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With the AI Action Plan Trump pays back his Silicon Valley allies
The Trump administration on Wednesday released its AI Action Plana 28-page blueprint designed to accelerate Americas AI industry and extend its global influence. Authored by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, AI Czar David Sacks, and science and technology adviser Michael Kratsios, the document outlines a suite of tech-friendly directives, ranging from discouraging state-level AI regulation to opening public lands for new data center construction.
That hands-off approach reflects the Trump administrations broader stance toward tech: minimal regulation in exchange for political support. To that end, the action plan directs all federal agencies to delete regulations from earlier administrations that could unnecessarily hinder AI development or deployment.
Fighting state AI laws
The plan doesnt reprise the ban on state AI regulation that was struck from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as some had feared. But it tries to frustrate state AI regulation by instructing federal agencies to condition funding on how friendly the states regulatory environment is to AI R&D. The plan also issues a vague threat against states by asking the FCC to look at how state AI regulations might interfere with the agencys ability to carry out its obligations and authorities under the Communications Act of 1934. (That Act established the FCC and gave it control of broadcast licenses, wireless spectrum, and compliance enforcement.)
The Trump administration also wants to shrink the role of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in protecting consumers from the excesses of the tech industry. The AI plan asks the FTC to modify or set-aside any final orders, consent decrees, and injunctions against tech companies that might unduly burden AI innovation. Further, it asks the FTC to review all investigations begun during the Biden years to ensure that they do not advance theories of liability that unduly burden AI innovation.
Readying the grid for AI
Anthropic estimates the U.S. power grid will need an additional 50 gigawattsroughly the output of 50 Hoover Dams, or enough to power 40 million homesby 2027 to meet the energy demands of new data centers. The Trump administration appears keenly aware of this challenge.
The new plan renews a Biden-era initiative asking agencies that manage federal lands to identify sites suited to large-scale development of data centers. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has been promoting this idea for months, noting that his agency controls around 500 million acres of public lands and estimates $8 trillion in coal reserves beneath them.
Could the U.S. decide to expand production of dirty fuels like coal in the interest of powering new AI data centers? The plan doesnt specify, saying only that the U.S. must prevent the premature decommissioning of critical power generation resources and explore innovative ways to harness existing capacity. It also advocates for investment in alternative power sources like geothermal, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion.
It wasnt too long ago that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was urging the Senate to regulate AI. Now, most in the AI space warn that any binding regulations on how companies develop AI are premature and likely to nip innovation in the bud. Some even argue that it would be immoral to slow down AI R&D because the technology might soon help cure cancer or eliminate poverty. Trumps AI plan is clearly an expression of that world view, and the fulfillment of a promise he made to the tech industry when campaigning for a second term.
The GOPs One Big Beautiful Bill Act will make big tech companies flush with cash
Analysts from Morgan Stanley predicted on Monday that the GOPs One Big Beautiful Bill Act could have some magical effects on the balance sheets of the biggest tech (read: AI) companies. The bill, which was signed into law by the president on July 4, contains a number of tax breaks that will considerably increase the free cash flow of tech companies, the analysts say, especially those that spend heavily on R&D and new infrastructure. For many tech companies, that means AI research and building data centers.
Under the revised tax code, tech companies can now apply retroactive write-offs for past R&D spending, recovering billions in taxes. The bill also allows for full, upfront deductions on infrastructure investmentsprovisions clearly designed with big tech in mind. Meanwhile, the corporate tax rate remains steady at 21%.
These incentives could be worth tens of billions to leading firms, Morgan Stanley estimates. Analysts expect Google, Microsoft, and Apple to benefit most in the short term by accelerating R&D deductions. For Meta and Amazon, the gains may be more evenly distributed over the next two to three years.
Pew: Googles AI search results yield far fewer click-throughs, ad views
New research from the Pew Research Center suggests trouble ahead for Googles core business. After tracking real-time user behavior, Pew found that users shown an AI-generated AI Overview were less likely to click links to external websites than users shown traditional search results. That finding supports concerns among publishers that AI-enhanced search results are reducing site traffic.
It could spell bad news for Google, too. The company earns the bulk of its ad revenue from search, especially when users are looking to buy products like shoes or cars. Google profits most when it drives users to merchant websites. But when users enter more complex queriessuch as what are the best noise cancelling headphones for less than $100they often receive an AI-generated summary. If Pews findings hold, they may be less likely to click a link to a specific brand.
During its research (conducted in March), Pew found that one in five Gogle searches displayed an AI Overview. It also revealed that users were more likely to end their session entirely after seeing such a summary: that happened on 26% of AI-result pages, compared to just 16% of pages with standard results.
More AI coverage from Fast Company:
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Tens of thousands of fans many in costumes will descend Thursday on Comic-Con International, the four day pop culture spectacle that will feature updates on the new “Predator” movie, “Alien” series and a special appearance by George Lucas.Just don’t expect major news about the future of Marvel’s movie slate or what’s next for the hit relaunch of DC’s high-flying “Superman” franchise. Both studios are sitting out Comic-Con 2025, as far as their film slates go.An estimated 135,000 people will attend the convention, which will greet Lucas on Sunday for his first Comic-Con appearance. The “Star Wars” creator will discuss his new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art that will open next year in Los Angeles.Fans of the “Alien” and “Predator” franchises will have plenty to cheer. Elle Fanning, star of “Predator: Badlands,” will discuss the film at Comic-Con’s massive Hall H this week. FX will also bring the stars and creators of “Alien: Earth,” a series that will unleash the Xenomorph species on Earth next month.“Alien: Earth” will be one of the projects that brings a massive interactive experience to San Diego, with a replica of spacecraft from the series. The attraction will feature what’s described as a terrifying mission at night.Marvel may not be presenting new movies, but it will have a “Fantastic Four: First Steps” attraction near the convention, a tie-in to Friday’s release of the latest attempt to successfully launch its “first family” in theaters.Thousands of fans got a sneak peek at the convention’s 460,000 square foot (42,700 square meter) exhibitor section, which features exclusive merchandise, comic book art and exhibits from brands like Star Wars, Lego, Nickelodeon, Paramount and more.
Associated Press
The data nerds are fighting back.After watching data sets be altered or disappear from U.S. government websites in unprecedented ways after President Donald Trump began his second term, an army of outside statisticians, demographers and computer scientists have joined forces to capture, preserve and share data sets, sometimes clandestinely.Their goal is to make sure they are available in the future, believing that democracy suffers when policymakers don’t have reliable data and that national statistics should be above partisan politics.“There are such smart, passionate people who care deeply about not only the Census Bureau, but all the statistical agencies, and ensuring the integrity of the statistical system. And that gives me hope, even during these challenging times,” Mary Jo Mitchell, director of government and public affairs for the research nonprofit the Population Association of America, said this week during an online public data-users conference.The threats to the U.S. data infrastructure since January have come not only from the disappearance or modification of data related to gender, sexual orientation, health, climate change and diversity, among other topics, but also from job cuts of workers and contractors who had been guardians of restricted-access data at statistical agencies, the data experts said.“There are trillions of bytes of data files, and I can’t even imagine how many public dollars were spent to collect those data. But right now, they’re sitting someplace that is inaccessible because there are no staff to appropriately manage those data,” Jennifer Park, a study director for the Committee on National Statistics, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, said during the conference hosted by the Association of Public Data Users (APDU).
‘Gender’ switched to ‘sex’
In February, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s official public portal for health data, data.cdc.gov, was taken down entirely but subsequently went back up. Around the same time, when a query was made to access certain public data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most comprehensive survey of American life, users for several days got a response that said the area was “unavailable due to maintenance” before access was restored.Researchers Janet Freilich and Aaron Kesselheim examined 232 federal public health data sets that had been modified in the first quarter of this year and found that almost half had been “substantially altered,” with the majority having the word “gender” switched to “sex,” they wrote this month in The Lancet medical journal.One of the most difficult tasks has been figuring out what’s been changed since many of the alterations weren’t recorded in documentation.Beth Jarosz, senior program director at the Population Reference Bureau, thought she was in good shape since she had previously downloaded data she needed from the National Survey of Children’s Health for a February conference where she was speaking, even though the data had become unavailable. But then she realized she had failed to download the questionnaire and later discovered that a question about discrimination based on gender or sexual identity had been removed.“It’s the one thing my team didn’t have,” Jarosz said at this week’s APDU conference. “And they edited the questionnaire document, which should have been a historical record.”Among the groups that have formed this year to collect and preserve the federal data are the Federation of American Scientists’ dataindex.com, which monitors changes to federal data sets; the University of Chicago Library’s Data Mirror website, which backs up and hosts at-risk data sets; the Data Rescue Project, which serves as a clearinghouse for data rescue-related efforts; and the Federal Data Forum, which shares information about what federal statistics have gone missing or been modified a job also being done by the American Statistical Association.The outside data warriors also are quietly reaching out to workers at statistical agencies and urging them to back up any data that is restricted from the public.“You can’t trust that this data is going to be here tomorrow,” said Lena Bohman, a founding member of the Data Rescue Project.
Experts’ committee unofficially revived
Separately, a group of outside experts has unofficially revived a long-running U.S. Census Bureau advisory committee that was killed by the Trump administration in March.Census Bureau officials won’t be attending the Census Scientific Advisory Committee meeting in September, since the Commerce Department, which oversees the agency, eliminated it. But the advisory committee will forward its recommendations to the bureau, and demographer Allison Plyer said she has heard that some agency officials are excited by the committee’s re-emergence, even if it’s outside official channels.“We will send them recommendations but we don’t expect them to respond since that would be frowned upon,” said Plyer, chief demographer at The Data Center in New Orleans. “They just aren’t getting any outside expertise and they want expertise, which is understandable from nerds.”
Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social
Mike Schneider, Associated Press
Motorbike helmets can protect your head against fatal injury, but they leave you to breathe the noxious fumes of traffic. A Spanish startup called Zyon claims that its helmet addresses this problem by combining medical grade filtration with the most advanced shock-protection technology available, transforming every breath into clean air while keeping your coconut in one piece.
Premium helmet models like the $900 Shoei Neotec 3 look cool and offer ECE 22.06 P/J certificationthe latest European standard for motorcycle helmet safety, which includes more stringent testing procedures and impact points than any other certification in the worldbut leave riders completely exposed to pollutants.
One budget optionthe $56 Indian Shellios Purosprovides basic HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filtration for but fails both European and U.S. safety standards. Only the $850 Zyonavailable now for preorder and delivery later in the yearoffers both medical grade air purification and top-tier impact protection in a single system.
[Image: Zyon Helmets]
“There is currently no approved helmet on the market that includes an integrated filtration system,” Tanguy Uzel, founder of the Madrid-based Zyon Helmets, tells me via email. “The only exception is a model developed by an Indian brand, which does not have homologation or European and American safety standards.”
The core of the Zyon is its Breath Safe System, which the company claims processes every molecule of air before it enters your body. How much do you need this? Motorcyclists suffer PM2.5 exposures of 75 micrograms per cubic meter, 5 times more than pedestrians and 15 times more than car occupants. This pollution penetrates lung alveoli and enters the bloodstream, causing chronic inflammation that has been linked to cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.
HEPA filters have demonstrated 48% to 60% reductions in allergic symptoms, outperforming many pharmaceutical treatments. Activated carbon neutralizes gases like carbon monoxide, whose exposure above 9 parts per million significantly reduces lung function in commercial drivers. While no portable system completely eliminates gas exposure, partial reduction provides significant health benefits during chronic urban exposure.
[Image: Zyon Helmets]
Multilayer filtering
The Zyon has three layers located inside the chin guard, where you can see its honeycomb openings and a mechanism to change the air-intake according to your speed.
The first hydrophobic barrier blocks water and insects. The second layer employs H13 HEPA filters that capture 99.95% of particles down to 0.3 microns, including the dangerous PM2.5 particles that penetrate deep into the respiratory system and enter the bloodstream, causing chronic inflammation.
A third layer uses activated carbon to absorb poisonous gases like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides that escape from exhaust pipes, the company says. A final layer protects the assembly and maintains filter integrity for one to three months of use, depending on the quality of the air during easy rides. This multi-layer filter design eliminates 99% of the pollution that motorcyclists would normally inhale in a city, where concentrations of toxic particles reach levels that would trigger health warnings if they occurred indoors.
Thats for your lungs. For your cranium, the helmet uses the Swedish multidirectional impact protection system (MIPS), which reduces rotational forces during a crash. A low-friction layer allows the helmet to move 10 to 15 millimeters relative to the head during impact, deflecting energy that could damage the brain. This technology functions without interfering with the filtration system or the neck sealing necessary to maintain clean air, the company points out.
The ECE 22.06 P/J certification (introduced in the EU in 2022) triples the number of impact points tested compared to previous regulations and includes oblique impacts that simulate real accidents. The U.S. uses the Department of Transportations FMVSS 218 standard, which is legally required but is considered a Mickey Mouse-level protection that provides minimum helmet performance rather than optimal protection.
[Image: Zyon Helmets]
Three-mode ventilation
The company claims its helmet maintains effective ventilation, even when stopped at traffic lights, through three modes without the need for electric fans. It offers Urban for slow traffic, Road for medium speeds, and Touring for highway use. A single mechanism switches between modes according to riding conditions.
The company says that air enters through the front intake, filters through the four layers, circulates through internal channels, and exits through rear vents. This continuous current maintains positive pressure inside the helmet, preventing dirty air from entering through small leaks in the sealinga critical detail that makes the filtration effective.
“Our filter acts by electrostatic attraction to capture fne particles and by chemical reaction with a layer of active carbon to neutralize toxic gases. Unlike mechanical filters (such as those of masks), this system allows better breathability, but also requires regular replacement,” Uzel tells me.
The Zyons shell combines fiberglass with organic materials in an integrated matrix. The materials are chemically bonded together during manufacturing to create a single, unified composite material rather than separate layers glued together. The glass fibers provide strength and prevent cracking, while the organic resin allows controlled flexibility that absorbs crash energy by deforming slightly instead of transmitting all the impact force directly to your head, which your brain will be happy about.
The helmet is loaded with some clever electronics too, including integrated air quality sensors that can talk to a mobile app that monitors what goes through the filtering system and warns when the filter needs changing.
“The duration of the filter depends on the environment, but it is recommended to change it every one to three months. Once opened, even without use, it begins to lose properties due to exposure to air,” Uzel says. “The helmet detects flights and air conditions in real time. From that data, the app generates custom statistics on the filtered contamination level and filter performance, and notifies the user when to replace it.”
The helmet also has aviation-class accelerometers, which will identify accident patterns and automatically alert emergency services in your phonea potentially lifesaving technology for riders who crash in remote areas.
The rear light activates when braking through the same motion sensors whenever they detect deceleration, improving visibility especially in low-light conditions or high pollution. The battery provides 18 hours of autonomy and charges via USB-C.
It looks like a great design, if it works like they say. The combination of medical filtration, MIPS protection, and smart electronics should protect you against the two main threats that motorcyclists face: accidents and pollution. For riders who spend hours daily breathing toxic urban air, this could be the solution.
The fertility rate in the U.S. dropped to an all-time low in 2024 with less than 1.6 kids per woman, new federal data released Thursday shows.The U.S. was once among only a few developed countries with a rate that ensured each generation had enough children to replace itself about 2.1 kids per woman. But it has been sliding in America for close to two decades as more women are waiting longer to have children or never taking that step at all.The new statistic is on par with fertility rates in western European countries, according to World Bank data.Alarmed by recent drops, the Trump administration has taken steps to increase falling birth rates, like issuing an executive order meant to expand access to and reduce costs of in vitro fertilization and backing the idea of “baby bonuses” that might encourage more couples to have kids.But there’s no reason to be alarmed, according to Leslie Root, a University of Colorado Boulder researcher focused on fertility and population policy.“We’re seeing this as part of an ongoing process of fertility delay. We know that the U.S. population is still growing, and we still have a natural increase more births than deaths,” she said.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the statistic for the total fertility rate with updated birth data for 2024.In the early 1960s, the U.S. total fertility rate was around 3.5, but plummeted to 1.7 by 1976 after the Baby Boom ended. It gradually rose to 2.1 in 2007 before falling again, aside from a 2014 uptick. The rate in 2023 was 1.621, and inched down in 2024 to 1.599, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.Birth rates are generally declining for women in most age groups and that doesn’t seem likely to change in the near future, said Karen Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina.People are marrying later and also worried about their ability to have the money, health insurance and other resources needed to raise children in a stable environment.“Worry is not a good moment to have kids,” and that’s why birth rates in most age groups are not improving, she said.Asked about birth-promoting measures outlined by the Trump administration, Guzzo said they don’t tackle larger needs like parental leave and affordable child care.“The things that they are doing are really symbolic and not likely to budge things for real Americans,” she said.
Increase in births in new data
The CDC’s new report, which is based on a more complete review of birth certificates than provisional data released earlier this year, also showed a 1% increase in births about 33,000 more last year compared to the prior year.That brought the yearly national total to just over 3.6 million babies born.But this is different: The provisional data indicated birth rate increases last year for women in their late 20s and 30s. However, the new report found birth rate declines for women in their 20s and early 30s, and no change for women in their late 30s.What happened? CDC officials said it was due to recalculations stemming from a change in the U.S. Census population estimates used to compute the birth rate.That’s plausible, Root said. As the total population of women of childbearing age grew due to immigration, it offset small increases in births to women in those age groups, she said.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer
After you wear it enough, Nike’s latest Air Jordan 1 eventually becomes a one-of-one sneaker in a colorful, custom colorway just for you.
The Air Jordan 1 High OG Self-Expression,” which will be released July 31 and retail for $185, comes in a shoebox that looks as if it was made from sanded down rainbow scratch paper, and it’s a preview of what happens when you wear the shoes inside. At first the sneaker is black, but its finish is designed to flake off with time, revealing blue, green, and yellow panels underneath. It give each pair a unique pattern that’s special to the wearer. Think of it as a data visualization of your walking patterns.
[Photo: Nike]
AJ purists may be used to leaving their purchase in the box to keep it in mint condition, but the concept of scratch-off shoes flips scuff marks from a negative to a plus. The Air Jordan 1 High OG Self-Expression gives scuff marks value: wearing in the shoe so it doesn’t look the same as when you bought it is intrinsic to the design. It’s an innovative alternative to typical product customization.
[Photo: Nike]
Nike has previously put out rub away Air Max 1s and Nike SB x Air Jordan 1s with wear-away uppers, while their Air Force 1 Low Dirty Triple White ages backwards to reveal a brighter, whiter, cleaner layer underneath an outer layer that already looks worn. Dr. Martens got in on the trend last year with color-changing shoes with brown and black topcoats that wore off to reveal bright green and blue as part of a collaboration with Supreme.
[Photo: Nike]
For Nike, bringing the effect to the Air Jordan adds a fun new way to experience one of the company’s signature shoes. “The Air Jordan 1 transcended its basketball origins to become a cultural phenomenon in the 1980s, influencing diverse subcultures such as hip-hop, rock, skateboarding, and youth culture,” Air Jordan’s Kenlyn Tyree tells Fast Company. “Its blend of style, comfort, and performance made it a symbol of self-expression and status for a generation of young people.”
Typically, apparel made from materials like raw denim or leather are thought to get better with wear, but with rub-away shoes, that idea is taken to another level. The imperfections are the point, and with Nike’s color-changing Air Jordan 1s, the bold, bright colors draw attention to them even more.
President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that the United States will win the artificial intelligence race. He made the declaration before signing three executive orders aimed at expediting AI-related infrastructure projects, promoting and exporting American-made AI technology, and preventing woke AI in the federal government.
Earlier in the day, the White House released a 28-page AI Action Plan, which lays out a detailed policy agenda to accelerate AI innovation, build AI infrastructure, and lead in international AI diplomacy and security.
The plan paints a bucolic picture of sorts, in which American workers will benefit from the opportunities created by this technological revolution, including high-paying jobs and scientific discoveries, while the private sector is unencumbered by bureaucratic red tape and onerous regulations.
‘Whatever it takes’
But Trump also made clear that his AI policy marks a stark departure from the AI guardrails endorsed by President Joe Biden. During a speech Wednesday at an event cohosted by the Hill and Valley Forum and the All-In podcast, Trump took swipes at a number of policies endorsed by his political opponents and told the audience, Were getting rid of woke.
The White Houses AI agenda outlines risks to innovation from anything perceived as a hindrancebe it ideological policies or environmental regulationsand the executive orders continue a pattern of Trump revoking the policies of his predecessor. The president vowed to do whatever it takes to lead the world in AI innovation.
With your help, that golden age will be built by American workers, it will be powered by American energy, it will be run on American technology improved by American artificial intelligence, and it will make America richer, stronger, greater, freer, and more powerful than ever before, he told the tech-heavy audience.
Recommended policy actions
Among dozens of recommended policy actions, the AI Action Plan calls for eliminating references to misinformation, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and climate change. Whats more, it notes that AI models must be built on what are referred to as American values, without providing specifics about what those values are.
One of the executive orders that Trump signed Wednesday also calls for modifying various environmental regulations to streamline and accelerate the federal permitting of data center infrastructure.
Silicon Valley’s role
Trumps AI policy was heavily shaped by his Silicon Valley donors, including David Sacks, one of four cohosts of the All-In podcast and Trumps special adviser for AI and crypto.
While Trump complimented the genius and creativity of Silicon Valley, he also called on change from the technology community. Winning the new AI race will demand a new spirit of patriotism and national loyalty in Silicon Valley.
More than 100 groupsincluding the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Organization for Women (NOW), and Oxfam Americasigned a resolution opposing the AI action plan, which they describe as being written by Big Tech and Big Oil. These groups instead advocated for a Peoples AI Action Plan.”
‘Just popped out of the air’
But even Trump seemed, at times, dubious or just naive about the technological revolution he intends to lead. Though AI technology is hardly new, Trump said it was something that nobody expected, it just popped out of the air and also suggested that AI needs a new moniker because he doesnt like the word artificial and prefers the word genius instead.
Whether we like it or not, were suddenly engaged in a fast-paced competition to build and define this groundbreaking technology that will determine so much about the future of civilization itself, he told the audience.
U.S. automakers worry that President Donald Trump’s agreement to tariff Japanese vehicles at 15% would put them at a competitive disadvantage, saying they will face steeper import taxes on steel, aluminum and parts than their competitors.“We need to review all the details of the agreement, but this is a deal that will charge lower tariffs on Japanese autos with no U.S. content,” said Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents the Big 3 American automakers, General Motors, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis.Blunt said in an interview the U.S. companies and workers “definitely are at a disadvantage” because they face a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on parts and finished vehicles, with some exceptions for products covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that went into effect in 2020.The domestic automaker reaction reveals the challenge of enforcing policies across the world economy, showing that for all of Trump’s promises there can be genuine tradeoffs from policy choices that risk serious blowback in politically important states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, where automaking is both a source of income and of identity.The United Auto Workers said in a statement it was “deeply angered” by the deal. “A better deal would have held Japanese automakers to the same standards U.S. workers have fought for at GM, Ford, and Stellantis,” the UAW said.“If this becomes the blueprint for trade with Europe or South Korea, it will be a major missed opportunity,” the union added. “We need trade deals that raise standards not reward the race to the bottom. This deal does the opposite.”Trump portrayed the trade framework as a major win after announcing it on Tuesday, saying it would add hundreds of thousands of jobs to the U.S. economy and open the Japanese economy in ways that could close a persistent trade imbalance. The agreement includes a 15% tariff that replaces the 25% import tax the Republican president had threatened to charge starting on Aug. 1. Japan would also put together $550 billion to invest in U.S. projects at the “direction” of the president, the White House said.The framework with Japan will remove regulations that prevent American vehicles from being sold in that country, the White House has said, adding that it would be possible for vehicles built in Detroit to be shipped directly to Japan and ready to be sold.But Blunt said that foreign auto producers, including the U.S., Europe and South Korea, have just a 6% share in Japan, raising skepticism that simply having the open market that the Trump administration says will exist in that country will be sufficient.“Tough nut to crack, and I’d be very surprised if we see any meaningful market penetration in Japan,” Blunt said.Asked at Wednesday’s briefing about whether Trump’s sectoral tariffs such as those on autos were now subject to possible change, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the issue had been going through the Commerce Department.The framework with Japan was also an indication that some nations simply saw it as preferential to have a set tariff rate rather than be whipsawed by Trump’s changes on import taxes since April. But for the moment, both Japan and the United Kingdom with its quotas on auto exports might enjoy a competitive edge in the U.S.“With this agreement in place it provides Japan with a near-term operating cost advantage compared to other foreign automakers, and even some domestic U.S. product that uses a high degree of both foreign production and parts content,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. “It will be interesting to see if this is the first domino to fall in a series of foreign countries that decide long-term stability is more important that short term disputes over specific tariff rates.”Autos Drive America, an organization that represents major Japanese companies Toyota, Honda and Nissan and other international automakers, said in a statement that it is “encouraged” by the announced trade framework and noted its members have exceeded domestic automaker production for the past two years.The statement urged “the Trump administration to swiftly reach similar agreements with other allies and partners, especially the European Union, South Korea, Canada and Mexico.”The Japanese framework could give automakers and other countries grounds for pushing for changes in the Trump administration’s tariffs regime. The president has previously said that he values flexibility in negotiating import taxes. The USMCA is up for review next year.Ford, GM and Stellantis do “have every right to be upset,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president at consultancy AutoForecast Solutions. But “Honda, Toyota, and Nissan still import vehicles from Mexico and Canada, where the current levels of tariffs can be higher than those applied to Japanese imports. Most of the high-volume models from Japanese brands are already produced in North America.”Fiorani noted that among the few exceptions are the Toyota 4Runner, the Mazda CX-5 and the Subaru Forester, but most of the other imports fill niches that are too small to warrant production in the U.S.“There will be negotiations between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico, and it will probably result in tariffs no higher than 15%,” Fiorani added, “but nobody seems to be in a hurry to negotiate around the last Trump administration’s free trade agreement.”
St. John contributed from Detroit.
Josh Boak and Alex St. John, Associated Press
You landed a job interview: Youve researched the company, reread the job listing, and practiced your talking points. But have you considered the importance of choosing the right time of day to interview? According to new research, when you interview might impact how well you do.
In a study analyzing the timing and performance of Italian students in oral interviewswhich are required to pass many classes at Italian universitiesresearchers found that the time of day had a big impact on students likelihood of success. Researchers believe the study could shed light on successes and failures in other high-pressure situations, like job interviews.
Researchers utilized a University of Messina database of interview-style exam results from October 2018 to February 2020. Data from more than 100,000 exams revealed that the rate of students who passed followed a bell curve that peaked between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and was much lower in the early morning and late afternoon.
The research was inspired by a study that found judges are more lenient in their sentencing at the beginning of the court session or after meal breaks, says Carmelo Vicario, a neuroscientist at the University of Messina and lead author of the new study. After seeing the data on judicial rulings, Vicario says he was interested in discovering whether the same principle might apply to other fields, including education.
This was, of course, a completely different field, Vicario tells Fast Company. But we found this similarity.
Since the study analyzes existing data, rather than data from controlled trials, Vicario says he isnt able to confirm exactly why the middle of the day seems to be when students are most successful. Still, the researchers have a number of theories.
For starters, since younger people tend to be night owls and older people tend to prefer the morning, the middle of the day might help mitigate the clash between these chronotypes, or biological rhythms that impact how alert people are throughout the day. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. could be a middle ground when both students and their professors are in their prime.
This same mismatch between chronotypes could contribute to the difference in interview success during the hiring process for young workers being interviewed by more senior employees, adding to the bias that an estimated 36% have against Gen Z candidates, according to a recent ResumeBuilder survey.
More than 80 genes regulate the circadian rhythms behind different chronotypes, and people consistently operating outside the hours that work with their circadian rhythm can experience issues with productivity, as well as health problems and work-related anxiety.
To help overcome bias related to the time of day, experts have a few tips that can be applied to everything from exams to job interviews and beyond, such as offering flexible meeting hours and scheduling collaboration when both parties have high energy levels.
By recognizing biological differences in how and when people work bestand making room for that diversityleaders can reduce hidden bias, unlock untapped potential, and build more productive and inclusive teams, Camilla Kring, a researcher who studies applied chronology, wrote in a recent article for Fast Company.
Still, authors of the new study note that more research is needed to determine whether mismatched chronotypes are the hidden force behind varying interview success.
Even this is a speculative interpretation, Vicario says, noting his hope that this work will inspire future research that helps to pin down exactly why interviews in the middle of the day tend to go better. Vicario also hopes people will consider researching the impact of timing on decision-making in other high-pressure situations.
When theres a kind of pressure, the influence of the time of the day can be stronger compared to when you have a large amount of time to evaluate the details of the situation, Vicario says. Being aware [of timings impact] can make decisions fairer.
President Donald Trump is visiting the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington Thursday, a week after indicating that Fed chair Jerome Powell’s handling of an extensive renovation project on two Fed buildings could be grounds for firing.Trump has criticized Powell for months because the chair has kept the short-term interest rate the Fed controls at 4.3% this year, after cutting it three times last year. Powell says the Fed wants to see how the economy responds to Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports, which Powell says could push up inflation.Powell’s caution has infuriated Trump, who has demanded the Fed cut borrowing costs to spur the economy and reduce the interest rates the federal government pays on its debt.The Fed has been renovating its Washington headquarters and a neighboring building. With some of the construction occurring underground and as building materials have soared in price after inflation spiked in 2021 and 2022, the estimated cost has ballooned to about $2.5 billion, from $1.9 billion.When asked last week if the costly rebuilding could be grounds to fire Powell, Trump said, “I think it is.”“When you spend $2.5 billion on, really, a renovation, I think it’s really disgraceful,” Trump said.Firing Powell would threaten the Fed’s independence, which has long been supported by most economists and Wall Street investors.
