Congress’ tech plate is full, with little time at the table

WASHINGTON — Congress has a full slate of technology policy challenges to resolve, ranging from artificial intelligence systems to data privacy and children’s online safety — with not much time on the congressional calendar before the November election intrudes.

In the absence of federal legislation, more than a dozen states have enacted data privacy laws, and more are in the pipeline. Likewise, several states also have established, or are mulling, laws relating to artificial intelligence systems, all of which increases the pressure to create national policies.

Starting Wednesday, there will be fewer than 50 days left in which both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in session before the election on Nov. 5.

Congress may end up enacting narrower bills on AI before November but is unlikely to pass a comprehensive measure before then, said Linda Moore, CEO of TechNet, a group whose members include top executives of Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Google LLC, Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp., OpenAI and others.

—CQ-Roll Call

Antisemitism in the US hits all-time high, Anti-Defamation League says

The Anti-Defamation League recorded more incidents of nationwide antisemitism in 2023 than ever before — and only California reported more incidents than New York.

The ADL, which has been documenting hate crimes against Jews since 1979, said it tracked 8,873 cases of antisemitism last year. That marks a 140% spike from 2022, and equates to one antisemitic incident every hour.

“Antisemitism is nothing short of a national emergency, a five-alarm fire that is still raging across the country and in our local communities and campuses,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a press release. “Jewish Americans are being targeted for who they are at school, at work, on the street, in Jewish institutions and even at home.”

More than 5,200 of the ADL’s documented antisemitic acts occurred after Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli citizens and foreigners on Oct. 7 to start the ongoing war in Gaza.

—New York Daily News

Report: Tijuana River among most endangered in America due to sewage crisis

SAN DIEGO — The Tijuana River, with frequent flows of sewage and chemical-tainted waters, is among America's top endangered rivers, according to a report released Tuesday that spotlights threats to clean water nationwide.

American Rivers, a nonprofit focused on protecting the health of rivers in the U.S., compiled a list of the 10 most threatened waterways and listed the binational Tijuana River in ninth place.

"The river joins the Pacific Ocean at beautiful beaches that were once frequented by families, swimmers, and surfers but are now choked with pollution, limiting coastal access and causing serious threats to public health," the report reads.

Elected officials and environmental groups said Tuesday that the designation reaffirms what affected communities have been advocating for over the years: working wastewater infrastructure on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and clean air and water.

—The San Diego Union-Tribune

Russia is trying to force Ukrainians to abandon their second-biggest city

Ukrainian and Western officials see Russia’s escalated bombardment of Ukraine’s No. 2 city as a way to force the evacuation of civilians, they said.

Kharkiv, a northeastern city less than an hour’s drive from the Russian border, has been hit with an escalating barrage of missiles, drones and heavy guided bombs over the past month. The assault has battered power-generation infrastructure and left swathes of residential buildings in ruins.

The city — whose pre-war population was about 1.5 million — has come under regular attack since Russia’s invasion began in 2022. But the Kremlin’s latest action looks like a coordinated effort to cut off supplies and create conditions that make the city uninhabitable, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

The siege of Kharkiv is one of the main thrusts of Russia’s military operation, which has exploited Ukraine’s dwindling artillery supplies and air defense as well as a disadvantage on manpower. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops are also mounting a sustained attack on Ukraine’s energy system nationwide and making some advances across parts of the front line as Western officials fear Kyiv’s military may be nearing a breaking point.

—Bloomberg News