Horizon cutting-room links: Thursday, 19 December 2024

Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. Northwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.Federal agencies in the Washington, DC area are Open. Employees are expected to begin the workday on time. Normal operating procedures are in effect

“Facing government shutdown, Trump and Republican allies scuttle budget bill,” Al Jazeera

“With only days to spare until funds run out, President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have pressured Republicans in the United States to ditch a short-term spending bill designed to avert a government shutdown.”“Pharmaceutical entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a former political rival-turned-Trump-surrogate, blasted the bill on social media for what he described as excessive length. … The social media storm culminated with Trump himself weighing in.”

“U.S. Weighs Ban on Chinese-Made Router in Millions of American Homes,” the Journal

“The router-manufacturer TP-Link, established in China, has roughly 65% of the U.S. market for routers for homes and small businesses. It is also the top choice on Amazon.com, and powers internet communications for the Defense Department and other federal government agencies.”“Taiwan, which has broad restrictions on the use of technology from China, has banned TP-Link routers from government and educational facilities. The Indian government, which has also clashed with China, issued a warning this year about TP-Link, saying the routers presented a security risk.”

“Biden admin will send aid to Ukraine through the end of term,” Defense One

“The administration intends to send the $1.22 billion still left from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative by the end of the year, according to the official, who spoke on background because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the state of Ukraine assistance”“There’s also $5.6 billion in weapons, vehicles, and other equipment the president could authorize to go to Ukraine … ‘But $5.6 billion is a substantial amount of authority’.”

“Extra parts, people powered F-35 readiness on latest Pacific deployment,” Defense One

“’We were able to combat corrosion because I had 24-hour maintenance. We are on the ship. They don't have to go home. They live on the ship,’ [Lt. Col. Benjamin] Schmidt said. Jobs that might have taken more than a month ashore were getting done in a week,’ he said.”

“Why small-business lending may see 'light at the end of the tunnel' in 2025,” Washington Business Journal

“That's because the consolidation of banks, which went from about 4,918 commercial banks in 2017 to 4,036 commercial banks in 2023, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, continued into 2024 and shows no signs of stopping.”

“Senate passes annual defense policy bill, including maintaining USFK troop level,” Yonhap news service

“In an 85-14 vote, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2025, which authorizes $895 billion for national defense programs. The House approved the legislation a week ago. … Its passage came amid growing concerns that US President-elect Donald Trump might try to reduce US troops stationed in South Korea, as well as their military exercises, given his America First credo that experts say might see Washington curtail its costly military engagement overseas.”

“You can now call 1-800-CHATGPT,” the Verge

“The feature was a project spun up just a few weeks ago, OpenAI’s chief product officer Kevin Weil said on the livestream. Users can now call ChatGPT in the US and message via WhatsApp globally at 1-800-242-8478.”

“Intel finally notches a GPU win, confirms Arc B580 is selling out after stellar reviews,” the

“The $250 Arc B580 “Battlemage” GPU launched to nigh-universal praise, has already sold out most everywhere, and Intel tells The Verge it’s working to ship new units every week.”