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AI labs such as Meta, Deepseek, and Xai received the lowest marks on an existential safety index

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AI labs such as Meta, Deepseek, and Xai received the lowest marks on an existential safety index

A recent report card from an AI safety watchdog isn’t one that tech companies will want to stick on the fridge.

The Future of Life Institute’s latest AI safety index found that major AI labs fell short on most measures of AI responsibility, with few letter grades rising above a C. The org graded eight companies across categories like safety frameworks, risk assessment, and current harms.

Perhaps most glaring was the “existential safety” line, where companies scored Ds and Fs across the board. While many of these companies are explicitly chasing superintelligence, they lack a plan for safely managing it, according to Max Tegmark, MIT professor and president of the Future of Life Institute.

“Reviewers found this kind of jarring,” Tegmark told us.

The reviewers in question were a panel of AI academics and governance experts who examined publicly available material as well as survey responses submitted by five of the eight companies.

Anthropic, OpenAI, and GoogleDeepMind took the top three spots with an overall grade of C+ or C. Then came, in order, Elon Musk’s Xai, Z.ai, Meta, DeepSeek, and Alibaba, all of which got Ds or a D-.

Tegmark blames a lack of regulation that has meant the cutthroat competition of the AI race trumps safety precautions. California recently passed the first law that requires frontier AI companies to disclose safety information around catastrophic risks, and New York is currently within spitting distance as well. Hopes for federal legislation are dim, however.

“Companies have an incentive, even if they have the best intentions, to always rush out new products before the competitor does, as opposed to necessarily putting in a lot of time to make it safe,” Tegmark said.

In lieu of government-mandated standards, Tegmark said the industry has begun to take the group’s regularly released safety indexes more seriously; four of the five American companies now respond to its survey (Meta is the only holdout.) And companies have made some improvements over time, Tegmark said, mentioning Google’s transparency around its whistleblower policy as an example.

But real-life harms reported around issues like teen suicides that chatbots allegedly encouraged, inappropriate interactions with minors, and major cyberattacks have also raised the stakes of the discussion, he said.

“[They] have really made a lot of people realize that this isn’t the future we’re talking about—it’s now,” Tegmark said.

The Future of Life Institute recently enlisted public figures as diverse as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, former Trump aide Steve Bannon, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and rapper Will.i.am to sign a statement opposing work that could lead to superintelligence.

Tegmark said he would like to see something like “an FDA for AI where companies first have to convince experts that their models are safe before they can sell them.

“The AI industry is quite unique in that it’s the only industry in the US making powerful technology that’s less regulated than sandwiches—basically not regulated at all,” Tegmark said. “If someone says, ‘I want to open a new sandwich shop near Times Square,’ before you can sell the first sandwich, you need a health inspector to check your kitchen and make sure it’s not full of rats…If you instead say, ‘Oh no, I’m not going to sell any sandwiches. I’m just going to release superintelligence.’ OK! No need for any inspectors, no need to get any approvals for anything.”

“So the solution to this is very obvious,” Tegmark added. “You just stop this corporate welfare of giving AI companies exemptions that no other companies get.”

This report was originally published by Tech Brew.

Renowned American architect passes away at 96

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Renowned American architect passes away at 96

Sakshi VenkatramanUS reporter

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Architect Frank Gehry attends the official groundbreaking of "The Grand" a Frank Gehry designed mixed-use development in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 11, 2019.REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

Frank Gehry, one of the most influential architects of the last century, has died aged 96.

Gehry was acclaimed for his avant garde, experimental style of architecture. His titanium-covered design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, catapulted him to fame in 1997.

He built his daring reputation years before that when he redesigned his own home in Santa Monica, California, using materials like chain-link fencing, plywood and corrugated steel.

HIs death was confirmed by his chief of staff Meaghan Lloyd. He is survived by two daughters from his first marriage, Leslie and Brina; his wife, Berta Isabel Aguilera, and their two sons, Alejandro and Samuel,

Getty Images A view of the Guggenheim Museum BilbaoGetty Images

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, one of Gehry’s most famous works

Born in Toronto in 1929, Gehry moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to study architecture at the University of Southern California before completing further study at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1956 and 1957.

After starting his own firm, he broke from the traditional architectural principles of symmetry, using unconventional geometric shapes and unfinished materials in a style now known as deconstructivism.

“I was rebelling against everything,” Gehry said in an interview with The New York Times in 2012.

His work in Bilbao put him in high demand, and he went on to design iconic structures in cities all over the world: the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park, the Gehry Tower in Germany, and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.

“He bestowed upon Paris and upon France his greatest masterpiece,” said Bernard Arnault, the CEO of LVMH, the worlds largest luxury goods company which owns Louis Vuitton.

With a largely unpredictable style, no two of his works look the same. Prague’s Dancing House, finished in 1996, looks like a glass building folding in on itself; his Hotel Marques in Spain, built in 2006, features thin sheets of wavy, multicoloured metal; his design for a business school in Sydney looks like a brown paper bag.

Gehry won the coveted Pritzker Architecture Prize for lifetime achievement in 1989, when he was 60, with his work described as having a “highly refined, sophisticated and adventurous aesthetic”.

“His designs, if compared to American music, could best be likened to Jazz, replete with improvisation and a lively unpredictable spirit,” ther Pritzker jury said at the time.

Gehry was awarded the Order of Canada in 2002 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the US, in 2016.

MBW’s Weekly Round-Up: Epidemic Sound sues Meta again and Robert Kyncl’s new deal as WMG CEO

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MBW’s Weekly Round-Up: Epidemic Sound sues Meta again and Robert Kyncl’s new deal as WMG CEO

Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s Weekly Round-up – where we make sure you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW’s Round-up is exclusively supported by BMI, a global leader in performing rights management, dedicated to supporting songwriters, composers and publishers and championing the value of music.

This week, Epidemic Sound filed a second copyright infringement lawsuit against Meta, alleging infringement of 1,000 additional works across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Meanwhile, Warner Music Group sued US fashion retailer PacSun for alleged infringement of 290+ works in TikTok and Instagram posts featuring tracks by Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, and other major artists.

Elsewhere this week, we reported that Robert Kyncl signed a new deal as Warner Music Group’s CEO.

Also this week, Jorja Smith’s independent label FAMM demanded a share of royalties from viral track I Run amid AI allegations, while two artists accused AI act Breaking Rust of ripping them off.

Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…

1. EPIDEMIC SOUND SUES META AGAIN, ALLEGING COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OF 1,000 ADDITIONAL WORKS

Epidemic Sound has filed a second copyright infringement lawsuit against Facebook parent company Meta, alleging that the tech giant continues to infringe the music company’s catalog across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The new complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday (December 2) and obtained by MBW, lists 1,000 representative works that Epidemic alleges Meta is infringing through its Audio Library and through tools including Original Audio and Reels Remix.

Stockholm-headquartered Epidemic, whose catalog includes over 50,000 works, noted in the filing that each of the 1,000 works listed in the new complaint were registered after Epidemic filed its first lawsuit against Meta in July 2022, which remains active before Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in the same court. That case sought at least $142 million in damages… (MBW)

2. US FASHION RETAILER PACSUN SUED BY WMG FOR ALLEGED INFRINGEMENT OF 290+ WORKS IN TIKTOK AND INSTAGRAM POSTS

Warner Music Group has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against US fashion retailer Pacific Sunwear of California, LLC (PacSun).

The complaint alleges the company has “misappropriated at least 290” of Warner’s recordings and compositions in social media posts without permission.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday (December 1) in a California court and obtained by MBW, accuses PacSun of using tracks by artists including Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Lizzo, Cardi B, and Ariana Grande in promotional videos posted to TikTok and Instagram. Warner is seeking statutory damages up to the maximum amount of $150,000 per infringed musical work… (MBW)

3. ROBERT KYNCL SIGNS NEW DEAL AS WARNER MUSIC GROUP’S CEO

Almost three years after he first took the reins as CEO, Robert Kyncl has signed a new deal at Warner Music Group. Details were revealed in a document filed on Sunday (December 1) with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to the SEC filing, Kyncl and Warner agreed on an amendment to Kyncl’s employment package on Monday last week (November 24).

The new package is tied to the company’s share price performance… (MBW)

4. JORJA SMITH’S LABEL FAMM SEEKS SHARE OF ROYALTIES FROM VIRAL TRACK ‘I RUN’ AMID AI ALLEGATIONS, CALLS FOR INDUSTRY ‘GUARDRAILS’ TO PROTECT ARTISTS

The independent record label of Jorja Smith is demanding a share of royalties from the viral dance track I Run, which it claims was created using AI trained on the British singer’s music.

The track, credited to Haven (the project of producer Harrison Walker), went viral on TikTok in October and was on course to chart in both the UK and US before being removed from streaming services following takedown notices alleging artist impersonation. In a statement published via Instagram, FAMM alleged that Walker “used AI to make his voice sound like Jorja’s and had used Jorja’s name (without permission) suggesting to the public that it was actually Jorja singing.”

The label claims the track was distributed through four separate distributors to circumvent usual takedown procedures, and that Haven’s team “seemed to rely on public confusion as a key part of the marketing strategy…” (MBW)

5. TWO ARTISTS SAY AI ACT BREAKING RUST RIPPED THEM OFF. THEY WON’T BE THE LAST.

Breaking Rust, an AI-generated ‘Outlaw country’ act, scored a semi-hit in the US last month with Walk My Walk – a track that’s been streamed over 7 million times on Spotify and topped Billboard‘s Country Digital Song Sales chart.

But earlier this week, Walk My Walk briefly disappeared from Spotify following an impersonation claim. A Spotify representative has confirmed to MBW that the track was temporarily removed but has since been reinstated.

MBW has discovered that the claim was likely filed by independent country artist Bryan Elijah Smith, who accuses Breaking Rust of stealing elements of his music, style, and image.

Smith isn’t the only one crying foul. Grammy-nominated rapper Blanco Brown says Breaking Rust’s track rips off his vocal style – and an Associated Press investigation has drawn a line between Walk My Walk’s credited songwriter and a former Brown collaborator.

Here are three things you need to know about the ballooning Breaking Rust saga – and how it fits into a bigger story about AI music fakery… (MBW)

Partner message: MBW’s Weekly Round-up is supported by BMI, the global leader in performing rights management, dedicated to supporting songwriters, composers and publishers and championing the value of music. Find out more about BMI here. Music Business Worldwide

Germany Approves Contentious Legislation to Increase Military Personnel

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Germany Approves Contentious Legislation to Increase Military Personnel

new video loaded: Germany Passes Controversial Law to Boost Soldier Numbers

Amid rising tensions with Russia, German lawmakers approved a military draft law aimed at increasing the number of soldiers. Those opposing the law worry it’s a step toward compulsory conscription.

By Nader Ibrahim

December 5, 2025

Challenging the Client

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Challenging the Client



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European Union imposes $140 million fine on Musk’s X for misleading blue tick and lack of ad transparency

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European Union imposes $140 million fine on Musk’s X for misleading blue tick and lack of ad transparency

Landmark penalty triggers US fury as Brussels enforces first digital transparency sanction.

The European Union has slapped a 120 million euro ($140m) penalty on Elon Musk’s social media platform X for breaching digital transparency rules, igniting a transatlantic clash over tech regulation.

Brussels announced the fine on Friday in its first enforcement action under the Digital Services Act, legislation designed to rein in social media companies.

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The decision has deepened tensions with Washington, where officials accused Europe of targeting US businesses under the guise of protecting users.

European regulators found X guilty of three violations after a two-year investigation. The platform’s paid blue checkmark system, which Brussels said “deceives users” about account authenticity, drew a 45 million euro ($52.4m) penalty.

X was fined another 35 million euros ($40.7m) for failing to maintain transparent advertising records that would help identify scams and fake political advertisements, while blocking researchers from accessing public data cost the company 40 million euros ($46.6m).

The decision risks further inflaming trade negotiations between Brussels and Washington, where the Trump administration has demanded Europe abandon regulations it views as protectionist.

US Vice President JD Vance lashed out at Brussels even before the announcement, claiming the platform was being punished “for not engaging in censorship”.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the fine “an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments”.

Commenting on Rubio’s post, Musk wrote, “Absolutely”. Commenting on the EU’s post announcing the fine, Musk wrote: “Bulls***”.

But EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen denied the ruling amounted to censorship.

“Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU,” she said, adding that Brussels was simply “holding X responsible for undermining users’ rights.”

European politicians expressed relief after what many saw as prolonged delays in enforcement.

French Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff described it as a “magnificent announcement,” while Germany’s digital minister, Karsten Wildberger, said it showed Brussels was “determined to enforce” its rules.

Critics argued the penalty was too modest.

The fine represents a fraction of the 5.9 billion euros ($6.9bn) maximum allowed under the act, which permits sanctions of up to 6 percent of global revenue.

Politico reported that Cori Crider, executive director of the Future of Technology Institute, said, “Musk will moan in public – in private, he will be doing cartwheels.”

X now has between 60 and 90 days to submit compliance plans addressing the violations or face additional periodic penalties.

The company did not respond to requests for comment by the Reuters news agency.

The ruling lands amid broader investigations into 10 major platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.

Chinese-owned TikTok avoided penalties on Friday by pledging to improve its advertising transparency.

Brussels continues to probe whether X has failed to combat illegal content and information manipulation, violations that could trigger substantially larger fines.

PotlatchDeltic Corp Form 8K Filed on December 5th

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Form 8K PotlatchDeltic Corp For: 5 December

What European countries require mandatory or voluntary military service?

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What European countries require mandatory or voluntary military service?

Patrick Jacksonand

Emma Brancatisano

Reuters Male and female soldiers stand with guns in a field, wearing camouflage with the German flag stitched on their upper arms.Reuters

Recruits on live-fire exercises in Ahlen, Germany, last month

Some of Europe’s biggest Nato members are moving to strengthen their professional armies through voluntary national service schemes.

Large conscripted armies were a feature of Nato states during the Cold War but they dwindled in size after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

However, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the ongoing war there have kindled fears of a possible future Russian attack on Nato.

Here we look at how this new recruitment drive is playing out among Nato’s 30 European member states, many of whom still have conscript armies.

Who conscripts?

Conscription is in place for nine of Europe’s Nato states: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and Turkey.

In Turkey, which has the second largest military in the security alliance after the US, men between the ages of 20 and 41 are obliged to do military service for between six and 12 months.

By comparison, Norway conscripts both men and women, generally for 12 months.

Croatia plans to reintroduce conscription next year – it will become mandatory for men aged 19 to 29 to undergo two months of basic military training.

Other Nato members do not conscript but have professional militaries.

The UK, which rivals France or Germany in conventional military strength (and is the only Nato state in Europe along with France to have nuclear weapons), relies on a professional army.

It is unique among Nato members for recruiting minors – 16-year-olds may join with parental consent.

Albania, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain also have professional militaries.

Iceland has no regular military forces, though its Coast Guard performs some defence tasks.

Map showing which Nato countries in Europe have national military service. It shows those with compulsory service in red (Greece, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), with Croatia which is planning to bring it in a lighter red, those with a voluntary service in blue (Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland, The Netherlands), with France, Germany and Romania which are planning to bring it in coloured a paler blue and those with no military service in yellow (Albania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom). It notes some countries have different rules for men and women.

Who is looking for volunteers?

Only this month, Belgium‘s defence ministry sent letters to 17-year-olds inviting them to volunteer for about €2,000 a month.

The voluntary military service scheme, due to start next year, aims to raise the number of reservists in the army from a pool of about 6,000 to 20,000.

Belgium’s neighbour, the Netherlands, launched voluntary military service in 2023 as it sought to underpin its professional armed forces.

Poland, which has one of Nato’s biggest armies, launched one-month voluntary basic military training in 2024. This year, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced plans to introduce “large-scale military training for every adult male” in the country.

“We’re talking about the need to have an army of half a million in Poland, including the reservists,” he said.

In 2020, Bulgaria introduced voluntary military service for citizens up to the age of 40 for a period of six months and Romania plans to bring in four-month voluntary military service next year.

How does Germany plan to build ‘Europe’s strongest army’?

Germany ended compulsory military service in 2011.

Its parliament has now voted in favour of instating military service on a voluntary basis. If the security situation worsens or if too few volunteers came forward, a form of compulsory military service could be considered.

The new law will require all 18-year-old men to fill in a questionnaire asking if they are willing and able to join the armed forces, and from July 2027, undergo a medical examination to establish their suitability.

If war were to break out, the military would be able to draw on the questionnaires and medical exams for potential recruits.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he wants to create the “strongest conventional army in Europe”.

The plan is to expand the armed forces from the current 183,000 active service personnel to 260,000 by 2035 – plus 200,000 reservists.

Students in about 90 cities across the country took part in a school strike on 5 December in protest against the move, with some using the slogan “Don’t end up as cannon fodder”.

A recent Forsa survey of German public opinion for Stern magazine suggested that while just over half of respondents favoured compulsory service, opposition rose to 63% among 18 to 29-year-olds.

“I don’t want to be part of this war machine”: Young Germans protest against military service plans

What are French teenagers being offered?

France, which abolished military conscription 25 years ago, currently has around 200,000 military personnel and a further 47,000 reservists.

A new scheme envisages adding volunteers to the structure.

Young men and women will be invited to serve for 10 months of paid military training.

This new “national service” will be brought in gradually from next summer, mainly for 18 and 19-year-olds, who will receive at least €800 (£700) a month.

Initially, numbers will be restricted to 3,000 next year, but this should rise to 50,000 by 2035.

“The only way to avoid danger is to prepare for it,” President Emmanuel Macron said while announcing the plan. “We need to mobilise, mobilising the nation to defend itself, to be ready and remain respected.”

Polls suggest a large majority of the public favour voluntary military service. An Elabe survey found that 73% supported the measure. Young people – aged 25-34 – were the least supportive, but even in this age group there was a 60% majority.

What about the rest of Europe?

Europe’s other states take various approaches to staffing their militaries.

Among EU states not belonging to Nato:

  • Austria has a system of compulsory military service for men aged between 18 and 35, who are required to serve for around six months or take part in alternative service. Women can serve voluntarily
  • Cyprus has compulsory military service for all male citizens over 18, along with some of those who are of Cypriot descent. Women can enlist voluntarily after a law passed parliament in April
  • Both the Republic of Ireland and Malta have professional militaries

In Switzerland, a non-EU country, male citizens aged 18 to 30 must serve in the military, or join civil defence or an alternate civilian service.

Last week, Swiss voters widely rejected a proposal to extend national service – in the military, civil protection teams or other forms – to women.

Live Recap of Day 3 Prelims at the 2025 U.S. Open

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Live Recap of Day 3 Prelims at the 2025 U.S. Open

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2025 U.S. OPEN

  • December 3-6, 2025
  • Austin, Texas
  • Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center
    • Prelims: 10 a.m. EST
    • Finals: 7 p.m EST (Day 1: 5 p.m. EST)
  • LCM (50 meters)
  • Meet Central
  • Psych Sheets
  • Live Results

The third day of the 2025 U.S. Open gets underway this morning with preliminary heats in the 200 free, 400 IM and the three stroke 100s for both genders.

The morning kicks off with a star-studded field in the women’s 100 fly, where three of the best swimmers on the planet, Gretchen Walsh, Regan Smith and Summer McIntosh, will all race, with Walsh, the current world record holder, and McIntosh, the world record holder in three other events, going head-to-head.

Smith is also the top seed later in the session in the 100 back, while McIntosh is entered in the 100 breast, where reigning world champion Kate Douglass holds the top seed.

The men’s 100 fly is also stacked, with Ilya Kharun, Shaine Casas and Hubert Kos owning the top three seeds, while superstars Caeleb Dressel and Leon Marchand lurk down on the psych sheets. Kharun and Dressel will race in the sixth and final heat, while Casas and Marchand will be in Heat 5 and Kos headlines Heat 4.

McIntosh and Marchand also hold entries in the 100 breast and 100 back, and neither has scratched either of them this morning. Last night, both marveled in the 400 free, with McIntish winning the women’s race with the second-fastest swim ever in 3:55.37, and Marchand setting a massive personal best of 3:44.70 for a U.S. Open meet record.

Smith and Kos are the top seeds in the 100 back, Emma Weyant and Bobby Finke lead the way in the 400 IM, and the 200 free is paced by Erin Gemmell and Luke Hobson.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – PRELIMS

  • World Record: 54.60, Gretchen Walsh (USA) – 2025
  • U.S. Open Record: 54.60, Gretchen Walsh (USA) – 2025
  • U.S. Open Meet Record: 56.21, Torri Huske (USA) – 2023

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

  1. Gretchen Walsh (NYAC), 56.64
  2. Regan Smith (TXLA), 57.19
  3. Alex Shackell (CSC), 57.81
  4. Summer McIntosh (TXLA), 57.92
  5. Marie Wattel (SUN), 58.70
  6. Isabella Boyd (SVA), 58.95
  7. Leah Shackley (NCS), 59.25
  8. Campbell Stoll (TEX), 59.43

Gretchen Walsh looked dominant in the heats of the women’s 100 fly, as the world record holder used her drop-dead speed and outstanding underwaters to cruise to the fastest time of the morning in 56.64, taking over the top spot in the world rankings.

The swim for Walsh moves her past Japan’s Mizuki Hirai (56.70) for #1 in the world in the 2025-26 season, and is notably faster than she was the last time she raced the U.S. Open in 2023, where she was 56.85 in the final.

Summer McIntosh raced alongside Walsh in the final heat, posting a time of 57.92 to advance 4th overall into the final. The time matches the second-fastest swim of her career, with her PB sitting at 57.19 from April 2024.

McIntosh’s Longhorn Aquatics teammate Regan Smith was smooth in leading the penultimate heat in 57.19, ranking her 4th in the world this season and moving her 2nd into the final, while Carmel’s Alex Shackell won the first circle-seeded heat in 57.81 to qualify in 4th.

France’s Marie Wattel (58.70) and Australian Isabella Boyd (58.95) add some international flair to the final, advancing 5th and 6th overall, while Alex Walsh was a notable no-show.

MEN’S 100 FLY – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

  1. Shaine Casas (TXLA), 50.78
  2. Ilya Kharun (UN-AZ), 50.91
  3. Dare Rose (SCAR), 51.60
  4. Caeleb Dressel (SJAC), 51.77
  5. Leon Marchand (TXLA), 51.81
  6. Bjoern Kammann (TNAQ), 51.94
  7. Hubert Kos (TXLA) / Aiden Hayes (NCS), 52.30
  8. –

Shaine Casas and Ilya Kharun threw down back-to-back sub-51 swims to lead a hotly contested prelim in the men’s 100 fly.

Casas roared to victory over teammate Leon Marchand in the penultimate heat, clocking 50.78 to break his own U.S. Open meet record of 51.03 set in 2023. The swim also moves Casas into #1 in the world this season, overtaking Aussie Matt Temple (50.92).

The swim stands up as the sixth sub-51 performance of Casas’ career, with his personal best standing at 50.40 from July 2022.

Marchand touched 2nd in the heat in 51.81, lowering his previous best of 52.42 to qualify 5th into the final.

In the last heat, Kharun answered Casas by blasting to a time of 50.91, delivering the only sub-27 second 50 (26.88) on the way as he qualifies 2nd for the final and moves to #2 in the world this season.

Dare Rose touched 2nd in 51.60, good for 3rd overall, while Caeleb Dressel delivered his fastest swim since the Paris Olympics in 51.77 to qualify in 4th. Dressel had only raced the 100 fly twice since the 2024 Olympics, clocking 53.11 and then 52.33 in July at the Florida Senior Championships.

  • Dressel’s Splits: 24.42/27.35

Tennessee’s Bjoern Kammann topped the first circle-seeded heat in 51.94 to make the final in 6th. The German native set a PB of 51.70 this past summer en route to winning silver at the World University Games.

Owen McDonald was disqualified for a false start after initially posting a time in the 52-mid range.

WOMEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

  1. Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAN), 4:40.98
  2. Emma Weyant (GSC), 4:43.45
  3. Tara Kinder (SVA), 4:44.70
  4. Sadie Buckley (NCAP), 4:47.89
  5. Rosie Murphy (UCLA), 4:49.86
  6. Ieva Maluka (ABSC), 4:51.31
  7. Emma Finlin (OSU), 4:52.38
  8. Emma Cigna (NCAP), 4:53.92

Mary-Sophie Harvey rolled to a seven-second victory in the second of three heats in the women’s 400 IM to claim the top seed for tonight’s final by a wide margin.

The 26-year-old Canadian had the field’s fastest fly split (1:02.59) and never looked back, soaring to a time of 4:40.98 for the 11th-fastest of her career to move into 12th in the world this season. She most recently raced the 400 IM in short course meters during the World Cup in October, setting a best time of 4:24.25 during the Toronto leg.

Nation’s Capital’s Sadie Buckley, 16, put up a time of 4:47.89 to touch 2nd in the heat, ultimately earning her the #4 seed for the final. Buckley was just over two and a half seconds shy of her personal best of 4:45.21.

Emma Weyant, who has won back-to-back Olympic medals in this event, pulled away from Australian Tara Kinder in the final heat to claim the 2nd seed for the final in 4:43.45, with Kinder close behind in 4:44.70.

This is Weyant’s first competition since the World Championships in Singapore this past summer, where she placed 5th in the 400 IM.

UCLA’s Rosie Murphy had a noteworthy swim of 4:49.86, marking her first time sub-4:50 as she lowers her previous best of 4:50.46 set this past July.

MEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS

  • World Record: 4:02.50, Leon Marchand (FRA) – 2023
  • U.S. Open Record: 4:05.25, Michael Phelps (USA) – 2008
  • U.S. Open Meet Record: 4:10.09, Chase Kalisz (USA) – 2022

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

  1. Carson Foster (UN-MR), 4:15.19
  2. Tristan Jankovics (OSU), 4:18.67
  3. Cooper Lucas (TEX), 4:18.74
  4. Luka Mijatovic (PLS), 4:19.45
  5. Tommy Bried (UOFL), 4:20.29
  6. Baylor Nelson (TEX), 4:20.37
  7. Ivan Puskovitch (TSM), 4:20.66
  8. Gregg Enoch (UOFL), 4:21.77

After opening up a big lead through the first 300, Carson Foster put it on cruise control during the free leg in the third heat of the men’s 400 IM, coasting to the top time of the morning by a wide margin.

Foster touched in 4:15.19, putting him more than three seconds clear of the next-fastest swimmer as he slots into 9th in the world rankings this season.

Future Texas swimmer Luka Mijatovic ran down current Longhorn Baylor Nelson to place 2nd in the heat in a time of 4:19.45, earning him the 4th seed for the final while Nelson’s 4:20.37 was good for 6th overall.

This is only Mijatovic’s third career swim under 4:20, having gone 4:16.18 and 4:16.75 in June at the U.S. National Championships.

In the final heat, Ohio State’s Tristan Jankovics did just enough to hold off Texas’ Cooper Lucas for the victory, as they posted respective times of 4:18.67 and 4:18.74 to qualify 2nd and 3rd overall. In the 2025 NCAA ‘A’ final, Jankovics was 2nd and Lucas was 6th.

Louisville’s Tommy Bried, 15th at NCAAs last season, was 3rd in the heat in 4:20.29, good for 5th overall.

Team Santa Monica’s Ivan Puskovitch used a big freestyle split to win Heat 2 in a personal best of 4:20.66, qualifying him for the final in 7th. Puksovitch’s previous best stood at 4:22.53, set back in 2019.

Surprisingly missing the ‘A’ final was the top seed coming in, Bobby Finke, who ended up 9th overall in 4:22.01.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST – PRELIMS

  • World Record: 1:04.13, Lilly King (USA) – 2017
  • U.S. Open Record: 1:04.45, Jessica Hardy (USA) – 2009
  • U.S. Open Meet Record: 1:04.45, Jessica Hardy (USA) – 2009
  • Texas Pool Record: 1:06.30, Lydia Jacoby

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

  1. Kate Douglass (NYAC), 1:06.57
  2. Mona McSharry (TNAQ), 1:07.07
  3. Alexanne Lepage (CAN), 1:07.44
  4. Aliz Kalmar (FRES), 1:08.04
  5. Mackenzie Lung (FRES), 1:08.48
  6. Alex Walsh (NYAC), 1:08.66
  7. Piper Enge (TEX), 1:09.09
  8. Skyler Smith (NCAC), 1:09.13

Reigning World Championship silver medalist Kate Douglass paced the field in the women’s 100 breaststroke, clocking 1:06.57 to lead the way into the final as the only swimmer sub-1:07.

Douglass’ swim moves her into 4th in the 2025-26 world rankings, and is notably nearly as fast as she was in the prelims at the 2025 World Championships (1:06.32) where she set a PB of 1:05.27 en route to silver in the final.

Ireland’s Mona McSharry, who was 11th in the 100 breast at the 2025 Worlds after winning bronze at the Paris Olympics, put up a time of 1:07.07 to advance 2nd into the final, while Canada’s Alexanne Lepage was the only other swimmer in the field under 1:08 in 1:07.44 for 3rd overall.

Fresno State put two swimmers into the top five, with seniors Aliz Kalmar and Mackenzie Lung posting respective times of 1:08.04 and 1:08.48, with Lung’s swim representing a new personal best by nearly a second, while Kalmar was only 13 one-hundredths shy of her PB.

Alex Walsh topped the first circle-seeded heat in 1:08.66, which ended up being good for 6th overall into the final.

Gabrielle Rose, 48, had a solid showing in 1:09.57 to narrowly miss the ‘A’ final in 9th.

Summer McIntosh, coming off her swim in the 100 fly, clocked 1:11.05 to claim the last lane in the ‘B’ final in 16th. Her PB stands at 1:10.39, set in February 2023.

MEN’S 100 BREAST – PRELIMS

  • World Record: 56.88, Adam Peaty (GBR) – 2019
  • U.S. Open Record: 58.14, Michael Andrew (USA) – 2021
  • U.S. Open Meet Record: 59.28, Andrew Wilson (USA) – 2019

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

  1. Alexei Avakov (IU), 59.99
  2. Campbell McKean (TEX), 1:00.19
  3. Nate Germonprez (TEX), 1:00.34
  4. Jack Kelly (UN), 1:00.41
  5. Luke Barr (TFA), 1:00.54
  6. Josh Matheny (ISC), 1:00.57
  7. Denis Petrashov (CARD), 1:00.70
  8. Noah Cakir (IU), 1:00.85

Tonight’s ‘A’ final of the men’s 100 breaststroke could act as a preview of sorts of the NCAA final in three months’ time, as the top three qualifiers out of the prelims are all currently racing collegiately, two from Texas.

However, leading the way was Indiana’s Alexei Avakov, who is coming off a breakout summer where he posted a big personal best of 59.65 in the 100 breast to win the event at the U.S. Summer Championships in August.

This morning, Avakov was the lone swimmer to break the 1:00 barrier in 59.99, splitting 28.49/31.50 for the second-fastest swim of his career as he moves into 9th in the world this season.

Avakov won the final heat over Texas junior Nate Germonprez, who currently leads the NCAA rankings in the 100 breast after clocking 49.71 at last month’s Texas Hall of Fame Invite.

Germonprez clocked 1:00.34, the fourth-fastest swim of his career, to advance 3rd into the final.

His freshman teammate with the Longhorns, Campbell McKean, overtook Indiana’s Luke Barr coming home in the penultimate heat to clock 1:00.19 and advance 2nd overall into the final, representing the fifth-fastest swim of his career.

McKean currently ranks #2 in the NCAA behind Germonprez at 50.37, while Avakov sits 11th (51.37).

Jack Kelly, the former Brown star who is now training as a pro at Texas, was fourth-fastest this morning in 1:00.41 to advance 4th into the final, whille Barr’s personal best of 1:00.54 was good for 5th.

Leon Marchand narrowly missed out on the ‘A’ final in 9th, clocking 1:00.98, as Indiana freshman Noah Cakir snagged the 8th spot in 1:00.85.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

  1. Regan Smith (TXLA), 58.73
  2. Katharine Berkoff (WOLF), 59.40
  3. Phoebe Bacon (WISC), 59.78
  4. Ingrid Wilm (CAN), 1:00.25
  5. Leah Shackley (NCS), 1:00.27
  6. Erika Pelaez (NCS), 1:00.34
  7. Summer McIntosh (TXLA), 1:00.80
  8. Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAN), 1:00.92

Regan Smith made it look easy as she usually does in the heats of the women’s 100 back, putting up a time of 58.73 to lead the field into tonight’s ‘A’ final by nearly seven-tenths of a second.

Smith, who tied the world record in short course meters in October, takes over the top spot in the world rankings with this swim, moving past Canada’s Ingrid Wilm, who went 59.36 last weekend at the Japan Open.

Wilm was racing this morning alongside Katharine Berkoff in Heat 4, with Berkoff winning in 59.40 for the #2 seed into the final and Wilm’s 1:00.25 being good for 4th.

Phoebe Bacon touched 2nd behind Smith in the fifth and final heat in 59.78, advancing in 3rd, while NC State teammates Leah Shackley (1:00.27) and Erika Pelaez (1:00.34) went 1-2 in the first circle-seeded heat to qualify in 5th and 6th.

Racing for the third time this morning, Summer McIntosh unleashed a time of 1:00.80 from out in Lane 1 in Heat 2, having been entered with a yards time, to qualify for the ‘A’ final in 7th. The 19-year-old owns a PB of 59.64, set in February 2024.

Also on a tough turnaround was McIntosh’s fellow Canadian, Mary-Sophie Harvey, who was the fastest woman in the 400 IM earlier this morning and came back with a strong swim of 1:00.92 in the 100 back, making her way into the ‘A’ final by six one-hundredths over Alabama’s Cadence Vincent (1:00.98). That swim puts Harvey within 76 one-hundredths of her PB set in 2021 (1:00.16).

MEN’S 100 BACK – PRELIMS

  • World Record: 51.60, Thomas Ceccon (ITA) – 2022
  • U.S. Open Record: 51.94, Aaron Peirsol (USA) – 2009
  • U.S. Open Meet Record: 52.51, Nick Thoman (USA) – 2009

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

  1. Hubert Kos (TXLA), 53.30
  2. Ivan Tarasov (AU) / Blake Tierney (CAN), 53.70
  3. –
  4. Henry Allan (SVA), 53.77
  5. Daniel Diehl (NCS), 54.19
  6. Hudson Williams (NCS), 54.63
  7. Tommy Hagar (BAMA), 54.65
  8. Joe Hayburn (LOYO), 54.90

Hungarian Hubert Kos put up a time of 53.30 to lead the men’s 100 back in this morning’s prelims, with the field a bit more competitive than usual with the addition of some international names.

Kos, the newly minted world record holder in short course meters and the fastest man ever in yards, slots into #2 in the world rankings this season with this performance, with only China’s Xu Jiayu (52.39) the only man having been faster since Sept. 1.

In Heat 1, Auburn freshman Ivan Tarasov, a Russian native, blasted a time of 53.70 for a new personal best, shattering his previous mark of 54.42 set in the summer of 2024. Tarasov was entered with his yards PB of 46.17.

Canada’s Blake Tierney then matched that time in the first circle-seeded heat to move into the final deadlocked with Tarasov in 2nd overall. Tierney was three-quarters of a second shy of the Canadian Record he set this past summer at the World Championships (52.95).

In Heat 4, Australian Henry Allan joined the sub-54 group in 53.77, just four one-hundredths shy of his lifetime best set at the Australian Age Group Championships this past April.

NC State’s Daniel Diehl was the fastest American of the morning in 54.19, good for 5th overall.

Cal pro Destin Lasco was notably back in 16th in 55.82, while Leon Marchand, racing for the third time this morning, clocked 56.87 for 25th place.

Racing in the final heat alongside Kos, Virginia’s Jack Aikins was disqualified for having his toes over the edge on the start.

Shaine Casas, after leading the field in the 100 fly prelims, was a no-show.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE – PRELIMS

  • World Record: 1:52.23, Ariarne Titmus (AUS) – 2024
  • U.S. Open Record: 1:54.13, Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2023
  • U.S. Open Meet Record: 1:54.20, Siobhan Haughey (HKG) – 2023

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

  1. Anna Peplowski (ISC), 1:58.19
  2. Simone Manuel (TXLA), 1:58.43
  3. Liberty Clark (IU), 1:58.81
  4. Erin Gemmell (TEX), 1:59.49
  5. Erin Little (OSU), 1:59.70
  6. Chloe Stepanek (LIAC), 1:59.72
  7. Inez Miller (TEX), 2:00.00
  8. Daria Golovaty (UOFL), 2:00.75

Indiana pro Anna Peplowski inched out IU freshman Liberty Clark in the third heat of the women’s 200 free to earn the top seed for tonight’s final, while Longhorn Aquatics’ Simone Manuel joined them under 1:59 from the heat prior.

Manuel won Heat 2 in a time of 1:58.43, pulling ahead of LIAC’s Chloe Stepanek (1:59.72) on the back half, and then Peplowski and Clark answered with a pair of quick swims in the next heat.

Peplowski and Clark went out fast–they were the only two swimmers in the field to flip under 57 seconds at the 100–and then Peplowski narrowly out-split her on both 50s coming home to touch first in 1:58.19, overtaking Manuel for the morning’s top time.

Clark was close behind in 1:58.81, shattering her previous personal best of 2:00.84 by more than two seconds. Clark, who has been having a phenomenal freshman year thus far with the Hoosiers, moves into a tie for 38th all-time in the girls’ 17-18 age group.

Texas’ Erin Gemmell then took control of the final heat, touching first in 1:59.49 to qualify 4th overall, while freshman teammate Inez Miller hit the touchpad in 2:00.00 on the nose to advance in 7th.

Notably on the outside looking in of the top eight were Alex Shackell (2:01.40) and Alex Walsh (2:01.60), sitting 10th and 11th overall. Phoebe Bacon was also in the water just minutes after racing the 100 back, placing 17th in 2:02.85.

MEN’S 200 FREE – PRELIMS

  • World Record: 1:42.00, Paul Biedermann (GER) – 2009
  • U.S. Open Record: 1:43.73, Luke Hobson (USA) – 2025
  • U.S. Open Meet Record: 1:45.92, Townley Haas (USA) / Rafael Miroslaw (GER) – 2019 / 2023

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

  1. Chris Guiliano (TXLA), 1:45.91
  2. Luke Hobson (TXLA), 1:46.25
  3. Aaron Shackell (IU), 1:46.61
  4. Kieran Smith (RAC), 1:47.20
  5. Patrick Sammon (UN), 1:47.40
  6. Tomas Navikonis (OSU), 1:47.41
  7. Gabriel Jett (CAL), 1:47.60
  8. Kaique Alves (BAMA), 1:48.21

Chris Guiliano outduelled Texas teammate Luke Hobson in the final heat of the men’s 200 free en route to breaking the U.S. Open meet record and coming just over half a second shy of his personal best.

Guiliano, 22, had the advantage over Hobson on the first and last 50s, leading to him touching first in a time of 1:45.91 to break the meet record of 1:45.92 first set by Townley Haas in 2019 and then matched by Rafael Miroslaw in 2023.

For Guiliano, the swim puts him just 53 one-hundredths shy of his lifetime best of 1:45.38, set at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, and ranks him 5th in the world so far this season.

Hobson, the U.S. Open Record holder (U.S. soil), put up a time of 1:46.25 to advance 2nd into the final, setting up an exciting showdown tonight between the two training partners.

Indiana’s Aaron Shackell had an impressive swim from the first circle-seeded heat in 1:46.61, just 26 one-hundredths off his lifetime best to advance 3rd into the final. In that heat, Shackell gained six-tenths on Kieran Smith on the first 50 and then the two swimmers had near-identical splits the rest of the way, with Smith ultimately clocking 1:47.20 for 4th overall.

In Heat 5, two 2025 U.S. World Championship team members, Patrick Sammon and Gabriel Jett, duelled it out, with Sammon running him down on the last 50 to touch in 1:47.40, advancing 5th into the final with Jett 7th in 1:47.60.

Cal’s Jack Alexy, who rarely races the 200 free in long course meters (using it to get an official split in the 50 or 100 free in his most recent swims), posted a massive personal best of 1:48.38 from Heat 1, ultimately earning him 11th in the prelims and just 17 one-hundredths shy of the ‘A’ final. Alexy’s previous best stood at 1:53.44, set back in August 2018.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 U.S. Open: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

Construction workers are making up to 30% more during the data center boom

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Construction workers are making up to 30% more during the data center boom

Big Tech’s AI arms race is fueling a massive investment surge in data centers with construction worker labor valued at a premium. 

Despite some concerns of an AI bubble, data center hyperscalers like Google, Amazon, and Meta continue to invest heavily into AI infrastructure. In effect, construction workers’ salaries are being inflated to satisfy a seemingly insatiable AI demand, experts tell Fortune.

In 2026 alone, upwards of $100 billion could be invested by tech companies into the data center buildout in the U.S., Raul Martynek, the CEO of DataBank, a company that contracts with tech giants to construct data centers, told Fortune.

In November, Bank of Americaestimated global hyperscale spending is rising 67% in 2025 and another 31% in 2026, totaling a massive $611 billion investment for the AI buildout in just two years.

Given the high demand, construction workers are experiencing a pay bump for data center projects.

Construction projects generally operate on tight margins, with clients being very cost-conscious, Fraser Patterson, CEO of Skillit, an AI-powered hiring platform for construction workers, told Fortune.

But some of the top 50 contractors by size in the country have seen their revenue double in a 12-month period based on data center construction, which is allowing them to pay their workers more, according to Patterson.

“Because of the huge demand and the nature of this construction work, which is fueling the arms race of AI… the budgets are not as tight,” he said. “I would say they’re a little more frothy.”

On Skillit, the average salary for construction projects that aren’t building data centers is $62,000, or $29.80 an hour, Patterson said. The workers that use the platform comprise 40 different trades and have a wide range of experience from heavy equipment operators to electricians, with eight years as the average years of experience.

But when it comes to data centers, the same workers make an average salary of $81,800 or $39.33 per hour, Patterson said, increasing salaries by just under 32% on average.

Some construction workers are even hitting the six-figure mark after their salaries rose for data center projects, according to The Wall Street Journal. And the data center boom doesn’t show any signs it’s slowing down anytime soon.

Tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft operate 522 data centers and are developing 411 more, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing data from Synergy Research Group. 

Patterson said construction workers are being paid more to work on building data centers in part due to condensed project timelines, which require complex coordination or machinery and skilled labor.

Projects that would usually take a couple of years to finish are being completed—in some instances—as quickly as six months, he said.

It is unclear how long the data center boom might last, but Patterson said it has in part convinced a growing number of Gen Z workers and recent college grads to choose construction trades as their career path.

“AI is creating a lot of job anxiety around knowledge workers,” Patterson said. “Construction work is, by definition, very hard to automate.”

“I think you’re starting to see a change in the labor market,” he added.

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