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Facing allegations of sexual misconduct, Karim Khan has temporarily stepped aside as a U.N. investigation enters its final stage, the International Criminal Court announced Friday.

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It's been six months since President Trump first announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency initiative, which has dramatically shrunk parts of the federal government. And with so many individual stories about federal workers losing their jobs around the country, the big picture can sometimes look blurry.

A team of NPR reporters has been looking at agencies — from food inspectors to nuclear scientists to firefighters and more — and today, we'll connect some of the dots on how DOGE cuts have impacted workers, and hear how Americans far beyond Washington may feel the effects of these cuts.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting a group of immigrants in northern Texas under the Alien Enemies Act. It said it's not directly addressing whether the invocation of the act was legal.

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We’ve got expert reviews and comparisons to help you find the best wireless earbuds of 2025 -- with top-tier sound quality, noise cancellation, battery life and comfort.

The course provides an overview of generative AI in the workplace for nontechnical folks.

Stream doubleheaders each weekend throughout the 2025 season.

Nothing is officially making its own pair of over-the-ear wireless Bluetooth headphones. The company confirmed the news in an almost four-minute video where the London-based design team discussed their goals for the still-unnamed audio gear.

The news follows Nothing's announcement earlier this week that it will be partnering with British hi-fi institution KEF on new audio products, although there was no mention of this venture in the video.

While the details were sparse, we did learn about a handful of key elements that may set the Nothing over-ear headphones apart from competitors like Apple and Sony.

In fact, the video kicks off with the designers pondering what "XM6" means, possibly referring to the trio of characters in the rather unwieldy name of Sony's newest and, for the moment, industry-leading headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM6.

Mostly, though, the team focuses on the choices they're making for Nothing's first over-ear headphones.

Price

Price is a huge consideration. Calling out the $549 AirPods Max from Apple, which cost about as much as two last-gen Nothing phones, the team said it wants to produce cheaper headphones, ones that cost far less than AirPods Max.

As for how much less, well, one designer mentioned the price, but in that moment, his voice was muted and his mouth was covered with a little message saying that Nothing has to keep some secrets.

Of course Nothing has form in this area. We awarded its budget earbuds the Nothing Ear (a) a five-star review and consider them to be among the best earbuds you can buy, and they cost a mere $99 / £99 / AU$169.

Meanwhile, the Nothing Ear earbuds, now on their third generation, are slightly more expensive – but we still proclaimed them to be "punching well out of their price class."

Ease of use

The designers complain that with most headphones, the buttons all feel the same, and it is impossible to know if you're touching the volume, pause, or Bluetooth controls. Nothing will, it seems, do it differently, designing all buttons to be "completely distinct."

The hope is that there will be "no doubt about which control you're about to touch, [so] you don't make mistakes and we get out of the way of that music listening experience."

Make it special

Nothing's designers say they can do things with headphones that the big companies cannot, because the big tech companies "just can't take risks; they've got to think about this whole global program...and millions and millions of users."

Nothing, by contrast, contends it can just take an idea, build it, test it, and "put it out there." To be fair, that's certainly how it seems with Nothing's unusual and iconic smartphones.

Make the best audio

Nothing's already got a significant experience and a quite good track record in the audio space. Its wireless headphones currently sit near the top of our Best Wireless Earbuds of 2025.

As for how good these over-the-ear headphones sound right now, one Nothing designer said, "I'm already impressed. They're not finished, but you know, I think these might be some of the best sounding on the market."

Not just in their price range, either; Nothing believes these headphones will "punch above their weight."

Nothing's confidence goes even further, as the team muses that these headphones are as good as those you might pay twice as much for, and then adds that they're "better than AirPods Max, and that was always the goal."

A clue

One interesting takeaway is that while Nothing isn't sharing the price, they appear to note that these headphones are as good as ones costing twice as much, and then mention the $549 AirPods Max. Does that mean the Nothing Headphones might list for $275?

While no name was mentioned, we're willing to guess that "Ear" will be in the name and that the full name could be "Nothing Ear (Pros)".

That's all the detail we gleaned from Nothing's unusual announcement video, with the only other tidbit being that these headphones will ship this summer.

It's too early to say if they will truly beat AirPods Max or approach Sony's excellent audio quality. But considering Nothing's audio track record, this will surely be a launch to watch.

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• Nothing teases new audio gear made with KEF coming in 2025, and I'm excited for this one
• Nothing Ear review: the third-generation wireless earbuds bring major upgrades
• Waiting for new Nothing cheap earbuds to go with the Phone 3a? It won’t be long – but audiophiles should skip 'em

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 236, for May 17.

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If the skinnier phone incorporates a silicon battery, it would be a breakthrough for iPhones.

The combination of two of America's largest cable companies could impact your broadband package. This is what we know so far.

An attempt by DOGE to assign a team to the independent Government Accountability Office was rejected Friday. The GAO is part of the legislative branch and not subject to DOGE's request.

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With FCC approval, the competing fiber internet service providers can become one.

"Mutual abuse" is a term you may have heard in celebrity abuse trials - here's how to make sense of it.

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President Trump was greeted like royalty during his four-day trip to the Middle East, his first major foreign trip of this second term, where it was all about business deals and not moral leadership.

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Tour the brand-new flagship store, where decades of gaming history collide with sleek design, character cameos and interactive zones built for gaming joy.

• 12 have been charged with cryptocurrency theft
• The group is reportedly responsible for over $263 million worth of theft
• The organisation used social engineering tactics to steal the funds

The Department of Justice today has revealed that 12 people have been charged in a RICO case which involves the theft of over $263 million, as well as money laundering, home break-ins, and wire-fraud, the US attorney’s office has confirmed.

A mix of Americans and foreign nationals are accused of “participating in a cyber-enabled racketeering conspiracy throughout the United States and abroad that netted them more than $263 million.”

The group, who reportedly met on an online dating platform, had various roles in the organization, like database hackers, money launderers, and burglars who targeted hardware virtual currency wallets. The hackers would focus on websites and servers, obtaining cryptocurrency-related databases.

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Social engineering attacks

From there, the organizers and target identifiers ‘organized and collated information across the databases to determine the most valuable targets’. The group would cold-call victims and use social engineering tactics to convince them that their accounts had fallen victim to cyberattacks, and that they needed to recover or secure their accounts - encouraging them to hand over credentials.

“According to the indictment, members of the enterprise laundered stolen cryptocurrency proceeds by moving the funds through various mixers and exchanges using “peel chains,” pass-through wallets, and virtual private networks to mask their true identities,“ the Department of Justice confirmed.

In just the first three months of 2025, over $1.5 billion of crypto was lost to theft or scams, with an over 300% increase in money lost in Q1. The median loss per incident was $9,549,339, and just 0.4% of stolen funds were returned to victims, research from CertiK confirms.

Much of this was thanks to one large incident, with hackers sealing over $1 billion in one of the biggest crypto thefts ever, against cryptocurrency exchange platform Bybit - measuring up as the largest heist in crypto history.

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The most eye-catching thing about the EKSA S30 wireless headset is its open-ear design. For anyone looking for an airy alternative to large, padded ear-cups or invasive earbuds, this may prove ideal.

Unlike many of the best Bluetooth headsets around, this boasts a twin-headset – one for each ear, with a moveable mic on the left – rather than a single unit that leaves one ear exposed (and all the office distractions that come with it).

Speaking of which, the manufacturer claims that the open-ear air conduction unit cuts out 99.9% of environmental noise on the mic, despite hanging over the ear. That said, there’s no ANC for audio, which depending on your POV may be good or bad.

It’s retailing for $150 – although on Amazon, I saw it on sale at around the $100 / £100 mark. But how does it measure up? I took it into meeting after meeting to find out if the EKSA delivers on its promise.

EKSA S30: Unboxing & first impressions

(Image credit: EKSAtelecom)

The headset comes nicely packed, in a bright orange box – a color theme that’s continued across the design, from the buttons to the branding on the case. As you’d expect, packed away in a sleeve, is the instruction manual and warranty cards. It’s a nice touch, perhaps overkill, but ever since Apple began its tech domination, it’s all about making packaging and unboxing an ‘experience’.

Inside the well-padded carry case, you’ll find the two headsets, sat in a removable molded base unit that charges them when not in use. The headsets are kept in place with concealed magnetics, preventing movement, too. At the front of the base unit is a single orange button for turning the headsets on or off.

There’s also a USB cable neatly slotted in the space in front. For my money, this case offers all the protection you need. It’s lightweight, but feels durable – I put plenty of weight on top of it, and the structure still held out, making it ideal for the commute, or leaving around in a manic office.

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(Image credit: EKSAtelecom)

The headsets themselves are light, with a plastic front and rear connected by a flexible rubberized ear hook which can be adjusted for fit. For what it’s worth, I didn’t feel any sense of these being too tight or too loose during use, so it must be doing something right.

On the underside of the speaker sections of each headset are the textured control buttons – again, bright orange, so you can’t miss them. Positioning is good, but I found operating them was a little stiff, with the hard plastic never giving me the feedback I wanted when switching on or off. I had to rely on the small lights to check whether or not the headsets were ready for the meeting.

These lights will also serve up the battery level, flashing red when they require a recharge. A light on the carry case performs the same function, showing green, orange, or red depending on how much battery charge remains.

The left earpiece also has a microphone that smoothly swivels into position. Towards the end of this there’s a button (guess which color) for muting, but happily, this one offers a better tactile experience, with a soft but definitive click when depressed.

One of the biggest missteps here is not allowing access to the USB-C charging port from the outside of the case. This means you’ll need to take the base unit out to charge it up when the battery inevitably dies. A solution like the one found on the case for the Xbox Elite controller, with a rubber cap that can be lifted to allow charger access, would just keep everything cleaner and more compact.

EKSA S30: In use Image 1 of 3

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Alright, so that’s the design – but how do they work in a real-world setting? First, I was keen to find out how that open-ear air conduction felt and sounded. As a man who practically lives in his over-ear Anker Q20 headphones, I wanted to know if this headset would offer a more breathable experience, especially in the hot weather.

And I was pleasantly surprised. Draped over my lobes, the EKSA S30 felt comfortable – so light, in fact, that I almost forgot I was wearing them. Before I knew what had happened, I’d listened to an hour-long podcast without once fiddling with them or shifting their position. If you’re just using these for meetings (even all-day meetings), you’ll have no issues popping these on.

However, this headset doesn’t just cater to meetings on your desktop or laptop. As a Bluetooth device, it’ll connect to your phone, letting you answer calls, play or pause music and YouTube videos, adjust volume, or activate your phone’s AI assistant. This, too, worked well.

More importantly, everything sounded good, with the correct timbre and bass (as expected for a device that bills TubeBass Technology as a selling point). Voices sounded natural and real, with none of the tinniness you sometimes get from a headset.

During calls and meetings I could hear others perfectly, and those on the call noted that my mic delivered clear audio. When I recorded myself to listen to the playback, I experienced the same.

According to EKSA, the headset’s AI-powered microphone delivers up to 99.9% environmental noise-cancelling (ENC) Technology. A figure like that is red rag to a bull for a reviewer, so I ran a makeshift test by playing TechRadar's YouTube videos at varying volumes during calls. Once I moved around half a meter away from the source and began speaking, no-one could hear any background chatter.

Where users may have some difficulty switching from headphones to headset is the lack of noise-cancelation on the audio. But, then, I suppose that’s part of the appeal for the S30’s open-ear design, preventing the alienation that comes from blocking out absolutely everything but what’s being pumped into your ears, and generally keeping you aware of your surroundings.

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Light, comfortable, breathable open-ear design, good audio. For me, the EKSA S30 headset ticks all the key boxes for those who want a unit for all-day meetings.

The price might be a little higher than for some headsets, but you get a fair amount in the box, including the molded charging case for protection during travel and some decent tech operating inside the twin headsets, with excellent audio clarity across speakers and microphone.

A lack of ANC may put off some users. However, I had no issues using this in a relatively quiet workspace – and with AI-powered ENC on the mic, others in your meeting won’t hear all the background chatter, even if you can.

Should I buy the EKSA S30?

(Image credit: EKSAtelecom) Buy it if...

✅ You want an open-ear headset: I really like how the design of this headset doesn’t shut you out the way a pair of cans does, without compromising on audio.

✅ You want a headset for all-day use: I found the S30 so light and comfortable, I practically forgot I was wearing it. The fit is snug without being tight, and ideal if you’re on calls all day.

Don't buy it if...

❌ You need ANC: While the microphone blocks out background noise, the speakers have no active noise cancelation. That may be an issue if you work in a particularly noisy office.

❌ You prefer on-ear headphones: This speaks for itself, really – if you’d rather traditional headphones, this model won’t appeal. However, even as an avowed headphone addict, I found plenty to like and recommend here.

For more options for regular meetings, we've also reviewed the best headsets for conference calls.