Category Archives: Technology

Tech journalist putting together investor group to buy Washington Post, rejects Musk

Tech reporter Kara Swisher is working toward assembling a group of investors to purchase The Washington Post from billionaire Jeff Bezos. “The Post can do better… it’s so maddening to see what’s happening. … Why not me? Why not any of us?” Swisher told Axios in a report on Friday. The Washington Post has reportedly suffered an exodus of high-profile talent,is losing money, has struggled to fill key positions and has seen employee morale plummet in recent years. The paper also irked readers when it announced this year that it would not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election. The decision, which angered multiple staffers at the paper and prompted some editorial staff members and staffers to resign, was favored by Bezos.BEFORE NON-ENDORSEMENT DECISION, WASHINGTON POST CALLED TRUMP ‘DREADFUL’ AND ‘WORST PRESIDENT OF MODERN TIMES’ Tech reporter Kara Swisher is working towards assembling a group of investors to purchase The Washington Post from billionaire Jeff Bezos, per Axios.  (Getty Images)However, Bezos has given no indication he is willing to sell. Swisher preemptively rejected pro-Trump billionaire Elon Musk’s participation in the investor consortium in comments to Axios.”Hopefully not Elon,” Swisher said, “though he seems pretty busy these days being President (Not) Elect.”Musk has become a target of attacks from liberal media outlets and Democratic lawmakers after he endorsed and supported President-elect Trump’s campaign. “Elon Musk, the guy who really runs things. He’s not just Trump’s co-president. I think that’s way too low a title,” MSNBC’s Chris Hayes said during his Wednesday monologue. “He’s the head dude in charge and House Republicans certainly know who they are taking their marching orders from.”WASHINGTON POST WRITER OUTRAGED AT ABC NEWS FOR SETTLEMENT WITH TRUMP: ‘NEVER LIVE DOWN THIS CAPITULATION’ Billionaire Elon Musk appeared alongside President-elect Trump multiple times during his campaign.  ((Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images))While Musk has yet to respond directly to Swisher’s comments, he entered the media landscape in full force by purchasing Twitter in 2022. Musk has since changed the name of the company to X, aiming to create an “everything app.” Axios CEO Jim VandHei responded to Swisher’s mention of Musk on X, saying: “She expects lots of competition IF Bezos budges on selling. “Hopefully not Elon,” she said. Doubt [Musk] wants Post…”Swisher and The Washington Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

EEOC Highlights How Wearable Technologies May Implicate Employment Discrimination Laws

WASHINGTON – A new fact sheet titled “Wearables in the Workplace: The Use of Wearables and Other Monitoring Technology Under Federal Employment Discrimination Laws,” released today by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) addresses use of wearable technologies in the nation’s workplaces. These technologies can be used to track various physical factors, such as an employee’s location, heart rate, electrical brain activity, or fatigue.

The new fact sheet reminds employers that employment discrimination laws apply to the collection and use of information from wearables. It also addresses the need for employers to provide reasonable accommodations related to wearables.

Employer-mandated wearables, such as watches, rings, glasses, or helmets which collect information about a worker’s health and biometric data may be conducting a “medical examination” as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If the wearables require employees to provide health information (including in the setting up of the device), the employer may be making “disability-related inquiries.” The ADA limits the use of medical examinations or disability-related inquiries by employers and also requires employers to safeguard medical records.

“With the increasing availability of wearable technologies, some employers may be considering implementing them in their workplaces. It’s important that employer keep in mind that some uses of wearables can violate federal antidiscrimination laws,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows. “If they do choose to bring this technology into the workplace, employers must be vigilant in following the law to ensure that they do not create a new form of discrimination. There is no high-tech exemption to the nation’s civil rights laws.”

In addition, an employer’s improper use of information that wearables collect may raise concerns under other federal anti-discrimination laws. Employers should be careful about using data collected by wearable devices to determine sex, age, genetic information, disability, or race to take an adverse action against an employee. The new resource provides a number of examples to avoid.

Lastly the new document reminds readers that employers using wearables may need to provide reasonable accommodations for workers under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, or as a religious or disability accommodation.

For more information on the EEOC’s initiative on artificial intelligence and algorithmic fairness visit the EEOC’s website at https://www.eeoc.gov/ai.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. 

Kara Swisher Wants to Buy The Washington Post From Jeff Bezos

Sean Burch

December 20, 2024 @ 10:27 AM

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Veteran tech reporter Kara Swisher is aiming to put together a team of investors to purchase the Washington Post, TheWrap has learned. Axios was the first outlet to report the news.

Swisher’s belief is that a deal would be a win-win, allowing WaPo owner Jeff Bezos to focus more on his tech and space ventures.

“The Post can do better,” she told Axios. “It’s so maddening to see what’s happening… why not me? Why not any of us?

The biggest hurdle to Swisher or anyone else buying the paper is that Bezos has not given any indication he wants to sell it. (The Amazon founder bought WaPo for $250 million in 2013.) Swisher, Axios said, is “confident” the money is there if Bezos ultimately feels like making a deal.

She added that any big-money backers would “hopefully not” include Elon Musk, “though he seems pretty busy these days being President (Not) Elect.”

Her push to acquire the Post comes after Bezos recently said he was “very proud” of the paper not endorsing a presidential candidate in the 2024 election. Heading into this election, the Washington Post had endorsed every Democratic candidate since 1988.

For the unfamiliar, Swisher is one of the best-known — and busiest — tech reporters in the world. She currently co-hosts the “Pivot” podcast with NYU Professor Scott Galloway, as well as her “On with Kara Swisher” podcast, and is an editor-at-large for New York Magazine. Swisher also has ties to WaPo; she started in the paper’s mailroom, and later moved up to becoming a tech reporter for the outlet.

EPC Reference Design Powers High-Efficiency Solar Optimizers with GaN FETs

EPC Reference Design Powers High-Efficiency Solar Optimizers with GaN FETs – Technology Today – EIN Presswire

Foreign tech workers urged to return to the US before Trump takes office

Immigration attorneys in the United States are advising foreign tech workers on visas to return to the country before Donald Trump is inaugurated as president on January 20, 2025.The warning comes amid expectations that the Trump administration will implement executive orders restricting access to work visas, particularly those relied on by the tech industry. According to reports, the H-1B visa, which allows companies to employ skilled immigrants for specialized roles, could be affected. Critics argue that the visa is often used to hire foreign workers at lower wages, while supporters see it as vital for filling high-skill positions. Texas-based immigration lawyer Jason Finkelman warned of impending challenges, stating, “A storm is coming, and this time, we know exactly what it’s going to bring.” Finkelman highlighted the possibility of travel bans targeting certain countries, reminiscent of Trump’s earlier immigration restrictions. He noted that while such measures may face legal challenges, they could disrupt U.S. employers’ ability to hire and retain foreign talent. Similarly, a California-based attorney urged clients traveling overseas to return promptly, fearing a renewed travel ban. Speculation also surrounds whether the restrictions could extend to countries like China, further complicating visa processes for tech workers. During Trump’s previous term, applications for H-1B visas faced heightened scrutiny, with a notable increase in denial rates. His administration’s “Buy American and Hire American” executive order sought to prioritize high-paid, highly skilled applicants and protect American workers. With tech workers now waiting to see the specifics of Trump’s policies, concerns are growing over the potential impact on their ability to live and work in the U.S. long-term. Trump’s stance on immigration also includes plans to reinstate a travel ban targeting individuals from Muslim-majority countries. These anticipated measures could further strain the U.S. tech industry’s reliance on global talent while intensifying debates on immigration policy.

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Silicon Valley Tech Giants Flock to Trump Pledging Support and Millions in Donations

Silicon Valley continues to curry favor with President-elect Donald Trump, offering compliments, Mar-a-Lago visits, and million-dollar checks.
The New York Times reports that the past few weeks have seen a flurry of activity from Silicon Valley billionaires and their companies, as they flash hefty donations for Donald Trump’s inauguration and heap praise upon the President-elect. Tech giants such as Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman have each pledged to support Trump’s inaugural committee with seven-figure contributions, often accompanied by personal visits to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the incoming president.

Among the procession of tech leaders who made the pilgrimage to hobnob with Trump were Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and founder Sergey Brin, who dined with the president-elect last week. Apple CEO Tim Cook shared a meal with Trump last Friday, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos planned to meet with him as well.
This surge of tech industry engagement marks a stark acknowledgment of the reality of doing business in Trump’s Washington. While it’s common for businesses to seek favor with an incoming administration, the fervor of tech activity stands out. The industry, infamously lefti-wing, is now publicly breaking bread with Trump, with Meta and Amazon, whose founders had previously been criticized by the president-elect, each pledging $1 million to his inaugural fund.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, a prominent Democratic donor during Trump’s first term, announced his personal $1 million donation on Friday, stating, “President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead.”
The turnabout is particularly striking given the extreme leftist politics of some executives now meeting with or praising Trump. Salesforce CEO and hyperleftist Marc Benioff, who owns Time Magazine, posted on X celebrating “a time of great promise for our nation” after Time named Trump its “Person of the Year.”
Trump’s early tech supporters are also expressing their enthusiasm for the incoming administration. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who endorsed Trump during the campaign, revealed he has spent about half his time since Election Day working on the presidential transition, framing Trump’s win as a cultural moment for a “techno-optimist” ideology.
Andreessen has joined executives like Zynga founder Mark Pincus and former Meta executive David Marcus at Mar-a-Lago to help staff the new administration and work on reducing regulations in industries such as AI and cryptocurrencies.

While some tension between Trump and the tech industry has surfaced, with the president-elect naming tech hawks to senior roles and disagreements arising over advisory councils, many cryptocurrency and AI executives have visited Mar-a-Lago or spoken with Trump and his inner circle. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse plans to donate $5 million in XRP, the company’s digital currency, to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Read more at the New York Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.

ALERT: Liberal Tech Lady Bro Has Lost Her Mind

Kara Swisher forming group of ‘civic-minded’ billionaires to buy the Washington Post from Jeff Bezos

Getty Images

Kara Swisher, the tech journalist who once described herself as the “liberal lesbian Donald Trump of San Francisco,” wants to buy the Washington Post from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The idea has the hallmarks of Silicon Valley delusion in the pre-Trump era when the tech industry was dominated by godless left-wing tyrants intent on “changing the world” with their benevolent lunacy. In 2012, for example, Mark Zuckerberg’s college roommate, Chris Hughes, who pioneered the Facebook “poke” button, bought the New Republic and proceeded to run it into the ground while setting untold millions on fire trying to get his annoying husband elected to Congress. Those were the days.
Axios co-founder Mike Allen reported the Swisher “scoop” in a manner suggesting people should take it seriously. (They should not.) The diminutive tech baroness is “trying to round up a group of rich people” to make a bid for the Post, even though Bezos has shown no interest in selling. “The Post can do better,” Swisher said. “It’s so maddening to see what’s happening. … Why not me? Why not any of us?” She thinks Bezos will ultimately want to sell the paper and wants to be ready to buy it up before Elon Musk can.
Allen summarized the tech lady’s psychotic vision as follows: “The storied paper would be run by a board of civic-minded people willing to write a big check to be part of something important. She’d be open to Bezos remaining a partial investor.” How incredibly gracious of Swisher, that she’d be willing to accept the billionaire’s money after taking control of his paper. It’s almost impressive, the confidence with which liberal elites insist there’s no problem that can’t be solved by putting a “board of civic-minded” MSNBC viewers in charge. They alone can fix it.

“Most techies now dabbling in the media are arrogant amateurs who think that because they excel in one area, they are masters of all domains,” Swisher said earlier this year. “What they really are is incompetent at giving any insight or illumination beyond their own narrow self-interests while decidedly cheapening discourse.” Swisher is totally different, obviously. She’s nothing like those idiots. She demonstrated remarkable insight with respect to the 2024 election. In addition to scolding the New York Times going easy on Trump and focusing too much on Joe Biden’s age, she argued the best way to defeat Trump would be to repeat the words “rapist, racist, fascist, over and over again.”
The Post lost $77 million last year. That’s nearly twice as much as the WNBA. Bezos has tried to turn things around by telling the paper’s employees to stop acting like entitled children—with mixed results. The thought of watching Swisher and her rich friends try to salvage the sinking husk of a paper by turning the #Resistance up to 11 is so amusing we almost hope she can pull this off, even though she definitely can’t.
Kara Swisher/Instagram