Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

It’s been a rough year for Apple stock, but there might be hope for a rebound with a rumored AI acquisition.Apple has been the worst-performing Magnificent Seven stock in 2025, with shares down 20% year-to-date. On top of weak iPhone sales and tariff concerns, the company has lagged in the AI race among its mega-cap tech peers.At Apple’s WWDC earlier this month, the company failed to ease Wall Street’s concerns about its Apple Intelligence product, with investors bemoaning the company’s lack of a new killer app.However, Apple executives could be eyeing a purchase of AI startup Perplexity, Bloomberg reported last…

Abridge, an AI startup automating medical notes, has secured a $300 million Series E at a $5.3 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal. The round, led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Khosla Ventures, follows the company’s $250 million February fundraise at a $2.75 billion valuation. The 7-year-old Abridge is widely considered to be the leader in the increasingly crowded AI-powered medical scribe market, largely due to its early entry and integration with Epic Systems, the dominant health record software. In Q1, Abridge reached $117 million in contracted annual recurring revenue (a metric that includes all signed recurring…

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on Tuesday signed into law a bill that provides unemployment benefits to striking workers, following neighboring Washington state in adopting measures spurred by recent walkouts by Boeing factory workers, hospital nurses and teachers in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon’s measure makes it the first state to provide pay for picketing public employees — who aren’t allowed to strike in most states, let alone receive benefits for it. It makes striking workers eligible to collect unemployment benefits after two weeks, with benefits capped at 10 weeks.Only three other states — New York, New…

By Patrick WingroveNEW YORK (Reuters) -Tens of millions of people in major cities across the U.S. Northeast are facing record high temperatures on Tuesday on what was expected to be the worst day of an oppressive heat wave that has spread over much of the country since late last week.Temperatures in Washington and Boston are expected to soar to 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), beating previous records by as much as 6 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.In New York City’s Central Park, temperatures could reach 99 F (37 C), surpassing the area’s past high of 96. There is…

MILWAUKEE (AP) — There’s going to be plenty of hard throwing Wednesday in the first pitching matchup between Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes and Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski.Just don’t expect too much hard contact.Skenes, the 2024 NL rookie of the year, didn’t allow a hit the last time he pitched in Milwaukee. Misiorowski doesn’t have Skenes’ track record, but he has given up just one hit over 11 innings in his first two career starts.The 23-year-old flamethrowing right-handers meet as opposing starters for the first time Wednesday at Milwaukee.“I think it’s going to be really entertaining to watch,” Misiorowski said. “Two really good…

NEW YORK (AP) — Cooper Flagg and his Duke teammates were together celebrating a victory over North Carolina the night of Feb. 1 when one of them saw the news that had rocked the basketball world.The Dallas Mavericks were trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. “We just all started going crazy,” Flagg said Tuesday. “It was such a shock. Like, it was craziness.”Now Flagg is set to take Doncic’s place as the franchise superstar in Dallas.Flagg is expected to be selected by the Mavericks with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft on Wednesday night after a…

Thanks to new court documents, we now know more about the secretive device OpenAI is working on with Jony Ive, the man behind the iPhone’s design.Tang Tan, the cofounder and hardware chief of Ive’s io, revealed new details about the AI-powered device in legal filings submitted for a trademark lawsuit.”Its design is not yet finalized, but it is not an in-ear device, nor a wearable device,” Tan said.The mystery device has been the subject of widespread speculation throughout the tech industry and beyond. Some guesses include a companion device for smartphones or computers, something wearable or screenless, and a minimalist…

NEW YORK (AP) — Ace Bailey fidgeted with a red yo-yo, catching the eyes of members of a media horde that pressed the former Rutgers star to flash some tricks. Dylan Harper, his former teammate and fellow likely NBA lottery pick, hovered nearby and said Bailey had indeed mastered yo-yo staples such as walk the dog and the gravity pull.Bailey, though, passed on putting on a show for the masses.“Catch me outside,” Bailey said at a Manhattan hotel.How about that? Bailey declined again in the run-up to the NBA draft to showcase his abilities.Still just 18 years old, Bailey has…

Nearly seven months after the fatal shooting of an insurance CEO in New York drew widespread attention to health insurers’ practice of denying or delaying doctor-ordered care, the largest U.S. insurers agreed Monday to streamline their often cumbersome preapproval system.Dozens of insurance companies, including Cigna, Aetna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare, agreed to several measures, which include making fewer medical procedures subject to prior authorization and speeding up the review process. Insurers also pledged to use clear language when communicating with patients and promised that medical professionals would review coverage denials.While Trump administration officials applauded the insurance industry for its willingness to…

Apple is justifiably famous for its marketing.You could even argue that the company’s ad campaigns are as well-known as its products: Think Different. Dancers with iPods. And, of course, the 1984 Super Bowl ad for the Mac.But now, for some reason, Apple is developing a different reputation in adland: the company that pays for ad campaigns and then pulls them.Last year, Apple rolled out an ad for its iPad Pro and then apologized and yanked it, after online complainers complained that the vibes were off.Earlier this spring, Apple axed an ad promoting an AI-powered version of Siri, once it became…