Author: News Room

Character.AI’s plan to become more than just an LLM-powered chatbot platform is going beyond interactive books, comics, and audio dramas. Today, the company announced the debut of c.ai Series — short-form, episodic videos designed to be watched and interacted with — on your phone.Unlike traditional microdrama services that feature cheaply produced, live-action shows starring human performers, c.ai Series are animated and almost entirely made with generative AI. The company’s interest in getting into the microdrama space isn’t surprising considering that it’s projected to become a $26 billion industry in the next few years. And even though some young people have…

Easton, MD, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Qlarant Foundation, the mission arm of Qlarant, proudly announces the recipients of its 2026 grant awards program and that it will sponsor all 138 of this year’s grant applicants with access to a unique, capacity-building platform. Inspired by applications submitted by this year’s pool of applicants, Qlarant Foundation’s board awarded grants totaling $325,000 to 13 remarkable organizations and awarded access to capacity-building consulting services through the Foundation’s partnership with Catchafire to all 138 applicants. Together with these nonprofits, Qlarant Foundation looks forward to advancing innovative health and human service programs across Maryland,…

BALTIMORE, Md., July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MarketWise, Inc. (NASDAQ: MKTW) is a leading multi-brand digital subscription services platform that provides premium financial research, software, education, and tools for self-directed investors, today reported preliminary selected unaudited financial and operational updates for second quarter 2026. Consistent with past practice, we are providing investors with selected information in advance of issuing our second quarter 2026 earnings press release, which we expect to release on August 6, 2026. The selected unaudited results in this press release are preliminary and subject to the Company’s normal quarterly accounting procedures and external review by the…

OTTAWA, Ontario, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A coalition of community investment leaders is calling on the federal government to modernize Canada’s tax system to unlock billions of dollars in private investment for affordable housing, clean energy, and community infrastructure. While Canada’s retail investment market is valued at approximately $4 trillion, and Canadians continue to direct substantial capital into registered investment vehicles such as Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), and First Home Savings Accounts (FHSAs), community organizations that build critical local infrastructure continue to face significant barriers to accessing affordable capital. The Canadian Coalition for…

GARYVILLE, La., July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Members of the Seafarers International Union, representing merchant mariners sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels, gathered Thursday outside Marathon Petroleum’s refinery in Garyville to protest the arrival of the Chinese-flagged vessel Jin Zhou Wan, arguing that the Trump Administration’s Jones Act waiver is allowing foreign vessels to perform work traditionally reserved for American ships and crews. The demonstration coincided with the vessel’s expected arrival carrying asphalt between U.S. ports under the administration’s temporary Jones Act waiver. The Jones Act, requires cargo transported between U.S. ports to move aboard vessels that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, U.S.-flagged and…

Dublin, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The “Blockchain Commodity Storage Platform Market Report 2026” has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering. The blockchain commodity storage platform market is experiencing exponential growth. Estimated to expand from $1.63 billion in 2025 to $2.09 billion in 2026, the market is expected to reach $5.6 billion by 2030, propelled by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.3%. This surge is driven by increasing demand for transparent commodity inventory records, the mitigation of fraud risks, and the inefficiencies tied to paper-based processes. Additional factors include the need for quicker settlement and verification and the…

Washington D.C., July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms healthcare, ForYourHealth.News, the editorial platform of the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF), has published a new commentary by NMQF President and CEO Dr. Gary A. Puckrein arguing that the greatest promise of healthcare AI lies not in reducing costs, but in reducing patient risk—particularly in communities that bear the greatest burden of disease. Titled “The Communities Most Burdened by Disease Should Be the First to Benefit from Artificial Intelligence,” the article is the second installment in ForYourHealth.News’ ongoing editorial initiative exploring how artificial intelligence can advance health…

San Diego, CA, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lawmatics, the leading intake and growth platform for law firms, today introduced Merlin, a new family of AI features built natively in Lawmatics to help law firms grow. The suite, which includes a just-released conversational interface called Merlin Copilot, takes on the repetitive work that moves prospects toward signing, freeing staff to focus on client service, legal work, and strategy, while giving firms the speed and responsiveness that competitive consumer law markets demand. For most law firms, growth happens at the front of the business — the speed from inquiry to…

The Brockville Police Service is one of the latest agencies to warn people to stay alert after two distraction-style jewelry thefts. The most recent incident happened in Brockville, Ont., at around 1:30 p.m. on July 4 outside the Real Canadian Superstore on Parkedale Avenue.Police say four people in a dark-coloured SUV approached a victim and tried to sell them jewelry.The suspects convinced the victim to try on a necklace and, while placing it around their neck, allegedly removed the necklace the victim was already wearing, said Insp. Darryl Boyde with Brockville police.The victim did not realize the genuine necklace had been replaced…

Dublin, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The “North America Electric Vehicle Battery Components Market – A Regional Analysis: Focus on Vehicle Type, Battery Chemistry, Cell Format, Ecosystem Type, Component Type, Material Type, and Country Analysis, 2025-2035” has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.The North America Electric Vehicle Battery Components Market was valued at USD 15.40 Billion in 2025, and is projected to reach USD 59.85 Billion by 2035, rising at a CAGR of 14.54%. The North America electric vehicle battery components market underpins the region’s transition to electrified mobility by supplying the housings, busbars, stamped structures, thermal systems, cell materials,…