AFP USA

President Donald Trump’s administration unveiled an aggressive, low-regulation strategy on Wednesday boosting big tech’s race to stay ahead of China on artificial intelligence and cement US dominance in the fast-expanding field.The 25-page “America’s AI Action Plan” outlines three aims: accelerating innovation, building infrastructure, and leading internationally on AI. Overall, the administration frames AI advancement as critical to maintaining economic and military supremacy. Environmental consequences in the planning document are sidelined.”We believe we’re in an AI race…and we want the United States to win that race,” said the White House’s AI point person David Sacks in a call with reporters.Trump was expected to formally announce the plan at an event later Wednesday and sign a series of executive orders to give key components of the strategy additional legal weight.In its collection of more than 90 government proposals, the plan calls for sweeping deregulation, with the administration promising to “remove red tape and onerous regulation” that could hinder private sector AI development.Much of that work has already been carried out through a Trump executive order repealing the AI policies of the Biden administration. The plan also asked the Federal Communications Commission to find ways to legally stop US states from implementing their own AI regulations and threatened to rescind federal aid to states that did so.The American Civil Liberties Union warned this would thwart “initiatives to uphold civil rights and shield communities from biased AI systems in areas like employment, education, health care, and policing.” The Trump action plan also calls for AI systems to be “free from ideological bias” and designed to pursue objective truth rather than what the administration calls “social engineering agendas.”This criterion would apply to AI companies wanting to do business with the US government.A senior White House official said the main target was AI models that gave attention to diversity and inclusion concerns in programming their model output — reflecting the Trump administration’s anti-“woke” agenda.A major focus in the plan involves building AI infrastructure, including streamlined permitting for data centers and energy facilities that would overlook environmental concerns to build as swiftly as possible.AI “challenges America to build vastly greater energy generation than we have today,” the plan said.The administration, which largely rejects international science showing a growing climate crisis, proposes creating new environmental review exemptions for data center construction and expanding access to federal lands for AI infrastructure development.- Job replacement -Addressing fears that AI will replace humans and create mass job losses across entire sectors, the administration’s plan says instead that “AI will improve the lives of Americans by complementing their work — not replacing it.”The strategy calls for efforts to “counter Chinese influence in international governance bodies” and strengthen export controls on advanced AI computing technology.The plan also proposes evaluating Chinese AI models “for alignment with Chinese Communist Party talking points and censorship.”At the same time, the strategy calls on the government to champion US technology in conquering overseas markets.These plans will help “ensure America sets the technological gold standard worldwide, and that the world continues to run on American technology,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.Critics of the plan said the policies were a gift to US tech giants that were scaling back their goals for zero carbon emissions in order to meet the acute computing needs for AI.”The AI Action Plan is yet another gift to Big Tech that clearly shows the Trump administration is again placing corporate interests ahead of the needs of everyday Americans,” said Alan Butler of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.  

The US health department said Wednesday it would end the use of a vaccine ingredient long targeted by conspiracy theorists over debunked claims it causes autism.Thimerosal, a preservative that prevents bacterial and fungal contamination in multidose vials, has been extensively studied, with authorities including the World Health Organization finding no evidence of harm.The move follows a vote by a panel of outside experts convened by Kennedy last month that voted to end the use of thimerosal in influenza vaccines for adults, pregnant people and children.Although the substance is now rarely used in US vaccines, the recommendations by the influential Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices alarmed experts, who said the move has effectively embedded talking points championed by the anti-vaccine movement into national policy.While 96 percent of US flu vaccines in the 2024-2025 season did not contain thimerosal, the preservative remains important in lower-income countries because they are more likely to use lower-cost multidose vials that must be punctured repeatedly, raising the risk of contamination.Thimerosal contains an artificial form of mercury called ethylmercury that is cleared from the body far more quickly than the form of the chemical found in nature. A large body of peer-reviewed scientific studies conducted in the United States and other countries support the safety of thimerosal-containing vaccines, but US manufacturers voluntarily removed it from most pediatric vaccines in 2001 on a precautionary basis.”After more than two decades of delay, this action fulfills a long-overdue promise to protect our most vulnerable populations from unnecessary mercury exposure,” Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. “Injecting any amount of mercury into children when safe, mercury-free alternatives exist defies common sense and public health responsibility. Today, we put safety first.”Vaccine manufacturers have confirmed they have the capacity to replace multi-dose vials containing thimerosal, ensuring supplies will remain uninterrupted, the statement added.”There is no evidence of harm from the use of thimerosal,” WHO vaccine chief Kate O’Brien told reporters last month after the US panel made its recommendations.”For some of the vaccine supply, this is a very important ingredient in order to assure that we have the doses that are needed to protect children from serious and life-threatening diseases,” she added.

US President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday launched an investigation into Harvard University’s ability to sponsor visiting students and academics, part of a continuing crackdown on the elite institution.Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly accused Harvard and other top US universities of having a “liberal” bias, accusing some of “antisemitism” to cut federal funding and demand greater oversight.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the latest investigation would examine whether the university was complying with regulations in the Exchange Visitor Program.That included probing whether the university was “conducting their programs in a manner that does not undermine the foreign policy objectives or compromise the national security interests of the United States.””The American people have the right to expect their universities to uphold national security, comply with the law, and provide safe environments for all students,” he said in a statement.Harvard has so far defied Trump’s calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and “viewpoint diversity.”Trump has cut federal grants for Harvard and tried a host of different tactics to block the institution from hosting international students.The administration has sought to remove Harvard from an electronic student immigration registry and instructed embassies to deny visas to international students hoping to attend the Massachusetts-based university.The administration insists its moves are legally justified over Harvard’s failure to protect Jewish students, particularly amid campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.Harvard has sued the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to block the efforts, arguing they are illegal and unconstitutional.The Ivy League institution has also sued to restore more than $2 billion in frozen funds. A Harvard spokesman did not immediately respond to a request from AFP for its response to the State Department investigation.

Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, filed a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday against a right-wing US podcaster who claimed the spouse of the French president used to be a man.The 218-page complaint against Candace Owens, who has millions of followers on X and YouTube, was filed by the Macrons in Delaware Superior Court and seeks a jury trial and unspecified punitive damages.In a statement released by their lawyer, the Macrons said they filed the lawsuit after Owens repeatedly ignored requests to retract false and defamatory statements made on an eight-part YouTube and podcast series called “Becoming Brigitte.””Owens’ campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety,” they said.”We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused.”It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all.”The suit accuses Owens of using her popular podcast to spread “verifiably false and devastating lies” about the Macrons including that Brigitte Macron was born a man, that they are blood relatives and that Macron was chosen to be France’s president as part of a CIA-operated mind control program.”If ever there was a clear-cut case of defamation, this is it,” Tom Clare, a lawyer for the Macrons, said in a statement.”Owens both promoted and expanded on those falsehoods and invented new ones, all designed to cause maximum harm to the Macrons and maximize attention and financial gain for herself.”Brigitte Macron, 72, has also taken to the courts in France to combat claims she was born a man.Two women were convicted in September of last year of spreading false claims after they posted a YouTube video in December 2021 alleging that Brigitte Macron had once been a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux — who is actually her brother.The ruling was overturned by a Paris appeals court and Macron appealed to the highest appeals court, the Court de Cassation, earlier this month.

US President Donald Trump has announced a “massive” trade deal with Japan, as China said it would send its vice premier to US trade talks next week to secure its own agreement ahead of a looming deadline.In an attempt to slash his country’s trade deficits, the US president has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariff hikes if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by August 1.The Japan agreement, along with another pact with the Philippines also announced Tuesday, means Trump has now secured five agreements since his administration promised “90 deals in 90 days” from April’s tariff delay.The others are with Britain, Vietnam and Indonesia, which the White House said Tuesday would ease critical mineral export restrictions.Negotiations are still ongoing with much larger US trading partners China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union.Representatives from China and the United States will meet next week in the Swedish capital Stockholm to try and hammer out a deal before an August 12 deadline agreed in May.As the clock ticks down, China said Wednesday it would seek to “strengthen cooperation” with Washington at the talks, and confirmed vice premier He Lifeng would attend.- Japan deal -“We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday. He said that under the deal, “Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits”.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday that Japan received a 15 percent tariff rate, down from the 25 percent threatened, as “they were willing to provide this innovative financing mechanism.””They are going to provide equity credit guarantees and funding for major projects in the US,” Bessent added.Japanese exports to the United States were already subject to a 10 percent tariff, and this would have spiked to 25 percent come August 1 without a deal.Duties of 25 percent on Japanese autos — an industry accounting for eight percent of Japanese jobs — were also already in place, plus 50 percent on steel and aluminum.Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that the autos levy had now been cut to 15 percent, sending Japanese car stocks soaring, with Toyota and Mitsubishi up around 14 percent each. The Nikkei rose 3.5 percent.”We are the first (country) in the world to reduce tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, with no limits on volume,” he told reporters.- Rice imports -Japan’s trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa, who secured the deal on his eighth visit to Washington, said the 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum would remain. Akazawa also said increased defense spending by Japan — something Trump has pressed for — was not part of the agreement.Trump said Tuesday Japan has also agreed to “open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things.”Rice imports are a sensitive issue in Japan, and Ishiba’s government — which lost its upper house majority in elections on Sunday — had previously ruled out any concessions. Japan currently imports 770,000 tons of rice tariff-free under its World Trade Organization commitments, and Ishiba said it would import more US grain within this.Ishiba said Wednesday that the deal does not “sacrifice” Japan’s agricultural sector.Tatsuo Yasunaga, the chair of Japan Foreign Trade Council, welcomed the trade deal announcement but said the business community needed to see details to assess its impact.”I highly commend the fact that this major milestone has been achieved and dispelled the uncertainty that private companies had been concerned about,” Yasunaga said.Naomi Omura, an 80-year-old voter, said it was “disappointing that Japan cannot act more strongly” towards the United States.Tetsuo Momiyama, 81, said that Ishiba “is finished… It’s good timing for him to go.”- Eyes on the prize -Other major US trading partners are watching closely as the end of the month approaches. The Philippines’ deal also announced Tuesday only saw levies cut by one percentage point, to 19 percent, after Trump hosted President Ferdinand Marcos.  China on Wednesday said it supported “equal dialogue” following the announcement of the Japan-US deal.Beijing and Washington imposed escalating, tit-for-tat levies on each other’s exports earlier this year, reaching triple-digit levels.But in talks in Geneva in May they agreed to lower them temporarily until August 12.burs-reb-bys/aha

The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives on Wednesday sent lawmakers home early for a six-week summer break, to avoid being forced into awkward votes on the probe into the late, politically connected sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The furor around the disgraced financier, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for trafficking minors, is still roiling Donald Trump’s administration two weeks after his Justice Department effectively closed the case, announcing there was no more information to share.Democrats in the House — keen to capitalize on the simmering controversy — have been trying to force a vote that would compel the publication of the full Epstein case files. Desperate to avert the effort and unable to bring up anything but the most non-controversial bills, the Republican leadership canceled votes scheduled for Thursday — sending lawmakers home for the August recess a day early.House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump loyalist who was under pressure from the president not to allow any Epstein votes, voiced hopes that the break would provide “space” for a resolution. But Democrats accused the majority Republicans of running scared of their own voters, many of whom have been demanding more transparency.”Donald Trump, for quite a while now, has been exaggerating and exploiting this case and making a big deal out of it,” Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the powerful Rules Committee, told MSNBC. “He wins the presidency, the Republicans control both chambers and, all of a sudden, we’re told forget about it.”In a July 7 memo, the Justice Department said the Epstein “client list” that Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed to have been reviewing did not in fact exist, and reaffirmed that he died by suicide in his prison cell. It sparked a furious backlash from Trump’s “MAGA” support base, who have for years been told by their leaders that a “deep state” cover-up was protecting figures in the Democratic Party whom they accuse of being Epstein’s clients.- ‘Dirtbags’ -Trump’s MAGA lieutenants — including two allies who have since been hired to run the FBI — made careers of fanning the conspiracy theories, including that Epstein’s suicide was actually a murder ordered by his powerful clients.Prominent online influencers and media figures in the movement — as well as ordinary voters — have spoken of feeling betrayed after Trump began publicly castigating them for wanting answers. Trump’s ties to Epstein are extensive. The pair were pictured partying together during a 15-year friendship before they fell out in 2004 over a property deal, and when Trump subsequently denounced his former ally.The White House has been furiously pushing back against a Wall Street Journal report that said Trump had contributed a “bawdy” letter with his signature for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. Under perhaps the biggest political pressure of his career, Trump has authorized Bondi to release “credible” information and has asked courts to unseal grand jury transcripts in the case. Bondi’s deputy Todd Blanche said this week he was seeking a meeting with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, 63, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and other crimes. With a Republican rebellion in the House in full swing, the Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee had already voted to subpoena Maxwell to talk with lawmakers at her Florida prison. “We’ve got to send a message to these dirtbags that do this that this is not acceptable behavior,” said Republican Tim Burchett, who introduced the motion.Epstein admitted two state felony prostitution charges in 2008 as part of a plea deal — arranged by a prosecutor who would go on to serve in Trump’s cabinet — that was widely criticized as being too lenient. 

Ozzy Osbourne was a pioneering musician but the Black Sabbath frontman was perhaps best known in the mainstream for his antics — including offending all of Texas when he drunkenly urinated on the US state’s monument to its fallen Alamo heroes.The stunt earned him a years-long ban from playing in San Antonio but after repeated apologies, the organization behind the Alamo site paid homage to Osbourne’s journey “from regret to reconciliation” in light of his death on Tuesday.”We at the Alamo are saddened to hear of the passing of legendary musician Ozzy Osbourne. His relationship with the Alamo was marked initially by a deeply disrespectful incident in 1982,” the institution posted on social media. “However, redemption and reconciliation eventually became part of his history as well.”The incident saw the self-styled “Prince of Darkness” — who was wearing his wife Sharon’s dress, in defiance of her bid to prevent him from going out by hiding his own clothes — relieve himself on the 60-foot cenotaph that stands as a Texas war memorial.The Alamo was the setting of a much-mythologized battle between Mexican and Texan troops in 1836.Osbourne was arrested and barred for years from performing in San Antonio.But a decade later, he personally apologized to the then-mayor “and expressed genuine remorse for his actions,” including donating $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.In 2015 he revisited the Alamo grounds “to learn and appreciate the site’s history,” said the institution, which added that Osbourne “openly demonstrated humility and understanding.”That visit was filmed for a television show on The History Channel.”At the Alamo, we honor history in all its complexities,” read the statement.”Today, we acknowledge Ozzy Osbourne’s journey from regret to reconciliation at the historic site, and we extend our condolences to his family, friends, and fans around the world. May he rest in peace.”The British metal trailblazer died Tuesday at age 76, mere weeks after he played his final show in his home city of Birmingham.

Sales of previously-owned homes in the United States hit their lowest rate in nine months, according to industry data released Wednesday, as high home prices and mortgage rates weighed on the market.Existing home sales dropped by 2.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.9 million, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR).A consensus forecast of analysts had expected a smaller pullback to a 4.0 million rate, according to Briefing.com.There was no change in sales on a year-on-year basis, the NAR said.But the median home price jumped by two percent from a year ago to $435,300, a record high for the month of June, the association added.”Multiple years of undersupply are driving the record-high home price,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun in a statement. “Home construction continues to lag population growth. This is holding back first-time home buyers from entering the market,” he added.High mortgage rates were also fueling the gloom in home sales, he said.”If the average mortgage rates were to decline to six percent, our scenario analysis suggests an additional 160,000 renters becoming first-time homeowners and elevated sales activity from existing homeowners,” Yun said.The popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged around 6.8 percent in the second half of June, according to Freddie Mac data.This was similar to the level in mid-May and mid-April, data showed.Mortgage rates were significantly lower a few years ago.The higher mortgage rates come as the US Federal Reserve has held the benchmark lending rate steady this year, with policymakers closely monitoring the economic effects of President Donald Trump’s fresh tariffs.But Trump has repeatedly criticized this approach — despite economists’ warnings that tariffs could fuel inflation over time and bog down growth.Early Wednesday, Trump wrote in a social media post that “Housing in our Country is lagging” as the Fed “refuses to lower Interest Rates.”He reiterated his call for interest rates to be three percentage points lower than they currently stand.While lower interest rates can be a boost to the economy, they can also be associated with higher consumer prices.

Germany needs firm US assurances that it will quickly receive replacement Patriot anti-missile systems if it sends two of its own units to Ukraine, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Wednesday.In comments to Der Spiegel news magazine, Pistorius said European NATO members needed “watertight” guarantees that any American-made Patriot air-defence systems sent to Ukraine would be replaced within about six to eight months.US President Donald Trump last week announced a deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte for European alliance members to buy US weaponry — particularly Patriot systems — for Kyiv to help it in its war against Russia.The move marked a pivot for Trump as his patience has worn thin with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for frustrating efforts to halt the war in Ukraine.Germany has offered to finance two of the Patriot systems, while several other NATO allies have expressed willingness to pay for three more.But concern has grown as Washington wants European allies to first send Patriot systems from their own stocks to Ukraine and then wait for replacements from the United States.Pistorius told Der Spiegel it was important that “the countries transferring systems can continue to meet their NATO requirements and that no security gaps arise for NATO”.Countries including Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands had declared their willingness to finance Patriot systems, but Pistorius said that “no decision has been made as to which country could supply Patriot systems to Ukraine”.Speaking later at a Berlin news conference, he said talks were ongoing on the question of “which countries in Europe and beyond currently have Patriots, and in what quantities are they willing to hand them over?”He added: “There is money for these Patriots. Now we just need the Patriots.”Germany formerly had 12 Patriot systems but has sent three to Ukraine and two to Poland. Another Patriot battery is dedicated to training, leaving Germany with six active units.

US President Donald Trump agreed Tuesday to reduce threatened tariffs on the Philippines, but only by one percentage point, after what he termed a successful meeting with his counterpart Ferdinand Marcos.Welcoming Marcos to the White House, Trump called him a “very tough negotiator” and said: “We’re very close to finishing a trade deal — a big trade deal, actually.”In a social media post shortly afterward, Trump said that while the Philippines would open up completely to US goods, he would still impose a 19 percent tariff on products from the Southeast Asian country, a major exporter of high-tech items and apparel.”It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.The Philippines was among two dozen economies confronted by Trump with letters this month warning of 20 percent tariffs on all goods coming into the United States as of August 1.The 19 percent rate is still above the 17 percent threatened by Trump in April, when he threatened sweeping global tariffs.Speaking at a press briefing Wednesday in Manila, Marcos’s press secretary Claire Castro said the Philippine president had confirmed Trump’s zero tariffs statement but only for “certain markets,” without elaborating.She also downplayed the potential effects of a tariff regime, noting that just 16 percent of the country’s exports go to the United States, with about two-thirds being electronic components not subject to the levies.”To put it plainly, it has an impact on the country, but not that much,” she told reporters.Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Marcos described the tariff situation as a “living thing” that could potentially be revisited as global markets adjusted.The trade rift comes despite increasingly close defense relations between the United States and the Philippines, a former US colony and treaty-bound ally that has seen high tensions with China.The United States deployed ground-launched missiles in the Philippines last year, and has also eyed ammunition manufacturing there, despite the closure in 1992 of the US naval base at Subic Bay due to heavy public pressure.”All of what we consider part of the modernization of the Philippine military is really a response to the circumstances that surround the situation in the South China Sea,” Marcos said next to Trump.”We are essentially concerned with the defense of our territory and the exercise of our sovereign rights,” said Marcos.”Our strongest, closest, most reliable ally has always been the United States.”- Trump eyes China visit -China and the Philippines have engaged in a series of confrontations in the contested waters of the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.Trump has frequently questioned allies in Europe over their military spending, but voiced fewer doubts about the Philippines. Both Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in meetings with Marcos on Monday vowed to honor the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the Southeast Asian nation.The Trump administration has identified China as the top US adversary but the president has also boasted of his relationship with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.Speaking alongside Marcos, Trump said he would “probably” visit China at Xi’s invitation “in the not-too-distant future.”He said of Marcos: “I don’t mind if he gets along with China very well, because we’re getting along with China very well.”Trump added the Philippines had been “maybe tilting toward China” and “we untilted it very, very quickly.””I just don’t think that would have been good for you,” Trump said.He credited himself with the shift, although the turn towards Washington began after the 2022 election of Marcos, before Trump returned to power.Marcos’s predecessor Rodrigo Duterte had flirted with closer relations with China and bristled at US criticism over human rights under Joe Biden and Barack Obama.