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1.	White House Pauses AI Executive Order as Legislative Push Plays Out By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan Source: The Information

The White House is pausing plans for an executive order over state AI regulation while it waits to see if Republicans can get a provision included in the National Defense Authorization Act to block state AI regulation, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

A draft copy of the executive order, which was first reported by The Information on Wednesday, directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to create a “litigation task force” to challenge state AI laws. It also directed the Commerce Department to restrict federal broadband funding in some cases for states with AI laws. At the same time, some Republicans in Congress are exploring trying to add a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act—the annual defense policy bill—to restrict state AI laws. The White House is awaiting the outcome of the NDAA, expected in December, before deciding whether to proceed with the executive order, the person said.

The efforts show how the White House is mounting a campaign to try to block states from regulating AI, despite the Senate voting 99-1 against similar effort earlier this year. The recent plans have sparked significant backlash from a number of Republicans, including Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who tweeted Thursday that “States must retain the right to regulate and make laws on AI and anything else for the benefit of their state.”

2.	U.S. Weighs Allowing Nvidia to Sell the Advanced H200 Chips to China By Qianer Liu Source: The Information

The Trump administration is considering approving sales of Nvidia’s H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

The H200 is roughly twice as powerful as the China-tailored H20 and is designed specifically for training large AI models, for which no Chinese alternatives can perform. Reuters first reported potential resumption of the H200 sale to China.

The decision would loosen U.S. export restrictions imposed in 2022 that bar sales of advanced AI chips to Chinese companies. Still, the U.S. government has not made a final decision and may maintain current restrictions, the two people added.

The potential policy shift follows President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea last month.

3.	Waymo Gets Approval for California Expansion By Abram Brown Source: CBS

Waymo cars will soon be able to run in all of the Bay Area, Sacramento and much of southern Calfornia following a new approval by the state DMV.

Until this decision, Waymos could operate in northern California along the San Francisco Peninsula and San Jose and in Los Angeles. Waymo hasn’t said when passengers will begin using the expanded route, which is part of an increased nationwide presence for the company.

4.	Salesforce, Crowdstrike Disclose Security Incidents Linked to Same Group By Aaron Holmes Source: TechCrunch

Crowdstrike and Salesforce both said this week that they are investigating incidents where hackers attempted to steal internal data, and a hacking group known as Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters has publicly claimed responsibility for both incidents.

Salesforce said in an alert to customers that hackers may have accessed customers’ Salesforce data by breaking into the customer support app Gainsight, which connected to some customers’ Salesforce accounts. Salesforce said that it had disconnected all Gainsight applications from its systems and that “there is no indication that this issue resulted from any vulnerability in the Salesforce platform.” Gainsight previously disclosed in September that hackers had stolen some of its users’ personal information including names, phone numbers, and details of other software they were using.

Meanwhile, Crowdstrike said Thursday that it terminated a “suspicious insider” that shared photos of his computer screen externally. Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters also claimed responsibility for that incident, telling TechCrunch that they obtained photos of Crowdstrike’s internal systems from the hacker; however, CrowdStrike told TechCrunch that, while it did terminate the insider, the hacking group’s claims are “false.”

In a statement, a Crowdstrike spokesperson said, “We identified and terminated a suspicious insider last month following an internal investigation that determined he shared pictures of his computer screen externally. Our systems were never compromised and customers remained protected throughout,” adding that the company turned the case over to law enforcement.

Both incidents show how companies can be exposed to cyberattacks through insider threats and by their use of third-party applications. Google last month launched an internal investigation after an insider, who was hired to work for Google as a contractor via the consulting firm Accenture, took screenshots of Google systems and shared them externally, The Information reported.

5.	Bitcoin, Strategy Fall as Crypto Rout Deepens By Yueqi Yang Source: The Information

Strategy, Michael Saylor’s bitcoin-holding firm, fell 3.7% Friday amid investor concerns that the stock could get excluded from MSCI indexes. Bitcoin fell 2% and is on track for its worst monthly performance since June 2022.

Strategy is down 62% from its peak in July this year while bitcoin has fallen 32% from its high in October. Many of the more speculative cryptocurrencies and the listed companies that hold them are down even more.

MSCI, an index provider, published a notice last month that it’s considering excluding Strategy and other stocks with crypto holdings representing 50% or more of their total assets from MSCI Global Standard indexes, because such stocks are similar to investment funds, which aren’t eligible for index inclusion. MSCI will make a decision by Jan. 15.

The notice was published Oct.10, but it got wider attention this week after JPMorgan analysts highlighted it in a research report. The news added to fears among investors that selling of these stocks might force them to dump their bitcoin holdings and trigger a downward spiral in the cryptocurrency.

Saylor said Strategy is not a fund, given its software business, and that “index classification doesn’t define us.” Strategy, formerly named MicroStrategy, currently holds $55 billion worth of bitcoin. It closed at $49 billion in market cap.

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