Trump to Push Big Tech to Fund New Power Plants

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Luke Vargas (0:33)

Amid growing resistance to new data centers and fears of pricier electricity, President Trump pushes tech companies to pay for new power plants. Plus, sidelined by Washington, Canada's leader finds a friend in China.

Mark Carney (0:48)

We must be ambitious. We must work at speed and scale to find new partners, to diversify our trade, and attract unprecedented levels of investment in our country.

Luke Vargas (0:58)

And why potential US strikes on Iran might not help anti-regime protesters there. It's Friday, January 16th. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.

In an unprecedented move, the Trump administration is set to propose that America's largest grid operator, PJM, hold an emergency auction in which tech companies would bid on 15-year contracts for new power plants. That would effectively formalize a bring-your-own-power approach to data center construction that's already taken hold across much of the US and which the administration has begun to embrace. In October, Energy Secretary Chris Wright instructed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to draft rules giving it oversight of how giant data centers connect to the grid, a process typically overseen by states. Officials argue that the change could get data centers connected to the grid faster and easier, though some state regulators are pushing back, saying the plan encroaches on their authority. Canada and China are setting aside years of frosty relations and pledging to work closer on agriculture, energy and finance. Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to Beijing this week is being seen as Ottawa's pivot away from the United States. Peter Saidel is the Journal's Asia political editor. It can be risky, Peter, to read too much into a bilateral meeting, but the significance of this visit seems pretty straightforward. Tell us why you've been tracking this.

Peter Saidel (2:31)

Well, it's been closely watched because of the sort of decaying relationship between Canada and the US. And Carney has said that the close relationship with the US as it once was is now over and that Canada needs to find new partners. It's also significant from a China perspective in that China's sort of on a global charm offensive to step into the breach where US partners are feeling spurned by Trump and are looking for other relationships around the world.

Luke Vargas (3:05)

Peter, the details are of course still coming in here, but it sounds like there is some substance to this. Carney's saying that Chinese EVs are going to be allowed into the Canadian market. This is something he hopes leads to Chinese investment in Canada's auto and clean energy sectors. And meanwhile, Canadian farmers are going to be getting more access into the Chinese market.

Peter Saidel (3:24)

Yes, that's really significant because the products you mentioned have been significant obstacles. On both sides, Canada's kept 100% tariff on Chinese EVs and Canada's canola farmers are keen to get into the Chinese market where there's a 76% tariff. So, any progress there is both significant for Canada's economy and symbolic for a sort of progress and a trade relationship when Canada's relationship with the US is on the wane. It's also important to recognize that China is Canada's number two trading partner. Its two-way trade is about $80 billion over the past 12 months, whereas with the US it's $1 trillion during that period. So, China can't really replace the US as a trading partner, but it can give a boost to Canada.

Luke Vargas (4:19)

That was Journal Asia political editor Peter Saidel. Back in Washington, President Trump has the Nobel Peace Prize he's long coveted, sort of.

Maria Carina Machado (4:28)

I presented the President of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Luke Vargas (4:37)

That was Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Carina Machado, who made that gesture yesterday during a visit to the White House, but who emerged with no public backing from Trump. On social media, the president called Machado a wonderful woman who's been through so much. But the Trump administration says it will continue to work with Venezuela's acting president, Delci Rodriguez, who was Nicolas Maduro's deputy. Machado's previous offer to share her prize with Trump had provoked rare public clarification from the Nobel Committee that the award can't be transferred to another person. And we are exclusively reporting that the Food and Drug Administration has quietly removed several web pages saying that cell phones pose no health risks. That comes as the Department of Health and Human Services launches a new study on cell phone radiation. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and some of his allies have long pointed to mobile phones as a potential source of illnesses, including cancer, though many mainstream scientific institutions, including the FDA, previously concluded there isn't adequate proof to link health problems to wireless devices. An HHS spokesperson confirmed the removal was intended to clear old conclusions while the agency works to identify potential research gaps. Coming up, correspondent Suna Rasmussen discusses the unpredictable consequences of potential US strikes on Iran. Plus, look at the day's top markets news and the argument that dressing up leads to better behavior on airplanes. That's after the break.