Google said its TurboQuant algorithm can cut a major AI memory bottleneck by at least sixfold with no accuracy loss during inference.
Memory stocks including Micron, Western Digital and Seagate fell after the paper circulated.
The method compresses inference memory, not model weights, and has only been tested in research benchmarks.
Google Research published TurboQuant on Wednesday, a compression algorithm that shrinks a major inference-memory bottleneck by at least 6x while maintaining zero loss in accuracy.
The paper is slated for presentation at ICLR 2026, and the reaction online was immediate.
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince called it Google’s DeepSeek moment. Memory stock prices, including Micron, Western Digital, and Seagate, fell on the same day.
So is it real?
Quantization efficiency is a big achievement by itself. But “zero accuracy loss” needs context.
TurboQuant targets the KV cache—the chunk of GPU memory that stores everything a language model needs to remember during a conversation.
As context windows grow toward millions of tokens, those caches balloon into hundreds of gigabytes per session. That’s the actual bottleneck. Not compute power but raw memory.
Traditional compression methods try to shrink those caches by rounding numbers down—from 32-bit floats to 16, to 8 to 4-bit integers, for example. To better understand it, think of shrinking an image from 4K, to full HD, to 720p and so. It’s easy to tell it’s the same image overall, but there’s more detail in 4K resolution.
The catch: they have to store extra “quantization constants” alongside the compressed data to keep the model from going stupid. Those constants add 1 to 2 bits per value, partially eroding the gains.
TurboQuant claims it eliminates that overhead entirely.
It does this via two sub-algorithms. PolarQuant separates magnitude from direction in vectors, and QJL (Quantized Johnson-Lindenstrauss) takes the tiny residual error left over and reduces it to a single sign bit, positive or negative, with zero stored constants.
The result, Google says, is a mathematically unbiased estimator for the attention calculations that drive transformer models.
In benchmarks using Gemma and Mistral, TurboQuant matched full-precision performance under 4x compression, including perfect retrieval accuracy on needle-in-haystack tasks up to 104,000 tokens.
“Zero accuracy loss” applies to KV cache compression during inference—not to the model’s weights. Compressing weights is a completely different, harder problem. TurboQuant doesn’t touch those.
What it compresses is the temporary memory storing mid-session attention computations, which is more forgiving because that data can theoretically be reconstructed.
There’s also the gap between a clean benchmark and a production system serving billions of requests. TurboQuant was tested on open-source models—Gemma, Mistral, Llama—not Google’s own Gemini stack at scale.
Unlike DeepSeek’s efficiency gains, which required deep architectural decisions baked in from the start, TurboQuant requires no retraining or fine-tuning and claims negligible runtime overhead. In theory, it drops straight into existing inference pipelines.
That’s the part that spooked the memory hardware sector—because if it works in production, every major AI lab runs leaner on the same GPUs they already own.
The paper goes to ICLR 2026. Until it ships in production, the “zero loss” headline stays in the lab.
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Nicolas Maduro, the former leader of Venezuela who was removed by United States forces on January 3, is set to appear in a US court for only the second time.
In the weeks since he was abducted to the US, Maduro’s defence has offered only a preview of how it will approach the extraordinary case on Thursday. In his first court appearance, in January, Maduro maintained he was not a traditional defendant but a “prisoner of war” and “kidnapped” president.
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Many questions surrounding Maduro’s prosecution remain unanswered in the run-up to Thursday’s hearing: how Maduro may deploy a carousel of legal arguments to challenge the case; what evidence prosecutors will present to support their claims of “narco-terrorism” and drug trafficking; and ultimately, what would happen in the event federal prosecutors prove unsuccessful.
While the US has a history of enforcing its domestic law against foreign individuals, the prosecution of sitting and former heads of state has been exceedingly rare.
The most recent examples include the prosecution of Manuel Antonio Noriega, then the leader of Panama, in 1989, and more recently, the prosecution of former Honduran leader Juan Orlando Hernandez in 2024, explained Renato Stabile, who served as the court-appointed defence lawyer for Orlando Hernandez.
“We’re in largely uncharted territory,” Stabile told Al Jazeera.
Will the case get thrown out?
Legal experts have pointed to a range of challenges Maduro’s team could mount to get the case thrown out before a trial begins. The defence has already argued that the case should be null, pointing to Maduro’s role in Venezuela at the time of his abduction and maintaining that Maduro was taken into custody illegally.
The US deployed 150 military aircraft in its raid to abduct Maduro, knocking out the country’s air defence as it created a massive power cut across the capital, Caracas. Both an FBI unit and the US Army’s specialised Delta Force were deployed to storm Maduro’s compound. Venezuela has said at least 75 people were killed in the operation.
The Trump administration has maintained that the goals were purely domestic law enforcement, and unrelated to its explicit calls for regime change or access to Venezuela’s state-controlled oil industry that accompanied a weeks-long military build-up and oil embargo.
Trump, however, has since pledged to “run” Venezuela with his administration continuing to assert influence over the government of interim-President Delcy Rodriguez.
The US executive branch has long held the position that the federal government can pursue domestic law enforcement arrests abroad. But according to a panel of federal prosecution experts writing on the LawFare nonprofit website in January, “Maduro will undoubtedly argue that even if such authority exists, it is limited – and that his arrest falls outside the bounds of what’s permitted.”
Maduro could chart several courses in making the case, including arguing that continuing with the case would make the court itself complicit in the government’s actions, an apparent blatant violation of international law. A form of that argument proved unsuccessful in the Norriega case, the panel noted, although Maduro will likely try to argue the details of the US military operation in Panama in 1989 and the January raid in Venezuela are markedly different.
Maduro’s team could also argue that the government misused the US military in domestic law enforcement, although experts noted that the government has, for decades, maintained that the military can be used to “protect federal functions”.
The panel assessed that all options available to Maduro will likely face an “uphill battle”.
Finally, Maduro’s team could invoke the so-called “head of state” immunity doctrine, arguing he remains the head of state of Venezuela and therefore is protected from prosecution under US common law.
The US government has, since 2019, maintained that Maduro is not the legitimate head of state of Venezuela, pointing to a string of disputed elections, the most recent in 2024.
How strong is the indictment?
If challenges related to Maduro’s position and how he was arrested prove unsuccessful, Orlando Hernandez’s defence lawyer, Stabile, argued the current indictment laid out by federal prosecutors is far from a slam dunk.
Maduro is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit “narco-terrorism”, with the indictment saying he was involved in drug and arms trafficking in support of the FARC, the ELN and other groups designated “foreign terrorist organisations” by the US.
But notably, the Department of Justice has largely backed away from a pillar of its initial 2020 indictment against Maduro: claims that he was the leader of the “Cartel de los Soles”, which it, at the time, described as “drug-trafficking organisation” that “prioritised using cocaine as a weapon against America and importing as much cocaine as possible into the United States”.
The new indictment, unsealed shortly after Maduro’s abduction, instead describes the Cartel de los Soles as a system of “patronage” within Venezuela’s government, and removes any reference to a coordinated effort by the Cartel de Soles to use drugs as a weapon against the US. The original indictment referenced the Cartel de los Soles 33 times, reduced to only two mentions in the new version.
The second charge focuses on drug trafficking, pointing to various instances where Maduro, his wife and other officials allegedly used their positions and resources – including the use of private planes under diplomatic cover – to directly support and benefit from drug trafficking. The third and fourth charges are largely seen as hinging on the first two: illegal possession and conspiracy to possess automatic machineguns.
While more evidence could be presented in the weeks, months and possibly years ahead, Stabile said prosecutors appear to be building a case largely built on informants, in what he described as a “snitch indictment”.
Notably, the indictment details the involvement of former Venezuelan General Hugo Carvajal in several of the alleged crimes. Carvajal has already pleaded guilty to “narcoterrorism”, drug trafficking and weapons charges in the US.
Last year, in a letter addressed to the “American people”, Carvajal, who has yet to be sentenced, promised to “provide additional details” that would further reveal the Maduro government’s alleged crimes.
Stabile argued the prosecution will “look very weak” if its case relies on witnesses who have already struck cooperation deals with the US government.
That feeds the perception that “they’re going to say whatever they need to say to get out of jail.”
He also pointed to the difficulty prosecutors face in empanelling a jury unaware of the case’s broader political landscape and the contradictory messaging from the Trump administration.
“Any of the jurors will likely know the story. They will know how the US went in and took him out of Venezuela,” Stabile said.
“In a typical criminal case, you’re not really able to argue the political aspects of the case. In other words, typically, you can’t argue the motivations of the prosecution team in bringing the charges … [The defence] benefit here.”
“I could very easily see – if you get the right juror to be a holdout – a hung jury here,” he said, referring to situations where a jury is unable to reach a verdict, and prosecutors are confronted with needing to retry the case, strike a deal or abandon prosecution.
Long road ahead
In the short term, the case against Maduro has stalled largely due to the ongoing funding battle.
In late February, Maduro’s lawyers said the US government was blocking Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from receiving legal funding from the government of Venezuela.
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, argued in court filings that the move deprived Maduro of his “constitutional right to counsel of his choice”.
Earlier this month, federal prosecutors shot back that “both defendants…surely knew that the US Government did not consider them to hold legitimate positions”, maintaining that the couple were still free to use their personal funds for a lawyer.
In response, lawyers for Maduro and Flores have called for the case to be thrown out. The issue will likely be addressed at Thursday’s hearing.
It remains unclear what would happen if the case against Maduro were, in fact, to be thrown out, or if he were eventually acquitted.
Typically, in those circumstances, an individual would be free. But because Maduro is not a US citizen, he could theoretically be detained by immigration enforcement agents upon his release.
Argentina has also requested Maduro’s extradition from the US on charges of committing crimes against humanity in his government’s crackdown on protesters and political dissidents. The case was brought by Venezuelans who suffered under the alleged abuses.
Stabile predicted a long road before clarity emerges on Maduro’s case.
“We probably have six to nine months of motions … just to resolve the legal issues around his arrest and prosecution. Then there will be discovery,” he said, referencing the period when both sides will gather and exchange evidence.
“I don’t expect the case to go to trial for at least a couple of years,” he said.
“At first, it was supposed to be made with a U.S. platform. But he didn’t have the freedom he wanted. For example, [they wanted] to have the first explicit scene only in episode five to tone down the romance,” said Julie Roy, executive director & CEO at Téléfilm Canada.
“He decided to go back to Canada, and kudos to Crave who had the courage to welcome the full project. For me, that’s a great example of not being Hollywood and being authentic. Authenticity is something that really works.”
“Heated Rivalry” became a global phenomenon, thanks to its explosive combination of hockey, romance and explicit scenes.
“This example is also interesting in terms of audience engagement. A high number of people just watched this series for the fifth time! It’s insane.”
Apart from Tierney’s hit, Roy listed other recent Canadian successes: “Empathy” and “North of North,” taking on Inuit stories.
“The diversity of Canada, the richness of its perspective and storytellers is such a great asset,” she said. But it’s also an industry. “It’s important to highlight that as well. In Canada, the economic impact of the creative industry is equivalent to aerospace industry, and it’s more than fisheries and automobile industry.”
Talking during Series Mania Forum’s panel about Global Audiovisual Alliances, Roy admitted that many Europeans want to collaborate with Canada. “I’ll be curious to see if this new convention would be open to welcome Canada in it.”
“We have 57 treaties of co-production, which is the highest number in the world. I think it’s quite an indicator that we really like to collaborate and co-produce and find international partnership.”
Gaëtan Bruel, CNC president, underlined: many people still believe in the future of creation.
“We [need to] keep true to our values, as Julie just mentioned, and the idea that creativity, taking risks and supporting the independent producers, these core principles and values, stay at the heart of what we do.”
He added: “The crisis in Hollywood may be a sort of good news, if we think less of who is the new ‘supreme leader’ of cinema and creation and more about how can we build together a new global governance for the moving image: a new multilateralism in which we don’t rely only on what is thought in Hollywood. There’s really a diversity at heart in Europe that really can be perhaps the new superpower.”
Klaus Zimmermann, managing partner at Les Productions Dynamic, observed that for every U.S. success, they have “50 failures.”
“I think that for the amount we have, we’re doing pretty well. With the streamers coming to Europe and investing, there’s an opportunity to create more shows, but also local shows. I don’t think this is a threat, but there needs to be courage and storytelling.”
Coming from Spain, which already established powerful relationships with Latin America, some producers aren’t dependent on Hollywood financing, noted Mariela Besuievsky (Tornasol Media).
“It’s true that the opportunities and windows that have opened are very big, and that also drives us to think in another way about the storytelling. I like what you said about ‘Heated Rivalry’: You have to find your own way and really believe that what you are telling and how you are telling it is going to communicate with the audience.”
According to Bruel, the real competition is no longer between national industries.
“Worldwide, we see audiences, especially the younger ones, shifting faster than expected toward free, low-cost content, of course more and more generated by AI. It’s an economical challenge for the creators, the producers, the broadcasters. It’s also, and perhaps above all, a sanitary catastrophe. This is a sanitary catastrophe,” he said, pointing at his phone.
“Our kids’ relationship with screens is becoming a health world problem, but also a democratic one. We have been discussing and forging alliances for a long time, but today we are facing a moment that is as important and as fascinating as the invention of cinema itself. The first revolution was led by the creators and the entrepreneurs. Today, it’s quite different. Today, we need policymakers, non-profit organizations and those who really care about the interest of the public.”
The rise of Korea has also been notable over the past few years, with Hyun Suk Yoo, Acting President of Kocca, talking about recent BTS comeback and the Korean wave, Hallyu, that brought about popular K-dramas.
“Rather than the government leading the success from the front, in order for the content ecosystem to function effectively, it would be more accurate to say that it played a supporting part from behind. From planning to production and distribution, in order to reduce the challenges faced by the industry, we are continuing to communicate with the stakeholders on the ground,” he said.
Besuievsky added that because of the changing rules of streamers, more deals are needed – also to gap finance new productions. “I feel that that the co-production laws were established many of years ago and they are moving more slowly than the changes we have been facing. It’s time to think in a more flexible way, but we cannot lose the regulatory framework that gives us security.”
Bruel mentioned TF1 and Netflix, which announced the first very strategic distribution deal.
“It was a way for them to meet halfway,” he said. “We believe, more than ever, that we need to think differently about how we can work together. We have a lot to learn from the streamers and they say they have a lot to learn from other models.”
A Los Angeles jury has found Alphabet’s Google and Meta liable for damages in a landmark civil trial over youth social media addiction. Campaigners and parents who say social media use has harmed their children, in some cases causing eating disorders, self-harm or deaths by suicide, welcomed the jury’s decision outside the court.
The jury’s decision on Wednesday came at the end of a case in which the plaintiff’s legal team argued the companies are legally responsible for the addictive design of their platforms.
Here is more about the jury’s verdict and the trial.
A 20-year old woman was the plaintiff in this case and was identified by the California Superior Court in Los Angeles County documents only by her initials, KGM. The plaintiff’s lawyers referred to her as Kaley.
KGM testified in February, saying her early use of social media triggered her addiction to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. She said she had developed body dysmorphia – a clinical condition diagnosed by doctors – as a result of her social media use.
Opening statements for the trial started on February 9, and deliberations lasted more than 40 hours.
Google and Meta, which is the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, were the two remaining defendants in the case.
In late January, TikTok and Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc, settled their parts in the case. Details of these settlements are not known.
Parents who say they have lost their children due to social media hold up a banner with their names and ages outside the court after the jury found Meta and Google liable in a key test case, accusing Meta and Google’s YouTube of harming children’s mental health through addictive social media platforms, in Los Angeles, California, US, on March 25, 2026 [Mike Blake/Reuters]
What did the plaintiff tell the court?
In February, KGM told the trial she had started using YouTube at the age of 6 and Instagram at age of 9. By the time she finished elementary school, she had posted 284 videos on YouTube.
The plaintiff told the court: “I stopped engaging with family because I was spending all my time on social media.” She added that she began to suffer anxiety and depression at the age of 10 – and was later diagnosed with both.
She said she would also “buy” likes through a platform on which she could “like” other people’s photos and receive a slew of likes in return. “It made me look popular,” she said.
KGM said several features, which lawyers argued are deliberately designed to be addictive, such as notifications, would give her a “rush”. She said she would sometimes go to the toilet during school just to check her notifications.
The plaintiff also said she used Instagram filters, which alter cosmetic appearance, on almost all her photos. She said she had not experienced the negative feelings associated with her body dysmorphia diagnosis before she began using social media and filters.
Victoria Burke, a former therapist the plaintiff worked with in 2019 for six months, also testified in February. Burke said that KGM’s social media and sense of self were intertwined, and what was happening online would influence the plaintiff’s mental health.
Juliana Arnold, Mary Rodee, and Lori Schott embrace after hearing the jury’s verdict outside the Los Angeles Superior Court during a lawsuit alleging that Meta and YouTube are designed to hook young users and cause them a variety of negative mental health effects and behaviours, including strangling themselves and developing eating disorders, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, US [Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images]
While KGM’s lawyers claim she was preyed upon as a vulnerable user, lawyers representing Meta and Google-owned YouTube argued that KGM turned to their platforms as a coping mechanism or a means of escaping her already existing mental health struggles.
Meta argued that KGM’s challenges began before her social media use.
In February, Meta’s lawyer Paul Schmidt told the court that the core question in the case was whether the company’s social media platforms were a substantial factor in KGM’s mental health struggles.
During the trial, Meta lawyer Phyllis Jones showed jurors text exchanges and Instagram posts in which KGM discussed her mental health and her turbulent relationship with her mother, and played videos KGM had recorded of her mother yelling at her. The plaintiff acknowledged that their relationship was difficult. She currently lives with her mother and works as a personal shopper at Walmart.
What did the jury find?
The jury found that Meta had been negligent in designing or operating Instagram.
In the case of Meta, the jury found that the group’s negligence was a “substantial factor” in harm to the plaintiff and said it was liable for failing to adequately warn users about the dangers of using Instagram.
The jury also found Google had been negligent in designing or operating YouTube and that this negligence was a “substantial factor” in harming the plaintiff. It also found Google liable for failing to adequately warn users about the dangers of using YouTube.
A majority of jurors agreed to the findings and awarded the plaintiff $3m in compensatory damages.
Jurors later recommended an additional $3m in punitive damages after deciding the companies acted with malice, oppression or fraud in harming children using their platforms.
Meta will be liable for 70 percent of the total, while Google will be liable for the remainder.
The judge will have final say about how much damage is awarded. The judge has yet to enter a final judgement in the case, and it is not yet known when the formal ruling will be made.
Meta, the parent of Instagram and Facebook, and Google-owned YouTube issued statements disagreeing with the verdict. They said they would explore their legal options, which include making an appeal.
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the verdict misrepresents YouTube “which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site”. A Meta spokesperson said teen mental health is “profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app”.
The day before the jury’s decision in the KGM trial, a separate jury in New Mexico determined that Meta had knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its social media platforms.
The lawsuit was the first jury trial to find Meta liable for activities on its platform. It was brought by New Mexico’s attorney general office in December 2023.
Jurors found there had been thousands of violations carrying a penalty of $5,000, each counting separately towards a penalty of $375m. This was less than one-fifth of what prosecutors were seeking, however.
More than 40 state attorneys general in the US have filed both federal and state lawsuits in recent years against Meta, claiming the company is contributing to a mental health crisis among young people by deliberately designing Instagram and Facebook features that are addictive.
Stokes — a “Bridgerton” alum recently seen in George Jacques’s Berlin-bowing “Sunny Dancer” — is set to star in the lead role of Miranda opposite Branagh’s Prospero. Other additions to the cast of the play — being directed by Richard Eyre — include Fred Woodley Evans as Ferdinand, Amara Okereke as Ariel and Ashley Zhangazha as Caliban.
The production is set run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford from May 13 to June 20.
The classic follows Prospero, an exiled duke who conjures a storm to exact revenge on those who wronged him, only to confront the possibility of forgiveness — while his daughter Miranda discovers love for the first time.
“The play remains endlessly fascinating — I see it as Shakespeare’s autobiography, a meditation on art and freedom,” said Eyre. “Of course, there are themes of power, belonging, and colonisation that have long invited new readings and responses. ‘The Tempest’ is a story shaped by encounters between cultures and systems of power, a story of revenge and magic, and I am thrilled to be working with such an incredible company to tell this story.”
Stokes’ RSC debut comes following her recently completed lead read role on stage in the New York edition of Alexander Zeldin’s “The Other Place.” Other recent screen work includes lead roles in Netflix’s untitled Newfoundland-set limited series opposite Josh Hartnett, in addition to appearances in Celyn Jones’ “Madfabulous” and Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly.”
Digital assets are making their way into the US housing market as mortgage giant Fannie Mae prepares to accept Bitcoin and other crypto holdings as part of down payments, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The move allows crypto holders to use assets like Bitcoin directly when buying a home through Fannie Mae-backed mortgages. Instead of selling their crypto for US dollars, they can pledge it as part of the down payment, making it easier to access traditional housing finance. The program is being rolled out with Coinbase and Better Home & Finance.
The change comes after the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to draft plans that would let certain crypto assets be used in mortgage underwriting without mandatory conversion to dollars.
Crypto adoption pushes rethink of mortgage lending rules
The rise of crypto, in particular, among younger generations, is forcing a rethink of traditional mortgage lending, as housing affordability becomes a growing global concern.
Major non-bank lender Newrez has started accepting certain crypto holdings as part of mortgage qualifications, allowing homebuyers to leverage digital assets without selling them.
The FHFA, which oversees government-sponsored enterprises, has recognized that integrating digital assets could expand access to homeownership for a cohort increasingly building wealth through crypto.
With homeownership rates among young Americans at historic lows, pressure is mounting to develop mortgage products that reflect modern financial realities.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin ($BTC), has attracted attention by remaining strong compared to assets like gold and silver despite the US-Iran conflict.
However, Bitcoin is facing obstacles in its short-term upward trend. The continued increase in geopolitical tensions due to the lack of progress in peace talks between the US and Iran, coupled with concerns about war-related inflation, is negatively impacting Bitcoin’s rise.
Recently, $BTC has been moving sideways between approximately $72,000 and $67,000, and in its latest report, crypto analytics company K33 Research stated that these sideways movements in Bitcoin could indicate a bottoming out process.
K33 analysts stated that Bitcoin’s consolidation between $60,000 and $75,000 in the medium term indicates a bottom, supported by reduced selling pressure, stabilization of spot ETF inflows, and a recovery in the supply of long-term investors.
Analysts said that prolonged consolidation could signal a shift in the $BTC market structure and a potential bottom.
K33 Research Head Vetle Lunde stated that this consolidation in Bitcoin has historically been seen as a signal of forming a bottom.
“The $70,000 level, in particular, stands out as an attractive area for medium and long-term investors.”
The modest trend in net inflows into spot ETFs since the end of February suggests that the large-scale sell-off that began last October has ended.
In addition, long-term investors have also abandoned their selling decisions, and the number of long-term investors, which had decreased in late last year, has started to increase again.
However, Lunde also pointed to persistent macroeconomic uncertainties such as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, rising oil prices, and reduced expectations of interest rate cuts due to the Fed’s hawkish stance. According to Lunde, these factors are hindering Bitcoin’s rise: “These factors are suppressing risk appetite and limiting the rise.”
The announcement comes one week after members of Trump’s administration said a report in the Atlantic, stating that Maher would be the recipient, was “fake news.”
“This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time.
“Literally FAKE NEWS,” White House Communications director Steven Cheung said.
On Thursday, the Kennedy Center confirmed Maher as the recipient for the ceremony set to take place June 28 at the arts institution. The program will premiere exclusively on Netflix, with the streaming date to be announced.
Public financial records for The Kennedy Center from fiscal 2024 underscore how the award is a driver of revenue, thanks to its corporate sponsorship and streaming deal with Netflix. The filings show that the Center recorded receipts of $5.2 million from The Mark Twain Prize.
The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor recognizes individuals who have had an impact on American society in the same vein as Mark Twain.
Maher has hosted HBO’s Real Time for more than 20 years, after about a decade hosting Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central and ABC. He has received 42 Emmy nominations and won his first Emmy in 2014 as executive producer on the HBO Series VICE.
“For nearly three decades, the Mark Twain Prize has celebrated some of the greatest minds in comedy,” said Roma Daravi, Vice President of Public Relations. “For even longer, Bill has been influencing American discourse – one politically incorrect joke at a time.”
“Thank you to the Mark Twain people: I just had the award explained to me, and apparently it’s like an Emmy, except I win,” Maher said “I’d just like to say that it is indeed humbling to get anything named for a man who’s been thrown out of as many school libraries as Mark Twain.”
Previous recipients of the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize are Richard Pryor (1998), Jonathan Winters (1999), Carl Reiner (2000), Whoopi Goldberg (2001), Bob Newhart (2002), Lily Tomlin (2003), Lorne Michaels (2004), Steve Martin (2005), Neil Simon (2006), Billy Crystal (2007), George Carlin (2008), Bill Cosby (2009; rescinded in 2018), Tina Fey (2010), Will Ferrell (2011), Ellen DeGeneres (2012), Carol Burnett (2013), Jay Leno (2014), Eddie Murphy (2015), Bill Murray (2016), David Letterman (2017), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2018), Dave Chappelle (2019), Jon Stewart (2022), Adam Sandler (2023), Kevin Hart (2024), and Conan O’Brien (2025).
Warner Bros. Discovery has scheduled its special meeting of shareholders to vote on the $110 billion mega-deal by Paramount Skydance.
The company said early Thursday that the special shareholder meeting will be held on April 23 at 10 a.m. ET. The WBD board said that it unanomously recommends that shareholders vote to approve the Paramount deal at the meeting.
It’s the second special meeting scheduled by Warner Bros. this year. The company had previously scheduled a vote to approve the Netflix deal, but announced at the time that it also opened a window to engage with Paramount to try and secure a “best and final” offer.
Ultimately, of course, Paramount’s sweetened bid won the day, and now the WBD shareholders will be able to vote on it.
“The WBD Board has been guided by the singular principle of securing a transaction that maximizes the value of our iconic assets and delivers as much certainty as possible to our shareholders,” said Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr., chair of the Warner Bros. Discovery board of directors. “This historic transaction with Paramount not only does that, but it will also expand consumer choice and develop new opportunities for creative talent.”
“We look forward to the upcoming Special Meeting,” added WBD CEO David Zaslav. “This transaction is the culmination of the Board’s robust process to unlock the full value of our world-class portfolio. I want to thank our talented team for transforming the business over the last several years. We are working closely with Paramount to close the transaction and deliver its benefits to all stakeholders.”
SPOILER ALERT: Details follow for Season 14, Episode 11 of “The Masked Singer,” “Semi-Finals,” which aired March 25 on Fox.
There was no more fight left in Rachel Platten. The “Fight Song” singer was the latest celebrity to be revealed on Season 14 of the Fox singing reality competition “The Masked Singer.” Platten was unmasked as Pangolin.
Among the panelists, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg got it right with Platten. Ken Jeong guessed Lea Michelle. Robin Thicke went with Michelle Branch. Rita Ora thought it was Vanessa Carlton.
Meanwhile, before she was unmasked, Pangolin also gave one more “crack the case” clue case clue for her identity: Boxing gloves. “I like to stand strong in a fight. Especially when it counts. And this whole thing represents a huge win for me.”
Platten as Pangolin’s final performance was ““It Must Have Been Love,” by Roxette; on previous episodes, she sang “What A Feeling (Flashdance)” by Irene Cara; “Ironic,” by Alanis Morrisette; and “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” by Ozzy Osbourne.
With Pangolin gone, that leaves Galaxy Girl, Cat Witch, Pugcasso and Crane all left for next week’s finale.
Rachel Platten (Pangolin) joins Evan Ross-Næss (Stingray), Judge Greg Mathis (14 Karat Carrot), Alexi Lalas (High Voltage), Jack Wagner (Eggplant), Heidi Montag (Snow Cone), Billy Ray Cyrus (Owl), Teddi Mellencamp (Calla Lily), Claudia Oshry (Queen Corgi), Taraji P. Henson (Scarab), Tone Loc (Handyman), Tiffany Haddish (Le Who Who), Todd and Julie Chrisley (Croissants) and David “Big Papi” Ortiz (Googly Eyes) as the celebrities unmasked so far on “The Masked Singer” Season 14.
Back for Season 14 are host Nick Cannon, alongside panelists McCarthy Wahlberg, Jeong, Ora and Thicke.
New this season is “America’s Insider,” in which singer, dancer and social media personality Kylie Cantrall will share behind-the-scenes hints and clues for viewers. The twist: Cantrall is in costume as Cat Witch, but will only unmask for viewers — so the audience knows who she is, but the panelists don’t.
“The Masked Singer” Season 14 themed episodes include a tribute to “Star Trek,” the ‘90s comedy “Clueless,” the comic franchise “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and the blockbuster “Twilight Saga” films. Also Fox’s new “Fear Factor” reboot featured host Johnny Knoxville in a “Fear Factor: House of Fear Night,” and an “Ozzfest Night” honored late rocker Ozzy Osbourne, including a special tribute by “Masked Singer” alum Kelly Osbourne (Season 2’s Ladybug) saluting her father’s musical influence.
The 18 Masked contestants in Season 14 include Eggplant, Pugcasso, Queen Corgi, the Croissants, Owl, 14 Karat Carrot, Snow Cone, Galaxy Girl, High Voltage, Googly Eyes, Scarab, Handyman, Crane, Le Who Who, Pangolin, Stingray, Cat Witch and Calla Lily.
Per the show, the Season 14 contestants have sold a combined 94 million records, received 47 Teen Choice Award nominations, 12 Emmy nominations, two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one Tony Award win and one Academy Award nomination.
Here were the performances on Wednesday’s episode.
Nick Cannon and Cat Witch, “The Masked Singer”
Cat Witch
Song: “Run to You,” by Whitney Houston
Previous songs: “Abracadabra,” by Lady Gaga; “Teenage Dream,” by Katy Perry; “It Will Rain,” by Bruno Mars; “Starships,” by Nicki Minaj
Clue: Related to Robin Thicke. “Robin, last time I told you worked with one of my family members. But we know each other because you welcomed my family into your home. You recorded with one of my parents. Also have a connection with Rita.”
Panel guesses: Noah Cyrus, Kylie Cantrall
Previous panel guesses: Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, Lisa from Blackpink; Victoria Justice, Ashley Tisdale, Zendaya, Hailee Steinfeld,Jamie Lynn Spears, Katseye members, Vanessa Lachey
Cat Witch voiceover: “My journal, I write all my personal secrets in it. But tonight, turn to page 20 for my top secret entry: A letter for someone special: Mom. All of this is possible because of you. You believed in me as a little girl and showed me exactly who I could be. And when I landed a role in a huge franchise, you were right by my side. The older I get, the more I relate to you. All those lessons you taught me, maybe I didn’t understand them at the time. I think I get it now. And while my life story is still being written, I feel safe following in your footsteps. You’re such a queen. Now watch me go after the crown.”
Galaxy Girl, “The Masked Singer”
Galaxy Girl
Song: “Misery Business,” by Paramore
Previous songs: “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,” by Chappell Roan; “Just A Girl,” by No Doubt; “Drive,” by Incubus; Lights,” by Ellie Goulding
Clue: Connected to Nick Cannon. “You’re definitely closer to my husband. We go back early 2000s. I think you’ve probably partied with my husband but not me.”
Panel guesses: Ashlee Simpson, Aly Michalka
Previous panel guesses: Lindsay Lohan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Emma Stone, Dixie D’Amelio, Anne Hathaway, Hillary Duff, Ashlee Simpson, Kate Hudson, Gwen Stefani, Taylor Momsen, Avril Lavigne
Galaxy Girl voiceover: “There’s a little detail I should probably share with you: This necklace. [Heart necklace with “best” and “friends,” broken in two.] I’ve looked up to one star my whole life. By day, we’d sing karaoke in her convertible. But by night, she’d take the world’s biggest stages by storm. And I watched in awe. I saw the awards, the glitz, the glam. But I also saw the public scrutiny, the headlines. I remember how much my heart would break for her. When it was my turn in the spotlight, I was scared to follow in her footsteps. But she prepared me for what was to come. And she’s always been my guiding light. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t some healthy competition. And that’s why I want to get to the finale. She may be a massive star. But finally, I’m the whole galaxy. I win!”
Pangolin, “The Masked Singer”
Pangolin
Song: “It Must Have Been Love,” by Roxette
Previous songs: “Ironic,” by Alanis Morrisette; “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” by Ozzy Osbourne; “What A Feeling (Flashdance)” by Irene Cara
Clue: Connected to Ken Jeong: “This person and I have been on camera together.”
Panel guesses: Lea Michelle, Rachel Platten
Previous panel guesses: Sara Bareilles, Christina Perri, Katy Perry, Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch, Meghan Trainor, Jennifer Nettles
Pangolin voiceover: “My best friend in the whole world was my nana. She would carry news clippings of me and force people to read them. Like, ‘have you heard about my granddaughter? She’s on the Emmys! She was feisty, funny and full of heart. I lost her a few years ago, and I miss her every day. Like when I became I mom, I went through a really tough time. I would sit there wondering how to get through. But then I think about Nana, and I hear her say, ‘you got this!’ And it really did get me through. That fierceness, it runs in the family. And it’s what’s driving me now to make new headlines. To fight and get to the finale!”
Pugcasso, “The Masked Singer”
Pugcasso
Song: “Bad Dreams,” by Teddy Swims
Clue: Connected to Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg. “We have shared a stage together.”
Panel guesses: Shay Mooney, Darren Criss
Previous songs: “Ordinary,” by Alex Warren; “Fake Plastic Trees,” by Radiohead; “Too Much,” by Spice Girls; “Dreams,” by the Cranberries
Previous panel guesses: Dan Reynolds, Darren Criss, Ryan Tedder, Jack Johnson, Rob Thomas, Pat Monahan, Vance Joy, Charlie Puth, Gavin DeGraw, Jason Mraz
Pugcasso voiceover: “There was a moment where everyone in America had their eyes on me. This hometown boy was thrown into interviews and photo shoots. The problem is, I’ve aways thought of myself as a musician, not a celebrity. I work really hard at a life as normal as possible for me and my family. I mean, my own kid doesn’t know that I’m famous. So you can imagine, I’d love to do the show, and I was lucky to be chosen. For me it’s about the art, the music. That’s why I want to make it to the finale. This has allowed me to do what I do best.””
Crane, “The Masked Singer”
Crane
Song: “Break Free,” by Ariana Grande
Clue: Connection with Rita Ora. “We love a little healthy competition. We were on TV together. Not a talk show, we were competing.”
Crane voiceover: “Take a deeper look at my DNA. When I had my breakout success, I’m talking multiplatinum. There was so much pressure to strike while the iron was hot. But behind closed doors, my world was falling apart. Both of my parents were sick. I had to be there for them. But when I shared my work with them, I could see joy. I didn’t realize it then, but I was inspiring them to fight. And seeing their light pushed me to keep going. We leaned on each other, and after several difficult years, we can finally take a deep breath. That’s why I want to make it to the finale. Being a fighter is in my blood.”
Past “The Masked Singer” winners include T-Pain as Monster (Season 1), Wayne Brady as Fox (Season 2), Kandi Burruss as Night Angel (Season 3), LeAnn Rimes as Sun (Season 4), Nick Lachey as Piglet (Season 5), Jewel as Queen of Hearts (Season 6), Teyana Taylor as Firefly (Season 7), Amber Riley as Harp (Season 8), Bishop Briggs as Medusa (Season 9), Ne-Yo as Cow (Season 10), Vanessa Hudgens as Goldfish (Season 11), Boyz II Men as Buffalos (Season 12) and Gretchen Wilson as Pearl (Season 13).
“The Masked Singer” comes from Fox Alternative Entertainment. Rosie Seitchik, Craig Plestis and Cannon are executive producers, while Seitchik serves as showrunner. The series is based on the South Korean format created by Mun Hwa Broadcasting Corp.
