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China to probe Meta’s acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Manus
By CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — China said on Thursday it would assess and investigate Meta’s acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Manus, in a move highlighting its technology rivalry with the U.S.
Meta announced last week it was buying Manus, which is Singapore-based with Chinese roots, as the California tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram expands its AI offerings across its platforms.
It is a rare acquisition by a U.S. tech group of an AI company with Chinese roots, at a time of heightened frictions between Washington and Beijing.
On Thursday, China’s Commerce Ministry spokesperson He Yadong told reporters that it would work with relevant departments to assess and investigate whether Meta’s acquisition of Manus is consistent with Chinese laws and regulations.
Any enterprises engaging in outward investment, technology export, data transfer and cross-border mergers and acquisitions must comply with Chinese laws, He said.
Meta and Manus did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
“Security has become the top concern for Chinese policymakers,” said Gary Ng, a senior economist for Asia Pacific at investment bank Natixis. “Any tech transfer that could give the U.S. an edge in competitiveness will be heavily scrutinized.”
While the company behind Manus is Singapore-based Butterfly Effect Pte, its roots can be traced back to Beijing-registered entities which were founded in China a few years ago.
Meta said last week there would be “no continuing Chinese ownership interests in Manus AI” following the acquisition, and that Manus would discontinue its services and operations in China. Meta’s platforms including Facebook and Instagram are still banned in China under the country’s “Great Firewall”.
Manus said it would continue to operate in Singapore, where most of its employees are now based.
Cui Fan, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, raised questions in a public post on the Chinese social media site WeChat over the acquisition’s compliance with Chinese laws and technology export controls.
“A key question is whether any technologies prohibited or restricted from export under Chinese laws and regulations are exported without a license,” he wrote.
The “general-purpose” AI agent released by Manus last year can autonomously perform multi-step complex work such as breaking down tasks into smaller steps. It can be used for free but also offers paid subscription packages.
Last month, Manus said its annual recurring revenue had reached more than $100 million.
Associated Press researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing contributed to this report.
Google adds new AI features to Gmail, turning it into a personal assistant
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
More artificial intelligence is being implanted into Gmail as Google tries to turn the world’s most popular email service into a personal assistant that can improve writing, summarize far-flung information buried in inboxes and deliver daily to-do lists.
The new AI features announced Thursday could herald a pivotal moment for Gmail, a service that transformed email when it was introduced nearly 22 years ago. Since then, Gmail has amassed more than 3 billion users to become nearly as ubiquitous as Google’s search engine.
Gmail’s new AI options will only be available in English within the United States for starters, but the company is promising to expand the technology to other countries and other languages as the year unfolds.
The most broadly available tool will be a “Help Me Write” option designed to learn a user’s writing style so it can personalize emails and make real-time suggestions on how to burnish the message.
Google is also offering subscribers who pay for its Pro and Ultra services access to technology that mirrors the AI Overviews that’s been built into its search engine since 2023. The expansion will enable subscribers pose conversational questions in Gmail’s search bar to get instant answers about information they are trying to retrieve from their inboxes.
In what could turn into another revolutionary step, “AI Inbox” is also being rolled out to a subset of “trusted testers” in the U.S. When it’s turned on, the function will sift through inboxes and suggest to-do lists and topics that users might want to explore.
“This is us delivering on Gmail proactively having your back,” said Blake Barnes, a Google vice president of product.
All of the new technology is tied to the Google’s latest AI model, Gemini 3, which was unleashed into its search engine late last year. The upgrade, designed to turn Google search into a “thought partner” has been so well received that it prompted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, whose company makes the popular ChatGPT chatbot, to issue a “code red” following its release.
But thrusting more AI into Gmail poses potential risks for Google, especially if the technology malfunctions and presents misleading information or crafts emails that get users into trouble — even though people are able to proofread the messages or turn off the features at any time.
Allowing Google’s AI to dig deeper into inboxes to learn more about their habits and interest also could raise privacy issues — a challenge that Gmail confronted from the get-go.
To help subsidize the free service, Google included targeted ads in Gmail that were based on information contained within the electronic conversations. That twist initially triggered a privacy backlash among lawmakers and consumer groups, but the uproar eventually died down and never deterred Gmail’s rapid growth as an email provider. Rivals eventually adopted similar features.
As it brings more AI into Gmail, Google promises none of the content that the technology analyzes will be used to train the models that help Gemini improve. The Mountain View, California, company says it also has built an “engineering privacy” barrier to corral all the information within inboxes to protect it from prying eyes.
Elon Musk’s xAI to build $20 billion data center in Mississippi
By SOPHIE BATES
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI is set to spend $20 billion to build a data center in Southaven, Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves announced Thursday, calling it the largest private investment in the state’s history.
The data center, called MACROHARDRR, is being built in Mississippi’s DeSoto County near Memphis, Tennessee. It will be the company’s third data center in the greater Memphis area. xAI CFO Anthony Armstrong said the cluster of data centers will house “the world’s largest supercomputer” with 2 gigawatts of computing power.
The announcement comes as xAI faces scrutiny over its data center projects in the Memphis area. The NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center have raised concerns over air pollution generated by xAI’s supercomputer facility located near predominantly Black communities in Memphis.
A petition by the Safe and Sound Coalition, a Southaven group opposing xAI’s developments, calls for shutting down xAI’s operations in the area and has received more than 900 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.
xAI did not immediately respond when asked for comment about environmental concerns.
A fact sheet released by the Mississippi governor’s office said environmental responsibility is a “core commitment” for xAI.
During the announcement, Reeves personally thanked Musk. Reeves predicted the investment would bring hundreds of permanent jobs to the community, thousands of indirect subcontracting jobs, and tax revenue to support public services.
Under the incentives for data centers passed in 2024, the state will waive all sales, corporate income and franchise taxes on the xAI development. Saving sales taxes on the computing power that xAI is purchasing would likely be worth a substantial amount of money, but the Mississippi Development Authority did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ questions about how much tax revenue Mississippi will give up.
DeSoto County and the city of Southaven have also agreed to allow substantially reduced property taxes.
xAI is expected to begin data center operations in Southaven next month.
After delays, the missing Jan. 6 plaque will be displayed at the Capitol
By LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has agreed to display a plaque honoring the police who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, rebuffing House Speaker Mike Johnson who has said the commemorative memorial does not comply with the law.
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The action happened swiftly, with brief debate, in floor action Thursday. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina had announced during this week’s fifth anniversary of the Capitol siege that he would seek to ensure the plaque is installed, partnering with Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, who was also working on the situation, and Sen. Alex Padilla of California. No senators objected.
“A lot of people said it was a dark day for democracy,” Tillis said about Jan. 6, 2021, describing his memory of hearing the thousands of people — “thugs,” he said — lay siege to the Capitol as Congress was tallying the 2020 election results.
He said that because of the work of the law enforcement officers, it became a great day for democracy. “We came back and completed our constitutional duty to certify the election,” he said. “We owe them eternal gratitude and this nation is stronger because of them.”
This week, senators stepped up after learning the plaque, which had been approved by Congress more than three years ago, was nowhere to be found at the Capitol. Instead, many House lawmakers have been hanging up replicas outside their office doors.
The Senate also appeared to be motivated by the shifting narrative from President Donald Trump ‘s White House about what happened Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the building after he urged them go to Capitol Hill to confront Congress over Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Trump himself shifted blame for the attack during a speech this week in which he said he only intended for his supporters to march peacefully to the Capitol. Moreover, the White House produced a glossy new report also shifting blame for the deadly riot — on Democrats, for Biden’s victory over Trump, and on the police for their response to the mob.
“It’s so important we be honest with the American people about what happened,” Merkley said, as he called the resolution up for passage.
“It’s so important we recognize those who defended our democratic republic on that day,” he said, and that “people know we can back, as senators and House members, and finished our work that day, for the peaceful transfer of power.”
Padilla said part of the context is the White House’s new website that he said is an “attempt to rewrite history.” He said that “dishonors” the officers.
“The Senate bipartisan commitment to real history is strong,” he said.
The plaque, according to the law, was intended to be placed at the West front of the Capitol where some of the fiercest fighting took place. It was required to be installed in 2023, a year after the legislation had passed.
The new resolution directs the Architect of the Capitol to “prominently display” the plaque in a “publicly accessible” location in the Senate wing of the Capitol until it can be placed in its permanent location.
To display the plaque in its intended location would require agreement with the House.
The office of Johnson, a Republican who before becoming the House speaker led efforts to object to the 2020 election results, said this week that the plaque, as constructed, does not comply with the law.
Police have sued to have the plaque put on display, as required, but Trump’s Justice Department is trying to dismiss the lawsuit.
Tillis said part of the “technical implementation problem” was a concern that the law specified the plaque would honor all the officers involved, but the plaque only lists the various law enforcement agencies that responded to help the Capitol Police that day.
He said there will be a digital component, presumably a website, that will list all the names. The number of officers runs into the thousands.
“You’ll see how many people came here,” he said.
Federal immigration officers shoot and wound 2 people in Portland, Oregon, authorities say
By CLAIRE RUSH, Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, a day after an officer shot and killed a driver in Minnesota, authorities said.
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The Department of Homeland Security described the vehicle’s passenger as “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who had been involved in a recent shooting in Portland. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants Thursday afternoon, the driver tried to run them over, the department said in a written statement.
“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot,” the statement said. “The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”
There was no immediate independent corroboration of those events or of any gang affiliation of the vehicle’s occupants. During prior shootings involving agents involved in President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement in U.S. cities, including Wednesday’s shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, video evidence cast doubt on the administration’s initial descriptions of what prompted the shootings.
According to the the Portland Police bureau, officers initially responded to a report of a shooting near a hospital at about 2:18 p.m.
A few minutes later, police received information that a man who had been shot was asking for help in a residential area a couple of miles away. Officers then responded there and found the two people with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers determined they were injured in the shooting with federal agents, police said.
Their conditions were not immediately known. Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said during a Portland city council meeting that Thursday’s shooting took place in the eastern part of the city and that two Portlanders were wounded.
“As far as we know both of these individuals are still alive and we are hoping for more positive updates throughout the afternoon,” she said.
Show Caption1 of 4Law enforcement officials work the scene following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane) ExpandThe shooting escalates tensions in an city that has long had a contentious relationship with President Donald Trump, including Trump’s recent, failed effort to deploy National Guard troops in the city.
Portland police secured both the scene of the shooting and the area where the wounded people were found pending investigation.
“We are still in the early stages of this incident,” said Chief Bob Day. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more.”
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end all operations in Oregon’s largest city until a full investigation is completed.
“We stand united as elected officials in saying that we cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts,” a joint statement said. “Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences.”
The city officials said “federal militarization undermines effective, community‑based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region. We’ll use every legal and legislative tool available to protect our residents’ civil and human rights.”
They urged residents to show up with “calm and purpose during this difficult time.”
“We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice,” the statement said. “We must stand together to protect Portland.”
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, urged any protesters to remain peaceful.
“Trump wants to generate riots,” he said in a post on the X social media platform. “Don’t take the bait.”
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