AP Sports

Apple lashes out at iPhone porn app maker and the EU rules allowing its download

LONDON (AP) — Apple has chided a newly available pornography app available in the European Union. It also warned that the bloc’s digital rules opening the way for third-party app store downloads undermines consumer confidence in the tech giant. AltStore PAL, an alternative app marketplace, unveiled the Hot Tub app this week, which is described as an adult content browser. The app marketplace launched last year in the EU, in response to the bloc bringing in a new digital rulebook that forces Big Tech companies to open up to more competition.

China launches an antitrust probe into Google. Here’s what it means

HONG KONG (AP) — The Chinese government’s move to open an antitrust probe into Google is the latest development in a long and entangled relationship that goes back to the early 2000s. The investigation was one of a flurry of Chinese retaliatory measures announced Tuesday in response to a 10% tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on imports from China. Although Google services are not accessible in China, the company maintains a presence in the country, primarily focused on its advertising business. Some experts believe the antitrust investigation will likely center on Google’s Android operating system for smartphones and be used as a bargaining chip in the U.S.-China trade war.

JD Vance will attend AI summit in Paris and Munich security conference in first overseas trip as VP

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance will attend a two-day high-level summit focusing on artificial intelligence in Paris next week and the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany in his first scheduled trip abroad since taking office. The AI Action Summit will gather heads of state and top government officials, CEOs and other people involved in the tech sector, which has been shaken up by galloping advances. The Munich summit is a regular forum for global international security discussions which has taken on new significance amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and other challenges. It will be his first public foray into foreign policy matters since taking office on Jan. 20, as the new Trump administration promises a return to an “America First” agenda.

Japan game maker Nintendo reports lower profit as demand for Switch consoles wanes

TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo’s profits tumbled as sales of its Switch console lost momentum, prompting the Japanese video-game maker to lower its full-year forecasts. Kyoto-based Nintendo, which created the Super Mario franchise, reported Tuesday an April-December profit of $1.5 billion, down 42% from the previous year. The company now expects to rake in a profit of $1.7 billion for the fiscal year through March, down from the previous forecast for $1.9 billion. Nintendo now expects to sell 11 million Switch machines for the full fiscal year, lower than its initial projection of 12.5 million consoles.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates explores the making of his internal operating system in new memoir

As he prepares to turn 70 later this year, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is retracing his journey from an insouciant, impertinent and often misunderstood kid who grew up to become a polarizing technology titan before morphing into an influential philanthropist. In the new book “Source Code,” Gates explores how his childhood quirks, upbringing, friendships and experiences coalesced into shaping his own internal operating system. Along the way, he dissects his brain’s unusual wiring, delves into the emotional trauma of his best friend dying while they were both in high school, and revisits the birth of Microsoft. Gates discussed his past in during an interview with The Associated Press.

Bill Gates shares his thoughts on vaccine backlash, Intel’s woes and Google’s antitrust battle

Although Microsoft founder Bill Gates sat down for an interview with The Associated Press to discuss his new memoir, “Source Code: My Beginnings,” he also shared his views on a variety of other topics, including vaccine conspiracy views about him, his thoughts on the struggles of longtime computer chipmaker Intel and his take on the antitrust challenges facing Google. He told the AP he is befuddled but not worried about the backlash against vaccines in the U.S., has his doubts about Intel’s ability to bounce back after losing its longtime leadership in microprocessers and sees the antitrust case against Google as an almost inevitable consequence of its success.

Paradox Museum Miami takes guests through a 21st century funhouse of mind-boggling illusions

MIAMI (AP) — It’s a mix of art gallery, science exhibit and a 21st century funhouse. Paradox Museum Miami is taking guests on a tour through optical illusions and other enigmas geared to the age of Instagram. The 11,000-square-foot museum opened in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood in 2022 and features more than 70 mind-boggling exhibits. The Miami museum is one of more than a dozen locations worldwide and now includes locations in Las Vegas and New Jersey. Many of the exhibits recall old carnival funhouses, like the mirror maze, the spinning tunnel and the upside-down room. But the catch is, visitors are explained the math and science behind each illusion.

Google makes its appeal to overturn jury verdict branding the Play Store as illegal monopoly

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google went to appeals court Monday in an attempt to convince a three-judge panel to overturn a jury’s verdict declaring its app store for Android smartphones as an illegal monopoly and block the penalties imposed by a federal judge to stop the misbehavior. Video game maker Epic Games, which brought the case alleging Google’s Play Store has been abusing its stranglehold over the Android app market, countered with arguments outlining why both the verdict and punishment should be affirmed to foster more innovation and lower prices. The three-judge panel that listened to both sides in San Francisco’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals isn’t expected to rule for several more months.

Russian attacks near Ukrainian nuclear infrastructure heighten scrutiny of Kyiv’s preparedness

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Despite more than a year of warnings that critical Ukrainian nuclear energy infrastructure sites are vulnerable to potential Russian attacks, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry has failed to act swiftly to protect them, government officials have told The Associated Press. Only in the fall, after Ukrainian intelligence agencies warned of potential strikes targeting nuclear transmission facilities, was action taken to begin building protection, the officials said — far too late in the event of an attack. Russia’s renewed attacks this winter have heightened scrutiny over these failures. Two years of punishing Russian strikes on its power grid have left Ukraine reliant on nuclear power for more than half of its electricity generation.

Trump’s tariff threat sends crypto prices falling, including his own meme coin

Cryptocurrency prices took a hit from the prospect of a trade war between the U.S. and its major trading partners, with some well-known digital assets and President Donald Trump’s own meme coin taking big hits. The price of bitcoin started falling from about $105,000 shortly after Trump announced plans Saturday to start putting large tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency fell to about $92,000 Sunday night before rebounding back over $100,000 Monday afternoon following Trump announcement of a pause on the tariffs on Mexican goods.