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The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday launched investigations into Stanford University and three University of California schools to ensure they comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down race-conscious admissions. The 2023 ruling effectively prohibited affirmative action policies that were long used to raise the number of Black, Hispanic, and other underrepresented minority students on American campuses. U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi directed the department’s civil rights division to investigate to ensure that the schools comply with a Supreme Court decision that prevents colleges and universities from discriminating when choosing students for admission, the department said in a news release. In addition to Stanford, the review will cover the University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, and University of California, Irvine. Since taking office for his second term, President Donald Trump’s administration has attempted to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within the government and the private sector. He has also taken aim at academic institutions and universities, launching dozens of investigations and threatening to cut off funding to schools that promote DEI. “President Trump and I are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country,” Bondi said in the release. “Every student in America deserves to be judged solely based on their hard work, intellect, and character, not the color of their skin.” The investigations were “just the beginning” of the Justice Department’s attempt to eradicate DEI programs, the media release said. Stanford University said in a statement it began taking steps to comply with the Supreme Court decision immediately after it was issued. “We continue to be committed to fulfilling our obligations under the law. We do not have details about today’s announcement, but we look forward to learning more about their concerns and responding to the department’s questions,” Stanford spokesperson Dee Mostofi said in an email. The University of California said it has adhered to a ban on affirmative action in admissions since California voters approved one in the ballot initiative Proposition 209 in 1996. “At the same time, we remain committed to expanding access for all qualified students,” the statewide university system said in a statement. “The UC undergraduate admissions application collects students’ race and ethnicity for statistical purposes only. This information is not shared with application reviewers and is not used for admissions.” Ryan Patrick Jones and Daniel Trotta, Reuters
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One of Chinas largest server makers, H3C, has flagged potential shortages of Nvidia’s H20 chip, the most advanced AI processor legally available domestically under U.S. export controls, in a client notice seen by Reuters. The potential supply crunch could create obstacles for China’s artificial intelligence ambitions at a time when its tech firms are aggressively expanding their investments in AI. “H20’s international supply chain faces significant uncertainties,” the company said in Tuesday’s notice, adding that current inventory was nearly depleted. Geopolitical tension that is roiling global trade and supply of key materials was responsible for the uncertainty, it added, saying new shipments were expected by mid-April this year. After publication, a Nvidia spokesperson said the company declined to comment. In a statement to Reuters following publication, H3C said “after verification, neither the company nor any of its departments have issued this notice or its related content.” Demand for H20 chips has surged in recent months as companies rush to adopt Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s cost-effective AI models. Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance have significantly increased orders of the H20 since the Chinese AI startup burst into the global public consciousness since January, Reuters reported last month. The Chinese server maker said supply plans beyond April 20 also face uncertainties from raw material policy changes, shipping disruptions, and production challenges. In the notice, H3C said it would distribute incoming H20 chips on the basis of a profit-first principle, prioritizing stable, long-term customers with higher profit margins on their orders. H20 processors are currently scarce in the Chinese market, said an industry source, who distributes AI servers including those that make use of H20 chips. “We were told the chips would be available, but when it came time to actually purchase them, we were informed they had already been sold at higher prices,” added the source, who sought anonymity given the information is private. U.S. officials were considering curbs on sales of H20 chips to China, Reuters reported in January. H3C is a major OEM partner for Nvidia’s AI chips in China, alongside others such as Inspur, Lenovo, and Huawei’s spin-off x86 server unit, xFusion. The primary chip Nvidia is legally permitted to sell in China, the H20 was launched after the latest round of U.S. export restrictions took effect in October 2023. Washington has banned exports of Nvidia’s most advanced chips to China since 2022, concerned that its rival could use advanced technologies to build up its military capabilities. Analysts estimate Nvidia shipped about one million H20 units in 2024, generating revenue of more than $12 billion for the company. Huawei and Cambricon offer domestic alternatives to the H20. Liam Mo, Che Pan, Fanny Potkin and Brenda Goh, Reuters
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targets funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” the latest step in a broadside against culture he deems too liberal.Trump claimed there has been a “concerted and widespread” effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing “objective facts” with a “distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth,” adding that it casts the “founding principles” of the United States in a “negative light.”The order he signed behind closed doors puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.It marks the Republican president’s latest salvo against cultural pillars of society, such as universities and art, that he considers out of step with conservative sensibilities. Trump recently had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming, including the annual Kennedy Center Honors awards show. The administration also recently forced Columbia University to make a series of policy changes by threatening the Ivy League school with the loss of several hundred million dollars in federal funding.The executive order also hints at the return of statues and monuments of Confederate figures, many of which were taken down or replaced around the country after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is detested by Trump and other conservatives.The order also calls for improvements to Independence Hall in Philadelphia by July 4, 2026, in time for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.Trump singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 near the White House, the Women’s History Museum, which is in development, and the American Art Museum for criticism.“Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learnnot to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” he said.Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian Institution’s chief spokesperson, said in an email late Thursday, “We have no comment for now.”Under Trump’s order, Vance will also work with the White House budget office to make sure future funding for the Smithsonian Institution isn’t spent on programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy.” Trump also wants to ensure that the women’s history museum celebrates women and not “recognize men as women in any respect.”It also requires the interior secretary to reinstate monuments, memorials, statues, and similar properties that have been removed or changed since January 1, 2020, to “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology.”The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. It consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington.The institution was established by Congress with money from James Smithson, a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” Darlene Superville, Associated Press
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