The “Popcast” hosts on interviewing Taylor Swift, killing the written review, and whether literacy is over
The hosts of The New York Times’ Popcast show join Mixed Signals to talk about how a two-decade-old music podcast…
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Trump nears war funding crisis as congressional Republicans splinter
The White House and Pentagon are pushing for more Pentagon money, but a lack of clarity about needs in Iran and…
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AI is just software
Large language models — especially those trained on other labs’ data — are, in the end, just massive, billion-dollar…
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PsiQuantum gets DARPA backing
The $125 million cash infusion adds a new vote of confidence for the company’s efforts to build the world’s first…
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Democrats crash their own party
Democrats are tending towards do-overs that might create a problem for their base.
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Key Democrat will oppose crypto bill absent stronger ethics language
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks called draft language “wild and unserious”
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Republican senator rails against AI data centers
Kansas voters are “on fire” against them, Roger Marshall warns
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An ode to trash collectors
Simon Paré-Poupart’s ‘Trash!: A Garbageman’s Story’ is a memoir of two decades in the bin collection business.
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Chinese firms invest $900 million into new Angolan port
Luanda is seeking to develop its free trade zone, part of its efforts to diversify its oil-dominant economy.
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Africa's biggest fund manager is caught up in an escalating crisis
The shake-up at the $200 billion-plus state-owned Public Investment Corporation is turning into a showdown over…
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Inflation in South Africa, Nigeria increasingly diverging
Nigeria’s consumer price increases are cooling off while South Africa’s inflation rate jumped to levels last seen two…
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UAE companies cut back on hiring as uncertainty over Iran war persists
Companies’ patience has thinned as the war has ebbed and flowed, and a quarter of companies now plan cuts, a survey by…
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Riyadh wins US nuclear concessions
US President Donald Trump has reportedly approved allowing Saudi Arabia to build a civil nuclear program, potentially…
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Signs of a Saudi-UAE rapprochement emerge on social media
The split between the two countries was driven by disputes over Yemen, Sudan, and economic and geopolitical rivalry,…
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OpenAI agent hacks another AI startup in security test
The agent correctly surmised that the other company, Hugging Face, hosted the evaluation’s answer sheet and attempted…
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What I learned as Israel’s first Consul General in Dubai
Liron Zaslansky reflects on how the bilateral relationship has grown in the face of multiple challenges.
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Africa’s AI-driven lender to enter Ethiopia, Egypt
Opstasia is betting its algorithm stack can score 200 million unbanked consumers in frontier markets.
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Africa’s data center growth needs power sector overhaul
AI will have a negligible impact on the continent's economic growth without upgrading infrastructure, warns the IMF.
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Center-left Democrats seek distance from Medicare for All
The center-left Searchlight Institute is urging Democrats to work toward universal healthcare in ways that don’t…
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Higher share of adults in US than in other countries see danger in politics, poll finds
One in 10 US adults identified politics as the “greatest source of risk” to their daily safety, according to new Gallup…
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Google, Nvidia deepen Europe robotics play with startup compute deal
Google and Nvidia are partnering with German data-robotics startup Microagi to provide computing power to train and…
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News Corp accuses search engine Brave of AI copyright infringement
News Corp announced that it is suing Brave AI, a privacy-focused search engine with an AI sidebar tool that plugs into…
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Modi critics seize on Cockroach rallies
Indian police briefly detained the country’s top opposition leader and his sister during a protest, as public outrage…
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US could sanction top Chinese AI models
The US will scrutinize top Chinese AI models for signs they ripped off American competitors — as Beijing eyes…
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Fervor over top-selling drugs fuels biotech dealmaking
Pharma companies have acquired 37 biotech firms worth at least $1 billion this year, more than all of 2025.
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Trump edges back to tariff maximalism to sway trade talks
His administration is threatening tariffs on Canada that amount to a legally dubious negotiating tactic, stressing out…
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Novo sues Lilly amid escalating weight-loss rivalry
Novo Nordisk argued that Eli Lilly’s ads used outdated comparisons for how much weight users lost using the drugs.
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US woes pile up over Iran quagmire
The cost of the Iran war is now estimated at $37.5 billion, US Defense Secretary Hegseth said as he requested more…
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Zelenskyy sacks Ukraine military chief
The move followed widespread protests triggered by the removal of the country’s popular, young defense minister.
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Trump tees up fresh tariffs on 60 more countries
Washington has already hit Canada and Brazil with new levies, amplifying global trade uncertainty.
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Cornyn threatens to sink Trump nominees over PEPFAR
The Texas Republican told Semafor he would not support action on two ambassadorial picks without movement on the…
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Banks pay backhanded compliments to private credit
By putting their own balance sheets and brand names behind these deals, banks are validating the very underwriting…
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Burnham faces Britain's overseas business woes
Many of Britain’s corporate crown jewels make more of their money in the US and fast-growing Asian markets than at home.
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Chinese magnet shipments to US fall despite trade truce
China’s US-bound shipments of rare-earth magnets so far this year are 20% below average levels seen between 2022 and…
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Chinese startup founded by AI pioneer eyes potential IPO
Kai-Fu Lee’s firm is aiming to raise funds ahead of a potential 2027 IPO, joining other AI labs that have gone public…
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BlackRock's M&A spree comes into clear view
“As we originate more and more, then we can go to our clients, like insurance companies, and see much more conversion,”…
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