Instruqt's hands-on platform delivers a dedicated Vertex AI environment per participant, demonstrating a new operational model for closing the AI-adoption gap at conference scale AMSTERDAM, May 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Instruqt, the hands-on product experience platform used by MongoDB, Elastic, Google, and SUSE, today announced that Google Cloud Security used Instruqt to train more than 150 pr...
Instruqt's hands-on platform delivers a dedicated Vertex AI environment per participant, demonstrating a new operational model for closing the AI-adoption gap at conference scale AMSTERDAM, May 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Instruqt, the hands-on product experience platform used by MongoDB, Elastic, Google, and SUSE, today announced that Google Cloud Security used Instruqt to train more than 150 practitioners on Agentic AI capabilities at Google Next 2026. The session, branded the Agentic SOC Experience, is one of the largest hands-on Agentic AI training sessions delivered at a major industry conference this year. Using Instruqt, participants created a dedicated Google Cloud Vertex AI environment, building their own agents from scratch and exploring Google's agentic capabilities in isolated sandbox environments rather than watching slide-based demos. "On the AI front, Instruqt is fantastic because it allows us to spin up a dedicated Vertex environment per participant," said Keith Manville, a Pre-Sales Engineer on Google Cloud Security's customer-facing team, who led the session. "Participants walked away with understanding what an agent is, what those primitive features are that we build into an agent, and how to use them. Everyone learns differently. Because the technology is complex, if you've never seen it before, you really don't know where to click or what to do. Instruqt helps us seamlessly move the user through that journey of learning how to operate the product." Closing the AI adoption gap The workshop reflects a broader operational shift across the software industry. AI is shipping features faster than customers can adopt them, and the gap between product released and product adopted is where pipeline, retention, and revenue are being lost. According to SlashData's 2026 State of Developer Adoption Report, 92% of practitioners face at least one significant adoption challenge, with technology complexity (26%), team misalignment (27%), and outdated content (25...
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday and invited him to visit the White House, as the two sides work to improve ties. Bloomberg News State Department Reporter Eric Martin joined Christina Ruffini and David Gura on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss Rubio's four-day visit to the world’s most-populous nation for talks with senior Indian of...
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday and invited him to visit the White House, as the two sides work to improve ties. Bloomberg News State Department Reporter Eric Martin joined Christina Ruffini and David Gura on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss Rubio's four-day visit to the world’s most-populous nation for talks with senior Indian officials on issues ranging from energy to regional security. (Source: Bloomberg)
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images News White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said the Trump administration expects oil prices to fall sharply if a geopolitical deal reopening key shipping routes is finalized, arguing that lower energy costs could ease inflation pressures and eventually create room for Federal Reserve rate cuts. In a televised interview on Fox News, Hassett said glo...
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images News White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said the Trump administration expects oil prices to fall sharply if a geopolitical deal reopening key shipping routes is finalized, arguing that lower energy costs could ease inflation pressures and eventually create room for Federal Reserve rate cuts. In a televised interview on Fox News, Hassett said global oil markets are already anticipating a potential decline in crude prices, with buyers becoming cautious about purchasing oil at current spot prices because they expect more supply to come online soon. He pointed to the possibility of increased production from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, alongside high U.S. production levels, as factors that could quickly stabilize markets. “We’ve already seen signs that people are a little bit wary about buying oil in the spot market right now because they expect the price to drop a lot sometime soon,” Hassett said. “That’s a very, very good sign.” Investors watching oil, inflation and Fed timing The comments are significant for investors because they tie together three of the market’s biggest drivers: energy prices, inflation expectations and the outlook for interest rates. Stocks have rallied on enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence and corporate earnings, but higher oil prices have raised concerns that inflation could reaccelerate and delay Federal Reserve easing. Hassett argued that while energy prices have been a concern, broader inflation pressures remain contained. He cited lower grocery and drug prices, deregulation efforts and productivity gains tied to artificial intelligence as forces that could offset energy-driven inflation. “As soon as we get energy prices going back down, you could actually be looking at negative inflation because of the energy price going down,” Hassett said. The administration official also pushed back against predictions that oil prices would surge dramatically if shipping disru...
Fredrik Dversnes won the 15th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, taking the honours from a breakaway on a day in which the final lap of Milan was neutralised due to rider complaints about the race conditions. Norwegian Dversnes crossed the line in front of three Italians – Mirco Maestri, Martin Marcellusi and Mattia Bais – as a widely expected bunch sprint failed to materialise. Jonas Vingegaar...
Fredrik Dversnes won the 15th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, taking the honours from a breakaway on a day in which the final lap of Milan was neutralised due to rider complaints about the race conditions. Norwegian Dversnes crossed the line in front of three Italians – Mirco Maestri, Martin Marcellusi and Mattia Bais – as a widely expected bunch sprint failed to materialise. Jonas Vingegaard stayed in pink as the overall race leader, two minutes and 26 seconds ahead of Afonso Eulálio after a surprising end to a flat 157 kilometres from Voghera to Milan, which looked tailor-made for the sprinters. But race organisers were left with the embarrassing decision to first neutralise the final five kilometres for the general classification after Vingegaard was among the riders to complain to race commissioners about the road furniture. That ruling was then extended to the entire fourth and final lap around Milan, although the stage and eventual sprint would still be valid. “We all thought that the circuit was dangerous. I don’t want to go into details but when we got into the circuit we spoke to the race’s head commissioner and they made a decision,” Vingegaard told RAI after the race. “As riders we have to be happy that they listened to us and I want to thank the organisers. Obviously we spoke within the peloton. If it had just been me who felt this way it would have been different. But I could tell that everyone was of the same idea, so I think I had a bit of responsibility on my shoulders.” View image in fullscreen Jonas Vingegaard, centre, on the flat road to Milan. Photograph: Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse/AP It was the biggest win of his career for Dversnes, who rides for Uno-X Mobility and whose last victory was in the fourth stage of the Arctic Race of Norway in August. The peloton will have a chance to rest their legs on Monday before the start of the brutal third and final week, which will decide the destination of the pink jersey. On Tuesday, the first of a serie...
Nigel Farage is under mounting pressure to provide evidence for his claim that a state-sponsored Russian hack was behind the disclosure of the £5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Reform UK claimed over the weekend that analysis of Farage’s phone by “counter-espionage experts” suggested that “Farage’s phone, email and bank accounts were compromised by hostile acto...
Nigel Farage is under mounting pressure to provide evidence for his claim that a state-sponsored Russian hack was behind the disclosure of the £5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Reform UK claimed over the weekend that analysis of Farage’s phone by “counter-espionage experts” suggested that “Farage’s phone, email and bank accounts were compromised by hostile actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, using spear phishing tactics”, before the Guardian revealed details of his undeclared gift last month. Farage told the Mail on Sunday that the alleged Russian activity was “deeply concerning” and highlighted the “threat they pose to British security”. Farage’s claims followed intensifying scrutiny of the £5m gift he received from Harborne. Farage had not publicly declared the gift, despite parliamentary transparency rules requiring MPs to register gifts and donations above a certain threshold. A spokesperson for the Guardian described Farage’s claim as “an attempt to deflect attention from legitimate scrutiny of his financial affairs”. They added: “Nigel Farage is once again hiding behind a baseless attack on the media rather than facing up to scrutiny from journalists and politicians.” The spokesperson said it was absurd for Farage to suggest it had found out about the gift from a Russian hack. After Farage made the allegation on Sunday, Labour and the Conservatives called on him to hand any evidence he has to Britain’s security services. Farage’s spokesperson did not respond to questions from the Guardian over who he had reported the alleged hack to, whether any evidence was handed to British authorities or how the examination of his handset had suggested that Russia was responsible. It is understood the National Cyber Security Centre is not aware of a report from Farage related to the alleged hack. The Guardian has contacted Reform UK for comment. Kevin Hollinrake, chairman of the Conservative party and MP for Thirsk and Malton, tol...
Microsoft (MSFT 0.06%) stock hasn't had a great 2026. The stock is down 13.3% since 2026 began, which sets it apart from most other big tech companies that are up by double-digit percentages in 2026. With that kind of share-price performance, investors may be wondering whether Microsoft stock is a buy at that discounted price. So, is Microsoft a steal right now? Or was the sell-off warranted? Let'...
Microsoft (MSFT 0.06%) stock hasn't had a great 2026. The stock is down 13.3% since 2026 began, which sets it apart from most other big tech companies that are up by double-digit percentages in 2026. With that kind of share-price performance, investors may be wondering whether Microsoft stock is a buy at that discounted price. So, is Microsoft a steal right now? Or was the sell-off warranted? Let's take a look. Microsoft stock rarely gets this cheap First, let's look at its recent financial results to see if there are any cracks in its business that investors should be aware of that could explain its poor stock performance. In Q3 of fiscal year 2026 (ending March 31), Microsoft's revenue rose 18% year over year, with net income rising 23% year over year. Considering Microsoft's size and maturity, those are two healthy figures that are hard to find a flaw in. Microsoft also noted that its artificial intelligence (AI) business surpassed an annual run rate of $37 billion, up 123% year over year. Another major beneficiary of AI is Microsoft's cloud computing platform, Azure. Azure saw 40% revenue growth during Q3 -- another strong figure. Expand NASDAQ : MSFT Microsoft Today's Change ( -0.06 %) $ -0.24 Current Price $ 418.85 Key Data Points Market Cap $3.1T Day's Range $ 416.35 - $ 424.40 52wk Range $ 356.28 - $ 555.45 Volume 1.3M Avg Vol 34.1M Gross Margin 68.31 % Dividend Yield 0.85 % Microsoft's business is clearly doing well, so why is the stock down so much? It could be tied to its valuation. Before Microsoft's sell-off (which began in October 2025), it was trading at a relatively high valuation. Every time Microsoft's share price has risen to about 30 times operating cash flow, the stock has promptly returned to a lower level shortly thereafter. We've seen this pattern multiple times in Microsoft's history, and the latest sell-off is no different. However, the level at which it sold off is much deeper. At 18 times operating cash flow, Microsoft hasn't been this ch...
Zombie Home Foreclosure Numbers Increase In 38 US States Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The number of residential zombie foreclosures in the second quarter of 2026 marginally increased from the previous quarter, with such foreclosures rising in the District of Columbia and 38 out of the 50 U.S. states, real estate analytics company ATTOM said in a May 21 statem...
Zombie Home Foreclosure Numbers Increase In 38 US States Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The number of residential zombie foreclosures in the second quarter of 2026 marginally increased from the previous quarter, with such foreclosures rising in the District of Columbia and 38 out of the 50 U.S. states, real estate analytics company ATTOM said in a May 21 statement. Homes in Huntington Beach, Calif., on July 12, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times "Out of the country's 104.9 million residential properties, 245,376 were in the foreclosure process in the second quarter. Of those, 8,312 properties, or 3.4 percent, were 'zombies,' meaning the owners had abandoned the properties before the end of their foreclosure proceedings," ATTOM said. "The second quarter zombie rate was slightly higher than the 3.3 percent rate posted in the first quarter." Among states with at least 100 zombie residences, Georgia recorded the largest quarter-over-quarter increase, with the number of such properties rising by 98 percent. Zombie foreclosures rose by 67.2 percent in North Carolina, 42 percent in Indiana, 35.5 percent in Iowa, and 15.4 percent in South Carolina. In states with at least 50 zombie homes, only two saw a dip in such properties in the second quarter - Washington and New York, which declined by 13.1 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. A zombie foreclosure typically happens when a homeowner receives a pending foreclosure notice and decides to leave the home before the legally required exit date, leaving the home vacant. As long as the foreclosure is not completed, the owner continues to be the title holder of the property. The owner can usually pay a lump sum to the lender and pull the property out of foreclosure. However, if the lump sum is not paid, the property will end up with the lender. Following this stage, the homeowner has to leave the place when the lender requires them to. ATTOM's analysis of 138 metropolitan statistical area...
Pope Leo XIV’s launch of his first encyclical focusing on artificial intelligence next week will feature an unexpected guest: Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic. Bloomberg News reporter Flavia Rotondi joined Christina Ruffini and David Gura on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss how Pope Leo has picked AI as a key issue in his pontificate. (Source: Bloomberg)
Pope Leo XIV’s launch of his first encyclical focusing on artificial intelligence next week will feature an unexpected guest: Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic. Bloomberg News reporter Flavia Rotondi joined Christina Ruffini and David Gura on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss how Pope Leo has picked AI as a key issue in his pontificate. (Source: Bloomberg)