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Scott Cacciola / New York Times : Some users are wearing the Apple Watch on their ankles to get around problems, like skin conditions; some believe health metrics are more accurate on the ankle   —  In pursuit of tracking fitness goals in a comfortable manner, a growing number of people are relocating their watches (and causing some confusion along the way).

Bloomberg : Tass: Rostelecom says an unspecified external impact has damaged a Russian underwater cable in the Baltic Sea, but there was no impact on subscribers   —  - Restoration work underway with no impact on subscribers  — NATO recently boosted its patrol operations in the Baltic

Shakeel Hashim / Transformer : Leaked draft: the statement set to be signed at the Paris AI Action Summit barely mentions AI risks and fails to follow up on commitments from previous Summits   —  The statement, set to be signed by countries next week, is a ‘wasted opportunity’, experts say — and looks unlikely to be signed by US officials

Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal : DeepSeek R1 is more susceptible to jailbreaking than ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude; it can instruct on a bioweapon attack, write a pro-Hitler manifesto, and more   —  Testing shows the Chinese app is more likely to dispense details on how to make a Molotov cocktail or encourage self-harm by teenagers

Benj Edwards / Ars Technica : Hugging Face researchers release “Open Deep Research” an open-source AI agent created in 24 hours, aiming to match OpenAI's Deep Research performance   —  On Tuesday, Hugging Face researchers released an open source AI research agent called “Open Deep Research,” …

The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the attorney general are expected to release their proposed plan for the declassification of the JFK files on Friday.  Both offices, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Counsel to the President, have until the end of the day Friday to release their proposed plan.  Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr.  THE JFK FILES: HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE THEIR ORIGINAL PLANNED RELEASE "Everything will be revealed," Trump told reporters as he signed the order in the Oval Office. The executive order came after Trump had previously promised on the campaign trail to declassify the documents upon entering his second term, saying at the time, "When I return to the White House, I will declassify a...

Senate Republicans are moving full steam ahead with their plans for a massive conservative policy overhaul through the budget reconciliation process, despite House GOP leaders still insisting their chamber is set to go first.  Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., unveiled a 61-page resolution that would fund President Donald Trump 's priorities for border security, fossil fuel energy and national defense. It would fund completion of Trump's border wall, as well as provide dollars for more beds in detention centers at the border. The bill would also include funds to hire more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, hire more personnel patrolling the border and increase the number of immigration judges in order to process the backlog of existing asylum cases. On energy, the bill is aimed at ramping up offshore drilling leases and stopping the Biden administration's methane emissions fee. SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET...

Former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney was ripped by conservatives on social media after she defended her previous work at USAID, which became the most prominent target of DOGE in recent days, in an exchange on X that drew the attention of DOGE’s leader, Elon Musk. "Damn right, @Elon," Cheney  said on X in response to Musk, tagging an account that does not belong to Musk, on Wednesday. "I’m proud of what America did to win the Cold War, defeat Soviet communism, and defend democracy. Our nation stood for freedom. You may be unfamiliar with that part of our history since you weren’t yet an American citizen." Musk had written "interesting" in response to a post from Foundation For Freedom Online Executive Director Mike Benz, who had written that Cheney was "spawned" out of USAID, citing her previous position as an officer for the embattled and now seemingly shuttered agency. Cheney spent time at USAID working within embassies related to efforts in ...

Natalie Andrews / Wall Street Journal : US lawmakers introduce a bipartisan bill that would ban DeepSeek's app from government-owned devices, amid concerns that the app allows China to see user data   —  Bipartisan bill comes amid concerns that the application allows China to see user data  —  WASHINGTON—Lawmakers plan to introduce …

Energy Secretary Chris Wright has outlined eight "Day 1 Priorities" he aims to accomplish, several of which he laid out in his inaugural address at the Energy Department headquarters Wednesday.  Wright, the CEO of Colorado oilfield services company Liberty Energy, said he will prioritize refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), modernizing the U.S. nuclear stockpile, streamlining federal permitting for energy development, and abiding by the mantra: "Advance energy addition, not subtraction." In his remarks at the department’s building near Pierre L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., Wright spoke about his childhood love of science and how that focus led him to pursue work in the field. Wright said he met President Donald Trump about a year ago, and the two businessmen connected over their support for unleashing American energy prowess and highlighting how U.S. energy dominance positively affects many other aspects of life. CHRIS WRIGHT CONFIRMED SECRETA...

Brody Ford / Bloomberg : Workday is cutting about 1,750 workers, or 8.5% of its workforce, as it plans to hire in areas such as AI and take on more people overseas; WDAY jumps 5%+   —  - Figure represents roughly 8.5% of company's workforce  — Salesforce, Amazon, Microsoft recently cut personnel

The D.C. Council voted to expel councilmember Trayon White on Tuesday after he was accused last year by federal authorities of agreeing to accept $156,000 in bribes.  The legislative body's 12 other members voted unanimously to remove White from his position. Following the vote, White was seen on video ignoring questions from reporters as he walked out of the meeting room. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, a Democrat, said the vote today was "not easy" and represents a "very challenging situation" for the ward that White represents, but ultimately, he said, it is the right move for the city.  "Trust is precious, trust is critical for an elected government, and we must act," Council Chairman Phil Mendelson added.  FLASHBACK: TRAYON WHITE FACES EXPULSION HEARING OVER BRIBERY CHARGE Despite being expelled, White remains eligible to run in a special election that will now be held for his vacant seat, according to WUSA 9. The Justice Department, citing...

Juli Clover / MacRumors : Apple raises the monthly AppleCare+ price for iPhone users by $0.50 in the US and will only offer one-time AppleCare+ purchase options in its online store   —  Apple this week increased the prices for its monthly AppleCare+ subscription prices for the iPhone, raising the cost by 50 cents for all models in the United States.

Much of President Donald Trump’s immigration and border security agenda has been driven by the actions of former President Joe Biden, causing Trump to take even more steps during his second term in the White House. "What Biden did, I’d say, is the primary cause of the open borders and the millions he led in, including the bad actors who came along with them," Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital. "It requires quick and drastic steps to stop the flow and find those people and get them out of the country." The comments come as Trump has unleashed a slew of new orders related to immigration and border security during his first two weeks in office, introducing new ideas such as seeking to end birthright citizenship. According to Ries, many of Trump’s early actions on immigration were aimed at returning to the policies of his first administration. Others, Ries said, were a direct reaction ...

Semafor : Adam Candeub, a Big Tech critic and architect of Trump's first term effort to revoke Section 230 protections for social media, will be the FCC's general counsel   —  THE SCOOP  —  A leading critic of Big Tech will take the top legal position at a key agency that could target Google, Meta, and their rivals.

Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters pushed back after a clash on CNN over his openness to allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers into schools – with Walters doubling down and rejecting "sanctuary schools." Walters had told local media that he would not rule out allowing federal agents into schools to remove illegal immigrants, amid an ongoing deportation operation since President Donald Trump took office. The Trump administration has lifted a Biden-era "sensitive places" mandate, which prevented agents from entering schools amid concerns that illegal immigrants could use such places to hide from enforcement. It has sparked pushback from some local officials. CNN ANCHOR SPARS WITH OKLAHOMA SUPERINTENDENT OVER ICE RAIDS ON SCHOOLS: ‘JUST ANSWER MY QUESTION’  However, Walters, in an interview with Fox News Digital, said that such moves could be necessary to avoid family separation. "Are the Democrats and now the left-wing ...

Bloomberg : Trump signs an executive action to form a sovereign wealth fund; Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick says it may be used to facilitate a sale of TikTok US   —  - Fund could be used as US facilitates TikTok sale, Lutnick says  — Bessent says fund will be created in the next 12 months

Vittoria Elliott / Wired : Six engineers, all apparently between 19 and 24 years and linked to Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, are helping Musk gain control of federal infrastructure with DOGE   —  Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.

Newly elected Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg has previously called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished and for the defunding of police. "Defund the police not USPS," Hogg, who first entered the national spotlight after surviving the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting, said in an X post on Aug. 15, 2020. "Abolish ICE," Hogg said in a different post two weeks earlier. DAVID HOGG SAYS HE RECEIVED 'AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF VITRIOL' FOR ASKING ABOUT DEM OUTREACH TO YOUNG MEN The posts, which were made more than two years after Hogg survived the Florida school shooting, came as he became increasingly involved in political activism, most notably by his staunch advocacy for stricter gun laws. Hogg has also made controversial posts on other topics, including a January 2021 call to declare the NRA a "terrorist organization." "The NRA needs to be designated a terrorist organization for the role their ...

Bloomberg : Some parents say they are eschewing 529 college savings plans and other traditional investments to invest in cryptocurrency to build wealth for their children   —  Despite the risks and volatility, some families are investing in cryptocurrency to build wealth for their children.