Some people try to know everything. Warren Buffett made billions knowing what to ignore.
The HBO documentary “Becoming Warren Buffett” from 2017 shows how Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates went from skeptical to fully convinced — not because of what Buffett knew, but because of how he thinks.
Melinda French Gates, who was married to Bill at the time of the film, said it took persistence to make the meeting happen.
“He’s one of the smartest people we know,” she said in the film. “I was at a couple of the family dinners at the Gates house where Mary, Bill’s mom, was trying to convince him to come out to the family place at Hood Canal to meet Warren Buffett, and he was resisting because he was really busy with Microsoft. Finally he said, ‘Mom, okay, I’ll come for lunch.’”
Don’t Miss:
Gates said he showed up without much interest.
“So the two of us flew out there somewhat reluctantly,” he said. “Buying and selling stocks, which is how I thought of Warren, wasn’t a particular interest to me and didn’t seem like value added.”
That didn’t last.
“It turned out that was completely wrong,” Gates said. “We knew that day that we’d be very close friends. In fact, we just couldn’t get enough of each other.”
“Shortly after I met Bill Gates, Bill’s dad asked each of us to write down on a piece of paper one word that would best describe what had helped us the most,” Buffett said in the film. “Bill and I, without any collaboration at all, both wrote the word ‘focus.’”
For Buffett, that word drives everything.
“Focus has always been a strong part of my personality,” he said. “If I get interested in something, I get really interested. If I get interested in a new subject, I want to read about it, I want to talk about it, and I want to meet people that are involved in it.”
Gates saw the same pattern.
“We both love to work hard,” he said. “Neither of us like frivolous things.”
Trending: Skip the Regrets: The Essential Retirement Tips Experts Wish Everyone Knew Earlier.
Gates didn’t describe Buffett as well-rounded.
“He doesn’t know much about cooking or art or a huge range of things,” he said in the documentary.
Nürburgring. You dreamed it. We built it. We race it: The BMW
M3 Touring 24H passed its baptism of fire at the season opener of
the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS) on the legendary
Nordschleife (GER). The car not only attracted attention from fans
and media, but also impressed on the track. Jens Klingmann (GER) and
Ugo de Wilde (BEL) finished in a strong 13th place overall, winning
the SPX class. Dan Harper (GBR) and Jordan Pepper (RSA) made it onto
the overall podium in the #99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO from ROWE Racing. The
duo celebrated alongside Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen
(NED), who won the race together with his Mercedes crew.
In front of an impressive crowd of 25,000 spectators, four BMW M4 GT3
EVOs and the BMW M3 Touring 24H lined up on the grid. The second ROWE
Racing car with Augusto Farfus (BRA), Raffaele Marciello (SUI), and
Kelvin van der Linde (RSA) started from third place but dropped back
to 25th after a technical issue required a repair stop.
Schubert Motorsport celebrated its comeback on the Nordschleife. The
#77 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, driven by Klingmann, de Wilde, and Charles Weerts
(BEL), finished the race in twelfth place – directly ahead of the BMW
M3 Touring 24H, which was surrounded and admired by fans both in the
pit lane and on the starting grid. The #23 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of customer
team Gamota Racing finished 16th overall, which also meant third place
in the SP9-Pro-Am class.
Hans-Peter Naundorf (Team Principal ROWE Racing): “At
our last two appearances here, we took two wins, and now a second
place. The last three events at the Nürburgring have gone very well
for us. After the snow last weekend, we were finally able to get
enough laps in. We were able to do what we had planned: tyre work and
giving the drivers the laps they needed. The most important thing was
that everyone got to drive. It’s a good feeling for everyone here that
we made it onto the podium. We’re all happy.”
Jordan Pepper (#99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, ROWE Racing, 2nd
place): “For me, there was a lot to learn in my first race
for BMW M Motorsport on the Nordschleife. Many thanks to everyone in
the team who helped me settle in quickly. It was a lot of fun. The
guys are great, and now I know why they’ve always been the toughest
competitors in the past. I’m happy with how it went. The podium is a
nice bonus. I’ve learned a lot, but I also know what I still need to
work on to be at the absolute top level for the 24-hour race.”
Torsten Schubert (Team Principal Schubert
Motorsport): “Overall, we are very satisfied with the
premiere of the BMW M3 Touring 24H. We can match the pace, similar to
the GT3 cars. The first developments with the Yokohama tyre are also
very positive. Now we want to continue doing a clean job – from the
qualifying race to the 24-hour race. For us at Schubert Motorsport,
returning to the Nordschleife is of course something special.”
Jens Klingmann (#81 BMW M3 Touring 24H, BMW M Motorsport, 1st
place SPX class): “We can draw an entirely positive
conclusion. For us, it was important to collect as many kilometres and
as much experience as possible with the BMW M3 Touring 24H – also with
the Yokohama tyre. We are also very satisfied with the pace, the
balance, and our learnings. There are no vibrations, no rattles, and
even the little things that are important, especially for the 24-hour
race, we have now started to sort out. All in all, I really enjoyed
it. And you can see from the outside, on the grid and during the
formation lap, the fans, how they cheer us on, take pictures, clap,
give a thumbs up. The support from the community is fantastic. The
love we put into the details is reflected back to us from the outside,
and it’s really a joy to see that.”
Despite the wild weather swings we’ve seen in D.C. this March, spring has officially arrived — and we’re ready to welcome the longer days, warmer temperatures and fresh seasonal produce. In the kitchen, that means a shift toward lighter vegetable-forward dishes that make the most of the season’s harvest, including asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb and peas.
The Pharmaceutical Administration Bureau (ISAF) of Macau SAR, China, granted regulatory approval for ANKTIVA® (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln) in combination with BCG for adult patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC with carcinoma in situ (CIS), with or without papillary tumors. This represents the therapy’s first regulatory authorization in Asia.
Indication and Treatment Context
In Macau, ANKTIVA is approved for use in combination with intravesical BCG. Patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC with CIS ± papillary disease constitute a particularly challenging clinical population, as therapeutic options that preserve the bladder are limited once standard BCG therapy fails.
NMIBC accounts for the majority of newly diagnosed bladder cancer cases, and CIS is associated with a substantial risk of progression to muscle-invasive disease.
Radical cystectomy is frequently recommended in the BCG-unresponsive setting; however, many patients are either medically unfit for surgery or reluctant to undergo a procedure with significant functional and quality-of-life implications.
Consequently, treatments capable of achieving durable disease control while avoiding cystectomy remain an important unmet need.
Reliance-Based Regulatory Pathway
The Macau authorization was granted through a reliance-based review process. Under this framework, local regulators consider prior assessments conducted by established agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), in addition to jurisdiction-specific requirements.
Reliance pathways are increasingly adopted by smaller regulatory authorities to expedite access to innovative therapies that have already undergone rigorous evaluation elsewhere, while preserving independent decision-making and oversight.
Mechanism of Action
ANKTIVA is a first-in-class interleukin-15 (IL-15) receptor agonist designed to enhance immune responses against cancer. In contrast to immune checkpoint inhibitors, which primarily remove inhibitory signals from T cells, IL-15–based therapies aim to actively stimulate expansion and activation of cytotoxic immune populations.
Available data indicate that ANKTIVA promotes the proliferation and activation of natural killer cells, CD8-positive cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and long-lived memory immune cells. By engaging both innate and adaptive immunity, the therapy is intended to strengthen antitumor activity within the bladder microenvironment when administered alongside BCG.
Clinical Evidence
The approval references findings from the QUILT-3.032 clinical trial, which evaluated ANKTIVA in patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC with CIS with or without papillary tumors. Reported outcomes include a complete response rate of 71 percent and a median duration of response of 26.6 months.
These results have been published in peer-reviewed journals, including NEJM Evidence and The Journal of Urology. Durable responses are particularly meaningful in this disease setting, where recurrence is common and long-term bladder preservation is a central therapeutic objective.
Regional and Global Implications
Although Macau’s population is relatively small, the approval carries broader significance beyond the territory itself. It represents the first authorization of ANKTIVA in Asia and may serve as a strategic entry point into the wider Asia-Pacific regulatory environment.
The decision also reflects the expanding role of reliance-based regulatory mechanisms in facilitating earlier patient access to innovative oncology therapies.
Comment from Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, founder and Executive Chairman of ImmunityBio, also commented on the announcement in a post on X, highlighting the broader significance of the approval.
“Global expansion-first approval in Asia!! Anktiva now approved in Macau, China today. Paradigm change of treating the immune system unstoppable.”
Looking Ahead
While the authorization in Macau expands geographic access to ANKTIVA, its real-world impact will depend on several factors, including clinical adoption, reimbursement policies, manufacturing capacity, and outcomes observed in routine practice.
For patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC seeking bladder-preserving alternatives, this approval introduces an additional therapeutic option.
Ongoing regulatory reviews and post-authorization experience will determine the extent to which this approach becomes integrated into clinical care across Asia and globally.
Explore more oncology news and features on OncoDaily.
Each week we cut through the noise to bring you smart, practical recommendations on how to live better – from what is worth buying to the tools, habits and ideas that actually last.
I’ve always wanted to be that person who shopped at the farmers’ market, just me and a cloth tote bag stuffed with local produce against the world.
In reality, my fridge is stocked with bags of wilted spinach and whatever fruit is on sale at my nearby Trader Joe’s.
Yet our recent piece highlighting the best plastic-free cutting boards to upgrade your cooking inspired me to seek out ways to bump up my produce game – those gorgeous cutting boards deserve better than flavorless, out-of-season tomatoes. Buying local produce can help you better understand where your food comes from and to support those nearby farmers who prioritize sustainability.
So I asked farmers’ market aficionado Brittany Chang for advice. She shares weekly meal plans with ingredients bought solely from Union Square Greenmarket, the biggest farmers’ market in New York City.
I also spoke with the New York Times bestselling author of Big Vegan Flavor, Nisha Vora, and recipe developer and food blogger Tiffany Bach for tips on sourcing local ingredients we’ll actually want to cook with.
Before we go to our farmers’ market haul: you’ll need a good produce bag to carry everything in. If you’re looking for recommendations, our commissioning editor Karen Yuan loves these:
Public Goods Organic Wide Mesh Tote
Now $15.95, originally $19.95 at Public Goods
“This expandable mesh bag is my Mary Poppins bag of grocery totes – it can somehow fit all sizes of fruits, leafy stalks, loaves, and even a bottle of wine and magazines when I’ve brought it to picnics in the park. Its long handles make it easy to sling over the shoulder. Made from organic cotton, it’s lightweight and squishy enough to keep stored in a larger bag for an impromptu food runs. It also comes in handy for storing socks and laundry. And it’s machine-washable.”
Keeki Bread Bag
$27.50 at Amazon$27.50 at Keeki
“I got the homey-feeling yellow gingham bag as a gift with a loaf of bread already in it, which felt like the most thoughtful combo. It’s a sweet yet safe way to store bread: the linen bag is lined with beeswax, materials that help air circulate and the bread breathe. Beeswax also has antibacterial properties that deter mold – but unlike regular beeswax wraps, this bag has a wide mouth and drawstring close for easier access.”
Spot the bargains
Shopping at the farmers’ market doesn’t have to mean splurging on the $15 carton of strawberries.
“Take a few laps around the market and note what each vendor charges for the produce you want. Compare these prices before you buy anything. It helped me save a lot of money when I first started shopping at the market,” said Chang.
And if you want to snag a discount, timing matters: “When you go later in the day, they are trying to get rid of stuff. They’ll be more eager to get things off their hands that they haven’t sold,” advised Vora.
Try a farm box subscription service
If you don’t live near a farmers’ market, don’t stress. Bach told me you can also try a produce subscription service. “It’s another great way to support farmers but also know what’s in season,” she said.
For those based in New York or New Jersey, Bach suggested Farm to People. However, you can search for options in other states, such as Farmbox California and Gather and Deliver in Texas.
Keep an eye out at the grocery store
The farmers’ market isn’t the only place to buy fresh, local produce. Vora said that we should look out for “locally grown” signs at the grocery store. Asparagus is a good example; in off-season months, it might be imported from Mexico, but in the spring or summer, you might be able to find it locally grown. When I do, I will definitely be trying Vora’s lemon asparagus pasta for an easy weeknight meal.
Vora also recommended asking grocery store employees for help identifying any produce that was grown in your region or state. “Generally, people at these jobs are very happy to help you,” she said.
Savor seasonal selections
Shopping for seasonal produce extends beyond pumpkin in October or corn in August. To mix up your meals, Chang recommended shopping for “hyper-seasonal” items (produce with a short peak season).
“I get excited when I see niche pepper varieties in the fall and fiddlehead ferns in the late spring. I know that sounds absurd to folks who don’t eat seasonally, but to me, it’s become a fun, creative hobby that has instilled a deep sense of gratitude for the food I get to eat.”
What you loved this week: Material Kitchen’s cutting board
Photograph: Marian Bull/The Guardian
I’m not the only one who was inspired by seasoned culinary journalist Marian Bull’s guide to microplastic-free cutting boards. She spent six weeks testing 10 different models, chopping beets and onions to see how knives felt on each surface and how each board stained.
Many of our readers shared Bull’s love for Material Kitchen’s dishwasher-safe cutting board, as, according to our purchasing data, it was one of your favorite products of the week.
Material Kitchen MK Free Board
$48 at Material Kitchen
Read our guide:The six best plastic-free cutting boards in the US for 2026, tested
*** Deal of the week: Anyday glass containers
Photograph: Courtesy of Williams Sonoma
Since December, when we first sang the praises of Anyday’s glass containers, which can go straight from the freezer to the oven, Filter readers have embraced the plastic-free life. Now we’re delighted to offer a discount: get 20% off anything on the Anyday site with code FILTER20, including the 2-cup glass containers that kitchen pro Emily Farris finds perfect for portioning.
Anyday 2-Cup Glass Round Dish Multipack
Now $32 (with code FILTER20), originally $40 at Anyday
Waste less, save more:Anyday glass food containers transformed how I store leftovers
Beverage corner: nonalcoholic wines
Photograph: Courtesy of: Ramona; Courtesy of the Zero Proof
We’re mere weeks away from Easter brunches, Mother’s Day get-togethers and graduation ceremonies. And this means ample opportunities to pop open a bottle of champagne or to enjoy a crisp glass of white wine.
If you’re craving the celebratory ritual without the side effects, we shared our favorite nonalcoholic wines that taste just as good as the real thing. In our guide, we’ve selected a bottle perfect for commemorating big milestones and one that acts as an ideal companion for party snacks.
French Bloom La Cuvée Vintage
$119 at French Bloom
Duju Non Alc Sparkling Wine
$25 at Duju
Discover our favorite nonalcoholic wine:The 13 best nonalcoholic wines in the US in 2026 – taste-tested and reviewed
Put to the test: bike lights
Photograph: georgeclerk/Getty Images
Longtime cyclist and product reviewer Josh Patterson wants us to stop underestimating the power of a well-made bike light. “A bike helmet may protect you in a crash, but lights can help prevent one from happening in the first place,” he wrote.
To find the very best on the market, Patterson bravely tested a variety of models, biking in the rain and wintry weather and on dark roads. Among his favorites was this powerful option to improve night-time visibility, and an affordable model ideal for neighborhood rides.
NiteRider Lumina Pro 1550
$153.80 at Amazon$159.99 at Back Country
Ascher Ultra Bright USB Rechargeable Bike Light Set
$16.99 at Amazon
Discover the best bike lights:The best bike lights in the US to see and be seen
Global favorites: Irish beer
Photograph: Cavan Images/Getty Images/Cavan Images RF
Whether you’re seeking an Irish beer that doesn’t require you to “split the G” or simply want to get out of your comfort zone, we shared the very best Guinness alternatives.
In our guide, beer journalist Beth Demmon introduced us to a whole new world of Irish beers, including a coffee-like stout that has “a bit more oomph than your go-to Guinness” and a “clean, crisp” lager to sip with anything from chicken to pizza.
O’Hara’s Irish Stout
$11.99 for pack of four at Total Wine
Harp Lager (4.5% ABV)
$9.99 for pack of four at BevMo
Read more:The best Irish beers that aren’t Guinness (but still extremely Irish)
Nissan’s logo is illuminated on a prototype of its new all-electric Ariya crossover. Nissan’s Z Proto performance car is reflected in the vehicle’s grille, while a redesigned Nissan Pathfinder SUV sits in the background.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
Nissan Motor plans to introduce a new type of hybrid to the U.S. market that drives like an all-electric vehicle but is powered — not driven — by a traditional gas-powered engine.
The new Nissan “e-Power” is called a series hybrid. It uses the engine as a generator to power the vehicle’s electric motors that then propel the vehicle. It operates like emerging extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs, but has a smaller battery and doesn’t require a plug.
It’s also different from a traditional hybrid, such as the Toyota Prius, because the gas engine in those vehicles is used to propel the vehicle. The series hybrid’s engine just keeps the battery charged to power the electric motors in the vehicles.
The e-Power hybrid system for Nissan is planned to launch domestically later this year in a new version of its popular Rogue compact SUV.
Timing for such a vehicle could be ideal for Nissan with climbing gas prices, slower-than-planned adoption of EVs and an expected surge in hybrid sales amid new entries, according to officials.
After losing billions of dollars on EVs, automakers such as Nissan are turning to hybrid vehicles to meet customer expectations for fuel economy and to help with driving performance.
S&P Global Mobility expects hybrids in the U.S. this year to increase to 18.4% of new vehicle sales, up from 12.6% last year and 7.3% in 2023. It’s forecasting pure EVs, meanwhile, will be 7.1% of new vehicle sales, down from 8% last year.
“This is a unique powertrain for the for the U.S.,” Kurt Rosolowsky, Nissan North America vehicle evaluation and test engineer, said during a media briefing. “This is an electrically driven vehicle, as far as what is powering the wheels, but it doesn’t have a plug, and you fill it up with gas like you do with a normal car.”
Series hybrids
Nissan and other automakers have used series hybrids elsewhere, particularly in Asia, but companies have been reluctant to bring the vehicles to the U.S. because of consumer expectations for driving dynamics and power.
To address those concerns, Nissan said it has developed a more powerful 1.5-liter, three-cylinder turbocharged engine specifically for the e-Power system, in addition to new packaging and other upgrades, to appease American buyers.
“The turbo is only there to serve efficiency at higher speeds for the gas engine to deliver energy,” Rosolowsky said.
The e-Power for the U.S. market is Nissan’s third generation of the series hybrid since it debuted in Japan in 2016. Since then, Nissan said it has sold more than 1.6 million vehicles globally with e-Power in nearly 70 countries.
“I think it’s going to be a really good system. I think it’s going to be very popular for Nissan in the new Rogue when it arrives later this year,” said Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at communications and consulting firm Telemetry.
Abuelsamid said the only real drawback to the series hybrid is that it’s less efficient at higher speeds, which Nissan is trying to overcome with the new engine as well as battery size.
Driving e-Power
Driving a European version of the Nissan Rogue Sport sold with the ePower system around suburban Detroit, the vehicle’s driving dynamics — specifically fast acceleration and regenerative braking — are formidable.
They come with the familiar sound of an engine revving but without the shifting or sputtering of transmission gears and far less noise, vibration and harshness, or NVH, as the industry commonly refers to it.
“The driving experience really is what makes it different with those fewer components. You have less noise and less vibration,” Rosolowsky said.
Nissan e-Power logo
Courtesy Nissan
Unlike traditional gas-powered vehicles, the e-Power system also does not require a traditional transmission to shift gears or a driveshaft that transfers torque from the transmission to the differential, powering the wheels.
While the Rogue Sport is a smaller vehicle and only forward-wheel-drive, it’s easy to see how the system will translate to a larger vehicle with all-wheel-drive, which the new Rogue with e-Power will be.
The lack of a plug, some engine noise and slight vibration also might be more familiar for drivers who have been reluctant to adopt all-electric vehicles.
While Nissan is not releasing specifics such as pricing or fuel economy for the upcoming Rogue with e-Power, the Rogue Sport was achieving more than 40 miles per gallon during heavy city driving, according to the vehicle’s MPG system.
The current Nissan Rogue, depending on the model, can achieve more than 30 MPG, according to U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Nissan’s vehicles historically been less fuel efficient than those from its larger Japanese rivals. Honda Motor and Toyota Motor, the latter of which pioneered traditional hybrids with the Prius and continues to dominate the sector in the U.S.
Nissan declined to discuss the possibility of expanding the e-Power system to other vehicles in the U.S., but confirmed the new system is modular and capable of working with many different engines.
“If we were to expand this to other vehicles, you can theoretically bolt this onto another gasoline engine of a different size and have more options for an e-Power system,” Rosolowsky said.
Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
When the UK government signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI, the tech firm behind ChatGPT, the partnership was hailed as one that could harness artificial intelligence to “address society’s greatest challenges”.
But eight months on from the fanfare of that announcement, the government has yet to hold any trials involving the firm’s tech.
A freedom of information (FoI) request asked the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) for information about trials conducted under the memorandum, which said the company would work with civil servants to “identify opportunities for how advanced AI models can be deployed throughout government and the private sector”.
The department replied that it held none of this information and had “not undertaken any trials under the memorandum of understanding with OpenAI”.
In response to a query from the Guardian, DSIT pointed to an agreement under which the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) last October enabled civil servants to use ChatGPT “with an option for UK-based data storage for customers”.
Tarek Nseir, the CEO of Valliance, the AI consultancy that filed the FoI, said: “Either there’s been a huge failure in execution, or it was a failure of intent in my view.
“There are unquestionably pockets of government that are engaging with these frontier models and these providers … We just have so little to show for it.
“Rolling out ChatGPT in a department hardly reflects the ambition of the MoU.”
He added: “We use PowerPoint – that doesn’t mean we have a strategic relationship with Microsoft. If this was the intent of the MoU then our government is not taking the impact of AI on our economy seriously.”
The agreement for the MoJ to use ChatGPT appeared to be part of a larger “AI Action Plan for Justice” rolled out separately last July. DSIT also pointed to continuing work with the UK AI Safety Institute to test AI models and develop safeguards in collaboration with OpenAI.
It said: “We are pleased with the progress we are making on the memorandum of understanding with OpenAI. This work is active, ongoing and focused on delivering real results for public services and the economy.”
The department also pointed to work with Nvidia and Nscale to “deploy GPUs for Stargate UK, focusing on strengthening the UK’s AI capabilities”.
None of this – apart from ChatGPT in the MoJ – appeared to amount to deploying advanced AI models throughout the government as was described.
OpenAI said the scope of the FoI did not capture the full scale of its activities in the UK and that it was “proud of the progress we have made on our MOU with the UK government”.
A Guardian investigation found that, though Nscale promised to build the UK’s largest supercomputer by the end of 2026, deploying Nvidia’s GPUs, it will almost certainly not complete the project on time – and has publicly misrepresented its progress on the site.
Nscale is also to collaborate with OpenAI on Stargate UK, an initiative to potentially deploy 8,000 Nvidia chips to sites across the UK – although the precise language of the press release was noncommittal.
Contacted by the Guardian, OpenAI said it had “nothing to share” on the progress of this deployment, which it had previously suggested would take place this quarter.
The government’s memorandum with OpenAI was one of a series of high-profile agreements in which it outlined how AI could change “how people live, learn, work, and access public services”, and “be a powerful tool to drive productivity, accelerate discovery, and create opportunity”.
Matt Davies, the economic and social policy lead at the Ada Lovelace Institute, said: “AI could transform how people interact with public services, but government experimentation with these technologies must be open and transparent. Voluntary partnerships with big AI companies don’t follow the usual procurement rules, raising real questions about accountability and scrutiny.
“The memorandum with OpenAI doesn’t clearly explain how progress will be measured or how it will deliver public benefit, and the risks of ‘lock-in’ – becoming dependent on a company’s product and services – aren’t addressed anywhere.
“The public are worried about the government’s approach to AI. In our polling, 84% said they are concerned about the government putting the sector’s interests ahead of protecting the public. The government needs a positive vision for how AI can genuinely improve people’s lives; just aiming at ‘more AI’ isn’t good enough.”
The government has also concluded similar agreements with Anthropic, Google DeepMind and Nvidia. The Guardian understands the Google memorandum, concluded in December, is in the early stages of planning.
Anthropic said it was planning to build an AI assistant to help navigate government services, and was also working with the UK AI Safety Institute to conduct safety research.
US car buyers are showing a surge in interest in electric vehicles after Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran helped cause a major jump in gasoline prices.
The cost to refuel a vehicle in the US is at its highest level in nearly three years, with the average national price of gas standing at $3.90 a gallon on Friday.
This increase has been driven by the rising global cost of oil in the wake of the US and Israel’s bombing of Iran, a major oil producer. The conflict has resulted in the strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that conveys around a fifth of the world’s oil, being shut off by Iran.
Drivers in the US have responded to this situation with a surge of fresh interest in EVs, which do not require gas and do not emit the pollution that is dangerously overheating the planet. Searches for electric car models are up by 20% since the attack on Iran started three weeks ago, according to CarEdge, a car-buying platform.
“You saw that within 48 hours of the war starting a spike started – it is directly connected to that news,” said Justin Fischer, an automotive analyst at CarEdge. “If we see these higher gas pries dragging on for a month or more we will see bigger and bigger numbers.”
The rise in gas prices is “at the forefront of buyers minds right now, they are thinking about how do they avoid these fluctuations,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, which has also recorded a jump in the amount of online research activity into EVs by people looking for a new or used car.
“Gas isn’t something you can hide from, it’s right in your face, you see the cost as you fill up each time,” Caldwell added. “It’s a conversational point for a lot of people, too. I live in Los Angeles and there are a lot of memes being sent around by EV drivers on how they are happily watching other people being worried about the gas price right now.”
It’s currently unclear if the new interest in EVs will endure and how it will translate into market share. The US lags behind many other wealthy countries in electric car sales and charging infrastructure, with sales badly hit last year by a Republican spending bill that phased out Joe Biden-era incentives to purchase non-polluting cars.
Trump has also rolled back regulations governing the fuel efficiency and pollution emissions of new cars, helping prompt major automakers to focus even further on the hulking, gas-guzzling SUVs and pick-ups that now dominate US roads. Ford, Nissan and Honda have all recently dropped or scaled back their EV models in the US.
But for people on lower incomes who are most affected by the gas price increase, used EVs are becoming an attractive option. Used Teslas, Chevy Equinoxes and Nissan Leafs are all now becoming affordable to many Americans, Caldwell said.
“You can get a fairly decent used EV for under $25,000, which is pretty decent considering what the new vehicles sell for,” she said. “We are now in an era where there are desirable, inexpensive EVs. I expect they will be snapped up now.’
Hybrid cars, such as Toyota’s Camry and Rav4, are also set to do well among Americans concerned about going fully electric and being stuck without a charging point, Fischer said. “I think hybrids will jump out of the water, we will see a huge spike in sales there,” he said.
New EVs remain expensive compared to gas cars, with EV owners a disproportionately wealthy slice of the US population. Just 7.8% of all car sales last year were electric, down slightly on 2024.
The Trump administration has sought to further stall EV growth by halting separate fuel efficiency standards in California. Last week, amid surging gas prices, Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, said the administration is suing California over “oppressive, expensive electric vehicle mandates (that) drive up costs for American consumers and violate federal law”.
However, electric cars are making major headway in the rest of the world. EVs account for one in five new sales globally, with some countries almost eliminating the need for new gas cars – in January, just seven traditional petrol cars were sold in Norway.
“American automakers realize EVs are definitely the long-term strategy but they can make a lot of money in the short term with SUVs and pick-up trucks,” said Caldwell.
“A lot of the technology for EVs is developed in the US but China is very good at scaling and making them inexpensive. The policy changing every four years in the White House doesn’t help, either – car companies can’t operate like that.”
Don Francis, president of the EV Club of the South, said many people are still hesitant to purchase an EV due to concerns about their range. “There is interest but people aren’t being pushed over the edge yet,” he said. “There may be a tipping point, though, if these gas prices remain high.”
Francis said that he has two sons in the military and wants the US to achieve “energy independence” to avoid conflicts related to oil. But Francis doesn’t fault Trump, who he voted for three times, for the war and its ramifications.
“My one greatest concern has been if an Islamic terrorist organization got its hands on nuclear weapon we will be in serious trouble,” he said. “Do I like everything (Trump’s) done? No. Do I like most of what he’s done? Yes.”
United States law enforcement this week took down the Aisuru, Kimwolf, JackSkid, and Mossad botnets, a slate of cybercriminal tools that have infected more than 3 million devices around the world, including many inside home networks, and have been used to carry out record-breaking cyberattacks. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of iPhones are currently vulnerable to takeover by a new tool called DarkSword that Russian hackers used to steal victims’ data.
Customer service calls and chats with the Sears Home Services AI bot Samantha were exposed and publicly accessible until a researcher reported the situation—revealing personal details from calls and chats, including, in some cases, hours of extra audio seemingly recorded after customers thought a call had ended. And WIRED reviewed dozens of Telegram channels containing job listings for “AI face models.” The people who land the jobs are mostly women and are likely being used as the face of AI scams to steal victims’ money.
Meta recently announced that it will eliminate end-to-end encryption protections for Instagram Direct Messages on May 8, citing low adoption of the feature. The company had long promised the protection as a default for Instagram chat, and experts fear that the bait and switch could set a dangerous precedent in the tech industry. In other Meta encryption news, though, Signal creator Moxie Marlinspike announced this week that he will collaborate with the tech giant to integrate his encrypted AI platform Confer into Meta AI in some form.
And there’s more. Each week, we round up the security and privacy news we didn’t cover in depth ourselves. Click the headlines to read the full stories. And stay safe out there.
Imagine trying to explain this one to your boss: You can’t get to work because your court-mandated breathalyzer won’t let you start the vehicle—not because you’ve been drinking, you swear, but because that alcohol-vapor-detecting device has been disabled by a cyberattack on the company that makes it.
Intoxalock, an automotive breathalyzer maker that says it’s used daily by 150,000 drivers across the US, this week reported that it had been the target of a cyberattack, resulting in its “systems currently experiencing downtime,” according to an announcement posted to its website. Meanwhile, drivers that use the breathalyzers have reported being stranded due to the devices’ inability to connect to the company’s services. “Our vehicles are giant paperweights right now through no fault of ours,” one wrote on Reddit. “I’m being held accountable at work and feel completely helpless.”
The lockouts appear to be the result of Intoxalock’s breathalyzers needing periodic calibrations that require a connection to the company’s servers. Drivers who are due for a calibration and can’t perform one due to the company’s downtime have been stuck, though the company now states on its website that it’s offering 10-day extensions on those calibrations due to its cybersecurity disruption, as well as towing services in some cases. In the meantime, Intoxalock hasn’t explained what sort of cyberattack it’s facing or whether hackers have obtained any of the company’s user data.
Back in March 2023, FBI director Christopher Wray confirmed, for the first time, that the agency had purchased US phone location data. While the FBI had previously paid for phone data from commercial data brokers—instead of seeking a warrant—it had stopped doing so, Wray said. “That’s not been active for some time,” Wray claimed. Fast-forward three years, and the FBI is once again purchasing location data that can be used to track Americans.
At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, FBI director Kash Patel confirmed that the agency is buying “commercially available information” that he claimed was “consistent with the Constitution” and other laws. “It has led to some valuable intelligence for us,” Patel said. The practice involves the FBI buying information from commercial data brokers, which sell huge volumes of data, including phone location information, that is collected by advertising technology baked into apps.
