Softbank is buying robotics firms Boston Dynamics and Schaft from Alphabet  —  Here's a surprise turn of events: Softbank — maker of the friendly Pepper robot and a major M&A player in the tech world — has just announced that it is acquiring two more robotics companies from Google owner Alphabet …

Sources: Tim Cook, Satya Nadella, Jeff Bezos, Safra Catz, other tech execs, to visit White House June 19 for first meeting of The American Technology Council  —  Meeting at White House comes despite Paris climate discord  —  Trump-created council given goal of modernizing government

Taylor Swift's full catalog is returning to Spotify and other streaming services, reversing her stance against free music on ad-supported services  —  After breaking upin 2014, Taylor Swift and Spotify are getting back together.  To celebrate her album 1989 hitting 10 million records sold …

Uber is in advanced talks to acquire the engineering team of Luxe, a car-parking startup which has raised a total of $75M+  —  While Uber Technologies wrestles with a string of controversies, the ride-hailing company is in advanced talks to acquire much of the engineering team …

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, in a 2013 email, advised employees on when sex is permissible for a Miami company celebration  —  “Do not have sex with another employee UNLESS ...”  —  In what is arguably an unusual email for the very top executive to send to employees, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick advised …

Amazon ends its unlimited data storage plan for Amazon Drive, now offers up to 100GB for $11.99 a year or up to 1TB for $60  —  Time to check you don't have auto-renew turned on  —  Amazon has killed off its generous unlimited cloud storage deal for Amazon Drive.

Google releases Android O Developer Preview 3 with final APIs  —  Google today launched the third Android O developer preview, available for download now at developer.android.com and via the Android Beta Program.  The preview includes an updated SDK with system images for the Nexus 5X …

AirPods automatically appear as a new speaker option on Apple TVs running tvOS 11 developer beta  —  When you pair AirPods to your iPhone, the wireless earbuds are automatically paired to iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches with the same iCloud account thanks to automatic setup.

Sources: Verizon will cut about 15% of AOL-Yahoo staff, or as many as 2.1K jobs, after merger closes  —  The proportion of jobs being made redundant across AOL and Yahoo is around 15 percent globally, we have confirmed with our sources.  —  This shakes out to as many as 2,100 jobs being lost as part of the corporate merger.

Microsoft to acquire Israel-based cybersecurity company Hexadite, sources say for $100M, to bolster its advanced threat detection services  —  Yet more activity in the world of cybersecurity.  Microsoft today confirmed that it has acquired Hexadite, an Israeli startup that uses AI to identify and protect against attacks.

HTC U11 review: outdated design, but solid performance, good battery life, Edge Sense works well and is convenient  —  Improving on the HTC 10 where it matters, even if it sports a flashy, outdated design.  —  HTC introduced the “U” smartphone line back in January with the U Ultra and U Play handsets …