Techmeme: MIT suspends ties with Huawei and ZTE over US investigations and says any projects working with China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia will merit additional review (Michelle Toh/CNN)

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MacKenzie Bezos says Jeff Bezos, in their divorce settlement, will retain 75% of the couple's Amazon stock and all voting power — In a tweet Thursday, MacKenzie Bezos said that her divorce from Jeff Bezos was finalized and that she would give her ex-husband voting control of her Amazon shares.

More: CNBC, GeekWire, Reuters, The Hill, TechCrunch, Business Insider, CNET, The Verge, CNN, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Variety, NBC News, and TMZ.com

Tweets: @mackenziebezos, @jeffbezos, @mims, @brianstelter, @eriqgardner, @pkcapitol, and @teddyschleifer

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Alan Boyle / GeekWire:

Amazon confirms Project Kuiper, its new initiative to launch a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to provide broadband around the world — Amazon is joining the race to provide broadband internet access around the globe via thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, newly uncovered filings show.

More: Axios, TechCrunch, Fortune, SiliconANGLE, Gizmodo, CNET, Quartz, Engadget, The Verge, InvestorPlace, Ars Technica, TechSpot, CNBC, Arianespace, FierceWireless, Telecoms.com, PYMNTS.com, and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @trengriffin and @thesheetztweetz. Thanks:@taylor_soper

Michelle Toh / CNN:

MIT suspends ties with Huawei and ZTE over US investigations and says any projects working with China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia will merit additional review — Hong Kong (CNN Business)The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is hitting pause on its relationships with Chinese tech firms Huawei and ZTE.

More: MIT, South China Morning Post, Reuters, Engadget, CNET, Financial Times, Mashable, PYMNTS.com, TechCrunch, The Hill, ZDNet, CNBC, TechSpot, and TechNode

Tweets: @ralee85 and @nicolle_liu

Mike Fortin / Windows Blog:

Starting with the May 2019 Update, Windows 10 will no longer auto install feature updates and will let users pause updates for up to 35 days — While regular updates are critical to keeping modern devices secure and running smoothly in a diverse and dynamic ecosystem, we have heard clear feedback …

More: Windows Central, The Verge, Windows Central, ZDNet, Engadget, ZDNet, PCWorld, Thurrott, Forbes, MSPoweruser, OnMSFT.com, gHacks Technology News, and AskWoody. Thanks:@brandonleblanc

Dave Gershgorn / Quartz:

Microsoft investigating sexual harassment and discrimination claims that some workers say HR overlooked after women shared stories in a long email chain — In a far-reaching email chain within Microsoft, women have shared stories of sexual harassment and discrimination …

More: ZDNet and Thurrott

Tweets: @sarahintampa, @qz, @aubreystrobel, and @davegershgorn

Paul Karp / The Guardian:

Australia passes law penalizing social media platforms for failing to expeditiously remove abhorrent violent content, despite strong opposition from tech firms — Labor supports legislation in response to Christchurch shooting that threatens jail for executives, despite media companies' concerns

More: New York Times, Gizmodo, Reuters, aph.gov.au, Financial Times, ResearchBuzz, ZDNet, Engadget, Axios, Bloomberg, 9to5Google, Business Insider, SBS News, iTnews, NEWS.com.au, and ABC

Tweets: @beneltham, @esantow, @joshmblackman, @rasmus_kleis, and @bigyahu

The Guardian:

Facebook will try to prevent political ad buys by non-Australians ahead of elections and won't roll out other transparency features like Ad Library until later

Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:

Apple cuts the price of HomePod worldwide, dropping it from $349 to $299 in the US Apple Store — Apple has officially lowered the price of the HomePod worldwide. In the price has fallen from $349 to $299, breaking the $300 level. HomePod has seen promotional discounts at many third party retailers …

More: The Verge, Six Colors, VentureBeat, MacRumors, VentureBeat, Thurrott, InvestorPlace, Macworld, RAIN News, Engadget, TechCrunch, CNBC, Seeking Alpha, BGR, MacDailyNews, iMore, and 9to5Toys

Tweets: @markgurman, @mgsiegler, @db, @stroughtonsmith, @apollozac, @bzamayo, and @sirsteven

Khari Johnson / VentureBeat:

Amazon launches six HIPAA-compliant Alexa skills from health care companies like Cigna and Boston Children's Hospital for uses like scheduling appointments — Amazon today announced the introduction of a limited number of voice apps for the Alexa Skills Kit by health care companies like Cigna …

More: Amazon Developer Services, TechCrunch, ZDNet, Gizmodo, Engadget, Financial Times, STAT, CNBC, and The Verge. Tweets: @hannahkuchler

Kelsey Piper / Vox:

Nearly half of Google's external AI board has resigned or is under fire, and the design of the board suggests Google is treating AI ethics like a PR problem — One member resigned and two more are under fire. It's only a week old. — Just a week after it was announced, Google's new AI ethics board is already in trouble.

More: Android Authority and Beyond Search

Facebook: Luciano Floridi. Tweets: @floridi, @kelseytuoc, @joshuabrustein, @grady_booch, @daphnehk, and @voxdotcom

James Vincent / The Verge:

Critics say big tech companies are formulating AI ethics boards and principles as a strategy for avoiding the possibility of government regulation

More: Trust This Robot. Tweets: @ruchowdh, @isabel_pedersen, @mslopatto, @iethics, and @mer__edith

Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:

As more seniors go online, they are largely being left out of digital literacy efforts, making them targets for misinformation and hyperpartisan rhetoric — Older people play an outsized role in civic life. They also are more likely to be online targets for misinformation and hyperpartisan rhetoric.

Tweets: @craigsilverman, @markdistef, @lageneralista, @waltmossberg, @owillis, @anildash, and @buzzfeedben

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Snap launches an AR utility platform for developers called Scan, with initial partnerships with Photomath and Giphy — Point and shoot? No, point and interact. Snapchat can now help with your homework. The app's camera is becoming the foundation of an augmented reality developer platform known as “Scan”.

More: The Verge, Business Insider, Thurrott, Engadget, TechCrunch, and Mashable

Casey Newton / The Verge:

Snap announces App Stories, letting developers insert Stories into their own apps, and Snap Audience Network, which will extend its ad platform to other apps

More: Recode and Engadget. Tweets: @mikeisaac

Sam Biddle / The Intercept:

Researchers find that Facebook appears to deliver certain ads, despite neutral targeting parameters, in a way that aligns with race and gender stereotypes — How exactly Facebook decides who sees what is one of the great pieces of forbidden knowledge in the information age …

More: arXiv.org, The Hill, The Economist, Motherboard, CNBC, and Business Insider

Tweets: @ashk4n, @zittrain, @profcarroll, @aripap, @niftyc, @jjvincent, @samfbiddle, @samfbiddle, @samfbiddle, @samfbiddle, and @samfbiddle

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Manish Singh / VentureBeat:

Tonal, maker of a $2,995 in-home workout system that uses machine learning to personalize workouts, raises $45M Series C, bringing the total raised to $90M — Fitness startup Tonal today announced it has raised $45 million as it prepares to scale its smart in-home workout system and fend off …

More: TechCrunch and FinSMEs

Mark Sullivan / Fast Company:

Source: Intel has missed deadlines for the development of a 5G modem for the 2020 iPhones; Apple has 1,000-1,200 engineers working on modems for future iPhones — [Updated with Intel comment Wednesday 11:30 p.m. Pacific Time] — As of now Apple plans to release a 5G iPhone in 2020.

More: VentureBeat, Android Authority, Inquirer, ExtremeTech, InvestorPlace, Silicon Valley Business …, AppleInsider, Computerworld, CNET, TechSpot, Cult of Mac, Thurrott, Telecoms.com, iPhone Hacks, SiliconANGLE, MacRumors, and 9to5Mac. Tweets: @harrymccracken. Thanks:@mariedomingo

Jon Fingas / Engadget:

Tesla starts rolling out an update to Navigate on Autopilot in the US that will give drivers an option to use the system without having to confirm lane changes — Tesla has long asked you to flick the turn stalk to confirm Autopilot's lane changes, but you won't have to do that for much longer.

More: Tesla, Digital Trends, The Verge, VentureBeat, Neowin, Mashable, SlashGear, and CNET

Tweets: @elonmusk, @evdefender, @m3exp, @tsrandall, and @andyjayhawk

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Snapchat debuts Snap Games platform that lets users play real-time, multiplayer games with six-second unskippable ads and rewards — Snap is unlocking a new revenue stream while giving you something to do in between chats and Stories. Today Snapchat debuts its Snap Games platform that lets …

More: Engadget

Jon Russell / TechCrunch:

Indian mobile operator Reliance Jio acquires an 87% stake in Haptik, a startup that develops “conversational” platforms and virtual assistants, for $100M — Reliance Jio, the telecom operator that has revolutionized India with its generous data plans, has its eye on the next generation …

More: Inc42 Media, Times of India, The Economic Times, domain-b.com, YourStory.com, Jagranjosh.com, The Hindu, and Deccan Chronicle

Monica Nickelsburg / GeekWire:

Amazon plans to relocate its entire Seattle-based worldwide operations team to neighboring Bellevue by 2023, with several thousand employees making the move — Amazon plans to relocate its entire Seattle-based worldwide operations team to Bellevue, Wash., by 2023, adding thousands of employees …

More: Thurrott. Tweets: @geekwire, @lanceulanoff, @geekwire, and @mnickelsburg. Thanks:@toddbishop

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

WhatsApp Business, a free app for businesses available only on Android previously, launches on iOS in Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, India, Mexico, UK, and the US — Over a year after WhatsApp officially introduced its app for business customers to its first markets, the previously Android …

More: The Verge

Dan Seifert / The Verge:

Alienware Area-51m review: desktop-class performance with upgradable CPU and GPU, but requires two large power adapters, isn't portable, and is very expensive — The Area-51m has plenty of brawn, but IT comes with a high price — If you've been looking at the field of gaming laptops …

Colin Lecher / The Verge:

SEC: Amazon has to let shareholders vote on proposals to curb sales of its controversial facial recognition product Rekognition to government agencies — Activist shareholders are pressing the proposals — Amazon will have to let shareholders vote on proposals to curb sales …

More: New York Times and Open MIC

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