Tech News — 2026-06-18#

Story of the Day#

The US government’s unpredictable AI regulatory regime reached a boiling point when the Trump administration issued Anthropic a 90-minute ultimatum to pull its new Fable 5 and Mythos models. The resulting export controls banned all foreign nationals from using the systems, forcing Anthropic to completely sideline its most advanced technology and sending panic through the global AI supply chain.

Top Stories#

Fox Acquires Roku for $22 Billion · The Verge Traditional media is aggressively consolidating around ad-supported streaming, with Fox buying Roku in a massive $22 billion deal. The acquisition gives Fox a dominant streaming platform to pair with its Tubi service, instantly allowing it to surpass Netflix’s US viewership when combined with its traditional TV networks. It’s a stark reminder that the future of streaming looks remarkably similar to old-school cable television.

Midjourney Pivots to Hardware and Medical Scanning · Slashdot AI image generation startup Midjourney is stepping far outside its software roots, unveiling a water-based, full-body ultrasonic scanner. The massive hardware prototype uses hundreds of thousands of tiny sensors to reconstruct detailed, MRI-like images of human body composition. The company intends to open a San Francisco scanning “spa” in late 2027, provided it can successfully navigate the inevitable massive regulatory hurdles and FDA approval process.

Apple and Intel Finalize Domestic Chip Deal · Engadget According to President Donald Trump, Apple and Intel have successfully struck a deal to design and manufacture Apple silicon domestically in the United States. While the political victory lap surrounding Intel’s foundry business is loud, Apple CEO Tim Cook separately warned that severe memory chip shortages—driven largely by the AI boom—are making imminent hardware price increases “unavoidable” for consumers.

Tesco Flees VMware Over Broadcom’s “Abusive Conduct” · Slashdot Broadcom’s aggressive monetization of VMware continues to alienate major enterprise clients, with UK retail giant Tesco moving 40,000 server workloads off the virtualization platform. Tesco is currently suing Broadcom in the UK High Court for breach of contract, alleging the company refused to honor perpetual licenses and demanded exorbitant subscription fees for existing software.

Amazon Steps Up to Challenge Nvidia’s AI Chip Monopoly · TechCrunch Amazon Web Services is no longer content just powering its own servers; the company is in talks to sell its custom-made AI chips directly to other data centers. AWS CEO Andy Jassy views the initiative as a $50 billion opportunity, setting the stage for a brutal infrastructure war as Big Tech attempts to break its heavy reliance on Nvidia’s expensive hardware.

Also Worth Knowing#

• Bernie Sanders Proposes $7 Trillion AI Wealth Fund (Slashdot): Sen. Sanders unveiled legislation to levy a 50% stock tax on major AI companies to create a sovereign wealth fund that pays direct dividends to the American public.
• Waymo Recalls 3,800 Robotaxis Over Construction Zone Blindness (TechCrunch): The autonomous vehicle company issued a recall after discovering a software defect that caused its vehicles to speed incorrectly into closed highway work zones.
• Android 17 Drops With Heavy Pixel Upgrades (Slashdot): Google’s new OS update is officially rolling out, bringing floating app Bubbles, foldable gaming enhancements, and new Gemini AI tools directly to Pixel devices.
• Pentagon Used Grok in Iran Strikes (MIT Technology Review): US Defense officials confirmed they utilized xAI’s Grok model to assist in coordinating over 2,000 munition strikes against Iran.
• GTA 6 Pre-Orders Open Next Week (Bloomberg): Take-Two Interactive announced that pre-orders for the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI will officially go live on June 25.