Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger called Monday for the U.S. to spend billions of dollars over the next few years as part of a "moonshot" designed to regain lost ground in semiconductor manufacturing. The goal, he said, is to see the U.S. again account for a third of global output, up from about 12% today.
Why it matters: Investments made now will take several years to bear fruit, so they won't do much to ease the current semiconductor shortage, but they're vital to America's long-term economic future and national security, Gelsinger told Axios on Monday.
President Biden has appointed former National Security Agency deputy director Chris Inglis and former NSA deputy director of counterterrorism Jen Easterly to two top cyber roles in the administration, the White House announced Monday.
Why it matters: Inglis will now be the nation's first national cyber director, and Easterly will run the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at the Department of Homeland Security. The appointments come as the White House is still dealing with the fallout over the 2020 SolarWinds cyberattack, which infiltrated multiple federal agencies.
Biden has vowed retaliation against Russia, which is suspected of the SolarWinds attack. He said in December that the breach is "a matter of great concern" and promised to impose "substantial costs" to those responsible.
Facebook plans to begin delivering notifications to users in their News Feed about vaccine eligibility in 20 countries starting this week, the company said Monday.
The big picture: It's part of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's pledge to help bring 50 million people closer to getting COVID-19 vaccines. Facebook has been scrutinized for misinformation on its platform that may deter people from wanting to get vaccinated.
Microsoft announced Monday it would buy Nuance Communications, a software company that focuses on speech recognition through artificial intelligence, in an all-cash transaction valued at $19.7 billion (including debt assumption).
Why it matters: This is Microsoft's second-largest acquisition, behind the $26.2 billion deal for LinkedIn in 2016.
Topps wants to do for MLB what Dapper Labs' NBA Top Shot has done for the NBA.
Driving the news: The 83-year-old card company revealed Monday morning that it will issue its flagship baseball cards as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in partnership with MLB and the MLBPA, Coindesk reports.
Corporate giants would be barred from acquisitions and century-old antitrust laws would get sharper teeth under a new proposal by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) shared exclusively with Axios.
The big picture: Hawley is among the Senate's most conservative members, but his attack on corporate power wouldn't sound out of place on Elizabeth Warren's or Bernie Sanders' agenda.
Police in Huntington Beach, California, declared an unlawful assembly to "disperse an unruly crowd" at a far-right rally Sunday.
The big picture: Police arrested 10 people at the so-called "white lives matter" rally after clashes between the extremists and counter-protesters, the Los Angeles Times reports. It was one of several poorly attended far-right protests held across the U.S. Sunday, per NBC News.
