Chinese AI Stocks Surge as Tencent, MiniMax, and Zhipu Launch Agentic AI Programs 
Lockheed Martin Secures $1.9B U.S. Air Force Contract for C-130J Training and Maintenance Systems 
Defense Contractors Move to Drop Anthropic AI After Trump Administration Ban 
OpenAI Explores New Code-Hosting Platform to Reduce Dependence on GitHub 
Iran Crisis Could Threaten AI Data Center Expansion and Global Chip Demand, South Korea Warns 
SoftBank Seeks Up to $40 Billion Loan to Fund Major Investment in OpenAI 
Nvidia to Launch New AI Inference Processor to Boost OpenAI Performance 
Indonesia Issues Stern Warning to Meta Over Online Gambling and Disinformation 
Facebook Outage Disrupts Thousands of Users Across the United States 
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says $100B OpenAI Investment Unlikely as AI Demand Surges 
Amazon Website Outage Disrupts Thousands of U.S. Shoppers Before Services Recover 
Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over AI Blacklist, Citing Free Speech Violations 
Pentagon Labels Anthropic AI a Supply-Chain Risk, Restricting Use in U.S. Military Projects 
US Lawmakers Raise Security Concerns Over Intel Testing ACM Research Chipmaking Tools 
The Pentagon strongarmed AI firms before Iran strikes – in dark news for the future of ‘ethical AI’ 
U.S. Officials Review Tencent’s Stakes in Epic Games, Riot Games Over Security Concerns 
Trump Administration Proposes Tough AI Contract Rules as Anthropic Blacklisted by Pentagon 
Basketball fans who are also avid players of “Fortnite” are reportedly getting a treat for the next featured star in the battle royale game’s Icon Series. A reliable source reported that the Epic Games is going to introduce a new skin inspired by the Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
LeBron James is the next ‘Fortnite’ Icon Series star, report claims
The Icon Series has become a staple part of “Fortnite,” where players can purchase skins and other cosmetic items with designs inspired by their favorite streamers. The series also features several music artists who released records specially made for the game.
In recent months, the Icon Series has expanded to feature some popular athletes as well. Football star Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, more commonly known as Neymar Jr., was featured in April. Last month, Epic Games also added Harry Kane and Marco Reus as some of the newest Icon Series skins. It now appears that the addition of famous athletes will continue with the rumored addition of James.
Epic Games has yet to make an announcement regarding James’s arrival as the latest “Fortnite” Icon Series skin. However, the information came from the reliable leaker ShiinaBR, who previously accurately reported on the alien-themed “Fortnite” skins. The tipster did not provide plenty of details other than the definitive leak that “LeBron James will be the next Icon Series skin” in a tweet on Monday.
EXCLUSIVE: LEBRON JAMES WILL BE THE NEXT ICON SERIES SKIN
— Shiina (@ShiinaBR) July 5, 2021
ShiinaBR also tweeted that a content update announcement is slated as early as Tuesday. “Fortnite” fans should be on the lookout for clues of James’s rumored arrival to the game.
Is it part of a ‘Space Jam’ promo?
The other question is whether or not James will don his Laker jersey or if his Icon Series feature is part of a marketing effort to promote his upcoming movie “Space Jam: A New Legacy.” The four-time NBA champion will star in the film as himself, who has to carry the Looney Tunes team to win a basketball game against the Goon Squad to save his son Dom (Cedric Joe). The announcement of a James Icon Series skin this week would also make sense if it is part of a “Space Jam” promotion since the movie is set to premiere in theaters and HBO Max on July 16.
