The Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission is warning Google not to filter or suppress emails sent by Republicans over Gmail, according to a letter sent from the FTC chair to Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc.
Why it matters: The FTC isn't announcing a new investigation into Google, but FTC chair Andrew Ferguson is putting CEO Sundar Pichai on notice that he is taking allegations from Republicans about suppressing emails seriously.
Bad actors have tricked roughly a dozen colleges and universities into issuing active shooter alerts as students return to campuses for a new school year.
Why it matters: Identifying the actors involved in swatting sprees has become increasingly difficult for law enforcement as the attacks frequently originate online, overseas or by using AI software — and it's only going to get worse, multiple public safety officials told Axios.
Some communications teams are taking it upon themselves to create AI solutions tailored to their specific workflows.
Why it matters: These tools automate a lot of the comms grunt work, creating more time for the team to focus on tasks and strategies that can drive the business forward.
President Trump fired Robert Primus, a member of the railroad regulatory board set to consider Union Pacific's proposed $85 billion merger with Norfolk Southern.
Why it matters: The Democrat was the only Surface Transportation Board member to oppose Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern's merger in 2023.
Nvidia, the biggest company in the world by market cap, reported world-beating results Wednesday evening. But export controls to China dampened its data center revenue, and that's making investors nervous.
Why it matters: Nvidia is caught in the middle of a Trump trade war that could impact its earnings growth and the trajectory of the entire stock market.
Waves of drones tumbled out of the sky above Camp Atterbury, Indiana, on Tuesday, their mechanical death throes punctuating what was otherwise a quiet morning.
Why it matters: Drone swarms are a nightmare for security officials all over the world, whether they're overwhelming a Russian air base or hovering near an American airport.
Nvidia says it's not expecting to sell any of its H20 chips to customers in China in the current quarter amid international trade tensions.
Why it matters: The company had agreed to give the U.S. 15% of the China sales of its H20 chips in exchange for export allowances — but Beijing has reportedly told Chinese companies not to buy them, concerned about their security and miffed about their downgraded specs.
Packing a few beach reads ahead of the holiday this weekend? You're one of a diminishing few.
The share of Americans who read for pleasure has been falling for the past two decades, finds a new comprehensive analysis of Census Bureau data on time use.
Why it matters: Reading is pretty great — with benefits for literacy, logical reasoning, your job prospects and health, the researchers point out.
Uber has placed a lot of robotaxi bets lately, but the three-way deal it struck last month with Nuro and Lucid could be the most consequential — not just for the partners, but for the entire industry.
Why it matters: It's a high-profile experiment to figure out the economics of robotaxis and, perhaps more importantly, to identify a business model that can be profitable for all.
President Trump called for billionaire George Soros and his son to face charges under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act for supporting nationwide protests in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.
The AI boom should start to appear meaningfully in economic productivity numbers as soon as the first quarter of 2026, and Federal Reserve policymakers should place more weight on it, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is all-in on AI, and now that enthusiasm is bleeding into its laser focus on lowering interest rates.
Google Vids is now providing users of the workplace video creation tool with a set of pre-made avatars for use in brief AI-generated videos, the company said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The rise of cheap, convenient AI video generation threatens jobs for video producers, editors, camera operators and even commercial actors.
Anthropic is assembling a national security advisory team stacked with nuclear weapons, cybersecurity and policymaking experts.
Why it matters: The defense and intelligence communities are shelling out billions of dollars in AI and autonomy contracts. Competition for such deals is fierce.
The Trump administration has no plans to pursue a stake in Nvidia, but does intend to invest in industrial companies, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The White House has made clear it intends to take positions in companies across the economy, as it did with Intel.
The U.S. Navy is cannibalizing innovation offices and resources dedicated to the Replicator drone-counter-drone initiative to establish a new entity, the Naval Rapid Capabilities Office.
Why it matters: The NRCO is charged with assessing and fielding materiel to ensure "U.S. maritime supremacy," according to an Aug. 19 memo from Navy Secretary John Phelan.
The office director, not named in the document, will report directly to the secretary.
An AI-driven private school that teaches core subjects for just two hours a day is nearly doubling its U.S. footprint, adding eight new campuses from California to North Carolina to Puerto Rico.
Why it matters: With tuition starting at $40,000, Alpha Schools is riding the parental school choice movement while embracing the technology that will shape kids' futures — a challenge public schools are grappling with.
As long as interest rate cuts are coming and Nvidia reports solid earnings later Wednesday, investors seem willing to ignore the market risks that could come from President Trump trying to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook.
Why it matters: It's the latest example of equity market investors shrugging off any headwinds that come their way. The more that happens, the more stretched valuations get, and the more at risk this market may be.
