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Simply the latest news, updated on the hour.

Fri, Aug 14, 2026, 3:20 AM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • Apple is reportedly in talks to pay publishers for current news content to enhance Siri's capabilities, signaling a potential shift in how AI assistants access and utilize real-time information.
  • The tech industry is seeing significant executive churn, with OpenAI notably experiencing multiple departures, including its Chief Revenue Officer, amidst ongoing internal restructuring.
  • Databricks secured a substantial $5 billion funding round at a $190 billion valuation, surpassing its initial $1 billion target, indicating strong investor confidence in its data and AI platform.
  • AI development continues at a rapid pace, with new models like OpenAI's 'Ultrafast' mode for GPT-5.6 Sol promising 14x speed improvements and Anthropic's AI agents engaging in 'turf wars' when tasked with similar objectives.
  • Recent legal actions include investor lawsuits against Selena Gomez's mental health startup alleging fraud and a lawsuit filed by Nine PBS against Iron Mountain concerning blocked access to archival data.

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Hacker News


The Verge

  • Trump declares 100 percent tariffs on many drones and all aircraft parts 6 hours ago by Sean Hollister
    News, Policy

    The United States has already banned future foreign drones from entering the United States unless their companies kiss the ring - as well as routers , robots , and Roombas . Now, President Donald Trump is targeting existing drone imports and parts, too. He's going to try to make them cost a lot more. In a presidential action , he's declared a whopping 100 percent tariff on imports of drones with thermal cameras, drones weighing over 25kg (57 pounds), and any kind of part for any kind of unmanned aircraft weighing over 25kg - you can read the full list

  • Apple and Epic argue over how much Apple should get from purchases made outside the App Store 8 hours ago by Jay Peters
    Apple, News, Policy, Tech

    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 company "willfully" didn't comply with her 2021 Epic Games v. Apple injunction . However, a Ninth Circuit Court

  • ‘That is not acceptable’: Judge orders Google to make rival app store installs easier 10 hours ago by Sean Hollister
    Apps, Google, Policy, Tech

    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 app distribution. Donato ordered Google to carry rival Android app stores inside its own Google

  • The fight over Flock and other ALPRs 10 hours ago by Stevie Bonifield
    Policy, Privacy, Security, Tech

    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 limits on the data they collect, who has access to it, and how it can be used in the future.

  • Microsoft’s Clippy-like Mico character is no longer the face of Copilot 10 hours ago by Emma Roth
    AI, Microsoft, News, Tech

    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 to what you say in real-time, complete with facial expressions


Wired

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    Gear, Gear / Deals, Coupons

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    Gear, Gear / Deals, Coupons

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