Trump to Make Complicated Student-Loan Process Easier for Borrowers

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Trump to Make Complicated Student-Loan Process Easier for Borrowers

President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing to streamline the repayment process for defaulted student-loan borrowers. The Department of Education is moving the platform for managing defaulted student loans from myeddebt.ed.gov to studentaid.gov, Federal Student Aid’s main website, a department spokesperson confirmed. An internal document reviewed by Business Insider said that the transition is intended to … Read more

Microsoft launches Scout, an OpenClaw-inspired personal assistant

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Microsoft launches Scout, an OpenClaw-inspired personal assistant

In the first weeks of 2026, OpenClaw spread through the AI world like a sonic boom, introducing many of the industry’s most ambitious technologists to the joy and chaos of an unrestrained AI agent. The project’s momentum tailed off after OpenAI scooped up its founder, but the influence is still being felt — particularly at … Read more

Ex-girlfriend of former Google CEO ordered to pay him $10 million

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Ex-girlfriend of former Google CEO ordered to pay him million

An arbitrator has sided with former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, ruling that he was not guilty of sexual assault against his former girlfriend and business partner Michelle Ritter. The arbitrator, retired Washington State Judge Beth Andrus, recently ordered Ritter to pay $10.7 million in damages to Schmidt. Ritter sued Schmidt in Los Angeles County … Read more

Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo’s Friendship Timeline, Feud Rumors

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Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo’s Friendship Timeline, Feud Rumors

Months after the release of “Sour,” the “Deja Vu” production credits were retroactively updated to list Swift, Antonoff, and Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent), who all worked on “Cruel Summer,” as cowriters alongside Rodrigo and Nigro. This means that Rodrigo and Nigro split the song’s royalties with the “Cruel Summer” trio. To be clear: Swift … Read more

Cyberdecks are having a moment, rejecting big tech surveillance with style and substance

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Cyberdecks are having a moment, rejecting big tech surveillance with style and substance

When I reach out to the self-proclaimed “open source baddie” CC for an interview, I’m pretty sure she’s emailing me back from a pink mermaid purse. “I’m just having so much fun,” she tells me about her seashell cyberdeck. “It’s a Tamagotchi. It’s also an e-reader. It’s networked to my vault and my servers, so … Read more

How One Houston Founder Grew Botox Parties Into a Six-Figure Clinic

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How One Houston Founder Grew Botox Parties Into a Six-Figure Clinic

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Simone Steele, founder of Queen Aesthetics Wellness and Beauty Clinic and inclusive sunscreen company Simply Shady. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I decided to start my own business after getting burned — literally. I was a board-certified physician’s assistant at a plastic … Read more

Martin Scorsese becomes the latest — and most unlikely — Hollywood voice for AI

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Martin Scorsese becomes the latest — and most unlikely — Hollywood voice for AI

Martin Scorsese has signed on as a partner and adviser to AI image-generation startup Black Forest Labs, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. The caveat is that one of the world’s most famous living directors is using the tech solely for storyboarding. “For 70 years, I’ve been creating my own storyboards,” he said in … Read more

Wemby vs. Knicks: Another marquee matchup in NBA Finals

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Wemby vs. Knicks: Another marquee matchup in NBA Finals

SAN ANTONIO — The marquee outside of Madison Square Garden in December 1949 once promoted the following event, which was happening a couple of days later: “Geo Mikan vs Knicks.” Not “Minneapolis Lakers vs. Knicks.” Just George Mikan. The NBA’s first one-of-a-kind big man. It feels as if history is repeating itself now. The NBA Finals start … Read more

McDonald’s bets on fancier chicken, AI drive-thrus and playful stores to keep diners coming

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McDonald’s bets on fancier chicken, AI drive-thrus and playful stores to keep diners coming

McDonald’s Corp. is betting on everything from fancier chicken to new playgrounds as part of a campaign to make fast food feel less like fast food. New menu items including hand-breaded wings and filets are in testing as part of a wide-ranging wager on higher-quality food. This, along with more engaging social media campaigns and … Read more

My Freelance Career Is Stable but I Treat Work Like I’m Job Hunting

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My Freelance Career Is Stable but I Treat Work Like I’m Job Hunting

When I became a freelance writer nearly a decade ago, I assumed the uncertainty would eventually fade. I imagined there would come a point where I’d built enough relationships, landed enough recurring clients, and published enough work that I’d finally feel secure. But that moment never really came. Today, I make a stable living as … Read more

Competition to run JPL comes at fraught moment

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Competition to run JPL comes at fraught moment

Weeks after Trump administration officials announced that management of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory would open to competitive bidding for the first time, questions remain as to why Caltech could lose control of the lab its researchers founded in 1936. On one hand, observers note, high-profile delays and cost overruns on significant recent JPL projects earned … Read more

Uber caps employee AI spending after blowing through budget in four months

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Uber caps employee AI spending after blowing through budget in four months

AI is getting expensive, and some companies are cutting back on usage in an attempt to moderate costs. That cohort includes Uber, which recently instituted internal usage caps as a way to cut down on its exorbitant AI spend. Bloomberg reports that the company has instituted a new rule that places a monthly $1,500 cap … Read more

Warriors’ Steph Curry signs shoe deal with China’s Li-Ning

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Warriors’ Steph Curry signs shoe deal with China’s Li-Ning

Stephen Curry is a free agent no more. A sneaker free agent, that is. The four-time NBA champion has spent his entire playing career with the Golden State Warriors and is under contract through the end of next season. He has been playing without a shoe deal, however, since parting ways with Under Armour in … Read more

Uber caps staff use of AI coding tools after blowing its budget

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Uber caps staff use of AI coding tools after blowing its budget

Uber Technologies Inc. has set usage caps on some artificial intelligence-powered tools used by its staff, a move meant to manage costs after the company blew through its AI budget earlier this year. The rideshare giant is limiting all employees to $1,500 in monthly token spending per AI coding tool, an Uber spokesperson said in … Read more

I Left for a Solo Trip. My Son Became More Independent.

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I Left for a Solo Trip. My Son Became More Independent.

I love to travel, but I rarely take solo trips because it’s hard to be away from my family. I miss my children when we are apart, but the practicalities of packing lunches and shuffling kids to school and soccer practice are a bigger hurdle than homesickness. I like to think that everyone in my … Read more