Nominations for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 are open. Pitch at Disrupt 2026 in October in front of top VCs and the full TechCrunch audience. Nominate your startup or for one that's deserving.

The layoffs affect hundreds of full-time workers in the US, according to an internal memo obtained by TechCrunch.

Meta said it's shifting focus for Horizons Worlds to be "almost exclusively mobile" and that it will separate its Quest VR platform from the virtual world.

Billionaire Bill Gates has pulled out of the India Artificial Intelligence (AI) summit after the most recent release of the Epstein files. Additionally, former Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom, who has been stripped of his titles and is now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has been arrested over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Gates arrived …

Boy parents x3! Luke and Nicole Combs are officially the heads of a household of five. After welcoming their firstborn, Tex, in June of 2022, their second son, Beau, was born in August of 2023. As you’d expect from an artist like Combs, Tex Lawrence, 3, and Beau Lee, 2 have become not only the centerpiece of his life as a husband and father but also a critical part of his evolution as an artist, which was highlighted in his 2024 album, Fathers & Sons. The country music star and his wife announced that they were expecting a new addition to their family this winter, leaving fans overjoyed that their two sons, Tex and Beau, would become big brothers. Nicole took to Instagram in September with a heartfelt announcement, showing their boys a sonogram, noting: “Third time’s a charm! Baby #3 coming this winter.” In the adorable reveal video, “Days Like These” plays in the background as Luke and Nicole are shown sitting in a field with Tex and Beau before they show them an ultrasound of their third child. The emotional moment is captured as the children raise their hands in celebration before the camera cuts to a close-up of the ultrasound, while the family walks away in the background. View this post on Instagram The Combs did not share whether they were having a boy or a girl, and later Nicole realized they had decided to wait to find out the child’s gender. Nicole revealed this when she asked her followers to submit questions during an “Ask me anything” Q&A session. During this, one fan asked if she was “going to find out the gender this go around?” To which Nicole replied: “Nope! I’m so excited we did it this way, though. If I could go back and not find out each time, I would!  We don’t care what we have. I know a lot of people say that, but we truly don’t. Happy and healthy is always the goal.”  Of course, being a boy mom of two already, I am sure that she would love to have a little girl, but Nicole expanded on her thoughts about having a girl and shared that, while answering another question, she and Luke will be done having kids when they feel their family is complete, whether they are blessed with a little girl or not. “We are not going to keep going just for a girl. I don’t understand that logic. We are happy with any and all lil nuggets.” Amen to that. As it got closer to Super Bowl weekend, country music fans speculated that Combs and his wife might be expecting their baby to enter the world after he pulled out of the EA Madden Bowl at the last minute, with Zach Bryan stepping in for him. The speculation has now been confirmed: Luke Combs took to social media on February 19 to share that their baby boy had been born. “Happy due date to the littlest Combs BOY! We’ve loved soaking up these last few weeks of newborn snuggles. Chet Wiley Combs” View this post on Instagram With the due date comment and Combs pulling out of the Madden Bowl, it appears Nicole was in labor shortly before or after the big game. With Chet making his debut a little earlier than expected, the family has had lots of time at home, and based on the images the Combs shared, it appears that Tex and Beu are in love with their new brother. The last image of them kissing him sweetly on the head choked me up a little… I can’t lie. Congrats to the Combs family. Fire up “Whoever You Turn Out to Be” while you’re here: The post Luke & Nicole Combs Announce The Birth Of Their Third Son, Chet Wiley Combs first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Charges have been dropped against country singer Conner Smith following last summer’s fatal accident in Nashville. The tragedy happened on June 8, 2025 during the final day of CMA Fest here in Music City. According to law enforcement, Smith was heading north on 3rd Avenue in his Chevy Silverado as 77-year-old Dorothy Dobbins was attempting to cross the street. Dobbins was in a marked crosswalk when she was tragically hit around 7:30 PM. First responders rushed to the scene following the incident, and the 77-year-old Nashvillian was transported to the nearby Vanderbilt Medical Center. She unfortunately succumbed to her injuries and was officially pronounced dead at the hospital. Police said that Dobbins had the right of way in the crosswalk, and that Smith failed to yield to her in his Chevrolet Silverado. Importantly, the police say that Conner Smith did not show any signs of impairment immediately after the crash, nor was he using his cell phone as he was driving. Witnesses also say that Smith rushed to help Dobbins after the accident. Back in July, Smith was issued a misdemeanor citation for failure to yield the right of way resulting in death. The charge is a Class A misdemeanor in Tennessee, meaning Smith could have faced up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both (though jail time was extremely unlikely even if he had been found guilty). He won’t have to worry about that though, because this week the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office dropped the charge against Smith at the request of the victim’s family. In a statement following the dismissal of the charges, Smith’s attorney Worrick Robinson said that the country singer was grateful for the opportunity to get to know Dobbins’ family in the aftermath of the tragedy: “This devastating accident was a profound tragedy for the family of Dot Dobbins and the larger Germantown community. Over the past several months, Conner has been grateful for the opportunity to get to know Dot’s family personally and be able to voice his deep and sincere grief. While he is grateful that this legal chapter has concluded, he will continue to steadfastly lift her family up in prayer.” Smith has mostly laid low in the wake of the accident, but the 25-year-old country singer posted a statement to his Instagram shortly after the accident expressing his sympathy for the family of Dobbins: “Four weeks ago, I was involved in a tragic accident that resulted in the loss of a life. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t grieved, prayed, and mourned for Ms. Dobbins and her family. My heart is broken in a way I’ve never experienced, and I still struggle to fully process the weight of it all. I ask that you continue to lift the Dobbins family up in prayer by name, asking for God’s peace to surround them each day. Out of respect for everyone involved and to give space for grieving, I made the decision to step away from shows these past few weeks. I have always found that making music and playing shows is a place of healing for me – but for this moment, it was important for me to take time away. I’m thankful to serve a God who is near to the brokenhearted, and I have leaned on Him every step of the way. Through tragedy, I have learned that God is more faithful than I could have ever known before.” Since the accident, the same crosswalk in Nashville has been the scene of at least one other accident involving a pedestrian, with many in the neighborhood calling for changes and expressing their belief that it was unsafe even before Dobbins was killed. Improvements have been made, including an added stoplight nearby meant to slow traffic, as well as improving signage notifying drivers of the crosswalk. Hopefully it’s enough to prevent any further tragedies from happening in the same spot.The post Charges Dropped Against Conner Smith In Deadly Pedestrian Crash At The Request Of Victim’s Family first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

In response to the Supreme Court decision invalidating President Trump’s use of IEEPA to issue global tariffs, former Deputy Attorney General and a professor of Trade law at UC Berkeley, John Yoo, . . .

The ‘race card’ is ‘DEAD’: DOJ senior counsel pushes back at Trump criticsFollow NewsClips channel at Brighteon.com for more updatesSubscribe to Brighteon newsletter to get the latest news and more featured videos:https://support.brighteon.com/Subscribe.html