Amazon Is in Talks to Invest Up to $50 Billion in OpenAI’s Latest Funding Round

Jessica Mendoza (0:00)

Hey, this is Jessica Mendoza, host of The Journal Podcast, our show about money, business, and power. If you're looking for more deeply reported stories like we share every day, consider becoming a subscriber to The Wall Street Journal. Visit subscribe.wsj.com/thejournal, all lowercase, to subscribe now.

Alex Ossola (0:23)

Can lawmakers avoid another government shutdown? President Trump says there's a deal in the works. Plus, the White House border czar says he's working on drawing down immigration officers in Minneapolis.

Tom Homan (0:34)

I didn't come to Minnesota for photo ops or headlines. You haven't seen me. I came here to seek solutions. And that's what we're going to do.

Alex Ossola (0:43)

And The Journal is exclusively reporting that Amazon is in talks to invest up to $50 billion in open AI. It's Thursday, January 29th. I'm Alex Ossola for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. In Minneapolis, White House border czar, Tom Homan, has taken over the immigration operation. After a surge of law enforcement officers and weeks of clashes with protesters on Minneapolis streets that led to the deaths of two Americans, Homan signaled a change in tone and tactics. He said today that he was working on a plan to begin reducing the federal law enforcement presence in the city.

Tom Homan (1:27)

What we've been working on is making this operation safer, more efficient by the book.

Alex Ossola (1:35)

Homan said the federal approach in Minneapolis hadn't been perfect.

Tom Homan (1:39)

President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made. That's exactly what I'm doing here.

Alex Ossola (1:48)

He added that the drawdown would depend on an ability to work more closely with local authorities. And Michelle Hackman, who covers immigration for the journal, says it remains to be seen how different the operations under Homan will look.

Michelle Hackman (1:59)

Our sources are telling us that we should read this as a pretty clear turnaround in strategy. Tom Homan was long a voice in the administration of let's keep ICE operations targeted at specific people, let's go after mainly criminals. And that was a less popular view for a while. What you saw in Minnesota was what the administration was going for, these big, attention-grabbing sorts of operations. I think what we're going to see are fewer of these large street operations, of these roving patrols of agents looking for people to arrest. I don't necessarily think it means ICE is going to stop arresting people in Minneapolis.

Alex Ossola (2:41)

Speaking at a conference of mayors in Washington today, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for an end to the aggressive immigration enforcement push across the US.

Jacob Frey (2:50)

Operation Metro Surge needs to end. This kind of conduct and siege needs to stop, not just in Minneapolis. It needs to stop nationwide.

Alex Ossola (3:02)

There were signs that the government was pulling back in other parts of the country, like in Maine. That state Senator Susan Collins, a Republican who is up for re-election, said today that, at her urging, ICE had stopped its heightened operations in the state. Meanwhile, back in Washington, President Trump said the White House was moving toward a deal with Senate Democrats that could stop a partial government shutdown.

Tom Homan (3:23)

Hopefully we won't have a shutdown.

Chuck Schumer (3:25)

We're working on that right now. I think we're getting close. The Democrats, I don't believe, want to see it either.

Alex Ossola (3:30)

The shutdown deadline is tomorrow evening. But after the killing of Alex Predde in Minneapolis, Democrats don't want to pass a $1.3 billion funding package because it funds immigration enforcement. And they want new restrictions, like mandating the use of body cameras to be part of the law. Here's Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaking on the Senate floor today.

Chuck Schumer (3:50)

Enough is enough. What ICE is doing outside the law is state-sanctioned thuggery, and it must stop.

Alex Ossola (4:00)

He said Congress had the, quote, authority and the moral obligation to act. A vote on the full spending package failed this afternoon in the Senate. Deal talks center around taking the funding for homeland security out of that bill, instead passing a short-term measure and later negotiating some restrictions on immigration enforcement. But as of today, it wasn't clear whether that would happen. Coming up, why ultra-high-end real estate is booming despite a housing market slump, and why drug makers are making some medicines cheaper that's after the break. Hey, this is Alex from What's News. Thanks so much for being a listener of the show. If you're looking for more insights and tools to understand the latest headlines, consider becoming a subscriber to The Wall Street Journal. Visit subscribe.wsj.com/what'snews to subscribe now.