China's Tencent revises pay rise policy in memo, amid cost savings pressures

By Josh Ye - Yesterday 

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's Tencent Holdings has told staff it will no longer guarantee them a pay raise upon promotion, according to an internal letter seen by Reuters, as it reviews its salary policy amid a wider cost-cutting drive.

The Chinese social media and gaming giant told its employees of the policy change on Tuesday, saying the decision was taken as part of a yearly review in consideration of the "company's operation plan and the external environment."

But it said the company would still conduct an annual salary review to consider an individual's contribution and performance.

Tencent, which declined to comment on Wednesday, told staff in 2020 it would no longer guarantee an annual salary rise.

Related video: US labels China a currency manipulator as Beijing allows yuan to sink to lowest level in 11 years

Its latest policy change reflects the changing circumstances of China's technology giants, once among the fastest growing Chinese firms and sought after employers but now hit hard by a bruising regulatory crackdown and a slowing economy.

Tencent, China's most valuable company, reported quarterly earnings last month showing profit halved from a year earlier and revenues stagnated, its worst performance since it went public in 2004.

Founder and Chief Executive Pony Ma told analysts the company had implemented cost control measures and scaled back non-core businesses in the first quarter. He said it was looking to "achieve a more optimised cost structure going forward".

It has shut its Penguin Esports unit. Reuters reported earlier this year that Tencent and peer Alibaba Group planned to make numerous job cuts.

The latest Tencent salary policy change, first reported by local media on Wednesday, was one of the most discussed topics on the Maimai career portal, China's equivalent of Linkedin.

"Quality candidates will now weigh the stability of a Tencent job," said one user on Maimai, who used a pseudonym and said he was a Tencent employee.

Ma caused a stir on Chinese social media recently after he reposted an article on China's economy, breaking his usual silence on an increasingly sensitive topic.

(Reporting by Josh Ye; Editing by Brenda Goh and Edmund Blair)

Green still grey area for ESG investors despite mounting scrutiny by watchdogs in U.S. and Canada

Barbara Shecter - Yesterday 

© Provided by Financial PostIdentifying

Regulators in Canada and the United States are pushing ESG funds to disclose more information to weed out “greenwashing” and other misleading practices, but a lack of standardized terms and metrics mean those buying the funds must still be wary, investor advocates say.

The latest attempt to separate marketing pitches from strategies that truly fulfill environmental objectives come via the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which last week proposed rules that, among other things, crack down on whether fund names accurately reflect the underlying strategy.

Those marketing their funds with a focus on environmental, social or governance objectives would have to invest at least 80 per cent of their assets to that end, according to the proposal. Funds would also have to disclose information about the emissions of companies they hold, and how they measure their progress against stated goals, in their communication with investors through fund prospectuses, annual reports and adviser brochures.

Canadian regulators, too, have been focused on identifying greenwashing in the fund business. Last year, the Canadian Securities Administrators, an umbrella organization for the country’s provincial and territorial market watchdogs, oversaw a wide-ranging review of the marketing, regulatory disclosure and sales communications of funds whose investment objectives reference ESG strategies.

Following the review, which found that more than half the funds scrutinized “lacked detailed disclosure in their investment strategies about the specific ESG factors considered by the fund,” the CSA issued fresh guidance to the industry in January.

The CSA review also uncovered a widespread failure to disclose how ESG factors were evaluated, and more than a third of the funds reviewed held investments in industries that should not have been permitted by their exclusionary investment strategies. Further, about one-fifth of the funds reviewed had portfolio holdings that appeared to be inconsistent with the fund’s name, investment objectives or investment strategies.

The guidance introduced this year “aims to bring greater clarity to ESG-related fund disclosure and sales communications to enable investors to make more informed investment decisions,” said Ilana Kelemen, a spokesperson for the CSA.

Still, with a growing number of ESG-marketed funds and no strict or uniform criteria for what they must accomplish on social, environmental or governance issues, investment advocates and environmental groups don’t expect a one-size-fits-all solution.

“The essential problem is that the world still lacks accepted, standardized metrics for ESG — so for the time being, ‘green’ is grey,” said Neil Gross, a veteran securities lawyer and investor advocate.

The responses from regulators on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border seem to back up the notion that they have a limited role to play for now, putting the emphasis on beefing up and policing disclosure requirements rather than writing new rules and enforcing a specific code.

“Regulators can and should help us to separate the meaningful from the marketing, by requiring more complete disclosure from fund managers about the elements and depth of their approach,” said Kevin Thomas, chief executive officer of the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE).

“What they can’t do is to regulate what constitutes the one, true, ESG strategy, because those strategies vary widely and are regularly being tested and updated as we learn more about what’s needed and what works.”

With no new rules on the books in Canada, it will be up to individual provincial and territorial regulators to determine when and where enforcement action is warranted, according to Gross.

The CSA noted that its review of 32 funds, managed by 23 different investment fund managers, was intended to gauge how existing disclosure standards including “full, true and plain disclosure of all material facts” were being applied to funds that referenced ESG in their investment objectives or strategies or marketed themselves in online sales communications as ESG-related funds.

The umbrella group also noted that some of its findings were observational, rather than strictly related to compliance with disclosure requirements.

The SEC rules on ESG-related disclosure proposed last week are open for a 60-day comment period and aren’t expected to be finalized for several months, but that hasn’t stopped regulators from taking action in specific cases.

Earlier this month, the SEC imposed a first-of-its-kind fine of US$1.5 million on the investment advisory arm of BNY Mellon in a settlement over allegations of misstatements and omissions related to information about ESG investment criteria for its mutual funds between July 2018 and September 2021. Before the settlement, the regulator had alleged that while various fund statements suggested all investments in the funds had undergone an ESG quality review, this was not always the case.

Regulators aren’t alone in pushing for greater transparency and uniformity when it comes to climate-related activity, and funds aren’t the only target. In Canada’s spring budget, for example, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government pledged to require big banks to disclose climate-related financial risks.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) is now consulting with banks and other federally regulated financial institutions on climate disclosure guidelines that will adhere to the global Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework.

And separate from the review that led to fresh guidance for the fund industry in January, the CSA has sought input on how a wider range of companies should disclose climate-related risks, opportunities and financial impacts to address concerns disclosure is not complete, consistent, or comparable. The regulator said tackling these issues would improve access to global capital markets in part “by aligning Canadian disclosure standards with expectations of international investors.”

Canadian climate activists ask bankers to close ESG debt loopholes

Green investing: The risk of a new misselling scandal

Emerging ESG bond boom puts world on path to sell US$1.8 trillion

The comment period ended in February, and the CSA’s Kelemen said staff are reviewing the comments received, as well as rules proposed by the SEC and disclosure standards proposed by the International Sustainability Standards Board. They will then make recommendations for “a final form of rule” to the provincial and territorial securities regulators that are members of the CSA.

Some, including the Ontario Securities Commission, already appear to be preparing to beef up requirements, Gross said.

“A year ago, OSC and BCSC (British Columbia Securities Commission) staff began sweeps to assess the general accuracy of ESG claims,” he said, adding that the OSC laid out plans to further consult and develop rules for companies on climate-change disclosure in the regulator’s statement of priorities for 2022-23.

• Email: bshecter@postmedia.com | Twitter: BatPost

Groups urge U.S. to probe 'loot box' on Electronic Arts video game

By Diane Bartz - 

© Reuters/Lucy NicholsonFILE PHOTO: People play Electronic Arts' "FIFA" video game at the Microsoft Xbox booth at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, in Los Angeles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer advocates on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to investigate video game maker Electronic Arts Inc for the misleading use of a digital "loot box" that "aggressively" urges players to spend more money while playing a popular soccer game.


© Reuters/Brendan McDermidFILE PHOTO: The Electronic Arts Inc., logo is displayed on a screen during a PlayStation 4 Pro launch event in New York

The groups Fairplay, Center for Digital Democracy and 13 other organizations urged the Federal Trade Commission to probe the EA game "FIFA: Ultimate Team".

In the game, players build a soccer team using avatars of real players, and compete against other teams. In a letter to the FTC, the groups said the game usually costs $50 to $100 but that the company would push players to spend more while they played.


© Reuters/DADO RUVICIllustration shows Electronic Arts and FIFA logos

"It entices players to buy packs in search of special players," said the letter sent by these groups along with the Consumer Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health and others.

The packs, or loot boxes, are packages of digital content sometimes purchased with real money that give the purchaser a potential advantage in a game. They can be purchased with digital currency, which can obscure how much is spent, they said

"The chances of opening a coveted card, such as a Player of the Year, are miniscule unless a gamer spends thousands of dollars on points or plays for thousands of hours to earn coins," the groups said in the letter.

The letter also linked the loot boxes to gambling.

"In some cases, young people who have already developed problem gambling behaviors seek out games with loot boxes; for others, loot boxes are a gateway to problem gambling," they wrote.

The FTC, which goes after companies that engage in deceptive behavior, held a workshop on loot boxes in 2019. In a "staff perspective" which followed, the agency noted that video game microtransactions have become a multi-billion-dollar market.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by David Gregorio)

Stagflation-lite? Risk of stagflation grows, though unlikely a repeat of 1970s

Yesterday

Canada is leaning toward a new era of 1970s-style stagflation as the pace of economic growth slows yet inflation remains stubbornly high, economists say.


© Provided by The Canadian PressStagflation-lite? Risk of stagflation grows, though unlikely a repeat of 1970s

The abnormal mix of rising prices and high joblessness gripped the country 40-odd years ago.

Supply shocks sent energy costs soaring, interest rates climbed to devastating heights and unemployment was rampant.

Now some experts say conditions are ripe for a return of the economic phenomenon.

"I would say in the next year we're looking at a recession in this country, which in combination with continued inflation could spell stagflation," said Armine Yalnizyan, an economist and Atkinson Foundation fellow.

"We can't duck the global forces that are pointing at recession ... the question is whether raising interest rates will slow inflation."

While stagflation could make a comeback, it would likely be a more mellow version of the economic anomaly — a sort of stagflation-lite.

"I don't think it's unrealistic to expect that we could see a world where we have higher inflation and higher unemployment," said Fred Bergman, a senior policy analyst with the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, an independent Halifax-based economic think tank.

"We could see those two tracking up, which is rare. But it's going to be very modest compared to what we saw back in the 1970s and 1980s."

The simultaneous increase in inflation and unemployment stumped economists and policymakers in the 1970s.

Economics 101 would say the macroeconomic issues of inflation and unemployment have an inverse relationship. High inflation occurs during periods of low unemployment and vice versa.

Stagflation topples this theory by pairing high inflation with rising joblessness and slowing growth.

Solving it is a conundrum. The levers used to tackle inflation could slow the economy and ratchet up joblessness, while efforts to spur economic growth could fuel rising prices.

"This creates a bit of a quagmire for policy people," Bergman said. "When the inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation is upended, it leads to a policy dichotomy."

The challenge facing the Bank of Canada is raising interest rates enough to tame inflation but not triggering a recession.

In an unprecedented move, the central bank hiked its key interest rate for the second time in two months on Wednesday, bringing its policy rate to 1.5 per cent.

But it's unclear whether it will be enough to temper inflation.

The annual pace of inflation rose to 6.8 per cent in April, the fastest year-over-year rise in more than three decades.

Finding the interest rate sweet spot is complicated by the fact that there's a lag effect between higher rates and the influence on consumer spending and business investment.

"They're walking a fine line and it's a bit of a balancing act," Bergman said. "We're going to see the economy slow down and ... we could move to the borderline of a recession."

In a speech last month, Bank of Canada deputy governor Toni Gravelle said comparisons between rising inflation now with the stagflation period of the 1970s aren’t justified.

"We don’t see the stagnant part of stagflation — quite the opposite," he said. "The Canadian economy, across many measures, is running pretty hot."

While higher interest rates will reduce demand and slow growth, they should also reduce inflation — undercutting the inflation component of stagflation, he said.

The trouble is, it might not, economists say.

Some factors pushing up prices in Canada are likely to continue despite higher interest rates.

"There are other forces that could keep inflation high, even though the economy is going down," said Nicolas Vincent, an economics professor at HEC Montréal.

"We keep getting hit by supply shocks."

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, COVID-19 lockdowns in China and backlogged supply chains are all fuelling higher prices.

These situations are likely to continue.

"The invasion of Ukraine and the China experience guarantees that we are looking at at least another year of this until price pressures start to unwind," Yalnizyan said.

"The easiest tools we have in our tool box are central bank policies, which themselves will slow growth but they risk making the situation worse not better ... it's a tightrope exercise."

The stagflation problem that started in the 1970s only ended in the early 1980s when the Bank of Canada hiked interest rates to the point where the prime lending rate soared to above 20 per cent, the Conference Board of Canada said in a recent analysis.

"Inflation and inflation expectations eventually plunged, but the cost was a brutal recession that saw the unemployment rate hit 12 per cent in the early 1980s," the Conference Board said in the March report.

In other words, the remedy used to fix inflation could cause nearly as much pain in other areas.

Still, several conditions today are different than in the 1970s and could help Canada dodge stagflation.

Canada's unemployment rate fell to a record low of 5.2 per cent in April, Statistics Canada said last month.

The robust jobs market and ongoing labour shortage in several industries across the country is in stark contrast to the high unemployment recorded when baby boomers were young four decades ago.

"The labour market is running really hot," said William Robson, president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, an Toronto-based think tank.

"There are parallels to the 1970s but our unemployment rate is in a much better place."

Demographics and an aging population will also help keep joblessness at bay, he added.

Canada could benefit from ongoing higher commodity prices, potentially even fuelling a higher trade surplus.

Meanwhile, the country has significantly less unionization with fewer cost-of-living allowances baked into collective agreements and contracts.

"Workers in the past tried to catch up to price increases because otherwise they would be losing purchasing power," Yalnizyan said. "It led to a price-wage spiral where the one just kept feeding the other."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022.

Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press

YouTube could be liable for unauthorised uploads if slow to act, German court rules

Yesterday 

BERLIN (Reuters) - Google's YouTube and other platforms could have to pay copyright damages over unauthorised uploads even if the content was put online by a third party, Germany's top court ruled.


© Reuters/Dado RuvicA silhouette of a mobile user is seen next to a screen projection of Youtube logo in this picture illustration

The platforms would be liable only if they did not act quickly to block access once they had learned of illegal uploads, the court said in its ruling on Thursday.

The case comes amid a long-running battle between Europe's $1 trillion creative industry and online platforms, with the former seeking redress for unauthorised uploads.

It is also part of the wider debate on how much online platforms and social media should do to police the posting of unauthorised, illegal or hateful content.

Operators of upload platforms could in principle also be obliged to disclose the identify of users who commit the infringements and their email addresses, according to the ruling.

The court based its ruling on one issued by the EU Court of Justice last year.

Thursday's decision involves a lawsuit filed by a music producer after video and audio recordings of an artist he owned the rights to were still available on YouTube even after the producer's lawyer had sent a letter asking them to be removed.

No final decision was taken by the court over whether YouTube was liable, which means the case will return to the lower courts for re-examination based on the new guidelines.

YouTube said it was confident in the systems it had built to fight copyright infringement and ensure rights holders would receive their fair share.

(Reporting by Ursula Knapp and Miranda Murray; Editing by Nick Macfie)

U.S. Supreme Court inching closer to loosening gun laws

by Stephon Johnson

June 2, 2022

Gavel in front of a pistol. Gun laws and legislation concept. Credit: Courtesy of: vhcal

It’s the nightmare of any Democratic-dominated state or big city. These already have issues with guns being imported from states with looser laws.

A U.S. Supreme Court case could forever alter how America operates in the decades to come.

In New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. vs. Bruen, gun owners go virtually face-to-face with Democrat-dominated states and cities over the right to bear arms in public. The NRA and Co. is touting the second amendment as backup in their argument. States like New York and California don’t allow gun owners to carry in public, but are allowed to keep them in the home. That is not good enough for the NRA. They believe that the law violates the second amendment.

During Monday’s news conference, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said City Hall and law enforcement need to stay alert. He said he’s prepared to take on real guns, ghost guns and all guns.

“Open carry is a crisis,” the mayor said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program. “Can you imagine being on the four train as someone openly carrying a firearm? And then, we need to have the coordination between our ATF. Right now, we only have 2,400 ATF agents in our entire country. About 60 of them are here in New York. We have to double their size.” Adams then discussed the scenarios of gang members and other dangerous individuals carrying guns in public.

Guns are at the forefront of the American conversation after two high-profile incidents in May. Most recently, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos allegedly shot and killed 19 children (and several teachers) at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Like the tragedy in Sandy Hook, Ramos shot and killed his grandmother before making his way to the school. Ramos had allegedly shown signs of erratic and threatening behavior online, but was never reported to the authorities.


Before that, a tragic, racist shooting occurred in East Buffalo where 10 people were killed and three were wounded outside of a Tops supermarket in the predominantly-Black neighborhood. The shooter, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, drove three hours from Conklin (a town just south of Binghamton) to East Buffalo for the specific purpose of killing Black people. Both Ramos and Gendron allegedly detailed what they were planning on doing in manifestos/comments written online.

In April, 62-year-old Frank James allegedly fired 33 bullets from a handgun (and threw smoke grenades) that hit 10, but left several dozen injured during the mass escape out of the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. He’d also posted videos online showcasing erratic behavior.

The challenge to New York’s gun laws are part of a strategy by gun owners to allow public carry all over the United States. As of this week, 25 of the 50 states (Georgia being the most recent one) have codified it into law.

This comes after the NRA lost a federal bankruptcy request after the group attempted to reorganize in Texas. New York State Attorney General Letitia James can now continue her process of possibly dissolving the organization. The NRA filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2022 to, according to the AG, avoid “New York’s enforcement action.”

In a 2016 report, the New York State Attorney General Office found that 74% of guns used in crimes between 2010 and 2015 were imported from areas that have less restrictive gun laws. Chicago, a place that’s become the go-to talking point for political conservatives, has suffered a similar fate. A 2017 Gun Trace Report by the Chicago Police Department, the University of Chicago Crime Lab and then mayor Rahm Emanuel, revealed that 60% of all guns that were recovered in the city came from out of state. Twenty percent of them came from Indiana, a state that has weaker gun laws.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott said that he was declaring Uvalde a disaster area and that the state would provide as much help as the city needs.

“The community of Uvalde has been left devastated by last week’s senseless act of violence at Robb Elementary School and should not have to encounter any difficulty in receiving the support needed to heal,” stated Abbott. “This disaster declaration frees up the many resources available through the State of Texas and local jurisdictions to continue providing much needed support to all who were impacted and work in the community unencumbered by regulations unnecessary to respond to this tragedy. All of Texas stands with Uvalde, and we are prepared to provide support through all available means.”

Several days after the shooting, the NRA held its annual meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. According to Google, it would take someone four hours to drive from Uvalde to Houston. Just one hour less than Gendron’s ride from Conklin to East Buffalo.

This is what’s at stake, in some people’s eyes, when it comes to New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. vs. Bruen. The line between fostering and not fostering an environment for mayhem.

“Outside a salon. In a supermarket. A subway. A school. Gun violence pervades every corner of our communities because guns are perversely fetishized and endlessly accessible in our country,” stated New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. “There will be explanations uncovered and excuses put forward for this inexcusable violence, but all are enabled by the weapons in the hands of a shooter, and the people and systems that put them there.”

Biden faces pressure to help Black borrowers with heavy student debt

Aris Folley -


President Biden is reported to be closing in on a plan to cancel $10,000 in federal student debt per borrower, but some advocates are concerned about the impact it will have on Black borrowers, who data shows are likely to owe more to cover the costs of education.


© Provided by The HillBiden faces pressure to help Black borrowers with heavy student debt

Many Democrats at the helm of student loan forgiveness efforts have promoted broad-based cancellation as a way to advance racial equity, often citing data showing the disproportionate burden faced by Black borrowers, especially women.

But, as more reports surface of Biden’s plans narrowing in on a decision on some student debt forgiveness, advocates are dialing up the pressure.

“The impact that $10,000 would have would be so minor, that it wouldn’t really address the real issue for Black borrowers,” said Wisdom Cole, national director of the NAACP Youth & College Division.

Data from The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) found that Black graduates, who advocates acknowledge often have less access to intergenerational wealth due to historical racial discrimination, were more likely than other racial groups in 2016 to take on student debt, and more of it.

In the report, which cites figures from the Department of Education, 80 percent of Black bachelor’s degree recipients also were found to have graduated with an average debt of $34,000 at the time, more than their white, Hispanic, Latino, and Asian peers.

The data also adds to research from the Brookings Institution finding Black graduates are more likely than their white peers to default, and less likely to own a home than white Americans without a high school diploma.

A number of advocates and lawmakers say the White House should go as far as possible in cancellation to address the disproportionate amount of federal student debt carried by Black borrowers, pushing for total cancellation of the debt.

The calls build upon a growing push by Democratic lawmakers calling for Biden to support more significant cancellation, including approving as high as $50,000 in loan forgiveness.

“People are drowning in debt, especially Black borrowers, 10 years after taking out these loans. Two thirds of black borrowers hold more than they did when they started, more. Twenty years out they owe 95 percent of the loan. So, it’s also a racial equity issue here,” Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) told reporters last month after a meeting with Biden on the matter.

The campaign adds pressure to Biden ahead of the pivotal midterm races in November, amid ongoing attacks from Republicans over the student loans push they say is unfair, and as some experts warn of the effects limited debt action could have on economic efforts to promote racial equity in the long run.

Despite calls to go higher, reports that have surfaced in recent weeks signal the White House is most seriously looking at providing $10,000 in cancellation for some borrowers, in keeping with a previous campaign pledge by the president.

A recent version of the plan reported on by The Washington Post involved income caps for eligibility, restricting cancellation to individuals that brought in under $150,000 in 2021, and $300,000 for couples.

With those restrictions in place, student loan expert Mary Jo Terry said the intent appears to be aimed at helping “lower to middle class individuals in this scenario, which is going to help the racial divide.”

Sandy Baum, a nonresident senior fellow at the Urban Institute’s Center on Education Data and Policy, also said last month that the proposed cancellation could make a difference for borrowers who “hold just a little bit of debt” and are struggling financially.

“About a third of the people who have student debt, hold only 4 percent of the debt, so, in other words, a third of borrowers owe less than $10,000 that all together as up to 4 percent of all the outstanding debt,” Baum said. “But at the other end of the spectrum, you have about 7 percent of borrowers who owe more than $100,000.”

Some advocates have pushed back against applying means testing for eligibility, given fluctuations in income and economic instability during the pandemic, among other reasons.

Frederick Bell Jr., organizer at the Debt Collective, called the reported plan to attach income caps to debt forgiveness “​​a very slippery slope,” adding he often views means-testing as a way to “silence the right.”

Cole similarly expressed concerns about the reported income restrictions, arguing the impact it could have on shutting out Black women, as he said more are “continuing to seek higher education and degrees to support their families, and to support the community.”

“Income is not the same as wealth, and it’s very important that the administration consider the debt-to-income ratio, when thinking about a solution that is going to be equitable for all,” Cole said, adding “the way your dollar may stretch doesn’t look the same, from the Black community to the white community.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

Biden EPA to make it easier for states to block fossil fuel projects

Ella Nilsen - CNN

The Biden administration unveiled a plan Thursday to undo Trump-era rule changes to a key section of the Clean Water Act, essentially giving states, territories and tribes more say on fossil fuel or industrial projects that could pollute their watersheds.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule centers on Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, a longstanding provision that gives states more authority to certify or deny federal permits that are necessary for certain projects, including oil and gas pipelines.

Section 401 became a flashpoint in the Trump administration between Democratic governors with ambitious climate goals and Trump officials who wanted to promote more fossil fuel projects.

In some states, including Washington and New York, Democratic governors used that authority during the Trump administration to deny permits for fossil fuel projects. That caused Trump’s EPA to revise the regulation – shortening the amount of time states could have to make a determination and saying states could only consider water quality issues in the process.

The Trump-era change was part of that administration’s policies to streamline permitting processes for fossil fuel projects.

Biden’s EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced last year the agency planned to overturn the Trump rule and restore full authority to states. Thursday’s announcement marked a major step in the process.

In a statement, Regan emphasized that the agency tried to find middle ground between giving states, territories and tribes more say on their water, while also not hindering infrastructure around the country.

“EPA’s proposed rule builds on this foundation by empowering states, territories, and Tribes to use Congressionally granted authority to protect precious water resources while supporting much-needed infrastructure projects that create jobs and bolster our economy,” Regan said.

The EPA says the rule change will streamline the permitting process, setting a reasonable period of time for states to certify projects, giving them up to a year. It also restores a broader scope of review for states, territories and tribes certifying project to determine whether a project will harm their waterways. The new rule also calls for project proponents to actively engage with the states that are in charge of signing off on projects.

Julia Anastasio, executive director and general counsel for the Association of Clean Water Administrators, told CNN she believed the agency had struck a middle ground between permitting projects and giving states a say, adding the process under the Trump administration was often confusing and lacked coordination between federal agencies and states.

“It seems as if the agency thoughtfully considered the comments and concerns of their co-regulatory partners (the states) and restored the balance of cooperative federalism,” Anastasio said.

In a statement, American Gas Association president Karen Harbert said states have dragged their feet on certifying projects and expressed concern about the Biden EPA changes.

“It should not take longer to get the permits and permissions for a pipeline than it does to build one,” Harbert said. “We are concerned that the proposed rule will veer from the intent that Congress had when authoring the Clean Water Act and will allow some states to delay and increase costs for essential energy infrastructure.”

EPA will take public comment on the proposed rule for 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

Taser-equipped drones in the works to stop school shootings — despite ethics concerns

Kathryn Mannie - 


© Zou Xunyong/Getty Images

A police drone carries 95-1 assault rifle in a drill on January 9, 2022 in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province of China.

Axon, the maker of Taser brand stun guns, announced Thursday that they have begun developing weaponized drones that can be deployed to stop mass shooters. Mere hours later, Axon's own ethics board made a public statement condemning the project.

Axon's plan to develop "a non-lethal, remotely-operated TASER drone system" comes on the heels of a number of deadly mass shooting events that have rocked the United States in recent weeks, including a school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

"Today, the only viable response to a mass shooter is another person with a gun," Axon CEO and founder Rick Smith wrote in the announcement. "In the aftermath of these events, we get stuck in fruitless debates. We need new and better solutions."

"Now is the time to make this technology a reality — and to begin a robust public discussion around how to ethically introduce non-lethal drones into schools," Smith continued.

Axon proposes to use a system of cameras and sensors to detect shooters. First responders would then pilot the drones with the aim of "incapacitating an active shooter in less than 60 seconds."

Sorrow, anger grows as funerals set to begin for Uvalde school shooting victims

But not everyone at Axon was in agreement on this decision, as evidenced by an Axon ethics board statement that came out just hours after the new drone system was announced, saying that the new project gives them "considerable pause."

The ethics board wrote that Axon came to them a year ago with the idea for Taser-equipped drones, but the project was much more limited and would have only been used by police.

"A majority of the ethics board last month ultimately voted against Axon moving forward, even on those limited terms," wrote the board. "Now, Axon has announced it would not limit the technology to policing agencies, but would make it more widely available. And the surveillance aspect of this proposal is wholly new to us."

"Reasonable minds can differ on the merits of police-controlled Taser-equipped drones — our own board disagreed internally — but we unanimously are concerned with the process Axon has employed regarding this idea of drones in school classrooms."

In response to this pushback from the ethics board, Smith tweeted that he agrees with their concerns, writing "there are many questions we will need to answer to ensure these systems are designed for maximum safety & with equity in mind. That’s the exact reason why I decided to go public: to broaden the discussion with many stakeholders."


The ethics board is advisory, so Axon isn't beholden to their recommendations. Its members include privacy advocates, former police chiefs, civil rights advocates and computer scientists.

Three years ago, however, Axon decided not to add a facial recognition feature to police body cameras after a report from the ethics board.

Danielle Citron, a member of the ethics board and a University of Virginia law professor, told NBC News there is a likelihood that some or all of the ethics board members will resign due to the weaponized drone project.

"There's a lot of disappointment, but a lot of us don't want to be hasty and lose the chance to have an influence," she said. "If we all resign, then who's there?"

Axon has long factored in to public debates about police and surveillance equipment.

In 2017, Reuters found that more than 1,000 people in the U.S. had died after being stunned with Tasers. The stun gun itself was ruled as the cause of death or a contributing factor in 153 deaths.

Report From China Says Nio Is Hiring For Manufacturing Positions In The US

Andrei Nedelea - Saturday


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If this report is true, then it would confirm other rumors that Nio was looking to set up manufacturing in America.

Rumors have been floating around for months that Nio is looking to set up a manufacturing location in the United States, but today is not the day we get official confirmation. We instead came across some information that indirectly confirms it, this time straight from China, claiming that Nio is already hiring people for manufacturing-related jobs in the US, even though it has not officially announced building the facility.

According to Yicai, Nio (known in China by its company name, Wei Lai) is not only hiring people for manufacturing-related jobs, but is also looking to build a factory in the United States. We don’t yet know if it will purchase an already existing plant and repurpose it or build one from scratch in a new location.

They are also looking for an experienced designer with 10 years or more of blueprint planning and design experience for for an established automaker. It is in this particular job description that it is directly stated that the person to be appointed for this position would be

Responsible for above two experience of general drawing projects, including at least one US factory project.

The others are infrastructure experts, logistics managers and park planning experts, exactly the kind of professionals they would need to set up a factory. Nio already has a research and development center in the United States, in San Jose, California, where its American headquarters are also located.


And the way the job ad is phrased, it makes it perfectly clear that Nio may not stop at just having one factory in the US if things go according to plan.

Nio is also looking to open a new R&D center in Singapore, which will focus on the development of self-driving technology and artificial intelligence (AI). Singapore was apparently chosen because it would enable Nio to link its facility up with local science and research institutions; the country’s financial sector is also very well connected and this too would be useful for the automaker.

The company also has a design office open in Munich, right in the heart of the German automotive industry, in Bavaria. Nio’s expansion strategy is seen as aggressive by industry analysts who point to the fact that it now wants to expand into Europe, Southeast Asia and North America; last year it built around 200,000 vehicles, most of which were sold in China.