GoKawiil
Tech News
The US Department of Transportation finalized a rule lowering fuel economy targets, replacing the Biden administration's requirement of 50.4 miles per gallon by model year 2031 with a 34.9 mpg standard. The agency called it one of the largest deregulatory moves of the second Trump administration and said it would cut $1,300 off the average cost of a new vehicle, saving $138 billion over five years.
The Trump administration is set to release new fuel economy standards Monday that would lower fleetwide mileage requirements for gasoline-powered cars and light trucks, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The proposed target is roughly 34.5 miles per gallon by 2031, down from the 50.4 mpg figure projected under Biden-era rules.
Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, is scheduled to attend a dinner at the White House with President Trump. The meeting comes despite prior friction between Anthropic and the administration over AI safety concerns and calls for tighter regulation of American AI firms.
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled 2-1 that the Trump administration acted within its authority under the Supply Chain Security Act when it barred federal agencies and defense contractors from using Anthropic's products. The panel found the government could blacklist Anthropic for refusing to enable certain AI capabilities even absent malicious intent, denying Anthropic's petition for review. Anthropic said it disagrees with the ruling and may seek en banc review or petition the Supreme Court.
A federal appeals court in Washington ruled 2-1 to uphold the Defense Department's designation of Anthropic as a national security supply chain risk, blocking the Pentagon and its contractors from using Claude AI models. The ruling addresses one of two separate designations the DOD used to justify the ban; a San Francisco court had already struck down the other designation last month. Anthropic said it disagrees with the decision and is considering further legal options.
The US Department of Justice filed to intervene in X's and Elon Musk's appeal against a €120 million fine the European Commission imposed last December for violating the Digital Services Act. Assistant attorney general Brett Shumate said the Commission had overstepped its authority in targeting an American company, and the case will be heard at the EU's General Court in Luxembourg.
The Trump administration's WISeR pilot, launched in January, uses AI to decide whether to approve certain Medicare treatments, a step not previously required for the program. Documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation through litigation revealed provider complaints about technical failures, long delays and denials, with one clinician describing patients crying in pain while awaiting decisions. The Government Accountability Office found in May that officials did not follow proper procedure in establishing the program, and last week Rep. Suzan DelBene's push for a committee vote to release more WISeR documents was defeated by Republicans.
The Trump administration is pursuing policies aimed at boosting domestic semiconductor production, including memory chips where the US lags foreign producers. However, proposed tariffs on imported components and materials could raise costs for American chipmakers trying to expand production.
Technology industry associations are pressing the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed Department of Homeland Security rule that would impose a $103,265 fee on H-1B visa applications. The proposal has revived long-running tensions between the administration and tech companies over the future of skilled-worker immigration policy.
Local governments across the US have filed objections to an FCC proposal that would impose a 120-day deadline on broadband permit approvals and limit fees they can charge providers. The FCC argues that local rules delay deployment and inflate costs, a position backed by broadband providers, while cities counter that the plan would undermine public safety oversight and exceeds federal authority. Groups including the League of California Cities and Minnesota municipalities say Congress never granted the FCC this preemptive power.
The Justice Department issued guidance stating that citizens and noncitizens engaging in public activity, including demonstrations, that furthers a foreign power's goals must register with the government or face criminal liability. Days earlier, President Trump posted on social media calling AI and data-center critics 'Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers' and linked opposition to AI development to China.
A temporary structure built on the National Mall this past July echoed the classical architecture of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The piece traces how that six-month fair became a recurring cultural touchstone, appearing in branding, conspiracy theories, and political imagery well over a century later.