Gemini gets preferential treatment on Android, but maybe not for long (in Europe).

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Houston, we have another "13."

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night. Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images The government filed charges on Monday against Cole Allen, the WHCD shooting suspect. He was charged with attempted assassination of the president, which could land him life in prison. Prosecutors included an email Allen sent before the alleged shooting explaining his actions. Federal prosecutors on Monday charged 31-year-old Cole Allen, the suspected White House Correspondents' Dinner shooter, with attempting to assassinate the President of the United States. That rarely used charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The seven-page criminal complaint also includes two gun charges: transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. The complaint said that at the time of his arrest, Allen possessed a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38 caliber pistol. He purchased the shotgun in 2025 and the pistol in 2023, according to prosecutors. Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, said at a press conference on Monday that there "will be additional charges as this investigation continues to unfold." Allen's lawyer, public defender Tezira Abe, didn't return a request for comment. In court on Monday, Abe said Allen has no prior arrests or convictions and "is presumed innocent at this time," NBC reported. The dinner, an annual toast to the First Amendment attended by journalists, politicians, and the occasional celebrity, was disrupted on Saturday after shots rang out in the lobby of the Washington Hilton, the hotel where the event was held. The president and senior administration officials are typically at the dinner as well, though this was the first time Trump attended as president. Saturday night's incident was the third known assassination attempt that Trump has faced. Since the incident, Trump and some of his allies in Congress have said that the shooting makes it all the more important that the new White House ballroom in the East Wing be built, given the higher security. Tim Röhn, the senior editor of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, wrote that the security protocols at the event was "surprisingly lax," entailing simply flashing a screenshot of an invitation and passing through a metal detector before entering the ballroom. Prosecutors say in the criminal complaint that Allen sent an email, likely pre-scheduled, shortly before 8:40 p.m. on Saturday, when he approached the security checkpoint at the Hilton. That email included a message in a .txt file called "Apology and Explanation," along with his "sincerest apologies for all the trouble I've caused." He signed off on the email "Cole 'coldForce' 'Friendly Federal Assassin' Allen," according to the complaint. Here's the full text of the message Allen sent to family: Hello everybody! So I may have given a lot of people a surprise today. Let me start off by apologizing to everyone whose trust I abused. I apologize to my parents for saying I had an interview without specifying it was for "Most Wanted." I apologize to my colleagues and students for saying I had a personal emergency (by the time anyone reads this, I probably most certainly DO need to go to the ER, but can hardly call that not a self-inflicted status.) I apologize to all of the people I traveled next to, all the workers who handled my luggage, and all the other non-targeted people at the hotel who I put in danger simply by being near. I apologize to everyone who was abused and/or murdered before this, to all those who suffered before I was able to attempt this, to all who may still suffer after, regardless of my success or failure. I don't expect forgiveness, but if I could have seen any other way to get this close, I would have taken it. Again, my sincere apologies. On to why I did any of this: I am a citizen of the United States of America. What my representatives do reflects on me. And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes. (Well, to be completely honest, I was no longer willing a long time ago, but this is the first real opportunity I've had to do something about it.) While I'm discussing this, I'll also go over my expected rules of engagement (probably in a terrible format, but I'm not military so too bad.) Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest Secret Service: they are targets only if necessary, and to be incapacitated nonlethally if possible (aka, I hope they're wearing body armor because center mass with shotguns messes up people who *aren't* Hotel Security: not targets if at all possible (aka unless they shoot at me) Capitol Police: same as Hotel Security National Guard: same as Hotel Security Hotel Employees: not targets at all Guests: not targets at all In order to minimize casualties I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls) I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people chose to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesn't come to that. Read the original article on Business Insider

The Trump administration's desired capabilities and cost have raised questions about feasibility. The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Images Twelve defense companies have been picked for initial work on space-based interceptors for the US' Golden Dome. These interceptors are the costliest and most complex parts of Golden Dome. Officials and analysts are questioning whether interceptors are feasible at scale. The Department of Defense has picked a dozen companies to develop space-based interceptors for Golden Dome, moving forward amid concerns the technology might be too expensive to field. Golden Dome is the Trump administration's proposed missile defense system to counter threats from foes like Russia and China. The design includes space-based missile interceptors, but military leaders and analysts have raised concerns about the cost. Last week, Space Force's Space Systems Command said 12 defense companies had been selected in late 2025 and earlier this year for Other Transaction Authority agreements, early-stage research and prototype work with fewer regulatory constraints. The combined award value is up to $3.2 billion, and the industry partners selected include big names like Anduril, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman, along with firms such as Booz Allen Hamilton and Turion Space Corp. These companies will work on prototypes for Golden Dome's space-based missile interceptors, armed low-Earth orbit satellites designed to counter ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles across multiple phases of flight, the Space Force said. Col. Bryon McClain, the Space Force program executive officer for space combat power, said in a release on the selection that "adversary capabilities are advancing rapidly, and our acquisition strategies must move even faster to counter the growing speed and maneuverability of modern missile threats." "With the commitment and collaboration of these industry partners, the Space Force will demonstrate an initial capability in 2028." Trump wants Golden Dome to counter "ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks from peer, near-peer, and rogue adversaries." Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images But other officials have questioned whether these capabilities will be affordable. Earlier this month, Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, director for the Golden Dome program, acknowledged that satellites built to shoot down enemy missiles might never be feasible. "What we do not know today is: 'Can I do it at scale and can I do it affordably? That's going to be the huge challenge for boost-phase intercept," Guetlein told the House Armed Services Strategic Forces committee. "I will tell you because we are so focused on affordability. If we cannot do it affordably, we will not go into production," the head of Space Force added. Space-based interceptors aren't necessarily the only game in town though, he indicated, telling Congress that "if boost-phase intercept from space is not affordable and scalable, we will not produce it because we have other options to get after it." Golden Dome's current estimated price tag sits at $185 billion, about $10 billion more than President Donald Trump first estimated when discussing Golden Dome's total cost last May. The Congressional Budget Office has put the projected total at anywhere between $161 billion and half a trillion dollars for launching and operating a full constellation of space-based interceptors for 20 years. The cost projections vary depending on the number of interceptors the US deploys. Analysts have suggested that space-based interceptors may not fit within the program's cost and requirements given the mission. When Trump issued an executive order to build Golden Dome in January 2025, the order said it must counter "ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks from peer, near-peer, and rogue adversaries." Per an American Enterprise Institute paper from September 2025 by senior fellow Todd Harrison, a simulated Golden Dome architecture that best fits those requirements is estimated to cost $3.6 trillion over 20 years. In contrast, AEI's simulated designs that better fit the Trump administration's budget don't provide the defensive capabilities being promised, "creating a multi-trillion-dollar gap between rhetoric and reality," the paper said. "The more threats Golden Dome is designed to counter, and the broader its coverage, capacity, and resilience, the higher the cost. Even small shifts in objectives can produce outsized changes in cost, and the largest cost driver by far is space-based interceptors," Harrison wrote. Golden Dome also presents a shift toward further weaponizing space. Experts say that while the US sees Golden Dome as necessary, it could accelerate an arms race. That could include systems designed to target the interceptors, missiles that evade defenses, or larger missile arsenals to overwhelm the system. Some US officials have pointed to China and Russia's existing counterspace capabilities as evidence that space is already contested. China and Russia have both criticized the Golden Dome plan as a potential catalyst for a space arms race while simultaneously advancing their respective missile and anti-space programs. Read the original article on Business Insider

More people having access to the courts is potentially good, but it’s not clear how the system can handle this increase in cases.

The agency reports that losses from social media scams have increased eightfold and that social media scams resulted in higher losses than any other method scammers used to contact consumers.

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Truecaller has hit 500 million monthly users, but slower growth in India, CNAP rollout, and ad pressure are testing whether its next phase can be as strong as its first. The post Truecaller Faces New Pressure in India as Growth Matures appeared first on TechRepublic.

Exploring the origins of an incredibly dumb, Magic Eye-themed WHCD conspiracy theory.

<p>For many years, Microsoft and OpenAI's relationship has included a weird clause saying that, should AGI be achieved, Microsoft's commercial IP rights to OpenAI's technology would be null and void. That clause appeared to end today. I decided to try and track its expression over time on <a href="https://openai.com/">openai.com</a>.</p> <p>OpenAI, July 22nd 2019 in <a href="https://openai.com/index/microsoft-invests-in-and-partners-with-openai/">Microsoft invests in and partners with OpenAI to support us building beneficial AGI</a> (emphasis mine):</p> <blockquote> <p>OpenAI is producing a sequence of increasingly powerful AI technologies, which requires a lot of capital for computational power. The most obvious way to cover costs is to build a product, but that would mean changing our focus. Instead, we intend to license <strong>some of our pre-AGI technologies</strong>, with Microsoft becoming our preferred partner for commercializing them.</p> </blockquote> <p>But what <em>is</em> AGI? The <a href="https://openai.com/charter/">OpenAI Charter</a> was first published in April 2018 and has remained unchanged at least since this <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190311213352/https://openai.com/charter/">March 11th 2019 archive.org capture</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI)—by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work—benefits all of humanity.</p> </blockquote> <p>Here's the problem: if you're going to sign an agreement with Microsoft that is dependent on knowing when "AGI" has been achieved, you need something a little more concrete.</p> <p>In December 2024 <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-and-openai-wrangle-over-terms-of-their-blockbuster-partnership">The Information reported the details</a> (summarized here outside of their paywall <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/26/microsoft-and-openai-have-a-financial-definition-of-agi-report/">by TechCrunch</a>):</p> <blockquote> <p>Last year’s agreement between Microsoft and OpenAI, which hasn’t been disclosed, said AGI would be achieved only when OpenAI has developed systems that have the ability to generate the maximum total profits to which its earliest investors, including Microsoft, are entitled, according to documents OpenAI distributed to investors. Those profits total about $100 billion, the documents showed.</p> </blockquote> <p>So AGI is now whenever OpenAI's systems are capable of generating $100 billion in profit?</p> <p>In October 2025 the process changed to being judged by an "independent expert panel". In <a href="https://openai.com/index/next-chapter-of-microsoft-openai-partnership/">The next chapter of the Microsoft–OpenAI partnership</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>The agreement preserves key elements that have fueled this successful partnership—meaning OpenAI remains Microsoft’s frontier model partner and Microsoft continues to have exclusive IP rights and Azure API exclusivity until Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). [...]</p> <p>Once AGI is declared by OpenAI, that declaration will now be verified by an independent expert panel. [...]</p> <p>Microsoft’s IP rights to research, defined as the confidential methods used in the development of models and systems, will remain until either the expert panel verifies AGI or through 2030, whichever is first.</p> </blockquote> <p>OpenAI on February 27th, 2026 in <a href="https://openai.com/index/continuing-microsoft-partnership/">Joint Statement from OpenAI and Microsoft</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>AGI definition and processes are unchanged</strong>. The contractual definition of AGI and the process for determining if it has been achieved remains the same.</p> </blockquote> <p>OpenAI today, April 27th 2026 in <a href="https://openai.com/index/next-phase-of-microsoft-partnership/">The next phase of the Microsoft OpenAI partnership</a> (emphasis mine):</p> <blockquote> <ul> <li>Microsoft will continue to have a license to OpenAI IP for models and products through 2032. Microsoft’s license will now be non-exclusive.</li> <li>Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI.</li> <li>Revenue share payments from OpenAI to Microsoft continue through 2030, <strong>independent of OpenAI’s technology progress</strong>, at the same percentage but subject to a total cap.</li> </ul> </blockquote> <p>As far as I can tell "independent of OpenAI’s technology progress" is a declaration that the AGI clause is now dead. Here's The Verge coming to the same conclusion: <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/918981/openai-microsoft-renegotiate-contract">The AGI clause is dead</a>.</p> <p>My all-time favorite commentary on OpenAI's approach to AGI remains this 2023 hypothetical <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-20/who-controls-openai">by Matt Levine</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>And the investors wailed and gnashed their teeth but it’s true, that is what they agreed to, and they had no legal recourse. And OpenAI’s new CEO, and its nonprofit board, cut them a check for their capped return and said “bye” and went back to running OpenAI for the benefit of humanity. It turned out that a benign, carefully governed artificial superintelligence is really good for humanity, and OpenAI quickly solved all of humanity’s problems and ushered in an age of peace and abundance in which nobody wanted for anything or needed any Microsoft products. And capitalism came to an end.</p> </blockquote> <p>Tags: <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/computer-history">computer-history</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/microsoft">microsoft</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/ai">ai</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/openai">openai</a></p>

Upgrades to SNES graphics and sound go way beyond the typical screen filtering.

The unwinding of Meta’s deal shows how tech founders struggle to cut China ties.

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China has blocked Meta’s $2.5 billion Manus AI acquisition, raising new questions about cross-border AI deals and who controls agent technology. The post China Shuts Down Meta’s $2.5B Bid for AI Startup Manus appeared first on TechRepublic.

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer: Have I Been Pwned: ShinyHunters' breach of ADT exposed the personal data of 5.5M people; ADT previously disclosed data breaches in August 2024 and October 2024  —  The ShinyHunters extortion group stole the personal information of 5.5 million individuals after breaching the systems …

Low-frequency infrasound (below 20 Hz) can raise cortisol levels in saliva and increase irritability.

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The social media giant’s new project with Overview Energy is slated to reach commercialization by 2030.

John Ternus was the senior vice president of hardware engineering before being named CEO. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images John Ternus, Apple's new CEO, has a background in hardware engineering. Oculus inventor Palmer Luckey unearthed a VR headset from Ternus's time at Virtual Research in the '90s. Ternus left the small VR company in 2001 before joining Apple the same year. Apple's John Ternus is a 25-year veteran of the tech giant, but one of his first engineering gigs was at a lesser-known company building virtual reality headsets. Defense startup founder and Oculus headset creator Palmer Luckey reminisced on X about a product that Ternus, who is set to become Apple's CEO in September, might've had a hand in during his early engineering days. Luckey posted a photo of an old V8 head mount display from Virtual Research. "From what I can tell, he was the lead mechanical engineer on the V8 I obtained when I was 16!," Luckey wrote, referring to Ternus. John Ternus, the new CEO of Apple, has been with the company for 25 years. His only non-Apple job was four years in the late 90s at Virtual Research, a tiny Virtual Reality HMD outfit.From what I can tell, he was the lead mechanical engineer on the V8 I obtained when I was 16! pic.twitter.com/qfc8Uxg9ux — Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) April 26, 2026 "It was an incredible headset for the time," Luckey told Business Insider. He described the headset as well-balanced and relatively lightweight, with a field of vision that was ahead of that of other consumer products at the time. It mainly sold to military flight simulators for around $50,000, Luckey said. Ternus and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A user guide for the V8 published online suggests the model was released in 1998, when Ternus would've been working at the company. He was an engineer at Virtual Research from 1997 to 2001, and joined Apple later that year, according to his LinkedIn profile. A patent filed in 1995 and issued in 1998, during Ternus's time at Virtual Research, describes a similar-looking product, a virtual display apparatus for use in a virtual reality system. It supported the attachment of video displays. Ternus is best known today as Apple's hardware boss, notably for working on AirPods and the iPad among other products, and as the incoming CEO. His appointment marks the return to a product-minded chief like Steve Jobs. Current CEO Tim Cook's background is in operations. The tech giant made its debut in the high-tech headset market in 2024 with the Vision Pro, which received a lukewarm response from the public. Its $3,500 price tag and lack of a killer app didn't wow consumers. At that point, Ternus had been in the senior vice president of hardware engineering role for three years. Despite an underwhelming response to the Vision Pro, execs like Cook and Ternus remain optimistic about the product and the future of VR. "Vision Pro is an extraordinary product," Ternus said in a Tom's Guide interview earlier this month. "It's like we reached into the future and pulled it into the present." Read the original article on Business Insider