Trump2026-09-28 16:49:06Trump says sanctions relief for Iran is possible if nuclear talks make concrete progressU.S. President Donald Trump is willing to consider easing sanctions on Iran and releasing frozen funds if negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program produce what he described as "concrete progress," according to Al Jazeera, as cited by BlockBeats on Sept. 29. A U.S. official said Washington and Tehran are holding "positive and constructive" discussions through intermediaries, but no deal will be reached if the nuclear issue remains unresolved. The same official said Iran has shown some flexibility on the nuclear file, though the two sides have not agreed on when any commitments would be carried out. Trump had earlier rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling it "unacceptable," and said more talks with Iran are expected this week. On the U.S. side, the negotiations are being led by Middle East envoy Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Trump remains skeptical of Tehran’s proposal, arguing that Iran wants all conditions granted up front before further negotiations.260
Jensen Huang2026-09-21 00:02:33Jensen Huang says doomsday AI warnings may serve other motives, calls for enforcing existing rulesNVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said in a CBS interview that some AI executives who warn that artificial intelligence could endanger humanity while pushing for tighter oversight are "not being sincere" and may have "other motives." Huang said those companies are not truly asking for more laws, but instead want to escape current oversight. He also criticized the use of catastrophic AI scenarios to frighten the public, calling it irresponsible and unnecessary. Huang added that the U.S. AI industry should not slow down, arguing that doing so could give China a chance to catch up. In his view, the regulatory focus should be on enforcing laws already on the books rather than creating new measures. His remarks came after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei had called for slowing frontier AI development and building stronger safeguards, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had also shown interest in related initiatives.400
Donald Trump2026-09-19 17:20:44Trump says US will back AI growth, plans task force and “AI czar”U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States will not stand in the way of artificial intelligence development and will instead support and oversee the sector’s growth. He said his administration plans to create an “AI task force” and will appoint an “AI czar” to handle AI-related affairs in the future. Trump also said the government will not use restrictive measures to suppress AI innovation, while adding that existing judicial mechanisms will be used to address illegal activity in the AI field. The remarks outline a policy stance centered on support for industry development and supervision through current legal channels, rather than new limits aimed at slowing innovation.340
Donald Trump2026-09-19 10:23:20Trump signs Russia-Iran sanctions bill and weighs further military action on TehranU.S. President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey Graham Sanctions on Russia and Iran Act of 2026 on Sept. 18 local time, authorizing an expansion of statutory sanctions, tariffs, and bans targeting Russia while extending sanctions measures on Iran. On the same day, Trump said he was weighing whether to take further military action against Tehran, saying, "We’ll see," and also mentioned that the United States was in contact with Yemen’s Houthi forces. Trump separately said the U.S. had reached an agreement with Denmark on Greenland security that would ensure Washington retains the permanent ability to safeguard the area. He also said on social media that CNN and two other media outlets would be barred from entering the White House, and claimed his support within the Republican Party had reached 95%, which he described as a record high.330
CFTC2026-09-18 16:04:22CFTC sends crypto market regulatory action to White House for review after Senate stalls CLARITY ActThe US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has submitted a new regulatory action on crypto asset transactions and crypto asset markets to the White House review process, according to a filing with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The item was received on Sept. 17 and is currently listed at the prerule stage, which means it remains in the early phase of rulemaking and has not yet been formally proposed. The filing does not spell out what the regulation would contain. Its timing, however, is notable: it arrived just days after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, a bill designed to create a federal framework for crypto market oversight. In the wake of that vote, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the agency was ready to move using existing statutory authority, while SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the securities regulator would proceed with or without new legislation. Both agencies acted the next day. The CFTC issued a no-action position for providers of passive software, and the SEC announced temporary exemptions for certain platforms involved in onchain trading of tokenized securities. Selig had also said in August that the CFTC was prepared to build a crypto asset market regime under current authority if the CLARITY Act failed to move forward.500
Donald Trump2026-09-15 03:09:28Trump calls Jensen Huang, rejects AI doomsday claims, and pushes back on new regulationDonald Trump has laid out a blunt AI policy message through a public phone call with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and a series of posts on Truth Social. In his view, warnings that AI will destroy humanity or that machines will take over the world are a "scam," while the real threat to the United States is overregulation, political panic, and resistance to data center construction. During the call, which Huang placed on speaker at the ALL-In Summit in front of thousands of attendees, Trump said he understood AI and dismissed the idea that robots would take over the world. He also described AI as more important than the internet and defended data centers as engines of wealth for declining American communities. Trump later sharpened that message online, directly criticizing Dario Amodei and Anthropic after Amodei called for a slower frontier AI race and Anthropic said it would allow third-party evaluators to inspect system safety with near-employee-level access. Trump argued that the US does not need a new AI regulatory framework, saying existing criminal and regulatory powers are already sufficient. He also tied AI development closely to data center expansion, warned against opposition to such projects, cited Google’s reported interest in building a major facility in Finland, and framed the wider issue as a geopolitical contest with China.720
Sam Altman2026-09-14 05:05:13Sam Altman says pacing AI progress does not mean stopping it, warns capability gains must not outrun safetyOpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said on X that he supports a federal U.S. framework for frontier AI safety, arguing that the industry needs consistent safety requirements. He also said AI companies do not need to wait for antitrust exemptions or new legislation before taking voluntary safety steps. Altman said OpenAI already prepares explicit safety cases ahead of frontier reinforcement learning training runs that are expected to materially increase model capabilities. He added that he wants the industry to develop shared standards around model control-loss risk, monitoring, and safety. In his post, Altman drew a distinction between slowing the pace of development and halting progress altogether, saying that "pacing" means accepting the speed and cost trade-offs that come with safety measures. He said that, regardless of how much competitive pressure the United States faces, AI capability development should not move faster than alignment and monitoring. The comments come after earlier reports that Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google have been in working-group talks since July on setting up their own AI safety standards bodies. Separately, Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. are scheduled to hold a caucus meeting on Tuesday morning focused on AI legislation, calling the policy response to AI-related challenges a high priority.770
White House2026-09-10 10:18:21White House has yet to decide on refined copper tariffs, Reuters reportsThe White House has not made a final decision on tariffs for refined copper, according to a Reuters report citing two people familiar with the matter. Officials are weighing the risk that higher copper prices could raise manufacturing costs against the possible benefit of encouraging more domestic mining. The hesitation comes as the administration pays closer attention to affordability ahead of the November midterm elections, with Trump and Republican lawmakers under pressure to show their economic policies are lowering, not raising, costs for U.S. consumers and businesses. A White House official said no final call has been made and confirmed that the Commerce Department submitted an update to Trump before the June 30 deadline set by the White House. The official added that the government is still evaluating options to bring copper and other critical manufacturing back to the United States. Reuters said the remarks suggest expanded tariffs on refined copper are not a settled matter, even though markets have been expecting such a move.780
