The AI landscape is marked by both controversial applications such as resurrecting deceased pilots' voices and emerging regulatory challenges like President Trump's canceled AI safety testing executive order, while new AI products from Spotify and Google's Gemini-powered glasses demonstrate rapid innovation alongside concerns about inflated startup valuations and software quality issues.

• AI is being used to resurrect the voices of dead pilots — TechCrunch -
• How VCs and founders use inflated ‘ARR’ to crown AI startups — TechCrunch -
• US scrambles to stop Internet users re-creating dead pilots’ voices — Ars Technica -

• Trump abruptly cancels EO signing event after top AI firm CEOs declined to go — Ars Technica -
• Spotify’s AI bet: more of everything, less of what you want — TechCrunch -
• You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’ — TechCrunch -
• We tried Google’s AI glasses and they’re almost there — TechCrunch -
• AI put "synthetic quotes" in his book. But this author wants to keep using it. — Ars Technica -
• Audio-generation app Huxe, founded by former NotebookLM developers, shuts down — TechCrunch -
• Finnish phone maker HMD bundles Indian AI chatbot onto new smartphone in push to reach local market — TechCrunch -

The burgeoning space sector sees SpaceX's Starship V3 undergoing its inaugural, albeit partial, launch success and Blue Origin receiving clearance for its New Glenn mega-rocket, even as geopolitical tensions escalate with Russian satellites approaching a Ukrainian-supporting radarsat and NASA streamlines operations to meet ambitious goals.

• SpaceX launches Starship V3 for the first time, but loses booster on return — TechCrunch -
• Four Russian satellites are now within striking distance of an ICEYE radarsat — Ars Technica -
• Blue Origin cleared to fly New Glenn mega-rocket after April mishap — TechCrunch -

• Before it comes down, what should be saved from the International Space Station? — Ars Technica -
• SpaceX files to go public, and the math requires a little faith — TechCrunch -
• NASA undertakes major reorganization to reduce bureaucracy and move faster — Ars Technica -
• Rocket Report: Starship launch delayed, German launch company may aid Canada — Ars Technica -
• Ground system issue scrubs first launch of SpaceX's Starship V3 rocket — Ars Technica -
• SpaceX scrubs first Starship V3 launch just before liftoff — TechCrunch -

Regulatory bodies and law enforcement are actively engaged with privacy concerns regarding data exposure by Trump Mobile and encryption claims against WhatsApp, alongside legal battles over app store policies like Apple's dispute with Epic, while cybersecurity threats persist with reports of a hacker group poisoning open-source code and police exploiting VPN vulnerabilities.

• Trump FCC asks public to comment on whether ABC's The View is a news show — Ars Technica -
• Police boast of hacking VPN where criminals "believed themselves to be safe" — Ars Technica -
• Texas AG sues Meta over claims that WhatsApp doesn't provide end-to-end encryption — Ars Technica -

• Marketer that claimed it could tap devices for ad targeting will pay $880K settlement — Ars Technica -
• Kash Patel’s clothing brand website shut down after reports it was hacked — TechCrunch -
• Apple says Epic lawsuit shouldn’t reshape App Store rules for all developers — TechCrunch -
• Trump Mobile confirms it exposed customers’ personal data, including phone numbers and home addresses — TechCrunch -
• The $58,000 TV bill: When DirecTV sued O.J. Simpson for piracy — Ars Technica -
• A hacker group is poisoning open source code at an unprecedented scale — Ars Technica -

Consumer electronics face challenges ranging from suddenly failing first-generation Chromecast devices and a Steam Controller charger fire hazard to Google's quirky disco-ball icon update, as Meta launches a new Reddit-like app and Waymo expands its robotaxi service pause due to flood navigation issues.

• First-generation Chromecast users stressed by devices suddenly failing — Ars Technica -
• Google goes for the glitter with disco-ball icons: ‘Are y’all sure you still want this?’ — TechCrunch -
• The Steam Controller’s “drop-in” charger almost started a fire for this owner — Ars Technica -

• Meta quietly launches a new Reddit-like app called Forum — TechCrunch -
• Smart ring maker Oura files to go public — TechCrunch -
• Waymo expands pause to four cities as robotaxis keep driving into floods — TechCrunch -

Global health faces a severe Ebola outbreak, now the third largest recorded and rapidly spreading, while the US energy grid sees a positive shift with soaring solar and hydro power displacing coal, and concerns arise over political interference in preventive medicine as RFK Jr.'s firings spark outrage among doctors.

• Ebola outbreak now third largest recorded and "spreading rapidly" — Ars Technica -
• Soaring solar and a surge in hydro push more coal off the US grid — Ars Technica -
• First vaccines, now mammograms? RFK Jr.’s latest firings have doctors outraged. — Ars Technica -

The entertainment world offers reviews for The Mandalorian and Grogu, described as 'fine,' while a meta-narrative surrounding "The Boys" series hints at new developments with the proclamation "Long live Vought Rising."

• The Boys is dead. Long live Vought Rising. — Ars Technica -
• Review: The Mandalorian and Grogu is ... fine — Ars Technica -