newsnation

Rachel Metz / Bloomberg : Akamai says it struck a seven-year cloud computing deal with a “leading frontier model provider”; sources: the deal was with Anthropic and is worth $1.8B   —  Anthropic PBC has signed a $1.8 billion computing deal with cloud services provider Akamai Technologies Inc. to meet surging demand …

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge : OpenAI launches Trusted Contact, an optional safety feature for ChatGPT that lets adult users assign an emergency contact for mental health and safety concerns   —  The feature expands existing teenage safety options to anyone over 18. … OpenAI is launching an optional safety feature …

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Justice launched a civil rights investigation Wednesday into an embattled Virginia prosecutor over allegations his office has given preferential treatment to criminal illegal immigrants, escalating scrutiny of Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano. The department is examining whether Descano’s office violated federal law by weighing "immigration consequences" in charging decisions and plea deals, which the department said could amount to unequal treatment of defendants, DOJ Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon said in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital. "I have authorized a full investigation to determine whether the [Office of the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney] has engaged in unlawful discrimination in violation of Title VI and the Safe Streets Act," Dhillon said, noting that both "prohibit recipients of Federal financial assistance from discriminating based upon race, color, or national origin." SORO...

Axios : Anthropic says it signed a deal with SpaceX to use “all of the compute capacity” at Colossus 1, giving it access to over 300 MW of new capacity within the month   —  Anthropic said Wednesday it has struck a deal to gain access to compute capacity from Elon Musk's SpaceX …

Election officials in Fulton County, Georgia, asked a federal judge to reject a U.S. Department of Justice effort to obtain identifying details for people who worked on the 2020 election in the county. The Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections (FBRE) filed a 27-page motion Monday asking the Georgia federal court to quash a grand jury subpoena issued by the DOJ. The motion to quash called the subpoena "an unprecedented and harassing grand jury subpoena" and characterized it as the DOJ's "latest effort to target and harass the President’s perceived political enemies — this time election officials, poll workers, and volunteers in Fulton County whom Donald Trump continues to disparage as he perpetuates his false claim that they 'stole' the 2020 election." The subpoena, according to the FBRE motion, requests that the Board send information for thousands of poll workers and county employees to an out-of-district U.S. attorney and an FBI agent . T...

Sara Fischer / Axios : OpenAI rolls out a beta version of its new Ads Manager tool to advertisers in the US, making it easier for SMBs to buy ChatGPT ads on a cost-per-click basis   —  OpenAI has launched a self-serve advertising platform, executives said, marking a significant step in its goal of generating $2.5 billion …