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February 20, 2025, 6:20 AM
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Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils the Majorana 1, its first quantum processor that uses Majorana particles instead of electrons, with the potential to fit a million qubits  —  Microsoft has spent 17 years researching a new material and architecture for quantum computing.
Financial Times:
Microsoft says it has harnessed a new state of matter using particles called Majorana fermions, a significant breakthrough to create workable topological qubits  —  US tech giant says it has harnessed a new state of matter to create the basic building blocks of a quantum machine
Dwarkesh Patel / Dwarkesh Podcast:
Q&A with Satya Nadella on Microsoft's AGI plan, the quantum breakthrough with Majorana 1, how Muse will change gaming, AI's legal barriers, AI safety, and more
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
Google is removing Gemini support from the main Google app on iOS, pushing users to download the standalone Gemini app that launched in November 2024  —  Google is informing iOS users that it will be removing Gemini support from the main Google app as it pushes users over to the full Gemini app.
Adamya Sharma / Android Authority:
Google is bringing Circle to Search-like visual searches to its Chrome and Google iOS apps, without the Circle to Search branding, as a Google Lens feature  —  The feature will work within the Chrome and Google iOS apps via Lens.  —  •  —  •  —  •  —  TL;DR
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple unveils the $599+ iPhone 16e with a 6.1" display, A18, 48MP camera, Apple Intelligence, the C1 cellular modem, USB-C, and no MagSafe, shipping February 28  —  Apple has officially taken the wraps off of the all-new iPhone 16e.  The device features an all-new design paired with the A18 chip inside …
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Apple unveils its first in-house cellular modem, the C1, with 5G, to replace Qualcomm modems, saying it is “the most power-efficient modem ever on an iPhone”
Andy Chalk / PC Gamer:
Valve releases a Team Fortress 2 SDK with the game's client and server code, letting users build new Team Fortress 2-based games licensed for non-commercial use  —  Valve has also released major updates to all Source-engine multiplayer games adding 64-bit support, scalable HUDS, “and a lot of other improvements.”
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft announces Muse AI, a first-of-its-kind generative AI model that can generate a game environment based on visuals, players' controller actions, or both  —  Microsoft Research and Xbox game studio Ninja Theory have partnered to create a new AI model for gaming.
Lizette Chapman / Bloomberg:
Palantir's stock fell 10% on February 19 after the WaPo reported US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to cut military spending; PLTR is up 50%+ in 2025  —  - Spending shift would affect 8% of US defense spending  — AI-focused Palantir has become major government contractor
Jon Keegan / Sherwood News:
Perplexity open sources R1 1776, a version of the DeepSeek R1 model that Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas says was “post-trained to remove the China censorship”  —  But shortly after its release, attention turned to how compliant the model was with Chinese censorship laws.
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: top X executives hinted to Interpublic and other ad firms that not spending on X could lead to legal woes, due to X's lawsuit against some advertisers  —  Interpublic recently signed an advertising agreement with the platform; other agencies are also in negotiations
Kim Zetter / Wired:
Source: 19-year-old Edward Coristine and Kyle Schutt, both DOGE engineers, are now on staff at the CISA; Coristine was briefly an intern for Neuralink  —  DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The Block:
Ethereum transaction fees' seven-day moving average fell to $0.77 on February 15, a 70% week-over-week drop from $2.57 and the lowest since July 2020  —  - The record-low Ethereum fees signal weak demand amid onchain volume decline.  — The following is an excerpt from The Block's Data and Insights newsletter.
Forums: r/ethtrader
Axios:
Sources: NIST plans to cut 497 people, including 74 postdocs and most staff at its Chips for America program; the AI Safety Institute faces an uncertain future  —  Exit Content Preview … - The cuts come at a time when the U.S. is looking to lead in AI development and stave off competition from China.
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch:
Filings: US Army soldier Cameron John Wagenius pleads guilty to hacking AT&T and Verizon and stealing a massive trove of phone records from the telcos in 2024  —  Cameron John Wagenius pleaded guilty to hacking AT&T and Verizon and stealing a massive trove of phone records from the companies …
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Uber ditches commissions in favor of daily fees for auto-rickshaw drivers in India in response to increased competition from local rivals Rapido and Namma Yatri  —  Uber is moving away from its commission-based model for three-wheeled motorized rickshaw drivers in India in response …

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 Runway's Cris Valenzuela: Building The Hollywood-Friendly Video AI That OpenAI Couldn't
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From Mediagazer

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Five more states join the lawsuit filed last month by eight states seeking to block Nexstar's Tegna acquisition, which Nexstar said the DOJ and FCC approved

Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
A group of TV consumers sue in federal court in California to block Paramount's acquisition of WBD on antitrust grounds; Paramount says the suit lacks merit

Reporters Without Borders:
RSF Press Freedom Index hits a 25-year low: over 50% of the world's countries fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories; Norway holds the top spot

More News

Earlier Picks

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Instagram updates direct messages with translation across 99 languages, scheduling and pinning tools, music-sharing features, and more, on iOS and Android first
Erik Larson / Bloomberg:
Trump Media and Rumble sue a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, alleging he tried to illegally suppress the US social media activity of conservative Brazilians
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti review: capable for 4K gaming and DLSS 4 multi-frame gen makes a huge difference, but prices fluctuate wildly and $750 is a lot for mid-range
VentureBeat:
Sources: Chinese game publisher NetEase has been directed to divest its overseas holdings, starting with hit game Marvel Rivals, which laid off its Seattle team
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