Pentagon Hands Microsoft $10B Cloud Computing Contract, Snubs Amazon

Beto O’Rourke: If Anti-Gun Law Passes, Americans Will ‘Turn in Their’ Firearms

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) said American gun owners will turn over their legally-purchased firearms to the government if a law is passed banning those guns. “If we’re able to pass mandatory buybacks and I’m able to sign that into law, then I fully expect our fellow Americans to turn in their AR-15s and their AK-47s,” O’Rourke told CBS on Oct. 24. O’Rourke has repeatedly referred to his plan to ban so-called military-style weapons as buybacks, though gun owners don’t purchase guns from the government. O’Rourke said he’d get the money to pay people to surrender their firearms by imposing a new tax on gun manufacturers. “I think that a mandatory buyback can be financed with a surcharge that would be paid by gun manufacturers,” O’Rourke said. “Those who are…

The Pentagon has awarded Microsoft a $10 billion cloud computing contract called JEDI.

The contentious bidding process for the contract pitted Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle, among others, against one another.

Bidding for the huge government contract has attracted more attention than usual, sparked by speculation early in the process that Amazon would be awarded the deal. Tech giants Oracle and IBM pushed back with their own bids. Oracle also challenged the bid process in federal court, but lost.

The resulting system will store and process vast amounts of classified data, allowing the U.S. military to use artificial intelligence to speed up its war planning and fighting capabilities.

The Department of Defense emphasized in an announcement that the process was fair and followed procurement guidelines.

Over the last year, Microsoft has positioned itself as a friend to the U.S. military. President Brad Smith wrote last fall that Microsoft has long supplied technology to the military and would continue to do so, despite pushback from employees.

Microsoft, Amazon, Google and other tech giants have faced criticism from their own employees about doing business with the government, especially on military and immigration-related projects.

Microsoft and Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Top Senate Democrats Tell Hillary Clinton to Move On: ‘Time for Another Nominee’

After news reports suggested Hillary Clinton might run for president, her former Senate colleagues said she should stay put. “She’s done a great service to our country and public service, and I supported her wholeheartedly, but I believe it’s time for another nominee,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), reported Politico on Thursday. “I don’t think it would be good for her,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). “She’s been through this war once. The Republicans have made a target out of her for 30 years and she’s still going to [be] that same target. I just think it would be tough.” “That would be a mistake,” claimed Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). He repeated: “That would be a mistake.” “Absolutely not,” added Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). “We have a lot…