Outage at Cloudflare disrupts access to some popular websites
The Cloudflare logo appears on a smartphone screen and as the background on a laptop computer screen in this photo illustration in Athens, Greece, on October 31, 2025. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Web infrastructure company Cloudflare said it is experiencing problems across its network on Tuesday, curtailing access to some popular websites.
“Cloudflare is aware of, and investigating an issue which potentially impacts multiple customers,” the company said online at around 7 a.m. ET.
Minutes later, the company said it had begun to resolve the issue. “We are seeing services recover, but customers may continue to observe higher-than-normal error rates as we continue remediation efforts,” Cloudflare said.
Some popular websites, like social media platform X and artificial-intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, appeared to be down or limited on Tuesday.
Cloudflare helps companies handle user traffic, including efforts to respond to cyberattacks and load information.
A landing page on X alerted ABC News to an “internal server error,” urging users to “visit cloudflare.com for more information.” A similar warning appeared on ChatGPT’s website, telling ABC News to “please unblock challenges.cloudflare.com to proceed.”
X did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment. Neither did OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., Jensen Huang attends the 9th edition of the VivaTech trade show at the Parc des Expositions de la Porte de Versailles on June 11, 2025, in Paris. (Chesnot/Getty Images, FILE)
(NEW YORK) — Chip giant Nvidia delivered more revenue than expected over a recent three-month period, the company said on Wednesday, defying concern among some prominent figures about a possible bubble in the artificial intelligence industry.
The California-based company recorded $46.7 billion in sales over three months ending in July, which exceeded analyst expectations of $46.2 billion. The jump in revenue marked 56% growth compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
The fresh data offered the latest window into the health of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, which in recent years has become a key engine for stock market gains and economic growth.
Nvidia, the $4 trillion company behind many of the chips fueling AI products, has expanded at a breakneck pace since an AI boom set off by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022. The California-based company saw its stock price soar nearly 700% over the ensuing two years.
Alongside continued growth, the company is weathering new challenges. President Donald Trump barred the sale of chips to China earlier this year, before revoking the ban in July. A month later, Trump struck an agreement with Nvidia allowing the company to sell chips in China if the firm hands over 15% of revenue generated by the exports to the U.S.
Speaking at the White House earlier this month, the president recounted the agreement with Nvidia.
“I said, ‘If I’m going to do that, I want you to pay us as a country something, because I’m giving you a release,'” Trump said.
In May, the company said it expected to suffer an $8 billion loss as result of restrictions imposed upon chip exports. Earnings released on Wednesday said the company did not sell any H20 chips in China over the most recent quarter, but the firm did not mention any losses related to the policy.
In recent weeks, some prominent figures have warned of an AI bubble, casting doubt on the sustainability of the sector’s gangbusters growth. Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo, said last month that the AI bubble may exceed the dot-com bubble of the 1990s, suggesting that the top firms are overvalued.
In an interview earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also said the AI industry had become a bubble.
“Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited about AI? My opinion is yes. Is AI the most important thing to happen in a very long time? My opinion is also yes,” Altman told tech publication The Verge.
Still, the AI sector remains a bright spot for the U.S. economy. AI-related spending added a 0.5 percentage point boost to annualized gross domestic product growth over the first half of 2025, Pantheon Macroeconomics found.
(WASHINGTON) — A tariff loophole for low-cost shipments helped fuel an explosion of U.S. consumers purchasing shoes, sunglasses and a host of other items directly from sellers overseas. The Trump administration closed that exemption on Friday, bringing the era of duty-free online buying to an end.
President Donald Trump closed what’s known as the “de minimis” loophole, which allowed for duty-free import of goods valued at less than $800. Now, such imports will face tariffs based on the relevant rates for a given country of origin or product.
Peter Navarro, senior counselor to the president for trade and manufacturing, said on Thursday that the move would add up to $10 billion in tax revenue and help “save thousands of American lives by restricting the flow of narcotics and other dangerous and prohibited items.”
Analysts who spoke to ABC News predicted delays and price increases for shoppers, though the precise impact remains uncertain as retailers and customers adapt to the new tariffs.
Here’s what to know about how the closure of the de minimis loophole could impact consumers:
What is happening with the de minimis loophole?
The Trump administration on Friday closed the de minimis loophole, meaning imported packages below $800 will be subject to tariffs.
In May, the exemption expired for shipments from mainland China and Hong Kong, prompting e-commerce companies Shein and Temu to warn of price increases. The move on Friday extends the policy to imports from all other countries.
Low-cost imports brought via delivery services like FedEx and DHS will face country-specific tariff rates, which range from 10% to 50%. Tariffs targeting product types, such as steel and aluminum, may also be applied.
Packages delivered by a foreign postal service will be subject to tariffs levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which depend on a given country of origin.
Over the past 10 years, the number of shipments to the U.S. claiming the de minimis exemption soared 600%, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, said in January. Last fiscal year, there were more than 1.36 billion such shipments, which amounts to almost 4 million per day, CBP said.
A small loophole remains in the policy. Gifts valued at $100 or less will continue to be duty-free.
Will closure of the de minimis loophole cause shipping delays?
Yes, the closure of the de minimis loophole is expected to delay low-cost shipments from overseas, especially over the coming months as foreign sellers adjust to the rules, analysts told ABC News.
Postal service operators in more than 30 countries have limited or halted shipments to the U.S. in anticipation of the policy adjustment. The list includes significant trade partners like India, Mexico and Japan.
Under the new policy, foreign postal services are required to calculate the tariff cost prior to sending a parcel bound for the U.S., Henry Jin, a professor of supply chain management at Miami University, told ABC News.
“The administrative burden is tremendous,” Jin said.
Packages previously shipped in five to 10 days may take as long as 20 days to reach customers, Jin added.
“If you absolutely need something by a certain deadline, buy it well before,” Jin said. “Or else you will run the risk of not getting it in time.”
Will closure of the de minimis loophole raise prices?
Yes, analysts who spoke to ABC News expect closure of the loophole to raise prices.
The policy change essentially amounts to a new tariff applied to low-cost items, meaning importers will face an additional tax. Importers typically pass along a share of the tariff-related tax burden onto consumers in the form of price hikes.
In the case of imports shipped directly to customers, foreign retailers will retain a choice of whether to eat the added cost or slap it onto the bill paid by shoppers, Jin said. Suppliers may swallow some of the added cost by selling their goods at lower wholesale prices, Jin added, but such relief is likely to be minimal.
Additional compliance costs faced by retailers will also likely be passed along to consumers, analysts said.
“It will significantly raise the transportation cost on top of the cost of the tariffs, which will ultimately raise prices for consumers,” said Raymond Robertson, professor for trade, economics and public policy at Texas A&M University.
Injection pens for the weight-loss treatment Wegovy, manufactured by Novo Nordisk A/S, on display during a news conference in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.(Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The cash price for popular weight-loss medications Wegovy and and the medication authorized for people with type 2 diabetes Ozempic are dropping by 30% in U.S. on Monday, according to Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company that manufactures both drugs.
The new monthly cost for either GLP-1 drug will be $349, down from its current price of $499, for customers who are not using insurance, the company said. The new pricing will be in place on Monday at 70,000 retail pharmacies and other places, including Walmart and Costco’s pharmacies, the drugmaker said.
The previous cash price for Wegovy matched that of a full dose of Zepbound, a competing drug from competitor Eli Lilly.
“As pioneers of the GLP-1 class, we are committed to ensuring that real, FDA-approved Wegovy and Ozempic are affordable and accessible to those who need them,” Dave Moore, Novo Nordisk executive vice president, said in a statement. “The US healthcare system is complex, with different types of insurance and various ways for patients to obtain their medicines. Our new savings offers provide immediate impact, bringing forward greater cost savings for those who are currently without coverage or choose to self-pay.”
Moore added that the price cut is “part of a larger strategy to expand access that includes building relationships with telehealth providers and major retailers, expanding coverage, and working with the Administration to lower costs for people living with chronic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
