The Chinese government is running another broad campaign to hack as many American organizations as possible — heightening the threat across critical infrastructure.
Why it matters: The new hacking campaign suggests China could hold more expansive power to turn off key U.S. infrastructure than previously thought.
The Federal Trade Commission on Friday said it sued the three largest prescription drug middlemen, accusing them of illegally inflating the price of insulin and driving up costs to diabetes patients.
Why it matters: The move follows the FTC's July report on pharmacy benefit managers, which outlined a system in which industry consolidation allows the middlemen to manipulate markets at the expense of patients.
Former President Trump is now free to sell shares in the parent company of Truth Social, as a stock lockup provision expired after Thursday's market close, although last week he pledged that he wouldn't.
Catch up quick: Trump and some other insiders had been prohibited from selling for six months after Truth Social's parent company went public via a blank-check company.
OpenAI is expected raise around $6.5 billion at a $150 billion pre-money valuation, while also turning down billions of oversubscribed dollars, as first reported by Bloomberg.
Why it matters: This would be the largest venture capital round of all time, topping the $6 billion raised earlier this year by Elon Musk's xAI.
An FTC staff report released Thursday found a number of social media companies, including Meta, X, TikTok and YouTube, conducted "vast surveillance" of consumers to monetize their personal information. (Axios)
Amazon released a pair of generative AI tools: one that allows its advertisers to create short videos from a still image of products and another designed to help sellers resolve customer issues. (TechCrunch, GeekWire)
Thought experiment: Do you feel at least slightly more anxious today than six months ago? Do you feel at least slightly more skeptical that what you're reading is real and true than six months ago?
Why it matters: Join the club. We've been asking people that as we travel the country. Almost everyone nods — regardless of age, region or education. Here's why: This election combines the worst of 2016 with the worst of 2020.
Apple Intelligence's first-wave features, released Thursday, offer only modest improvements that left me excited for the future, but also impatient for it.
Why it matters: AI features are shaping up as a key differentiator in choosing a smartphone or computer, and Apple, despite a late start in consumer AI, has an opportunity to be a winner.
From bulletproof glass to panic buttons, jurisdictions across the U.S. are taking unprecedented steps to protect election workers and ballots amid concerns about voter intimidation, fraud and even violence at the polls.
Why it matters: The moves are stark reminders of how Donald Trump's allegations of rigged elections have undermined some Americans' trust and made election officials — many of them volunteers — the focus of suspicion and threats.
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