Mission Everywhere

Samantha Cole / 404 Media : Google's Ad Transparency tool no longer shows any political ads, past or present, from any EU countries ahead of new EU ad transparency regulations   —  Google's Ad Transparency tool no longer shows political online advertisements that ran on its platforms, in the past or present … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/HQUa3uo

HOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 10: General views of the Hollywood Sign on November 10, 2023 in Hollywood, California. AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images President Donald Trump proposed an addition to MAGA: MMIAA, or "MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!" While the details of Trump's proposed film tariffs are unclear, many in Hollywood are rattled. Here are the potential winners and losers from this policy proposal. This story was originally published on May 6, 2025, and has been updated after Trump revived discussions about putting "a 100% tariff" on movies made outside the US. Hollywood is the latest industry to be brought into President Donald Trump's trade war . Many in the movie business were spooked in May when Trump said he planned to impose a 100% tariff on films produced in foreign countries. Trump stirred up discussion again Monday when he pledged on social media to put "a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United State...

Ashley Capoot / CNBC : OpenAI rolls out Instant Checkout to let users make single-item purchases directly in ChatGPT, starting with US Etsy sellers, and plans to add Shopify merchants   —  Arrows pointing outwards  —  OpenAI on Monday announced Instant Checkout, a new feature that allows users to buy products through … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/FYn1ew2

Jeff Kauflin / Forbes : A profile of digital microlender Tala, which has an annualized revenue of $340M but remains unprofitable 11 years in, as it plans to double its lending in 2027   —  Before starting Tala, founder and CEO Shivani Siroya was a Wall Street analyst and studied microloans for the United Nations. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/1s5VNjy

Mayor Eric Adams attended a Brooklyn rally for reelection in September 2025. Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images Eric Adams dropped out of New York City's mayoral race on Sunday. The incumbent cited media speculation and lack of funding for his decision. Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, holds a significant lead and is widely expected to win. Eric Adams has dropped out of New York City's mayoral race. The incumbent mayor announced his departure in an eight-minute video shared to X on Sunday, saying his campaign was hindered by a lack of funding and media attention. Only in America. Only in New York. Thank you for making my story a reality. pic.twitter.com/efHuyBnITJ — Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) September 28, 2025 "Yet, despite all we've achieved, I cannot continue my reelection campaign," Adams said. "The constant media speculation about my future and the campaign finance board's decision to withhold millions...

Washington Post : How JD Vance played a key role in the TikTok US deal, amid concerns about the VP acting as a corporate dealmaker in the forced spin-off of a private company   —  The creation of a U.S. spin-off, which has raised questions about censorship and favor for allies, will almost certainly be touted by Vance as a top achievement. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/1nzYUcF

Pedro Nakamura / Rest of World : Since 2019, Brazil's courts have developed or implemented over 140 AI projects that have helped make the country's overburdened judicial system more efficient   —  Brazil's overburdened courts and lawyers are adopting artificial intelligence.  But experts wonder whether it serves justice. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/xvcWBJw

Jyoti Mann / Business Insider : Leaked Meta internal document shows updated training protocols for its AI chatbot to refuse any prompts involving sexual roleplay with minors   —  - A leaked Meta document shows how its AI chatbot should respond to child sexual exploitation prompts.  — It now says the chatbot should refuse … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/EYfsigS

Shirin Ghaffary / Bloomberg : OpenAI executives working on Stargate say that it costs about $50B to build a data center with roughly 1 GW of capacity, with $35B going toward AI chips   —  Sam Altman and his partners intend to get creative to cover the growing cost of data centers and chips for AI.  But first...  Three things to know: from Techmeme https://ift.tt/k6b3pIq

BlackSalmon/Getty Images/iStockphoto I traveled all over the US and the world when my kids were young. Now all my kids are adults, and I'm not the one planning our travels anymore. I don't think I can plan a vacation as well as my kids nowadays; I just wait for my invitation. I've traveled a lot with my family , especially when my three oldest sons were young. We've traversed the country north to south and dipped our toes in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. We camped in the Adirondacks, skied in New Hampshire, and toured the nation's capital. The boys' favorite memory of our trip to Washington, D.C., was eating a meal at a combined KFC/Taco Bell/Pizza Hut — not the White House, the Lincoln Memorial , or even the Washington Monument. The author traveled a lot with her kids when they were little. Courtesy of the author But now that my kids are all adults, I don't plan trips anymore. We got into so many adventures Perhaps my greatest travel tr...

Arasu Kannagi Basil / Reuters : Fermi, a data center real estate investment trust co-founded by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, aims to raise $550M in a US IPO at a $13.16B valuation   —  Fermi, co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, is targeting a valuation of up to $13.16 billion in its U.S. initial public offering … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/MokUgm7

Vice President JD Vance says the deal he and Donald Trump worked out with China allows TikTok to stay in the U.S. . Chinese officials have yet to comment publicly. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images JD Vance says a new deal values the US portion of TikTok at $14 billion. Huh? That seems crazy low for an enormously powerful tech platform. But that $14 billion number may not be what it seems. Here's a head-scratcher: When is $14 billion not actually $14 billion? When it's a TikTok deal . At least that's what it looks like. Vice President JD Vance says a plan to give American companies and investors control of US TikTok values that asset at $14 billion. And that number seems way, way too low. But now we have a possible explanation: That $14 billion valuation isn't the real number — at least not to ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok globally and would be ceding control of its US business. Bloomberg reports that ByteDance would get at least 50% of US ...

The Guardian : UK-based Kido nursery chain was hacked by a ransomware gang called Radiant, which posted profiles of 10 children online and threatens to release more data   —  Criminals calling themselves Radiant say they will post additional private data online unless they are paid from Techmeme https://ift.tt/vRpLmDH

Hayden Field / The Verge : OpenAI launches ChatGPT Pulse, a mobile feature for Pro users that delivers daily personalized updates based on their chats, feedback, and connected apps   —  ChatGPT's new Pulse feature does personalized research on your behalf overnight and serves you up a digest each morning. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/SzsEbBg

Natalie Lung / Bloomberg : Waymo launches Waymo for Business, a service targeting employers, universities, and event organizers, available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix   —  Waymo is launching a new product that lets businesses offer employee or event rides in its robotaxis, a move that could expand … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/ZwKlfVu

Ashleigh Fields / The Hill : In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, YouTube says it will reinstate creators it banned for COVID and election misinfo, and blames Biden officials for the bans   —  YouTube's parent company, Alphabet, on Tuesday said it would reinstate creators previously banned for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and false election content. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/XHTIqdl

Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch : Filing: Indian ride-hailing app Rapido doubled its valuation to $2.3B after Swiggy offloaded its 12% Rapido stake for ~$270M in a secondary share sale   —  Rapido, a popular ride-hailing platform in India that competes with Uber, has doubled its valuation to $2.3 billion following a secondary share sale by food delivery giant Swiggy. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/8YiAS9L

Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge : Uber launches prepaid passes, letting customers pay a discounted price in advance on frequently taken trips, in bundles of 5, 10, 15, or 20 rides   —  Customers can pay a discounted price when buying frequently made trips in advance. … Uber is still trying to chip away at the perception … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/mFkUdfX

The author grew up in a multigenerational home. Courtesy of the author I grew up in a 3-bedroom house with my mom, grandmother, and three aunts. We somehow always made room for people to have space to do their thing. Growing up with so many women taught me that I am more than just a mom. I did not grow up in a busy household. It was quiet a lot of the time, which shocked friends who visited and saw that our house was littered with moms . I lived with my own mom, who was a single mom, one aunt who was a someday mom, and my grandmother, who we called Nana, who was an always mom. Another pregnant aunt I shared a bed with for a while, an almost mom. There were other moms who visited, other aunts and cousins, and friends and bridge partners of my Nana's coming over for gossip, plus egg salad sandwiches with the crusts cut off. The author's grandma with her grandkids. Courtesy of the author A revolving door of women and their chatter and the deep joy they took in doin...

Geoff Weiss / Business Insider : Omnea, which makes AI tools for automating procurement, raised a $50M Series B led by Insight Partners and Khosla Ventures, taking its total funding to $75M   —  - Omnea focuses on building AI for procurement, which is top of mind amid economic uncertainty.  — Three-year-old Omnea has raised $50 million, for a total of $75 million. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/pAHuwvO

Tanush Sharanarthi, 26, had six years of contributions to his field in artificial intelligence that helped him get approved for a O-1 visa also known as the "Einstein" visa. Courtesy Tanush Sharanarthi Tanush Sharanarthi, a 26-year-old from Bangalore, India, tried to get an H1-B visa for three years. He learned about the O-1 visa for individuals with "extraordinary ability" a few years ago. Sharanarthi said he relied on 6 years of research and work to help him land the O-1 visa. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tanush Sharanarthi, a 26-year-old software engineer based in the Bay Area. It has been edited for length and clarity. I work at IBM as a software engineer. I joined three years ago and have been applying for an H-1B visa ever since. The process was rough for me because I wasn't picked all three times. The H-1B lottery system isn't merit-based. Each year, there's one lottery where applicants are put into a pool, an...

Nikita Ostrovsky / Time : UK-based startup Mantic ranked #8 in the Metaculus forecasting cup that asks entrants to predict 60 geopolitical events, the first time an AI made the top 10   —  Reactions to Kimmel's suspension, Trump publicly rebukes Putin, and more … For Vassalo, AIs' unfair advantage solves … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/sauYRep

Wall Street Journal : The FTC's 2023 lawsuit against Amazon goes to trial this week, alleging it used misleading tactics to entice people into Prime and made cancellation difficult   —  Trial begins this week on FTC allegations that e-commerce giant uses misleading tactics to entice and keep customers from Techmeme https://ift.tt/tinXEVN

Part of the "Back to Starbucks" initiative includes mandatory notes on every cup. Failure to follow the rules means baristas face write-ups or even termination. Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images This year, Starbucks rolled out a policy requiring baristas to add handwritten notes on every cup. The policy outlines discipline up to termination for failing to follow the rules. Baristas told Business Insider the policy has been inconsistently applied and makes their job harder. The viral video of a Starbucks barista declining to put " Charlie Kirk " on a customer's cup, citing corporate policy, has brought scrutiny to the company's requirement that staff write on every beverage. The mandate, intended to improve the customer experience , is a source of frustration for some baristas — because failing to do it, or writing the wrong thing, can have consequences. Internal guidelines reviewed by Business Insider outline specific rul...

Ben Berkowitz / Axios : Karoline Leavitt confirms Oracle will handle TikTok's data and security, and says the US is “100% confident” a deal is done and it “just needs to be signed”   —  - Congress passed a ban last year with bipartisan support, but President Trump has repeatedly ordered … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/T4ELUei

Ben Berkowitz / Axios : A White House official says the $100K H-1B fee will not apply to renewals or existing holders of valid visas re-entering the US, only new applicants   —  A new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas goes into effect Sunday, but it will not be applied to existing holders of valid visas re-entering the country, a White House official tells Axios. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/O2CYlUa