Check out these holiday-themed events in Washington D.C. this weekend.

From a climate change symposium to a hackathon, check out science and tech events this weekend.

Facebook and Instagram experienced a significant outage affecting over half a million users, but Meta resolved the issue, apologizing for any inconvenience caused. The cause of the glitch remains unknown.

NASA prepares for Artemis III, a lunar mission where astronauts will deploy three novel instruments at the Moon’s South Pole to advance interplanetary science.

Procurement Sciences AI has raised $10 million in Series A funding, led by Battery Ventures, to enhance its AI-based software aiming to streamline government contracting processes.

Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington D.C. celebrates 'Digital Empowerment Day' by donating 160 Chromebooks to local business owners, emphasizing the city's commitment to tech innovation and support for businesses.

Mayor Bowser mobilizes Washingtonians for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, offering 16 drop-off locations to safely dispose of unwanted meds and combat the opioid crisis.

The House Subcommittee postponed its hearing with the FCC, initially set for May 7, 2024, to discuss the Commission's budget and policy implications. No new date has been provided.

The article discusses upcoming legislation led by Representatives Rodgers and Bilirakis to address online privacy, children's safety on the internet, and A.M. radio preservation.

Montgomery County Police are searching for missing 80-year-old George Corum from Silver Spring, urging public assistance in a case where time is critical due to his age and need for care.

Arlington County has increased its public Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations from 15 to 31 and aims for further expansion with a federal grant, contributing to its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. New pricing models encourage efficient usage.

The Metropolitan Police Department seeks help to find a car linked to an attempted armed carjacking on March 4, 2025, in Southeast D.C., offering a reward for information leading to an arrest.

The White House is advancing AI use in federal agencies, revising policies to streamline adoption and enhance services, diverging from previous cautious approaches.

Due to a G4 solar storm, the Northern Lights may be visible in the D.C. region and as far south as Colorado, with a chance of power and communication disruptions.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched CBP Link, a new mobile app to simplify travelers' interactions with border services, including I-94 form applications and border wait times checks.

President Trump extends compliance deadlines for sterilization facilities using ethylene oxide due to national security interests, delaying recently enacted environmental standards.

HHS is halting their mRNA vaccine development under BARDA, citing lower efficacy against respiratory infections. Contracts with biotech firms are being canceled or downscaled, but certain projects will complete for fiscal reasons.

The US and South Korea signed the U.S.-ROK Technology Prosperity Deal to collaborate in tech and innovation, including AI, healthcare, and space exploration.

Senator Cantwell secured funding for the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), increasing its budget by 12% to $47.5 million, countering proposed cuts under Trump's budget.

A Federal Circuit panel ruled the USPTO's NHK‑Fintiv guidance is a "general statement of policy," denying Apple and other tech firms' challenge and curbing access to IPRs.

The FDA cleared Optune Pax, a wearable tumor‑treating‑fields device, after a Phase 3 trial showed a small survival benefit and delayed pain progression for inoperable pancreatic cancer.

Livermore‑based Aalyria closed a $100M Series B at about a $1.3B valuation to scale its Spacetime orchestration software and Tightbeam laser terminals. Investors backed the spinout to speed commercial and government deployments.

UC San Diego’s three‑hit model and international analyses link metabolic stress and parental chemical intolerance to autism risk, but experts urge caution. Larger trials are needed.

Honest Health raised $140 million in a round led by NewSpring to grow its value‑based care partnerships. The Nashville company says the money will fund market expansion and system deals.

Global agencies warn attackers are exploiting a critical Cisco SD‑WAN flaw; immediate patching and threat hunts are required.

Trump Media said it is in talks to spin off Truth Social and merge the platform with a SPAC after its planned merger with fusion firm TAE Technologies.

The LCME has listed Howard University College of Medicine as "Full, on probation." The university says accreditation and students’ degrees remain valid while it submits required fixes.

A Senate committee backed a NASA reauthorization that would extend the ISS to Sept. 30, 2032 and direct NASA to develop a permanent Moon base. The move shifts timelines for the Space Coast and commercial station builders.

A coalition of tech researchers sued in D.C., arguing a visa policy singles out foreign experts who study social media and chills vital research.

Federal probes into banks' AI hiring tools raise questions about bias in résumé screeners. Here’s what researchers and regulators are watching and how applicants can respond.

An investigation ties contaminated medicines, falsified testing and inspection gaps to overseas factories — and patients are already paying the price.

Texas Tech researchers used ATR‑FTIR and Raman spectroscopy with machine learning to identify fentanyl exposure in fingernail clippings, a noninvasive method presented at Pittcon.

A Washington State University study tested 719 academic hypotheses and found ChatGPT often returned incorrect or unstable answers, prompting calls for human verification.

Pfizer reported mid‑stage results showing atirmociclib plus fulvestrant cut progression or death risk by about 40% in patients previously treated with CDK4/6 inhibitors.

AI‑made war clips and recycled videos are circulating on social feeds. Local experts and fact‑checkers lay out the red flags and tools to tell what’s real.

Lab scans of Bennu samples at Johnson Space Center reveal crack networks that explain why telescopes misread the asteroid’s heat signature and reshape remote sensing assumptions.

True Anomaly’s new Long Beach plant has landed Space Force prototype work and raised $260 million, promising hundreds of local engineering and manufacturing jobs. The company’s Jackal vehicles and Mosaic software will be built at a 90,000‑sq‑ft facility in Douglas Park.

Senior NASA climate scientist Kate Marvel resigned, saying political moves have undermined science. Her resignation letter, seen by Bloomberg, was addressed to NASA leadership.

The Supreme Court ruled that Cox Communications cannot be held liable for customers’ music downloads, overturning a jury award that once topped $1 billion. The decision reshapes how ISPs may be held responsible for users’ copyright violations.

Meta President Dina Powell McCormick told Axios the U.S. will need roughly 500,000 electricians as AI data centers and energy deals accelerate. The warning highlights a growing skills gap.

A fake CAPTCHA scam is tricking Windows users into pasting and running commands that install the StealC info‑stealer. Experts explain what it does and how to respond.

Federal agencies say Russian intelligence‑linked actors have hijacked thousands of messaging app accounts via phishing. Officials urge users not to share verification codes and to check linked devices.

The FTC says OkCupid shared nearly 3 million user photos with AI firm Clarifai in 2014; Match Group agreed to a proposed settlement in Dallas that would bar future misrepresentations.

SkyWater's Fab 25 purchase and a pending IonQ acquisition have lifted revenue and capacity, positioning Bloomington as a hub in the U.S. chip re‑shoring push. The deals mean more factory space, higher payrolls and a bigger role in quantum hardware supply chains.

AT&T reached an agreement-in-principle with federal officials to invest up to $2 billion to upgrade FirstNet, aiming to expand coverage and lower program costs.

New reports show AI exposure for 240,000 Richmond jobs and steep drops in entry-level tech postings that could squeeze young workers.

NSF's TechAccess program and a Labor Department MOU could channel up to $224M into state AI hubs that pair training with apprenticeships and help small businesses adopt AI. The first letters of intent are due in mid‑June.

The FCC added foreign-made consumer routers to its Covered List, blocking new models from receiving U.S. authorization. Existing devices remain usable but future upgrades may slow.

A joint federal advisory says Iran‑affiliated actors have been exploiting Rockwell PLCs, manipulating HMI/SCADA displays and disrupting water and energy operations.

The FBI's IC3 warns foreign-developed apps can access contacts and other device data — even for people who never installed the app. Experts and local outlets name Temu, CapCut and SHEIN as examples.

CIA deputy director says analysts will get AI "co‑workers" to draft judgments, flag trends and speed reporting while humans keep final say.

Ben Lamm says gene drives can curb a $5.4 trillion invasive‑species problem; safety and regulatory questions remain. The pitch puts Dallas biotech at the center of a fraught debate.

Gallup’s latest workforce poll finds rising AI adoption, but about half of U.S. employees use AI only rarely or not at all, citing ethics, privacy and job concerns.

Advertisers and some publishers have begun mass arbitration against Google, seeking billions after antitrust rulings that found parts of its ad tech unlawful.

A federal appeals court revived Teva’s patent fight with Eli Lilly and sent the case back to Massachusetts, reopening a dispute that once produced a $176.5M jury award.

An August Starlink outage left unmanned Navy vessels offline for nearly an hour, exposing risks as the Pentagon leans more on SpaceX's satellites.

The Cancer Center at Illinois earned a rare National Cancer Institute designation in April 2026, joining a small group of lab-focused centers. The status could unlock federal infrastructure support and translational partnerships for Illinois.

Eagle Nuclear says the Aurora site near McDermitt, Oregon contains roughly 37 million pounds of uranium and has begun permitting and drilling planning.

Chevy Chase’s Blue Energy raised $380M to prefab shipyard‑built nuclear plants and says the first 1.5GW Texas project could start construction in Q3 2026 with a gas‑to‑nuclear plan.

NASA unveiled the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and moved its launch up; the wide-field observatory will survey roughly 12% of the sky and hunt exoplanets.

A Financial Times report says a White House memo accuses China of "industrial-scale" theft of U.S. AI labs' IP, echoing Anthropic and OpenAI warnings and raising enforcement questions.

A new international advisory warns China‑nexus actors are routing attacks through compromised routers and IoT to mask espionage and pre‑position strikes.

Interim REMAIN‑1 results suggest a one‑time endoscopic "gut reset" can help maintain weight after stopping GLP‑1 drugs. Topline pivotal data are expected in Q4 2026.

3D imaging and AI of fossil beaks suggest finned octopuses up to about 62 feet long once patrolled Cretaceous seas. The jaws show heavy wear consistent with crushing hard prey.

President Trump abruptly removed members of the National Science Board, stripping an advisory panel that helps govern the NSF and prompting immediate backlash from universities and lawmakers.

Large phase‑3 trials show AD109, a once‑nightly pill, cut sleep‑apnea severity by about half; dry mouth and insomnia were common and regulators will review safety.

China’s NDRC ordered the cancellation of Meta’s acquisition of Manus, forcing parties to withdraw and raising new risks for cross‑border AI deals. The move unsettles Bay Area dealmaking.

The Commerce Department told U.S. chip‑tool makers to pause some shipments to Hua Hong, a move that could slow the company’s push toward 7nm chips and hit vendor sales.

Arlington Capital has bought Enercon and will fold it into Pond & Company to form a roughly 2,700‑person engineering firm based in the Atlanta area.

The Supreme Court heard a key skinny‑label case that could redefine when generic marketing becomes patent 'inducement' — and could affect drug prices nationwide.

Charles Lieber, convicted in 2021, now heads i‑BRAIN in Shenzhen with a new ASML nanofab and primate infrastructure — a move that raises policy and security questions.

DOJ's rescheduling of medical cannabis is opening investor pipelines for cannabis drug startups, prompting private raises and IPO talk while banks and state rules still complicate the picture.

A West Health–Gallup poll finds many Americans consult AI for health questions — and roughly 14 million say AI advice led them to skip care. Stanford’s chief data scientist weighs in.

Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine will run Rockville-based Quantum Space as CEO, joining a startup building refuelable, maneuverable Ranger spacecraft aimed at defense missions. The company says Ranger Prime is now targeting a 2027 launch window.

Federal reporting says the FDA blocked publication of several studies that found rare serious side effects from COVID and shingles vaccines, prompting fresh questions about transparency.

A Madison nonprofit won a federal voucher to speed FDA review of psilocybin for major depression, joining two other programs selected under an April executive order. Local researchers say the award validates years of work but leaves rollout questions.

Moderna, Praxis and other Massachusetts firms joined a new national alliance pushing a Vision 2030 plan to keep U.S. biotech competitive with China.

An LLM‑backed analysis finds D.C. and Maryland among the most exposed to AI‑driven task changes, and regional training programs are racing to respond.

Ukrainian surgeons told Fort Bragg medics that drone swarms are stretching evacuations from minutes to days, forcing new training and underground care plans.

A Lancet‑published consensus has renamed PCOS to PMOS to emphasize hormonal and metabolic causes. Patient groups are split as the three‑year roll‑out begins.

MIT leaders say federal research cuts and falling grad enrollment forced tighter budgets and fewer admissions — a shift President Sally Kornbluth calls "a striking loss."

A new Frontiers study finds a small uptick in lung cancer incidence after COVID‑19, especially among current and former smokers, and points to the enzyme TYMP as a likely mechanism.

Eli Lilly says its experimental drug retatrutide produced near‑surgical levels of weight loss in late‑stage trials, but analysts note higher side effects and access questions.

The Commerce Department unveiled a $2B CHIPS‑funded quantum package that includes $1B for IBM’s new foundry and minority equity stakes in several startups.

Microsoft released Defender engine and platform updates after two zero‑day flaws were spotted in the wild; CISA added the CVEs to its KEV list and set a June 3 federal remediation deadline.

Modelers have removed the extreme RCP8.5/SSP5‑8.5 marker from the CMIP7 design; the revision narrows the upper‑end of projections but still leaves large warming and financial risk.

BLS May 2025 data show pediatric surgeons top national pay at $502,050 while cardiologists lead many state lists. The state map is dominated by medical specialties.

UH Cancer Center researcher Michele Carbone won the 2026 Szent‑Györgyi Prize for work linking inherited BAP1 mutations to mesothelioma and spurring life‑saving interventions.

Oklo says it has been picked by the DOE for talks to turn Cold War plutonium into reactor fuel while critics warn of serious proliferation and safety concerns. The company will partner with newcleo and says strict safeguards would apply.

The Supreme Court declined to block Vermont’s consumer‑protection suit accusing Instagram of engineering features that addict teens, allowing the case to proceed. The decision follows recent state court setbacks for Meta.

FDA advisers will vote this week on whether to switch the 2026–27 COVID booster to target XFG, a subvariant with immune‑evasive mutations.

The FBI says a Telegram-sold phishing kit named Kali365 is capturing Microsoft 365 tokens and bypassing MFA. Security firms and Microsoft urge admins and users to tighten device-code controls.

An experimental drug called bepirovirsen produced durable 'functional cures' in roughly 20% of patients in large trials, offering a potential finite therapy for chronic hepatitis B.

Washington University researchers David Holtzman and Randall Bateman will be honored for developing the PrecivityAD blood tests that make Alzheimer’s diagnosis earlier and more accessible.

The White House approved roughly $9 billion to buy Nvidia superchips and build the liquid‑cooled data centers that run them, aiming to close an intelligence‑community compute gap. The move raises procurement, timing and civil‑liberties questions as agencies race to deploy frontier AI on classified networks.

Chicago’s Tempus won FDA clearance to run its xT CDx test without matched normal samples, a label expansion the company says will broaden use and affect reimbursement.

Objectors say Bayer’s $7.25B Roundup settlement tramples due process and favors lawyers; a May removal filing and a June 4 opt‑out deadline now cloud approval.

Foundation Future Industries says it has Pentagon research contracts to test Phantom humanoid robots and has already sent early units to Ukraine. The award and the company's ties to Eric Trump have prompted scrutiny and oversight questions.

Early trial data show amivantamab shrank—and in some patients erased—tumors in treatment‑resistant head and neck cancer, with results set for ASCO on Sunday. Investigators call the responses striking but preliminary.

Updated CHORD trial numbers presented in Seoul suggest most children with otoferlin‑related deafness gained meaningful hearing after Otarmeni treatment. The therapy was FDA‑cleared in April.

The Commerce Department closed a year‑old loophole on Sunday, saying advanced Nvidia and AMD chips sold to companies headquartered in China now require export licenses even when bought through overseas affiliates. The move tightens export checks and could complicate shipments for Bay Area chip and data‑center firms.

Justice Department files show Jeffrey Epstein deposited sperm with California Cryobank and signed a 2016 contract leaving the samples to his estate; the material’s whereabouts remain unclear.

Consumer Reports links the AI data‑center buildout to rising household electric bills, with hotspots like Northern Virginia seeing the sharpest increases. Regulators and experts are debating who should pay for new power infrastructure.

The FTC is requiring Ascension to divest seven ambulatory surgery centers in five metros before its $3.9B AmSurg acquisition can close.

Brussels ordered Meta to reopen WhatsApp to rival AI assistants under interim measures while it probes whether the company locked competitors out. The move raises big compliance and business questions for developers.

San Diego’s Autobahn secured FDA Fast Track for elunetirom and reported strong Phase 2 topline results in a small bipolar depression study. The findings are promising but preliminary.

NOAA's SOLAR‑1 is now operational and will deliver CME imagery to forecasters in about 30 minutes, sharpening aurora forecasts and giving operators more time to protect infrastructure.

A D.C. class-action alleges The Washington Post mined subscriber data to tailor pricing, seeking class status and potential large damages for readers. The complaint calls the practice "covert data‑harvesting."

Friday morning outages knocked Facebook and Instagram offline for many users, with Downdetector showing six‑figure reports and Meta’s status page flagging Ads Manager problems.

Anthropic suspended its newest Claude models after a U.S. export‑control directive restricting foreign‑national access. The company says it disabled Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all customers while it seeks clarity.

Anthropic is committing up to $15 million in Claude credits to help state and local governments scan for and fix software vulnerabilities, with California and Texas among early participants.

A proposed class‑action alleges Anthropic misled customers about token allowances on its $100 and $200 Claude Max plans and seeks refunds and class certification.

A startup servicer called Link is being prepped near Washington to rendezvous with and reboost the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Rapid tests and full-scale rehearsals are underway as launch approaches later this month.