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Erin Griffith / New York Times : Stripe agrees to acquire New York-based OpenRouter; a source says Stripe is paying $7.5B, with $1.5B going to the startup's founders and $6B to its investors   —  The deal is significant for the artificial intelligence industry, uniting Stripe's payments business with OpenRouter's helping businesses direct their spending on A.I. models.

Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher tore into a Democratic congressional candidate in Seattle for abandoning a key liberal cause to better appeal to Muslim sensibilities. Maher targeted Melissa Chaudhry, a progressive Democrat and self-described "White American convert to Islam" who is challenging longtime Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., in Washington's 9th Congressional District. "A few weeks ago, a liberal Democrat named Melissa Chaudhry, running for Congress in Seattle , was asked why, among the many progressive causes listed on her website, LGBT rights was conspicuously absent. Because, she said, ‘A lot of Muslims do not feel that way, unfortunately,’" he said. "Is this the progressive policy now?" he asked. "Is Ms. Chaudhry right? We throw gay people under the bus anytime it clashes with what makes Muslims uncomfortable?" BILL MAHER RIPS IMMIGRANTS WHO REFUSE TO ADAPT, SAYS AMERICAN VALUES ARE ‘NOT NEGOTIABLE’ Maher cited Chaudhry’...

Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News : VC funding in physical AI companies totaled $47.4B across 521 deals in H1, up 80% from H1 2025, and more than the $41.9B invested from 2022 to 2024   —  Funding to physical AI companies is booming in 2026.  —  Venture investors appear to increasingly see physical AI as the next leg of the broader AI boom.

The mayor of a northern Massachusetts town went viral on social media in recent days after his lawyer told reporters the mayor doesn’t speak English when they pressed him about being arrested for COVID-19 pandemic relief fraud. Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña, 61, was arrested Friday morning after an investigation into his alleged misuse of more than $1.5 million of Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), a program administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the CARES Act to assist struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. "He doesn’t speak English. No comment," DePeña's lawyer said in the clip as DePeña repeatedly smiles and says, "God bless you," to the reporters. The clip of the exchange quickly spread on social media, prompting criticism from users wondering aloud why the mayor wouldn’t be able to answer questions in English. MASSACHUSETTS MAYOR CHARGED WITH WIRE FRAUD IN $1.5M COVID RELIEF SCHEME "OMG," conservative i...

Ina Fried / Axios : OpenAI says it has made several changes to its safety practices following the Hugging Face breach and has paused two weeks of deployment-focused RL training   —  OpenAI said Tuesday that it has made several changes to its safety practices following its determination that an upcoming system …

The Department of Homeland Security called out a "depraved freak" sex offender and illegal immigrant whom the agency said it recently deported after he abused his own daughter in Democrat-run Virginia Records from the Albemarle County Circuit Criminal Division show Mexican national Marcelo Vasquez Reyna was convicted in March after pleading guilty to a charge involving a parent violating a child between the ages of 15 and 17. The incident took place in 2018. He was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, with five years of the sentence suspended. Local outlet ABC 7 reported that Vasquez Reyna was arrested in March following his conviction. The outlet said he was also charged with attempted rape and abduction. In an X post, DHS wrote that "ICE has DEPORTED Marcelo Vasquez-Reyna, a depraved freak who sexually abused HIS OWN DAUGHTER." ICE NABS ILLEGAL ALIENS CONVICTED OF CHILD SEX CRIMES AND METH TRAFFICKING IN NATIONWIDE ENFORCEMENT SWEEP The agency adde...