A critical element of the transition to electric vehicles is ensuring that the charging infrastructure is up to scratch. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law earmarked $5 billion in funding over five years to help states install chargers along highways, and that process just took an important step forward. The Department of Transportation has approved EV charging plans for all 50 states, as well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico. The proposals cover 75,000 miles of highways, as Reuters notes. 

As a result of the DOT rubberstamping the plans, the Biden administration has unlocked over $1.5 billion in funding for states' EV charger projects. The funds will cover up to 80 percent of EV charger installation costs, with states and private entities covering the remainder. Earlier this month, the DOT said it approved plans from 35 states, but approvals were required for all of them before it could start offering the funding.

It's not clear how many chargers the funding will support, but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said earlier this year that states will need to meet certain standards. The states should be installing DC Fast Chargers, the DOT said, and stations will need at least four ports. EV chargers should also be available every 50 miles on interstate highways. They should be within a mile of highways too.

Private companies, such as Tesla and GM, are building out their own charging networks. But having public infrastructure at specific intervals on interstate highways is important too.

For what it's worth, the rapid expansion of EV chargers with the help of public funding lies in sharp contrast with broadband deployment under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Last month, it emerged that the Commerce Department had been unable to allocate any portion of the $42.5 billion earmarked by the legislation for bolstering broadband infrastructure and narrowing the digital divide, since it didn't have adequate maps from the Federal Communications Commission by that time.

With the Artemis 1 launch site in the predicted path of Hurricane Ian, NASA has decided not to take any chances with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. The agency will roll them back to the safety of the Vehicle Assembly Building, starting at around 11PM ET this evening. You'll be able to watch the rollback on NASA's ongoing Artemis 1 livestream below.

"Managers met Monday morning and made the decision based on the latest weather predictions associated with Hurricane Ian, after additional data gathered overnight did not show improving expected conditions for the Kennedy Space Center area,” NASA said in a statement. “The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families and protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system.”

Although an SLS fueling test that took place last week was successful, NASA was forced to scrub a planned September 27th launch due to the threat of the hurricane. If the agency is unable to launch Artemis 1 before October 3rd, it won't be able to make another attempt until the next window opens on October 17th.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formed a new office designed to help marginalized communities deal with the extra burdens of pollution and climate change, Reuters has reported. The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights will be staffed by 200 EPA employees located in the agency's Washington head office and 10 regional bureaus. 

"The establishment of a new office dedicated to advancing environmental justice and civil rights at EPA will ensure the lived experiences of underserved communities are central to our decision-making while supporting community-driven solutions," said US Vice President Kamala Harris.

One of the primary jobs of the new office will be to oversea the distribution of $3 billion in environmental justice grants created by the passage the of Inflation Reduction Act, as part of a $60 billion investment in environmental justice. It'll also check that other EPA programs hew to President Biden's Justice40 initiative designed to ensure that 40 percent of certain government investments flow to disadvantaged communities. Finally, it'll help communities access grants, enforce civil rights laws and resolve environmental conflicts.

The new office was launched at an event in Warren County, North Carolina, the site of 1982 protests over toxic waste dumping in the region. The resulting civil disobedience actions and arrests failed to stop the 22-acre dump, but gave birth to the modern environmental justice movement. The 40th anniversary of the protests was commemorated by participants last week. 

Florida is calling on the US' highest court to settle the dispute over social media speech regulation. The Washington Postnotes the state's attorney general has petitioned the Supreme Court to determine whether or not states are violating First Amendment free speech rights by requiring that social media platforms host speech they would otherwise block, and whether they can require explanations when platforms remove posts.

In making its case, Florida argued that the court needed to address contradictory rulings. While a 5th Circuit of Appeals court upheld a Texas law allowing users to sue social networks for alleged censorship, an 11th Circuit of Appeals court ruled that Florida was violating the First Amendment with key parts of a law preventing internet firms from banning politicians.

The backers of the Florida and Texas laws have argued that the measures are necessary to combat alleged censorship of conservative views on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Legislators have contended that social networks are common carriers, like phone providers, and thus are required to carry all speech that isn't otherwise illegal. The companies, meanwhile, believe laws like these are unconstitutional and would force them to host hate speech, hostile governments' propaganda and spam. They say the constitutional amendment is meant to protect against government censorship, and that private outlets have the right to decide what they host.

It's not clear how the Supreme Court will rule. While conservative judges dominate the legislative body, the court granted an emergency request that put the Texas law on hold before it was upheld in the 5th Circuit last week. The higher court hasn't yet issued a definitive ruling on the matter, and a decision in favor of Florida could also help more liberal-leaning states with their own proposed bills requiring greater transparency for hate speech and threats.

The Treasury Department is keenly aware that crypto scams and hacks remain serious problems, and it's pressuring the rest of the US government to respond. As The Washington Postnotes, the Treasury has issued a report calling on other federal regulators to further crack down on scams and other illegal crypto activity. Officials want agencies to "expand and increase" investigations and enforcement, issue clearer guidance and help crypto users understand both risks and the reporting tools at their disposal.

In all cases, the Treasury asked for more coordination between government divisions. The department also asked for greater transparency on illegal activity to help spot trends in scams and other crimes.

The tougher stance is necessary given the dangers, according to the report. While proponents argue crypto can democratize financial services by making them more affordable and accessible, the Treasury found that there wasn't much evidence to support the claim. If anything, the department found that low-income households were particularly vulnerable to ripoffs — 29 percent of crypto investors had an annual income below $50,000, according to Federal Reserve Board data.

It's not clear that the findings will lead to decisive action. The Treasury didn't outline a concrete strategy for battling crypto scams and security breaches, and regulators have their own sometimes-conflicting views of how to govern digital assets. The Securities Exchange Commission sees most crypto tokens as securities it can monitor, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission unsurprisingly wants to treat tokens as commodities. Although the bureaus might not be fighting, this report doesn't do much to establish common ground.

If a traveler's phone, tablet or computer ever gets searched at an airport, American border authorities could add data from their device to a massive database that can be accessed by thousands of government officials. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) leaders have admitted to lawmakers in a briefing that its officials are adding information to a database from as many as 10,000 devices every year, The Washington Post reports. 

Further, 2,700 CBP officers can access the database without a warrant and without having to record the purpose of their search. These details were revealed in a letter Senator Ron Wyden wrote to CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus, where the lawmaker also said that CBP keeps any information it takes from people's devices for 15 years. 

In the letter, Wyden urged the commissioner to update CBP's practices so that device searches at borders are focused on suspected criminals and security threats instead of allowing "indiscriminate rifling through Americans' private records without suspicion of a crime." Wyden said CBP takes sensitive information from people's devices, including text messages, call logs, contact lists and even photos and other private information in some cases. 

While law enforcement agencies are typically required to secure a warrant if they want to access the contents of a phone or any other electronic device, border authorities are exempted from having to do the same. Wyden also pointed out that travelers searched at airports, seaports and border crossings aren't informed of their rights before their devices are searched. And if they refuse to unlock their electronics, authorities could confiscate and keep them for five days.

As The Post notes, a CBP official previously went on record to say that the agency's directive gives its officers the authority to scroll through any traveler's device in a "basic search." If they find any "reasonable suspicion" that a traveler is breaking the law or doing something that poses a threat to national security, they can run a more advanced search. That's when they can plug in the traveler's phone, tablet or PC to a device that copies their information, which is then stored in the Automated Targeting System database.

CBP director of office of field operations Aaron Bowker told the publication that the agency only copies people's data when "absolutely necessary." Bowker didn't deny that the agency's officers can access the database, though — he even said that the number was bigger than what CBP officials told Wyden. Five percent of CBP's 60,000 personnel have access to the database, he said, which translates to 3,000 officers and not 2,700.

Wyden wrote in his letter:

"Innocent Americans should not be tricked into unlocking their phones and laptops. CBP should not dump data obtained through thousands of warrantless phone searches into a central database, retain the data for fifteen years, and allow thousands of DHS employees to search through Americans’ personal data whenever they want."

Two years ago, the Senator also called for an investigation into the CBP's use of commercially available location data to track people's phones without a warrant. CBP had admitted back then that it spent $500,000 to access a commercial database containing "location data mined from applications on millions of Americans’ mobile phones."

The Federal Trade Commission is making its own bid to protect gig workers against exploitation. The regulator has adopted a policy statement detailing how it will tackle gig workers' problems. The FTC plans to step in when there are misrepresentations about pay, costs, benefits and work terms. Officials also expect to intervene with "unfair or deceptive" algorithms, harsh contracts and anti-competitive behavior such as wage fixing and monopoly-creating mergers.

The Commission said the classification of workers wouldn't affect enforcement, so companies can't avoid repercussions by classifying people as contractors instead of employees. Violators may have to pay fines and change their practices, and the FTC could partner with other government bodies (such as the Justice Department and National Labor Relations Board) to address issues.

There are gaps. It could be difficult for the FTC to prove algorithm-driven abuse, for instance, and it's not clear which non-contractual "restraints" might hurt workers' freedom of movement. However, this could still serve as a warning to gig companies that might hide steep operating costs, fight unionization efforts or collude with rivals to keep wages low.

The FTC isn't alone in hoping to improve the lot of gig workers. A bipartisan measure in Congress, introduced to the House and Senate this February, is meant to provide portable benefits to gig workers. Last year, the Labor Department revoked a rule that made it harder to protect those workers' labor rights. States and cities have also filed lawsuits and otherwise taken efforts to bolster working conditions. However, the FTC's policy provides an extra, nationwide safeguard that might further discourage attempts to exploit the gig economy.

The Biden administration has revealeddetails of how it plans to invest $50 billion into kickstarting the US semiconductor industry, a month after President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act. The Commerce Department says the funding will "revitalize the domestic semiconductor industry and spur innovation while creating good-paying jobs in communities across the country."

Over half (roughly $28 billion) of the CHIPS for America Fund has been earmarked for boosting production of logic and memory chips in the US using the most advanced processes available. The agency plans to disburse the funds through grants and loans, which will be used to build and expand facilities for making, testing, assembling and packaging chips.

The government is looking to ramp up production of older chips as well. Approximately $10 billion will go toward building semiconductors for cars, communications tech, medical devices and defense, as well as other critical commercial sectors. On top of that, the Commerce Department says $11 billion of the funding will go into research and development.

The agency plans to start accepting applications by early February. It says loans and grants will be provided on a rolling basis, as soon as it can "responsibly" process, evaluate and negotiate applications. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told The New York Times that the department could start releasing the funds as soon as next spring.

It will likely take a few years before domestic production of chips meaningfully increases, as it will take some time to build or expand semiconductor fabs. The impact of the CHIPS and Science Act, which passed with bipartisan support, could help mitigate any fallout from tensions between the US and China over Taiwan, where more than two thirds of the most advanced semiconductors are built. The Commerce Department notes that the US currently makes "zero percent" of the planet's supply of state-of-the-art semiconductors, even though many are designed in the country.

A bipartisan group of US senators and members of Congress have released a new version of a bill that aims to make it easier for news organizations to bring the likes of Google and Meta to the negotiating table. The lawmakers said in a statement that the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act would remove "legal obstacles to news organizations' ability to negotiate collectively and secure fair terms from gatekeeper platforms that regularly access news content without paying for its value." The legislation would, for instance, offer eligible digital publishers "limited safe harbor from federal and state antitrust laws."

Senate Judiciary Committee members Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Kennedy (R-LA) and House Judiciary Committee members David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ken Buck (D-CO) are all backing the bill. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the chairs of the committees, have pledged their support too.

A previous version of the legislation was introduced last year, but it failed to gain enough traction. The latest attempt would allow publishers with fewer than 1,500 full-time employees and non-network news broadcasters to collectively negotiate with certain platforms over access to their news content. The proposed legislation states that publishers would be able to demand arbitration if they reach a stalemate in talks.

The rules would apply to very few companies, specifically ones with more than 50 million US users that have at least a billion monthly active users worldwide or are "owned or controlled by a person that has either net annual sales or market capitalization greater than $550 billion." While Google and Facebook meet those benchmarks, Twitter does not.

Google and Meta have siphoned away billions of dollars of ad revenue from news organizations. Both companies have voluntarily offered payments to publishers in some regions. However, Meta said last month it would no longer pay US publishers for news content after its revenue dropped for the first time.

Other countries have considered ways to make Google and Meta pay publishers for featuring their news. Early last year, the Parliament of Australia passed a law that forces Google and Meta to pay publishers for using their news. Canada's ruling Liberal Party has tabled similar legislation.

A New York state senator has proposed legislation that would require automakers to fit speed limiting tech to new cars. If the bill passes, any passenger vehicle built after January 1st, 2024 that's registered in the state will need to have "advanced safety technology."

"Studies have shown that Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) alone can reduce traffic fatalities by 20 percent," reads the legislation, which was submitted by State Sen. Brad Hoylman. "This, in addition to Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB), Emergency Lane Keeping Systems (ELKS), drowsiness and distraction recognition technology and rear-view cameras, would help prevent crashes from occurring in the first place."

The bill notes that there were 270 traffic-related deaths in New York City's streets in 2021, up from 243 the previous year. NYC is now testing an ISA system in 50 city fleet vehicles.

As Autoblog points out, ISA tech is widely used in Europe. Ford's version lets drivers set a maximum speed. It can also limit the speed to within five miles per hour of a posted limit. However, the tech is optional and drivers can disable it. All new cars in the European Union will need to have ISA tech by 2024.

The NY bill also seeks to bring in new rules for vehicles weighing over 3,000 pounds. It would "limit blind spots and establish standards regarding direct visibility of pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users from the driver's position, by reducing to the greatest possible extent the blind spots in front and to the side of the driver."

Should Hoylman's legislation pass, it could have a broader impact across the US. With automakers having to contend with regulations across 50 states, they often tend to abide by the strictest rule to avoid having to adjust their vehicles for different jurisdictions. We've seen that happen with emissions, with manufacturers opting to abide by California's strict standards across the US.