AI, Consumer, War & conflict, Autos, Health
627 storiesBoston Dynamics names former Amazon AI executive Rohit Prasad as CEO
Boston Dynamics, described by Korean outlets as Hyundai Motor Group's robot affiliate, said it has appointed Rohit Prasad, a former Amazon executive who led work on the Alexa voice assistant, as its new chief executive. The company said the…
Saudi Arabia says 2 airports hit in renewed fighting with Houthis
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said airports in Najran and Jizan were hit Monday, damaging both facilities and leaving three people lightly injured; the statement did not say who was responsible. A Houthi brigadier gener…
Turkey, Pakistan to send forces to Saudi Arabia as Houthi strikes widen
Turkey and Pakistan said they will provide agreed military forces and take steps to deploy them rapidly to Saudi Arabia, after an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Oct. 5, in the first activation of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed on …
Russia quarantines hospital as lab worker’s death puts nearly 200 under observation
A female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week of pneumonia of unknown cause, Russian authorities said, and a hospital in the town of Shelekhov was placed under quarantine. Officia…
Trump announces “Super Intelligence Force” AI task force led by Jay Clayton
President Donald Trump announced Sunday the creation of a “Super Intelligence Force,” a federal task force he said will coordinate government efforts to keep the United States leading in artificial intelligence, which he has directed the fe…
France's Mistral releases largest open-weight AI model, Mistral Large 4
France's Mistral released Mistral Large 4, its largest open-weight AI model, nicknamed “Chonk”, on Oct 6 foreign local time, with general availability set for Oct 27. Users can download the parameters, or weights, and customize the model on…
KFF poll finds Medicare for All support at 66% in US, highest since 2016
A KFF poll published Tuesday found 66 percent of U.S. adults support Medicare for All, the highest level since 2016, with 32 percent saying they strongly favor a single government health plan. Support was up about 13 points from 2020, but t…
Russian anti-plague lab researcher dies; US and EU say they are monitoring
A 28-year-old female researcher at the Irkutsk anti-plague research institute in Shelekhov, Russia, died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown cause, the state agency Rospotrebnadzor said. About 200 people who may have had contact…
OpenAI safety lead resigns, says company's safety culture is broken
David Robinson, who wrote the safety reports accompanying OpenAI's major model releases, has resigned and published an essay in The Atlantic saying the company's culture is "broken" and its approach to safety is reactive. He cited a July 20…
Russia says its forces advance in northern and central Dobropolye
Russia's Defence Ministry said its assault groups advanced in the northern and central parts of Dobropolye, in the Donetsk People's Republic, and that marine infantry units finished clearing residential buildings in the city's eastern distr…
Russia's Defence Ministry says forces tighten encirclement in northeast Kharkiv region
Russia's Defence Ministry said units of its “North” grouping are tightening an encirclement of Ukrainian formations in northeastern Kharkiv region and expanding an outer zone of control, with fighting for several villages. The ministry said…
Russian drone strikes hit Kyiv's Northern Bridge; five of six shut
Russian drone strikes hit Kyiv's Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge over the Dnipro River on Saturday morning, injuring two people and damaging the road surface and overhead trolley wires, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said. Kyiv authorities closed fiv…
Latvia says armed masked men from Belarus threatened its troops at border
Latvia's interior minister, Jānis Dombrava, said a group of masked people illegally crossed into Latvia from Belarus after the military stopped about 20 migrants from entering. Latvia's National Armed Forces said the migrants were accompani…
Russia says it struck port point of Vylkove in Ukraine's Odesa region
Russia's defence ministry said its forces struck the port point of Vylkove in Ukraine's Odesa region, according to state outlets TASS and RIA Novosti and the business outlet RBC. RIA Novosti said the site was used to move cargo for Ukrainia…
Russia reports 861 drones downed in a day, 868 overnight
Russia's defense ministry reported downing 646 Ukrainian drones on the night of 1–2 October and 559 on the night of 3–4 October, then said on 5 October that 861 drones had been destroyed in 24 hours and 868 overnight into 6 October. Kommers…
Russia denies plague after worker at Siberian institute dies of unknown pneumonia
A woman who worked at a plague-control research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region in eastern Siberia has died; Japanese outlets differ on whether she died on Oct 1 or Oct 2. Russian authorities say the cause was “pneumonia of unknown cau…
Amazon’s October Prime Day runs October 6-8 as retailers cut prices early
Amazon’s October Prime Day, also called Prime Big Deal Days, runs from October 6 at 3AM ET through 3AM ET on October 8, with discounts already live, according to The Verge, NBC News and Wired. Wired listed Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 at $190 ($…
Israel marks three years since Oct. 7 attack with memorials and protests
Israelis gathered on Wednesday to mark three years since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which killed more than 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, with ceremonies, memorials and protests at more than 400 locations. A national moment…
Hyundai launches 2027 Sonata The Edge with new Black N Line trim
Hyundai Motor launched the facelifted 2027 Sonata The Edge on Oct. 7, adding a Black N Line design trim based on the top Inspiration grade, with a black Hyundai emblem, black name lettering and 19-inch matte black wheels. The S trim gains a…
SpaceX seeks $40bn Apollo-led financing to buy Nvidia chips, reports say
SpaceX is seeking about $40bn in financing, led by Apollo Global Management, to buy Nvidia chips, according to reports citing people familiar with the matter. The company plans roughly $10bn in bank loans and $30bn in investment-grade bonds…