MicroWave

Lapses in safeguards led to wave of sexualized images this week as xAI says it is working to improve systems

Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok posted on Friday that lapses in safeguards had led it to generate “images depicting minors in minimal clothing” on social media platform X. The chatbot, a product of Musk’s company xAI, has been generating a wave of sexualized images throughout the week in response to user prompts.

Screenshots shared by users on X showed Grok’s public media tab filled with such images. xAI said it was working to improve its systems to prevent future incidents.

Exclusive: Inaccurate information presented in summaries, Guardian investigation finds

People are being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google’s artificial intelligence summaries, a Guardian investigation has found.

The company has said its AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, are “helpful” and “reliable”.

But some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information and put people at risk of harm.

Foreign ministry says mayor has poured ‘antisemitic gasoline on an open fire’ by scrapping IHRA definition

Israel’s foreign ministry has accused the New York mayor, Zohran Mamdani, of pouring “antisemitic gasoline on an open fire” after he reversed a recent order by the outgoing mayor, Eric Adams.

“On his very first day as @NYCMayor, Mamdani shows his true face: he scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel. This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire,” the foreign ministry said in a post on X.

Mamdani revoked an Adams-era order that adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which the previous administration said included “demonizing Israel and holding it to double standards as forms of contemporary antisemitism”.

At least 31 states and the District of Columbia restrict cell phones in schools

New York City teachers say the state’s recently implemented cell phone ban in schools has showed that numerous students no longer know how to tell time on an old-fashioned clock.

“That's a major skill that they're not used to at all,” Tiana Millen, an assistant principal at Cardozo High School in Queens, told Gothamist of what she’s noticed after the ban, which went into effect in September.

Students in the city’s school system are meant to learn basic time-telling skills in the first and second grade, according to officials, though it appears children have fallen out of practice doing so in an increasingly digital world.

After faltering in his plan to found a new ‘America Party’, the world’s richest person is returning to the GOP fold

In the aftermath of his spectacular falling out with Donald Trump last year, Elon Musk blasted the Republican Party as a corrupt force that was "bankrupting" the United States of America.

But now, after months in the political wilderness, the volatile tech baron has indicated that he will once again devote his enormous fortune to electing GOP politicians, this time ahead of the midterm elections in 2026.

"America is toast if the radical left wins," declared Musk on X Thursday. "They will open the floodgates to illegal immigration and fraud. Won’t be America anymore."

KEY POINTS

Tesla reported 418,227 vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter.

The electric vehicle maker faces steep competition across the globe from companies including BYD, Kia, Hyundai and Volkswagen.

In the U.S., a $7,500 federal government incentive for EVs came to an end on Sept. 30.

Before alleging fraud in Minnesota’s Somali community, right-wing YouTuber Nick Shirley built a following with anti-immigrant clips.

The day after Christmas, far-right YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a video claiming to have exposed fraud at Somali-owned day care centers in Minnesota. Portions of the 42-minute video — mostly scenes where Shirley is turned away at the day cares — went viral in conservative circles, catching the attention of the Trump administration, which was already at work targeting Minnesota’s Somali community amid its broader war on immigrants.

The video, which has been viewed more than 2.2 million times on YouTube and millions more on other platforms, sparked a renewed crackdown in Minneapolis, with the Department of Homeland Security announcing on Monday it would visit 30 sites suspected of fraud across the city.

This isn’t the first time the conservative YouTuber has gotten the attention of the Trump administration. Shirley participated in Donald Trump’s “Roundtable on Antifa” in October after an altercation at an anti-ICE protest. At age 23, his videos aren’t merely influencing his audiences — they’re also influencing government action.

The mayor marked the first day of his administration by building upon his campaign crusade to freeze the rent with a series of orders designed to address the housing crisis.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced three executive orders to address NYC’s housing crisis: revitalizing the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, creating the LIFT Task Force to accelerate housing development on city-owned land, and establishing the SPEED Task Force to streamline housing construction procedures.

Mamdani's office released the following descriptions of the new task forces. 

• LIFT Task Force (Land Inventory Fast Track) will leverage city-owned land to accelerate housing development, increase supply, and drive down costs. The task force will review city-owned properties and identify sites suitable for housing development no later than July 1, 2026.
• The SPEED Task Force (Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development) will identify and remove bureaucratic and permitting barriers that drive up costs and slow housing construction and lease-up, making it more affordable to build and easier to access housing across New York City.

The CIA has assessed Ukraine was not targeting a residence used by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a recent drone attack in the north of his country, according to US officials, undercutting an assertion the Russian leader had made to President Donald Trump in a Monday phone call.

The CIA’s director John Ratcliffe briefed Trump on the assessment Wednesday, the officials said.

Sources said Ratcliffe later briefed Trump that the CIA did not believe it was true. And on Wednesday, Trump appeared to have adopted a more skeptical posture toward posting, posting a link to a New York Post editorial on Truth Social with the headline, “Putin ‘attack’ bluster shows Russia is the one standing in the way of peace.” The Post’s editorial board noted it was “rich that Putin, who has waged a brutal war for nearly four years, believes that any violence in his vicinity merits special outrage” and asserted that “Any attack on Putin is more than justified.”

Campaign will target rightwing ideologues to fill ranks to meet Trump deportation goals in 2026

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reportedly planned a $100m, one-year media blitz for what it’s calling “wartime recruitment”, targeting conservative radio show listeners, gun rights aficionados, military affairs followers and men’s interests enthusiasts – among others in the MAGA-verse – for jobs in the Trump administration’s next phase of its mass deportation campaign.

As ICE looks to hire for thousands of new positions, flush with cash after an unprecedented influx from Congress last summer, it’s relying on geofencing to ensure people near military bases, Nascar races, gun and trade shows, and college campuses receive its recruitment ads, according to an internal document reported by the Washington Post.

Officials also intend to spend $8m or more on deals with fitness, military and tactical/lifestyle online influencers, who would use their sway to push the administration’s immigration agenda through livestreams, events, and other content meant for their gen Z and millennial audiences.

At least 41 young men have died as a result of circumcision procedures as part of traditional initiation activities in South Africa in November and December, authorities said Tuesday.

South Africa's Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa told local broadcasters Tuesday that 41 initiates died during this year's summer initiation. He blamed negligence on the part of both the initiation schools, including registered ones, and parents for not adhering to safety standards and medical advice.

Hlabisa said some of the unproven advice often given to the young men is to avoid drinking water in order to heal faster.

The "Oracle of Omaha" has officially retired. Mostly.

At age 95, legendary investor Warren Buffett stepped down on Wednesday as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, the once-failing textile business he spent 60 years building into one of the world's largest and most powerful companies.

Today marks another step in Buffett's long — and still partial — goodbye from Berkshire Hathaway. It's the first day under Buffett's longtime deputy and handpicked successor, Greg Abel.