4chan founder Chris "moot" Poole denied any involvement from Jeffrey Epstein in the creation of the controversial far-right message board /pol/, according to an interview with The Verge published on February 13, 2026. Poole expressed regret over his past encounters with Epstein.
The interview with Poole came as part of The Verge's coverage of the Epstein files. The launch of /pol/ coincided with Epstein's interactions with Poole, raising questions about a possible connection. /pol/ became a breeding ground for QAnon and white supremacist ideologies.
In other news, RZC Investments, the private equity firm funded by Walmart heirs Tom and Steuart Walton, paused new investments and is reconsidering its future structure, according to two sources familiar with the matter, as reported by Fortune. A spokesperson from RZC confirmed the pause. Don Huffner, one of RZC's partners, left the fund last year and is in the process of giving up his board seats. RZC, based in Bentonville, Ark., focuses on investments in outdoor companies. Steuart Walton is currently on the board of the retail giant.
Meanwhile, the tech world is abuzz with advancements in artificial intelligence. OpenAI and Anthropic recently launched new coding models, GPT-5.3-Codex and Claude Opus 4.6, respectively, sparking a debate about the future of traditional programming, as reported by Fortune. GPT-5.3-Codex demonstrated improved performance on coding benchmarks, while Opus 4.6 introduced autonomous AI agent teams capable of tackling complex projects simultaneously. Both models can write, test, and debug code with minimal human intervention.
In a separate development, Jim O'Neill, the US deputy health secretary, discussed his plans to increase human healthspan through longevity-focused research supported by ARPA-H, in an exclusive interview with MIT Technology Review. O'Neill oversees a department with a budget exceeding a trillion dollars and signed the decision memorandum on the US's new vaccine schedule.
Finally, MIT Technology Review also explored the reality of heists, noting that the high-tech gadgets often portrayed in movies are rarely a factor in real-life crimes. The main barrier to entry is usually a physical one, such as a locked door.
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