Bessent says U.S. could sanction China over AI model 'theft' - CNBC

Scott Bessent invoked "The Silence of the Lambs" while discussing government regulation of AI. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had some things to say about pro-regulation tech leaders that might go down better with fava beans and a nice Chianti. During a Saturday appearance on "The Axios Show," Bessent compared CEOs who want the government to slap guardrails on AI to a reviled cinematic figure. "I mean, it's kind of like Hannibal Lecter: Stop me before I kill again," Bessent said. "This alarmism without solutions by some of the AI community — that's not leadership. "Bessent invoked "The Silence of the Lambs" serial killer while saying that AI bosses who want Washington to erect guardrails for the tech they are building should slow down development themselves without government intervention. Bessent's comments are in line with the White House's response to the chorus of AI leaders who last month called for an organized slowdown among AI companies, citing fears that their technology is getting out of control. Some, like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, asked the US government to step in and regulate the companies.

The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador has certified a class action on behalf of passengers on board Air Canada Flight AC 2259 which landed hard at Halifax in December of 2025 after the plane’s landing gear collapsed. The flight had taken off from St. John’s International earlier that evening, and officials at YYT later confirmed that debris was found on one of its runways after the flight took off. They wouldn’t say at the time whether the discovery was related to the incident at Halifax. The class action names Air Canada, Provincial Aerospace Ltd, St. John’s International Airport Authority and the Halifax International Airport Authority, all of whom have consented to certification. Stephen Barnes of Bob Buckingham Law says they want to understand what went wrong that night and make sure that passengers have an opportunity to be fairly compensated for what they went through. The case will examine whether the defendants met their responsibilities for aircraft safety, runway safety and emergency response, and whether any failures caused injury or loss to passengers.