The fifth round of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran in Rome ended Friday with "some but not conclusive progress," according to Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who is mediating between the parties.

Why it matters: In recent days the negotiations have hit a roadblock over the fact that Iran says it will only sign a deal that permits a domestic enrichment capability, and the U.S. has said enrichment is its red line.

• Israel has been making preparations to swiftly strike Iran's nuclear sites if U.S.-Iran nuclear talks break down in the coming weeks.
• One source told Axios that Israel believes its operational window for a successful strike could close soon.

Driving the news: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian media after Fridays' talks that the discussions are very complicated and further negotiations are needed. He said al-Busaidi had presented several ideas to try to bridge the gaps between the sides.

Driving the news: The negotiations between Araghchi and White House envoy Steve Witkoff lasted three hours and were "very productive," according to a source with knowledge of the talks.

• Shortly before they began, Witkoff met in Rome with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and the director of Israel's Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, according to a U.S. source.
• The Israeli government is very skeptical of the talks and is preparing for a military option, despite the massive risks of attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.
• Iran threatened Thursday to move its nuclear material to undisclosed locations to thwart any Israeli strike.

What's next: "We hope to clarify the remaining issues in the coming days, to allow us to proceed towards the common goal of reaching a sustainable and honorable agreement," said al-Busaidi, the Omani mediator.

A Microsoft employee has managed to circumvent a block instituted earlier this week that limited mentions of "Palestine," "Gaza," and "genocide" in email subject lines or in the body of a message. Nisreen Jaradat, a senior tech support engineer at Microsoft, emailed thousands of employees on Friday morning with the subject line "You can't get rid of us."

"As a Palestinian worker, I am fed up with the way our people have been treated by this company," the note, a copy of which was obtained by The Verge, reads. "I am sending this email as a message to Microsoft leaders: the cost of trying to silence all voices that dare to humanize Palestinians is far higher than simply listening to the concerns of your employees."

It's not immediately clear how Jaradat got around the block. The email calls on Microsoft employees to sign a petition by the No Azure for Apartheid group, which urges Microsoft to end its contracts with the Israeli government. No Azure for Apartheid (NOAA) is behind several high-profile protest actions in recent weeks, and Jaradat, a member, also encourages colleagues to join the group in different capacities. Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw directed The Verge to a p …

Read the full story at The Verge.

• Interior designer Vicente Wolf shared which decor items he'd never have in his home and why.
• He said small coffee tables aren't functional enough, and short drapes can look odd.
• The designer also avoids faux fireplaces, plastic flowers, and mass-produced art.

When designing your space, deciding what not to bring into your home can be just as important as choosing which pieces to buy.  

So, Business Insider asked Vicente Wolf, an interior designer with over 40 years of experience and principal designer of Vicente Wolf Associates, to share a few things he'd never have in his own space.

Here's what he said.

Coffee tables serve a real purpose in homes, so Wolf avoids small ones

"Coffee tables offer people a place to put things down — even your feet, should you choose to," he told BI.

A generously sized coffee table is especially necessary if you don't have end tables or other flat surfaces conveniently located nearby, Wolf added.

Plastic plants can be drab and have the same stale look year-round

Wolf avoids faux plants in his home designs as they can be lifeless and unchanging. They also don't hold a candle to living ones.

"There is a joy in seeing things grow," he added.

Plus, based on the ancient practice of feng shui, which focuses on harmony and balance in a space, every room should include something living. 

Fluorescent lights can be too harsh and unflattering

Wolf avoids using fluorescent bulbs in his home because they're not very flattering in spaces or against skin tones.

"They are way too harsh for the eyes, and wreak havoc on the colors in the decor," he said.

Wolf recommends staying away from matchy-matchy bedroom sets

Matching furniture sets may be a one-step way to decorate a bedroom, but they lack originality, Wolf said.

"In my opinion, they also look dated, as society has moved toward a more relaxed vision of home styling," he told BI. "Coordinating pieces that work together is so much more fun — and alluring — but do take an extra bit of thought."

You won't find short drapes in his space

According to the designer, having drapes that hang above the floor is akin to wearing clothing that doesn't fit properly.

He said drapes typically look best when they touch the floor or puddle a ½ inch to an inch or so.

The designer replaces paper napkins with cloth ones

Although paper napkins are easier to clean up, Wolf said it's best to opt for cloth ones if you want a more sophisticated look.

Cloth napkins are wonderful for entertaining guests and are a personal luxury to use in everyday life — just make sure they're good quality.

"Buy cotton napkins that have some absorbency," he added. "You have to be able to wipe grease off your face properly."

Wolf tries to avoid reproduced and mass-produced art

Wolf said mass-produced art is the opposite of sophistication, and using it is a missed opportunity to create a more personal home design.

"I like my home and those of my clients to be an expression of how they live and who they are," he said.

So, he prioritizes special original pieces and typically steers clear of reproduced art for himself and his clients.

He suggested looking at secondhand stores for original art that "won't break the bank" or framing your own photos. After all, Wolf said, "most everything will work beautifully" in a really great frame.

Fake fireplaces don't offer the same feel as real ones

The designer said faux fireplaces can be tacky and electric inserts can't even come close to the look and feel of a real fireplace.

"If you must, a gas-powered fireplace is acceptable, but there is nothing like the real thing with real logs," he said. "So, if it doesn't light, I don't want it."

He said furniture with visible branding is tacky

He also avoids displaying labeled or branded furniture in his home. 

"It's just tasteless," Wolf said. "Why do I want to give a company free advertising?"

This story was originally published on November 7, 2022, and most recently updated on May 23, 2025.

• Anthropic banned the use of AI in job applications.
• The startup is backtracking on this policy, Mike Krieger, Anthropic's chief product officer, said.
• Anthropic is a leading AI startup that offers an AI chatbot service called Claude.

About a week ago, I told you about an odd policy at one of the top AI companies. When you apply for a job at Anthropic, the startup won't let you use AI to write a required "Why Anthropic?" essay.

That seemed a bit rich, coming from a company that's been warning us to adopt AI or face irrelevance.

On Friday, an Anthropic executive said the startup is reversing this stance.

"We're having to evolve, even as the company at the forefront of a lot of this technology, around how we evaluate candidates," Mike Krieger said during an interview on CNBC. "So our future interview loops will have much more of this ability to co-use AI."

Why would an AI company have previously not wanted people using its products like this? This technology is supposed to take over the world, revolutionizing every aspect of work and play. Why stop at job applications?

I asked Anthropic about this earlier in May. I still haven't heard back. But I think Krieger described the evolving situation thoughtfully. Here's everything he said on Friday about this issue (edited for clarity by me, not an AI bot).

"I actually was in a conversation this week around how we're revising our interview loop to actually let people use AI, because that is an actual part of the software engineering job today.

"Are you able to use these tools effectively to solve problems? Just like, I talk to people who are high school teachers and they've had to evolve, how they even think about what it means to give assignments out in the age where people are using AI.

"We're having to evolve, even as the company at the forefront of a lot of this technology, around how we evaluate candidates. So our future interview loops will have much more of this ability to co-use AI, but talk about, how did you prompt the AI? What were you trying to do with it? What are its limitations? What did you change, based on what it did?"

Anthropic is hiring a lot right now. If you go to its career website and click on a job posting, you may still see this requirement:

"While we encourage people to use AI systems during their role to help them work faster and more effectively, please do not use AI assistants during the application process," Anthropic wrote in a job posting I checked on Friday. "We want to understand your personal interest in Anthropic without mediation through an AI system, and we also want to evaluate your non-AI-assisted communication skills. Please indicate 'Yes' if you have read and agree."

I assume Anthropic will update these listings soon. Maybe they'll get their Claude AI chatbot to do it?

Sign up for BI's Tech Memo newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at [email protected].

Last years base model is in a strange place. Yes, the Pixel 8 is still a great buy, but it might not be easy to recommend as Android and, in particular AI, plays a more integral role in the OS over the coming years – here’s why.

The long-term promise of Apple Intelligence and next-gen Siri is that it will be able to access all our apps, and the data stored in those apps, to become massively more helpful.

ChatGPT has effectively given us a preview of this type of capability through its integration with a handful of Mac apps, and I’ve been putting it to the test …