Thursday, April 17, 2025

The Evening: A monopoly ruling against Google

Also, a daily pill may work as well as Ozempic.
The Evening

April 17, 2025

Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Thursday.

  • A ruling against Google
  • A promising obesity pill
  • Plus, Bridal Fashion Week
A Lady Justice statue in front of a building with square columns. The statue's arms are outstretched, holding a pair of scales.
Pete Marovich for The New York Times

A judge ruled that Google acted illegally to dominate ad tech

Google could be forced to significantly restructure its operations after a federal judge in Virginia ruled today that the company had illegally maintained a monopoly over lucrative technology that delivers online ads.

The Justice Department and several states had sued Google, arguing that the search giant had used its size and influence to lock out competitors and charge higher prices. Today, the judge sided with the government on two of its three accusations against Google, ruling that it held a monopoly on tools used by publishers to host ad space and on the software used to facilitate online-ad transactions.

Next, the Trump administration will assess the ruling to determine whether to push Google, a $1.88 trillion company, to break apart its ad tech business. The tech giant has currently an 87 percent market share in ad-selling technology, according to the government.

It is the second time in a year that a U.S. court has found Google to have illegally maintained a monopoly. A judge in Washington, D.C., is now considering a request by the Justice Department to break the company up because of its dominance in online search.

For more: The cases against Google are part of a growing push by regulators to rein in the power of the biggest tech companies.

President Trump and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy sit at a long table with reporters and other politicians surrounding them.
President Trump met with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy at the White House.  Eric Lee/The New York Times

Trump promised to make a tariff deal with the E.U.

During a White House meeting today with Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, President Trump said he was "100 percent" confident that the U.S. would strike a trade deal with the E.U. before the end of his 90-day pause on some tariffs.

Trump also said today that he expected to make a trade deal with China, though it was not clear that any progress had been made. Just yesterday, Japan's delegation left the White House without a deal.

During the meeting with Meloni, the president also doubled down on his criticism of the Fed chair, Jerome Powell. Trump accused Powell of "playing politics" and chastised him for not lowering interest rates. "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough," Trump said this morning — though legal experts suggested he probably did not have the authority to fire him.

In other politics news:

A police officer stands in front of parked cars.
Florida State University campus in Tallahassee, today. Erich Martin for The New York Times

At least two people were killed in a shooting at Florida State

A 20-year-old student opened fire today on Florida State University's campus, killing two people and injuring at least six others, the authorities said. Officials identified the attacker as the son of a local sheriff's deputy. Police said they shot the gunman after he failed to obey officers' commands. He was later taken into custody. Here's the latest.

A handgun that was used in the shooting was the former service weapon of the gunman's mother, who was allowed to keep it for personal use, the authorities said.

A person in a factory at a conveyor belt where red-capped insulin injector pens are being produced.
Frederick Florin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A daily pill may work as well as Ozempic

The drugmaker Eli Lilly announced today that it had developed a daily pill that in clinical trials appeared to be as effective in aiding weight loss as blockbuster injectable drugs like Ozempic.

If the pill and others like it prove to be reliable, they have the potential to become far more widely used than the injectables. Eli Lilly said it would seek approval from the F.D.A. to market the pill as a treatment for obesity later this year and for diabetes early in 2026.

More top news

TIME TO UNWIND

Four models in vintage-looking wedding gowns sit on a table with their legs dangling above a tiled floor with brick red squares. Behind the women is a wooden shelf lined with teapots. Above the shelf are wood-framed glass cupboards displaying ceramic and porcelain tableware.
Calenrose

What's old is new at Bridal Fashion Week

Wedding dress designers have long turned to old trends for inspiration. That was certainly the case this month at New York Bridal Fashion Week.

Heirloom-like dresses with raw edges, pin tucks and puff sleeves were in the spotlight, along with '80s-style bubble hemlines and 18th-century-inspired voluminous gowns. Check out the dresses.

For more: Rihanna announced a new bridal collection from her lingerie company, causing fans to speculate about her engagement status.

People in a white car watching a capybara eat grass on the side of a road.
Capybaras, the world's largest rodents, are multiplying in Argentina. Anita Pouchard Serra for The New York Times

A wealthy town's capybara problem

In the posh suburbs of Buenos Aires, hundreds of capybaras walk around like they own the place. They cross the roads, lay down near the tennis courts and munch on the manicured lawns. Without any predators, their population is quickly rising.

In order to preserve the neighborhoods, the local government decided to sterilize the capybaras with drug-laced blow darts. Not everyone is happy. "I believe their adorableness is a strategy of the species itself to survive," said one resident. "Their lovability has conquered us, and we're fighting for them."

The poster for
Paramount

Dinner table topics

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

A green frosting princess cake missing a slice.
Linda Xiao for The New York Times

Cook: This Princess Cake makes for a spectacular Easter centerpiece.

Watch: "Sinners" is a genre-defying, mind-bending fantasia, our reviewer writes.

Read: "Midnight in Soap Lake" is one of the best new murder mysteries worth checking out.

Plan: Our Frugal Travel columnist has advice for visiting London without breaking the bank.

Style: Puddle pants are everywhere. Here's how to wear them without getting dirty.

Try: Magnolias are in bloom. It's time to eat them.

Hunt: Which Hudson Valley home would you buy with a $600,000 budget?

Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all of our games here.

ONE LAST THING

A pastel illustration of a woman chopping vegetables.
Ping Zhu

Embrace little luxuries

When life is stressful, tiny morsels of joy can make a big difference. Perhaps the novelist Iris Murdoch said it best: "One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats, and if some of these can be inexpensive and quickly procured so much the better."

For some inspiration, we asked 21 prominent people in high-pressure arts jobs to share their version of a small treat. One "Saturday Night Live" writer turns to online chess. A ballet dancer goes to the Russian baths. And Sophie Buddle, a stand-up comedian, turns off her alarm: "Letting myself sleep is my biggest luxury," she said.

Have a comforting evening.

Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

Sean Kawasaki-Culligan was our photo editor.

We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.

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Writer: Matthew Cullen

Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter

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