The Trump administration is reportedly weighing rules that would require foreign buyers to obtain licenses from the U.S. government to buy American AI chips . Why it matters: The AI chips sector has been flourishing as tech companies ramp up their spending on data centers and new AI models, underpinning the broader market. The big picture: The draft regulations would give "Washington broad control over whether other countries can build facilities for training and running artificial-intelligence models — and under what conditions," Bloomberg reported Thursday. - Such a requirement would add a layer of bureaucracy to foreign sales of chips from the likes of Nvidia and AMD that could slow sales or serve as the regulatory structure to…
The Pentagon has formally designated Anthropic a supply chain risk, as CEO Dario Amodei apologized Thursday for a leaked memo criticizing the Trump administration. Why it matters: The dispute has raised fundamental questions over AI governance and cast a shadow over the industry's relationship with Washington. - Amodei won a legion of fans — and Anthropic's Claude a flood of new users — for his initial strong stance in a dispute over how AI could be used by the military. State of play: Despite the apology, Anthropic still plans to sue over the Pentagon's designation of the company as a supply chain risk, which Anthropic says is narrow and only restricts certain activities. "It was a difficult day for the company, and I apologize for…
President Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday after he consulted allies and advisers — all of whom told him it was time for her to go, sources tell Axios. - "She burnt up a ton of goodwill," an adviser who spoke with Trump told Axios. "It was everywhere. It was everything." Why it matters: Trump's firing of Noem was the biggest personnel shake-up of his second term. It showed the backlash against her was so great that Trump was willing to dismiss the nation's domestic security chief as he's launching a war abroad. Driving the news: The ice under Noem was getting thinner and thinner even before this week, when she made two humiliating appearances before House and Senate committees. - During those public…
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) will not seek reelection, he announced late Thursday. Why it matters: His announcement came hours after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his House GOP leadership team called on Gonzales to drop out of his race after the Texas Republican admitted to having an affair with a former staffer. - The House Ethics Committee formally launched an investigation into Gonzales the morning after his March 3 primary election, which saw him headed to a runoff election. State of play: Gonzales' departure turns the 23rd District, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, into an open-seat battleground overnight without the advantage of a Republican incumbency. - He was facing Brandon Herrera in the primary runoff.…
GOP lawmakers in several red states want to pass AI safety bills, but their efforts are being chilled by the fear of angering the White House. Why it matters: State lawmakers eager to tackle AI over concerns about kids, jobs and privacy are facing pushback from the White House, with tensions poised to spike next week. - The Trump administration's pending list of "onerous" state AI laws could set up a federal crackdown on state regulation and reshape who writes the rules for AI. Driving the news: The White House has made it clear — states should back off on AI laws in almost all cases until a federal framework passes. - Next week, the administration is expected to announce which state-level AI laws it has identified as "onerous" that…
President Trump seethed when the Supreme Court stripped away his unilateral tariff authority, the first real check on his presidency. - Then he set out to impose his will on every remaining vector of American power — smashing norms and shrugging off Congress in a historic, 14-day show of executive force. Why it matters: Over the past two weeks, Trump launched a massive Middle East war, blacklisted the hottest AI company on the planet, ordered new global tariffs, and presided over the biggest media merger in two decades. - He did it all unilaterally — without passing a single law, and without pretending he needed to. Axios' Zachary Basu narrates this epic fortnight: The tariffs: On Feb. 20, hours after the Supreme Court ruling,…
Via X Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) suggested Tucker Carlson should run for president after President Trump told ABC News that Carlson had "lost his way." Why it matters: Carlson is one of the right's most-influential voices and he will remain so as long as influential figures like Greene want to see him in the White House. - Carlson has said no to a presidential bid in the past, and the highly likely scenario is that he backs Vice President JD Vance's expected campaign to succeed Trump in 2028. Catch up quick: "Tucker has lost his way," Trump told ABC New's Jonathan Karl in a phone interview. "I knew that a long time ago, and he's not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is…
Oil and gasoline prices are marching upward again Friday, even as Trump administration officials seek ways to get more barrels into the market. Why it matters: Ships avoiding the Strait of Hormuz and military threats to regional infrastructure are together shocking oil and natural gas markets. - "There's no doubt that what's happening now is an order of magnitude bigger — in terms of potential fallout for oil markets — than Russia's invasion of Ukraine," writes Robin Brooks, a Brookings Institution economist. The big picture: The global benchmark Brent crude is trading around $88 Friday morning, up roughly $16 since military strikes against Iran began. - And don't forget that prices had already jumped in anticipation of the strikes,…
PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: Axel Springer, the German publisher behind U.S. liberal media powerhouse POLITICO, has acquired The Telegraph for £575 million, disrupting a planned takeover by Lord Rothermere, owner of The Daily Mail. WHO WAS INVOLVED: Axel Springer, Mathias Döpfner, The Telegraph, RedBird IMI, Lord Rothermere, and the Barclay family. WHEN & WHERE: The […] The post POLITICO’s German Giant Owner in Stunning $770M Raid of Right-Leaning Telegraph. appeared first on The National Pulse .
PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: Axel Springer, the German publisher behind U.S. liberal media powerhouse POLITICO, has acquired The Telegraph for £575 million, disrupting a planned takeover by Lord Rothermere, owner of The Daily Mail. WHO WAS INVOLVED: Axel Springer, Mathias Döpfner, The Telegraph, RedBird IMI, Lord Rothermere, and the Barclay family. WHEN & WHERE: The acquisition was announced on March 6, impacting the global media landscape. KEY QUOTE: “Now our dream comes true. To be the owner of this institution of quality British journalism is a privilege and a duty.” – Mathias Döpfner IMPACT: The acquisition marks Axel Springer’s largest move into the UK market, with potential implications for media plurality and public…Open
