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Major European airports, including Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin, experienced substantial delays due to a cyber-related incident affecting Collins Aerospace, a provider of airline check-in technology.
The incident forced airlines to switch to manual check-in processes, resulting in significant disruptions. Heathrow Airport reported over 130 delayed flights and several cancellations.
Airports are advising passengers to arrive at least three hours before long-haul flights and two hours before short-haul flights to mitigate potential delays.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced an agreement for TikTok's U.S. operations to be spun out under majority American ownership. Americans will hold six of seven board seats, and the algorithm will be U.S.-controlled. New investors include Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake Management, with Oracle overseeing security. ByteDance's ownership would be reduced to less than 20%.
Following President Trump's proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have reportedly advised their H-1B visa holding employees to remain in the United States.
These companies have sent memos to their employees, cautioning against foreign travel and advising those currently traveling to return before the new regulations take effect. Amazon leads in H-1B visa recipients this fiscal year, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google.
The White House clarified that the fee will only apply to new H-1B applicants and not to existing holders or renewals.
Phia, a new fashion shopping app founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has raised an $8 million seed round led by Kleiner Perkins. The app aims to simplify online shopping by allowing users to compare prices across over 300 million fashion items.
Phia utilizes AI to personalize the e-commerce experience, offering a seamless platform where customers can track previous purchases and discover new items of interest. The company emphasizes a Gen Z-focused marketing strategy, leveraging social media and founder-led content to engage users.
The funding will be used to expand the team, which currently consists of 12 people, with hiring primarily conducted through social media. Gates and Kianni envision Phia as the future of personalized shopping, with plans to develop a personalized agent that syncs with calendars to provide tailored shopping recommendations.
YouTube has announced a range of new features and updates aimed at enhancing the creator experience. These include:
Lincoln Center's Collider Fellowship is fostering innovation by inviting multi-disciplinary artists to explore how emerging technologies can revolutionize live performance. The second class of Collider Fellows, comprising six artists specializing in areas like VR, AI, and 4DSound, will receive studio space, a financial stipend, and support from Lincoln Center and Onassis ONX for nine months.
The fellowship encourages artists to experiment without requiring a final project, promoting both prototyping and in-depth research. Projects from the first class are still developing, with potential for future display at Lincoln Center. The program aims to broaden the conversation around technology, particularly among underrepresented groups, and explore new ways to engage global audiences through location-based experiences and extended reality.
The 2025 Collider Fellows include Cinthia Chen, Sam Rolfes, James Allister Sprang, Stephanie Dinkins, Kevin Peter He, and Dr. Rashaad Newsome, each bringing unique expertise in performance, technology, and immersive experiences.
Nvidia is considering a $500 million strategic investment in Wayve, a UK-based self-driving tech startup. This commitment is part of Nvidia's larger £2 billion investment pledge to boost the UK's AI startup ecosystem. Wayve, known for its self-learning approach to autonomous driving, has gained attention for its system that doesn't rely on high-definition maps. Wayve's technology is integrated into Ford Mach E test vehicles using Nvidia GPUs. Wayve's generation 3 platform, utilizes Nvidia Drive AGX Thor, and aims to provide advanced driver assistance systems and Level 4 driverless capabilities for urban and highway environments.
The Apple Watch can be a valuable tool for boosting productivity, especially for those easily distracted by their phones. Several third-party apps offer additional functionality beyond the built-in apps.
These apps can help you stay organized, focused, and productive throughout the day using your Apple Watch.
Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth explained the reasons behind the failed smart glasses demos at Meta Connect. The initial issue with the chef's glasses was due to the Live AI feature triggering on all Ray-Ban Meta glasses in the building, causing a resource overload. This was compounded by routing Live AI traffic to the development server, effectively creating a DDoS attack on their own system. The WhatsApp call failure was attributed to a new "race condition" bug where the display sleeping prevented the answer notification from appearing. Bosworth clarified these were demo failures, not product failures, expressing confidence in the product's functionality.