☕ AI cash boost and Jan 6 pardons

Good morning!

As an unprecedented number of first-week executive orders filter through, change promised by President Trump has arrived earlier than many had predicted. Meanwhile, his broader team are beginning to assume their positions - new Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent yesterday meeting his counterparts from all over the world at the State Department.

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Some headlines from this morning:

⛪ Yesterday, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman scrapped Biden-era guidance that limited prohibited immigration agents from arresting people in churches, schools and other ‘sensitive locations’. The previous administration said, by designating ‘sensitive locations’ as zones safe from immigration enforcement, illegal immigrants would still be able access essential public services without fear of arrest or deportation. A spokesperson for Homeland Security stated that in enacting the new order,policy,

🚒 At least 76 people have died, and 51 more have been injured in a fire at a Turkish ski resort. 234 people were staying at The Grand Kartal Hotel when the building went up in flames at about 3:30am local time. Turkey’s Minister of the Interior Ali Yerlikaya said: ”You should know that whoever is responsible for causing this pain will not escape justice.” Authorities have detained nine people, including the hotel’s owner, as part of their investigation.

📺 Netflix has surpassed 300 million global subscribers for the first time. The streaming giant recorded 19 million new sign ups from October to December to finish the year with 302 million subscriptions. In its latest update to shareholders, Netflix said annual revenue was up 16% to $US10.2 billion. The streamer also flagged that as Netflix continues to “invest in programming and deliver more value” to its members, it will “occasionally” increase prices. It confirmed that the cost of “most plans” would increase immediately for users in the U.S, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina. The update did not include any mention of price changes for Australian Netflix subscribers.

🏈 Ohio State has won the college football national championship, defeating Notre Dame 34-23. The victory ends an 11-year drought for the Buckeyes, who last won a championship in the 2014 season. The convincing win, sealed by a field goal in the last two minutes of the game by Will Howard, vindicates the Buckeyes and their NFL program, which came under fire during a troubled regular season. Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s wait for the first title since 1988 continues.

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On Tuesday, President Trump announced a $500 billion joint venture by OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle called “Stargate”. The venture, which will fund the development of large-scale infrastructure to support the rollout of Artificial Intelligence across a range of industries, was hailed by the President as the “largest AI project in American history”.

Here’s what you need to know.

OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle

OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle are three of the largest AI companies in the world, alongside tech giants like Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft. CEOs Sam Altman, Masayoshi Son and Larry Elison appeared with Trump during his announcement yesterday.

According to Trump, the three companies are well placed to operate the joint venture. OpenAI is a leading AI research organisation responsible for the widely-used ChatGPT, Softbank is a major investor in emerging technologies and Oracle is a database software giant whose product is relied upon by AI companies.

OpenAI will have operation responsibility, Softbank will have financial responsibility and Oracle will chair the venture.

What will Stargate do?

In the past two years, there has been a rapid development of AI in terms of its use within existing public infrastructure, like social security or health services, as well as almost universally across the private sector.

However, stress on the capacity of existing data centers to process the large volumes of data required to train and run AI models has limited the rate of some progress. Stargate aims to improve American AI infrastructure, starting with ten data centers to be built in Texas, with another twenty to follow. It also aims to improve the energy infrastructure required to run the centersAIs.

Trump’s AI focus

Throughout his presidential campaign, President Trump promised to compete with China as the global leader in AI. On Tuesday, he pledged his support for the growth of AI, stating he would remove barriers restricting the creation of new data centers and make emergency declarations enabling Stargate to generate its own electricity.

The CEOs of the joint venture praised President Trump, saying this investment would not have been possible without him in office. Critics of the scheme say it will put undue pressure on power supply in Texas, while others expressed concern for the absence of any regulation in the space.

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President Donald Trump has granted a “full, complete, and unconditional pardon” to approximately 1,500 individuals charged or convicted over the 6 January 2021 insurrection.

The pardons were included in a series of executive orders signed by Trump in the hours after he was sworn in.

Trump said the decision “begins the process of national reconciliation.”

Background

On 6 January 2021, supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an attempt to halt the certification of the 2020 Presidential election results.

The siege caused over $2.8 million in damage to the Capitol building and costs incurred by police.

Around 140 police officers were injured on the day, including concussions and burns. Four rioters died on the day and day after the insurrection, including two heart attacks, an overdose, and a police shooting.

Since the incident, the Department of Justice has charged around 1,500 people with crimes including obstruction of justice, assaulting and resisting police officers, and destruction of government property.

Sentences were being handed down as recently as last week.

Executive order

An executive order is the President’s main power. It does not require Congress’ approval, and is therefore considered an ‘instant law’.

The recent order requires the U.S. prison authority implement the pardons immediately.

Under the Constitution, Presidents have the power to ‘pardon’ a person convicted by a Federal Court. It doesn’t remove their conviction, but can mean they don’t serve a prison sentence.

Trump also ‘commuted’ six sentences while the government conducts “further research” into their circumstances. This means their sentences have been reduced but not completed waived.

Trump’s statements

Speaking from the White House on the night of his inauguration, Trump referred to those convicted as “hostages”, saying he hopes “they come out tonight”.

The pardon applies to both individuals who have been charged and convicted as well as those with pending cases.

Those currently serving prison sentences for related offences will be “released immediately.”

It comes after senior members of his Cabinet said those convicted of violent crimes over the insurrection shouldn’t be pardoned.

For example, his nominee for Attorney General, Pam Bondi, said last week her priority would be to “review each and every file” of those charged or convicted over the insurrection, and avoid cases involving violence against law enforcement officers.

Last week, Vice President JD Vance told Fox News: “If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.”