With just mere seconds of audio, artificial intelligence voice cloning programs can make a copy of a voice, virtually indistinguishable from the original to the human ear.
Why it matters: That tech can have legitimate accessibility and automation benefits — but it can also be an easy-to-use tool for scammers. Despite that threat, many products' guardrails can be easily sidestepped, a new assessment found.
Ten Senate Democrats joined with the Republican majority in voting to move forward with a stopgap spending bill Friday — clearing the path to avoid a government shutdown.
Why it matters: Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is facing outrage from his party, including House leadership, over his decision to vote for the bill. Many Democrats wanted to force a shutdown to protest President Trump and Elon Musk's sweeping federal spending cuts.
Liquidation and going-out-of-business sales are entering the final days and weeks for closing Big Lots, Party City, Kohl's and Macy's stores.
Why it matters: Approximately 15,000 store closures are expected this year, more than double the 7,325 stores that closed in 2024, according to Coresight Research.
David Sacks, the venture capitalist advising President Trump on crypto and AI policy, sold $85 million of crypto-related assets in order to satisfy government ethics rules, according to a White House memo.
Sacks' investment firm, Craft Ventures, divested another $115 million of crypto-related assets.
Why it matters: Small health businesses — which the public generally sees as reliable — are experiencing growth at a time when federal health messages are all over the place.
Micro-influencers can fill a sweet spot for brands. They're not so big that they're too expensive to work with, but they have followers who take their recommendations seriously.
Why it matters: It makes sense for wellness brands to be on social media because that's already where young people are looking for beauty and health advice.
BlackRock's landmark deal for two Panamanian ports is in danger of running aground, threatened by geopolitical forces outside of its control.
Driving the news: Panama's Maritime Authority requested all legal and financial documents involved in the sale, while China urged Hong Kong-based seller CK Hutchinson to "think twice" about a plan that it called a "betrayal."
Gold hit a new all-time high Friday, breaking $3,000 for the first time ever, as investors search for tariff safe-havens.
Why it matters: There's a psychological value to important assets breaking through big, round numbers — but it's also further evidence of the market's nerves and uncertainty about global trade.
Newsmax agreed to pay Smartmatic $40 million in the conservative cable network's settlement of the defamation lawsuit over the airing of 2020 election falsehoods, per a regulatory filing.
The big picture: The companies reached a settlement last September that includes the cash settlement "payable over time and the issuance of a five year cash exercise warrant to purchase 2,000 shares of Series B preferred stock at an exercise price of $5,000 per share," per the filing.
An American Airlines plane caught fire at Denver International Airport while taxiing to the gate after landing Thursday evening — forcing passengers to evacuate onto the plane's wing, video from the scene shows.
The big picture: The airport said on X 12 people were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries following the incident aboard the plane that was carrying 178 people, which the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.
The Trump administration must reinstate thousands of fired probationary federal workers, a judge said in a temporary restraining order on Thursday.
Why it matters: In the second such order to reinstate fired workers on Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Bredar ruled that the lawsuit brought by state attorneys general against 18 agencies was likely to succeed in showing the mass firings "were unlawful."
