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Morning Skim
Five minutes to everything worth knowing today.
A free daily brief across AI, tech, business, science, world, and culture. Bold headline, why it matters, a link to the source. No noise, no doomscroll. The whole edition is right below.
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AI
Microsoft says AI agents should be treated like insider threats
Microsoft warned that frontier models "can't be trusted" and should be assumed compromised, rolling out Guardian Agents to monitor the AI agents companies run.
Why it matters: Enterprises are wiring agents into real systems before anyone has a working model of what can go wrong.
Dive deeper → 
TechCrunch
Hackers hit AI coding tool OpenCode and burned users' AI credits
Attackers compromised the AI coding tool OpenCode and ran up charges on users' connected AI accounts, forcing a scramble by the small team behind it.
Why it matters: It shows how hard it is to defend AI developer tools against large-scale, AI-driven attacks.
Dive deeper → TechCrunch
Tech
Amazon will fund 12 small nuclear reactors at a former coal plant
Amazon and X-energy announced a deal to build 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors on the site of a demolished coal plant south of Terre Haute, Indiana, about three times larger than their first agreement.
Why it matters: Hyperscalers keep buying nuclear power because AI data centers are outstripping the grid.
Dive deeper → TechCrunch
A congressman wants buying a video game to mean owning it
Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced the Power to Players Act, which would make buying a game confer ownership rather than a revocable license, citing NBA 2K25 going unplayable on December 31 when servers shut down.
Why it matters: It is the first real legislative push against the industry's quiet shift to games you can lose at any time.
Dive deeper → 
Ars Technica
Business
GM beats on Q3 and unveils a $20 billion buyback
General Motors beat third-quarter expectations, narrowed its 2026 earnings guidance and raised free cash flow outlook, and announced a new $20 billion buyback after finishing a $6 billion program.
Why it matters: It is a sign of confidence from a Detroit automaker that spent the year absorbing tariff and EV losses.
Dive deeper → 
CNBC
Anthropic is reportedly close to a second $45 billion compute deal
Bloomberg reports Anthropic and UK cloud startup Nscale are on the verge of a second $45 billion compute agreement, just over a month after their first.
Why it matters: Compute deals of this size keep stacking into the largest infrastructure bet in corporate history.
Dive deeper → TechCrunch
Science
Just 3,000 steps a day may help slow Alzheimer's
A decade-long study of nearly 300 older adults found physical activity did not touch amyloid plaques but reduced the buildup of toxic tau protein, with benefits starting at 3,000 steps and plateauing past 7,500.
Why it matters: It sets a realistic, modest activity target for protecting the brain where drug pipelines keep failing.
Dive deeper → 
ScienceDaily
Gilead's IBD drug erased symptoms in a mid-stage trial
Gilead reported its inflammatory bowel disease drug produced a statistically significant, symptom-free response in a Phase 2 study, beating Wall Street expectations.
Why it matters: A strong mid-stage readout sets up a competitive new entrant in a lucrative autoimmune market.
Dive deeper → 
STAT
World
Alberta voters reject separation from Canada
Early results from Alberta's nonbinding referendum showed about 77% of more than one million voters backed staying in Canada, versus 23% for beginning a path toward a separation vote.
Why it matters: The decisive result defuses the most serious secession push in modern Canadian history.
Dive deeper → 
Al Jazeera
Zelenskyy heads to Oslo peace talks as Trump lashes out
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will hold talks in Oslo on Tuesday with the prime ministers of Norway and Finland and US envoy Steve Witkoff attending, while Jared Kushner joins remotely due to illness.
Why it matters: The meeting lands as Trump publicly suggests someone other than Zelenskyy should negotiate for Kyiv.
Dive deeper → Al Jazeera
Culture
Jon Stewart signs on to host The Daily Show through 2028
Jon Stewart has signed a new two-year deal to remain The Daily Show's Monday host and an executive producer through December 2028.
Why it matters: The late-night anchor seat has never been less stable, and Stewart just locked down the one everyone watches.
Dive deeper → 
Consequence
Netflix fires its film chief Dan Lin amid Narnia tensions
Netflix ousted film chief Dan Lin on Monday, the latest casualty after last week's 6% workforce cut, with insiders citing tensions around Greta Gerwig's Narnia.
Why it matters: The shake-up puts the streamer's entire film strategy, including its biggest upcoming franchise, in question.
Dive deeper → 
Variety
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