Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday threw out longtime litigation over education funding in the state, a decision that’s likely to keep intact the power to decide how much money to spend and where with the legislature, not judges.The 4-3 ruling, led by Republican justices on the court, set aside a landmark ruling in 2022 when the court, then with a Democratic majority, ruled that a lower court judge had the authority to order that taxpayer money be directed to state agencies to address longstanding education inequities. The following year, another trial judge calculated that…

Microsoft AI, the tech giant’s research lab, announced the release of three foundational AI models on Thursday that can generate text, voice, and images. The release signals Microsoft’s continued push to build out its own stack of multimodal AI models — and compete with rival AI labs — even though it remains tied to OpenAI. MAI-Transcribe-1 transcribes speech across 25 different languages into text and is 2.5 times faster than Microsoft’s Azure Fast offering, according to a company press release. MAI-Voice-1 is an audio-generating model. This voice model allows users to generate 60 seconds of audio in one second and…

Google on Thursday added new features to its video editor app Vids, including directing and customizing avatars through text prompts, Veo 3.1 support, the ability to export videos to YouTube, and recording with a Chrome extension. Users will be able to use natural language prompts to direct avatars to “act” in a scene. This can include the avatar interacting with a product, a prop, or a piece of equipment. The company said that despite the dynamic nature of the output, Vids maintains character consistency. Google said that based on the theme of the video, users can customize characters by tweaking…

AI-driven job displacement is real, and it’s wreaking havoc in tech. Loading audio narration… US tech layoffs are now at their worst year-to-date point since 2023, according to a new Challenger, Gray & Christmas report. The outplacement firm said US-based tech companies announced 52,050 job cuts so far in 2026, including 18,720 layoffs in March. That first-quarter figure was up 40% from the year before.”Companies are shifting budgets toward AI investments at the expense of jobs,” Challenger said in a release. “The actual replacing of roles can be seen in Technology companies, where AI can replace coding functions.”Challenger said AI…

Planning to buy a new Tesla? You will have plenty to choose from. Loading audio narration… Elon Musk’s automaker announced on Thursday that it had produced 50,000 more vehicles than it sold in the first three months of the year, a sign that the company is struggling to shift its EVs amid an industry-wide downturn.It’s the largest gap between production and sales in Tesla’s history, with the EV giant historically excelling at closely matching supply with demand.The last time it came close to producing this many unsold vehicles was the same period in 2024, when production outstripped deliveries by 46,500…

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The president of the 25-campus Universities of Wisconsin said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday that he’s been told to either resign or be fired, but has been given no reason and won’t step aside from the 165,000-student system.Jay Rothman, president of the university system since 2022, said in the letter addressed to the head of the Board of Regents dated March 26 that he’s been given no reason why regents want him to leave. Rothman said he’s been told that his options are to resign or retire, and that if he…

Tesla is facing a make-or-break year. It’s kicking it off with a sales miss. Loading audio narration… Elon Musk’s automaker said on Thursday it sold 358,023 EVs in the first three months of 2026, up 6% from the same period the previous year but below Wall Street’s expectations, as it continues its ambitious pivot to robotaxis and humanoid robots.Tesla’s share price fell about 4% premarket on the figures. Analysts expected the EV giant to deliver 372,160 vehicles, according to a Bloomberg consensus. A separate analyst consensus compiled by Tesla projected the company would sell 365,645 EVs.The sales jump is largely…

Sam Altman is addressing, for the first time, what he learned from OpenAI’s deal with the Pentagon. Loading audio narration… The question of whether AI companies should work with the government, and how much, was one of the main issues raised by Laurie Segall, CEO of Mostly Human, who interviewed the OpenAI CEO at his home after covering him for more than a decade.In the new Mostly Human podcast episode that aired Thursday morning, Altman told Segall he “miscalibrated” the mood of distrust toward AI and the government.”There’s at least a group of loud people online who really don’t trust…

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student fighting deportation, have asked Judge Emil Bove to step aside from an appellate panel that could weigh in on his case because of Bove’s previous role as a top Justice Department official involved in investigating student protesters.Khalil’s lawyers this week asked that the full complement of judges on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals — minus Bove — review and reverse a January ruling by a panel of three 3rd Circuit judges that put the Trump administration one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the…

NEW YORK (AP) — As “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” lands in theaters, coloring stations, collectible popcorn containers and mascot Marios are all in place to entice arguably the most prized moviegoers to Hollywood today: kids.By Sunday, Universal Pictures expects the five-day opening of the “Super Mario” sequel to reach $186 million domestically, and around $350 million worldwide. That would make it easily the biggest hit of the year, surpassing a pair of successes that also launched with young moviegoers in mind: Pixar’s “Hoppers” ($297 million worldwide) and Amazon MGM’s “Project Hail Mary” ($300.8 million).It’s not the start of a…