PRESS DIGEST -Wall Street Journal - July 8

July 8 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- Apple's AAPL.O top executive in charge of artificial intelligence models, Ruoming Pang, is leaving the company for Meta Platforms META.O as tech giants aggressively chase top talent in the race to lead the next wave of AI.

- Royal Gold RGLD.O said it will acquire Canadian peer Sandstorm Gold SSL.TO for about $3.5 billion, helping the royalty firm strengthen its position in North America at a time when bullion has soared to record highs.

- CoreWeave CRWV.O will buy crypto miner Core Scientific CORZ.O in an all-stock deal valued at about $9 billion, as AI infrastructure firms race to secure the energy and data center capacity needed to power surging demand.

- The Transportation Security Administration is rolling out new procedures to allow passengers to keep shoes on while passing through standard airport screening checkpoints.

- Baxter International BAX.N named Andrew Hider, who previously served as chief executive of ATS Corporation ATS.TO, as the medical device maker's new top boss, succeeding longtime CEO Jose Almeida.

- A group of independent music companies and trade associations called on the European Union to launch an in-depth investigation into Universal Music Group's UMG.AS acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings, saying the deal threatens competition if antitrust officials let it go ahead.