Questionable math

Former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort is accused of laundering millions of dollars in foreign payments to pursue a “lavish lifestyle” in the Hamptons. But what the federal indictment doesn’t explain is the huge gap between funds he transferred to contractors and what the jobs were estimated to cost.

President Trump has started paying his own legal bills related to the Russia probe, instead of charging them to his campaign or the Republican National Committee. He’s finalizing a plan to use personal funds to help current and former White House staff with their legal costs. It raises ethical questions about whether the president’s contributions could influence the testimony of staffers.

Elon Musk channels Knight Rider with his big reveal. Looking to reclaim Tesla’s momentum, Musk unveiled the world’s fastest long-haul semi truck inside a California airport hangar on Thursday. But the show didn’t stop there. As a cloud of smoke swirled, one of the semis tilted up and out came an all new Tesla Roadster, a reprise of the vehicle that first defined the company as a maker of ultra-fast electric cars.

Getting a dog may save your life, especially if you’re single. Swedish researchers found that people with furry friends have fewer heart problems than those who don’t, and the impact of dog ownership was greatest for people living alone. It’s not exactly clear how the canines helped avert heart disease, or whether getting one directly led to better health, cautioned one of the paper’s authors.

Harvard’s days as the world’s richest school may be numbered. A healthy endowment is crucial to lure top faculty and students. Over the past decade, Harvard’s endowment—currently totaling around $37 billion—has grown by less than 2 percent while rivals have made bigger strides. Industry observers say the Ivy League school is profoundly mediocre when it comes to its investing strategy.

Apple delays the HomePod speaker, missing holiday shopping season. The tech company’s next major next hardware product launch will be pushed back until early next year. The wireless speaker streams music from Apple Music, takes voice commands via Sir, and controls smart home appliances. This is the second year in a row that a major Apple audio product has been delayed.

Even before Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi went to auction Wednesday night at Christie’s in New York, naysayers from around the art world were savaging its authenticity. But experts say it’s real.