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Shipping Nvidia’s H20 chips to China was “great” for Beijing and Washington and not a security threat, the tech giant’s chief said Friday.  The California-based company produces some of the world’s most advanced semiconductors but cannot ship its most cutting-edge chips to China due to concerns from Washington that Beijing could use them to enhance military capabilities.Nvidia developed the H20 — a less powerful version of its AI processing units — specifically for export to China. That plan stalled when the Trump administration tightened export licensing requirements in April.The H20 was “not a national security concern”, Jensen Huang told reporters in Taipei, describing the chip as “great for America” and “great for the Chinese market”.Huang insisted there were “no security backdoors” in the H20 chip allowing remote access, after China summoned company representatives to discuss security issues. “We have made very clear and put to rest that H20 has no security backdoors, there are no such things, there never has, and so hopefully the response that we’ve given to the Chinese government will be sufficient,” Huang said.He sidestepped a question about reports that Nvidia would pay the United States 15 percent of its revenues from the sale of H20 chips to China, which US President Donald Trump confirmed last week.Instead, Huang expressed gratitude to the Trump administration for allowing the chips to be shipped to the Chinese market. “The demand I believe is quite great and so the ability to ship products to, H20s to China, is very much appreciated,” the CEO said.Huang also said Nvidia is in talks with the US government about a new chip for China.”Offering a new product to China for the data center, AI data centers, the follow on to H20, that’s not our decision to make. It’s up to of course the United States government, and we’re in dialogue with them but it’s too soon to know,” he said.Huang met with Trump at the White House this month and agreed to give the federal government the cut from its revenues, a highly unusual arrangement in the international tech trade, according to reports in the Financial Times, Bloomberg and The New York Times.Investors are betting that AI will transform the global economy, and last month Nvidia — the world’s most valuable company and a leading designer of high-end AI chips — became the first company ever to hit $4 trillion in market value.The firm has, however, become entangled in trade tensions between China and the United States, which are waging a heated battle for dominance to produce the chips that power AI.It comes as the Trump administration has been imposing stiff tariffs, with goals varying from addressing US trade imbalances, wanting to reshore manufacturing and pressuring foreign governments to change policies.A 100 percent tariff on many semiconductor imports came into effect this month, with exceptions for tech companies that announce major investments in the United States.

Republican-controlled Texas and Democrat-run California forged ahead Thursday with creating new congressional maps, in a cutthroat struggle to tilt the outcome of next year’s US midterm elections.The battle between the country’s two largest states was set off by President Donald Trump’s drive to protect the thin Republican majority in the US House of Representatives and avoid becoming mired in Democratic Party investigations from 2027.Under pressure from Trump, Texas fired the starting gun in a tussle that pro-democracy activists warn could spread nationwide. Its state house on Wednesday approved new congressional boundaries that would likely eke out five extra Republican districts.The state senate is expected to green-light the bill on Friday morning and send it to Governor Greg Abbott for a signature.California Governor Gavin Newsom — an early frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination — struck back with a plan for a new map that would likely cancel out Texas by adding five Democratic seats.The state’s legislature on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the plan, with thumping majorities in the house and the senate, both of which are Democrat controlled.”We will not let our political system be hijacked by authoritarianism,” Speaker Robert Rivas said, shortly before the vote.”Today, we give every Californian the power to say no… to Donald Trump’s power grab and yes to our people, to our state and to our democracy.”Voters will now be asked if they want to temporarily redraw constituency boundaries for elections, up to and including 2030.The Texas House approved its new district boundaries after a two-week drama sparked by Democrats fleeing the state in an effort to block the vote and draw nationwide attention to the issue of partisan redistricting, known as “gerrymandering.”The Senate Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting passed the new map in a 5-3 vote Thursday lunchtime, teeing up a Friday vote of the full chamber.Redistricting usually occurs once every decade, taking into account population changes registered in the latest census.- ‘Clinging to power’ -The unusual mid-decade effort in Texas is expected to spark a tit-for-tat battle, potentially dragging in liberal-leaning Illinois and New York, and conservative Florida, Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana and Missouri. “The Great State of Missouri is now IN,” Trump announced Thursday on social media, in a post understood to be referring to redistricting.”I’m not surprised. It is a great State with fabulous people. I won it, all 3 times, in a landslide. We’re going to win the Midterms in Missouri again, bigger and better than ever before!”But New York’s Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul called the push the “last gasp of a desperate party clinging to power,” warning Trump that she would “meet him on the same field and beat him at his own game.” Former president Barack Obama endorsed California’s retaliation as a “smart and measured” response to anti-democratic moves by Trump.”(Since) Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House and gerrymandering in the middle of a decade to try and maintain the House despite their unpopular policies, I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this,” he said.Newsom has a tougher task than Abbott in pushing through the redistricting plans, as California voters must first agree in a referendum in November to bypass the independent commission that normally controls the process. Californians have traditionally been wary of partisan redistricting, and while Democrats have called for independent commissions nationwide, a new Politico-UC Berkeley Citrin Center poll shows they would make an exception for the pushback against Texas.Republicans are suing Democrats, alleging that November’s vote would be unlawful, although the California Supreme Court rejected an initial challenge late Wednesday.”Yes, we’ll fight fire with fire. Yes, we will push back. It’s not about whether we play hardball anymore — it’s about how we play hardball,” Newsom said in a call with reporters. 

A curious bear on the hunt for something sweet found itself behind the counter of a California ice cream shop over the weekend.The big animal appeared to be making itself right at home when sheriff’s deputies turned up to investigate in the resort city of South Lake Tahoe early Sunday.Officers shooed the ursine server out of the shop, but not before snapping a few pictures of their encounter.”With some encouragement, the bear ultimately left, but only after showing interest in the strawberry ice cream,” said a post on the Facebook page of El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.”Thankfully, Fuzzy the bear caused barely any property damage and there was barely any cleanup.”Bears are common in California and frequently go looking for food in human settlements, including entering homes or vehicles.Attacks on people are rare, but the animals can sometimes cause damage, especially when they cannot find a way out.

President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday abruptly stopped issuing US visas for truck drivers after a fatal crash drew national attention, its latest sweeping step against foreign visitors.”Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X.”The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” he wrote.Rubio’s action came after a truck driver was charged with killing three people on a highway in Florida while making an illegal U-turn.Harjinder Singh, who is from India, allegedly entered the United States illegally from Mexico and failed an English examination after the crash, according to federal officials.The case has gathered wide media attention and has been highlighted by officials in Florida, controlled by Trump’s Republican Party, with the lieutenant governor flying to California to extradite Singh personally alongside immigration agents on Thursday.The crash has taken on a political dimension in part as Singh received his commercial license in California and also lived in the West Coast state, which is run by the rival Democratic Party and opposes Trump’s crackdown on immigration.”This crash was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office responded that the federal government under Trump had issued a work permit to Singh, who sought asylum, and that California had cooperated in extraditing him.Even before the crash, Republican lawmakers have been taking aim at foreign truckers, pointing to a rising number of accidents without providing evidence of a direct link to immigrants.In June, Duffy issued a directive that truck drivers must speak English.Truck drivers have long been required to pass tests that include basic English proficiency but in 2016 under former president Barack Obama, authorities were told not to take truckers off the road solely on account of language deficiencies.- Changing face of truckers -The number of foreign-born truck drivers in the United States more than doubled between 2000 and 2021 to 720,000, according to federal statistics.Foreign-born drivers now make up 18 percent of the industry — in line with the US labor market as a whole, but a departure for a profession long identified with white, working-class men.More than half of the foreign-born drivers come from Latin America with sizable numbers in recent years from India and Eastern European nations, especially Ukraine, according to industry groups.The influx of foreign drivers has come in response to demand. A study earlier this year by the financial company altLine said the United States faced a shortage of 24,000 truck drivers, costing the freight industry $95.5 million per week as goods go undelivered.- Widening visa curbs -Trump has long made opposition to immigration a signature issue, rising to political prominence in 2016 with vows to build a wall on the Mexican border. Rubio has taken a starring role in Trump’s efforts by cracking down on visas. The State Department said this week that it has rescinded more than 6,000 student visas since Trump took office — four times more than during the same period last year — and an official said all 55 million foreigners with US visas are liable to “continuous vetting.”Rubio has ordered scrutiny of applicants’ social media accounts and proudly removed students who campaigned against Israel’s offensive in Gaza, using a law that allows him to rescind visas for people deemed to counter US foreign policy interests. The State Department over the weekend also paused visitor visas meant for severely wounded children from Gaza to receive treatment.The decision came after Laura Loomer — a far-right activist close to Trump who has described the September 11, 2001 terror attack as an inside job — said she spoke to Rubio and warned of “Islamic invaders” from Gaza.

President Donald Trump visited police and troops Thursday that he has deployed in the US capital in what he calls a crackdown on crime, saying they were going to “stay here for a while.”Trump ordered hundreds of members of the Guard, a reserve force, to deploy in Washington last week vowing to “take our capital back,” despite protests by some residents and statistics showing violent offenses falling.”We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while. We want to make this absolutely perfect,” the Republican said outside a US Park Police facility in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington.He was surrounded by law enforcement from various local and federal agencies as well as National Guard troops.Earlier Thursday the 79-year-old had suggested he would go on patrol with police and the military, but instead he made a short speech and gave out pizzas and hamburgers. “Everybody feels safe,” he said, adding that he plans to get the capital “fixed up physically.” “One of the things we’re going to be redoing is your parks. I’m very good at grass, because I have a lot of golf courses all over the place. I know more about grass than any human being,” the billionaire added.He spoke one day after his vice president, JD Vance, was greeted by boos and shouts of “Free DC” — referring to Washington’s formal name, the District of Columbia — on his own meet-and-greet with troops. Vance dismissed the hecklers as “a bunch of crazy protesters.”The DC National Guard has mobilized 800 troops, while Republican states Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia are sending a total of around 1,200.They have been spotted in tourist areas such as the National Mall and its monuments, the Nationals Park baseball stadium and others.The overwhelmingly Democratic US capital faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged.But data from Washington police showed significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, though that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.Some residents have welcomed the crackdown, pointing to crime in their areas — but others have complained the show of force is unnecessary, or has not been seen in parts of Washington where violence is concentrated.- Sandwich guy -Several incidents involving the surge of law enforcement have gone viral as residents voice their discontent, including the arrest of one man who was caught on camera throwing a sandwich at an agent.Banksy-style posters honoring the so-called “sandwich guy” have popped up around the city. The National Guard troops have provided “critical support such as crowd management, presence patrols and perimeter control in support of law enforcement,” according to statements on their official X account.In addition to sending troops into the streets, Trump has also sought to take full control of the Washington police department, attempting at one point to sideline its leadership.The deployment of troops in Washington comes after Trump dispatched the National Guard and Marines to quell unrest in Los Angeles, California, that was sparked by immigration enforcement raids.

Rotting bodies, some of them up to 15 years old, were found behind a fake door at a US funeral home run by a county coroner, official documents said.Inspectors who arrived at the Davis Mortuary in Colorado for a regular annual inspection on Wednesday noticed “a strong odor of decomposition,” said documents published by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.Officials also noticed a door at the premises in Pueblo, near Colorado Springs, that was hidden by a cardboard display.The funeral home’s operator, Brian Cotter — who also serves as Pueblo County coroner — asked the inspectors not to go into the room.When they did, they found “several bodies in various states of decomposition,” documents said.”Mr Cotter stated that the bodies were awaiting cremation and admitted that some bodies had been in the room for approximately 15 years. “Mr Cotter admitted to inspectors that he may have issued next-of-kin fake cremains.”Inspectors ordered the mortuary to stop doing business at once.According to the Pueblo County website, Cotter has served as the county’s coroner since 2014.The site said he has “over 25 years of death care experience as a local mortician, a state death investigator, and a diplomat for the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators.”Cotter did not immediately respond to messages from AFP.Colorado is no stranger to rogue funeral directors.Last year the cremated remains of dozens of people were found in a house as it was being cleaned following the eviction of its former occupant, a one-time funeral director.A hearse discovered on the premises contained the body of a woman who had died 18 months earlier.In 2023, nearly 200 decomposing bodies were found in a decrepit funeral home after neighbors complained of a foul smell at the property near Colorado Springs.And in 2018 the FBI found that directors of one establishment were selling body parts around the world, and giving grieving families cement mix instead of cremains.The Denver Post has reported that Colorado is the only state in the US in which funeral home directors do not need a license, and homes themselves are only lightly regulated.

A divided US Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the green light on Thursday to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants linked to diversity initiatives.A federal judge in Massachusetts had blocked the planned cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants in June, saying they amounted to racial discrimination and LGBTQ prejudice.The Trump administration has targeted nearly $800 million in NIH research funding for elimination as part of its campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion policies.In a 5-4 vote, the conservative-majority Supreme Court allowed the cuts to go ahead while legal challenges continue in lower courts.Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, sided with the three liberal justices on the top court in the minority.The targeted diversity grants represent only a fraction of the more than $10 billion in NIH research and contracts that have been put on the chopping block since President Donald Trump took office in January.Other affected projects include studies on the health effects of global warming, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.Trump has launched a sweeping overhaul of the US scientific establishment in his second term — slashing funding, attacking universities, and overseeing mass layoffs of scientists across federal agencies.

A nearly naked Lil Nas X was picked up by police Thursday after being found wandering through Los Angeles in just his underwear and a pair of white cowboy boots.Video posted on TMZ appeared to show the “Old Town Road” artist almost in the buff as he strutted down the major thoroughfare in the city.The rapper repeatedly addressed the passerby taking the video, urging them: “Don’t be late to the party tonight.”It was not clear which party he was referring to or where he was headed, as he walked along the center median of the near-empty street.At one point he asked the person filming — who was apparently sitting in a car — to hand over the phone so he can throw it away.”I wanna throw it far away so you never see it again. I don’t like phones.””Didn’t I tell you to put the phone down? Uh-oh, somebody’s gonna have to pay for that,” he said as he theatrically wagged his finger.A spokesman for Los Angeles Police Department told AFP that officers had been called to the Studio City area just before dawn.”There was a nude man walking in the street,” the spokesman said.”Upon arrival the suspect charged at officers. He was taken into custody and taken to a local hospital for a possible overdose and placed under arrest for battery on a police officer.”The spokesman said he was unable to provide the identity of the man.Photos published by TMZ appear to show the flamboyant star putting a traffic cone on his head.There was no immediate comment from Lil Nas X or his representatives.

The US and EU released details of a trade deal Thursday that foresees lower car tariffs but no relief for Europe’s wine sector, but Brussels said it would push for further concessions.US President Donald Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen clinched a framework accord in July for most EU exports to face a 15-percent US levy.But many aspects remained unclear, as the EU sought to win carve-outs for some sectors and Trump threatened higher tariffs on others.A joint statement Thursday brought some clarity, although negotiations are not over and some moving parts remain.The “maximum, all-inclusive” 15-percent rate would apply to the vast majority of European exports, including cars, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber, the EU said.”This is the most favourable trade deal the US has extended to any partner,” EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic told journalists in Brussels, explaining the levy will not come on top of existing tariffs.In recent weeks Trump had raised the possibility of additional tariffs hitting certain sectors such as pharmaceuticals, which account for 20 percent of the EU’s exports to the United States, and semiconductors.Sefcovic said he was confident that the rate for cars, which is lower than the current 27.5 percent, will apply retroactively from August 1, having received assurances on the matter from his US counterpart.But this will happen only once the EU introduces legislation to eliminate its own tariffs on US industrial products, something Sefcovic said the commission was “working very hard” on.Welcoming the clarity provided by the joint statement, Sigrid de Vries, director of European auto lobby ACEA, urged the commission to implement its part of the deal “without delay, mitigating the tariff impact which already has cost automakers millions of euros in duties every day.”- Wine woes -The 15-percent rate will also apply to wine and spirits despite a push by France, Italy and other wine-making countries to win a zero tariff exemption.”Unfortunately, here we didn’t succeed,” Sefcovic said, adding negotiations would continue, but did not want to give “false promises”. “These doors are not closed forever,” he said.The French wine exporters federation said it was “hugely disappointed”.”We are certain that this will create major difficulties for the wines and spirits sector,” said the head of the wine and spirits federation FEVS Gabriel Picard.France exports 25 percent of its wines and spirits to the United States and Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said “the situation cannot remain unresolved”.In a post on X, she called the agreement “unbalanced” and said European negotiators needed to make the issue a priority as a matter of urgency. She also expected “strong European measures to support producers”.Christophe Chateau, a spokesman for a group representing Bordeaux wine producers, described this as “bad news” — but better than the worst case scenario, as Trump had at one point threatened tariffs as high as 200 percent.”It further hinders the trade and export of Bordeaux wines to the United States,” which is by far their largest market, Chateau told AFP. The US Distilled Spirits Council, a trade group, also expressed disappointment, saying it favoured tariff-free trade on both sides of the Atlantic. “These new higher tariffs on EU spirits products will further compound the challenges facing restaurants and bars nationwide,” said the group’s CEO, Chris Swonger. – Bisons and planes –   French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said his government would seek “additional exemptions” in the trade deal.The office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the agreement was “not yet an ideal or final point” but a “trade war” had been avoided. Under the agreement, the EU committed to significantly improving market access to a range of US seafood and agricultural goods, including tree nuts, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, pork and bison meat.On the other hand, a special more favourable regime will apply as of September 1 to a number of EU exports to the US including “unavailable natural resources” such as cork, all aircraft and aircraft parts and generic pharmaceuticals.These would effectively face a “zero or close to zero” rate, the commission said.”Faced with a challenging situation, we have delivered for our Member States and industry, and restored clarity and coherence to transatlantic trade,” said commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.”This is not the end of the process, we continue to engage with the US to agree more tariff reductions, to identify more areas of cooperation, and to create more economic growth potential”.ub-burs/phz/jxb

Google will provide its Gemini artificial intelligence tools to US federal agencies practically free, the government announced Thursday.A suite of AI and cloud computing services called “Gemini for Government” from Google is intended to speed the adoption of the technology across the US government, the General Services Administration (GSA) said in a joint statement.”Gemini for Government gives federal agencies access to our full stack approach to AI innovation,” added Google chief executive Sundar Pichai.”So they can deliver on their important missions.”AI tools being provided include generation of video, images, or ideas as well as digital “agents” capable of independently tending to complex tasks.US agencies will pay a scant fee of less than a dollar for the AI tools, building on a previous agreement that saw Google Workspace software provided to the government at a major price discount, according to the GSA.”Federal agencies can now significantly transform their operations by using the tools in Gemini for Government,” said GSA acting administrator Michael Rigas.The deal comes just weeks after Google rival OpenAI said it was letting the US government use a version of ChatGPT designed for businesses for a year for just $1.”By giving government employees access to powerful, secure AI tools, we can help them solve problems for more people, faster,” OpenAI said in a blog post announcing the alliance.Earlier this year, the US Department of Defense awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to put generative AI to work for the military.OpenAI planned to show how cutting-edge AI can improve administrative operations, such as how service members get health care, and also has cyber defense applications, the startup said in a post.