The Yankees, if they don’t land Soto, can easily sign free agent Christian Walker for first base, sign Bregman or trade for Arenado for third base, trade for Bellinger to play center, move Aaron Judge back to right field, and still sign a frontline starter. Losing out on Soto could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

2. Boston Red Sox: They’ve talked a huge game all winter, and have been in strong pursuit of Soto. Yet, whether they land Soto or not, they can’t stop now. They have to sign Fried or Burnes, or even both. They could trade for Arenado too. The expectations are simply too high to sit back and tell everyone that they tried.

3. Baltimore Orioles: Yes, the days of losing 110 games a season are over. They’ve made the playoffs each of the past two seasons. But now much, much more is expected than just signing slugger Tyler O’Neill to a three-year, $49.5 million contract Saturday, especially with new ownership. The Orioles still have the best young players in the game, but if they’re not careful, that window will close in a hurry. Just ask the 2016 Cubs. If they don’t bring back Burnes, they better come up with a replacement. It’s also time to use those prized prospects as capital and Crochet should be in their sights.

4. San Diego Padres: The Padres, about to be hit with massive pay raises for Manny Machado, Tatis and Xander Bogaerts, could lose starters Dylan Cease and Michael King in free agency after the year. They need to win. And they need to win now. They’ve traded away a dozen prospects to become one of baseball’s most powerful teams, but painfully realize this could be their final year to compete for a title without taking a step back. They need at least one frontline starter, if not two starters, with Joe Musgrove out for the year and questions about how many starts Yu Darvish can make this season. Their dream scenario is landing Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki. He may be more essential to the Padres’ future than any team in baseball.

5.Atlanta: Come on, you know GM Alex Anthopoulos has some tricks up his sleeve after spending the first month creatively trimming about $38 million in payroll by trading Jorge Soler, letting catcher Travis d’Arnaud leave and restructuring two deals. They need at least one starting pitcher, if not two, with veteran starters Charlie Morton and Fried likely out the door. They also need a closer with Joe Jimenez expected to miss most of the season after undergoing knee surgery. They could also use a corner outfielder with Ronald Acuña expected to be out at least until late May. Keep an eye on Anthopoulos, who pulled off coups last winter by acquiring Chris Sale from the Red Sox and signing Reynaldo Lopez.

Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon over three years ago, but he’s still putting in the hours at the company to help it in the AI race.

Speaking at The New York Times’s DealBook conference on Wednesday, the billionaire said he’s still deeply involved and hasn’t fully left the company he founded 30 years ago.

“My heart is in Amazon, my curiosity is in Amazon, and my fears are there and my love is there,” Bezos said. “I’m never going to forget about Amazon. I’ll always be there to help, and right now, I’m putting a lot of time into it. I can help, and it’s super interesting, so why not?”

Bezos said that 95% of his time at Amazon is spent focusing on AI within the company, which he said is building 1,000 AI applications internally. One such application is a multimodal model that can process images, video, and text, The Information recently reported.

The company requires a significant amount of computing power to scale its AI ambitions, so it’s building a supercomputer using its own chips alongside Anthropic, the AI startup that it has invested $8 billion in, to give it an edge against its Big Tech rivals.

Bezos, who remains at Amazon as its executive chairman, also said one of his jobs is to ensure the success of its CEO, Andy Jassy, and the leadership team.

The world’s second-richest man said on an episode of the “Lex Fridman Podcast” last year that the main reason he left his role as the CEO of Amazon in 2021 was so he could focus his time on his rocket company, Blue Origin. At the DealBook Summit, Bezos said it was “not a very good business yet” but predicted it would eventually surpass Amazon and become “the best business” he’s been involved in.

Bezos also told the Dealbook Summit audience that he’s not worried about Donald Trump’s second term, saying he’s “actually very optimistic this time around.”

Bezos is not the only tech founder to return to a company after taking a step back. Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin both got back in the mix to work on AI initiatives after leaving their executive roles in 2019.

Their return to Google appeared to be sparked by the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022, which led to Google’s management issuing a “code red,” The New York Times reported at the time. ChatGPT’s successful rollout caught Google off guard and triggered concerns about the future of its search engine, so its CEO, Sundar Pichai, turned to Page and Brin for help, according to The Times.

Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

On May 22, the 43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors, which honors five people or groups for their contribution to American culture through the arts, took place. Choreographer and actress Debbie Allen, musician Joan Baez, violinist Midori, Dick Van Dyke, and Garth Brooks were selected to be honored in 2021.

To honor these incredible legends, Derek Hough, Vanessa Hudgens, Pentatonix, Gladys Knight, Emmylou Harris, Jimmie Allen, Yo-Yo Ma, and Kelly Clarkson took the stage for a ceremony that will be aired on Sunday, June 6th on CBS and will be available to stream on Paramount+.

Clarkson had the task of paying tribute to Garth Brooks, who she has known for a long time and has even had as a guest on her talk show a couple times in recent years. She performed his already emotional song, “The Dance,” but somehow took it to another level with her delivery.

Standing on the stage in Washington D.C., Clarkson’s voice quivered at times singing the song Brooks released over 30 years ago.

The Emmy-winning talk show host expressed to Brooks late last year that “The Dance” had been helping her get through her divorce.

“So I’m going through a divorce and there’s been like a lot of books and people always give you stuff to help, especially when you have kids and stuff,” she said at the time. “And there’s so much shame and guilt.”

The Kennedy Center Honors aired on CBS on Sunday night (June 6) and showed Clarkson’s entire performance of the legendary song. She started it off a cappella before her music director accompanied her on the piano. Cameras kept cutting to Brooks, who can be seen saying “That’s so great” during the performance.

At one point, Brooks began to cry and after Clarkson sang the final note, he jumped to his feet, took off his hat, and yelled, “Damn!”

With the NBA’s Feb. 6 trade deadline quickly approaching, general manager Mike Dunleavy and Co. are contemplating a move for a star, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.

The star would complement four-time NBA champions Steph Curry and Draymond Green.

“I’m told that the Warriors are on the real hunt for a star, a playmaker, a scorer alongside Stephen Curry,” Charania said Friday on “NBA Today.” “And you think back to the summer when they pursued Lauri Markanen with the Utah Jazz. They made a pitch for Paul George as a free agent with the Clippers.

Even though the Warriors lost out on marquee players such as Markkanen and George, they have benefited from offseason additions such as Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson, De’Anthony Melton and Lindy Waters 21 games into the 2024-25 season.

Although not an offseason acquisition, the same could be said of Golden State’s No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Jonathan Kuminga, who erupted for a career-high 33 points in the Warriors’ 99-93 victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.

But can Kuminga find consistency and establish himself as the third star Golden State needs to compete for another NBA title this season?

Charania alluded to the fact that Golden State’s brass, as it continues to build a championship-caliber roster, is factoring the 22-year-old forward’s trajectory.

“And the debate with the Warriors and teams that look into that situation is, for them, are they going to find that externally, outside of this roster currently?” Charania asked. “Or will it be in-house, with a player like Jonathan Kuminga?

“Last night, [he] scored 33 points the first time he played 30 minutes in a game all season. He’s shown with his output that as his role elevates so does his stats and different points in that relationship between Joanthan Kuminga and Steve Kerr.

“[It’s] something Warriors officials have been monitoring over the last year or so, and how he fits in when Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are back in the lineup.”

Time remains on Dunleavy’s side, but as Charania suggests, Golden State is ready to engage in a blockbuster trade for another star before time runs out.

“[It] will be interesting to monitor, but the Warriors’ future will be shaped over the next few weeks and the next couple of months before the trade deadline,” Charania concluded.

“How can they get that next championship with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green?”

The New York Rangers are set to make goaltender Igor Shesterkin the highest-paid player at his position in NHL history. The Rangers and Shesterkin have agreed to an eight-year contract extension with an average annual value of $11.5 million, reports ESPN’s Kevin Weekes and Emily Kaplan.

With that annual salary, Shesterkin will overtake left wing (and leading scorer) Artemi Panarin as the Rangers’ highest-paid player. Panarin makes $11.6 million per season as part of a seven-year, $81.5 million deal he agreed to in 2019.

Carey Price was previously the highest-paid goalie in league history, with an average annual salary of $10.5 million as part of his eight-year, $84 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens, signed in 2018.

Shesterkin, 28, is in his sixth season with the Rangers and the last year of a four-year contract that pays him $5.66 million per year. He and the team have been negotiating since the offseason, attempting to work out a new deal before Shesterkin became a free agent.

He was the team’s fourth-round selection (No. 118 overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft from SKA St. Petersburg in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.

This season, Shesterkin has an 8-9-1 record in 18 games with a 3.05 goals-against average and .908 save percentage. For his career, he’s compiled a 143-68-18 record with a 2.48 GAA and .920 save percentage.

Shesterkin had his best season during the 2021-22 campaign in which he finished with a 36-13-4 record and led the NHL with a 2.07 GAA and .935 save percentage. He was awarded the Vezina Trophy, given to the league’s best goaltender.

The Rangers are currently fourth in the Metropolitan Division with a 13-10-1 record and 27 points. They hold the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference by percentage points over the Philadelphia Flyers and one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

New York just traded defenseman and team captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks. Clearing Trouba’s $8 million salary off the payroll may have helped get the deal with Shesterkin done.

San Antonio Spurs forward Zach Collins can expect to be lighter in the wallet soon.

Collins was ejected from Friday night’s 140-113 loss to the Sacramento Kings after picking up his second technical foul, but it’s what he did afterward that might catch the ire of NBA disciplinarians.

Collins, who played nine minutes and scored two points starting for injured star Victor Wembanyama, was tossed with 9:07 left in the second quarter when he protested a foul call, his third of the game, on Kings All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis.

Collins was then checked out of the game and continued to bark his objections to the officials on his way to the bench, leading to two quick technicals and an automatic ejection.

After being ejected, Collins didn’t immediately leave the court, instead flipping off Michael Smith, who has spent more than three decades as an NBA referee.

All things Spurs: Latest San Antonio Spurs news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Collins, a seven-year veteran, is averaging six points and 3.3 rebounds in 23 games this season.

For years, a hallmark of Arizona State’s contracts with its highest profile athletics coaches has been to provide basic annual pay that is healthy but not near the top of its conference’s market — and to offer incentive-bonus packages that are among the most lucrative in college sports.

No one has come close to taking advantage the way football coach Kenny Dillingham has this season. And on Saturday, he likely added just over $1.5 million to his total as the Sun Devils defeated Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 Conference championship game in Arlington, Texas.

Dillingham — who has multiple bonuses based on a percentage of his basic annual pay from the school for the given season — will get $395,000 (10% of his $3.95 million in basic pay) for winning the Big 12 championship. And because that all but assures Arizona State a place in the 12-team College Football Playoff, he’ll get another $1.135 million for that achievement. (That’s 30% of his basic pay, less the $50,000 he already had secured for the Sun Devils being assured of an appearance in a non-playoff bowl game.)

While it builds on a season’s work, the $1.53 million total is the largest same-season bonus payout for winning a game since USA TODAY Sports began tracking these amounts on a weekly basis in 2019, working from documents it obtains from schools through open-records requests. It surpasses the $1.5 million that Jim Harbaugh reached in 2021, 2022 and 2023 when he led Michigan to Big Ten championship game victories that led to appearances in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Altogether for this season, Dillingham now has accumulated $2.525 million in on-field bonuses, although he has chosen to divide $200,000 among 20 off-the-field staff members. There are at least 63 Bowl Subdivision head coaches who were set to make less than that amount this season in basic annual pay from their schools, according to USA TODAY Sports’ annual compensation survey.

Dillingham is assured of additional money for Arizona State’s final ranking, as he gets a payment if the team appears in the final top 25 of the CFP rankings, or of the US LBM Coaches Poll or AP media poll. The Sun Devils entered Saturday’s game at No. 15 in the CFP rankings, the final version of which will be announced Sunday. They also are in the poll rankings, but the final versions of those won’t be decided until postseason play is complete. The amount of the final-rankings bonus depends on whether the team is No. 25 through No. 11, No. 10 through No. 6 or among the top five.

Dillingham began his current contract year with a possible bonus maximum of nearly $5.4 million, a figure that includes $945,000 based on team academics. That’s the largest possible maximum for a Bowl Subdivision coach at a public school by nearly $1.6 million. (Texas A&M’s Mike Elko could have totaled $3.8 million.)

Since 2013, not adjusting for inflation, Arizona State’s head football coach has never had single-year bonus maximum of less than $3.1 million. Herm Edwards began the 2022 season with a maximum of nearly $5.6 million. The most he ever actually received in a year was $662,500.

Arizona State men’s basketball coach Bobby Hurley last season had a bonus maximum of $2.055 million, the third-highest among coaches at Power Five public schools. He has been eligible for at least $1.9 million in bonuses in each of the past seven seasons.

Dillingham’s total so far for this season also includes amounts for the team’s ninth regular season win ($200,000), 10^th regular season win ($300,000), reaching the Big 12 title game ($395,000) and being voted Big 12 coach of the year ($50,000).

He would pick up an additional amount if the Sun Devils play in the playoff semifinals and other amounts if they kept winning.

In addition, he will be getting $100,000 based on the team’s recently published NCAA Graduation Success Rate, and his contract includes bonus provisions for other team academic achievements that could give him several hundred thousand dollars more.

Revealed: the technology executives who invested $394.1 million into the US election – and how they stack up against Elon Musk.
FEC records provide a glimpse into the financial influence of tech on Washington as it seeks to shape government policy.

Silicon Valley contributed over $394.1 million to this year’s US presidential election, as reported by a Guardian analysis, with a significant portion stemming from an enormous gift of around $243 million that Elon Musk made to Donald Trump’s campaign.

The assessment of updated election data from the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) highlights the growing power of the tech sector in US politics. Supporters of cryptocurrency were particularly active in this election cycle as they pushed back against potential regulations, funneling funds into presidential bids and vital congressional contests.

The financial backers hailed from the leading firms in technology: Google, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Netflix. Other contributions came from notable venture capitalists who accrued vast fortunes from tech investments.

In total, Trump garnered $273.2 million in contributions from some of the biggest names in the tech industry, which included:

$242.6 million from Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (previously Twitter), whose estimated net worth stands at $350 billion.

$5.5 million from Marc Andreessen, billionaire founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, commonly referred to as a16z. Andreessen’s business partner, Ben Horowitz, initially backed Trump but later supported Harris.

$5.1 million from Jan Koum, co-founder of WhatsApp, who earned the majority of his wealth when Facebook purchased the messaging platform in 2014 for $19 billion.

Kamala Harris received a total of $120.9 million, broken down as follows:

$51.1 million from Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who left the social media giant in 2008 to launch workflow software company Asana.

$17 million from Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn.

$11.7 million from Chris Larsen, billionaire chair of Ripple, a cryptocurrency firm.

The FEC records merely hint at the extensive financial resources tech is channeling into Washington to sway government and regulatory processes. The landscape of political donations in the US is intricate and not easily understood, and contributors can often find methods to give without public disclosure.

There are several avenues for individuals to donate to political campaigns in the US. One method is a direct contribution to a candidate’s campaign, which is limited to $3,300 per individual. Another option is contributing to a political action committee (Pac) that directly supports a political campaign, funding staffing, outreach, events, and advertising.

The 2010 groundbreaking Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC significantly simplified the process for industries and affluent individuals to financially support political campaigns, often through mechanisms that are challenging to trace but completely legal.

That ruling led to a third, less transparent method of donating: Super Pacs. Businesses and wealthy individuals can contribute unlimited sums to a Super Pac. The only restriction is that Super Pacs cannot directly donate to a campaign—however, they can spend freely on political advertisements for their preferred candidates.

Consequently, individual and corporate spending on campaigns is virtually unbounded. This is how Elon Musk was able to allocate his $242.6 million to Trump’s campaign and how numerous others managed to spend millions supporting their chosen candidates.

For many of Trump’s richest backers, the former president’s rhetoric was eclipsed by his 2017 tax reductions, which are set to lapse at the close of 2025. These tax cuts significantly lowered taxes for the wealthy and corporations.

However, Musk is not the only wealthy individual who has shifted his endorsement toward Trump after years of criticism. Andreessen, who was a prominent supporter of Hillary Clinton in 2016, previously condemned Trump’s stances on immigration. Doug Leone from Sequoia, who labeled the January 6 insurrection as “horrific” and attributed the blame to Trump, ultimately contributed $3.5 million to his campaign this year.

This trend of shifting support reflects a broader ideological change occurring in Silicon Valley. The tech industry, which has traditionally distanced itself from Washington, has become more politically engaged as it rallies around emerging technologies like crypto and AI, both of which have not yet faced significant governmental oversight or regulation.

A person lifts their arms, holding a microphone, with the US flag behind him, while two panels on the right encourage early voting.
The right-leaning faction of Silicon Valley scores wins both nationally and locally.
Read more.
Support for Trump has proven beneficial for sectors aiming to prevent regulatory scrutiny. Executives in the oil and gas industry contributed millions to Trump’s campaign, with him vowing to promote oil drilling.

The crypto sector’s donations, along with Trump’s evolving perspectives, have seemingly started to yield results. Recently, Trump appointed Paul Atkins, CEO of Patomak Global Partners, to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, the primary regulatory agency overseeing financial markets. Atkins is regarded as supportive of crypto and would take over from Gary Gensler, whose regulations governing the $3.5 trillion crypto market have led to conflicts with the cryptocurrency community.

While fossil fuel companies are usually the largest corporate contributors during elections, the cryptocurrency sector is rapidly becoming the top political donor in the United States. A report by the progressive think tank Public Citizen indicated that the crypto industry was the highest corporate contributor in the 2024 election cycle.

Much of the crypto industry’s influence was visible during congressional elections, where the crypto lobby spent $40 million to undermine Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown’s campaign in Ohio, but it also played a role in presidential races.

Although Trump once referred to cryptocurrencies as a “scam,” he has warmed to the industry as its proponents have joined his circle. Trump himself has also ventured into cryptocurrency by launching his own digital currency.

In May, Trump became the first presidential candidate to receive donations in bitcoin. Shortly thereafter, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the billionaire founders of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, contributed a total of $2.5 million to Trump’s campaign, much of which was in actual bitcoin. Tyler Winklevoss has labeled Gensler as “evil,” and both twins have actively campaigned for lenient regulation of the crypto sector.

The twins received some of their bitcoin contributions refunded by Trump’s campaign committee after surpassing the allowable donation limit.

During the summer, Trump complimented the Winklevoss twins, describing them as “male models with a big, beautiful brain.”

John Collins tallied 20 points, Keyonte George contributed 17, and the Utah Jazz put an end to their five-game losing streak with a commanding 141-99 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday evening.

Walker Kessler recorded 13 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks for the Jazz in what marked only their fifth win of the season.

Jerami Grant scored 19 points for the Trail Blazers, who have now lost three consecutive games. The Blazers fell behind by 46 points, prompting boos from the fanbase at home.

The Jazz quickly jumped out to a 38-20 advantage. Portland suffered an early blow when Toumani Camara left the game limping due to a right foot injury and did not return.

By halftime, the Jazz were ahead 67-44 and extended their lead to 30 points at 76-46 in the third quarter. All of Utah’s starting players had reached double figures by that point.

Takeaways
Jazz: Forward Lauri Markkanen was unexpectedly sidelined due to lower back injury management. He had previously missed three games in the season due to the same concern. Svi Mykhailiuk took his spot in the starting lineup.
Trail Blazers: Portland played without Scoot Henderson for the fifth consecutive game due to a left quad contusion. Rookie Donovan Clingan is dealing with a sprained left knee.

Key Moment
Collin Sexton assisted Collins for a dunk that increased the Jazz’s lead to 90-59 in the third quarter, energizing the bench. Shaedon Sharpe executed a spectacular dunk in the first half as the Blazers attempted to close the gap.

Key Stat
Blazers guard Anfernee Simons became the fourth player in franchise history to achieve over 800 three-pointers, joining the ranks of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Wesley Matthews. Overall, the Trail Blazers struggled with their shooting from beyond the arc, hitting only 14 of 47 attempts.

Up Next
Both teams will compete again on Sunday night. The Jazz will face the Kings, while the Trail Blazers will take on the Los Angeles Lakers.