Asymptote Labs Secures $5.5 Million Seed Funding | JQJO

New York‑based startup Asymptote Labs announced a $5.5 million seed round led by Tower Research Ventures. The funding will support the company’s development of tools that record and block risky actions by AI systems.

Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang, both seventy‑seven, pleaded not guilty to first‑degree murder after shooting New York Times executive Jonathan McKinsey in a Dublin, California parking lot. Prosecutors say the couple waited in the lot, claiming they acted out of concern after witnessing something disturbing during McKinsey’s supervised visit with his children. The pair purchased firearms in March, allegedly to defend themselves after McKinsey threatened Chen’s life three times. McKinsey, forty, was embroiled in a bitter divorce and custody battle with his daughter. If convicted, both could face life imprisonment without parole.

President Trump announced at a Kansas rally that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will launch a new Harvest Fuel Relief program, providing $8 billion to offset diesel costs for the 2026 crop year. The USDA said farmers do not need crop insurance to qualify and can apply by creating a Login.gov account. Secretary Brooke Rollins said the investment will give farmers certainty during the harvest season. The program will pay farmers a portion of their estimated losses using a standard formula based on planted acreage, production costs, crop yields and prices from the USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. Payment rates for major commodity crops will be announced in November, with details for other eligible products to follow. The aid comes amid record diesel prices, which peaked at $6.53 per gallon on September 22 and are now averaging $6.32 per gallon, up from $3.62 a year ago, according to AAA data. The USDA forecasts net farm income to drop 2.6% this year as production costs rise 4.5%, with fuel and oil expenses expected to jump nearly 30%.

Amazon’s Alexa Tablet 12 Pro marks a departure from its Fire line, offering a premium build and high‑end specs that position it as a direct competitor to the iPad. The 12‑inch device features an aluminum unibody, 6.5 mm thick, weighing about 550 g, and comes in a single graphite color. It runs Google Play services instead of Amazon’s forked Android. The tablet includes a USB‑C port, a power button with fingerprint sensor, and volume controls on the right edge. Priced at $500, the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro aims to attract users who want a high‑quality tablet without the iPad price tag.

U.S. envoys met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on Tuesday as Kyiv accused Washington of pulling back crucial aid. The meeting, attended by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son‑in‑law Jared Kushner (via videoconference), also included Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Kyiv’s criticism came after Trump waived sanctions and agreed to a diesel deal with Russia, actions that have raised doubts about U.S. mediation efforts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he hoped Trump’s envoys could meet in Russia “in the near future.”

A sixty‑five‑year‑old woman died after a shark mauled her while swimming at Orient Beach in KuGompo City, South Africa, on Tuesday. Police arrived around seven a.m. local time and found her body with severe wounds to her arm and leg. Witnesses reported seeing a shark’s tail and fin before the attack. The municipality closed nearby beaches and urged the public to stay out of the water. The incident follows a pattern of rare but deadly shark encounters along South Africa’s coast.

A documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, titled "You Can See Everything," opened Friday in 855 theaters across the United States and Canada, earning approximately fifteen million dollars in its opening weekend. The film, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim and distributed by A24, recorded more than two thousand sold‑out screenings and finished second at the weekend box office. Filmed largely in secret over three years, the documentary follows Holmes, whose blood‑testing startup collapsed after its claims were exposed as fraudulent. Holmes was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud investors and began serving her prison sentence in May two thousand twenty‑three.