Monday, October 12, 2026
14 stories
A federal judge ordered taxpayer-funded ads that prominently feature the president and promote the administration’s policies to be taken off the air. The court issued a restraining order after finding the ads are likely illegal, a fresh rebuke of the government’s use of public money for self-promotion.
Prediction-market wagers on jury verdicts are raising alarms in the legal system. Courts worry about insider trading and the risk that betting could influence jurors, and judges are scrambling to figure out how to handle the trend.
Four people have died after the storm hit the Gulf Coast, and nearly 600,000 customers are without power across Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The National Weather Service categorized it as a post-tropical cyclone on Saturday as recovery efforts got underway.
Amazon is in talks to acquire Decart, a San Francisco startup whose software makes it easier for developers to switch between different AI chips, for about $7 billion. The deal would be one of the largest in the AI infrastructure space and signals the cloud giants’ race to own more of the AI stack.
IonQ plans to acquire privately held Elisity, which stops cyber attackers and ransomware from spreading across organizations, for up to $1.3 billion. The deal pairs quantum computing with cybersecurity and would be one of the sector’s biggest combinations to date.
AI agents that plan and book trips are seen as a threat to traditional travel companies. Analysts argue Airbnb could still thrive if it turns repeat customers into loyal ones, and the piece examines how the lodging platform might hold up in the age of bots.
Religious leaders from the Vatican to Baptist pulpits are weighing in on artificial intelligence. Their concerns create a new political risk for the companies building the technology, tracing how faith is becoming a fault line in the AI debate.
Commercial aviation is increasingly caught in escalating conflicts, with airports, planes and airspace becoming the deliberate targets of missile and drone attacks. The report examines how air travel has become a battlefield.
The president’s move involving Russian diesel is drawing pushback and skepticism. The story also notes retailers are spending tariff refunds on pre-holiday marketing and that China’s Geely plans to sell EVs in Canada next year, capturing a moment of trade and energy turbulence.
Oil prices fell as traders weighed prospects for increased Russian diesel supplies and a possible Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire against persistent Middle East supply risks. The market is balancing competing supply signals as geopolitics drives crude.
Volkswagen group deliveries fell 14% from a year earlier, weighed down by continued weakness in China. The slump spans the group’s brands including VW, Audi and Porsche, underscoring the German carmaker’s China problem.
Retail sales of passenger cars in China fell 28.0% in September from a year earlier. The traditional peak season failed to lift demand, pointing to deeper softness in the world’s largest car market.
The telecom operator said it will cut about 900 jobs, roughly 6.4% of its 14,100-strong workforce, with cuts expected to be complete before year end. The move aims to save $100 million a year as part of a broader efficiency push.
Nearly four decades after the original series debuted, its sequel reflects new obstacles facing historically Black colleges, including federal budget cuts and immigration enforcement on campus. The piece looks at what the revival says about the moment.