James Comey indicted over Instagram seashell photo that allegedly threatened Trump
The US Department of Justice has once again indicted James Comey - this time, for an alleged threat the former FBI director made toward President Donald Trump on Instagram, as reported earlier by CNN. In its indictment, filed in a North Carolina federal court on Tuesday, the DOJ cites the now-deleted image Comey posted to Instagram last May, which showed a seashell arrangement making up the numbers "8647."
The DOJ claims "a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm." The phrase "eighty-six" can be used as slang that means to "get rid of" or "throw out," accord …
Elon Musk tells the jury that all he wants to do is save humanity
On the stand, Elon Musk is positioning himself as a savior.
In the high-profile trial between him and his fellow OpenAI co-founder, now CEO, Sam Altman, Musk opened by going through his background. He went as far back as being raised in South Africa and arriving in Canada for college with "2,500 in Canadian travelers' checks and a bag of clothes and books," then spent an unusually long time talking about his past, from Zip2 to PayPal to the current, more familiar slate of companies he now runs.
Why is Musk giving the jury so much of his origin story? Though he may be, depending on the day, the world's wealthiest individual, Musk suggested …
Taylor Swift is stepping up the legal war on AI copycats
Taylor Swift has been at the center of AI imitation controversies for years, and now, she's become the latest celebrity who's escalating attempts to protect herself from AI copycats. As usual, however, the legal system intersects with technology in complicated ways - and Swift's efforts may be a long shot.
In trademark applications filed last week, Swift's team asked for protection for two phrases spoken by the singer: Hey, it's Taylor Swift and Hey, it's Taylor. The trademark applications, filed by TAS Rights Management on behalf of Swift, include audio clips of Swift saying the two phrases as part of a promotion for her latest album. "Hey …
Now YouTube TV lets you multiview any channel you want
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced Tuesday that YouTube TV is getting "fully customizable" multiview. Users have "full control to mix and match live streams" and can "build the personalized viewing experience you've been asking for," Mohan says. You can pin up to four streams in your multiview window.
YouTube initially introduced multiview in a more limited form in 2023 as a way to watch preselected streams of sports content like March Madness, and soon after expanded it to preselected streams on topics like news, business, and weather programming. Last year, YouTube rolled out an experiment letting users build their own multiviews with "sel …
The FCC is going after the broadcast licenses of Disney-owned ABC stations
The Federal Communications Commission has ordered the ABC stations owned and operated by Disney to file for an early license renewal, as reported earlier by The New York Times. In a filing on Tuesday, the FCC claims it made the decision as part of an investigation into Disney's policies on diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI).
The move comes just one day after President Donald Trump demanded ABC fire late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who called Melania Trump an "expectant widow" in a skit, ahead of the alleged assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Disney wasn't set to renew its broadcast licenses until …
Live updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAI
Sam Altman and Elon Musk are facing off in a high-stakes trial that could alter the future of OpenAI and its most well-known product, ChatGPT. In 2024, Musk filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of abandoning its founding mission of developing AI to benefit humanity and shifting focus to boosting profits instead.
The trial began with jury selection on April 27th, before Elon Musk took the stand on Tuesday as the first witness called, portraying his interest in founding OpenAI as an effort to help save humanity.
Musk was a cofounder of OpenAI and claims that Altman and cofounder Greg Brockman tricked him into giving the company money, only to turn their backs on their original goal. However, OpenAI says that “This lawsuit has always been a baseless and jealous bid to derail a competitor” in a bid to boost Musk’s own SpaceX / xAI / X companies that have launched Grok as a competitor to ChatGPT.
In his lawsuit, Musk is asking for the removal of Altman and Brockman, and for OpenAI to stop operating as a public benefit corporation. Musk has also demanded that OpenAI’s nonprofit receive up to $150 billion in damages he’s asking for if he wins the case.
Here’s all the latest on the trial between Musk and Altman:
- That’s a wrap!
- YGR scolds OpenAI for taking inconsistent positions on the origin of its name.
- Elon Musk tells the jury that all he wants to do is save humanity
- Arguments over ownership.
- Apparently OpenAI could have had an ICO.
- “I was not averse to a small for-profit,” Musk says.
- We’re reading emails between Musk and Jensen Huang.
- Musk says nonprofit was non-negotiable for OpenAI.
- We’re at the founding of OpenAI.
- Musk says he would have created something like OpenAI on his own.
- Musk recalls meeting Sam Altman.
- Sam Altman left during a break, but Elon Musk’s lawyer didn’t notice.
- “Here we are in 2026 and AI is scary smart.”
- “I have extreme concerns about AI,” says Musk.
- AI will be as smart as ‘any human as soon as next year.’
- Musk claims he has time for SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, and the Boring Company because he works a lot.
- Musk is telling the jury he (co)founded Tesla.
- Neuralink’s long-term goal is… AI?
- “There need to be things that people are excited about that make life worth living … being out there among the stars can excite everyone.”
- A little Musk biography.
- Elon Musk, looking funereal in a black suit with a black tie, says “it’s not okay to steal a charity.”
- Elon Musk takes the stand in high-profile trial against OpenAI
- We are back from a break.
- Elon Musk will be the first witness in Musk v. Altman.
- “Microsoft unlocked with OpenAI a virtuous cycle.”
- Microsoft enters the chat.
- “We are here because Mr Musk didn’t get his way at OpenAI.”
- “[Musk] demanded control, he demanded the ability to make all the decisions without regard to the other founders.”
- OpenAI lawyers argue that Elon was right in the middle of discussions about a for-profit pivot.
- “Musk was furious that OpenAI succeeded.”
- OpenAI: Musk’s lawsuit is a “pageant of hypocrisy.”
- Sam Altman’s “related party conflicted transactions” are how he made money on OpenAI, Molo says.
- Technical difficulties.
- OpenAI is like a museum store that has looted the Picassos and pocketed the profits.
- AGI might be out of fashion in the AI world, but it will be at the center of this trial
- “The defendants in this case stole a charity.”
- Musk and Altman go to court
- Good morning from the Musk v Altman line outside the courtroom.
- Jury selection in Musk v. Altman: ‘People don’t like him’
- We have a jury.
- Elon Musk’s lawyer tried to get some jurors thrown out for disliking Musk.
- Apparently things are exciting outside.
- We have gone through the first 20 potential jurors.
- Voir dire has begun.
- The Elon Musk vs. OpenAI trial starts today.
- Elon Musk drops fraud claims against OpenAI and Sam Altman before trial.
- Musk vs. Altman is here, and it’s going to get messy
- Elon Musk is about to be a very busy boy!
- ‘Sideshow’ concerns and billionaire dreams: What I learned from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI
- Elon Musk’s xAI is suing OpenAI and Apple
- Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI
- Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and Sam Altman again
Elon Musk takes the stand in high-profile trial against OpenAI
Elon Musk officially began his testimony in the trial he has brought against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and company president Greg Brockman.
The three were on the initial founding team of OpenAI, with Musk investing up to $38 million early on before the co-founders' relationship soured over disagreements over company structure and mission, including whether or not OpenAI should be folded into Musk-owned Tesla. Musk walked away and, years later, founded xAI - his own direct competitor to OpenAI, which is now owned by Musk's SpaceX.
In recent years, Musk has filed no less than four different lawsuits against OpenAI, many of which have since been …
You can get dragged into a police investigation by proximity alone — for now
A years-old bank heist may soon have major privacy implications for every American who owns a cellphone. On Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Chatrie v. United States, a case involving police's use of controversial "geofence warrants" to find and arrest Okello Chatrie, the suspect of a 2019 bank robbery outside Richmond, Virginia. At stake is how private your location data - and any other information you store with a large tech company - actually is.
Chatrie was tracked down via the Location History feature on Google Maps, which can identify a person's location within three meters and refreshes every two minutes. Police served G …
Google Home makes it easier to understand why devices aren’t working
Thanks to Google Home's latest update, users may be able to get offline devices working again with less troubleshooting. Now, whenever a device goes offline, users may get "instant account-relinking prompts" in the app's device controller pages, which will tell users right away if an expired partner link is the reason one of their smart home devices isn't connected.
Google's new "Home Vitals" program may also help prevent connection issues from causing devices to go offline to begin with. According to Google, its new Home Vitals website "enables developers to monitor their device integration health, identify connection errors, and proactiv …
The Nex Playground gaming console is $60 off this week
One of the best-selling gaming consoles over the winter holidays was the Nex Playground, a small camera-equipped cube that runs motion-controlled games made primarily for kids. It got a $50 price increase this month — going from $249 to $299 — but shoppers are getting a brief discount during Amazon’s gaming week sale that lasts through May 4th. It’s currently selling for $239 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. While not as good as previous $199 sale prices, this is apparently as good as it’s going to get right now.
Nex Playground
The Nex Playground is a motion-controlled console that connects to your TV and uses a built-in camera and AI to track your movements as you play. Designed for ages five and up, it comes with games like Fruit Ninja and Whack-a-Mole Deluxe. You can download more games, including titles featuring popular characters like Elmo, with a paid Play Pass subscription.
Where to Buy:
The Nex Playground includes five games out of the box, but you can greatly expand its catalog with a Play Pass subscription. Some Play Pass games feature familiar kid-friendly characters like Bluey, Peppa Pig, Elmo, and more. My colleague Sean Hollister reviewed the Playground with the help of his two kiddos. For the most part, he thought the camera tracking was impressive, but it was sometimes disappointing. When the Playground messes up tracking fast-moving kids, smiles can turn into frowns. However, he thinks that the issues generally didn’t stop them from having fun together.
One of his biggest complaints about the Nex Playground was its high cost, not even considering the pricey Play Pass subscription (starting at $49 for three months, or $89 for a year) that ensures kids will have new games to play every so often. This deal doesn’t make the Playground affordable, but it makes things just a little less expensive.