CNBC's Deirdre Bosa joins 'Squawk on the Street' with the latest news on the AI race.

New York

Microsoft and Meta are sending contrasting signals in the technology sector's ongoing race for artificial intelligence (AI) dominance. While Microsoft has announced the reduction of 9,000 jobs, Meta is making substantial investments to attract top AI talent, including high-profile hires and lucrative compensation packages.

This divide highlights a broader trend in the industry, where the focus is shifting toward securing elite AI researchers, sometimes at the expense of mid-level positions. Other major companies like Apple and Amazon are noticeably less active in these talent wars, which is reflected in their recent market performance. The escalating competition has led to unprecedented salary offers, with some contracts reportedly reaching hundreds of millions of dollars.

Big Tech's hiring divide

Our chairs of Microsoft and Meta both trading higher today as the two tech giants send out starkly different messages around hiring. Microsoft cutting 9,000 jobs this week, while Meta spends big on AI talent. Deirdre Bosa digs into that for today's tech check. I do wonder if there's a difference between the sort of very high-priced mega talent and everybody else. Yeah. And everybody else. It's basically the middle that's getting squeezed, right? And we should note that both Meta and Microsoft trading near all-time highs, and it's not model performance that they're trading on. Meta is trying to buy its way back into that race. Microsoft is in a power struggle with its crown jewel over future access to GPT. Investors, they're rewarding something that is harder to measure, the optics of talent and the power of narrative. Now, Meta brought in Alexander Wang to project credibility, and Microsoft's Mustafa Salihman brought in, through a similar route, he's stepping into a role as an AI statesman, just as the company cuts thousands of jobs. Now, a few days ago, Salihman launched a personal curated website of TED Talks, book links, and recent conversations. This really mirrors Sam Altman's own playbook, designed to make Salihman a thought leader, not just a Microsoft executive. Here he was on Tim Higgins' Bold Names podcast yesterday, talking about the importance of trust when developing AI. I think it's a moment when that is sort of more urgent than ever, because people are going to want to know, how is it behaving in practice? What views does it actually have? And I think that's where we have to be kind of bold and open in terms of sharing those sorts of conversations with the public. Bold and open, share with the public. Now, Alexander Wang, he's also been busy building narrative. As Meta's new chief AI officer, he posted to X and Threads a list of the elite researchers joining his leadership from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind. Those names, guys, I don't know if you saw this, they circulated like free agent signings. Instead of teams, though, it's trillion and multibillion-dollar tech companies, and the comp packages closer to franchise money, just huge amounts of money, $300 million-plus. It makes the lack of an AI bench at other megacaps, notably Apple and Amazon, all the more glaring. Now, neither of those has a frontman, and neither is really in the talent wars in the same kind of way that Altman, Zuckerberg and others are. Researchers are not overlooking that. Compare what they've done versus Meta and a Microsoft. Amazon's flat on the year. Apple is down nearly 15 percent. Narrative, the new personality premiums, guys. Dee, maybe it's too early to know the answer to this question, but I'm fascinated to know what this is going to do to both the kind of cost base, but also morale at somewhere like Meta. I mean, is this going to raise what the kind of going salary is for some of their internal existing top talent, that they're going to have to boost wages across the board, or is it going to really annoy a lot of the people that have built the company and may well still be needed? I mean, that's what's so interesting about this, right? It's such a big experiment, and when Sam Altman came out a few weeks ago and says, oh, Zuckerberg is offering $100 million signing bonuses, there was a lot of skepticism around that. People said that Sam Altman was kind of playing like 3-D chess, saying that now Zuckerberg has to offer $100 million signing bonuses, when that wasn't really in the cards. But Zuckerberg answered back and said, OK, we'll give you $300 million contracts over four years. So, they're in this sort of race to the top, I guess you would call it, not a race to the bottom. But remember, they just have huge, huge amounts of money, I mean, a billion dollars for a few AI research scientists. In the grand scheme of things, for Meta, it's not that much, considering how much they're spending on infrastructure and GPUs. Same with Altman. They have the money to do so, but it'll be interesting to see how this all shapes up. Not that much, unless you're one of the lucky beneficiaries, in which case, not bad at all. If you're at the bottom, you don't want to be in the middle. Great stuff. Thanks so much, Dee Bosa, for us there.

Indonesian rescuers on Thursday (July 3) temporarily halted a search for 30 people still missing after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the island of Bali with the loss of six lives, the national search and rescue agency said.

Gilimanuk

Indonesia suspends search for 30 missing after ferry sinks near Bali

After marathon debate sessions in the Senate and House, President Donald Trump’s budget bill passed in the House. Republicans secured the biggest win of Trump’s presidency.

Washington

Trump’s landmark ‘big, beautiful bill’ narrowly passes U.S. House

Florida says the first group of migrant detainees have arrived at the new immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz." CBS News correspondent Shanelle Kaul has more.

Ochopee

First group of detainees arrive at "Alligator Alcatraz," Florida says

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday (July 3) that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he plans to hold a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. CBS News White House reporter Willie James Inman has more.

Ukraine Invasion

Trump speaks with Putin, plans call with Zelenskyy

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez reports on a lawsuit from lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleging he suffered “torture and mistreatment” after he was wrongfully deported and held in El Salvador’s notorious mega prison.

Tecoluca

Kilmar Abrego Garcia claims he was tortured in El Salvadoran prison

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Jerusalem

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Manhattan

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Liverpool soccer player Diogo Jota has died aged 28, just weeks after marrying his childhood sweetheart. The footballer passed away in a car crash in northern Spain.

Madrid

Liverpool soccer player dies in car crash 10 days after wedding

The Pentagon said that U.S. strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.

Tehran

Iran Strikes

Iran nuclear program degraded by up to two years: Pentagon

Days before his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama announced the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non-profit he founded, will have the sole authority to recognize his future reincarnation, but China insists it will choose the successor of the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Lhasa

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Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill nears approval

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President Trump says Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, but it remains unclear if Hamas will accept the terms. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Debora Patta has more.

Trump says Israel has agreed to Gaza ceasefire conditions

Bryan Kohberger changed his plea to guilty Wednesday for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. CBS News national correspondent Carter Evans has more on the case.

Boise

New details revealed as Kohberger pleads guilty for 2022 Idaho murders

The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a state abortion law that was adopted in 1849 in a 4-3 landmark decision. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul reports.

Madison

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Macron and Putin held regular discussions around the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Macron visiting Putin in Russia in February 2022, but dialogue eventually stalled.

Paris

Macron held 'substantial' phone call with Putin

President Trump toured “Alligator Alcatraz,” a migrant detention center he teamed up with Ron DeSantis to build in the Everglades.

Everglades

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Former criminology graduate student Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to killing four Idaho college students in 2022, a move that would spare him the death penalty under a deal with prosecutors, ABC News reported on Monday (June 30).

Moscow

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Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, adding to mounting pressure on a government fighting for survival on multiple fronts.

Bangkok

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Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people across Gaza on June 30 in some of the heaviest attacks in weeks as Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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U.S. President Donald Trump says he's not planning to extend the pause on global tariffs set to expire on July 9. Brian Schwartz, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, joins CBS News to discuss.

Global Tariffs

Trump says he's not planning to extend July 9 global tariff deadline

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Jury deliberations set to begin in Sean "Diddy" Combs trial

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Iran's nuclear sites were "obliterated," but the U.N.'s top nuclear inspector says the country can quickly resume uranium production.