Apple and Epic argue over how much Apple should get from purchases made outside the App Store
In a new filing in its long-running legal dispute with Epic Games, Apple has proposed a structure that would allow it to collect fees on digital purchases made via external links that don't use the company's in-app purchase system. Epic has already responded, saying that Apple's request is "far outside of the bounds" of the court's guidance. Right now, Apple cannot take a commission on external purchases after California district court judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in April 2025 that found
The Safety Reckoning Inside OpenAI
OpenAI’s rogue agent hack was a watershed moment for AI safety and cybersecurity. It also sparked internal questions about the culture that led to it.
US wait times for cancer surgeries are getting longer and longer
Study finds wait times for cancer surgeries hit 10-year high.
Investors sue Selena Gomez alleging fraud tied to her mental health startup
The plaintiffs say they invested nearly $1.2 million in the company, and are accusing Gomez of failing to build and market the startup.
Flock says its new tool will help identify police abuse, but hasn’t explained how it works
The surveillance company announced it's making a tool called "Audit Assistance" mandatory for all customers, claiming it's already helped catch abuse. But the company has yet to explain how the tool works in detail, raising questions about its effectiveness.
‘That is not acceptable’: Judge orders Google to make rival app store installs easier
One month after Epic Games and Google seemingly stopped fighting over the future of Android app distribution, they were back in a San Francisco courtroom today - where Judge James Donato just ordered Google to make it easier to install rival app stores on Android. It's been nearly three years since a jury unanimously decided that Google had an illegal monopoly over Android apps, and almost two years since Judge Donato decided the best way of undoing that monopoly would be to crack open Android
If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously
Apple now sends out push notifications to iPhone lock screens when the company identifies government spyware targeting someone's devices.
The fight over Flock and other ALPRs
There are over 120,000 of Flock’s automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras installed all over the US. Flock’s cameras, and others like them, use AI to identify and track vehicles based on their license plate number, make, model, color, and other info, networked together to track vehicles and people’s movements throughout the day and across the country. Dozens of communities have canceled contracts for the cameras or turned them off, including Los Angeles, as officials have pushed for more l
Microsoft’s Clippy-like Mico character is no longer the face of Copilot
Mico is headed to Learn Live. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft Copilot will no longer show its emotive yellow blob, Mico, when you use the chatbot's voice mode. In a support page, Microsoft says it's going to move Mico to its Learn Live platform, where the avatar will have "more to react to," as reported earlier by GeekWire. Mico launched in Copilot's voice mode last October, with Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman pitching the avatar as a way to give the chatbot an "identity." The blob would react
Mark Zuckerberg’s AI Manifesto Is 6,500-Words—and Barely Says Anything
AI is shifting the culture, from tech CEO manifestos to 1 am job interviews. We unpack some of the latest, along with the top findings from Black Hat and Defcon, this week on Uncanny Valley.
Writer introduces new AI model and upgraded harness to contain token costs
Built as a post-training variation on Z.ai's open source model GLM-5.2, Writer says the new system should provide deployment-ready capabilities at a much lower price.
Roundtables: Inside the “Censorship-Industrial Complex” Idea Shaping US Policy
Listen to the session or watch below The “censorship-industrial complex” is an idea that a network of government, tech, and research groups is collaborating to suppress conservative online speech. This was fodder for the right-wing information sphere for years—then it began making its way into US policy. Watch a conversation exploring how it started, where…
Netflix is closing two game studios
A screenshot of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals from Night School Studio. | Image: Night School / Netflix Netflix plans to shut down two of its gaming studios as it makes a bigger shift toward party games and titles streamed to TVs. One of the studios being shut down is Night School Studio, creators of the Oxenfree series. Netflix bought Night School in 2021, and it just released a horror experience called Unhinged for TVs and launched a mobile game in 2025 tied to Black Mirror. The other studio tha
Databricks wanted to raise $1B, investors wanted $15B. It settled on $5B at a $190B valuation.
AI is expensive, Ali Ghodsi tells TechCrunch. With so many investors wanting into his latest round, he said yes to more than planned.
This school-friendly laptop from HP is $300 off
The HP OmniBook X Flip 2-in-1 converts for tablet or tented use. | Image: The Verge With memory prices still high and showing no signs of dropping, we’re always happy to find a good deal on a budget-friendly system with an adequate amount of RAM. Best Buy has the HP OmniBook X Flip discounted by $300, bringing the cost down to $699.99. This model is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 5 and 16GB of LPDDR5X memory, which should be great for both web browsing and homework, and a 512GB SSD for stor
Private security firms will soon be allowed to hack overseas cybercriminals
Trump memo is first time gov't has authorized private sector to perform cyber attacks.
OpenAI is losing its second executive this week
Another OpenAI executive is departing. Denise Dresser, who joined OpenAI as its chief revenue officer in December after serving as CEO of Slack, will be leaving in the "coming weeks" to "pursue other opportunities," she said in a team note posted to LinkedIn. Dali Rajic, president and COO of Wiz, will be taking over the CRO role, OpenAI says. Dresser's departure is just the latest in a string of major exits. Earlier this week, special projects lead and former COO Brad Lightcap announced he would
OpenAI introduces ‘Ultrafast,’ a new mode that makes GPT 5.6 Sol work at 14x the speed
OpenAI is launching a preview of a sped up version of its latest, most powerful model, in an effort to court enterprise users.
IBM partners with OpenAI to bolster enterprise AI push
IBM plans to train and certify tens and thousands of consultants on OpenAI's technologies as part of this deal.