And then there were two: Of the original eleven cofounders who kickstarted xAI with Elon Musk three years ago, only a pair remains as the deep learning lab continues a personnel overhaul to compete with Anthropic and OpenAI. That rebuilding, insists Musk, is by design. “xAI was not built right first time around, so is being rebuilt from the foundations up,” Musk said Thursday on his social media p...
And then there were two: Of the original eleven cofounders who kickstarted xAI with Elon Musk three years ago, only a pair remains as the deep learning lab continues a personnel overhaul to compete with Anthropic and OpenAI. That rebuilding, insists Musk, is by design. “xAI was not built right first time around, so is being rebuilt from the foundations up,” Musk said Thursday on his social media platform, X. By most measures, it isn’t going all that smoothly. The most immediate pressure is competitive. This week, xAI cofounders Zihang Dai and Guodong Zhang left the outfit after Musk complained that the company’s AI coding tools were not effectively competing with Claude Code or Codex, rival programming assistants made by Anthropic and OpenAI, respectively. Musk said the company held an all-hands meeting on Wednesday that focused on how to catch up, which he predicted would be possible by the middle of this year. Coding tools matter so much because they’re where the money is. While an early-year surge of users was powered by xAI’s lax regulation of Grok’s ability to produce sexual and even abusive imagery, coding tools are seen as the key revenue-generating tech for AI labs. That makes xAI’s current lag in this area more than an perception issue; it’s a business problem. The personnel overhaul extends well beyond this week. A month ago, 11 senior engineers at xAI, including two co-founders, left the company following changes Musk described as a reorganization to suit a larger business. That effort was apparently insufficient: The Financial Times reported that SpaceX and Tesla executives have parachuted into the company to evaluate employees and fire those who don’t make the grade. The two remaining co-founders, Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen, along with Musk, have their work cut out for them. Musk is now casting a wider net for talent. On Thursday, he said on X that he and another colleage, Baris Akis, are currently reviewing rejected employment applications in the c...
Seen from the Washington Monument, flights line up to depart Ronald Reagan National Airport on March 8, 2026 in Alexandria, Virginia. Aaron Schwartz | Getty Images The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it stopped traffic at the three primary Washington-area airports on Friday after air traffic controllers at a Virginia facility had to halt work because of a strong chemical smell. Airborne ...
Seen from the Washington Monument, flights line up to depart Ronald Reagan National Airport on March 8, 2026 in Alexandria, Virginia. Aaron Schwartz | Getty Images The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it stopped traffic at the three primary Washington-area airports on Friday after air traffic controllers at a Virginia facility had to halt work because of a strong chemical smell. Airborne flights were diverting and aircraft on the ground were being held in place, said Flightradar24, a flight tracking site. The issue was snarling traffic during the busy U.S. spring break travel period. The FAA said the issue disrupted operations at Potomac Consolidated Terminal RADAR Approach Control, which controls airspace over numerous airports in the Washington region and had forced the agency to stop traffic at Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Richmond International Airport. Airlines told Reuters the FAA was relocating Potomac controllers to a training facility. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X the FAA was working "to address the source of a strong odor coming from Potomac TRACON that is impacting operations." Controllers will have reduced radar scopes so more delays are likely once the ground stops are lifted if they relocate to the training facility, airline officials said. Delays were impacting more than 325 flights, or 34% of arriving and departing flights at Reagan, about 25%, or 180 flights at Baltimore and more than 200 flights at Dulles, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking site. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
Vance Sidesteps Questions On Reported Differences With Trump Over Iran War The national media has begun to take note this week that the Iran War is expected to dominate the midterm conversation . This is especially after Republican Sen. Rand Paul's recent warnings. As we reported , he said days ago midterm elections could be "disastrous" if the Iran war persists into a quagmire. "Already, we are b...
Vance Sidesteps Questions On Reported Differences With Trump Over Iran War The national media has begun to take note this week that the Iran War is expected to dominate the midterm conversation . This is especially after Republican Sen. Rand Paul's recent warnings. As we reported , he said days ago midterm elections could be "disastrous" if the Iran war persists into a quagmire. "Already, we are behind the eight ball as far as the electoral process," Paul had told Fox Business. "I think if you add in high gas prices, high oil prices, and if we are still bombing Iran with kinetic action — people don’t want to call it war — if there’s still kinetic action that causes oil to be over $100, I think you’re going to see a disastrous election ," the libertarian senator added. If the war continues into the summer and even the fall, this would further raise real concern for US Vice President JD Vance as he eyes the 2028 presidential election . The longer it goes, the more likely that Republican voters would turn on the White House. The White House via AP Since Trump's Operation Epic Fury started, there are reports that Vance has canceled some public appearances . But there were some instances Friday and this week of him being in front of the camera, fielding some difficult questions from reporters. Importantly, he avoided a particular question over his personal views of the Iran war. Here's how it went : US Vice President JD Vance is pressed several times by reporters today to respond to comments made by President Donald Trump earlier this week that he was less enthusiastic about launching a war with Iran . "The president and I and the entire senior team are talking about the options" in the Situation Room, Vance responds. "It’s important for the president of the United States to talk to his advisers without" those advisers "running their mouths," he adds, without directly answering the question or denying the premise. Reports have mounted of Vance expressing concern about th...
TradingKey - Since 2026, with the continuous expansion of AI servers, high-bandwidth computing, and data centers, global memory market demand has exploded once again. Demand for DRAM, NAND, and HBM memory has surged, driving up prices, as capital expenditure among tech giants gradually recovers. Micron (MU) As a beneficiary, its share price has climbed 28% year-to-date (as of the March 12 close). ...
TradingKey - Since 2026, with the continuous expansion of AI servers, high-bandwidth computing, and data centers, global memory market demand has exploded once again. Demand for DRAM, NAND, and HBM memory has surged, driving up prices, as capital expenditure among tech giants gradually recovers. Micron (MU) As a beneficiary, its share price has climbed 28% year-to-date (as of the March 12 close). As Taiwan's largest foreign investor, Micron has been steadily expanding its industrial footprint in Taiwan. From 2024 to 2025, it acquired AUO's Tainan plant, the Houli plant of AUO subsidiary AUO Crystal, and Glory Innovation's Taichung plant to scale up HBM capacity. Earlier this year, Micron further expanded its investment in Taiwan, planning to acquire PSMC's Tongluo plant for $1.8 billion to satisfy robust HBM demand from AI data centers. As Micron positions Taiwan as its DRAM Center of Excellence and shifts its HBM production focus there, will Taiwan's semiconductor industry reap the rewards? In the wake of the 2026 tariff aftermath, why is Micron acquiring PSMC facilities rather than divesting? This article offers an in-depth analysis of Micron's strategic ties with TSMC and PSMC, while listing the Taiwanese semiconductor supply chain companies set to benefit. What does Micron Technology do? Micron Technology was founded in 1978, with its core business in memory. Notably, Micron is one of the few semiconductor companies capable of mass-producing the three major memory technologies—DRAM, NAND Flash, and NOR Flash—simultaneously, though it currently focuses its R&D on HBM3E and HBM4. HBM stands for High Bandwidth Memory. While traditional DRAM places memory chips flat on a printed circuit board, HBM vertically stacks multiple layers of DRAM chips to enhance transmission efficiency, lower power consumption, and reduce physical size. Micron began operating in Taiwan in 1994 and has maintained a presence there for over 31 years. With cumulative investments surpassing NT$...
From oil briefly crossing $100 a barrel to some of the largest swings in the major indexes in months, some investors may be feeling a bit queasy aboard the 2026 topsy-turvy stock market roller coaster. Generating passive income from stocks is a great way to offset some of the headaches that can come with market volatility. Here are three high-yield dividend stocks for investors to build a passive ...
From oil briefly crossing $100 a barrel to some of the largest swings in the major indexes in months, some investors may be feeling a bit queasy aboard the 2026 topsy-turvy stock market roller coaster. Generating passive income from stocks is a great way to offset some of the headaches that can come with market volatility. Here are three high-yield dividend stocks for investors to build a passive income portfolio around in March. 1. Chevron Chevron (CVX +0.00%) is hovering around an all-time high and knocking on the door of $200 a share. But it remains one of the best oil and gas stocks to buy. Chevron checks all the boxes of an energy stock to build a portfolio around. It has 39 consecutive years of boosting its payout and a high yield of 3.8%. It has upside potential from higher oil prices but also protects against downside risk because it can fund its operations, capital expenditures, and dividend expenses below $50 per Brent crude oil barrel. For context, Brent averaged $69.14 in 2025 and is just under $90 per barrel at the time of this writing. Expand NYSE : CVX Chevron Today's Change ( 0.00 %) $ 0.00 Current Price $ 196.97 Key Data Points Market Cap $393B Day's Range $ 194.71 - $ 197.62 52wk Range $ 132.04 - $ 198.88 Volume 449K Avg Vol 12M Gross Margin 14.66 % Dividend Yield 3.51 % 2. UPS After a hot start to the year, United Parcel Service (UPS 0.69%) has sold off in recent weeks due to skyrocketing oil prices -- which raise package delivery costs. UPS is up just over 2% in the last decade compared to a 242.5% gain in the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.61%). But UPS could soon turn a corner. The company is undergoing a multiyear turnaround to improve its margins -- including slashing its dependence on low-margin Amazon package deliveries. UPS is streamlining its supply chain and processing network, emphasizing higher-margin deliveries from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and temperature- and time-sensitive healthcare deliveries. In its latest quarter, SMBs made u...
The BBC has spoken to more than 20 residents, some of whom have lived in Dubai for decades and others who arrived more recently. Most say they are shocked by the events of recent days. But nearly all say they have no plans to leave.
The BBC has spoken to more than 20 residents, some of whom have lived in Dubai for decades and others who arrived more recently. Most say they are shocked by the events of recent days. But nearly all say they have no plans to leave.
Central to the case are questions of whether Kaley had an addiction to social media and whether social media companies designed their platforms to be addictive. If they did, the jury will need to decide what the companies owe to young people like Kaley who may have been harmed because of those designs.
Central to the case are questions of whether Kaley had an addiction to social media and whether social media companies designed their platforms to be addictive. If they did, the jury will need to decide what the companies owe to young people like Kaley who may have been harmed because of those designs.
Whether the conflict is "protracted" remains to be seen. But it is the most significant military operation under Trump to date. At least 13 Americans have been killed so far, including six killed in a plane crash in Iraq on Thursday. There have been casualties across Israel and Gulf countries. Hundreds of people have been killed in Lebanon as Israel exchanges fire with Hezbollah, and Iran has repo...
Whether the conflict is "protracted" remains to be seen. But it is the most significant military operation under Trump to date. At least 13 Americans have been killed so far, including six killed in a plane crash in Iraq on Thursday. There have been casualties across Israel and Gulf countries. Hundreds of people have been killed in Lebanon as Israel exchanges fire with Hezbollah, and Iran has reported that more than 1,300 people have been killed.
The US Commerce Department has pulled a draft regulation that would have restricted exports of artificial intelligence chips to anywhere in the world without US approval, according to an electronic notification posted on a government website. The Office of Management and Budget’s website changed on Friday to say that an interagency review process for the rule had concluded and that the measure had...
The US Commerce Department has pulled a draft regulation that would have restricted exports of artificial intelligence chips to anywhere in the world without US approval, according to an electronic notification posted on a government website. The Office of Management and Budget’s website changed on Friday to say that an interagency review process for the rule had concluded and that the measure had been withdrawn, without providing other details. A Trump administration official said late Friday that the now-withdrawn rule was a draft and that any discussions regarding the proposal were preliminary. Reuters reported on the withdrawal earlier Friday. The draft rule was previously reported by Bloomberg News, with the caveat that it could change substantially or be shelved entirely. It had marked the Trump administration’s most substantive step toward a global chip export strategy after scrapping the regulatory approach it inherited from the Biden administration last year. In response to the Bloomberg report, the Commerce Department said last week that “we will not” return to the previous administration’s AI diffusion framework, which it called “burdensome, overreaching and disastrous.” The now-abandoned Trump administration proposal would have carved out a significant role for the Commerce Department’s licensing office to conduct case-by-case reviews of AI chip exports from Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Approvals would have been contingent on a range of factors, including government-to-government agreements and how much computing power each end user was seeking, Bloomberg reported.
In the lead up to the Tumbler Ridge school shooting in Canada last month, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar spoke to ChatGPT about her feelings of isolation and an increasing obsession with violence, according to court filings. The chatbot allegedly validated Van Rootselaar’s feelings and then helped her plan her attack, telling her which weapons to use and sharing precedents from other mass casual...
In the lead up to the Tumbler Ridge school shooting in Canada last month, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar spoke to ChatGPT about her feelings of isolation and an increasing obsession with violence, according to court filings. The chatbot allegedly validated Van Rootselaar’s feelings and then helped her plan her attack, telling her which weapons to use and sharing precedents from other mass casualty events, per the filings. She went on to kill her mother, her 11-year-old brother, five students, and an education assistant, before turning the gun on herself. Before Jonathan Gavalas, 36, died by suicide last October, he got close to carrying out a multi-fatality attack. Across weeks of conversation, Google’s Gemini allegedly convinced Gavalas that it was his sentient “AI wife,” sending him on a series of real-world missions to evade federal agents it told him were pursuing him. One such mission instructed Gavalas to stage a “catastrophic incident” that would have involved eliminating any witnesses, according to a recently filed lawsuit. Last May, a 16-year-old in Finland allegedly spent months using ChatGPT to write a detailed misogynistic manifesto and develop a plan that led to him stabbing three female classmates. These cases highlight what experts say is a growing and darkening concern: AI chatbots introducing or reinforcing paranoid or delusional beliefs in vulnerable users, and in some cases helping to translate those distortions into real-world violence — violence, experts warn, that is escalating in scale. “We’re going to see so many other cases soon involving mass casualty events,” Jay Edelson, the lawyer leading the Gavalas case, told TechCrunch. Edelson also represents the family of Adam Raine, the 16-year-old who was allegedly coached by ChatGPT into suicide last year. Edelson says his law firm receives one “serious inquiry a day” from someone who has lost a family member to AI-induced delusions or is experiencing severe mental health issues of their own. W...