Amazon's Prime Video Trolls Netflix's Password Crackdown, Tesla Data Leak Exposes Safety Nightmare, Elon Musk's Brain Chip Company Gets FDA Nod For Human Trial: Top Stories For Today

Benzinga

Amazon Prime Video Trolls Netflix's Password Crackdown: Remember When Love Meant Sharing?

• Amazon.com Inc's AMZN Prime Video boldly roasted Netflix Inc NFLX with a hilarious meme and a clever throwback, challenging the sanctity of shared passwords. 
• Prime Video has unleashed a formidable response to Netflix's recent password-sharing crackdown with a witty meme and a nostalgic reminder of the streaming giant's past stance. 
• Amazon's Prime Video UK handle took a jab at Netflix's recent password-sharing crackdown by sharing a screenshot of its "Who's Watching" page featuring humorously named profiles: "Everyone, Who Has, Our, Password, [Heart Emoji]."

YouTube Bids Adieu To This Feature Amid Focus Shift To Shorts, Community Posts

• Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL online video-sharing platform YouTube announced its decision to bid adieu to the Stories feature on June 26, signaling a shift in its focus toward alternative avenues of content creation.
• YouTube is discontinuing 'YouTube Stories,' its Snapchat clone. Initially introduced 2017 as 'Reels,' it was rebranded as 'YouTube Stories in 2018.
• Stories provided YouTube creators with more than 10,000 subscribers the opportunity to share temporary posts. These posts, just like Snapchat, would automatically vanish after seven days.

Cynthia Lummis Criticizes Biden-Proposed Bitcoin Mining Tax As 'Blatant Attempt' To Pick 'Winners And Losers'

• Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) has declared her opposition to President Joe Biden's proposed 30% excise tax on Bitcoin (BTC/USD) miners.
• Lummis on Thursday tweeted that the tax is a "blatant attempt by the administration to pick winners and losers," adding that she "will not let President Biden tax the digital asset industry out of existence."
• Lummis, on May 19, at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami, argued that the proposed excise tax was misguided and would only harm the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry. She emphasized the importance of creating a regulatory environment that fosters innovation rather than stifles it.

Tesla Data Leak Exposes FSD Safety Nightmare As Complaints Reportedly Run Into Thousands

• Tesla Inc TSLA customers have filed over 2,400 complaints regarding self-acceleration issues and 1,500 complaints about braking problems between 2015 and March 2022.
• The complaints about these Full Self Driving (FSD) features spanned across regions, including the United States, Europe, and Asia, and were based on leaked data from Tesla's IT system.
• Data from Tesla's IT system revealed reports of unintended emergency braking and sudden acceleration. While most of these incidents had minor consequences, some resulted in fatal outcomes.

Amended European Deal For BioNTech-Pfizer's Covid-19 Vaccines Allows Reduced Purchases

• The European Commission (EC) had agreed with BioNTech SE BNTX and Pfizer Inc PFE on adapting the existing contract on vaccines against Covid-19, including a reduction in the number of doses purchased by EU countries under the contract and pushing the delivery deadline to 2026.
• The agreement provides for reducing the number of doses purchased by member states under the contract.
• Following payment of a fee, originally contracted doses will be converted into optional orders.

AstraZeneca/Merck's Cancer Drug Combo Shows Positive Results In Endometrial Cancer

• AstraZeneca Plc's AZN combination of Imfinzi (durvalumab) and Lynparza (olaparib), when added to platinum-based chemotherapy, showed positive results in the DUO-E Phase 3 trial in patients with newly diagnosed advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.
• Lynparza is jointly developed with Merck & Co Inc MRK.
• The therapy showed a statistically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) compared to standard-of-care chemotherapy.

LG Energy Marks Its 7th EV Battery Venture In US, Collaborates With Hyundai Over $4.3B EV Battery Plant

• LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Hyundai Motor Co Ltd HYMTF disclosed an EV battery cell manufacturing joint venture in the U.S. Friday.
• LGES and Hyundai Motor inked a deal to produce EV batteries in the U.S., further accelerating the Group's electrification efforts in North America. 
• Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LGES, and Jaehoon Chang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor, personally inked the deal at LGES's headquarters in Seoul. 

 

Reuters

Elon Musk's Brain Chip Company Gets FDA Greenlight For 'First-In-Human Clinical Study'

• Elon Musk's brain-implant company Neuralink has received the green light from the Food and Drug Administration to commence its "first-in-human clinical study."
• This milestone achievement for Neuralink comes after a series of setbacks and challenges faced by the company in its pursuit of FDA approval.
• In a tweet, the company wrote that this was the "result of incredible work by the Neuralink team in close collaboration with the FDA and represented an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people."

China's AI Battle Gathers Steam As Baidu Prepares To Integrate ChatGPT-Like Feature To Search Engine

• Baidu Inc BIDU CEO Robin Li shared plans to launch Ernie 3.5, a generative AI large-language model that will power Baidu's ChatGPT-like app Ernie Bot and upgrade its search engine.
• Li announced at China's Zhongguancun Forum two months after Ernie Bot met with mixed reviews.
• Ernie Bot and other products powered by the company's generative AI large-language model have remained in trial mode since the public face-off. Baidu invited selected companies and users to test the products and provide feedback.

Volkswagen, Audi Arrive At $85M Settlement With Texas

• Volkswagen AG VWAGY and Audi have reached an $85 million settlement over violations of Texas environmental laws.
• The car manufacturers employed illegal emission-evading technology in violation of Texas environmental laws.
• In Early May, Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state environmental lawsuit against Volkswagen and Audi could be taken forward.

 

Bloomberg

Tesla EV Batter Supplier CATL Wants to Catch Up to Peers, Gets In Solar Panels

• Chinese EV battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd is researching the development of perovskite cells to drive new improvements in solar panel performance, joining similar endeavors by Tesla Inc TSLA.
• The Tesla supplier also inked a deal with JA Solar Technology Co, China's fourth-biggest module maker, to cooperate on scientific innovations, marketing, and storage.
• BYD Co, Ltd BYDDF BYDDY can produce about 5 gigawatts of panels a year. Tesla increased solar deployments by 40% year-on-year in the first quarter.

 

CNBC

Amazon Reshuffles Positions: Air Cargo Business Leader To Helm Workplace-Safety Division

• Amazon.Com Inc AMZN shifted its air cargo business head Sarah Rhoads to oversee its workplace health and safety division.
• Rhoads will also lead Amazon's global operations learning and development unit, which deals with career advancement and skills improvement in the company's front-line workforce.
• The memo emphasized the importance of safety in aerospace and other industries. Rhoads' background as a decorated military pilot and success leading Amazon Global Air made her apt for the role. She joined Amazon in 2011.

ChatGPT Bug Bites JP Morgan: Looks To Develop AI Software For Investment Advice

• JP Morgan Chase & Co JPM is developing a ChatGPT-like software service that leverages disruptive artificial intelligence to select customer investments.
• The company applied to trademark a product called IndexGPT.
• IndexGPT looks to tap cloud computing software using artificial intelligence for analyzing and selecting securities tailored to customer needs.

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