The White House is compiling a shortlist of priority candidates to renominate in 2022 (see our bulletin here), an official in the executive office confirmed Wednesday. This will include “important, noncontroversial” candidates to be sent to the Senate as soon as possible, a former federal official said. The administration “will have more in the coming weeks on who is on the list,” the White House official said.
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning Monday of the “potential for a rapid increase” in U.S. COVID-19 infections from the new omicron variant, CNET withdrew from CES 2022 as an in-person participant. A news bulletin is here. Rising volume of COVID-19 and omicron cases sparked CNET’s parent company, Red Ventures, to “pause travel for all U.S.-based employees through mid-January,” emailed a spokesperson. CNET “will now shift our CES focus to remote coverage,” said the spokesperson, continuing to report "from a remote setting.” CTA didn’t comment Tuesday. Red Ventures completed its $500 million CNET buy from ViacomCBS in October 2020 (see 2010300029).
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning Monday of the “potential for a rapid increase” in U.S. COVID-19 infections from the new omicron variant, CNET’s withdrawal from CES 2022 as an in-person participant bears watching for whether it's an isolated event or the start of a larger trend. See our news bulletin here. The rising volume of COVID-19 and omicron cases sparked CNET’s parent company, Red Ventures, to “pause travel for all U.S.-based employees through mid-January,” emailed a spokesperson. Red Ventures completed its $500 million CNET buy from ViacomCBS in October 2020 (see 2010300029). CNET “will now shift our CES focus to remote coverage,” said the spokesperson. “CNET will continue to report on new consumer and tech products and developments, talk to industry leaders, engage with global brands, and highlight emerging trends from a remote setting.” CTA didn’t respond to requests for comment Tuesday. To some CES 2022 exhibitors, the emergence and rapid spread of the omicron variant appeared to cast a pall over the impending show as November turned into December. “I do wonder if we will see some big changes in the show’s plans this week,” emailed one exhibitor Monday. “Anecdotally, the groundswell of interest in an in-person show that we felt ahead of Thanksgiving seems to be rapidly receding." CTA at least is "well positioned to pivot to a virtual-only show if they must,” said the exhibitor. CTA shows little public appetite for retreating to a digital-only CES 2022, despite CDC’s warning about omicron, now responsible for about 75% of new U.S. COVID-19 cases."Excitement Builds for CES 2022," headlined CTA's announcement Friday of new health and safety protocols for the show.
CNET is participating in CES 2022, “just not in person,” emailed a spokesperson Monday evening. “We are a media partner and will continue to cover the show remotely,” she said. With COVID-19 and its omicron variant numbers on the rise, and “keeping employee and community safety top of mind,” CNET's parent company, Red Ventures, decided to “pause travel for all U.S.-based employees through mid-January,” she said. “CNET will now shift our CES focus to remote coverage.”
With settlement talks underway in a Lumen service quality probe (see 2106290048), the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission removed an item on next steps from its Dec. 22 meeting agenda. The state attorney general’s office sought delay Wednesday in docket C-20-432. The AG office, state Commerce Department, Communications Workers of America and Lumen plan to craft a settlement for PUC approval, with the first preliminary meeting set for Thursday, wrote Assistant AG Kristin Berkland: Parties will update the commission in about 60 days and every 30 days thereafter.
A spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the government "is concerned with Canada’s announcement that it will continue to pursue a unilateral Digital Service Tax." The spokesman said that Canada agreed at the G-20 to pause new digital services taxes until international tax laws change how countries can tax non-residential corporations that provide services. "Canada’s proposed DST would create the possibility of significant retroactive tax liabilities with immediate consequences for U.S. companies. If Canada adopts a DST, USTR would examine all options, including under our trade agreements and domestic statutes.”
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An FCC Further NPRM on gateway providers and curbing illegal robocalls got a mixed reaction in comments posted through Monday in docket 17-59. Several questioned whether the proposed rules are duplicative. Most backed ending the foreign provider prohibition, which the commission paused enforcement on during the proceeding.
Iowa Utilities Board Chair Geri Huser pushed back on wireless industry concerns that the state commission is angling to expand its telecom authority through draft statutory changes that the IUB plans to propose to the legislature. At the board’s virtual workshop Monday, Lumen and wireless officials repeated some of their legal and policy concerns from written comments about possibly adding wireless and interconnected VoIP to the state definition of telecom service provider (see 2112010048).
A U.S. District Court in Austin judge denied a Texas motion to stay, pending appeal, the court’s preliminary injunction on the state’s social media law (see 2112070044). “The State largely rehashes the same arguments this Court rejected in its Order,” Judge Robert Pitman wrote Thursday in case 1:21-cv-00840. Pitman disagreed with Texas that his injunction was too broad. The judge granted a motion by plaintiffs NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association to stay proceedings during the state’s appeal at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.