Science & Tech

Echo Protocol halts eBTC cross‑chain transfers after unauthorized mint of 1,000 tokens

Echo Protocol suspended cross‑chain eBTC transfers after an unauthorized mint created 1,000 eBTC (~$76M nominal); on‑chain tracing shows only ~ $870k converted.

#crypto, #defi, #ebtc, #monad

Blackstone and Google form U.S. joint venture to sell Google TPUs as cloud service with $5 billion backing

Blackstone and Google will create a U.S. JV with an initial $5B equity commitment to offer Google’s TPU AI chips as cloud compute starting in 2027.

$BX, $GOOGL, #blackstone, #google, #ai, #tpu, #cloud

Preprint: JWST spectra of K2-18b still consistent with Hycean ocean‑world models

A May 18 arXiv preprint finds JWST transmission spectra of K2-18b can be reproduced by self-consistent Hycean (H2‑rich ocean) atmosphere models without invoking DMS.

#exoplanets, #jwst, #hycean, #k2-18b

WHO declares Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo and Uganda a global public health emergency

WHO on May 17 declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province, DR Congo, with confirmed cases in Uganda, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

#ebola, #who, #drcongo, #uganda, #publichealth

Best Buy Affiliate Emails Suggest GTA VI Physical Pre‑Orders May Start May 18 — Unconfirmed

Best Buy affiliate emails suggest physical pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI could open May 18–21, but Rockstar and Best Buy haven’t confirmed.

$TTWO, $BBY, #videogames, #grand-theft-auto, #bestbuy, #take-two

THORChain Confirms Exploit, Opens Claims Portal; Announces ~$10M Treasury Refund

THORChain confirmed a cross-chain exploit affecting 12,847 wallets, opened a claims portal and announced a roughly $10M treasury-backed refund as probes continue.

#thorchain, #crypto, #security, #exploit

Texas Children’s Hospital to Stop Puberty Blockers for Minors, Agrees to $10M Settlement With DOJ

DOJ says Texas Children’s will stop puberty blockers and hormones for minors, pay $10M over billing claims and fund a detransition clinic in the first settlement of its probe.

#transgender, #healthcare, #doj, #texas

California Panel Advances Bill Requiring Refunds or Offline Versions After Paid Game Server Shutdowns

AB 1921 would require publishers to give 60 days' notice and offer playable offline versions or full refunds for paid games sold in California after server shutdowns.

#california, #video-games, #consumer-protection, #digital-rights

Eugene Braunwald, Pioneering Cardiologist, Dies at 96

Eugene Braunwald, a trailblazer in cardiology whose research and textbooks reshaped heart care, died April 22 at 96 in Massachusetts.

#cardiology, #obituary, #medicine, #research

NSF Announces X-Labs, Pledges Up to $1.5 Billion Over a Decade to Translate Research into Technology

NSF unveiled X-Labs, a TIP-led program to fund milestone-driven teams with up to $1.5B over 10 years to build sensing and quantum platforms.

#nsf, #xlabs, #quantum, #ai, #innovation

Forza Horizon 6: Early Access Begins May 15, Full Release May 19 (West Coast unlocks 9:01 p.m. PDT)

Playground Games confirms Forza Horizon 6 early access on May 15 and full launch on May 19 — West Coast players unlock at 9:01 p.m. PDT; preload is live.

$MSFT, #gaming, #forza, #xbox, #release

Preprint Says AI Model SU-01 Reached ‘Gold-Medal-Level’ on Olympiad Problems — Results Not Independently Certified

An arXiv preprint says model SU-01 attains gold-medal-level on IMO/USAMO/IPhO problems, but reported scores lack independent certification.

#ai, #olympiad, #machinelearning, #reasoning

May 11: Posts From Keith Gill’s Verified X Account Briefly Pumped New Solana Meme Coin RKC, Then It Collapsed

On May 11, posts from Keith Gill’s verified X account sent a new Solana meme coin, RKC, up to $11M–$12M before it collapsed and roughly $2.86M was extracted.

#keithgill, #roaringkitty, #crypto, #solana, #memecoin

NASA Recasts Artemis III as 2027 Earth‑Orbit Systems Test, Delaying First Crew Moon Landing

NASA says Artemis III will be a 2027 Earth‑orbit rendezvous and docking test of Orion with commercial lander hardware as a risk‑reduction step.

#nasa, #artemis, #spaceflight, #spacex

SpaceX Sets No-Earlier-Than May 19 for Starship V3’s First Integrated Flight Test

SpaceX aims for May 19, 2026, for the first integrated test flight of Starship Version 3 from its South Texas Starbase site.

#spacex, #starship, #nasa, #artemis