US rethinking H-1B visa extensions, Peter Thiel's 'monster' bitcoin bet, and more trending news

The news professionals are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation by clicking the hashtags below.

Hundreds of thousands of foreign workers are at risk of deportation as the Trump administration considers new regulations to halt some H-1B visa extensions. The ruling change reportedly under consideration would stop the practice of essentially indefinitely renewing the visa — designed to allow US employers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations — if the person has a pending green card application. The measure, which would significantly impact Indian nationals (as many as 500,000, the Times of India estimates) is part of the administration's “Buy American, Hire American” initiative to open up more jobs for US citizens. ? Share your thoughts: #H1BExtension

Venture capitalist Peter Thiel’s firm has placed a "monster" bet on bitcoin, The Wall Street Journal reports. Founders Fund, which Thiel co-founded, purchased roughly $15 million of the cryptocurrency mid-2017 — the investment is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars following bitcoin’s huge gains. Thiel is one of the first mainstream investors to make a big bet on the currency, which by Tuesday afternoon rose more than 10% to near $14,783 on the news. ? Share your thoughts: #PeterThielBitcoin

Hoda Kotb will permanently replace Matt Lauer as co-anchor of NBC’s “Today” after he was fired in November over allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior. The appointment is the first time two women will be the program’s official main hosts. Despite a growing number of scandals in the morning TV landscape, ratings have remained more or less unaffected — "Today" even got a ratings boost — by recent harassment scandals. ? Share your thoughts: #HodaKotb

China’s Ant Financial has ended its $1.2 billion bid to buy US cross-border payments service MoneyGram after the US government rejected it. The Chinese company, an Alibaba affiliate, will pay a $30 million breakup fee. The high-profile deal is the latest in a growing number of failed Chinese acquisitions of US companies as heightening tensions increasingly make commercial ties between the two countries more difficult. ? Share your thoughts: #AntFinancialMoneyGram

Vice has suspended two executives — President Andrew Creighton and Chief Digital Officer Mike Germano — more than a week after The New York Times published an exposé detailing sexual harassment allegations against them. The popular online video company, which is investigating the claims, has already taken steps to turnaround the office culture, including hiring a new HR head and mandating sexual harassment training, as a wave of similar allegations takes hold across industries. ? Share your thoughts: #ViceSuspensions

Idea of the Day:  In today’s world, businesses can’t avoid disruption — but they can take steps to prepare themselves for the inevitable, says entrepreneur James Caan.

“Invest in a team whose primary focus is innovation. This team should be full of people with a startup mentality, who will question your processes and make you think differently.”

What's your take? Join the conversations on today's stories in the comments.

— Lorraine K. Lee / Share this using #DailyRundown

We’re thinking about how to make the Daily Rundown even more valuable in 2018 — and we’d like to hear from you. What do you like about the Daily Rundown? What would make it more valuable to you? Please share your thoughts below.