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U.S. gives Samsung $6.4 billion to build new chip factories in Texas

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U.S. gives Samsung .4 billion to build new chip factories in Texas


The U.S. government announced Monday a $6.4 billion subsidy for South Korean tech giant Samsung to build advanced computer chip manufacturing facilities in the Austin area, the latest wave of government funding meant to bring more chip-making production to the United States.

The money comes as part of a deal that will see Samsung invest $40 billion of its own money to upgrade a chip factory that’s already under construction in Taylor, Tex., in addition to building a second factory by the end of the decade and adding a new research and development center. Samsung will also build an “advanced packaging” facility — a specialized factory that puts together different chips and electronic components to make them ready to go into cars, planes, phones and thousands of other machines and devices.

The deal with Samsung comes a week after the government announced a $6.6 billion subsidy for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC, to expand its operations in Arizona. The payments are part of the 2022 CHIPS Act, which includes a pot of $39 billion in subsidies to encourage U.S. and foreign companies to build in the United States. So far, the government has allotted around $23 billion of that money to a handful of companies.

“The whole chain, R&D to packaging, is concentrated in a couple of Asian locations and that leaves the U.S. supply chain incredibly vulnerable to disruption. That’s untenable,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in a call with reporters ahead of the announcement. “We are now making these investments which will allow the United States to once again lead the world.”

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Although U.S. companies like Intel and Nvidia design many of the most advanced computer chips, they are overwhelmingly built in a small handful of facilities in Taiwan and South Korea. TSMC makes the vast majority of the world’s most advanced chips in Taiwan, raising concerns that if China invades or increases its influence over the island, the United States could be cut off from a technology that has become crucial for every industry, as well as the U.S. military.

The artificial intelligence boom, which demands the most advanced chips to train and run AI algorithms, has only added more urgency to calls from industry and national security leaders to expand U.S. chip-making capacity.

Building the most advanced computer chips, which are many times smaller than a human red blood cell, is a devilishly difficult task. A single chip factory, known as a “fab,” can take a decade and $20 billion to build. In Taiwan, they run 24 hours a day, monitored by highly specialized engineers in dust- and static-free “clean rooms.”

U.S. companies moved production overseas decades ago, seeking lower labor costs in an extremely competitive industry. But as Asian companies developed ever more advanced manufacturing techniques, the United States fell behind. TSMC executives have complained that U.S. workers and engineers aren’t up to the task of constructing and running such a difficult manufacturing process.

The Samsung deal includes around $40 million for job training, and the government expects the project to create over 17,000 construction jobs and 4,500 manufacturing positions in the next five years, according to a press release from the Commerce Department.

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Police finish DoorDash delivery after arresting driver in New Jersey

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Police finish DoorDash delivery after arresting driver in New Jersey


WASHINGTON TWP., N.J. — Officers in Washington Township, said they finished a DoorDash food delivery after arresting the driver who had warrants out for his arrest.

Body camera video shows officers stepping in to deliver the food themselves, a move the department in southern New Jersey later shared on its Facebook page.

“I thought something happened. Oh my God, I got so scared,” said the customer when she answered the door.

The DoorDash customer, seen on police body cam video, was instantly relieved and appreciative upon learning why officers were at her door.

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“Arrested your driver, but, yeah, we delivered your food,” one of the officers said.

It turns out a Washington Township police officer stopped the DoorDash driver during routine patrols in front of a high school over the weekend.

“He made a stop on it for a violation,” said Washington Township Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik.

But then, Chief Gurcsik said the officer learned the driver had warrants out for his arrest in another county.

“He made the officers aware that he had two DoorDash meals in the car that he was in the middle of delivering,” Gurcsik said.

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The officers went from cuffing the driver to ringing a doorbell to finish his delivery.

“I never heard of anything like that in the South Jersey area. It’s sort of a first for us here in Washington Township, definitely,” Gurcsik said.

Police finish DoorDash delivery after arresting driver in New Jersey

It’s happened in other places, too, including in New Mexico last summer, when a motorcycle cop delivered someone’s Chick-fil-A order after arresting the driver.

“Hello, sir, got your DoorDash. Oh, thank you,” the officer said. “He’s a good kid, give him five stars. He just didn’t take care of a simple insurance ticket.”

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And officers over in Arizona made a similar arrest during a traffic stop and were seen on body camera finishing the delivery.

“Your GrubHub, still delivered your pizza,” the officer said.

“We definitely serve the community in more ways than one,” Gurcsik said.

Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Holdout Democrats leave WA House support for income tax in doubt

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Holdout Democrats leave WA House support for income tax in doubt


The votes weren’t there yet late Wednesday for Democrats’ income tax bill in the Washington state House.Democratic members are withholding support for the proposed income tax on millionaires, saying they want to see if a new version of the controversial legislation, possibly due out Thursday, will satisfy their concerns.



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Bill strengthening Washington child sex abuse material laws focuses on consciousness, AI

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Bill strengthening Washington child sex abuse material laws focuses on consciousness, AI


A bill aimed at tightening Washington’s laws on child sex abuse material is headed to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk after clearing the Legislature unanimously.

King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said 2ESSB 5105 passed the House unanimously Tuesday night after the Senate unanimously approved it on Jan. 28, 2026.

SEE ALSO | Washington exempts clergy from reporting abuse learned in confession after settlement

Manion called the measure one of her public safety legislative priorities.

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“People who peddle in the misery of sexually abused children must be held accountable,” Manion said. “I am grateful for the work of Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Laura Harmon – both in prosecuting these cases and advocating for these legal fixes – and Senators Tina Orwall and Manka Dhingra for championing this legislation.”

Manion’s office said the current state law has gaps that can prevent prosecutors from holding offenders accountable in some cases.

Under current law, prosecutors cannot charge defendants for creating images of child sex abuse unless the child victim was conscious or knew they were being recorded.

The office also said that possessing sexually explicit fabricated (AI) images of non-identifiable minors is not considered child sex abuse material under Washington law.

The bill would update RCW 9.68A.040 to remove the requirement that a child be aware of an abusive recording. It would also update the definition of child sex abuse material to include fabricated (AI) images of non-identifiable minors.

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The legislation would also increase the statute of limitations to 10 years for depiction crimes. Manion’s office said the current statute of limitations is three years, and argued that because the images can remain online indefinitely, victims can be re-traumatized for decades.



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