Feb 2, 2018 - Economy & Business

Peter Thiel's VC firm backs HQ Trivia's funding round

HQ host Scott Rogowsky. Photo: Santiago Felipe / Getty Images

HQ, the popular live trivia app, has raised $15 million at a valuation of more than $100 million in a new funding round from Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel, according to Recode.

The nitty-gritty: The app, which recently began regularly surpassing more than a million players, had difficulty finding funding after Recode reported last year on the "alleged bad behavior" of its co-founders, Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll. The pair, who also co-founded the video app Vine and moved to Twitter following its acquisition, faced reports of poor management and "creepy behavior" during their stint at the social media giant.

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Jacob Knutson
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

U.S. officials: Iran and Russia aim to interfere in election

Iran and Russia have obtained voter registration information that can be used to undermine confidence in the U.S. election system, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe announced at a press conference Wednesday evening.

Why it matters: The revelation comes roughly two weeks before Election Day. Ratcliffe said Iran has sent threatening emails to Democratic voters this week in states across the U.S. and spread videos claiming that people can vote more than once.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Politics: Senate Democrats block vote on McConnell's targeted COVID relief bill — McConnell urges White House not to strike stimulus deal before election.
  2. Economy: Why the stimulus delay isn't a crisis (yet).
  3. Health: New York reports most COVID cases since May — Studies show drop in coronavirus death rate — The next wave is gaining steam.
  4. Education: Schools haven't become hotspots — San Francisco public schools likely won't reopen before the end of the year.
  5. World: Spain becomes first nation in Western Europe to exceed 1 million cases.
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Rebecca Falconer
Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Supreme Court blocks Alabama curbside voting measure

Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The Supreme Court on Wednesday evening blocked a lower court order that would have allowed voters to cast ballots curbside at Alabama polling places on Election Day.

Whit it matters: With less than two weeks until Election Day, the justices voted 5-3 to reinstate the curbside voting ban and overturn a lower court judge's ruling designed to protect people with disabilities during the coronavirus pandemic.

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