Apple has stopped offering a 256GB storage option for the Mac mini globally; Mac mini now starts at 512GB for $799 in the US  —  Apple this week stopped offering a 256GB storage option for the Mac mini worldwide.  As a result, the desktop computer now has a higher starting price.

Meta acquires Assured Robot Intelligence, a startup developing AI models for robots; Assured Robot Intelligence's team will join Meta Superintelligence Labs  —  Meta Platforms Inc. has acquired Assured Robot Intelligence, a startup developing artificial intelligence models for robots …

How influencers boosting US-based AI and opposing Chinese AI are paid with money tied to Leading the Future, funded by execs from OpenAI, Palantir, a16z, others  —  Build American AI, a nonprofit linked to a super PAC bankrolled by executives at OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz …

Sources: GameStop is preparing to make an offer for eBay after quietly building a stake; GameStop had a market cap of ~$11B as of May 1, while eBay had ~$45B  —  Retailer's CEO Ryan Cohen has been eyeing a major deal, in part to clinch a huge payday  —  GameStop is preparing to make an offer for eBay …

Servers operated by Ubuntu and its parent company Canonical have been down for more than a day, following a “sustained, cross-border attack”  —  Servers operated by Ubuntu and its parent company Canonical were knocked offline on Thursday morning and have remained down ever since …

xAI launches Grok 4.3, featuring “always-on reasoning”, 1M token context window, and low API pricing, and releases a voice cloning suite called Custom Voices  —  While Elon Musk faces off against his former colleague and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman in court, Musk's rival firm xAI …

Experts say supply chain attacks compromised SAP and Intercom npm packages, plus the PyPI package Lightning, in a campaign that calls itself Mini Shai-Hulud  —  The wave of supply chain attacks aimed at security and developer tools has washed up more victims, namely SAP and Intercom npm packages, plus the lightning PyPI package.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issues new rules saying acting and writing must be performed by humans and not AI to be eligible for Oscars  —  Academy Awards organizers issued new rules on Friday to clarify that acting and writing must be performed by humans …

Ripple Labs investor and exec Chris Larsen plans to spend $3.5M to help Alex Bores, a NY congressional candidate at the center of a proxy war over AI regulation  —  Chris Larsen, who hails from California, plans to spend $3.5 million to help Alex Bores, a New York congressional candidate …

Waymo says it is continuing to “refine” its system preventing kids under 18 from riding alone, after adult riders reported new age-verification checks  —  As adult riders report new age-verification checks, the self-driving car company says it's continuing to “refine” …

A bug in popular cPanel, WHM, and WP Squared software has reportedly been exploited since Feb.; CISA it gives a 9.8 CVSS score, tells agencies to patch by May 3  —  Federal agencies have until May 3 to resolve a security issue impacting a critical system for server and website management.

Avoca, whose AI agents let physical services businesses handle inbound calls and dispatch, raised $125M+ across seed, Series A, and Series B at a $1B valuation  —  Tyson Chen and Apurva Shrivastava were chasing restaurants when they found an HVAC company.  —  The two engineers had first met …

Sources: Cerebras is seeking to raise as much as $4B in its IPO and is targeting a valuation of about $40B  —  Cerebras Systems Inc. is seeking to raise as much as $4 billion in its initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, as demand for the artificial intelligence chipmaker …