• Sam Altman faced intense, at times awkward, cross-examination from Elon Musk’s attorney.
• Altman was peppered with questions over whether he lies to advance his business interests.
• “I believe I am an honest and trustworthy business person,” he testified in the Musk v. Altman trial.

Sam Altman on Tuesday came under fierce grilling from Elon Musk’s lead trial attorney in an increasingly awkward courtroom exchange that saw the OpenAI CEO confronted with allegations of lying and deception.

Musk’s attorney, Steven Molo, opened his cross-examination of Altman with the blunt question: “Are you completely trustworthy?”

“I believe so,” Altman told the federal California jury in the civil trial of Musk’s lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI.

“You don’t know whether you’re completely trustworthy?” Molo followed up, forcing Altman to respond, “I’ll just amend my answer to yes.”

Molo then peppered Altman with questions about whether the billionaire chief executive tells the truth, lies to advance his business interests, or misleads the people he works with.

“I believe I am an honest and trustworthy business person,” Altman testified.

Molo told Altman that he’s been repeatedly called “deceptive and a liar” by people he’s done business with as the attorney pointed to previous testimony from former OpenAI insiders like Mira Murati and Tasha McCauley.

“She accused you of creating a toxic culture of lying in OpenAI,” Molo said, referring to McCauley. “You’re aware of that, aren’t you?”

Altman said he wasn’t aware of “those words” and added he did “not hear” McCauley’s testimony in the case.

“Is it important to you to find out what’s going on in this trial?” Molo questioned Altman, who responded: “Yes, although I have a very busy day job and have not been able to be here every day.”

“I certainly care about this trial,” Altman said.

In his line of questioning, Molo cited Musk’s claims accusing Altman of “lying” about his commitment to OpenAI’s founding mission as a nonprofit.

“I don’t know if he has accused me of lying or not being committed to that mission,” Altman said, prompting Molo to respond: “Did you read this lawsuit?”

“Many, many versions of it, sir,” Altman responded.

• Venmo has always been a privacy dumpster fire.
• Finally, it’s changing privacy settings so new users’ transactions will be set to be seen by “friends only.”
• But your contacts are still public by default — which is a nightmare.

Call me a grouch, but I find it really hard to make any compelling argument for why anyone needs to see a feed of their friends’ activity on Venmo.

Is it really so interesting seeing that your friend paid someone for pizza?

Venmo’s new redesign adds features that lean into that supposed social element. Transactions in your payments feed get larger images and even animated GIFs.

I really wish Venmo would focus more on what users deserve — privacy by default! — instead of more emojis.

The newest update finally does something Venmo should have done at least a decade ago: It makes the default setting for transactions “visible to friends only” instead of “public” for new users when they sign up for the app.

Keep in mind that it isn’t even really private — the default isn’t set to “only me.”

When I put my concerns to Venmo, the company said the new settings give people more choice.

“Venmo customers have full control over what they share and who can see their activity, and the new app experience enhances how customers can manage their privacy settings,” Erin Mackey, a spokesperson for Venmo, told Business Insider. “New users will also default to ‘friends only,’ reflecting what we heard from customers. Whether they prefer to share publicly, with friends, or keep their activity private, privacy settings are easy to find and update at any time.”

When Venmo first launched, having a social element seemed like a fun gimmick, a playful and cute relic of the early 2010s when adding a social layer to everything was a big trend. But in 2026, I have no idea why any reasonable person would want anyone — even friends — to view their financial transactions.

All your contacts are still public by default when you sign up

That’s not even my biggest gripe. Venmo isn’t making a change for its new users that I think it absolutely should: making friends lists private by default.

Keep in mind there’s no such thing as a “private” Venmo account — people can generally find your account if they have your name or phone number. (Although new users won’t have transactions public to strangers by default anymore.) But there’s another way that people can find you: by searching other people’s friend lists.

That’s how, in 2021, my colleague found Joe Biden’s personal Venmo account — combing through the contact lists of other White House affiliates and family. In 2024, Wired found Vice President JD Vance’s Venmo account, which included all his public contacts.

At the time, there was no way to make your contacts private — or to opt out of appearing in other people’s contact lists. This was a huge privacy loophole — even if you kept your transactions private, people could find all sorts of information about you by seeing who your friends were.

There are tons of examples of people who have been affected by this: people who were being stalked by an abusive ex, therapists, or sex workers whose client lists were made essentially public, etc.

Thankfully, after the Joe Biden incident, Venmo made a change and now allows people to make their contact lists private — but it’s buried waaaaaaay deep in your user settings (here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it).

But it’s still not the default for new users, and most existing users probably don’t know you can hide contacts. (Did you? I really, really recommend you do it now!)

• Young hedge-fund founders got the chance to pitch their ideas Tuesday morning at the Sohn conference.
• Funds run by alums of Coatue, Lone Pine, Kynikos, and more presented ideas.
• Several ideas were connected to broader trends, including AI and GLP-1s.

At Sohn, artificial intelligence is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, but the agents weren’t yet making stock pitches — just introductions.

Investor Rahul Kishore’s AI agent assistant, Eve, said hello to the audience of the investment conference on Tuesday morning in Lincoln Center and requested better air conditioning in the data center where it “lives.”

Kishore, who launched Epicenter Capital last year after eight years at Coatue, used the AI-generated introduction to tee up his pitch for Axon Enterprises, which makes tasers and body cameras worn by police. Naturally, the company’s upside is tied to AI.

The company’s new AI suite, which is growing faster than its taser and bodycams did, should push the stock price higher; the tools include a transcription product that generates first drafts of police reports from body camera footage.

Kishore expects the stock to double by the end of 2028, and was one of the seven pitches — four longs and three shorts — from the “next wave” of the industry.

For more than a decade, the Sohn conference has dedicated a portion of its day to the industry’s emerging managers.

Its “next wave” participants get a chance to pitch an idea and introduce themselves to the industry’s elite, who, if they aren’t in attendance, are kept informed about what stock is presented by whom. Investors who have been a part of past cohorts include onetime Tourbillon founder Jason Karp and Diameter founder Scott Goodwin.

The highlights of this year’s presentations include young funds run by alumni of big-name firms, including Tiger Cubs such as Kishore and Jim Chanos’ Kynikos Associates.

Kevin Salimian, who is launching his long-only firm, Voxel Capital, in the third quarter, identified a company that’s “long been a key player in the AI value chain.”

Salimian, a former Lone Pine investor, said Infineon Technologies could rise 58% by the end of next year. The German company manufactures semiconductors for automobiles and power plants, and should benefit from the increase in energy demand that has accompanied AI’s expansion.

Of course, the Sohn conference is also known for big short ideas, such as billionaire David Einhorn’s past presentations on Tesla.

Zachary Datikash, a onetime lieutenant of short-seller Chanos, is betting against DaVita, one of the country’s largest dialysis providers.

Datikash, who founded Third North Capital, called the company well-run and profitable, but facing significant structural headwinds thanks to GLP-1s. He expects the company’s pipeline — people in renal failure in need of dialysis — to dwindle thanks to the medical breakthrough.

At the very least, Datikash said, the weight-loss medication will push dialysis later in life for many people, a change that would be a blow to DaVita’s bottom line: The more profitable patients are ones on commercial healthcare plans, not Medicare, which is only available to people once they hit their mid-60s.

DaVita did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to “Oppenheimer” is based on the famed ancient Greek poem by Homer.
• “The Odyssey” stars Matt Damon as the hero Odysseus alongside Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Anne Hathaway.
• Here’s everything we know about the film.

After “Oppenheimer” was a critical and commercial hit, Christopher Nolan is adapting Homer’s Greek epic poem “The Odyssey” for his next film.

Universal Pictures announced the movie in late 2024, saying it would be shot using “brand new IMAX film technology” and that it would arrive in theaters on July 17, 2026.

Here’s everything we know about the film so far.

Ayomikun Adekaiyero and Eve Crosbie previously contributed to this post.

Matt Damon will lead a star-studded cast in “The Odyssey.”

Nolan has a reputation for drawing ensemble casts of A-listers, but “The Odyssey” may be his biggest project yet.

Matt Damon will play the film’s lead hero, Odysseus; Anne Hathaway will play his wife, Penelope; and Tom Holland will play their son, Telemachus. Other stars with confirmed roles in the cast include Charlize Theron (Circe), Zendaya (Athena), Robert Pattinson (Antinous), Mia Goth (Melantho), Benny Safdie (Agamemnon), Jon Bernthal (Menelaus), John Leguizamo (Eumaeus), Himesh Patel (Eurylochus), and Jimmy Gonzales (Cepheus).

There are also a host of actors in the cast whose parts have not yet been revealed, including Lupita Nyong’o, Bill Irwin, Elliot Page, Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, Samantha Morton, Corey Hawkins, Nick Tarabay, Maurice Compte, Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, Michael Vlamis, Iddo Goldberg, and Ryan Hurst.

Damon, Hathaway, Pattinson, Patel, Safdie, Irwin, and Page have all previously worked with Nolan.

“The Odyssey” is one of the foundational stories of Western literature.

Homer is the attributed author of two ancient Greek poems that were composed in the 8th or 7th century BC, both of which tell the story of the Trojan War.

“The Iliad” narrates the end of the war, while “The Odyssey” tells of Odysseus’ 10-year struggle to return to his island home of Ithaca.

During the journey, Odysseus and his crew fight against a man-eating cyclops, powerful giants, and sirens. They defeat witches and sea monsters, and anger the gods Zeus and Poseidon. But Odysseus has one god, Athena, on his side, trying to help him get home.

Meanwhile, a band of suitors are trying to take over Odysseus’ kingdom in Ithaca, supplanting his son Telemachus and convincing Penelope to marry one of them.

In a dramatic conclusion, Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar and sneaks back onto the island, where he observes the actions of the suitors before reclaiming his family and kingdom.

This will be Nolan’s first film about Greek mythology, breaking away from his regular sci-fi and war films. Nolan also wrote the script.

Shooting started in the spring of 2025 and took place in Sicily, Morocco, and the UK.

Nolan’s “The Odyssey” was partially filmed on the island of Favignana near Sicily, Variety reported.

Known in ancient times as Aegusa, or “goat island,” it’s thought to be the inspiration for the fantastical island where Odysseus lands with his crew and stops to rest, barbecue goats, and drink wine before his run-in with the Cyclops.

Per Variety, the scenes shot in Sicily are said to take up the bulk of the mythical action in the movie, while locations in the UK and Morocco are also being used.

Production wrapped in early August 2025.

The movie’s first trailer had over 120 million views in the first 24 hours of going live.

The movie’s first trailer was unveiled in late December 2025. It had 121.4 million views in its first 24 hours online, according to Forbes.

That’s double the views the “Oppenheimer” trailer did in its first day online.

“The Odyssey” is the first movie to film entirely on IMAX cameras.

That feat had previously been impossible because the cameras are extremely noisy.

Nolan, who has always loved shooting on IMAX, challenged the company to come up with a quieter camera. Damon told the “New Heights” podcast in January what it was like working with the new camera.

“IMAX cameras are really loud. It sounds like a blender, like a Cuisinart in your face when the camera’s close to you,” Damon told hosts Jason and Travis Kelce. So there’s never been these dialogue [scenes in IMAX]. We couldn’t have this conversation with a normal IMAX camera because you wouldn’t be able to hear us.”

“They built this giant thing around the IMAX for those dialogue scenes and a system of mirrors so your eye line would be close to the camera and you could talk to the other actor,” Damon continued. “The amount of work that went into figuring out how to do [that], because he wanted to do 100 percent IMAX, and he did it!”

Travis Scott has a surprise role in the movie.

In a TV ad for the movie that ran during the NFL playoffs in late January, Travis Scott made an appearance as a character telling a group the story of the Trojan War.

Scott was not previously listed as part of the cast.

The Grammy-nominated rapper is no stranger to Nolan. For his 2020 movie “Tenet,” Scott wrote and performed its theme song, “The Plan.”

Nolan defended the authenticity of the costumes.

In a Time magazine cover story published in May 2026, Nolan defended the armor Benny Safdie’s Agamemnon wears in the trailer.

The imposing black look was critiqued online by viewers who claimed the costume looked more like something Batman would wear than a commander during the Trojan War. But Nolan told the magazine the look is authentic to the time.

“There are Mycenaean daggers that are blackened bronze,” he said. “The theory is they probably could have blackened bronze in those days. You take bronze, you add more gold and silver to it and then use sulfur.”

“With Agamemnon, Ellen [Mirojnick], our costume designer, is trying to communicate how elevated he is relative to everyone else. You do that through materials that would be very expensive,” he said. 

Daniel Kokotajlo is the founder of the AI Futures Project and a former OpenAI researcher who worked on forecasting, AI governance, and safety. In this full interview with Business Insider, he explains what AGI and superintelligence mean, why AI agents could be the turning point, and what could happen if the AI race continues without strong safeguards. He also lays out what he thinks governments and companies can do now to reduce the risk of losing control.

• I lived at home when I was a college student, and so did my husband.
• I felt like I missed out on a lot of the college experience, so I want my kids to live on campus.
• Thankfully, we saved up enough so they can afford room and board.

I’ve spent the past year touring colleges with my high school senior, and I’ve found myself thinking a lot about my own college experience — and coming to a surprising conclusion.

Even though my husband and I both lived at home during college and saved a significant amount of money, I want our three kids to live on campus.

Our oldest will start college in fall 2026, and one of their top choices is a school just 20 minutes from our house. It would be incredibly easy — and practical — for my college-bound child to stay at home. No room and board, no meal plan fees, no extra expenses. Just a short drive to school and back home.

For a long time, I assumed that’s what we would encourage. But somewhere between campus tours, dorm walkthroughs, and campus life presentations, my thinking changed. I realized I don’t just want my kids to go to college, I want them to experience living on their own, too.

My husband and I both loved living at home during college

I chose that path because I was a first-generation college student, and my parents hadn’t set aside money for my education. While they helped with college expenses, I still graduated with some student loan debt. By living at home, I was able to get my degree for a reasonable price.

My husband’s situation was similar. He’s the youngest of 10 kids, and in a big family, commuting to a local college was just expected. He didn’t even have a car at first; he took the bus to class and worked his way through school, ultimately graduating debt-free.

At the time, these choices made sense. College was more affordable in the 1990s, and commuting was an easy way to keep costs down. Today, we’re looking at roughly $25,000 per year in college costs, and about half of that is for room and board.

But our situation is also different. We’ve been saving for our kids’ college since they were born, and we’re in a position to cover those costs. Our three kids will be able to graduate debt-free, even if they live on campus.

While commuting saved me money, it also came with trade-offs

I lived about 30 minutes from campus, and getting there, especially for early morning classes, was a daily struggle. I’ve never been a morning person, and the added hassle of a commute made it even harder. There were classes I skipped simply because I couldn’t get myself out the door in time to make it to my seat by 8 a.m.

Being off campus also made it harder to feel connected. I joined a sorority and met friends through clubs, but I was always a bit removed from what was happening on campus. Staying late for meetings or events meant factoring in a drive home.

I worked on the campus literary magazine, but missed too many meetings to stay involved. Over time, it became easier to opt out of activities and events than to keep commuting back and forth.

And that’s something I don’t want my kids to experience.

I want my kids to build independence by living on their own — not under our roof

It’s important to me that they learn what it’s like to live with people outside our family. They’ll have to share space with roommates, navigate disagreements, and solve problems without Mom and Dad intervening. They’ll get the opportunity to live side by side with people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.

They’ll also get the chance to manage daily tasks like doing their own laundry, making meals, and getting enough sleep without me stepping in to remind them to have good habits. We’ve already started working on some of these skills at home, but there’s a difference between practicing independence and actually living it.

There are also some real benefits to living on campus. Without a commute, my kids will have more time to study, visit professors during office hours, and take part in campus life. I hope they’ll be more likely to join clubs, attend events, and form lifelong friendships with the people they meet.

To me, living on campus is a bridge between childhood and full adulthood. It offers structure, but also freedom. It’s a chance to make decisions, make mistakes, and grow while still having a supportive, safe environment at college.

Of course, I know commuting works well for many students. For some families, like mine and my husband’s, commuting is the only way they can send their child to college. Living at home can also offer a level of safety and structure that campus life doesn’t.

But for our family, we’re in a position to make a different choice — and we are.