Anthropic claims its new AI model, Mythos, is a cybersecurity 'reckoning' - The Boston Globe

Bill Ackman's fund offers to buy Universal Music in $64 billion deal

Billionaire financier Bill Ackman put forward his latest big bet Tuesday: a deal to buy Universal Music Group, home to Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and Bad Bunny, and move its stock market listing to New York from Amsterdam. It is a bold and convoluted bet that one of the world's most influential entertainment businesses -- Universal Music controls nearly a third of the world's recorded-music market -- can be improved not through major operational changes but essentially through financial engineering. Ackman said his offer would value Universal Music's stock at about $64 billion, which is about 78 percent higher than it traded at the end of last week. Under the terms of the proposal, a vehicle created by Pershing Square Capital Management, Ackman's hedge fund, would merge with Universal Music, which would be reincorporated in Nevada and listed in New York. The offer values Universal Music shareholders' current holdings at about $35.22 per share. -- NEW YORK TIMES

HEALTH CARE

US health insurers have made it easier for doctors to get approval before providing certain types of treatment, industry groups said, calling it a sign of progress toward alleviating burdensome delays for patients. Major health plans said they collectively removed thousands of prior authorization requirements for medical procedures since they pledged to cut red tape last year. About 11 percent of the approvals they mandated in 2024 are no longer in place, according to data from two leading insurance trade associations. That would mean about 6.5 million fewer requests in Medicare and some commercial plans, holding everything else constant, the group said. The data don't cover prior approvals for prescription drugs. Health insurers have long faced calls to fix the prior approval process in which insurers must green-light doctors' orders before patients get treatment. Almost half of insured adults said it's led to a delay, denial, or a different treatment than what was prescribed, according to a survey from health researcher KFF. More than a quarter of doctors in an American Medical Association survey said prior authorization led to hospitalization or other harm. Health plans are making progress on "speeding up patient access to appropriate care while maintaining important protections against waste, fraud, and abuse," according to an announcement to be published Tuesday by the industry groups AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Major insurers including UnitedHealth Group Inc., Elevance Health Inc., Cigna Group, CVS Health Corp., and Centene Corp. made voluntary commitments to improve the process under pressure from the Trump administration. -- BLOOMBERG NEWS

MEDIA

CBS announced its plans for late-night programming after "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" ends next month, with two syndicated comedy shows from producer Byron Allen filling the late hours starting May 22. In a statement posted Tuesday, CBS said it would fill Colbert's one-hour slot starting at 11:35 p.m. EST with back-to-back episodes of "Comics Unleashed," a comedy talk show hosted by Allen. Those episodes will be followed by two episodes of "Funny You Should Ask," a game show hosted by Jon Kelley and produced by Allen's company, starting at 12:35 a.m. CBS announced in July that it would be canceling "The Late Show," a broadcast institution that began in 1993 with David Letterman as host. The end of the show's run will coincide with the end of Colbert's contract. Network executives say that the decision to cancel "The Late Show" had nothing to do with politics and instead was a result of the grim finances of late-night television, which have hemorrhaged in today's streaming economy. Replacing Colbert with Allen's programming will almost certainly save the network money, while also bringing less-pointed, inoffensive humor to the late-night lineup. -- NEW YORK TIMES

TECH

Apple Inc.'s first foldable phone is on track to arrive during the company's normal iPhone launch period later this year, people with knowledge of the matter said, rebutting concerns about major manufacturing snags. The company is scheduled to introduce the foldable model in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven't been announced. Apple's phones typically hit store shelves the week after they're unveiled. A report from Nikkei Asia had fueled concerns about a delay on Tuesday. Apple shares fell as much as 5.1 percent after the news outlet said that the company was facing challenges in the engineering test phase of the phone. That threatens to push back the production and shipment schedule, according to Nikkei Asia. While the complexity of the new display and materials may limit initial supply for several weeks, Apple is currently operating with a plan to put the device on sale around the same time -- or very soon after -- the new non-foldable models, the people said. Apple shares pared their losses after Bloomberg News reported on the plans. Still, the release is six months away and production has yet to ramp up. That means the timing isn't final. A spokesperson for the Cupertino, California-based company declined to comment. -- BLOOMBERG NEWS

LEGAL

Deere & Co. has agreed to pay $99 million as part of a settlement that would resolve a class action lawsuit accusing the farm equipment giant of monopolizing repair services. The Moline, Illinois-based manufacturer, which does business under the John Deere brand, has faced a handful of "right to repair" complaints over the years. The deal announced Monday -- which still needs final approval from the court -- would settle a 2022 lawsuit that accused the company of withholding repair software and conspiring with authorized dealers to force farmers to use their services for repairs, when they could otherwise fix tractors and other equipment themselves or use independent alternatives. The plaintiffs alleged that meant Deere and its dealers could charge higher, "supracompetitive" prices and reap benefits from an "unlawfully restrained" market, per court filings. Deere has continued to deny any wrongdoing, and maintained Monday it's dedicated to supporting customers' ability and access needed to repair their equipment. But the company agreed to the settlement "to move forward and remain focused on what matters most -- serving our customers," Denver Caldwell, vice president of aftermarket and customer support, said in a statement. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHARMACEUTICAL