The Washington Post obtained a donor list showing tech, telecom and crypto companies as the largest contributors to President Trump's White House ballroom project, totaling more than $183 million. NVIDIA, Apple and Dish Network co-founder Charles Ergen each gave $25 million, with Microsoft, Meta, Palantir, Google, Amazon, Cisco, Blackrock, Lockheed Martin, Gemini and Coinbase among other donors. About $77 million of the funds remain unaccounted for since the donations aren't subject to public disclosure or campaign finance rules.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-15
Workers cleared more than 500 trees from a federally owned Washington, D.C. golf course over a weekend, as part of a remodeling effort connected to President Trump. The removal reportedly occurred abruptly and without the required permissions.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-12
Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown is reportedly using his Republican connections and business relationships to build ties with Washington policymakers. The effort comes as Anthropic faces criticism from some conservatives who characterize the company's AI safety approach as politically biased.
wsj.com
· 2026-10-09
Amazon has manufactured its 1,000th Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) satellite at its Kirkland, Washington factory, which it built from an empty building into a production facility in roughly 15 months. Company executive Paul Palcisco said Amazon builds and tests each satellite in a matter of weeks, with the propulsion system developed entirely in-house while other components are sourced externally. Amazon says commercial service rollout is now only weeks away.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-08
Amazon has agreed to pay $309.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it failed to properly refund customers for returned items between September 2017 and February 2025. The suit argued these practices violated Washington state law, and most eligible customers will automatically receive payouts, while others must submit claim forms with documentation.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-06
Ally Walsh, co-founder of Canyon Coffee, has seen her childhood toast become a customer favorite, with lines forming around the block. The snack, made of bread, almond butter, salt, and olive oil, was a daily comfort for her mother, who passed away from ovarian cancer in 2025. Despite personal hardships and relocating multiple times due to the Eaton fire, Walsh maintained her coffee business, which now has locations in Echo Park, Brooklyn, and a new store opening in El Sereno this month.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-10-06
Apple TV announced that the limited series 'Imperfect Women' will return for a new season, focusing on the character Eleanor played by Kerry Washington. The decision follows strong viewer interest after the show's initial eight-episode run, which starred Elisabeth Moss and others, and was based on a novel by Araminta Hall.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-10-05
The University of Washington has moved its Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) institute, which offers a Master's in Technology Innovation, into a 48,500-square-foot space inside Microsoft's Building 92 under a rent-free lease. Microsoft contributed a $42 million in-kind donation to build out the space, marking the first time a UW program has established full-time operations on Microsoft's campus. GIX previously operated in Bellevue's Steve Ballmer Building after launching in 2015 with Tsinghua University and roughly $70 million in Microsoft backing.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-10-02
Ryan Roslansky, the former LinkedIn CEO, announced on Thursday that he is leaving Microsoft at the end of the year, closing out nearly 18 years across LinkedIn and its parent company. He cited reluctance to relocate and work full-time, every day, from Microsoft's Washington office as a factor in his decision.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-01
Researchers led by Kanako Hayashi at Washington State University modified niclosamide, an existing anti-parasitic drug, to target cells involved in endometriosis lesions and tested it in mice. The study, published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, found the altered compound reduced disease activity without relying on surgery or hormone therapy, the two main current treatment approaches.
nature.com
· 2026-10-01
Okanagan Specialty Fruits, which farms over 1,250 acres of apple orchards in Washington State, is testing camera-based AI from Canadian firm Vivid Machines to forecast crop yields and optimal harvest dates. The cameras, mounted on tractors, capture images of trees so AI can identify buds, flowers and fruit, producing crop estimates alongside weather-informed harvest timing. Company representative Joel Carter says the system catches small flower buds humans might miss, though forecast accuracy depends on the quality of historical data fed into it.
bbc.co.uk
· 2026-09-30
Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel with over 620,000 X followers, worked as a civilian government employee under the Pentagon's undersecretary for personnel and readiness, part of a task force targeting 'woke' content at military war colleges. WIRED reviewed years of his social media posts containing extremist and anti-democratic rhetoric, including a 2021 call for authoritarian crackdowns on liberals, which had not previously been reported alongside his Pentagon role.
wired.com
· 2026-09-29
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