Nearly 200 U.S. startups are urging the Trump administration to avoid broad restrictions on Chinese open-weight AI models, arguing a ban would increase costs and hurt innovation.
The post Hundreds of AI Startups Are Pushing Back Against Washington appeared first on TechRepublic.
Meta has launched a new AI campaign featuring CEO Mark Zuckerberg, positioning artificial intelligence as a tool for creativity, connection, and human potential ahead of earnings.
The post Zuckerberg Wants to Change How You Think About AI appeared first on TechRepublic.
Spoilers for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 1 ahead.
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 1 has arrived, and is now available to stream worldwide on HBO Max.
In short, our “starting” versions of Stuart (Kevin Sussman), Denise (Lauren Lapkus), Kripke (John Ross Bowie) and Bert (Brian Posehn) live in a reality akin to The Walking Dead, complete with Mad Max-style apocalyptic outposts and wasps that are the size of cars.
Stuart accidentally triggered this multiverse Armageddon after breaking a device supposedly built by Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki).
Shortly after Kripke, that universe’s leader, is confronted by the rest of the group, we meet our first secret TBBT cameo: Raj (Kunal Nayyar). He’s basically become a doomsday prepper, working on plans on a blackboard for how to get the device working and get the hell outta dodge.
But just as quickly as we’ve met him, Raj is killed while the others safely teleport to… well, hopefully somewhere better. It’s a bold move, and one that has shocked fans if social media is anything to go by.
However, we’ve been so caught up in Raj’s death that we haven’t considered one major detail… it hasn’t really happened at all.
Did you forget? This is just one version of Raj in one universe, meaning there’s still an infinite number of Raj’s out there to be found.
As none of the versions of the characters we’re meeting are actually the ones seen in TBBT, original Raj is safely in California doing some science equations in peace (probably).
This doesn’t even rule out Raj appearing again later on in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. Now that we know he’s a confirmed cameo for the HBO Max spinoff, it would be silly not to use him again where possible. With the overarching narrative so difficult to predict, the possibilities are endless.
If nothing else, this now means that we’re likely to see other TBBT cast members cameo in other episodes, and whether they’re killed off or not. However, who these cameos might be is anybody’s guess.
What we do know for episodes 2-10 is pretty minimal, but the below preview gives us the faintest idea of what to expect. Strap in, is all I’m saying.
Lockheed Martin has unveiled its Morfius X-Rotor counter-drone system at the 2026 Farnborough Airshow, calling it a low-cost answer to challenging drone swarms.
The ground-launched system uses a one-to-many high-power microwave, or HPM, approach designed to disable multiple unmanned aerial vehicles during a single mission.
Company officials say the platform can neutralize more than 50 hostile drones in one flight, a capability aimed at addressing large-scale swarm attacks.
The 2026 Farnborough Airshow has centered largely on affordable counter-drone technology as militaries confront growing swarm threats across the globe.
Lockheed Martin says the approach avoids reliance on costly guided munitions typically used to strike individual aerial threats one at a time.
Unlike traditional interceptors that are destroyed after use, the Morfius X-Rotor is designed to be recovered and redeployed following each engagement.
According to Lockheed Martin, the system is compatible with existing command and control networks and does not require a dedicated sensor or fire-control radar.
That design choice, the company says, lowers the barrier for integration across a wide range of existing battlefield command networks.
The system “sets a new benchmark for counter-drone capability — delivering a high kill rate while keeping the cost per kill low,” said Randy Crites, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Advanced Programs.
“By leveraging a lightweight, field reusable high-power microwave architecture, we provide the most effective, low-cost solution on the market today.”
Lockheed Martin also announced plans to accelerate prototype production of both the drone platform and its microwave payload for frontline forces.
However, it has not disclosed a firm timeline for when the system might reach full-rate production for its military customers worldwide.
The Morfius X-Rotor recently completed flight testing in Arizona, California, and Oklahoma, where the system reportedly carried out interception missions.
Additional evaluation campaigns are scheduled for the coming months while engineers collect operational performance data before any broader deployment.
Lockheed Martin has not specified which branches of the U.S. military have expressed formal interest in acquiring the Morfius platform.
This announcement arrives as US forces seek cheaper alternatives to costly interceptors after depleting stockpiles against Iranian missiles and Shahed drones.
That shortfall has intensified debate over whether cheaper, non-kinetic systems like Morfius could reduce dependence on expensive munitions over time.
Lockheed Martin used the same event to introduce a lower-cost Patriot interceptor, part of a broader push to reduce per-unit defense costs.
Together, the two announcements suggest Lockheed Martin is betting heavily on affordability as a selling point amid tightening defense budgets.
Whether the Morfius X-Rotor can match its stated kill rate under real combat conditions remains unverified outside company-run trials so far.
Independent assessments of its effectiveness against dense, coordinated drone swarms will likely determine whether militaries adopt the system at scale.
Via Defense News
