The Washington Post is laying off nearly 100 employees, representing 4% of its staff, in a bid to curb mounting losses.  The cuts primarily target workers on the business side of the renowned US newspaper, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.  The publication is among numerous news outlets facing challenges in the digital era, as online platforms increasingly compete for advertising revenue.  The layoffs come amid internal turbulence, following Bezos’ unprecedented decision to block an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the US presidential election in November.  "The Washington Post is continuing its transformation to meet the needs of the industry," a spokesperson for the newspaper said. "Changes across our business functions are all in service of our greater goal to best position The Post for the future."  Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump inauguration In 2023, the Washington Post reported a $77 million loss and a decline in website readership. That same year, it announced voluntary buyouts in an effort to reduce staff by 10%.  Bezos wrote an opinion piece explaining that blocking the endorsement was necessary because of growing public perception that the "media is biased." Still, the newspaper said 250,000 of its readers cancelled their subscriptions in protest. Several prominent journalists have since left the publication, including investigative reporter Josh Dawsey, who confirmed on X that he is joining The Wall Street Journal. Managing editor Matea Gold has also departed, moving to The New York Times.  The situation escalated further on Saturday when Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned after the newspaper declined to publish satirical cartoon depicting Bezos and other tycoons kneeling before a statue of President-elect Donald Trump.  Last month, Bezos announced that Amazon would donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund and make a $1 million in-kind contribution. He also described Trump’s re-election as "an extraordinary political comeback" and dined with him at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.    Source: with inputs from BBC

Jeff Bezos’ rocket company has gotten government approval to launch people into space, himself included. The Amazon founder will climb atop his New Shepard rocket next Tuesday in West Texas, joined by his brother, an 82-year-old female aviation pioneer and a $28 million auction winner. It will be the first launch with passengers for Blue Origin, which like Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic plans to start flying paying customers in the months ahead. READ: Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson flying own rocket to space The Federal Aviation Administration issued its OK on Monday. The license is good through August. On Sunday, Virgin Galactic’s billionaire founder Richard Branson rode his own rocket plane to space, accompanied by five company employees. A specially designed aircraft carried the winged ship aloft over New Mexico. The space plane dropped away, fired its rocket motor and soared to 53.5 miles (86 kilometers), before gliding to a runway touchdown. Blue Origin’s flight — featuring an automated capsule launched atop a reusable booster — should reach a maximum altitude of roughly 66 miles (106 kilometers) before parachuting into the desert. READ: Richard Branson announces trip to space, ahead of Jeff Bezos Joining Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic in the chase for space tourists is Elon Musk’s SpaceX. But SpaceX plans to send its customers into orbit, not on brief up-and-down hops. Musk has yet to commit to a launch himself. Bezos, 57, stepped down last week as Amazon’s CEO. He founded Blue Origin in 2000.