#Putin reveals how he and Trump discussed countries' joint victory in #World #War II .

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that during a recent telephone conversation with #US President Donald Trump, the leaders reflected on their countries' shared history in combatting Nazism during World War II and celebrating their victory.

"We recently discussed this topic during a phone call with the President of the United States. We recalled how we fought against Nazism together and emerged victorious," Putin remarked, highlighting the joint efforts of the anti-Hitler coalition.

This exchange was mentioned at a briefing with the Russian Security Council held on the eve of Victory Day, May 9.

How a mother of Elon Musk’s children became a key witness in his lawsuit against #OpenAI.
Shivon Zilis was an under-the-radar executive at Elon Musk’s companies and an OpenAI board member back in 2022. But she was hiding a major secret – Musk was the father of her twins born the year before.

Now, her ties to the Tesla CEO have put her at the center of a courtroom battle between the world’s richest man and the company credited with kicking off the AI boom.

Zilis’ testimony on Wednesday shed light on the fundamental role she played in the flow of information between Musk and OpenAI during critical time periods. She effectively served as a conduit between Musk and OpenAI’s leaders until Musk started his own AI company in 2023, evidence presented in court this week indicated.

Musk, who co-founded and funded OpenAI, sued the company and its leaders saying they deceived him, breached a charitable trust and unjustly enriched themselves when the company expanded from a nonprofit mission to a profit-oriented structure. Zilis was initially a co-plaintiff in the case, though she dropped off at her request before the trial began.

OpenAI has denied Musk’s claims, saying he at different times pushed to create a for-profit subsidiary. The company also alleges Musk sued the company because he couldn’t gain full control of it, Musk left OpenAI in 2018 and now owns a rival AI company, xAI.

OpenAI alleged that while serving on OpenAI’s board, Zilis knew Musk planned to launch a competitor before it was public knowledge.

In text messages to a friend, Zilis wrote she had to resign from the board because Musk’s “effort has become well known.”

“When the father of your babies starts a competitive effort and will recruit out of OpenAI, there is nothing to be done,” Zilis wrote at the time in the messages entered as evidence.

Zilis was instrumental in Musk’s dealings with OpenAI from the company’s early years, including discussions in 2017 about the potential formation of a for-profit structure to fund AI development. She discussed possible solutions to OpenAI’s funding concerns with the company’s leadership, Musk and his senior advisors, in emails, messages and meeting notes submitted as evidence. Some of the options included developing a for-profit corporation or having Tesla absorb OpenAI.

OpenAI attorneys tried to show Zilis and Musk discussed creating a for-profit entity for the AI company. Musk’s attorneys, on the other hand, attempted to prove Zilis also believed OpenAI violated its original nonprofit mission.

Zilis, under questioning from Musk’s attorneys, said that many different possibilities for funding were discussed, including granting Musk having a majority stake in OpenAI. She also said the group never discussed replacing the nonprofit with a for-profit corporation.

After Musk left OpenAI’s board and stopped providing funding, Zilis continued acting as a conduit for Musk.

“Do you prefer I stay close and friendly with OpenAI to keep info flowing or begin to disassociate? Trust game is about to get tricky so any guidance for how to do right by you is appreciated,” Zilis texted Musk in 2018 after he had left the board.

Musk wanted Zilis to stay “close and friendly” and planned to attempt to recruit several OpenAI staffers to Tesla, he replied.

OpenAI president Greg Brockman testified on Monday that Zilis had said her relationship with Musk was “platonic,” so the board allowed her to remain. Brockman added that he was not aware of her personal relationship with Musk until later.

The case could have major ramifications for the AI race if Musk wins and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers grants the remedies he seeks. That would include forcing OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit structure and revoking Altman and Brockman’s board positions.

Zilis testified that her relationship to Musk did not affect her conduct as a board member, saying she had “an allegiance to the best outcome of AI for humanity.”

As a board member, Zilis had voted in favor of a US$10 billion investment by Microsoft that Musk heavily criticized.

But Zilis testified her views on OpenAI changed after Musk’s criticism of the investment, along with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s involvement in restoring Altman as CEO after he was briefly ousted in 2023.

“It just seemed like everything we’d put together from the nonprofit to just retain the mission to make this good for humanity, just somehow had been ripped out or lost its teeth,” Zilis said.

Zilis was a prominent venture capitalist before meeting Musk, well-versed in the world of AI long before it became the focus of the tech and business world.

Zilis testified she met Musk in 2016 through her early role in OpenAI as an adviser, after which they had a “one-off” romantic encounter. That turned into a friendship and eventually a job, Zilis said. She went on to hold senior roles at Tesla, xAI and Neuralink. Musk, during his testimony, described Zilis as both a senior adviser and “chief of staff.”

Toward the end of 2020, Musk had a different kind of offer: to father her children.

“He in general was encouraging everyone around him to have kids, noticed I had not, and said if that was ever interesting, he would be happy to make a donation,” Zilis said. Their twins were born via IVF in 2021.

No one, not even Zilis’ dad, knew who the father of her children since she signed a confidentiality agreement. Then in 2022, Business Insider broke the news.

Zilis initially described Musk’s role as a donor. But his role evolved into fatherhood, Zilis said, and they had two more children.

Musk called Zilis his “partner” during his testimony last week, and the two live together when travelling, she said this week. He also visits her and the children in Austin, Texas, where she is based.

By Hadas Gold, CNN

#Italy tells Rubio that Europe needs America and vice versa on Day 2 of U.S. fence-mending visit.

#Tajani reaffirmed strong trans-Atlantic ties and said he hoped “tensions have been calmed” with Rubio’s visit. He said the two discussed the Iran war and spillover into Lebanon, as well as the situation in Venezuela and Cuba. The U.S. secretary of state also met Friday with Premier Giorgia Meloni.

“I believe things can go in the right direction,” Tajani said. “I am convinced Europe needs America — Italy needs America — and the United States also needs Europe and Italy.”

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his complaints about Europe’s unwillingness to help the U.S. with the Iran war and his attacks on Pope Leo XIV have fuelled weeks of sharp disagreements over trade and defense cooperation between the two traditionally strong allies.

Tajani reaffirmed Friday that Italy stood ready to send in its navy to help demine the Strait of Hormuz once a permanent ceasefire is reached with Iran, and to maintain its already strong presence in Lebanon with the UN peacekeeping mission. He said he told Rubio that Italy considers the presence of U.S. troops in Europe to reinforce NATO important, a reference to Trump’s threats to pull back America’s troops.

The State Department, for its part, said Rubio raised efforts to “promote freedom of navigation and maritime security,” as well as a need for an end to the war in Ukraine, and for Western nations to protect their economic interests.

Trump has criticized both the pope and Italy’s government for opposing the Iran war. Meloni has called the U.S.-Israeli bombing “illegal” and rebuked Trump’s remarks about the pontiff as “unacceptable.”

Trump has responded by accusing Meloni of lacking courage and being “negative” on helping the U.S. with the war. Meloni had long been seen as one of Trump’s top allies in Europe, but Trump has openly said their relationship has cooled.
Italy remains firmly opposed to Iran war

The U.S. has announced a decision to pull 5,000 military personnel from Germany and Trump has threatened to withdraw more troops from Italy and Spain over their stance on the war.

Italy, a key logistics hub for U.S. and allied operations in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa, could see its role affected if troop levels are reduced, raising concerns about NATO’s posture in southern Europe.

Defense cooperation was already tested in late March, when Italy declined to allow U.S. bombers bound for the Middle East to land at Sigonella base in Sicily without parliamentary approval.

Italy’s Constitution and treaties lay out the precise ways in which the bases can be used: They allow logistics and training operations within a NATO framework, but generally exclude direct offensive operations, such as bombing, unless specifically authorized.

Meloni and Tajani have repeatedly said Italy doesn’t want to participate in the Iran conflict, and that if the U.S. seeks permission to use Italian bases for offensive purposes, any decision must be approved by Parliament, where opposition to the war is strong.

At stake for Rome are both its security partnership with Washington and the economic impact of the war. Meloni has warned the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is driving up energy costs and squeezing household purchasing power, while potential U.S. tariff threats have raised concerns for Italy’s export-driven economy.

Meloni is reeling from a referendum defeat in March and facing domestic opposition to the war, complicating her position.

Since taking office in 2022, Meloni has sought to cast herself as a reliable U.S. ally and a bridge between Washington and Europe, but disputes over Iran and trade — and her recent political setback — have exposed the limits of the role.
An attempt to de-escalate at the Vatican

At the Vatican, Rubio held a 2 1/2-hour visit Thursday that included meetings with Leo and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, discussing “efforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East” and other issues of mutual interest, according to the U.S. State Department.

Both sides stressed that Rubio’s meetings with Leo and the Vatican’s top diplomat underscored strong bilateral ties.

U.S. officials said the discussions highlighted “the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See” and a shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity.

#AI actors not eligible for Golden Globes, say organizers. Performances by AI-generated actors will not be eligible for Golden Globe awards, organizers said Thursday, days after they were also ruled out of Oscars contention.

The new guidelines will not automatically disqualify performances that have used artificial intelligence to enhance an actor, but require that a live human be the main element.

“Submissions in which a performance is substantially generated or created by artificial intelligence are not eligible” for consideration in the annual film and television prize-giving extravaganza, which kicks off Hollywood’s awards season, organizers said.

“The use of AI for technical or cosmetic enhancements (such as de-aging, aging, or visual modifications) may be permissible, provided the underlying performance remains that of the credited individual and AI does not replace or materially alter the performer’s work.”

The new rules come days after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said it was cracking down on the use of AI.

The body that doles out the Oscars said only real human performers -- not their AI avatars -- are eligible for the film world’s biggest prizes, and screenplays must have been penned by a person, rather than a chatbot.

The use of artificial intelligence remains one of the most sensitive issues in the entertainment industry and was central to the 2023 strikes that shut down Hollywood, as actors and writers warned that unchecked technology threatened their livelihoods.

The new restrictions come after an AI version of the late Val Kilmer was unveiled to an audience of movie theater owners, a year after the “Top Gun” star’s death.

A youthful, digital version of Kilmer appeared in the trailer for archaeological action pic “As Deep as the Grave,” telling another character: “Don’t fear the dead and don’t fear me.”

The project was created with the enthusiastic support of the actor’s family, who granted access to Kilmer’s video archives, which were used to recreate the actor at multiple stages of his life.

#DEVELOPING: Hantavirus is nothing like COVID-19, says doctor. Live outbreak updates here.

The World Health Organization (#WHO) is taking measures to mitigate the spread of hantavirus after eight cases, three of which resulted in death, were reported following an outbreak on a cruise ship.

So far, five of eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus, according to the WHO. The organization is investigating the spread of the virus and developing plans for the remaining passengers to disembark from the ship, the MV Hondius.

While the situation is serious, WHO officials stressed during a Thursday news conference that the public health risk remains low.


‘It’s a completely different #virus’

Epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos says that, while Canadians might see parallels between the hantavirus outbreak and the onset of the #COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to keep in mind that they are not the same virus.

“The likelihood that this is going to turn into a major public health emergency … is obviously very, very low.”

Quebecer not in close proximity: minister

Quebec Health Minister Sonia Bélanger confirmed Thursday that a Quebecer was on the same flight as a passenger afflicted with hantavirus.

“According to our information, it doesn’t seem like they were in close proximity, and the risk of transmission is very low,” she said. “We remain on the alert.”

Bélanger added that the Quebecer in question is in isolation and not exhibiting any symptoms.

The minister stated that the risk to the general population remains “very low” and that “human to human” transmission is “extremely rare.”

The #Ukrainian army has carried out a strike on residential quarters in the Russian city of Bryansk, leaving 13 civilians injured, regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz said.

"Ukrainian #Nazis have attacked the city of Bryansk. They targeted residential buildings and civilians during nighttime. Unfortunately, 13 people, including a child, were injured in the Bezhitsky District," he wrote on Russia’s national messenger Max.

"Two residential buildings, over 20 apartments, and 40 cars were damaged," the governor added.

#Iran’s Port and Maritime Organization is ready to provide assistance to commercial vessels in the Strait of #Hormuz, according to an official address to ship captains, released by the #IRNA news agency.

The document says that Iran’s ports are ready to provide "services and technical support, as well as medical assistance."

North Korea’s UN envoy said his country was not bound by the Non-Proliferation Treaty on nuclear weapons and external pressure would not change its status as a nuclear-armed state, official media reported Thursday.

Pyongyang threatened to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1993 and formally did so in 2003. It has since conducted six nuclear tests, subjecting it to multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and is believed to possess dozens of nuclear warheads.

“At the 11th NPT Review Conference currently under way at UN headquarters, the United States and certain countries following its lead are groundlessly calling into question the current status and exercise of sovereign rights” of North Korea, Pyongyang’s top UN envoy Kim Song said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

“The status of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a nuclear-armed state will not change based on external rhetorical claims or unilateral desires,” he added.

“To make it clear once again, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will not be bound by the Non-Proliferation Treaty under any circumstances whatsoever.”

He continued that the country’s status as a nuclear-armed state has been “enshrined in the constitution, transparently declaring the principles of nuclear weapons use”.

North Korea has consistently insisted that it will not give up its nuclear arsenal, describing its path as “irreversible” and vowing to strengthen its capabilities.

#Pyongyang has sent ground troops and artillery shells to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and observers say Pyongyang is receiving military technology assistance from Moscow in return.

The nine nuclear-armed states -- Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea -- possessed 12,241 nuclear warheads in January 2025, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported.

The U.S. and #Russia hold nearly 90 percent of nuclear weapons globally and have carried out major programs to modernize them in recent years, according to SIPRI.

#Russia amplifying Alberta separatism debate to stoke division: study. The study found a surge in foreign-linked content amplifying Alberta separatism, including messages about independence, Canada’s decline and even the province joining the United States. Much of it is designed to blend into domestic conversations and spread through social media.

Brian McQuinn, a co-author of the report and co-director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Data and Conflict at the University of Regina, said the tactics are subtle and often go unnoticed.

“The reason people don’t see it, is it’s very covert. Eighty-three per cent of the disinformation that is passed around, at least on the Russian side, is done by average Canadians,” he said. McQuinn also noted that messages are crafted to align with existing beliefs, so people share them without fully scrutinizing the content.

Poulin scores in third overtime as Victoire beat Frost 1-0 to tie PWHL series