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Jury set to deliberate and return a verdict on whether they believe AI firm and Altman are liable in caseClosing arguments began on Thursday in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, bringing the weeks-long courtroom battle between the two tech moguls nearer to a decision. A nine person jury is set to deliberate and return a verdict on whether they believe the AI firm and Altman are liable in the case.The trial, which began last month in an Oakland, California federal courthouse, has gripped Silicon Valley and featured some of the tech industry’s biggest names as witnesses. Attorneys for both sides have presented testimony and documents that have exposed Musk and Altman’s private dealings, as well as provided a window into the contentious history of OpenAI. Continue reading...

• Asia has emerged as the new center of the global AI boom, surpassing Silicon Valley, fueled by surging demand for AI chips that propelled Asian tech stocks higher. • The AI-driven rally boosted South Korea's Kospi to a fresh record close of 7,981.41, up 1.8%, supported by technology shares amid robust corporate results in Japan. • Investors monitored U.S. approvals for around 10 Chinese firms, including Alibaba and Tencent, to purchase Nvidia AI chips, highlighted during Trump’s China visit with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

The Iran war will cast a long shadow over the talks. Plus, the 100 best novels of all timeGood morning.Donald Trump is due to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening, the first visit to China by a US president since he was last there nearly a decade ago, as he seeks to mend power and prestige weakened by the war in Iran.What is the state of US-China relations? The two countries remain locked in a fragile tariff truce, reached last autumn after tensions threatened to erupt into a full-scale trade war. Trump has long complained about China’s trade surplus with the US, while Beijing has opposed American export controls and sanctions.What is the latest with the US-Iran ceasefire? The war has entered its third month, with Tehran tightening its grip over the strait of Hormuz and Washington struggling to turn a fragile ceasefire into a lasting settlement. Behind the scenes, US officials have spent weeks urging China to put pressure on Iran to reopen the strait and accept US terms for peace.What did the Atlantic allege? It reported that Patel’s alcohol consumption had become “a recurring source of concern across the government” which made him a “national-security vulnerability”, citing interviews with more than two dozen people including current and former FBI officials. Patel denies all the allegations, calling them “outrageous” and “malicious”. Continue reading...

Meeting comes amid tentative trade truce but Iran, Taiwan and tensions over global supply chains will be complicating factorsSign up for the Breaking News US emailHello and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.Donald Trump is heading to Beijing for high-stakes talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, as they seek to maintain a tentative trade truce while navigating Iran, Taiwan and dominance over global supply chains. Continue reading...

Former police chief Ronald dela Rosa spends night at senate office after another Duterte ally offers protective custodyThe unusual pursuit was captured on CCTV cameras inside the Philippine senate. Ronald dela Rosa, a longtime ally of the former president Rodrigo Duterte, raced along the hallways of the upper house complex, stumbling on the staircase, as he fled government agents.“They want to forcibly bring me to The Hague, to surrender me there,” Dela Rosa said later on a Facebook livestream, pleading for public support. Continue reading...

Stanley Burkhardt, convicted abuser and ex-investigator of sex crimes against children, gives deposition in civil caseConvicted child molester Stanley Burkhardt – a former investigator of sex crimes against children who has been in and out of prison for decades – invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination more than 700 times while being questioned under oath recently, including when asked whether he committed a series of unsolved murders of youths in his orbit.Burkhardt’s decision to remain silent came when faced with questions about the killings during a deposition in a civil lawsuit by an alleged sexual abuse victim of his – a case aimed at him and the New Orleans police department (NOPD) which used to employ him. Continue reading...

Conflict appears to have reached painful stalemate, but leaders in Tehran and Washington seem to think victory is nearThe month-old ceasefire between Iran and the US appeared to be in new peril on Tuesday with a fresh barrage of Iranian missiles reported to have targeted the United Arab Emirates as US naval forces pressed ahead with efforts to reopen the strait of Hormuz.The Iranian strike on the UAE was the second in 48 hours, and came shortly after the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, insisted the shaky truce which has paused the war in the Middle East was intact, despite the new increase in violence. Continue reading...