Amazon uses badge-swipe data for return-to-office policy compliance | Photos from our rooftop BBQ

The view from GeekWire’s annual Rooftop BBQ: The sun and the smiles were out in force Wednesday in Seattle as we came together for great food and drink, epic views and a lively conversation with Seattle Mariners CEO John Stanton.

• Stanton, the tech pioneer who has led the Mariners since 2016, is a key figure in the new era of Major League Baseball rules. He sees a future for automated balls and strikes in the big leagues — he'd just prefer to not call them "robot umps." Read highlights from our conversation.

• Check out the party photos from the rooftop deck at First Mode.

Amazon tracking badge swipe data for return-to-office compliance: Messages sent by Amazon to some employees this week, asserting that they aren’t complying with a corporate mandate to return to the office at least three days a week, is creating a new round of blowback over the policy. Read more. 

Seattle is thinking about taxing big business in a bigger way. A new report detailing ideas to help plug a budget shortfall includes expanding the controversial “JumpStart” tax that targets payrolls at the city’s largest companies, including tech giants such as Amazon. Read more. 

General Fusion lands $25M for new machine: The company plans to build a demonstration magnetized target fusion machine, which should be able to reach more than 100 million degrees Celsius — more than six-times hotter than the center of the sun. Read more.

Gates Foundation names AI Grand Challenge grant winners: The 48 grant recipients are part of an effort to encourage new applications of artificial intelligence by researchers in low- and middle-income countries. Read more.

“Without your engines … we can’t go anywhere.” One NASA official praised Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond, Wash., as space industry contractors in the Seattle area took a “victory lap” celebrating last year’s successful Artemis 1 round-the-moon mission. Read more.

Ex-employee accused of embezzling company funds: Court documents reveal how a former director at Seattle startup Tred allegedly made at least 57 unauthorized transfers from the company to 14 of his own bank accounts. Read more. 

Hot links:

• Great for notes about stolen food at work: ChatPNW is the first AI tool capable of passive aggression. (Parody by The Needling)

• President Biden signed an executive order banning U.S. venture capital and private equity firms from investing in Chinese companies developing semiconductors and other tech. (The New York Times)

• Amazon is axing dozens of private-label brands amid continued antitrust scrutiny. (The Wall Street Journal)

• Vancouver, Wash.-based biotech company Absci landed a Gates Foundation grant to discover affordable HIV therapeutic vaccinations. (Absci)