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.
Construction continues on the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building, the main offices of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on September 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned a recent uptick of inflation, alongside a hiring slowdown, poses a “challenging situation” for central bankers as they aim to steer the U.S. economy through a “turbulent period.”
The Fed, which opted to cut interest rates last week, is guided by a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. Speaking at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, in Providence, Rhode Island, on Tuesday, Powell said a sharp cooldown of hiring over the summer had shifted the balance of risks toward greater concern over the labor market.
“The downside risks to employment have risen,” Powell said.
The remarks came days after the Fed cut interest rates for the first time this year in an effort to boost hiring. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a policymaking body at the Fed, projected two additional quarter-point rate cuts over the remainder of 2025.
Still, Powell voiced concern about the trajectory for prices, saying “uncertainty around the path of inflation remains high.”
“Two-sided risk mean there is no-risk free path,” Powell added.
The central bank last week delivered a policy long-sought by President Donald Trump, though the size of the rate cut fell short of a larger reduction preferred by Trump.
The announcement marked a flashpoint in the monthslong pressure campaign directed at the Fed by Trump.
In recent weeks, Trump has moved to fire one member of the Fed’s board of governors and secure Senate confirmation for another. Both officials were among the 12 policymakers who cast votes on the interest-rate decision, though their status remained uncertain days before the Fed meeting.
The race to reshape the Fed comes after Trump railed for months against the central bank and Powell for declining to heed his call for lower interest rates. Last week, Powell said the Fed remains “strongly committed to maintaining our independence.”
Stephen Miran, a top White House economic advisor who joined the Fed board last week, cast the lone dissenting vote. Miran voted in favor of a larger half-point rate cut.
Trump recently moved to fire board member Lisa Cook, who sued Trump over her attempted ouster, saying the decision violated her legal protections as an employee at the independent federal agency. Trump said he removed Cook over mortgage fraud allegations against her, which Cook has denied.
Last week, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Fed to let Cook continue serving in her role as a governor of the Federal Reserve System as her lawsuit moves through the courts. The Trump administration appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.
In recent months, the economy has suffered a sharp hiring slowdown alongside a rise of inflation, setting the conditions for what economists call “stagflation.”
The economic conditions have put Fed policymakers in a bind. If the Fed raises interest rates as a means of protecting against tariff-induced inflation, it risks tipping the economy into a downturn. On the other hand, if the Fed lowers rates to stimulate the economy in the face of a hiring slowdown, it threatens to boost spending and worsen inflation.
(NEW YORK) — Exercise equipment company Peloton is voluntarily recalling approximately 833,000 exercise bikes due to a potential issue specific to the bike’s seat post, the company announced Thursday.
According to the company announcement, the recall affects “certain Original Series Bike+ models manufactured from December 2019 through July 2022 for sale in the U.S. and Canada.”
“The Original Series Bike+ seat post can break during use, posing a potential fall and injury risk to consumers,” the company stated.
Peloton said it has so far received three reports of Original Series Bike+ seat posts breaking “out of approximately 833,000 units sold in the U.S.”
“Peloton has received no reports of a seat post breaking, out of 44,800 units sold in Canada,” it added.
According to a recall announcement on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website, the affected bikes were sold at Peloton and Dick’s Sporting Goods stores nationwide, as well as online at Peloton, Dick’s, Amazon and eBay from January 2020 to April 2025. The bikes retailed for approximately $2,495, according to the agency.
The CPSC also stated that of the three broken seat post reports Peloton received, two included “reports of injuries due to a fall.”
Peloton said Thursday that impacted users should stop using the recalled bikes and contact Peloton for a replacement seat post.
The replacement seat post is a CPSC-approved solution, a Peloton spokesperson told ABC News.
Both the company and the CPSC noted the new seat posts can be self-installed.
The affected bikes bear the model number PL02 and serial numbers beginning with the letter “T,” according to Peloton. The serial number can be found “inside the front fork, behind the front fork, or behind the flywheel,” the company said.
In a statement to ABC News, the Peloton spokesperson said, “The integrity of our products and our Members’ well-being are our top priorities. We are taking this opportunity to make replacement seat posts available to all affected Bike+ users and we encourage them to contact us to receive the redesigned seat post as soon as possible.”
Peloton previously voluntarily recalled over 2 million bikes, Bike Model PL01, in 2023, warning that the bike seat post assembly could break and cause users to fall.
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will set the level of its benchmark interest rate, adjusting a major policy lever for the first time since a government shutdown sharply restricted the release of gold-standard federal data about the economy.
In a rare exception, the U.S. government issued an inflation report last week showing a continued acceleration of price increases, which may complicate the Fed’s effort to revive a flagging labor market.
In recent months, inflation has picked up while hiring has slowed, posing a risk of an economic double-whammy known as “stagflation.”
The economic conditions have put the Federal Reserve in a bind. If the Fed raises interest rates as a means of protecting against tariff-induced inflation, it risks tipping the economy into a downturn. On the other hand, if the Fed lowers rates to stimulate the economy in the face of a hiring slowdown, it threatens to boost spending and worsen inflation.
Last month, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point, opting for its first interest rate cut this year in an effort to revive the labor market. The federal funds rate stands between 4% and 4.25%, preserving much of a sharp increase imposed in response to a pandemic-era bout of inflation.
Policymakers are widely expected to make an additional quarter-point cut on Wednesday, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
“It’s a challenging situation when our goals are in tension like this,” Powell said last month, but he added that the balance of risks had shifted toward greater concern over sluggish hiring.
The posture delivers a policy shift long-sought by President Donald Trump, though the size of the anticipated rate cut will all but certainly fall short of Trump’s desired outcome.
Last month, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a policymaking body at the Fed, projected two additional quarter-point rate cuts over the remainder of the year. By contrast, Trump has called for rate cuts totaling as much as 3 percentage points.
Trump has carried out a pressure campaign at the Fed with little precedent.
In recent months, Trump moved to fire one member of the Fed’s board of governors and secure Senate confirmation for another. Both officials were among the 12 policymakers who cast votes on last month’s interest-rate decision, though their status remained uncertain days before the Fed meeting. They both stand poised to cast votes again on Wednesday.
Stephen Miran, a top White House economic advisor who joined the Fed last month, cast the lone vote in favor of a larger half-point rate cut.
Trump attempted to fire board member Lisa Cook, who sued Trump over her attempted ouster, saying the decision violated her legal protections as an employee at the independent federal agency. Trump said he removed Cook over mortgage fraud allegations against her.
Federal law allows the president to remove a member of the Fed board “for cause,” though no president has attempted such a removal in the 112-year history of the central bank.
Last month, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Fed to let Cook continue serving in her role as a governor of the Federal Reserve System as her lawsuit moves through the courts.
