News

AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:

A defamation lawsuit by Keith Bass over SpyTalk writer Jeff Stein’s report that Bass had been “effectively fired” from his post leading the CIA’s Office of Medical Services in 2021 has been dismissed with prejudice.

The Senate Commerce Committee passed a version of the Kids Online Safety Act that includes the hallmark duty of care, which the House stripped from the version its committee passed. It’s a significant — but limited — step, since the bill got stuck in the House last time it passed the Senate.

Business Insider reports that Anthropic has confirmed it’s designing custom chips for its AI models and plans to “co-design hardware and models.” OpenAI similarly announced its own AI processor in June, and Meta, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have had custom AI chips for years now.

Bud Cole has been catching some flak over comments he made to T3 about AI’s role in music. Now he’s attempting to clarify what he meant. You can read his full statement provided to The Verge at the bottom of our post from this weekend, but here’s the gist:

During an earnings call on Wednesday, Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro reiterated the company’s plan to make Disney Plus the “digital centerpiece” of the company by incorporating “games, merchandise, and other experiences” into the app. “We expect to introduce elements of this expanded ecosystem beginning in spring of 2027,” D’Amaro said.

A supervisor still needs to be aboard each vehicle ready to intervene if needed, but it’s a step closer to fully driverless operations and puts Uber ahead of competition from Waymo and Baidu. Uber said more than 100,000 Londoners have signed up for the chance to be first riders starting “later this summer,” after its interest list opened in June.

While there’s been no widespread disruptions to water supplies or wastewater treatment so far, ABC News reports that possible cyberattacks have now been reported in “at least a dozen” US states, with Iran marked as the prime suspect. The FBI is encouraging water utilities to disconnect from the internet where possible, and switch to manual controls if automated systems become compromised.

AISI’s third-party evaluations found that OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol and Anthropic’s Claude Mythos 5 “engaged in sustained, potentially harmful activity directed at real people and organizations” during a cybersecurity challenge exercise, according to the institute’s published report. OpenAI and Anthropic also made public statements about the results.

Saw this from a MacRumors headline that I keep chuckling at: “CarPlay is Coming to Pontoon Boats.” Maybe Apple should have built a boat instead of failing at a car? (I’m kidding…. unless?)

Students will be able to use Gemini to create things like flashcards or practice quizzes and sync info to Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM). Gemini in Classroom initially launched for educators, then to students 18 or older.

Sources tell Reuters that the Trump administration is considering blocking Chinese imports of the component due to security concerns. Optical transceivers are used across data centers and the telecommunications industry to quickly transmit information, with China’s Zhongji Innolight currently making up 27 percent of the transceiver market, according to Counterpoint.

The March 2nd start date will cost Paramount millions of dollars, as it must pay $7 million each day the deal doesn’t close after September 30th.

The Chinese-owned appliance manufacturer announced it will use US-manufactured Texas Instruments semiconductors in its new laundry machines made at its Louisville, Kentucky, headquarters. Along with its Wi-Fi and BLE connectivity solutions, GE Appliances says it’s exploring using TI’s intelligent microcontroller platform to bring advanced AI to its washers and dryers.

However, Axios says the White House did meet with AI companies on Tuesday to discuss the finalized framework, which was created following an executive order signed in June.

Several different models sold through Amazon, Walmart, and Ocoopa’s online store have been recalled after 1,480 reports of the devices overheating resulting in 15 fires, 350 burns, and the death of an 83-year-old in California, according to the USCPSC. Consumers with recalled hardware can reach out to Ocoopa for a full refund.

It’s launching a new B550 X series “engineered to be the most powerful refresh of the AM4 platform,” which is now 10 years old, as PC Gamer reports. The new motherboards were designed around the Ryzen 7 8500X3D that AMD recently relaunched as component shortages continue to drive up prices.

The antitrust lawsuit alleges that Amazon prevents unionization and restricts delivery network companies from hiring drivers at other companies, resulting in lower wages and “harsher working conditions” for “thousands” of New Jersey residents. You can read the complaint here.

The company’s original smart ring is getting some big upgrades to compete with the Oura ring. The CRW-H001M-8 will launch in China first for around $295 with fitness tracking that includes a heart rate monitor and thermometer plus vibrating alerts for notifications from a connected phone. But you’ll need to charge the new model with a proprietary cable.

Futurism made the tally. The publication also found 12 cases involving police intervention to try and stop protestors from “from confronting civic leaders,” though noted that the tally is “likely much higher.”

The humble drawing app has gotten several useful upgrades over the past few years, but Mark Russinovich, the Microsoft Azure CTO, has found a way for Paint to play Doom… kind of. Instead of actually running the game, DoomPaint loads rendered frames into the app from the Windows clipboard at a very playable 35fps.

The software conglomerate has agreed to acquire Airtable for around $1.29 billion in cash — a fraction of the more than $11 billion it was once valued at in 2021. This is just the latest feather in Bending Spoon’s cap, which has built a reputation for buying software companies that are past their heyday.

After launching in China last month, Godox’s C100 digital camera is now available for preorder in the US through Amazon for $44.90. That makes it more expensive than the smaller $35 Kodak Charmera, but in addition to its unique viewfinder, the C100 offers a slight bump in photo and video resolution to 1920x1080.