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Steven Levy / Wired : A look at the Mac's evolution as it turns 40, and interviews with Alan Dye and other Apple executives about Mac's future, its influence on Vision Pro, and more   —  The pioneering PC revolutionized how people interact with computers.  As the Mac enters its fifth decade, Apple says it will continue to evolve.

President Biden’s embattled U.S. special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, who was suspended last year and is under investigation by the FBI, is slated to teach a course about the Israel-Palestine conflict at Yale. Malley will teach a class called "Contending with Israel-Palestine" this semester, which will take "an in-depth look at important questions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," according to a report from Yale Daily News . The class is limited to 18 students, according to the outlet, and is available to both undergraduate and graduate students. Students reportedly had to arrange a meeting with Malley and take part in an interview prior to their enrollment for the course, which will consist of 13 weekly discussions and assigned readings. "In the wake of Oct. 7, I questioned whether it still made sense or whether it would be best to wait," Malley said, according to the school newspaper. "Ultimately, I concluded, in coordination with ...

Harvard University has provided insight into how it conducted a plagiarism review of its former president and defended its actions in an eight-page summary submitted to Congress on Friday. Ultimately, the university determined that former Harvard President Claudine Gay's "conduct was not reckless nor intentional," and did not rise to the level of "research misconduct." The summary aimed to show Congress the "rigor" of Harvard's review. In addressing the claims of plagiarism made against Gay, the school told the House Committee on Education and the Workforce that the "allegations arose in a time of unprecedented events and tension on campus and globally." "We worked to address relevant questions in a timely, fair, and diligent manner. We understand and acknowledge that many viewed our efforts as insufficiently transparent, raising questions regarding our process and standard of review," the school added. Gay, who resigned ea...

Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios : After two failed attempts, a bipartisan effort is being made to remedy the issues caused by US tax law Section 174, which forces amortization of software labor   —  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is impacting some startups' tax bills, thanks to a provision that changes how R&D costs are deducted.

Rep. Nancy Mace’s former chief of staff is being propped up by her own ex-staffers as he mulls a primary challenge against her, two sources told Fox News Digital. Dan Hanlon joined Mace’s office in 2021 after serving in the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget. He departed last month under reportedly contentious circumstances. A source familiar with his plans told Fox News Digital that Hanlon was being approached about a possible run for Mace’s seat, and two sources said that multiple former staffers were informally aiding Hanlon in some capacity. The source said at least one is a former communications director for Mace who is now helping Hanlon and said "there are many" ex-staffers of hers in his position. JOHNSON CAUGHT BETWEEN WARRING HOUSE GOP FACTIONS: ‘DRIFTING TOWARD MOB RULE' "I along with several other former staff are backing Hanlon in some sort of way," the second source said.  "Dan is receiving great feedback because for...

The Biden administration is failing to properly track foreign ownership of U.S. farmlands and doesn't appear to have a plan to begin tracking that data, according to an investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). According to a GAO report detailing the findings of its investigation, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) has failed to consistently share timely data on foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land as required under the 1978 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA). Further, Pentagon officials told investigators, according to the report, that USDA needs to regularly provide more up-to-date and specific AFIDA data. "Sharing current data could help increase visibility into potential national security risks related to foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land," the GAO report, which was published late Thursday, states. "USDA implements AFIDA across field offices and headquarters, but its processes to collect, trac...

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat : YouTube's head of gaming Leo Olebe was among the 100 staff laid off from the company this week   —  When Google's YouTube video division confirmed 100 layoffs on Wednesday, Leo Olebe, who was head of YouTube Gaming, was among those let go.  —  Olebe was a longtime gaming executive …

A Republican attempt to impeach Wisconsin's nonpartisan top elections official is nothing more than "a big show for the cameras" and will be ignored, the Assembly's GOP majority leader said Thursday. Several Republican lawmakers, including the state Senate president, have called for Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe to be impeached over her handling of the 2020 election won by President Biden. The Senate voted in October to fire Wolfe but later admitted that the vote was symbolic and had no legal effect. In the Assembly, state Rep. Janel Brandtjen has introduced a resolution to impeach Wolfe. As of Thursday, it had just five co-sponsors in addition to Brandtjen. It would require 50 votes to pass. WISCONSIN REPUBLICANS CLASH OVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION PLAN Brandtjen tried in vain on Tuesday to be recognized to speak in an attempt to get a vote on her proposal. Brandtjen, who has endorsed discredited conspiracy theories about the 2...

Alex Heath / The Verge : Zuckerberg says Meta wants to build and open source AGI, and brings AI group FAIR closer to the generative AI team; Meta will own 340K+ H100 GPUs by 2024's end   —  And he wants Meta to open source it.  Eventually.  Maybe. … Fueling the generative AI craze is a belief that the tech industry …

Allison Johnson / The Verge : Samsung announces the Galaxy S24 Ultra, with a new titanium finish, a 6.8" 1440p display, a 50-megapixel camera with 5x zoom, shipping on January 31 from $1,299   —  For several years running, Samsung's S-series Ultra has been that device, and the company is going just as big with the Ultra for 2024.

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch : OpenAI forms a Collective Alignment team to create a system for collecting and using input from the public in its training of models' behaviors   —  OpenAI says it wants to implement ideas from the public about how to ensure its future AI models “align to the values of humanity.”

The White House said in July 2021 that a "system" had been "established" to ensure the identities of those who bought Hunter Biden’s artwork would remain anonymous for ethical reasons.  However, the first son's art dealer testified that a new agreement to stop the disclosure of Biden's art buyers was not set up for several months following that statement and said the first son knew the identities of approximately 70% of those buyers. George Bergès, the art dealer for Biden, took part in a closed-door, transcribed interview before both the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees earlier this month as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. ART DEALER REVEALS HUNTER BIDEN KNEW 'SUGAR BROTHER' WAS TOP BUYER, MAKING WH ETHICS PLEDGE A 'SHAM': COMER Fox News Digital reviewed a transcript of Bergès' interview. House investigators, during his interview, showed Bergès a statement made by then-White House press secr...

Engadget : Apple Vision Pro hands-on: eye and hand tracking are very accurate, but typing is frustrating, the killer app is watching movies, can feel heavy after 15+ min   —  We got hands-on with the device once more before its official launch, with some new features available to test this time.

Hartley Charlton / MacRumors : Report: Apple prepares to split its App Store in two to serve the EU, as the deadline for the DMA, which mandates sideloading support, looms on March 7   —  Apple is preparing to split the App Store “in two” in the coming weeks ahead of European Union requirements that will force Apple …

Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land : Microsoft debuts Copilot Pro for $20/mo./user, offering access to the latest models and features, like custom Copilot GPTs and integration into Office products   —  Copilot Pro, the most advanced and fastest version of Copilot, has been released today by Microsoft.

The Iowa caucuses that we know today can be traced back to the late 1960s and early 1970s. Current GOP presidential candidates have spent a lot of time and money touring various cities in Iowa beginning in 2023 and continuing this year, specifically ahead of caucus night, in an old-fashioned effort to campaign. Iowa is typically the battleground state both Democrats and Republicans campaign in. However, Democrats have opted out of the first nominating contest in Iowa. This year, South Carolina will be the location for the Democrat's primary contest as more support for President Biden is expected in the Palmetto State. RUBIO BECOMES 2ND FLORIDA SENATOR TO ENDORSE TRUMP OVER DESANTIS Through a communal decision process, Iowans will get together on Monday and select the candidate they want to represent their party on the general election ballot. The winning candidate is then named, shining a light on where voters stand thus far in the race.  However, the championed candidate doe...

Former President Donald Trump , while speaking at a rally in Indianola, Iowa on Sunday ahead of the Iowa caucus, said one of his Republican opponents for president, Nikki Haley, was not ready to be president. Trump told the crowd there was a lack of loyalty in politics, adding that to a lesser extent, there was a lack of loyalty from Haley. He explained that he gave Haley her position of UN ambassador when she was governor of South Carolina because he wanted then Lieutenant Governor Henry McMaster to be governor of the state. "Nikki did a good job. She was out there, but she’s not ready to be president," Trump said. "I know very well…and honestly, she’s not tough enough." WHAT THE FINAL POLL BEFORE MONDAY'S IOWA GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES SHOWS The comments came hours after the former South Carolina governor issued a challenge to Trump ahead of the Iowa Caucuses in an interview with Fox News Digital. She declared to Trump, "It’s you and me now," ...

DES MOINES, IA - Donald Trump is confident he’ll do "very well" in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses, which lead off the 2024 Republican presidential nominating calendar. But the former president isn’t ready to make a prediction on if he’ll top 50%. As he left his hotel in Des Moines on Sunday, Trump was asked by Fox News’ James Levinson about whether he would receive more than 50 % of the vote in the caucuses. "I don't know, I think we are doing very well," Trump answered. The former president is the commanding front-runner in the latest polls in Iowa as well as in national surveys in the GOP presidential nomination race as he makes his third straight White House run. WHAT THE FINAL POLL BEFORE MONDAY'S IOWA GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES SHOWS Trump grabbed 50% support, or higher, in a slew of polls over the past month in Iowa. And he stood at 48% support in the final Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers was released Sat...

It is now mid-January. And there is no deal on potential legislation to secure the border. That also means there is no agreement on an international aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. That is not an indictment.  It’s just that realists on Capitol Hill knew this was going to take a while – even though negotiators began hammering away at a possible border accord in early December and worked through the holidays. CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS STRIKED DEAL TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINES The top GOP negotiator in the talks, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., suggested on "Fox News Sunday" last weekend that his aim was to have bill text ready sometime this week. But that never materialized. Lankford says nothing changed for the worse. "I think we just didn't make progress as fast as I'd hoped we would," said Lankford. "I was thinking, ‘I think we’re close.’ But in all of our meetings [Sunday] night and [Monday] we’re not going to be able to get the...

Adam Samson / Financial Times : Documents show Turkey told ISPs to block access to 16 VPN services, fueling concerns of the government stifling news and information before elections in March   —  New controls on VPNs underline Erdoğan's moves to curb freedom of information  —  Turkey is tightening its censorship …