PatientsLikeMe, a health-tech startup that connects patients with similar medical conditions, is being forced to find a buyer after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) ordered Chinese firm iCarbonX, its majority owner, to divest its stake in the company.
The big picture: This is the latest sign of the Trump administration's growing concern over Chinese ownership of U.S. firms that collect consumer data. CFIUS ordered Beijing Kunlun Tech to give up its control of Grindr last week, arguing the Chinese firm's ownership of the app — which came under fire last year for sharing customers' HIV status — constituted a threat to U.S. national security.
The British pound has barely moved on major Brexit headlines over the past week, holding between $1.30 and $1.32 against the dollar.
Details: On Wednesday, it edged up just 0.2% during North American trading hours after Parliament approved a cross-party bill to block a no-deal Brexit by a single vote, an outcome many feared could lead to mass instability in Britain and Europe.
A Chinese woman carrying 4 cellphones, a laptop, an external hard drive and a USB stick laced with malware was charged with illegally entering President Trump's Mar-a-lago club in Florida this weekend and lying to federal agents about why she was there.
Details: The affidavit states that Yujing Zhang spoke broken English, but indicated to Secret Service agents and Mar-a-lago security that she was a relative of a member of the club and wanted to visit the pool to swim. Inside, she told a front desk receptionist that she was there for a "United Nations Friendship Event" between China and the U.S. — an event the receptionist knew did not exist.
British members of parliament voted Wednesday night in favor of legislation requiring the government to request another extension to the Brexit process and avoid leaving the EU with no deal — just.
Details: The bill passed in the House of Commons 313-312. It will need approval in the House of Lords, the upper house of the parliament to become law. The EU must decide whether to grant an extension. European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans told Germany’s Die Welt newspaper the EU "cannot forever continue this way in the Brexit negotiations and always extend by two weeks."