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Peter Williams, the former general manager at defense contractor L3Harris, has pleaded guilty to selling surveillance technology to a Russian broker that buys “cyber tools,” the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Wednesday.  “The material, stolen over a three-year period from the U.S. defense contractor where he worked, was comprised of national-security focused software that included at least eight sensitive and protected cyber-exploit components,” read the DOJ’s press release on Wednesday. “Those components were meant to be sold exclusively to the U.S. government and select allies.” TechCrunch previously exclusively reported, citing four former Trenchant employees, that the company was investigating a…

The Eli Lilly & Co. logo at the company’s Digital Health Innovation Hub facility in Singapore, on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.Ore Huiying | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesEli Lilly and Walmart on Wednesday said they have teamed up to expand access to the drugmaker’s weight loss drug Zepbound, allowing U.S. patients to get vials of the blockbuster injection at direct-to-consumer prices through retail locations for the first time. The announcement comes as Eli Lilly works to maintain its dominance over rival Novo Nordisk in the booming market for a class of obesity and diabetes drugs called GLP-1s. It also comes as the…

Reservations are now being accepted for Nashville’s newest property, Dolly Parton’s SongTeller Hotel, and pre-ticket sales available for Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum, both opening in June 2026.Designed as a love letter to the city of Nashville, the hotel features 245 uniquely designed rooms and suites with Southern-inspired charm and storytelling. Two live music venues, Parton’s Live and Jolene’s will feature performances from Nashville artists, cocktails and Nashville cuisine. “I am very excited about the opening of my Nashville hotel and museum next year” said Dolly Parton in a statement. “Broadway has become such a hub of tourism, this…

After a small startup exit and being turned down by every VC firm he applied to, Tim Chen began angel investing and eventually stumbled into raising his own fund.   Now, as the solo investor behind Essence VC, he just closed his fourth fund at $41 million “without even trying.” Chen’s secret weapon? Being technical enough to debate PhD founders on implementation details while understanding the market dynamics that turn scrappy startups into category leaders.  Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Julie Bort sat down with Tim Chen to explore the rise of solo VCs and who’s rewriting the traditional venture playbook. …

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary speaks during a press conference alongside U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, discussing administration plans to lower drug costs, at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., Oct. 29, 2025. Annabelle Gordon | ReutersThe Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday said it will take steps to speed up the process of developing generic versions of complex biological drugs, in a bid to increase cheaper competition for expensive medicines and lower drug costs for…

Hannah Grubbs, an influencer with over 360,000 followers across platforms, is facing criticism for posting about her vacation in Jamaica. Online audiences have questioned her tone, which seems to make light of the natural disaster.  On Friday, Oct. 24th, Grubbs posted a TikTok of her and another traveler with the caption, “Us on our way to Jamaica during a hurricane,” referencing the Category 5 storm that made landfall on Tuesday, Oct. 28th. She has since changed the caption and avoided mentioning the storm.    She made another post a few days later, claiming to be “pretending there’s not a category 5…

Waymo and Zoox robotaxis are a regular sight on San Francisco streets, and soon Uber, through a partnership with Lucid and Nuro, will descend on the city as well. It is exactly how San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie likes it. “I think we should be the testbed for emerging technology and AI and healthcare tech — and all of it,” Lurie said Wednesday on the main stage of TechCrunch Disrupt. “We always have been, and under my leadership, we will continue to lead and lean in.” Lurie added that he is proud of the success that Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous…

A man holds a sign reading “SNAP Feeds Families,” as food aid benefits will be suspended starting November 1 amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, during “A Rally for SNAP” on the steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., October 28, 2025. Brian Snyder | ReutersNearly 42 million Americans are days away from missing their monthly food stamp check as the government shutdown enters its 28th day.The Trump administration has said funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will not be distributed if the federal government is still shut down on Nov. 1. With little movement…

Carnival Cruise Line has announced plans to sail from more homeports in Australia and New Zealand in its 2027 and 2028 season. The cruise line will continue year-round sailings from Sydney and Brisbane in addition to adding two new ports in Adelaide and Aukland.   “Carnival is sailing from five homeports in Australia and New Zealand in 2027/28 and we remain the only global cruise line committed to sailing in this region year-round,” said Carnival Corporation & plc Country Manager Peter Little.He added, “Carnival Cruise Line has answered the call from our interstate and New Zealand guests who’ve been asking…

Box co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie doesn’t think AI agents will replace enterprise SaaS (software-as-a-service) companies. Instead, he believes that the more likely future is a hybrid combination of SaaS plus agents, he said, speaking onstage at the TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 conference on Wednesday. “Generally, once you have a business process, you want to be able to define that in, effectively, business logic with deterministic systems — just because the risk of that changing any given day is very high,” explained Levie. “If you’re doing something mission critical — we’ve already seen great examples of either data being leaked because…