David Lidsky's Blog, page 236

LinkedIn’s big bet on TikTok-style video is paying off in a big way

Short-form video is now the fastest-growing category on the social network.

Is LinkedIn the new TikTok? 

Elon Musk’s DOGE takeover of Treasury payments systems is already racking up legal challenges. Here’s what to know

A lawsuit filed Monday seeks to halt the ‘unlawful disclosure of information,’ including Treasury data on Americans’ taxes and Social Security, to DOGE staff.

This week, President Trump adviser Elon Musk’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) seems to have gained full access to the Department of Treasury’s payments systems responsible for processing trillions of dollars of spending, and containing sensitive personal data about hundreds of millions of Americans including bank accounts, tax data, Social Security numbers, tax refunds, Medicare benefits, and home addresses.

You can try DeepSeek’s R1 through Perplexity—without the security risk

Perplexity users can now get search answers using the groundbreaking Chinese LLM, which CEO Aravind Srinivas says marks a ‘revolutionary moment’ in AI.

The AI search firm Perplexity routinely lets users try out state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs) on its site, but the company moved quickly to put Chinese company DeepSeek’s new R1 model front and center in its user interface. That offers users a chance to find out what the buzz is all about, without sending their data through the DeepSeek app, which is hosted in China. 

Americans expected to legally bet nearly $1.4 billion on Super Bowl

The AGA’s estimate for Super Bowl bets is up 11.2% from the $1.25 billion that was predicted for last year’s NFL championship.

A record $1.39 billion will be legally wagered in the United States on Sunday’s Super Bowl match-up between the two-times defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, the American Gaming Association (AGA) said on Tuesday.

A’ja Wilson debuts Nike signature shoe amid growing interest in women’s sports

At 28, Wilson is one of the most recognizable faces in women’s sports.

A’ja Wilson has come to realize what is delayed is not always denied.

The value of Trump’s memecoin has dropped more than 75% since inauguration

In just two weeks, the $TRUMP token has taken a tumble.

Donald Trump drew plenty of criticism by launching his own branded memecoin three days before his inauguration, including from the crypto community which argued he was making a mockery of the crypto world by tying himself to the memecoin world, which could damage efforts to make crypto reforms. And so, in the two-plus weeks since he has taken office, the value of the Trump coin has dropped precipitously.

Robinhood halts Super Bowl betting contracts after CFTC request

The halt comes just a day after Robinhood launched the product.

Robinhood said on Tuesday it is rolling back the event contracts that would let users bet on the result of the Super Bowl clash this weekend, after the online brokerage received a request from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Families, advocates sue Trump administration to block order banning care for transgender youth

As a result of Trump’s anti-transgender order, hospitals across the country have already begun canceling appointments for gender-transition treatments, per the lawsuit.

Families of transgender children on Tuesday asked a federal court to block President Donald Trump‘s order to end all federal funding or support for healthcare that aids gender transitions for people younger than 19.

Doctors sue U.S. health agencies for removing health data websites per Trump’s order

Tuesday’s lawsuit names the CDC, FDA, and their parent agency the Department of Health and Human Services as defendants.

A medical advocacy group on Tuesday sued the main U.S. health agencies over the sudden removal of websites containing public health information in response to an executive order by President Donald Trump targeting what his administration deemed to be “gender ideology extremism.”

Trump pauses tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days

The pauses of tariffs provide a cooldown period after a tumultuous few days.

President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada as America’s two largest trading partners took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking.