Georgia lawmakers are expected to try to clean up an election mess of their own making when they return to the Capitol this week for a special session. The election system used throughout the political battleground state relies on a QR code printed on ballots to tally the votes. Legislators passed a law two years ago barring the use of that barcode for the official vote count beyond July 1 of this year, but no replacement method of tabulating votes was ever implemented. Meanwhile, the secretary of state’s office and the State Election Board have further muddied the waters by issuing conflicting guidance about how votes should be cast and counted.

OpenAI received a subpoena from several states as part of a probe into the safety of customers using its chatbot as it prepares to offer stock to the public for the first time. The company behind the popular ChatGPT issued a statement saying it will respond to the inquiry “constructively” and that it already has measures to protect customers. The chatbot has drawn criticism for allegedly offering encouraging words to users thinking of killing themselves or engaging criminal acts. It also has come under scrutiny for how it uses health data and other personal information of its customers.

Legislation in two of the nation's most populous states could force 3D printers to come equipped with technology blocking them from making guns. A first-of-its-kind law limiting three-dimensional firearm printing recently passed in New York. A similar measure is pending in the California Legislature. Both would direct panels of experts to come up with technological standards aimed at preventing guns from being printed. The actual blockade would take effect in 2029. Gun rights groups and digital privacy advocates both have raised concerns about the legislation. Others have expressed skepticism that the printing blockade actually will work.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and now first-ever trillionaire, controls a lot of different businesses. Electric vehicles. Brain implants. Underground tunnels. A social media platform once called Twitter. And a rocket maker that blasted off its trading from Wall Street this week. Over time, more and more of those ventures have found themselves under the same roof. Musk merged SpaceX — which went public on Friday — with his artificial intelligence company xAI just earlier this year. But he still holds the role of CEO at several corporations today, in addition to other various executive titles or ownership stakes across his business empire.

AI giant Anthropic says it has taken its latest artificial intelligence models, known as Fable 5 and Mythos 5, offline to comply with a directive from the Trump administration to prevent their use by foreign nationals. The export controls mark the U.S. government’s most significant step to date to restrict access to the most advanced AI models. Anthropic released Fable widely this week. That model is a limited version of the even more advanced Mythos, to which the company has tightly limited access due to cybersecurity fears. In a statement Friday, Anthropic said it disagrees with the government’s handling of the matter.

The U.S. Justice Department has determined that Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is unlikely to be harmful to consumers. The agency said Friday that an investigation by antitrust regulators concluded that the merger would increase competition in areas like video streaming, giving consumers more options. It also found that the merger is not likely to harm competition in the film industry. Paramount Skydance reached the deal in February, beating a rival bid by Netflix. Critics, however, worry about industry consolidation. The merger is still under review by other regulators, including those in Europe and the U.K., with decisions expected in the coming months.

Shares of SpaceX soared 19% in their Wall Street debut, making the rocket maker’s founder and CEO Elon Musk the first-ever trillionaire. The shares opened at $150 and finished Friday slightly below $161. That price gave the company a market value of around $2.1 trillion. Forbes estimates that Musk, who is also a major shareholder in Tesla, is now worth $1.1 trillion. Musk says SpaceX is going public because it needs money to fund its ambitions of putting satellites and data centers in space and eventually establishing a colony of people on Mars. The $75 billion in proceeds from the IPO tops the previous high of $26 billion for Saudi Aramco's IPO in 2019.

Steven Spielberg's new film “Disclosure Day” explores extraterrestrial life and its impact on religion. UFOs, now also called UAPs, are gaining mainstream attention. The Pentagon released UFO files in May, sparking public curiosity. Former President Barack Obama set off a media frenzy by suggesting aliens exist in an interview. Some believe extraterrestrial life could challenge religious beliefs, while others see it as beneficial. Some Catholic figures — such as Vice President JD Vance and Monsignor Stephen Rossetti — view UFOs as demonic, though the Catholic Church remains open to the idea of alien life. Theologians and historians note that interest in otherworldly beings dates back centuries.