For that price, you get unlimited talk and texting, international calling, plus 20GB of “high-speed” cell and hotspot data, which a customer support representative told me is 5G.
But while the plan’s price might have been selected to appeal to Trump fans (he is the 47th president and was also 45th president), it was certainly not selected to compete aggressively on price.
For a prepaid phone service, Trump Mobile is a bad deal.
There are cheaper plans than this if you look, basically, anywhere
Prepaid plans are usually designed to offer a mix of affordability and flexibility — most of them let you pay or cancel month to month. They usually include fewer perks than post-paid phone plans, but you can generally get a better price.
The major carriers all do better if you go straight to their own prepaid brands. For $40 per month, you can get unlimited 5G service from Verizon’s prepaid carrier, Visible, from AT&T’s prepaid carrier, Cricket, and from T-Mobile’s prepaid carrier, Metro. Visible also includes smartwatch coverage at that price.
Go beyond the big carriers, and you’ll get even better pricing. Google Fi will give you 30GB of 5G data for $35/month. Walmart Family Mobile offers 20GB of 5G for $33.88 per month. Boost Mobile offers 30GB of 5G for $25/month. And Tello offers unlimited data for $25 per month.
Even if you’re limiting yourself to patriotically branded cell companies, you can do better. US Mobile offers unlimited 5G for $35 per month. And while US Cellular’s $40/month plan only has 15GB of high-speed data, it also has an additional 15GB of hot spot data.
The plan includes phone protection from an auto service company
Of course, every phone plan comes with caveats and loopholes. There’s a reason the pricing here is so variable. Some networks may be more aggressive about throttling your data. Others come with restrictions on hot spots. Some have better coverage maps.
Trump Mobile’s inflated price is bolstered by some unique perks. It includes roadside assistance through Drive America Motor Club with a $100 credit toward towing. It also includes device protection through Omega Mobile Care. This could be a good value, but with service plans like these, what matters is how well they actually work in practice. And it’s hard to ascertain how reliable Omega Mobile Care is when it only seems to exist on the Trump Mobile website. (Omega seems to primarily provide auto service; it is also listed as a “partner” of Drive America.)
The market for cellphone service is confusing. The biggest carriers all offer multiple tiers of plans, multiple ways to pay, and different services through subsidiary brands. Meanwhile, smaller providers — known as MVNOs — that operate off the major networks have become so common and easy to create that the SmartLess podcast just launched their own mobile plan. (They charge $30/month.)
That’s what allows a carrier like Trump Mobile to exist. They don’t have to deploy a network or worry about offering great service — they just have to brand it well.
Everything that happens in sports has additional context when viewed from a betting perspective. From season-changing injuries to record-setting moments and so much more, the news cycle will constantly and significantly affect the sports betting industry.
Our betting buzz file, with contributions from David Purdum, Doug Greenberg and others, aims to provide fans a look at the sports betting stories that are driving the conversation.
Weekend wrap: Clark delivers for bettors, Ohtani pitching props, Devers, Bane trades’ impact
David Purdum: Notable trades in Major League Baseball and the NBA, the return of Caitlin Clark and a triple-digit long shot U.S. Open winner highlighted a busy sports weekend. Here’s an odds-and-ends look at some betting storylines from the weekend and Monday.
MLB: Shohei Ohtani is slated to make his return to the mound for the Dodgers, acting as an opener in what’s expected to be a one- or two-inning pitching appearance.
ESPN BET was offering +105 on Ohtani to strike out at least two batters during his first trip back to the mound in nearly two years since undergoing elbow surgery. The over on Ohtani’s strikeouts was the only pitching prop among the top-20 most-popular MLB player props with bettors on Monday morning at ESPN BET. Ohtani is a heavy favorite to win the National League MVP (-400).
The San Francisco Giants‘ World Series odds moved from 40-1 to 30-1 at ESPN BET, following a trade with the Boston Red Sox for slugger Rafael Devers. In the first 12 hours since the trade, more bets had been placed and more money wagered on the Giants to win the World Series at ESPN BET than any other team. The Red Sox’s odds to win the World Series (40-1) did not move.
WNBA: The over on Caitlin Clark to score more than 20 points in her return to the court was the most-popular WNBA points prop bet offered at DraftKings on Saturday. The second-most? Clark to score over 30 points. She delivered on both, pouring in 32 points to lead the Indiana Fever to an upset of the previously unbeaten New York Liberty. In her first game back since missing five games with a quad injury, Clark also was the most popular bet in DraftKings’ assists, rebounds and 3-pointers made prop markets. She finished with nine assists, eight rebounds and seven threes.
The sportsbook’s most-popular WNBA spread and money-line bet on Saturday? The Liberty, who lost 102-88.
Golf: J.J. Spaun, a 150-1 pre-tournament long shot, won the U.S. Open. Entering the tournament, Spaun had attracted 0.1% of all the money bet on BetMGM’s odds to win the U.S. Open.
NBA: The Orlando Magic‘s NBA title odds for next season moved from 40-1 to 22-1 at ESPN BET after acquiring Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade Saturday. The Magic have the fifth-best title odds in the Eastern Conference.
June 10: Roman Anthony shakes up AL ROY race after call-up
Doug Greenberg: The Boston Red Sox made a big splash Monday when they called up baseball’s No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony to the major leagues. The sudden newsbreak, which occurred approximately three hours before Boston’s home game against the Tampa Bay Rays, caused a surge in the betting markets, both in the short and long term.
ESPN BET reports that Anthony’s “To hit a home run” market ended up being the third-most bet MLB prop on Monday, while DraftKings says that the 21-year-old was its most bet player overall and the Red Sox were the second-most backed team (Anthony went 0-4 in his debut). That fervor translated to the American League Rookie of the Year market, where both sportsbooks report Anthony as the leading money generator since his call-up, taking upwards of 87% of handle at each. Immediately following the news, ESPN BET slashed Anthony’s price in half from 40-1 to 20-1.
However, the big rush on futures created only a drop in the bucket for the overall market: ESPN BET reports just 2.8% of handle backing him at large, with BetMGM (4%) and DraftKings (7%) reporting only marginally more, placing him outside the top five most bet players by money for the market.
The market leader is easily the Athletics‘ Jacob Wilson, whose scorching hot start to the season has him as a -500 favorite for AL ROTY, according to ESPN BET. Given his very short odds, he’s unsurprisingly the handle leader at BetMGM (31.9%) and ESPN BET (36.6%).
However, the tickets leader for the market at both sportsbooks is Kansas City Royals rookie Jac Caglianone (13-1), who made his MLB debut less than a week before Anthony and has garnered 16.5% of the tickets at ESPN BET. Anthony’s teammate Kristian Campbell (50-1) has also seen a fair amount of action, attracting the second-most bets and money with the sportsbook.
None of the players mentioned began the season as the odds leader for AL Rookie of the Year; that honor belongs to New York Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez, who opened the campaign at +400 and has since slipped to 20-1, tied for third with Anthony at ESPN BET. Wilson, by contrast, started the season tied with Campbell for third on the odds board at +750, then took the lead by May 1 at +155 before finding his current minus-odds.
May 30: Analysis finds dip in amount bet on hoops this season
Purdum: The amount bet on basketball — both college and professional — dropped an estimated 10% this season compared with last season, according to an analysis by gambling research firm Eilers & Krejcik.
College basketball accounted for the bulk of the decrease, the firm found, but the NBA was not immune. During the first four months of 2025, betting handle on the NBA dropped 5.5% year-over-year, while sportsbook revenue from NBA bets increased 14%, according to the analysis.
Eilers & Krejcik analyzed state revenue reports and reviewed public statements from sportsbook operators in its analysis released this week. It reasoned that the drop in basketball handle stemmed from a decrease in the amount of promotional offers from sportsbooks as well as bettors shifting to “higher margin, lower stake products like [same game parlays].”
Flutter, the parent company of FanDuel, acknowledged “softer” basketball handle during the start of 2025.
“We attribute that to some factors that we’ve seen in basketball in the quarter, including some less competitive matchups over the course of the regular season that results in larger spreads when it comes to the betting and consequently has a better impact in terms of what we see,” Flutter CFO Rob Coldrake said during a May earnings call.
“It’s also worth mentioning that the playoffs have got off to a good start,” Coldrake added. “There seems to be really good engagement around the players.”
Sportsbook BetMGM this week released data on the most popular NBA teams and players with bettors this season. Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic attracted more bets than any other player, while the Los Angeles Lakers were the most popular team to bet with BetMGM customers.
May 27: Collier WNBA MVP favorite following Caitlin Clark injury
Doug Greenberg: Given her immense popularity and electrifying WNBA rookie season in 2024, it came as little surprise that Caitlin Clark was a leading candidate for league MVP heading into her second campaign, with her odds to win the award bolstered by a plethora of public action.
However, those MVP hopes took a disappointing turn Monday when the Indiana Fever announced that Clark would miss at least two weeks because of a left quad strain, marking the first regular-season games she’ll miss in either her college or professional career. The resulting betting line movement and bettor action was swift.
Just before the announcement, Clark was the -115 favorite to take home the 2025 MVP award, but those odds lengthened to +165 in the immediate aftermath of her injury. By Monday afternoon she was +210, and by Tuesday morning she was +220, according to ESPN BET.
Taking her place at the top of the odds board was Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who has gotten off to a white-hot start this season, averaging a league-leading 29.5 points per game as the follow-up to a 2024 campaign that saw her honored as Defensive Player of the Year. Collier was +185 to win MVP in 2025 before Clark’s injury but immediately jumped to -105 following the announcement of Clark’s impending absence and was -170 by Tuesday morning.
Collier’s odds dominance is also a response to overwhelming action backing her. Multiple major sportsbooks report her attracting the most money in the MVP market since the Clark injury news broke, with ESPN BET and DraftKings saying Collier has received upward of 83% of the handle over that time.
While some bettors are using the opportunity to buy back plus-odds on Clark, many more are exploring other names. Three-time and reigning MVP A’ja Wilson (+900 at ESPN BET) has been a popular selection, with the Las Vegas Aces superstar tying Collier for the most bets taken at FanDuel since Clark’s injury.
ESPN BET also reports that Kelsey Plum (+6000), averaging 24.8 PPG in her first season with the Los Angeles Sparks, has taken 16.8% of the wagers since Monday afternoon, trailing only Collier and Wilson.
As for WNBA title odds, the action has been significant. ESPN BET and BetMGM both report a majority of bet slips backing the New York Liberty (favorites at +185) to win it all since Clark’s injury announcement, while FanDuel, which moved Indiana from +370 to +430, still reports the Fever as its most-backed team over that time period.
May 26: Arkansas consensus College World Series favorite
Purdum: Arkansas is the betting favorite ahead of several SEC teams that sit atop the odds to win the College World Series at sportsbooks.
The Razorbacks were the favorites 9-2 at ESPN BET on Monday after the CWS bracket was announced, followed by LSU (6-1) and Tennessee (8-1). Seven of the top eight teams on the board at ESPN BET hail from the SEC. North Carolina (9-1) of the ACC is the only non-SEC team with odds shorter than 10-1.
Vanderbilt, winners of the SEC tournament and No. 1 overall seed in the CWS, is 10-1 along with Georgia. The SEC accounted for eight of the top 16 seeds in the CWS.
Arkansas began the year around 14-1 to win the CWS but emerged as the consensus favorite midway through the regular season at some sportsbooks. The Razorbacks went 20-10 in the rugged SEC and were 31-5 at home this season. They’ll open against North Dakota State in the Fayetteville regional.
Having a bad headache at the gym, “I reached the toilet, sank to my knees, and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill,” the actress wrote. “Meanwhile, the pain—shooting, stabbing, constricting pain—was getting worse. At some level, I knew what was happening: my brain was damaged.”
She was taken to the hospital for a brain scan.
“The diagnosis was quick and ominous: a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a life-threatening type of stroke, caused by bleeding into the space surrounding the brain,” the Emmy nominee added. “I’d had an aneurysm, an arterial rupture.”
Emilia had immediate surgery to seal the aneurysm, calling the pain “unbearable.” While she was recovering, she continued, she experienced aphasia and was “muttering nonsense.”
A week later, “the aphasia passed,” Emilia added, and she left the hospital a month after being admitted.
At a 2013 brain scan, she learned a growth “doubled in size” and that she needed surgery again.
“When they woke me, I was screaming in pain,” she wrote. “The procedure had failed. I had a massive bleed and the doctors made it plain that my chances of surviving were precarious if they didn’t operate again. This time they needed to access my brain in the old-fashioned way—through my skull.”
Thankfully, Emilia shared, she’s now “at a hundred per cent.”
Barnsley Women, playing in the fourth tier, folded in June because of financial pressures, claiming “funding does not trickle down sufficiently”.
Sources at WSL Football say it is working closely with National League clubs to raise minimum standards but the company is aware of short-term financial pressures.
There are also concerns WSL clubs will continue to build a bigger gap.
Chelsea’s sale of their women’s team to themselves – a clever move to navigate Profit and Sustainability Rules – raised questions on whether more financial regulations should be put in place in the women’s game.
The WSL currently has a “soft” salary cap, allowing clubs to spend up to 40% of their revenue on player salaries.
A stricter financial regulation has not been ruled out for the future but WSL Football is wary of stifling growth.
WSL Football chief executive Nikkie Doucet says the “priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women’s game pyramid” and they hope these changes are the “next evolution” in professionalism.
She added: “We believe this will raise minimum standards, create distinction and incentivise investment across the board.
“The introduction of a promotion-relegation play-off creates distinction for the women’s game and introduces a high-profile, high-stakes match.”
WSL expansion is likely to be welcomed by clubs such as Birmingham City and Newcastle United, who have had an influx in investment recently.
The suspect wanted for killing a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and shooting a state senator and his wife was arrested late Sunday night after a manhunt spanning two days and involving nearly 200 law enforcement officers.
Vance Boelter was arrested near his farm in Green Isle, Minn., late Sunday night. Boelter is accused of killing former Minnesota state Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband, Mark Hortman, at their home while posing as a police officer.
State Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife Yvette Hoffman were also shot at their home. They underwent surgery and are receiving care, Gov. Tim Walz (D) said. He called the attacks “politically motivated.”
The search for Boelter was renewed early Sunday morning after authorities found his car and cowboy hat not far from his residence. But even after speaking with his wife and relatives, investigators could not find more on him for over 10 hours.
After an officer spotted a man running into the woods, authorities confirmed Boelter’s presence in the area using an image from a trail camera.
Law enforcement set up a perimeter and closed the distance to him in about 90 minutes using a helicopter, Bruley said at a press conference on Sunday night. They used a drone to track him as he crawled through thick shrubs before he was arrested.
Boelter worked for a local security company called Praetorian Guard Security Services and claimed to have an extensive resume in several countries, including Eastern Europe, Africa, and parts of the Middle East, including the West Bank and Gaza.
More recently, he worked for two funeral homes in the Minneapolis area before going back to Africa. After he returned, he worked a job “extracting eyeballs from cadavers so they could be used for organ donation,” a roommate told the Washington Post.
Boelter had ties to several religious groups, and worked in Africa and the Palestinian territories to spread Christianity to “militant Islamists.” There is video on YouTube of him preaching to a large church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
His roommate told local news that Boelter had voted for President Trump and was “a strong supporter,” but called him a “very good guy.”
Law enforcement said Saturday they found a list of individuals, including Hortman, Hoffman, as well as Sen. Tina Smith (D) in Boelter’s car, as well as flyers for the anti-Trump “No Kings” protests.
All coordinated “No Kings” protests in Minnesota were canceled after state officials urged residents to avoid the demonstrations in the wake of the shooting. Thousands attended peacefully anyway.
The company is to pay a dividend of $0.10 per ordinary share on June 20, 2025, to shareholders on record as of May 9, 2025. The Payment is in response to the approval by the company’s board of Directors on April 29, 2025.
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Microsoft’s Windows Hello face unlock feature no longer works in dark rooms, and it’s not a bug. Microsoft quietly made the change to Windows Hello in April, in order to fix a vulnerability with Windows Hello spoofing. Fixing the security flaw has now removed key functionality from Windows Hello in Windows 11.
Windows Central spotted April’s change after some Surface Laptop users have noticed they can no longer use their face to sign into their laptop in a dark room. “After installing this update or a later Windows update, for enhanced security, Windows Hello facial recognition requires color cameras to see a visible face when signing in,” says Microsoft in its April Windows Update patch notes.
You can get Windows Hello to continue working in a dark room if you disable your webcam in the Windows 11 Device Manager, but then this means you can’t use your camera in any apps or video calls. It’s a workaround if you only use the camera to unlock your laptop, but most people will want the camera to function inside video calling apps.
Microsoft uses a combination of the color camera and IR sensors to detect a face for its Windows Hello feature. The security vulnerability, discovered by the Nanyang Technological University, was rated “important” by Microsoft, and hasn’t been publicly disclosed or exploited. Microsoft even suggests it’s “less likely” that a malicious actor would exploit this locally on a device.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft to see whether the company might get Windows Hello working in the dark again in the future, and we’ll update you accordingly.
Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — After a turbulent run-up to this summer’s Gold Cup, the U.S. men’s national team can breathe again.
In the throes of a four-game, home losing streak under new-ish manager Mauricio Pochettino, the USMNT began the Gold Cup Sunday with a resounding 5-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago. The scoreline was by no means a fluke, either. The U.S. dominated from start to finish, and received a pair of goals from Malik Tillman and another from Patrick Agyemang when he deflected in Diego Luna‘s goal-bound effort. Substitutes Brenden Aaronson and Haji Wright rounded out the scoring in the final 10 minutes, padding the USMNT’s goal differential in the process.
It made for the kind of comfortable win that seemed beyond this group of players just last Tuesday following their 4-0 humbling against Switzerland. But the funk surrounding the USMNT went deeper than that result.
Just how low had the U.S. sunk? The USMNT hadn’t lost four consecutive games at home since 1988, when it lost two games each to Chile and Ecuador. That was at the tail end of a 40-year barren spell between World Cup appearances for the USMNT. The current streak also involved almost the entirety of the U.S. player pool from stars to second-teamers. It couldn’t entirely be blamed on youth.
Then there was the off-field drama. Among the more dominant storylines surrounding the side was Christian Pulisic‘s decision to take the summer off and not play in the Gold Cup, which resulted in a chorus of criticism from fans as well as former U.S. internationals like Landon Donovan.
Pulisic’s father, Mark, then came to his son’s defense with the help of ChatGPT. That was followed by Pulisic saying he didn’t understand manager Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to turn down his offer to play in two friendlies and bypass the Gold Cup, to which Pochettino reminded the sometime U.S. captain that he is the one in charge, not the players.
The only way for the USMNT to really change the conversation was by winning. It didn’t really matter that the victory came over the 100th-ranked team in the world — one shorn of key forward Levi García who, in an only-in-Concacaf move, picked this weekend to get married. (He’ll be back for T&T’s remaining games.) This youthful side, with seven starters having less than seven caps entering the match, needed to start building a foundation somehow, and they did precisely that.
“I think [Sunday’s win] is about [congratulating] them and I think the first half there’s a lot of positive things, that we need to keep evolving in different areas,” said Pochettino. “But I think overall it was a good game and three points. [It’s] important to keep working.
“Nothing is done, but yes, to feel the victory and being more positive in the next few days, I think it’s important to grow that confidence in between us.”
It helped that the more veteran elements of the U.S. lineup provided the required platform for success. Center backs Tim Ream and Chris Richards gave outside backs Alex Freeman and Max Arfsten the security to perform their two-way roles on offense and defense with confidence, Arfsten in particular pushing higher up the field. Luca de la Torre provided stability to Sebastian Berhalter in midfield, while Tillman led the attack with two goals, allowing Luna to buzz around defensively and provide two assists, with Jack McGlynn making attacking contributions as well.
Granted, it helps that the U.S. was playing T&T and not Switzerland but scaling the rock face is a lot easier when the handholds are within reach. It will make for a greater level of confidence when the tougher moments arrive, and could apply to both team veterans and youngsters alike.
For Tillman this kind of performance has been a long time coming, so much so that teammate Chris Richards was shocked that the two goals were Tillman’s first with the national team. But more is being asked of the PSV attacker in this environment than in previous camps with the national team. He’s as soft-spoken as they come, but is ready to take on a bigger role.
“I’m quite confident. I had a good season at PSV,” said Tillman, who notched 16 goals and five assists for his Dutch team in 2024-25 (34 games, all competitions). “I’ve been here quite some time now. So yeah, I just take the responsibility. I like to take it and try to show it to everyone else.”
That dynamic between youth and experience was also visible through a more unsung contribution deeper in midfield. Tyler Adams was out with a foot injury and Johnny Cardoso was sidelined due to an illness, which meant Pochettino had to mine the depth chart/ In this instance he opted for De la Torre and Berhalter — the latter sat in a deeper role, allowing de la Torre to sniff out opportunities while also tracking back when needed.
Overall the combination showed promise, and is the latest sign that De la Torre is another player who is making an impression on Pochettino. The San Diego FC midfielder has long been a performer that knits the attack together in the middle third. But in this case, he’s picked his moments to push further up field when the situation demands it.
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Keller wonders why USMNT has so much disconnect
Kasey Keller breaks down the situation between Christian Pulisic and Mauricio Pochettino, in which Pochettino said Pulisic isn’t allowed to dictate games he plays in.
Pochettino liked what he saw out of both players, and is pleased that another midfield combination is emerging.
“I think the football relationship between Luca and [Sebastian], it was fantastic and they controlled the game,” said Pochettino. “They played really well. I am so happy. They both show that in that position they can fit very well.
“Of course we didn’t have the help of Tyler and Johnny, but this is a good thing — a period of opportunity to see [the other two] players. But sometimes [they] surprise you and say, ‘Okay, they take the opportunity,’ and that is good because the competition is going to be higher now.”
Luna, for one, felt the presence of his veteran teammates, as well as the love of 30 friends and family members in the stands.
“It allows me to get the ball and combine,” Luna said about playing with Tillman and de la Torre. “And then have guys that have experience and have been in tough moments, be there and help along the way. [Having] good players around you always allows you to be more confident and have trust within the team.”
Luna’s two-assist performance, including a steal and feed to Tillman for the USMNT’s second goal, was another step forward for the native of nearby Sunnyvale, Calif. The bear hug he got from Pochettino after being substituted in the 74th minute showed his continued ascendency.
The extent to which this mix of youth and experience can move forward will get its next test in four days against Saudi Arabia in Austin, Tex. That is bound to be a much tougher assignment than Sunday’s match. But for now, the clouds have parted a bit, and the hope is that the coming forecast for the USMNT involves even more sunshine.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Ex Says She Fainted After Reading Cassie Ventura’s Lawsuit
Jane said during her testimony that parts of Ventura’s November 2023 lawsuit—which was ultimately settled—mirrored her own experience with Combs.
“I almost fainted, in fact, I think I did,” she told jurors as she cried. “There was three specific pages that was just a harrowing reference to what I was experiencing.”
Jane, who took part in “hotel nights, “said that it felt like she was reading “her own story.” It led to her confronting Combs via text messages.
“I feel like I am reading my own sexual trauma,” she wrote after Ventura’s lawsuit, in screenshots shown in evidence. “I am sick. It’s exactly word for word, drug-filled days and nights. You knew this was coming. You gaslit me, you made me go crazy.”
“I am disgusted, I felt forced to perform back to back,” the messages continued. “You made me feel crazy about the sex trauma I was feeling. I feel very violated. This was sexual exploitation.”
Combs subsequently called Jane and recorded the conversation without her knowledge that was entered into evidence, in which he told her that they “did these things together” and that “this is when” he needed her “to be there.”
Jane, who didn’t know she was being recorded, told Combs that she was “sick” to her stomach after reading Ventura’s documents.
