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February 4, 2025, 7:10 AM
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| Wired: |
Sources: Marko Elez, a 25-year-old Elon Musk-linked engineer, has admin privileges over Treasury Department code that controls Social Security payments and more — The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department. It's also where, sources say …
More: New York Magazine, Paul Krugman, and Politico
X: @public_citizen, @samfbiddle, @wired, @wired, @ingridlunden, @daithaigilbert, @marymcnamara, and @wsbgnl
Forums: r/inthenews, r/TrueReddit, and r/politics
| Elizabeth Lopatto / The Verge: |
Elon Musk's goal seems to amount to a coup over the US administrative state; Musk said he “deleted” the Direct File tax department, but that may not be true — Elon Musk has an uncanny ability to sort out which of America's rules are real.
More: The Atlantic, Techdirt, Raw Story, Time, Associated Press, and New Jersey Online
X: @elonmusk, @rajgoyle, @besttrousers, @dylanmatt, @jdcmedlock, @joshtpm, @joshtpm, @meidastouch, @sturgeons_law, @angry_staffer, @growing_daniel, @coryfromphilly, @socdoneleft, @mattyglesias, @ctjlewis, @dancow, @alx, @rwpusa, @chrismegerian, @tszzl, and @tim_walz
Forums: Hacker News, r/france, and r/politics
| Evan Weinberger / Bloomberg Law: |
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent orders the CFPB to stop activities, like rulemaking, communications, and litigation; in November, Musk said to “delete CFPB” — Search by Topic — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has shut down a wide variety of operations inside …
More: FinTech Futures, American Prospect, Consumer Financial …, House Financial Services Committee, Americans for Financial Reform, Washington Post, New York Times, National Law Review, New Republic, Reuters, Law360, New York Times, NBC New York, UPI, Salon, American Banker, Forbes, Consumer Bankers Association, Politico, NBC News, U.S. House Committee …, NPR, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, The Block, and The Hill
Bluesky: @hamiltonnolan, @andycraig, @adambonin, @reporterev, @reporterev, and @tonyromm
X: @elonmusk, @repmeuser, @brendanpedersen, @financialcmte, @alexandergrieve, @consumerbankers, @helaineolen, @emptywheel, @mattgertz, @silvermanjacob, @neerajka, @jonahallon, @paulg, @repgwenmoore, @groundwork, @drewchudson, @ellieckaufman, @dwallacewells, @repjayapal, @sfof_states, @senatordurbin, @econliberties, @brendanpedersen, @rickclaypool, @repcleaver, @alex_danco, @nhegde, @gardnerakayla, @iamdcinvestor, @josheidelson, @cmseeberger, @moreperfectus, @reichlinmelnick, @jchervinsky, @maxfieldonbanks, @reploudermilk, and @krystalball. LinkedIn: Evan Weinberger
Forums: r/politics and r/politics
| Makena Kelly / Wired: |
Sources: Thomas Shedd, GSA's new Technology Transformation Services director and Elon Musk ally, told GSA workers the agency will pursue an “AI-first strategy” — Sources say the former Tesla engineer now in charge of the Technology Transformation Services wants an agency that operates like a “startup software company.”
More: New York Times and Nextgov/FCW
Bluesky: @lizthegrey.com, @tyleraking.com, @brbarrett, @timmarchman, @kateconger.com, and @rayosunlong
| Caleb Ecarma / Musk Watch: |
An OPM staffer believes that a server Elon Musk's associates installed, with access to federal staff info like SSNs, has not had a Privacy Impact Assessment — Several of Elon Musk's associates installed at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have received unprecedented access …
More: HuffPost, Techdirt, New Republic, PCMag, DCMediaGroup, Techdirt, Slate, SiliconANGLE, New York Magazine, and Mediaite
Bluesky: @mmasnick, @jljacobson, @wired.com, @jayapal.house.gov, @rincewind.run, @joshuajfriedman.com, @repbarragan, @kinosminion, @martinsfp, @carbajal.house.gov, @molly.wiki, @repkevinmullin, @neal.house.gov, @calebecarma, @nathantankus, @juddlegum, @tonytellez, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, and @juddlegum. Threads: @senadamschiff
X: @jarvis_best, @canderaid, @hackingbutlegal, @juddlegum, @josephpatrice, @sarah_micheleg, @juddlegum, @stealthygeek, @bakari_sellers, @tnoquoproquid, @slisker, @calebecarma, @chadpergram, @mattgertz, and @victorshi2020
Forums: r/economicCollapse, r/Futurism, r/the_everything_bubble, r/Foodforthought, r/KeepOurNetFree, r/politics, r/politics, r/AnythingGoesNews, r/uspolitics, r/feddiscussion, r/usajobs, r/politics, r/politics, r/solarpunk, r/Political_Revolution, r/IronFrontUSA, r/antiwork, r/TheSecondTerm, r/behindthebastards, r/inthenews, and r/washingtondc
| Bloomberg: |
Donald Trump signs an executive action to direct officials to create a US sovereign wealth fund and says that it could 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
More: Reuters, The White House, Mashable, The White House, The Mirror, Protos, Bitcoinist.com, Music Business Worldwide, Irish Examiner, CryptoSlate, TipRanks Financial, Silicon UK, Business Insider, Blockonomi, CNBC, PhoneArena, Axios, Daily Sabah, The Independent, Washington Post, Agence France-Presse, The Guardian, en.ain.ua, MEDIANAMA, Sydney Morning Herald, Roll Call, @realDonaldTrump …, Blockhead, Washington Post, The Times, BBC, Breitbart, DNyuz, CryptoPotato, UPI, Shacknews, Fox News, Hollywood Life, Australian Financial Review, and @realDonaldTrump …
Bluesky: @brunojnavarro. X: @senlummis, @chamath, @elonmusk, @presssec, @modeledbehavior, @realalexjones, @martinshkreli, @mviser, @jacksonhinklle, @jgarzik, @dampedspring, @cliffordasness, @cliffordasness, @margomartin47, @vkiriak, @byheatherlong, @johnhcochrane, @salansar1, @gordongchang, @pudgypenguins, @aravsrinivas, @cynthiamlummis, @polymarket, @jessetinsley, @monetsupply, @theallinpod, @chamath, and @danprimack. LinkedIn: Sarah Beth Felix
| Josh Xiao / Bloomberg: |
China's State Administration for Market Regulation says it will probe Google for antitrust violations, moments after Trump announced tariffs on Chinese goods — China announced an investigation into Google and imposed new tariffs on a range of US products moments after President Donald Trump slapped …
More: The Verge, The Information, TechCrunch, Silicon Republic, Business Today, Wall Street Journal, Android Headlines, Bloomberg, Sharecast, TheCable, WinBuzzer, Proactive, Fortune, DigiTimes, TipRanks Financial, Livemint, Times of India, The Irish Times, Le Monde, NPR, Financial Express, ITV News, The Guardian, Forbes, The i Paper, Financial Times, Xinhua, The North West Star, The Guardian, WAtoday, FOX31 Denver, The Indian Express, Türkiye Today, ANI News, Decrypt, Sharecafe, South China Morning Post, CBS News, Insurance Journal, and CoinDesk
Forums: r/worldnews and r/politics
| Zachary Small / New York Times: |
An interview with The Sims designer Will Wright on the dollhouse game turning 25, the game's mechanics, infusing it with chaos, ants, The Sims Online, and more — Will Wright kindly requests that admirers stop describing him as a god. — “I don't think God would concern himself with taking …
More: BBC
| Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: |
Meta defines the types of AI systems that it deems too risky to release, including ones capable of aiding in cybersecurity, chemical, and biological attacks — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to make artificial general intelligence (AGI) — which is roughly defined as AI that can accomplish … | CBC News: |
Ontario Premier Doug Ford pauses retaliatory measures like “ripping up” the province's CA$100M Starlink contract, after Donald Trump delays US tariffs on Canada — Retaliatory measures included ‘ripping up’ Starlink contract, taking American booze of LCBO shelves
More: @realDonaldTrump …, Business Insider, Associated Press, Yahoo Finance, Canadian Press, Global News, CTV News, Reuters, Silicon UK, Financial Times, Irish Independent, SiliconANGLE, SpaceNews, The Independent, TechCrunch, and Washington Post
Mastodon: @uxmark@mstdn.ca. X: @fordnation, @justintrudeau, @fordnation, @elonmusk, @kylegriffin1, @williamshatner, @mhmck, @harleyf, @fordnation, @andrea_khanjin, @cafreeland, @cbcqueenspark, @megbasham, @scottadamssays, @colindmello, @jonnajarian, @fordnation, @colindmello, @tobi, and @adamscochran
| Financial Times: |
More: New York Times, The Information, Australian Financial Review, Social Media Today, and Wired
Forums: r/politics, r/politics, r/politics, r/politics, r/politics, and r/neoliberal
| Bloomberg: |
Nintendo reports Q3 revenue down ~33% YoY to ~$2.8B, net profit down ~33% YoY to ~$831M, both below est, 4.8M Switch sales, and cuts Switch and profit forecasts — The Kyoto-based company now expects ¥280 billion ($1.8 billion) in operating income in the fiscal year to March, slashing more than a fifth from its prior forecast.
More: Reuters, Associated Press, GoNintendo, GamesRadar, Polygon, Wccftech, Reuters, Nikkei Asia, CNBC, and MarketBeat
| Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal: |
Spotify reports Q4 revenue up 16% YoY to €4.2B, MAUs up 12% YoY to 675M, subscribers up 11% YoY to 263M, and €1.14B in 2024 net income, vs. a €532M loss in 2023 — Price increases, cost discipline help audio-streaming giant pivot from heavy spending on growth to sustained profits| Bloomberg: |
A US appeals court panel appeared skeptical of Google's bid to overturn a 2023 jury verdict that declared the Play Store an illegal monopoly in the Epic case — - Jury ruled Google violated antitrust law by restricting apps — Google argues case shouldn't have been decided by jury
More: Proactive, Benzinga, and Associated Press
X: @vidushi_law, @leehepner, @vidushi_law, @vidushi_law, @vidushi_law, @vidushi_law, @vidushi_law, and @vidushi_law. Forums: r/Android
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