In my standup, I’m not trivializing the death penalty. I’m getting people to stay engaged when the subject is uncomfortable The first time I came out as gay to a client on death row, he said: “Josh, I don’t care what you do with your ass, as long as you’re ...
Month: August 2026
Vivek Ramaswamy is struggling to connect with voters. Can Ohio’s Indian community help?Vivek Ramaswamy is struggling to connect with voters. Can Ohio’s Indian community help?
Ohioans of Indian heritage will see one of their own take center stage in race for governor, but their support amid a rocky campaign is not a guarantee At the Hindu Temple of Dayton in south-west Ohio, there’s no little pride for gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy – he and his ...
Airtable sale punctures SaaS bubbleAirtable sale punctures SaaS bubble
This is what capitulation looks like: Airtable, a maker of workflow software, is being sold for just 10% of its peak valuation. It’s a sign that some companies hit hard by the SaaS selloff (or their venture-capital backers, as Airtable is still privately held) are bowing to reality and taking ...
AstraZeneca could be Britain’s next lossAstraZeneca could be Britain’s next loss
AstraZeneca’s deal talks with US-headquartered Bristol Myers Squibb, which Semafor confirms remain active, would strike another blow to the UK’s effort to keep hold of its corporate champions. A merger would tilt AstraZeneca’s revenues even further away from the UK and Europe and could portend a full relisting in New ...
The trade in Trump’s social-media previewsThe trade in Trump’s social-media previews
President Donald Trump has a social-media site. He says market-moving things on that site, which is now selling early access to those things for $100,000 a month. It’s a blatant bit of self-dealing, requiring none of the complicated flow charts that accompany most reporting about all the other ways the ...
China’s AI giants target enterprise profitsChina’s AI giants target enterprise profits
China’s tech giants are deepening their push into enterprise AI to drive profits. For years, China’s AI race was dominated by a quest for market share, but Alibaba and Tencent are now also trying to grow by bundling their models into workplace tools, while ByteDance announced last week it was ...
Taiwan export boom marks return of ‘Tiger economy’Taiwan export boom marks return of ‘Tiger economy’
Taiwan’s “Tiger economy” is back, propelled by chips and other AI-related exports to the US, capping a decade-long pivot away from the mainland market. Economic growth is on track to expand 11% for the full year, more than double the rate of China. For the first time in a quarter ...
The SCREEN Act is a Christian Nationalist NightmareThe SCREEN Act is a Christian Nationalist Nightmare
On Wednesday morning, Ted Cruz’s Senate Commerce Committee will convene on five bills aimed at age verification and “child safety.” The bills each have their own issues when it comes to privacy, data collection, parental rights, and free speech. But one bill, the partisan Republican SCREEN Act, is a Christian ...
Microsoft Tells Engineers ‘Tokenmaxxing Is Not What We Are Optimizing For’Microsoft Tells Engineers ‘Tokenmaxxing Is Not What We Are Optimizing For’
Microsoft has introduced new limits to how much its engineers can spend on AI tools at work and told employees that maximizing AI use internally is not the company’s goal. This makes Microsoft one of the last major companies to rein in its employees’ expensive AI use. Scaling back maximalist ...
‘DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE’: How Cops Are Trying to Hide Their Use of Flock‘DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE’: How Cops Are Trying to Hide Their Use of Flock
When cops use Flock to arrest someone in Wapello County, Iowa, they don’t want them to know. A usage policy for the automated license plate reader cameras in the county tells police, in no uncertain terms, to keep them a secret: “DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE TO THE OCCUPANTS OF ...