2025-01-24
13 分钟TNB Tech Minute gives you the day's top tech headlines, from the big names in Silicon Valley to the halls of power.
If it's making news in tech, we've got it.
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Trump's return to Washington upends business as usual across the government.
Plus, uncertainty swirls around Pete he's confirmation vote as two GOP senators oppose the pent Pentagon pick, and Trump's opening gambit vis a vis China keeps Beijing guessing.
The Chinese know that while there is possibility for engaging the president, who is seen as more transactional, that also comes with the flip side, which is if he doesn't think he's getting what he wants, he could rainfire and act on those threats.
It's Friday, January 24th.
I'm Kate Bullivant for the Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas, and here is the AM edition of what's News, the top headlines and business stories.
Moving your we begin in Washington, where President Trump's first week in office has seen major federal initiatives scrapped, throwing much of the government into disarray and bringing even routine functions to a halt.
Confusion has loomed over Trump's executive order to pause distribution of funds allocated by the previous administration, causing the Transportation Department to temporarily shut down a computer system for road projects.
A hiring freeze has led some agencies to rescind job offers, and orders to halt all external communications from health agencies through February 1 left food and Drug Administration employees scrambling to clarify that they could still issue critical safety alerts.
A spokeswoman for the White House said the communications pause doesn't relate to emergencies or critical health needs, and that food and safety inspections continue, describing the disruptions as temporary inconveniences, according to people familiar with the matter.
The pause was meant in part to ensure that new missives aligned with Trump's executive order declaring only two genders.
While glitches aren't uncommon during presidential transitions, some longtime federal employees say the chaos seemed more extreme this week, highlighting the wide spanning differences between the two administrations.
Pete Hegseth's nomination for defense secretary heads to a vote today in the Senate, where Republicans face a razor thin margin to confirm President Trump's most controversial pick.
That's after two centrist GEO GOP senators said they opposed the nomination yesterday, raising questions about Hegseth's character and his ability to run the Pentagon.
In a procedural vote yesterday, Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted against advancing Hegseth's confirmation.
Some Republicans who voted in favour yesterday haven't committed to supporting Hegseth on final passage.
If Democrats unite against him today, he can't afford more than three no votes from his own party.
When OpenAI announced its new Stargate venture with Oracle and SoftBank earlier this week, there was for some a $3 trillion elephant in the room.