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Saudi Arabia plans to issue a multi-billion-dollar tender in 2020 to construct its first two nuclear power reactors and is discussing the project with US and other potential suppliers, three sources familiar with the plans have said.

The world’s top oil exporter wants to diversify its energy mix, adding nuclear power so it can free up more crude for export. But the plans are facing Washington’s scrutiny because of potential military uses for the technology.

Saudi Arabia, which aims to mine for uranium, says its plans are peaceful. But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in 2018 the kingdom would develop nuclear arms if Iran did.

US, Russian, South Korean, Chinese and French firms are in talks with Riyadh to supply reactors, a promising deal for an industry recovering from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

"Saudi Arabia is continuing to make very deliberate steps forward although at a slower pace than originally expected," one of the sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.

Saudi officials previously said they aimed to select a vendor in late 2018, which then slipped to 2019. The sources said the tender would now be issued in 2020.

Two sources said the project was proceeding slowly partly because the kingdom was still in discussions with all potential suppliers rather than narrowing them down to a short list.

The plans have also been delayed by strained ties with Washington, which criticised Riyadh after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October, a source familiar with the talks said.

How the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi unfolded

Riyadh needs to sign an accord on the peaceful use of nuclear technology with Washington to secure the transfer of US nuclear equipment and expertise, under the US Atomic Energy Act. US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said last week that the negotiations which began in 2012 were continuing.

The source said Washington has also been seeking to convince Riyadh to sign the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol on extra safeguards for verifying nuclear technology is used for peaceful applications. The kingdom has so far resisted, the source added.

The fate of these negotiations could determine whether Riyadh reaches a deal with US firms, the source said.

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Several thousand protesters rallied in Bucharest after after Romanian police took  19 hours to respond to emergency calls of a kidnapped 15-year-old girl who has disappeared and is feared dead.

The apparent failings of the police and local authorities have sparked outrage in the country, as critics allege officials failed to take the alert seriously and reacted too late to save the teen, identified as Alexandra.

Amid chants of "incompetence" and angry calls for the government to step down, demonstrators placed flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial outside the interior ministry on Saturday evening.

A 65-year-old suspect has been taken into custody, prosecutors said Saturday, after investigators searching his home and garden discovered human remains and jewellery belonging to the girl.

The suspect insisted he was innocent and had never met the teen but failed to explain why she had used his phone, his lawyer said.

Interior Minister Nicolae Moga announced late Friday that he had sacked police chief Ioan Buda "because drastic measures are required" in the case, which has sparked a major backlash.

The girl was snatched Wednesday as she tried to hitch-hike home to Dobrosloveni in southern Romania, police said.

She called the emergency services three times on Thursday morning, telling the operators that she had been kidnapped by a man who picked her up as she hitchhiked back from a nearby town.

“He’s coming, he’s coming,” were the girl’s last words before the call ended abruptly, Buda told reporters before his dismissal.

Three buildings were searched by officers before they finally found the house where she had been held, more than 12 hours after her phone calls.

Police then sought a search warrant, which is not required in emergencies, and waited till dawn to enter the house – 19 hours after Alexandra’s last call.

Demonstrators at Saturday’s rally accused the ruling Social Democrats of weakening the criminal justice system with controversial reforms heavily criticised by Brussels.

"Why did the police not intervene earlier? Everyone needs to answer for this, from police officers and prosecutors to (Prime Minister Viorica) Dancila," protester Cristian Nan, 55, told AFP.

Centre-right President Klaus Iohannis said earlier the "resignations of all those who mishandled this case which had such dramatic consequences are obligatory".

Police believe a second teenager, whose parents reported her missing in the same area three months ago, may have been murdered by the same killer.

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A Swedish court said Friday that US rapper A$AP Rocky should be released from custody, pending the verdict of an assault trial that has garnered global attention and stirred fan outrage.

The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, has been in custody in Sweden since he was arrested on July 3 following a brawl in Stockholm on June 30, which saw him and his crew embroiled in a fight with a 19-year old plaintiff.

On the last day of his trial the court decided to release him, pending the verdict.

"Rakim Mayers… (and the two others accused) are no longer going to be remanded in custody," presiding judge Per Lennerbrant told the court, adding that the court’s verdict would be made available on August 14.

In response to the news, US President Donald Trump – who has followed the case closely – tweeted: " A$AP Rocky released from prison and on his way home to the United States from Sweden. It was a Rocky Week, get home ASAP A$AP!"

It wasn’t immediately clear from the decision Friday by Stockholm District Court whether the three suspects in the case could leave the country.

Prosecutor Daniel Suneson said in his closing comments that he was seeking a six-month sentence for the rapper, who himself had said earlier Friday that community service would be a proper punishment. 

Mayers earlier pleaded not guilty to assault and told the court he had acted in self-defence in the brawl, which was partly captured on videos.

But prosecutor Daniel Suneson told the court in his closing arguments that the accused did not seem "scared" like he had claimed, and argued that there was never a need for self-defence.

"I don’t see how anything but prison is up for discussion," Suneson said. "The court should reach the conclusion that the assault… should have a penalty of about six months."

Considered by the court to be a "flight risk", the rapper has been held in custody since his arrest.

Fans, fellow artists and US Congress members have been campaigning for his release.

An online petition called #JusticeForRocky has garnered more than 640,000 signatures. Social media campaigns have urged fans to boycott Swedish brands such as IKEA.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the rapper to be freed, drawing complaints of interference from Swedish politicians.

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The US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Robert C. O’Brien, was sent to attend the trial.

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The White House announced Thursday that the Trump administration’s top IT official, Suzette Kent, will step down from her position in July.

Kent, who was appointed Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) by President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump administration calls for Supreme Court to strike down ObamaCare Trump says there will be ‘retribution’ for those who deface monuments White House task force tracking coronavirus spikes even as Trump says virus is ‘going away’: report MORE in early 2018, announced her departure during a team meeting on Thursday. The position heads the Office of E-Government and Information Technology, part of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

In the position, Kent was responsible for developing guidance on the use of internet-connected technology, along with streamlining digital interaction between the federal government and U.S. citizens and businesses, as well as overseeing some cybersecurity initiatives.

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During her tenure, a new cloud computing initiative was launched, along with rolling out updated policies around how federal agencies can secure their networks. 

Kent said in a statement that it had been “an honor and a privilege to serve our nation.”

“My commitment was to give 100 percent to improving government technology and citizen services,” Kent said. “It is my hope that the outcomes achieved stand in evidence to that commitment.”

She noted that she had “confidence” in the abilities of other top OMB leaders, including Deputy Federal CIO Maria Roat, and added she had “great pride in results delivered” while serving at OMB.

Roat will likely step into the position of federal CIO on an acting basis, but the White House has not commented officially on who will take over.

Kent did not comment on what her next steps are following her departure next month. 

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Acting OMB Director Russ Vought thanked Kent on Thursday for her service.

“I want to thank Suzette for all of her work on behalf of the President,” Vought said in a separate statement. “During her time at the White House she’s had a remarkable impact on Agencies operations, helping to drive critical modernizations through the President’s Management Agenda. On behalf of the entire Office of Management and Budget, I want to express my deepest gratitude for Suzette and wish her all the best in this next chapter.”

Kent was the fourth person to serve as permanent federal CIO since the position was created by the E-Government Act of 2002. She previously served in top positions at Ernst & Young, JPMorgan and Accenture. 

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Happy Tuesday and welcome to Overnight Defense. I’m Ellen Mitchell, and here’s your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. CLICK HERE to subscribe to the newsletter.

THE TOPLINE: The Pentagon’s top technology official and his deputy are resigning next month, a Defense Department official confirmed on Tuesday.

Mike Griffin, the Pentagon’s first undersecretary of research and engineering, and his deputy, Lisa Porter, will leave July 10, the official said.

The resignations were first reported by Inside Defense.

Why they’re leaving: Griffin, who took on the role in early 2018, and Porter said in a letter to staff that “a private-sector opportunity has presented itself to us, offering an opportunity we have decided to pursue together,” Defense News reported.

“It has been a pleasure leading this great team over the past few years. We greatly appreciate your hard work, diligence, integrity, and devotion to technical excellence and technical truth in furtherance of the R&E mission,” the two wrote, according to the outlet. “We wish you all the very best.”

A troubling pattern: The two are the third and fourth officials to announce their resignation in the last week.

Kathryn Wheelbarger, the acting assistant Defense secretary for international security affairs, submitted her resignation on June 17, five days after President TrumpDonald John TrumpBowman holds double-digit lead over Engel in NY primary McGrath leads Booker in Kentucky with results due next week NY Republican Chris Jacobs wins special election to replace Chris Collins MORE pulled her name as the intended nominee to be deputy under secretary of Defense for intelligence. 

And Elaine McCusker, the Pentagon’s acting comptroller who questioned the Trump administration for its withholding of aid to Ukraine last year, submitted her resignation the previous day after the White House in early March pulled her nomination for the official comptroller role.

 

BOLTON WORRIED ABOUT BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS IF TRUMP IS REELECTED: Former national security adviser John BoltonJohn BoltonOvernight Defense: Top Pentagon tech officials resigning | Bolton worried about biological weapons | Trump threatens ‘serious force’ Bolton says he would consider testifying against Barr Hoyer wants testimony from Bolton MORE expressed concern in a new interview that hostile actors would acquire biological weapons or the U.S. could withdraw from NATO if President Trump is reelected.

“If Trump’s response to the [coronavirus] pandemic has proven [anything] to anybody who’s contemplating acquiring a biological weapons capability, it’s that he’s not able to respond to it in a systematic fashion,” Bolton told Axios.

“Whatever the source of this pandemic, it’s a roadmap for the people who do control biological weapons, or aspire to biological weapons, what can happen,” he added, while not specifying which actors he had in mind.

‘Highly questionable’: Bolton also said it is “highly questionable” whether Trump would keep the U.S. in NATO if reelected, citing the administration’s plans to withdraw thousands of troops from Germany.

“I’m not averse to moving 9,000, 10,000 troops out of Germany if we’re going to move them to Poland or someplace else,” Bolton told the news outlet. “But that’s not why he’s bringing those troops home. My first reaction [to Trump’s German troop drawdown announcement] was this is the beginning of the end.”

Allied relationships in question?: The former national security adviser went on to argue that the relationship with several U.S. allies is in question.

“I think the alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia are question marks at this point,” he said. “If you believe the world’s far away, then why have these alliances at all?”

White House pushes back: Alyssa Farah, the White House director of strategic communications, pushed back against Bolton’s remarks, citing actions during the president’s first years in office.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, our allies are contributing more than $130 billion more to NATO, we’ve taken two of the world’s foremost terrorists off the battlefield, restored deterrence with Iran, and we are on pace to bring American soldiers home from the longest war in American history,” Farah told Axios.

Bolton, she said, “doesn’t have a single foreign policy or national defense achievement.”

The White House has been engaged in both a war of words and a legal battle over Bolton’s memoir, claiming it contains classified information. A federal court ruled last week that its publication, scheduled for Tuesday, can proceed.

 

TRUMP: ANY DC AUTONOMOUS ZONE WILL FACE ‘SERIOUS FORCE’: Trump on Tuesday threatened that protesters seeking to establish an “autonomous zone” in the nation’s capital would be met with “serious force” following a night of demonstrations near the White House.

“There will never be an ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!” Trump tweeted.

The threat came after tense demonstrations on Monday night where protesters attempted to topple a statue of President Jackson in Lafayette Square across the street from the White House.

Law enforcement intervened, deploying pepper spray and using force to disperse the protest before the statue could be pulled down.

Context: The letters “BHAZ” were spray-painted on the columns of St. John’s Church in the park, an acronym for “Black House Autonomous Zone.”

The phrase appeared to be taking after the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, also known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, in Seattle that was established earlier this month amid protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

Protests have persisted over the last month in response to the police killing of George Floyd, with demonstrators calling for police reform and action to address racial injustice. The gatherings have evolved in recent days to target statues of Confederate leaders and other controversial historical figures.

Setting up for a battle: The president has staunchly opposed the removal of statues or namesakes honoring Confederate leaders, citing national “heritage.”

Trump and conservative media have also focused extensively on the autonomous zone in Seattle, painting it as a bastion of lawlessness and calling for state and local leaders to forcibly break it up.

The protesters inside the autonomous zone can come and go as they please and are pushing for an overhaul of local law enforcement, with some advocating for decreased police funding in favor of community programs. But Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) said Monday that officials will move to disband the autonomous zone following two weekend shootings in the area.

 

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW:

The Center for Strategic and International Studies will hold a webcast on “ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum 2020: 70 Years Later: Bringing Peace to the Korean Peninsula and Beyond,” with Acting Assistant Defense Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs David Helvey; former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert; and former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens, at 8 a.m. 

The Atlantic Council will host a web broadcast conversation with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on “Resilience and the Transatlantic Alliance,” at 9:30 a.m.

The Intelligence National Security Alliance will hold a webinar with Suzanne White, deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, at 4:30 p.m.

 

ICYMI

– The Hill: US soldier accused of sending information to neo-Nazi group as part of plot to attack his unit

– The Hill: Bolton says he would consider testifying against Barr

– The Hill: Pompeo: Bolton left out of meetings ‘because he was leaking or he would twist things or he’d lie’

– The Hill: South Korean group floats leaflets across North Korean border despite warnings

– The Hill: South Korea slams Bolton book as ‘distorting the reality’ of nuclear talks

– Defense News: Congress has questions about the Air Force’s and Navy’s next-generation fighter programs

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President TrumpDonald John TrumpLincoln Project launches new ad hitting Trump over rally turnout Bolton defends not testifying: ‘I don’t think it would have made a difference’ Bolton says he hopes history will remember Trump ‘as a one-term president’ MORE‘s inconsistent efforts to get tough on China are raising fears of a geopolitical crisis with the world’s second largest economy just ahead of November’s election.

The fears among international relations observers have been magnified after Trump this week said he was open to a complete “decoupling” from China, signaling increasing tensions between the two countries at a particularly delicate moment.

The tough talk comes as China and the U.S. have been mired in a trade war under the Trump administration, military tensions are rising in the South China Sea, and the two countries are engaging in a war of words over the coronavirus pandemic.

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“Relations are obviously at a historically low point, I would say, on almost any dimension you could think of,” said Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow and China expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

An already fraught relationship has grown worse in recent weeks, with the U.S. announcing restrictions on semiconductor and other technology exports to China, while sailing warships to challenge China’s provocative claims in the South China Sea. Legislation imposed by China seen as curbing Hong Kong’s political freedoms and military shows of force around Taiwan have added to the tensions.

The prospect of a worsening trade relationship, however, poses a particularly big economic threat at a time when the global economy is being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the phase one trade deal, China promised to buy some $200 billion of additional U.S. products over two years, including $36.5 billion in agriculture this year alone. Yet China’s agricultural imports from the U.S. in the first quarter were only $5 billion, well short of the target. 

On Thursday, Trump said he was considering policies aimed at “complete decoupling,” a term that broadly refers to breaking the deeply intertwined economic links between the world’s two largest economies.

His comment came in a tweet in which he contradicted Trade Representative Robert LighthizerRobert (Bob) Emmet LighthizerGOP senator warns quick vote on new NAFTA would be ‘huge mistake’ Pelosi casts doubt on USMCA deal in 2019 Pelosi sounds hopeful on new NAFTA deal despite tensions with White House MORE, who had sounded more assuring on China a day earlier during testimony to Congress.

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Lighthizer had said that a decoupling from China was impossible, and that China was well on its way to meeting its commitments under the phase one deal despite the limited purchases of U.S. agricultural products so far. 

Experts sided with Lighthizer, saying a complete decoupling would be difficult, harmful to the U.S. economy, and counter to the policy goals Trump himself has laid out for China.

“Trump obviously has no idea what decoupling means,” said Lardy. “He’s beating the drum for having them buy more goods from us and then saying decouple. Well that’s the opposite of decoupling. It doesn’t compute.”

Meanwhile, Timothy Heath, a senior researcher at the Rand Corporation, said Trump’s threat is an empty one.

“It’s a threat the president cannot really deliver. Who’s going to buy all of America’s soybeans or hogs?” he said.

Heath added that the challenge with China is to keep it contained while also finding areas of cooperation and competing economically.

“Even amid all the trade tension and decoupling efforts, there’s still a recognition that the two countries on some level need to get along. That’s different from the Cold War, where the U.S. and Soviet Union were poised to destroy each other at any moment,” he said.

Worsening the relationship has been the administration’s inconsistent policy and rhetoric on China, which is creating fears of a wider geopolitical conflict.

Despite the recent tough talk, former U.S. National Security adviser John BoltonJohn BoltonBolton defends not testifying: ‘I don’t think it would have made a difference’ Bolton says he hopes history will remember Trump ‘as a one-term president’ Pompeo takes swipe at Bolton in tweet MORE claims in an upcoming book that Trump explicitly sought electoral help from Chinese President Xi Jinping by pushing China to boost agricultural purchases from states critical to his reelection. 

Bolton also claimed that Trump demurred from getting too involved on the Hong Kong protests, saying “we have human-rights problems too,” and gave Xi carte blanche to build concentration camps for Uighur Muslims.

The revelations could fuel fear that the unpredictability will spark a miscalculation on either side, especially at a time of growing military tensions.

“It’s quite possible. The proximity of U.S. and Chinese forces in the South China Seas is tailor made for incidental conflict,” said Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former State department staff under Secretary Colin PowellColin Luther PowellTrump’s tough talk on China sparks fears of geopolitical crisis Looking forward to pro sports after COVID blackout The Fed and the Pottery Barn Doctrine MORE.

“My fear is that it’s going to take a catastrophe like the Cuban Missile Crisis before both sides sober up,” he added.

Manning said Trump’s focus on China was important, but his policies have largely been counterproductive. He compared the U.S. approach to China to the stages of grief.

“We were in the denial phase for too long. Now we’re in the anger phase,” Manning said.

One major problem, he said, is that the United States has lost its advantage in one of the most powerful foreign policy tools in the toolbox: taking a leadership role to unite allies. Such leadership would be ideal in the current moment, when China is also at odds with India, Canada, Australia and the E.U. over everything from COVID-19 to human rights to technology.

“If we had smart diplomacy I think we would increase our leverage. It’s sad we can’t play the leadership role we’ve traditionally played,” Manning said.

Adding to the unpredictability, the worsening tensions with China is coming with less than five months to go before the November election, with Trump slipping in the polls to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe BidenJoe BidenBolton defends not testifying: ‘I don’t think it would have made a difference’ Bolton says he hopes history will remember Trump ‘as a one-term president’ Green Party nominee says Sanders, progressives have failed to pull Democrats to the left MORE.

The Trump campaign has sought to paint the former vice president as weak on China, raising the prospect that the Asian country could become mired in the U.S. campaign.

“We could be headed to a really tumultuous few months,” said Heath at the Rand Corporation.

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Google’s decision to ban a far-right website from its ad platform and issue a warning to a conservative media outlet over posts in their comments sections is adding fuel for Republicans who say tech giants have an anti-conservative bias and need more regulation.

Several GOP lawmakers, as well as a Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), pointed to the move as a prime example of why the government must target the protections a company like Google enjoys over the content posted by its users.

They’re also accusing Google of hypocrisy, considering the tech platform has protections that prevent it from being held liable for third-party posts. The protections do not play a role in Google’s decisions on how it runs its ad network.

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“It is profoundly disingenuous for Google to insist on applying a standard to other companies that it disclaims for itself,” Sen. Josh HawleyJoshua (Josh) David HawleySupreme Court surprises rattle disappointed right Roberts sparks backlash from conservative senators with DACA ruling The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Nation reacts to landmark DACA decision MORE (R-Mo.) wrote in an open letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Wednesday. “In short, Google demands minimum oversight for itself, but maximum power over those who use its platform.”

Sen. Marsha BlackburnMarsha BlackburnRep. Sean Patrick Maloney blasts administration’s response to pandemic; Oxford scientists say they’ve found first effective COVID-19 treatment GOP senators introduce resolution opposing calls to defund the police GOP senators dodge on treatment of White House protesters MORE (R-Tenn.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Tech Task Force, added in a statement that Google’s recent actions would give federal regulators “more ammo to use” in their investigation into the company’s alleged anticompetitive business practices, including its dominance in digital advertising.

The comments from GOP lawmakers come as Republicans ramp up their assault on Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, a provision that says websites cannot be held liable for posts shared by its users. Republicans are also going after a clause that allows “good-faith” efforts on the part of tech companies to moderate the content they host.

The legal protection is viewed as the foundation of the internet, though critics from both parties argue it allows big platforms to avoid responsibility for harmful posts appearing on their sites.

Republicans have also zeroed in on the law alleging bias against conservatives, though no evidence has backed up that assertion.

Trump in May signed an executive order that got the ball rolling on narrowing the scope of Section 230 after Twitter amended fact-check labels to a pair of his tweets about mail-in voting. The Justice Department and GOP senators followed up on Wednesday with separate proposals on how to strip some of the protections.

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Google may have emboldened them. The proposals came just a day after the company said it had banned the far-right site Zero Hedge from participating in its ad network over policy violations in the comments section of stories about Black Lives Matter protests.

Google initially said it had made a similar decision with regard to racist comments on The Federalist, but later backtracked and said they worked with the conservative media site “to address issues on their sites related to the comments section.”

“Our policies do not allow ads to run against dangerous or derogatory content, which includes comments on sites,” Google said, adding that The Federalist had responded by turning off its comments section.

The site’s comments section remained off as of Thursday evening, though the publication’s editors have vowed to reinstate it.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthyKevin Owen McCarthyMcCarthy slams Bolton book, says it’s a national security risk House GOP leaders condemn candidate who said black people should be ‘proud’ of Confederate statues McConnell rejects push to ‘airbrush the Capitol’ of Confederate statues MORE (R-Calif.), Rep. Jim JordanJames (Jim) Daniel JordanThe Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Bolton book rocks Washington The Memo: Bolton exposé makes Trump figure of mockery House GOP lawmakers defy new mask requirement MORE (R-Ohio) and Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzRoberts sparks backlash from conservative senators with DACA ruling Redistricting: ‘The next decade of our democracy is on the ballot’ in November Boring is Biden’s ‘Trump’ card MORE (R-Texas) were among the Republicans who argued Google’s move amounted to political bias.

Hawley and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr (R) took their criticism a step further, saying it was ultimately a reason why Big Tech’s defense of Section 230 was flawed. The two argued it was hypocritical for Google to hold sites it does business with liable for comments when Section 230 protects the tech giant from lawsuits over third-party content.

“Google makes one of the strongest arguments yet for Section 230 reform,” said Carr, who has publicly endorsed Trump’s order calling on the Commerce Department to petition the FCC to craft and enforce rules narrowing the 1996 law’s scope.

A Google spokesperson said Thursday that the company has “strict publisher policies that govern the content ads can run on, which includes comments on sites.” The company’s stated policy says publishers can lose their ability to serve ads through Google’s AdSense program if they host comments inciting hatred and promoting discrimination.

In 2019, the company terminated more than 1.2 million publisher accounts from its ad network for breach of polices. It also removed ads from more than 21 million pages.

Mike Masnick, the founder and editor of TechDirt, a site covering technology and legal issues, wrote in a blog post that Google’s recent actions appeared similar to a case affecting his own site in 2019. Masnick said Google took the same action because of “certain comments” that apparently violated the policy, adding that it led the company to pull ads only from the page where the comments appeared.

Masnick said that the policy had its shortcomings, namely that it could encourage bad-faith actors to attempt to demonetize a certain site by posting comments that violate Google policies.

Eric Goldman, a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, told The Hill that Google’s decisions regarding what sites it places ads on isn’t a Section 230 issue; instead, it is “just a matter of fundamental editorial discretion” when it comes to doing business with certain sites.

“They’re not an open-access platform, nor would we ever want that,” Goldman said. “Google is doing exactly what we as a society want them to do.”

But Hawley argued in his letter to Pichai that the tech giant’s dominance in the ad market made it so that publishers were required to do whatever it demands. He alleged Google was transforming advertising platform access into “a cudgel wielded against dissenting voices.”

The letter was sent the same day Hawley introduced legislation that would require companies to prove a “duty of good faith” in their content moderation in order to continue receiving Section 230 protections. The bill, which was co-sponsored by several Republicans, would make it easier for individuals to sue platforms that carry out moderation policies deemed improper.

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Legal experts and open-internet proponents panned the bill.

“There are legitimate concerns about the dominance of a handful of online platforms and their power to limit Internet users’ speech,” Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Aaron Mackey said in a statement. “But rather than addressing those concerns, this bill bluntly encourages frivolous litigation and will lead to massive trolling.”

Goldman, who practiced internet law for eight years before becoming a professor, said that for many Republicans, Section 230 “has become a brand for all the problems that people have with internet companies.”

He characterized the GOP position as: “Whatever the problem is that an internet company is creating, Section 230 is the reason why that’s happening and therefore Section 230 is bad.”

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a third lawsuit over its policy to suspend penalties for companies that stop monitoring their pollution outputs during the coronavirus pandemic.

The temporary policy, for which the EPA has set no end date, would allow any number of industries to skirt laws that require companies to track their emissions, with the agency saying it will not “seek penalties for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations.”

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States and other environmental groups have already sued over the March 26 memo, arguing that the EPA is abdicating its duty to enforce environmental laws, leaving unknown amounts of pollution flowing into the air and water.

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The notice of intent to sue sent Wednesday by the Center for Biological Diversity offers a different legal angle, arguing the memo violates the Endangered Species Act by risking harm to both imperiled animals and their habitat.

“Allowing the policy to apply indefinitely—with no sunset provision or discussion of the circumstances under which the policy would be revoked—provides an opportunity for regulated entities (and the Trump administration) to exploit the current epidemic to allow unfettered pollution and hence harm to protected species in the absence of the safeguards,” the organization wrote in its notice to the EPA.

The suit is set to be filed in 60 days.

The EPA did not immediately respond to request for comment on the lawsuit but has argued its policy is necessary as the agency was being overwhelmed by requests from companies to suspend monitoring pollution amid the coronavirus outbreak. 

Companies are expected to “comply with regulatory requirements, where reasonably practicable, and to return to compliance as quickly as possible,” the agency wrote in a release announcing the change. Companies must document when they suspended monitoring and explain why COVID-19 was the cause.

But environmentalists fear the damage will have already been done.

The states suing over the memo asked the court for a preliminary injunction on Monday, arguing the memo is “greenlighting industry to pollute more and care less.”

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Les mamans de plus de 40 ans sont de plus ne plus nombreuses aujourd’hui : 27 000 chaque année, contre 8 000 il y a 20 ans. Et elles se posent de nombreuses questions :
Mon bébé va-t-il être malformé ? Quels sont les risques qu’il soit prématuré ? Quels sont les dangers pour ma santé ? Alors, est-il raisonnable d’être maman à 40 ans ? Et surtout, est-il encore temps ? Car la fertilité baisse…
Pour répondre à toutes ces questions, exceptionnellement, le Collège national des gynécologues et obstétriciens français CNGOF accueillera le grand public, le jeudi 1er décembre, à 18h30, pour une session de réflexion et de débat sur le thème de la grossesse tardive. Le Pr Michel Tournaire, chef du service gynécologie-obstétrique à l’hôpital St Vincent de Paul (Paris) et auteur du livre “Le bonheur d’être mère, La grossesse après 35 ans“ (éditions Odile Jacob) participera au débat, au cotés du Docteur Joëlle Belaisch-Allart, chef du service gynécologie-obstétrique à l’hôpital de Sèvres et de France Prioux, démographe et responsable de l’unité “fécondité, famille, sexualité“ à l’Institut National d’Etudes Démographiques (INED).
Rendez-vous le 1er décembre à partir de 18h 30 à la Maison de la Chimie, 28 bis rue St Dominique 75007 Paris
Entrée gratuite, inscription au : 01 55 42 22 10Click Here: Cheap Golf Golf Clubs