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President Donald Trump declared that the United States will do ‘whatever it takes’ to win the global race to artificial intelligence dominance, during an address at a summit held in the nation’s capital Wednesday.

‘From this day forward, it’ll be a policy of the United States to do whatever it takes to lead the world in artificial intelligence,’ Trump said during his address shortly ahead of signing three new executive orders that are aimed at boosting the country’s artificial intelligence capabilities. 

Meanwhile, Trump also slammed the former Biden administration for ‘weaponizing’ and restricting AI innovation and advancements.

‘If you regulate [AI] too much, you kill the source of American genius and technological power,’ Trump said. ‘I believe that Joe Biden had a plan to lose the AI race. I think he wanted to lose it.’

Administration leaders, including White House Office of Science and Technology policy director Michael Kratsios and AI and crypto czar David Sacks, held a background call with the media Wednesday morning and outlined a three-pillar plan of action for artificial intelligence focused on American workers, free speech and protecting U.S.-built technologies. 

‘We want to center America’s workers, and make sure they benefit from AI,’ Sacks said on the call while describing the three pillars. 

‘The second is that we believe that AI systems should be free of ideological bias and not be designed to pursue socially engineered agendas,’ Sacks said. ‘And so we have a number of proposals there on how to make sure that AI remains truth-seeking and trustworthy. And then the third principle that cuts across the pillars is that we believe we have to prevent our advanced technologies from being misused or stolen by malicious actors. And we also have to monitor for emerging and unforeseen risks from AI.’

Ending red tape and restrictions on the technology is also a key component of the new AI initiative, administration officials said, noting it will usher in the next ‘industrial revolution.’

Trump ordered his administration in January to develop a plan of action for artificial intelligence in order to ‘solidify our position as the global leader in AI and secure a brighter future for all Americans.’ 

The presidential action ordered administration leaders to craft a plan ‘to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security’ within 180 days, which was Tuesday. 

Kratsios stressed on the Wednesday press call that by cutting federal red tape surrounding AI, American workers will benefit while the U.S. will avoid going down the same AI path as Europe, which is mired in tech regulations, Kratsios said on the call. ‘The action plan calls for freeing American AI innovation from unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, ensuring all Americans reap the benefits of AI technologies and leveraging AI to drive new scientific breakthroughs.’

‘On deregulation, we cannot afford to go down Europe’s innovation-killing regulatory path. Federal agencies will now review their rules on the books and repeal those that hinder AI development and deployment across industries, from financial services and agriculture to health and transportation.’ 

‘At the same time, we’re asking the private sector to recommend regulatory barriers that they face for the administration to consider removing,’ he added. ‘Instead of cultivating skepticism, our policy is to encourage and enable AI adoption across government and the private sector through regulatory sandboxes and sector-specific partnerships.’ 

Trump rescinded a Biden-era executive order hours after taking office in January that put restrictions on artificial intelligence technologies, including requiring tech companies to keep the federal government appraised of the most powerful technology they were building before the programs are made available to the public. 

Trump’s signature rescinded the Biden order, with a White House fact sheet at the time arguing the Biden executive order ‘hinders AI innovation and imposes onerous and unnecessary government control over the development of AI.’

‘American development of AI systems must be free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas,’ the White House said. ‘With the right government policies, the United States can solidify its position as the leader in AI and secure a brighter future for all Americans.’ 

‘The order directs the development of an AI Action Plan to sustain and enhance America’s AI dominance, led by the Assistant to the President for Science & Technology, the White House AI & Crypto Czar, and the National Security Advisor,’ the White House said. 

The Trump administration has notched massive wins in the artificial intelligence race, which has pitted the U.S. against China to develop the most high-tech artificial intelligence systems, including Oracle and OpenAI announcing Tuesday the companies will further develop the Stargate project, which is an effort to launch large data centers in the U.S. The two companies’ most recent announcement promises an additional 4.5 gigawatts of Stargate data center capacity, a move expected to create more than 100,000 jobs across operations, construction, and indirect roles such as manufacturing and local services.

The Stargate project includes a commitment from OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank and MGX to invest $500 billion in U.S.-based artificial intelligence infrastructure throughout the next four years.

Creating the data centers is key to the U.S. artificial intelligence race, according to admin officials who spoke on the background call Wednesday. Sacks explained that the administration wants to see U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure grow by leaps and bounds in order for the country to ‘lead in data centers and in the energy that powers those data centers.’ 

Earlier in July, Trump traveled to Pittsburgh for an artificial intelligence summit at Carnegie Mellon University while touting the $90 billion in private-sector investments intended to create the Keystone State into an energy and artificial intelligence hub for the country 

Trump also has signed other executive orders focused on artificial intelligence as it relates to increasing America’s energy grid capacity, and an April executive order aimed at preparing America’s next generation to employ artificial intelligence through educational programs. 

Kratsios said during the call Wednesday that the U.S. winning the artificial intelligence race is ‘non-negotiable,’ citing not only economic and geopolitical considerations. 

‘We’re not alone in recognizing the economic, geopolitical, and national security importance of AI, which is why winning the AI race is non-negotiable,’ he said. ‘The plan presents over 90 federal policy actions across three pillars. As David (Sacks) discussed, those are accelerating innovation, building American AI infrastructure, and leading international AI diplomacy and security. The action plan was crafted with overwhelming input from industry, academia and civil society, informed by over 10,000 responses to the White Houses request for information.’ 

The plan delivered to Trump could be executed in the next six months to a year, according to the background call.

Artificial intelligence drives the demand for the electric grid

The Trump administration has repeatedly rallied around how artificial intelligence will be crucial at catapulting America into the next ‘industrial revolution,’ which administration officials say will lead to job creation and a strong tech industry that can trounce other nations in the race. 

Vice President JD Vance has been one of the most vocal admin leaders touting the U.S. strength on artificial intelligence as it cut red tape surrounding the industry.

‘The Trump administration is troubled by reports that some foreign governments are considering tightening screws on U.S. tech companies with international footprints,’ Vance said in a fiery February speech from Paris. ‘America cannot and will not accept that, and we think it’s a terrible mistake.’

‘At this moment, we face the extraordinary prospect of a new industrial revolution… But it will never come to pass if over-regulation deters innovators from taking the risks necessary to advance the ball,’ he said. ‘Nor will it occur if we allow AI to become dominated by massive players looking to use the tech to censor or control users’ thoughts.’

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A House panel Wednesday voted in favor of subpoenaing former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., offered a motion during a House Oversight Committee subcommittee hearing to call on Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to subpoena people with possible links to Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former associate of late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

‘I have a motion to subpoena the following individuals to expand the full committees investigation into Miss Maxwell – and the list reads as follows: William Jefferson Clinton, Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton, James Brian Comey, Loretta Elizabeth Lynch, Eric Hampton Holder, Jr., Merrick Brian Garland, Robert Swan Mueller III, William Pelham Barr, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions the third, and Alberto Gonzales. That’s the full list, Mr. Chairman. And that’s the motion,’ Perry said.

The motion passed by voice vote, meaning there was not an individual roll call.

The subpoenas would actually need to be issued by Comer to be active.

A House Oversight Committee aide told Fox News Digital, ‘The subpoenas will be issued in the near future.’

It comes after Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., a member of the progressive ‘Squad,’ pushed for a vote on her own motion to subpoena any files related to Epstein.

That motion passed in an 8-to-2 vote, also directing Comer to issue that subpoena.

Republican lawmakers have dealt with a barrage of media scrutiny on Epstein’s case over the last two weeks. It’s a side effect of the fallout over a recent Department of Justice (DOJ) memo effectively declaring the matter closed.

Figures on the far-right have hammered Trump officials like Attorney General Pam Bondi, accusing them of going back on earlier vows of transparency.

At Trump’s direction, the DOJ is moving to have grand jury files related to Epstein’s case unsealed. Bondi is looking into whether imprisoned former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell will speak with federal authorities as well.

A House GOP-led motion directing Comer to subpoena Maxwell passed the House Oversight Committee unanimously on Tuesday, and Comer issued the subpoena the following day.

But Democrats have nonetheless seized on the Republican discord with newfound calls of their own for transparency in Epstein’s case. 

Wednesday’s hearing by the Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on federal law enforcement was unrelated to Epstein — but it’s part of a pattern of Democratic lawmakers in the House using any opportunity to force Republicans into an uncomfortable political position on the issue.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., another member of the subcommittee, successfully got Lee’s amendment altered to also call for the release of Biden administration communications related to Epstein.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Clinton Foundation for comment but did not immediately hear back.

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Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (July 23) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.

Bitcoin and Ethereum price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$118,148, down by 0.7 percent over the last 24 hours. The highest valuation today was US$118,462, while its lowest valuation was US$117,583.

Bitcoin price performance, July 23, 2025.

Chart via TradingView

Bitcoin traded lower over the past 24 hours, hovering between $117,000 and $120,000 amid several market pressures.

A major whale moved over US$1.2 billion in dormant BTC, sparking speculation of potential selling. After a rotation into altcoins, investors took profits following recent highs, while outflows from spot ETFs signaled weaker institutional demand.

Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$3,592.65, down by 1.9 percent over the past 24 hours. Its lowest valuation as of Wednesday was US$3,568.86, and its highest was US$3,657.02.

Altcoin price update

  • Solana (SOL) was priced at US$188.86, down by 5.5 percent over 24 hours. Its lowest valuation on Wednesday was US$186.95, and its highest was US$192.58.
  • XRP was trading for US$3.25, down 8.9 percent in the past 24 hours. Its lowest valuation of the day was US$3.18, and its highest valuation was US$3.36.
  • Sui (SUI) is trading at US$3.70, down 5.5 percent over the past 24 hours. Its lowest valuation of the day was US$3.67, and its highest was US$3.84.
  • Cardano (ADA) was trading at US$0.8152, down by 6.9 percent over 24 hours. Its lowest valuation on Wednesday was US$0.8058, and its highest was US$0.8370.

Today’s crypto news to know

PNC Bank and Coinbase partner to advance digital asset solutions

PNC Bank and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) have announced a strategic partnership to broaden access to digital asset solutions for PNC’s clients and institutional investors.

This collaboration leverages Coinbase’s “Crypto-as-a-Service” (CaaS) platform, enabling PNC to offer secure and scalable cryptocurrency access. PNC clients will be able to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies directly through PNC’s platform.

PNC will also provide essential banking services to Coinbase, signifying a mutual commitment to strengthening the digital financial system. Both companies emphasize that this partnership will meet the increasing demand for secure and streamlined digital asset access.

Goldman Sachs and BNY to launch tokenized money market funds

The Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and BNY (NYSE:BK) are preparing to offer institutional investors access to tokenized money market funds (NNFs), aiming to enhance capital markets with real-time settlement, 24/7 access, and increased efficiencies.

BNY clients will soon be able to invest in money market funds with ownership recorded on Goldman Sachs’ private blockchain, as per a recent news release.

“As the financial system transitions toward a more digital, real-time architecture, BNY is committed to enabling scalable and secure solutions that shape the future of finance,” said Laide Majiyagbe, Global Head of Liquidity, Financing and Collateral at BNY.

“Mirrored tokenization of MMF shares is a first step in this transition, and we are proud to be at the forefront of this first-of-its-kind initiative. Our collaboration with Goldman Sachs Digital Assets highlights our role as a trusted bridge between traditional finance and emerging technologies – empowering clients to navigate this transformation with confidence.”

This initiative involves major players such as BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Fidelity Investments, Federated Hermes and the asset management divisions of Goldman and BNY.

Tokenized money market funds offer a contrast to interest-bearing stablecoins, which are specifically prohibited under the GENIUS Act, which was signed into law last week. They provide yield, which makes them a low-volatility tool for hedge funds, pensions and corporations.

SEC halts Bitwise crypto index ETF conversion for review

On Tuesday (July 22), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Trading and Markets approved the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index to convert to an ETF, only to immediately pause it for review.

However, in a letter issued later that day, SEC assistant secretary Sherry Haywood stated that the order is “stayed until the Commission orders otherwise.”

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas suggested that the SEC might be delaying until it establishes a listing standard for crypto ETFs.

Bitwise had applied for this conversion in November for its fund, which offers exposure to a range of cryptocurrencies.

Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth Management, described the situation as “bizarre,” drawing parallels to the Grayscale Digital Large Cap ETF conversion, which experienced a similar approval and subsequent pause on July 1.

Bitcoin millionaires surge by 16,000 in 2025, according to report

Nearly 16,000 new Bitcoin wallets have crossed the million-dollar threshold since Donald Trump assumed office in January 2025, according to a Finbold report.

The number of Bitcoin millionaires rose from 132,842 in November 2024 to 192,205 by July 20, marking a 45 percent increase in just eight months. Large holders with over US$10 million in BTC also saw gains exceeding 16 percent in the same period.

The surge is linked to renewed investor optimism following Trump’s reelection, along with clear signals of regulatory support and clarity for digital assets.

A significant boost came this week when the US House passed the “Genius Act,” the first federal stablecoin law in the country.

The legislation, expected to streamline compliance for institutions, is widely seen as the most comprehensive federal crypto framework to date.

The rapidly changing policy environment has encouraged capital inflows and bolstered confidence in US-based crypto markets, with the resulting daily average tallying to 88 new Bitcoin millionaires in 2025 alone.

South Korea warns fund managers to reduce exposure to crypto stocks

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has issued informal warnings to asset managers over their exposure to crypto-related stocks and ETFs.

According to the Korea Herald, firms with significant holdings in US-listed crypto companies such as Coinbase and Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) were reportedly told to scale back.

The directive follows the FSS’s longstanding 2017 stance prohibiting direct investment in virtual assets by financial institutions, despite recent global shifts in crypto regulation. While the agency has been reviewing possible easing of crypto rules, officials reportedly said that licensed entities must continue observing current guidelines.

The FSS has not yet issued a formal statement regarding the report.

PayPal unveils cross-border wallet platform

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) has launched “PayPal World,” a cross-border payments network that integrates several of the world’s largest digital wallets, aiming to simplify international commerce for billions.

The platform’s initial partners include India’s UPI (via NPCI International), China’s Weixin Pay (via Tenpay Global), and PayPal’s own services including Venmo. A memorandum of understanding has also been signed with Mercado Pago in Latin America.

According to PayPal CEO Alex Chriss, the initiative allows users to pay with their native wallets regardless of location. Chriss called it a potential “game changer” for frictionless payments in travel and e-commerce.

“The challenge of moving money across borders is incredibly complex, and yet this platform will make it so simple for nearly two billion consumers and businesses,’ Chriss said a recent press release.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Corporations are continuing to spend on business travel, but are being strategic about how they allocate those dollars amid ongoing trade uncertainties, according to new reports from the travel and expense platform Navan and the Global Business Travel Association.

Corporate travel spending activity increased 15% year over year in the second quarter of 2025, according to a business travel index published Tuesday from Navan.

Navan’s index, backed by Nasdaq, is derived from millions of corporate business transactions on its platform. It examines the amount spent and number of transactions relating to airline travel, hotel reservations and expense transactions from corporate cards.

Amy Butte, Navan’s CFO, said during an interview that from talking with other chief financial officers over the past few months, she never got the sense that corporate leaders would stop spending on business travel altogether. Instead, they are in “wait and see” mode.

“If you’re making choices about where you’re being cautious, we’re not seeing people be cautious in the area of relationship building, either with their customers or with their teammates. We’re still seeing the spend allocated towards travel as a key component of any business strategy,” Butte said.

But while global business travel is expected to reach a new high of $1.57 trillion in 2025, according to a Monday report by the Global Business Travel Association, that total represents 6.6% year-over-year growth, which is less than the 10.4% increase that was previously predicted. GBTA cited trade tensions, policy uncertainty and economic pressures as the reasons for the more moderate growth.

A string of sentiment polls by GBTA also shows that corporate travel optimism for the rest of 2025 appears muted. The percentage of respondents who said they were optimistic about the overall outlook for the business travel industry in 2025 dropped sharply from 67% in November 2024 to 31% in April and declined slightly again this month to 28%.

The findings from both reports, grouped together with commentary from airline CEOs last week, show C-suite leaders are still largely left in wait-and-see mode amid President Donald Trump’s fluid tariff policies, but companies appear now to have a better read on how they will manage the uncertainty.

“Historically, corporate travel has been the first thing, one of the easiest things, to minimize if you’re a company,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said during the company’s earnings call this month, adding that corporate travel on the airline has been flat on a year-over-year basis.

But Butte said that Navan has not seen a drop-off in business travel. Instead, businesses are shifting how they are spending.

For example, Butte said businesses are continuing to commit to individual, face-to-face meetings, rather than spending on large group outings. The Navan index shows that spending on personal meals, meaning one-on-one meetings held over a meal, was up 9.8% from last year, while spending on team events and meals was the only category in the report that declined.

Navan did see some compression earlier in the year in the share of higher-priced airline tickets purchased that were first class or business class, Butte said, but she added that the platform has since seen an acceleration as uncertainty has lessened.

Airfare prices have also declined so far this year, which means business and consumers alike are spending less on plane tickets. Airfare fell 3.5% in June from a year earlier while inflation overall rose, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang said during an interview that CFOs have not cut travel spending off entirely, but are looking for efficient ways to get employees on the road. This may look like booking multicity trips, scheduling multiple meetings per trip or booking fewer trips per month, she said.

Neufang said the business travel industry has been focused over the past five years on making sure every trip has a purpose and delivers a return on investment.

“Gone are the days when there’s really frivolous business traveling,” Neufang said.

The new findings on business travel spending also come as airlines are reporting their quarterly earnings.

When Delta reported earnings on July 10, Bastian said he expects both consumer and corporate confidence to improve in the second half of the year, creating an environment for travel demand to accelerate.

Delta and other airlines saw travel demand come in weaker than expected at the beginning of the year, especially from price-sensitive customers traveling domestically. Bastian said back in April that Trump’s trade policies were hurting bookings.

Bastian took a more positive tone this month, telling CNBC that corporate travel has stabilized as businesses have more clarity and confidence than they did earlier this year. But he said corporate travel is in line with last year, not the 5% to 10% growth Delta expected at the start of the year.

Meanwhile, Delta President Glen Hauenstein said on an earnings call this month that corporate travel trends are “choppy” and overall corporate volumes are expected to be “flattish” over last year.

United Airlines reported earnings last week. CEO Scott Kirby said during the company’s call with analysts that so far this month, the airline has seen a double-digit acceleration in business demand as uncertainty has declined.

Andrew Nocella, United’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, added that the business traffic growth is “across the board” and not restricted to any singular hub or vertical, which he said reflects lessening macroeconomic uncertainty.

Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines are scheduled to report their quarterly results this week.

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WASHINGTON — Bleach maker Clorox said Tuesday that it has sued information technology provider Cognizant over a devastating 2023 cyberattack, alleging that the hackers pulled off the intrusion simply by asking the tech company’s staff for employees’ passwords.

Clorox was one of several major companies hit in August 2023 by the hacking group dubbed Scattered Spider, which specializes in tricking IT help desks into handing over credentials and then using that access to lock them up for ransom. The group is often described as unusually sophisticated and persistent, but in a case filed in California state court on Tuesday, Clorox said one of Scattered Spider’s hackers was able to repeatedly steal employees’ passwords simply by asking for them.

“Cognizant was not duped by any elaborate ploy or sophisticated hacking techniques,” according to a copy of the lawsuit reviewed by Reuters. “The cybercriminal just called the Cognizant Service Desk, asked for credentials to access Clorox’s network, and Cognizant handed the credentials right over.”

Cognizant did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the suit, which was not immediately visible on the public docket of the Superior Court of Alameda County. Clorox provided Reuters with a receipt for the lawsuit from the court.

Three partial transcripts included in the lawsuit allegedly show conversations between the hacker and Cognizant support staff in which the intruder asks to have passwords reset and the support staff complies without verifying who they are talking to, for example by quizzing them on their employee identification number or their manager’s name.

“I don’t have a password, so I can’t connect,” the hacker says in one call. The agent replies, “Oh, ok. Ok. So let me provide the password to you ok?”

The 2023 hack caused $380 million in damages, Clorox said in the suit, about $50 million of which were tied to remedial costs and the rest of which were attributable to Clorox’s inability to ship products to retailers in the wake of the hack.

Clorox said the clean-up was hampered by other failures by Cognizant’s staff, including failure to de-activate certain accounts or properly restore data.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday said President Donald Trump could proceed with the firing of three Democratic members of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) who were fired and then reinstated to their roles on the board — the latest high-stakes court clash centered on Trump’s authority as authority to remove or otherwise control the fate of independent agency.

The majority sided with the Trump administration in a 6-3 vote on the emergency order, the last of the Supreme Court’s current term. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court in early July to stay the decision of a lower court judge in Maryland who sided with the three ousted board members, Mary Boyle, Alexander Hoehn-Saric and Richard Trumka Jr. U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox, a Biden appointee, ruled that their firings were unlawful and ordered they be reinstated to their roles.

The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals declined to grant the Trump administration’s request to stay the order, clearing the way for the administration to appeal the matter to the Supreme Court.

In its emergency filing to the Supreme Court, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer pointed to the court’s decision in another, factually similar emergency case reviewed by the high court earlier this year, in which justices agreed to temporarily block the reinstatements of board members for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

Sauer pointed to the factual similarities underpinning both cases, and argued that the high court’s emergency decision there ‘squarely controls this case.’

The CPSC board members disputed that notion in their own Supreme Court filing — arguing that their removals from the CPSC would ‘disrupt the status quo’ from an agency dedicated to consumer protection and safety.

They also pointed to the timing of their removals, noting that the Trump administration made no attempt to oust them for four months — a delay they argue shows no urgency and undercuts any claim of ‘irreparable harm,’ a key standard for emergency court action.

After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit rejected the government’s request to temporarily freeze Maddox’s order, the government appealed it to the Supreme Court.

In his ruling, Maddox said that the tenured design and protection of the five-member, staggered-term CPSC board does ‘not interfere with’ Trump’s executive branch powers under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.

The case is the latest in a string of challenges centered on Trump’s ability to remove members of independent boards. Like the NLRB and MSPB rulings, it centers on the 90-year-old Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey’s Executor, in which the court unanimously ruled that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause.

Maddox invoked the uncertainty created by the preliminary posture of the NLRB and MSPB cases, which saw both plaintiffs removed and reinstated to their positions multiple times — which he said was the basis for ordering more permanent injunctive relief.

‘Disruption might have resulted in the instant case if Plaintiffs had been reinstated while this case was in its preliminary posture, only to have the Court later deny relief in its final judgment and subject Plaintiffs to removal again,’ said Maddox. ‘The risk of such disruption is no longer a factor now that the Court is granting permanent injunctive relief as a final judgment.’ 

In his ruling, Maddox said that the tenured design and protection of the five-member, staggered-term CPSC board does ‘not interfere with’ Trump’s executive branch powers under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard doubled down at a White House press briefing Wednesday, alleging the Obama administration promoted a ‘contrived narrative’ that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. 

‘There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false,’ Gabbard said. ‘They knew it would promote this contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win, selling it to the American people as though it were true. It wasn’t.’ 

Gabbard’s comments come amid the declassification of a trove of documents from the U.S. intelligence community that allege the Obama administration politicized intelligence, and that U.S. intelligence organizations did not have direct information that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to support Trump’s election in 2016. 

 

‘All come back to and confirm the same report: There was a gross politicization and manipulation of intelligence by the Obama administration intended to delegitimize President Trump even before he was inaugurated, ultimately usurping the will of the American people,’ Gabbard said. 

Gabbard also said that the declassified documents have been shared with the Department of Justice and the FBI so those agencies can evaluate if any criminal implications stemming from the materials are warranted. 

‘We have referred and will continue to refer all of these documents to the Department of Justice and the FBI, to investigate the criminal implications of this for the evidence,’ Gabbard said. ‘Correct. The evidence that we have found, and that we have released, directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment. There are multiple pieces of evidence and intelligence that confirm that fact.’

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of being the ‘ringleader’ of investigations into whether his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election. 

In response, a spokesperson for Obama labeled the accusations ‘bizarre’ and said the new documents do not alter the conclusions of previous intelligence assessments, including a 2020 report from the Senate Intelligence Committee that was chaired by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

‘Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,’ Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush said in a statement. ‘But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one.’ 

‘These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,’ Rodenbush said. ‘Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.’ 

A spokesperson for Obama did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital Wednesday. 

The newly declassified documents name Obama, in addition to other administration officials, including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. 

Fox News Digital previously reported that Gabbard sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department pertaining to the newly declassified material, but the agency did not disclose specifics regarding whom the criminal referral targeted. 

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Wednesday. 

Gabbard’s appearance before reporters at the White House came just hours after she released a 2020 report from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which said the intelligence community published ‘potentially biased’ or ‘implausible’ intelligence suggesting Putin sought to help Trump win the election, per the ‘unusual’ orders of Obama. 

Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report. 

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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., accused Democrats of orchestrating a ‘cover-up’ of President Joe Biden’s signs of mental decline in a set of remarks to reporters on Wednesday.

The leader of the House of Representatives criticized left-wing lawmakers for their public pressure campaign regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s case, dismissing their calls for transparency as a hypocritical political ploy.

‘We will not be lectured on transparency by the same party that orchestrated one of the most shameless, dangerous political cover-ups in the history of the United States – and that was President Biden’s obvious mental decline,’ Johnson told reporters.

‘House Republicans stand for maximum transparency and truth. We always have, and we always will.’

It comes as the House Oversight Committee continues to investigate allegations that the former president’s top White House aides obscured signs of mental and physical decline in the octogenarian leader from the public and others in the administration.

Biden told The New York Times earlier this month that he was fully aware of every decision he made in a story regarding his use of autopen for clemency orders.

Johnson and other Republican lawmakers have dealt with a barrage of media scrutiny on Epstein’s case over the last two weeks. It’s a side effect of the fallout over a recent Department of Justice (DOJ) memo effectively declaring the matter closed.

Figures on the far-right have hammered Trump officials like Attorney General Pam Bondi, accusing them of going back on earlier vows of transparency.

At Trump’s direction, the DOJ is moving to have grand jury files related to Epstein’s case unsealed. Bondi is looking into whether imprisoned former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell will speak with federal authorities as well.

Democrats seized on the discord by forcing Republicans on a key panel – the House Rules Committee – to take multiple votes on whether to make files related to Epstein’s case public.

GOP lawmakers’ frustration at being put into a tough political situation forced House Republicans’ agenda to partially grind to a halt this week, forcing leaders to send the House into August recess a day earlier than initially planned.

Some Republicans are frustrated with the Trump administration’s handling of the issue, while others are angry at fellow GOP lawmakers joining Democrats in public calls for transparency.

Many, like Johnson, have accused Democrats of operating on a double-standard. 

‘The way Democrats have tried to weaponize this issue is absolutely shameless. And I just want to say this – Democrats said nothing and did nothing, absolutely nothing, about bringing transparency for the entire four years of the Biden presidency,’ the speaker said. But now, all of a sudden, they want the American people to believe that they actually care.’

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., pointed Fox News Digital to his remarks on Epstein earlier this week, questioning what Republicans were ‘hiding.’

‘Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide during the Trump administration. Trump administration officials have said, prior to arriving in Washington in positions of prominence, including at the FBI and the Department of Justice, that they were going to release the Epstein files. Trump administration officials are now in a position to release the Epstein files,’ Jeffries said. 

‘Does any of that, in your view, have anything to do with President Joe Biden? Why do we think President Joe Biden or President Barack Obama’s names are being invoked?’

Fox News Digital also reached out to the office of former President Joe Biden for comment but did not immediately hear back.

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The White House on Wednesday (July 23) released a sweeping national strategy for artificial intelligence (AI), outlining over 90 federal actions designed to strengthen America’s position as the global leader in AI development.

Titled “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan,” the document fulfills a mandate laid out in President Trump’s January 23 executive order, which called for the removal of what the administration described as “barriers to American leadership” in the field.

The plan sets priorities across three core pillars: accelerating innovation, building domestic infrastructure, and leading on global AI diplomacy and security.

The White House said parts of the strategy will be enacted via executive orders in the coming weeks, with Trump and senior officials set to promote the initiative at an event Thursday night hosted by the Hill and Valley Forum, a group of influential tech donors and investors.

“President Trump has prioritized AI as a cornerstone of American innovation,” said Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “This plan galvanizes federal efforts to turbocharge our innovation capacity, build cutting-edge infrastructure, and lead globally, ensuring that American workers and families thrive in the AI era.”

The new initiative marks a clear departure from previous federal policy, explicitly revoking the Biden-era Executive Order 14110, “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence,” which had emphasized caution, regulation, and ethical oversight.

In contrast, the Trump administration’s AI directive aims to remove what it describes as “onerous” federal restrictions and foster what it calls innovation free from “ideological bias.”

The goal, according to administration officials, is to secure the global proliferation of US-made AI technologies and prevent the dominance of foreign alternatives.

Domestically, the plan pledges to fast-track the permitting process for building new data centers and semiconductor fabs, and to launch national workforce initiatives targeting technical trades essential to AI infrastructure, such as electricians and HVAC technicians.

David Sacks, the White House Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, framed the plan in strategic and geopolitical terms.

“Artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology with the potential to transform the global economy and alter the balance of power in the world,” Sacks said, adding that in order to win the AI race, the US must center its innovation domestically and “avoid Orwellian uses of AI.”

In May, the Trump administration reached agreements with the United Arab Emirates to grant the country access to advanced AI chips—part of a broader US$200 billion cooperation deal announced alongside plans for a 5‑gigawatt AI campus in the UAE.

As of now, the White House has not provided a timeline for the full rollout of the 90 outlined actions, but officials said implementation would begin “in the coming weeks.”

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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China has discovered a new uranium deposit in the Tarim Basin at a depth of 1,820 meters, the deepest recorded for sandstone-type uranium in the country, according to state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

CNNC said the discovery was made through a combination of deep drilling and predictive geological modeling and is part of a broader strategy to reduce reliance on imported nuclear fuel.

This type of deposit, long favored for its relative ease and low cost of extraction, is emerging as a crucial part of China’s strategy to reduce reliance on foreign uranium amid an unprecedented expansion of its nuclear power fleet.

“By implementing relatively deep drilling verification, we finally discovered thick industrial uranium mineralisation in the desert heart,” said Qin Mingkuan, principal investigator at CNNC, as quoted by state broadcaster CCTV.

According to official data, China imported about 13,000 metric tons of uranium in 2023, while domestic production amounted to just 1,700 metric tons.

However, demand is still soaring. The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that China’s nuclear fleet could require over 40,000 metric tons of uranium annually by 2040, nearly triple today’s global annual uranium production.

Shifting ground

Until recently, most of China’s uranium was extracted from granite and volcanic rock formations in the southern provinces, which are harder to mine and less scalable.

In contrast, sandstone-hosted uranium, found in northern regions like Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, is more conducive to in-situ leaching, a process that allows for less invasive, lower-cost recovery.

According to CNNC, The newly discovered deposit in Tarim is a proof point for China’s investment in geophysical modeling, which it used remote sensing and predictive analytics to identify the site before drilling.

The achievement is also being seen as a technological validation for CNNC’s flagship “National No. 1 Uranium” demonstration project in the Ordos Basin in Inner Mongolia — now the country’s largest uranium production base by capacity.

Earlier this month, that site produced its first barrel of uranium, just a year after breaking ground.

The project employs advanced in-situ leaching techniques that use carbon dioxide and oxygen-enriched water to extract uranium from underground ore bodies. The process is touted as not only environmentally cleaner than traditional mining, but also more efficient.

Strategic push for uranium

China’s renewed focus on domestic uranium forms part of its overall strategy to support its nuclear energy ambitions, which are now among the most aggressive in the world.

According to a Goldman Sachs report, roughly half of all nuclear reactors currently under construction worldwide are located in China.

As of the end of 2024, the country had 58 operational reactors generating about 56.9 gigawatts of electricity, with another 32 reactors under construction expected to add more than 34 gigawatts of capacity. Dozens more are in the planning pipeline.

The China Nuclear Energy Association further projects that installed capacity will reach 200 gigawatts by 2040 — a level that would more than double the current US nuclear fleet and make China the undisputed global leader in atomic energy.

To fuel that expansion, China has adopted a “three-thirds” approach: one-third of uranium to be sourced domestically, one-third from overseas joint ventures or equity stakes, and one-third purchased on the open market.

But recent geopolitical tensions — including US export restrictions on some nuclear-related equipment — have increased pressure on Beijing to accelerate domestic uranium production.

In April, China’s State Council approved the construction of additional reactors across five coastal sites, requiring a combined investment of nearly 200 billion yuan (US$27.9 billion).

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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