The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced its intention to rescind nearly 70 policy and regulatory guidance documents, some dating back more than a decade. This move marks a significant shift in the direction of the agency under the Trump administration. Though not yet finalized, the proposed rollback signals a departure from previous regulatory…
U.S. and China Enter High-Stakes Trade Talks Amid Tariff Tensions and Geopolitical Undercurrents
China and the United States commenced their first major trade war talks on Saturday, attempting to avoid a mutually damaging standoff with little clarity on what a successful outcome would look like. The talks come as global markets and economies face instability due to prolonged tariff disputes and supply chain disruptions. The United States, under…
Thunderbolts Closes MCU Phase Five with Humor, Heart, and Yelena’s Fight for Redemption
Marvel delivers another critical and box office success with Thunderbolts—a witty, action-packed follow-up to Black Widow and the final entry in Phase Five of the MCU. The asterisk in the title, initially puzzling, serves as a clever in-joke that fits the film’s tone. The movie marks a return to Marvel’s strong storytelling and character-driven approach.…
Anthropic Supercharges Claude with Advanced Research Mode and Third-Party App Integrations
On Thursday, Anthropic announced major updates to its AI assistant, Claude, expanding its research capabilities and integration options. Claude can now run research tasks for up to 45 minutes before generating comprehensive reports. This new feature significantly enhances its ability to conduct in-depth investigations, compiling information from various sources, including both internal and external resources.…
Visa Empowers AI Agents to Make Purchases with Tokenized Cards and Personalized Spending Controls
Visa is embarking on a major shift in digital commerce by enabling AI agents to conduct financial transactions on behalf of consumers. Through its new initiative, Visa Intelligent Commerce, the company is piloting integrations with advanced AI platforms from Anthropic, Microsoft, OpenAI, Perplexity, and Mistral. The goal is to automate everyday purchases, such as buying…
Microsoft Introduces Phi-4-Reasoning-Plus to Advance Scalable Structured Thinking in Open AI Models
Microsoft Research has introduced Phi-4-reasoning-plus, an open-weight language model designed to excel in deep and structured reasoning tasks. An evolution of the previously released Phi-4, this new 14-billion parameter Transformer model incorporates supervised fine-tuning and reinforcement learning to deliver superior performance on complex tasks in domains such as mathematics, coding, and science. It is trained…
Roku Channel Delivers Free Streaming with Originals and Quibi Rescues Across Multiple Devices
While Roku is best known for its streaming devices, the Roku Channel offers free, ad-supported entertainment that’s accessible even without Roku hardware. Viewers can stream content via a web browser or mobile apps for iOS and Android. Roku Channel apps are also available on several smart TVs and streaming devices, including Fire TV and Google…
Kuwait Bans Crypto Mining to Protect Power Grid Amid Energy Crisis and Summer Demand Surge
Kuwait has officially outlawed cryptocurrency mining, labeling it “illegal and unlicensed” as the nation grapples with a deepening energy crisis. This marks a significant policy shift aimed at reducing pressure on its overburdened power grid, which has been pushed to the brink by soaring summer temperatures and increasing air conditioning demand. Unlike Dubai, which has…
NotebookLM Expands to Android with Smarter Document Tools and AI Audio Features Ahead of Google IO
After years of AI hype and advancements, Google has introduced NotebookLM, a tool that distinguishes itself from other AI offerings. Unlike the general-purpose AI found in many of Google’s products, NotebookLM is designed specifically to help users interact with documents, videos, and other media sources. Initially launched as a web-based tool in 2023, it has…
Why Waiting to Buy a Console No Longer Pays Off in the Post-Moore’s Law Era
For decades, gamers had good reasons to wait before buying a new console. Launch prices were high, game libraries were limited, and waiting a few years often meant choosing the “winning” console with better exclusives and third-party support. Most importantly, consoles consistently became cheaper over time, making patience a financially smart decision. From the Atari…