Federal Government

The One Big, Beautiful Bill budget legislation that cleared the U.S. Senate Tuesday no longer includes the moratorium on state-level AI regulatory efforts, after a bipartisan vote to amend the bill by removing the provision.

New federal funding cuts are impacting plans for high-speed Internet and digital inclusion work, leaving state broadband directors to explore alternate financing and other ways to move forward.

The impacts of President Donald Trump’s proposed budget are still being debated, but the CEO of Euna takes a silver-lining approach to potential funding reductions. Euna sells grant management software to tribes.

Their proportions and weight mean heavy-duty trucks cause an outsized amount of damage to the nation's roads, experts said. Road usage charges could help introduce fairness and equity into how vehicles are charged.

Federal proposals to end purchase incentives for electric vehicles, and a presidential halt to California phasing out gas-powered cars, are rattling that transition, but may not halt it, experts said.

New poll results show bipartisan opposition to the proposed 10-year artificial intelligence regulatory moratorium. A majority of respondents say both states and the federal government should implement policy.

A federal task force, student competitions, industry collaboration and fast-tracking grant programs will help students go from being tech consumers to tech creators in the AI-driven economy.

Plus, Hawaii students were recognized for their contributions to broadband data mapping work, a report shows more than half of New Yorkers use free public Wi-Fi, another shows progress in rural broadband expansion, and more.

Democrat Geoffrey Starks will depart the FCC within the next month, leaving the agency with a 2-1 Republican majority. Whether the GOP members will move to reverse past E-rate expansions remains to be seen.

A provision in a controversial reconciliation bill would block state-level AI regulation for 10 years. Educators and lawmakers alike are warning that this could have dire consequences, including harm to children.

The proposal, part of the reconciliatory federal budget document dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” now heads to the U.S. Senate. It includes a 10-year stop on states being able to regulate artificial intelligence.

Microsoft, the U.S. Justice Department, Europol and Japan’s Cybercrime Control Center are targeting the Lumma Stealer malware in an international operation. A court order has empowered the group to start taking it down.

The economic uncertainty surrounding tariff policies and the potential of a global trade war could have ripple effects throughout higher education, including strained budgets, less tech investment and lost research.

Studies show the United States is not keeping up with electric demand, as electric vehicles and data centers continue to ramp up their burden on the grid. A slowdown in federal funding has not seemed to impact this.

Proposed legislation would gut key components of the Inflation Reduction Act and potentially sideline the nation’s innovation growth in energy and transportation. On Thursday, executives in these sectors spoke out.

The grant, which would have benefitted the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub, led by Southern Research, has been cancelled. The award followed its 2023 designation as one of 31 federal Tech Hubs, setting the stage for funding.

State and local entities had already begun to receive grant awards to teach digital skills and provide connectivity and devices for underserved people, including K-12 students, when the program was canceled last week.

As the federal government’s approach to serving people with autism shifts under a new administration, states continue using technology to meet autistic people where they are, to provide support.