The 9 most popular stories on VentureBeat in 2016

2016’s biggest technology stories span just about every category, from politics and media to security, transportation, and health — from Facebook and Twitter’s role in the U.S. election and Apple’s high-profile brawl with the FBI to Samsung’s exploding phones and Theranos’ exploding reputation. There’s also Yahoo’s record-breaking hacks, the rise of autonomous cars, and the brief, wonderful moment we all indulged in the drug that 

Eric Trump suspends his foundation’s operations

Eric Trump is suspending the operations of his charitable foundation — ceasing all fundraising — after facing questions about whether the foundation donors might get special access to members of the first family. “No new money will come into the ETF bank account,” Trump wrote in an email message on Thursday. That decision appeared to go […]

Obama administration tries to shut down visitor registry program before Trump takes office

The Obama administration on Thursday took the unprecedented step of creating obstacles to a widely-anticipated but poorly understood plan by President-elect Donald Trump to establish a Muslim ban or registry — by dismantling the registry system that already exists. The Department of Homeland Security issued a “final rule” to formally dismantle the regulatory framework for […]

The full transcript from the Trump transition team’s Thursday call to reporters

President-elect Trump's transition team is holding daily media calls to update the press on how the transition is progressing. We will be posting the transcripts from these calls after they happen. Here is the transcript from Thursday's call. On the call were Jason Miller, the transition team's communications director, and Sean Spicer, the Republican National […]

Trump names campaign manager Kellyanne Conway as White House counselor to the president

Kellyanne Conway, who was the first female campaign manager of a winning presidential campaign and has served as a senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, will join the White House as counselor to the president, Trump announced. Conway, who has publicly weighed whether to join the administration or lead an outside political group […]

With judge’s sign-off, Trump to pay $25 million in Trump U case before Inauguration Day

A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a deal in which President-elect Donald Trump will pay $25 million to settle fraud claims against his defunct Trump University real estate seminars days before he takes office. Judge Gonzalo Curiel, whom Trump had accused of being biased during the campaign because of his Mexican heritage, on […]

After meeting with Trump, Boeing CEO relents on cost of Air Force One

“Cancel the order!" Donald Trump, the incoming president of the United States, tweeted ominously about a contract with Boeing to build Air Force One, the state-of-the-art airplanes he and future presidents rely on. It took a matter of hours for Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg to get on the phone with the president-elect and smooth things over. […]

Trump on the future of proposed Muslim ban, registry: ‘You know my plans’

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to stand by his plans to establish a registry for Muslims and temporarily ban Muslim immigrants from the United States. Speaking outside of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump did not walk back the proposals after he was asked by a reporter whether he was rethinking or reevaluating them […]

Democratic senators from red states are vulnerable, but not necessarily because of Trump

After a tough but lucky 2016, when several incumbent senators held on despite polls suggesting that they would lose, Republicans are hoping for blowout wins in 2018. Democrats have 23 seats to defend, as well as the seats of independents Bernie Sanders and Angus King; Republicans just have eight to defend, and just one in a […]

Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, launches new consulting firm

Corey Lewandowski, the ousted but still-loyal former campaign manager to President-elect Donald Trump, announced Wednesday that he is launching a new consulting firm with Barry Bennett, the former campaign manager to Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson. In a news release, Lewandowski touted his ties to Trump, saying. “I will always be President-elect Trump’s biggest supporter” […]

The full transcript from the Trump transition team’s Wednesday call to reporters

President-elect Trump's transition team is holding daily media calls to update the press on how the transition is progressing. We will be posting the transcripts from these calls after they happen. Here is the transcript from Wednesday's call. On the call were Jason Miller, the transition team's communications director, and Sean Spicer, the Republican National […]

Trump sons will not attend high-dollar fundraiser that raised questions about access-peddling

Their decision came in the wake of revelations that the brothers had been listed as directors of a newly formed nonprofit putting on the function. But transition officials said their names had been used without their permission.

NARAL president won’t run for DNC chair

Ilyse Hogue, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, announced this morning that she would not be joining the crowded race to lead the Democratic National Committee. “I believe we need not just a strong party and party leader, but also equally strong leadership outside the party structure,” Hogue wrote in a Medium post explaining her […]

The full transcript from the Trump transition team’s Tuesday call to reporters

President-elect Trump's transition team is holding daily media calls to update the press on how the transition is progressing. We will be posting the transcripts from these calls after they happen. Here is the transcript from Tuesday's call. On the call were Jason Miller, the transition team's communications director, and Sean Spicer, the Republican National […]

Trump says on Twitter that Bill Clinton ‘doesn’t know much’ about winning swing states

President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter Tuesday morning to spar with Bill Clinton — who recently was quoted in a local New York state newspaper saying that Trump “doesn’t know much” -- claiming that the former president failed to get voters out in crucial swing states for his wife’s campaign. The Record Review, a weekly […]

White House political director David Simas joins Obama Foundation as CEO

David Simas, who directs the White House's office of political strategy and outreach, will join the Obama Foundation as its CEO, foundation officials announced Monday. Simas, a native of Taunton, Mass., has served as President Obama's top political aide since early 2014. The fact that he is helping establish his presidential center in Chicago provides the […]

Pennsylvania’s electors, greeted by protesters, vote for Trump

HARRISBURG, Pa. – A few hours before Donald Trump was awarded Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes, Scott Greges stood at the steps of the State Capitol, in full Russian military regalia. He’d ordered the costume in Alexandria, Va., on Thursday, and made the two-hour drive north with a car full of puppets and giant masks. At […]

The full transcript from the Trump transition team’s Monday call to reporters

President-elect Trump's transition team is holding daily media calls to update the press on how the transition is progressing. We will be posting the transcripts from these calls after they happen. Here is the transcript from Monday's call. On the call was Jason Miller, the transition team's communications director. OPERATOR: Good day, and welcome to […]

Trump picks Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a conservative Republican and a leading advocate for deep spending cuts, as budget director

The South Carolina congressman is President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget. This is a developing story. It will be updated.  

Trump tries to calm his ‘vicious, violent, screaming’ supporters

ORLANDO – It has been 39 days since Donald Trump has had to worry about Hillary Clinton, but his supporters can’t seem to stop talking about her. Even before Trump took the stage at a boisterous Friday evening rally here, the president-elect’s introductory speakers referenced his former Democratic opponent – and the crowd of thousands, […]

DNC chair candidates race into North Carolina fight

The leading candidates to lead the Democratic National Committee in 2017 both leapt into the fray over North Carolina's Republican legislature, which has passed two bills designed to devolve power away from incoming Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat. In an afternoon conference call, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) described the GOP push as a coup, and […]

Transcript: Obama’s end-of-year news conference on Syria, Russian hacking and more

President Obama may hold additional availability events before leaving office on Jan. 20 and may deliver some sort of farewell address, but today's news conference offers him one of the last chances to lay out the case for what he's accomplished in office. Here's what he said: OBAMA: All right, everybody. Good afternoon. This is […]

The full transcript from the Trump transition team’s Friday call to reporters

President-elect Trump's transition team is holding daily media calls to update the press on how the transition is progressing. We will be posting the transcripts from these calls after they happen. Here is the transcript from Friday's call. On the call were Jason Miller, the transition team's communications director, and Sean Spicer, the Republican National […]

Obama to face reporters Friday at his final year-end news conference

President Obama will hold his final year-end news conference Friday, where he will field a wide range of questions from reporters before leaving with his family for their annual vacation in Hawaii. The president traditionally begins the news conference by summarizing his administration's performance over the past year, and aides said he would do so again Friday […]

EU DPAs issue GDPR guidance on data portability, DPOs and lead authority

EU DPAs issue GDPR guidance on data portability, DPOs and lead authority

Obama says ‘we will’ retaliate against Russia for election hacking

Obama said the United States will retaliate against Russia over its malicious cyberactivity during this year's election, in an interview that will air Friday on National Public Radio. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action," the president […]

Trump calls Obama’s press secretary ‘foolish’ and ‘so bad’ during Pennsylvania rally

HERSHEY, Pa. -- Even as he praised President Obama for his help with the transition, President-elect Donald Trump took aim Thursday at White House press secretary Josh Earnest, calling him “foolish,” “so bad” and incapable of delivering a message. Trump’s broadside came during remarks here at the latest stop on a “thank-you” tour that is […]

Labor Secretary Tom Perez officially launches DNC bid

Labor Secretary Tom Perez joined the race to lead the Democratic National Committee today, joining voting members of the DNC on a conference call to argue that his executive experience and organizing background made him uniquely qualified. "The Democratic Party is a complex organization," Perez said. "We had a lot of experience in building one […]

The full transcript from the Trump transition team’s Thursday call to reporters

President-elect Trump's transition team is holding daily media calls to update the press on how the transition is progressing. We will be posting the transcripts from these calls after they happen. Here is the transcript from Thursday's call. On the call were Jason Miller, the transition team's communications director, and Sean Spicer, the Republican National […]

DP Minister: Government will consult on GDPR derogations

DP Minister: Government will consult on GDPR derogations

House conservatives want Trump to undo regulations on climate, FDA, Uber

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the incoming chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, used a meeting with Donald Trump to deliver a list of 232 regulations that the incoming president could repeal immediately. “We felt like it was important to put together a real working document,” Meadows told CNN. The list, shared by Meadows’s office, […]

Ellison calls for ‘3,007-county strategy’ in DNC bid

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) rallied with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday night, taking over a room of the American Federation of Teachers to pitch his "bottom-up" campaign to run the Democratic National Committee. "We need a 3,007-county strategy. We need a town strategy. We need a precinct strategy," said Ellison, as Sanders and AFT […]

Michigan GOP chair tapped to lead RNC

Ronna Romney McDaniel, the Michigan GOP chair who this year oversaw the state's first Republican presidential victory since the 1980s, will lead the Republican National Committee once current chairman Reince Priebus joins Donald Trump's White House. "Ronna has been extremely loyal to our movement and her efforts were critical to our tremendous victory in Michigan, […]

GOP voters warm to Russia, Putin, WikiLeaks, poll finds

After Donald Trump seized the Republican presidential nomination, pollsters found the party's voters shifting their opinions on trade to match up with the candidate. On Wednesday, new polling by YouGov finds a similar phenomenon moving Republican views of WikiLeaks and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the party's voters increasingly fond of both. The Economist/YouGov poll, […]

The full transcript from the Trump transition team’s Wednesday call to reporters

President-elect Trump's transition team is holding daily media calls to update the press on how the transition is progressing. We will be posting the transcripts from these calls after they happen. Here is the transcript from Wednesday's call. On the phone were transition team communications director Jason Miller and RNC communications director Sean Spicer. OPERATOR: […]

Leaked EU proposal: Regulation for the revision of e-Privacy Directive

Leaked EU proposal: Regulation for the revision of e-Privacy Directive

Trump’s supporters admonish him for Twitter use but give him wide berth to govern

CLEVELAND -- As Donald Trump assembles his Cabinet and prepares to enact his agenda, some supporters who put him in office are giving him wide latitude to bring “drastic change” to their lives. But they say that the president-elect needs to quickly adjust to the gravity of the office, namely by giving up a favorite tool: Twitter. […]

Trump praises Tillerson’s relationships with foreign leaders ‘we don’t get along with’

WEST ALLIS, Wis. -- President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday touted his new pick for secretary of state, telling a crowd at a rally here that a key to the selection of Rex Tillerson, the chief executive of ExxonMobil, was the relationships he has forged with sometimes-hostile world leaders. “You know, Rex is friendly with many […]

The full transcript from the Trump transition team’s Tuesday call to reporters

President-elect Trump's transition team is holding daily media calls to update the press on how the transition is progressing. We will be posting the transcripts from these calls after they happen. Here is the transcript from Tuesday's call. On the phone were transition team communications director Jason Miller and RNC communications director Sean Spicer. OPERATOR: […]

Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner, demands extending FOI to companies providing services to the public sector

Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner, demands extending FOI to companies providing services to the public sector