Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Europe for urgent meetings on Ukraine with NATO and European Union officials following last week’s U.S. presidential election and the return of Donald Trump to the White House in January.

The federal government plans to provide up to $325 million to Hemlock Semiconductor to produce a key material for computer chips, an announcement Tuesday with possible political significance as the new factory would be in the swing state of Michigan.

The Biden-Harris administration announced plans to provide up to $750 million in direct funding to Wolfspeed, with the money supporting its new silicon carbide factory in North Carolina that makes the wafers used in advanced computer chips and its factory in Marcy, New York.

The U.S. Commerce Department is seeking a ban on the sale of connected and autonomous vehicles in the U.S. that are equipped with Chinese and Russian software and hardware with the stated goal of protecting national security and U.S. drivers.

Government scientists and artificial intelligence experts from at least nine countries and the European Union will meet in San Francisco after the U.S. elections to coordinate on safely developing AI technology and averting its dangers.

China has expressed its opposition to the latest U.S. sanctions on Chinese companies over their alleged ties to Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying it would adopt necessary measures to safeguard the rights and interests of the country’s businesses.

The Biden administration says it's providing $504 million in implementation grants for a dozen technology hubs in Ohio, Montana, Nevada and Florida, among other locations.

The Commerce Department is announcing new restrictions on U.S. firearms exports in an effort to prevent the guns from ending up in the hands of drug traffickers and criminals in other nations.

The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding for Samsung Electronics to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas.

The Biden administration has pledged to provide up to $6.6 billion so that a Taiwanese semiconductor giant can expand the facilities it is already building in Arizona and better ensure that the most-advanced microchips are produced domestically for the first time.

A Biden administration-appointed review board has issued a scathing indictment of Microsoft corporate security and transparency.

President Joe Biden is celebrating an agreement to provide Intel with up to $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans for computer chip plants nationwide.

Philippine trade officials say they have received assurances that the United States will address their concerns after American authorities held up shipments of garments on suspicion that cotton was produced by forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.

The U.S. commerce secretary says Washington is constantly assessing the need to expand export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips and manufacturing equipment that can be used to boost its military.

The Biden administration will investigate potential national security risks posed by Chinese-made “smart cars” that can gather sensitive information about Americans driving them.

The Biden administration is wading into a contentious debate about whether the most powerful artificial intelligence systems should be “open-source” or closed.

The Biden administration is announcing an investment of $5 billion in a public-private consortium aimed at supporting research and development in advanced computer chips.

The Biden administration is announcing the first allocation of incentives from last year’s bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act.

The United States and 13 partners in the Indo-Pacific region are announcing a signed deal on supply chains and agreements in principle on climate and anti-corruption efforts.

The United States is hosting the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference this week for the first time since 2011.

China’s top diplomat says dialogue between Beijing and Washington should not only be resumed but deepened.

The White House says the dozens of U.S. technology hubs President Joe Biden is announcing will help communities across the country become centers of innovation critical to its competitiveness.

Beijing has vigorously protested the U.S. Commerce Department's latest update of export controls to prevent exports to China of advanced computer chips and the equipment to make them.

The Commerce Department has updated and broadened its export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips and the equipment to manufacture them.

President Joe Biden says that he could potentially meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.

President Joe Biden says his visit to Vietnam to showcase stronger ties with Hanoi isn't about trying to start a “cold war” with China.

President Joe Biden hopes to demonstrate at the upcoming Group of 20 summit in India and a visit to Vietnam that the United States and like-minded allies can be more trustworthy partners than China on economic and security issues.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says she warned Chinese leaders that U.S. businesses might stop investing in their country without prompt action to address complaints about worsening conditions due to raids on firms, unexplained fines and unpredictable official behavior.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says she rebuffed an appeal by Chinese leaders to reduce U.S. export controls on technology with possible military uses.

Asian shares are mostly rising as markets shift their attention from the U.S. Federal Reserve to earnings and economic reports.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says she and her Chinese counterpart agreed to exchange information on U.S. export controls that irk Beijing and set up a group to discuss other commercial issues.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is the latest member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to visit China as his administration tries to mend the deteriorating ties between the world’s two largest economies.

China says it would welcome a visit by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo following the imposition of foreign investment controls by her agency that have stung numerous Chinese companies.

Efforts by the Biden administration have been helping create new factory jobs as part of a push to bring high-speed internet to the whole country.

President Joe Biden will travel to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah next week and is expected to talk about his administration’s efforts to combat climate change as the region endures a brutally hot summer with soaring temperatures.

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's plans to visit Chaco Culture National Historical Park on Sunday were derailed when protesters blocked the entrance to the northwestern New Mexico site.

The White House on Tuesday is starting a website to map and track tens of thousands of infrastructure projects and private manufacturing investments, an effort by the administration to show the impact of its policies on the U.S. economy.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, have expressed concern about policies of each other’s governments following Chinese raids on consulting firms and U.S. restrictions on exports of semiconductor technology.

The Commerce Department is launching the application process for cities to receive a total of $500 million in grants to become technology hubs.

President Joe Biden says Republicans’ budget plans could undermine U.S. manufacturing and help China dominate the world economy.

Republican senators says the Biden administration is taking $39 billion in federal money that's meant to build computer chip factories and using it to further “woke” ideas such as requiring some recipients to offer child care and encouraging the use of union labor.

The Commerce Department is opening the application process for computer chip manufacturers to access $39 billion in government support to build new factories and expand production.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is calling on the country to unite around a $52 billion effort to restore the U.S. as the world leader in advanced computer chips.

Top national security officials from the United States and Japan are expected to agree to changes in the joint defense posture this week as the two nations confront rising threats from North Korea and increasing aggressiveness from China.

When he ran for the White House, Joe Biden told voters his presidency would be a bridge to the next generation.

President Joe Biden says he will visit sub-Saharan Africa next year, announcing the trip as he wrapped up a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.

The United States and European Union have agreed to intensify talks to resolve EU concerns over major subsidies for American companies contained in a U.S. clean energy law.

Mexico's economy secretary has proposed yet another round of talks with the United States on a dispute over Mexico's energy sector.

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order designed to allay European concerns that U.S. intelligence agencies are illegally spying on them.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee eked out a victory in his Democratic primary on Tuesday, beating back strong challenges from a pair of opponents as he seeks his first full term in office.

A high-level United States delegation invited Mexico to participate in a push to shift semiconductor production from Asia to North America and expand production of electric vehicles.

Months after the first nominating contests of the 2022 midterm season, New Hampshire, Delaware and Rhode Island will bring up the rear with their primaries on Tuesday.

Russia has imposed sanctions on 25 Americans, including actors Sean Penn and Ben Stiller.

President Joe Biden and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo are announcing $1 billion in federal grants for manufacturing, clean energy, farming, biotech and more.

A bill that would provide grants, tax credits and other incentives for computer chip manufacturing may soon see action in the Senate.

The Biden administration and Democrats are warning of dire consequences if Congress fails to act on computer chips legislation.

The Biden administration is taking the first steps to release $45 billion to ensure every U.S. resident has access to high-speed internet by roughly 2028.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo pushed back forcefully Wednesday against critics — including some within the Biden administration — who say a government investigation of solar imports from Southeast Asia is hindering President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate goals.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has tested positive for COVID-19 and will quarantine at home for five days.

President Joe Biden quietly dispatched a team of financial experts to NATO headquarters in Belgium just days before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Amid an ongoing chip shortage, Ford is reportedly planning to ship and sell vehicles without certain non-critical chips as the automaker deals with a pile of unfinished vehicles.

On the day the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, Koloud “Kay” Tarapolsi reflected the views of many people when she told an Associated Press reporter: “If we avoid each other and listen to the scientists, maybe in a few weeks it will be better."

Even coming off its fastest rate of annual growth in 37 years, the U.S. economy is still bogged down by a persistent shortage of the computer chips essential to the technology that connects, transports, and entertains us.

U.S. government officials say they have reached an agreement to essentially lift the 25% tariff that former President Donald Trump imposed on imported Japanese steel.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has endorsed Republican colleague Lisa Murkowski for reelection.

The U.S. supply of computer chips has fallen to alarmingly low levels, raising the prospect of factory shutdowns.

The United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to begin talks on removing former President Donald Trump’s import taxes on British steel and aluminum.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has announced 60 finalists for $1 billion in economic development grants tied to the Biden administration’s coronavirus relief package.

Rhode Island dropped “Providence Plantations” from its name a year ago, but not from its buildings.

U.S. Trade Representative Katharine Tai and Japan's trade minister have agreed to work to resolve a dispute over American tariffs on steel and aluminum.

U.S. and Japanese officials have agreed to launch talks aimed at settling a dispute over American tariffs on imports of Japanese steel and aluminum.

The U.S. and European Union have reached an agreement to settle their diplomatic rift over Trump-era steel and aluminum tariffs.

Children under 18 and people from dozens of countries with a shortage of vaccines will be exempt from new rules requiring most travelers to the United States be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is on a mission to save American jobs — one computer chip at a time.

The United States and European Union have agreed to carry on the the work of 10 expert panels to explore and recommend solutions to a variety of trade disputes and challenges.

President Joe Biden’s administration says it is making $3 billion in economic development grants available to communities — a tenfold increase in the program paid for by this year’s COVID-19 relief bill.

Senate Republicans have unveiled a public works proposal with a much smaller price tag than what President Joe Biden wants.

President Joe Biden used a virtual meeting with corporate leaders about a global shortage of semiconductors to push for his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan.

The Republican Party and corporate America have shared common goals for decades, especially concerning low taxes and limiting regulations.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is defending a controversial privacy technique being used by the U.S. Census Bureau for the first time in the 2020 census.

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2021 file photo, President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of Commerce, Rhode Island Gov. The Senate has voted to confirm Raimondo as President Biden's commerce secretary. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON – The Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to confirm Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to serve as President Joe Biden’s commerce secretary and help guide the economy's recovery during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Later Tuesday, the Senate voted 95-4 to confirm Cecilia Rouse to be chair of Biden's Council of Economic Advisers.

Gina Raimondo testifies remotely during her nomination hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. Gina Raimondo, a former venture capitalist, would be responsible for promoting opportunities for economic growth domestically and overseas. U.S. companies need to get a license to sell sophisticated technology to companies on the list. Raimondo promised to give the Census Bureau more time to crunch the numbers for the 2020 census if needed. “I believe we need to take the politics out of the census and we need to rely on the experts,” Raimondo said.

“We are optimistic that things at the Census Bureau will be better. The Biden administration also has pledged to give the Census Bureau the time it needs to process the data. He will report to Biden's new pick to head the Commerce Department — which oversees the Census Bureau — Rhode Island Gov. Former Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt said he’s optimistic the final product will be as accurate as past censuses, especially now that Jarmin is at the helm. “The Census Bureau faced a number of challenges with the 2020 Census,” Schatz said in a letter.

President Donald Trump on Sunday let slip the target date for transmitting the apportionment numbers to Congress as the U.S. Census Bureau continued to work toward fixing data irregularities from its number-crunching efforts. “The Census Bureau is committed to fixing all anomalies and errors that it finds in order to produce complete and accurate results," said Deborah Stempowski, an assistant director at the Census Bureau, in a court filing last week. Gina Raimondo will be his nominee for Commerce Secretary, which would make her responsible for the final 2020 census numbers instead of current Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, if census data processing continues past Jan. 20. assertions ... can never be fully tested," coalition attorneys said in a court filing. The Department of Justice attorneys have said sanctions are inappropriate.

More than 360 people have tested positive in a growing COVID-19 outbreak south of Beijing in neighboring Hebei province. (Jin Haoyuan/Xinhua via AP)BEIJING — Chinese health authorities say scores more people have tested positive for coronavirus in Hebei province bordering on the capital Beijing. The National Health Commission said Monday that another 82 people had tested positive in Hebei and were showing symptoms. Around the country, another 36 people had tested positive without displaying symptoms, although it wasn’t immediately clear how many of those were in Hebei. The man who tested positive had no symptoms upon arrival but was hospitalized after his breathing became difficult.

– President-elect Joe Biden on Friday introduced the governor of Rhode Island, the mayor of Boston and a small-business advocate from California as the newest members of his economic team. Gina Raimondo as his choice to become commerce secretary, Mayor Marty Walsh as his candidate for labor secretary and Isabel Guzman as his pick to lead the Small Business Administration. As commerce secretary, Raimondo would help set the Biden administration's trade policy and promote U.S. opportunities for growth domestically and overseas. When the Democrat took the oath of office in 2018 for his second term, Biden presided over the inauguration. Biden's pick for the leader of the Small Business Administration, Guzman, is the current director of California's Office of the Small Business Advocate in the California governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

FILE - In this March 1, 2020 file photo, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo faces reporters during a news conference, in Providence, R.I. President-elect Joe Biden has picked Rhode Island Gov. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden has picked Rhode Island Gov. Her name had been floated for Biden's health secretary, though she said last month she would be staying in Rhode Island and continuing to focus on the coronavirus pandemic. She is a former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff at the Small Business Administration and a small business entrepreneur herself.

The nation's smallest state by area has reported 1,870 pandemic deaths so far, far fewer than many states but giving Rhode Island the nation's sixth highest COVID-19 death rate. Like other Northeastern states, Rhode Island was hit hard early in the pandemic. Clusters of cases among students were reported this fall at the University of Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University and Providence College. Like other states, Rhode Island limited indoor dining and customer capacity at many businesses in the spring and temporarily shuttered bar areas, gyms and theaters. Rhode Island has performed more than 2 million tests, more per resident than any other state, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

A woman waits for a Long Island Rail Road train in the Queens borough of New York as snow falls at the start of an oncoming snow storm, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. Snow was falling from northern Virginia to points north of New York City by late afternoon. “Our theme today ought to be, ‘If it’s not one thing, it’s another,’” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said as he gave residents storm guidance that's new this year — mask up if you help your neighbors shovel. In New York City, officials braced for the biggest storm in about three years.

WASHINGTON – The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):9:55 p.m.President-elect Joe Biden says it is important that President Donald Trump attend his inauguration only in the sense that it would demonstrate the nation’s commitment to a peaceful transfer of power between political rivals. ___8:45 p.m.Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have made a fresh push for President-elect Joe Biden to nominate New Mexico Gov. But $207.5 million came in after Election Day as Trump repeatedly – and falsely – claimed President-elect Joe Biden won due to voter fraud. Gina Raimondo has knocked down talk that she is in the running for President-elect Joe Biden’s secretary of health and human services. ___12:25 p.m.President-elect Joe Biden has tapped former Obama administration senior economic adviser Brian Deese to be director of the National Economic Council.

WASHINGTON – Up soon for President-elect Joe Biden: naming his top health care officials as the coronavirus pandemic rages. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus made a fresh push during a virtual conference call Thursday for Biden to nominate Lujan Grisham as HHS secretary. Biden is expected to announce his choice for HHS secretary next week. In the running for a top health job is former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, co-chair of Biden's coronavirus task force. Alongside his health secretary, Biden is expected to name a top-level White House adviser to coordinate the government’s extensive coronavirus response.

Jonathan Eshnaur lugged his 32-inch TV to a Thanksgiving Day family gathering at his sister’s home in Olathe, Kansas, so he could watch football outside. Health officials are urging people to remain vigilant until a vaccine becomes widely available, which is not expected to happen for at least a few months. Health officials on Monday added 4,425 confirmed infections and 87 hospitalizations to the state’s pandemic tally since Friday. Rhode Island’s hospitals reached their COVID-19 capacity on Monday, the same day the state’s two-week pause took effect. In suburban St. Louis, a hospital official warned that hospitalizations could double in two to three weeks if people don’t quarantine after Thanksgiving gatherings.

With the coronavirus surging out of control, the nations top public health agency advised Americans on Thursday, Nov. 19, not to travel for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household. And infection disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci sought to reassure the public that the vaccine is safe while still encouraging Americans to wear masks. The CDC's Thanksgiving warning was some of the firmest guidance yet from the government on curtailing traditional gatherings to fight the outbreak. The CDC issued the recommendations just one week before Thanksgiving, at a time when diagnosed infections, hospitalizations and deaths are skyrocketing across the country. “The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is at home with the people in your household,” she said.

There were 1,225 new confirmed COVID-19 cases increasing the state total to 60,873. ___WASHINGTON -- Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech will seek emergency government approval for their coronavirus vaccine, as the U.S. aims to begin administering doses by the end of the year. ___LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Kentucky reported a new daily record of 3,649 coronavirus cases Thursday amid warnings by Gov. He and public health experts are warily watching the number of patients hospitalized with the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus. ___WASHINGTON — Infection disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says he “wants to settle” concerns about a coronavirus vaccine as he returns to the White House podium for the first time in months.

(AP Photo/Susan E. Bouchard, File)Rhode Island will now be officially known as ... Rhode Island. Officially, Rhode Island was incorporated as The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations when it declared statehood in 1790. Although the word “Plantations” in Rhode Island’s name does not specifically refer to a place where slaves labored, the measure’s backers insisted it still offends, especially since Rhode Island’s ties to the slave trade are undeniably deep. The formal vote for House speaker, however, won’t happen until January, when the new legislature convenes. Mattiello rose to House speaker in 2014 after then-Speaker Gordon Fox resigned amid a public corruption investigation.

(AP Photo/Michael Probst)FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky reported a near-record number of new coronavirus cases Friday as the surging outbreak continued sending more people to hospitals, Gov. Total statewide COVID-19 cases surpassed 105,000, and the virus-related death toll reached at least 1,476. The new virus cases brought the number of cases statewide to 13,520, according to the Department of Health. The announcement comes as Kenya’s government says a second surge in coronavirus cases has begun in East Africa’s economic hub. The Czech Republic has 310,068 total confirmed cases, with 161,050 cases in the last two weeks.

Several teams in other leagues have had to postpone games because of outbreaks among players and staff. Ron DeSantis, alarmed by what he sees as draconian rules on college campuses, said he is drawing up a “bill of rights” for college students. The University of Wisconsin-Madison had seen more than 2,800 confirmed cases in students as of Friday. At Kansas State University, more than 2,200 students have been placed in quarantine or isolation since class began. But Mariscano said universities should expect college students to act like college students.

A procession of vehicles drive past photos of Detroit victims of COVID-19, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 on Belle Isle in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)DETROIT A Detroit island park was transformed Monday into a drive-thru COVID-19 victims memorial as policy makers across the U.S. moved forward with plans to reopen schools and public spaces. Hearses led processions around Belle Isle Park in the Detroit River, where more than 900 large photos of local coronavirus victims provided by relatives were turned into posters and staked into the ground. New COVID-19 cases were linked to travelers on vacation in Europe and the head of the World Health Organization cautioned against opening societies too quickly. Public Health Wales says it was contacting nearly 200 people who were on the Tui flight from the Greek island of Zante to Cardiff, Wales, last Tuesday.

WARWICK, R.I. There goes Rhode Island again always finding a way to get its tiny tentacles onto the national stage. The 30-second spot, aired Tuesday night during the convention's roll call as Rhode Island's Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden for president, was an instant social media sensation. "Rhode Island trended for hours overnight on Twitter. The backstory: Joseph McNamara, who chairs the state Democratic Party and appeared in the video, lobbied successfully in 2014 to make calamari Rhode Island's official state appetizer. Rhode Island has been a punch line since the Cianci era.

Casinos, gyms, movie theaters, and museums are among the businesses allowed to reopen in the state on Monday, under the third phase of Massachusetts Gov. Pay attention #Massachusetts #COVID19 is on the rise. Charlie Baker to consider rolling back his decision to move the state into the third phase of his reopening plan if case numbers dont improve. Gina Raimondo on Wednesday delayed the next phase in the states reopening plan by another month. Baker and other state officials stress Massachusetts' key virus measures remain far below those in other states, and below where Massachusetts stood when he began the phased reopening in mid-May.