C.J. Mahoney, Meta’s new chief legal officer and a former Trump administration official.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Meta hired C.J. Mahoney, a former Trump administration official, as chief legal officer.
He replaces Jennifer Newstead, who is leaving Meta to become Apple’s general counsel.
The move comes as Meta faces continued regulatory scrutiny worldwide.
Meta has hired C.J. Mahoney, a former senior Microsoft legal executive and onetime Trump administration official, as its next chief legal officer, Axios reported.
Mahoney will replace Jennifer Newstead, who announced in December that she would leave Meta after more than five years to become Apple’s general counsel. Mahoney is set to start on Wednesday and will report directly to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the Axios report said.
Meta and Mahoney did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Mahoney previously served as Microsoft’s corporate vice president and deputy general counsel and earlier worked as deputy US trade representative during President Donald Trump’s first term.
In his new role, he will oversee Meta’s global legal strategy as the company continues to face scrutiny over antitrust, data privacy, online safety, and the protection of children and teenagers.
Newstead’s departure marked the end of a consequential period for Meta’s legal team. During her tenure, the company secured a major win against the Federal Trade Commission when a federal judge rejected the agency’s attempt to force Meta to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.
Mahoney’s appointment comes as Meta continues to navigate intensifying regulatory pressure worldwide, including debates over artificial intelligence, social media governance, and data protection.
Shirlaine Forrest/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Taylor Swift’s single “The Fate of Ophelia” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song has charted at No. 1 for nine weeks, surpassing “Anti-Hero” as her longest-leading hit.
The list also includes hits like “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Cruel Summer,” and “Fortnight.”
Since releasing her first No. 1 album in 2008, Taylor Swift has enjoyed a historic run on the charts, topping the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100 over a dozen times each.
Swift’s collection of No. 1 hits includes both radio-friendly pop singles and understated gems pushed to the top of the chart by passionate fans.
Most recently, “The Fate of Ophelia” joined the ranks while breaking a record for the most streams in a single week on Spotify. Swift is now tied with Michael Jackson and Drake for the fifth-most No. 1 hits in history.
All 13 are listed below in chronological order of their peak dates.
1. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” was released as a single in 2012.
Taylor Swift/YouTube
Weeks at No. 1: Three
Despite writing ubiquitous hits like “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story” earlier in her career (which peaked at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively), “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” was Swift’s first-ever song to top the Hot 100.
The country-pop crossover smash was released as the lead single from Swift’s fourth album, “Red.” It rose from No. 72 to No. 1 in its second week of tracking and remained atop the chart for two more weeks.
“Blank Space,” the second single from “1989,” debuted at No. 18 on the Hot 100.
It rose to No. 13 before soaring to No. 1 in its third week — dethroning “Shake It Off” and making Swift the first woman in history to replace herself in the chart’s top spot.
“Blank Space” went on to become one of Swift’s biggest hits, reigning atop the chart for nearly two months.
It rose from No. 53 to the chart’s top spot after the music video premiered at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards and broke the Vevo record for most views in 24 hours.
5. “Look What You Made Me Do”
Taylor Swift/YouTube
Weeks at No. 1: Three
Despite mixed reactions from critics, Swift’s lead single from “Reputation” rose to No. 1 after its first full week of tracking, breaking the weekly streaming record for a song by a woman.
Once again, Swift’s music video broke the record for most views within 24 hours, racking up 43.2 million views in its first day.
6. “Cardigan”
Taylor Swift/YouTube
Weeks at No. 1: One
Swift announced the arrival of her eighth album, “Folklore,” just one day in advance. The second track, “Cardigan,” was released at the same time as the album and promoted with a whimsical music video.
“Folklore” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 while “Cardigan” simultaneously debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, making Swift the first artist in history to open atop both charts in the same week.
7. “Willow”
Taylor Swift/YouTube
Weeks at No. 1: One
Just five months after “Folklore,” Swift repeated her pandemic-era strategy and surprise-released her ninth album, “Evermore,” alongside its lead single.
Again, “Willow” debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 while “Evermore” simultaneously debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
8. “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”
Taylor Swift/YouTube
Weeks at No. 1: One
“Red (Taylor’s Version)” was the second rerecorded album Swift released. It was accompanied by the long-awaited 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” a fan-favorite track from the original album.
It debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, becoming the longest song in history to top the chart. The record was previously held by Don McLean’s “American Pie (Parts I & II)” at 8 minutes and 37 seconds.
It dominated the Hot 100 for eight weeks, surpassing the high-water mark set by “Blank Space.”
The same week that “Anti-Hero” debuted at No. 1, Swift became the first and only artist in history to occupy the entire top 10 on the Hot 100. The hit single was flanked by “Lavender Haze” (No. 2), “Maroon” (No. 3), “Snow on the Beach” (No. 4), “Midnight Rain” (No. 5), “Bejeweled” (No. 6), “Question…?” (No. 7), “You’re On Your Own, Kid” (No. 8), “Karma” (No. 9), and “Vigilante Shit” (No. 10).
10. “Cruel Summer”
John Shearer/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Weeks at No. 1: Four
“Cruel Summer” was originally released as the second track on Swift’s 2019 album “Lover.”
Although it was identified early as a fan favorite, the song was never promoted as a single and debuted modestly at No. 29 on the Hot 100.
Four years later, Swift transformed “Cruel Summer” into a showstopping spectacle on the Eras Tour. Streams of the song began to surge, and it reigned atop Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart for two months. Swift’s label sent the song to pop radio in June 2023.
Finally, following the release of “The Cruelest Summer” EP — which includes a live version of the song and a remix by LP Giobbi — the song reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, marking Swift’s milestone 10th chart-topper.
11. “Is It Over Now?”
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Weeks at No. 1: One
“Is It Over Now?” was released as the final vault track on “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” a rerecording of her beloved fifth album.
Although it wasn’t initially slated as a single, its enthusiastic reception from fans pushed Swift’s team to serve the song to pop radio.
“Is It Over Now?” debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, dethroning “Cruel Summer.” Swift remains the only woman in history to replace herself in the top spot, a feat she’s now achieved twice.
12. “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone
Taylor Swift in the “Fortnight” music video.
Taylor Swift/YouTube
Weeks at No. 1: Two
“Fortnight,” a duet with Post Malone, was released alongside “The Tortured Poets Department” and promoted as the album’s lead single.
The song debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 while “Poets” simultaneously debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
For the second time in her career, Swift managed to occupy the entire top 10 of the Hot 100. In fact, the top 14 positions on the chart were occupied by “Poets” tracks, including “Down Bad” (No. 2) and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” (No. 3), all the way through to “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” (No. 14).
“The Fate of Ophelia” is the lead single from Taylor Swift’s album “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Taylor Swift/YouTube
Weeks at No. 1: Nine
“The Fate of Ophelia” was released alongside Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” and promoted as the lead single.
The Shakespeare-inspired pop song debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, while “Showgirl” simultaneously debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, breaking a record for the biggest sales week of all time.
All 12 tracks on the album debuted within the Hot 100’s top 12 spots, making Swift the first and only artist to dominate the chart’s top 10 on three separate occasions. “The Fate of Ophelia” was joined in the top five by “Opalite” (No. 2), “Elizabeth Taylor” (No. 3), “Father Figure” (No. 4), and “Wood” (No. 5).
“The Fate of Ophelia” remained atop the Hot 100 for eight straight weeks after its release. After falling to lower positions during the holiday season, it returned to No. 1 for its ninth week, surpassing “Anti-Hero” as Swift’s longest-leading hit to date.
When US President Donald Trump posted a photo of Maduro on January 3 after he was captured by US forces, internet sleuths quickly identified the outfit — and haven’t stopped talking about it since. Maduro appears to be wearing a gray Nike Tech fleece set in the picture.
Following the January 3 post, searches for “Nike Tech” on Google spiked, according to Google Trends.
The online conversations about the athleisure line also surged dramatically on X, intelligence platform PeakMetrics told Business Insider. Nike Tech was mentioned in over 5,000 X posts a day between January 3 and January 5, according to PeakMetrics. That’s up from the roughly 325 posts a day it averaged from November 1 to December 31.
Handout/Truth Social via Getty Images
On TikTok, users posted AI-generated versions of the photo and poked fun at the fashion choice.Some users joked that it was a new Nike campaign. Others made “steal the look” posts that broke down the cost of the full outfit, including the darkened eye mask and ear covering. The jacket and joggers cost over $200 combined.
As of Monday morning, the style of the Nike Tech fleece zip-up jacket that Maduro was photographed in was sold out on Nike’s US website in several sizes.
Nike declined to comment.
The fleece jacket already appeared to be a hot item before Maduro donned it on the Navy ship USS Iwo Jima. It appeared to be partially sold out in November and December, according to screenshots archived on Wayback Machine.
It’s been the subject of a viral debate in recent weeks, with some young men bragging on social media about being “team Nike Tech” or “team quarter-zip” to show whether they’re a part of Corporate America or not.
Some members of Gen Z and Gen Alpha also had their eyes on Nike Tech for the holidays. A clip of a girl opening her Christmas gift, a Nike Tech set, garnered over 1 million likes on TikTok and earned a comment from Nike itself.
Nike also made its way onto teens’ wish lists this year, and it dominated Piper Sandler’s semi-annual teen survey as the No. 1 clothing brand in fall 2025.
Maduro, the longtime Venezuelan leader, and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in an overnight raid in Caracas over the weekend and taken to the US, where Maduro faces federal charges.
AT&T told staff in a memo that it is moving its global headquarters to Plano, Texas.
The new corporate campus would consolidate three existing locations in the Dallas area.
Since instituting its full-time RTO plan last year, the company has experienced shortages in its workspace.
AT&T is ditching downtown Dallas for the suburbs.
The telecom giant said Monday it plans to move its global headquarters to a newly constructed corporate campus in Plano, Texas, starting in 2028.
The new global headquarters would consolidate three existing locations in the Dallas area, including the downtown skyscraper that has been AT&T’s home since 2008.
A spokesperson told Business Insider that the new facilities will be designed for “collaboration, innovation, and engagement,” and that the company still believes the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area is a good location for business.
Like many companies that have instituted full-time return-to-office policies, AT&T has experienced shortages of workspace and parking. AT&T said it has been developing the plan for the new headquarters for the past year.
Several north Dallas suburbs are among the fastest-growing cities and towns in the US, and AT&T’s spokesperson said the new campus will be closer to where many employees live.
In a memo to employees, which Business Insider obtained, CEO John Stankey acknowledged feedback about expectations for “well-maintained and functional workspaces” that were raised in an engagement survey last year.
“This is an investment intended to put the employee experience at the center of our workspace,” Stankey said.
Read the full memo here:
A New AT&T Global Headquarters in Plano
To: All EmployeesI’d like to share some exciting news about the future of AT&T and how we work together.After nearly a year of consideration, deliberation and planning, we have made the decision to invest in our employee experience and construct a new global headquarters at 5400 Legacy Drive in Plano, Texas.Spanning across 54 acres of land, this location will provide us with the necessary room to cost effectively consolidate all Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex administrative space, including our three largest locations in Central Dallas, Plano and Irving, and create a corporate campus designed for collaboration, innovation and engagement.The nature of the company and our work have both evolved significantly since we moved our headquarters to Dallas in 2008, but what hasn’t changed is our belief and confidence in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as the right place to operate a thriving multinational corporation. We are targeting partial occupancy in the new space as early as the second half of 2028.Over the next few years, we’ll be transforming this site from the ground up – demolishing the old buildings and designing a new, modern campus that’s built for how we work best: together. This is an investment intended to put the employee experience at the center of our workspace.In last year’s employee survey, you shared your expectations for professional, well-maintained and functional workspaces. We made a commitment to invest in our workspaces to bring them to a common standard, notably in Atlanta, GA, Chantilly, VA and Bedminster, NJ, to name just a few locations. We will continue to evaluate and invest in our workspaces around the country as our business needs evolve and change.I am sure this news triggers many questions and natural curiosity for nearly everyone. I am also sure that it will trigger speculation and editorial narrative by those outside the company. I’d ask for patience in getting the answers to your questions and suggest you ignore speculation from uninformed “sources” who are not participating in this work.The planning team intends to share more information in a structured manner in the spring, which is when we will have more definitive answers and executional plans. While the small group of individuals responsible for this effort work to deliver the project on schedule and on budget, I ask that the rest of us continue to focus on delivering for our customers every day. This is just the start, and as this multi-year effort progresses, we promise to keep you informed in a timely manner.I hope you share my excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead.John
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores appeared before a Manhattan federal judge on Monday.
XNY/Star Max/GC Images
Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in a Manhattan court on drug-trafficking charges.
The Venezuelan president and Flores pleaded not guilty to the federal charges facing them.
US forces captured the pair over the weekend during a military raid on Caracas.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro defiantly proclaimed his innocence in a Manhattan federal court Monday morning during his and his wife’s first public appearance since US forces captured them in a dramatic military raid on Caracas over the weekend.
“I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,” Maduro told the judge through an interpreter when asked for his plea on narco-terrorism and weapons charges.
He was then interrupted by the judge, who interjected, “A not guilty plea will be entered on behalf of Mr. Maduro.”
It was one of several dramatic moments during the roughly 30-minute hearing, which Maduro used to protest his capture by US forces.
When he entered the courtroom, flanked by US marshals, he wished everyone a “Happy New Year” in English and locked eyes with members of the press sitting in the back of the courtroom.
Later, as the hearing wrapped up, a person sitting in the fourth row of the courtroom gallery stood to say Maduro would pay in the name of the Venezuelan people.
“I am a man of God, and I am a war prisoner,” Maduro responded in Spanish as US marshals escorted him out of the courtroom.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arraigned on an indictment alleging a conspiracy to import cocaine and a related conspiracy to possess machine guns and other “destructive devices” in furtherance of drug trafficking. Maduro also faces a narco-terrorism conspiracy charge.
The two wore standard-issue jail garb of navy smocks over orange long-sleeve shirts with khaki pants. At their seats in the courtroom, they wore headphones to listen to their court-appointed translators.
When he stood to address the judge, Maduro held on to the arms of his chair as he rose unsteadily. Flores, her blonde hair tied back in a bun, had several small bandages on her face. She sustained injuries during her “abduction” in Caracas, one of her attorneys said.
During the packed noon hearing, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein read the couple a summary of their charges and informed the Venezuelan president and first lady of their rights before the pair entered not guilty pleas. He addressed them as “Mr. Maduro” and “Ms. Flores.”
When asked to confirm his identity at the start of the hearing, Maduro began by stating in firmly spoken Spanish that he is “Presidente constitutional de la Republica Venezuela.”
“I am here, kidnapped, since January 3, Saturday,” Maduro said. I was captured in my home in Caracas, Venezuela.”
“There will be a time and place to go into all this,” the judge interrupted.
Asked for her plea, Flores spoke in a quiet, hoarse voice.
“Not guilty. Completely innocent,” she said through a court interpreter.
Both Maduro and Flores are facing health issues and will need medical attention while awaiting trial, their lawyers said.
“Miss Flores, during her abduction, sustained significant injuries, as you can see today here in court,” defense lawyer Mark Donnelly told the judge. “There’s a belief that she may have a fracture or severe bruising on her ribs,” the lawyer added.
The 25-page indictment filed against Maduro, his wife, son, and three others alleges that for over 25 years, Venezuelan leaders “have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States.”
Maduro was represented in court by Barry Pollack, an attorney best known for also representing WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange. Flores was represented by the Texas-based attorney Mark Donnelly and one of his law partners, Andres Sanchez.
The attorneys said they would not seek bail for Maduro or Flores on Monday, but reserved the right to seek it at a later date. Pollack told Hellerstein he anticipated “voluminous and complicated legal practice.”
“Mr. Maduro is the head of a sovereign state,” Pollack said. “He is entitled to the privileges and immunities that go with that office. In addition, there are issues about the legality of this military abduction.”
Hellerstein scheduled the next court hearing for March 17.
Maduro has long been a target of the US Justice Department. Manhattan federal prosecutors first indicted him in 2020, accusing him of heading the drug-trafficking network, the Cartel de los Soles.
In 2015, the nephews of Maduro’s wife, Flores, were arrested in Haiti and charged with drug trafficking by the same office handling the Maduro case.
The indictment says Maduro is “at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States.”
Trump said the US will “run” Venezuela until a “safe, proper, and judicious transition” can be facilitated. It remains unclear how the Trump administration would carry out this plan and for how long.
Key Insights (AI-assisted):
This move signals a convergence between secure-by-design IoT software stacks and US-based semiconductor manufacturing for mass-market smart home deployments. By anchoring trust in silicon while abstracting complexity for developers, the partnership could accelerate adoption of enterprise-grade security in consumer devices without adding cost or friction. The focus on edge data integrity and federated processing positions the platform for AI workloads that demand verifiable telemetry. It also reflects a broader shift toward domestically sourced, security-certified IoT infrastructure aligned with emerging regulatory and cyber-assurance frameworks.
The industry’s first enterprise-grade IoT platform with end-to-end security for every home will be demonstrated at CES 2026
Afero, the enterprise-grade secure IoT Platform, today announced a collaboration with Texas Instruments (TI), the largest analog and embedded processing semiconductor manufacturer in the U.S., to create a seamless and secure Internet-of-Things (IoT) platform for smart home products. TI’s first Wi-Fi® microcontrollers (MCUs) purpose-built for IoT combined with Afero’s secure IoT software platform deliver the ultimate solution for connected devices – unmatched in affordability, reliability, security, and user-friendly development. Together, the two companies are working to provide a U.S.-sourced supply chain.
Today, Afero exclusively powers the leading home improvement retailer’s smart home platform used in millions of homes across America. Demonstrations at CES 2026 will showcase how, for the first time, TI’s Wi-Fi chips are integrated into the Afero-powered smart home platform.
TI’s semiconductor innovations, backed by the company’s strength in U.S. manufacturing and its commitment to delivering dependable supply, offer easy integration, reliable connectivity and a seamless experience for both developers and users. Designers can evaluate TI’s Wi-Fi portfolio and the Afero IoT software platform with a robust developer program to accelerate adoption in personal electronics, industrial, and enterprise markets. The ecosystem uniquely provides ease-of-use and fast, reliable operation to allow secure, direct connectivity to the cloud for any device.
Smart software, designed and built in the USA
Afero sets the gold standard for trusted, frictionless, and secure IoT. In a feat of engineering innovation, it not only uses hardware roots of trust, but also delivers over-the-top, end-to-end encrypted sessions to create a VPN-grade channel on microcontroller-class processors, thereby adding an additional layer of protection. This capability has ensured Afero devices remain protected, even during attacks that have successfully compromised and exploited other ecosystems.
Joe Britt, CEO and Co-Founder of Afero, said:
“For true enterprise-grade security, we must move beyond software-only solutions and establish verifiable trust at the deepest layer: the silicon itself.”
“Our partnership with Texas Instruments, which is expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint, is a critical step toward supply chain resilience and enterprise assurance in the connected world.”
Wi-Fi technologies for a smarter world
Afero’s IoT software platform in combination with TI’s new reliable Wi-Fi wireless MCUs delivers a robust, end-to-end ecosystem for modern, secure IoT products. TI’s CC3501E and CC3551E support the latest multi-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth® Low Energy 5.4 connectivity protocols, in addition to integrated hardware security, allowing data to be transferred quickly, securely, and with best-in-class interoperability in any installation. Designed with affordability and scalability in mind, engineers can use TI’s Wi-Fi portfolio to connect every product securely to the cloud.
Marian Kost, TI’s VP and GM of Connectivity Solutions, stated, “As the largest foundational semiconductor manufacturer in the U.S., TI provides a reliable supply of high-quality analog and embedded processing chips to support Afero’s next-generation secure architecture. This collaboration is a powerful example of how product and manufacturing innovation combine to enable a smarter world.”
Securing AI-driven growth from the edge-in
The rapid AI-driven growth in data center workloads has been matched with a significant increase in data generation and processing at the edge. A widely cited analysis from Gartner projected that by 2025, 75% of enterprise-generated data will be processed outside a traditional centralized data center or cloud, while IDC anticipates 60% of the Global 2000 will double their investment on computing resources outside traditional datacenters. At the same time, the emergence of physical AI and embodied AI points to the growing need for IoT devices to enable and use AI. The Afero platform addresses this need by enabling both “data-centric AI,” which ensures the validity, veracity, and semantics of data at inception, and local processing capabilities which allow data reduction and federated processing before encrypted data is sent to its next destination – all with frictionless security.
“Frictionless security has always been a design principle at Afero,” said Bret Jordan, Chief Security Strategist of Afero. “This includes Afero’s commitment to the CISA Secure-by-Design pledge, efforts to enable the forthcoming U.S. Cyber Trust Mark, active preparations for post-quantum cryptography, leadership of future IoT standards efforts at the ITU-T, and the recognition that secure IoT and operational technology are critical for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) process.”
In addition to a secure-by-design solution, the Afero platform reduces friction with a patented, pairing-free setup and onboarding workflow that improves the customer experience, which enables reliable fast onboarding and easy-to-use device management.
