Multiple news sources report that the House is voting on a funding package to end the partial government shutdown, which includes funding for several departments and a short-term extension for Homeland Security, despite Democratic concerns over immigration enforcement. While some conservatives pushed to attach an elections-related bill requiring proof of citizenship to the package, Republican leaders appear to have quelled the effort, as it threatened to derail the funding agreement and faced opposition in the Senate.

Multiple news sources report that the House is voting on a funding package to end the partial government shutdown, which includes funding for several departments and a short-term extension for Homeland Security, despite Democratic concerns over immigration enforcement. While some conservatives pushed to attach an elections-related bill requiring proof of citizenship to the package, Republican leaders appear to have quelled the effort, as it threatened to derail the funding agreement and faced opposition in the Senate.

Drawing from multiple news sources, speedskater Erin Jackson, the first Black woman to win an individual Winter Olympics gold, and bobsledder Frank Del Duca, the first bobsledder in 70 years to do so, have been chosen by fellow athletes to jointly carry the U.S. flag at the Milan Cortina Olympics opening ceremony. For Del Duca, an Army sergeant with Italian heritage, the honor is especially meaningful as the games are being held in Italy, connecting his family's roots with his service to the United States.

Drawing from multiple news sources, speedskater Erin Jackson, the first Black woman to win an individual Winter Olympics gold, and bobsledder Frank Del Duca, the first bobsledder in 70 years to do so, have been chosen by fellow athletes to jointly carry the U.S. flag at the Milan Cortina Olympics opening ceremony. For Del Duca, an Army sergeant with Italian heritage, the honor is especially meaningful as the games are being held in Italy, connecting his family's roots with his service to the United States.

Drawing from multiple news sources, Detective Sergeant Chris Johnson of Bartlett, Illinois, experienced a life-threatening aortic dissection, a rare and often fatal condition involving a tear in the body's main artery. Thanks to his wife's quick action and rapid medical response, including a six-hour open-heart surgery, Johnson survived the ordeal, highlighting the critical importance of timely treatment for this condition.

Drawing from multiple news sources, Detective Sergeant Chris Johnson of Bartlett, Illinois, experienced a life-threatening aortic dissection, a rare and often fatal condition involving a tear in the body's main artery. Thanks to his wife's quick action and rapid medical response, including a six-hour open-heart surgery, Johnson survived the ordeal, highlighting the critical importance of timely treatment for this condition.

YouTube is now enforcing its Premium subscription requirement for background playback on mobile devices, closing a loophole previously exploited by users of browsers like Brave and Edge. This change, intended to ensure consistent functionality across platforms, impacts users who previously enjoyed background audio without a Premium subscription and may drive more users to subscribe. The move has sparked user frustration and workarounds are being explored.

YouTube is now enforcing its Premium subscription requirement for background playback on mobile devices, closing a loophole previously exploited by users of browsers like Brave and Edge. This change, intended to ensure consistent functionality across platforms, impacts users who previously enjoyed background audio without a Premium subscription and may drive more users to subscribe. The move has sparked user frustration and workarounds are being explored.

Google's upcoming Aluminium OS, a unified Android and ChromeOS, faces controversy as leaked court documents suggest a delayed launch until 2028, despite earlier promises of a 2026 release alongside potential devices like the Intel Panther Lake "Ruby" laptop. This discrepancy raises questions about the readiness of the new OS and its impact on the PC market, potentially affecting Google's competitive position against Windows and Mac.

Google's upcoming Aluminium OS, a unified Android and ChromeOS, faces controversy as leaked court documents suggest a delayed launch until 2028, despite earlier promises of a 2026 release alongside potential devices like the Intel Panther Lake "Ruby" laptop. This discrepancy raises questions about the readiness of the new OS and its impact on the PC market, potentially affecting Google's competitive position against Windows and Mac.

Multiple news sources confirm that SpaceX has acquired xAI, another Elon Musk company, in a move to integrate AI, rocketry, and space-based internet, aiming to create a powerful innovation engine. This merger combines SpaceX's spaceflight expertise with xAI's AI capabilities, including the Grok chatbot and social media platform X, to potentially deploy orbital data centers and advance Musk's vision for AI's role in humanity's future, though the controversial nature of xAI's products and Musk's management of X present risks.

Multiple news sources confirm that SpaceX has acquired xAI, another Elon Musk company, in a move to integrate AI, rocketry, and space-based internet, aiming to create a powerful innovation engine. This merger combines SpaceX's spaceflight expertise with xAI's AI capabilities, including the Grok chatbot and social media platform X, to potentially deploy orbital data centers and advance Musk's vision for AI's role in humanity's future, though the controversial nature of xAI's products and Musk's management of X present risks.

Multiple news sources report on significant AI developments, including Asana's launch of AI Teammates with shared memory and human oversight, and Elon Musk's plan to merge SpaceX and xAI to leverage space for AI computing and resources. Additionally, LNAI is introduced as a tool to streamline AI coding tool configurations by using a single source of truth for project rules and permissions.

Multiple news sources report on significant AI developments, including Asana's launch of AI Teammates with shared memory and human oversight, and Elon Musk's plan to merge SpaceX and xAI to leverage space for AI computing and resources. Additionally, LNAI is introduced as a tool to streamline AI coding tool configurations by using a single source of truth for project rules and permissions.

Drawing from multiple news sources, former President Trump has called for the Republican Party to nationalize voting in at least 15 states, a move that would challenge the current state-led election system and raises concerns about potential political interference. This call follows other actions by Trump and his allies to exert more control over American elections, including the seizure of voting records in Fulton County, GA, and the Justice Department's demand for voter rolls from numerous states.

Drawing from multiple news sources, former President Trump has called for the Republican Party to nationalize voting in at least 15 states, a move that would challenge the current state-led election system and raises concerns about potential political interference. This call follows other actions by Trump and his allies to exert more control over American elections, including the seizure of voting records in Fulton County, GA, and the Justice Department's demand for voter rolls from numerous states.

Multiple news sources indicate the Rafah crossing has reopened, but with severely limited access, as only a handful of people, specifically five individuals in need of urgent medical care, were able to cross from Gaza into Egypt despite thousands requiring assistance. While this provides a sliver of hope for those receiving treatment, the situation highlights Israel's continued tight control over the crossing and the significant obstacles to humanitarian aid and medical evacuations.

Multiple news sources indicate the Rafah crossing has reopened, but with severely limited access, as only a handful of people, specifically five individuals in need of urgent medical care, were able to cross from Gaza into Egypt despite thousands requiring assistance. While this provides a sliver of hope for those receiving treatment, the situation highlights Israel's continued tight control over the crossing and the significant obstacles to humanitarian aid and medical evacuations.

Multiple news sources report on a diverse range of current events, from scientific advancements like fungal biocontrol and the evolution of algae to plants, to political and economic issues such as potential NIH interference and company financial struggles. These sources also cover complex social issues like transgender rights debates and global events, reflecting a multifaceted and interconnected news landscape.

Multiple news sources report on a diverse range of current events, from scientific advancements like fungal biocontrol and the evolution of algae to plants, to political and economic issues such as potential NIH interference and company financial struggles. These sources also cover complex social issues like transgender rights debates and global events, reflecting a multifaceted and interconnected news landscape.

Recent Twitter posts featuring excerpts from old emails with unusual equals signs have sparked curiosity about their origin. Contrary to theories suggesting code or scanning errors, the equals signs are remnants of "quoted-printable" encoding, a method used to handle long lines in emails by inserting an equals sign followed by a line break to indicate line continuation, which was improperly converted in these examples. This explanation synthesizes information from technical analyses and historical context to clarify the phenomenon.

Recent Twitter posts featuring excerpts from old emails with unusual equals signs have sparked curiosity about their origin. Contrary to theories suggesting code or scanning errors, the equals signs are remnants of "quoted-printable" encoding, a method used to handle long lines in emails by inserting an equals sign followed by a line break to indicate line continuation, which was improperly converted in these examples. This explanation synthesizes information from technical analyses and historical context to clarify the phenomenon.

Planet Money attended the American Economic Association's annual conference, a major event for economists, to get a sneak peek at cutting-edge research. They highlighted several pre-peer review papers, including one exploring the productivity impacts of AI in American industries, suggesting AI initially slows productivity before ultimately accelerating it. This is based on observations and discussions with economists at the conference.

Planet Money attended the American Economic Association's annual conference, a major event for economists, to get a sneak peek at cutting-edge research. They highlighted several pre-peer review papers, including one exploring the productivity impacts of AI in American industries, suggesting AI initially slows productivity before ultimately accelerating it. This is based on observations and discussions with economists at the conference.