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☆ Musk, Zuckerberg, Gates to join US senators for AI forum
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft President Brad Smith, Nvidia's chief scientist William Dally, and Professor Woodrow Hartzog wait to testify before a Senate Judiciary Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee hearing on "Oversight of A.I. : Legislating on Artificial Intelligence" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 12, 2023. Other expected attendees include feature OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia (NVDA.O) CEO Jensen Huang, Microsoft (MSFT.O) CEO Satya Nadella, IBM (IBM.N) CEO Arvind Krishna, former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Senators Mike Rounds, Martin Heinrich, and Todd Young. Microsoft President Brad Smith told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Tuesday Congress should "require safety brakes for AI that controls or manages critical infrastructure." Smith compared AI safeguards to requiring circuit breakers in buildings, school buses having emergency brakes and airplanes having collision avoidance systems.

Persons: Brad Smith, William Dally, Woodrow Hartzog, Leah Millis, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Chuck Schumer, ChatGPT, Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, Satya Nadella, Arvind Krishna, Bill Gates, Liz Shuler, Mike Rounds, Martin Heinrich, Todd Young, Schumer, Smith, Joe Biden's, David Shepardson, Lincoln Organizations: Privacy, Technology, REUTERS, Capitol Hill, Nvidia, Microsoft, IBM, AFL, Regulators, Google, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, WASHINGTON, Senate's

☆ Georgia grand jury urged charges for three US senators
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsGeorgia grand jury urged charges for three US senatorsPostedA Georgia grand jury recommended criminal charges against Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and other allies of Donald Trump as part of its investigation into efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 presidential defeat, according to a report released on Friday. Alex Cohen has more.

Persons: Lindsey Graham, Donald Trump, Trump's, Alex Cohen Organizations: Georgia, Republican U.S Locations: Georgia

☆ Takeaways from the full Georgia special grand jury report on 2020 election subversion
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Jeremy Herb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The Fulton County special purpose grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia recommended charges against 39 people, the unredacted grand jury report made public Friday shows. The lengthy list of recommended charges underscores how widespread the special grand jury’s investigation was into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The indictment also included 30 unindicted co-conspirators alleged to have taken part in the conspiracy, including some people the special grand jury recommended charges against. The special grand jury report was only a recommendation, and the district attorney decided which charges to bring to a grand jury last month before the indictment was returned. The charges against the fake electors were among the most contested in the special grand jury report.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Fani Willis, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, David Perdue, Kelly Loeffler, Michael Flynn, Boris Epshteyn, Cleta Mitchell, Trump, ” Willis, Willis ’, Willis, Graham, Loeffler, Perdue, Brad Raffensperger, Raffensperger, Graham “, ” Graham, “, ”, ” Loeffler, Brian Kemp, Burt Jones, Wills, Jones, Pete Skandalakis, – David Shafer, Cathy Latham, Sen, Shawn Still – Organizations: CNN, Trump, South Carolina Republican, Georgia Gov, Gov, of Locations: Fulton, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, South Carolina, of Georgia

☆ US senators push drugmakers for details on low-cost insulin programs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Democratic Senators Maggie Hassan and Tina Smith sent a letter asking the drugmakers for information on eligibility criteria for the programs, including whether a patient’s insurance status or income barred them from joining, and the steps insulin users had to take to sign up. Novo, Lilly and Sanofi, which account for 90% of the U.S. insulin market, pledged in March to lower the list prices of many of their insulin products by 70%-78% later this year or in 2024. The White House on Tuesday announced that a Novo insulin was among the 10 high-cost prescription drugs selected for the first-ever price negotiations by the U.S. Medicare health program that covers 66 million people. Hassan and Smith argued that to enroll in the drugmakers’ insulin programs, patients had to go through a lengthy and complicated process that required them fill out five to 10 pages of documentation and wait an unknown amount of time for approval. Around 8.4 million of the 37 million people in the United States with diabetes use insulin, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Persons: George Frey, Eli Lilly, Maggie Hassan, Tina Smith, Lilly, Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Hassan, Smith, Patrick Wingrove, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical, REUTERS, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Democratic, U.S, Democrat, American Diabetes Association, Thomson Locations: Provo , Utah, U.S, United States

☆ US Senators say Credit Suisse did not review all records when probing Nazi-linked accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Chris Prentice | Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK/ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss lender Credit Suisse did not review all available records when it conducted an internal probe into the historical servicing of Nazi clients and Nazi-linked accounts, according to an investigation published by U.S. lawmakers on Thursday. The logo of Credit Suisse is seen outside its office building in Hong Kong, China, August 8, 2023. “Just under” 1,000 of 65,000 sets of records were available electronically for review, the report said. Neil Barofsky, the former ombudsman, and AlixPartners, the consulting firm Credit Suisse hired to conduct the probe, did not respond immediately to a requests for comment. A spokesperson for Credit Suisse referred Reuters to its April statement defending its review and raising concerns over the ombudsman’s work.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, “, Chuck Grassley, Neil Barofsky, Simon Wiesenthal Organizations: Credit Suisse, Nazi, U.S, REUTERS, Senate, Reuters, Simon, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Bloomberg Locations: ZURICH, Hong Kong, China

☆ GOP Senate candidate plans to steer book sale money to a group that lobbies for his industry, teeing up potential conflict of interest
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tim Sheehy is releasing a memoir in the middle of his campaign for US Senate in Montana. He plans to steer some of the revenue from the book to an industry lobbying group he helped found. It's the latest conflict-of-interest question for Sheehy, whose company relies on government contracts. But Sheehy's book release poses unique conflict-of-interest questions, given his apparent plans for the revenue. If Sheehy's campaign chooses to promote the book when it's released, that would mean using campaign resources to raise money for a lobbying organization that benefits Sheehy's bottom line.

Persons: Tim Sheehy, Sheehy, Simon, Schuster, Matt Rosendale, Democratic Sen, Jon Tester, Tester, it's, Phil Hardy, Hardy, who's, Joe Biden's Organizations: US, Service, Navy SEAL, Bridger Aerospace, Caucus, Democratic, United Aerial Firefighters Association, Bloomberg, Department of Interior, US Forest Service, Senate, Boeing, Federal Aviation Administration Locations: Montana, Wall, Silicon, America, Washington, DC

Kyiv last week replaced the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol with a trident – the Ukrainian coat of arms – on the shield of the Motherland Monument, which dominates the capital’s skyline. Its construction began in 1979, and it depicted a woman holding a sword and a shield emblazoned with the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol. Workers remove the Soviet-era emblem from the motherland monument in Kyiv on August 1, 2023. And they don’t know how.”Putin’s desire to undermine Ukrainian national identity and autonomy has remained a key motivation for the conflict. Kudrya, meanwhile, was a Soviet spy and a leader of a sabotage group in Kyiv during World War II.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Valentyn Ogirenko, Pilipey, ” “, ’, Maria Zakharova, Putin, Andrei Ivanov, Andriy Ivanov, Ivan Kudrya, John McCain, Andreyi, “, McCain, Kudrya, ” “ McCain, Ukraine …, Pobigay Organizations: CNN, Getty, Russian Foreign, Kremlin, UNESCO, ” Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Soviet, Ukrainian, Kyiv's, AFP, Kiev, Russian Kiev, Moscow, Latvian, Pavlenko, Russia

☆ Elizabeth Warren and Lindsey Graham want a new agency to regulate tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —Two US senators are calling for the creation of a new federal agency to regulate tech companies such as Amazon, Google and Meta, in the latest push by members of Congress to clamp down on Big Tech. The bill targets tech platforms including Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok and Twitter, which now officially known as X, a Senate aide told CNN, though the companies aren’t directly named in the legislation. “For too long, giant tech companies have exploited consumers’ data, invaded Americans’ privacy, threatened our national security, and stomped out competition in our economy,” Warren said in a statement. Thursday’s proposal differs from Bennet’s bill, the aide said, in that it is in some ways more specific in its restrictions on the tech industry. It’s time to rein in Big Tech,” Graham and Warren wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times Thursday.

Persons: Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Lindsey Graham, ” Warren, Warren, Michael Bennet, ” Graham Organizations: Washington CNN, Google, Big Tech, Massachusetts Democrat, South Carolina Republican, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Twitter, CNN, Digital Consumer Protection, Colorado Democrat, Big, New York Times, Federal Communications Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, FTC, DOJ Locations: Massachusetts, Big Tech, Colorado, United States

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) listens during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 18, 2023. In addition to creating the regulatory commission, the proposed law would tighten antitrust law to forbid the companies from preferencing their own products over those of rivals. "This bipartisan bill would create a new tech regulator and makes clear that reining in Big Tech platforms is a top priority on both sides of the aisle," said Warren in a statement. Graham said the creation of the regulatory commission was "the first step in a long journey to protect American consumers from the massive power these companies currently wield." Amazon declined comment while Facebook and Google did not respond to a request for comment on the proposal.

Persons: Elizabeth Warren, Amanda Andrade, Rhoades, Lindsey Graham, Warren, Graham, Diane Bartz, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, Capitol, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Democrat, Republican, Facebook, Google, Big Tech, Federal Trade Commission, Digital Consumer Protection, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Big Tech, Washington

☆ US senators seek to reverse 'Buy America' waiver for EV charging stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - Four Republican U.S. senators on Wednesday sought to reverse a Biden administration decision to waive "Buy America" requirements for government-funded electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Senators Marco Rubio, Roger Marshall, Rick Scott and Kevin Cramer said the Federal Highway Administration waiver of U.S. content requirements for steel, iron and construction materials would result in U.S. taxpayers subsidizing Chinese-made products. It said in February that the short-term waiver would enable "EV charger acquisition and installation to immediately proceed." EV chargers require iron and steel for some of their most crucial parts, including the internal structural frame, heating and cooling fans and the power transformer. U.S. states and companies had warned that global demand for EV chargers is straining the supply chain, making it difficult, if not impossible, to meet made-in-America standards and expedite construction of new chargers.

Persons: Marco Rubio, Roger Marshall, Rick Scott, Kevin Cramer, Rubio, Biden, David Shepardson, Leslie Adler, Richard Chang Organizations: Republican U.S, Federal, Administration, EV, Kansas Department of Transportation, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, United States, America

☆ Kids of the 1% are twice as likely to get into 'Ivy Plus' colleges, even when their grades are no better than anyone else's
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new study shows kids of the top 1% are over twice as likely to be admitted to Ivy Plus colleges. That's despite scoring no better than students of other income groups, per an Opportunity Insights study. Ivy Plus refers to the eight Ivy League colleges Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, UPenn, Princeton, and Yale, plus Stanford, MIT, Duke, and the University of Chicago. On Tuesday, the US Department of Education launched a federal civil rights probe against Harvard, alleging favoritism towards legacy students in their admission process, per Reuters. The Ivy Plus colleges did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: Rhodes Organizations: Ivy Plus, Service, Opportunity, Harvard, Ivy, Ivy League colleges Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Duke, University of Chicago, US, Associated Press, US Department of Education, Reuters Locations: Wall, Silicon, Columbia, UPenn, Princeton

Republicans and Democrats in Congress have pledged tighter oversight of banking regulators following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Some in Congress are concerned that the Federal Reserve's current inspector general is not independent enough to serve as a check on the central bank. Unlike the Pentagon and other big agencies, the Fed's internal IG, currently Mark Bialek, reports directly to the Fed board. Under the Senators' plans, the holder of the role would instead be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Specifically, they objected to having the IG's salary tied to the compensation of Fed officials who the IG is tasked with investigating.

Persons: Elizabeth Warren, Evelyn Hockstein, Rick Scott, Democrat Elizabeth Warren, Mark Bialek, Warren, Scott, Bialek, David Morgan, Costas Pitas, Paul Thomasch, Stephen Coates Organizations: Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Committee, Capitol, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Democrat, Reuters, Republicans, Democrats, Congress, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Federal, Pentagon, Fed, Senators, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Silicon, Congress

☆ US senators express bipartisan alarm about AI, focusing on biological attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] ChatGPT logo and AI Artificial Intelligence words are seen in this illustration taken, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoWASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - Both Democratic and Republican senators expressed alarm on Tuesday about the potential for a malevolent use of artificial intelligence, focusing on the possibility of AI being used to create a biological attack. In a hearing before a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dario Amodei, chief executive of the AI company Anthropic, said that AI could help otherwise unskilled malevolent actors develop biological weapons. Amodei said that AI was not yet capable of helping to build a biological weapon, calling it a "medium-term" risk. "By enabling many more actors to carry out large-scale biological attacks, we believe this represents a grave threat to U.S. national security," he said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Dario Amodei, Amodei, Richard Blumenthal, Josh Hawley, Diane Bartz, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Democratic, Google, Republican, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ Netanyahu isn’t backing down on judicial overhaul despite pressure from Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Jerusalem CNN —On Thursday evening, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced a last-minute televised statement by Benjamin Netanyahu. But instead, despite the tens of thousands of protesters, the increase in refusals to serve by military reservists and even a very public and harsh criticism of the judicial overhaul plan by US President Joe Biden, Netanyahu refused to back down. He saved his harshest criticisms for two groups: the demonstrators on the streets and the military reservists who are refusing to serve in protest. “Citizens of Israel, all of the remarks about the destruction of democracy are simply absurd,” Netanyahu said. Should it pass, it will be the first aspect of the judicial overhaul to do so.

Persons: Jerusalem CNN —, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Joe Biden, “, ”, Isaac Herzog, Herzog, Biden, Israel, ” Herzog, New York Times ’ Thomas Friedman, ” Biden, Friedman, ” Netanyahu Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Prime Minister’s, New York Times, White, ” Locations: Jerusalem, Israel, United States, American, America

☆ Amazon will let you pay with a wave of your hand at all Whole Foods stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Amazon will let customers at all of its Whole Foods stores pay with a simple wave of their hand. The company announced Thursday that it is bringing its Amazon One palm recognition system to all of its more than 500 Whole Foods stores by the end of the year. Amazon rolled out the technology in 2020, and it’s currently available at more than 200 Whole Foods stores. Whole Foods customers who choose to use Amazon One will no longer need their wallet or a phone to pay — they can simply hover their palm over an Amazon One device. Amazon says customer palm data is safeguarded in its Amazon Web Services cloud and it does not share palm data with third parties.

Organizations: New, New York CNN, Foods, Coors, Amazon, Services Locations: New York, Hudson, Colorado

☆ After complaints about airplane seat size reached Congress, a new bill aims to address cramped conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Travelers' displeasure with cramped airplane seating has been rising as planes pack in more seats. The bill urges the FAA to consider factors like disability or age when writing evacuation guidelines. A new bill moving through Congress aims to address airplane safety for people with disabilities or other restrictions that might make evacuating difficult. Now, Congress is trying to address the potential safety hazards with the Emergency Vacating of Aircraft Cabin, or EVAC, Act. The bill also says the tests were conducted in small groups instead of considering that some planes can carry over 200 passengers.

Persons: Sens . Baldwin, Duckworth, Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, Baldwin Organizations: FAA, Wall Street, Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft, National Transportation Safety, Reuters . Locations: Sens

July 14 (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators are pursuing a legislative plan to track U.S. investments in China, as the White House works to complete long-awaited action that would also restrict investment in certain, highly targeted sectors. The Biden administration, meanwhile, is finalizing an executive order that would also restrict certain investment in sectors including advanced semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence. A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the aim was to wrap up legal and other reviews of the outbound investment order by Labor Day. Reuters reported in February that the proposed order was likely to track restrictions on artificial intelligence chips, chipmaking tools and supercomputers, among other technologies, imposed on exports to China in October. The senators' proposed legislation was filed as an amendment to the annual National Defense Authorization Act.

Persons: Bob Casey, Republican John Cornyn, Casey, Biden, Janet Yellen, Joe Biden, Karen Freifeld, Andrea Shalal, Susan Heavey Organizations: White, Democratic, Republican, Labor, Treasury, Reuters, National Defense, U.S . House, Republicans, Thomson Locations: China

☆ US senators to get classified White House AI briefing Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File PhotoWASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - The White House will brief senators Tuesday on artificial intelligence in a classified setting as lawmakers consider adopting legislative safeguards on the fast-moving technology. ET briefing, organized by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and other senators, will be the first-ever classified Senate briefing on AI and will take place in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) at the U.S. Capitol. The briefers will include Avril Haines, director of National Intelligence; Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director Arati Prabhakar and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Director Trey Whitworth. Congress is narrowly divided and has not reached any consensus on AI legislation. In April, the CEOs of ChatGPT developer OpenAI, its backer Microsoft (MSFT.O), and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) met with Biden and other officials to discuss AI.

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Chuck Schumer, Avril Haines, Kathleen Hicks, Arati Prabhakar, Trey Whitworth, Schumer, Biden, David Shepardson, Chris Reese Organizations: U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Senate Democratic, U.S . Capitol, National Intelligence, White, Office of Science, Technology, National Geospatial Intelligence, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S

☆ Senators press Google, Meta and Twitter on whether their layoffs could imperil 2024 election
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Three US senators are pressing Facebook-parent Meta, Google-parent Alphabet and Twitter about whether their layoffs may have hindered the companies’ ability to fight the spread of misinformation ahead of the 2024 elections. “This is particularly troubling given the emerging use of artificial intelligence to mislead voters,” wrote Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Democratic Sen. Peter Welch and Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by CNN. Since purchasing Twitter in October, Elon Musk has slashed headcount by more than 80%, in some cases eliminating entire teams. Meta has previously said it would eliminate about 21,000 jobs over two rounds of layoffs, hitting across teams devoted to policy, user experience and well-being, among others. Tuesday’s letter asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino how each company is preparing for the 2024 elections and for mis- and disinformation surrounding the campaigns.

Persons: ”, Minnesota Democratic Sen, Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Democratic Sen, Peter Welch, Illinois Democratic Sen, Dick Durbin, Elon Musk, headwinds, Peers, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Linda Yaccarino, Ron DeSantis Organizations: CNN, Google, Minnesota Democratic, Vermont Democratic, Illinois Democratic, Twitter, Meta, Microsoft, YouTube, Florida Gov Locations: Vermont, Florida

☆ A bipartisan bill aims to protect journalists from being forced to reveal their sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Journalists could soon enjoy greater protections under federal law. A bipartisan group of US senators and congressmen united this week to reintroduce the Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying Act, or as it is more commonly known, the PRESS Act. First, it would prevent the government from compelling reporters from being forced to disclose their sources. “The PRESS Act is the strongest federal shield bill for journalists we’ve ever seen,” Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement. The PRESS Act would solve for that by enshrining protections into federal law.

Persons: we’ve, ” Seth Stern, Donald Trump, General Merrick Garland, Republican Sen, Mike Lee, ” Lee, Democratic Sen, Ron Wyden, ”, ” Wyden Organizations: CNN — Journalists, Exploitive, Press Foundation, News / Media Alliance, Radio Television Digital News Association, National Association of Broadcasters, American Civil Liberties Union, Department of Justice, CNN, Washington Post, The New York Times, DOJ, Republican, Democratic

☆ Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers leaker and anti-war activist, dies at 92
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Kaanita Iyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Washington CNN —Daniel Ellsberg, a former military analyst and anti-war activist whose disclosure of the so-called Pentagon Papers revealed systemic US government deception about the Vietnam War, has died, his family announced in a statement. As part of his work with RAND, Ellsberg had access to classified documents that demonstrated how the US government had systemically lied to the public about the war, and Ellsberg felt compelled to reveal the information. In a letter to his friends that he shared on social media in March, Ellsberg reflected on his decision to leak the Pentagon Papers. “It was a fate I would gladly have accepted if it meant hastening the end of the Vietnam War, unlikely as that seemed (and was). “No organization really wants to show how the sausage is made or legislation is made, and they prefer to be the only voice on policy to the public,” Ellsberg told NPR.

Persons: Washington CNN — Daniel Ellsberg, Ellsberg, ”, “, ” Ellsberg, “ Daniel, systemically, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Robert McNamara, Lyndon B, John F, Ngo Dinh Diem –, Nixon, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, “ It’s, Chelsea Manning, Roe, Wade, Patricia, Robert, Mary, Michael Organizations: Washington CNN, New York Times, Press Foundation, RAND Corporation, RAND, The New York Times, Times, Washington Post, Pentagon, Committee, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Harvard University, Marine Corps, Harvard, International Security Affairs, State Department, White House, WikiLeaks, NPR Locations: Vietnam, Kensington , California, Chicago, Detroit, United Kingdom, Amherst, Iraq

☆ TikTok may have a path forward in the US without a sale or ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A bipartisan bill reintroduced this week would regulate how companies including TikTok share US data. TikTok has faced increased scrutiny around its ties to China, as well as calls for a US sale or ban. TikTok may have a path forward in the US without a sale or ban. TikTok has faced increased scrutiny from US lawmakers around its ties to China, where its parent company, ByteDance, is based. At the core of the issue are concerns that TikTok's Beijing-based parent company could be compelled to give the Chinese Community Party access to US user data.

Persons: TikTok, Sen, Ron Wyden, Cynthia Lummis, Biden, ByteDance, walling, It's, Wyden Organizations: Republican, CNN, Street, Foreign Investment, Congress, Wall, Chinese Community Party, CCP, Oracle Locations: China, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, TikTok, Beijing, Texas, Russia

☆ New bipartisan bill in Senate could address TikTok security concerns without a ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Much of the existing legislation addressing TikTok at the federal and state level has focused on bans of the app. Wednesday’s legislation, known as the Protecting Americans’ Data From Foreign Surveillance Act, does not identify TikTok by name. TikTok has faced criticism from US officials who say the company’s links to China pose a national security risk. Congress has made several attempts in recent months to address data transfers to foreign adversaries. In February, House lawmakers advanced a bill that would all but require the Biden administration to ban TikTok over national security concerns about the app.

Persons: Oregon Democratic Sen, Ron Wyden, Wyoming Republican Sen, Cynthia Lummis, —, ” Wyden, Wyden, TikTok, ByteDance, Biden, Justin Sherman, ” Sherman, Rhode Island Democratic Sen, Sheldon Whitehouse, Sheldon Whitehouse , Tennessee Republican Sen, Bill Hagerty, New Mexico Democratic Sen, Martin Heinrich, Florida Republican Sen, Marco Rubio, Warren Davidson, Anna Eshoo Organizations: CNN, Oregon Democratic, Wyoming Republican, ByteDance, Commerce Department, Oracle, Texas, Commerce, Duke University’s Sanford School of Public, Rhode, Rhode Island Democratic, Sheldon Whitehouse , Tennessee Republican, New Mexico Democratic, Florida Republican, Ohio Republican, California Democratic Locations: China, United States, Russia, Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse , Tennessee, New Mexico, Florida

☆ Marc Andreessen Has a Plan to Use 'AI to Save the World'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marc Andreessen writes that AI can "make everything we care about better" in a new blog post. He believes AI companies should be able to build fast and aggressively without regulation. The current AI wave wouldn't be complete without a pithy missive from famed venture-capitalist and entrepreneur Marc Andressen. To help avert those risks, Altman recommended to lawmakers that a new agency should be created to police AI projects, particularly ones that operate at higher levels of capabilities. He also says his firm is eager to fund AI startup founders.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Marc Andressen, Andreessen Horowitz, he's, Andreessen, Sam Altman, Altman, Andreeseen, Catalyst, Nat Friedman Organizations: OpenAI Locations: China, Coactive, London

☆ Saudi's crown prince and Putin are teaming up to keep oil prices high in a geopolitical gambit likely to annoy the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Saudi Arabia said it is cutting oil production to stabilize oil markets. The move is likely to irk Joe Biden, who has clashed with the Saudis on oil production. The Saudis have previously worked with Russia to cut production, thus boosting prices. Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest oil producer and most influential member of the group, so has significant power over global oil markets. The production cut will likely be among the issues discussed when US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visits Saudi Arabia next week.

Persons: irk Joe Biden, —, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al, Saud, Prince Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia's, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Alexander Novak, Biden, State Anthony Blinken Organizations: Saudis, Service, Privacy Policy, Reuters, Brent, White, State, New York Times, Kremlin Locations: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Privacy Policy Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Vienna, Austria, Russian, Riyadh, Ukraine, Opec, India

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