Mark Zuckerberg says US government pressured Meta over Covid content

Good morning. In the present day we’re overlaying:

• Kamala Harris’s vows to make childcare extra reasonably priced

• China’s export controls on semiconductor supplies, that are hitting provide chains

• Mexican president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum’s collection of a tutorial to run state oil firm Pemex

However first, Meta chief govt Mark Zuckerberg has accused the Biden administration of getting pressured the social media group to “censor” some Covid-19 content material in the course of the pandemic.

In a letter to Jim Jordan, chair of the Home judiciary committee, Zuckerberg wrote: “I imagine the federal government strain was mistaken and I remorse that we weren’t extra outspoken about it”. The correspondence was posted to X by the committee on Monday.

Jordan has been main a congressional investigation accusing the Biden administration, disinformation researchers and social media platforms of colluding so as to muzzle People, and conservative speech specifically.

The investigation, in addition to Zuckerberg’s letter, come amid a worldwide debate about how platforms ought to counterbalance free speech and on-line security. Former US president Donald Trump has repeatedly railed towards social media platforms for his or her perceived censorship of rightwing voices.

Right here’s what I’m retaining tabs on in the present day:

• Israel-Hamas conflict: Hizbollah’s retaliatory barrage on Sunday marked the most important trade of fireplace between the 2 sides since 2006

• Firms: Financial institution of Montreal, SentinalOne and Nordstrom report.

• Financial knowledge: Brazil releases inflation knowledge for the primary half of August.

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5 extra prime tales

1. Kamala Harris has vowed to make childcare extra reasonably priced within the US, however the present excessive prices might pose a danger to the Democratic presidential candidate’s marketing campaign. She has proposed a number of concepts, equivalent to introducing more tax breaks for families with children, however these options would require her to move new laws, which might show troublesome.

2. Mexico’s president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has chosen vitality economics specialist Víctor Rodríguez to run Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the country’s indebted state oil company. Manufacturing at Pemex just lately hit a file low of about 1.47mn barrels of crude oil per day.

3. China’s export controls on essential semiconductor supplies are hitting provide chains and stoking fears of shortfalls within the western manufacturing of superior chips and navy optical {hardware}. Beijing’s curbs on shipments of germanium and gallium, that are utilized in semiconductor elements, have led to an nearly twofold improve within the minerals’ costs in Europe over the previous 12 months.

4. Apple’s chief monetary officer Luca Maestri will step down from the function originally of subsequent 12 months, ending a greater than decade-long stint because the iPhone maker’s prime finance govt. Throughout his tenure, Apple’s share value elevated from about $20 firstly of 2014 to $227 in the present day. Here’s more on the person who will replace him.

• Extra US enterprise information: Billionaire Edgar Bronfman Jr has withdrawn a $6bn bid to take management of Paramount, clearing the way in which for Skydance to finish the merger of the Hollywood studios.

5. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed pleas for Kyiv’s western allies to elevate restrictions on his forces’ use of weapons towards military targets in Russia, as Moscow unleashed a second evening of devastating air strikes on Ukraine.

The Huge Learn

Forward of the US election in November, immigration stays massively controversial. However a number of locations in Republican-dominated areas are anticipating an inflow of staff as a strategy to reverse deteriorating demographics. Listed here are the Midwestern cities searching for new migrants.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Cracking most cancers: The $1tn race for therapies has bypassed some types of the illness, however novel therapies are on the horizon. The primary a part of a Monetary Occasions collection seems to be on the revived vitality behind the fight for new cures.

• Pacific Island sea ranges: Sooner-than-average sea degree rise, ocean warming and acidification are threatening the Pacific Islands, the World Meteorological Group has stated.

• Canadian commerce: Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated Ottawa would impose 100 per cent tariffs on imports of Chinese language electrical autos and 25 per cent levies on Chinese language metal and aluminium.

Chart of the day

Mexico has develop into one of many world’s most harmful international locations for journalists, with extra reporters killed in some years than in conflict zones equivalent to Ukraine and Syria. The violence stems from a local weather by which organised crime and native authorities work together in near impunity.

Take a break from the information

Palestinian ladies are preserving the ancient art of tatreez, as fashionable designers and collectives are reviving curiosity within the vibrant embroidery custom initially practised in rural communities. Tatreez is a centuries-old artwork that was initially practised by Palestinian ladies in rural communities and handed down from mom to daughter.

Further contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm and Irwin Cruz