World, US, Culture, Market, and Sci-Tech News Aggregation from MSM and Independent News
The European Union on Tuesday postponed the unveiling of a law that would permanently ban Russian oil imports, coming amid supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East.
The April 15 unveiling date has reportedly been removed from the European Commission’s REPowerEU roadmap calendar.
EU Commission energy spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said a new date has not yet been determined, but stressed that Brussels remains “committed to making this proposal.”
Chevron CEO Issues a Stark Warning. Oil Prices Haven’t Peaked. Barron’s
from news.google.com
Good morning. AI is escaping the screen, and that should be setting off both alarms and opportunities in the finance function.
Deloitte’s new CFO Guide to Tech Trends 2026 explores how finance leaders can think strategically about emerging technologies and embrace what’s possible, which in turn elevates their function’s value and helps shape what’s next for their entire organization.
One tech trend on the rise is AI-enabled robotics. AI is no longer confined to dashboards and copilots. “Physical AI,” which is the convergence of AI with robotics, sensors, and real-world systems, marks a turning point. As Deloitte notes, intelligence is becoming “embodied” in factories, warehouses, and supply chains, where autonomous systems can optimize operations in real time. For example, BMW is testing humanoid robots to handle tasks that traditional industrial robots cannot perform, according to Deloitte. Meanwhile, the Bank of America Institute projects that the material costs of a humanoid robot could fall from $35,000 in 2025 to between $13,000 and $17,000 by 2035.
AI chip facility coming to Austin, Elon Musk announces FOX 7 Austin
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Senate Democrats spent five weeks playing hardball over funding the Department of Homeland Security. Now, with ICE agents winning over airport travelers and key Republicans strategizing with the White House, it looks as if Democrats are starting to cave.
According to a new report from Punchbowl News, Democrats are signaling they might accept a deal — one that funds most of the department, but carves out ICE migrant removal operations. Republicans, rather than folding, are preparing to fund those ICE operations themselves through a party-line reconciliation bill.
For the first time in more than a month, there’s optimism that the Senate and the White House can finally find a path to reopening the Department of Homeland Security. Key Senate Republicans returned from the White House late Monday with a noticeably upbeat demeanor over the state of the talks with President Donald Trump, who had just rebuffed a GOP-backed off-ramp.
The framework under discussion would fund all of DHS except for ICE’s migrant removal operations, and could eventually include some reforms that Democrats have been demanding.
Republicans would then try to fund the rest of ICE via a party-line reconciliation bill.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin just unveiled plans to shoot dangerous asteroids with an ion cannon or ram them out of orbit entirely supercarblondie.com
from news.google.com
Japan will start releasing oil from state reserves on Thursday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday, as concerns over supply mount and oil prices soar amid the ongoing…
from japantoday.com
Epic Games said on Tuesday (Mar 24) it would cut more than 1,000 jobs after a drop in engagement for Fortnite, its flagship title, the latest cuts in the video-game industry whose growth has stalled amid economic uncertainty.
The cuts, along with more than US$500 million in savings from lower contracting and marketing spending and unfilled roles would put the company in “a more stable place,” Chief Executive Tim Sweeney said in a note to employees.
The cuts are the latest in the gaming sector, where companies have faced weaker growth as consumers have been sticking with proven titles amid economic uncertainty.
But even those, especially live services games, which depend on a steady stream of new content to keep players engaged, are now showing signs of cracks.
Is AI replacing engineers? Salesforce says it no longer needs to hire them People Matters – HR News
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Trump casts a mail-in ballot in Florida special election as he tries to sharply limit absentee voting AppleValleyNewsNow.com
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Elon Musk unveils mega AI chip project Terafab for Tesla and SpaceX in Austin; says it will ‘redefine chi The Times of India
from news.google.com
Bezos wants 51,600 data satellites Advanced Television
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President Donald Trump is demanding that any deal with Democrats to fund the Department of Homeland Security includes an agreement on requiring photo identification and proof of citizenship in federal elections
The demand merges two battles that Congress has failed to resolve.
“I don’t think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass ‘THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday night.
“In other words, lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!! Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary.”
The SAVE America Act, if signed into law, would require photo identification and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
Trump has called for the bill to include restrictions on transgender procedures for minors, transgender participation in women’s sports, and mail-in ballots.
Venezuela forgets about Maduro and starts down an irreversible path EL PAÍS English
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The main U.S. indexes were on track to open higher on Monday after President Donald Trump said he would order the military to postpone strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure following “productive conversations” with Tehran.
Iran’s Fars News Agency, however, disputed Trump’s statement, citing a source who said there had been no direct communication with the United States, nor via intermediaries. Israel’s military said it was conducting strikes on Iran.
Still, global markets staged a sharp recovery after Trump’s comments, with Europe’s STOXX 600 and precious metals turning positive, while oil prices fell, signaling improving risk appetite.
IMPERIAL — Whenever the weather changes suddenly, or the skyline becomes shrouded in a windy haze, Fernanda Camarillo braces herself for an asthma attack.
Her condition has become more manageable, but the 27-year-old said it’s still scary when her chest tightens and she starts to wheeze. It was one of her first thoughts when she heard about plans to develop a massive data center next to her home in Imperial County, a farming community near the border of Mexico that struggles with poor air quality.
President Donald Trump is temporarily suspending a key U.S. shipping rule as the Iran conflict tightens its grip on global energy markets.
The White House confirmed Wednesday that Trump issued a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act, the century-old law requiring goods shipped between U.S. ports to travel on American-built, American-owned vessels crewed mostly by U.S. citizens.
The move is aimed at easing pressure as oil prices surge and supply routes get squeezed.
“President Trump’s decision to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver is just another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market as the U.S. military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on X. “This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days, and the Administration remains committed to continuing to strengthen our critical supply chains.”
There are fears that a period of elevated oil and gas prices could trigger a damaging wave of global inflation.
Oil prices have risen more than 5 percent following an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gasfield as the United States-Israeli war on the country continues to escalate.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 5 percent to $108.66 a barrel on Wednesday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1, the price barometer for US oil, gained 2.5 percent to $98.65, widening its discount to Brent to the largest since May 2019 on fears of a prolonged conflict.
Late last year, my colleague Elizabeth Stauffer reported that “ultra-conservative” candidate José Antonio Kast had won a landslide victory in Chile’s presidential election.
And by “ultra-conservative,” what is really meant is running for office by promising to take actions that normal people want and need. Kast, a Roman Catholic and lawyer, had a campaign centered on restoring order, cracking down on crime and illegal immigration, and revitalizing Chile’s market-oriented economic model through spending cuts and pro-business reforms.
How is Kast doing at this point? Less than a week after his inauguration, construction of a border wall between Chile and Peru began.
Less than a week after his inauguration, Chile’s arch-conservative president on Monday began overseeing preparations to build a border barrier — part of his flagship campaign promise to block immigrants from crossing illegally.
From Chile’s northern frontier area of Chacalluta, where legions of immigrants have slipped across the Peruvian border into one of the region’s most prosperous nations, Kast vowed to implement what he calls his “Border Shield” plan. Among other steps, it involves the construction of a physical barrier at the nation’s northern border made up of ditches and fences and patrolled by drones and the military forces.
…Kast assured the public that “for all of Chile, this is a milestone.”
“We have taken clear and concrete decisions to close our border to illegal immigration, drug trafficking and organized crime,” he said. “We want to implement this without any delay.”
With AI becoming increasingly present in everyday life, the race to build AI infrastructure is only speeding up. At the center of that race is the rapid creation of data centers, with new ones opening on a nearly weekly basis in America. But as more data centers begin to integrate AI infrastructure, the amount of electricity required to operate them is growing at an alarming rate. Data centers are now expected to account for roughly 40 percent of US power demand growth in 2026, and the gap between what we need and what we can build is widening fast.
On today’s episode of Explain to Shane, I am joined by Lynne Kiesling, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she leads the Electricity Technology, Regulation, and Market Design Working Group. Kiesling also directs the Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics at the Northwestern University Center on Law, Business, and Economics, and is a member of the US Department of Energy’s Electricity Advisory Committee. I am also joined by Steve DelBianco, president and CEO of NetChoice and a seasoned expert on internet governance. Their combined expertise on this issue can help us understand how we can power the AI revolution.
Drone Warfare and the Future of Korean Armor Modern War Institute –
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Democrats’ refusal to fund the Department of Homeland Security has exceeded any hypothesis of good faith. It is an unpatriotic attack on America’s frontline of defense during a time of war and potential Iranian sleeper cells, and an inexcusable burden on the department’s employees.
Last week, all Senate Democrats, except John Fetterman, again voted to block funding for DHS.
Financed in part by malign foreign powers who seek to defeat the United States, radical left activists have co-opted the Democratic Party. Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, head of the supposedly centrist New Democrat Coalition, typifies the illogic. “My concern about DHS is their absolute disregard of the Constitution and American citizens’ civil rights,” he said, adding, “So until we see officers who abuse citizens’ civil rights held to full account, until we restore full congressional oversight, I’m not giving another penny to ICE and CBP.”
The Pentagon is reportedly seeking over $200 billion from the US Congress to fund President Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran. If approved, the war funds will boost the US military campaign that began on February 28 and ramp up the production of weapons used during the conflict, according to a report by The Washington Post.
It’s been nearly three weeks since the US, along with Israel, began airstrikes against Iran to dismantle what the US military calls the “Iranian regime’s security apparatus.” So far, American forces have struck more than 7,800 targets and made over 8,000 combat flights and damaged or destroyed more than 120 Iranian vessels, according to U.S. Central Command.
U.S. companies will be allowed to do business with Venezuela’s state-owned oil and gas company after the Treasury Department eased sanctions, with some limitations, on Wednesday as the Trump administration looks for ways to boost world oil supplies during the Iran war.
The Treasury issued a broad authorization allowing Petróleos de Venezuela S.A, or PDVSA, to directly sell Venezuelan oil to U.S. companies and on global markets, a massive shift after Washington for years had largely blocked dealings with Venezuela’s government and its oil sector.
Separately, the White House said Trump would waive, for 60 days, Jones Act requirements for goods shipped between U.S. ports to be moved on U.S.-flagged vessels. The 1920s law, designed to protect the American shipbuilding sector, is often blamed for making gas more expensive.
The moves highlight the increased pressure that the Republican administration is under to ease soaring oil prices as the United States, along with Israel, wages a war with Iran without a foreseeable end date. Global oil prices have since spiked as Iran halted traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.