White House defends Biden’s pardon as Trump hints at potential clemency for January 6 rioters – US politics live | US news

Republican senator Ted Cruz has urged US officials to investigate whether European governments have tried to unduly influence the country’s laws around artificial intelligence.

Britain hosted the world’s first global AI safety summit last year, bringing tech executives, world leaders and academics together to discuss a coordinated approach on regulation. Some countries have since set up their own AI safety institutes, which have continued to share expertise across borders.

Cruz, who ran against Donald Trump in the Republican Party’s 2016 race for presidential nominee, is among the party’s most influential senators. He has been a vocal critic of president Joe Biden’s approach to tech regulation, reports Reuters.

In a letter addressed to US attorney general Merrick Garland, dated 21 November but only made public on Monday, Cruz said European governments had imposed heavy-handed regulations on American AI companies abroad, and were now trying to steer the direction of AI regulations at home.

Cruz described these regulations as “onerous” and a product of the “radical left”. “While the Biden-Harris administration may not want to inform the American people of just how closely they are collaborating with foreign governments, at the very least, the American people have a right to know what foreign actors are trying to impose these radical regulations on American companies,” Cruz wrote.

The European Union has led the global charge for regulations tailored to AI technology, having this year passed the AI act, the world’s first sweeping set of laws governing the technology.

My colleague Rachel Savage has more on Joe Biden’s visit to Angola here:

Beijing said Tuesday it would restrict exports to the United States of some key components in making semiconductors, after Washington announced curbs targeting China’s ability to make advanced chips.

Among the materials banned from export are metals gallium, antimony and germanium, Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement that cited “national security” concerns, reports AFP.

Exports of graphite, another key component, will also be subject to “stricter reviews of end-users and end-uses”, the ministry said.

“To safeguard national security interests and fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation, China has decided to strengthen export controls on relevant dual-use items to the United States,” Beijing said.

“Any organisation or individual in any country or region violating the relevant regulations will be held accountable according to the law,” it added.

In its own latest curbs, Washington on Monday announced restrictions on sales to 140 companies, including Chinese chip firms Piotech and SiCarrier, without additional permission.

They also impact Naura Technology Group, which makes chip production equipment, according to the US Commerce Department.

The move expands Washington’s efforts to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, which can be used in advanced weapons systems and artificial intelligence.

The new US rules also include controls on two dozen types of chip-making equipment and three kinds of software tools for developing or producing semiconductors.

Donald Trump announced on Monday he has picked investment banker and Republican mega-donor Warren Stephens to serve as ambassador to the UK, reports my colleague Alice Herman.

“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full-time,” wrote Trump in a social media post. “I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies.”

Stephens is chair, president and CEO of Stephens Inc, a privately owned financial services firm headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, according to the firm’s website.

Joe Biden is using the first visit to Angola by a US president to promote Washington’s investments in the country and see a slavery museum where he’ll acknowledge the trafficking of human beings that once linked the two nations’ economies.

A centerpiece of his trip is showcasing a US commitment of $3bn for the Lobito Corridor, a railway redevelopment linking Zambia, Congo and Angola that is meant to make it far easier to move raw materials in the continent and for export. The project also has drawn financing from the European Union, the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, a western-led private consortium and African banks, reports Associated Press.

The project aims to advance the US presence in a region rich in critical minerals used in batteries for electric vehicles, electronic devices and clean energy technologies and to counter China’s heavy investments in mining and processing African minerals.

The US has for years built relations in Africa through trade, security and humanitarian aid. The 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) railway upgrade is a different move and has shades of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure strategy in Africa and other parts of the world.

Biden is to fly to the Angolan coastal city of Lobito on Wednesday for a first-hand look at a port terminal that is the Atlantic Ocean outlet for the corridor.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration “has absolutely transformed” US-Africa relations and that the corridor’s completion is “going to take years but there’s already been a lot of work put in”.

That means much of it may fall to Biden’s successor, Republican Donald Trump, who takes office on 20 January. Asked whether the project could proceed without future support from Trump, Kirby said it was “our fervent hope that as the new team comes in and takes a look at this that they see the value too, that they see how it will help drive a more secure, more prosperous, more economically stable continent”.

White House says Joe Biden pardoned Hunter to protect him from future persecution by political opponents