SUCCESS

After a stunning debut last week with cyber capabilities so advanced they reportedly found a previously undetected vulnerability in Cursor, GLM-5.3, the new frontier open source language model from Chinese startup z.ai, has now hit the application programming interface (API) — allowing developers the ability to build atop it and plug it into their agents and applications. Developers who previously subscribed to a GLM Coding Plan are currently limited to the OpenAI Chat Completions-compatible protocol. Z.ai said it plans to make the model’s weights openly available, but a precise date and licensing remain to be seen. On the API, the price is unchanged from GLM-5.2: $1.40 per million input tokens and $4.40 per million output tokens. Cached input costs $0.26 per million tokens, while Z.ai currently lists cached-input storage as free for a limited time. That means developers can move to the new generation without taking a higher posted per-token rate from Z.ai, even as the company claims substantially stronger coding and long-horizon agent performance.
At those rates, GLM-5.3 sits well below several of the highest-end frontier APIs. ModelInput ($/1M)Output ($/1M)Total ($/1M)SourceMuse Spark 1.2 Contributor$0.10$0.20$0.30MetaMiMo-V2.5 Flash$0.10$0.30$0.40XiaomiDeepSeek-V4-Flash — off-peak$0.22$0.66$0.88DeepSeekGPT-5.6 Luna$0.20$1.20$1.40OpenAIMiniMax-M3$0.30$1.20$1.50MiniMaxLongCat-2.0 — limited-time promo$0.30$1.20$1.50LongCatDeepSeek-V4-Flash — peak hours$0.44$1.32$1.76DeepSeekMiMo-V2.5$0.40$2.00$2.40XiaomiDeepSeek-V4-Pro — off-peak$0.66$1.98$2.64DeepSeekLongCat-2.0 — standard$0.75$2.95$3.70LongCatMiMo-V2.5 Pro (≤256K)$1.00$3.00$4.00XiaomiGemini 3.6 Flash — through Dec. 31, 2026$0.75$3.75$4.50GoogleGemini 3.7 Flash — through Dec. 31, 2026$0.75$3.75$4.50GoogleDeepSeek-V4-Pro — peak hours$1.32$3.96$5.28DeepSeekMuse Spark 1.1 / 1.2$1.25$4.25$5.50MetaGLM-5.3$1.40$4.40$5.80Z.AIGrok 4.6 — 256K)$2.00$6.00$8.00XiaomiQwen3.8-Max$2.00$6.00$8.00QwenCloudGemini 3.6 Flash — starting Jan. 1, 2027$1.50$7.50$9.00GoogleGemini 3.7 Flash — starting Jan. 1, 2027$1.50$7.50$9.00GoogleGPT-5.6 Terra$2.00$12.00$14.00OpenAIGrok 4.6 — ≥200K prompt tokens$4.00$12.00$16.00xAIGPT-5.4$2.50$15.00$17.50OpenAIKimi K3$3.00$15.00$18.00Moonshot AIClaude Opus 5$5.00$25.00$30.00AnthropicSakana Fugu Ultra (≤272K)$5.00$30.00$35.00Sakana AIGPT-5.6 Sol — Standard mode$5.00$30.00$35.00OpenAIClaude Fable 5 / Claude Mythos 5$10.00$50.00$60.00AnthropicGPT-5.6 Sol — Fast mode$10.00$60.00$70.00OpenAIUsing the simple VentureBeat comparison of one million input tokens plus one million output tokens, GLM-5.3 comes to $5.80, versus $8 for Grok 4.6 at its lower context rate, $18 for Kimi K3, $30 for Claude Opus 5 and $35 for GPT-5.6 Sol. That is not a workload-cost estimate — real bills depend heavily on the input/output mix, caching and token consumption — but it makes the relative API price tier easy to see.GLM-5.3 is not the cheapest capable model available. Google’s current introductory price for Gemini 3.7 Flash is $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens through Dec. 31, 2026, while OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Luna is priced at $0.20 input and $1.20 output. Still, Z.ai’s price puts GLM-5.3 into a notably lower cost band than the premium frontier models it is increasingly benchmarked against.That comparison has become more relevant following the latest independent results. Artificial Analysis gives GLM-5.3 a score of 60 on its Intelligence Index, tying Kimi K3 as the top performing open weights model in the world, and scoring seven points higher than GLM-5.2. Its analysis also estimates GLM-5.3 at about $0.68 per Intelligence Index task, versus roughly $0.44 for GLM-5.2, despite the identical API token prices.The difference underscores an important caveat in headline API pricing: Artificial Analysis found GLM-5.3 more verbose than its predecessor, so flat per-token rates do not necessarily mean flat costs for a completed workload.For developers, though, the immediate change is straightforward: GLM-5.3 is now callable through Z.ai’s API at the same $1.40/$4.40 per-million-token rate as GLM-5.2, giving teams another relatively low-cost option for testing frontier-class coding and agent workloads.

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Wealth has always had two answers to a tax bill. Pay it, or move somewhere the bill cannot follow.

For most of American history the second answer was the expensive one. It required lawyers, accountants, a persuasive paper trail, and usually a second house in a state with better weather and a friendlier revenue department.

Then a third answer appeared, and it turned out to be the cheapest of the three. You do not pay and you do not move. You buy the election that decides whether the tax exists.

California is stress testing that idea this year. The state holds more billionaires than any other, roughly 200 of them, and a measure on the Nov. 3 ballot would take a one-time 5% slice of their net worth. Ninety percent of the money would fund the state health care program, according to NPR.

The exodus got the headlines. At least six billionaires established residency elsewhere before the deadline that mattered, including Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, according to Fortune.

What the roughly 200 who stayed did next is the part that should hold your attention. And one of the six who left is bankrolling it.

Brin has given $102 million this year to Building a Better California, the group leading the campaign against the measure, according to data from the California secretary of state.

Brin spent $102 million opposing Proposition 40 but Berkeley polling shows billionaire tax still leads.FREDERIC J. BROWN / Getty Images

What $102 million buys in a ballot fight

I ran Brin’s spending against his own exposure, and the ratio is what makes this worth following.

His net worth stood at roughly $276 billion on Aug. 16, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. A 5% levy on a figure that size lands somewhere near $13.8 billion.

Measured against that, $102 million is about three quarters of one percent. Priced as insurance, it is cheap.

Here is how the money and the polling stack up:

Brin has contributed $102 million this year to Building a Better California, including a $20 million donation in a recent filing, according to state campaign data reported by CPA Practice Advisor.

The union-backed campaign supporting the tax has raised just over $30 million, according to Fortune.

Proposition 40 led 48% to 41% among likely voters in a survey released Aug. 14, according to the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.

Brin’s fortune has grown by roughly $26 billion so far in 2026, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Building a Better California describes itself as a nonpartisan group focused on “supporting forward-looking ideas to improve affordability and quality of life,” according to the organization’s website. It says Proposition 40 would damage the state economy and cost the budget billions without lowering health care costs, according to its published FAQ.

Related: J.P. Morgan flags gathering storm in U.S. wealth taxes

The other side frames the same spending very differently. Brin “would rather spend $100 million to fund a shady opposition campaign” than pay the levy, said Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers West Vice President Debru Carthan, in a statement reported by Common Dreams.

Brin has explained his position in personal terms. He said he “fled socialism with my family in 1979” and does not want California heading the same direction, he told the New York Times in April, in comments cited by Fortune.

Why leaving California may not settle the bill

The mechanic that makes this fight strange is buried in the measure’s residency language, and it is the part most worth understanding if you have ever thought about moving for tax reasons.

Proposition 40 applies to anyone who was a California resident on Jan. 1, 2026. There is no proration for leaving in February, or June, or the week before the election. Net worth is then valued as of Dec. 31, 2026. “This retroactive residency date is likely to be challenged in court,” according to the California Budget and Policy Center. 

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That date passed nearly eight months ago. Anyone who packed a moving van in December beat it. Anyone who moved in January did not.

So the spending makes sense even for someone who already left. A residency change is a defense you have to win in an audit. Killing the measure outright needs no lawyer at all.

Which is what Propositions 41 and 42 are for. Proposition 41 would bar new taxes enacted after Jan. 1 of this year. Proposition 42 would prohibit both wealth taxes and retroactive taxes outright, according to KQED. If a countermeasure and Proposition 40 both pass, the one with more votes takes effect.

Brin is not alone in funding that strategy. Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, and venture capitalist Ron Conway have all spent against the measure, a pattern TheStreet tracked when Ripple quietly moved millions into the opposition earlier this year.

What the polling says about all that money

What struck me when I pulled the latest Berkeley numbers is how little the spending has moved.

Proposition 40 holds 48% support against 41% opposition among likely voters. The measure “is shaping up to be a closely fought contest,” said Institute of Governmental Studies co-director Eric Schickler, according to Berkeley News.

Seven points is not a comfortable lead. Measures sitting under 50% in August often lose, because undecided voters break toward no. But it is a lead, and it has survived a spending gap of better than 3 to 1, a fight TheStreet valued at $100 billion when the measure first qualified.

The more useful finding sits underneath. Voter awareness of Propositions 41 and 42 is low. That is the cheapest ground left to buy, and where the remaining money will go.

The politics are not clean on either side. Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the tax, arguing it erodes the state’s revenue base over time, while the California Democratic Party officially supports it. The California Teachers Association is opposed. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna are in favor.

Why this state tax fight matters to your wallet

If you are reading this from Ohio or Georgia, the temptation is to file this under California problems. I would not.

Statehouses have been circling wealth and high-earner taxes for two years. Maine enacted a surcharge on income above $1 million in April, and Washington and Illinois have floated versions of the same idea. J.P. Morgan Private Bank flagged California’s measure as the most advanced example of a trend running well past one state, an analysis TheStreet covered when the measure qualified for the ballot.

The transferable lesson has nothing to do with billionaires. It is the residency snapshot.

Most people assume leaving a state ends its claim on them. It does not, and never really has. California audits departing residents on domicile, not mailing address, and the questions get granular. Where do your kids go to school. Where do you garage the car.

Proposition 40 just wrote that logic into a single fixed date, which is what makes it a template. If it survives the courts, expect other states to copy the date and skip the audit.

That is the outcome worth watching on Nov. 3, and it will not be settled that night. Whichever way the vote breaks, the lawyers are already booked.

Related: California’s billionaire tax ignites $100B fight

You’re in an aisle of a bookshop, airport store, or supermarket and have your hands full. You don’t bring out your phone; you glance at something and ask Siri to remember it.

That is the kind of interaction Apple may be preparing for its next generation of AirPods.

Unreleased AirPods with a camera appear to be employing a technology called Visual Intelligence in a demo movie in the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate, according to The Verge. The clip shows someone wearing the glasses looking at a book while Siri says visual information can be saved for later.

That would push AirPods well beyond music, calls, and noise cancellation.

Apple (AAPL) currently sells AirPods Pro 3 starting at $249, according to the company, as Mashable reported. The leaked model hasn’t been officially revealed, and Apple hasn’t mentioned pricing, so investors shouldn’t assume the camera-equipped version will be the same price.

Still, $249 is a useful baseline for what millions of people already accept as the price of a premium Apple accessory.

The more important question is whether people pay more for headphones that could actually work as a second pair of eyes for Siri.

Apple may be turning AirPods into an AI interface

Reports say the cameras aren’t really for snapping images.

Rather, they seem intended to provide visual information to Siri and Apple’s artificial intelligence algorithms so the assistant knows what the user is looking at. This may lead to more natural encounters later.

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A traveler might inquire about a sign without pulling out a phone. A shopper may tell Siri to recall a product. A blind user could be presented with extensive descriptions of the environment.

Those use cases are still a bit speculative, since Apple has not launched the product. But the leaked demo gives investors a better feel for what Apple is trying out: AI that understands the real world without forcing the user to look at a screen.

That is important, since AirPods are already in a highly coveted spot. They are worn on the body and already include microphones. Plus, users keep them in for hours.

Apple says the AirPods Pro 3 now offer up to eight hours of listening time with active noise cancellation, plus heart-rate tracking and hearing-health capabilities.

Adding visual intelligence would move the product from “headphones” to wearable computers.

Apple may be giving AirPods a pair of eyes.VALERIE MACON / Getty Images

Human appeal of camera-equipped AirPods creates privacy problem

The promise is convenience.

The worry is that a camera in an earbud is much less noticeable to other people than a phone held up or smart glasses on someone’s face.

That might present a difficult trade-off for Apple.

Although The Verge observed that the leaked design doesn’t reveal whether there’s any kind of recording indicator, it pointed out that the cameras seem designed for low-res visual context rather than photography.

Apple has made privacy a big part of its brand, and the company would certainly face issues about when the cameras are on, what data is saved, and if passersby can detect whether the system is interpreting the environment.

That may be as important as the gear.

While consumers may adore the concept of asking Siri what they’re seeing, they might feel quite differently about everyone around them wearing invisible cameras.

What consumers should know

$249: Current starting price of AirPods Pro 3.

Up to 8 hours: AirPods Pro 3 listening time with active noise cancellation.

Visual intelligence: Feature shown in the leaked camera-AirPods demo.

September: Reports suggest Apple could potentially unveil the product as early as its fall hardware event, though Apple has not confirmed that timing.

It’s easy to miss the bigger picture.

Apple doesn’t need to replace the iPhone with AirPods with cameras. It just needs to limit the number of times users have to take the iPhone out.

That’s a whole different product ambition.

The iPhone put a computer in your pocket. Now Apple may be studying whether AirPods could literally put AI in front of your eyes without putting another screen in your face.

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If wise people avoid problems by learning from the mistakes of others, then OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT update may be the wisest move the company has ever made.

Meta Platforms is in the news as the tech giant goes on trial over accusations that it purposely got teens and children addicted to its social media platforms. The company could potentially face over a trillion dollars in fines over the allegations.

Meta is accused of knowing that its platform was detrimental to teens’ mental health for years while it publicly espoused that the opposite was true.

On Aug. 18, OpenAI unveiled its plan to keep teens safe on its own platform while being at least somewhat honest about the potentially detrimental effects its large language model can have on young users.

While OpenAI has already faced lawsuits over teen deaths, including a case where ChatGPT allegedly advised a teen to take his own life, it is at least using this opportunity to tighten up its own liability.

OpenAI childproofs ChatGPT

On Aug. 18, OpenAI revealed it is making extensive changes to ChatGPT in order to keep teens and young people from harming themselves through its platform.

In its announcement, the company recognized that students today will be the first generation to grow up with artificial intelligence as an everyday part of life. And it says it recognizes the responsibility that places on OpenAI.

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According to OpenAI, while the vast majority of students are using AI in the classroom, only 16% of high school leaders say that all of their students are learning the technical knowledge to understand it.

So, in addition to starting partnerships with CodeAI to help students and educators better understand ChatGPT, OpenAI announced the launch of ChatGPT for Teens, which the company describes as “a dedicated experience designed with learning at the center to help teens think critically, deepen understanding, and use AI with confidence.”

What changes does ChatGPT for Teens make?

ChatGPT for Teens will be just like the original platform, except for the built-in mechanisms that OpenAI says will help protect kids.

Those mechanisms include features that will give parents more control over the experience and more guidance for the teens on how to use the technology safely.

“Parents and educators want young people to be ready for a future shaped by AI—and they are right to expect that to come with care,” Dr. Allison Mishkin, Head of Child Development, OpenAI, said in the company announcement. 

“Our goal is not simply to help more students use AI, but to help them ask better questions, think critically about the answers they receive, and use these tools responsibly,” Mishkin continued. “We look forward to working alongside CodeAI, parents, and educators to learn, improve, and help young people build those skills.”

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Those features include “study mode,” which uses “guiding questions, scaffolding, metacognitive prompts, and knowledge checks” to make sure students aren’t using ChatGPT to just cheat.

ChatGPT for Teens also features homework reminders, quizzes, learning visualizations and “study hours” where parents can make study mode a default for however long the feature is on.

OpenAI says it will also share more of its safeguarding work publicly, starting with new under-18 evaluations that they’ve added to its system cards that show how its models perform against teen-specific standards in “challenging sensitive-content cases.”

Meta in spotlight over lack of teen controls

OpenAI may have been planning to roll these features out this week for a while, but the timing of the announcement is noteworthy considering AI rival Meta is going to trial this week over its own child-related issues.

Four states – California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey – are seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties against Meta, which they claim violated consumer protection laws, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

Meta’s last-ditch effort to stop the trial was rejected last week by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that Meta did not have the “immunity” from liability its defense asserted under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Meta contends that the district court’s denial of its Section 230 immunity is immediate grounds for appeal should it lose the trial.

“On the eve of trial, Meta has resorted to seeking an emergency stay in the appellate courts. Meta’s latest effort to get out of taking accountability has failed — again,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2023.

Meta filed a motion to dismiss in 2024 that was rejected and also attempted to obtain a summary judgment in June that would have terminated the lawsuit.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Teens.hapabapa / Getty Images

What is Meta accused of doing?

Back in 2023, a coalition of 33 attorneys general led by California’s Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that Meta “designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children and teens to their mental and physical detriment.”

According to Bonta, “Meta has been harming our children and teens, cultivating addiction to boost corporate profits.”

The lawsuit claims that Meta created a business model “focused on maximizing young users’ time on its platforms” while it also used “harmful and psychologically manipulative” features to keep them addicted. It also claims that Meta misled the public about the safety of those features.

According to the lawsuit, those harmful and psychologically manipulative features include:

Dopamine-manipulating recommendation algorithms.

“Likes” and social comparison features known by Meta to harm young users.

Audiovisual and haptic alerts that incessantly recall young users to Meta platforms.

Visual filter features that promote body dysmorphia.

Infinite scrolling designed to discourage users’ ability to self-regulate.

For its part, Meta says the case misrepresents the lengths the company goes to to protect children on its platform.

“We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content,” Meta said.

“We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts,” the company stated.

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Traditionally, when you talk about McDonald’s and gas, you’re not referencing filling up at the pump.

The fast-food giant, however, has made a deal to give consumers discounted gas in partnership with Shell. That move is part of the chain’s efforts to deliver broader value to customers without necessarily having the lowest prices.

“We’ve listened to customers and adjusted along the way with a relentless focus on delivering leadership in value and affordability, and our efforts are working. In the U.S., we launched McValue at the start of the year, which drove immediate incrementality, and then we relaunched Extra Value Meals in September,” CEO Christopher Kempczinski said during the chain’s fourth-quarter earnings call.

Now, the chain has decided to leverage its loyalty promotion to offer members a meaningful discount on gas. That partnership could allow the franchise to grow its business without further lowering prices while driving customers to fill up at Shell stations.

How the McDonald’s gas deal works

Shell, which has more than 12,000 U.S. gas stations, according to ScrapeHero, shared the news of the partnership on its LinkedIn page.

“Eligible MyMcDonald’s Rewards members can redeem 1,500 points for 50¢/gal off at participating Shell stations. Running August 12 through September 12, this limited-time national offer is designed to attract new Shell Fuel Rewards members, drive site visits, and generate incremental gallons,” the company shared.

The offer, however, is only available to new Shell loyalty program members who enroll through the company’s app.

“This promotion brings together two iconic brands with a shared goal: delivering more value to customers while fueling growth for our business. We’re excited to welcome new customers to the Shell Fuel Rewards program and drive more members, more visits, and more gallons,” the gas giant added.

C-Store Dive sees this partnership as a smart way for Shell to add new customers.

“With consumer sentiment continuing to fall and plague convenience retailers, this promotion offers Shell a direct connection to McDonald’s nearly 210 million 90-day loyalty members, creating an opportunity for more sign-ups and repeat visits to its fuel pumps and c-stores,” the website reported.

McDonald’s has one of the largest loyalty programs in the world. Shutterstock

How the McDonald’s loyalty program works

To use the McDonald’s loyalty program, called MyMcDonald’s Rewards, you need to download the company’s app.

“Earning rewards points is very easy, simply download our app and agree to participate in MyMcDonald’s Rewards. Present the 4-digit code before ordering, or get points automatically when you order in the app,” the company shared on its rewards program FAQ page.

Earning and redeeming points is fairly simple once you do that.

“For every dollar you spend on eligible products, you will receive 100 points. You can start redeeming your MyMcDonald’s Rewards when you have 1500 points,” the company added.

The new gas offer, while it’s only a one-time-use program, could keep customers away from Costco, at least for one fillup.

“When low on gas, consumers choose gas stations based on cheap gas (56%), location (52%), ease of entering and exiting (37%), cleanliness (25%), and high-quality gas (25%),” according to a Bludot survey.

Gas prices top $4 a gallon nationwide

After a week where prices dropped, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is back on the rise.

“Today’s (August 13) national average is back up to $4.07 after dropping to $4 on Monday (August 10). Crude oil prices are once again in the $80 per barrel range amid continued uncertainty along the Strait of Hormuz,” according to AAA. 

Slowing sales were not enough to keep prices down.

“While gasoline demand is down, crude oil prices are keeping pump prices higher than normal for this time of year. So far, this is the highest August on record when it comes to the national gasoline average,” added AAA.

National average gas prices:

August 13 National Average: $4.07 

One Week Ago: $4.06 

One Month Ago: $3.87

One Year Ago: $3.15 

McDonald’s sees loyalty as a key sales driver

“In digital, we’ve built the industry’s largest customer platform with nearly 220 million active loyalty users, and we’re now among the largest loyalty programs in the world,” Kempczinski said during its second-quarter earnings call.

He talked extensively about the loyalty program driving increased visits during the Q2 2025 call.

“In the U.S. alone, on average, the same customer visits 10.5 times in the year before joining the loyalty program and then 26 times in the year after joining,” he said.

The Shell deal is not the first time the chain has offered rewards that go beyond its own menu.

“They are earning points in the app and using them to unlock exclusive deals. And thanks to our recent partnership in the U.S., customers were able to extend rewards to new experiences like the Snapchat+ subscription with premium features,” he added.

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