The White House this week issued a memorandum on advancing U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence, directing federal agencies to take “concrete and impactful steps” to make sure the U.S. remains at the forefront of AI development and that the technology helps instead of harms national security. The memo calls on the Commerce Department, the State Department, the Office of Science and Technology Policy and other agencies to “improve the security and diversity of chip supply chains,” according to a fact sheet, and to protect advanced AI technologies from foreign theft.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an alert Oct. 23 to help financial institutions uncover illegal activity by Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization based in Lebanon.

The State Department approved a possible military sale to Poland for $7.3 billion of an "F-16 Viper Midlife Upgrade" and related elements of logistics and program support, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Oct. 23. The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin.

The University of Kentucky this week launched a new site to provide export control and sanctions guidance to students, researchers and other members of the school, warning that there are “severe consequences to noncompliance,” including fines and possible prison time. The site covers the basics of export controls, including which countries are subject to embargoes; research guidance; information on international shipping, travel and collaboration; compliance training; a set of FAQs; and more.

The Federal Maritime Commission’s enforcement arm is investigating two cases involving potentially unlawful or unfair maritime shipping practices, including one that hasn’t yet been made public, said John Crews, director of the FMC’s Bureau of Enforcement, Investigations and Compliance.

The State Department approved a possible military sale to Japan for $360 million of "Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2B Tactical Missiles" and related equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said last week. The principal contractor will be RTX Corp.

The State Department approved a possible military sale to the Netherlands for $1.42 billion of radio equipment and related equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said last week. The principal contractor will be L3Harris Global Communications.

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a minor correction this week to a September final rule that codified a range of recent updates to its administrative enforcement policies, including how the agency resolves voluntary self-disclosures and how it assesses penalty amounts (see 2409120017). BIS said that rule “contained an error in an amendatory instruction” that incorrectly revised wording in the wrong paragraph. “This document corrects that error,” BIS said. The changes take effect Oct. 17.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is “actively recruiting” members to join its Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee, Tara Gonzalez, a BIS senior policy adviser, said on LinkedIn this week. The committee gives feedback and recommendations to BIS as the agency pursues new controls on emerging dual-use technologies. BIS formally solicited new members for its various TACs in April, and those applications were due June 11 (see 2404110005).

The State Department recently approved three possible military sales to Saudi Arabia and one to the United Arab Emirates, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced last week.