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WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, July 21 (Reuters) - AI companies including OpenAI, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Meta Platforms (META.O) have made voluntary commitments to the White House to implement measures such as watermarking AI-generated content to help make the technology safer, the Biden administration said.

The companies - which also include Anthropic, Inflection, Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and OpenAI partner Microsoft (MSFT.O) - pledged to thoroughly test systems before releasing them and share information about how to reduce risks and invest in cybersecurity.

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the department was investigating why Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) passengers remained on board a plane at the Las Vegas airport that sat on the tarmac in extreme heat on Monday, citing reports that the plane sat there for four hours.

"I want to know how it was possible for passengers to be left in triple-digit heat onboard an aircraft for that long," Buttigieg told Reuters on Thursday, calling the issue "infuriating" and "shocking."

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A highly technical process began Thursday in Los Angeles to put NASA’s retired Space Shuttle Endeavour on permanent display in the vertical launch position complete with external tank and two solid rocket boosters.

Workers used a crane to hoist the bottom segments of the boosters into the California Science Center’s future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which is currently under construction in Exposition Park.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A tornado heavily damaged a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, while torrential rain flooded communities in Kentucky and an area from California to South Florida endured more scorching heat.

Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court would have to abide by stronger ethics standards under legislation approved on Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, a response to recent revelations about donor-funded trips by justices. The bill faced united opposition from Republicans, who said it could “destroy” the court.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other companies that are leading the development of artificial intelligence technology have agreed to meet a set of AI safeguards brokered by President Joe Biden’s administration.

The White House said Friday that it has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure their AI products are safe before they release them. Some of the commitments call for third-party oversight of the workings of commercial AI systems, though they don’t detail who will audit the technology or hold the companies accountable.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Ron DeSantis is taking his presidential campaign to Utah on Friday, prioritizing a state where rival Donald Trump has struggled in the past and that could be a beacon of strength for the Florida governor’s stalled bid.

DeSantis is set to appear at the state Capitol with about a dozen supportive state lawmakers, meet with Republican Gov. Spencer Cox and attend a fundraiser.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is staking his reelection bid on the political and financial muscle of the Democratic National Committee.

As it prepares for a bruising 2024 contest, his campaign plans to raise and spend around $2 billion. But it will do so in coordination with the national and state Democratic parties, in an effort to establish a coordinated campaign around the country. The idea is to bolster field, volunteer and data organizations, and ensure they work jointly to promote Biden and down-ballot Democratic candidates.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley released an unclassified document Thursday that Republicans claim is significant in their investigation of Hunter Biden as they delve into the financial affairs of the president and his son, and revive previously debunked claims of wrongdoing.

Grassley of Iowa has been working alongside House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., as Republicans deepen their probe of President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, ahead of the 2024 election. Comer had issued a subpoena for the document from the FBI.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who worked as a politically appointed State Department official in former President Donald Trump’s administration was convicted Thursday of charges that he attacked police officers during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden heard testimony without a jury before he convicted the former official, Federico Guillermo Klein, and a co-defendant, Steven Cappuccio, of assault charges and other felony offenses stemming from the riot at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.