Author: GT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tech billionaire Elon Musk has lost some of his luster with Republicans since his messy public falling-out with President Donald Trump last week, a new survey finds. Fewer Republicans view Trump’s onetime government efficiency bulldog “very favorably” compared with April, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Though most Republicans continue to hold a positive view of Musk, their diminished fervor suggests his vocal opposition to Trump’s signature spending and tax cut legislation — and Musk’s subsequent online political and personal taunts — may have cost him some enthusiasm within the…

Tankers depicted in the Strait of Hormuz — a strategically important waterway which separates Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.ATTA KENARE | AFP | Getty ImagesAs tensions surge following Israeli strikes on Iran, fears have resurfaced that the Tehran could retaliate by targeting one of the world’s most vital oil arteries — the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, sees roughly 20 million barrels per day of oil and oil products pass through, accounting for nearly one-fifth of global oil shipments. Any move to block it would ripple through energy…

Apple will begin using AI technology to power the discovery of apps on the App Store, the company announced at this week’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 25). In a session focused on updates to App Store Connect, its app distribution platform for developers, the company announced it will introduce App Store Tags — labels that highlight specific features and functionalities found in an app. These tags will initially be generated by Apple’s large language models using various sources, like the app’s metadata. They’ll then be human-reviewed before being applied to apps on the App Store. Apple customers will be able…

Meta is reportedly investing nearly $15 billion in the data-labeling firm Scale AI and taking a 49% stake in the startup, while also bringing on CEO Alexandr Wang to help lead a new “superintelligence” lab within the company. The deal is reminiscent of Meta’s previous large and risky bets, such as its $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp and its $1 billion Instagram purchase. At the time those mergers closed, many people suggested Meta had grossly overpaid for the platforms — and today’s discourse is no different. There’s no shortage of investors and founders who were left scratching their heads this…

Investors fled to safe-haven assets Friday after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Iran marked a major escalation of conflict in the region.The scale of the attack, which Israel said was targeting Iran’s nuclear program, took markets by surprise, pushing up prices of assets thought to offer protection in times of heightened volatility.”The news has led to significant fears about an escalation and a wider regional conflict,” Deutsche Bank strategists said in a note early Friday. “The effects of the attack have cascaded across global markets, with a strong risk-off move for several asset classes.”Gold hit an almost two-month high…

Geothermal frontrunner Fervo Energy said Wednesday that it had secured $206 million in financing to continue work on a new power plant in Utah.  The startup is developing what promises to be the largest enhanced geothermal power plant in the world. The initial phase of Cape Station is expected to come online next year and produce 100 megawatts of electricity, and a subsequent expansion set to open in 2028 will add another 400 megawatts. Enhanced geothermal, which runs deeper and hotter than traditional geothermal, has become a favored technology in the quest to find new power sources for AI data…

Traffic flows on a highway in the Iranian capital Tehran on June 13, 2025 following reported Israeli strikes targeting Iran early in the morning. AFP | Getty ImagesDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran launched more than 100 drones toward Israeli territory Friday morning after Israel’s overnight missile strike on the country killed at least three of its senior military leaders.”We can now confirm that the Chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Commander of the IRGC and the Commander of Iran’s Emergency Command were all eliminated in the Israeli strikes across Iran,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Effie Defrin said.”Iran…

At WWDC 2025 on Monday, Apple unveiled a series of new features that will launch with iOS 26 this fall across its apps. These include significant updates like Call Screening, more travel-friendly features in Wallet, and highly requested group chat features in Messages. Some of these updates include Apple Intelligence, like Live Translation. Others, like Apple bringing back tabs in the Photos app, just make devices a bit easier to use. We’ll update this post as new features come out. Phone Call Screening lets you determine what a call is about before picking it up. When you get a call…

Los Angeles-based Coco Robotics, a startup building last-mile delivery robots, announced it raised $80 million on Wednesday. The company raised this funding from angel investors Sam Altman and Max Altman, both returning investors, in addition to VC firms like Pelion Venture Partners and Offline Ventures, among others. While positioned as a new funding event, this $80 million total includes a mix of previously announced, and undisclosed, funding events from 2021 to 2024, according to Nadia Jamshidi, a company spokesperson. While Sam Altman personally provided capital to the company, OpenAI gets a benefit, too. Coco announced a partnership with OpenAI in…

There are some headlines making the rounds claiming that TechCrunch is “pulling out of Europe” and shuttering its coverage of European startups. This is flat-out wrong. It misrepresents who we are, what we do, and — most of all — what we believe. The recent changes at TechCrunch are not about retreat. They are about realignment and reinforcement. This new chapter is fueled by our partnership with our sister company, Foundry, which was brought under the same ownership to create a tech media entity with unparalleled global scope. To be clear, Foundry is a powerhouse of international technology journalism. Its…