Ray Blanco:

Trump Signs Executive Order To Reclassify Marijuana By Removing It From Schedule I

Marijuana is being federally rescheduled from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Thursday. The directive also aims to address federal hemp laws to promote access to full-spectrum CBD that could be covered under federal health insurance plans.

“We have people begging for me to do this, people that are in great pain for decades,” Trump said. “This action has been requested by American patients suffering from extreme pain, incurable diseases, aggressive cancers, seizure disorders, neurological problems and more."

This marks one of the most significant developments in federal marijuana policy since its prohibition a half a century ago, with a Schedule III reclassification recognizing that marijuana has medical value and a lower abuse potential compared to other Schedule I drugs like heroin.

Rescheduling will not federally legalize cannabis. But the policy change will allow state-licensed marijuana businesses to take federal tax deductions they’ve been deprived of under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. It will also remove certain research barriers applied to Schedule I drugs.

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Enrique Abeyta:

TSMC Targets 2027 Start For Advanced Chip Output In Arizona

Taiwan Semiconductor is set to begin moving chipmaking tools into its second Arizona fab around summer 2026, positioning the plant to start 3-nanometer production in 2027, Nikkei Asia reports. 

Sources say the equipment move is expected in the July–September quarter next year, accelerating a project previously slated to come online in 2028 and aligning with Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei’s push to speed up U.S. output by at least “several quarters.”

Installing tools is a major milestone, but industry executives told Nikkei Asia that qualifying production lines and ramping output can take up to a year – and longer for advanced nodes that involve more than 1,000 process steps and extensive transfer and verification work.

TSMC’s first advanced overseas fab in Arizona is already producing chips for Apple and Nvidia’s Blackwell AI processors. Once the $165 billion Arizona buildout is complete – five fabs, two advanced packaging plants and an R&D center – the company expects roughly 30% of its most advanced chips to be made in the U.S.

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Chris Campbell:

Paralyzed Man Controls Robots With Mind As China Outpaces Elon Musk Vision

In a major step for brain-computer interface research, Chinese scientists have allegedly shown that a person with complete paralysis can once again interact with the world using only brain signals.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed on December 17 that a man with a high-level spinal cord injury can control smart wheelchairs, robotic dogs, and digital devices through a fully implanted, wireless brain interface. The breakthrough marks the first time such technology has delivered stable, real-world control across multiple robotic systems.

The work was announced by the Centre for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, known as CEBSIT, and demonstrates a leap beyond laboratory tests. The patient is not only mobile but also employed, carrying out paid remote work without moving his body below the neck.

The achievement mirrors the vision behind Elon Musk’s Telepathy concept at Neuralink, but with a crucial difference. While Neuralink’s trials are still focused on basic interactions like games and simple tasks, the Chinese system has already reached daily life use.

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