U.S. House Passes SPEED Act to Streamline Permitting for Energy and Industrial Projects The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation designed to accelerate environmental reviews and simplify the permitting process for large-scale energy infrastructure projects, data centres, and factories. The measure aligns with President Donald Trump’s drive to boost domestic energy production, mining, and industrial expansion. The legislation, known as the SPEED Act, passed by a 221–196 vote, with 11 Democrats joining the Republican majority. It represents the most significant reform of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) since its inception during the Nixon administration, according to industry…
Author: Aishwarya Parikh
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Jared Isaacman Confirmed as Trump’s New NASA Chief The U.S. Senate has confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as President Donald Trump’s choice to head NASA, making him the agency’s 15th administrator. The confirmation, passed by a 67–30 vote on Wednesday, follows Isaacman’s pledge to accelerate America’s return to the Moon and advance Mars exploration efforts. A New Era for NASA Leadership Isaacman, a former associate of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, will oversee more than 14,000 NASA employees. His appointment marks a decisive moment for U.S. space policy as the agency invests billions of dollars into the Artemis programme. The…
Blue Origin Developing Orbital Data Centre Technology, Report Says Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin has been quietly developing technology to support artificial intelligence (AI) data centres in space for more than a year, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday. The move signals a new frontier in the competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, as both companies race to expand their reach beyond launch services into the emerging space-based computing sector. SpaceX Eyes AI Payloads for Starlink The report said SpaceX plans to use upgraded versions of its Starlink satellites to host…
Suspected Cyberattack Disrupts German Parliament Email System During U.S.-Ukraine Talks Germany’s lower house of parliament experienced a major email outage on Monday, with officials suspecting a cyberattack may have been responsible, according to a report by the Financial Times. The disruption coincided with high-level U.S.-Ukraine talks hosted by Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin. Four-Hour Email Disruption Members of the Bundestag were unable to access their official email accounts for more than four hours, three senior lawmakers told the Financial Times. The outage affected both parliamentary communications and administrative coordination, though the full extent of the impact remains unclear. German cybersecurity…
Tesla Board Earned Over $3 Billion in Stock Awards, Far Exceeding Industry Norms Tesla’s board of directors has collectively earned more than $3 billion through stock awards that have grown far beyond the original value of similar grants at other major U.S. technology companies, according to data analysed for Reuters by compensation and governance consultancy Equilar. The findings reveal that Tesla’s board members – including CEO Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk – have seen extraordinary gains tied to Tesla’s surging share price over the past decade. The analysis has reignited debate over governance standards at the electric carmaker, particularly given…
NAACP Unveils Plan to Curb Racial Bias in U.S. Healthcare AI The NAACP has released a comprehensive blueprint designed to ensure artificial intelligence (AI) in U.S. healthcare reduces, rather than reinforces, racial disparities. The 75-page report, Building a Healthier Future: Designing AI for Health Equity, calls for bias audits, transparency requirements, and “equity-first” standards as hospitals, technology firms and regulators increasingly adopt AI systems. “The NAACP is calling for urgent action to embed fairness, transparency, and community engagement into every stage of health AI development,” the report said. Shared exclusively with Reuters, the document urges the creation of data governance…
European EV Industry Urges Brussels to Uphold 2035 Zero-Emission Car Target Leaders from Europe’s electric vehicle sector have called on the European Commission to stand firm on its 2035 zero-emission target for new cars, warning that any weakening of the policy would threaten billions in investment and widen the competitiveness gap with China. Industry Pushback Against Possible Policy Reversal The appeal comes ahead of the Commission’s December 16 automotive package, which could introduce more flexibility in CO₂ targets and ease the planned phase-out of new combustion-engine car sales from 2035. The potential revision—supported by some German automakers and the European…
EU Names 19 Tech Giants as Critical Providers for Financial Sector European Union regulators have designated 19 major technology firms, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft, as critical third-party computing providers for the bloc’s financial industry. The move, announced on Tuesday, marks a key step in strengthening the EU’s defences against technology-related risks to the financial system. Oversight Under the Digital Operational Resilience Act The designations fall under the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which came into effect in January 2025. Under the legislation, the European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and the…
EU to Launch Antitrust Probe into Meta’s WhatsApp AI Integration Brussels is preparing to open a fresh antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms over the rollout of artificial intelligence features within WhatsApp, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The move signals mounting regulatory scrutiny of how major technology firms deploy generative AI tools on their platforms. Commission Targets Meta’s AI Expansion According to the report, the European Commission plans to investigate how the California-based company integrated its Meta AI system into WhatsApp earlier this year. Two officials cited by the newspaper said the probe would assess whether Meta’s approach could breach…
Apple Can Face Antitrust Lawsuit in Dutch Court, EU’s Top Court Rules Apple can be sued in the Netherlands for alleged antitrust violations linked to its App Store, the European Union’s highest court ruled on Tuesday. The decision paves the way for two Dutch consumer foundations to seek hundreds of millions of euros in damages from the iPhone maker. EU Court Clears Path for Dutch Lawsuit The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said that Dutch courts have the authority to hear the case brought by the Right to Consumer Justice and App Stores Claims foundations. The ruling…