Category: Semafor

French authorities readied a heavy security presence ahead of planned weekend protests, aiming to head off instability that has called into question the country’s long-term economic prospects. Demonstrations last week erupted into violence, including mass looting and cars being set alight, resulting in more than 2,000 arrests. The unrest has ...

Partisan actors are gaming AI platforms to regurgitate misleading information ahead of critical elections in Brazil, Israel, and the US. Cybersecurity firms identified thousands of AI-generated websites purporting to be local US news sites, but “the sites are not written for voters,” one firm noted: “They are written for the ...

Chinese medical equipment makers are increasingly challenging US, European, and Japanese competitors in hospitals around the world, extending Beijing’s technological prowess to yet another industry. While treatment centers long relied on machines from GE, Siemens, and Philips, some are now embracing machines like Shanghai-based United Imaging Healthcare’s CT scanners, which ...

French President Emmanuel Macron said protests not organized by trade unions would be banned, as the Élysée braces for further unrest ahead of demonstrations planned for Saturday. French cities have been shaken in recent weeks by vandalism and looting sparked by cost-of-living demonstrations, amid a broader crisis besieging the country’s ...

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday dismissed the possibility of “systemic” economic risks stemming from the AI boom, the Financial Times reported, as a global tech selloff fueled by AI spending fears continued into Thursday. Meta stock plunged after the hyperscaler drifted into negative free cash flow, while China ...

The Trump administration accused Canada of election interference, as politically-charged fears swirled over potential meddling ahead of the US midterms. Ottawa denied the charges and banned its diplomats from being seen with US candidates. Democrats on intelligence committees told NPR they are bracing for US President Donald Trump to allege ...

An RJ Reynolds subsidiary is promoting fruit-flavored vaping pods with colorful scented mailers that critics say are similar to the “scratch and sniff” ads the tobacco giant agreed to suspend 20 years ago, as part of a settlement with 39 states that had accused the company of violating an agreement ...

Employers might be overestimating the downsides of offering paid parental leave and underestimating the costs of losing employees by foregoing it, argues economist Emily Oster in a new report based on research she conducted with the advocacy group Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America. A survey of employers in four states ...

by Richard Cooke. A quarter-century on from its founding, few sites have been as central to the development of the web as Wikipedia, which today stands in contrast to much of the modern internet. “While social media platforms fuel engagement by egging on users’ baser instincts, Wikipedia still revolves around ...

The Scoop Elon Musk has invested roughly $1 billion in Skydance, according to people familiar with the matter, providing a much needed financial injection as the company looks to cut costs and bolster its stock price. The deal came together at roughly the same time as equity investments from Skydance’s ...