GREY Journal Daily News Podcast

Retail sales in the United States increased by 0.5 percent in July, with auto dealerships, home furnishings, and online retailers reporting strong gains as consumers accelerated purchases ahead of new tariffs and anticipated price hikes. Electronics stores saw decreased sales, and restaurant spending declined as more people ate at home. Economists attribute much of the sales surge to consumers see...

Nintendo released Mario Kart World featuring a new character, Cow, who wears a brass nose ring. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent a formal letter to Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa, objecting to the depiction of the nose ring due to its association with animal control practices in the meat and dairy industries. PETA requested the removal of the nose ring from the charact...

Transak raised $16 million in a funding round led by Tether Holdings and IDG Capital, with participation from several venture firms. The company, founded by Yeshu Agarwal and Sami Start, provides fiat-to-crypto payment infrastructure across 75 countries and is integrated into over 450 digital wallets and platforms. Transak will use the new capital to expand its stablecoin payments stack and enter...

Porsche Automobil Holding and Deutsche Telekom are in talks to anchor a €500 million venture capital fund managed by DTCP that will invest in European defense technology companies. The fund targets startups and businesses in the defense sector as European governments increase military spending in response to security concerns. Porsche SE has removed its previous restriction to only invest in dual-...

The Allen Institute for AI launched MolmoAct, an open-source robotics system that enables robots to convert 2D images into 3D visualizations, preview and adjust movements in real time, and interpret natural language commands. All code, data, and training methods are publicly available. MolmoAct is designed for use in unstructured environments such as homes, warehouses, and disaster response, and b...

Anduril opened a solid rocket motor factory in Mississippi with plans to produce up to 6,000 tactical motors annually by 2026, aiming to become the third major U.S. supplier alongside two established defense contractors. The facility has already tested over 700 motors. Rising global demand for advanced weaponry has led the U.S. Department of Defense to fund new entrants like Ursa Major and X-Bow S...

Taylor Swift announced her twelfth studio album, 'The Life of a Showgirl,' following a series of teasers and digital marketing campaigns, including a podcast guest appearance tease and themed social media posts. Her website allowed fans to preorder the album in multiple formats, though the official release date was not confirmed. Swift is scheduled to appear on the 'New Heights' podcast with Travi...

Benchmark Capital, known for its small team investment model, has experienced the departure of three key general partners since March 2024, including Miles Grimshaw, Sarah Tavel, and Victor Lazarte. The firm has traditionally maintained a partnership of five or six general partners and invested around $500 million per fund, focusing on selectivity over scale. As the venture capital industry shifts...

Recent computer science and data science graduates are encountering increased difficulty securing tech jobs as companies implement AI-driven recruitment processes, including automated resume screening and video interviews. Some graduates report submitting thousands of applications with minimal response, while firms reduce junior engineering roles and rely on AI to streamline hiring. Despite these...

Seattle hosts Worldcon 2025 at the Seattle Convention Center, featuring a five-day program with panels, workshops, and the Hugo Awards. Headliners include Martha Wells, Donato Giancola, Bridget Landry, Alexander James Adams, and George R.R. Martin. The event addresses controversy over the use of generative AI in speaker vetting, leading to an apology and process changes. An alternative event, ConC...

Active housing inventory in 80 of the 200 largest U.S. metro areas has returned to or surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 levels, primarily in the Sun Belt, where builders are offering price reductions and incentives to maintain sales. These regions, which experienced significant growth during the pandemic, now see increased supply and more negotiating power for buyers. In contrast, the Midwest and Northe...

Tesla discontinued its Dojo AI supercomputer project after Elon Musk determined that the initiative was an evolutionary dead end. The company will now focus on developing AI5 and AI6 chips, produced by TSMC and Samsung, to support its Full Self-Driving system and large-scale artificial intelligence training. Tesla had previously invested in Dojo for autonomous vehicle and robotics ambitions, inclu...

Nintendo announced the Hello, Mario! app, a free mobile application for iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch that allows children to interact with Mario’s face through touch-based controls. The company also introduced the My Mario collection, a series of Mario-themed products for young children, including plush toys, dinnerware, teething toys, clothing, an interactive board book, and wooden building...

The August 2025 Sturgeon Moon will reach peak illumination on August 9 at 3:55 a.m. Eastern Time, coinciding with the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks August 12-13. The Sturgeon Moon is named after lake sturgeon that were once abundant in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Conservation efforts have helped restore lake sturgeon populations, and they are not currently listed under the Endangered...

Wild Zebra, a Seattle-based startup, developed an AI-powered tutor that uses a Socratic approach to guide students through lessons tailored to their interests and learning styles. The platform has been piloted in four schools, serving over 6,000 students, and focuses on math and reading comprehension. Wild Zebra employs multiple large language models for accuracy and privacy, partners with the Edu...

Elon Musk announced that X will introduce advertisements into Grok's AI-generated responses to create new revenue streams after the departure of CEO Linda Yaccarino. Advertisers will be able to pay for their solutions to appear as suggestions when users interact with Grok. The company will use technology from xAI, which acquired X for $45 billion, to improve ad targeting and relevance. This initia...

Microsoft analyzed 200,000 anonymized Bing Copilot conversations to determine which jobs are most susceptible to AI automation. The research found that roles involving information gathering and communication, such as interpreters, historians, sales representatives, writers, and customer service representatives, are most at risk. Occupations requiring manual skills or specialized expertise, includi...

As of mid-2023, approximately one in four U.S. venture capital dollars funds startups using artificial intelligence, following the widespread adoption of generative AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Bing. Venture capital activity has accelerated, with companies such as fintech Rillet raising $70 million in a Series B round shortly after a $25 million Series A. AI is be...

Small business contractors in the United States face operational and financial challenges due to unpredictable federal policies, including sudden contract terminations, funding freezes, and shifting tariffs. These changes impact a range of sectors, such as IT, consulting, and agriculture, and lead to lost revenue, layoffs, and reduced investment. Diversity, equity, and inclusion program reversals...

Deciens Capital closed its third fintech investment fund with $93.33 million in commitments to support early-stage financial technology startups. The fund will target companies developing scalable business models and disruptive technologies in the financial sector. Investors, founders, and industry professionals will see increased access to capital and new opportunities as the firm deploys funds t...

Heartflow, a California-based medtech company specializing in AI-driven cardiac diagnostics, plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker HTFL, offering 12.5 million shares at $15 to $17 each and targeting a valuation up to $1.3 billion. The company received FDA approval in 2022, expanded its market through Medicare and AMA regulatory changes, and has assessed over 400,000 patients as of March 202...

Google DeepMind introduced Genie 3, a world model that generates interactive 3D environments from text prompts to train general-purpose AI agents. Genie 3 produces several minutes of continuous, physically consistent 3D content and allows users to alter environments with prompts. The model builds on previous versions and incorporates memory-driven architecture to simulate realistic interactions. G...

A London judge ruled in favor of a venture capital firm in a legal fee dispute with a City law firm, determining the firm was not at fault for raising a new argument late in the process. The dispute involved payment under a conditional fee agreement, with the law firm appealing for costs. The court found that late arguments could be considered if relevant and not unfairly prejudicial, emphasizing...

Amazon is restructuring Wondery by merging its narrative-driven studio with Audible and moving celebrity-hosted podcasts to a new creator services team focused on sponsorships. The changes result in the departure of CEO Jen Sargent and approximately 110 employees, with some transitioning to other roles within Amazon. The Wondery Plus app will remain available, and certain shows will retain Wondery...

Google removed 58 diversity, equity, and inclusion groups, including the Latino Leadership Alliance and the ACLU of Illinois, from its 2024 funding list curated by its U.S. Government Affairs and Public Policy team. The organizations dropped often referenced terms such as 'race' and 'women' in their missions, which have faced increased scrutiny following federal guidance to reduce such language. T...