New York Times:
Sources and filings: Peter Thiel donated $3M to a group to beat California's wealth tax, the first of several expected major donations by tech leaders in 2026  —  More large donations from wealthy Silicon Valley figures are expected as they try to marshal opposition to a proposed ballot measure …

K-pop sensation Huntr/x has come out on top in this year's Golden Globes, beating Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle for Best Animated Feature.

Nasteho Said / Bloomberg:
Meta says it shut down nearly 550K accounts in Australia to comply with its under-16 social media ban, including 330K Instagram and 173K Facebook accounts  —  Meta Platforms Inc. said it has shut down almost 550,000 accounts in Australia to comply with the country's landmark social media ban for children.

Steven Sinofsky / Hardcore Software:
CES 2026 report: AI, autonomy, and robotic products are still finding their way, country-level booths are growing, Nvidia underpinned much of the show, and more  —  This was a great show and if you spent enough time on the floor (I did so you don't have to), you could see it really did live …

The Trump administration approached Microsoft for its donation to fund the White House's $300 million ballroom, documents released by Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) office reveal. In response to a Democrat-led letter questioning Big Tech's involvement in the ballroom's construction, Microsoft counsel Karen Christian writes that the company "was contacted by a fundraiser for the effort […]