How a Ukrainian Teen Became a Suspected Foot Soldier for Russia
The teenager faces terrorism charges in an arson attack on an IKEA store in Lithuania. Investigators say it was part of a Russian sabotage campaign.
Inside Factories in China, a Struggle to Survive Trump’s Tariffs
Small factories with tiny profit margins have played a central role in China’s international competitiveness. Many could now face disaster.
Lawmakers Are Skeptical of Zuckerberg's Commitment To Free Speech
An anonymous reader shares a report: Meta's latest whistleblower, Sarah Wynn-Williams, got a warm reception on Capitol Hill Wednesday, as the Careless People author who the company has fought to silence described the company's chief executive as someone willing to shapeshift into whatever gets him closest to power. The message was one that lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on crime and counterterrorism were very open to. Their responses underscore that amid CEO Mark Zuckerberg's latest pivot in cozying up to the right, his perception in Washington has not yet totally changed, even as he reportedly lobbies President Donald Trump to drop the government's antitrust case against the company.
"He's recently tried a reinvention in which he is now a great advocate of free speech, after being an advocate of censorship in China and in this country for years," subcommittee Chair Josh Hawley (R-MO) said, pointing to longtime conservative allegations that Meta has suppressed things like vaccine skepticism and the Hunter Biden laptop story. "Now that's all wiped away. Now he's on Joe Rogan and says that he is Mr. Free Speech, he is Mr. MAGA, he's a whole new man, and his company, they're a whole new company. Do you buy this latest reinvention of Mark Zuckerberg?"
"If he is such a fan of freedom of speech, why is he trying to silence me?" Wynn-Williams asked in response. Meta convinced an arbitrator to order her to stop making disparaging statements and halt further publishing and promotion of the book, which details Meta's alleged dealings with the Chinese government and claims of sexual harassment from a top executive.
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Death Toll in Dominican Republic Roof Collapse Hits 113
The scene at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, where the roof collapsed early Tuesday killing at least 184, was increasingly grim as bodies but no more survivors were recovered.
Stocks Jump in Asia After Trump’s Tariff Reprieve
Markets in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan soar after the U.S. president pauses punishing tariffs. Gains in mainland China were modest as trade hostilities heat up between Washington and Beijing.
Inside Trump’s Reversal on Tariffs: From ‘Be Cool!’ to ‘Getting Yippy’
Economic turmoil, particularly a rapid rise in government bond yields, caused President Trump to reverse course on the steep levies.
Trump Signs Orders Punishing Those Who Opposed His 2020 Election Lies
The president targeted two officials from his first administration and an elite law firm as part of his campaign for retribution.
The Real ID Deadline Is Coming. Here’s What You Need to Know.
After years of postponements, the deadline to show a security-enhanced Real ID at airport security checkpoints is now just weeks away. What to know.
Johnson Delays Budget Vote As G.O.P. Defectors Balk
After more than an hour of labored negotiations with conservative holdouts, House G.O.P. leaders yanked their blueprint for the president’s tax and spending package, lacking the votes to pass it.
Microsoft Windows 95 Reboot Chime and Minecraft Soundtrack Inducted Into National Recording Registry
BrianFagioli writes: In a move that is sure to make longtime PC users do a double take, the Library of Congress has added two very unexpected sounds to its National Recording Registry. No, it's not another classic rock album or jazz staple. Believe it or not, it's actually the "Reboot Chime" from Windows 95 (that played when the operating system started) and the soundtrack from Minecraft!
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House Votes to Curb National Injunctions, Targeting Judges Who Thwart Trump
The legislation is part of an escalating Republican campaign to take aim at judges who have moved to halt some of President Trump’s executive orders.
Trump Reverses Course on Global Tariffs, Announcing 90-Day Pause
The president further raised already steep tariffs on China, saying that Beijing should not have retaliated against his earlier trade actions.
Senate Panel Demands Information About Gaza Protest Group at Columbia
Lawmakers want the university to turn over all its records about Students for Justice in Palestine. At Northwestern University, two professors sued over a separate request.
What Trump Just Cost America
Do you think these former close U.S. allies are ever going to trust getting into a trench with this administration again?
Trump’s Targeting of Homeless Agency Signals Sharp Shift in Policy
The president has all but shut down the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, but his real goal appears to be a fundamental change of approach for getting people off the streets.
US Army Says It Could Acquire Targets Faster With 'Advanced AI'
The U.S. Army told the government it had a lot of success using AI to "process targets" during a recent deployment. It said that it had used AI systems to identify targets at a rate of 55 per day but could get that number up to 5,000 a day with "advanced artificial intelligence tools in the future." 404 Media: The line comes from a new report from the Government Accountability Office -- a nonpartisan watchdog group that investigates the federal government. The report is titled "Defense Command and Control" and is, in part, about the Pentagon's recent push to integrate AI systems into its workflow.
Across the government, and especially in the military, there has been a push to add or incorporate AI into various systems. The pitch here is that AI systems would help the Pentagon ID targets on the battlefield and allow those systems to help determine who lives and who dies. The Ukrainian and Israeli military are already using similar systems but the practice is fraught and controversial.
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Anthropic Launches Its Own $200 Monthly Plan
Anthropic has unveiled a new premium tier for its AI chatbot Claude, targeting power users willing to pay up to $200 monthly for broader usage. The "Max" subscription comes in two variants: a $100/month tier with 5x higher rate limits than Claude Pro, and a $200/month option boasting 20x higher limits -- directly competing with OpenAI's ChatGPT Pro tier.
Unlike OpenAI, Anthropic still lacks an unlimited usage plan. Product lead Scott White didn't rule out even pricier subscriptions in the future, telling TechCrunch, "We'll always keep a number of exploratory options available to us." The launch coincides with growing demand for Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet, the company's first reasoning model, which employs additional computing power to handle complex queries more reliably.
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He Served 36 Years for His Wife’s Murder and Then Forgave the Man Who Confessed
Leo Schofield maintained he was innocent all along in his wife’s 1987 murder. For “Bone Valley,” a podcast about the case, he connected with the man who said he did it.
WordPress Launches AI Site Builder Amid Company Restructuring
WordPress.com has released an AI-powered site builder in early access that constructs complete websites with generated text, layouts, and images. The tool operates through a chatbot interface where users input specifications, resulting in a fully formed site that can be further refined through additional prompts.
While WordPress.com claims the builder creates "beautiful, functional websites in minutes," it currently cannot handle ecommerce sites or complex integrations. Users need a WordPress.com account for the free trial, but publishing requires a hosting plan starting at $18 monthly (less with annual subscriptions). The builder only works with new WordPress instances, not existing sites.
This launch comes as parent company Automattic recently cut 16% of its workforce and faces a lawsuit from hosting company WP Engine, which offers competing site-building tools.
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Scientists Map Miles of Wiring in a Speck of Mouse Brain
Scientists achieved “a milestone” by charting the activity and structure of 200,000 cells in a mouse brain and their 523 million connections.