Stardust Power Joins U.S. Defense Department's Cornerstone Consortium
Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly.NOT GOING BACK FOR APPROVAL:President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social, "As President, I do not have to go back to Congress to get approval of Tariffs. It has already been gotten, in many forms, a long time ago! They were also just reaffirmed by the ridiculous and poorly crafted supreme court decision!"REFUND OF DUTIES:FedExhas filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade that seeks a refund for President Trump's emergency tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the levies were "illegal", Reuters.DOJ CLAIMS:The U.S. Justice Department announced that it has reached a settlement with CarMaxto resolve allegations that CarMax violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by illegally repossessing motor vehicles owned by members of the military. As part of the settlement, CarMax will pay at least $420,000 in damages to servicemembers and a civil penalty of $79,380 to the United States. The Department alleges that CarMax repossessed servicemember vehicles without obtaining court orders as required by federal law, as well as repossessed some vehicles even after owners told CarMax that they were in military service. CarMax also allegedly failed to extend SCRA protections to reservists who had received orders to report for active duty. In addition to paying a civil penalty and compensation to harmed individuals, CarMax will revise its policies and procedures to ensure that the rights of U.S. servicemembers are protected in the future. The SCRA is a federal law that provides legal and financial protections for servicemembers and their families. The law prevents an auto finance or leasing company from repossessing a servicemember's vehicle without first obtaining a court order, as long as the servicemember made at least one payment on the vehicle before entering military service. For members of a reserve component, the protections begin on the date the member receives orders to military service.PENTAGON DEAL:xAI, the artificial intelligence company founded by TeslaCEO Elon Musk, has signed a deal with the Pentagon to allow the U.S. military to use Grok, xAI's model, in classified systems, a Department of Defence official told' Dave Lawler and Maria Curi. Up until now, Anthropic's Claude model has served as the sole model available in the systems on which the Pentagon's most sensitive intelligence work, weapons development, and battlefield operations take place, but the department is threatening Anthropic in a spat over safeguards and may have to find a replacement AI model, the authors note.CORNERSTONE CONSORTIUM:Stardust Powerhas joined the Cornerstone Consortium, a U.S. Department of Defense aligned collaborative framework focused on strengthening the domestic industrial base and securing critical supply chains. The Cornerstone Consortium brings together a broad range of domestically held organizations, including the U.S. Department of Defense, traditional and non-traditional defense contractors, small businesses, private equity firms, academic institutions, and federally funded research and development centers. The consortium supports collaboration across 18 industrial base sectors, including critical minerals & materials, to address capability gaps, supply chain vulnerabilities, and manufacturing resiliency essential to U.S. economic and national security. Stardust Power's participation aligns with Cornerstone's focus on accelerating the research, development, qualification, and integration of critical manufacturing capabilities into U.S. supply chains. As a developer of domestic lithium refining capacity, the Company believes its involvement supports national efforts to reduce reliance on foreign-sourced critical minerals and strengthen the U.S. industrial ecosystem underpinning energy storage, electrification, and defense-adjacent technologies. "Joining the Cornerstone Consortium reinforces our commitment to advancing secure, U.S.-based lithium supply chains that are critical to both economic competitiveness and national security," said Roshan Pujari, Chief Executive Officer of Stardust Power. "As we advance our Muskogee refinery toward construction and commissioning, participation in Cornerstone allows us to engage alongside government, industry, and research partners focused on strengthening America's critical minerals and manufacturing base."
