In Brief

CharacterAI removes Disney characters after receiving cease-and-desist letter

AI /

Character.AI received a cease-and-desist letter from Disney, urging the chatbot company to remove Disney characters from among the millions of AI companions on its platform, Variety reports. The company allows users to generate AI chatbots that can range from real people like Elon Musk to fictional characters like Hermione Granger, plus users’ own original creations. […]

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Tesla asks EPA not to roll back emissions rules as Trump calls climate change a ‘con job’

Transportation /

Tesla has asked the Environmental Protection Agency not to roll back current vehicle emissions standards, breaking from other major automakers who want to see the rules eased. The company’s request comes the same week that President Donald Trump — who Tesla CEO Elon Musk spent $300 million to help elect — told the United Nations

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Warner Bros. sues Midjourney for AI images of Superman, Batman, and other characters

AI /

Warner Bros. is suing AI startup Midjourney for copyright infringement, alleging that the company allows users to generate images and videos of characters like Superman, Batman, and Bugs Bunny without permission. As first reported by Reuters, Warner Bros. says that Midjourney knowingly engaged in wrongful conduct, noting that the company previously restricted subscribers from generating

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Rivian makes its second small workforce cut of the year ahead of R2 SUV launch

Transportation /

Rivian is laying off around 150 workers — its second small staff cut in a matter of months — as the company readies itself for the all-important launch of its more-affordable R2 SUV next year. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that the new cuts were mostly to its “commercial” team, which deals with sales and

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Mark Zuckerberg encouraged execs to do MMA training with him

Social /

Mark Zuckerberg is so dedicated to his mixed martial arts (MMA) training that he invited his senior executives to join him for workout sessions. This amusing revelation comes from Nick Clegg’s forthcoming book. Meta’s former president of global affairs shares the story in what Fast Company unfavorably describes as a book with “thin prose,” save

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JetBlue will use Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites for free in-flight internet

Transportation /

Many major airlines are beefing up their in-flight internet offerings by tapping SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, but JetBlue is going in a different direction. Amazon and JetBlue announced Thursday a partnership under which the airline will instead use Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites to provide free in-flight connectivity starting in 2027. The Kuiper terminals on JetBlue’s planes

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xAI’s CFO is the latest executive to leave Elon Musk’s AI firm

AI /

Mike Liberatore, xAI’s chief financial officer, has left the company, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal. This marks the latest in a string of high-profile executive departures.  The former Airbnb executive joined the company in April and left around the end of July, per the WSJ. While at xAI, he helped orchestrate the

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The Boring Company is finally testing Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ in its Las Vegas tunnels

Transportation /

Elon Musk’s The Boring Company is finally testing Full Self-Driving (Supervised), the advanced driver assistance system created by Tesla, in the tunnels that connect Las Vegas’ Convention Center to a few nearby hotels, according to Fortune. Steve Hill, the CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, told the outlet that The Boring Company

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Verily is closing its medical device program as Alphabet shifts more resources to AI

Biotech & Health /

Alphabet’s life sciences arm Verily laid off staff and eliminated its entire devices program Monday. CEO Stephen Gillett announced the “difficult decision” to wind down the program in a staff memo, according to Business Insider. “Over the years, Verily has built a legacy in developing world-class, innovative medical devices,” Gillett wrote, noting that the “path

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