Category: News and Views

US says framework for deal on future of TikTok ownership agreed with China | BBC News

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The U.S. Treasury secretary has said Washington reached a “framework” deal with China on the ownership of TikTok’s American operations.

Scott Bessent said the framework was set in trade talks in Madrid to pave the way for US ownership. He added that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would “complete” the deal on Friday.

Trump said on Truth Social that the talks had “gone very well”, while China confirmed a framework agreement but said no deal would be made at the expense of Chinese companies’ interests.

A deadline is looming for the Chinese owner of TikTok to find a buyer for its American operations or face a shutdown and ban in the US.

Bessent announced the “framework” deal on the second day of negotiations between the US and China aimed at ending a trade war.

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Rising US prices could widen the divide between haves and have-nots | BBC News

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There’s a divide in the US economy between the haves and the have-nots. And accelerating inflation, driven in part by tariffs, could make it worse.

Government data points to the early stages of businesses passing on the costs of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping import tariffs to consumers.

Still, inflation remains well below its peak, and a debate continues over the extent to which tariffs will lead to a sustained rise in the pace of price hikes.

But Americans like Yanique Clarke are feeling the pinch.

Yanique, a nursing student in Manhattan who identifies as lower-income, said while shopping for groceries at a Target store this week that “prices are really drastically high” for meat, vegetables, and fruit.

“It’s quite a while now, but it’s getting higher,” she said.

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California lawmakers pass AI safety bill SB 53 — but Newsom could still veto | TechCrunch

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California’s state senate gave final approval early on Saturday morning to a major AI safety bill setting new transparency requirements on large companies.

As described by its author, state senator Scott Wiener, SB 53 “requires large AI labs to be transparent about their safety protocols, creates whistleblower protections for [employees] at AI labs & creates a public cloud to expand compute access (CalCompute).”

The bill now goes to California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign or veto. He has not commented publicly on SB 53, but last year, he vetoed a more expansive safety bill also authored by Wiener, while signing narrower legislation targeting issues like deepfakes.

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OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor says we’re in an AI bubble (but that’s okay) | TechCrunch

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OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor says we’re in an AI bubble (but that’s okay).

Bret Taylor, board chair at OpenAI and CEO of AI agent startup Sierra, was asked in a recent interview with The Verge whether he agreed with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s declaration that “someone is going to lose a phenomenal amount of money in AI.”

Taylor echoed Altman’s sentiments, suggesting that we are indeed in an AI bubble — but like Altman, he didn’t sound too worried about it.

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Big Investors Are Betting on This ‘Unlisted’ Stock | Entrepreneur

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Three of the same VC firms that backed Uber, Venmo, and eBay, respectively, are all investing in Pacaso.

Venture backing in companies like Pacaso is nothing new. After all, early-stage companies often have the potential to deliver the most outsized returns.

But recent regulatory updates have opened the door for individual investors to invest alongside these venture capitalists. Normally, everyday investors have to wait for a company to go public before they can invest, missing out on that early gain potential. Now, some companies are opening up investment opportunities to the public.

This type of investing has already seen some great success stories. For example, in 2016, 433 people invested an average of $2,730 in a private startup named Revolut. Fast-forward to today, those $2,730 stakes are worth more than $1 million, up 89,900%.

Source: Big Investors Are Betting on This ‘Unlisted’ Stock | Entrepreneur

A whopper of a Nintendo Direct is coming this week: When is it and how to watch | Mashable

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Who cares about Apple? There’s a Nintendo Direct this week!

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Nintendo confirmed that there will be a Nintendo Direct livestream on Friday, Sept. 12 at 6am PT/9am ET. As per usual, Nintendo gave next to no indication of what will actually be shown in the stream, other than “roughly 60 minutes of information on upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch games.” You can watch it on Nintendo’s YouTube channel.

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Cracker Barrel ‘suspends’ restaurant renovations following logo flop | CNN Business

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Cracker Barrel announced that it’s suspending the renovations of its restaurants following a disastrous logo rollout that sent shares lower.

“You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants,” the chain said on X. “If your restaurant hasn’t been remodeled, you don’t need to worry, it won’t be.”

Cracker Barrel said that its minimalist and lighter design, which removed its dark woods and many of the trademark tchotchkes that lined the walls, was tested at only four out of 660 restaurants.

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Everything Apple announced at its big event: iPhone Air, iPhone 17, new Apple Watches and more | CNN Business

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Apple announced the first major redesign of the iPhone in years on Tuesday when it confirmed the launch of a new, thinner model called the iPhone Air. CEO Tim Cook called it the “biggest leap ever for iPhone.”

That was one of a number of product upgrades that came during Apple’s annual hardware event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters, which also included improvements to the Apple Watch and AirPods Pro.

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Ann Arbor is reinventing the power company | Fast Company

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Most new renewable energy projects take the form of massive wind or solar farms. Ann Arbor, Michigan, is trying something different: a new city-owned utility is building a local power network within city limits, made up of solar microgrids and geothermal energy installed at homes and businesses.

“They’re creating a whole new model of energy delivery for a city,” says Mike Shriberg, a professor at University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability who lives in Ann Arbor.

The new utility won’t replace the area’s existing power company, DTE Energy. But it will help the city move much faster toward zero-carbon power.

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Texas banned cultivated meat. Now, cultivated meat companies are suing | Fast Company

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Cultivated meat—meat grown from cells, not from whole animals—isn’t yet a widespread option in grocery stores or restaurants. The innovation, which involves growing meat from real animal cells without raising or slaughtering any animals, is still relatively rare. But already, Texas lawmakers have decided to ban it.

Now, two cultivated meat companies are fighting back with a federal lawsuit that challenges the ban. The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm, along with cultivated meat startups Wildtype and Upside Foods, argue that the Texas law is an unconstitutional move to protect the agriculture industry from competition.

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