News

• Republicans package H-1B plan in attractive website

  With the full Senate starting its debate on a comprehensive immigration bill, Republican lawmakers in the House have released a plan of their own, complete with a slick website.

• A stinky onion blooms in the Senate, say H-1B critics

  With the H-1B fight over and lost, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) lashed out, almost flailing in the minutes before the Senate Judiciary Committee's final vote Tuesday.

• U.S. power companies under frequent cyberattack

  A survey of U.S. utilities shows many are facing frequent cyberattacks that could threaten a highly interdependent power grid supplying more than 300 million people, according to a congressional report.

• EU investigation could affect business from China's 4G deployment

  The European Union may be trying to protect its telecom equipment industry with its recent threat to investigate China over networking equipment imports. But the move could end up hurting the chances of Western vendors intent on supplying technology to China's upcoming 4G services launch, according to analysts.

• Senate report: Apple claims subsidiaries with no taxing jurisdiction

  Apple has set up three foreign subsidiaries that the company claims are not resident in any nation for taxing purposes, in an effort to avoid paying tens of billions of dollars in taxes to the U.S. and other countries, according to a new report from a U.S. Senate subcommittee.

• US Defense Department approves Apple's iOS devices for its networks

  Devices built around Apple's iOS operating system have been approved by the U.S. Department of Defense for use on its networks, as the department moves to support multivendor mobile devices and operating systems.

• Bitcoin developer talks regulation, open source and the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto

  With Bitcoin all the rage and startups popping up left and right, it's hard to know who's an expert in the virtual currency and who just has an opinion. Most people would put Jeff Garzik in the former camp.

• Texas drone bill sparks a battle

  The battle to find a balance between privacy concerns and the beneficial use of drones for commercial and law enforcement purposes is in sharp focus in a bill that's winding its way through the Texas legislature.

• T-Mobile drops challenge to FCC's net neutrality rules

  T-Mobile USA has dropped a pending challenge to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules.

• Alleged tech support scammers settle FTC charges

  Operators of two alleged tech support scams that charged consumers hundreds of dollars to supposedly fix their computers have settled charges from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

• H-1B politics shifts to backroom as vote nears

  High-tech industry's leading advocate in the immigration bill fight, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), has bought himself some time, perhaps until Tuesday, to try get the immigration bill changed to the liking of the tech industry.

• EU to investigate telecommunications equipment imports from China

  The European Union is preparing to investigate the imports of mobile networking gear from China for anti-competitive practices, a move that's likely targeted at telecommunications equipment companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE.

• Mt. Gox accused of violating US money transfer regulations

  The seizure of funds of the largest bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, was triggered by an alleged failure of the company to comply with U.S. financial regulations, according to a federal court document.

• Specter of ACTA hangs over TTIP negotiations

  European civil liberties representatives on Wednesday advised the European Commission's trade department that the intellectual property chapter should be left out of the current trade negotiations with the United States and that the deal should not be agreed in secret.

• Senators begin contentious H-1B battle

  The Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the idea on Tuesday of requiring all H-1B employers to make a "good faith" effort in hiring U.S. workers before taking on an H-1b worker.