Multiple news sources report that Anthropic's AI chatbot, Claude, will remain ad-free, contrasting with OpenAI's recent introduction of ads in a lower-cost ChatGPT tier, a decision highlighted by Anthropic's Super Bowl ad campaign mocking AI assistants that promote products. This move comes amid increasing competition between Anthropic and OpenAI, particularly in the realm of AI coding agents, where Anthropic's Claude Code is gaining popularity, even within Microsoft.

Multiple news sources report that Anthropic's AI chatbot, Claude, will remain ad-free, contrasting with OpenAI's recent introduction of ads in a lower-cost ChatGPT tier, a decision highlighted by Anthropic's Super Bowl ad campaign mocking AI assistants that promote products. This move comes amid increasing competition between Anthropic and OpenAI, particularly in the realm of AI coding agents, where Anthropic's Claude Code is gaining popularity, even within Microsoft.

Multiple news sources report that Russian-state hackers, known as APT28, rapidly exploited a Microsoft Office vulnerability (CVE-2026-21509) within 48 hours of its patch release, compromising diplomatic, maritime, and transport organizations across multiple countries through a sophisticated, stealthy spear-phishing campaign that utilized novel, encrypted exploits and legitimate cloud services to evade detection. The campaign, which began January 28, delivered at least 29 distinct email lures to organizations in nine countries, primarily in Eastern Europe.

Multiple news sources report that Russian-state hackers, known as APT28, rapidly exploited a Microsoft Office vulnerability (CVE-2026-21509) within 48 hours of its patch release, compromising diplomatic, maritime, and transport organizations across multiple countries through a sophisticated, stealthy spear-phishing campaign that utilized novel, encrypted exploits and legitimate cloud services to evade detection. The campaign, which began January 28, delivered at least 29 distinct email lures to organizations in nine countries, primarily in Eastern Europe.

Multiple news sources report that Spotify, despite raising prices for users, is expanding its audiobook business by allowing U.S. and UK users to purchase physical books through the app via a partnership with Bookshop.org, supporting independent bookstores, and introducing features like Page Match and Audiobook Recaps to enhance the user experience. This move positions Spotify as a competitor to major booksellers by offering both digital and physical formats and aiming to become a comprehensive platform for book lovers.

Multiple news sources report that Spotify, despite raising prices for users, is expanding its audiobook business by allowing U.S. and UK users to purchase physical books through the app via a partnership with Bookshop.org, supporting independent bookstores, and introducing features like Page Match and Audiobook Recaps to enhance the user experience. This move positions Spotify as a competitor to major booksellers by offering both digital and physical formats and aiming to become a comprehensive platform for book lovers.

The Winter Olympics are set to explode with fresh excitement as ski mountaineering, or "skimo," makes its debut, marking the first new sport added in over 30 years! Alongside skimo's three events (men's sprint, women's sprint, and mixed relay), five new competitions within existing sports will create eight new chances for athletes to grab a medal in Milan Cortina 2026.

The Winter Olympics are set to explode with fresh excitement as ski mountaineering, or "skimo," makes its debut, marking the first new sport added in over 30 years! Alongside skimo's three events (men's sprint, women's sprint, and mixed relay), five new competitions within existing sports will create eight new chances for athletes to grab a medal in Milan Cortina 2026.

Spotify is expanding its audiobook features and partnering with Bookshop.org to sell physical books, aiming to engage more readers and support local retailers. This move includes a new "Page Match" feature, syncing physical books and ebooks with audiobooks in the Spotify app, illustrating AI's role in enhancing traditional media consumption.

Spotify is expanding its audiobook features and partnering with Bookshop.org to sell physical books, aiming to engage more readers and support local retailers. This move includes a new "Page Match" feature, syncing physical books and ebooks with audiobooks in the Spotify app, illustrating AI's role in enhancing traditional media consumption.

Prediction markets, which allow users to bet on various world events, including political outcomes and potential conflicts, have experienced a surge in popularity, particularly since the Trump administration. These platforms, explored by Saahil Desai, function similarly to stock markets, enabling individuals to profit from accurate predictions, but raise concerns about potential manipulation of media coverage and regulatory oversight, especially with media organizations increasingly incorporating them into their reporting.

Prediction markets, which allow users to bet on various world events, including political outcomes and potential conflicts, have experienced a surge in popularity, particularly since the Trump administration. These platforms, explored by Saahil Desai, function similarly to stock markets, enabling individuals to profit from accurate predictions, but raise concerns about potential manipulation of media coverage and regulatory oversight, especially with media organizations increasingly incorporating them into their reporting.

Multiple news sources report that a suspect has been identified in the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont, who went missing on September 27th from a remote sheep station in South Australia. While the extensive initial search has been called off, a task force investigating inconsistencies in family statements has focused on a resident of the Oak Park station, though Gus's parents are not considered suspects, and a search of the property in January yielded seized items.

Multiple news sources report that a suspect has been identified in the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont, who went missing on September 27th from a remote sheep station in South Australia. While the extensive initial search has been called off, a task force investigating inconsistencies in family statements has focused on a resident of the Oak Park station, though Gus's parents are not considered suspects, and a search of the property in January yielded seized items.

Multiple news sources report that Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, plans to transform the notorious El Helicoide prison, once intended as a futuristic drive-through shopping center but later used for political torture under Chávez and Maduro, into a cultural center for police families and the community. Critics view this move, part of a larger effort to demonstrate change since Maduro's capture, as an attempt to erase the regime's history of repression and rehabilitate a symbol of Venezuela's decline.

Multiple news sources report that Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, plans to transform the notorious El Helicoide prison, once intended as a futuristic drive-through shopping center but later used for political torture under Chávez and Maduro, into a cultural center for police families and the community. Critics view this move, part of a larger effort to demonstrate change since Maduro's capture, as an attempt to erase the regime's history of repression and rehabilitate a symbol of Venezuela's decline.

Multiple sources report that Substack is notifying users about a data breach from October 2025, discovered on February 3rd, 2026, which exposed email addresses and phone numbers. While passwords and financial information remain secure, Substack is investigating the incident, bolstering security, and advising users to be cautious of suspicious communications.

Multiple sources report that Substack is notifying users about a data breach from October 2025, discovered on February 3rd, 2026, which exposed email addresses and phone numbers. While passwords and financial information remain secure, Substack is investigating the incident, bolstering security, and advising users to be cautious of suspicious communications.

Drawing from multiple news sources, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who defended the Capitol on January 6th and became an outspoken critic of Trump, is launching his second campaign for a U.S. House seat in Maryland. Dunn aims to dismantle Trump's immigration policies, driven by his experiences on January 6th and a desire to protect vulnerable communities, viewing his potential role in Congress as that of a "first responder" during a national emergency.

Drawing from multiple news sources, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who defended the Capitol on January 6th and became an outspoken critic of Trump, is launching his second campaign for a U.S. House seat in Maryland. Dunn aims to dismantle Trump's immigration policies, driven by his experiences on January 6th and a desire to protect vulnerable communities, viewing his potential role in Congress as that of a "first responder" during a national emergency.

Multiple news sources report on a diverse range of unfolding events, including a study suggesting a TikTok data center outage caused viewership drops across all content categories, privacy violations at Pinterest leading to engineer firings for tracking layoffs, and Halle Berry's criticism of Governor Newsom. Investigations into individuals like Savannah Guthrie's mother and Peter Mandelson are also underway, alongside other developments such as YouTube star Ms. Rachel facing backlash and concerns about AI-driven skill obsolescence.

Multiple news sources report on a diverse range of unfolding events, including a study suggesting a TikTok data center outage caused viewership drops across all content categories, privacy violations at Pinterest leading to engineer firings for tracking layoffs, and Halle Berry's criticism of Governor Newsom. Investigations into individuals like Savannah Guthrie's mother and Peter Mandelson are also underway, alongside other developments such as YouTube star Ms. Rachel facing backlash and concerns about AI-driven skill obsolescence.

Multiple news sources highlight Maxim Naumov's emotional journey to the Olympics, fueled by a promise to his late parents, who tragically died in a plane crash, and supported by his coaches, godparents, and the Skating Club of Boston. Despite the spotlight on gold-medal favorite Ilia Malinin, Naumov's participation carries significant emotional weight as he fulfills a shared dream with his parents, both former Olympians and world champions.

Multiple news sources highlight Maxim Naumov's emotional journey to the Olympics, fueled by a promise to his late parents, who tragically died in a plane crash, and supported by his coaches, godparents, and the Skating Club of Boston. Despite the spotlight on gold-medal favorite Ilia Malinin, Naumov's participation carries significant emotional weight as he fulfills a shared dream with his parents, both former Olympians and world champions.