• Betting scandals could ramp up as gambling restrictions continue to loosen, researchers say.
• The NCAA is allowing its athletes to bet on professional sports starting in November.
• “Once people start to develop problems, they gamble on everything,” one researcher said.

Get ready for more sports betting scandals.

On Thursday, the FBI arrested two current members of the NBA — Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups — as part of a long-term investigation into illegal sports betting and poker schemes. Billups’ charge wasn’t basketball-related. Former NBA player Damon Jones was also charged.

“Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight,” Rozier’s lawyer said in a statement.

Sports betting scandals have been occurring for over a century, but researchers say they could become more prevalent if US gambling restrictions continue to loosen.

“This is the tip of the iceberg — and the inevitable outcome when you rampantly legalize sports wagering,” said Lia Nower, the director of Rutgers’ Center for Gambling Studies.

Next month will see another move in that direction, as the NCAA lifts its restriction on college athletes betting on pro sports.

“The more accessible, the more acceptable gambling becomes, the more people actually do it,” Nower said.

Nower said high-risk problem gambling was three times more common in places where sports betting was legal than the national average of about 2%, citing research on New Jersey from her and her colleagues that was published in 2023.

Sports betting began to ramp up on a state-by-state basis after the US Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that a nationwide ban on sports gambling was unconstitutional. There have been several high-profile scandals since, including former NBA player Jontay Porter being banned for life from the league in 2024.

Young people — particularly young men — are especially at risk for problem gambling. The Rutgers researchers found that 19% of all 18- to 24-year-olds had a high risk of developing a gambling problem. College athletes, who will soon be allowed to bet on pro sports, are squarely in that demographic. (The NCAA banned three college basketball players last month for sports betting and is also investigating 13 former hoopers.)

“Once people start to develop problems, they gamble on everything,” Nower said.

She said that some college athletes would be tempted to bet on what they know best: college sports. And if college athletes get hooked on pro sports betting and then make it to the majors themselves, they could continue to wager on their sports, though it would be against league regulations.

It’s no secret that sports betting companies are targeting college-aged men, said Shane Kraus, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who’s the director of its Behavioral Addictions Lab.

“Look at the type of ads, who they’re sending ads to — they’re not sending them to grandma and grandpa in their 80s,” Kraus said.

The ocean of money in sports betting right now will likely lead to more gambling scandals, Kraus and Nower said.

Another wrinkle is the increased popularity of “prop” bets, where gamblers can craft player-specific wagers that athletes could influence more easily than the outcome of a game.

Once problem gambling develops, loan sharks, or those in organized crime, can enter the picture. For college athletes, there are also temptations that are seemingly less nefarious but can still lead to scandal, such as getting friends to bet on their behalf to circumvent rules.

“All of this is completely foreseeable,” Nower said of how problem gambling can turn into a sports betting scandal. “It’s like watching a car crash.”

• Servicers are sending some student-loan borrowers emails confirming their balances are wiped out.
• Borrowers eligible for the relief have completed their qualifying payments on the income-based repayment plan.
• The Department of Education previously confirmed that it would begin processing the relief.

Halloween just got a little less spooky for student-loan borrowers.

After receiving emails earlier this month that they are eligible for student-loan forgiveness, borrowers on income-based repayment plans are now seeing the relief: their servicers have zeroed out their balances and confirmed the forgiveness.

Income-based repayment plans give borrowers monthly payments based on their income, with the promise of loan forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, depending on when they first enrolled in the plan. An email from the Department of Education told eligible borrowers that their servicers would notify them when their discharges have been processed, and those notifications are now starting to trickle in.

The emails are coming after the department paused processing of IBR applications earlier this summer due to ongoing litigation over income-driven repayment plans.

“Congratulations! The U.S. Department of Education has forgiven your federal student loans,” the emails dated October 23, multiple of which were reviewed by Business Insider, said.

The email also clarified that this relief is not considered taxable income due to a 2021 provision in the American Rescue Plan that made student-loan forgiveness tax-free through 2025. Borrowers who received the Thursday emails that Business Insider viewed had forgiveness “effective” dates marking the final payments needed under the IBR plans as early as January 2025. That means that even if servicers do not finish processing the relief until next year, borrowers would not be taxed due to the 2025 effective date.

The servicers added that they notified, or will notify, national credit bureaus of the student-loan forgiveness, and that they will refund any payments made after the forgiveness effective date.

The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The relief is a rare nugget of good news amid a tumultuous year for student-loan borrowers. Over the summer, the Department of Education paused processing of IBR applications, citing ongoing litigation regarding repayment plans that required the department to update borrowers’ payment counts. The American Federation of Teachers also sued the department earlier in the year, accusing it of failing to process borrowers’ income-driven repayment applications.

Last week, the department reached an agreement with the AFT to process forgiveness for borrowers who reached the payment threshold on income-driven repayment plans. It also agreed to allow the date the borrower made their final payment to be considered as the effective date to avoid new taxes, but it added that the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury will have the “final say” on whether the relief is considered taxable income.

A department spokesperson previously told BI that the agreement allows it to “process legitimate loan cancellations once again for borrowers who have been making payments for the requisite number of years.”

Earnings day is here for Tesla, and the stakes are high.

After a roller coaster ride for the stock in 2025, shares are now up 95% in six months, but even with such a massive gain, that only amounts to a rise of about 10% year-to-date.

Now, investors will get a sense of whether the rally that’s taken hold in the latter half of the year can continue. They’ll be laser-focused on updates on Tesla’s robotaxi rollout, which many on Wall Street see as the justification for the EV maker’s premium valuation.

There will also be questions about the outlook for vehicle sales after Tesla reported deliveries earlier this month that crushed estimates. However, with the federal EV tax credit now off the table, some have wondered if sales will wane in the coming quarters.

Tesla will publish its results shortly after the 4 p.m. ET closing bell, with the analyst call scheduled for 5:30.

The Cybertruck’s waning popularity

It’s worth keeping an eye out for any commentary about the Cybertruck, the distinctive vehicle that has struggled to sell as well as expected.

Tesla sold 5,400 of them in the second quarter — down 62% from the same period last year, according to data from Cox Automotive.

Back in 2023, Musk said Tesla could expand production to 250,000 a year. But just 16,000 Cybertrucks have been sold so far this year.

Investors will want a progress report on the robotaxi launch

Tesla began a limited rollout of its highly anticipated robotaxi service in Austin in June, with safety drivers present in the passengers’ seat, and investors will want a status check on the rollout’s progress and possible expansion.

Musk previously shared plans for the robotaxi service to be in many cities by the end of 2025, and also predicted there would be “millions of Teslas operating fully autonomously in the second half of next year.”

Investors will also want an update on when owners will be able to add their vehicles to the Tesla robotaxi fleet. In Tesla’s last earnings call, Musk said owners would be able to do so “next year.”

Some say the more affordable models don’t do enough to fend off Chinese competition

Coming without features like Autosteer and rear screens, the high price tags of the more affordable models underwhelmed some commentators.

Andy Palmer, a former Nissan executive often called the “godfather of EVs” told Business Insider the models don’t do enough to fend off competition from China’s EV giants. BYD, whose cheapest model starts at less than $10,000 in China, sold more EVs than Tesla in Europe for the first time in April.

“If you take out the features — and Tesla has taken out an awful lot of features — then that creates a new price point, but that new price point doesn’t make it competitive with the Chinese

Tesla’s new “more affordable” models will likely be a hot topic

Earlier this month, Tesla revealed its long-awaited lower-cost Model Y and also surprised the world by announcing a more affordable version of its Model 3. Both are referred to as the “standard” version of the models and drop a number of features offered in the higher-end models, including the radio and Autosteer.

The Standard version of Tesla’s most popular Model Y will cost $39,990, and the Model 3 Standard costs $36,990.

While customers and investors eagerly awaited the more affordable model’s release, Wall Street analysts largely expressed disappointment at the vehicles’ price points.

“We are relatively disappointed with this launch as the price point is only $5k lower than prior Model 3’s and Y’s,” Tesla bull Dan Ives wrote in a note to investors after the announcement.

Analysts and investors will be looking for an update on Semi and Cybercab production

Tesla said in its second-quarter earnings release that the Semi and Cybercab production were both expected to reach volume production in 2026. With just a few months left of 2025, investors will want to know if the EV giant is still headed toward that timeline.

Tesla recalls over 12,900 vehicles

Tesla recalled nearly 13,000 vehicles built this year, due to a defect that regulators said can cause a sudden loss of battery power and increase the risk of a crash. The issue involves 2025 Model 3s and 2026 Model Ys, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filing on Tuesday.

While many past Tesla recalls were remedied through over-the-air software updates, impacted owners this time around will have to take their vehicle in to replace the part in question, the battery part contactor. The part replacement will be free of charge.

Tesla’s Field Reliability team began investigating identified incidents in August, and as of October 7, it had identified 36 warranty claims and 26 field reports related to the condition, the recall report said. There were no collisions, injuries, or deaths related to the issue.

Cantor says focus will be on near-term catalysts for the stock

Andres Sheppard of Cantor Fitzgerald wrote this week that the focus will be on the biggest catalysts for the stock price. Specifically, he cited “several upcoming key material potential near-term catalysts, including: continued rollout of Robotaxi in Texas and California, ramp up of the Model 3/Y standard (lower-cost vehicle), FSD adoption in China and Europe, launch of the cybercab in 2026, and an update on the timeline for its humanoid Optimus Bot.”

Cantor has a $355 price target for the stock, implying downside of about 20% from current levels.

Goldman says watch for 5 big items from tonight’s earnings call

Analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote earlier this month that they’re eyeing a handful of key updates from the carmaker.

• The outlook for vehicle deliveries
• Automotive profit margins
• Progress on robotaxis and full self-driving
• Growth in its energy business
• Fresh updates on the Optimus robot

The bank has a price target of $425 a share and a “Neutral” rating on the stock. The analysts said they expect Tesla to deliver 475,000 vehicles this quarter, down slightly from nearly 500,000 delivered in Q3

RBC sets a $500 price target for Tesla stock on “sum-of-the-parts” methodology

Analysts at RBC have a price target of $500 for Tesla stock, representing 12% upside from Wednesday’s price. Their thesis hinges on a “sum-of-the-parts” methodology that values the company on revenues related to all of its business units, with its auto unit ranked lower than things like AI and robots.

The bank’s Tom Narayan upped his Tesla price target after speaking with the company’s management team about production of its humanoid robot, Optimus, which they say has a total addressable market worth $9 trillion.

Morningstar wants updates on Robotaxis and cheaper car models

Morningstar’s Dave Sekera thinks the big updates from the call will be around robotaxis, but news on the company’s cheaper Model 3 and Model Y cars should also be on investors’ radar. The company unveiled the lower-priced versions of its most popular cars earlier in October, and Wall Street is eager to hear if the move has stimulated more demand for Teslas.

Morningstar is relatively bearish on the stock.

“We think generally the market is overestimating the amount and speed of earnings growth here. We think that to some degree, the market is really pricing in Tesla more as an AI stock rather than as an operating company,” Sekera said.

Wedbush says listen for the AI updates

The outlook for car sales is important, but AI is the bigger update that investors should be looking for from this report, Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives said this week.

“We continue to strongly believe the most important chapter in Tesla’s growth story is now beginning with the AI era now here,” Ives said. “It starts with autonomous then robotics as we believe the autonomous valuation is worth $1 trillion alone to the Tesla story over the next few years that will start to get unlocked over the coming months.”

Wedbush has a $600 price target for Tesla stock, representing 37% upside from Wednesday’s price.

Wall Street expects Tesla to report revenue of $26.3 billion, EPS of $.042

THIRD QUARTER

• Adjusted EPS estimate 54c (Bloomberg Consensus)
• EPS estimate 42c
• Revenue estimate $26.36 billion
• Gross margin estimate 17.2%
• Operating income estimate $1.65 billion
• Free cash flow estimate $1.25 billion
• Capital expenditure estimate $2.84 billion

  YEAR

• Production estimate 1.72 million
• Deliveries estimate 1.63 million
• Capital expenditure estimate $10 billion

Source: Bloomberg

• Google is flattening management layers in one of its most important business divisions.
• It’s eliminating a middle management layer in US ad sales, per an internal memo.
• Google has been reducing managerial roles in an effort to speed up decision-making.

Google is once again stripping back management layers, this time by flattening teams in its core US ad sales unit, Business Insider has learned.

US employees in the Google Customer Solutions (GCS) division were informed last month that several changes to the leadership structure would take effect in January, in a memo sent by its vice president, John Nicoletti.

This latest restructuring shows how even the most profitable corners of Big Tech are moving to run leaner and faster. Google’s ad business, which still accounts for the bulk of its revenue, is flattening management layers to speed up decisions and reduce bureaucracy as growth slows and competition from AI-driven rivals intensifies. In an all-hands meeting in August, Google leaders told staff that the company had reduced the number of managers overseeing small teams by 35% over the previous year.

The changes inside GCS, which serves midsize advertisers, reflect a wider trend across the tech industry: the end of cushy managerial hierarchies in a cost-conscious era.

One change will be to remove the layer of “Managers of Managers,” or MoMs, across several teams, Nicoletti said in the memo, which was reviewed by Business Insider. No layoffs were mentioned in the email, which said the affected employees would move into other roles. The exact number of manager roles being removed could not be learned

“Unlocking our next stage of growth means building our team strategy and structure for the long term,” Nicoletti wrote.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the changes to Business Insider.

“Our teams have continued to make changes to operate more efficiently, remove layers, and better serve our customers,” the spokesperson said.

Nicoletti said the changes in ad sales in January would “Empower our teams, with a focus on agility to accelerate decision-making, and keeping leadership close to the work by simplifying our organizational structure.”

Ad sales is a critical part of Google’s business, and GCS — which focuses on midsize clients — is the central engine. In the September memo to staff, Nicoletti described GCS as “managing a portfolio the size of a Fortune 100 company.”

As part of the upcoming January changes for GCS, Nicoletti said all managers across select teams would become “Heads of business” and report directly to directors with no management layer in between. This would include removing a layer within its mid-market sales group — a role known as account strategy management — that previously stood between account executives and managers, and the heads of business.

He also told staff that Google would reopen account executive roles “to continue investing in capacity for deep customer partnerships.”

“One of the reasons that we’ve been so successful is that we’re outstanding at driving momentum through continuous change,” Nicoletti wrote. “This will be no different.”

Google is not alone in reducing management layers. In recent years, tech giants such as Intel, Amazon, and Microsoft have also flattened their management structures in an effort to become more efficient.

GCS was the only division mentioned in Nicoletti’s memo, but it’s not the only team in ad sales. It also has teams working on Large Customer Sales (LCS), which focus on the biggest and most complex customers.

In January 2024, Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, told staff that GCS would become the “core channel for scaling growth” as the company pared back teams on LCS.

Have something to share? Contact this reporter via email at hlangley@businessinsider.com or Signal at 628-228-1836. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.

• The US military has recently increased its military presence in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
• It comes as the Trump administration says it is targeting suspected drug trafficking efforts.
• The Venezuelan and Colombian presidents have denounced the military move.

The US struck another boat in what it has called anti-drug-trafficking efforts, this time in the Eastern Pacific, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday.

The attack, which killed two people, is now the eighth in a series of deadly strikes on vessels in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela and now in the Eastern Pacific. In total, 34 people have been killed in the attacks.

In recent weeks, the US has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean, deploying US warships and aircraft amid what the Trump administration is calling “an armed conflict” with drug cartels and growing escalations with Venezuela‘s military.

The boats, according to Hegseth and President Donald Trump, were trafficking drugs to the US. The administration has not provided evidence supporting the claims, leading US lawmakers and Venezuelan officials to question the attacks’ legal justification.

In September, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro — who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the US, which he has denied — called the US military buildup “an extravagant, immoral, and bloody threat.” The country has also begun mobilizing troops and enlisting militia members.

More recently, tensions have expanded beyond Venezuelan coasts. Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused the US of murdering a Colombian fisherman during one of the strikes in September and recalled the Colombian ambassador to the US. In response, Trump announced he would increase tariffs and cut aid to the South American country.

Republican senators recently blocked a resolution that would have required the president to seek congressional approval for future strikes in the region.

“Every American should be alarmed that their president has decided he can wage secret wars against anyone he calls an enemy,” said Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, an Army veteran who retired as a major, and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Associated Press reported.

Col. Chris Devine, a senior spokesman for the Department of Defense, told Business Insider in a statement that the deployed warships are part of an effort to support the president’s “directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), and counter narco-terrorism to defend the homeland.”

From destroyers packed with missiles to ships carrying Marines and aircraft, see 10 US Navy ships that have been deployed in the region.

USS Jason Dunham

USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, was in the region as of October 14, a Navy official confirmed to Business Insider.

The 510-foot-long, 9,500-ton destroyer was named after Cpl. Jason Dunham, a 22-year-old Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his selfless actions in a 2004 attack in Iraq. It was built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, and was launched in 2009.

The vessel is equipped with a 5-inch/62 caliber naval gun, missile cells able to carry anti-ship and air-defense missiles, torpedo tubes, close-in weapons systems, and other defenses. The vessel can carry a deployed helicopter.

After a nearly nine-month-long deployment to the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, the ship returned to its home port of Mayport, Florida, on June 8.

On August 27, The Washington Post reported that the destroyer was in the Eastern Caribbean.

A week later, two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets conducted a flyover of the ship as a “show of force” as tensions in the region grew.

USS Gravely

USS Gravely (DDG-107), another Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer built at the Ingalls Shipbuilding shipyard in Mississippi, was also operating in the area as of October 14, a Navy official confirmed.

On March 15, it was deployed to the Pacific coasts near the US southern border and areas of the Caribbean, US Northern Command said. The action followed Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on the US-Mexico border.

The deployment of the Gravely — which previously spent nine months in active combat during the armed conflict with the Houthis in the Red Sea — to the border was unusual, as the region is typically secured by US border authorities and Coast Guard missions.

On August 27, The Washington Post reported that the destroyer was operating in the Eastern Caribbean.

USS Iwo Jima

USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), an Ingalls-built Wasp-class amphibious assault vessel and helicopter landing deck that serves as the flagship of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, was also operating in the region as of October 14.

The USS Iwo Jima amphibious ready group is composed of two support transport dock ships, the USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale. Together, they can house up to 4,500 sailors and Marines.

On August 27, The Washington Post reported that the Iwo Jima ARG had departed its home port of Norfolk, Virginia, and was en route to the Caribbean.

On September 29, photos released by the Navy showed the ship carrying the MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor transport craft and AV-8B Harrier II fighters as it traveled.

Local US Virgin Islands outlet The Virgin Island Daily News reported over the weekend that the ship had been spotted in St. Thomas.

USS San Antonio

USS San Antonio (LPD-17) is the lead ship of its class and an amphibious transport dock built by what was then Northrop Grumman Ship Systems at the Ingalls yard. It has been in service since 2006, most recently traveling with USS Iwo Jima as part of an amphibious ready group.

The ship can house over 300 sailors and 600 enlisted troops and is designed with certain stealthy features.

A Navy official confirmed to Business Insider that the ship was operating in the Caribbean as of October 14.

USS Fort Lauderdale

The second of two transport docks traveling as part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, the USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) is an Ingalls-built San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship with capabilities in aiding troop landing operations, among others.

Like the USS San Antonio, the USS Fort Lauderdale can launch hovercraft to assist amphibious operations.

A Navy official confirmed it was operating in the Caribbean as of October 14.

USS Minneapolis-St. Paul – yes

Another ship confirmed to be in the region as of October 7 was the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul, a Freedom-class littoral combat ship designed by Lockheed Martin and built at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin.

In March, the US Navy announced the ship’s first-ever deployment as it traveled from its home port of Mayport, Florida, to the Caribbean to support US 4th Fleet operations.

It traveled with the “Valkyries” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50 (HSM-50) Detachment 3, as well as a MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, which would serve as “the ship’s eyes in the sky,” per the Navy’s announcement. The accompanying helicopter’s capabilities include anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, and others.

By May 13, US Southern Command had announced the ship’s “third successful interdiction” in operations targeting suspected drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea.

“The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul is delivering decisive blows against transnational criminal organizations,” Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, commander of US Naval Forces Southern Command/US 4th Fleet, said in the announcement. “These interdictions send a clear message: We are vigilant, and illicit trafficking will be interdicted to protect our homeland as well as our regional partners from this threat.”

USS Lake Erie

USS Lake Erie (CG-70), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser built by Bath Iron Works, returned to San Diego from a deployment in the Indo-Pacific region in January.

During its deployment, the ship sailed over 40,000 nautical miles and worked with the embarked Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 35 (HSM-35) Detachment 1 in operations “promoting regional stability and security, and protecting free flow of commerce” in the region, US Pacific Fleet said.

On August 27, The Washington Post reported the cruiser was in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico, and by August 30, the ship had crossed the Panama Canal, entering the Caribbean.

A Navy official confirmed to Business Insider that the ship was operating in the region as of October 14.

USS Sampson

On June 3, USS Sampson (DDG-102) was deployed to the US Northern Command area of responsibility as part of the Department of Defense’s increased presence along the Southern border, US Fleet Forces Command said.

By June 26, the Arleigh Burke-class (Flight IIA) guided missile destroyer had intercepted a suspected drug trafficking operation in the Eastern Pacific along with the US Coast Guard, US NORTHCOM said.

On August 27, the Washington Post reported that the destroyer was in the Pacific off the coast of Panama.

A Navy official told Business Insider that the ship had since left the Caribbean and been replaced by USS Stockdale.

USS Stockdale

USS Stockdale (DDG-106), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, was deployed to the US Northern Command area of responsibility on April 11, US Pacific Fleet’s Naval Surface Forces said.

The ship has been described by some outlets as the most battle-tested postwar naval vessel, due to its role in the Houthi conflict, which was the largest naval conflict faced by the US since World War II.

It “successfully repelled multiple Iranian-backed Houthi attacks” in the Arabian Peninsula near Yemen in its previous deployment, Naval Surface Forces said. It returned to its home port of San Diego in February.

During the ship’s current deployment, it “will respond to national priorities and a Presidential declaration emphasizing the military’s role in securing US borders,” per the announcement.

In September, USNI News reported that the destroyer was operating in the Eastern Pacific off the coast of Central America, and by September 23, the vessel had traveled across the Panama Canal and was operating in the Caribbean.

A Navy official confirmed to Business Insider that the ship was operating in the region as of October 14.

MV Ocean Trader

Often called a “ghost ship” due to its lack of naval markings or public tracking, the MV Ocean Trader is designed to go unnoticed while supporting covert operations.

The ship provides barracks and a command center for special operations forces, as well as a helicopter base. It’s described as a Special Warfare Support vessel.

On September 25, Task & Purpose reported that the ship, which resembles a commercial cargo vessel, was operating in the Caribbean.

A Navy official did not comment on the MV Ocean Trader’s operation.

• Alphabet contributed $22 million to Trump’s White House ballroom project.
• The contribution is part of a legal settlement after Trump’s YouTube suspension.
• The ballroom’s total cost is estimated at $250 million, with private funding sources.

Alphabet is helping pay for President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom, according to federal court filings.

As part of a legal settlement reached last month with Trump, Alphabet, which owns YouTube, is contributing $22 million toward Trump’s White House construction plans. Trump sued the tech giant after it suspended his YouTube channel for two years, following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Images showing demolition work on the East Wing to make way for the ballroom have sparked scrutiny this week and renewed the question over who’s paying for the estimated $250 million, 90,000-square-foot addition.

According to court filings in Oakland, California, Alphabet’s contribution, which accounts for roughly 10% of the total projected cost, will be made on Trump’s behalf to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit entity dedicated to restoring and preserving the National Mall.

“The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly,” Trump said Monday on his social media platform Truth Social.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

This is a developing story.