đ Neuralink is being probed
Plus: The U.S. is worried about Chinaâs EVs.

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Elon Muskâs Neuralink is under new scrutiny. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors reported quality control problems at Neuralinkâs California animal research facility.
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Ford EV drivers can now use Tesla chargers. F-150 Lightning pickups and Mustang Mach-E SUVs are getting free adapters to the North American Charging Standard. Meanwhile, Ford is being probed about its 2022 recall of 44,000 E-series vehicles.
The bitcoin billionaire Winklevoss twins have to give $1.1 billion back to crypto customers. Itâs part of a settlement involving their cryptocurrency exchange Gemini.
OpenAI is reportedly being probed about whether it misled investors. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sought internal communications since its CEO Sam Altman was fired and then reinstated. Separately, OpenAI joined Microsoft in backing a humanoid robot startup.
Oprah Winfrey is leaving Weight Watchers after she acknowledged using a weight loss drug. The company said her departure from the board of directors will âeliminate any perceived conflict of interestâ over weight loss drugs.
Chinaâs influence on the global car industry, by the digits
4.91 million: Cars China exported in 2023
2023: Year China became the worldâs top car exporter, beating Japan
2025: Year Chinaâs Tesla rival BYD expects to pick a spot to build a new factory in Mexico
5,100: Terabytes of data an electric vehicle can collect annually
That last number the U.S. government is interested in, especially when it comes to smart cars from China. Read about why the White House sees them as a security threat.
Hims & Hers is looking healthier
While the telehealth sector in general isnât looking too hot, millennial-skewed platform Hims & Hers has found its groove thanks to its focus on weight loss and personalized medicine.
Weight loss specifically has the potential to generate $100 million in revenue in 2025, the companyâs CEO said this week. For now, that doesnât include access to drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy â but thatâs coming.
Pop quiz: The 1% club is getting harder to join

In which country is it the hardest to join the 1% of earners?
A. Switzerland
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Surprising discoveries
A lot of math goes into calculating which century years were leap ones. 1600 and 2000 were, but 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not, because they arenât divisible by 400, and now our head hurts.
Nearly as many Americans played pickleball as baseball last year. The U.S. has a new favorite pastime, though tennis and basketball still dominate.
AMCâs CEO said fourth-quarter revenue was âliterally allâ from Taylor Swift and BeyoncĂ©. The economic power of the pop stars canât be tamed.
A microplastics study found them in every human placenta that was tested. The tiny particles were also detected in all 17 of the human arteries that were studied.
A burnt down 18th century British pub has to be rebuilt lopsided. Long live the Crooked House!
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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, leap year math lessons, and pickleball stats to [email protected]. Todayâs Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.