Odd Lots: The Big Gulf AI Deal That's Divided The White House
Back in May, President Trump announced this big plan whereby American tech giants would participate in major AI projects in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The announcement has created divisions within The White House, and more generally among people who are thinking about the intersection of artificial intelligence and geopolitics. One argument is that this is great news geopolitically, because it gives American technology a beachhead in this crucial region. Another argument is that by exporting the chips abroad, it creates a possibility that some of the technology will leak to China, or benefit China in some way. On this episode we speak with Bloomberg reporter Mackenzie Hawkins, who covers tech and geopolitics in Hong Kong, about the deals, the divisions, and what to watch next as the US looks to maintain its edge in these key areas.
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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'No Kings Day' protest brings thousands to Iowa State Capitol to 'give voice to people.'
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CNBC
18 minutes ago
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Google, Scale AI's largest customer, plans split after Meta deal, sources say
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San Francisco Chronicle
21 minutes ago
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Wary response in Bay Area after Trump reportedly halts workplace raids at farms, hotels, eateries
As the Trump administration reportedly pauses immigration raids and arrests across most of the agricultural industry and hotels and restaurants, some Californians working in those sectors predicted the move will do little more than offer a false sense of security for undocumented workers. 'This is not a victory,' said Reyna Maldonado, owner of Las Guerreras, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Oakland. 'It's a political calculation, and we have every reason to remain skeptical.' The Trump administration on Thursday directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to largely put a hold on enforcement operations across agricultural restaurant and hotel workplaces, according to an email obtained by the New York Times and reported by other outlets. The direction came as President Donald Trump acknowledged on social media that his aggressive immigration crackdown was hurting industries that he counted on for support. 'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,' he wrote in a social media post. The industries singled out by Trump are major operators in California, so the impacts of an immigration crackdown and a potential reversal could be significant. The state produces more than a third of the nation's vegetables and three quarters of its fruits and nuts, according to the state agricultural department. California is also the top tourism destination in the country. The policy shift comes amid a push by the administration to detain and deport more undocumented immigrants that has sparked massive protests, particularly in California. Trump has deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines in response to ongoing demonstrations in Los Angeles. Workplace raids have been part of immigration agents' strategy, but they've also detained many immigrants showing up to required court appearances in San Francisco and elsewhere. The expansion of raids to include non-criminals working in various industries has been particularly controversial. Prior to reports of the policy shift, the California Farm Bureau on Friday put out a statement saying that the administration's immigration enforcement tactics were 'having a disruptive effect on California's rural communities and the farmers, ranchers, workers and families who live and work there.' 'If federal immigration enforcement activities continue in this direction, it will become increasingly difficult to produce food, process it and get it onto grocery store shelves,' Bryan Little, senior director of policy advocacy at the California Farm Bureau, said in the statement. 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'As business owners, we're living with one foot in our dream, and the other one in a nightmare.' Despite the administration reportedly shifting its mass deportation campaign away from farms, hotels and restaurants, Maldonado said Saturday that she felt little relief. 'The lack of safety doesn't stop at restaurants. ICE is going to continue to show up in neighborhoods, other workplaces and at homes,' she said. 'This is a tactic to confuse the public, ease criticism from industries that heavily depend on immigrant labor and then quietly continue to terrorize undocumented people.' News of the new guidance broke the evening before No Kings protests launched in more than 2,000 cities across the nation in opposition to a large-scale military parade planned by the Trump administration to celebrate the president's 79th birthday. In San Francisco, protester Alexis Mauricio stood in Civic Center Plaza holding a sign that read "Tu Lucha es Mi Lucha," meaning "your fight is my fight." Inside each letter she had illustrated a flag from different countries, including Mexico, Brazil, Honduras and the United States. Mauricio, 30, said she was unimpressed by Trump's decision to pull back on the workplace raids. "I'll believe it when I see it," she said. "Those people never should have been targeted in the first place." Reporter J.D. Morris contributed to this report.
