Apple plans to launch its subscription services at a March 25 event at its company headquarters, per BuzzFeed. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is still having trouble getting large newspapers to sign on for a planned paid component of Apple News.
Why it matters: As iPhone sales growth has slowed, Apple has been looking to services to help boost sales. It has made several moves in the space, including big video content deals with Oprah and others and the purchase of Texture, a sort of "Netflix for magazines."
U.S. District Judge Lawrence O’Neill ruled Monday to keep documents describing digital wiretaps in an MS-13 case secret from the public.
Background: The case from last year centered around state and federal surveillance of the gang and came to light when Facebook won a secretive ruling that it would not have to aid the police by wiretapping its Messenger service.
Communication in general is becoming more private and group-oriented — primarily via messaging platforms — as well as more ephemeral through the use of formats like "Stories."
The National Enquirer is sparking a media crossover, with activists pushing to persuade stores to stop carrying tabloids in light of recent scandals around the publication.
Why it matters: So much of the attention on fake and malignant news has been on the platforms — Google, Facebook and Twitter. But a major chunk of the questionable media consumed in America is still seen in print, often in the checkout aisle.
Why it matters: Amazon is putting all the pieces together for a comprehensive smart home system, with Alexa's voice presiding over constellations of Echo speakers, Blink home security systems, and Ring smart doorbells.
Bill and Melinda Gates used their annual letter to review a number of "surprises" they've encountered in recent years.
Details: It's a list that includes inaction and denial over climate change, the struggle to grasp that AI algorithms can be as biased as humans, and a lack of global commitment to vaccines.
Philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates said in an interview with The Verge that "extreme" tax reform proposals, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) proposed 70% marginal rate on income earned over $10 million, are "missing the picture" and a "misfocus" that will lead the wealthy to stash their cash overseas.
What he's saying: While he favors the idea of "more progressive" marginal rates, Gates said the wealthiest Americans have a "rounding error" of actual salary, and instead generate their wealth by selling stock and other assets: "In terms of revenue collection, you wouldn’t want to just focus on the ordinary income rate, because people who are wealthy have a rounding error of ordinary income."
Private investigators assisting Jeff Bezos have concluded that the brother of his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, had leaked the couple’s intimate text messages to the National Enquirer, the AP reports Monday, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The details: The brother, Michael Sanchez, is reportedly a supporter of President Trump, who has mocked "Jeff Bozo" following the Enquirer's publication of many details on the end of Bezos' marriage.
After months of pushing China to retreat from its strategy to dominate the technologies of the future, President Trump today ordered U.S. agencies to prioritize keeping the U.S. ahead in the development and deployment of artificial intelligence.
He did not allocate specific sums of money — and it will be expensive to match Chinese spending — but told aides to tally up what it will cost to maintain the lead, and to budget it.
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