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LOS ANGELES — Federal immigration authorities raided “multiple locations” throughout the city Friday, officials said, in action that drew an immediate rebuke from area officials and a distanced response from local law enforcement.

Agents targeted clothing manufacturer, importer and wholesaler Ambiance Apparel in the city’s Fashion District, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli told NBC Los Angeles.

The agents served a search warrant and were looking for “fictitious employee documents,” Essayli said.

A rep for Ambiance Apparel could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said there were federal immigration raids at “multiple locations” that spread “terror in our communities.”

“This morning, we received reports of federal immigration enforcement actions in multiple locations in Los Angeles,” Bass said in a statement. “As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place. These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city.”

She added: “My Office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this.”

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., called the ICE action “a continuation of a disturbing pattern of extreme and cruel immigration enforcement.”

“These indiscriminate raids prove once again that the Trump administration cares about nothing but instilling harm and fear in our communities to drive immigrants into the shadows,” Padilla, a Los Angeles native and son of Mexican immigrants, said in a statement.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell and Sheriff Robert Luna were both quick to state that their personnel had no role in the federal action.

“Today the LAPD became aware that ICE was conducting operations in the City of Los Angeles,” McDonnell said in a statement. “I’m aware that these actions cause anxiety for many Angelenos, so I want to make it clear: the LAPD is not involved in civil immigration enforcement.”

Luna acknowledged that raids “have caused fear” but asked residents to “remain calm and peaceful as we continue to place your safety and well-being at the forefront of our efforts.”

Eleven members of the 15-member L.A. City Council condemned the action.

“This indiscriminate targeting of children and families not only harms the individuals who are directly impacted, but destroys our communities’ sense of trust and safety in their own homes,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

“We condemn this in no uncertain terms: Los Angeles was built by immigrants and it thrives because of immigrants. We will not abide by fear tactics to support extreme political agendas that aim to stoke fear and spread discord in our city.”

Andrew Blankstein and Erick Mendoza reported from Los Angeles and David K. Li from New York City.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday left in place a longstanding gun restriction in the District of Columbia that bans magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, opting once again to avoid taking up a new gun rights case.

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority that generally favors gun rights, turned away a challenge to the Washington, D.C., law just a few days after rejecting an appeal over a similar law in Rhode Island.

Then, the court also left in place Maryland’s ban on assault-style weapons including the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.

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The court expanded gun rights in a major 2022 ruling that found for the first time that the right to bear arms under the Constitution’s Second Amendment extends outside the home. But the court has since frustrated gun owners by declining to take up cases that would expand upon that ruling.

The District of Columbia has long been a legal battleground over gun restrictions. The Supreme Court’s landmark 2008 ruling that for the first time found that people have an individual right to bear arms in self defense in their homes arose from a challenge to a D.C. law.

In the latest case, four gun owners challenged the restriction on large-capacity magazines that was enacted in the aftermath of the 2008 Supreme Court ruling, saying the restriction is unlawful under the later 2022 decision.

Both a federal judge and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the law.

The appeals court, in a 2-1 vote, said in a ruling last year that although large-capacity magazines are arms under the Second Amendment and have been in common use for years, they can be regulated because they are “particularly dangerous.”

Last summer, the Supreme Court sidestepped multiple gun-related disputes soon after it issued a ruling that upheld a federal law that prohibits people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms.

In other action on pending appeals Friday, the court decided against taking up a significant election case involving mail-in ballots in the battleground state of Pennsylvania that pitted Republicans against Democrats.

The decision leaves intact a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that said voters who send mail-in ballots that are flagged as defective can then file a separate provision in-person ballot.

The Republican National Committee was seeking to overturn the 2024 state court decision, while the Democratic National Committee was defending it.

President Donald Trump is free to bar The Associated Press from some White House media events for now, after a U.S. appeals court on Friday paused a lower court ruling mandating that AP journalists be given access.

The divided ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily blocks an order by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, who ruled on April 8 that the Trump administration must allow AP journalists access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and White House events while the news agency’s lawsuit moves forward.

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The 2-1 ruling was written by U.S. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, joined by fellow Trump appointee U.S. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas.

Rao wrote that the lower court injunction “impinges on the President’s independence and control over his private workspaces” and that the White House was likely to ultimately defeat the Associated Press’ lawsuit.

The White House and a lawyer for the Associated Press did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a dissent, Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said her two colleagues’ ruling cannot be squared with “any sensible understanding of the role of a free press in our constitutional democracy.”

The AP sued in February after the White House restricted the news outlet’s access over its decision to continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage despite Trump renaming the body of water the Gulf of America.

The AP’s lawyers argued the new policy violated the First Amendment of the Constitution, which protects free speech rights.

McFadden, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, said in his ruling that if the White House opens its doors to some journalists it cannot exclude others based on their viewpoints.

Trump administration lawyers said the president has absolute discretion over media access to the White House and that McFadden’s ruling infringed on his ability to decide whom to admit to sensitive spaces.

“The Constitution does not prohibit the President from considering a journalist’s prior coverage in evaluating how much access he will grant that journalist,” lawyers for the administration said in a court filing.

On April 16, the AP accused the Trump administration of defying the court order by continuing to exclude its journalists from some events and then limiting access to Trump for all news wires, including Reuters and Bloomberg.

Reuters and the AP both issued statements denouncing the new policy, which puts wire services in a larger rotation with about 30 other newspaper and print outlets.

Other media customers, including local news organizations that have no presence in Washington, rely on the wire services’ real-time reports of presidential statements as do global financial markets.

The AP says in its stylebook that the Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years and, as a global news agency, the AP will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3) on Friday to set up a French Open final against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Djokovic is the men’s record 24-time Grand Slam champion but could not counter Sinner’s relentless accuracy and pounding forehands on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Sinner became only the second Italian man to reach the final at Roland-Garros after Adriano Panatta, the 1976 champion.

Earlier, Alcaraz led 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 2-0 against Lorenzo Musetti when the eighth-seeded Italian retired with a leg injury.

Sinner is aiming for his fourth major title, Alcaraz his fifth.

Four years ago, a chorus of fellow New York Democrats called on then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign amid sexual harassment allegations, saying he was not fit to lead the state.

Now, a growing group of them are endorsing him for mayor of New York City.

On Friday, progressive state Sen. Jessica Ramos became the latest former Cuomo critic to endorse his bid, following at least three members of Congress and additional local politicians who are lining up behind Cuomo for mayor despite once calling on the then-governor to resign.

It’s an arc reminiscent of of the Republican Party’s turnaround on President Donald Trump between the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and his 2024 presidential comeback, which saw many Republican critics from 2021 fall in line.

“Voters are doing for themselves in New York in many ways what Trump voters did during the presidential election, they are overlooking the allegations and the importance of the #MeToo Movement because what they want for their constituents or themselves is more immediately important,” said Basil Smikle, a New York Democratic strategist who previously served as the executive director of the state Democratic Party and ran Ray McGuire’s 2021 mayoral campaign.

“You can determine whether or not this is justifiable or reasonable or in line with what it means to be a public servant,” Smikle continued. “But you have someone with allegations against him, allegations made by a very credible individual in [state] Attorney General Tish James, and a lot of people are saying: ‘That isn’t as important to me as what this person could deliver for my constituents today.’”

In a story published on Friday, Ramos told The New York Times that Cuomo is “the one best positioned right now to protect this city” as Trump is “threatening to bulldoze New York.”

It’s a stunning reversal from Ramos’ criticism of Cuomo from just weeks prior, when she told the New York Post that Cuomo’s “mental acuity is in decline,” comparing him derisively to former President Joe Biden. In 2021, after Cuomo’s resignation amid sexual harassment allegations, Ramos posted on social media that “New Yorkers deserve better than a man who has played politics with our lives for a decade & couldn’t see beyond his ego.”

Asked about the change of heart Friday, Ramos told reporters that her endorsement “is not about forgiveness or about forgetting anything. This is a very sober take about where we are in this race and the type of leadership that is required at a time when I need workers and I need immigrants protected. I am not going to vacillate at the type of leadership that we need at such a critical juncture for our city.”

She’s not the only New York Democrat to back Cuomo after a previous call to resign. Democratic Reps. Ritchie Torres, Gregory Meeks and Adriano Espaillat all signed onto joint statements in 2021 that called on Cuomo to resign; now, all of them have endorsed Cuomo’s mayoral bid. It’s the same story for at least five state or local politicians now in Cuomo’s corner after calling on him to resign.

Representatives for all three members of Congress did not reply to requests for comment.

Cuomo’s 2021 resignation was a stunning turn of events for the governor, whose prominent role in the state’s pandemic recovery made him a darling of many in the Democratic Party. Making the decision after an investigation by the state attorney general found he sexually harassed almost a dozen women, including his own employees, and broke laws, Cuomo said that he never would “intentionally disrespect a woman” but did acknowledge he “made mistakes.”

He’s since fought some of the allegations in court and more recently, he told The New York Times that “if i had to do it again, I wouldn’t have resigned.”

Like Ramos, many of these endorsements specifically point to the former governor’s past experience, his record of leadership and what the endorsers say is a need at this specific moment for the city.

In Espaillat’s endorsement of Cuomo, he specifically says that there’s “so much at stake for the city of New York” right now and the city needs ‘a strong and proven leader who will work to bring solutions to the most pressing issues facing New York City,” before coming to the conclusion that “Cuomo is the clear choice.”

Torres’ endorsement touts a similar note, pointing to his “competence and courage,” noting that Cuomo “has the courage to stand up to extremist politics — both from the far left and the far right.”

Some voters who want to give Cuomo another shot agree.

Carmen Perez, a 55-year-old city resident who spoke to NBC News earlier this month about her vote, said that she’d give Cuomo a second chance because “I’ve seen what Cuomo can do.”

“During the pandemic, he literally took over and said: This is how we’re going to do, this is how we’re going to get through this,” she said. “If we’re in a crisis, he’s the guy.”

The politics of it all, and the unique dynamics of the mayoral race, loom large over the decisions by key New York City Democrats to line up behind a candidate.

While Cuomo is seen as the front-runner in the Democratic primary, anti-Cuomo Democrats and candidates have been looking to strengthen the coalition against him by encouraging people not to rank Cuomo in any of their slots on the June ranked-choice ballot. Under this system, voters select their top five choices, in order, and votes cast for the lowest finishing candidates are redistributed to subsequent choices during multiple ballots until someone wins a majority.

Also this week, progressive New York City Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Cuomo’s top opponent, progressive state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, while also noting she would rank other candidates, and not Cuomo, to fill out the five slots on the ballot.

For Democrats who believe Mamdani may be too liberal, or worry that he might not fare as well against current Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent now that many Democrats have turned on him after Trump’s Justice Department stopped prosecuting him for corruption, Cuomo might seem like the best option.

“With Eric Adams now out of the primary, it’s only Andrew Cuomo who stands in the way of progressives taking power, and that’s bolstered his candidacy,” Smikle said.

“A lot of institutional players in the city of New York who are concerned about progressive politics in the city and need him as the firewall against that.”

An upcoming Netflix documentary reveals new details about the June 2023 Titan submersible, which was traveling to the wreck of the Titanic when it imploded, killing all five people aboard.

“Titan: The OceanGate Disaster” looks at the warnings that were ignored about the submersible’s designs.

David Lochridge, the chief submersible pilot, tried to warn the company’s CEO about the potential dangers and was fired for doing so.

“There was nothing safe on that vehicle at all, hence why I raised my concerns verbally and also put them down on paper as well,” Lochridge told the “TODAY” show. “When I raised the concerns and put them down on paper, on my quality inspection report, I was subsequently taken into the boardroom. Over a two-hour 10-minute period, I was dismissed from the company. So I was fired, basically.”

A part of Lochridge’s job was to assist with the build of the submersible and then take the paying customers down to the wreck. OceanGate charged passengers $250,000 apiece to visit the site.

Lochridge said he expressed his concerns over the course of the submersible being built. Part of his worries stemmed from the carbon fiber design of the submersible, which he said wasn’t safe for deep dives.

He also filed a federal whistleblower complaint and lawsuit to try and get the warning out to the public.

The underwater vessel disappeared June 18 after officials said it suffered a “catastrophic implosion.” OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, who was piloting the Titan; deep sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, who was experienced in visiting the Titanic wreck site; British tycoon Hamish Harding, 58; and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son, Suleman, 19, were killed.

OceanGate said in a statement Thursday: “We again offer our deepest condolences to the families of those who died on June 18, 2023, and to all those impacted by the tragedy.”

The company said it “permanently wound down its operations” after the tragedy and is fully cooperating with investigations being conducted by the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board.

“Titan: The OceanGate Disaster” debuts Wednesday on Netflix.

A former federal inmate who was pardoned by President Donald Trump in his first term for drug trafficking crimes more than two decades ago has been tapped as deputy director of the federal Bureau of Prisons, according to bureau spokesperson Kristie Breshears.

Joshua J. Smith, a Tennessee businessman who founded an inmate advocacy and rehabilitation nonprofit foundation, the Fourth Purpose, will be second in command in the bureau.

The BOP has never had a formerly incarcerated inmate work as an employee at any level, according to a senior bureau official.

“Josh brings to this role something our agency has never had before at this level, a perspective shaped by lived experience, proven innovation and national impact,” Director William K. Marshall III said in a memo to staff Thursday.

“His firsthand understanding of our facilities — of the tension, the risk and the importance of trust — makes him uniquely positioned to advocate for the resources and reforms front-line staff need to do their jobs safely and effectively,” added Marshall, a former prison commissioner in West Virginia whom Trump selected as BOP director in April.

Smith declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday.

Trump granted a full pardon to Smith, who had been convicted of conspiracy to possess drugs with intent to distribute. Indictments were filed in 1997 for marijuana- and cocaine-related charges, and the court docket shows he pleaded guilty. The court recommended he go to the Federal Correctional Institution Manchester in Kentucky and boot camp for a 60-month sentence. He was also set to have five years supervised release, substance abuse treatment and a $12,500 fine.

The bureau, in recent years, has been roiled by accusations of cronyism and corruption, widespread staffing shortages, and violence and misconduct in prisons. Its leadership must manage a massive $8 billion-plus budget, more than 143,000 federal inmates across 122 prisons, and a workforce of more than 35,000 as the Justice Department’s largest employer.

In deciding to pardon Smith, the White House said in 2021 that, after his release from prison in 2003, he “dedicated his life to his faith and to his community,” founded Fourth Purpose and “mentored incarcerated individuals and taught business classes to those in prison — including at the prison where he was incarcerated.”

Smith’s pardon request was supported by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican.

According to his online biography, Smith said he was raised by a single mother in government housing, was convicted of 10 felonies by the time he was 16 and entered prison at 21. While in prison, he said, he learned about Christianity and God and was mentored by white-collar criminals.

He said he started a multimillion-dollar company that hired ex-offenders before becoming more active in prison reform.

“Today is a day of redemption that I attribute to God’s grace,” Smith said after he was pardoned, adding that “there are a lot of Josh Smiths in prisons across our country, and I am going to help as many as possible find a new purpose.”

Smith’s pardon was one of 74 that Trump granted on his last day in office during his first term, when he also pardoned former chief strategist and longtime ally Steve Bannon, who was indicted on wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges, and hip-hop star Lil Wayne, who pleaded guilty to weapons charges.

WASHINGTON — As transgender service members face a deadline to leave the U.S. military, hundreds are taking the financial bonus to depart voluntarily. But others say they will stay and fight.

For many, it is a wrenching decision to end a career they love, and leave units they have led or worked with for years. And they are angry they are being forced out by the Trump administration’s renewed ban on transgender troops.

Active duty service members had until Friday to identify themselves and begin to leave the military voluntarily, while the National Guard and Reserve have until July 7. Then the military will begin involuntary separations.

Friday’s deadline comes during Pride Month and as the Trump administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, saying it’s aiming to scrub the military of “wokeness” and reestablishing a “warrior ethos.”

“They’re tired of the rollercoaster. They just want to go,” said one transgender service member, who plans to retire. “It’s exhausting.”

For others, it’s a call to arms.

“I’m choosing to stay in and fight,” a noncommissioned officer in the Air Force said. “My service is based on merit, and I’ve earned that merit.”

The troops, who mainly spoke on condition of anonymity because they fear reprisals, said being forced to decide is frustrating. They say it’s a personal choice based on individual and family situations, including whether they would get an infusion of cash or possibly wind up owing the government money.

“I’m very disappointed,” a transgender Marine said. “I’ve outperformed, I have a spotless record. I’m at the top of every fitness report. I’m being pushed out while I know others are barely scraping by.”

Some transgender troops decide to leave based on finances

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said this is President Donald Trump’s directive and what America voted for. The Pentagon, he said, is “leaving wokeness & weakness behind” and that includes “no more dudes in dresses.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a veteran, and 22 other Democratic senators have written to Hegseth urging him to allow transgender troops to keep serving honorably.

Already, more than 1,000 service members have voluntarily identified themselves as transgender and are slated to begin leaving, according to rough Defense Department estimates. Defense officials say there are about 4,240 active duty transgender troops but acknowledge the numbers are fuzzy.

For many, the decision is financial.

Those who voluntarily leave will get double the amount of separation pay they would normally receive and won’t have to return bonuses or tuition costs. Those who refuse to go could be forced to repay reenlistment or other bonuses as high as $50,000.

That was the tipping point for Roni Ferrell, an Army specialist at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington.

Ferrell, 28, lives on base with her wife and two children and had planned to stay in the Army for at least another decade. But she said she felt “backed into a corner” to sign the voluntary separation agreement, fearing she would have to repay an $18,500 reenlistment bonus.

“My commander basically said it was my only option in order to make sure my kids are taken care of,” Ferrell said.

The Marine, who has served for more than 25 years, said she had planned to stay and fight, but changed her mind. Lawyers, she said, told her an involuntary separation would put a code in her record saying she was forced to leave “in the interests of national security.”

That designation, she said, could mean those involuntarily separated could lose their security clearances, hurting future job prospects.

In a statement Friday, a defense official said the code “is not intended” to trigger clearance revocations and that gender dysphoria is not a security reporting requirement, according to the director of national intelligence. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Cynthia Cheng-Wun Weaver, senior director of litigation for Human Rights Campaign, said it’s important for troops to talk with judge advocates general in their services to ensure they understand the different procedures being implemented.

Other transgender troops plan to stay despite the ban

The Air Force service member and a transgender officer in the Army National Guard both said they plan to stay and fight. Lawsuits over the ban continue and could change or block the policy.

For troops involved in the court battles as plaintiffs, leaving voluntarily now would likely hurt their standing in the case. For others, it’s simply dedication to their career.

“I’ve really embraced military culture, and it’s embraced me,” the Air Force member said. “It’s not about money. It’s the career that I love.”

The Guard soldier echoed that sentiment, saying he will stay on “because it is important to me to serve. Frankly, I’m good at it, I’m well trained so I want to continue.”

Others without bonuses to repay or who have been in the military only a short while and won’t get much in separation bonus pay may opt to stay and see what happens.

National Guard troops face a particular problem

National Guard members who are heading to their monthly drill weekend or annual two-week drill in June could be required to go but serve as the gender they were assigned at birth.

That means they would have to wear uniforms and haircuts of that gender, use that bathroom and be referred to as “sir” or “ma’am” based on that gender.

For many, that could be close to impossible and create uncomfortable situations.

“If I were to show up to drill this weekend, I’d be expected to use all female facilities, I would be expected to wear a woman’s uniform,” said the Army Guard officer, who transitioned to male about five years ago and says others in his unit know him as a man. “I don’t look like a woman. I don’t feel like a woman. It would be disruptive to good order and discipline for me to show up and to tell my soldiers, you have to call me ‘ma’am’ now.”

It’s not clear if Guard units are handling it all the same way, and it could be up to individual states or commanders. Some may allow troops to postpone the drill or go on administrative leave.

What happens next for transgender troops?

The service members interviewed by The Associated Press said they don’t know what will happen once the deadline passes to leave voluntarily.

Some believe that unit commanders will quickly single people out and start involuntary separations. Others say the process is vague, may involve medical review boards and could take months.

The defense official said Friday that as the Pentagon takes these steps, it “will treat our service members with dignity and respect.”

Under Hegseth’s directive, military commanders will be told to identify troops with gender dysphoria — when a person’s biological sex does not match their gender identity — and send them to get medical checks to force them out of the service, defense officials have said. The order relies on routine annual health checks — so it could be months before that evaluation is scheduled.

“My real big sticking point is that this administration’s whole push is to reform this country based around merit, and that gender, race, etc., should have no factor in hiring,” the Air Force service member said. “If that’s true, I’m solely being removed for my gender, and merit is no longer a factor.”

While there will not be a Triple Crown winner this season, Saturday’s 157th running of the Belmont Stakes does boast the winners of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, Sovereignty and Journalism. Those two thoroughbreds and six other horses will race for the winner’s share of the $2,000,000 purse.

Journalism (8-5) is the current favorite with Sovereignty (2-1) and Baeza (4-1) garnering plenty of attention as well but there is speed and potential sprinkled throughout this eight-horse field. Hill Road claimed the local prep race, the Peter Pan Stakes, Rodriguez roared to a win in the Wood Memorial, and Crudo won the 2025 Sir Barton Stakes. A case can be made for each to challenge the favorites.

It often pays, though, to strongly consider the horse that closes as the favorite in the Belmont. The favorite has won the Belmont 66 times accounting for 42.6% of the 156 previous editions of the final jewel of the Triple Crown series.

Renovations continue at Belmont Park and so for the second consecutive year the third jewel of horse-racing’s Triple Crown will be held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, NY. That change of venue also means a change to the distance of the Belmont Stakes. Typically the longest race of the Triple Crown at 1.5 miles, Saratoga means a 1.25 mile “sprint” for the top thoroughbreds in the world for the second consecutive year and the eighth time in the history of the race.

Race Details and How to Watch the 2025 Belmont Stakes

• Date: Saturday, June 7, 2025
• Post Time: 7:04PM ET
• Site: Saratoga Race Course
• City: Saratoga Springs, New York
• How to Watch: FOX

Belmont Stakes Prediction

Drew Dinsick’s (@whale_capper) likes the favorites, but not the favorite for the top of his Belmont card.

“The trifecta winners from the Kentucky Derby showdown again in the Belmont Stakes with Sovereignty, Journalism and Baeza entering as the clear top three in the field of eight. Despite winning the Preakness, the fatigue of having run that extra sprint is enough for me to look past Journalism, the morning line favorite. The numbers suggest that Sovereignty and Baeza have very similar running styles and are equally strong closers so their prices should be reasonably close and the horse with the best trip likely wins. The progression for the more lightly raced Baeza is clear steady improvement throughout his 3-yo campaign, so I’ll take the price and hope he outduels the Derby champ down the stretch. Baeza to win, Baeza over Sovereignty and Baeza/Sovereignty/Journalism in my tri.”

The Field for the 2025 Belmont Stakes

Lets run through the field for the final jewel of the 2025 Triple Crown season according to their post position.

Enjoy the race and the finale of the 2025 Triple Crown season.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next U.S. surgeon general has repeatedly said the nation’s medical, health and food systems are corrupted by special interests and people out to make a profit at the expense of Americans’ health.

Yet as Dr. Casey Means has criticized scientists, medical schools and regulators for taking money from the food and pharmaceutical industries, she has promoted dozens of health and wellness products — including specialty basil seed supplements, a blood testing service and a prepared meal delivery service — in ways that put money in her own pocket.

A review by The Associated Press found Means, who has carved out a niche in the wellness industry, set up deals with an array of businesses.

In her newsletter, on her social media accounts, on her website, in her book and during podcast appearances, the entrepreneur and influencer has at times failed to disclose that she could profit or benefit in other ways from sales of products she recommends. In some cases, she promoted companies in which she was an investor or adviser without consistently disclosing the connection, the AP found.

Means, 37, has said she recommends products that she has personally vetted and uses herself. She is far from the only online creator who doesn’t always follow federal transparency rules that require influencers to disclose when they have a “material connection” to a product they promote.

Still, legal and ethics experts said those business entanglements raise concerns about conflicting interests for an aspiring surgeon general, a role responsible for giving Americans the best scientific information on how to improve their health.

“I fear that she will be cultivating her next employers and her next sponsors or business partners while in office,” said Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a progressive ethics watchdog monitoring executive branch appointees.

The nomination, which comes amid a whirlwind of Trump administration actions to dismantle the government’s public integrity guardrails, also has raised questions about whether Levels, a company Means co-founded that sells subscriptions for devices that continuously monitor users’ glucose levels, could benefit from this administration’s health guidance and policy.

Though scientists debate whether continuous glucose monitors are beneficial for people without diabetes, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promoted their use as a precursor to making certain weight-loss drugs available to patients.

The aspiring presidential appointee has built her own brand in part by criticizing doctors, scientists and government officials for being “bought off” or “corrupt” because of ties to industry.

Means’ use of affiliate marketing and other methods of making money from her recommendations for supplements, medical tests and other health and dietary products raise questions about the extent to which she is influenced by a different set of special interests: those of the wellness industry.

A compelling origin story

Means earned her medical degree from Stanford University, but she dropped out of her residency program in Oregon in 2018, and her license to practice is inactive. She has grown her public profile in part with a compelling origin story that seeks to explain why she left her residency and conventional medicine.

“During my training as a surgeon, I saw how broken and exploitative the healthcare system is and left to focus on how to keep people out of the operating room,” she wrote on her website.

Means turned to alternative approaches to address what she has described as widespread metabolic dysfunction driven largely by poor nutrition and an overabundance of ultra-processed foods. She co-founded Levels, a nutrition, sleep and exercise-tracking app that can also give users insights from blood tests and continuous glucose monitors. The company charges $199 per year for an app subscription and an additional $184 per month for glucose monitors.

Means has argued that the medical system is incentivized not to look at the root causes of illness but instead to maintain profits by keeping patients sick and coming back for more prescription drugs and procedures.

“At the highest level of our medical institutions, there are conflicts of interest and corruption that are actually making the science that we’re getting not as accurate and not as clean as we’d want it,” she said on Megyn Kelly’s podcast last year.

But even as Means decries the influence of money on science and medicine, she has made her own deals with business interests.

During the same Megyn Kelly podcast, Means mentioned a frozen prepared food brand, Daily Harvest. She promoted that brand in a book she published last year. What she didn’t mention in either instance: Means had a business relationship with Daily Harvest.

Growing an audience, and selling products

Influencer marketing has expanded beyond the beauty, fashion and travel sectors to “encompass more and more of our lives,” said Emily Hund, author of “The Influencer Industry: The Quest for Authenticity on Social Media.”

With more than 825,000 followers on Instagram and a newsletter that she has said reached 200,000 subscribers, Means has a direct line into the social media feeds and inboxes of an audience interested in health, nutrition and wellness.

Affiliate marketing, brand partnerships and similar business arrangements are growing more popular as social media becomes increasingly lucrative for influencers, especially among younger generations. Companies might provide a payment, free or discounted products or other benefits to the influencer in exchange for a post or a mention. But most consumers still don’t realize that a personality recommending a product might make money if people click through and buy, said University of Minnesota professor Christopher Terry.

“A lot of people watch those influencers, and they take what those influencers say as gospel,” said Terry, who teaches media advertising and internet law. Even his own students don’t understand that influencers might stand to benefit from sales of the products they endorse, he added.

Many companies, including Amazon, have affiliate marketing programs in which people with substantial social media followings can sign up to receive a percentage of sales or some other benefit when someone clicks through and buys a product using a special individualized link or code shared by the influencer.

Means has used such links to promote various products sold on Amazon. Among them are books, including the one she co-wrote, “Good Energy”; a walking pad; soap; body oil; hair products; cardamom-flavored dental floss; organic jojoba oil; a razor set; reusable kitchen products; sunglasses; a sleep mask; a silk pillowcase; fitness and sleep trackers; protein powder and supplements.

She also has shared links to products sold by other companies that included “affiliate” or “partner” coding, indicating she has a business relationship with the companies. The products include an AI-powered sleep system and Daily Harvest, for which she curated a “metabolic health collection.”

On a “My Faves” page that was taken down from her website shortly after Trump picked her, Means wrote that some links “are affiliate links and I make a small percentage if you buy something after clicking them.”

It’s not clear how much money Means has earned from her affiliate marketing, partnerships and other agreements. Daily Harvest did not return messages seeking comment, and Means said she could not comment on the record during the confirmation process.

Disclosing conflicts

Means has raised concerns that scientists, regulators and doctors are swayed by the influence of industry, oftentimes pointing to public disclosures of their connections. In January, she told the Kristin Cavallari podcast “Let’s Be Honest” that “relationships are influential.”

“There’s huge money, huge money going to fund scientists from industry,” Means said. “We know that when industry funds papers, it does skew outcomes.”

In November, on a podcast run by a beauty products brand, Primally Pure, she said it was “insanity” to have people connected to the processed food industry involved in writing food guidelines, adding, “We need unbiased people writing our guidelines that aren’t getting their mortgage paid by a food company.”

On the same podcast, she acknowledged supplement companies sponsor her newsletter, adding, “I do understand how it’s messy.”

Influencers who endorse or promote products in exchange for payment or something else of value are required by the Federal Trade Commission to make a clear and conspicuous disclosure of any business, family or personal relationship. While Means did provide disclosures about newsletter sponsors, the AP found in other cases Means did not always tell her audience when she had a connection to the companies she promoted. For example, a “Clean Personal & Home Care Product Recommendations” guide she links to from her website contains two dozen affiliate or partner links and no disclosure that she could profit from any sales.

Means has said she invested in Function Health, which provides subscription-based lab testing for $500 annually. Of the more than a dozen online posts the AP found in which Means mentioned Function Health, more than half did not disclose she had any affiliation with the company.

Means also listed the supplement company Zen Basil as a company for which she was an “Investor and/or Advisor.” The AP found posts on Instagram, X and on Facebook where Means promoted its products without disclosing the relationship.

Though the “About” page on her website discloses an affiliation with both companies, that’s not enough, experts said. She is required to disclose any material connection she has to a company anytime she promotes it.

Representatives for Function Health did not return messages seeking comment through their website and executives’ LinkedIn profiles. Zen Basil’s founder, Shakira Niazi, did not answer questions about Means’ business relationship with the company or her disclosures of it. She said the two had known each other for about four years and called Means’ advice “transformational,” saying her teachings reversed Niazi’s prediabetes and other ailments.

“I am proud to sponsor her newsletter through my company,” Niazi said in an email.

While the disclosure requirements are rarely enforced by the FTC, Means should have been informing her readers of any connections regardless of whether she was violating any laws, said Olivier Sylvain, a Fordham Law School professor who was previously a senior adviser to the FTC chair.

“What you want in a surgeon general, presumably, is someone who you trust to talk about tobacco, about social media, about caffeinated alcoholic beverages, things that present problems in public health,” Sylvain said, adding, “Should there be any doubt about claims you make about products?”

Potential conflicts pose new ethical questions

Means isn’t the first surgeon general nominee whose financial entanglements have raised eyebrows.

Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general from 2017 to 2021, filed federal disclosure forms that showed he invested in several health technology, insurance and pharmaceutical companies before taking the job — among them Pfizer, Mylan and UnitedHealth Group. He also invested in the food and drink giant Nestle.

He divested those stocks when he was confirmed for the role and pledged that he and his immediate family would not acquire financial interest in certain industries regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

Vivek Murthy, who served as surgeon general twice, under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, made more than $2 million in COVID-19-related speaking and consulting fees from Carnival, Netflix, Estee Lauder and Airbnb between holding those positions. He pledged to recuse himself from matters involving those parties for a period of time.

Means has not yet gone through a Senate confirmation hearing and has not yet announced the ethical commitments she will make for the role.

Hund said that as influencer marketing becomes more common, it is raising more ethical questions, such as what past influencers who enter government should do to avoid the appearance of a conflict.

Other administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, have also promoted companies on social media without disclosing their financial ties.

“This is like a learning moment in the evolution of our democracy,” Hund said. “Is this a runaway train that we just have to get on and ride, or is this something that we want to go differently?”