Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) UBS Global Technology Conference - (Transcript)WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump's supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump's movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump's Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer's comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump's world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift. His presidential transition team did not respond to questions about positions on visas for highly skilled workers or the debate between his supporters online. Instead, his team instead sent a link to a post on X by longtime adviser and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller that was a transcript of a speech Trump gave in 2020 at Mount Rushmore in which he praised figures and moments from American history. Musk, the world's richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump's movement but his stance on the tech industry's hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry's need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent," he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump's own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump's businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country" and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country," he told the “All-In" podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump's budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.A stroke changed a teacher’s life. How a new electrical device is helping her move
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin agreed to a record-setting eight-year, $92 million contract on Friday, according to multiple reports. Shesterkin's deal, which averages $11.5 million annually and runs through the 2032-33 season, is the largest ever for a goaltender. The previous high was an eight-year, $84 million deal ($10.5 million average) that Carey Price signed with the Montreal Canadiens in 2017. Shesterkin, who won the Vezina Trophy as the top netminder for the 2021-22 season, turned down an eight-year, $88 million offer just prior to the start of this season. He is making $5.66 million in 2023-24 in the final season of a four-year, $22.67 million contract. The Moscow native finished third in Hart Trophy (MVP) balloting during his stellar 2021-22 season in when he went 36-13-4 and led the NHL with both a 2.07 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. Shesterkin, who turns 29 on Dec. 30, has won 36 or more games in each of the past three regular seasons. But this season, he is just 8-9-1 with a personal-worst 3.05 GAA in 18 games this season. His .908 save percentage is also his worst. Overall, Shesterkin is 143-68-18 with a 2.48 GAA and .920 save percentage in 231 appearances (226 starts) over six seasons. In the postseason, he is 23-20-0 with a 2.41 GAA and .928 save percentage. Reports of the deal began circulating shortly after the Rangers traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks. That freed up money for next season as Trouba was in the sixth season of a seven-year, $56 million deal. --Field Level Media
Hydrogen Demand from Transportation Sector Up 64 Pct in 2024 – Korea — South Korea’s demand for hydrogen fuel in the mobility sector jumped 64 percent in 2024 from a year earlier, driven by the increasing number of hydrogen buses in the country, data showed Friday. The country’s hydrogen fuel demand in the mobility sector reached 9,499 tons this year, compared with 5,791 tons recorded a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In July, the government announced that the number of hydrogen fuel cell buses registered in the country had reached 1,000 units, a significant increase from 650 recorded in the previous year. The government plans to raise the figure to 20,000 by 2030. , a senior ministry official, said. the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Demand from Transportation Sector Up 64 Pct in 2024 – Korea, As part of Abu Dhabi’s Green Bus Programme: Hyundai UAE delivers Hydrogen Buses to “Abu Dhabi Mobility” ABU DHABI, UAE, Dec. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Juma Al Majid Co. LLC, the exclusive... Hyundai Motor concludes hydrogen bus trial in KSA Hyundai Motor Company has successfully concluded a strategic initiative to evaluate hydrogen-based mobility in the Kingdom. The project was conducted in partnership with... Hydrogen-Powered Heavy-Duty Truck Establishes New Threshold by Traveling 1,800 Miles on a Single Fill he U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) today highlighted a recent...