Author: Bruce Hawsking

American Firms Invested $1 Billion in Chinese Chips, Lawmakers Find
8Feb Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
Business

American Firms Invested $1 Billion in Chinese Chips, Lawmakers Find

A congressional investigation has determined that five American venture capital firms invested more than $1 billion in China’s semiconductor industry since 2001, fueling the growth of a sector that the United States government now regards as a national security threat.Funds supplied by the five firms — GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Walden International — went to more than 150 Chinese companies, according to the report, which was released Thursday by both Republicans and Democrats on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.The investments included roughly $180 million that went to Chinese firms that the committee said directly or indirectly support Beijing’s military. That includes companies that the U.S. government has said provide chip...
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Halted Deportation Flights to Venezuela Set Back Biden’s Migrant Strategy
8Feb Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
World

Halted Deportation Flights to Venezuela Set Back Biden’s Migrant Strategy

When deportation flights from the United States to Venezuela resumed last fall after four years, it was a move meant to show that President Biden was aggressively tackling the record numbers of crossings at the U.S. southern border.The expulsions were also meant to deter other Venezuelans who might be considering the journey.But on Wednesday, for the second week in a row, U.S.-run flights to Venezuela carrying migrants did not depart as planned — a move that seems to be initiated by Venezuela.The Venezuelan government did not respond to repeated requests for comment about whether it was permanently halting the deportation flights, but a social media post by Venezuela’s vice president last month threatened to stop them after the United States reimposed some economic sanctions.Officials at t...
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Many Transgender Americans Face Stigma and Financial Hardship, Survey Finds
7Feb Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
Health

Many Transgender Americans Face Stigma and Financial Hardship, Survey Finds

Transgender and nonbinary Americans experience stark rates of unemployment and harassment, according to the largest survey of their life experiences to date. The data reflect a longstanding pattern of discrimination at a time when states across the country have passed laws restricting their health care, bathroom access and participation in sports.The findings come from the U.S. Transgender Survey, which many researchers and policymakers have relied on since a version of it debuted in 2011. The National Center for Transgender Equality, an advocacy group, carried out the latest iteration of the survey in late 2022, garnering responses from more than 92,000 transgender and nonbinary Americans, age 16 and up, from every state in the country.The group released a preliminary analysis of response...
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Six days on the bubble with America’s most eclectic team
7Feb Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
Sports

Six days on the bubble with America’s most eclectic team

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s 9:40 a.m. in the southeast parking lot at The Pit, and a man in black-and-white face paint circles on a dirt bike. This is Snake. He arrives early for New Mexico men’s basketball games, hypes up friendly faces and sportively harasses the visiting team when it arrives. Everyone knows Snake. He’s been at this for years. He’s a believer.An attendant asks Snake how he is, and Snake declares he has everything he needs. His Lobos are hunting for their first NCAA Tournament berth in a decade. In a couple hours, they’ll be on network television, playing the first of back-to-back home games against ranked teams. That hasn’t happened in two decades. A door cracked open for a program aching to find a way.When the team’s coach, Richard Pitino, pulls into his parking spot, Snak...
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Vision Pro Goggles Aren’t Safe While Driving a Tesla, U.S. Says
7Feb Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
Technology

Vision Pro Goggles Aren’t Safe While Driving a Tesla, U.S. Says

Videos being shared across social media this week depict an almost dystopian, futuristic scene: drivers of Teslas in Autopilot mode while wearing Apple Vision Pro headsets, seemingly unaware of the road in front of them.The videos led federal transportation officials to issue warnings.But are people really mindlessly riding around in Teslas in Autopilot mode, wearing Apple’s futuristic new goggles? Or is it all just a bit? Part of a never-ending cycle of people doing silly things for clicks, likes, views and clout?The new goggles have a feature that merges digital apps and one’s surroundings into one immersive space, and videos of people wearing them in strange settings have started to crop up across the internet since they were released on Feb. 2.Several of the videos taken in cars appear...
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Snap Shares Plummet After Q4 Earnings Report
6Feb Avatar photoBy Bruce HawskingNo Comments
Business

Snap Shares Plummet After Q4 Earnings Report

Snap’s stock fell more than 30 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday after its guidance fell short of analyst expectations even as the company reported a 5 percent increase in revenue, its second straight quarter of growth.The Snapchat parent company released guidance for the first quarter estimating larger-than-expected losses compared with Wall Street’s expectations — prompting some analysts to suspect the company was spending more aggressively than anticipated. Last quarter, Snap declined to provide guidance because of the uncertainty surrounding the war between Israel and Hamas.Amplifying concerns, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, last week reported that its profit more than tripled.“This is particularly problematic for the company after Meta posted such great numbers in th...
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