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Google launches AndroidX Security State libraries for granular patch checks

Google has released stable versions of its AndroidX Security State and Security State Provider libraries, giving apps a way to check the security status of individual Android components rather than relying solely on the device's overall security patch date. Apps can now determine which specific fixes are installed, which updates are pending, and whether known vulnerabilities have been addressed, even if the broad patch level hasn't changed.

US and China Diverge Sharply on What AI Safety Actually Means

American AI governance discussions focus largely on existential risks and protecting humanity from potential harms of advanced systems. Chinese authorities, by contrast, prioritize AI rules that shield the Communist Party's authority and political stability, reflecting fundamentally different visions of what 'safe' AI should look like.

Cybersecurity Outlook 2027 virtual event to examine AI-driven threats and defenses

A virtual event titled Cybersecurity Outlook 2027 will bring together industry analysts, researchers and experts to discuss emerging cyber threats from criminals and nation-states as the new year approaches. The sessions will also cover how AI-driven tools and other technologies can help organizations protect multi-cloud and hybrid environments.

New York State issues $1M-per-megawatt guideline for AI data center deals with towns

New York Governor Kathy Hochul's administration released a Community Investment Framework advising local governments on negotiating with data center developers. The guide recommends towns demand roughly $1 million per megawatt of power demand in community investment, alongside plans covering long-term maintenance, site abandonment, and phased funding timelines.

Nearly 200 election deniers on midterm ballots, watchdog group finds

States United Action, a nonpartisan election-protection nonprofit, has identified 197 candidates who have denied or questioned the legitimacy of past election results running in congressional and statewide races across 43 states this November. The list includes a sitting member of Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 results, a former state legislator who blended QAnon theories into election denial, and local officials pushing unsubstantiated noncitizen-voting claims.

California CPUC set to exempt ISPs from state net neutrality law to unlock $1.86B in BEAD funds

California's Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to vote on a resolution that would exempt broadband providers from the state's net neutrality law in order to accept $1.86 billion in federal BEAD broadband deployment funding. The Trump administration's NTIA has required all states receiving BEAD money to waive enforcement of net neutrality and rate regulation against participating ISPs statewide, not just in funded areas, for up to 14 years. California and Illinois are the last two states yet to finalize their BEAD funding agreements.

China Daily dismisses Anthropic's AI slowdown call as anti-China maneuver

China's state-run China Daily newspaper pushed back against Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's proposal to slow the pace of frontier AI development, an idea also backed by Sam Altman and Elon Musk. The publication argued the plan is less about safety concerns and more a coordinated attempt to hobble China's AI progress, secure friendlier U.S. regulation, and sustain investor enthusiasm for American AI firms.

Geneticists identify surviving 'ghost parent' tree behind hundreds of apple varieties

Washington State University researcher Cameron Peace, while analyzing DNA samples sent by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association from trees on abandoned farms, found that one sample matched a long-predicted but never-located ancestor in his North American apple pedigree database. The discovery means a living tree in Maine has been quietly passing traits like flavor, hardiness and disease resistance to hundreds of modern apple varieties for centuries.

Mozilla report: Chinese open-weight AI models now trail US leaders by just 4 months

Mozilla's latest State of Open Source AI report, using data through September 1, finds top Chinese open-weight models are closing in on closed US frontier systems, lagging by only a few percentage points on key benchmarks while costing far less to run. The report estimates the capability gap at roughly 4.4 months based on METR task-horizon data, close to Epoch AI's independent four-month estimate, and notes one Chinese model scored within a point of a leading Claude model on Terminal-Bench at under a fifth of the price.

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