Crypto Advocates Push Senate to Pass CLARITY Act Before August Deadline
The CLARITY Act faces an August 7 deadline for Senate passage to establish federal cryptocurrency standards instead of fragmented state regulations. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated on July 8 that passage is critical and described the effort as near completion.
SpaceXAI Releases Grok 4.5, a Cursor-Trained Model for Coding, Agentic Tasks, and Knowledge Work at $2/M Input
Grok 4.5, a model trained for coding and agentic tasks, processes at 80 tokens per second with input costs of $2 per million tokens. The model ranks first on Harvey's Legal Agent Benchmark.
Rare goblin shark filmed alive for the first time in the deep sea
Researchers filmed a living goblin shark in its natural deep-sea habitat for the first time, documenting this 125-million-year-old species in the ocean depths. The footage expanded the known range and depth distribution of this elusive predator.
NATO is building an AI ‘Kill Web’ to stop a Russian attack before it starts
NATO is constructing an AI network along its eastern border to detect and respond rapidly to potential Russian attacks through the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative. The system aims to identify threats early and enable quick counterstrikes before an attack fully materializes.
Satellites are transforming biodiversity monitoring for global nature targets, but major gaps remain
Satellites and remote sensing technologies are enabling large-scale monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem health for countries reporting under international nature targets. However, the review identifies significant limitations in current satellite capabilities for comprehensive biodiversity assessment.
Scientists used AI to crack one of water's biggest mysteries
Researchers at the University of Osaka used an AI model trained on computer simulations to evaluate 16 different structural descriptors of supercooled water. The system identified the most effective ways to distinguish between water's two competing liquid states.
‘We cannot choose to become idiots’: a Brown professor’s proof of mass AI cheating
A Brown University economics professor observed his take-home midterm average drop from 96 to 48 when he switched the final exam from take-home to in-person format, suggesting widespread AI use during the unsupervised test. The professor publicly shared these results as evidence that most students in his class likely used artificial intelligence to complete the take-home assignment.
NHTSA demands autonomous vehicle companies fix first responder interference by end of July
Autonomous vehicles have driven into emergency scenes, blocked ambulances and firefighters, and failed to recognize flashing lights and other first responder signals. NHTSA ordered developers to submit solutions for this interference issue by the end of July.
SpaceX's Grok 4.5 launches at half the price of rivals — here's why that could rattle Anthropic and OpenAI
Elon Musk's SpaceX released Grok 4.5, trained specifically for coding and autonomous agents using its $60 billion Cursor acquisition, priced at $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens. The model uses half as many tokens per task as comparable models and costs less than half as much as rival premium offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI.
AI money watch: five funding rounds that matter today
A quantum computing company raised $300 million while an AI-agent startup achieved a billion-dollar valuation. European startups focused on energy also received funding within a 24-hour period.
Irish drone delivery startup Manna is building a 1,000-person US factory in Tulsa to take on Zipline and Wing
Manna Aero is building a manufacturing facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma that will employ approximately 1,000 people, with production starting in about one year. The Irish drone delivery company raised $50 million in venture capital to fund this US expansion.
Scientists finally crack nature's secret for building better cancer drugs
Researchers discovered how bacteria naturally produce multiple versions of potent anti-cancer drugs. This finding could simplify engineering new cancer treatments and creating improved variants of existing medicines.
Google’s SynthID watermark just debunked its first high-profile deepfake: a hoax image of Mitch McConnell
Google's SynthID watermarking system identified an AI-generated image of Senator Mitch McConnell circulating on Reddit and X as fake, marking its first high-profile real-world application. Snopes used the technology to debunk the viral image, which depicted McConnell in a hospital bed.
Students Connect NASA Science With Indigenous Knowledge to Study Coastal Erosion
Students at Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Reservation are combining NASA science with Indigenous knowledge to study coastal erosion affecting their community in Downeast Maine. The shoreline is eroding at an accelerating rate, threatening land with significant historical importance to the Passamaquoddy people.
Investors haven’t been this bullish on the dollar in a decade. How the buck can keep climbing.
Investors are making their largest bullish bets on the U.S. dollar in ten years, with the strength depending partly on whether recent oil price increases sustain amid Middle East tensions. The dollar's continued climb relies on whether inflation concerns from higher oil prices convince the Federal Reserve to maintain tight monetary policy.
Netflix AI Team Cuts Wide-Partition Read Latency from Seconds to Milliseconds by Splitting Cassandra Partitions Per ID
Netflix engineers reduced Apache Cassandra wide-partition read latency from seconds to low double-digit milliseconds using dynamic partitioning that splits oversized partitions per TimeSeries ID on the read path. The system detects partitions via byte counting, validates splits with checksums, and routes reads to parallel child partitions using Bloom filters while maintaining availability for 500MB+ partitions.
With EU backing, QuantumDiamonds aims to speed up chip manufacturing
QuantumDiamonds, a German startup, received EU backing to develop chip inspection technology using a novel approach. The company operates within the European Chips Act framework, which provides state subsidies to strengthen the semiconductor industry.
HubSpot tried to feed its AI with customer data. The revolt took four days
HubSpot reversed a policy change that would have used customer data for AI lead-finding features after four days of backlash. The company had automatically opted customers into data pooling on July 1 before scrapping the plan.
Arsenal on alert after Bruno Guimarães tells Newcastle he wants to leave
Bruno Guimarães told Newcastle he wants to leave to join Arsenal, the Premier League champions. Arsenal is preparing an offer around £60 million for the Brazil midfielder after holding talks with his representatives last month.
Squeezed on land, Samsung wants to put data centres out to sea
Samsung Heavy Industries plans to launch its first floating data centre by 2028 using a purpose-built barge parked near the coast. The facility will be specifically designed rather than converted from an existing ship.
‘Agentic Regulation’ Hackathon Supported by Global Organizations Aims to Build AI Tools for Regulators
A hackathon focused on building AI tools for regulators launched with support from global organizations to develop agentic regulation capabilities. The Cambridge Digital Innovation and Regulation Initiative hosted the first-of-its-kind event as the financial industry increasingly adopts AI to enhance services and efficiency.
Nvidia teams up with chip rival d-Matrix instead of fighting it
Nvidia combined its hardware with inference chips from startup d-Matrix to create a joint system for running AI models. Parasail will be the first customer to receive this combined system.
Thought Machine Secures $41 Million in Funding; Tops $100 Million Revenue Milestone
Thought Machine secured $41 million in funding from a Tier 1 bank client in May. The core banking technology firm has surpassed $100 million in annual revenue.
A £35bn plan to fill the UK with 14 mini nuclear reactors
A Polish billionaire's company plans to build 14 small nuclear reactors across three UK sites for approximately £35 billion, targeting first power in 2034. The reactors will be GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 units operated by Michał Sołowow's firm, SGE.
Prime Intellect Raises $130 Million to Help Companies Train AI Agents
Prime Intellect secured $130 million in Series A funding to expand its platform for training AI agents. The company provides compute resources, large-scale reinforcement learning, environments, sandboxes, evaluations, and deployment tools for customers building and improving AI agents.
SMBs Swap Pricey SaaS Contracts for AI-Built Apps
Small businesses are building custom applications using AI coding tools instead of purchasing traditional SaaS software licenses. Five startups and small companies with 20 to 70 employees are replacing vendor software with AI-built apps to avoid paying for unused features.
Narmi Unveils AI Decision Assist to Facilitate Account Opening Review Process
Narmi announced AI Decision Assist, an agentic AI tool designed to automate bank account opening reviews by analyzing identity, risk, and compliance information. The tool handles application review tasks that previously required manual processing by bank staff.
OpenAI launches GPT-Live, a full-duplex voice upgrade that lets ChatGPT talk more like a person
OpenAI launched GPT-Live, a full-duplex voice system that lets ChatGPT listen and speak simultaneously, replacing Advanced Voice Mode across iOS, Android, and ChatGPT.com. The two models, GPT-Live-1 and GPT-Live-1 mini, eliminate waiting for silence gaps by continuously processing incoming audio while generating responses.
Google AI Studio Adds ‘Import from GitHub’ to Build Mode, Turning an Existing Repo Into an Editable, Deployable App
Google AI Studio's Build mode now includes an Import from GitHub feature that converts existing repositories into runtime-compatible, editable formats. Developers can then iterate on and deploy these imported projects directly within the platform.
England Fan Who Spent Life Savings on World Cup Trip with Granddad Gets Money Gifted Back
Jacob Allmendinger spent his $13,000 life savings to take his 80-year-old grandfather Geoff Golliker to the World Cup instead of using it for a house deposit. A company inspired by their story then gifted him the entire amount back.