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☆ Protests encapsulate progressive angst that could imperil Biden’s 2024 campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Israel could not have asked for a better friend than President Joe Biden. As global anger mounted at the thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza during Israel’s counter-attack against Hamas, Biden has been unequivocal on the Jewish state’s right to hit back. He pushed back at suggestions by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would somehow control Gaza after the war. Senior administration officials have repeatedly denied that any part of Biden’s calculations on Israel are rooted in domestic politics. Protests have rocked university campuses, where there’s been an outbreak of anti-Israel feeling that has sometimes crossed into blatant antisemitism.

Persons: Israel, Joe Biden, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Democratic Sen, Mark Warner, Virginia, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, “, –, what’s, ” Biden, Netanyahu, there’s, Hakeem Jeffries, Andy Biggs, Donald Trump, George Floyd, Trump, CNN’s Jeff Zeleny Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Democratic Party, Jewish, Democratic, CBS, Rep, New York Democrat, NPR, PBS, Marist, Israel, White, Democratic National Committee, Capitol, Democrat Party, DNC, American, GOP, Trump, New York Times, Siena Locations: Gaza, United States, Michigan, Israel, Alexandria, San Francisco, Washington, Arizona, California, Asia, Oakland, Iraq, Georgia, Virginia, Ohio, East

U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping, who met in San Francisco on Wednesday, may disagree on the terminology. Barely half the manufactured goods imported into the United States from low-cost Asian countries now come from China. Chinese firms have raised just $529 million from initial and secondary stock offerings in the United States in the year to mid-October. But the conscious decoupling between the U.S. and China looks set to continue. Follow @ugalani and @a_fitri_alias on XCONTEXT NEWSU.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Nov. 15 in San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Persons: Xi, Joe Biden, Kevin Lamarque, friendshoring, China’s Xi Jinping, Breakingviews, Donald Trump, China’s ByteDance, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics Goldman Sachs, Xi Jinping, Una, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: U.S, Economic Cooperation, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, People’s Republic . U.S, People’s, World Trade Organization, Reuters Graphics Reuters, FRAYING FINANCE, U.S . Federal Reserve, Federal, Investment Board, HK, Republican, Reuters Graphics Apple, United, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Filoli, Asia, Woodside , California, U.S, Rights MUMBAI, United States, China, Washington, People’s Republic ., San Francisco, People’s Republic, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, That’s, New York, Greater China, India, TAIWAN, Taiwan, Una Galani, Mumbai, London

☆ An Amazon team is racing to launch new AI products similar to those from Microsoft GitHub, leaked email shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An Amazon cloud VP sent a motivational email to his team last week after GitHub, the developer code-sharing site owned by Microsoft, held an artificial intelligence event and released a bunch of new products. In it, he noted the products announced at the GitHub Universe developer conference were similar to what his team is currently working on. One of the big products announced at GitHub Universe was the general availability of its Copilot Chat, a chatbot that helps answer developer questions and identify bugs. AWS, meanwhile, has announced products like Bedrock, a service that makes foundation models more easily accessible, and CodeWhisperer, a coding assistant app. The new chatbot for AWS developers is one example of that strategy, as it's intended to guide developers towards more AWS services when they are building AI products, the person familiar with the project told BI.

Persons: GitHub, Deepak Singh, Singh, They've, Google's Bard, it's Organizations: Microsoft, Business, Amazon, Services, GitHub, BI, AWS

☆ Trump’s extreme rhetoric conjures the prospect of a presidency like no other
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —Donald Trump is promising a second presidency that would be an aberration in American history. And Trump’s ambitions should be taken seriously because one year from the election, President Joe Biden’s reelection hopes are far from secure. He dehumanizes his political enemies, has discredited the legal, political and electoral system, has demonized the press and has targeted vulnerable members of society, minorities and immigrants, as scapegoats. With questionable historic comparisons, Trump’s critics only fuel his bid to provoke the outrage that is essential to his political appeal. Nikki Haley have only criticized Trump obliquely, understanding there’s no market in the modern Republican Party for confronting Trump’s lawlessness.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden’s, “, ” Trump, ”, “ Donald Trump parroted, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Ammar Moussa, he’s, he’ll, else’s, Biden, —, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, there’s, Bob Dole, Mitt Romney, institutionalists, Republican Party isn’t reining, Trump’s, Mike Pence, Chris Christie, Asa Hutchinson, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita, …, Mark Milley, who’s, Jack Smith’s, –, Abraham Lincoln’s, George Washington’s, ” Smith Organizations: CNN, White, Veterans, Trump, New York Times, Republican, Democratic, Capitol, Republican Party, GOP, Florida Gov, South Carolina Gov, Justice Department, Conservative Political, Conference, Univision, Joint Chiefs, Staff, NBC News, MSNBC, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Locations: New Hampshire, Gaza, Ukraine, China, Russia, Europe, America, South Carolina

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping have no shortage of difficult issues to discuss when they sit down for their first talks in a year, even if expectations are low that their meeting will lead to major breakthroughs. Beijing’s demands were made clear last November when Xi and Biden met in Bali, Indonesia, during the Group of 20 summit. That was a rejoinder to the Biden administration mantra that the two nations should compete vigorously while not looking for conflict. Beijing has bristled at export controls and other measures imposed by the Biden administration, perceiving them as designed to stifle China's economic growth. But Xi, this time, is likely to seek assurance from Biden that the U.S. will not pile new ones onto China.

Persons: Joe Biden, China’s Xi, what’s, Biden, Xi, Janet Yellen, “, ”, Nancy Pelosi, Newt Gingrich, Xie Feng, Wang Wenbin, Zhu Feng, Zhu, Kanis Leung, Ken Moritsugu, Yu Bing Organizations: WASHINGTON, Economic Cooperation, BIDEN, U.S ., U.S, American, School of International Studies of Nanjing University, Trump, Biden, ”, Associated Press Locations: Asia, Taiwan, East, Europe, U.S, China, Francisco, Beijing, United States, Taiwan . Washington, Iran, Tehran, Israel, American, Hong Kong, Bali , Indonesia, Bali, Washington, ” Beijing, San Francisco

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott announced late Sunday that he was dropping out of the 2024 race, about two months before the start of voting in Iowa's leadoff caucuses. Scott said he wouldn't be making an endorsement of his remaining Republican rivals. "The best way for me to be helpful is to not weigh in on who they should endorse.”He also appeared to rule out serving as vice president, saying the No. But Trump has been careful not to criticize the senator, leading some in his orbit to consider Scott a potential vice presidential pick. Scott, a deeply religious former insurance broker, made his grandfather’s work in the cotton fields of the Deep South a bedrock of his political identity and of his presidential campaign.

Persons: Tim Scott, Trey Gowdy, Scott, ” Scott, ‘, Tim, ’ ”, Donald Trump, Trump, Mike Pence, Democrat Joe Biden, wouldn't, ”, it’s, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Scott's, Jill Colvin Organizations: COLUMBIA, — Republican, South, Fox News, Associated Press, GOP, Republican, Democrat, Trump, Florida Gov, U.S . Senate Locations: South Carolina, America, Iowa, New York

LOS ANGELES (AP) — John Bailey, a cinematographer who led the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences during the initial #MeToo reckoning, died Friday at 81. Bailey died “peacefully in his sleep” in Los Angeles, his wife, Carol Littleton, said in a statement distributed by the film academy. The moves sparked immediate backlash, including fears that the new category would relegate hits like that year's “Black Panther” out of contention for the best film award. A month later, the “outstanding achievement in popular film” award had been tabled. Bailey is survived by Littleton, a former Academy governor and film editor who was nominated for an Oscar for “E.T.

Persons: — John Bailey, Bailey, “, Carol Littleton, Bailey —, ”, —, Weinstein, ” Bailey, Bailey's, CEO Dawn Hudson, Oscar Organizations: ANGELES, Academy of Motion Picture Arts, Sciences, Academy, Governors, CEO, Associated Press, Hollywood Locations: Los Angeles, Littleton

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Wednesday in California for talks on trade, Taiwan and managing fraught U.S.-Chinese relations in the first engagement between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies in nearly a year. Thousands of protesters are expected to descend on San Francisco during the summit. Thousands of people protesting climate destruction, corporate practices, the Israel-Hamas war and other issues are expected to descend on San Francisco during the summit. San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott said his department expects several protests a day but doesn't know which ones will materialize where and when. ___Associated Press writer Janie Har in San Francisco and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed reporting.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Biden, Xi, Karine Jean, Pierre, ”, Janet Yellen, Lifeng, Tsai Ing, Nancy Pelosi's, ” Biden, Bill Scott, Janie Har, Ken Moritsugu Organizations: WASHINGTON, Economic Cooperation, White, APEC, U.S ., Biden, Communist Party, Democratic, U.S, Beijing, Senate Intelligence, Pentagon, San Francisco Police Department, Associated Press Locations: California, Taiwan, Asia, San Francisco, U.S, China, San Francisco Bay, Beijing, United States, North Korea, Pyongyang, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Tehran, Israel, Bali , Indonesia, Taipei, American, South China, Philippines, States

The Justice Department filed a statement of interest in consolidated lawsuits against Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall seeking to block him from using conspiracy statutes to prosecute people who help Alabama women travel to obtain an abortion. Alabama bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape and incest. The Justice Department argued in the filing that the U.S. Constitution protects the right to travel. The two Alabama lawsuits seek a ruling clarifying that people and groups can provide assistance to women leaving the state for an abortion. In a July statement issued when the lawsuits were filed, his office said it would enforce the state's abortion ban.

Persons: Steve Marshall, Marshall, Dobbs, General Merrick B, Garland, ” Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, Justice Department, Alabama, U.S, Supreme, Constitution, Yellowhammer Locations: MONTGOMERY, Ala, Alabama, U.S, Texas

☆ Mark Zuckerberg says WhatsApp is the 'next chapter' for Meta and could become a bedrock for business messaging
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Mark Zuckerberg signaled big changes to WhatsApp, which he sees as the future of business messaging. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. The Meta chief told The New York Times in an interview that the messaging app is the "next chapter" for Meta and could play a critical role in business messaging. Five years later, it launched several features, including WhatsApp for Business, to help companies connect and communicate with customers. That could come in the form of ads in Status and Channels, Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo .

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, —, Zuckerberg, Will Cathcart, Cathcart, Meta didn't Organizations: Service, New York Times, Meta, Times, Business, Reuters, Brazilian, Folha de Locations: monetizing

☆ Wave of cancellations in German housing construction at new high -Ifo
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Germany's residential construction sector was again hit by a wave of cancellations in October, according to a survey published on Monday that showed a record number of firms reporting abandoned projects. "It's getting worse all the time, with more and more projects failing due to higher interest rates and elevated construction prices," says Klaus Wohlrabe, Ifo head of surveys. "In residential construction, new business remains very low and companies' order backlogs are diminishing." The number of companies reporting a lack of orders also increased in October, to 48.7% of firms from 46.6% in September. "Nearly half of all residential construction companies are now suffering from a lack of orders, and that number is growing every month," said Wohlrabe.

Persons: Klaus Wohlrabe, Miranda Murray, Rachel More Organizations: Thomson

☆ I think Apple and Google are 'quite vulnerable', says Bedrock Capital's Geoff Lewis
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailI think Apple and Google are 'quite vulnerable', says Bedrock Capital's Geoff LewisGeoff Lewis, Bedrock Capital founder, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the latest market trends, the tech sector at large, the potential of Elon Musk's xAI 'Grok' chatbot, and more.

Persons: Geoff Lewis Geoff Lewis, Elon Musk's Organizations: Google, Bedrock Capital

☆ Biden impeachment inquiry end game comes into focus, but moderate Republicans still not sold
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Annie Grayer | Melanie Zanona | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In recent days, Comer has said in media appearances that subpoenas for Biden family members are “imminent.”The end of the inquiry is still likely months away. They did, however, secure an interview with the special counsel overseeing the Hunter Biden criminal probe, David Weiss, for Tuesday, which is unprecedented given that the case is ongoing. At every turn, House Democrats and the White House have dismissed the allegations against the president and poked holes in the Republican-led investigation. “The subpoenas to Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family should have already happened,” Gaetz told CNN. “We’ll see what comes out.”Even members involved in the inquiry know that the evidence doesn’t clear the key hurdles needed to move forward.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, –, “, Jim Jordan, Jordan, James Comer, James, Hunter, Comer, David Weiss, Jamie Raskin, Mike Johnson, Johnson, Matt Gaetz, ” Johnson, ” What’s, they’ve, ’ ” Comer, I’ve, we’ve, ”, James Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Hunter Biden, ” Gaetz, Comer doesn’t, hadn’t, it’s, ” Comer, Jack Morgan, Mark Daly, Lesley Wolf, Morgan, Daly, “ There’s, ” Jordan, Don Bacon, Mike Lawler, we’ll, ” Lawler, , Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom McClintock, Doug LaMalfa, “ I’ve, Steve Womack, Mike Rogers of Organizations: Republicans, GOP, Ohio Republican, CNN, Hunter Biden, House Democrats, Republican, Maryland, Capitol, Judiciary, of Justice, DOJ, The Justice, Nebraska Republican, Committee, ”, California Republican, Arkansas Republican Locations: Ohio, Florida, Ukrainian, Nebraska, New York, California, Arkansas, Mike Rogers of Alabama

☆ Trump unleashes new attack on the legal system after his sons take the stand
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Things grew heated when Amer apparently succeeded in undermining Eric Trump’s claims that he had little to do with his father’s financial statements. “I understand we had financials as a company,” Eric Trump said. Eric Trump replied: “It appears that way, yes.”In essence, both Trump sons are arguing that despite running the company, they knew nothing about its financial statements. In a bizarre passage of the trial, Trump attorney Chris Kise insisted: “I’m not a misogynist. CNN legal analyst Shan Wu said that neither the testimony of Eric Trump nor the strategy of attacking court personnel seemed like a smart approach.

Persons: Donald Jr, Eric, Hunt, ”, Donald Trump, Judge Arthur Engoron, Trump, Trump Organization –, Eric Trump, CNN Trump, Joe Biden, ” Trump, “ That’s, Andrew Amer, It’s, Amer, Eric Trump’s, “, ” Eric Trump, ” Amer, Jeff McConney, Donald Trump Jr, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Engoron, —, Engoron, Chris Kise, I’m, Alina Habba, Shan Wu, Eric –, ” Wu, Wu, –, Tanya Chutkan Organizations: CNN, Trump, New, Trump Organization, Justice Department, Republican, Wednesday, GOP Locations: New York, Trump, Florida, Washington ,, —

[1/4] View of the construction site of the Elbtower building, owned by Rene Benko’s Signa and a Commerzbank subsidiary, in Hamburg Germany, November 2, 2023. Signa, the Austrian property giant and an owner of New York's Chrysler Building, had been making steady progress this year on the planned 64-story Elbtower skyscraper in Hamburg. But Signa, founded by René Benko, has fallen behind on its payments to its builder, Lupp, an executive of the construction firm said. The city of Hamburg and a minority investor, the real-estate subsidiary of Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE), confirmed the stoppage. It has also prompted warnings from city officials, and is another indicator of troubles hitting the property sector in Europe's largest economy.

Persons: Rene Benko’s Signa, Fabian Bimmer, René Benko, Matthias Kaufmann, Signa, Germany's, Aon, Timo Herzberg, Karen Pein, Tom Sims Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Chrysler, Reuters, City, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Hamburg Germany, Austrian, Hamburg, Europe's, HafenCity, City of Hamburg

☆ New Phase of Gateway Tunnel Project in Hudson River to Begin
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Patrick Mcgeehan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Construction of the long-delayed rail tunnel under the Hudson River is about to speed up, as the project gets an additional injection of $3.8 billion in federal funding. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, will announce the latest grant from Washington on Friday, just before he and Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, are scheduled to proclaim the start of work this month on the next phase of the $16.1 billion tunnel on Manhattan’s West Side, known as the Gateway project. This new, early phase of the project involves constructing a concrete casing for trains to pass through under the Hudson Yards section of Midtown Manhattan, between the river’s edge and Pennsylvania Station. On the New Jersey side of the river, work is scheduled to begin, also this month, on the realignment of a highway so that the digging of the tunnel can begin. Plans laid out by the project’s sponsor, the Gateway Development Commission, call for two giant boring machines to grind their way through the cliff, under the river and into the bedrock of Manhattan.

Persons: Chuck Schumer, Pete Buttigieg Organizations: Pennsylvania, Gateway Development Commission Locations: Hudson, New York, Washington, Midtown Manhattan, Jersey, Manhattan

☆ The War on College Campuses
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Lauren Camera | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +16 min

College campuses have always been bastions of protest, where young, energetic students push older generations in the direction of the next social or political reform. Notably, the prevailing notions of the liberal bent of college campuses are not incorrect. According to a 2023 survey by FIRE of roughly 1,500 four-year college professors, 50% identify as liberal, 17% as moderate, and 26% as conservative. Analysts say the recent inflammatory examples that have not only riven college campuses but altered the way many Americans view them also underscore the increasing difficulty observers in the U.S. have of sitting with complex developments. Many of the country’s most elite schools actually perform the worst, according to the 2024 College Free Speech Ranking by FIRE.

Persons: Ron DeSantis –, “, ”, –, Zach Greenberg, Nikki Haley, Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, Pell Grant, Donald Trump, Strawn, Davis Polk, Sarah Lawrence, Samuel Abrams, ” Greenberg, Joe Biden, Peter Coleman, Morton, Coleman, “ We’re, Tony Banout, ” Banout, ” Coleman Organizations: Hamas, National Students for Justice, Florida Gov, College, Foundation, Rights, ”, U.S ., Harvard’s, for Palestine, Palestine Solidarity Committee, George Washington University, GOP, Former South Carolina Gov, Customs, Winston, Wardwell, Harvard University, Columbia University, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, FIRE, Sarah Lawrence College, New York Times, Columbia, America – Democrats, Republicans, Jewish, Tulane University, Cornell University, FBI, White, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Morton Deutsch International, for Cooperation, Israel, University of Chicago, University of Chicago Forum, Free Locations: Israel, Palestine, America, Florida, Gaza, U.S, Former, ., Carolina, Columbia, Costa Rica

☆ Opinion | The Laws of Campus Culture War
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

They represent the moral and philosophical foundations for the concrete constitutional rules of culture war that directly apply on campus. One of the most powerful and compelling arguments for free speech in American history was born out of mob suppression. In 1860, Frederick Douglass wrote his “Plea for Free Speech in Boston” after a violent mob shut down an antislavery event. Every college and university — public or private — that receives federal funds has an affirmative duty to protect students’ civil rights. In the recent past, schools have sometimes been too enthusiastic about stopping harassment, defining the term so broadly that university anti-harassment policies actually violate students’ free speech rights.

Persons: George Washington, ”, “, Abraham, ” Washington, Johnson, Watts, they’re, Deactivating, Frederick Douglass, ” Douglass, Biden, Davis, VI, Scott Alexander’s, it’s, — Organizations: State University System of, Justice, Cooper Union, Cornell University, Trees School, . Ohio, Klan, Hamas, Civil, of Education, Cornell, Democratic Locations: State University System of Florida, Palestine, New York City, Ithaca, N.Y, ”, United States, America, Newport, R.I, Texas, Terminiello, Chicago, Brandenburg, ., Ohio, “, Gaza, Florida, Boston, Monroe County

☆ Mike Johnson symbolizes a new turn for the religious right
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | Analysis Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

CNN —The arc of Rep. Mike Johnson’s career encapsulates the shifting priorities of the religious right in the era of Donald Trump. More than half of White evangelicals agreed with that statement as well – the only major religious denomination in which it found majority support. Yet both groups are much more influential inside the GOP coalition, with evangelicals representing nearly one-third of Republican voters and all White Christians about two-thirds. But in Congress, Johnson has also identified more with some of the party’s Trump-era priorities that revolve around demographic change. But each man appears equally committed to a vision of America that elevates the moral and political preferences of conservative White Christians over any other group.

Persons: Mike Johnson’s, Donald Trump, Barack Obama’s, Johnson, MAGA, Long, Trump’s, Trump, Robert P, Jones, Johnson “, ”, Mike Podhorzer, ” Podhorzer, Jimmy Carter, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, ” Jones, Dobson, CNN’s KFile, KFile, he’s, Ron DeSantis, Marjorie Taylor, it’s, ” Johnson, He’s, “, Biden, who’s, PRRI, there’s, Tresa Undem, Undem, White, George W, Bush, Obama, Pete Wehner, Wehner, David Barton, Barton, that’s, ” Wehner, ‘, ” Barton Organizations: CNN, Louisiana Republican, Republican, GOP, Yorker, Trump, Survey, Religion Research Institute, White, AFL, CIO, Republicans, Representatives, Alliance Defense Fund, Defending, Gov, Georgia Rep, Whites, Trinity Forum, ”, NBC News, Trump - Locations: Louisiana, America, White, “, Florida, Mexico

☆ Chinese tech giant Alibaba launches upgraded AI model to challenge Microsoft, Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Alibaba called Tongyi Qianwen 2.0 a "substantial upgrade from its predecessor," which was introduced in April . China's biggest cloud computing and e-commerce player announced Tongyi Qianwen 2.0, its latest large language model (LLM). A LLM is trained on vast amounts of data and forms the basis for generative AI applications such as ChatGPT, which is developed by U.S. firm OpenAI. Tongyi Qianwen 2.0 "demonstrates remarkable capabilities in understanding complex instructions, copywriting, reasoning, memorizing, and preventing hallucinations," Alibaba said in a press release. The Hangzhou-headquartered company also announced the GenAI Service Platform, which lets companies build their own generative AI applications, using their own data.

Persons: Alibaba, Tongyi Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, U.S, Tuesday, Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon Locations: Shanghai, Hangzhou, China

☆ Mike Johnson is the first Republican House speaker from the South since Newt Gingrich, putting the region back in the driver's seat of GOP politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Rep. Mike Johnson's ascent to the House speakership last week took most in the GOP by surprise. He's now the first House speaker from the South since Newt Gingrich held the gavel in the 1990s. "This happened sort of suddenly," the Louisiana Republican said last Wednesday after succeeding Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California as speaker and as the new leader of the House GOP conference. Rep. Mike Johnson takes the oath of office to become the next House speaker on October 25, 2023. Challenges to Republican-drawn congressional districts across the South could give Democrats a significant opening to flip the House in 2024.

Persons: Mike Johnson's, He's, Newt Gingrich, —, couldn't, Kevin McCarthy of, Johnson, Bill Clinton, Sen, Mitch McConnell, Joe Biden, Mike Johnson, Alex Brandon Cue McConnell, Steve Scalise, Gingrich —, Drew Angerer, Gingrich, Donald Trump, Kim Chandler, McCarthy Organizations: GOP, Service, Louisiana Republican, Southern Republican, Republican, White House, House Republicans, AP, Democratic, Kentucky Locations: Washington, Louisiana, Kevin McCarthy of California, Georgia, Kentucky, Southern, Ukraine, New York, Chicago, Denver, Johnson's, Kim Chandler In Alabama, Black, Alabama's, Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina , Tennessee

☆ The generative-AI hype hasn't translated to cloud sales yet, as customers don't know if they should jump in. Microsoft is the one exception.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rates of cloud-computing sales growth slowed to historical lows this year as customers slashed IT budgets. Microsoft and Google, the next two biggest American cloud providers, also saw rates of cloud-revenue growth slow this year. Microsoft's Azure and other cloud services saw revenue growth of 29%, down from 35% this time last year. Google this week reported a 22% year-over-year increase in cloud revenue the past quarter, down from 28% the previous quarter. The company attributed this to customer "optimization," or looking for ways to save money on cloud services.

Persons: Karl Keirstead, they're, they'd, Rishi Jaluria, Andy Jassy, Jassy, Ellen Thomas Organizations: Microsoft, Web Services, Google, Enterprises, UBS, Wall, RBC Capital Markets, Amazon Locations: Ukraine, Israel, ethomas@insider.com

☆ The generative AI hype hasn't translated to cloud sales yet, as customers don't know if they should jump in. Microsoft is the one exception.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft and Google, the next two biggest American cloud providers, also saw cloud revenue growth rates slow this year. Microsoft Azure and other cloud services saw revenue growth of 29%, down from 35% this time last year. Wall Street has been hopeful that generative AI will provide a much-needed revenue boost for the big three cloud providers. The one exception is Microsoft, which has spent billions investing in generative AI startup OpenAI, maker of the chatbot ChatGPT. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stressed on the earnings call Thursday that generative AI is still in its "early days."

Persons: Karl Keirstead, they're, they'd, Rishi Jaluria, Andy Jassy, Jassy, Ellen Thomas Organizations: Microsoft, Web Services, Google, UBS, Enterprises, Wall, RBC Capital Markets, Amazon Locations: Ukraine, Israel, ethomas@insider.com

☆ Microsoft's AI boost helped cloud business outpace rivals Amazon and Google in latest quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

That's faster than Google Cloud's 22% growth and more than double the pace of expansion at Amazon Web Services, which reported 12% growth. "Today more than half of all funded generative AI startups are Google cloud customers," Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said on the company's earnings call Tuesday. "Our generative AI business is growing very, very quickly," Jassy said. Jassy said companies including Adidas, Booking.com , Merck and United Airlines are building generative AI apps in AWS. Still, Amazon was behind Microsoft in releasing a tool for deploying generative AI.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Mark Moerdler, Sundar Pichai, Andy Jassy, Jassy, Brian Olsavsky, Jefferies, Brent Thill Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services, AWS, Bernstein Research, Adidas, Booking.com, Merck, United Airlines, OpenAI Service, Oracle, Skanska, Starbucks, Amazon Locations: OpenAI, Maersk

☆ Amazon rallies on cloud optimism as it chases Microsoft for AI business
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Aditya Soni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Smaller cloud rival Microsoft (MSFT.O) rose 1.5%, while Alphabet (GOOGL.O) was down about 1.3%. Amazon shares have rallied about 40% this year, but they have lost nearly 8% in the past two days after Alphabet (GOOGL.O) warned that cloud customers were curbing spending. In the July-September period, Amazon posted its first quarter-on-quarter increase in cloud growth in nearly two years. The 12.3% growth in AWS was slower than the 29% rise seen at Microsoft's (MSFT.O) Azure cloud business, which had topped market estimates. To be sure, Amazon's cloud business is larger than that of Microsoft and Google.

Persons: Pascal, Andy Jassy, Bernstein, brokerages, Morningstar, Dan Romanoff, Aditya Soni, Arun Koyyur Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, Amazon, Amazon Web Services, Reuters Graphics, Tech, Google, Tejas Dessai, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

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