#regulatory-policy

#regulatory-policy

Vermont's Democratic Socialist senator and Florida's right-wing governor want to slam the brakes on the hundreds of resource-intensive new facilities springing up across the country to power the artificial intelligence industry. And both point to profits, not the public good, as the real factor motivating the boom. In many ways, the convergence was inevitable. Public wariness about the data-center industry is growing, and politicians could no longer ignore the outcry. Public skepticism of AI is also ubiquitous.

Once a customer bought a car, that software could stay locked in a box and never need to be updated unless something was wrong (and then it was a trip to a dealership). That strategy worked great right up until cars became rolling data centers on wheels. Now automakers are starting to stare down the reality of what complex hardware and connected software really meanboth the advantages and disadvantages. And the consensus? Maybe platform sharing and open-source software was the right idea all along.

Where raw milk is concerned, the issue is not one of product branding but one of consumer safety, as raw milk isn't pasteurized. Pasteurization kills harmful bacteria that can cause food-borne illness, including Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella. During the pasteurization process, milk is heated to a temperature high enough to neutralize dangerous pathogens and held at that temperature long enough to get the job done

UK-listed companies will be able to bury controversies over executive pay for the first time in eight years, a thinktank has warned, after the Labour government shut down a public tracker meant to curb abuses and excess in the boardroom. The public register was launched under the Tory prime minister Theresa May in 2017 to name and shame companies hit by shareholder revolts at their annual general meetings (AGMs). That included rebellions over issues such as excessive bonuses or salary increases for top earning bosses.

And they don't seem to be leaving any time soon. Trump has ordered his advisers to ensure that the nation is "the unrivaled world leader" in AI and quantum information. The subjects are listed first and second on the administration's list of research and development priorities. And on 11 December, Trump signed an executive order preventing US states from regulating AI, with the goal of speeding the technology's development.

"Nobody in our country of animal lovers wants to see suffering and our plan will support work to end animal testing wherever possible and roll out alternatives as soon as it is safe and effective to do so," he said.

Rivian Automotive Inc. is cutting more than 600 jobs, or about 4.5% of its workforce, as the company contends with an unsteady market for electric vehicles in the US. In a memo seen by Bloomberg, Rivian Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe said the company is cutting the workforce as part of structural adjustments ahead of the launch of its new R2 model and amid the need to profitably scale.

The White House's decision, announced during the government shutdown, seems designed to put pressure on Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leaders in the Senate and House respectively, who both happen to represent New York State. But the specific way in which Donald Trump has decided to block the projects-by imposing an onerous regulatory-review process-is a troubling omen of how he might broadly undermine development across the country.

When the corroded pipeline burst in 2015, inky crude spread along the Southern California coast, becoming the state's worst oil spill in decades. More than 140,000 gallons (3,300 barrels) of oil gushed out, blackening beaches for 150 miles from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, polluting a biologically rich habitat for endangered whales and sea turtles, killing scores of pelicans, seals and dolphins, and decimating the fishing industry.

Business law today sits at the intersection of shifting political and regulatory forces, as governments worldwide respond to evolving issues like antitrust scrutiny, ESG compliance, and global trade tensions. These changes are reshaping how companies operate - and in turn, how lawyers advise them. For law students, understanding this dynamic landscape isn't optional; it's essential preparation for a profession where business, policy, and law are increasingly intertwined.