10B

Aug. 1 (UPI) — Denver-based software firm Palantir Technologies secured a 10-year contract worth up to $10 billion to improve the U.S. Army’s military readiness and efficiency with artificial intelligence.

Palantir specializes in developing software that enables the use of AI to make real-time decisions, such as those that the U.S. Army could face in the future.

The contract supports the Army’s sustained capability growth and enhances its ability to meet operational warfighting needs with proven [and] commercially available AI technologies, it said in an online announcement on Thursday.

“This enterprise agreement represents a pivotal step in the Army’s commitment to modernizing our capabilities while being fiscally responsible,” Army Chief Information Officer Leo Garciga said.

The enterprise agreement with Palantir will help the Army to save money while improving its operational efficiency and military readiness through a “comprehensive framework for the Army’s future software and data needs,” according to the announcement.

“By streamlining our procurement processes and leveraging enterprise-level discounts, we are not only enhancing our operational effectiveness but also maximizing our buying power,” Garciga added.

The Army will consolidate 15 prime contracts and 60 related contracts into one enterprise agreement with Palantir, which accelerates the delivery of proven commercial software to the Army’s military units.

“This streamlined approach reduces procurement timelines, ensuring soldiers have rapid access to cutting-edge data integration, analytics and AI tools,” according to the Army.

The contract also saves money by eliminating contract and pass-through fees, while reducing procurement timelines.

The contract enables the Army and other Defense Department to pay up to $10 billion over 10 years to obtain Palantir products, but it does not require the military to spend the full $10 billion.

Palantir earlier this year provided the Army with two AI-powered systems as part of a $178 million contract, according to a CNBC news report.

The Defense Department in May also increased to $795 million an existing contract with Maven Smart Systems to improve the military’s AI capabilities.

July 19 (UPI) — President Donald Trump sued the Wall Street Journal and its parent company, seeking at least $10 billion in damages, after the newspaper published an article one day earlier about a letter Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein before the financier was convicted of sex crimes.

The 18-page lawsuit, which was filed Friday in the Southern District of Florida in Miami’s division, names the two reporters, The Wall Street Journal, as well as Dow Jones, News Corp. and Rupert Murdoch, who controls the company, and New Corp’s CEO Robert Thomson.

“Defendants concocted this story to malign President Trump’s character and integrity and deceptively portray him in a false light,” the lawsuit, signed by Alejandro Brito of the Ian Michael law firm in Coral Gables, reads.

“We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit,” a Dow Jones spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal, which noted that News Corp did not respond to its request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump sent Epstein a letter for his 50th birthday consisting of text in the outline of a naked woman over her signature. As noted in the filing, the newspaper did not publish the letter.

The letter was one of several published in a leather-bound album of birthday messages Epstein received as a gift that is reportedly among documents examined by the Justice Department several years ago.

“The reason for those failures is because no authentic letter or drawing exists,” Trump’s lawyer wrote in the lawsuit.

On Friday night, Trump posted on Truth Social: “We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS ‘article’ in the useless ‘rag’ that is, The Wall Street Journal. ….

“This lawsuit is filed not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media. I hope Rupert and his ‘friends’ are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to provide in this case. Thank you for your attention to this matter. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

On his Truth Social account on Thursday, Trump claimed the letter was fake, and said “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words,” threatening to sue.

“The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued,” the president posted Thursday.

He noted that Murdoch told him “he would take care to it. But, obviously, did not have the power to do it.”

Trump has been pressured by his Make America Great Again base and Democrats to release files on Epstein, of which the grand jury testimony is a small portion.

Attorney General Palm Bondi said earlier this month in a memo said that much of the information is under legal seal but that there is “no incriminating ‘client list'” in the files and that “there was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.”

On Thursday, Trump ordered grand jury testimony to be released by DOJ with victims’ names likely redacted.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in his Manhattan jail cell as he was awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges in connection with allegations of running a child sex-trafficking ring. The memo also confirmed he died by suicide with surveillance video included through three minutes were missing.