Biden administration to loan $6.6B to EV maker Rivian to build Georgia factory that automaker paused

ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Energy will make a $6.6 billion loan to Rivian Automotive to build a factory in Georgia that had stalled as the startup electric vehicle maker struggled to become profitable.

It's unclear whether the administration can complete the loan before Donald Trump becomes president again in less than two months, or whether the Trump administration might try to claw the money back.

Trump previously vowed to end federal electric vehicle tax credits, which are worth up to $7,500 for new zero-emission vehicles and $4,000 for used ones.

Rivian made a splash when it went public and began producing large electric R1 SUVs, pickup trucks and delivery vans at a former Mitsubishi factory in Normal, Illinois, in 2021. Months later, the California-based company announced it would build a second, larger, $5 billion plant about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Atlanta, near the town of Social Circle.

The R1 vehicles cost $70,000 or more. The company plans to produce R2 vehicles, a smaller SUV, in Georgia with lower price tags aimed at a mass market. The first phase of Rivian’s Georgia factory is projected to make 200,000 vehicles a year, with a second phase capable of another 200,000 a year. Eventually, the plant is projected to employ 7,500 workers.

But Rivian was unable to meet production and sales targets and rapidly burned through cash. In March, the company said it would pause construction of the Georgia plant. The company said it would begin assembling its R2 SUV in Illinois instead.

CEO RJ Scaringe said the move would allow Rivian to start selling the R2 sooner and save $2.25 billion in capital spending. Since then, German automaker Volkswagen AG said in June it would invest $5 billion in Rivian in a joint venture in which Rivian would share software and electrical technology with Volkswagen. The money eased Rivian's cash crunch.

Tuesday's announcement throws a lifeline to Rivian's grander plans. The company said its plans to make the R2 and the smaller R3 in Georgia are back on and that production will begin in 2028.

“This loan would enable Rivian to more aggressively scale our U.S. manufacturing footprint for our competitively priced R2 and R3 vehicles that emphasize both capability and affordability,” Scaringe said in a statement.

The Energy Department said the loan would substantially boost electric vehicles made in the United States and support Biden’s goal of having zero-emission vehicles make up half of all new U.S. sales by 2030.

“As one of a few American EV startups with light duty vehicles already on the road, Rivian’s Georgia facility will allow the company to reach production volumes that make its products more cost competitive and accelerate access to international markets,” the department said in a statement.

The loan includes $6 billion, plus $600 million in interest that will be rolled into the principal. The money would come from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, which provides low-interest loans to make fuel-efficient vehicles and components. The program has focused mostly on loans to new battery factories for electric vehicles under Biden, but earlier helped finance initial production of the Tesla Model S and Nissan Leaf, two pioneering electric vehicles.

The loan program, created in 2007, requires a "reasonable prospect of repayment" of the loan. Under Biden, the program has announced deals totaling $33.3 billion, including $9.2 billion for massive battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky for Ford’s electric vehicles.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who has been a vocal supporter of electric vehicle and solar manufacturing in Georgia, hailed Tuesday's announcement as “yet another historic federal investment in Georgia electric vehicle manufacturing.” Ossoff had asked Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to support the loan in July.

“Our federal manufacturing incentives are driving economic development across the state of Georgia,” Ossoff said in a statement.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says his goal is to make Georgia a center of the electric vehicle industry. But the Republican has had a strained relationship with the Biden administration over its industrial policy, even as some studies have found Georgia has netted more electric vehicle investment than any other state.

Kemp has long claimed that manufacturers were picking Georgia before Biden's signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, was passed.

Efforts to bring Rivian to Georgia predated the Biden administration and "our shared vision to bring opportunity to Georgia will remain no matter who resides in the White House or what party controls Congress,” Kemp spokesperson Garrison Douglas said Tuesday.

The loan to Rivian could rescue one of the Kemp administration's signature economic development projects even as Biden leaves office. That could put Rivian and Kemp in the position of defending the loan if Trump tries to quash it.

State and local governments offered Rivian an incentive package worth an estimated $1.5 billion in 2022. Neighbors opposed to development of the Georgia site mounted legal challenges.

State and local governments spent around $125 million to buy and prepare the nearly 2,000-acre (810-hectare) site. The state also has completed most of $50 million in roadwork that it pledged.

The pause at Rivian contrasts with rapid construction at Hyundai Motor Group’s $7.6 billion electric vehicle and battery complex near Savannah. The Korean automaker said in October that it had begun production in Ellabell, where it plans to eventually employ 8,500.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-administration-loan-6-6-123345297.html

Scott Bessent Sees a Coming ‘Global Economic Reordering.’ He Wants to Be Part of It.

Scott Bessent spent the past 40 years studying economic history. Now, as Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Treasury Department, he has the chance to make his mark on it.

As a hedge-fund manager, first at George Soros’s firm and later at his own, Bessent specialized in macro investing, or analyzing geopolitical situations and economic data to wager on big-picture market moves. He generated billions of dollars in profits betting on and against currencies, interest rates, stocks and other asset classes around the world.

He was motivated to step out from behind his desk and get involved with Trump’s campaign in part because of a view that time is running out for the U.S. economy to grow its way out of excessive budget deficits and indebtedness.

Around 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Trump called Bessent at his Palm Beach hotel, telling him he was Trump’s choice. Bessent left for Mar-a-Lago Club to join Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles, where they shook hands and discussed policy strategy.

In his first interview following his selection, Bessent said his policy priority will be to deliver on Trump’s various tax-cut pledges. Those include making his first-term cuts permanent, and eliminating taxes on tips, social-security benefits and overtime pay.

Enacting tariffs and cutting spending will also be a focus, he said, as will be “maintaining the status of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.”

Bessent became one of Trump’s closest advisers by adding depth to his economic proposals and defending his plans for more activist trade policies. He has argued that the president-elect’s plans to extend tax cuts and deregulate parts of the U.S. economy would create an “economic lollapalooza.”

Trump selected him from several candidates jockeying for the job partly because he trusted him to execute the administration’s policies more than the other contenders, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The decision came after Elon Musk criticized Bessent as a “business-as-usual choice” while lobbying for Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick instead. (Trump later nominated Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department.)

Many on Wall Street, including hedge-fund managers Daniel Loeb and Bill Ackman, applauded the selection of Bessent. Investor Kyle Bass said on the social-media platform X that Bessent was “the single best choice.”

People who have worked with Bessent describe him as reserved and professorial. He once taught economic history at Yale University, his alma mater, and, as an investor, he would often research forgotten financial analogues to inform his views on current events.

“We are going to have to have some kind of a grand global economic reordering,” Bessent said at a June event. “I’d like to be a part of it. I’ve studied this.”

He joined Soros Fund Management in 1991, where his research on weakness in the U.K. housing market was a catalyst behind the firm’s enormously successful bet that the British pound would collapse.

From 2011 to 2015, Bessent served as Soros’s chief investment officer, earning more than a billion in profits for successful bets in Japan, including a wager against the Japanese yen. He left to launch his own hedge-fund firm, Key Square Capital Management, which he still manages.

Key Square’s hedge fund had years of unremarkable performance until it gained about 31% in its main fund in 2022.

In 2023 and so far this year, the fund has gained more than 10%, according to an investor. November has been the best month for the fund, in part because it bet that a Trump victory would bolster the market. By comparison, the S&P 500 is up around 25% so far this year, though macro-hedge funds haven’t done nearly as well.

Since 2020, Bessent and his husband, former New York City prosecutor John Freeman, have primarily lived in Charleston, S.C., near Bessent’s childhood home. They have two children.

Three arrows

Bessent, should he be confirmed as Treasury secretary, will oversee the sale of trillions of dollars of U.S. government bonds of the type he used to trade. His other responsibilities will include advising on fiscal policy, handling tax collection, enforcing sanctions and more.

Bessent has long been worried about the U.S.’s heavy debt and thinks the main way it can be reduced is by boosting growth, which increases tax revenues.

He has advised Trump to pursue a policy he calls 3-3-3, inspired by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who revitalized the Japanese economy in the 2010s with his “three arrow” economic policy. Bessent’s “three arrows” include cutting the budget deficit to 3% of gross domestic product by 2028, spurring GDP growth of 3% through deregulation and producing an additional 3 million barrels of oil or its equivalent a day.

To get government spending under control, Bessent has advocated extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act but with so-called pay-fors to lower its cost. That would involve either reducing spending or increasing revenue elsewhere to offset the impact. He also proposed freezing nondefense discretionary spending and reforming the subsidies for electric vehicles and other parts of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Earlier this year, Bessent thought about tariffs as a negotiating tool, telling investors in a letter that the “tariff gun will always be loaded and on the table but rarely discharged.” He has since argued for them more forcefully, especially as a source of tax revenue.

In a speech last month titled “Make the International Economic System Great Again,” Bessent argued for increasing tariffs on national-security grounds and to induce other countries to lower trade barriers with the U.S. He criticized trade policy with China for enriching Wall Street, weakening domestic industrial might and failing to lead to Chinese economic reform.

Bessent called for tariffs to resemble the Treasury Department’s sanctions program as a tool to promote U.S. interests abroad. He was open to removing tariffs from countries that undertake structural reforms and voiced support for a fair-trade block for allies with common security interests and reciprocal approaches to tariffs.

“President Trump is right that actual free trade is desirable,” Bessent said in prepared remarks at the time. “It might seem counterintuitive from a free market perspective, but he is also right that in order to actually create a freer and more extensive trading system over the long term, we need a more activist approach internationally.”

https://archive.is/DksNS#selection-5733.0-5733.84

Boy finds rare Neanderthal axe on Sussex beach

A boy who found a shiny rock while playing at a beach has been told the item is a Neanderthal hand axe that could be 60,000 years old.

Ben, from Shoreham, West Sussex, discovered the axe at Shoreham Beach when he was only six years old, and kept it in his room for three years.

It was only when the boy, now aged nine, went to Worthing Museum three weeks ago and saw the Stone Age exhibition that he realised he had a similar looking item at home.

The museum, which is now exhibiting the axe, said it was "almost certainly made by a Neanderthal" between 40,000 to 60,000 years ago.

Ben said: “I was looking around and I saw this shiny flint rock. I just thought it looked different to all the other different pebbles and stones."

He said he kept it in his room but was always "losing it and finding it".

Ben added that the museum said "it looked like an amazing find.

"They said it’s their best find in ten years. Now it’s in a case in the museum. I was really excited, my heart was beating really fast," he said.

“I did want to keep it, but I felt like it would be better there than in my hands.”

His mother Emma told BBC Radio Sussex: “Seeing how it lit up the face of the archaeologist at the museum, it’s great that others can enjoy it.”

A spokesperson from Worthing Museum said the hand axe dates back to the Late Middle Palaeolithic era which was between 40,000 to 60,000 years ago.

They said: "Ben found the flint axe in the upper shingle at Shoreham beach, so it is very difficult to say with confidence whether the axe was originally lost there or whether it was dredged up from offshore river deposits during work to strengthen the beach defences."

The Neanderthals are considered to be the long-lost evolutionary cousins of modern humans, who became extinct about 40,000 years ago.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn9xr3weg0xo

Extreme Off-Road | DEEPRobotics Lynx All-Terrian Robot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL833P0Vino

Stephen Miller confirms Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago

https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1861947894674178423

Mark Zuckerberg visits Trump at Mar-a-Lago, reportedly 'wants to support the national renewal'

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday, just months after the tech entrepreneur publicly praised President-elect Trump following the July 13 assassination attempt.

Zuckerberg's visit to Trump's Palm Beach, Florida, club was confirmed by Trump adviser Stephen Miller during an episode of "The Ingraham Angle" on Fox News Channel.

"Mark Zuckerberg has been very clear about his desire to be a supporter of and a participant in this change that we're seeing all around America, all around the world with this reform movement that Donald Trump is leading," Miller said to guest host Brian Kilmeade.

"Mark Zuckerberg, like so many business leaders, understands that President Trump is an agent of change, an agent of prosperity."

Miller added that the tech CEO "has his own interests," but sees Trump's second term as a chance at "national renewal."

"Mark, obviously, he has his own interests, and he has his own company, and he has his own agenda," Miller said. "But he's made clear that he wants to support the national renewal of America under President Trump's leadership."

In July, Zuckerberg lauded Trump for his fist-pumping reaction to the July 13 assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most bada - things I’ve ever seen in my life," Zuckerberg told Bloomberg, just days after the shooting took place.

"On some level as an American, it’s like hard to not get kind of emotional about that spirit and that fight, and I think that that’s why a lot of people like the guy," he added.

Zuckerberg's visit to Mar-a-Lago is not the Facebook founder's first interaction with the Republican leader. In August, Trump told FOX Business host Maria Bartiromo that Zuckerberg called him to apologize over an error.

"So, Mark Zuckerberg called me. First of all, he called me two times. He called me after the event and he said that was really amazing," Trump said during an Aug. 1 "Mornings with Maria" interview on FOX Business. "It was really brave."

"And he actually announced that he's not going to support a Democrat because he can't because he respected me for what I did that day," the Republican continued. "I think what I did… to me, was a normal response."

Trump added that Zuckerberg apologized after Facebook mislabeled a photo of him that went viral.

"He actually apologized. He said they made a mistake… and they're correcting the mistake," Trump said.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mark-zuckerberg-visits-trump-mar-a-lago-reportedly-wants-support-national-renewal

Joe Rogan w/ tech genius and billionaire Marc Andreessen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye8MOfxD5nU

Tech genius and billionaire Marc Andreessen: Why I voted for Trump

https://x.com/benaverbook/status/1861511169510440992

China releases 3 'wrongfully detained' Americans, White House says

China is releasing three Americans Wednesday who the White House says were "wrongfully detained," Fox News has confirmed.

"We are pleased to announce the release of Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung from detention in the People’s Republic of China," a National Security Council spokesperson said. "Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years. Thanks to this Administration’s efforts and diplomacy with the PRC, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home."

Mark Swidan of Texas was 38-years old when he went to China on business looking for flooring for construction work in November 2012. He was arrested after his driver and translator were allegedly found with drugs, the Texas Tribune has reported.

A United Nations report determined that Swidan was not in possession of drugs on his person or in his hotel room, and records show he was not in China at the time of the alleged offense.

The U.N. report said that the 11 other people arrested with Swidan as part of the alleged trafficking ring were unable to identify him and that the conviction was based on his visiting a factory that had once been used to manufacture methamphetamine.

His mother Katherine Swidan told Fox News last year that she wanted President Biden to demand Mark's release.

"I want him to say his name. I want him to be strong and make some demands. Diplomacy is important, I understand that, but this has been going on too long," Katherine Swidan said at the time. "He is not well at all. He's lost 100 pounds."

Harrison Li, the son of Kai Li, told Fox News around a year ago that his father was detained in China while traveling there for a memorial service for his own mother.

"He was not allowed to get off the plane. As soon as he landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport, agents from the Ministry of State Security whisked him away and nobody has been able to see him outside of the prison ever since," Li said.

A website set up to raise awareness for Li said he had been held in China "since September 2016 on politically motivated charges of espionage and stealing state secrets.

"He is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence at Shanghai’s Qingpu Prison," it added.

Leung, who has permanent residency in Hong Kong, was also sentenced on espionage charges in 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal.

He was first detained in April 2021. A friend of Leung told the newspaper that he was involved in charity work supporting low-income elderly people and students in Jiangsu province and has organized tours between the U.S. and China for musicians.

The releases come after U.S. pastor David Lin was freed by China in September following nearly 20 years of what the State Department deemed a wrongful detainment.

"I am overjoyed that Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung have been released and are returning to their families. I could not be happier for Mark’s mother Katherine Swidan, who from her home in Luling, Texas, has spent 12 years waging an unremitting battle to ensure Mark’s release and make today a reality," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Wednesday.

"President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Carstens, Ambassador Burns, and their teams have for years worked tirelessly to secure this achievement, and I am deeply grateful for all their efforts," Cruz added. "Negotiations aimed at securing the release of unjustly held Americans are among the most difficult and wrenching tasks that our diplomats face, and they have shown unceasing dedication culminating in today’s release. This joyous news would not have occurred, and these families would not have been reunited, without their work and commitment."

https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-agrees-release-3-wrongfully-detained-americans

Kai Trump Youtube Vlog: Watching a Rocket Launch at SpaceX with Elon Musk!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytrtFsXRXGY

Huawei loses huge contract with Germany

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Nokia has signed a contract with Deutsche Telekom to roll out a mobile network using Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) in more than 3,000 sites in Germany, the Finnish telecom equipment maker said in a statement on Wednesday.

The new deal formally marks Nokia's return as a supplier to Europe's largest network after Deutsche Telekom chose Ericsson equipment for parts of its network in 2017.

The deal, which includes Fujitsu, covers a mass rollout of ORAN-compliant technology with commercial deployment already underway in the Neubrandenburg area of Northern Germany.

After the companies did a trial run last year, Nokia will replace equipment from the incumbent, China's Huawei.

Both Nokia and Ericsson have been looking to sell equipment with ORAN technology that promises deep cost cuts by using cloud-based software and equipment from many suppliers instead of relying on just one.

Ericsson had already got big contracts with AT&T and Spain's largest telecoms operator, MasOrange.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/nokia-gets-mobile-network-contract-083224739.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9jaXRpemVuZnJlZXByZXNzLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANypb3BI2DkbV7MECnCvjAPM4WfbOEU3OSoVoxdnd3KYy0ouBxnCp4n93jrNKciX_STqKwJHC4RFpfvCXnVcsuuVWkoaFFjajvIV1qfANCaGXwab7A-dHrrnjKePTUrUO1W-YDndN8yz-rcK8W3SBEsKWXNXWEAyrYQYqNlHGPZ8