U.S. Representative Mark Pocan is planning to introduce a bill called the ELON MUSK Act, which aims to eliminate special government employees' financial interests in federal contracts. The proposed legislation targets individuals like Elon Musk, who have been accused of using their positions to steer government spending towards their own self-interest.

A report by crypto forensics firm Chainalysis shows that ransomware payments fell by more than one-third in 2024, as an increasing number of victims refused to negotiate with hackers. The total ransom paid out was $814 million, down from a record-high $1.25 billion in 2023.

Stripe has acquired Bridge, a stablecoin platform, for $1.1 billion. The acquisition is Stripe's largest to date and marks a tangible push into the crypto space. Bridge was co-founded in 2022 by Coinbase and Square alumni and built an API that helps companies accept stablecoins.

Boston Dynamics, a leading robotics company, has announced a partnership with the Robotics & AI Institute (RAI Institute) to improve reinforcement learning on its electric Atlas humanoid robot. The tie-up is designed to bring advanced technologies to the field of artificial intelligence and robotics.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman compared AI's progress to human intelligence by using IQ tests as a benchmark. However, experts argue that IQ tests are biased and misleading, as they measure only certain aspects of intelligence. AI has an unfair advantage on IQ tests due to its massive memory and internalized knowledge.

Operatives working for Elon Musk have gained unprecedented access to a swath of sensitive government data, raising serious cybersecurity concerns. The team's lack of proper security protections and experience has raised alarms about the potential compromise of sensitive databases.

Ampere, a semiconductor business founded by former Intel exec Renee James, is reportedly on the cusp of selling itself to SoftBank for approximately $6.5 billion. The deal could value Ampere at about $6.5 billion, Bloomberg reports.

Google has launched its new flagship AI model, Gemini 2.0 Pro Experimental, along with other AI models. The company is also making its 'reasoning' model, Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, available in the Gemini app.

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Enterprise HR platform Workday has announced layoffs, cutting approximately 8.5% of its head count. This move follows similar announcements from other tech companies like Okta and Cruise. Unlike Meta and Microsoft, Workday has not held drastic headcount cuts in recent years.

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The Italian government is accused of using military-grade spyware to target journalists and activists. The Paragon software, made by an Israeli surveillance tech startup, has been used in a campaign against around 90 people, including Luca Casarini, the founder of Mediterranea Saving Humans.

The US healthcare system has seen a surge in the use of GLP-1 medications, which have been shown to help people lose weight. As a result, there is a growing demand for nutrition counseling services, with many startups and platforms emerging to meet this need.

The Italian government has revealed that Paragon Solutions' spyware campaign targeted several individuals, including journalist Francesco Cancellato and activist Luca Casarini. WhatsApp, which was also affected by the campaign, said it had disrupted a hacking operation targeting around 90 users in over two dozen countries.

Amazon is set to release an upgraded version of Alexa, its smart home assistant, which will be able to respond to multiple commands in sequence. The revamped Alexa will initially be available for a limited number of users for free, although Amazon has been considering a $5 to $10 monthly fee.