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(Reuters) -Walmart said on Tuesday it was partnering with OpenAI to enable customers and Sam's Club members to shop directly within ChatGPT, using the AI chatbot's Instant Checkout feature. The world's largest retailer is expanding its use of artificial intelligence as companies across sectors adopt the technology to simplify tasks and cut costs. Walmart has announced AI tools including generative AI-powered 'Sparky,' which is available on its app to assist customers with product suggestions or summarizing product reviews, among other options. The company's growing investment in AI is also aimed at closing the gap with online behemoth Amazon, which had a head start with its chatbot, Rufus, a Gen AI-powered shopping assistant that answers various shopping queries. Walmart's tie-up with the ChatGPT-maker follows a similar partnership OpenAI announced last month with Etsy and Shopify. About 15% of total referral traffic for Walmart in September was from ChatGPT, up from 9.5% in August, data from SimilarWeb showed. However, referrals are only a minor source of traffic and ChatGPT referrals accounted for less than 1% of total web traffic for Walmart, the research firm said. Walmart shares were up about 5% on Tuesday. (Reporting by Sanskriti Shekhar and Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Shreya Biswas)

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By Nate Raymond and Sarah N. Lynch (Reuters) -An early cryptocurrency investor dubbed the "Bitcoin Jesus" has agreed to pay up to $49.9 million to resolve charges he evaded tens of millions of dollars in taxes, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a court filing on Tuesday. Roger Ver entered into a deferred prosecution agreement resolving mail fraud and tax evasion charges in federal court in Los Angeles after publicly campaigning earlier this year for President Donald Trump to "help to end this lawfare." Ultimately, Trump did not pardon him. But the deal Ver reached with his administration, which has taken a friendly view of the crypto sector, will ensure he can avoid being sentenced to prison had he were convicted someday at trial. The agreement calls for the indictment against Ver, 46, to be dismissed after one month if he abides by the deal's terms, under which the Internal Revenue Service may collect up to $49.9 million, covering his tax liability, civil penalty and interest. Ver was represented by Christopher Kise, a lawyer who had previously represented Trump. The top Justice Department official listed on Ver's agreement is Associate Deputy Attorney General Ketan Bhirud, who before joining the government represented the president's daughter Ivanka Trump in litigation. “I am very grateful this case has been dismissed and appreciate the Trump administration’s leadership and professionalism in working towards this final resolution," Ver said in a statement. Ver, who for a time served as the chief executive of the digital wallet developer Bitcoin.com, began acquiring the cryptocurrency bitcoin in 2011 and actively promoted it, earning him the name "Bitcoin Jesus." He was arrested in Spain in April 2024 as the Justice Department unveiled an indictment charging him with not paying at least $48 million in taxes after he renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2014 after becoming a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Shumaker)

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(Reuters) -Intel is making a renewed push to secure a spot in the fast-growing AI chip race with its upcoming data center graphics processing unit, code-named Crescent Island, slated for customer sampling in the second half of 2026. It marks the chipmaker's second attempt in the AI accelerator arena after its earlier Gaudi chips failed to gain traction against market leaders Nvidia and AMD. Yet, Intel's GPU roadmap trails behind competitors, highlighting the steep climb it faces to establish itself as a serious contender in AI computing. Since the generative AI boom with the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022, startups and large cloud operators have rushed to grab GPUs that help run AI workloads on data center servers. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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(Reuters) -Intel said on Tuesday the chipmaker's customers will sample its new data center graphics processing unit, code-named Crescent Island, in the second half of 2026. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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(Reuters) -Instagram will limit what users under 18 can see on the platform using filters inspired by the PG-13 movie rating system, in the latest step by its parent Meta to address criticism that it has not done enough to protect teenagers online. Modeled on the Motion Picture Association's ratings, the new system will restrict posts featuring strong language, risky stunts, drug references or other mature themes. The rules will also apply to Meta's generative AI tools, it said on Tuesday. The move follows criticism from advocacy groups and lawsuits alleging the company failed to protect young users from harmful content or misled them about the psychological harm from its platforms. A report in September showed numerous safety features Meta has implemented on Instagram over the years do not work well or exist. Reuters also revealed in August that Meta allowed provocative chatbot behavior, including letting bots engage in "conversations that are romantic or sensual". Meta said on Tuesday its latest move automatically place teen accounts under the PG-13 settings, which parents can adjust to add stricter content and screen-time controls with a "limited content setting". Teen users will also be blocked from interacting with accounts sharing age-inappropriate material. "We hope this update reassures parents," Meta said in a blog post. "We know teens may try to avoid these restrictions, which is why we'll use age prediction technology to place teens into certain content protections — even if they claim to be adults." Meta in August added safeguards for teenagers across its AI products by training its systems to avoid flirty exchanges and discussions of self-harm or suicide with minors. That followed a broader overhaul last year that introduced enhanced privacy and parental controls for Instagram users under 18. The new settings will be released in the U.S., UK, Australia and Canada, with full launch expected by the year-end. Meta is also introducing more safeguards for teens on Facebook. The move comes as Meta, ByteDance's TikTok and YouTube face hundreds of lawsuits filed on behalf of children and school districts about the addictive nature of social media. U.S. regulators are increasingly scrutinizing AI companies over the potential negative impacts of chatbots. (Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Arun Koyyur)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Nate Raymond and Sarah N. Lynch (Reuters) -An early crypto investor dubbed the "Bitcoin Jesus" has agreed to pay up to $49.9 million to resolve charges he evaded tens of millions of dollars in taxes, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a court filing on Tuesday. Roger Ver entered into a deferred prosecution agreement resolving mail fraud and tax evasion charges in federal court in Los Angeles after publicly campaigning earlier this year for President Donald Trump to pardon him and "help to end this lawfare." Ultimately, no pardon emerged. But the deal Ver reached with the Trump administration, which has taken a friendly view of the crypto sector, will ensure he can avoid serving any prison time had he been convicted someday at trial. The agreement calls for the indictment against Ver, 46, to be dismissed after one month if he abides by the deal's terms, under which the Internal Revenue Service may collect up to $49.9 million, covering his tax liability, civil penalty and interest. Ver was represented by Christopher Kise, a lawyer who had previously represented Trump. Kise did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ver, who for a time served as the chief executive of the digital wallet developer Bitcoin.com, began acquiring the cryptocurrency bitcoin in 2011 and actively promoted it, earning him the name "Bitcoin Jesus." He was arrested in Spain in April 2024 as the Justice Department unveiled an indictment charging him with not paying at least $48 million in taxes. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Shumaker)

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By James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday that Meta had complied with its request to take down a page on its Facebook platform that the agency said was being used to harass ICE agents in Chicago. In a post on X, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the page was part of an effort to "dox and target" the approximately 200 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who have descended on the city as part of President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement drive. Doxxing is the sharing of personal information about people online. A spokesperson for Meta confirmed that the company had removed the page from the Facebook platform for "violating our policies against coordinated harm." Neither Meta nor the DOJ provided more information on the page, and Reuters was unable to review it. Apple earlier this month removed apps that allowed users to track the movements of ICE agents following pressure from the Trump administration. Google also has made similar apps unavailable. The administration has threatened to prosecute makers of the tracking apps. ICE has been central to Trump's hardline immigration agenda. Its agents have regularly raided and arrested migrants, and rights advocates say free speech and due process are often being infringed. The administration has asserted that left-wing protesters have been regularly harassing and interfering with ICE agents. Bondi did not provide evidence in her post on X of specific incidents connected to the Facebook page. Meta and other tech firms have been trying to mend their relationship with Trump since he won reelection in November. The company contributed $1 million to the president's inaugural fund and scrapped its diversity and fact-checking programs.  Meta also agreed to pay Trump $25 million to settle a lawsuit over the suspension of his accounts after the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack.  The ICE presence in Chicago has been resisted by the city's Democratic mayor, Brandon Johnson, and Illinois' Democratic governor, JB Pritzker. Earlier this month, Johnson signed an order prohibiting ICE agents from using city-owned property as staging areas for operations, and local businesses have posted signs declaring their premises off-limits to ICE. (Reporting by James Oliphant; editing by Donna Bryson and Rosalba O'Brien)

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By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google has offered to make further changes to its search results in its latest attempt to avoid a European Union antitrust fine, according to a document seen by Reuters. The world's most popular internet search engine modified its July proposal following feedback and criticism from vertical search engines, which are specialised search engines with links to a specific sector such as hotels, airlines, restaurants and transport services. Price comparison sites have also criticised its previous proposals. Google has come under European Commission scrutiny since March for allegedly favouring its own services such as Google Shopping, Google Hotels and Google Flights over competitors. It risks a fine in the coming months, other sources have told Reuters. The EU case is under the landmark Digital Markets Act, which sets out a list of dos and don'ts to limit the power of Big Tech, create room for rivals and increase choice for users. Google said its latest tweaks were in response to calls that search results for third-party VSSs and Google should have the same information, functionality and features. "We will create the opportunity for each VSS to show its own box on Search. A VSS box will be populated with results from that VSS inventory," the company said in its proposal. It added the box would have the same format and information for third-party VSSs as for Google. The winning bid for the box would be based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria and it would not share its rivals' data with others, Google said. Suppliers – in essence hotels, restaurants, airlines and travel services – would be placed in a box either above or below the VSS box depending on the relevance to the user's query. Google said it was keen to find a balanced solution and bring the EU investigation to a close but warned of risks ahead. "We remain concerned that any further changes to Search would prioritise the commercial interests of a small set of intermediaries over European businesses who want to sell directly to their customers," a Google spokesperson said. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Barbara Lewis)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -An early investor in bitcoins dubbed the "Bitcoin Jesus" has agreed to pay up to $49.9 million to resolve U.S. charges that he evaded paying tens of millions of dollars in taxes, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Tuesday. Roger Ver entered into a deferred prosecution agreement resolving mail fraud and tax evasion charges pending against him in federal court in Los Angeles that had led to his arrest in Spain last year. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -An early investor in bitcoins dubbed the "Bitcoin Jesus" has agreed to pay up to $49.9 million to resolve U.S. charges that he evaded paying tens of millions of dollars in taxes, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Tuesday. Roger Ver entered into a deferred prosecution agreement resolving mail fraud and tax evasion charges pending against him in federal court in Los Angeles that had led to his arrest in Spain last year. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)