Tag: reportedly

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World News

Google reportedly vegetation to make use of personal chips in Chromebooks from 2023

Google reportedly plants to use own chips in Chromebooks from 2023

Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President, Chrome at Google Inc., holds up a new Chromebook Pixel as he speaks during an introductory event in San Francisco, Calif., On Thursday, February 21, 2013. Google Inc., owner of the world’s most popular search engine, introduced a touchscreen version of the Chromebook laptop, increasing its challenge to Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. for hardware.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Google is nearing the introduction of its own central processing units, or CPUs, for its Chromebook laptops, according to a Wednesday report by Nikkei Asia quoting people familiar with the matter.

According to reports, the U.S. tech giant plans to start using its CPUs in Chromebooks and tablets that run on the company’s Chrome operating system from around 2023. Google didn’t immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

CPUs can be thought of as the brains of a computer as they perform all of the main tasks of a machine. Google currently uses CPUs from Intel and AMD to power its Chromebooks. Google’s new chips are reportedly based on blueprints from Arm, the British chip designer at SoftBank, whose chip architectures power 90% of the world’s smartphones.

At the beginning of the month, Google announced that it would build its own smartphone processor called the Google Tensor. The chip will power the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro devices, which will go on sale in the fall.

Read the full Nikkei Asia review here.

Categories
Politics

Microsoft challenges NSA cloud contract reportedly awarded to Amazon

Microsoft challenges NSA cloud contract reportedly awarded to Amazon

President Donald Trump speaks on Jan.

Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Microsoft has filed a protest against the National Security Agency at the Government Accountability Office and challenged the award of a cloud computing contract.

The protest filed on July 21 is intended to challenge the NSA’s decision to award the $ 10 billion contract to Amazon, the journals Nextgov and Washington Technology reported on Tuesday.

The NSA deal with Amazon follows the Pentagon’s decision to terminate its $ 10 billion cloud contract known as JEDI, or Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure. The JEDI deal, embroiled in a lengthy legal battle between tech giants Amazon and Microsoft, had become one of the most tangled contracts for the Pentagon.

The NSA contract, which is also up to 10 billion US dollars, is code-named “WildandStormy” and is intended to modernize the agency’s secret data storage, reported Nextgov.

In a statement to CNBC, a spokesman for the NSA said the agency “recently placed a contract for cloud computing services” and declined to elaborate on the matter.

“The unsuccessful provider has filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office. The agency will respond to the protest in accordance with applicable federal regulations,” added the spokesman.

A Microsoft spokesman told CNBC in a statement: “Based on the decision, we are filing an administrative protest through the Government Accountability Office. We exercise our legal rights and will do so carefully and responsibly. “

Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud computing unit, referred questions to the NSA.

The lucrative JEDI cloud contract was intended to modernize the IT operations of the Pentagon for services provided for up to 10 years. Microsoft received the cloud computing contract in 2019, beating the market leader AWS.

A month later, AWS filed a lawsuit in the US Federal Court to protest the JEDI decision.

The company argued that former President Donald Trump was biased against Amazon, and that its then CEO Jeff Bezos lobbied the Pentagon to give the contract to Microsoft.

Last year the Pentagon inspector general released a report that the award did not appear to have been influenced by the White House.

However, the Inspector General noted in the 313-page report released in April 2020 that he had limited cooperation with White House officials throughout his review and was therefore unable to complete his assessment of the ethical misconduct allegations.

A Pentagon official said on a call with reporters that the litigation itself is not necessarily the main reason for the change in approach. Given that the landscape had changed in the meantime, the agency found that their needs had changed too.

– CNBC’s Jordan Novet and Lauren Feiner contributed to this article.

WATCH: Department of Defense Chief Information Officer on the decision to terminate the JEDI program

Categories
Health

The FDA reportedly forces J&J to scrap about 60 million doses of its Covid vaccine

The FDA reportedly forces J&J to scrap about 60 million doses of its Covid vaccine

A detail of the Janssen Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine that is not currently being issued because it has been put on hold.

Allen J. Cockroaches | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Federal regulators are forcing Johnson & Johnson to scrap approximately 60 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine made at a troubled Baltimore facility operated by Emergent BioSolutions due to possible contamination, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing with people familiar with the matter.

The facility closed in April after an inspection revealed several violations, including possible contamination of J & J’s vaccines with a key ingredient from AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine. About 170 million doses of both vaccines were eligible after the inspection, the Times reported.

The FDA confirmed to CNBC that several lots were not “suitable for use” without confirming the exact number of doses discarded. According to an email statement, the agency announced that it is releasing two batches of vaccine materials made at the facility for use. The Associated Press reported that the two batches would make 10 million cans.

“The FDA has determined that several other lots are unsuitable for use, but additional lots are still being tested and the agency will inform the public of the completion of these tests,” said a statement sent via email.

The US currently has more than enough doses of two other vaccines approved by Pfizer and Moderna to complete vaccination of the American population.

Approximately 10 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine continue to be distributed in the United States and donated to other countries. The rescued cans will come with a warning stating that federal regulators cannot guarantee that the manufacturing facility operator, Emergent BioSolutions, is following good manufacturing practices, the Times reported.

“Before making this decision, the FDA conducted a thorough review of the facility records and the results of the manufacturer’s quality checks,” the agency said. “Although the FDA is not yet ready to include the Emergent BioSolutions facility in the Janssen EUA as an authorized manufacturing facility, the agency continues to address issues with Janssen and the management of Emergent BioSolutions.”

The Biden government planned to donate more cans of the shots, but those plans were stifled by the investigation of the emergent facility.

The World Health Organization said it would take 11 billion doses worldwide to stop the pandemic from getting worse. The US is buying 500 million doses of Pfizer’s two-shot vaccine to be distributed to countries in need, President Joe Biden is expected to announce at G-7 meetings this weekend.

– CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this article.

Categories
Politics

Biden spokesman TJ Ducklo suspended for reportedly threatening reporter

Biden spokesman TJ Ducklo suspended for reportedly threatening reporter

White House Assistant Secretary TJ Ducklo listens as Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press conference at the White House on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 in Washington.

Patrick Semansky | AP

President Joe Biden’s deputy press secretary at the White House was suspended for a week without pay after reportedly threatening a reporter.

TJ Ducklo, who was also Biden’s main campaign spokesperson, was put on leave for seven days after a Vanity Fair story that described a controversial conversation with a Politico reporter. During that conversation, Ducklo allegedly said, “I will destroy you.”

Ducklo reportedly made derogatory and misogynistic comments to the reporter, who is a woman.

According to the Vanity Fair story, White House officials were aware of Ducklo’s conversation with the reporter in January. The suspension comes hours after the Vanity Fair story is posted on Friday.

The reporter Ducklo allegedly threatened was investigating Ducklo’s relationship with an Axios reporter who had covered Biden.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a series of tweets on Friday that Ducklo has been suspended and will no longer be able to speak to reporters at Politico.

Ducklo’s suspension comes weeks after Biden himself told a group of administrative officials that he would fire anyone who treated another colleague with disrespect.

“I’m not kidding when I say this, if you ever work with me and I hear that you are treating another colleague with disrespect, speak to someone and I’ll fire you immediately. No ifs or buts,” Biden said last month .

Ducklo, who didn’t respond to CNBC’s request for comment, was previously an NBC employee.

Categories
Business

Tesla Mannequin three reportedly explodes in Shanghai parking storage

Tesla Model 3 reportedly explodes in Shanghai parking garage

Model 3 vehicles made by Tesla China are on display during a delivery event at its facility in Shanghai, China on Jan. 7, 2020.

Aly Song | Reuters

BEIJING – A Tesla Model 3 exploded in an underground car park in Shanghai on Tuesday, Chinese media reported.

No people were injured in the fire, Tesla said in a statement to the Chinese media. Preliminary analysis shows the accident was caused by an impact on the underside of the car, the automaker added in the reports.

Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment. It was not immediately clear whether the affected Model 3 was a locally manufactured or imported version.

Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) said it did not make the battery for the car, which spontaneously burned up, according to Chinese media.

Scattered accident reports

A number of Tesla cars have exploded over the years, including in the US

In April 2019, Tesla sent a team to investigate the apparent explosion of one of its parked vehicles in Shanghai.

Elon Musk’s electric cars have been scrutinized in China for other reasons such as their self-driving technology. Earlier this month, the state-run business information daily said in a comment that there were at least 10 reports in 2020 that drivers had lost control of their Tesla vehicles in China.

A best seller in China

Categories
Health

The houses of Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi had been reportedly vandalized.

The homes of Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi were reportedly vandalized.

It has been reported that the homes of political opponents and the two most powerful members of Congress, Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi, have been destroyed as their stalemate continues over a stimulus package criticized by left and right as inadequate – including President Trump.

In a statement on Saturday, McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and Senate majority leader, lamented what he called a “radical tantrum” that came from a “toxic playbook.” The Louisville broadcaster WDRB-TV reported that the Senator’s house was marked with red and white spray paint overnight. Photos show the letter on the front of Mr. McConnell’s house, including a message saying “Weres my money” on the front door. The Louisville Metro Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

“I’ve spent my career fighting for the first change and advocating peaceful protest,” McConnell said in the statement. “I appreciate every Kentuckian who has participated in the democratic process, whether they agree with me or not. That is different. Vandalism and fear politics have no place in our society. “

At around 2 a.m. on Friday, San Francisco police responded to a report of vandalism in a house in Pacific Heights. Graffiti had been sprayed on the garage door and “a pig’s head” was left on the sidewalk in front of the house, a police spokesman said. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the house belonged to Ms. Pelosi, a Democrat who serves as the house’s spokeswoman.

Police did not answer any other questions, including whether the pig’s head discovered on the property was real or fake. The Speaker’s Office did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

President Trump signed a bill last Sunday that included an incentive of $ 900 billion but called for payments to individuals to be increased from $ 600 to $ 2,000. Ms. Pelosi rallied support for the postponement and the House voted on Monday to increase payments. Mr. McConnell blocked efforts the next day.

Mr McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate would “initiate a process” to consider larger payments along with Mr Trump’s other demands, including investigations into his unfounded allegations of election fraud in the 2020 election and the repeal of certain legal protections for Technology giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter.