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WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal employees are starting to receive another email requiring them to explain their recent accomplishments, a renewed attempt by President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to demand answers from the government workforce. Originally expected to go out Saturday, the new request began landing in the inboxes of some employees late Friday. The plan to send a second round of emails was initially disclosed by a person with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. The first email, which was distributed a week ago, asked employees “what…

In a sweeping move to streamline sustainability reporting across the European Union, the European Commission has announced a significant easing of regulations for SMEs.According to ESG Today, the recent release of the Omnibus package outlines plans to exempt 80% of companies from the stringent requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This decision is part of a broader initiative to reduce administrative burdens and foster economic competitiveness throughout the region.The changes proposed by the Commission also extend to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the EU Taxonomy, and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), each receiving major cutbacks…

A ransomware gang has taken credit for the recent attack on Lee Enterprises, which caused disruptions at dozens of local newspapers. The cyberattack came to light in early February, when the American media company, which owns roughly 350 weekly and specialty publications across 25 states, revealed that the incident had impacted business applications and resulted in operational disruptions.  The attack reportedly impacted at least 75 newspapers across the US, including the distribution of print publications and online operations.  The company later clarified that the attackers encrypted files and exfiltrated information from its systems, which indicated that it had been targeted…

Cybercriminals continue to enhance the capabilities of the botnet known as Vo1d, which has grown significantly over the past half a year.  In September 2024, Russian security firm Doctor Web warned that 1.3 million Android TV boxes around the world had been ensnared in the Vo1d botnet. Chinese security company QiAnXin (QAX) has also monitored the threat and on Thursday reported seeing nearly 90 new samples of the malware. Its researchers have observed activity from roughly 800,000 unique IPs associated with the botnet every day, with a peak at nearly 1.6 million on January 14, 2025.  According to QiAnXin, the…

As part of a lawsuit targeting cybercriminals who abuse AI services, Microsoft has made public the names of four individuals who are allegedly part of a global network tracked as Storm-2139. The lawsuit, filed in December 2024 against what Microsoft described as the ‘Azure Abuse Enterprise’, targets individuals accused of developing and using malicious tools that allow users to bypass the guardrails of gen-AI services and generate deepfakes and other harmful or illegal content.  According to Microsoft, Storm-2139 has targeted services such as its Azure OpenAI Service. The threat actors first obtain exposed credentials found in public sources, which they…

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Students in Bangladesh who led a mass uprising to topple former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last summer are now diving into politics by forming the new National Citizen Party.The aim is to create new political space in a fiercely divisive dynastic political landscape. For decades, the country’s politics have been dominated by two former prime ministers and archrivals — Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. The announcement came Friday at a rally in front of Parliament in Dhaka, during which political reforms were promised for a country born in 1971 through a bloody war against Pakistan. Thousands…

For two decades, TechCrunch has provided a front row view to the future of technology, shaping conversations that matter and spotlighting the next big things before they break — both on the page and in person at our world-renowned events.  This year, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we’re launching our most ambitious events calendar yet for 2025. From intimate roundtables to our flagship Disrupt conference, we’re bringing together the brightest minds in tech, venture capital, and entrepreneurship to continue our legacy of industry-leading gatherings. This milestone year promises unprecedented opportunities for founders, investors, and innovators to connect, share insights,…

AI models are being cranked out at a dizzying pace, by everyone from Big Tech companies like Google to startups like OpenAI and Anthropic. Keeping track of the latest ones can be overwhelming.  Adding to the confusion is that AI models are often promoted based on industry benchmarks. But these technical metrics often reveal little about how real people and companies actually use them.  To cut through the noise, TechCrunch has compiled an overview of the most advanced AI models released since 2024, with details on how to use them and what they’re best for. We’ll keep this list updated…

Snowflake plans to expand its startup accelerator with $200 million in additional commitments, the tech giant that specializes in cloud-based data storage said Thursday. The new injection of capital follows a string of activity by Snowflake over the past several months that illustrates that company’s growth ambitions. The Snowflake Startup Accelerator, formerly known as the Powered by Snowflake Funding Program, invests in a broad range of early-stage startups. Notably, the accelerator invests in startups building AI-based industry-specific products on Snowflake. Startups in the accelerator receive technical support from Snowflake and access to co-marketing opportunities, as well as credits for Amazon’s public…

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the company was forced to stagger the rollout of its newest model, GPT-4.5, because OpenAI is “out of GPUs.” In a post on X, Altman said that GPT-4.5, which he described as “giant” and “expensive,” will require “tens of thousands” more GPUs before additional ChatGPT users can gain access. GPT-4.5 will come first to subscribers to ChatGPT Pro starting Thursday, followed by ChatGPT Plus customers next week. Perhaps in part due to its enormous size, GPT-4.5 is wildly expensive. OpenAI is charging $75 per million tokens (~750,000 words) fed into the model and $150…