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CNN  —  A senior Russian general died in a car bombing in the Russian city of Balashikha on Friday, authorities say, the same day that US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Witkoff spent three hours meeting with Putin at the Kremlin on Friday, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters after the meeting, adding that the talks were “constructive and very useful.” Witkoff’s trip to Russia, the fourth since Trump returned to the White House in January, came at a crunch time as the US president’s self-imposed deadline of ending…

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm since its launch in November 2022. What started as a tool to supercharge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth with 300 million weekly active users. 2024 was a big year for OpenAI, from its partnership with Apple for its generative AI offering, Apple Intelligence, the release of GPT-4o with voice capabilities, and the highly-anticipated launch of its text-to-video model Sora. OpenAI also faced its share of internal drama, including the notable exits of high-level execs like co-founder and longtime chief…

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: T-Mobile — Shares pulled back 11% after the company’s wireless subscribers for the first quarter missed Wall Street estimates. T-Mobile reported 495,000 postpaid phone additions in the first quarter, while analysts polled by StreetAccount were looking for 504,000. Alphabet — The Google parent company gained about 2% on the heels of better-than-expected first-quarter results . Alphabet reported $2.81 in earnings per share on revenue of $90.23 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG forecast $2.01 in earnings per share and $89.12 billion in revenue. Skechers — Shares fell 4.8% after the footwear…

Kai Chen, a Canadian AI researcher working at OpenAI who’s lived in the U.S. for 12 years, was denied a green card, according to Noam Brown, a leading research scientist at the company. In a post on X, Brown said that Chen learned of the decision Friday and must soon leave the country. “It’s deeply concerning that one of the best AI researchers I’ve worked with […] was denied a U.S. green card,” wrote Brown. “A Canadian who’s lived and contributed here for 12 years now has to leave. We’re risking America’s AI leadership when we turn away talent like…

A BMW driver has been charged with murder and possession of a weapon — his vehicle — in a fiery road rage crash that killed a 55-year-old motorcyclist in Queens, police and NYPD sources said Friday. Jorden Rosen, 42, refused to talk to police when they arrived at the scene of the deadly Rego Park crash on April 5, but investigators built the case against him with a key piece of evidence — the helmet cam worn by victim William McField, sources said. The cam captured a road rage confrontation that started as the pair were exiting the Long Island…

Google started testing AI-summarized results in Google Search, AI Overviews, two years ago, and continues to expand the feature to new regions and languages. By the company’s estimation, it’s been a big success. AI Overviews is now used by more than 1.5 billion users monthly across over 100 countries. AI Overviews compiles results from around the web to answer certain questions. When you search for something like “What is generative AI?” AI Overviews will show AI-generated text at the top of the Google Search results page. While the feature has dampened traffic to some publishers, Google sees it and other…

This is your last chance to put your brand at the center of the AI conversation during TechCrunch Sessions: AI Week — with applications to host a Side Event closing tonight at 11:59 p.m. PT. From June 1-7, TechCrunch is curating a dynamic weeklong series of Side Events leading up to and following the main event — TC Sessions: AI, taking place June 5 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. These are the gatherings where off-stage magic happens — and you still have a chance to lead one. Whether it’s a roundtable, workshop, happy hour, or meetup, your Side Event can…

Jerusalem CNN  —  Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called Hamas “sons of dogs,” demanding the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza and the disarmament of the militant group. Abbas said the priority is to stop “the Israeli genocide that the Gaza Strip is being subjected to.” He said the hostages present an excuse for Israel to continue attacking the besieged territory. “Sons of dogs, release the hostages and block their justifications,” Abbas said in a lengthy televised speech from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. Israel has vehemently denied accusations of genocide, saying its war…

A new player is entering the institutional Bitcoin space. Cantor Fitzgerald, along with digital asset giants Tether, Bitfinex and global investor SoftBank is launching 21 Capital, a new Bitcoin-focused investment vehicle. The firm will hold billions in bitcoin and hopes to offer a more structured and diversified alternative to Strategy’s aggressive bitcoin acquisition program. The venture will receive $3 billion in bitcoin from its founding partners: $1.5 billion from stablecoin issuer Tether $900 million from tech investment giant SoftBank $600 million from the Bitfinex exchange All of this bitcoin will be converted into shares of 21 Capital at a fixed…

Following its successful second reading, Bill 48—officially known as the iGaming Alberta Act—is preparing to undergo rigorous clause-by-clause analysis in the Alberta Legislative Assembly. This next critical phase involves discussions within the Committee of the Whole, where Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) will closely examine and debate individual sections of the proposed law, considering amendments that could shape the final regulatory framework.So far, Bill 48’s legislative journey has seen limited debate, primarily consisting of an hour-long session last week. During that brief exchange, legislators presented pre-written statements outlining their positions. The upcoming committee discussions, however, promise a more comprehensive examination…