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☆ Framework of PGA Tour-LIV golf deal released
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] May 25, 2023; Washington, DC, USA; Patrick Reed hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the Pro-Am tournament as part of the LIV Golf Washington D.C. 2023 event at Trump National Golf Club outside Washington DC. The PGA Tour will have a permanent controlling interest in the subsidiary's board of directors, regardless of the Saudi investment, the framework says. The framework agreement also ends litigation between the two sides. The framework is likely to be a focus of a U.S. Senate panel on July 11 where Monahan, Al-Rumayyan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman have been invited to testify. He also wanted to know how any newly formed entity will be structured and operated, including how the PGA Tour intends to preserve its tax-exempt status.

Persons: Patrick Reed, Geoff Burke, LIV Golf, LIV, Yasir Al, Jay Monahan, Monahan, Greg Norman, Richard Blumenthal, Blumenthal, Chris Sanders, David Shepardson, Peter Rutherford Organizations: LIV Golf, Trump National Golf Club, Washington DC, USA, WASHINGTON, PGA Tour, Reuters, Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment, U.S, Senate, PGA, Saudi, Investigations, Thomson Locations: Washington, DC, USA, LIV Golf Washington, Saudi, Al, Washington . U.S

☆ General Dynamics, Rheinmetall to compete for potential $45 bln US Army vehicle contract
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] U.S. servicemen drive Bradley infantry fighting vehicles during the joint U.S.-Georgian exercise Noble Partner 2015 at the Vaziani training area outside Tbilisi, Georgia, May 21, 2015. REUTERS/David MdzinarishviliWASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army said on Monday it had selected General Dynamics (GD.N) and American Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) to compete to replace the Bradley fighting vehicle, in a deal that could be worth more than $45 billion to the winner. A single competition winner will be given a production contract in 2027, Army officials said, with fielding of the first vehicles in 2029. Ultimately, some of the functions of the vehicle would be autonomous, Army officials said. The Army has struggled to replace the Bradley over a number of years, with a previous attempt abandoned.

Persons: David Mdzinarishvili WASHINGTON, Bradley, Mike Stone, Chris Sanders, Jamie Freed Organizations: Bradley, REUTERS, U.S . Army, Dynamics, Rheinmetall, Army, Point Blank Enterprises, Oshkosh Defense, BAE Systems Land, Armaments, Thomson Locations: Tbilisi , Georgia

☆ MOVEit hack claims Calpers and Genworth as millions more victims impacted
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

News reports said information from more than 700,000 Calpers members and retirees was taken. The MOVEit software is widely-used by organisations around the world to share sensitive data. Genworth Financial was harder hit, saying personal information of nearly 2.5 million to 2.7 million of its customers was breached. "The personal information of a significant number of insurance policyholders or other customers of its life insurance businesses was unlawfully accessed," Genworth said. The MOVEit hack has hit several state and federal agencies.

Persons: PBI, Calpers, Genworth, Niket, Chris Sanders, Maju Samuel, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Genworth, PBI Research Services, U.S . Department of Energy, Washington DC, Thomson Locations: Calpers, Burlington , Massachusetts, Russia, Bengaluru, Washington

☆ FTC to argue Microsoft's deal to buy Activision should be paused
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday will argue in federal court for a preliminary injunction to temporarily block Microsoft's acquisition of videogame maker Activision Blizzard, stopping the deal from closing before the government's case against the deal is heard. But if the court pauses the deal, Microsoft and Activision will have to agree to extend it past a July 18 termination date built into their original agreement. The FTC fears that without action by the federal court, the combined firm "could alter Activision's operations and business plans" and could allow Microsoft to access sensitive business information. Resolving the U.S. lawsuit is one of several key antitrust battles Microsoft and Activision have fought around the world to get the deal finalized. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick are among the witnesses planned for a five-day evidentiary hearing.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Bobby Kotick, Chris Sanders, Leslie Adler Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Activision, Microsoft, Microsoft Corp, Activision Blizzard Inc, FTC, EU, Nintendo, Sony Group, Sony, Thomson Locations: San Francisco

☆ Bipartisan U.S. bill would end Section 230 immunity for generative AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 14 (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators introduced legislation on Wednesday that would allow social media companies to be sued for spreading harmful material created with artificial intelligence. The law would open the door for lawsuits to proceed against social media companies for claims based on emerging generative AI technology, including fabricated but strikingly realistic "deepfake" photos and videos of real people. It followed the defeat last month of two landmark cases at the Supreme Court that would have narrowed the scope of Section 230 immunity. "We can't make the same mistakes with generative AI as we did with Big Tech on Section 230," said Hawley, a Republican. A small set of narrow exceptions have been established for issues like copyright infringement and child sex trafficking, the latter via a bipartisan 2018 amendment called the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act.

Persons: Republican Josh Hawley, Richard Blumenthal, Hawley, Blumenthal, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Katie Paul, Chris Sanders, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Republican, Big Tech, Democrat, Republicans, Google, Facebook, Democratic, Communications, Thomson

☆ Flight training for Chinese military pilots targeted in latest US export crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 12 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Monday added 43 entities to an export control list, including Frontier Services Group Ltd, a security and aviation company previously run by Erik Prince, for training Chinese military pilots and other activities that threaten U.S. national security. The Test Flying Academy of South Africa, a flight school under scrutiny by authorities in Britain for recruiting British ex-military pilots to train Chinese military fliers, was also added to the U.S. Commerce Department's Entity List. The aviation-related companies were listed for providing training to Chinese military pilots using Western and NATO sources, according to a rule posted for the Federal Register. Thirty-one Chinese entities in total were added to the list, some for acquiring U.S.-origin items in support of China's military modernization, such as hypersonic weapons development. Nine Chinese and Pakistani companies were added based on their contributions to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program and other weapons contributions.

Persons: Biden, Erik Prince, Prince, Karen Freifeld, Chris Sanders, Alistair Bell Organizations: Frontier Services Group Ltd, Flying Academy of South, U.S . Commerce, Frontier Services Group, United, United Arab Emirates, Federal Register, U.S, Shanghai Supercomputing Technology, Solutions, Thomson Locations: U.S, Flying Academy of South Africa, Britain, China, Kenya, Laos, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, United Kingdom, Xinjiang, China's, Latvia

☆ US seeks to curb investment in Chinese chips, AI and quantum computing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - New rules under consideration would restrict the flow of U.S. investments and know-how into Chinese companies working on advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, a U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday. Reuters reported in February that the Biden administration plans to ban investments in some Chinese technology companies and increase scrutiny of others, three sources said, as part of its plan to crack down on the billions that American firms have poured into sensitive Chinese sectors. China hawks in Washington blame U.S. investors for transferring capital and valuable know-how to Chinese tech companies that could help advance Beijing's military. Separately, Republican Senator Bill Hagerty asked about efforts to restrict the supply of U.S. origin goods to Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. Reporting by David Shepardson and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington, and Karen Freifeld in New York; Writing by Chris Sanders; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Paul Rosen, Biden, Bill Hagerty, Thea Rozman Kendler, Kendler, David Shepardson, Daphne Psaledakis, Karen Freifeld, Chris Sanders, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Treasury, Reuters, Republican, Huawei, Exports, Commerce, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, Washington, New York

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a candidate for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, said the deal does not do enough to change the fiscal trajectory. "After this deal, our country will still be careening toward bankruptcy," he said on Fox News. There's no question about that," said Republican Representative Dusty Johnson, who said he had talked to dozens of fellow lawmakers. Some $4 trillion in debt for - at best - a two-year spending freeze and no serious substantive policy reforms," Roy wrote on Twitter. McCarthy has predicted it will draw the support of most of his fellow Republicans, who control the House 222-213.

☆ Factbox: Why does the US want to ban TikTok? The allegations against it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Members of Congress in March complained that the Chinese government has a "golden share" in ByteDance, giving it power over TikTok. He asserted the TikTok platform could enable sweeping influence operations because TikTok could proactively influence users and could also "turn off the message." TikTok says it "does not permit any government to influence or change its recommendation model." -TikTok will hand American's data over to Chinese government officialsLawmakers have alleged that the Chinese government, under a 2017 National Intelligence law, can force ByteDance to share TikTok user data. "-TikTok spies on journalistsIn December, ByteDance said some employees improperly accessed TikTok user data of two journalists.

Interviews with a U.S. senator, congressional staffers, AI companies and interest groups show there are a number of options under discussion. Some proposals focus on AI that may put people's lives or livelihoods at risk, like in medicine and finance. Other possibilities include rules to ensure AI isn't used to discriminate or violate someone's civil rights. Another debate is whether to regulate the developer of AI or the company that uses it to interact with consumers. GOVERNMENT MICROMANAGEMENTThe risk-based approach means AI used to diagnose cancer, for example, would be scrutinized by the Food and Drug Administration, while AI for entertainment would not be regulated.

☆ US Vice President Harris fundraises for 2024 in Georgia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will kick off fundraising for Democrats' 2024 re-election campaign in the swing state of Georgia on Friday, as she and President Joe Biden start to tap donors who contributed over $1 billion to the 2020 campaign. Harris will headline the Democratic Party of Georgia's "Spring Soiree" fundraiser - a gathering expected to have hundreds of attendees. Biden and Harris face significant political headwinds in their bid for a second term, including low approval numbers and concerns about Biden's age. Political strategists have said Harris's appeal as a fundraiser for the re-election campaign will be tested in the coming months. Harris's 2020 campaign 'Kamala Harris for the People' raised over $40 million, with nearly 57% coming from large contributors, according to campaign finance records.

☆ Drones over Kremlin likely launched from inside Russia, US experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Ostorozhno Novosti/Handout via REUTERSSummary Kremlin citadel has extensive anti-drone protections400-plus km journey from Ukraine unlikelyIf launched in Russia, multiple drone types possibleWASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The drones that crashed over the Kremlin earlier this week probably evaded an extensive number of defenses in and around Moscow, suggesting they might have been launched from inside Russia, U.S.-based drones experts said. "Spoofing" occurs when a counterfeit GPS signal is sent to replace a legitimate one, electronically fooling guidance systems on drones or other devices. "Of all the types of one-way attack drones, the aircraft used in this instance appears to have been a fixed-wing aircraft and among the larger one-way attack drones currently in use or development," said drone expert Dan Gettinger at the Vertical Flight Society, an engineering advocacy group. China, India, Taiwan and Ukraine are among a clutch of nations producing drones of this size and capability, Gettinger said. Gettinger, who published a paper on one-way attack drones on Thursday, said if the aircraft was launched from within Russia, there was a significantly greater number of aircraft capable of carrying out this attack.

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - A Miami-based digital marketing firm was behind a series of covert political influence operations in Latin America over the last year, Facebook-owner Meta (META.O) said this week, a rare exposé of an apparent U.S.-based misinformation-for-hire outfit. "It's a classic pattern that you tend to see with for-hire influence operations," said Ben Nimmo, Meta's Global Threat Intelligence Lead. Meta says it regularly takes down disinformation and misinformation operations in order to maintain the integrity of its platform. Twitter said in a September 2022 blog that it had shared datasets about influence operations with Cazadores. Former Twitter employees told Reuters in January that most of the staff involved in the TMRC had since left and Reuters could not determine if it was still operational.

☆ Limit access to most secret US documents, Senate intel panel head says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - Too many people have access to the U.S. government's closest secrets and a central entity should oversee the classification process, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said on Sunday, addressing leaks of documents in an online chat group. The United States has numerous intelligence gathering entities and Warner said the situation needed to be dealt with. "We need somebody fully in charge of the whole classification process and I think for those classified documents there ought to be a smaller universe," he said. As an example, Warner said the National Security Agency has suffered leaks in the past and internal controls limit the copying of documents. Warner also said that not everyone handling a document needs to see the whole document and that just seeing the header could be enough.

☆ US Senate Republicans go after Biden's labor nominee for stance on Uber, Lyft, others
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Julie Su speaks at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on her nomination to be Labor Secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2023. She needs at least 50 votes in a Senate where Democrats have a slim 51-49 majority. Industry groups that represent companies employing gig labor have launched an aggressive campaign to oppose her nomination. Cassidy also accused her of eliminating independent contracting during her tenure as Biden's deputy secretary of labor. It is not a given that all Senate Democrats will support Su.

April 19 Reuters) - Seagate Technology Holdings (STX.O) has agreed to pay a $300 million penalty in a settlement with U.S. authorities for shipping over $1.1 billion worth of hard disk drives to China's Huawei in violation of U.S. export control laws, the U.S. Department of Commerce said on Wednesday. Seagate sold the drives to Huawei between August 2020 and September 2021 despite an August 2020 rule that restricted sales of certain foreign items made with U.S. technology to the company. Seagate shipped 7.4 million drives to Huawei for about a year after the 2020 rule took effect and became Huawei's sole supplier of hard drives, the Commerce Department said. The other two primary suppliers of hard drives ceased shipments to Huawei after the new rule took effect in 2020, the department said. Even after "its competitors had stopped selling to them ... Seagate continued sending hard disk drives to Huawei," Matthew Axelrod, the Commerce Department's assistant secretary for export enforcement said in a statement.

☆ Factbox: Why a broad US TikTok ban is unlikely to take effect soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here is why:TRUMPCiting national security concerns, then-President Donald Trump told reporters he planned to ban TikTok in July 2020, threatening to shut it down if it could not be sold by its Chinese owner Bytedance to a U.S. buyer. But Trump's attempt to block TikTok with an executive order derived its power from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Even if it's sidestepped, greater legal questions remain," said John Costello, who oversaw the creation of the office at the Commerce Department to examine certain foreign technology for national security threats. HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAWWashington lawmakers have also launched two separate bills aimed at allowing the president to ban apps like TikTok on grounds they pose a risk to U.S. national security. "To justify a TikTok ban, the government would have to demonstrate that privacy and security concerns can't be addressed in narrower ways.

☆ TikTok congressional hearing: CEO Shou Chew grilled by US lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

TikTok, which has more than 150 million American users, was repeatedly hammered in the ongoing hearing where no lawmaker offered any support. PARENTS UNHAPPYRepresentative Diana DeGette, a Democrat, said TikTok's efforts to prevent the spread of misinformation on the platform were not working. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein 1 2 3 4 5"You gave me only generalized statements that you're investing, that you're concerned, that you're doing work. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives on Twitter said, "TikTok CEO testimony so far we would characterize as a 'mini disaster' for this key moment for TikTok. TikTok is now poster child of the US/China tensions and lawmakers have a lot of q’s with not enough concrete answers."

☆ TikTok CEO faces tough questions from Congress about Chinese influence
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CEO Shou Zi Chew's testimony before Congress capped a week of actions by the Chinese company aimed at convincing Americans and their lawmakers that the app creates economic value and supports free speech. The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing will be chaired by Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican who said she is unconvinced by TikTok's security commitments. Some political experts say a TikTok ban could be damaging to Democrats who have used the platform to reach younger voters. Three House Democrats rallied with TikTok creators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in opposition to a ban. TikTok last week said President Joe Biden's administration demanded its Chinese owners divest their stakes or face a potential ban.

Courts blocked a prior bid by the Trump administration to ban the app in part on the grounds that such a move violated free speech protections. Courts struck down former President Donald Trump's bid to block TikTok in 2020 with an executive order that granted the Commerce Department similar authorities as the RESTRICT act. But the bill will likely provide no immediate solutions for those calling for a ban on the app. Some experts said using the new legal tools to ban TikTok could still invite First Amendment challenges. "And there will most likely be a legal challenge if its used to ban TikTok."

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO, March 15 (Reuters) - A chip plant that South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) is building in Taylor, Texas, will cost the world's biggest memory chipmaker over $25 billion, up more than $8 billion from initial forecasts, according to two people familiar with the matter. The increase in cost is primarily due to inflation, the people said, declining to be named because the information was not public. "The higher construction cost is about 80% of the cost increase," one of the sources said. Meanwhile, Intel Corp (INTC.O) announced a $20 billion chip factory in Ohio that it could expand to cost up to $100 billion. Samsung, the world's No.2 contract chip manufacturer, announced its Taylor, Texas, plant in 2021.

☆ Factbox: What is the MQ-9 Reaper drone that collided with a Russian jet?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Below is a description of the MQ-9 "Reaper" drone based on information from the Air Force and its maker, General Atomics. The Reaper, which was delivered to the Air Force 16 years ago, can also be equipped with weapons such as air-to-ground missiles. MQ-9s have also been purchased by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NASA, UK Royal Air Force, the Italian Air Force, the French Air Force and the Spanish Air Force. According to the Air Force, for $56.5 million they can purchase four MQ-9 aircraft with sensors, ground control station and a satellite link. General Atomics says the MQ-9 has "demonstrated an air-to-air weapons capability" in Air Force tests.

The complaint, which was filed in Boston federal court, said that JetBlue planned to remove 10% to 15% of seats from every Spirit plane. "Fewer seats means fewer passengers - and higher prices for those who can still afford to make their way onto the plane. Spirit shares were up about 1.8% on Tuesday after dipping the previous day on expectations of a lawsuit. JetBlue had previously said it expected the deal to close in early 2024, leaving time for litigation if necessary. JetBlue prevailed in a months-long bidding war for Spirit Airlines after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its offer in late July.

☆ Exclusive: Nvidia's plans for sales to Huawei imperiled if U.S. tightens Huawei curbs-draft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Alexandra Alper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] The logo of Nvidia Corporation is seen during the annual Computex computer exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan May 30, 2017. Nvidia's plans to sell to Huawei have not been previously reported. Reuters could not learn the details of the specific policy change whose impact was being assessed in the report. The report suggested Qualcomm would likely suffer a "moderate economic impact" from the change in policy, in contrast to Huawei. Indeed, the loss of access to Qualcomm's modem chips would have a bigger impact on Huawei, the report forecast, since Huawei "relies heavily on Qualcomm's modem chips to support its smart phone offering."

☆ US to require companies winning chipmaking subsidies to share excess profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Tuesday said it will require companies winning funds from its $52 billion U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research program to share excess profits and explain how they plan to provide affordable childcare. The CHIPS Act plays a central role in the Biden administration's effort to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States. Companies winning funding are also prohibited from using chips funds for dividends or stock buybacks, and must provide details of any plans to buy back their own shares over five years. The department will consider an "applicant’s commitments to refrain from stock buybacks in the application review process" in a five-step application. Raimondo noted companies winning awards will be required to enter into agreements restricting their ability to expand semiconductor manufacturing capacity in foreign countries of concern like China for 10 years after winning funding.

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