Regional Governments Team Up to Lure Amazon to Birmingham

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2017/09/BringA2B.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:785;s:6:"height";i:691;s:4:"file";s:20:"2017/09/BringA2B.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:12:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-336x296.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:296;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-771x679.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:679;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-768x676.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:676;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:18:"BringA2B-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-353x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:353;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-301x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:301;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"BringA2B-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

)
1662432004 
1506358113

Government and corporate leaders from throughout Jefferson County announced a joint effort today to lure a proposed Amazon headquarters to Birmingham.

The Seattle-based internet giant is accepting site proposals for its second headquarters – HQ2, and applications are due by Oct. 19. Construction will cost over $5 billion, according to a company statement. The facility is expected to generate 50,000 jobs.

Birmingham Mayor William Bell said the city and the region offer a quality of life that would appeal to Amazon.

The company says it’s looking for a North American site in a metro area of more than a million people with a stable and business-friendly environment, the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent, and the willingness to think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options. An estimated 1.1 million people live in the Birmingham-Hoover metro area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

A story in The New York Times earlier this month discussed potential sites for the Amazon headquarters. A decision on the location for Amazon HQ2 is expected next year.

 

Anthropic settles with authors in first-of-its-kind AI copyright infringement lawsuit

A U.S. district court is scheduled to consider whether to approve the settlement next week, in a case that marked the first substantive decision on how fair use applies to generative AI systems.

Under Trump, the Federal Trade Commission is abandoning its ban on noncompetes

Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson has called his agency's rule banning noncompetes unconstitutional. Still, he says protecting workers against noncompetes remains a priority.

Anthropic to pay authors $1.5B to settle lawsuit over pirated chatbot training material

The artificial intelligence company Anthropic has agreed to pay authors $3,000 per book in a landmark settlement over pirated chatbot training material.

You can trust the jobs report, Labor Department workers urge public

A strongly-worded statement from Bureau of Labor Statistics workers comes a month after President Trump attacked the integrity of the jobs numbers they release monthly.

Headed to the FBI, Missouri’s Andrew Bailey opposed abortion, backed Trump

Andrew Bailey rose quickly to be state attorney general of Missouri where he built a record for fighting abortion and defending Donald Trump. Now he's a co-deputy director of the FBI.

How Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans are reacting to Trump’s National Guard threats

Even after a federal court ruled his use of the National Guard in LA was illegal, the president has weighed sending troops to Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans. Here's where things stand in those cities.

More Front Page Coverage