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The Alliance for ‌Automotive Innovation has called on Congress to pass ​legislation permanently barring Chinese vehicles from the U.S. market before the end of the year. "Right now, Chinese automakers are dumping subsidized vehicles with connected software and hardware around the world," the group's CEO John Bozzella wrote in a letter to Congress. "This hasn’t happened inside the U.S. yet, but given the scale and urgency of this threat, we ​urge you to enact a Chinese vehicle, software and hardware ban before adjourning this year and ⁠make this policy the law of the land." The alliance represents General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Honda, Stellantis and other major automakers.

 

The Hill

Automotive News

Electrek

Reuters

An Amazon Air Boeing 767-300 cargo plane operated by 21 Air overshot the runway while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday, struck several vehicles, and killed at least five people while injuring five others, including three critically. The aircraft had flown from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and left the usable runway area shortly after touching down at 1:53 p.m. local time. The accident prompted a temporary ground stop and significant delays at the airport. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration have launched investigations into the cause of the crash.

 

Miami Herald

New York Times

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Reuters reports that a swarm of OpenAI agents escaped testing and hijacked a German website this spring and transformed it into a bulletin board for other AI agents. Researchers said they identified more than 15,000 edits carried out by AI agents on a German-language wiki site, DseWiki, a resource for programmers that accepts communal edits in the manner of Wikipedia. Maurice Chiodo, ​an academic at Cambridge University's Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, said the episode resembled "the operation of some sort of underground network, hell-bent on achieving a task or mission." The ​greatest threat from advanced AI may not be a single superintelligent system, but "vast colluding swarms of semi-intelligent AI," Chiodo said.

 

Reuters

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said central banks are facing a “serious challenge” to their independence from populist parties. In a speech at the London School of Economics Trium Anniversary Conference, Bailey said: “Across many countries we have witnessed growing skepticism towards public institutions generally.” He said one particular challenge to central bank independence was coming from “populist political movements,” observing: “Any institution seen to get in the way becomes an unrepresentative elite standing between the people and their will, and thus an obstacle to popular sovereignty . . . This is a serious challenge.” He said central banks “cannot take legitimacy for granted” and must communicate clearly and openly with the public, and remain accountable to elected representatives.

 

Bank of England

Financial Times

London Evening Standard

Elon Musk’s xAI has failed to block Minnesota from enforcing its law banning the use of AI tools for generating nonconsensual nude images. The state’s first-of-its-kind law prohibits websites, apps, and software programs from allowing users to generate nonconsensual fake nude images or videos with AI. Advertising such services is also prohibited. The law went into effect on August 1st, and imposes civil penalties of up to $500,000 for each unlawful access, download, or use. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, said the state's ​law was "overwhelmingly bipartisan and nearly ​unanimously approved" by state ⁠lawmakers. He added: "These nudification apps have been used to generate child sexual abuse materials and harass people in the vilest ways imaginable . . . That repulsive behavior is not welcome in Minnesota."

 

Reuters

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued shareholder advisory firm ISS over non-compliance with subpoenas. The agency said ISS has not produced all requested material but has not concluded that securities laws were violated. The lawsuit comes amid broader federal scrutiny of proxy advisers following a December executive order from President Donald Trump. 

 

CNBC	Financial Times

Belgian authorities have seized €65m ($76m) in a French probe into suspected ‌aggravated tax fraud and money laundering involving U.S.-based consulting firm McKinsey, which said ​it was cooperating with French authorities and ⁠denied any wrongdoing. "We reaffirm that we are ​committed to complying with our tax obligations ​in France and in every country that we operate in. We remain fully focused on serving our clients ​in France and continue to do so ​to the highest professional standards," McKinsey said.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Good Good Golf chief executive Matt Kendrick and president Joe Flannery have left the company following widespread criticism of a Callaway driver advert showing co-founder Garrett Clark shoving a woman to the ground and telling her not to touch the club, according to multiple reports. Co-founder Nahid Giga has been named interim CEO, while Callaway has ended its relationship with Good Good and retailers including Golf Galaxy and Dick’s Sporting Goods have removed the company’s merchandise from shelves. The video, intended as a horror-film parody, was deleted on the day it was posted, but subsequent apologies failed to contain the backlash, which also drew criticism from PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp.

 

Chicago Tribune

Charles Schwab is imposing stricter limits on tax-aware long-short investment accounts amid concerns about rapid growth and the complexity of the strategies. Beginning September 16th, clients will need at least $10m in assets to fund certain long-short separately managed accounts, up from $1m. Schwab will also stop enrolling new clients or accepting additional funds in portfolio margin accounts, which use greater leverage. The restrictions apply only to new accounts, with existing clients retaining their current terms. The changes mark at least the third time Schwab has tightened access to tax-aware long-short strategies, which seek to generate investment losses that can offset capital gains. Rival Fidelity Investments has gone further by indefinitely pausing new-client onboarding as both firms reassess the risks associated with the strategies’ rapid expansion.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters reports that a federal appeals court has declined to enforce most of a National Labor Relations Board ruling that Starbucks illegally threatened ​staff with reprisals for seeking to unionize. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-0 decision, dismissed claims that the coffee chain violated federal labor law when management at a Wichita, Kansas, store told ​staff they closed their hiring portal and reduced hours because of union or ​other protected activities. The court upheld a finding that the retailer illegally ⁠threatened to deny maternity leave benefits to a pregnant employee if workers unionized.

 

Reuters

PayPal has cut 220 jobs in India as part of the payments firm's broader, multi-year turnaround plan detailed earlier this year by newly appointed CEO Enrique Lores. "The recent staffing changes are part of our previously announced multi-year transformation to simplify our global operations, ​strengthen execution, and position the company for long-term growth," a ​PayPal spokesperson said.

 

Reuters

Billionaire attorney John Morgan has defended his personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan’s controversial work-from-home policy, which includes monitoring employees with cameras and productivity tracking. Describing on a podcast how the arrangement was introduced at America's largest injury law firm, Morgan said: "Here's what we're going to do. You can work from home, but guess what? We're going to put a camera on your computer. We're going to put a camera up your ass." He said 23 employees left within the first week.

 

People.com

Orlando Weekly

Inc.com

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