Google has updated Google Maps to display Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for users in the United States, following a Trump executive order and a corresponding change made by the US Geographic Names Information System. Canadian users will still see "Lake Ontario," while users elsewhere in the world will see both names listed together. Apple Maps has not yet made the switch but is expected to follow, having previously adopted the "Gulf of America" relabeling.
engadget.com
· 2026-08-30
Amid escalating political pressure from President Trump on the Federal Reserve, commentators are floating ways to strengthen the central bank's accountability mechanisms as a means of preserving its independence. The proposals aim to balance greater oversight of the Fed's decisions with protecting its ability to set monetary policy free from short-term political interference.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-30
Alt-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos was taken into custody by ICE on Thursday and has now been deported to the United Kingdom, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed. Yiannopoulos, a British citizen, entered the US legally in 2019 but overstayed his visa and skipped an immigration court hearing, prompting a final removal order issued on July 22.
theverge.com
· 2026-08-29
President Trump called Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's cellphone in the middle of a company-wide staff meeting on Thursday, with Trump's voice audible through Huang's onstage microphone before Huang briefly stepped away and returned within a minute. The call came the same day Nvidia launched an employee-funded political action committee and a day after the company posted quarterly revenue of $96 billion, up 106 percent year over year.
wired.com
· 2026-08-28
Deloitte has agreed to pay $21.5 million to resolve a Justice Department investigation alleging the firm considered race and gender in hiring and promotion decisions, in violation of federal law. The settlement caps roughly a year of quiet DOJ scrutiny into diversity, equity and inclusion policies at major corporations under the Trump administration.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-28
The EPA issued guidance stating that the Clean Air Act's Acid Rain Program does not apply to 'islanded' power generation facilities—those not connected to the public electricity grid. The move is aimed at making it easier for companies to build dedicated power plants for data centers without triggering certain federal pollution compliance requirements tied to grid-connected generation.
epa.gov
· 2026-08-28
New research from Andy Masley finds that public opposition to data centers stems mainly from local economic and environmental impacts rather than distrust of AI or Big Tech. Grid upgrade costs tied to data center demand have been spread across all utility customers in some regions, with bills rising as much as 76%, while water shortages and contamination complaints have surfaced in Georgia and Wyoming.
techspot.com
· 2026-08-28
A federal judge determined that the Trump administration's designation of AI company Anthropic as a supply-chain risk was unlawful retaliation against the company. The ruling found the government's action violated Anthropic's First Amendment rights.
wsj.com
· 2026-08-28
A California district judge ruled that the Defense Department's decision to designate Anthropic a supply chain risk earlier this year violated the First Amendment. The court found the move came after Anthropic refused to drop restrictions barring its AI from being used for mass surveillance of Americans or fully autonomous lethal weapons systems, part of a broader Pentagon push to renegotiate AI vendor contracts.
theverge.com
· 2026-08-27
The Wall Street Journal reports that Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE's national security advisor, and co-investors control a 49% stake through StringZ Holding RSC in WLTC Holdings, the parent company of a planned Trump-linked crypto bank. A Trump family-affiliated entity holds an additional 38% stake. Tahnoon previously invested $500 million in World Liberty Financial, another Trump-backed crypto venture, in January 2025.
cnbc.com
· 2026-08-27
Politico reports the Trump administration is considering wide-ranging tariffs that could extend beyond raw semiconductors to products built with them, such as gaming consoles, servers and data-center equipment, with an announcement possible within weeks or months. Sources familiar with internal discussions say the exact scope remains unsettled, but one option under review would sharply broaden the list of taxed tech goods.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-08-27
Citing eight unnamed sources, POLITICO reports the Trump administration is considering a second wave of semiconductor tariffs that would hit finished products like laptops, gaming consoles, and data center servers, not just chips themselves. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly favors tying duty-free chip import limits to each company's committed U.S. manufacturing output, and officials have signaled that exemptions granted under January's Proclamation 11002 for data centers, startups, and consumer devices might not survive into this next phase.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-08-27
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