Trump Administration Prioritizes AI Data Center Expansion With Ratepayer Protection Pledge

• The Federal Communications Commission approved Nexstar's $6.2 billion deal to acquire rival broadcaster Tegna, creating the largest operator of local television stations in the United States. • FCC Chairman Brendan Carr waived a rule limiting single-company ownership of TV stations reaching more than 39% of U.S. households; the combined entity will cover at least 60%. • The mega-merger represents a significant consolidation in the broadcast media industry and demonstrates regulatory willingness to approve ownership concentration in the communications sector.

• U.S. stock markets closed lower Thursday as an energy shock continued weighing on investor sentiment, with the S&P 500 falling 0.27%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.44%, and the Nasdaq Composite declining 0.28%. • Commodity-linked stocks experienced severe selloffs: gold fell 4.94%, aluminum dropped over 5%, mining shares plummeted with Hycroft Mining sliding 12.4% and Century Aluminum falling 10.3%. • Asian markets showed mixed performance Friday, with South Korea's Kospi rising 0.6% and China's Shanghai Composite edging 0.2% higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.6%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%, and Taiwan's Taiex declined 0.2%, with Japan's markets closed for a holiday.

• The Trump administration designated AI company Anthropic as a 'supply chain risk' and ordered federal agencies to stop using its technology, prompting Anthropic to file a lawsuit against the government. • Major tech firms including Google, Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI have backed Anthropic through amicus briefs and legal support, warning that blacklisting an American company harms U.S. innovation and competitiveness against China. • The conflict stems from late February tensions when Trump publicly criticized Anthropic, leading to contract cancellations and raising concerns about uncertainty throughout the broader technology industry.

• Negotiations on stablecoin yield provisions in the Senate crypto market structure bill have reached 99% resolution, with remaining friction being political rather than technical, according to Senator Cynthia Lummis. • The Senate Banking Committee markup is expected in late April, which creates a narrow window for the bill to complete all five sequential steps before the midterm election cycle begins dominating the floor calendar. • Senator Bernie Moreno warned that if the bill does not advance by May, digital asset legislation may not receive serious consideration again for years, creating urgency for passage.

• Washington legislators adjourned sine die on March 12 after passing five significant AI-related bills, including SB 1786 requiring provenance data in AI-generated video, image, and audio content, and HB 2311 establishing safety standards for chatbots targeting children. • SB 1786 was approved by the full Senate on March 3 and is nearing third reading in the House, while HB 2311 passed its second Senate reading on March 9 with a "Do pass" recommendation from the Senate ATT Committee on March 17. • The bills represent growing legislative momentum on AI regulation across states, with additional measures addressing false advertising claims for health products and algorithmic transparency still in committee hearings.

• Red Hat and NVIDIA announced collaborative initiatives focused on delivering production-ready enterprise AI solutions grounded in open source principles, emphasizing choice, control, and flexibility for CIOs and CTOs. • The announcements were made at NVIDIA GTC, showcasing Red Hat's open approach to AI and its integration with NVIDIA's enterprise AI platforms for hybrid cloud environments. • The partnership reflects industry trends toward open source-based enterprise AI deployments as organizations seek to avoid vendor lock-in while scaling AI workloads across hybrid cloud and on-premise infrastructure.

• Uber is committing up to $1.25 billion in additional investment to Rivian's robotaxi fleet, following the ride-hail company's earlier $300 million commitment and plans to purchase 10,000 robotaxis for launch in San Francisco and Miami. • This represents one of Uber's latest partnerships in autonomous vehicle development, continuing the company's strategy of diversifying robotaxi partnerships over the past year. • The investment accelerates Uber's autonomous vehicle ambitions as it seeks to scale robotaxi operations across major U.S. cities.

• Samsung Electronics unveiled an $82 billion investment plan in chip manufacturing and AI technology while its union warned of potential labor action, signaling internal tensions over worker conditions amid expansion plans. • The company expects to distribute approximately 9.8 trillion won (roughly $7.3 billion) in regular dividends for 2026, with additional returns possible if surplus funds remain available. • Samsung's major capital commitment reflects intensifying competition in semiconductor and AI markets, particularly as global demand for chips and AI infrastructure accelerates.

• NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang announced at GTC in San Jose a forecast of $1 trillion in sales from Blackwell and Rubin chips by late 2027, doubling the prior $500 billion estimate through 2026. • The company unveiled a new inference system generating 700 million tokens per second, 350 times faster than the Hopper generation, to counter custom chips from competitors like Google. • NVIDIA's DRIVE platform for robotaxis, valued at $1.2 trillion by Morgan Stanley, is adopted by Uber and BYD, with Uber's fleet launching in 2028; data center revenue hit $192 billion last year, up 66%.

• The US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment on March 19, 2026, charging three people with conspiring to illegally divert cutting-edge US AI technology servers to China via false documents and dummy servers. • Between late April and mid-May 2025, at least $510 million worth of US-assembled servers were shipped in violation of export controls, without required licenses from the Department of Commerce. • Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg stated these schemes generate billions in ill-gotten gains and threaten US national security by undermining American AI advantages.

• American Airlines integrated Google AI forecasts into its flight planning on a trial basis to suggest routes avoiding contrail-forming areas or altitude changes. • The technology significantly reduces contrails that trap heat, presented as a cost-effective, scalable climate solution for aviation amid industry pressure. • Announced Thursday, this collaboration highlights AI's role in sustainable aviation practices for US carriers.