Amazon is caught in a surprise grassroots battle with local critics who are furious that it's been promised billions of taxpayer dollars to put jobs in New York, Arlington and Nashville, the winners of its search for a second headquarters.
Why it matters: Amazon won the top-down battle, with support from governors, mayors and economic development organizations. But it’s now confronting bottom-up outrage from activists and local lawmakers who were cut out of the bidding process.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Saturday that the detention of two Canadian citizens in China is "worrying not only for Canada but for the world," the New York Times reports.
The big picture: U.S. experts view the arrests of writer Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig as "direct retaliation" by China for Canada's detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who stands accused of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. Canada maintains that Meng was given "absolute access to due process" and will be able to appeal an extradition request from the U.S. The Times reports that Kovrig, meanwhile, has been subjected to hours of interrogation and possible mistreatment by Chinese authorities.
The U.S.-directed arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada sounds an alarm for the increasingly contentious dynamic between China and the U.S.
Why it matters: When it comes to 5G, Huawei is the fastest horse in a thinning race, with potential to gain a monopoly in the next decade. But the U.S. has now launched a global campaign against the company without a serious domestic alternative for 5G infrastructure.
Apple said Thursday it would temporarily stop selling the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 in its stores in Germany after a court there issued an injunction in a Qualcomm-related lawsuit.
Details: The ruling applies to iPhones that infringe on a Qualcomm patent related to power management, specifically those with an Intel modem and a chip from Qorvo.
I spent a week in the 2019 GMC Sierra Denali pickup truck, one of three finalists in the truck category for the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards.
The big picture: There's an escalating race as pickups get more luxurious and more high-tech — and more expensive. The Sierra Denali Ultimate I drove had all the bells and whistles along with a $68,235 price tag.
This week's ride is the 2019 Nissan Altima, the perennial runner-up in a shrinking sedan market behind the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
The big picture: The redesigned Altima looks to shake things up with the addition of optional all-wheel-drive (which the Camry and Accord don't offer), two new engine choices and a huge array of active-safety features.
Automated vehicle technology is moving fast — too fast to regulate, some would argue — but there are ways the industry can collaborate to ensure safety without stifling innovation.
The big picture: Tech and automotive companies are developing proprietary AV driving systems and strategies, from robo-taxis to delivery pods to heavy-duty trucks. If each shared their own critical safety data collected during testing, experts say they could use it to define standards and practices to guide future development.
As the rapid growth of e-commerce continues — it accounted for 42.5% of all retail sales growth last quarter — it's putting pressure on the U.S. trucking industry, which is already facing a 63,000-driver shortage, and bolstering the case for autonomous trucks.
Why it matters: The trucking industry's driver shortage is projected to hit 175,000 drivers by 2026 and may push retailers toward using autonomous trucks even sooner than passenger AVs are deployed.
In crafting new privacy laws to cover tech giants' vast appetite for user data, lawmakers are finding that they're having to draw up new rules for the old-fashioned brick-and-mortar world, too.
Why it matters: Consumer data is now the most valuable asset for nearly all companies — not just digital ones. Most large businesses operate simultaneously in both realms, and the boundaries between data's use online and offline have blurred.
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