President Donald Trump is considering signing an executive order as soon as Friday that would give the federal government unilateral power over regulating artificial intelligence, including the creation of an “AI Litigation Task Force” overseen by the attorney general, “whose sole responsibility shall be to challenge State AI laws.”
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Longer-lasting laptops: the modular hardware you can upgrade and repair yourself
The goal, Patel says, is to continuously cycle through all of Framework’s actively supported laptops, updating each of them one at a time before looping back around and starting the process over again. Functionality-breaking problems and security fixes will take precedence, while additional features and user requests will be lower-priority.
Technology
Here’s the Trump executive order that would ban state AI laws
According to a draft of the order obtained by The Verge, the Task Force would be able to sue states whose laws are deemed to obstruct the growth of the AI industry, citing California’s recent laws on AI safety and “catastrophic risk” and a Colorado law that prevents “algorithmic discrimination.” The task force will occasionally consult with a group of White House special advisers, including David Sacks, billionaire venture capitalist and the special adviser for AI and crypto.
In recent days, Trump has repeatedly posted his desire to have a state AI law moratorium, and reiterated it on Wednesday during his appearance at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, couching it as a way to fight “woke” ideology. “You can’t go through 50 states. You have to get one approval. Fifty is a disaster. Because you’ll have one woke state and you’ll have to do all woke. You’ll be back in the woke business. We don’t have woke anymore in this country. It’s virtually illegal. You’ll have a couple of wokesters.”
As part of the AI Action Plan released earlier this year, Trump had directed several federal agencies, including the FCC, to explore ways that they could circumvent “onerous” state and local regulations in order to promote the industry’s growth and innovation. The full executive order lays out a 90-day roadmap for several key agencies to implement that plan along with the Department of Justice: the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Commerce, and the Federal Communications Commission.
Within 90 days of the order being signed, the secretary of commerce will be directed to publish a report identifying which states are in violation of Trump’s AI policy directives, as well as research which states may become ineligible for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which funds rural broadband access for several states. The FTC, meanwhile, will be directed to issue a statement on whether states that require AI companies to change their algorithms would be in violation of laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices.
During an appearance at Politico’s AI & Tech Summit in September, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr floated one potential interpretation of the Communications Act that would allow them to override state law. “Effectively, if a state or local law is effectively prohibiting the deployment of this ‘modern infrastructure,’ then the FCC has authorities to step in there,” he told Politico’s Alex Burns.
Carr also brought up the possibility that the FCC’s regulatory powers could override a potential new law in California that would have required AI companies to disclose their safety testing models, saying that it would fulfill Trump’s goal of blocking “woke AI” that contained ideological biases.
He cited the European Union’s Digital Safety Act and raised his concern “their AI models are not going to be truth-seeking AI models, but they’re going to be woke AI models, going to be AI models that are promoting DEI. And so again, President Trump has, as part of his action plan, steps to make sure that we don’t have that type of woke DEI embedded AI models developing here. When it comes to California, again, not familiar exactly with all the intricacy of that, but to the extent that they’re moving in that direction and away from truth seeking, it could be a problem.”
The notion that the FCC should have veto power over state AI laws — as well as other parts of Trump’s order — could easily be challenged in court. But moves like the litigation task force could still throw up roadblocks to states regulating AI.
Punchbowl News reported on Wednesday that the executive order is the White House’s backup plan should Congress fail to pass a state AI law moratorium, this time via the upcoming reauthorization of the National Defense Authorization Act — a bill that absolutely must pass in order for the government to fund its national security apparatus.
Earlier this year, Congress attempted to slip a moratorium into a draft of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” that laid out the spending for his second-term agenda, but it failed after a bipartisan group of senators voiced opposition to the act. Earlier this week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told Punchbowl News that Congress was considering a second run at a moratorium by attaching it to the NDAA.
But just like the Big Beautiful Bill fight, a moratorium buried inside the NDAA’s passage might run into opposition particularly if the punishment is the same: the withholding of rural broadband funding. “The real question is, how big of a grant does it take to put pressure on state lawmakers to change their AI regulations?” Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute who had initiated the concept of an AI moratorium, told The Verge. “This came up in the previous moratorium fight and some people worried that California would just ignore BEAD-related budget threats, for example. It might take multiple budget revocations or limitations to really put pressure on a state as big as California.”
Technology
Perseverance rover spots mysterious ‘visitor from outer space’ rock on Mars surface after 4 years
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NASA’s Perseverance rover may have stumbled on a visitor from outer space – a strange, shiny rock on Mars that scientists think could be a meteorite forged in the heart of an ancient asteroid.
According to a new blog post on the rover’s mission page, the rock – nicknamed “Phippsaksla” – stood out from the flat, broken terrain around it, prompting NASA scientists to take a closer look.
Tests revealed high levels of iron and nickel, the same elements found in meteorites that have crashed onto both Mars and Earth.
While this isn’t the first time a rover has spotted a metallic rock on Mars, it could be the first for Perseverance. Earlier missions – including Curiosity, Opportunity, and Spirit – discovered iron-nickel meteorites scattered across the Martian surface, making it all the more surprising that Perseverance hadn’t seen one until now, NASA said.
MASSIVE ASTEROID BIGGER THAN A SKYSCRAPER HEADING TOWARD EARTH AT 24,000 MPH
NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered a shiny metallic rock that scientists believe could be a meteorite forged in the heart of an ancient asteroid. (NASA via Getty Images)
Now, just beyond the crater’s rim, the rover may have finally found one – a metallic rock perched on ancient impact-formed bedrock. If confirmed, the discovery would place Perseverance alongside the other Mars rovers that have examined fragments of cosmic visitors to the red planet.
To learn more about the rock, the team aimed Perseverance’s SuperCam – an instrument that fires a laser to analyze a target’s chemical makeup – at Phippsaksla. The readings showed unusually high levels of iron and nickel, a combination NASA said strongly suggests a meteorite origin.
Mounted atop the rover’s mast, SuperCam uses its laser to vaporize tiny bits of material, so sensors can detect the elements inside from several meters away.
SCIENTISTS SPOT SKYSCRAPER-SIZED ASTEROID RACING THROUGH SOLAR SYSTEM
The shiny rock nicknamed “Phippsaksla,” discovered by NASA’s Perseverance rover, showed high levels of iron and nickel consistent with meteorites found on Mars and Earth. (NASA)
The finding is significant, NASA noted, because iron and nickel are typically found together only in meteorites formed deep within ancient asteroids – not in native Martian rocks.
If confirmed, Phippsaksla would join a long list of meteorites identified by earlier missions, including Curiosity’s “Lebanon” and “Cacao” finds, as well as metallic fragments spotted by Opportunity and Spirit. NASA said each discovery has helped scientists better understand how meteorites interact with the Martian surface over time.
Because Phippsaksla sits atop impact-formed bedrock outside Jezero crater, NASA scientists said its location could offer clues about how the rock formed and how it ended up there.
MASSIVE COMET ZOOMING THROUGH SOLAR SYSTEM COULD BE ALIEN TECHNOLOGY, HARVARD ASTROPHYSICIST SAYS
NASA scientists say the metallic rock spotted by Perseverance may be a meteorite formed deep within an ancient asteroid before crashing onto Mars. (NASA)
For now, the agency said its team is continuing to study Phippsaksla’s unusual makeup to confirm whether it truly came from beyond Mars.
If proven to be a meteorite, the find would mark a long-awaited milestone for Perseverance – and another reminder that even on a planet 140 million miles away, there are still surprises waiting in the dust.
Perseverance, NASA’s most advanced robot to date, traveled 293 million miles to reach Mars after launching on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida on July 30, 2020. It touched down in Jezero crater on Feb. 18, 2021, where it has spent nearly four years searching for signs of ancient microbial life and exploring the planet’s surface.
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Built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the $2.7 billion rover is about 10 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall – roughly 278 pounds heavier than its predecessor, Curiosity.
Powered by a plutonium generator, Perseverance carries seven scientific instruments, a seven-foot robotic arm, and a rock drill that allows it to collect samples that could one day return to Earth.
The mission will also help NASA prepare for future human exploration of Mars in the 2030s.
Technology
Porsche crowns Cayenne Electric ‘most powerful production Porsche of all time’
It’s no surprise that the Porsche Cayenne EV is a beast. Of course the famed German automaker would tout its all-electric SUV as “the most powerful,” the quickest — both off the line and in a charging stall — and record-setting in so many ways. The question remains: how beastly are we talking?
Now, thankfully, the Cayenne Electric is coming more into focus. Today, the new Cayenne is officially joining the existing lineup of gas and hybrid Caynne powertrains to round out what the automaker is calling “a new era for Porsche.”
It makes sense that Porsche would be trying to turn a new page. After all, this is an automaker long touted as the epitome of German engineering prowess that presently finds itself mired in a crisis. US tariffs, plus an unrelenting price war in China, has fueled steep losses at Porsche, including a $1.1 billion operating loss in the third quarter alone. And EV sales, especially in the luxury segment, are looking increasingly fraught in the current environment.
Can the Cayenne Electric help turn things around? The specs alone certainly suggest a paradigm shift may be under way: up to 850kW (1,139hp) of power, 0-60mph in 2.4 seconds, a top speed of 162mph and, under ideal conditions, up to 400kW charging power, for a 10-80 percent state of charge in just 18 minutes. The Cayenne Electric will be the first electric Porsche to support inductive charging. When parked above a floor plate, the EV can charge at speeds of up to 11kW.
At launch, the electric SUV will come in two variants: Cayenne Electric, starting at $111,350 (including destination charge); and the $165,350 Cayenne Turbo Electric. Clearly, these are not the affordable EVs that we were promised, nor do they pretend to be. After all, it’s Porsche.
As such, there’s a lot of go-fast ingenuity built into the Cayenne Electric. In addition to an output of 1,139hp, the dual-motor SUV is capable of 1,106lb-ft of torque when Launch Control is activated. In normal driving mode, up to 630kW (844hp) is available. And with a Push-to-Pass function, an additional 130kW (173hp) can be activated for 10 seconds at the push of a button. The standard model has 300kW (402hp) in normal operation and 325kW (435hp) and 615lb-ft of torque in Launch Control. This version can gallop from 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds with a top track speed of 143mph.
But the Cayenne Electric won’t just be a beast on the track. Porsche is also claiming that the new SUV will be able to tow up to 3.5 tons, or 7,716lbs — when properly equipped. The automaker has been teasing this insane capability for a while now, but it still bears repeating: 3.5 tons. That’s more than a Toyota Tacoma.
The automaker is making a lot of hay of its traction control and suspension system. The Cayenne Electric will be the first SUV to get Active Ride, the hydraulic suspension system found on the Taycan and Panamera. And the adaptive air suspension is fitted as standard on both models. And the Turbo trim features Porsche’s torque vectoring limited-slip rear differential.
Thanks to the 800-volt architecture, the Cayenne Electric’s 113kWh battery pack can be replenished at speeds up to 400kW (if you can find a charger that meets that specification). The Cayenne Electric will come equipped with a Tesla Supercharger/NACS fast-charging port on the driver-side rear fender, and a CCS/AC-only charging port on the passenger-side rear fender.
Most Cayenne owners will likely charge at home, and for that, Porsche has a new inductive charging pad for those that prefer to do their charging wirelessly. The charging pad made its debut at IAA Mobility in Munich earlier this year, though Porsche has yet to announce a price. Once the electric Cayenne is parked in the correct position over a plate on the ground, it can accept a charge from another plate underneath its body.
We’ve already covered the Cayenne Electric’s unique interior design. Yes, I’m talking about the bending screen. Porsche calls it the Flow Display, a vertically installed screen that curves toward the bottom. It’s the largest screen ever to be featured in a Porsche and it will run on Porsche’s all new operating system, which the automaker claims will “flow” harmoniously throughout the vehicle’s interior.
Porsche didn’t provide measurements for the Flow Display, but it said that it would be bookended by a 14.25-inch OLED instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch optional passenger display. Considering Porsche is on tap to receive Apple’s newly immersive CarPlay Ultra, one wonders how phone mirroring will work with this massive curved display.
There will also be a heads-up display that simulates an “87-inch display area 10 meters in front of the vehicle.” But before you go complaining about an overreliance on digital controls, Porsche says that frequently used functions, such as HVAC and volume control, are analog. And a hand rest called the “Ferry pad” has been developed to help the driver operate digital and analog controls ergonomically.
Porsche claims the new Cayenne prioritizes driver engagement with a new AI-powered voice assistant, which can “reliably” understand complex instructions and spontaneous follow-up questions without repeating the activation word. The voice assistant controls climate, seat heating, and ambient lighting, while also recognizing addresses, points of interest, and traffic information.
The Cayenne Electric and Turbo Electric are available to order now, with customer deliveries expected in summer 2026.
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