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Robert Primus, a member of the Surface Transportation Board, says he will challenge the termination

President Trump on Wednesday fired Robert Primus, a board member of the railroad regulator that is weighing the proposed megamerger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern.

Primus, a Democrat, was nominated by Trump to the Surface Transportation Board in 2020 and began serving in 2021. He was the only member of the board to oppose the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, a tie-up was approved by the regulator in 2023. At the time, Primus said the deal wasn’t in the public interest.

Primus said Wednesday that he planned to challenge the termination.

“This is deeply troubling and legally invalid,” Primus wrote in an email to The Wall Street Journal. He said he planned to continue his duties as a board member and that if he was prevented from doing so, he would seek legal options.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump has been pushing to expand his control over independent government agencies with a spree of firings. He has dismissed Democratic appointees at the Federal Trade Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And earlier this week, he said he was removing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.

Primus received an email shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday from Mary Sprowls, who works in the White House Presidential Personnel Office.

“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the Surface Transportation Board is terminated, effective immediately,” she wrote. She gave no explanation for the termination. Primus was removed from the list of board members on the regulator’s website.

Primus last year was appointed chairman of the board by former President Joe Biden. Trump in January tapped Republican board member Patrick Fuchs to move into the chairman role.

Besides Fuchs, the remaining board members are Michelle Schultz, a Republican, and Karen Hedlund, a Democrat. The Surface Transportation Board is authorized to have up to five members. It is the economic regulator for the railroad industry, handling service disputes between shippers and railroad operators as well as merger proposals between railroads.

Primus said the White House’s actions would weaken the board and “adversely affect the freight rail network in a way that may ultimately hurt consumers and the economy.”

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BYD first outsold Tesla in the continent in April

BYD sold more cars in Europe than Tesla TSLA -0.59%decrease; red down pointing triangle once again last month, a sign that Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker continues to face stiff competition from its Chinese rival as it expands aggressively in the continent.

New-car registrations for BYD models, a reflection of sales, more than tripled on year to 9,698 vehicles across the EU in July, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, an industry body also known as ACEA. When including the U.K., Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, sales more than tripled to 13,503 vehicles.

In contrast, registrations for Tesla models in the EU contracted more than 42% to 6,600 cars, extending a streak of disappointing EU monthly sales for the company this year. December marked the last month when Tesla logged higher sales in the EU, with 5.9% growth.

Chinese carmakers have been expanding aggressively in Europe, winning market share from domestic rivals thanks to their relatively cheap and varied lineups of electric vehicles. Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor also outsold Tesla in Europe in July, according to ACEA data. BYD first outsold Tesla in the continent in April, according to data from JATO Dynamics, a consumer-research group.

Aside from stiff competition overseas, Tesla has been dealing for months with the fallout from Musk’s previous involvement with the Trump administration. Investors were concerned the billionaire wasn’t spending enough time at the company during his time in Washington.

Tesla’s net income dropped 16% in the second quarter. The company has been revamping its lineup lately to appeal to more buyers. Since March, it has refreshed its Model Y crossover SUV, made updates to its luxury Model S and Model X vehicles and released a pared-down, lower-cost version of its Cybertruck.

July’s sales decline for Tesla models in the EU came despite signs that the bloc’s EV market is improving. Sales of battery-electric vehicles increased 39% on year, with 58% growth in Germany alone. Registrations of hybrid-electric cars rose more than 14%, while plug-in-hybrid models climbed 57%.

ACEA said overall EU passenger-car registrations grew 7.4% in July to 914,680 vehicles. Sales were up 11% in Germany, but down 7.7% in France and 5.1% in Italy. Germany’s Volkswagen Group logged sales growth of nearly 14%. Stellantis, the owner of the Jeep and Dodge brands, recorded a 0.9% decline in overall registrations.

WhatsApp is launching a new AI feature that allows users to rephrase, proofread, or adjust the tone of their messages, the Meta-owned company announced on Wednesday.

The new feature, called “Writing Help,” uses Meta’s Private Processing technology, which allows users to receive AI-generated responses without Meta or WhatsApp reading the original message or the suggested rewrites. This means that messages on the platform remain private even if people use the new tool.

With Writing Help, users can get AI-generated suggestions that rewrite their messages in a professional, funny, supportive, or rephrased way.

WhatsApp showcased the feature in a product image displaying a user’s original message: “Please don’t leave dirty socks on the sofa.” The AI then offers “funny” rewrites, such as: “Please don’t make the sofa a sock graveyard,” “Breaking news: Socks found chilling on the couch. Please move them,” and “Hey, sock ninja, the laundry basket is that way!”

With this launch, WhatsApp is likely hoping that people use its in-app technology when drafting messages, rather than external tools like ChatGPT.

Of course, not everyone will be fond of the new feature, as users likely prefer authentic, personal conversations with friends and family over AI-generated messages. Using AI to rewrite an email is one thing; using it to message your grandma is another.

WhatsApp says users can access the new feature by tapping the new pencil icon that appears when drafting a message in the app.

Writing Help is rolling out in English in select countries starting Wednesday.

The latest incarnation of the two parties' ongoing collaboration boasts clinical backing and will debut Sept. 3.

Victoria Beckham is putting her best face forward, in more ways than one.

On the heels of releasing the joint financial results of her fashion and beauty businesses, Beckham is also gearing up to launch The Foundation Drops, her take on beauty’s largest category, as part of her brand’s ongoing collaboration with Augustinus Bader.

It will debut for $110 on Sept. 3 in 19 shades before rolling out to the brand’s full distribution, which now includes Neiman Marcus, Bluemercury, Nordstrom Inc. and Printemps in the U.S., as well as a slew of other partners globally.

“I wanted to create this right at the beginning of Victoria Beckham Beauty,” Beckham said of the launch, which took six years to perfect. “But it was very apparent that it would be a huge undertaking because it’s such a competitive category, and I wanted to do it in a way that felt innovative and honest.”

As with each of her new launches, Beckham was guided by the integrity of the product and wouldn’t compromise on either performance or payoff.

“For me, it’s all about the product, the why of the product, making sure that I’m not settling and that I truly believe everything is best-in-class before I put it out there,” she said. “Everything has a point of view. This is a saturated market. It’s not about adding product for the sake of it, there’s a real reason why. Ultimately, everything is what I desire and can’t find.”

To that end, Beckham had a handful of pain points she was solving for. “I’ve tried so many foundations. I wanted something that was going to conceal, even out my complexion, and treat my skin at the same time, not irritate it. Lots of people claim to have skin care within their foundation, but that was not enough for me.”

That was the rationale behind expanding Victoria Beckham Beauty’s partnership with Augustinus Bader, which currently comprises a concealer, a serum and an illuminator.

Adding functional levels of TFC8, Augustinus Bader’s proprietary technology, to a pigmented formula came with its own set of challenges, said brand cofounder Augustinus Bader in an email.

“TFC8 is a highly sophisticated technology that works best in direct contact with the skin, guiding key nutrients to support its natural processes of repair and renewal. In a makeup context, the question became how to preserve the full efficacy while also introducing color,” Bader said.

The formula, as it currently stands, “allows pigments to diffuse seamlessly while ensuring that the actives remain unobstructed and fully effective. The result is a formula that balances performance and permeability in a way not typically seen in makeup, delivering both immediate coverage and long-term skin benefits,” said Bader.

At $110 per bottle, that puts the foundation squarely in the luxury price range, which has been challenged across categories in beauty in the U.S., with the exception of fragrance. Per financial results released Tuesday, Victoria Beckham is bucking that trend across both her fashion and beauty businesses. Revenues for both topped a combined $150 million, driven in part by all three categories of the beauty business. Complexion is expected to make up around 20 percent of the beauty business’s volume, which also gets a boost from hero Satin Kajal Liner and its growing portfolio of fine fragrances.

“We are, as a company, showing solid and sustainable growth on top and bottom lines from an EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] perspective,” said Lauren Edelman, Victoria Beckham Beauty’s chief executive officer, who assumed the role in January. “When I look at what’s working for beauty, it’s our core competency: making best-in-class product.”

Edelman acknowledged that complexion is the largest segment of the makeup category, and also said it was the brand’s most requested product. Perfecting the launch strategy took as much finesse as the formula did.

“It’s typically a very hard category to build, particularly if you come from a fashion or a color perspective, because clients will ask if you really know the technology or understand how to make a great complexion product,” Edelman said. “Partnering with Augustinus Bader and having TFC8 in the product that actually treats the skin was where we actually saw the opportunity. It’s not just a complexion product, but it does all the great makeup things you need it to, like 12-hour wear.

“From a product perspective, it’s really hard to get wear, comfort, performance and treatment all in one formula,” Edelman continued. “Most brands look to the white space and where the market volume is. If we did that solely, we would have launched foundation years ago.”

The 2024 launch of the concealer pen — at the time, predicted to do around $10 million in sales before the end of that year — helped the brand set the strategy for the launch of foundation. That includes the accompanying marketing, which showcases the 19 shades of the foundation to aid in shade-matching. “It’s also an important brand statement about how you show up and represent skin tones,” Edelman said. “We had such a small wholesale footprint and we knew that we had to have a really compelling online experience so people could find their shade.”

In that vein, the brand is investing meaningfully in digital marketing, but the brick-and-mortar channel has gained significance for the health of the brand as a whole: by launch, the brand will have 150 doors globally, and 200 by yearend.

“There will be an opportunity for people to discover it online, try it in-store, and then come back and shop,” Edelman said. “Knowing how to launch well online really benefited us with this product.”

In terms of education, that’s where clinical testing comes in. “The thing we all responded to was the idea that 100 percent of testers saw improved skin elasticity. We’ve seen diminishing fine lines and wrinkles, as well as moisturization. But skin elasticity is such a strong point of difference in terms of a treatment claim,” Edelman said.

As for Beckham, she said she tested the product in a variety of locales — from London to Miami, throughout filming her documentary and on magazine cover shoots. “People are looking for this. They desire it. They appreciate our quest for excellence. People have so much choice, and it’s ultimately about giving them what is not already out there.”

Monarez’s lawyers say she ‘chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda’

The White House said it fired the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday, and several top CDC officials resigned, throwing the agency’s leadership into turmoil.

Susan Monarez, the CDC director, has been removed from her job, the White House said Wednesday evening. “Since Susan Monarez refused to resign, despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.

Monarez, who led the agency for less than a month, clashed with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and members of his staff, according to a senior Trump administration official. President Trump had nominated her to lead the CDC in March after dropping his first pick. Previously the agency’s acting director, Monarez was the first CDC head without a medical degree in more than 70 years.

Lawyers for Monarez said that she was notified Wednesday night by a White House staffer in the personnel office that she was fired. Her lawyers said that only the president himself can fire her and for that reason, they reject the notification she received as “legally deficient.”

In an earlier statement, her lawyers also said: “When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted.”

Meanwhile, three senior CDC leaders, including Dr. Debra Houry, the agency’s chief medical officer, submitted their resignations Wednesday, according to emails viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The Department of Health and Human Services said Monarez was no longer CDC director and that Kennedy had full confidence in his team at the agency.

The Washington Post reported the news of Monarez’s ouster earlier.

The CDC is a division of HHS, which is overseen by Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic. A major source of disagreement between Monarez and Kennedy was over the CDC’s guidance on vaccines, according to the administration official. The agency issues recommendations on what vaccines adults and children should take.

In late July, Monarez was confirmed by the Senate in a 51-47 vote, along party lines. On Wednesday, Democrats who had voted against her nomination decried the effort to remove her.

“I had serious doubts about CDC Director Monarez’s willingness to stand up against RFK Jr.’s personal mission to destroy public health in America—I’m glad that I was wrong,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.) on X. “If there are any adults left in the White House: we cannot let RFK Jr. burn what’s left of CDC. FIRE HIM.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.), a medical doctor who was a pivotal voice in Kennedy’s confirmation fight in February, said late Wednesday that the CDC’s “high-profile departures will require oversight” by the Senate health committee that he runs but offered no further comment.

In backing Kennedy’s confirmation, Cassidy said at the time that he secured a number of concessions, including promises to maintain current federal vaccine recommendations and keep intact CDC website pages that say there isn’t a link between vaccines and autism.

About a week after Monarez was sworn in, a gunman who authorities said had been critical of the Covid-19 vaccine opened fire outside the CDC’s Atlanta campus, killing a police officer and striking six of the agency’s buildings. The shooting marked a devastating blow to morale following a swath of layoffs across the agency earlier this year, according to current and former employees.

Hundreds of current and former employees at the CDC and other federal health agencies said the attack came as Americans’ distrust of public health institutions grows and federal leaders politicize and tout health misinformation, according to a letter they wrote to Kennedy and members of Congress last week.

“When the federal workforce is not safe, America is not safe,” they wrote in the letter. “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.”

Many employees at the agency in Atlanta have been working remotely in the weeks since the shooting.

Monarez has a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and did postdoctoral research at Stanford University. She was previously deputy director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, known as ARPA-H, a government agency working to develop healthcare products on a faster timeline.

The White House withdrew Trump’s first choice for CDC director, former congressman Dr. Dave Weldon, after senators worried he wasn’t qualified.

Houry, one of the senior CDC leaders who submitted her resignation, wrote in a note to colleagues that vaccines save lives and “the overstating of risks and the rise of misinformation have cost lives.” She cited the recent attack on the agency’s headquarters and the three-decade high in U.S. measles cases, which has led to three deaths.

“For the good of the nation and the world, the science at CDC should never be censored or subject to political pauses or interpretations,” she wrote, according to the email obtained by the Journal.

“I am committed to protecting the public’s health, but the ongoing changes prevent me from continuing in my job as a leader of the agency,” she added.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, also submitted his resignation.

“I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health,” he wrote in an email.