Anthropic's new AI model and Claude Sonnet 4.5 demonstrate advanced coding capabilities, while California's AI safety bill SB 53 and OpenAI's safety routing and parental controls highlight regulatory and ethical focus, alongside new AI applications for shopping and finance, and DeepSeek's cost-cutting sparse attention model.

• Anthropic says its new AI model “maintained focus” for 30 hours on multistep tasks — Ars Technica -
• California Governor Newsom signs landmark AI safety bill SB 53 — TechCrunch -
• DeepSeek: Everything you need to know about the AI chatbot app — TechCrunch -

• AI recruiter Alex raises $17M to automate initial job interviews — TechCrunch -
• DeepSeek releases ‘sparse attention’ model that cuts API costs in half — TechCrunch -
• OpenAI takes on Google, Amazon with new agentic shopping system — TechCrunch -
• Anthropic launches Claude Sonnet 4.5, its best AI model for coding — TechCrunch -
• Brave updates its AI-powered search with a detailed answers feature — TechCrunch -
• OpenAI rolls out safety routing system, parental controls on ChatGPT — TechCrunch -
• ComplexChaos thinks AI can help people find common ground — TechCrunch -
• Big AI firms pump money into world models as LLM advances slow — Ars Technica -
• Former Microsoft execs launch AI agents to end Excel-led finance — TechCrunch -
• Paid, the AI agent ‘results-based billing’ startup from Manny Medina, raises huge $21M seed — TechCrunch -
• The AI services transformation may be harder than VCs think — TechCrunch -

**YouTube's $24.5 million settlement with Trump, pressure on Taiwan regarding chip production, and restrictions on climate change terminology within the Energy Department** underscore significant intersections of technology, politics, and legal challenges.

• Trump obtains another settlement as YouTube agrees to pay $24.5 million — Ars Technica -
• Taiwan pressured to move 50% of chip production to US or lose protection — Ars Technica -
• Trump’s Energy Department forbids staff from saying ‘climate change’ or ‘green’ — TechCrunch -

Facebook's new fan challenges, Snapchat's paid storage plans, Bluesky's age verification in Ohio, Instagram's Reels-first UI test, and X's battle against Indian content takedown rulings illustrate ongoing platform developments and regulatory pressures.

• Facebook adds fan challenges, custom badges for creators — TechCrunch -
• Snapchat caps free Memory storage, launches paid storage plans — TechCrunch -
• Bluesky rolls out age verification for users in Ohio — TechCrunch -

• Instagram is testing a Reels-first UI in India and South Korea — TechCrunch -
• X says it will fight Indian court ruling on content takedown system — TechCrunch -

Frank founder Charlie Javice's prison sentence reveals startup fraud risks, contrasted with French VC funding for Y Combinator startups, **Anything's rapid $100M valuation, Marissa Mayer's pivot to a new AI startup Dazzle, and Polars' $21M funding round** from Accel.

• Frank founder Charlie Javice sentenced to 7 years in prison for defrauding JPMorgan Chase — TechCrunch -
• This French VC went from posting on YouTube to raising a $12M fund for Y Combinator startups — TechCrunch -
• Vibe-coding startup Anything nabs a $100M valuation after hitting $2M ARR in its first two weeks — TechCrunch -

• Marissa Mayer will close her old AI startup, sell assets to her new AI startup — TechCrunch -
• The startup behind open source tool Polars raises $21M from Accel — TechCrunch -

Firefly Aerospace's rocket program setback, ESA's investment in mini-Starship design, senators opposing a space shuttle move, and Honda and Astrobotic's collaboration for lunar power showcase both challenges and progress in space technology.

• Another setback for Firefly Aerospace’s beleaguered rocket program — Ars Technica -
• ESA will pay an Italian company nearly $50 million to design a mini-Starship — Ars Technica -
• Senators try to halt shuttle move, saying “little evidence” of public demand — Ars Technica -

• Honda and Astrobotic team up to keep the lights on through the long lunar night — TechCrunch -

**EA's $55 billion sale to private equity signals a major industry shift, while Fortnite disabling a potentially offensive emote** highlights ongoing content moderation efforts.

• EA will be a very different company under private ownership — Ars Technica -
• Fortnite disables Peacemaker emote that might resemble a swastika — Ars Technica -
• It’s official: EA is selling to private equity in $55 billion deal — Ars Technica -

Faraday Future's LA headquarters suffering an explosion and fire, the UK government bailing out Jaguar Land Rover after a cyberattack, and new Nürburgring performance car battles illustrate both the operational hazards and competitive advancements in the auto sector.

• Explosion, vehicle fire rock Faraday Future’s LA headquarters — TechCrunch -
• UK government bails out Jaguar Land Rover with £1.5B loan after hack disrupts vehicle production for weeks — TechCrunch -
• ZR1, GTD, and America’s new Nürburgring war — Ars Technica -

The return of the Streameast piracy site after a domain expiration and F-Droid's concerns over Google's sideloading restrictions reveal ongoing battles over digital content control and app distribution freedom.

• Sports piracy site Streameast returns after US government let domain expire — Ars Technica -
• F-Droid says Google’s new sideloading restrictions will kill the project — Ars Technica -

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 announcements including volunteer opportunities, insights from Baiju Bhatt, exclusive founder and investor pass deals, and the reveal of the Disrupt Stage highlight preparations for a major industry gathering.

• Final day to apply: Volunteer at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 — TechCrunch -
• From Robinhood to Aetherflux: Baiju Bhatt’s next frontier at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 — TechCrunch -
• This week’s bundle savings: Founder and Investor Pass deals for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 — TechCrunch -

• The TechCrunch Disrupt Stage revealed: Behold the first look — TechCrunch -