NEW: U.S. Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler multiplied the value of her investment in Elon Musk's SpaceX after she was nominated for the ‌job, earning millions of dollars from the company's record initial public offering, a Reuters review of her financial disclosures showed.

Court says Meta must turn over 'youth-user wellbeing' records to D.C. attorney general reut.rs/3To7eSJ

👀 from NYT: Ken Paxton recently bought three Utah luxury condos worth $1.6 million. On the deeds, Mr. Paxton listed his address as a Dallas-area home. A woman who is not his wife lives there, according to police records. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/u...

Opposition to AI data centers is among the few issues that unite U.S. voters across ideological lines. My colleagues wrote about how the fight over those centers is playing out in Michigan: www.reuters.com/world/us/ame...

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from enforcing a ‌policy that targets foreign nationals who study disinformation and hate speech on social media for visa denials and deportation. www.reuters.com/world/us-jud...

Foreign actors are trying to stoke debate in the U.S. over data centers -- www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/b...

Factory electricity bills are rising for manufacturers across America’s heartland, as power-hungry data centers serving the artificial intelligence industry ‌proliferate. Click below to read Laila Kearney's full story on those rising costs 👇

META LAYOFFS: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged shortcomings ‌in the company's sweeping restructuring at an internal meeting on Thursday, saying the systems known as AI agents had not progressed as quickly as he had expected, per a recording heard by Reuters. www.reuters.com/business/zuc...

"All three kidnapping-related messages that have surfaced in news media reports about the disappearance of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's elderly mother have been deemed by federal investigators to be fake communications, an FBI official ​told Reuters." www.reuters.com/business/med...

Back to work today after time away. 😬

President Trump said he is exploring options to give the public a ​stake in leading AI companies. Ideas on how to do that are piling up --> www.reuters.com/legal/transa...

Oracle won a U.S. contract to provide HR software for federal agencies. Oracle's exec chair is Larry Ellison, a longtime Trump supporter. I asked about whether that relationship influenced the selection. The Trump admin said staff completed hands-on tests and market research before picking Oracle.

Half of Americans fear that the ​rise of AI could put them or someone in their household out of work, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. www.reuters.com/business/wor...

Here we go: OpenAI confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO on Monday. Updates will be posted from Reuters at link below. www.reuters.com/technology/o...

Trump administration to ask US AI firms to voluntarily submit models for cybersecurity tests reut.rs/4arFxOz

Republican officials are split over how to keep kids safe online. Here's the latest example of that -- www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

Here's the Trump administration's latest effort to stop federal workers from talking to journalists. His administration on Tuesday proposed giving federal agencies the option to require employees to sign non-disclosure agreements. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

🚨 Reuters SCOOP IRS is considering a citizenship question to tax forms this year as the Trump admin continues attempts to link federal agencies to its “mass deportation” agenda. The Form 1040 may include a checkbox for non- and dual-citizens. 🔗: www.reuters.com/world/us-tax...

Trump's AI executive order is off for now -- www.reuters.com/business/ret...

Meta on Thursday reached a settlement ​in the first case set for trial seeking ‌to make social media companies cover the costs that school districts say they have incurred to combat a mental health crisis allegedly fueled ​by platforms. www.reuters.com/world/meta-s...

President Donald Trump has postponed his plan to sign an executive order on AI on Thursday, he said. "Because I didn't like certain aspects of it," Trump said when asked why the signing was delayed.

Exclusive: Meta CEO tells employees he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year reut.rs/4tKXChi

Early fears that Anthropic’s new AI model, Mythos, could dramatically turbocharge hacking are looking overstated a month after its release. (From my colleague A.J. Vincens) www.reuters.com/business/fea...

Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Google's YouTube, TikTok and Snap settled a school district's social media addiction claims, allowing them to avoid a June trial. Meta is still headed to court. Thousands of similar lawsuits are pending.

Tech CEOs invited to US Capitol to testify about children's online safety reut.rs/4eQe8Jq

Four tech CEOs have been invited to testify before the U.S. Senate in June. The companies are Meta, Alphabet, TikTok and Snap. Topic is children's online safety. www.reuters.com/business/tec...

NEW: Meta and Google turned to some of the most trusted names in children's education — Girl Scouts, Highlights Magazine and Sesame Street — to deflect scrutiny over their impact on kids' mental health. www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

Scoop from me and Gabriel Stargardter in Paris: French authorities are investigating whether BlackCore - alleged to be an Israeli disinfo firm - interfered in the March municipal elections in Marseille, Toulouse, and Roubaix. www.reuters.com/business/med...

Banks are rushing to respond to IT weaknesses identified by Anthropic's AI tool Mythos. Mythos is an AI model with cybersecurity capabilities. www.reuters.com/business/fin...

Have you read this? Super useful story on Google's growing role in American education - www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Here's what I'm reading this morning about kids & tech from across the U.S. (thread):

Roblox agrees to pay $10 million, make platform changes in Nevada settlement over child safety reut.rs/4svl8hL

Dispatch from Greece ahead of a possible social media ban for kids: www.reuters.com/business/med...

REUTERS: Meta, Alphabet shares fall after US jury verdicts on social media harm ➡️Facebook-parent Meta Platforms' shares extend losses, down 5.4% at $562.82 in an over 10-month low ➡️GOOGL down 1.5% at $286.56

The scene outside the Los Angeles courthouse yesterday after Google & Meta were found liable for designing social media apps that are harmful to young users. Images from Mike Blake at Reuters.

We opened the Reuters World News podcast this morning with Meta and Google's loss in a U.S. social media addiction case. 🎧Listen here: www.reuters.com/podcasts/met...

This verdict could mark a turning point in the global backlash against their platforms' perceived mental health harms to kids and teens, more than two decades after the emergence of social media. www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

Social media addiction trial verdict: -Meta found liable for negligence; failure to warn about Instagram's dangers -Google found liable for negligence; failure to warn about YouTube's dangers Jury awards $3 million in damages. 70% paid by Meta, 30% by Google @reuters.com

New: The jury has reached a verdict in the youth social media addiction trial involving Google and Meta, the judge said.

Also, beyond the money in the New Mexico case, there will be a bench trial in May to adjudicate NM's claim that Meta needs to change its product to comply with state law.

We are still waiting on a verdict in the LA social media addiction trial.

A New Mexico jury on Tuesday found Meta violated state law in a lawsuit brought by the state attorney general. The AG accused the company of misleading users about the safety of Facebook, Instagram & WhatsApp and of enabling child sexual exploitation on those apps. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Reuters headline: Jury orders Meta to pay $375 million in New Mexico lawsuit over child sexual exploitation, user safety

The judge told the jury to keep deliberating. This jury has been deliberating for over a week at this point.

NEW: The jury in the LA social media addiction trial told the judge it is having trouble reaching consensus on one defendant. The defendants are Google & Meta.

The timing on this is interesting - Ready called for this ban while a trial is under way in Los Angeles about youth social ​media use. Google & Meta face allegations that their ​apps are fueling a youth mental health crisis. The ⁠jury is deliberating on a verdict. www.reuters.com/technology/p...

Bloomberg Law: “The Justice Department has waived a policy requiring newly hired federal prosecutors to possess at least one year of experience practicing law, as US attorneys’ offices struggle to find qualified replacements following mass departures.” news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New: A federal ​judge in Boston has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending legal protections next week that have allowed nearly 1,100 ​Somalis to live and work in ​the United States. www.reuters.com/world/us-jud...

The girls' school likely destroyed by an American missile had colorful murals *visible from space* as far back as 2018. By @pearswick.press & Ryan McNeil: www.reuters.com/investigatio...